He was the richest man among them, that could boast of
the greatest store of yellow apples and mellow pears. And their only
objects of rivalship were the skill of the pipe and the favour of
beauty. From morn to eve they tended their fleecy possessions. Their
reward was the blazing hearth, the nut-brown beer, and the merry tale.
But as they sought only the enjoyment of a humble station, and the
pleasures of society, their labours were often relaxed. Often did the
setting sun see the young men and the maidens of contiguous villages,
assembled round the venerable oak, or the wide-spreading beech. The
bells rung in the upland hamlets; the rebecs sounded with rude harmony;
they danced with twinkling feet upon the level green or listened to the
voice of the song, which was now gay and exhilarating, and now soothed
them into pleasing melancholy.
Of all the sons of the plain, the bravest, and the most comely, was
Edwin. His forehead was open and ingenuous, his hair was auburn, and
flowed about his shoulders in wavy ringlets. His person was not less
athletic than it was beautiful. With a firm hand he grasped the
boar-spear, and in pursuit he outstripped the flying fawn. His voice was
strong and melodious, and whether upon the pipe or in the song, there
was no shepherd daring enough to enter the lists with Edwin.
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