Wide open were the windows,and the scents of the fragrant night floated in upon us,and the sounds of the men at their meat or making merry about the township;and whiles we heard the gibber of an owl from the trees westward of the church,and the sharp cry of a blackbird made fearful by the prowling stoat,or the far-off lowing of a cow from the upland pastures;or the hoofs of a horse trotting on the pilgrimage road (and one of our watchers would that be).
Thus we sat awhile,and once again came that feeling over me of wonder and pleasure at the strange and beautiful sights,mingled.
with the sights and sounds and scents beautiful indeed,yet not strange,but rather long familiar to me.
But now Will Green started in his seat where he sat with his daughter hanging over his chair,her hand amidst his thick black curls,and she weeping softly,I thought;and his rough strong voice broke the silence.
"Why,lads and neighbours,what ails us?If the knights who fled from us this eve were to creep back hither and look in at the window,they would deem that they had slain us after all,and that we were but the ghosts of the men who fought them.Yet,forsooth,fair it is at whiles to sit with friends and let the summer night speak for us and tell us its tales.But now,sweetling,fetch the mazer and the wine.""Forsooth,"said John Ball,"if ye laugh not over-much now,ye shall laugh the more on the morrow of to-morrow,as ye draw nearer to the play of point and edge.""That is sooth,"said one of the upland guests."So it was seen in France when we fought there;and the eve of fight was sober and the morn was merry.""Yea,"said another,"but there,forsooth,it was for nothing ye fought;and to-morrow it shall be for a fair reward.""It was for life we fought,"said the first.
"Yea,"said the second,"for life;and leave to go home and find the lawyers at their fell game.Ho,Will Green,call a health over the cup!"For now Will Green had a bowl of wine in his hand.He stood up and said:"Here,now,I call a health to the wrights of Kent who be turning our plough-shares into swords and our pruning-hooks into spears!Drink around,my masters!"Then he drank,and his daughter filled the bowl brimming again and he passed it to me.As I took it I saw that it was of light polished wood curiously speckled,with a band of silver round it,on which was cut the legend,"In the name of the Trinity fill the cup and drink to me."And before I drank,it came upon me to say,"To-morrow,and the fair days afterwards!"Then I drank a great draught of the strong red wine,and passed it on;and every man said something over it,as "The road to London Bridge!""Hob Carter and his mate!"and so on,till last of all John Ball drank,saying:
"Ten years hence,and the freedom of the Fellowship!"Then he said to Will Green:"Now,Will,must I needs depart to go and wake the dead,both friend and foe in the church yonder;and whoso of you will be shriven let him come to me thither in the morn,nor spare for as little after sunrise as it may be.And this our friend and brother from over the water of Thames,he hath will to talk with me and I with him;so now will I take him by the hand:and so God keep you,fellows!"I rose to meet him as he came round the head of the table,and took his hand.Will Green turned round to me and said:
"Thou wilt come back again timely,old lad;for betimes on the morrow must we rise if we shall dine at Rochester."I stammered as I yea-said him;for John Ball was looking strangely at me with a half-smile,and my heart beat anxiously and fearfully:but we went quietly to the door and so out into the bright moonlight.
I lingered a little when we had passed the threshold,and looked back at the yellow-lighted window and the shapes of the men that I saw therein with a grief and longing that I could not give myself a reason for,since I was to come back so soon.John Ball did not press me to move forward,but held up his hand as if to bid me hearken.The folk and guests there had already shaken themselves down since our departure,and were gotten to be reasonably merry it seemed;for one of the guests,he who had spoken of France before,had fallen to singing a ballad of the war to a wild and melancholy tune.I remember the first rhymes of it,which I heard as I turned away my head and we moved on toward the church:
"On a fair field of France We fought on a morning So lovely as it lieth Along by the water.
There was many a lord there Mowed men in the medley,'Midst the banners of the barons And bold men of the knighthood,And spearmen and sergeants And shooters of the shaft."