Page:Stories from Old English Poetry-1899.djvu/239

Rh the duchy had belonged to a noble lord, Sir Rowland de Bois by name, who had died shortly after the banishment of the old Duke, whose faithful friend and ally he had been till death ended their friendship. Sir Rowland had three sons; the eldest Oliver, the second Jacques, the third and youngest, Orlando. He left to his oldest son, as is still the custom, the whole of his estate, and bequeathed to him the care and rearing of both his brothers. As soon as his father died, Jacques, the second son, who was a recluse and scholar in his tastes, went to Paris, to spend his life in scholarly pursuits, leaving only Orlando to the care of Oliver.

Now, Oliver, who was not naturally a vicious person, had become soured and morose that nature had not treated him more kindly. He was neither handsome nor intellectual. Both his brothers excelled him in good gifts. He was forced to see their better qualities, and contrast them with his own, and so there arose in him a spirit of envy, which, by constant secret nourishing, had become very bitter and powerful. So much did this feeling increase as he saw how handsome and elegant in person his brother Orlando was growing under his roof; how all his servants followed him with pleased looks, and proffers of a more ready service than they yielded to himself, their rightful master, that he