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+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Prince and The Pauper, Complete by
+Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost
+no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use
+it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this
+eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+Title: The Prince and The Pauper, Complete
+
+Author: Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
+
+Release Date: August 20, 2006 [EBook #1837]
+Last Updated: February 19, 2018
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PRINCE AND THE PAUPER ***
+
+Produced by David Widger. The earliest PG edition was prepared by Les
+Bowler
+
+
+
+
+THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER
+
+by Mark Twain
+
+The Great Seal
+
+I will set down a tale as it was told to me by one who had it of his
+father, which latter had it of HIS father, this last having in like
+manner had it of HIS father--and so on, back and still back, three
+hundred years and more, the fathers transmitting it to the sons and so
+preserving it.  It may be history, it may be only a legend, a tradition.
+It may have happened, it may not have happened:  but it COULD have
+happened.  It may be that the wise and the learned believed it in the
+old days; it may be that only the unlearned and the simple loved it and
+credited it.
+
+CONTENTS
+
+    I.          The birth of the Prince and the Pauper.
+    II.  Tom’s early life.
+    III.    Tom’s meeting with the Prince.
+    IV.  The Prince’s troubles begin.
+    V.          Tom as a patrician.
+    VI.  Tom receives instructions.
+    VII.    Tom’s first royal dinner.
+    VIII.    The question of the Seal.
+    IX.  The river pageant.
+    X.          The Prince in the toils.
+    XI.  At Guildhall.
+    XII.  The Prince and his deliverer.
+    XIII.    The disappearance of the Prince.
+    XIV.  ‘Le Roi est mort--vive le Roi.’
+    XV.  Tom as King.
+    XVI.  The state dinner.
+    XVII.    Foo-foo the First.
+    XVIII.    The Prince with the tramps.
+    XIX.  The Prince with the peasants.
+    XX.  The Prince and the hermit.
+    XXI.  Hendon to the rescue.
+    XXII.  A victim of treachery.
+    XXIII.    The Prince a prisoner.
+    XXIV.  The escape.
+    XXV.  Hendon Hall.
+    XXVI.  Disowned.
+    XXVII.  In prison.
+    XXVIII.    The sacrifice.
+    XXIX.  To London.
+    XXX.  Tom’s progress.
+    XXXI.  The Recognition procession.
+    XXXII.  Coronation Day.
+    XXXIII.  Edward as King.
+    CONCLUSION.    Justice and Retribution.
+       Notes.
+
+
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+THE GREAT SEAL (frontispiece)
+
+THE BIRTH OF THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER
+
+“SPLENDID PAGEANTS AND GREAT BONFIRES”
+
+TOM’S EARLY LIFE
+
+OFFAL COURT
+
+“WITH ANY MISERABLE CRUST”
+
+“HE OFTEN READ THE PRIEST’S BOOKS”
+
+“SAW POOR ANNE ASKEW BURNED”
+
+“BROUGHT THEIR PERPLEXITIES TO TOM”
+
+“LONGING FOR THE PORK-PIES”
+
+TOM’S MEETING WITH THE PRINCE
+
+“AT TEMPLE BAR”
+
+“LET HIM IN”
+
+“HOW OLD BE THESE
+
+“DOFF THY RAGS, AND DON THESE SPLENDORS”  
+
+“I SALUTE YOUR GRACIOUS HIGHNESS!”
+
+THE PRINCE’S TROUBLES BEGIN
+
+“SET UPON BY DOGS”
+
+“A DRUNKEN RUFFIAN COLLARED HIM”
+
+TOM AS A PATRICIAN
+
+“NEXT HE DREW THE SWORD”
+
+“RESOLVED TO FLY”
+
+“THE BOY WAS ON HIS KNEES”
+
+“NOBLES WALKED UPON EACH SIDE OF HIM”
+
+“HE DROPPED UPON HIS KNEES”
+
+“HE TURNED WITH JOYFUL FACE”
+
+“THE PHYSICIAN BOWED LOW”
+
+“THE KING FELL BACK UPON HIS COUCH”
+
+“IS THIS MAN TO LIVE FOREVER?”
+
+TOM RECEIVES INSTRUCTIONS
+
+“PRITHEE, INSIST NOT”
+
+“THE LORD ST. JOHN MADE REVERENCE”
+
+HERTFORD AND THE PRINCESSES
+
+“SHE MADE REVERENCE”
+
+“OFFERED IT TO HIM ON A GOLDEN SALVER”
+
+“THEY MUSED A WHILE”
+
+“PEACE MY LORD, THOU UTTEREST TREASON!”
+
+“HE BEGAN TO PACE THE FLOOR”
+
+TOM’S FIRST ROYAL DINNER
+
+“FASTENED A NAPKIN ABOUT HIS NECK”
+
+“TOM ATE WITH HIS FINGERS”
+
+“HE GRAVELY TOOK A DRAUGHT”
+
+“TOM PUT ON THE GREAVES”
+
+THE QUESTION OF THE SEAL
+
+“EASED HIM BACK UPON HIS PILLOWS”
+
+THE RIVER PAGEANT
+
+“HALBERDIERS APPEARED IN THE GATEWAY”
+
+“TOM CANTY STEPPED INTO VIEW”
+
+THE PRINCE IN THE TOILS
+
+“A DIM FORM SANK TO THE GROUND”
+
+“WHO ART THOU?”
+
+“INTO GOOD WIFE CANTY’S ARMS”
+
+“BENT HEEDFULLY AND WARILY OVER HIM”
+
+“THE PRINCE SPRANG UP”
+
+“HURRIED HIM ALONG THE DARK WAY”
+
+“HE WASTE NO TIME”
+
+AT GUILDHALL
+
+“A RICH CANOPY OF STATE”
+
+“BEGAN TO LAY ABOUT HIM”
+
+“LONG LIVE THE KING!”
+
+THE PRINCE AND HIS DELIVERER
+
+“OUR FRIENDS THREADED THEIR WAY”
+
+“OBJECT LESSONS” IN ENGLISH HISTORY
+
+“JOHN CANTY MOVED OFF”
+
+“SMOOTHING BACK THE TANGLED CURLS”
+
+“PRITHEE, POUR THE WATER”
+
+“GO ON--TELL ME THY STORY
+
+“THOU HAST BEEN SHAMEFULLY ABUSED”
+
+“HE DROPPED ON ONE KNEE”
+
+“RISE, SIR MILES HENDON, BARONET”
+
+THE DISAPPEARANCE OF THE PRINCE
+
+“HE DROPPED ASLEEP”
+
+“THESE BE VERY GOOD AND SOUND”
+
+“EXPLAIN, THOU LIMB OF SATAN”
+
+“HENDON FOLLOWED AFTER HIM”
+
+“LE ROI EST MORT-VIVE LE ROI”
+
+“WILT DEIGN TO DELIVER THY COMMANDS?”
+
+“LORD OF THE BEDCHAMBER”
+
+“A SECRETARY OF STATE”
+
+“STOOD AT GRACEFUL EASE”
+
+“‘TIS I THAT TAKE THEM”
+
+“BUT TAX YOUR MEMORY”
+
+TOM AS KING
+
+“TOM HAD WANDERED TO A WINDOW”
+
+“TOM SCANNED THE PRISONERS”
+
+“LET THE PRISONER GO FREE!”
+
+“WHAT IS IT THAT THESE HAVE DONE?”
+
+“NODDED THEIR RECOGNITION”
+
+THE STATE DINNER
+
+“A GENTLEMAN BEARING A ROD”
+
+“THE CHANCELLOR BETWEEN TWO”
+
+“I THANK YOU MY GOOD PEOPLE”
+
+“IN THE MIDST OF HIS PAGEANT”
+
+FOO-FOO THE FIRST
+
+“RUFFIAN FOLLOWED THEIR STEPS”
+
+“HE SEIZED A BILLET OF WOOD”
+
+“HE WAS SOON ABSORBED IN THINKING”
+
+“A GRIM AND UNSIGHTLY PICTURE”
+
+“THEY ROARED OUT A ROLLICKING DITTY”
+
+“WHILST THE FLAMES LICKED UPWARDS”
+
+“THEY WERE WHIPPED AT THE CART’S TAIL”
+
+“THOU SHALT NOT”
+
+“KNOCKING HOBBS DOWN”
+
+“THRONE HIM”
+
+THE PRINCE WITH THE TRAMPS
+
+“TROOP OF VAGABONDS SET FORWARD”
+
+“THEY THREW BONES AND VEGETABLES
+
+“WRITHE AND WALLOW IN THE DIRT”
+
+“KING FLED IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION”
+
+“HE STUMBLED ALONG”
+
+“WHAT SEEMED TO BE A WARM ROPE”
+
+“CUDDLED UP TO THE CALF”
+
+THE PRINCE WITH THE PEASANTS
+
+“TOOK A GOOD SATISFYING STARE”
+
+“MOTHER RECEIVED THE KING KINDLY”
+
+“BROUGHT THE KING OUT OF HIS DREAMS”
+
+“GAVE HIM A BUTCHER KNIFE TO GRIND”
+
+THE PRINCE AND THE HERMIT
+
+“HE TURNED AND DESCRIED TWO FIGURES”
+
+“THE KING ENTERED AND PAUSED”
+
+“I WILL TELL YOU A SECRET”
+
+“CHATTING PLEASANTLY ALL THE TIME”
+
+“DREW HIS THUMB ALONG THE EDGE”
+
+“THE NEXT MOMENT THEY WERE BOUND”
+
+HENDON TO THE RESCUE
+
+“SUNK UPON HIS KNEES”
+
+“GOD MADE EVERY CREATURE BUT YOU!”
+
+“THE FETTERED LITTLE KING”
+
+A VICTIM OF TREACHERY
+
+“HUGO STOOD NO CHANCE”
+
+“BOUND THE POULTICE TIGHT AND FAST”
+
+“TARRY HERE TILL I COME AGAIN
+
+“KING SPRANG TO HIS DELIVERER’S SIDE”
+
+THE PRINCE A PRISONER
+
+“GENTLY, GOOD FRIEND”
+
+“SHE SPRANG TO HER FEET”
+
+THE ESCAPE
+
+“THE PIG MAY COST THY NECK, MAN”
+
+“BEAR ME UP, BEAR ME UP, SWEET SIR!”
+
+HENDON HALL
+
+“JOGGING EASTWARD ON SORRY STEEDS”
+
+“THERE IS THE VILLAGE, MY PRINCE!”
+
+“‘EMBRACE ME, HUGH,’ HE CRIED”
+
+“HUGH PUT UP HIS HAND IN DISSENT”
+
+“A BEAUTIFUL LADY, RICHLY CLOTHED”
+
+“HUGH WAS PINNED TO THE WALL”
+
+DISOWNED
+
+“OBEY, AND HAVE NO FEAR”
+
+“AM I MILES HENDON?”
+
+IN PRISON
+
+“CHAINED IN A LARGE ROOM”
+
+“THE OLD MAN LOOKED HENDON OVER”
+
+“INFORMATION DELIVERED IN A LOW VOICE”
+
+“THE KING!” HE CRIED. “WHAT KING?”
+
+“TWO WOMEN CHAINED TO POSTS”
+
+“TORN AWAY BY THE OFFICERS”
+
+“THE KING WAS FURIOUS”
+
+THE SACRIFICE
+
+“HE CONFRONTED THE OFFICER IN CHARGE”
+
+“WHILE THE LASH WAS APPLIED”
+
+“SIR HUGH SPURRED AWAY”
+
+TO LONDON
+
+“MOUNTED AND RODE OFF WITH THE KING”
+
+“MIDST OF A JAM OF HOWLING PEOPLE”
+
+TOM’S PROGRESS
+
+“TO KISS HIS HAND AT PARTING”
+
+“COMMANDED HER TO GO TO HER CLOSET”
+
+THE RECOGNITION PROCESSION
+
+THE START FOR THE TOWER
+
+“WELCOME, O KING!”
+
+“A LARGESS! A LARGESS!”
+
+“SHE WAS AT HIS SIDE”
+
+“IT IS AN ILL TIME FOR DREAMING”
+
+“SHE WAS MY MOTHER”
+
+CORONATION DAY
+
+“GATHERS UP THE LADY’S LONG TRAIN”
+
+“TOM CANTY APPEARED”
+
+“AND FELL ON HIS KNEES BEFORE HIM”
+
+“THE GREAT SEAL--FETCH IT HITHER”
+
+“SIRE, THE SEAL IS NOT THERE”
+
+“BETHINK THEE, MY KING”
+
+“LONG LIVE THE TRUE KING!”
+
+“TO CRACK NUTS WITH”
+
+EDWARD AS KING
+
+“HE STRETCHED HIMSELF ON THE GROUND”
+
+“ARRESTED AS A SUSPICIOUS CHARACTER”
+
+“IT IS HIS RIGHT”
+
+“STRIP THIS ROBBER”
+
+“TOM ROSE AND KISSED THE KING’S HAND”
+
+JUSTICE AND RETRIBUTION
+
+NOTES
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I. The birth of the Prince and the Pauper.
+
+In the ancient city of London, on a certain autumn day in the second
+quarter of the sixteenth century, a boy was born to a poor family of the
+name of Canty, who did not want him.  On the same day another English
+child was born to a rich family of the name of Tudor, who did want him.
+All England wanted him too.  England had so longed for him, and hoped
+for him, and prayed God for him, that, now that he was really come, the
+people went nearly mad for joy.  Mere acquaintances hugged and kissed
+each other and cried. Everybody took a holiday, and high and low, rich
+and poor, feasted and danced and sang, and got very mellow; and they
+kept this up for days and nights together.  By day, London was a sight
+to see, with gay banners waving from every balcony and housetop, and
+splendid pageants marching along.  By night, it was again a sight
+to see, with its great bonfires at every corner, and its troops of
+revellers making merry around them.  There was no talk in all England
+but of the new baby, Edward Tudor, Prince of Wales, who lay lapped in
+silks and satins, unconscious of all this fuss, and not knowing that
+great lords and ladies were tending him and watching over him--and not
+caring, either.  But there was no talk about the other baby, Tom Canty,
+lapped in his poor rags, except among the family of paupers whom he had
+just come to trouble with his presence.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II. Tom’s early life.
