Chapter 3: At Alnwick.
"You are rarely changed, Oswald," his uncle said, as the lad enteredhis apartment. "'Tis three years since I last saw you, and you haveshot up nigh a head, since then. I should not have known you, had I metyou in the street; but as I was expecting you, it is easy to recallyour features. I made sure that you would come; for, although yourfather was at first averse to my offer, I soon found that your motherwas on my side, and I know that, in the long run, my brother generallygives in to her wishes; and I was sure that, as you were a lad ofspirit, you would be glad to try a flight from home.
"You are growing up mightily like your father, and promise to be as bigand as strong as we both are. Your eyes speak of a bold disposition,and my brother tells me that you are already well practised with yourarms.
"You understand that it is Sir Henry, whom they call Hotspur, that youare to serve. As to the earl, he is too great a personage for me to aska favour from, but Sir Henry is different. I taught him the first useof his arms, and many a bout have I had with him. He treats me as acomrade, rather than as the captain of his father's men-at-arms, here;and when I spoke to him about you, he said at once:
"'Bring him here, and we will see what we can do for him. If he is afellow of parts and discretion, I doubt not that we can make himuseful. You say he knows every inch of our side of the border, andsomething of the Scottish side of it, his mother's sister being marriedto one of the Armstrongs. There is like to be trouble before long. Youknow the purpose for which I am going away; and the Scots are sure totake advantage of changes in England, and a youth who can ride, andknows the border, and can, if needs be, strike a blow in self defence,will not have to stay idle in the castle long. His father is a stoutwithstander of the Scots, and the earl would have given him knighthood,if he would have taken it; and maybe, in the future, the son will winthat honour. He is too old for a page, and I should say too littleversed in our ways for such a post; but I promise you that, when he isold enough, he shall be one of my esquires.'
"So you may soon have an opportunity of showing Hotspur what you aremade of. And now, I doubt not that you are hungry. I will send down tothe buttery, for a couple of tankards and a pasty. I had my supper twohours ago, but I doubt not that I can keep you company in another."
He went to the window, and called out, "John Horn!"
The name was repeated below, and in two minutes a servant came up. Thecaptain gave him directions, and they shortly sat down to a substantialmeal.
"The first thing to do, lad, will be to get you garments more suitableto the Percys' castle than those you have on; they are good enough toput on under armour, or when you ride in a foray; but here, one whowould ride in the train of the Percys must make a brave show. It iscurfew, now; but tomorrow, early, we will sally into the town, where weshall find a good choice of garments, for men of all conditions. Youhold yourself well, and you have something of your mother's softness ofspeech; and will, I think, make a good impression on Sir Henry, whensuitably clad.
"You see, there are many sons of knights, of good repute and standing,who would be glad, indeed, that their sons should obtain a post inHotspur's personal following; and who might grumble, were they passedover in favour of one who, by his appearance, was of lower conditionthan themselves.
"John Forster is well known, on the border, as a valiant fighter, and aleading man in Coquetdale. It is known, too, that he might have beenknighted, had he chosen; and doubtless there are many who, having heardthat his hold is one of the strongest on the border, give him creditfor having far wider possessions than that bit of moor round the hold,and grazing rights for miles beyond it. If, then, you make a braveshow, none will question the choice that Hotspur may make; but were youto appear in that garb you have on, they might well deem that yourfather is, after all, but a moss trooper.
"He told me that you had, once, a fancy to learn to read and write.What put that idea into your head? I do not say that it was not a goodone, but at least it was a strange one, for a lad brought up as youhave been."
"I think, Uncle, that it was rather my mother's idea than my own; shethought that it might conduce to my advancement, should I ever leavethe hold and go out into the world."
"She was quite right, Oswald; and 'tis a pity that you did not go, fora couple of years, to a monastery. It is a good thing to be able toread an order, or to write one, for many of the lords and knights cando no more than make a shift to sign their names. As for books I saynothing, for I see not what manner of good they are; but father Ernulf,who is chaplain here, tells me that one who gives his mind to it can,in a year, learn enough to write down, not in a clerkly hand, but inone that can be understood, any letter or order his lord may wish sent,or to read for him any that he receives.
