With other victual, which anon
We further shall dilate upon,
When of his hose we come to treat,
The cupboard where he kept his meat.
His doublet was of sturdy buff, 305
And though not sword, yet cudgel-proof,
Whereby 'twas fitter for his use,
Who fear'd no blows but such as bruise.[1]
His breeches were of rugged woollen,
And had been at the siege of Bullen; 310
To old King Harry so well known,
Some writers held they were his own.[2]
Thro' they were lined with many a piece
Of ammunition-bread and cheese,
And fat black-puddings, proper food 315
For warriors that delight in blood.
For, as we said, he always chose
To carry vittle in his hose,
That often tempted rats and mice,
The ammunition to surprise: 320
And when he put a hand but in
The one or th' other magazine.
They stoutly in defence on't stood,
And from the wounded foe drew blood;
And till th' were storm'd and beaten out, 325
Ne'er left the fortified redoubt:
And tho' knights errant, as some think,
Of old did neither eat nor drink,[3]
Because when thorough deserts vast,
And regions desolate, they past, 330
Where belly-timber above ground,
Or under, was not to be found,
- ↑ A man of nice honour suffers more from a kick, or a slap in the face, than from a wound. Sir Walter Raleigh says, to be strucken with a sword is like a man, but to he strucken with a stick is like a slave.
- ↑ Henry VIII. besieged Boulogne in person, July 14, 1544. He was very fat, and consequently his breeches very large. See the engravings published by the Society of Antiquaries.
- ↑ "Though I think, says Don Quixote, that I have read as many histories of chivalry in my time as any other man, I never could find that knights errant ever eat, unless it were by mere accident, when they were invited to great feasts and roval banquets; at other times, they indulged themselves with little other food besides their thoughts."
