ers, which marked a city of the middle ages, shooting up into the thin clear air, above the crowded roofs of Brussels.

"Soh! Ermold," exclaimed the knight, halting, as he spoke, to allow the boy to draw up abreast of him; "here then at length is Brussels; and look you -to spare time, which of God's truth we do lack sorely-I with all speed shall gallop forward; come on as best thou may, thou'lt find me at the Lion d'Or in the place d'armes. I must purvey myself a destrier, and thee a coat of plate, an' if thou art to be hereafter mine esquire: and fain I would, if it be possible, pick up some two or three strong varlets to ride with us, till such time as my brother Hubert bring up my leading, with the broad banner of our house. We must be on our route again forthwith, so we would save the Chatelaine de Verneuil an onslaught from these cursed Routiers."

"Fear me not, good my lord," replied the youth, coloring high with pleasure, "I will make no delay upon the road, and shall be up, I warrant me, at the Golden Lion, ere you be ready to set onward!"

The knight bowed his head in answer, and slackened the rein of his fiery horse, which tarried not for any further signal, but darted away like an arrow shot from the longbow of an English archer, over rough and smooth, up the long steep ascent, and down the headlong hill, at the same long unvarying gallop. Not once, no, not for a moment, did he lag or falter; not once did he suffer the reins to fall loose from his rider's hand, but straining eagerly against the bit, swept forward with a regular and gentle motion, like that of a bird through the air, and within half an hour stood, without a pant of his deep lungs, or a foam-spot on his housings, before the barbican and moated walls of Brussels.

A few minutes were consumed in parleying with the captain of the burgher guard, who was on duty at the gates; but this ended, no further interruption occurred. So that before he had been an hour absent from the page, the knight was installed in the best chamber of the Lion d'Or, as a well remembered and much honored guest, with a cold capon, and a flagon of Burgundy wine mulled with spices, at his elbow, the jolly landlord assuring him that he had sent for a maquignon, who would speedily furnish him forthwith a charger, such as Duke Philip would himself, God prosper him, be proud to mount in battle; and that by good luck, the Herr Jacob Vanderneer, deacon of the armorer's guild, was taking his nooning down below when his worship dismounted, and that he had departed homeward in some heat to load his journeyman with harness for the good knight's inspection.

For once no mighty discrepance occurred between the promise

and performance, for scarcely was Sir Hugues' appetite appeased, before the trampling of horses in the court, under the windows, summoned him from his seat, to inspect the dealer's cattle. This worthy stimulated by the hope of high prices, and pretty well satisfied, by the great reputation of the Count of Tankerville for an accomplished cavalier, that any of the ordinary tricks of the trade would be on this occasion thrown away,—had brought out in the first instance the flower of his stables; resolving merely to atone for this deviation from ordinary rules, by demanding at least twice the value of each particular animal. There were, indeed, several fine-looking beasts among the dozen or fifteen which were paraded to and fro by the grooms, on the pavements; but one especially caught the baron's eye, as fully capable of supplying the place of his lost Andalusian. It was a tall and powerful black horse, with a white blaze on the face, and one white foot behind; and, as the practised judgment of Sir Hugues at once determined, had no small intermixture of Barbary or Arab blood with the best Flemish strain. The price demanded for this charger, although, after he had nearly kicked out the brains of one groom, and had actually pulled a second out of his saddle with his teeth, and shaken him as a terrier dog would a rat, the dealer admitted him to be a vicious devil - which trait, however, he affected to consider as an advantage, rather than the reverse, to one so famed for horsemanship as the Sieur de Coucy—was even for that age stupendous. Without seeming, however, to consider this, Hugues ordered the black horse to be set aside; and proceeded to select a second, by no means inferior in blood or beauty, though somewhat slighter-made and lower than the. first, which he judged fit to carry Ermold in his new character of Esquire. While he was yet engaged in examining the chestnut, the landlord touched him on the shoulder and presented three tall fellows, whom he declared to be honest lads, well known to himself, two of whom had seen some service, and were eager to be admitted to the preferment of following a lord so faThe first of these, him who had never served, the knight at once rejected; and then, after asking a few questions of the others, he desired the taller of the two, who was likewise the older soldier, to jump up on the black horse, bare-backed as he was, and ride him round the yard. The grooms laughed aloud at the coolness with which the baron gave this order, as though it were the easiest thing in the world, and the maquignon, who was acquainted with the aspirant; cried out, "Have a care- have a care, Giles! for he's as full of tricks, ay! and as stubborn as the fiend!"

mous.

"And if he be the fiend himself I care not, Master Andrew," answered the fellow; "for the foul fiend had to carry Master Michael Scott, as men say, the Scottish magician, across the seas from Salamanca to St. Andrews; and I trow Master Scott could hardly back a destrier with a free lance of Flanders."

And with the words, he strode up to the black charger, and laying his hand on the mane, sprang, almost as it seemed without an effort, to his back. In an instant the fierce brute reared bolt upright, and positively leaped endlong into the air, alighting on the pavement with such violence that sparks of fire flashed from the stones under the dint of his hoofs; and scarce had he alighted before he fell into a succession of plunges, kicking and lounging to and fro like a very devil, but all to no avail; for the trooper sat him as though he had been a portion of the animal, till, having run through all the changes of its vice, it became quiet for a few seconds' space; when he dismounted, and walked back to his place with a well-satisfied smile on his countenance, not in the least out of breath or discomposed by his late exertion.

"Well ridden, Giles," exclaimed the knight; "exceedingly well ridden; now an' thou listest to follow faithfully my banner, thou mayest do well in these wars."

