"Yes, indeed. There would have been no occasion to hide in the woods
then. With our light weight on their backs they would have made
nothing of the journey."

"You must not expect to see a castle," De Burg said presently,
"though I call it one. In his early days the duke set himself to
destroy the great majority of castles throughout Normandy, for as
you know he had no little trouble with his nobles, and held that
while the strength of these fortresses disposes men to engage either
in civil war or in private feuds with each other, they were of no
avail against the enemies of the country. My father, who is just
the age of the duke, was his loyal follower from the first, and of
his free will levelled his walls as did many others of the duke's
friends, in the first place because it gave the duke pleasure, and
in the second because, had only the castles of those opposed to the
duke been destroyed, there would have been such jealousy and animosity
on the part of their owners that matters would never have quieted
down in the country. Thus it is that throughout the land you will
find but few castles remaining. The nobles felt it strange at first
to be thus dwelling in houses undefended against attack, but they
soon learnt that it was far more convenient than to be shut up
within massive walls, and the present dwellings are much larger and
more comfortable than those of former days. The duke said rightly
that the abolition of fortresses well-nigh doubled his fighting
power, for that so many men were required to garrison them as to
greatly diminish the number their lords could take with them into
the field. You do not have castles in England, do you?"

"No, we live in open houses, and hold that it is far better and