"
"I shall be glad, indeed, to do so," Oswald said modestly. "I know that
I am very ignorant of real swordsmanship, and the men-at-arms have me
quite at their mercy, when they insist upon my not shifting my ground.
At home, I have only practised with my father's troopers, and we always
fight on foot, and with stout sticks instead of swords, and without
defences save our head pieces; but fighting in knightly fashion I knew
nothing of, until I came here."
"You will soon acquire that, lad. With your strength of arm, length of
wind, quickness of eye, and activity, you will make a famous swordsman,
in time.
"Ah! Here is Sir Henry."
"Have you been trying the lad's metal?" Hotspur asked, as he saw Oswald
in the act of taking off his steel cap. Marsden had already done so.
"That have we, Sir Henry, and find it as of proof. Marsden here, who is
no mean blade, has taken him in hand; and the lad has more than held
his own against him, not so much by swordsmanship as by activity, and
wind. It was a curious contest. Marsden compared Oswald to a wildcat,
and the comparison was not an ill one; for, indeed, his springs and
leaps were so rapid and sudden that it was difficult to follow him, and
the fight was like one between such an animal, and a hound.
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