So Sir Wilfrid was as disgusted at her readiness to part with him as he
had been weary of staying at home, which caused Wamba the Fool to say,
"Marry, gossip, thou art like the man on ship-board, who, when the
boatswain flogged him, did cry out 'Oh!' wherever the rope's-end fell on
him: which caused Master Boatswain to say, 'Plague on thee, fellow, and
a pize on thee, knave, wherever I hit thee there is no pleasing thee.'"
"And truly there are some backs which Fortune is always belaboring,"
thought Sir Wilfrid with a groan, "and mine is one that is ever sore."
So, with a moderate retinue, whereof the knave Wamba made one, and
a large woollen comforter round his neck, which his wife's own white
fingers had woven, Sir Wilfrid of Ivanhoe left home to join the King his
master. Rowena, standing on the steps, poured out a series of prayers
and blessings, most edifying to hear, as her lord mounted his charger,
which his squires led to the door. "It was the duty of the British
female of rank," she said, "to suffer all--ALL in the cause of her
sovereign. SHE would not fear loneliness during the campaign: she would
bear up against widowhood, desertion, and an unprotected situation."
"My cousin Athelstane will protect thee," said Ivanhoe, with profound
emotion, as the tears trickled down his basenet; and bestowing a chaste
salute upon the steel-clad warrior, Rowena modestly said "she hoped his
Highness would be so kind.
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