Scott's Ivanhoe

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Contents

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I. Scott’s Life and Works vii

II. Ivanhoe xvi

II

Ivanhoe was published in December, 1819. As the nine novels which preceded this all dealt with people and scenes of Scotland, Sir Walter began to fear that the public would become surfeited. Accordingly in Ivanhoe he used an English setting. As a result, new interest was aroused in his work. Lockhart says, “ Ivanhoe was received throughout England with a more clamorous delight than any of the Scotch novels xvu had been.” From the moment of its publication it was tremendously popular; with it Scott reached the highest point of his fame. It is not his greatest novel; but probably no other work of his has as strong a hold on public favor. Critics find fault with its style and structure, but everybody knows it as an entrancing story. It has been translated into nearly every cultivated language. It has been made the basis of many plays and melodramas, and of at least seven operas.

Besides the change from Scottish to English scene and character, Scott contemplated still another change for the mystification of his readers. All of the nine preceding novels were published anonymously, “ by the Author of Waverley” appearing on the title-page of all after the first. The secret of authorship was guarded well, though it was shared by about twenty of Scott’s personal friends. The author was spoken of as “ The Great Unknown,” or “ The Wizard of the North.” The curiosity aroused by the mystery undoubtedly helped to make the novels famous. Scott now thought that new interest would be inspired by the appearance of another novel of unknown authorship, which people would recognize as being of the same level as the Waverley series. Hence he adopted the pseudonym of “ Laurence Templeton,” and wrote a Dedicatory Epistle, in which the supposed author of Ivanhoe addresses a fictitious “ Rev. Dr. Dryasdust, F. A. S.” In this dedication, the source of the novel is said to be a manuscript in the possession of Sir Arthur Wardour, which as a compliment to the owner is spoken of as Gbe WlarDour /Iftanuscdpt. As Sir Arthur Wardour is a character in Scott’s novel The Antiquary , published in 1816, it will be seen that the author did not have courage to sever Ivanhoe completely from the Waverley series. But at the last moment the publishers dissuaded him from this artifice, though the Dedicatory Epistle, many notes signed “ L. T.,” or “ Laurence Templeton,” and allusions to the Wardour Manuscript were retained.

As an illustration of the way in which an author xviii Introduction

gathers his material, it may be interesting to note what Scott says in his introduction to Ivanhoe. The suggestion for using the conflict between the two races as the motive power for the plot came from seeing the Saxon and Norman barons opposed to each other on different sides of the stage in a mediocre tragedy called Runnamede. The incident of the meeting of King Richard with Friar Tuck in the hermit’s cell was borrowed from an old ballad-romance which recounted a similar adventure of Edward IV. The name Ivanhoe occurs in an old rime recording three names of the manors forfeited by a nobleman named Hampden for striking the Black Prince a blow with his racket, when they quarreled at tennis:

“Tring, Wing, and Ivanhoe,

For the striking of a blow,

Hampden did forego.

And glad he could escape so.”

Scott thought this a good title because, “ first, it had an ancient English sound, and, secondly, it conveyed no indication whatever of the nature of the story.” Lastly, a roll of Norman warriors occurring in an ancient manuscript gave him the “ formidable name of Front-de-Bceuf.”

Lockhart, whose book is full of interesting anecdotes, has many details concerning the composition of Ivanhoe. During several periods of his life Scott suffered from severe cramps in the stomach. In the spring of 1819 he was most sorely tormented with this affliction. He did not, however, let his physical pains affect the clearness of his thinking. As he could not write himself, he dictated. Lockhart writes thus entertainingly of the' process :

