Gents Mag 1902 part 2 p.425

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	Gentleman's Magazine 1902 part 2 p.425 "And to me," aswered the witch calmly; "thou wilt not return to Kendal till thou hast taken each Saxon of the fourscore who set the woods on fire." "Ah, marry," laughed the captain, "then I return not empty handed. The omen is a good one, gentle witch, for I have vowed to clear out, root and branch, the dog Saxons of the fells. I am going to burn every house in Kentmere, in Longsleddale, and in the valley beyond, ere I return to my lord. Fair witch, wilt thou go with us and see our triumph? The smell of reeking blood will be homely breath to thy hell-filled nostrils. Come with us, and cast a charm over the Saxon fools, that they escape not the wrath of my lord the Baron." "The charm is cast these three hours - before you left the courtyard of your Norman keep. Look for the Saxon between the mist and the dale, for till you force him of his lair, you cannot return to your home." "Ha, ha, fair augur, gentle dame. We are provided with horses and provisions, and ere long the life of the robber band will be past." "The mist hangs low, the dale in sunset purple lies, the crags are riven, but not by storm. The robber band is at peace long since, but the Norman warrior walks the hills for evermmore." Uttering these prophetic words, the witch seemed to melt into thin air; the dalefolk trembled, but the captain turned to his men and said in jest:- "My men, the witch has gone, but her spell is good. See yonder"" and he pointed toward Harter Fell, where rainclouds hung dense and black. "Yonder we find our prey, 'twixt mist and dale. Forward to conquer. The churlish Saxon is already undone." The little company marched rapidly up the dale, plundering and burning the few homesteads they met. The inhabitants had fled, some across the fells to the monastery at Shap, some to seek comfort at a famous witch's cave in Loughrigg, some by devious ways, by which they did not meet the feared expedition from Kendal. After sacking the hovels without mercy, the Normans made for the open fell, where clung the dense mist, and as they approached the veil of white, the zip of an arrow falling among the ranks warned them of danger. The soldiers did not hesitate to grumble at the hard climb, and to curse the Saxons who thus showed their ability to strike home without being seen. The Captain ordered a retreat, but now dense and white the pall had fallen below, and neither backward for fear of the cliffs, nor forward for fear of the advantage held by the enemy, dare they move.
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