"In most matters, doubtless, an order by word of mouth is just as goodas one writ on vellum; but there are times when a messenger could notbe trusted to deliver one accurately, as he receives it; or it mighthave to be passed on, from hand to hand. Otherwise, a spoken message isthe best; for if a messenger be killed on the way, none are the wiseras to the errand on which he is going; while, if a parchment is foundon him, the first priest or monk can translate its purport.
"The chaplain has two younger priests with him; and, should you bewilling, I doubt not that one of these would give you instruction, foran hour or two of a day. The Percys may not be back for another monthor two, and if you apply yourself to it honestly, you might learnsomething by that time."
"I should like it very much, Uncle."
"Then, so it shall be, lad. For two or three hours a day you mustpractise in arms--I have some rare swordsmen among my fellows--but forthe rest of the time, you will be your own master. I will speak withfather Ernulf, in the morning, after we have seen to the matter of yourgarments."
A straw pallet was brought up to the chamber; and, after chatting forhalf an hour about his visit to the Armstrongs, Oswald took off hisriding boots and jerkin, the total amount of disrobing usual at thattime on the border, and was soon asleep.
"I am afraid, Uncle," he said in the morning, "that the furnishment ofthe purse my father gave me, at starting, will not go far towards whatyou may consider necessary for my outfit."
"That need not trouble you at all, lad. I told your father I shouldtake all charges upon myself, having no children of my own, and no wayto spend my money; therefore I can afford well to do as I like towardsyou. Once the war begins, you will fill your purse yourself; foralthough the peoples of the towns and villages suffer by the Scotchincursions, we men-at-arms profit by a war. We have nought that theycan take from us, but our lives, while we take our share of the booty,and have the ransom of any knights or gentlemen we may make prisoners."
Accordingly they went into Alnwick, and Alwyn Forster bought for hisnephew several suits of clothes, suitable for a young gentleman of goodfamily; together with armour, of much more modern fashion than that towhich Oswald was accustomed. When they returned to the castle, the ladwas told to put on one of these suits, at once.
"Make your old ones up in a bundle," his uncle said. "There may beoccasions when you may find such clothes useful; though here,assuredly, they are out of place. Now, I will go with you to FatherErnulf."
The priest's abode was in what was called the Abbots' Tower, which wasthe one nearest to the large monastery, outside the walls.
"I told you, father," the captain said, "that belike my nephew wouldjoin me here, as I was going to present him to Sir Henry Percy. Thegood knight will not be back again, mayhap, for some weeks; and the ladhas a fancy to learn to read and write, and I thought you might put himin the way of his attaining such knowledge."
"He looks as if the sword will suit his hand better than the pen," thepriest said, with a smile, as his eye glanced over the lad's activefigure. "But surely, if he is so inclined, I shall be glad to furtherhis wishes. There is a monk at the monastery who, although a goodscholar, is fitted rather for the army than the Church. He was one ofour teachers, but in sooth had but little
patience with the blunders ofthe children; but I am sure that he would gladly give his aid to a ladlike this, and would bear with him, if he really did his best. I havenought to do at present, and will go down with him, at once, and talkto Friar Roger.
"If the latter would rather have nought to do with it, one of myjuniors shall undertake the task; but I am sure that the friar wouldmake a better instructor, if he would take it in hand.
"He is a stout man-at-arms--for, as you know, when the Scots cross theborder, the abbot always sends a party of his stoutest monks to fightin Percy's ranks; as is but right, seeing that the Scots plunder amonastery as readily as a village. Friar Roger was the senior incommand, under the sub-prior, of the monks who fought at Otterburn, andall say that none fought more stoutly, and the monks were the last tofall back on that unfortunate day. They say that he incurred manypenances for his unchurchly language, during the fight; but that theabbot remitted them, on account of the valour that he had shown."
Accordingly, the priest went off with Oswald to the monastery, whileAlwyn Forster remained, to attend to his duties as captain of themen-at-arms. On his saying that he wished to see the friar Roger, thepriest was shown into a waiting room, where the monk soon joined them.
