It is still more singular that the mistake should have been
committed by Henry de Lacy, the last of the line of the Fitz-Eustace,
third in descent from Roger, in the foundation-charter of Whalley Abbey,
where he expressly styles his ancestor "Joh. de Lacy, Const. Cest."
Accompanied by her father and her female attendants, the "gentle" maiden
entered the hall. She was stately and beautifully formed, with little
show of her lineage except the high forehead and well-formed nose of the
Fitz-Eustace. She was enveloped from head to foot in a long gown or
habit; over this was cast a richly-embroidered purple silk surcoat or
cloak, embellished with those ephemeral absurdities called
pocketing-sleeves. These hung from the wrists almost to the ground,
showing an opening or pocket which might have supplied the place of a
lady's arm-bag in our own era. A wimple or peplus was thrown over the
head; a sort of hood, which, instead of covering the shoulders, was
brought round the neck beneath the chin like a warrior's gorget, giving
an exceedingly stiff and muffled appearance to the upper part of the
figure.
Geoffery was unremitting in his attentions, and his father seemed as
assiduous in his court to the fierce Crusader, who listened intently to
some private intelligence which the dean was evidently much interested
in communicating.
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