"So please you, Beau Sire," answered the man, "I'll do my best for it; and little doubt to win your favor, if honest bearing and stout blows will win it!"

"That they will, that they will, good fellow," answered Sir Hugues; "never thou fear it! and thou, sir, wilt thou brook the trial, and mount black Sathanas there?" he continued, turning to the younger man.

"I will, Sir Hugues, I will," he answered, humbly; "for I am not afraid; though, to say truth, a man may ride well, and yet not be a match for yon black devil. But I will risk a fall for it. No man shall say Francon van Voorhis sought service with the count of Tankerville, and when he might have gained, lost it for lack of heart."

As he finished speaking, he too crossed the yard, and succeeded in mounting the formidable horse, which immediately resorted to its old tricks -- displaying no small degree of activity and skill in controlling the first plunges. As if, however, he had been but irritated by his rider's efforts to subdue him, snorting and foaming till his black glossy limbs were spotted as if with snow-flakes, the mighty horse dashed to and fro, scattering the grooms like sheep, and at length freeing his head by a violent effort, and yerking out his heels a dozen times in succession, hurled the youth Francon from his back, like a quoit from the VOL. X., No. XLIII.-10

arm of a strong player. Luckily for the man, he fell upon a heap of horse-litter which had been swept out from the inn stables, else had he never moved limb any more!- as it was, he was sorely bruised; yet as he rose, lame and limping, and shook the straws from his doublet, he laughed cheerfully, and said: "Better luck next time, Sieur Horse - thou mayest unseat me, but the fiend's in't if thou canst scare me!" And he made as if he would have tried his fortune again; for he offered to catch the horse, which was careering furiously about the court, no one daring to approach it, but as he did so- "That will do, that will do, my lad," cried the knight--" for one day, at the least. Thou hast done well, and wilt do better yet, I warrant me, ere thou hast followed the Coucy's banner a twelvemonth. Get thee in with thy fellow Giles: and, mine host, give them each a quart of Rhenish, and that presently. We must to horse ere long, - but now to conquer this swart demon, which must be done at once, if we would have him useful." And instantly, as the horse darted past him, he snatched the halter with his right hand, and brought him up with a jerk that threw him, for a moment, on his haunches; then, all armed as he was, in the heaviest panoply of the day, he vaulted to his bare back at a single bound, and plunged the rowels of his gilded spurs up to the head in his flanks. For a few moments the struggle was tremendous; at first t seemed as if no human power or skill could have controlled the frantic efforts of the furious stallion; but as the knight sat firm, baffling each successive plunge, and answering every kick with a corresponding motion of his armed heels, it soon became evident that he must be the master of the day; for, after a while, every plunge was weaker than that which preceded it, and anon, quite baffled and subdued, panting and blown, the proud war-horse stood still. Then the knight wheeled him round, and walked him to and fro, and patted his high crest, drawing off the mailed gauntlet from his hand; and again, pricking him gently with the spur, put him through all his paces, and passaged him around the court, winding him to and fro with the least touch of the rein as gently as a lady's jennet. Then he dismounted; and standing by his head caressed him quietly for a few moments, and then walked away toward the stables of the inn, the conquered destrier following as peaceably behind him, as though he had been the tamest cart-jade in the city. While this strange scene had been in progress, Ermold de Clermont arrived at the inngates, mounted as we have described him, on the bay Arab, and leading the mule loaded with the bard and housings of the baron's horse; and stood in silence looking on the good knight's

prowess till the black stallion was completely vanquished. Then he stepped up to Hugues, and took the bridle of his destrier, and transmitted to the grooms of the hostlery his lord's commands to clean and rub down his new purchase thoroughly, and arm him with the full horse armor and housings, as speedily as might be.

The countenances of the two troopers, who had not yet gone in, having waited to see how their new lord rode, evinced how vastly he had risen in their estimation; and the elder of the two kneeled down before him as he returned from the stables, and said "Hear me swear, Beau Sire, never to swerve or falter, never to turn back from the deadliest brunt of battle, never to draw the rein or sheath the sword, so long as you are in the field before me; for here I vow myself your man, through weal and wo for ever, in life and unto death! For if I leave thy side, while thou art in the field and fighting, or if I die not on thy body when thou liest under shield full knightly, then may my patron-saint desert me in mine utmost need; may good Saint Peter lock heaven's gate against me; and hell receive my soul! For sure thou art the noblest knight, the stoutest leader, the completest champion, that couches spear in Christenty!"

The other, as he perceived his fellow's action, and heard the vow which he uttered, threw himself on his knees beside him, and stretching out his arms, cried with a loud voice, "Me! me! me too! good Knight; hear me, for I swear likewise" - and all the while the big tears rolled down his sunburnt cheek, and he sobbed audibly, so deeply did he feel the responsibility of the service which he was undertaking; till, as Giles finished his speech, he uttered a loud "amen! on my soul be the oath amen !"

A bright gleaming smile played over the animated features of the knight, as he listened to the fervent exclamations, and looked upon the agitated countenances of his followers; for he was in truth well satisfied; knowing that in minds of low and grovelling order there are no springs of such enthusiasm, and arguing thence that these his newly chosen men-at-arms were moulded of the right metal for making chivalrous and gallant soldiers.

"Well spoken, both of ye," he answered; "well spoken, and I thank ye-for't; and if ye be true followers to the Coucy, trust well that he to you will be true lord and loyal; and for the rest, of God's truth, I have seen some service, and, so the good saints prosper me, shall see more ere I die; and if ye list to lay lance in the rest among the foremost, ye shall not long lack opportunity, nor, it may be, advancement. Go in now, go in