第56章

``Afetterlockandshackleboltazure，’’saidIvanhoe；

``Iknownotwhomaybearthedevice，butwellIweenitmightnowbemineown。Canstthounotseethemotto?’’

``Scarcethedeviceitselfatthisdistance，’’repliedRebecca；``butwhenthesunglancesfairuponhisshield，itshowsasItellyou。’’

``Seemtherenootherleaders?’’exclaimedtheanxiousenquirer。

``NoneofmarkanddistinctionthatIcanbeholdfromthisstation，’’saidRebecca；``but，doubtless，theothersideofthecastleisalsoassailed。Theyappearevennowpreparingtoadvance——GodofZion，protectus！——Whatadreadfulsight！——Thosewhoadvancefirstbearhugeshieldsanddefencesmadeofplank；theothersfollow，bendingtheirbowsastheycomeon——Theyraisetheirbows！——

GodofMoses，forgivethecreaturesthouhastmade！’’

Herdescriptionwasheresuddenlyinterruptedbythesignalforassault，whichwasgivenbytheblastofashrillbugle，andatonceansweredbyaflourishoftheNormantrumpetsfromthebattlements，which，mingledwiththedeepandhollowclangofthenakers，(aspeciesofkettle-drum，)retortedinnotesofdefiancethechallengeoftheenemy。

Theshoutsofbothpartiesaugmentedthefearfuldin，theassailantscrying，``SaintGeorgeformerryEngland！’’andtheNormansansweringthemwithloudcriesof``_EnavantDeBracy！——

Beau-seant！Beau-seant！——Front-de-Buflarescousse！’’accordingtothewar-criesoftheirdifferentcommanders。

Itwasnot，however，byclamourthatthecontestwastobedecided，andthedesperateeffortsoftheassailantsweremetbyanequallyvigorousdefenceonthepartofthebesieged。Thearchers，trainedbytheirwoodlandpastimestothemosteffectiveuseofthelong-bow，shot，tousetheappropriatephraseofthetime，so``whollytogether，’’thatnopointatwhichadefendercouldshowtheleastpartofhisperson，escapedtheircloth-yardshafts。Bythisheavydischarge，whichcontinuedasthickandsharpashail，while，notwithstanding，everyarrowhaditsindividualaim，andflewbyscorestogetheragainsteachembrasureandopeningintheparapets，aswellasateverywindowwhereadefendereitheroccasionallyhadpost，ormightbesuspectedtobestationed，——bythissustaineddischarge，twoorthreeofthegarrisonwereslain，andseveralotherswounded。

But，confidentintheirarmourofproof，andinthecoverwhichtheirsituationafforded，thefollowersofFront-de-Buf，andhisallies，showedanobstinacyindefenceproportionedtothefuryoftheattackandrepliedwiththedischargeoftheirlargecross-bows，aswellaswiththeirlong-bows，slings，andothermissileweapons，tothecloseandcontinuedshowerofarrows；and，astheassailantswerenecessarilybutindifferentlyprotected，didconsiderablymoredamagethantheyreceivedattheirhand。

Thewhizzingofshaftsandofmissiles，onbothsides，wasonlyinterruptedbytheshoutswhicharosewheneithersideinflictedorsustainedsomenotableloss。

``AndImustlieherelikeabedriddenmonk，’’

exclaimed