The Old English Baron | Page 2

to excite. Had the story
been kept within the utmost verge of probability, the effect had been
preserved, without losing the least circumstance that excites or detains
the attention.
For instance; we can conceive, and allow of, the appearance of a ghost;
we can even dispense with an enchanted sword and helmet; but then
they must keep within certain limits of credibility: A sword so large as
to require an hundred men to lift it; a helmet that by its own weight
forces a passage through a court-yard into an arched vault, big enough
for a man to go through; a picture that walks out of its frame; a skeleton
ghost in a hermit's cowl: --When your expectation is wound up to the
highest pitch, these circumstances take it down with a witness, destroy
the work of imagination, and, instead of attention, excite laughter. I

was both surprised and vexed to find the enchantment dissolved, which
I wished might continue to the end of the book; and several of its
readers have confessed the same disappointment to me: The beauties
are so numerous, that we cannot bear the defects, but want it to be
perfect in all respects.
In the course of my observations upon this singular book, it seemed to
me that it was possible to compose a work upon the same plan, wherein
these defects might be avoided; and the keeping, as in painting, might
be preserved.
But then I began to fear it might happen to me as to certain translators,
and imitators of Shakespeare; the unities may be preserved, while the
spirit is evaporated. However, I ventured to attempt it; I read the
beginning to a circle of friends of approved judgment, and by their
approbation was encouraged to proceed, and to finish it.

THE OLD ENGLISH BARON: A GOTHIC STORY.

In the minority of Henry the Sixth, King of England, when the
renowned John, Duke of Bedford was Regent of France, and Humphrey,
the good Duke of Gloucester, was Protector of England, a worthy
knight, called Sir Philip Harclay, returned from his travels to England,
his native country. He had served under the glorious King Henry the
Fifth with distinguished valour, had acquired an honourable fame, and
was no less esteemed for Christian virtues than for deeds of chivalry.
After the death of his prince, he entered into the service of the Greek
emperor, and distinguished his courage against the encroachments of
the Saracens. In a battle there, he took prisoner a certain gentleman, by
name M. Zadisky, of Greek extraction, but brought up by a Saracen
officer; this man he converted to the Christian faith; after which he
bound him to himself by the ties of friendship and gratitude, and he
resolved to continue with his benefactor. After thirty years travel and
warlike service, he determined to return to his native land, and to spend
the remainder of his life in peace; and, by devoting himself to works of
piety and charity, prepare for a better state hereafter.
This noble knight had, in his early youth, contracted a strict friendship
with the only son of the Lord Lovel, a gentleman of eminent virtues
and accomplishments. During Sir Philip's residence in foreign countries,

he had frequently written to his friend, and had for a time received
answers; the last informed him of the death of old Lord Lovel, and the
marriage of the young one; but from that time he had heard no more
from him. Sir Philip imputed it not to neglect or forgetfulness, but to
the difficulties of intercourse, common at that time to all travellers and
adventurers. When he was returning home, he resolved, after looking
into his family affairs, to visit the Castle of Lovel, and enquire into the
situation of his friend. He landed in Kent, attended by his Greek friend
and two faithful servants, one of which was maimed by the wounds he
had received in the defence of his master.
Sir Philip went to his family seat in Yorkshire. He found his mother
and sister were dead, and his estates sequestered in the hands of
commissioners appointed by the Protector. He was obliged to prove the
reality of his claim, and the identity of his person (by the testimony of
some of the old servants of his family), after which every thing was
restored to him. He took possession of his own house, established his
household, settled the old servants in their former stations, and placed
those he brought home in the upper offices of his family. He then left
his friend to superintend his domestic affairs; and, attended by only one
of his old servants, he set out for the Castle of Lovel, in the west of
England. They travelled by easy journeys; but, towards the evening