noon
There were as yet no tidings of Gurth and his charge , which should long since have been driven home from the forest and such was the insecurity of the period , as to render it probable that the delay might be explained by some depreciation of the outlaws , with whom the adjacent forest abounded , or by the violence of some neighbouring baron , whose consciousness of strength made him equally negligent of the laws of property . The matter was of consequence , for great part of the domestic wealth of the Saxon proprietors consisted in numerous herds of swine , especially in forest-land , where those animals easily found their food . Besides these subjects of anxiety , the Saxon thane was impatient for the presence of his favourite clown Wamba , whose jests , such as they were , served for a sort of seasoning to his evening meal , and to the deep draughts of ale and wine with which he was in the habit of accompanying it . Add to all this , Cedric had fasted since noon , and his usual supper hour was long past , a cause of irritation common to country squires , both in ancient and modern times . His displeasure was expressed in broken sentences , partly muttered to himself , partly addressed to the domestics who stood around ; and particularly to his cupbearer , who offered him from time to time , as a sedative , a silver goblet filled with wine -- `` Why tarries the Lady Rowena ? '' `` She is but changing her head-gear , '' replied a female attendant , with as much confidence as the favourite lady 's - maid usually answers the master of a modern family ; `` you would not wish her to sit down to the banquet in her hood and kirtle ? and no lady within the shire can be quicker in arraying herself than my mistress . ''