+
+Let us skip a number of years.
+
+London was fifteen hundred years old, and was a great town--for that
+day. It had a hundred thousand inhabitants--some think double as many.
+ The streets were very narrow, and crooked, and dirty, especially in the
+part where Tom Canty lived, which was not far from London Bridge.  The
+houses were of wood, with the second story projecting over the first,
+and the third sticking its elbows out beyond the second.  The higher
+the houses grew, the broader they grew.  They were skeletons of strong
+criss-cross beams, with solid material between, coated with plaster.
+ The beams were painted red or blue or black, according to the owner’s
+taste, and this gave the houses a very picturesque look.  The windows
+were small, glazed with little diamond-shaped panes, and they opened
+outward, on hinges, like doors.
+
+The house which Tom’s father lived in was up a foul little pocket called
+Offal Court, out of Pudding Lane.  It was small, decayed, and rickety,
+but it was packed full of wretchedly poor families. Canty’s tribe
+occupied a room on the third floor.  The mother and father had a sort of
+bedstead in the corner; but Tom, his grandmother, and his two sisters,
+Bet and Nan, were not restricted--they had all the floor to themselves,
+and might sleep where they chose.  There were the remains of a blanket
+or two, and some bundles of ancient and dirty straw, but these could not
+rightly be called beds, for they were not organised; they were kicked
+into a general pile, mornings, and selections made from the mass at
+night, for service.
+
+Bet and Nan were fifteen years old--twins.  They were good-hearted
+girls, unclean, clothed in rags, and profoundly ignorant.  Their mother
+was like them.  But the father and the grandmother were a couple of
+fiends.  They got drunk whenever they could; then they fought each other
+or anybody else who came in the way; they cursed and swore always, drunk
+or sober; John Canty was a thief, and his mother a beggar.  They made
+beggars of the children, but failed to make thieves of them.  Among,
+but not of, the dreadful rabble that inhabited the house, was a good old
+priest whom the King had turned out of house and home with a pension of
+a few farthings, and he used to get the children aside and teach them
+right ways secretly. Father Andrew also taught Tom a little Latin, and
+how to read and write; and would have done the same with the girls,
+but they were afraid of the jeers of their friends, who could not have
+endured such a queer accomplishment in them.
+
+All Offal Court was just such another hive as Canty’s house.
+Drunkenness, riot and brawling were the order, there, every night and
+nearly all night long.  Broken heads were as common as hunger in that
+place.  Yet little Tom was not unhappy.  He had a hard time of it, but
+did not know it.  It was the sort of time that all the Offal Court boys
+had, therefore he supposed it was the correct and comfortable thing.
+ When he came home empty-handed at night, he knew his father would
+curse him and thrash him first, and that when he was done the awful
+grandmother would do it all over again and improve on it; and that away
+in the night his starving mother would slip to him stealthily with any
+miserable scrap or crust she had been able to save for him by going
+hungry herself, notwithstanding she was often caught in that sort of
+treason and soundly beaten for it by her husband.
+
+No, Tom’s life went along well enough, especially in summer.  He only
+begged just enough to save himself, for the laws against mendicancy were
+stringent, and the penalties heavy; so he put in a good deal of his time
+listening to good Father Andrew’s charming old tales and legends
+about giants and fairies, dwarfs and genii, and enchanted castles, and
+gorgeous kings and princes.  His head grew to be full of these wonderful
+things, and many a night as he lay in the dark on his scant and
+offensive straw, tired, hungry, and smarting from a thrashing, he
+unleashed his imagination and soon forgot his aches and pains in
+delicious picturings to himself of the charmed life of a petted prince
+in a regal palace.  One desire came in time to haunt him day and night:
+ it was to see a real prince, with his own eyes.  He spoke of it once to
+some of his Offal Court comrades; but they jeered him and scoffed him so
+unmercifully that he was glad to keep his dream to himself after that.
+
+He often read the priest’s old books and got him to explain and enlarge
+upon them.  His dreamings and readings worked certain changes in him,
+by-and-by.  His dream-people were so fine that he grew to lament his
+shabby clothing and his dirt, and to wish to be clean and better clad.
+ He went on playing in the mud just the same, and enjoying it, too; but,
+instead of splashing around in the Thames solely for the fun of it,
+he began to find an added value in it because of the washings and
+cleansings it afforded.
+
+Tom could always find something going on around the Maypole in
+Cheapside, and at the fairs; and now and then he and the rest of London
+had a chance to see a military parade when some famous unfortunate was
+carried prisoner to the Tower, by land or boat. One summer’s day he saw
+poor Anne Askew and three men burned at the stake in Smithfield, and
+heard an ex-Bishop preach a sermon to them which did not interest him.
+Yes, Tom’s life was varied and pleasant enough, on the whole.
+
+By-and-by Tom’s reading and dreaming about princely life wrought such a
+strong effect upon him that he began to _act_ the prince, unconsciously.
+His speech and manners became curiously ceremonious and courtly, to the
+vast admiration and amusement of his intimates.  But Tom’s influence
+among these young people began to grow now, day by day; and in time he
+came to be looked up to, by them, with a sort of wondering awe, as a
+superior being.  He seemed to know so much! and he could do and say such
+marvellous things! and withal, he was so deep and wise!  Tom’s remarks,
+and Tom’s performances, were reported by the boys to their elders; and
+these, also, presently began to discuss Tom Canty, and to regard him
+as a most gifted and extraordinary creature.  Full-grown people brought
+their perplexities to Tom for solution, and were often astonished at the
+wit and wisdom of his decisions.  In fact he was become a hero to all
+who knew him except his own family--these, only, saw nothing in him.
+
+Privately, after a while, Tom organised a royal court!  He was the
+prince; his special comrades were guards, chamberlains, equerries, lords
+and ladies in waiting, and the royal family.  Daily the mock prince was
+received with elaborate ceremonials borrowed by Tom from his romantic
+readings; daily the great affairs of the mimic kingdom were discussed
+in the royal council, and daily his mimic highness issued decrees to his
+imaginary armies, navies, and viceroyalties.
+
+After which, he would go forth in his rags and beg a few farthings, eat
+his poor crust, take his customary cuffs and abuse, and then stretch
+himself upon his handful of foul straw, and resume his empty grandeurs
+in his dreams.
+
+And still his desire to look just once upon a real prince, in the flesh,
+grew upon him, day by day, and week by week, until at last it absorbed
+all other desires, and became the one passion of his life.
+
+One January day, on his usual begging tour, he tramped despondently up
+and down the region round about Mincing Lane and Little East Cheap, hour
+after hour, bare-footed and cold, looking in at cook-shop windows and
+longing for the dreadful pork-pies and other deadly inventions displayed
+there--for to him these were dainties fit for the angels; that is,
+judging by the smell, they were--for it had never been his good luck to
+own and eat one. There was a cold drizzle of rain; the atmosphere was
+murky; it was a melancholy day.  At night Tom reached home so wet and
+tired and hungry that it was not possible for his father and grandmother
+to observe his forlorn condition and not be moved--after their fashion;
+wherefore they gave him a brisk cuffing at once and sent him to bed.
+ For a long time his pain and hunger, and the swearing and fighting
+going on in the building, kept him awake; but at last his thoughts
+drifted away to far, romantic lands, and he fell asleep in the company
+of jewelled and gilded princelings who live in vast palaces, and had
+servants salaaming before them or flying to execute their orders.  And
+then, as usual, he dreamed that _he_ was a princeling himself.
+
+All night long the glories of his royal estate shone upon him; he moved
+among great lords and ladies, in a blaze of light, breathing perfumes,
+drinking in delicious music, and answering the reverent obeisances of
+the glittering throng as it parted to make way for him, with here a
+smile, and there a nod of his princely head.
+
+And when he awoke in the morning and looked upon the wretchedness
+about him, his dream had had its usual effect--it had intensified the
+sordidness of his surroundings a thousandfold.  Then came bitterness,
+and heart-break, and tears.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III. Tom’s meeting with the Prince.
+
+Tom got up hungry, and sauntered hungry away, but with his thoughts busy
+with the shadowy splendours of his night’s dreams. He wandered here
+and there in the city, hardly noticing where he was going, or what
+was happening around him.  People jostled him, and some gave him rough
+speech; but it was all lost on the musing boy.  By-and-by he found
+himself at Temple Bar, the farthest from home he had ever travelled in
+that direction.  He stopped and considered a moment, then fell into his
+imaginings again, and passed on outside the walls of London.  The Strand
+had ceased to be a country-road then, and regarded itself as a street,
+but by a strained construction; for, though there was a tolerably
+compact row of houses on one side of it, there were only some scattered
+great buildings on the other, these being palaces of rich nobles, with
+ample and beautiful grounds stretching to the river--grounds that are
+now closely packed with grim acres of brick and stone.
+
+Tom discovered Charing Village presently, and rested himself at the
+beautiful cross built there by a bereaved king of earlier days; then
+idled down a quiet, lovely road, past the great cardinal’s
+stately palace, toward a far more mighty and majestic palace
+beyond--Westminster. Tom stared in glad wonder at the vast pile of
+masonry, the wide-spreading wings, the frowning bastions and turrets,
+the huge stone gateway, with its gilded bars and its magnificent array
+of colossal granite lions, and other the signs and symbols of English
+royalty.  Was the desire of his soul to be satisfied at last?  Here,
+indeed, was a king’s palace.  Might he not hope to see a prince now--a
+prince of flesh and blood, if Heaven were willing?
+
+At each side of the gilded gate stood a living statue--that is to say,
+an erect and stately and motionless man-at-arms, clad from head to heel
+in shining steel armour.  At a respectful distance were many country
+folk, and people from the city, waiting for any chance glimpse of
+royalty that might offer.  Splendid carriages, with splendid people
+in them and splendid servants outside, were arriving and departing by
+several other noble gateways that pierced the royal enclosure.
+
+Poor little Tom, in his rags, approached, and was moving slowly and
+timidly past the sentinels, with a beating heart and a rising hope, when
+all at once he caught sight through the golden bars of a spectacle that
+almost made him shout for joy.  Within was a comely boy, tanned and
+brown with sturdy outdoor sports and exercises, whose clothing was all
+of lovely silks and satins, shining with jewels; at his hip a little
+jewelled sword and dagger; dainty buskins on his feet, with red heels;
+and on his head a jaunty crimson cap, with drooping plumes fastened
+with a great sparkling gem.  Several gorgeous gentlemen stood near--his
+servants, without a doubt.  Oh! he was a prince--a prince, a living
+prince, a real prince--without the shadow of a question; and the prayer
+of the pauper-boy’s heart was answered at last.
+
+Tom’s breath came quick and short with excitement, and his eyes grew big
+with wonder and delight.  Everything gave way in his mind instantly
+to one desire:  that was to get close to the prince, and have a good,
+devouring look at him.  Before he knew what he was about, he had his
+face against the gate-bars.  The next instant one of the soldiers
+snatched him rudely away, and sent him spinning among the gaping crowd
+of country gawks and London idlers.  The soldier said,--
+
+“Mind thy manners, thou young beggar!”
+
+The crowd jeered and laughed; but the young prince sprang to the gate
+with his face flushed, and his eyes flashing with indignation, and cried
+out,--
+
+“How dar’st thou use a poor lad like that?  How dar’st thou use the King
+my father’s meanest subject so?  Open the gates, and let him in!”
+
+You should have seen that fickle crowd snatch off their hats then.
+You should have heard them cheer, and shout, “Long live the Prince of
+Wales!”
+
+The soldiers presented arms with their halberds, opened the gates,
+and presented again as the little Prince of Poverty passed in, in his
+fluttering rags, to join hands with the Prince of Limitless Plenty.
+
+Edward Tudor said--
+
+“Thou lookest tired and hungry:  thou’st been treated ill.  Come with
+me.”
+
+Half a dozen attendants sprang forward to--I don’t know what; interfere,
+no doubt.  But they were waved aside with a right royal gesture, and
+they stopped stock still where they were, like so many statues.  Edward
+took Tom to a rich apartment in the palace, which he called his cabinet.
+ By his command a repast was brought such as Tom had never encountered
+before except in books.  The prince, with princely delicacy and
+breeding, sent away the servants, so that his humble guest might not be
+embarrassed by their critical presence; then he sat near by, and asked
+questions while Tom ate.
+
+“What is thy name, lad?”
+
+“Tom Canty, an’ it please thee, sir.”
+
+“‘Tis an odd one.  Where dost live?”
+
+“In the city, please thee, sir.  Offal Court, out of Pudding Lane.”
+
+“Offal Court!  Truly ’tis another odd one.  Hast parents?”
+
+“Parents have I, sir, and a grand-dam likewise that is but indifferently
+precious to me, God forgive me if it be offence to say it--also twin
+sisters, Nan and Bet.”
+
+“Then is thy grand-dam not over kind to thee, I take it?”
+
+“Neither to any other is she, so please your worship.  She hath a wicked
+heart, and worketh evil all her days.”
+
+“Doth she mistreat thee?”
+
+“There be times that she stayeth her hand, being asleep or overcome with
+drink; but when she hath her judgment clear again, she maketh it up to
+me with goodly beatings.”
+
+A fierce look came into the little prince’s eyes, and he cried out--
+
+“What!  Beatings?”
+
+“Oh, indeed, yes, please you, sir.”