“ The copy (as MS. for the press is technically called) which Scott was thus dictating, was that of The Bride of Lammermoor ; and his amanuenses were William Laidlaw and John Ballantyne; of whom he preferred the latter, when he could be at Abbotsford, on account of the superior rapidity of his pen; and also bexix cause John kept his pen to the paper without interruption, and, though with many an arch twinkle in his eyes, and now and then an audible smack of his lips, had resolution to work on like a well-trained clerk; whereas good Laidlaw entered with such keen zest into the interest of the story as it flowed from the author’s lips, that he could not suppress exclamations of surprise and delight — ‘ Gude keep us a’ ! — the like o’ that ! — oh, sirs ! oh, sirs ! ’ — and so forth, which did not promote despatch. I have often, however, in the sequel, heard both these secretaries describe the astonishment with which they were equally affected when Scott began this experiment. The affectionate Laidlaw beseeching him to stop dictating when his audible suffering filled every pause, 4 Nay, Willie/ he answered, ‘ only see that the doors are fast. I would fain keep all the cry as all the wool to ourselves; but as to giving over work, that can be only when I am in woollen.’ John Ballantyne told me that after the first day he always took care to have a dozen pens made before he seated himself opposite to the sofa on which Scott lay, and that, though he often turned himself upon the pillow with a groan of torment, he usually continued the sentence in the same breath. But when dialogue of peculiar animation was in progress, spirit seemed to triumph altogether over matter — he arose from the couch, and walked up and down the room, raising and lowering his voice, and as it were acting the parts. It was in this fashion that Scott produced the far greater portion of The Bride of Lammermoor — the whole of A Legend of Montrose — and almost the whole of Ivanhoe.”

In the study of any novel, there are three elements to be considered — the setting, the plot, and the characters. It will be well to discuss each of these here for a few moments.

The setting of a story is the time and place in which the events are supposed to have occurred. The setting of Ivanhoe is England in the twelfth century; more exactly, Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, and Leicestershire, in the year 1194. The political situation of the country,

XX upon which the main threads of the story depend, is this : I In 1066, the Anglo-Saxons, as the inhabitants of Eng- 3 land at that time used to be called, were conquered by William of Normandy, an invader from France. The i Conqueror brought over with him many Norman nobles : and soldiers, to whom he gave the lands and castles of • the subdued Saxons. Naturally there was bitter enmity between the ruling Normans and the conquered people, : who became practically serfs. Yet there remained a rem- \ nant of the ancient Saxon nobility, and hope had not quite died out that they might yet unite and throw off the foreign yoke. Scott, then, represents this struggle as in process at the time the story opens. Furthermore, j he makes use of the state of affairs regarding the English throne. King Richard, “ the Lion-hearted,” as he • was called, began to reign in 1189. But within a year he joined the Third Crusade, and fought to recapture Jeru- ; salem from the Turks. On the way home from this adventure, he was made prisoner, for political reasons, by the Emperor of Germany. At the time our story opens, ; there is a rumor in England that Richard #ias escaped and is on his way back to resume the throne. While he has been absent, his brother, Prince John, has assumed royal authority, gained a large following of Norman nobles, and is planning to get rid of Richard and take the throne himself.

Now Ivanhoe is not, and does not pretend to be, accurate history. For instance, the struggle between Saxon and Norman was practically settled, by intermarriage \ and otherwise, some time before the year of the story, | 1194. There are also several minor anachronisms: John’s 1 ancestors and relatives are slightly confused, and Cedric’s ; father (see chapter xxi) could never have attended a banquet given in honor of Harold, who had been killed by William the Conqueror nearly one hundred and thirty years before the story opens. But in the main the picture given of the times is fairly correct, and no great violence is done to historic fact.

What we have just discussed may be called the hisxxi torical setting; the place where the events occurred may be called the local setting. The place chosen for the romantic incidents of the tale is chiefly the Forest of Sherwood, the home of Robin Hood and his merry outlaws. Legend and ballad tell of many a glorious deed done here “ under the green-wood tree.” This in medieval times was almost enchanted ground, where marvels might appear at any moment, and adventure was ever waiting. The first words of Ivanhoe strike the keynote of romance : “ In that pleasant district of merry

England which is watered by the river Don, there extended in ancient times a large forest.”

In t he plot of Ivanhoe, there are really three distinct stories. The central interest is of course in the adventures \oi Ivanhoe and his love for Rowena^j then there is a larger action which surrounds and includes this tale, namely, -(the conspiracy of John and the affairs of Richard^ which may be called “ the enveloping action ” ; lastly, the attempts of the Templar to gain possession of Rebecca form a sort of underplot. It is in vain that cold-blooded critics cry out that these stories are too loosely knit together, and that, in plot-construction, Ivanhoe is not a work of art; for we are so enthralled by the breathless movement of the incidents, that we scoff at such fastidious fault-finding. If our interest is centered now in Wilfred, but soon is drawn off to thrill at the feats of the Black Sluggard, or mourn at the sorrows of Rebecca, we do not lay down the book to protest that this exchange is unfair, and clamor for the rightful hero to be brought back. Our excitement is kept constantly awake, and that, after all, is what we chiefly require of a story.