He was a tall, powerful man, standing much over six feet in height, andof proportionate width of shoulders. He carried his head erect, andlooked more like a man-at-arms, in disguise, than a monk. He bent hishead to the priest, and then said in a hearty tone:
"Well, Father Ernulf, what would you with me, today? You have no newsof the Scots having crossed the border, and I fear that there is nochance, at present, of my donning a cuirass over my gown?"
"None at present, brother, though it may well be so, before long. Ihope that we shall soon have the earl and his son back again, for theScots are sure to take advantage of their absence, now that the truceis expired.
"No, I want you on other business. This young gentleman is the nephewof Alwyn Forster, whom you know."
"Right well, Father; a good fellow, and a stout fighter."
"He is about to enter Sir Henry's household," the priest went on; "but,seeing that the knight is still away, and may be absent for some weeksyet, the young man is anxious to learn to read and write--
"Not from any idea of entering the Church," he broke off, with a smile,at the expression of surprise on the monk's face; "but that it may beuseful to him in procuring advancement.
"I have, therefore, brought him to you; thinking that you would make afar better teacher, for a lad like him, than your brothers in theschool. I thought perhaps that, if I spoke to the abbot, he mightrelease you from your attendance at some of the services, for such apurpose."
"That is a consideration," the monk laughed.
"Well, young sir, I tell you fairly that among my gifts is not that ofpatience with fools. If you are disposed to work right heartily, as Isuppose you must be, or you would not make such a request, I on my partwill do my best to teach you; but you must not mind if, sometimes, youget a rough buffet to assist your memory."
"I should doubt whether a buffet, from you, would not be more likely toconfuse my memory than to assist it," Oswald said, with a smile; "butat any rate, I am ready to take my chance, and can promise to do mybest to avoid taxing your patience, to that point."
"That will do, Father," the monk said. "He is a lad of spirit, and itis a pleasure to train one of that kind. As to the puny boys they sendto be made monks because, forsooth, they are likely to grow up too weakfor any other calling, I have no patience with them; and I get intosore disgrace, with the abbot, for my shortness of temper."
"I am afraid, from what I hear," the priest said, shaking his head, butunable to repress a smile, "that you are often in disgrace, BrotherRoger."
"I fear that it is so, and were it not that I am useful, in teachingthe lay brothers and the younger monks the use of the carnal weapons, Iknow that, before this, I should have been bundled out, neck and crop.'Tis hard, Father, for a man of my inches to be shut up, here, whenthere is so much fighting to be done, abroad."
"There is good work to be done, everywhere," the priest said gravely."Many of us may have made a mistake in choosing our vocations; but, ifso, we must make the best we can of what is before us."
"What time will you come?" the monk asked Oswald.
"My uncle said that he would suit my hours to yours; but that, if itwas all the same to you, I should practise in arms from six o'clocktill eight, and again for an hour or two in the evening; so that Icould come to you either in the morning or afternoon."
"Come at both, if you will," the monk said. "If the good father can getme off the services, from eight till six, you can be with me all thattime, save at the dinner hour. You have but a short time to learn in,and must give yourself heartily to it.
"There is the chapel bell ringing, now, and I must be off. The abbotwill not be present at this service, Father; and if you will, you cansee him now. I doubt not that he will grant your request, for I knowthat I anger him, every time I am in chapel. I am fond of music, and Ihave a voice like a bull; and, do what I will, it will come out inspite of me; and he says that my roaring destroys the effect of thewhole choir."
So saying, he strode away.
"Do you wait outside the gates, my son," the priest said. "I shall beonly a few minutes with the abbot; who, as Friar Roger says, will, Idoubt not, be glad enough to grant him leave to abstain from attendanceat the services."
In a short time, indeed, he rejoined Oswald at the gate.
"That matter was managed, easily enough," he said. "The abbot has,himself, a somewhat warlike disposition, which is not to be wonderedat, seeing that he comes from a family ever ready to draw the sword;and he has, therefore, a liking for Friar Roger, in spite of hiscontumacies, breaches of regulations, and quarrels with the othermonks. He is obliged to continually punish him, with sentences ofseclusion, penance, and fasting; but methinks it goes against thegrain. He said, at once, that he was delighted to hear that he hadvoluntarily undertaken some work that would keep him out of trouble,and that he willingly, and indeed gladly, absolved him from attendancein chapel, during the hours that he was occupied with you.
