"Nay, child," said his mother, stroking the glossy, waving hair of her son, who had doffed his cap the moment he entered his parents’ presence, "nay, child, ’tis naught but the old wound thy father hath gotten at Barnet grieveth him to-night." "May-be, may-be, fair wife," said the old knight, who always called his lady "fair," although she was certainly considerably past the age when any claims to fairness might reasonably be supposed to have been surrendered; but in his eyes she was always fair. "Perchance ’tis naught; but my mind misgiveth me, and I would fain talk gravely to my sons to-night. If God wills that I should live, well and good--if not, well and good too; leastways, I shall have settled matters aright before I go hence." "But, father, thou hast not looked at my falcon that thou gavest me. See what a long hawk it is; and what a gay lune Brother Anselm hath put on it." "Ay, marry, fair son, ’tis a fine bird, and will spring a partridge rarely, I’ll venture. Thou must fly her to-morrow--there’s many a gagylling of geese, or sord of mallards, down Chute Forest way." "Certes, father, I’ll e’en try her at a heron first." At this moment another step was heard outside, and two other boys came in; one a good deal older, and the other a year younger than Ralph. "Well, Ralph, what hast got there?" said the elder, coming up and looking at the bird. "Marry she’s a fine hawk, but I’d rather have had a falcon gentil." "Ay, ay, and pay twenty shillings for it, let alone the toll of forty shillings in bringing of her into the kingdom." "Nay, thou mightest have gotten one cheap from old Simon Bridle. He knows where all the best birds are to be got--all through the country side--" "Nay, Jasper, why dost try to put the lad out of countenance with his pretty bird? Thou knowest she is a good bird, and thou wouldst be glad enough to have her thyself," said his mother. "Now leave we this talk of the gerfalcon, and sithen you are all here, and ’tis yet half an hour to supper, let me hear what you, my sons, would wish to do after I am dead and gone. Jasper, you are the eldest, to you will fall my Bailiwick of Chute Forest, my manors of Chute, Holt, and Thruxton, and many other fair lands. Now wouldst thou go to the court, and seek to increase thy estate, as did thy great-grandfather Sir John Lisle of blessed memory, or wouldst thou stay at home, and take place and rank in thine own county?" The eldest son took little time to answer, but replied respectfully,-- "I would fain stay at home and care for you and my lady mother, and mind the fair lands God and my ancestors have left me." "Then, my son, as God wills it, and you have chosen, so be it, and may God’s blessing and thy parents’ be upon thee. Now, Ralph, my son, what willest thou?" The young boy hesitated. He looked at his mother, and then down, and finally, raising his eyes with a keen light of joyous but rather shy determination said,--