The events, it will be noticed, group themselves about ^hree centers: the lists at Ashby, the siege of Torquil- "stone, and the trial of Rebecca at Templestowe. The adventures at each of these places are sufficiently varied and stirring to form a novel in themselves. Surely Scott is prodigal of his entertainment. We are amazed at his wonderful, inexhaustible power of invention. It is this

XXI 1 torrent of incident, ever changing, never failing, that has made Ivanhoe for once and always a general favorite.

Though we readily overlook the faults against the artistic ordering of the plot, we sometimes find it hard to forgive the author for his seemingly shabby treatment of Rebecca. The noble Jewess so grips our hearts that we almost want her to be the bride in Rowena’s place. Scott received many protests against this arrangement; but, after all, was he not right? His best defense is contained in his own words, written in 1830:

“The character of the fair Jewess found so much favor in the eyes of some fair readers, that the writer was censured, because, when arranging the fates of the characters of the drama, he had not assigned the hand of Wilfred to Rebecca, rather than to the less interesting Rowena. But, not to mention that the prejudices of the age rendered such an union almost impossible, the author may, in passing, observe, that he thinks a character of a highly virtuous and lofty stamp is degraded rather than exalted by an attempt to reward virtue with temporal prosperity. Such is not the recompense which Providence has deemed worthy of suffering merit; and it is a dangerous and fatal doctrine to teach young persons, the most common readers of romance, that rectitude of conduct and of principle are either naturally allied with, or adequately rewarded by, the gratification of our passions or attainment of our wishes. In a word, if a virtuous and self-denied character is dismissed with temporal wealth, greatness, rank, or the indulgence of such a rashly-formed or ill-assorted passion as that of Rebecca for Ivanhoe, the reader will be apt to say, verily, Virtue has had its reward. But a glance on the great picture of life will show that the duties of self-denial, and the sacrifice of passion to principle, are seldom thus remunerated; and that the internal consciousness of their high-minded discharge of duty produces on their own reflections a more adequate recompense, in the form of that peace which the world cannot give or take away/’

“In Ivanhoe, there is no attempt at subtle analysis of

Ivanhoe xxiii

character. But a great variety of persons throng its pages. All classes of the society of the times are represented by strongly marked types. The Saxons are portrayed in their serfdom and their lingering nobility, and the Normans in their pride and tyranny. The Church furnishes its quota of characters: the pleasure-loving Prior of Jorvaulx and the austere Grand Master of the Templars at one extreme, the Clerk of Copmanhurst at the other. Wilfred and Richard are types of the chivalrous knight; De Bracy of the gallant, reckless adventurer; Bois-Guilbert, of the dissolute Templar and Crusader; Front-de-Boeuf, of the cruel marauding baron; Isaac, of the despised and persecuted Jews; Wamba, of the privileged jester; Gurth, of the lowliest of servants. It is a great pageant of society — all are there from the serf up to the king himself.

And how interesting some of these characters are ! Cedric, rough and stern, is far from being a lovable man ; yet we like him for his uncompromising hatred of the Normans. Robin Hood, least criminal of outlaws, — where is the boy who has not loved this hero of the forest? In Richard we have the embodiment of English patriotism and romance; a kingly figure, equally at home, drinking and singing in the hermit’s cell, wielding the battle-ax that brings death with every stroke, or passing death-doom on the heads of traitors.

But best of all is Rebecca. This noble, self-sacrificing woman is perhaps the strongest of Scott’s heroines. How far she outshines the fair Rowena ! Rarely have the characters of two good and beautiful women been brought into more striking contrast than in the scenes at Torquilstone when Rowena and Rebecca are made to face their captors. The unyielding strength of the Jewess completely eclipses the gentler charms of the. Saxon. Both in this scene and at the trial at Templestowe Rebecca has our greatest sympathy and admiration.