"'He is not without his uses,' he said. 'He is in special charge of thegarden, and looks after the lay brothers employed in it. I will putsomeone else in charge, while he is busy, though I doubt if any willget as much work out of the lay brothers as he does; and indeed, hehimself labours harder than any of them. With any other, I should saythat tucking his gown round his waist, and labouring with might andmain was unseemly; but as it works off some of his superabundantenergy, I do not interfere with him.'"
"How ever did he become a monk, Father?"
"It seems that he was a somewhat sickly child, and his father sent himto the monastery to be taught, with a view to entering the Church. Hewas quick and bright in his parts, but as his health improved he grewrestless, and at fifteen refused to follow the vocation marked out forhim, and returned home; where, as I have heard, he took part in variousdaring forays across the border. When he was five-and-twenty, he waswounded well-nigh to death in one of these, and he took it as ajudgment upon him, for deserting the Church; so he returned here, andbecame a lay brother. He was a very long time, before he recovered hisfull strength, and before he did so he became a monk, and I believe hasbitterly regretted the fact, ever since.
"Some day, I am afraid, he will break the bounds altogether, throw awayhis gown, assume a breast plate and steel cap, and become an unfrockedmonk. I believe he fights hard against his inclinations, but they aretoo strong for him. If war breaks out I fear that, some day, he will bemissing.
"He will, of course, go down south, where he will be unknown; andwhere, when the hair on his tonsure has grown, he can well pass as aman-at-arms, and take service with some warlike lord. I trust that itmay not be so, but he will assuredly make a far better man-at-arms thanhe will ever make a good monk."
The next morning, after practising for two hours with sword and
pike,Oswald went down, at eight o'clock, to the monastery, and was conductedto friar Roger's cell. The latter at once began his instruction,handing him a piece of blackened board, and a bit of chalk.
"Now," he said, "you must learn to read and write, together. There aretwenty-six letters, and of each there is a big one and a little one.The big ones are only used at the beginning of a sentence--that iswhere, if you were talking, you would stop to take breath and beginafresh--and also at the first letter of the names of people, andplaces.
"The first letter is 'A'. There it is, in that horn book, you see. Itlooks like two men, or two trees, leaning against each other forsupport; with a line, which might be their hands, in the middle.
"Now, make a letter like that, on your board. The little 'a' is a smallcircle with an upright, with a tail to it; you might fancy it a fish,with its tail turned up.
"Now, write each of those, twelve times."
So he continued with the first six letters.
"That will be as much as you will remember, at first," he said. "Now wewill begin spelling with those letters, and you will see how they areused. You see, it is a mixture of the sounds of the two: 'b a' makesba, and 'b e' be, 'c a' ca, 'd a' da, 'd e' de, and so on. Now, we willwork it out."
Oswald was intelligent, and anxious to learn. He had been accustomed,when riding, to notice every irregularity of ground, every rock andbush that might serve as a guide, if lost in a fog, and he very quicklytook in the instruction given him; and, by the time the convent bellrung to dinner, he had made a considerable progress with the variationsthat could be formed with the six letters that he had learned; and thefriar expressed himself as highly satisfied with him.
"You have learned as much, in one morning, as many of the boys whoattend schools would learn in a month," he said. "If you go on likethis, I will warrant that, if Percy delays his return for two months,you will know as much as many who have been two years at the work. Ihave always said that it is a mistake to teach children young; theirminds do not take in what you say to them. You may beat it into them,but they only get it by rote; and painfully, because they don'tunderstand how one thing leads to another, and it is their memory only,and not their minds, that are at work."
The next day came news that the Scotch had crossed the border, andthere was great excitement in the castle; but it was soon learned thatthe invasion was not on a great scale, neither the Douglases nor theEarl of March having taken part in it.
