attempted to marshal
the spectators into order, Montreal rode his charger round the sward,
forcing it into various caracoles, and exhibiting, with the vanity that
belonged to him, his exquisite and practised horsemanship.

At length, Adrian, his visor down, rode slowly into the green space,
amidst the cheers of his party. The two Knights, at either end, gravely
fronted each other; they made the courtesies with their lances, which,
in friendly and sportive encounters, were customary; and, as they thus
paused for the signal of encounter, the Italians trembled for the honour
of their chief: Montreal's stately height and girth of chest forming a
strong contrast, even in armour, to the form of his opponent, which was
rather under the middle standard, and though firmly knit, slightly and
slenderly built. But to that perfection was skill in arms brought in
those times, that great strength and size were far from being either
the absolute requisites, or even the usual attributes, of the more
celebrated knights; in fact, so much was effected by the power and the
management of the steed, that a light weight in the rider was often
rather to his advantage than his prejudice: and, even at a later period,
the most accomplished victors in the tourney, the French Bayard and the
English Sydney, were far from remarkable either for bulk or stature.

Whatever the superiority of Montreal in physical power, was, in much,
counterbalanced by the inferiority of his horse, which, though a
thick-built and strong Calabrian, had neither the blood, bone, nor
practised discipline of the northern charger of the Roman. The shining
coat of the latter, coal black, was set off by a scarlet cloth wrought
in gold; the neck and shoulders were clad in scales of mail; and from
the forehead projected a long point, like the horn of an unicorn, while
on its crest waved a tall plume of scarlet and white feathers. As the
mission of Adrian to Naples was that of pomp and ceremony to a court of
great splendour, so his array and retinue were befitting the occasion
and the passion for show that belonged to the time; and the very bridle
of his horse, which was three inches broad, was decorated with gold, and
even jewels. The Knight himself was clad in mail, which had tested the
finest art of the celebrated Ludovico of Milan; and, altogether, his
appearance was unusually gallant and splendid, and seemed still more so
beside the plain but brightly polished and artfully flex