It is interesting to know that the original of this character was an American Jewess named Rebecca Gratz, and that her story was made known to Scott by Washing-

XXIV ton Irving at the time of his visit to Abbotsford in 1817. A writer in the Century Magazine (September, 1882) thus describes Miss Gratz:

“ Rebecca was born on the 4th day of March, 1781, and in her younger days, and even beyond middle life she possessed singular beauty. Her eyes were of exquisite shape, large, black, and lustrous; her figure was graceful, and her carriage was marked by quiet dignity — attractions which were heightened by elegant and winning manners. Gentle, benevolent, with instinctive refinement and innate purity, she inspired affection among all who met her; and having received the best instruction that the time and country afforded, she was well fitted for practical and social duties. . . .

“ It is said that, when a young lady, Rebecca won the regard of a gentleman of character, position, and wealth, whose passion was devotedly returned. The difference in their religious faith, however, — the one a conscientious Christian, the other devoted to the ancient creed of Israel, — proved an insuperable barrier to their union. She was never married. Accustomed to the society of Christians, loving them and beloved by them, the attachment to her ancestral faith is rendered more conspicuous, and her firmness in the strife between inclination and duty may be considered an index of the exalted character of the woman. Self-denial and lofty conscientiousness distinguished her life, which was one long chain of golden deeds/’

Scott sent the first copy of the book to Irving with a letter, in which he asked, “ How do you like your Rebecca? Does the Rebecca I have pictured compare well with the pattern given ? ”

DESCRIPTIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY

The best biography of Scott is the monumental work by his son-in-law, J. G. Lockhart: Memoirs of the Life of Sir Walter Scott. This, one of the two or three best biographies ever written, was first published in five volumes (London, 1839), and has appeared in many other editions. An abridgment by the author in one volume can be had in Everyman’s Library (Dutton, New York). A good short biography is by R. H. Hutton (English Men of Letters, the Macmillan Company, New York). The Journal of Sir Walter Scott, published by Harper and Brothers, 1900, will also prove interesting. All pupils, of course, should read Washington Irving’s Abbotsford, which gives an interesting account of a visit to Scott’s home.

For the history of the period, a valuable book is Kate Norgate’s England Under the Angevin Kings. The -account in Green’s Short History of the English People (American Book Company) will be helpful. Freeman’s Norman Conquest may be consulted by those desiring a more careful study of the historical setting. Traill’s Social England gives many details of manners and costumes. For ballads about Robin Hood and life in Sherwood Forest, see Vol. v of F. J. Child’s English and Scottish Ballads, published in Boston, 1882-98.

Scott wrote or edited more than eighty books, composed half as many magazine essays and reviews, besides many ballads and songs. The following list contains the titles of the more important of these, with a brief note on their contents:

1802-3. Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border.

Ballads and legends current among the people, gathered by traveling in the region, xxv

XXVI

Descriptive Bibliography

1805. The Lay of the Last Minstrel.

Legends of Border warfare told in verse.

1808. Marmion.

A poem on the Battle of Flodden Field, 1513.

1810. The Lady of the Lake.

A romantic story in verse of the time of James V of Scotland.

1814. Waverley.

The period of the Young Pretender’s attempt in

1815. Guy Mannering.

Meg Merrilies, the witch, is one of the characters.

1816. The Antiquary.

Introducing Jonathan Oldbuck.

Old Mortality.

The Scotch Covenanters, and their rebellion of 1679.

1818. Rob Roy.

The adventures of a famous Scotch outlaw.

The Heart of Midlothian

The beautiful story of Jeanie Deans, Scott’s most lovable heroine.

1819. The Bride of Lammermoor.

The most tragical of the Waverley novels.

Ivanhoe.

1820. The Monastery.

The Abbot.

The deposition and imprisonment of the beautiful and unfortunate, Mary, Queen of Scots, forms the plot of these novels.

1821. Kenilworth.

A delightful story of Queen Elizabeth, and her reception by the Earl of Leicester at his castle.

1823. Quentin Durward.

A stirring tale of the adventures of a Scottish lad in France, in 1468.

1825. The Betrothed.

The Talisman.

Tales of the Crusaders; the latter shows Richard, the Lion-hearted, in his war with Saladin.

1826. Woodstock.

A story of the Civil War and the Commonwealth. The young Charles II is one of the characters.

Descriptive Bibliography xxvii

1827. Life of Napoleon Bonaparte.

A popular history in nine volumes.

Tales of a Grandfather, First Series.

Scotch history written entertainingly for young people.

