< Page:Ivanhoe (1820 Volume 1).pdf
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.

226

IVANHOE.

the due order of chivalry. Stand thou fast in the

meantime—if thou stir again, thou shalt have that will make thee quiet for thy life.—Comrades!" he then said, addressing his gang, "This purse is embroidered with Hebrew characters, and I well believe the yeoman's tale is true. The errant knight, his master, must needs pass us toll-free. He is too like ourselves for us to make booty of him, since dogs should not worry dogs where wolves and foxes are to be found in abundance."

"Like us?" answered one of his gang; "I should like to hear how that is made good." "Why, thou fool," answered the Captain, "is he not poor and disinherited as we are?—Doth ne not win his substance at the sword's point as we do?—Hath he not beaten Front-de-Bœuf and Malvoisin, even as we would beat them if we could? Is he not the enemy to life and death of Brian de Bois-Guilbert, whom we have so much reason to fear? And were all this otherwise, wouldst thou have us show a worse conscience than an unbeliever, an Hebrew Jew?"

This article is issued from Wikisource. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.