64 THE MYSTERY OF CORFE. 



There is one curious detail that seems to have been pre- 

 served through all the various accounts, and it consists of the 

 statement that after Edward had found out that Elfrida's 

 house was near at hand, he proceeded thither in haste. This 

 statement is a common factor in practically all the versions ; 

 but if his thirst was so great and he was wearied out with 

 hunting, as Malmesbury states, then it does not seem reason- 

 able to assume that his horse could have been in a very good 

 condition ; and furthermore, if he had previously entirely 

 lost all his attendants, as Malmesbury asserts, who can have 

 witnessed his furious ride towards Elfrida's house ? Clearly 

 none of his own attendants, for he had parted from them, and 

 they only came up afterwards. Obviously, then, there are 

 many points in Malmesbury's version that are very obscure, 

 and there are some that are self-contradictory. But on the 

 other hand, if Edward was really chasing the dwarf Wol- 

 stanet, with a view to inflicting corporal punishment, and if, 

 as seems probable, the chase started from a temporary halting 

 place, than it is easily understandable that a description of 

 the incident, and the start, could have been furnished by 

 more than one person, while the details of the finish could 

 probably have been supplied by as many more, while the 

 incident of Wolstanet making for the wood could have been 

 related only by Wolstanet. For if Edward had been aware 

 that the dwarf had made for the wood, he would hardly have 

 enquired of Elfrida whether he was in her house. And if 

 Edward's attendants saw the dwarf making for the wood, 

 the king, who was ahead of them, must have seen him also. 

 Now Edward was, as has been stated, somewhat brutal to 

 his inferiors, and of such a temperament as would no doubt 

 lead him to pursue the object of his anger for a considerable 

 distance, and as the incidents of the pursuit are set forth with 

 such seeming accuracy, it is more than likely that the 

 account came from the lips of the dwarf in the first instance 

 by no means an improbability, as the latter, if Gaimar is 

 to be trusted, was an accomplished person. Then, too, the 

 description of Elfrida's greeting and the incident of the horn 