+
+“_Beatings_!--and thou so frail and little.  Hark ye:  before the night
+come, she shall hie her to the Tower.  The King my father”--
+
+“In sooth, you forget, sir, her low degree.  The Tower is for the great
+alone.”
+
+“True, indeed.  I had not thought of that.  I will consider of her
+punishment.  Is thy father kind to thee?”
+
+“Not more than Gammer Canty, sir.”
+
+“Fathers be alike, mayhap.  Mine hath not a doll’s temper.  He smiteth
+with a heavy hand, yet spareth me:  he spareth me not always with his
+tongue, though, sooth to say.  How doth thy mother use thee?”
+
+“She is good, sir, and giveth me neither sorrow nor pain of any sort.
+And Nan and Bet are like to her in this.”
+
+“How old be these?”
+
+“Fifteen, an’ it please you, sir.”
+
+“The Lady Elizabeth, my sister, is fourteen, and the Lady Jane Grey,
+my cousin, is of mine own age, and comely and gracious withal; but
+my sister the Lady Mary, with her gloomy mien and--Look you:  do thy
+sisters forbid their servants to smile, lest the sin destroy their
+souls?”
+
+“They?  Oh, dost think, sir, that _they_ have servants?”
+
+The little prince contemplated the little pauper gravely a moment, then
+said--
+
+“And prithee, why not?  Who helpeth them undress at night?  Who attireth
+them when they rise?”
+
+“None, sir.  Would’st have them take off their garment, and sleep
+without--like the beasts?”
+
+“Their garment!  Have they but one?”
+
+“Ah, good your worship, what would they do with more?  Truly they have
+not two bodies each.”
+
+“It is a quaint and marvellous thought!  Thy pardon, I had not meant
+to laugh.  But thy good Nan and thy Bet shall have raiment and lackeys
+enow, and that soon, too:  my cofferer shall look to it.  No, thank me
+not; ’tis nothing.  Thou speakest well; thou hast an easy grace in it.
+ Art learned?”
+
+“I know not if I am or not, sir.  The good priest that is called Father
+Andrew taught me, of his kindness, from his books.”
+
+“Know’st thou the Latin?”
+
+“But scantly, sir, I doubt.”
+
+“Learn it, lad:  ’tis hard only at first.  The Greek is harder; but
+neither these nor any tongues else, I think, are hard to the Lady
+Elizabeth and my cousin.  Thou should’st hear those damsels at it!  But
+tell me of thy Offal Court.  Hast thou a pleasant life there?”
+
+“In truth, yes, so please you, sir, save when one is hungry. There
+be Punch-and-Judy shows, and monkeys--oh such antic creatures! and so
+bravely dressed!--and there be plays wherein they that play do shout
+and fight till all are slain, and ’tis so fine to see, and costeth but
+a farthing--albeit ’tis main hard to get the farthing, please your
+worship.”
+
+“Tell me more.”
+
+“We lads of Offal Court do strive against each other with the cudgel,
+like to the fashion of the ‘prentices, sometimes.”
+
+The prince’s eyes flashed.  Said he--
+
+“Marry, that would not I mislike.  Tell me more.”
+
+“We strive in races, sir, to see who of us shall be fleetest.”
+
+“That would I like also.  Speak on.”
+
+“In summer, sir, we wade and swim in the canals and in the river, and
+each doth duck his neighbour, and splatter him with water, and dive and
+shout and tumble and--”
+
+“‘Twould be worth my father’s kingdom but to enjoy it once! Prithee go
+on.”
+
+“We dance and sing about the Maypole in Cheapside; we play in the sand,
+each covering his neighbour up; and times we make mud pastry--oh
+the lovely mud, it hath not its like for delightfulness in all the
+world!--we do fairly wallow in the mud, sir, saving your worship’s
+presence.”
+
+“Oh, prithee, say no more, ’tis glorious!  If that I could but clothe me
+in raiment like to thine, and strip my feet, and revel in the mud once,
+just once, with none to rebuke me or forbid, meseemeth I could forego
+the crown!”
+
+“And if that I could clothe me once, sweet sir, as thou art clad--just
+once--”
+
+“Oho, would’st like it?  Then so shall it be.  Doff thy rags, and don
+these splendours, lad!  It is a brief happiness, but will be not less
+keen for that.  We will have it while we may, and change again before
+any come to molest.”
+
+A few minutes later the little Prince of Wales was garlanded with Tom’s
+fluttering odds and ends, and the little Prince of Pauperdom was tricked
+out in the gaudy plumage of royalty.  The two went and stood side by
+side before a great mirror, and lo, a miracle: there did not seem to
+have been any change made!  They stared at each other, then at the
+glass, then at each other again.  At last the puzzled princeling said--
+
+“What dost thou make of this?”
+
+“Ah, good your worship, require me not to answer.  It is not meet that
+one of my degree should utter the thing.”
+
+“Then will _I_ utter it.  Thou hast the same hair, the same eyes, the
+same voice and manner, the same form and stature, the same face and
+countenance that I bear.  Fared we forth naked, there is none could
+say which was you, and which the Prince of Wales.  And, now that I
+am clothed as thou wert clothed, it seemeth I should be able the more
+nearly to feel as thou didst when the brute soldier--Hark ye, is not
+this a bruise upon your hand?”
+
+“Yes; but it is a slight thing, and your worship knoweth that the poor
+man-at-arms--”
+
+“Peace!  It was a shameful thing and a cruel!” cried the little prince,
+stamping his bare foot.  “If the King--Stir not a step till I come
+again! It is a command!”
+
+In a moment he had snatched up and put away an article of national
+importance that lay upon a table, and was out at the door and flying
+through the palace grounds in his bannered rags, with a hot face and
+glowing eyes.  As soon as he reached the great gate, he seized the bars,
+and tried to shake them, shouting--
+
+“Open!  Unbar the gates!”
+
+The soldier that had maltreated Tom obeyed promptly; and as the prince
+burst through the portal, half-smothered with royal wrath, the soldier
+fetched him a sounding box on the ear that sent him whirling to the
+roadway, and said--
+
+“Take that, thou beggar’s spawn, for what thou got’st me from his
+Highness!”
+
+The crowd roared with laughter.  The prince picked himself out of the
+mud, and made fiercely at the sentry, shouting--
+
+“I am the Prince of Wales, my person is sacred; and thou shalt hang for
+laying thy hand upon me!”
+
+The soldier brought his halberd to a present-arms and said mockingly--
+
+“I salute your gracious Highness.”  Then angrily--“Be off, thou crazy
+rubbish!”
+
+Here the jeering crowd closed round the poor little prince, and hustled
+him far down the road, hooting him, and shouting--
+
+“Way for his Royal Highness!  Way for the Prince of Wales!”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV. The Prince’s troubles begin.
+
+After hours of persistent pursuit and persecution, the little prince was
+at last deserted by the rabble and left to himself.  As long as he had
+been able to rage against the mob, and threaten it royally, and
+royally utter commands that were good stuff to laugh at, he was very
+entertaining; but when weariness finally forced him to be silent, he was
+no longer of use to his tormentors, and they sought amusement elsewhere.
+He looked about him, now, but could not recognise the locality.  He
+was within the city of London--that was all he knew.  He moved on,
+aimlessly, and in a little while the houses thinned, and the passers-by
+were infrequent.  He bathed his bleeding feet in the brook which flowed
+then where Farringdon Street now is; rested a few moments, then passed
+on, and presently came upon a great space with only a few scattered
+houses in it, and a prodigious church.  He recognised this church.
+ Scaffoldings were about, everywhere, and swarms of workmen; for it was
+undergoing elaborate repairs.  The prince took heart at once--he felt
+that his troubles were at an end, now.  He said to himself, “It is the
+ancient Grey Friars’ Church, which the king my father hath taken from
+the monks and given for a home for ever for poor and forsaken children,
+and new-named it Christ’s Church.  Right gladly will they serve the son
+of him who hath done so generously by them--and the more that that son
+is himself as poor and as forlorn as any that be sheltered here this
+day, or ever shall be.”
+
+He was soon in the midst of a crowd of boys who were running, jumping,
+playing at ball and leap-frog, and otherwise disporting themselves, and
+right noisily, too.  They were all dressed alike, and in the fashion
+which in that day prevailed among serving-men and ‘prentices{1}--that
+is to say, each had on the crown of his head a flat black cap about the
+size of a saucer, which was not useful as a covering, it being of such
+scanty dimensions, neither was it ornamental; from beneath it the hair
+fell, unparted, to the middle of the forehead, and was cropped straight
+around; a clerical band at the neck; a blue gown that fitted closely
+and hung as low as the knees or lower; full sleeves; a broad red belt;
+bright yellow stockings, gartered above the knees; low shoes with large
+metal buckles. It was a sufficiently ugly costume.
+
+The boys stopped their play and flocked about the prince, who said with
+native dignity--
+
+“Good lads, say to your master that Edward Prince of Wales desireth
+speech with him.”
+
+A great shout went up at this, and one rude fellow said--
+
+“Marry, art thou his grace’s messenger, beggar?”
+
+The prince’s face flushed with anger, and his ready hand flew to his
+hip, but there was nothing there.  There was a storm of laughter, and
+one boy said--
+
+“Didst mark that?  He fancied he had a sword--belike he is the prince
+himself.”
+
+This sally brought more laughter.  Poor Edward drew himself up proudly
+and said--
+
+“I am the prince; and it ill beseemeth you that feed upon the king my
+father’s bounty to use me so.”
+
+This was vastly enjoyed, as the laughter testified.  The youth who had
+first spoken, shouted to his comrades--
+
+“Ho, swine, slaves, pensioners of his grace’s princely father, where be
+your manners?  Down on your marrow bones, all of ye, and do reverence to
+his kingly port and royal rags!”
+
+With boisterous mirth they dropped upon their knees in a body and did
+mock homage to their prey.  The prince spurned the nearest boy with his
+foot, and said fiercely--
+
+“Take thou that, till the morrow come and I build thee a gibbet!”
+
+Ah, but this was not a joke--this was going beyond fun.  The laughter
+ceased on the instant, and fury took its place.  A dozen shouted--
+
+“Hale him forth!  To the horse-pond, to the horse-pond!  Where be the
+dogs?  Ho, there, Lion! ho, Fangs!”
+
+Then followed such a thing as England had never seen before--the sacred
+person of the heir to the throne rudely buffeted by plebeian hands, and
+set upon and torn by dogs.
+
+As night drew to a close that day, the prince found himself far down in
+the close-built portion of the city.  His body was bruised, his hands
+were bleeding, and his rags were all besmirched with mud.  He wandered
+on and on, and grew more and more bewildered, and so tired and faint
+he could hardly drag one foot after the other.  He had ceased to ask
+questions of anyone, since they brought him only insult instead of
+information.  He kept muttering to himself, “Offal Court--that is the
+name; if I can but find it before my strength is wholly spent and I
+drop, then am I saved--for his people will take me to the palace and
+prove that I am none of theirs, but the true prince, and I shall have
+mine own again.”  And now and then his mind reverted to his treatment
+by those rude Christ’s Hospital boys, and he said, “When I am king, they
+shall not have bread and shelter only, but also teachings out of books;
+for a full belly is little worth where the mind is starved, and the
+heart.  I will keep this diligently in my remembrance, that this day’s
+lesson be not lost upon me, and my people suffer thereby; for learning
+softeneth the heart and breedeth gentleness and charity.” {1}
+
+The lights began to twinkle, it came on to rain, the wind rose, and a
+raw and gusty night set in.  The houseless prince, the homeless heir to
+the throne of England, still moved on, drifting deeper into the maze
+of squalid alleys where the swarming hives of poverty and misery were
+massed together.
+
+Suddenly a great drunken ruffian collared him and said--
+
+“Out to this time of night again, and hast not brought a farthing home,
+I warrant me!  If it be so, an’ I do not break all the bones in thy lean
+body, then am I not John Canty, but some other.”
+
+The prince twisted himself loose, unconsciously brushed his profaned
+shoulder, and eagerly said--
+
+“Oh, art _his_ father, truly?  Sweet heaven grant it be so--then wilt
+thou fetch him away and restore me!”
+
+“_His_ father?  I know not what thou mean’st; I but know I am _thy_
+father, as thou shalt soon have cause to--”
+
+“Oh, jest not, palter not, delay not!--I am worn, I am wounded, I can
+bear no more.  Take me to the king my father, and he will make thee rich
+beyond thy wildest dreams.  Believe me, man, believe me!--I speak no
+lie, but only the truth!--put forth thy hand and save me!  I am indeed
+the Prince of Wales!”
+
+The man stared down, stupefied, upon the lad, then shook his head and
+muttered--
+
+“Gone stark mad as any Tom o’ Bedlam!”--then collared him once more,
+and said with a coarse laugh and an oath, “But mad or no mad, I and thy
+Gammer Canty will soon find where the soft places in thy bones lie, or
+I’m no true man!”
+
+With this he dragged the frantic and struggling prince away, and
+disappeared up a front court followed by a delighted and noisy swarm of
+human vermin.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V. Tom as a Patrician.
+
+Tom Canty, left alone in the prince’s cabinet, made good use of his
+opportunity.  He turned himself this way and that before the great
+mirror, admiring his finery; then walked away, imitating the prince’s
+high-bred carriage, and still observing results in the glass.  Next he
+drew the beautiful sword, and bowed, kissing the blade, and laying it
+across his breast, as he had seen a noble knight do, by way of salute to
+the lieutenant of the Tower, five or six weeks before, when delivering
+the great lords of Norfolk and Surrey into his hands for captivity.  Tom
+played with the jewelled dagger that hung upon his thigh; he examined
+the costly and exquisite ornaments of the room; he tried each of the
+sumptuous chairs, and thought how proud he would be if the Offal Court
+herd could only peep in and see him in his grandeur.  He wondered if
+they would believe the marvellous tale he should tell when he got home,
+or if they would shake their heads, and say his overtaxed imagination
+had at last upset his reason.
