第 18 页

ordinary cases you would not have been sworn to thane's services for some

years to come; but, as Earl of Wessex, I see good reason for departing from

the rule on this occasion, and I think that my thanes here will all be of

that opinion." There was a warm expression of approval from the Saxons.

"Then as soon as we set foot on English soil we will hold a court, and

invest you with your full rank."

They started from the mouth of the Seine, and as there was no nearer port

than that from which they had sailed, Harold directed the masters of the

ships to make for Bosham.

"It is like to be a fairer voyage than the last," he said, as with a light

breeze blowing behind them they sailed out from the mouth of the Seine. "It

will be longer, but assuredly more pleasant."

No incident whatever marked the voyage. The Saxons gave a shout of joy when

they first made out the outline of the hills of the Isle of Wight, some

twelve hours after leaving the mouth of the river; but it was not until

eight hours afterwards that they entered the harbour of Bosham. As soon as

the two Norman vessels were seen sailing up the quiet sheet of water,

everywhere fringed with forest, boats put out to meet them, to ascertain

the reason of their coming and to inquire for news of Harold and his

companions. As soon as his figure was made out standing on the poop, one of

the boats rowed off with the news, and by the time the vessels dropped

anchor off Bosham the whole of the inhabitants had gathered on the shore,

with loud shouts of joy and welcome.

As soon as they landed Harold and his companions proceeded at once to the

church, where a solemn service of thanksgiving was held for their

preservation from the dangers of the sea and for their safe return to

England. As soon as the service was over Harold sent off two horsemen to

bear to the king the news of his return, and to state that he himself would

ride to London on the following day. Then the earl bestowed handsome

presents upon the masters and crews of the ships that had brought them

over, and gave into their charge hawks and hounds, rich armour, and other

presents for the Duke of Normandy, and jewelled cups and other gifts to the

principal barons of his court.

The gifts were indeed of royal magnificence; but Harold's wealth was vast,

and, as he said to his brother, "We will at least show these Normans, that

in point of generosity an English earl is not to be outdone by a Norman

duke." As soon as these matters were attended to Harold held a court in the

great hall of Bosham, and there received the oaths of fealty from Wulf and

Beorn, and confirmed to them the possessions held by their fathers, and

invested them with the gold chains worn by thanes as the sign of their

rank. He afterwards bestowed a purse of gold upon Osgod, equal in value to

the one he had received from the Duke of Normandy.

"Should aught ever happen to your master," he said, "come you to me and you

shall be one of my own men, and shall not lack advancement in my service."

"In faith, Master Wulf," Osgod said after the ceremony, "my father warned

me that the trade of a soldier was but a poor one, and that a good

handicraftsman could gain far more money. He will open his eyes when I

jingle these purses before him, for I might have hammered armour for years

before I gained as much as I have done in the three months since I left

England. I have enough to buy a farm and settle down did it so please me,

and I have clothes enough to last me well-nigh a lifetime, and rings enough

to set up a goldsmith's shop. For scarce one of the duke's barons and

knights but followed his example, and gave me a present for my share in

that little fight with the Bretons."

"As for the clothes, they will always be useful, Osgod; but were I you I

would get a stout leathern bag and put the purses and rings into it, and

bury them in some place known only to yourself, and where none are ever

likely to light upon them. You have no occasion for money now, and we may

hope that ere long all occasion for fighting will be over, and then, as you

say, you can buy a farm and marry."

"I am going always to remain your man," Osgod said in an aggrieved tone.

"Certainly, Osgod, I should wish for nothing else. You will always be my

friend, and shall have any post on the estates or in the house that you may

prefer. There will be no occasion for you to farm your land yourself, you

can let it, receiving the value of half the produce, and so taking rank as

a landowner, for which you yourself may care nothing, but which will enable

your wife to hold her head higher."

"I am not thinking of wives, my lord."

"Nonsense, Osgod, I want not to be called my lord."

"But you are a thane now and must be called so," Osgod said sternly; "and

it would be ill-becoming indeed if I your man did not so address you. But I

will take your advice about the gold, and when I get down to Steyning will

bury it deeply under the roots of a tree. It will be safer there than if I

buried it in my father's forge, for London is ever the centre of troubles,

and might be sacked and burnt down should there ever be war between Mercia

or Northumbria and Wessex."

"Heaven forbid that we should have more civil wars, Osgod."

"Amen to that, but there is never any saying. Assuredly Edwin and Morcar

love not our earl, and as to Tostig, though he is his brother, he is

hot-headed and passionate enough to play any part. And then there are the

Normans, and there is no doubt the duke will have to be reckoned with.

Altogether methinks my money will be safer under an oak-tree down at

Steyning than at Westminster."

"You are right enough there, Osgod; by all means carry out your ideas. But

there is the bell for supper, and I must go."

The next morning the party started at daybreak, and late that night arrived

at Westminster. There were great rejoicings in London and throughout the

south of England when it was known that the great earl had returned from

Normandy. Much uneasiness had been felt at his long absence, and although

accounts had come from time to time of the honour with which he had been

treated by Duke William, many felt that his prolonged stay was an enforced

one, and that he was a prisoner rather than a guest of the duke.

The king himself was as rejoiced as his subjects at Harold's return.

Although in the early years of his reign he had been bitterly opposed to

the powerful family of Earl Godwin, to whom he owed his throne, he had of

late years learnt to appreciate the wisdom of Harold; and although still

Norman in his tastes as in his language, he had become much more English at

heart, and bitterly regretted the promise that he had years before rashly

given to the Duke of Normandy.

