nothing to do, he went about this country performing
charities, slaying robbers, rescuing the distressed, and achieving noble
feats of arms. Dragons and giants existed in his day no more, or be
sure he would have had a fling at them: for the truth is, Sir Wilfrid
of Ivanhoe was somewhat sick of the life which the hermits of Chalus
had restored to him, and felt himself so friendless and solitary that he
would not have been sorry to come to an end of it. Ah, my dear friends
and intelligent British public, are there not others who are melancholy
under a mask of gayety, and who, in the midst of crowds, are lonely?
Liston was a most melancholy man; Grimaldi had feelings; and there are
others I wot of:--but psha!--let us have the next chapter.

CHAPTER V.

IVANHOE TO THE RESCUE.

The rascally manner in which the chicken-livered successor of Richard of
the Lion-heart conducted himself to all parties, to his relatives, his
nobles, and his people, is a matter notorious, and set forth clearly in
the Historic Page: hence, although nothing, except perhaps success, can,
in my opinion, excuse disaffection to the sovereign, or appearance in
armed rebellion against him, the loyal reader will make allowance for
two of the principal personages of this narrative, who will have to
appear in the present chapter in the odious character of rebels to their
lord and king. It must be remembered, in partial exculpation of the
fault of Athelstane and Rowena, (a fault for which they were bitterly
punished, as you shall presently hear,) that the monarch exasperated
his subjects in a variety of ways,--that before he murdered his royal
nephew, Prince Arthur, there was a great question whether he was the
rightful king of England at all,--that his behavior as an uncle, and
a family man, was likely to wound the feelings of any lady and
mother,--finally, that there were palliations for the conduct of Rowena
and Ivanhoe, which it now becomes our duty to relate.

When his Majesty destroyed Prince Arthur, the Lady Rowena, who was one
of the ladies of honor to the Queen, gave up her place at court at once,
and retired to her castle of Rotherwood. Expressions made use of by her,
and derogatory to the character of the sovereign, were carried to the
monarch's ears, by some of those parasites, doubtless, by whom it is
the curse of kings to be attended; and John swore, by St. Peter's teeth,
that he would be revenged upon the haughty Saxon lady,--a kind of o