nd him, and dismissed the serving wenches and
labourers who had gathered round to their own quarters, and indeed
in many cases to their beds; for early hours were all the fashion
in those days. The farmer's wife beckoned her daughter, and went to
prepare for the lodging of their guest; and before very long Paul
found himself in a bed which, however rude according to our
notions, was luxury itself to the weary traveller.

The smith soon saw to his hurts, pronounced them only trifling, and
bound them up as cleverly as a leech would have done. Indeed, he
was the regular doctor for most kinds of hurts, and could practise
the rude surgery of the day with as much success as a more
qualified man.

Paul had been weary enough half-an-hour before, but the good food
he had taken and the hot spiced wine had effectually aroused him.
He was very tough and well seasoned, and although glad enough to
lie still in bed, was not particularly disposed for sleep; and when
the smith was preparing to depart, he begged him to stay a while
longer, and tell him something about the place and about the people
he had come amongst. The worthy man was ready enough to chat,
though he had little notion of imparting information. Still, he
answered questions with frankness, and Paul was able to pick up a
good deal of gossip as to public opinion in those parts and the
feeling of the people round.

But what he heard did not give him pleasure. He had been in the
north when he had heard of Warwick's sudden desertion of the
Yorkist cause, and before he had been able to reach London he had
heard the glad news that Henry of Lancaster was again on the
throne, placed there by the power of the King Maker, who had
dethroned him but a few years back. Glad as Paul was, he yet wished
that any other hand had been the one to place the crown upon the
gentle monarch's head. He could not but distrust Warwick, and he
was eager to learn the feeling of the country, and to know whether
or not the people welcomed back the sovereign so long a captive.

But in this place, at least, it seemed as if there was no pleasure
in Henry's restoration. The smith shook his head, and said he had
no faith in his keeping the crown now he had got it. It seemed as
if the love borne by Londoners to Edward of York had extended as
far as this remote village: the people had been enjoying again,
under the later years of his reign, something of the blessings of
peace, and were loath that their ca