+
+At the end of half an hour it suddenly occurred to him that the prince
+was gone a long time; then right away he began to feel lonely; very
+soon he fell to listening and longing, and ceased to toy with the
+pretty things about him; he grew uneasy, then restless, then distressed.
+Suppose some one should come, and catch him in the prince’s clothes, and
+the prince not there to explain.  Might they not hang him at once,
+and inquire into his case afterward?  He had heard that the great
+were prompt about small matters.  His fear rose higher and higher; and
+trembling he softly opened the door to the antechamber, resolved to
+fly and seek the prince, and, through him, protection and release.  Six
+gorgeous gentlemen-servants and two young pages of high degree, clothed
+like butterflies, sprang to their feet and bowed low before him.  He
+stepped quickly back and shut the door.  He said--
+
+“Oh, they mock at me!  They will go and tell.  Oh! why came I here to
+cast away my life?”
+
+He walked up and down the floor, filled with nameless fears, listening,
+starting at every trifling sound.  Presently the door swung open, and a
+silken page said--
+
+“The Lady Jane Grey.”
+
+The door closed and a sweet young girl, richly clad, bounded toward him.
+But she stopped suddenly, and said in a distressed voice--
+
+“Oh, what aileth thee, my lord?”
+
+Tom’s breath was nearly failing him; but he made shift to stammer out--
+
+“Ah, be merciful, thou!  In sooth I am no lord, but only poor Tom Canty
+of Offal Court in the city.  Prithee let me see the prince, and he will
+of his grace restore to me my rags, and let me hence unhurt.  Oh, be
+thou merciful, and save me!”
+
+By this time the boy was on his knees, and supplicating with his eyes
+and uplifted hands as well as with his tongue.  The young girl seemed
+horror-stricken.  She cried out--
+
+“O my lord, on thy knees?--and to _me_!”
+
+Then she fled away in fright; and Tom, smitten with despair, sank down,
+murmuring--
+
+“There is no help, there is no hope.  Now will they come and take me.”
+
+Whilst he lay there benumbed with terror, dreadful tidings were speeding
+through the palace.  The whisper--for it was whispered always--flew from
+menial to menial, from lord to lady, down all the long corridors, from
+story to story, from saloon to saloon, “The prince hath gone mad, the
+prince hath gone mad!”  Soon every saloon, every marble hall, had its
+groups of glittering lords and ladies, and other groups of dazzling
+lesser folk, talking earnestly together in whispers, and every face
+had in it dismay. Presently a splendid official came marching by these
+groups, making solemn proclamation--
+
+“IN THE NAME OF THE KING!
+
+Let none list to this false and foolish matter, upon pain of death, nor
+discuss the same, nor carry it abroad.  In the name of the King!”
+
+The whisperings ceased as suddenly as if the whisperers had been
+stricken dumb.
+
+Soon there was a general buzz along the corridors, of “The prince! See,
+the prince comes!”
+
+Poor Tom came slowly walking past the low-bowing groups, trying to
+bow in return, and meekly gazing upon his strange surroundings with
+bewildered and pathetic eyes.  Great nobles walked upon each side of
+him, making him lean upon them, and so steady his steps. Behind him
+followed the court-physicians and some servants.
+
+Presently Tom found himself in a noble apartment of the palace and heard
+the door close behind him.  Around him stood those who had come with
+him. Before him, at a little distance, reclined a very large and very
+fat man, with a wide, pulpy face, and a stern expression.  His large
+head was very grey; and his whiskers, which he wore only around his
+face, like a frame, were grey also.  His clothing was of rich stuff,
+but old, and slightly frayed in places.  One of his swollen legs had a
+pillow under it, and was wrapped in bandages.  There was silence now;
+and there was no head there but was bent in reverence, except this
+man’s.  This stern-countenanced invalid was the dread Henry VIII.  He
+said--and his face grew gentle as he began to speak--
+
+“How now, my lord Edward, my prince?  Hast been minded to cozen me, the
+good King thy father, who loveth thee, and kindly useth thee, with a
+sorry jest?”
+
+Poor Tom was listening, as well as his dazed faculties would let him,
+to the beginning of this speech; but when the words ‘me, the good King’
+fell upon his ear, his face blanched, and he dropped as instantly upon
+his knees as if a shot had brought him there. Lifting up his hands, he
+exclaimed--
+
+“Thou the _King_?  Then am I undone indeed!”
+
+This speech seemed to stun the King.  His eyes wandered from face to
+face aimlessly, then rested, bewildered, upon the boy before him.  Then
+he said in a tone of deep disappointment--
+
+“Alack, I had believed the rumour disproportioned to the truth; but I
+fear me ’tis not so.”  He breathed a heavy sigh, and said in a gentle
+voice, “Come to thy father, child:  thou art not well.”
+
+Tom was assisted to his feet, and approached the Majesty of England,
+humble and trembling.  The King took the frightened face between his
+hands, and gazed earnestly and lovingly into it awhile, as if seeking
+some grateful sign of returning reason there, then pressed the curly
+head against his breast, and patted it tenderly.  Presently he said--
+
+“Dost not know thy father, child?  Break not mine old heart; say thou
+know’st me.  Thou _dost_ know me, dost thou not?”
+
+“Yea:  thou art my dread lord the King, whom God preserve!”
+
+“True, true--that is well--be comforted, tremble not so; there is none
+here would hurt thee; there is none here but loves thee. Thou art better
+now; thy ill dream passeth--is’t not so?  Thou wilt not miscall thyself
+again, as they say thou didst a little while agone?”
+
+“I pray thee of thy grace believe me, I did but speak the truth, most
+dread lord; for I am the meanest among thy subjects, being a pauper
+born, and ’tis by a sore mischance and accident I am here, albeit I was
+therein nothing blameful.  I am but young to die, and thou canst save me
+with one little word.  Oh speak it, sir!”
+
+“Die?  Talk not so, sweet prince--peace, peace, to thy troubled
+heart--thou shalt not die!”
+
+Tom dropped upon his knees with a glad cry--
+
+“God requite thy mercy, O my King, and save thee long to bless thy
+land!” Then springing up, he turned a joyful face toward the two lords
+in waiting, and exclaimed, “Thou heard’st it!  I am not to die:  the
+King hath said it!”  There was no movement, save that all bowed with
+grave respect; but no one spoke.  He hesitated, a little confused, then
+turned timidly toward the King, saying, “I may go now?”
+
+“Go?  Surely, if thou desirest.  But why not tarry yet a little? Whither
+would’st go?”
+
+Tom dropped his eyes, and answered humbly--
+
+“Peradventure I mistook; but I did think me free, and so was I moved
+to seek again the kennel where I was born and bred to misery, yet which
+harboureth my mother and my sisters, and so is home to me; whereas these
+pomps and splendours whereunto I am not used--oh, please you, sir, to
+let me go!”
+
+The King was silent and thoughtful a while, and his face betrayed a
+growing distress and uneasiness.  Presently he said, with something of
+hope in his voice--
+
+“Perchance he is but mad upon this one strain, and hath his wits
+unmarred as toucheth other matter.  God send it may be so!  We will make
+trial.”
+
+Then he asked Tom a question in Latin, and Tom answered him lamely in
+the same tongue.  The lords and doctors manifested their gratification
+also. The King said--
+
+“‘Twas not according to his schooling and ability, but showeth that his
+mind is but diseased, not stricken fatally.  How say you, sir?”
+
+The physician addressed bowed low, and replied--
+
+“It jumpeth with my own conviction, sire, that thou hast divined
+aright.”
+
+The King looked pleased with this encouragement, coming as it did from
+so excellent authority, and continued with good heart--
+
+“Now mark ye all:  we will try him further.”
+
+He put a question to Tom in French.  Tom stood silent a moment,
+embarrassed by having so many eyes centred upon him, then said
+diffidently--
+
+“I have no knowledge of this tongue, so please your majesty.”
+
+The King fell back upon his couch.  The attendants flew to his
+assistance; but he put them aside, and said--
+
+“Trouble me not--it is nothing but a scurvy faintness.  Raise me! There,
+‘tis sufficient.  Come hither, child; there, rest thy poor troubled head
+upon thy father’s heart, and be at peace.  Thou’lt soon be well:  ’tis
+but a passing fantasy.  Fear thou not; thou’lt soon be well.”  Then
+he turned toward the company:  his gentle manner changed, and baleful
+lightnings began to play from his eyes.  He said--
+
+“List ye all!  This my son is mad; but it is not permanent.  Over-study
+hath done this, and somewhat too much of confinement.  Away with his
+books and teachers! see ye to it.  Pleasure him with sports, beguile him
+in wholesome ways, so that his health come again.”  He raised himself
+higher still, and went on with energy, “He is mad; but he is my son,
+and England’s heir; and, mad or sane, still shall he reign!  And hear ye
+further, and proclaim it: whoso speaketh of this his distemper worketh
+against the peace and order of these realms, and shall to the gallows!
+. . . Give me to drink--I burn:  this sorrow sappeth my strength. . . .
+There, take away the cup. . . . Support me.  There, that is well.  Mad,
+is he?  Were he a thousand times mad, yet is he Prince of Wales, and I
+the King will confirm it.  This very morrow shall he be installed in his
+princely dignity in due and ancient form.  Take instant order for it, my
+lord Hertford.”
+
+One of the nobles knelt at the royal couch, and said--
+
+“The King’s majesty knoweth that the Hereditary Great Marshal of England
+lieth attainted in the Tower.  It were not meet that one attainted--”
+
+“Peace!  Insult not mine ears with his hated name.  Is this man to
+live for ever?  Am I to be baulked of my will?  Is the prince to tarry
+uninstalled, because, forsooth, the realm lacketh an Earl Marshal
+free of treasonable taint to invest him with his honours? No, by the
+splendour of God!  Warn my Parliament to bring me Norfolk’s doom before
+the sun rise again, else shall they answer for it grievously!” {1}
+
+Lord Hertford said--
+
+“The King’s will is law;” and, rising, returned to his former place.
+
+Gradually the wrath faded out of the old King’s face, and he said--
+
+“Kiss me, my prince.  There . . . what fearest thou?  Am I not thy
+loving father?”
+
+“Thou art good to me that am unworthy, O mighty and gracious lord: that
+in truth I know.  But--but--it grieveth me to think of him that is to
+die, and--”
+
+“Ah, ’tis like thee, ’tis like thee!  I know thy heart is still the
+same, even though thy mind hath suffered hurt, for thou wert ever of a
+gentle spirit.  But this duke standeth between thee and thine honours:
+ I will have another in his stead that shall bring no taint to his great
+office. Comfort thee, my prince:  trouble not thy poor head with this
+matter.”
+
+“But is it not I that speed him hence, my liege?  How long might he not
+live, but for me?”
+
+“Take no thought of him, my prince:  he is not worthy.  Kiss me once
+again, and go to thy trifles and amusements; for my malady distresseth
+me.  I am aweary, and would rest.  Go with thine uncle Hertford and thy
+people, and come again when my body is refreshed.”
+
+Tom, heavy-hearted, was conducted from the presence, for this last
+sentence was a death-blow to the hope he had cherished that now he would
+be set free.  Once more he heard the buzz of low voices exclaiming, “The
+prince, the prince comes!”
+
+His spirits sank lower and lower as he moved between the glittering
+files of bowing courtiers; for he recognised that he was indeed a
+captive now, and might remain for ever shut up in this gilded cage, a
+forlorn and friendless prince, except God in his mercy take pity on him
+and set him free.
+
+And, turn where he would, he seemed to see floating in the air the
+severed head and the remembered face of the great Duke of Norfolk, the
+eyes fixed on him reproachfully.
+
+His old dreams had been so pleasant; but this reality was so dreary!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI. Tom receives instructions.
+
+Tom was conducted to the principal apartment of a noble suite, and made
+to sit down--a thing which he was loth to do, since there were elderly
+men and men of high degree about him.  He begged them to be seated
+also, but they only bowed their thanks or murmured them, and remained
+standing. He would have insisted, but his ‘uncle’ the Earl of Hertford
+whispered in his ear--
+
+“Prithee, insist not, my lord; it is not meet that they sit in thy
+presence.”
+
+The Lord St. John was announced, and after making obeisance to Tom, he
+said--
+
+“I come upon the King’s errand, concerning a matter which requireth
+privacy.  Will it please your royal highness to dismiss all that attend
+you here, save my lord the Earl of Hertford?”
+
+Observing that Tom did not seem to know how to proceed, Hertford
+whispered him to make a sign with his hand, and not trouble himself to
+speak unless he chose.  When the waiting gentlemen had retired, Lord St.
+John said--
+
+“His majesty commandeth, that for due and weighty reasons of state, the
+prince’s grace shall hide his infirmity in all ways that be within his
+power, till it be passed and he be as he was before.  To wit, that he
+shall deny to none that he is the true prince, and heir to England’s
+greatness; that he shall uphold his princely dignity, and shall receive,
+without word or sign of protest, that reverence and observance which
+unto it do appertain of right and ancient usage; that he shall cease to
+speak to any of that lowly birth and life his malady hath conjured
+out of the unwholesome imaginings of o’er-wrought fancy; that he shall
+strive with diligence to bring unto his memory again those faces which
+he was wont to know--and where he faileth he shall hold his peace,
+neither betraying by semblance of surprise or other sign that he hath
+forgot; that upon occasions of state, whensoever any matter shall
+perplex him as to the thing he should do or the utterance he should
+make, he shall show nought of unrest to the curious that look on, but
+take advice in that matter of the Lord Hertford, or my humble self,
+which are commanded of the King to be upon this service and close at
+call, till this commandment be dissolved. Thus saith the King’s majesty,
+who sendeth greeting to your royal highness, and prayeth that God will
+of His mercy quickly heal you and have you now and ever in His holy
+keeping.”
