The Waverley novels, by Sir Walter Scott, complete in 12 vol., printed from the latest English ed., embracing the author's last corrections, prefaces & notes.

48 WAVERLEY NOVELS.
had been when it sent its huge fires blazing up the huge chimney, besides
puffing many a volume of smoke over the heads of the jovial guests, whose
royalty or nobility did not render them sensitive enough to quarrel with
such slight inconvenience. On these occasions, it was the tradition of the
house, that two cart-loads of wood was the regular allowance for the fire
between noon and curfew, and the andirons, or dogs, as they were termed,
constructed for retaining the blazing firewood on the hearth, were wrought
in the shape of lions of such gigantic size as might well warrant the
legend. There were long seats of stone within the chimney, where, in
despite of the tremendous heat, monarchs were sometimes said to have
taken their station, and amused themselves with broiling the umbles, or
dowsets, of the deer, upon the glowing embers, with their own royal hands,
when happy the courtier who was invited to taste the royal cookery.
Tradition was here also ready with her record, to show what merry gibes,
such as might be exchanged between prince and peer, had flown about at
the jolly banquet which followed the Michaelmas hunt. She could tell,
too, exactly, where King Stephen sat when he darned his own princely
hose, and knew most of the odd tricks he had put upon little Winkin, the
tailor of Woodstock.
Most of this rude revelry belonged to the Plantagenet times. When the
house of Tudor ascended to the throne, they were more chary of their royal
presence, and feasted in halls and chambers far within, abandoning the
outmost hall to the yeomen of the guard, who mounted their watch there,
and passed away the night with wassail and mirth, exchanged sometimes
for frightful tales of apparitions and sorceries, which made some of those
grow pale, in whose ears the trumpet of a French foeman would have
sounded as jollily as a summons to the woodland chase.
Joceline pointed out the peculiarities of the place to his gloomy companion
more briefly than we have detailed them to the reader. The Independent
seemed to listen with some interest at first, but, flinging it suddenly aside,
he said in a solemn tone, " Perish, Babylon, as thy master Nebuchadnezzar
hath perished! He is a wanderer, and thou shalt be a waste place - yea,
and a wilderness - yea, a desert of salt, in which there shall be thirst and
famine."
"There is like to be enough of both to-night," said Joceline, "unless the
good knight's larder be somewhat fuller than it is wont."
" We must care for the creature-comforts," said the Independent, " but in
due season, when our duties are done. Whither lead these entrances?"
" That to the right," replied the keeper, "leads to what are called the
state-apartments, not used since the year sixteen hundred and thirty-nine,
when his blessed Majesty" —
" Iow, sir!" interrupted the Independent, in a voice of thunder, "dost
thou speak of Charles Stewart as blessing, or blessed? - beware the proclamation to that effect."
" I meant no harm," answered the keeper, suppressing his disposition to
make a harsher reply. " My business is with bolts and bucks, not with
titles and state affairs. But yet, whatever may have happed since, that poor
King was followed with blessings enough from Woodstock, for he left a glove
full of broad pieces for the poor of the place""Peace, friend," said the Independent; "I will think thee else one of
those besotted and blinded Papists, who hold, that bestowing of alms is an
atonement and washing away of the wrongs and oppressions which have
been wrought by the almsgiver. Thou sayest, then, these were the apartments of Charles Stewart?"
"And of his father, James, before him, and Elizabeth, before him, and
bluff King Henry, who builded that wing, before them all."
"And there, I suppose, the knight and his daughter dwelt?"
" No," replied Joceline;- " Sir Henry Lee had too much reverence for