1828. Tales of a Grandfather , Second Series.

1829. Tales of a Grandfather, Third Series.

1829-33. Waverley Novels, with New Introductions and Notes.

The author’s final revision of the novels ; the introductions contain much interesting information about the circumstances in which the books were written, Scott’s theories of his art, etc.

1830. Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft.

Tells anecdotes of witches, and weighs the evidence as to their truth.

Tales of a Grandfather, Fourth Series.

Dealing with French history.

The Scott Monument at Edinburgh

Chapter I

Thus communed these; while to their lowly dome The full-fed swine return’d with evening home, Compell’d, reluctant, to the several sties,

With din obstreperous and ungrateful cries.

Pope’s Odyssey.

In that pleasant district of merry England which is watered by the river Don, there extended in ancient times a large forest, covering the greater part of the beautiful hills and valleys which lie between Sheffield and the pleasant town of Doncaster. The remains of this extensive wood are still to be seen at the noble seats of Wentworth, of Wharncliffe Park, and around Rotherham. Here haunted of yore the fabulous Dragon of Wantley; here were fought many of the most desperate battles during the Civil Wars of the Roses ; and here also flourished in ancient times those bands of gallant outlaws whose deeds have been rendered so popular in English song.

Such being our chief scene, the date of our story refers to a period towards the end of the reign of Richard I., when his return from his long captivity had become an event rather wished than hoped for by his despairing subjects, who w r ere in the meantime subjected to every species of subordinate oppression. The nobles, whose power had become exorbitant during the reign of Stephen, and whom the prudence of Henry the Second had scarce reduced into some degree of subjection to

i the crown, had now resumed their ancient license in its utmost extent; despising the feeble interference of the English Council of State, fortifying their castles, increasing the number of their dependants, reducing all around 5 them to a state of vassalage, and striving by every means in their power to place themselves each at the head of such forces as might enable him to make a figure in the national convulsions which appeared to be impending.

The situation of the inferior gentry, or franklins, as 10 they were called, who, by the law and spirit of the English constitution, were entitled to hold themselves independent of feudal tryanny, became now unusually precarious. If, as was most generally the case, they placed themselves under the protection of any of the petty kings 15 in their vicinity, accepted of feudal offices in his household, or bound themselves, by mutual treaties of alliance and protection, to support him in his enterprises, they might indeed purchase temporary repose; but it must be with the sacrifice of that independence which was so 20 dear to every English bosom, and at the certain hazard of being involved as a party in whatever rash expedition the ambition of their protector might lead him to undertake. On the other hand, such and so multiplied were the means of vexation and oppression possessed by the 25 great barons, that they never wanted the pretext, and seldom the will, to harass and pursue, even to the very edge of destruction, any of their less powerful neighbors who attempted to separate themselves from their authority, and to trust for their protection, during the 30 dangers of the times, to their own inoffensive conduct and to the laws of the land.

A circumstance which greatly tended to enhance the tyranny of the nobility and the sufferings of the inferior classes arose from the consequences of the Conquest by 35 Duke William of Normandy. Four generations had not sufficed to blend the hostile blood of the Normans and Anglo-Saxons, or to unite, by common language and mutual interests, two hostile races, one of which still felt the elation of triumph, while the other groaned under all the consequences of defeat. The power had been completely placed in the hands of the Norman nobility | by the event of the battle of Hastings, and it had been I used, as our histories assure us, with no moderate hand.

The whole race of Saxon princes and nobles had been I extirpated or disinherited, with few or no exceptions; nor were the numbers great who possessed land in the country of their fathers, even as proprietors of the second or of yet inferior classes. The royal policy had long been to weaken, by every means, legal or illegal, the strength of a part of the population which was justly ! considered as nourishing the most inveterate antipathy to their victor. All the monarchs of the Norman race had shown the most marked predilection for their Norman subjects; the laws of the chase, and many others, equally unknown to the milder and more free spirit of the Saxon constitution, had been fixed upon the necks of the subjugated inhabitants, to add weight, as it were, to the feudal chains with which they were loaded. At • court, and in the castles of the great nobles, where the i pomp and state of a court was emulated, Norman-French ; was the only language employed ; in courts of law, the pleadings and judgments were delivered in the same i tongue. In short, French was the language of honor, of. chivalry, and even of justice, while the far more i manly and expressive Anglo-Saxon was abandoned to the use of rustics and hinds, who knew no other. Still, however, the necessary intercourse between the lords of the soil, and those oppressed inferior beings by whom that soil was cultivated, occasioned the gradual formation of a dialect, compounded betwixt the French and the Anglo-Saxon, in which they could render themselves mutually intelligible to each other; and from this necessity arose by degrees the structure of our present English language, in which the speech of the victors and the vanquished have been so happily blended together; and which has since been so richly improved by importations from the classical languages, and from those spoken by the southern nations of Europe.