+
+The Lord St. John made reverence and stood aside.  Tom replied
+resignedly--
+
+“The King hath said it.  None may palter with the King’s command, or fit
+it to his ease, where it doth chafe, with deft evasions. The King shall
+be obeyed.”
+
+Lord Hertford said--
+
+“Touching the King’s majesty’s ordainment concerning books and such like
+serious matters, it may peradventure please your highness to ease your
+time with lightsome entertainment, lest you go wearied to the banquet
+and suffer harm thereby.”
+
+Tom’s face showed inquiring surprise; and a blush followed when he saw
+Lord St. John’s eyes bent sorrowfully upon him.  His lordship said--
+
+“Thy memory still wrongeth thee, and thou hast shown surprise--but
+suffer it not to trouble thee, for ’tis a matter that will not bide,
+but depart with thy mending malady.  My Lord of Hertford speaketh of
+the city’s banquet which the King’s majesty did promise, some two months
+flown, your highness should attend.  Thou recallest it now?”
+
+“It grieves me to confess it had indeed escaped me,” said Tom, in a
+hesitating voice; and blushed again.
+
+At this moment the Lady Elizabeth and the Lady Jane Grey were announced.
+The two lords exchanged significant glances, and Hertford stepped
+quickly toward the door.  As the young girls passed him, he said in a
+low voice--
+
+“I pray ye, ladies, seem not to observe his humours, nor show surprise
+when his memory doth lapse--it will grieve you to note how it doth stick
+at every trifle.”
+
+Meantime Lord St. John was saying in Tom’s ear--
+
+“Please you, sir, keep diligently in mind his majesty’s desire. Remember
+all thou canst--_seem_ to remember all else.  Let them not perceive that
+thou art much changed from thy wont, for thou knowest how tenderly thy
+old play-fellows bear thee in their hearts and how ’twould grieve them.
+Art willing, sir, that I remain?--and thine uncle?”
+
+Tom signified assent with a gesture and a murmured word, for he was
+already learning, and in his simple heart was resolved to acquit himself
+as best he might, according to the King’s command.
+
+In spite of every precaution, the conversation among the young people
+became a little embarrassing at times.  More than once, in truth,
+Tom was near to breaking down and confessing himself unequal to his
+tremendous part; but the tact of the Princess Elizabeth saved him, or a
+word from one or the other of the vigilant lords, thrown in apparently
+by chance, had the same happy effect.  Once the little Lady Jane turned
+to Tom and dismayed him with this question,--
+
+“Hast paid thy duty to the Queen’s majesty to-day, my lord?”
+
+Tom hesitated, looked distressed, and was about to stammer out something
+at hazard, when Lord St. John took the word and answered for him
+with the easy grace of a courtier accustomed to encounter delicate
+difficulties and to be ready for them--
+
+“He hath indeed, madam, and she did greatly hearten him, as touching his
+majesty’s condition; is it not so, your highness?”
+
+Tom mumbled something that stood for assent, but felt that he was
+getting upon dangerous ground.  Somewhat later it was mentioned that
+Tom was to study no more at present, whereupon her little ladyship
+exclaimed--
+
+“‘Tis a pity, ’tis a pity!  Thou wert proceeding bravely.  But bide thy
+time in patience:  it will not be for long.  Thou’lt yet be graced
+with learning like thy father, and make thy tongue master of as many
+languages as his, good my prince.”
+
+“My father!” cried Tom, off his guard for the moment.  “I trow he cannot
+speak his own so that any but the swine that kennel in the styes may
+tell his meaning; and as for learning of any sort soever--”
+
+He looked up and encountered a solemn warning in my Lord St. John’s
+eyes.
+
+He stopped, blushed, then continued low and sadly: “Ah, my malady
+persecuteth me again, and my mind wandereth.  I meant the King’s grace
+no irreverence.”
+
+“We know it, sir,” said the Princess Elizabeth, taking her ‘brother’s’
+hand between her two palms, respectfully but caressingly; “trouble not
+thyself as to that.  The fault is none of thine, but thy distemper’s.”
+
+“Thou’rt a gentle comforter, sweet lady,” said Tom, gratefully, “and my
+heart moveth me to thank thee for’t, an’ I may be so bold.”
+
+Once the giddy little Lady Jane fired a simple Greek phrase at Tom.
+ The Princess Elizabeth’s quick eye saw by the serene blankness of the
+target’s front that the shaft was overshot; so she tranquilly delivered
+a return volley of sounding Greek on Tom’s behalf, and then straightway
+changed the talk to other matters.
+
+Time wore on pleasantly, and likewise smoothly, on the whole. Snags and
+sandbars grew less and less frequent, and Tom grew more and more at
+his ease, seeing that all were so lovingly bent upon helping him and
+overlooking his mistakes.  When it came out that the little ladies were
+to accompany him to the Lord Mayor’s banquet in the evening, his heart
+gave a bound of relief and delight, for he felt that he should not be
+friendless, now, among that multitude of strangers; whereas, an
+hour earlier, the idea of their going with him would have been an
+insupportable terror to him.
+
+Tom’s guardian angels, the two lords, had had less comfort in the
+interview than the other parties to it.  They felt much as if they were
+piloting a great ship through a dangerous channel; they were on the
+alert constantly, and found their office no child’s play. Wherefore,
+at last, when the ladies’ visit was drawing to a close and the Lord
+Guilford Dudley was announced, they not only felt that their charge had
+been sufficiently taxed for the present, but also that they themselves
+were not in the best condition to take their ship back and make their
+anxious voyage all over again.  So they respectfully advised Tom to
+excuse himself, which he was very glad to do, although a slight shade
+of disappointment might have been observed upon my Lady Jane’s face when
+she heard the splendid stripling denied admittance.
+
+There was a pause now, a sort of waiting silence which Tom could not
+understand.  He glanced at Lord Hertford, who gave him a sign--but he
+failed to understand that also.  The ready Elizabeth came to the rescue
+with her usual easy grace.  She made reverence and said--
+
+“Have we leave of the prince’s grace my brother to go?”
+
+Tom said--
+
+“Indeed your ladyships can have whatsoever of me they will, for the
+asking; yet would I rather give them any other thing that in my poor
+power lieth, than leave to take the light and blessing of their presence
+hence.  Give ye good den, and God be with ye!” Then he smiled inwardly
+at the thought, “‘Tis not for nought I have dwelt but among princes in
+my reading, and taught my tongue some slight trick of their broidered
+and gracious speech withal!”
+
+When the illustrious maidens were gone, Tom turned wearily to his
+keepers and said--
+
+“May it please your lordships to grant me leave to go into some corner
+and rest me?”
+
+Lord Hertford said--
+
+“So please your highness, it is for you to command, it is for us to
+obey. That thou should’st rest is indeed a needful thing, since thou
+must journey to the city presently.”
+
+He touched a bell, and a page appeared, who was ordered to desire the
+presence of Sir William Herbert.  This gentleman came straightway, and
+conducted Tom to an inner apartment.  Tom’s first movement there was
+to reach for a cup of water; but a silk-and-velvet servitor seized it,
+dropped upon one knee, and offered it to him on a golden salver.
+
+Next the tired captive sat down and was going to take off his buskins,
+timidly asking leave with his eye, but another silk-and-velvet
+discomforter went down upon his knees and took the office from him.  He
+made two or three further efforts to help himself, but being promptly
+forestalled each time, he finally gave up, with a sigh of resignation
+and a murmured “Beshrew me, but I marvel they do not require to breathe
+for me also!”  Slippered, and wrapped in a sumptuous robe, he laid
+himself down at last to rest, but not to sleep, for his head was too
+full of thoughts and the room too full of people.  He could not dismiss
+the former, so they stayed; he did not know enough to dismiss the
+latter, so they stayed also, to his vast regret--and theirs.
+
+Tom’s departure had left his two noble guardians alone.  They mused a
+while, with much head-shaking and walking the floor, then Lord St. John
+said--
+
+“Plainly, what dost thou think?”
+
+“Plainly, then, this.  The King is near his end; my nephew is mad--mad
+will mount the throne, and mad remain.  God protect England, since she
+will need it!”
+
+“Verily it promiseth so, indeed.  But . . . have you no misgivings as to
+. . . as to . . .”
+
+The speaker hesitated, and finally stopped.  He evidently felt that he
+was upon delicate ground.  Lord Hertford stopped before him, looked into
+his face with a clear, frank eye, and said--
+
+“Speak on--there is none to hear but me.  Misgivings as to what?”
+
+“I am full loth to word the thing that is in my mind, and thou so near
+to him in blood, my lord.  But craving pardon if I do offend, seemeth it
+not strange that madness could so change his port and manner?--not but
+that his port and speech are princely still, but that they _differ_,
+in one unweighty trifle or another, from what his custom was aforetime.
+ Seemeth it not strange that madness should filch from his memory his
+father’s very lineaments; the customs and observances that are his due
+from such as be about him; and, leaving him his Latin, strip him of his
+Greek and French?  My lord, be not offended, but ease my mind of its
+disquiet and receive my grateful thanks.  It haunteth me, his saying he
+was not the prince, and so--”
+
+“Peace, my lord, thou utterest treason!  Hast forgot the King’s command?
+Remember I am party to thy crime if I but listen.”
+
+St. John paled, and hastened to say--
+
+“I was in fault, I do confess it.  Betray me not, grant me this grace
+out of thy courtesy, and I will neither think nor speak of this thing
+more. Deal not hardly with me, sir, else am I ruined.”
+
+“I am content, my lord.  So thou offend not again, here or in the
+ears of others, it shall be as though thou hadst not spoken.  But thou
+need’st not have misgivings.  He is my sister’s son; are not his voice,
+his face, his form, familiar to me from his cradle? Madness can do all
+the odd conflicting things thou seest in him, and more.  Dost not recall
+how that the old Baron Marley, being mad, forgot the favour of his
+own countenance that he had known for sixty years, and held it was
+another’s; nay, even claimed he was the son of Mary Magdalene, and that
+his head was made of Spanish glass; and, sooth to say, he suffered none
+to touch it, lest by mischance some heedless hand might shiver it?  Give
+thy misgivings easement, good my lord.  This is the very prince--I know
+him well--and soon will be thy king; it may advantage thee to bear this
+in mind, and more dwell upon it than the other.”
+
+After some further talk, in which the Lord St. John covered up his
+mistake as well as he could by repeated protests that his faith was
+thoroughly grounded now, and could not be assailed by doubts again, the
+Lord Hertford relieved his fellow-keeper, and sat down to keep watch and
+ward alone.  He was soon deep in meditation, and evidently the longer he
+thought, the more he was bothered.  By-and-by he began to pace the floor
+and mutter.
+
+“Tush, he _must_ be the prince!  Will any be in all the land maintain
+there can be two, not of one blood and birth, so marvellously twinned?
+ And even were it so, ’twere yet a stranger miracle that chance should
+cast the one into the other’s place. Nay, ’tis folly, folly, folly!”
+
+Presently he said--
+
+“Now were he impostor and called himself prince, look you _that_ would
+be natural; that would be reasonable.  But lived ever an impostor yet,
+who, being called prince by the king, prince by the court, prince by
+all, _denied_ his dignity and pleaded against his exaltation?  _No_!  By
+the soul of St. Swithin, no!  This is the true prince, gone mad!”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII. Tom’s first royal dinner.
+
+Somewhat after one in the afternoon, Tom resignedly underwent the ordeal
+of being dressed for dinner.  He found himself as finely clothed as
+before, but everything different, everything changed, from his ruff to
+his stockings.  He was presently conducted with much state to a spacious
+and ornate apartment, where a table was already set for one.  Its
+furniture was all of massy gold, and beautified with designs which
+well-nigh made it priceless, since they were the work of Benvenuto.  The
+room was half-filled with noble servitors.  A chaplain said grace, and
+Tom was about to fall to, for hunger had long been constitutional with
+him, but was interrupted by my lord the Earl of Berkeley, who fastened a
+napkin about his neck; for the great post of Diaperers to the Prince
+of Wales was hereditary in this nobleman’s family.  Tom’s cupbearer was
+present, and forestalled all his attempts to help himself to wine.  The
+Taster to his highness the Prince of Wales was there also, prepared to
+taste any suspicious dish upon requirement, and run the risk of being
+poisoned.  He was only an ornamental appendage at this time, and was
+seldom called upon to exercise his function; but there had been times,
+not many generations past, when the office of taster had its perils,
+and was not a grandeur to be desired.  Why they did not use a dog or a
+plumber seems strange; but all the ways of royalty are strange.  My
+Lord d’Arcy, First Groom of the Chamber, was there, to do goodness knows
+what; but there he was--let that suffice.  The Lord Chief Butler was
+there, and stood behind Tom’s chair, overseeing the solemnities, under
+command of the Lord Great Steward and the Lord Head Cook, who stood
+near.  Tom had three hundred and eighty-four servants beside these;
+but they were not all in that room, of course, nor the quarter of them;
+neither was Tom aware yet that they existed.
+
+All those that were present had been well drilled within the hour to
+remember that the prince was temporarily out of his head, and to be
+careful to show no surprise at his vagaries.  These ‘vagaries’ were
+soon on exhibition before them; but they only moved their compassion and
+their sorrow, not their mirth.  It was a heavy affliction to them to see
+the beloved prince so stricken.
+
+Poor Tom ate with his fingers mainly; but no one smiled at it, or even
+seemed to observe it.  He inspected his napkin curiously, and with deep
+interest, for it was of a very dainty and beautiful fabric, then said
+with simplicity--
+
+“Prithee, take it away, lest in mine unheedfulness it be soiled.”
