The Geste of Duke Jocelyn

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Title: The Geste of Duke Jocelyn
Author: Jeffery Farnol
Release Date: May, 2005 [EBook #8165]
[Yes, we are more than one
year ahead of schedule]
[This file was first posted on June 24, 2003]
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0. START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GESTE

OF DUKE JOCELYN ***
Produced by Ted Garvin & the Online Distributed Proofreading Team
THE GESTE OF
DUKE JOCELYN
by
Jeffery Farnol
with illustrations in color by
Eric Pape
Copyright, 1920,
BT LITTLE, BBOWN, AND COMPANY.
All rights reserved Published September, 1920
Norwood Press
Set up and electrotyped by J. S. Cushing Co. Norwood, Mass., U.S.A.
My GILLIAN, thou child that budding woman art
For whom to-day
and yesterday lie far apart
Already thou, my dear, dost longer dresses
wear
And bobbest in most strange, new-fangled ways thy hair;

Thou lookest on the world with eyes grown serious
And rul'st thy
father with a sway imperious
Particularly as regards his socks and ties

Insistent that each with the other harmonise.
Instead of simple
fairy-tales that pleased of yore
Romantic verse thou read'st and
novels by the score
And very oft I've known thee sigh and call them
"stuff"
Vowing of love romantic they've not half enough.

Wherefore, like fond and doting parent, I
Will strive this want
romantic to supply.
I'll write for thee a book of sighing lover

Crammed with ROMANCE from cover unto cover;
A book the like

of which 't were hard to find
Filled with ROMANCE of every sort
and kind.
I'll write it as the Gestours wrote of old,
In prose,
blank-verse, and rhyme it shall be told.
And GILLIAN--
Some day
perhaps, my dear, when you are grown
A portly dame with children
of your own
You'll gather all your troop about your knee
And read
to them this Geste I made for thee.
ILLUSTRATIONS
"Nobles of Brocelaunde, salute your Duchess Yolande"
They saw afar the town of Canalise
"Brave soldier, I do thank thee well!" she sighed
"Hush, poor Motley!" whispered the maid.
With mighty bound, bold Robin leaping came
The long blades whirled and flashed
PRELUDE
Long, long ago when castles grim did frown,
When massy wall and
gate did 'fend each town;
When mighty lords in armour bright were
seen,
And stealthy outlaws lurked amid the green
And oft were
hanged for poaching of the deer,
Or, gasping, died upon a hunting
spear;
When barons bold did on their rights insist
And hanged or
burned all rogues who dared resist;
When humble folk on life had no
freehold
And were in open market bought and sold;
When grisly
witches (lean and bony hags)
Cast spells most dire yet, meantime,
starved in rags;
When kings did lightly a-crusading fare
And left
their kingdoms to the devil's care--
At such a time there lived a noble
knight
Who sweet could sing and doughtily could fight,
Whose
lance thrust strong, whose long sword bit
full deep
With darting
point or mighty two-edged sweep.
A duke was he, rich,

powerful--and yet
Fate had on him a heavy burden set,
For, while a
youth, as he did hunt the boar,
The savage beast his goodly steed did
gore,
And as the young duke thus defenceless lay,
With cruel tusk
had reft his looks away,
Had marred his comely features and so
mauled him
That, 'hind his back, "The ugly Duke" folk called
him--
My daughter GILLIAN interposeth:
GILL: An ugly hero?
MYSELF: That is so.
GILL: An ugly hero, father? O, absurd! Whoever of an "ugly" hero
heard?
MYSELF: I'll own, indeed, I've come across but few--
GILL: But a duke--and ugly! Father, this from you?
MYSELF: My duke is ugly, very, for good reason, As shall appear in
due and proper season!
GILL: I'm sure no one will want to read him then, For "heroes" all
should be most handsome men. So make him handsome, please, or he
won't do.
MYSELF: By heaven, girl--no, plain heroes are too few!
GILL: Then ev'ry one will leave him on the shelf!
MYSELF: Why, then, I'll read the poor fellow myself.
GILL: I won't!
MYSELF: Then don't! Though, I might