Harold too had relieved him of all the cares of government, which he hated,

and had enabled him to give his whole time and thought to religious

exercises, and to the rearing of the splendid abbey which was his chief

pleasure and pride. In his absence Edward had been obliged to attend to

state business. He was worried with the jealousies and demands of the Earl

of Mercia, with the constant complaints of the Northumbrians against their

harsh and imperious master Tostig, and by the fact that the Welsh were

taking advantage of the absence of Harold to cause fresh troubles. It was

just Christmas when Harold returned, and the snow fell heavily on the night

of his arrival at Westminster.

"It was lucky it did not come a few hours earlier, Beorn," Wulf said, as he

looked out of the casement. "We had a long and heavy ride yesterday, and we

could not have done it in one day had the snow been on the ground. I

suppose there will be a number of court festivities over Harold's return.

We have had enough of that sort of thing in Normandy, and I hope that

Harold will let us return at once to our estates."

"Speak for yourself, Wulf; for myself I love the court, and now that I am a

thane I shall enjoy it all the more."

"And I all the less," Wulf said. "Fifteen months ago we were but pages and

could at least have some fun, now we shall have to bear ourselves as men,

and the ladies of the court will be laughing at us and calling us the

little thanes, and there will be no getting away and going round to the

smithy to watch Osgod's father and men forging weapons. It will be all very

stupid."

In a short time an attendant summoned them to breakfast, and here they sat

down with the other thanes, Harold's wing of the palace being distinct from

that of the king. The earl sat at the head of the table, and talked in

undertones to his brother Gurth and two or three of his principal thanes.

The personal retainers of the nobles stood behind their seats and served

them with food, while Harold's pages waited on him and those sitting next

to him.

"We were a merrier party in the pages' room," Beorn whispered to Wulf, for

but few words were spoken as the meal went on.

"I think there is something in the air," Wulf said, "the earl looks more

serious than usual. Generally the meals are cheerful enough."

As soon as it was finished Harold said, "The king will receive you all in

half an hour, he desires to express to you his pleasure at your return

home. After that I beg that you will again gather here, as I have occasion

to speak to you."

The court was a more formal one than usual, the king's Norman functionaries

were all present as were several ecclesiastics. Among them the Bishop of

London, behind whom stood Wulf's old adversary, Walter Fitz-Urse. Earl

Harold introduced his companions in captivity, the king receiving them very

graciously.

"I am glad to see that you have all returned safely," he said. "The earl

tells me that you have all borne yourselves well in the battles you have

fought under the banner of my friend and ally Duke William of Normandy, and

that you have proved to his countrymen that the English are in no whit

inferior to themselves in courage. The earl specially recommended to me his

newly-made thanes, Wulf of Steyning and Beorn of Fareham, who did him the

greatest service by effecting their escape from the castle of Beaurain, and

at great risk bearing the news of his imprisonment to Duke William. Wulf

of Steyning, he tells me, gained the highest approval of the duke and his

knights by a deed of bravery when their camp was surprised by the Bretons.

The earl has informed me that in consideration of these services he has

advanced them to the rank of thanes, and confirmed them in their father's

possessions, and as service rendered to him is service rendered to me, I

thus bestow upon them a token of my approval;" and beckoning to the young

thanes to advance, he took two heavy gold bracelets from his arm, and

himself fastened them on those of the kneeling lads.

When the ceremony was over, Harold's party returned to the room where they

had breakfasted. It was an hour before the earl joined them.

"I have been in council with the king," he said, "and have thus been forced

to keep you waiting. We heard when abroad that the Welsh were again

becoming troublesome, but I find that matters are much worse than I had

supposed. Griffith has broken out into open rebellion; he has ravaged all

the borders, has entered the diocese of Wulfstan, the new Bishop of

Worcester, and carried his arms beyond the Severn, laying waste part of my

own earldom of Hereford. Edwin, who has just succeeded his father in the

earldom of Worcester, is young and new to his government, and, moreover,

his father was an ally of Griffith's. In any case, he needs far larger

forces than those at his command to undertake a war with the Welsh. This

time we must finish with them; treaties are of no avail they are ever

broken on the first opportunity, and a blow must be dealt that will render

them powerless for harm for generations to come.

"Therefore the king has commissioned me forthwith to act in the matter, not

only as Lord of Hereford but as Earl of the West Saxons. Winter is upon us,

and it will be impossible to undertake a regular campaign. Still a blow

must be struck, and that quickly and heavily in order to stop the

depredation and ruin they are spreading in the west counties. The

preparations must be secret and the blow sudden. There is no time for

calling out levies, that must be done in the spring. I must act only with

mounted men. I have already sent off a messenger to Bosham to bid my

housecarls mount and ride to Salisbury. They will number two hundred. I

pray you all to leave at once for your estates, or to send an order by a

swift messenger for your housecarls to ride to Salisbury, whither I myself

shall proceed in three days. Will each of you give me the tale of the

number of armed men who can take horse at an hour's notice."

Each of those present gave the number of housecarls in his service, and

they all expressed their willingness to ride themselves, in order to get

them ready the more speedily. The total mounted to three hundred and fifty

men.

"That with my own two hundred will be well-nigh sufficient," Harold said;

"but I will send off messengers at once to some of the thanes of Dorset and

Somerset to join us at Gloucester with their men, so that we shall be fully

a thousand strong, which will be ample for my purpose. I need not impress

upon you all to preserve an absolute silence as to the object for which you

are calling out your men. News spreads fast, and an incautious word might

ruin our enterprise. There is no occasion for you all to accompany your

men. Those of you who have been with me in Normandy will doubtless desire

to stay for a while with your wives and families, and you may do equally

good service by making preparations there for a more serious campaign in

the spring. I beg these to send with their housecarls a trusted officer,

and bid him place himself and his men under my orders."