The
earl my father offered him knighthood, but he said bluntly that he
preferred remaining, like his father, plain John Forster of Yardhope.
The lad's mother is a daughter of Sir Walter Gillespie, and he is
nephew of Alwyn, captain of the men-at-arms here.
"He knows every foot of the border, its morasses, fells, and passes;
and will prove a valuable messenger, when I have occasion to send
orders to the border knights and yeomen. I have attached him to my
household. You will find him intelligent, and active. He comes of a
fighting stock; and will, I foresee, do no discredit to them in the
future. I hesitated whether I should place him with the pages or with
you, and have decided that, with your goodwill, he will be far more
comfortable in your society, if you consent to receive him."
"We will do so willingly, on such recommendation," the senior of the
esquires said; "as well as for the sake of his brave uncle, whom we all
respect and like, and of his valiant father. The addition of young
blood to our party will, indeed, not be unwelcome; and while,
perchance, he may learn something from us, he will assuredly be able to
tell us much that is new of the doings on the border, of which nothing
but vague reports have reached our ears.
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