+
+The Hereditary Diaperer took it away with reverent manner, and without
+word or protest of any sort.
+
+Tom examined the turnips and the lettuce with interest, and asked what
+they were, and if they were to be eaten; for it was only recently that
+men had begun to raise these things in England in place of importing
+them as luxuries from Holland. {1}  His question was answered with grave
+respect, and no surprise manifested.  When he had finished his dessert,
+he filled his pockets with nuts; but nobody appeared to be aware of it,
+or disturbed by it.  But the next moment he was himself disturbed by
+it, and showed discomposure; for this was the only service he had been
+permitted to do with his own hands during the meal, and he did not doubt
+that he had done a most improper and unprincely thing.  At that moment
+the muscles of his nose began to twitch, and the end of that organ to
+lift and wrinkle.  This continued, and Tom began to evince a growing
+distress.  He looked appealingly, first at one and then another of the
+lords about him, and tears came into his eyes.  They sprang forward with
+dismay in their faces, and begged to know his trouble.  Tom said with
+genuine anguish--
+
+“I crave your indulgence:  my nose itcheth cruelly.  What is the custom
+and usage in this emergence?  Prithee, speed, for ’tis but a little time
+that I can bear it.”
+
+None smiled; but all were sore perplexed, and looked one to the other
+in deep tribulation for counsel.  But behold, here was a dead wall, and
+nothing in English history to tell how to get over it.  The Master of
+Ceremonies was not present:  there was no one who felt safe to venture
+upon this uncharted sea, or risk the attempt to solve this solemn
+problem.  Alas! there was no Hereditary Scratcher.  Meantime the tears
+had overflowed their banks, and begun to trickle down Tom’s cheeks.  His
+twitching nose was pleading more urgently than ever for relief.  At last
+nature broke down the barriers of etiquette:  Tom lifted up an inward
+prayer for pardon if he was doing wrong, and brought relief to the
+burdened hearts of his court by scratching his nose himself.
+
+His meal being ended, a lord came and held before him a broad, shallow,
+golden dish with fragrant rosewater in it, to cleanse his mouth and
+fingers with; and my lord the Hereditary Diaperer stood by with a napkin
+for his use.  Tom gazed at the dish a puzzled moment or two, then raised
+it to his lips, and gravely took a draught.  Then he returned it to the
+waiting lord, and said--
+
+“Nay, it likes me not, my lord:  it hath a pretty flavour, but it
+wanteth strength.”
+
+This new eccentricity of the prince’s ruined mind made all the hearts
+about him ache; but the sad sight moved none to merriment.
+
+Tom’s next unconscious blunder was to get up and leave the table
+just when the chaplain had taken his stand behind his chair, and with
+uplifted hands, and closed, uplifted eyes, was in the act of beginning
+the blessing.  Still nobody seemed to perceive that the prince had done
+a thing unusual.
+
+By his own request our small friend was now conducted to his private
+cabinet, and left there alone to his own devices.  Hanging upon hooks in
+the oaken wainscoting were the several pieces of a suit of shining steel
+armour, covered all over with beautiful designs exquisitely inlaid
+in gold.  This martial panoply belonged to the true prince--a recent
+present from Madam Parr the Queen. Tom put on the greaves, the
+gauntlets, the plumed helmet, and such other pieces as he could don
+without assistance, and for a while was minded to call for help and
+complete the matter, but bethought him of the nuts he had brought away
+from dinner, and the joy it would be to eat them with no crowd to eye
+him, and no Grand Hereditaries to pester him with undesired services;
+so he restored the pretty things to their several places, and soon was
+cracking nuts, and feeling almost naturally happy for the first time
+since God for his sins had made him a prince.  When the nuts were all
+gone, he stumbled upon some inviting books in a closet, among them one
+about the etiquette of the English court.  This was a prize. He lay down
+upon a sumptuous divan, and proceeded to instruct himself with honest
+zeal.  Let us leave him there for the present.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII. The Question of the Seal.
+
+About five o’clock Henry VIII. awoke out of an unrefreshing nap, and
+muttered to himself, “Troublous dreams, troublous dreams! Mine end is
+now at hand:  so say these warnings, and my failing pulses do confirm
+it.” Presently a wicked light flamed up in his eye, and he muttered,
+“Yet will not I die till _He_ go before.”
+
+His attendants perceiving that he was awake, one of them asked his
+pleasure concerning the Lord Chancellor, who was waiting without.
+
+“Admit him, admit him!” exclaimed the King eagerly.
+
+The Lord Chancellor entered, and knelt by the King’s couch, saying--
+
+“I have given order, and, according to the King’s command, the peers of
+the realm, in their robes, do now stand at the bar of the House, where,
+having confirmed the Duke of Norfolk’s doom, they humbly wait his
+majesty’s further pleasure in the matter.”
+
+The King’s face lit up with a fierce joy.  Said he--
+
+“Lift me up!  In mine own person will I go before my Parliament, and
+with mine own hand will I seal the warrant that rids me of--”
+
+His voice failed; an ashen pallor swept the flush from his cheeks; and
+the attendants eased him back upon his pillows, and hurriedly assisted
+him with restoratives.  Presently he said sorrowfully--
+
+“Alack, how have I longed for this sweet hour! and lo, too late it
+cometh, and I am robbed of this so coveted chance.  But speed ye, speed
+ye! let others do this happy office sith ’tis denied to me. I put my
+Great Seal in commission:  choose thou the lords that shall compose it,
+and get ye to your work.  Speed ye, man!  Before the sun shall rise and
+set again, bring me his head that I may see it.”
+
+“According to the King’s command, so shall it be.  Will’t please your
+majesty to order that the Seal be now restored to me, so that I may
+forth upon the business?”
+
+“The Seal?  Who keepeth the Seal but thou?”
+
+“Please your majesty, you did take it from me two days since, saying it
+should no more do its office till your own royal hand should use it upon
+the Duke of Norfolk’s warrant.”
+
+“Why, so in sooth I did:  I do remember. . . . What did I with it?...
+I am very feeble. . . . So oft these days doth my memory play the
+traitor with me. . . . ’tis strange, strange--”
+
+The King dropped into inarticulate mumblings, shaking his grey head
+weakly from time to time, and gropingly trying to recollect what he
+had done with the Seal.  At last my Lord Hertford ventured to kneel and
+offer information--
+
+“Sire, if that I may be so bold, here be several that do remember with
+me how that you gave the Great Seal into the hands of his highness the
+Prince of Wales to keep against the day that--”
+
+“True, most true!” interrupted the King.  “Fetch it!  Go:  time flieth!”
+
+Lord Hertford flew to Tom, but returned to the King before very long,
+troubled and empty-handed.  He delivered himself to this effect--
+
+“It grieveth me, my lord the King, to bear so heavy and unwelcome
+tidings; but it is the will of God that the prince’s affliction abideth
+still, and he cannot recall to mind that he received the Seal.  So came
+I quickly to report, thinking it were waste of precious time, and
+little worth withal, that any should attempt to search the long array of
+chambers and saloons that belong unto his royal high--”
+
+A groan from the King interrupted the lord at this point.  After a
+little while his majesty said, with a deep sadness in his tone--
+
+“Trouble him no more, poor child.  The hand of God lieth heavy upon him,
+and my heart goeth out in loving compassion for him, and sorrow that I
+may not bear his burden on mine old trouble-weighted shoulders, and so
+bring him peace.”
+
+He closed his eyes, fell to mumbling, and presently was silent. After
+a time he opened his eyes again, and gazed vacantly around until his
+glance rested upon the kneeling Lord Chancellor. Instantly his face
+flushed with wrath--
+
+“What, thou here yet!  By the glory of God, an’ thou gettest not about
+that traitor’s business, thy mitre shall have holiday the morrow for
+lack of a head to grace withal!”
+
+The trembling Chancellor answered--
+
+“Good your Majesty, I cry you mercy!  I but waited for the Seal.”
+
+“Man, hast lost thy wits?  The small Seal which aforetime I was wont
+to take with me abroad lieth in my treasury.  And, since the Great Seal
+hath flown away, shall not it suffice?  Hast lost thy wits?  Begone!
+ And hark ye--come no more till thou do bring his head.”
+
+The poor Chancellor was not long in removing himself from this dangerous
+vicinity; nor did the commission waste time in giving the royal assent
+to the work of the slavish Parliament, and appointing the morrow for the
+beheading of the premier peer of England, the luckless Duke of Norfolk.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX. The river pageant.
+
+At nine in the evening the whole vast river-front of the palace was
+blazing with light.  The river itself, as far as the eye could reach
+citywards, was so thickly covered with watermen’s boats and with
+pleasure-barges, all fringed with coloured lanterns, and gently agitated
+by the waves, that it resembled a glowing and limitless garden of
+flowers stirred to soft motion by summer winds.  The grand terrace of
+stone steps leading down to the water, spacious enough to mass the army
+of a German principality upon, was a picture to see, with its ranks
+of royal halberdiers in polished armour, and its troops of brilliantly
+costumed servitors flitting up and down, and to and fro, in the hurry of
+preparation.
+
+Presently a command was given, and immediately all living creatures
+vanished from the steps.  Now the air was heavy with the hush of
+suspense and expectancy.  As far as one’s vision could carry, he might
+see the myriads of people in the boats rise up, and shade their eyes
+from the glare of lanterns and torches, and gaze toward the palace.
+
+A file of forty or fifty state barges drew up to the steps.  They were
+richly gilt, and their lofty prows and sterns were elaborately carved.
+Some of them were decorated with banners and streamers; some with
+cloth-of-gold and arras embroidered with coats-of-arms; others with
+silken flags that had numberless little silver bells fastened to them,
+which shook out tiny showers of joyous music whenever the breezes
+fluttered them; others of yet higher pretensions, since they belonged to
+nobles in the prince’s immediate service, had their sides picturesquely
+fenced with shields gorgeously emblazoned with armorial bearings.  Each
+state barge was towed by a tender.  Besides the rowers, these tenders
+carried each a number of men-at-arms in glossy helmet and breastplate,
+and a company of musicians.
+
+The advance-guard of the expected procession now appeared in the great
+gateway, a troop of halberdiers.  ‘They were dressed in striped hose of
+black and tawny, velvet caps graced at the sides with silver roses, and
+doublets of murrey and blue cloth, embroidered on the front and back
+with the three feathers, the prince’s blazon, woven in gold.  Their
+halberd staves were covered with crimson velvet, fastened with gilt
+nails, and ornamented with gold tassels.  Filing off on the right and
+left, they formed two long lines, extending from the gateway of the
+palace to the water’s edge.  A thick rayed cloth or carpet was
+then unfolded, and laid down between them by attendants in the
+gold-and-crimson liveries of the prince.  This done, a flourish of
+trumpets resounded from within.  A lively prelude arose from the
+musicians on the water; and two ushers with white wands marched with a
+slow and stately pace from the portal.  They were followed by an officer
+bearing the civic mace, after whom came another carrying the city’s
+sword; then several sergeants of the city guard, in their full
+accoutrements, and with badges on their sleeves; then the Garter
+King-at-arms, in his tabard; then several Knights of the Bath, each with
+a white lace on his sleeve; then their esquires; then the judges, in
+their robes of scarlet and coifs; then the Lord High Chancellor of
+England, in a robe of scarlet, open before, and purfled with minever;
+then a deputation of aldermen, in their scarlet cloaks; and then the
+heads of the different civic companies, in their robes of state. Now
+came twelve French gentlemen, in splendid habiliments, consisting of
+pourpoints of white damask barred with gold, short mantles of
+crimson velvet lined with violet taffeta, and carnation coloured
+hauts-de-chausses, and took their way down the steps.  They were of the
+suite of the French ambassador, and were followed by twelve cavaliers of
+the suite of the Spanish ambassador, clothed in black velvet, unrelieved
+by any ornament.  Following these came several great English nobles with
+their attendants.’
+
+There was a flourish of trumpets within; and the Prince’s uncle, the
+future great Duke of Somerset, emerged from the gateway, arrayed in a
+‘doublet of black cloth-of-gold, and a cloak of crimson satin flowered
+with gold, and ribanded with nets of silver.’  He turned, doffed
+his plumed cap, bent his body in a low reverence, and began to step
+backward, bowing at each step.  A prolonged trumpet-blast followed, and
+a proclamation, “Way for the high and mighty the Lord Edward, Prince of
+Wales!”  High aloft on the palace walls a long line of red tongues of
+flame leapt forth with a thunder-crash; the massed world on the river
+burst into a mighty roar of welcome; and Tom Canty, the cause and hero
+of it all, stepped into view and slightly bowed his princely head.
+
+He was ‘magnificently habited in a doublet of white satin, with a
+front-piece of purple cloth-of-tissue, powdered with diamonds, and edged
+with ermine.  Over this he wore a mantle of white cloth-of-gold, pounced
+with the triple-feathered crest, lined with blue satin, set with pearls
+and precious stones, and fastened with a clasp of brilliants.  About his
+neck hung the order of the Garter, and several princely foreign orders;’
+and wherever light fell upon him jewels responded with a blinding flash.
+ O Tom Canty, born in a hovel, bred in the gutters of London, familiar
+with rags and dirt and misery, what a spectacle is this!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X. The Prince in the toils.
+
+We left John Canty dragging the rightful prince into Offal Court, with
+a noisy and delighted mob at his heels.  There was but one person in it
+who offered a pleading word for the captive, and he was not heeded; he
+was hardly even heard, so great was the turmoil.  The Prince continued
+to struggle for freedom, and to rage against the treatment he was
+suffering, until John Canty lost what little patience was left in him,
+and raised his oaken cudgel in a sudden fury over the Prince’s head.