This state of things I have thought it necessary to premise for the information of the general reader, who might be apt to forget that, although no great historical events, such as war or insurrection, mark the existence of 5 the Anglo-Saxons as a separate people subsequent to the reign of William the Second, yet the great national distinctions betwixt them and their conquerors, the recollection of what they had formerly been, and to what they were now reduced, continued, down to the reign of 10 Edward the Third, to keep open the wounds which the Conquest had inflicted, and to maintain a line of separation betwixt the descendants of the victor Normans and the vanquished Saxons.

15 The sun was setting upon one of the rich grassy glades of that forest which we have mentioned in the beginning of the chapter. Hundreds of broad-headed, shortstemmed, wide-branched oaks, which had witnessed perhaps the stately march of the Roman soldiery, flung their 20 gnarled arms over a thick carpet of the most delicious green sward; in some places they were intermingled with beeches, hollies, and copsewood of various descriptions, so closely as totally to intercept the level beams of the sinking sun; in others they receded from each other, 25 forming those long sweeping vistas in the intricacy of which the eye delights to lose itself, while imagination considers them as the paths to yet wilder scenes of silvan solitude. Here the red rays of the sun shot a broken and discolored light, that partially hung upon the 30 shattered boughs and mossy trunks of the trees, and there they illuminated in brilliant patches the portions of turf to which they made their way. A considerable open space, in the midst of this glade, seemed formerly to have been dedicated to the rites of Druidical super- 35 stition; for, on the summit of a hillock, so regular as to seem artificial, there still remained part of a circle of rough, unhewn stones, of large dimensions. Seven stood upright; the rest had been dislodged from their places, probably by the zeal of some convert to Christianity, and lay, some prostrate near their former site, and others on the side of the hill. One large stone only had found its way to the bottom, and, in stopping the course of a small brook which glided smoothly round the foot of the eminence, gave, by its opposition, a feeble voice of murmur to the placid and elsewhere silent streamlet.

The human figures which completed this landscape were in number two, partaking, in their dress and appearance, of that wild and rustic character which belonged to the woodlands of the West Riding of Yorkshire at that early period. The eldest of these men had a stern, savage, and wild aspect. His garment was of the simplest form imaginable, being a close jacket with sleeves, composed of the tanned skin of some animal, on which the hair had been originally left, but which had been worn off in so many places that it would have been difficult to distinguish, from the patches that remained, to what creature the fur had belonged. This primeval vestment reached from the throat to the knees, and served at once all the usual purposes of body-clothing ; there was no wider opening at the collar than was necessary to admit the passage of the head, from which it may be inferred that it was put on by slipping it over the head and shoulders, in the manner of a modern shirt, or ancient hauberk. Sandals, bound with thongs made of boar’s hide, protected the feet, and a roll of thin leather was twined artificially round the legs, and, ascending above the calf, left the knees bare, like those of a Scottish Highlander. To make the jacket sit yet more close to the body, it was gathered at the middle by a broad leathern belt, secured by a brass buckle; to one side of which was attached a sort of scrip, and to the other a ram’s horn, accoutered with a mouthpiece, for the purpose of blowing. In the same belt was stuck one of those long, broad, sharp-pointed, and two-edged knives, with a buck’s-horn handle, which were fabricated in the neighborhood, and bore even at this early period the name of a Sheffield whittle. The man had no covering upon his head, which was only defended by his own thick hair, matted and twisted together, and scorched by the influence of the sun into a rusty dark-red color, forming a contrast with the ^overgrown beard upon his cheeks, which was rather of a yellow or amber hue. One part 5 of his dress only remains, but it is too remarkable to be suppressed; it was a brass ring, resembling a dog’s collar, but without any opening, and soldered fast round his neck, so loose as to form no impediment to his breathing, yet so tight as to be incapable of being removed,