"
"Break thy promise, Wilfred? What would thy sainted father say, did
he hear thee? And how dost thou know that he does not hear?"
"If he were here he would exact no such promise, I am sure; he
would not at least make me appear as a coward in outlandish eyes,
and cringe before these proud Frenchmen."
Wilfred used the word Frenchmen with the greatest scorn. He knew
that the Normans scorned the name as much as they did the name
Englishmen, of which their descendants lived to be so proud.
What was this promise which bound the poor lad as in a chain of
iron?
Not on any account to let himself be drawn into a quarrel with
Etienne.
"Thy father would feel as I do, dear son, were he in our place.
Dost thou not see that we poor English only hold our own by
sufferance, and that any pretext upon which they could seize would
be used ruthlessly against us? Yes, thy death might be the result
of any ill-timed quarrel, and thou mightest leave thy mother alone.
Nay, dear, dear son, at least while thy mother lives."
"Oh, how can I?"
"Bear as a Christian, then, if thou canst not as an Englishman. The
time will not be long that I shall live to implore thee."
"Nay, dear mother, surely thou art not ailing."
"Sick unto death, Wilfred, I fear; nay, but for thee I should say,
I hope; for shall I not then rejoin thy dear father in a land where
war and violence are unknown? But for thy sake, dear son, I would
fain live.
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