In an instant Philipson
was again mounted, when, seizing a battle-axe which hung at the
saddle-bow of his new steed, he struck down the staggering sentinel,
who was endeavouring again to seize upon him. The whole troop then
rode off at a gallop, for the alarm began to grow general in the
village; some soldiers were seen coming out of their quarters, and
others were beginning to get on horseback. Before Schreckenwald and
his party had ridden a mile, they heard more than once the sound of
bugles; and when they arrived upon the summit of an eminence
commanding a view of the village, their leader, who, during the
retreat, had placed himself in the rear of his company, now halted to
reconnoitre the enemy they had left behind them. There was bustle and
confusion in the street, but there did not appear to be any pursuit;
so that Schreckenwald followed his route down the river, with speed
and activity indeed, but with so much steadiness at the same time, as
not to distress the slowest horse of his party.
[At length, father and son reach Strasburg, where they deliver their
mission to Charles the Bold; and with vol. iii. commences quite a
different cast of characters.
In the cathedral at Strasburg, Philipson and his son meet with
Margaret of Anjou, and the interview between the exiled Queen, and as
we should now call Philipson, the Earl of Oxford, and his son, is one
of the most interesting scenes in the whole work; for there is a tinge
of melancholy in fallen royalty which is always extremely touching:]
There was a pause.
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