Page 297 - the-merry-adventures-of-robin-hood

from which hung velvet banners heavy with rich work-
ings of silver and gold thread. Behind these came stout
King Henry upon a dapple-gray stallion, with his Queen
beside him upon a milk-white palfrey. On either side of
them walked the yeomen of the guard, the bright sunlight
flashing from the polished blades of the steel halberds they
carried. Behind these came the Court in a great crowd, so
that presently all the lawn was alive with bright colors, with
silk and velvet, with waving plumes and gleaming gold,
with flashing jewels and sword hilts; a gallant sight on that
bright summer day.
Then all the people arose and shouted, so that their voic-
es sounded like the storm upon the Cornish coast, when the
dark waves run upon the shore and leap and break, surging
amid the rocks; so, amid the roaring and the surging of the
people, and the waving of scarfs and kerchiefs, the King and
Queen came to their place, and, getting down from their
horses, mounted the broad stairs that led to the raised plat-
form, and there took their seats on two thrones bedecked
with purple silks and cloths of silver and of gold.
When all was quiet a bugle sounded, and straightway the
archers came marching in order from their tents. Fortys-
core they were in all, as stalwart a band of yeomen as could
be found in all the wide world. So they came in orderly fash-
ion and stood in front of the dais where King Henry and
his Queen sat. King Henry looked up and down their ranks
right proudly, for his heart warmed within him at the sight
of such a gallant band of yeomen. Then he bade his herald
Sir Hugh de Mowbray stand forth and proclaim the rules

The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood