"
"As good a dog as in the forest--good for what?"
"For hunting."
"Then you acknowledge that you do hunt?"
"I acknowledge nothing for Jacob Armitage; he may answer for himself,"
replied Edward; "but allow me to assure you that if he has killed
venison, no one can blame him."
"Perhaps you will explain why?"
"Nothing is more easy. Jacob Armitage served King Charles, who
employed him as a verderer in the forest, and paid him his wages.
Those who should not have done so rebelled against the king, took his
authority from him, and the means of paying those he employed. They
were still servants of the king, for they were not dismissed; and,
having no other means of support, they considered that their good
master would be but too happy that they should support themselves by
killing, for their subsistence, that venison which they could no
longer preserve for him without eating some themselves."
"Then you admit that Jacob Armitage has killed the deer in the
forest?"
"I admit nothing for Jacob Armitage."
"You admit that you have killed it yourself."
"I shall not answer that question, sir; in the first place, I am not
here to criminate myself; and, in the next, I must know by what
authority you have the right to inquire.
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