... investigation, the rumorceased, and Macduff assumed, with great appearance of zeal, the guardianship of the young Earl of Fife andhis sister, an office bequeathed to him under the hand and seal of the earl, ... sittingabove and below the salt was as great as the division between the master and servant of the present day; the jest, the loud laugh seasoned the viands placed before them, and the hearty draught ... within a quarter of a mile from the palisades and outworks raised on either side of the barbacan. Obtaining easy possession of the river for Sir Nigel, aware of the great disparity of numbers, hadnot...