Thou must be
perfect in it by this time, or, as our yeomen say, thy bow is
broken."
The anxious eye of the minstrel, however, dwelt on Edith, and it
was not till he observed her returning colour that he obeyed the
repeated commands of the King. Then, accompanying his voice with
the harp, so as to grace, but yet not drown, the sense of what he
sung, he chanted in a sort of recitative one of those ancient
adventures of love and knighthood which were wont of yore to win
the public attention. So soon as he began to prelude, the
insignificance of his personal appearance seemed to disappear,
and his countenance glowed with energy and inspiration. His
full, manly, mellow voice, so absolutely under command of the
purest taste, thrilled on every ear and to every heart. Richard,
rejoiced as after victory, called out the appropriate summons for
silence,
"Listen, lords, in bower and hall;"
while, with the zeal of a patron at once and a pupil, he arranged
the circle around, and hushed them into silence; and he himself
sat down with an air of expectation and interest, not altogether
unmixed with the gravity of the professed critic.
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