+ The single pleader for the lad sprang to stop the man’s arm, and the
+blow descended upon his own wrist.  Canty roared out--
+
+“Thou’lt meddle, wilt thou?  Then have thy reward.”
+
+His cudgel crashed down upon the meddler’s head:  there was a groan, a
+dim form sank to the ground among the feet of the crowd, and the next
+moment it lay there in the dark alone.  The mob pressed on, their
+enjoyment nothing disturbed by this episode.
+
+Presently the Prince found himself in John Canty’s abode, with the door
+closed against the outsiders.  By the vague light of a tallow candle
+which was thrust into a bottle, he made out the main features of the
+loathsome den, and also the occupants of it.  Two frowsy girls and
+a middle-aged woman cowered against the wall in one corner, with the
+aspect of animals habituated to harsh usage, and expecting and dreading
+it now. From another corner stole a withered hag with streaming grey
+hair and malignant eyes.  John Canty said to this one--
+
+“Tarry!  There’s fine mummeries here.  Mar them not till thou’st enjoyed
+them:  then let thy hand be heavy as thou wilt.  Stand forth, lad.  Now
+say thy foolery again, an thou’st not forgot it. Name thy name.  Who art
+thou?”
+
+The insulted blood mounted to the little prince’s cheek once more, and
+he lifted a steady and indignant gaze to the man’s face and said--
+
+“‘Tis but ill-breeding in such as thou to command me to speak.  I tell
+thee now, as I told thee before, I am Edward, Prince of Wales, and none
+other.”
+
+The stunning surprise of this reply nailed the hag’s feet to the floor
+where she stood, and almost took her breath.  She stared at the Prince
+in stupid amazement, which so amused her ruffianly son, that he burst
+into a roar of laughter.  But the effect upon Tom Canty’s mother and
+sisters was different.  Their dread of bodily injury gave way at once to
+distress of a different sort.  They ran forward with woe and dismay in
+their faces, exclaiming--
+
+“Oh, poor Tom, poor lad!”
+
+The mother fell on her knees before the Prince, put her hands upon his
+shoulders, and gazed yearningly into his face through her rising tears.
+Then she said--
+
+“Oh, my poor boy!  Thy foolish reading hath wrought its woeful work at
+last, and ta’en thy wit away.  Ah! why did’st thou cleave to it when I
+so warned thee ‘gainst it?  Thou’st broke thy mother’s heart.”
+
+The Prince looked into her face, and said gently--
+
+“Thy son is well, and hath not lost his wits, good dame.  Comfort thee:
+let me to the palace where he is, and straightway will the King my
+father restore him to thee.”
+
+“The King thy father!  Oh, my child! unsay these words that be freighted
+with death for thee, and ruin for all that be near to thee.  Shake of
+this gruesome dream.  Call back thy poor wandering memory.  Look upon
+me. Am not I thy mother that bore thee, and loveth thee?”
+
+The Prince shook his head and reluctantly said--
+
+“God knoweth I am loth to grieve thy heart; but truly have I never
+looked upon thy face before.”
+
+The woman sank back to a sitting posture on the floor, and, covering her
+eyes with her hands, gave way to heart-broken sobs and wailings.
+
+“Let the show go on!” shouted Canty.  “What, Nan!--what, Bet! mannerless
+wenches! will ye stand in the Prince’s presence?  Upon your knees, ye
+pauper scum, and do him reverence!”
+
+He followed this with another horse-laugh.  The girls began to plead
+timidly for their brother; and Nan said--
+
+“An thou wilt but let him to bed, father, rest and sleep will heal his
+madness:  prithee, do.”
+
+“Do, father,” said Bet; “he is more worn than is his wont.  To-morrow
+will he be himself again, and will beg with diligence, and come not
+empty home again.”
+
+This remark sobered the father’s joviality, and brought his mind to
+business.  He turned angrily upon the Prince, and said--
+
+“The morrow must we pay two pennies to him that owns this hole; two
+pennies, mark ye--all this money for a half-year’s rent, else out of
+this we go.  Show what thou’st gathered with thy lazy begging.”
+
+The Prince said--
+
+“Offend me not with thy sordid matters.  I tell thee again I am the
+King’s son.”
+
+A sounding blow upon the Prince’s shoulder from Canty’s broad palm
+sent him staggering into goodwife Canty’s arms, who clasped him to her
+breast, and sheltered him from a pelting rain of cuffs and slaps by
+interposing her own person.  The frightened girls retreated to their
+corner; but the grandmother stepped eagerly forward to assist her son.
+ The Prince sprang away from Mrs. Canty, exclaiming--
+
+“Thou shalt not suffer for me, madam.  Let these swine do their will
+upon me alone.”
+
+This speech infuriated the swine to such a degree that they set about
+their work without waste of time.  Between them they belaboured the boy
+right soundly, and then gave the girls and their mother a beating for
+showing sympathy for the victim.
+
+“Now,” said Canty, “to bed, all of ye.  The entertainment has tired me.”
+
+The light was put out, and the family retired.  As soon as the snorings
+of the head of the house and his mother showed that they were asleep,
+the young girls crept to where the Prince lay, and covered him tenderly
+from the cold with straw and rags; and their mother crept to him also,
+and stroked his hair, and cried over him, whispering broken words of
+comfort and compassion in his ear the while.  She had saved a morsel for
+him to eat, also; but the boy’s pains had swept away all appetite--at
+least for black and tasteless crusts.  He was touched by her brave and
+costly defence of him, and by her commiseration; and he thanked her in
+very noble and princely words, and begged her to go to her sleep and try
+to forget her sorrows.  And he added that the King his father would not
+let her loyal kindness and devotion go unrewarded.  This return to his
+‘madness’ broke her heart anew, and she strained him to her breast again
+and again, and then went back, drowned in tears, to her bed.
+
+As she lay thinking and mourning, the suggestion began to creep into
+her mind that there was an undefinable something about this boy that was
+lacking in Tom Canty, mad or sane.  She could not describe it, she could
+not tell just what it was, and yet her sharp mother-instinct seemed to
+detect it and perceive it.  What if the boy were really not her son,
+after all?  Oh, absurd!  She almost smiled at the idea, spite of her
+griefs and troubles.  No matter, she found that it was an idea that
+would not ‘down,’ but persisted in haunting her.  It pursued her, it
+harassed her, it clung to her, and refused to be put away or ignored.
+ At last she perceived that there was not going to be any peace for her
+until she should devise a test that should prove, clearly and without
+question, whether this lad was her son or not, and so banish these
+wearing and worrying doubts.  Ah, yes, this was plainly the right way
+out of the difficulty; therefore she set her wits to work at once to
+contrive that test.  But it was an easier thing to propose than to
+accomplish.  She turned over in her mind one promising test after
+another, but was obliged to relinquish them all--none of them were
+absolutely sure, absolutely perfect; and an imperfect one could not
+satisfy her.  Evidently she was racking her head in vain--it seemed
+manifest that she must give the matter up.  While this depressing
+thought was passing through her mind, her ear caught the regular
+breathing of the boy, and she knew he had fallen asleep.  And while she
+listened, the measured breathing was broken by a soft, startled
+cry, such as one utters in a troubled dream.  This chance occurrence
+furnished her instantly with a plan worth all her laboured tests
+combined.  She at once set herself feverishly, but noiselessly, to work
+to relight her candle, muttering to herself, “Had I but seen him _then_,
+I should have known!  Since that day, when he was little, that the
+powder burst in his face, he hath never been startled of a sudden out of
+his dreams or out of his thinkings, but he hath cast his hand before his
+eyes, even as he did that day; and not as others would do it, with the
+palm inward, but always with the palm turned outward--I have seen it a
+hundred times, and it hath never varied nor ever failed.  Yes, I shall
+soon know, now!”
+
+By this time she had crept to the slumbering boy’s side, with the
+candle, shaded, in her hand.  She bent heedfully and warily over him,
+scarcely breathing in her suppressed excitement, and suddenly flashed
+the light in his face and struck the floor by his ear with her knuckles.
+ The sleeper’s eyes sprang wide open, and he cast a startled stare about
+him--but he made no special movement with his hands.
+
+The poor woman was smitten almost helpless with surprise and grief;
+but she contrived to hide her emotions, and to soothe the boy to sleep
+again; then she crept apart and communed miserably with herself upon
+the disastrous result of her experiment.  She tried to believe that her
+Tom’s madness had banished this habitual gesture of his; but she could
+not do it.  “No,” she said, “his _hands_ are not mad; they could not
+unlearn so old a habit in so brief a time.  Oh, this is a heavy day for
+me!”
+
+Still, hope was as stubborn now as doubt had been before; she could not
+bring herself to accept the verdict of the test; she must try the thing
+again--the failure must have been only an accident; so she startled the
+boy out of his sleep a second and a third time, at intervals--with the
+same result which had marked the first test; then she dragged herself to
+bed, and fell sorrowfully asleep, saying, “But I cannot give him up--oh
+no, I cannot, I cannot--he _must_ be my boy!”
+
+The poor mother’s interruptions having ceased, and the Prince’s pains
+having gradually lost their power to disturb him, utter weariness at
+last sealed his eyes in a profound and restful sleep. Hour after hour
+slipped away, and still he slept like the dead. Thus four or five hours
+passed. Then his stupor began to lighten. Presently, while half asleep
+and half awake, he murmured--
+
+“Sir William!”
+
+After a moment--
+
+“Ho, Sir William Herbert!  Hie thee hither, and list to the strangest
+dream that ever . . . Sir William! dost hear?  Man, I did think me
+changed to a pauper, and . . . Ho there!  Guards! Sir William!  What!
+is there no groom of the chamber in waiting? Alack! it shall go hard
+with--”
+
+“What aileth thee?” asked a whisper near him.  “Who art thou calling?”
+
+“Sir William Herbert.  Who art thou?”
+
+“I?  Who should I be, but thy sister Nan?  Oh, Tom, I had forgot!
+Thou’rt mad yet--poor lad, thou’rt mad yet:  would I had never woke to
+know it again!  But prithee master thy tongue, lest we be all beaten
+till we die!”
+
+The startled Prince sprang partly up, but a sharp reminder from his
+stiffened bruises brought him to himself, and he sank back among his
+foul straw with a moan and the ejaculation--
+
+“Alas! it was no dream, then!”
+
+In a moment all the heavy sorrow and misery which sleep had banished
+were upon him again, and he realised that he was no longer a petted
+prince in a palace, with the adoring eyes of a nation upon him, but
+a pauper, an outcast, clothed in rags, prisoner in a den fit only for
+beasts, and consorting with beggars and thieves.
+
+In the midst of his grief he began to be conscious of hilarious noises
+and shoutings, apparently but a block or two away.  The next moment
+there were several sharp raps at the door; John Canty ceased from
+snoring and said--
+
+“Who knocketh?  What wilt thou?”
+
+A voice answered--
+
+“Know’st thou who it was thou laid thy cudgel on?”
+
+“No.  Neither know I, nor care.”
+
+“Belike thou’lt change thy note eftsoons.  An thou would save thy neck,
+nothing but flight may stead thee.  The man is this moment delivering up
+the ghost.  ’Tis the priest, Father Andrew!”
+
+“God-a-mercy!” exclaimed Canty.  He roused his family, and hoarsely
+commanded, “Up with ye all and fly--or bide where ye are and perish!”
+
+Scarcely five minutes later the Canty household were in the street and
+flying for their lives.  John Canty held the Prince by the wrist, and
+hurried him along the dark way, giving him this caution in a low voice--
+
+“Mind thy tongue, thou mad fool, and speak not our name.  I will choose
+me a new name, speedily, to throw the law’s dogs off the scent.  Mind
+thy tongue, I tell thee!”
+
+He growled these words to the rest of the family--
+
+“If it so chance that we be separated, let each make for London Bridge;
+whoso findeth himself as far as the last linen-draper’s shop on the
+bridge, let him tarry there till the others be come, then will we flee
+into Southwark together.”
+
+At this moment the party burst suddenly out of darkness into light;
+and not only into light, but into the midst of a multitude of singing,
+dancing, and shouting people, massed together on the river frontage.
+There was a line of bonfires stretching as far as one could see, up
+and down the Thames; London Bridge was illuminated; Southwark Bridge
+likewise; the entire river was aglow with the flash and sheen of
+coloured lights; and constant explosions of fireworks filled the skies
+with an intricate commingling of shooting splendours and a thick rain
+of dazzling sparks that almost turned night into day; everywhere were
+crowds of revellers; all London seemed to be at large.
+
+John Canty delivered himself of a furious curse and commanded a retreat;
+but it was too late.  He and his tribe were swallowed up in that
+swarming hive of humanity, and hopelessly separated from each other in
+an instant. We are not considering that the Prince was one of his tribe;
+Canty still kept his grip upon him.  The Prince’s heart was beating high
+with hopes of escape, now.  A burly waterman, considerably exalted with
+liquor, found himself rudely shoved by Canty in his efforts to plough
+through the crowd; he laid his great hand on Canty’s shoulder and said--
+
+“Nay, whither so fast, friend?  Dost canker thy soul with sordid
+business when all that be leal men and true make holiday?”
+
+“Mine affairs are mine own, they concern thee not,” answered Canty,
+roughly; “take away thy hand and let me pass.”
+
+“Sith that is thy humour, thou’lt _not_ pass, till thou’st drunk to the
+Prince of Wales, I tell thee that,” said the waterman, barring the way
+resolutely.
+
+“Give me the cup, then, and make speed, make speed!”
+
+Other revellers were interested by this time.  They cried out--
+
+“The loving-cup, the loving-cup! make the sour knave drink the
+loving-cup, else will we feed him to the fishes.”
