tablishment
assembled in the hall, where they took their places at the board
according to their rank. At the upper end was a table raised above the
rest on a dais, for the lord of the castle and his family, with any
guests of distinction that might happen to be present, and below this
was a long oak table extending from it lengthways down the centre of the
hall, in the middle of which stood an enormous salt-cellar, as a sort of
boundary between such as were of gentle birth, and those of lower
degree; the former sitting above, the latter below the salt. The style
of living in those days would appear very uncivilised to us in this more
refined age, for the dishes were set on the board without any cloth, and
the people ate off wooden or pewter plates, and used their fingers
instead of forks, while many of the nobles would have their favourite
hounds beside them, and feed them from the table; for, as the floor was
always thickly strewed with rushes, they did not mind throwing down
pieces of meat to their dogs. However there was always great plenty,
and such a banquet was thought very grand then; and the young Henry de
Clifford, as being the eldest son, was treated with great homage by all
his father's dependents. Often, too, chiefly for his amusement,
mummers, jugglers, and tumblers were allowed to exhibit their
performances in the hall, for he took great delight in such
entertainments, and no indulgence, however costly, was thought too great
for De Clifford's heir, whose pleasure was studied by every member of
the numerous household. It was well for him that his wise and excellent
mother taught him not to be too proud of his exalted rank, or haughty in
his manners to those of humbler grade, but to be courteous and kind to
every one, even to the lowest menial, so as to gain the good-will of
all; and, as he was a very docile boy, and moreover believed that nobody
in the world was so good or so beautiful as his own dear mother, he did
not fail to profit by her gentle precepts, and become all that she could
wish. Poor boy! he little dreamed then how greatly he would stand in
need of a humble spirit, or what a sad reverse of fortune he was
destined soon to experience.

His good nurse Maud had left to go to her own home at Skipton, where she
married a shepherd belonging to the estate, and after her departure
Henry was much more with his mother, who had begun to instruct him in
such branches of learning as were considered e