Page:A History of Domestic Manners and Sentiments in England During the Middle Ages.djvu/351

 ajid Se?itimefits. 3 3 from his flock, and an examination of the Ikin led to the difcovery of the trick which had been played upon him — a punifliment, as we are told, which he well merited by his inhofpitable condu£t. A Latin ftory of the thirteenth century may be coupled with the foregoing anecdote. There was an abbot who was very miferly and inhofpitable, and he took care to give all the otfices in the abbey to men of his own character. This was efpecially the cal'e with the monk who had the direction of the hcijpitium, or gueft-houfe. One day came a minlirel to alk for a lodging, but he met with an unfriendly reception, was treated only with black bread and water to drink, and was fliown to a hard bed of flraw. Minlb-els were not ufually treated in this inhofpitable manner, and our gueft refolved to be revenged. He left the abbey next morning, and a little way on his journey he met the abbot, who was returning home from a fliort abfence. "God blefs you, good abbot!" he laid, "for the noble hofpitality which has been fliown to me this night by your monks. The mailer ot your gueft-houfe treated me with the choicell wines, and placed rich diflies on the table for me in fuch numbers, that I would not attempt to count them ; and when I came away this morning, he gave me a pair of flioes, a girdle, and a knife." The abbot hurried home in a furious rage, fum- moned the offending brother before a chapter, accufed him of fquandering away the property of the monaftery, caufed him to be flogged and dif- mifled from his office, and appointed in his place another, in whole inhofpitable temper he could place entire conhdence. Thefe cafes of want of hofpitality were, however, exceptions to the general rule. A ftranger was ufually received with great kindnefs, each clafs of fociety, of courfe, more or lefs by its own clafs, though, under fuch circumftances, much lefs diftinfton of clals was made than we might fuppofe. The ariftocratic clafs, which included what we fliould now call the gentry, fought hofpitality in the nearefl: caftle ; for a caftle, as a matter of pride and oftentation, was, more or lefs, like an abbey, a place of hofpitality for everybody. Among the richer and more refined clafles, great care was taken to fliow proper courtefy to ftrangers, according to their rank. In the cafe of a knight, the lord of the houle and his lady, with their damfels, led him into a private room, took ofl'his armour, and often