to wear sable and ermine, velvet dresses, pearls in their hair,
and precious stones round their necks. The love and tenderness of her
nature frequently gave elevation to her countenance and manners; but in
those days, both in the homes of the nobles and in the courts of
princes, much was considered decorous and was permitted to women of the
highest character in familiar conversation which now would be condemned
as unseemly in the wife of a common labourer.

The daily life of the landed proprietor is one of idleness or wild
excitement. The hunting is certainly excellent. Where the forest has
not been laid waste by the reckless stroke of the axe, grow the stately
trees of the primeval wood; the howl of the wolf is still heard in the
winter nights; the hunters sally forth on horseback, with spear and
cross-bow, against beasts of prey, stags, roedeer, and the wild boar,
and all adopt the habits of the rough hunters. But whilst hunting, even
in his own wood, every one must be provided with weapons against other
foes than the wolf and the boar. There are few hunting-grounds
concerning which there is not some quarrel with a neighbour or feudal
lord, who often claims the right of following the chase up to the
squire's castle; the squire is also set at defiance by the peasants of
the nearest village, whose crops have been laid waste by the stag and
the boar, and who hates the master of the castle for having beaten or
thrown him into prison for crossing the path of the chase; and not
unfrequently an arrow whistles through the darkness of the wood with
other aim than a wild animal; or an armed band breaks through a
clearing, and then begins a race for freedom and life. We will suppose
the game to be brought home and cut up in the castle yard; then follows
the banquet, with endless drinking of healths and wild revelry, and
seldom a night passes without the whole party breaking up in a state of
intoxication. Drunkenness was at this time a national evil, prostrating
alike the powers of princes, nobles, and people. The guests at the hunt
and the banquet are of the same rank as their host--some are old
cavaliers, constantly swearing, and relating anecdotes of the knightly
feats they have performed in the greenwood against the traders and
townspeople; others a younger race, hangers-on of the great feudal
lords, who proudly wear the gold-laced caps given by these lords to
their vassals.

Thus the week passes away. On Sunday it is consid