"There is no fear of our being attacked, here," Alwyn Forster said toOswald. "The sheriffs of the county will call out their levies, andwill soon make head against them. At the same time, we shall makepreparations against any chance of their coming hither."
This was done. Vast quantities of arrows were prepared, stonescollected and carried up to the points on the wall most exposed toattack; and orders sent out, by the governor of the castle in thePercys' absence, to the people for many miles round, that on theapproach of the Scots all were to retire to refuge, the women andchildren taking to the hills, while the men capable of bearing armswere to hasten to the defence of the castle.
For a time, the Scots carried all before them, wasting and devastatingthe country. Oswald heard that they had captured, without resistance,his father's hold. He rejoiced at the news, for he feared that, notknowing the strength of the invading force, resistance might have beenattempted; in which case all in the hold might have been put to thesword. He had no doubt, now, that his father and mother had retiredwith their followers to the hills, as they had always determined to do,in case of an invasion by a force too strong to resist.
Had the Percys been at home, they might have held out, confident thatthe Scotch would be attacked before they could effect its capture; butas all the northern lords, with their retainers, were away in thesouth, it would be some time before a force could be collected thatcould make head against the Scots.
A portion of the Scottish army laid siege to the castle of Wark, on theTweed. This castle had always played a conspicuous part in the borderwars. It had been besieged and captured by David of Scotland, in thereign of Stephen; and two or three years later was again besieged, butthis time repulsed all attacks. David, after his defeat at the battleof the Standard, resumed the siege. It again repulsed all attacks, butat last was reduced to an extremity by famine, and capitulated.
The castle was demolished by the Scots, but was rebuilt by Henry theSecond. In 1215 it was again besieged, this time by King John, whoresented the defection of the northern barons; and it was captured, andagain destroyed. In 1318 it was captured and destroyed by Robert Bruce.In 1341 it was besieged by David Bruce, but held out until relieved byKing Edward, himself. In 1383 it was again besieged by the Scots, andpart of its fortifications demolished. On the present occasion it wasagain captured, and razed to the ground.
Another portion of the Scottish army, plundering and burning, advancedalong the valley of the Coquet. As they approached, the inhabitants ofthe district round Alnwick began to pour into the castle; but orderswere issued that all the fighting men should join the force of SirRobert Umfraville, the sheriff of the district, who was gathering aforce to give the Scots battle.
"I fear that there is small chance of the Scots making their wayhither," Oswald's instructor said, in lugubrious tones. "Sir Robert isa stout fighter, and the Scots, laden as they must be with booty, andhaving hitherto met with no resistance, will be careless and like to betaken by surprise. Methinks the abbot ought to send off a contingent,to aid Sir Robert."
Oswald laughed.
"I suppose he wants to keep them for more urgent work, and thinks thatthe Church should only fight when in desperate straits. However,Father, you may have an opportunity yet; for we cannot regard it ascertain that Sir Robert will defeat the Scots."
Three days later, however, the news arrived that Sir Robert hadattacked the Scots, at Fulhetlaw, and utterly defeated them; takingprisoner Sir Richard Rutherford and his five sons, together with SirWilliam Stewart, John Turnbull, a noted border reiver, and many others;and that those who had escaped were in full flight for the border.
The Scotch incursion had made no change in Oswald's work. He continuedto study hard with the monk. As a rule, he fully satisfied his teacher;but at times, when he failed to name the letters required to make up acertain sound, the latter lost all patience with him; and, more thanonce, with difficulty restrained himself from striking him. Spelling inthose days, however, had by no means crystallized itself into anydefinite form, and there was so large a latitude allowed that, if theletters used gave an approximate sound to the word, it was deemedsufficient.
The consequence was that Oswald's education progressed at a speed thatwould, in these more rigid days, be deemed impossible. He was intenselyinterested in the work, and even his martial exercises were, for thetime, secondary to it in his thoughts. He felt so deeply grateful tohis instructor that, even if he had struck him, he would have cared butlittle. In those days rough knocks were readily given, and the ideathat there was anything objectionable, in a boy being struck, had neverbeen entertained by anyone. Wives were beaten not uncommonly, servantsfrequently; and from the highest to the lowest, corporal punishment wasregarded as the only way to ensure the carrying out of orders.
