I
scarce knew Sir Kenneth of Scotland, till his good hound, that
had been for a short while under my care, came and fawned on me;
and even then I only knew the tyke by the depth of his chest, the
roundness of his foot, and his manner of baying, for the poor
gazehound was painted like any Venetian courtesan."
"Thou art better skilled in brutes than men, De Vaux," said the
King.
"I will not deny," said De Vaux, "I have found them ofttimes the
honester animals. Also, your Grace is pleased to term me
sometimes a brute myself; besides that, I serve the Lion, whom
all men acknowledge the king of brutes."
"By Saint George, there thou brokest thy lance fairly on my
brow," said the King. "I have ever said thou hast a sort of wit,
De Vaux; marry, one must strike thee with a sledge-hammer ere it
can be made to sparkle. But to the present gear--is the good
knight well armed and equipped?"
"Fully, my liege, and nobly," answered De Vaux. "I know the
armour well; it is that which the Venetian commissary offered
your highness, just ere you became ill, for five hundred
byzants.
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