He
then, being rendered communicative by drink, delivered a long prosy
narrative, the purport of which was as follows. These honest gentlemen
who now dangled here so miserably were all stout men and true, and
lived in the forest by their wits. Their independence and thriving state
excited the jealousy and hatred of a large portion of mankind, and many
attempts were made on their lives and liberties; these the Virgin and
their patron saints, coupled with their individual skill and courage
constantly baffled. But yester eve a party of merchants came slowly on
their mules from Dusseldorf. The honest men saw them crawling, and let
them penetrate near a league into the forest, then set upon them to
make them disgorge a portion of their ill-gotten gains. But alas!
the merchants were no merchants at all, but soldiers of more than one
nation, in the pay of the Archbishop of Cologne; haubergeons had they
beneath their gowns, and weapons of all sorts at hand; natheless, the
honest men fought stoutly, and pressed the traitors hard, when lo!
horsemen, that had been planted in ambush many hours before, galloped
up, and with these new diabolical engines of war, shot leaden bullets,
and laid many an honest fellow low, and so quelled the courage of others
that they yielded them prisoners. These being taken red-handed, the
victors, who with malice inconceivable had brought cords knotted round
their waists, did speedily hang, and by their side the dead ones, to
make the gallanter show.
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