"That is a pity," the girl said gravely, "for the vows of knighthood
make a knight courteous and gentle to enemies and friends alike."

"Or rather, Agnes," her mother put in, "they should do so; but in
truth, looking round at the cruel wars we have had in Normandy, I
do not see that men have been more gentle or courteous than they
would have been had they never taken the vows or had knightly spurs
buckled on; and in truth it seems to me from the news of what has
taken place beyond the sea, that in the civil troubles they have
had in England men are much more gentle with each other, and foes
are far more easily reconciled than with us in Normandy, who are
supposed to be bound by the laws of chivalry. Had our duke been
cast upon the shores of England as Harold has been cast upon that
of Ponthieu, I think that he would not have been so dishonourably
treated by one of the English thanes as Harold has been by Count
Conrad. When Godwin and his sons returned from the exile into which
they had been driven, and again became all powerful, there was not,
as I have heard from your father, a single drop of blood shed, nor
any vengeance taken upon the men who had brought about their exile.
It would have been very different had such things happened here."

"You speak rightly, wife. The English are of a more gentle disposition
than we are, though nowise backward in battle. But now, Guy, it
is time that you were returning. You have already made a longer
stay than usual. I shall see you again to-morrow when we start for
Eu. Young sirs, I hope that on your return you will often ride over
here when your lord does not require you. We shall always be pleased
to see you, and although the forest lies some miles away, Guy can
show you good hunting, though not so good as that which, as I hear,
you can get in England, where the population is not so thick as it