Oswald was slower in learning to write down the letters than he was toread them. His hands were so accustomed to the rein, the bow, and thesword that they bungled over the work of forming letters. Nevertheless,by the time the Percys returned, three months and a half after hisarrival at the castle, he could both read and write short and simplewords; and as these formed a large proportion of English speech, at thetime, he had made a considerable step in the path of learning, and themonk was highly pleased with his pupil.
"I shall not be able to come tomorrow, Father," he said to the monk,one day. "The earl and Sir Henry will be back tonight, and my unclesays that I must keep near him, tomorrow; so that, if opportunityoffers, he may present me to the knight."
"I feared it would come to that," the monk said.
"I wish they had allstopped away, another three or four months; then you would have gotover your difficulty of piecing together syllables, so as to make up along word. 'Tis a thousand pities that you should stop altogether, justwhen you are getting on so well."
"I will come as often as I can, Father, if you will let me."
"No, no, lad. I know what it is, when the family are at home. It willbe, 'Here, Oswald, ride with such a message;' or Hotspur, himself, maybe going out with a train, and you will have to accompany him. Therewill always be something.
"Indeed, save but for your teaching, it is high time that the Percyswere back again; for there has already been a great deal of hot work,on the border, and report says that the Scots are mustering strongly,and that there is going to be a great raid into Cumberland; so you willbe busy, and so shall I. The lay brothers have made but a poor hand ofit, while I have been busy. I went down in the evening, yesterday, tosee them drill; and it was as much as I could do to prevent myself fromfalling upon them, and giving them a lesson of a different sort.
"As it was, I gave it to their instructor heartily, and was had upbefore the abbot on his complaint, this morning; and am to eat Lentenfare for the next ten days, which accords but ill either with my likingor needs."
In the evening, the courtyard was ablaze with torches as, amid thecheers of the garrison, the Earl of Northumberland and his son rode in,with a strong body of men-at-arms. The greater portion of the followingwith which they had met Henry of Lancaster on his landing, and escortedhim to London, had long since returned to their homes; being releasedfrom service, when it was seen that no opposition was to be looked forfrom the adherents of Richard. The followings of the various nobles andknights of the northern counties had left the main body on the wayhome, and Northumberland had brought with him, to Alnwick, only themen-at-arms who formed the regular force retained under his standard.
Oswald was greatly struck with the splendid appearance, andappointments, of the earl and the knights who attended him, and withthe martial array of his followers. Hitherto, he had seen but theroughest side of war; the arms and armour carried not for show, but foruse, and valued for their strength, without any reference to theirappearance. On the border there was not the smallest attempt atuniformity in appearance, polished armour was regarded with disfavour,and that worn was of the roughest nature, the local armourer's onlyobject being to furnish breast and back pieces that would resist thestrongest spear thrust. Of missiles they made little account, for theScots had but few archers, and their bows were so inferior in strength,to those carried by the English archers, that armour strong enough toresist a spear thrust was amply sufficient to keep out a Scottisharrow.
There was not, even in the array of the Earl of Northumberland'smen-at-arms, any approach to the uniformity that now prevails amongbodies of soldiers. The helmets, breast and back pieces, were, however,of similar form, as the men engaged for continued service werefurnished with armour by the earl; but there was a great variety in thegarments worn under them, these being of all colours, according to thefancy of their wearers. All, however, carried spears of the samelength, while some had swords, and others heavy axes at their girdles.The helmets and armour were all brightly polished, and as the lights ofthe torches flashed from them and from the spearheads; Oswald, for thefirst time, witnessed something of the pomp of war.
His uncle, as captain of the men-at-arms left in the castle, wasinvited to the banquet held after the arrival of the force. Oswald,therefore, was free to wander about among the soldiers, listening totheir talk of what they had seen in London, and of the entertainmentsthere in honour of the new king; exciting, thereby, no small amount ofenvy among those who had been left behind in garrison.
Oswald already knew that the earl had been appointed Constable ofEngland, for life, and now heard that the lordship of the Isle of Manhad since been conferred on him.