+
+So a huge loving-cup was brought; the waterman, grasping it by one of
+its handles, and with the other hand bearing up the end of an imaginary
+napkin, presented it in due and ancient form to Canty, who had to grasp
+the opposite handle with one of his hands and take off the lid with the
+other, according to ancient custom. This left the Prince hand-free for
+a second, of course.  He wasted no time, but dived among the forest of
+legs about him and disappeared.  In another moment he could not have
+been harder to find, under that tossing sea of life, if its billows had
+been the Atlantic’s and he a lost sixpence.
+
+He very soon realised this fact, and straightway busied himself about
+his own affairs without further thought of John Canty.  He quickly
+realised another thing, too.  To wit, that a spurious Prince of Wales
+was being feasted by the city in his stead.  He easily concluded that
+the pauper lad, Tom Canty, had deliberately taken advantage of his
+stupendous opportunity and become a usurper.
+
+Therefore there was but one course to pursue--find his way to the
+Guildhall, make himself known, and denounce the impostor.  He also made
+up his mind that Tom should be allowed a reasonable time for spiritual
+preparation, and then be hanged, drawn and quartered, according to the
+law and usage of the day in cases of high treason.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI. At Guildhall.
+
+The royal barge, attended by its gorgeous fleet, took its stately way
+down the Thames through the wilderness of illuminated boats. The air was
+laden with music; the river banks were beruffled with joy-flames; the
+distant city lay in a soft luminous glow from its countless invisible
+bonfires; above it rose many a slender spire into the sky, incrusted
+with sparkling lights, wherefore in their remoteness they seemed like
+jewelled lances thrust aloft; as the fleet swept along, it was greeted
+from the banks with a continuous hoarse roar of cheers and the ceaseless
+flash and boom of artillery.
+
+To Tom Canty, half buried in his silken cushions, these sounds and this
+spectacle were a wonder unspeakably sublime and astonishing. To his
+little friends at his side, the Princess Elizabeth and the Lady Jane
+Grey, they were nothing.
+
+Arrived at the Dowgate, the fleet was towed up the limpid Walbrook
+(whose channel has now been for two centuries buried out of sight under
+acres of buildings) to Bucklersbury, past houses and under bridges
+populous with merry-makers and brilliantly lighted, and at last came to
+a halt in a basin where now is Barge Yard, in the centre of the ancient
+city of London.  Tom disembarked, and he and his gallant procession
+crossed Cheapside and made a short march through the Old Jewry and
+Basinghall Street to the Guildhall.
+
+Tom and his little ladies were received with due ceremony by the Lord
+Mayor and the Fathers of the City, in their gold chains and scarlet
+robes of state, and conducted to a rich canopy of state at the head of
+the great hall, preceded by heralds making proclamation, and by the Mace
+and the City Sword.  The lords and ladies who were to attend upon Tom
+and his two small friends took their places behind their chairs.
+
+At a lower table the Court grandees and other guests of noble degree
+were seated, with the magnates of the city; the commoners took places at
+a multitude of tables on the main floor of the hall.  From their lofty
+vantage-ground the giants Gog and Magog, the ancient guardians of the
+city, contemplated the spectacle below them with eyes grown familiar
+to it in forgotten generations.  There was a bugle-blast and a
+proclamation, and a fat butler appeared in a high perch in the leftward
+wall, followed by his servitors bearing with impressive solemnity a
+royal baron of beef, smoking hot and ready for the knife.
+
+After grace, Tom (being instructed) rose--and the whole house with
+him--and drank from a portly golden loving-cup with the Princess
+Elizabeth; from her it passed to the Lady Jane, and then traversed the
+general assemblage.  So the banquet began.
+
+By midnight the revelry was at its height.  Now came one of those
+picturesque spectacles so admired in that old day.  A description of it
+is still extant in the quaint wording of a chronicler who witnessed it:
+
+‘Space being made, presently entered a baron and an earl appareled after
+the Turkish fashion in long robes of bawdkin powdered with gold; hats on
+their heads of crimson velvet, with great rolls of gold, girded with two
+swords, called scimitars, hanging by great bawdricks of gold.  Next came
+yet another baron and another earl, in two long gowns of yellow satin,
+traversed with white satin, and in every bend of white was a bend of
+crimson satin, after the fashion of Russia, with furred hats of gray on
+their heads; either of them having an hatchet in their hands, and boots
+with pykes’ (points a foot long), ’turned up.  And after them came
+a knight, then the Lord High Admiral, and with him five nobles, in
+doublets of crimson velvet, voyded low on the back and before to the
+cannell-bone, laced on the breasts with chains of silver; and over
+that, short cloaks of crimson satin, and on their heads hats after
+the dancers’ fashion, with pheasants’ feathers in them.  These were
+appareled after the fashion of Prussia.  The torchbearers, which were
+about an hundred, were appareled in crimson satin and green, like Moors,
+their faces black. Next came in a mommarye. Then the minstrels, which
+were disguised, danced; and the lords and ladies did wildly dance also,
+that it was a pleasure to behold.’
+
+And while Tom, in his high seat, was gazing upon this ‘wild’ dancing,
+lost in admiration of the dazzling commingling of kaleidoscopic colours
+which the whirling turmoil of gaudy figures below him presented, the
+ragged but real little Prince of Wales was proclaiming his rights and
+his wrongs, denouncing the impostor, and clamouring for admission at
+the gates of Guildhall! The crowd enjoyed this episode prodigiously,
+and pressed forward and craned their necks to see the small rioter.
+Presently they began to taunt him and mock at him, purposely to goad him
+into a higher and still more entertaining fury.  Tears of mortification
+sprang to his eyes, but he stood his ground and defied the mob right
+royally.  Other taunts followed, added mockings stung him, and he
+exclaimed--
+
+“I tell ye again, you pack of unmannerly curs, I am the Prince of Wales!
+And all forlorn and friendless as I be, with none to give me word of
+grace or help me in my need, yet will not I be driven from my ground,
+but will maintain it!”
+
+“Though thou be prince or no prince, ’tis all one, thou be’st a gallant
+lad, and not friendless neither!  Here stand I by thy side to prove
+it; and mind I tell thee thou might’st have a worser friend than Miles
+Hendon and yet not tire thy legs with seeking. Rest thy small jaw, my
+child; I talk the language of these base kennel-rats like to a very
+native.”
+
+The speaker was a sort of Don Caesar de Bazan in dress, aspect, and
+bearing.  He was tall, trim-built, muscular.  His doublet and trunks
+were of rich material, but faded and threadbare, and their gold-lace
+adornments were sadly tarnished; his ruff was rumpled and damaged;
+the plume in his slouched hat was broken and had a bedraggled and
+disreputable look; at his side he wore a long rapier in a rusty iron
+sheath; his swaggering carriage marked him at once as a ruffler of
+the camp.  The speech of this fantastic figure was received with an
+explosion of jeers and laughter.  Some cried, “‘Tis another prince in
+disguise!” “‘Ware thy tongue, friend:  belike he is dangerous!”
+  “Marry, he looketh it--mark his eye!”  “Pluck the lad from him--to the
+horse-pond wi’ the cub!”
+
+Instantly a hand was laid upon the Prince, under the impulse of this
+happy thought; as instantly the stranger’s long sword was out and the
+meddler went to the earth under a sounding thump with the flat of it.
+The next moment a score of voices shouted, “Kill the dog!  Kill him!
+Kill him!” and the mob closed in on the warrior, who backed himself
+against a wall and began to lay about him with his long weapon like a
+madman.  His victims sprawled this way and that, but the mob-tide poured
+over their prostrate forms and dashed itself against the champion with
+undiminished fury.
+
+His moments seemed numbered, his destruction certain, when suddenly a
+trumpet-blast sounded, a voice shouted, “Way for the King’s messenger!”
+ and a troop of horsemen came charging down upon the mob, who fled out of
+harm’s reach as fast as their legs could carry them. The bold stranger
+caught up the Prince in his arms, and was soon far away from danger and
+the multitude.
+
+Return we within the Guildhall.  Suddenly, high above the jubilant roar
+and thunder of the revel, broke the clear peal of a bugle-note.  There
+was instant silence--a deep hush; then a single voice rose--that of the
+messenger from the palace--and began to pipe forth a proclamation, the
+whole multitude standing listening.
+
+The closing words, solemnly pronounced, were--
+
+“The King is dead!”
+
+The great assemblage bent their heads upon their breasts with one
+accord; remained so, in profound silence, a few moments; then all sank
+upon their knees in a body, stretched out their hands toward Tom, and a
+mighty shout burst forth that seemed to shake the building--
+
+“Long live the King!”
+
+Poor Tom’s dazed eyes wandered abroad over this stupefying spectacle,
+and finally rested dreamily upon the kneeling princesses beside him, a
+moment, then upon the Earl of Hertford. A sudden purpose dawned in his
+face.  He said, in a low tone, at Lord Hertford’s ear--
+
+“Answer me truly, on thy faith and honour!  Uttered I here a command,
+the which none but a king might hold privilege and prerogative to utter,
+would such commandment be obeyed, and none rise up to say me nay?”
+
+“None, my liege, in all these realms.  In thy person bides the majesty
+of England.  Thou art the king--thy word is law.”
+
+Tom responded, in a strong, earnest voice, and with great animation--
+
+“Then shall the king’s law be law of mercy, from this day, and never
+more be law of blood!  Up from thy knees and away!  To the Tower, and
+say the King decrees the Duke of Norfolk shall not die!”
+
+The words were caught up and carried eagerly from lip to lip far and
+wide over the hall, and as Hertford hurried from the presence, another
+prodigious shout burst forth--
+
+“The reign of blood is ended!  Long live Edward, King of England!”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII. The Prince and his Deliverer.
+
+As soon as Miles Hendon and the little prince were clear of the mob,
+they struck down through back lanes and alleys toward the river.  Their
+way was unobstructed until they approached London Bridge; then they
+ploughed into the multitude again, Hendon keeping a fast grip upon
+the Prince’s--no, the King’s--wrist.  The tremendous news was already
+abroad, and the boy learned it from a thousand voices at once--“The King
+is dead!”  The tidings struck a chill to the heart of the poor little
+waif, and sent a shudder through his frame.  He realised the greatness
+of his loss, and was filled with a bitter grief; for the grim tyrant who
+had been such a terror to others had always been gentle with him.  The
+tears sprang to his eyes and blurred all objects.  For an instant
+he felt himself the most forlorn, outcast, and forsaken of God’s
+creatures--then another cry shook the night with its far-reaching
+thunders:  “Long live King Edward the Sixth!” and this made his eyes
+kindle, and thrilled him with pride to his fingers’ ends. “Ah,” he
+thought, “how grand and strange it seems--_I am King_!”
+
+Our friends threaded their way slowly through the throngs upon the
+bridge.  This structure, which had stood for six hundred years, and
+had been a noisy and populous thoroughfare all that time, was a curious
+affair, for a closely packed rank of stores and shops, with family
+quarters overhead, stretched along both sides of it, from one bank of
+the river to the other.  The Bridge was a sort of town to itself; it
+had its inn, its beer-houses, its bakeries, its haberdasheries, its food
+markets, its manufacturing industries, and even its church.  It
+looked upon the two neighbours which it linked together--London
+and Southwark--as being well enough as suburbs, but not otherwise
+particularly important.  It was a close corporation, so to speak; it was
+a narrow town, of a single street a fifth of a mile long, its
+population was but a village population and everybody in it knew all
+his fellow-townsmen intimately, and had known their fathers and mothers
+before them--and all their little family affairs into the bargain.  It
+had its aristocracy, of course--its fine old families of butchers, and
+bakers, and what-not, who had occupied the same old premises for five
+or six hundred years, and knew the great history of the Bridge from
+beginning to end, and all its strange legends; and who always talked
+bridgy talk, and thought bridgy thoughts, and lied in a long, level,
+direct, substantial bridgy way.  It was just the sort of population to
+be narrow and ignorant and self-conceited. Children were born on the
+Bridge, were reared there, grew to old age, and finally died without
+ever having set a foot upon any part of the world but London Bridge
+alone.  Such people would naturally imagine that the mighty and
+interminable procession which moved through its street night and day,
+with its confused roar of shouts and cries, its neighings and bellowing
+and bleatings and its muffled thunder-tramp, was the one great thing in
+this world, and themselves somehow the proprietors of it.  And so they
+were, in effect--at least they could exhibit it from their windows, and
+did--for a consideration--whenever a returning king or hero gave it a
+fleeting splendour, for there was no place like it for affording a long,
+straight, uninterrupted view of marching columns.
+
+Men born and reared upon the Bridge found life unendurably dull and
+inane elsewhere.  History tells of one of these who left the Bridge at
+the age of seventy-one and retired to the country.  But he could only
+fret and toss in his bed; he could not go to sleep, the deep stillness
+was so painful, so awful, so oppressive.  When he was worn out with it,
+at last, he fled back to his old home, a lean and haggard spectre, and
+fell peacefully to rest and pleasant dreams under the lulling music of
+the lashing waters and the boom and crash and thunder of London Bridge.
+
+In the times of which we are writing, the Bridge furnished ‘object
+lessons’ in English history for its children--namely, the livid and
+decaying heads of renowned men impaled upon iron spikes atop of its
+gateways.  But we digress.
+
+Hendon’s lodgings were in the little inn on the Bridge.  As he neared
+the door with his small friend, a rough voice said--
+
+“So, thou’rt come at last!  Thou’lt not escape again, I warrant thee;
+and if pounding thy bones to a pudding can teach thee somewhat, thou’lt
+not keep us waiting another time, mayhap,”--and John Canty put out his
+hand to seize the boy.
+
+Miles Hendon stepped in the way and said--
+
+“Not too fast, friend.  Thou art needlessly rough, methinks.  What is
+the lad to thee?”
+
+“If it be any business of thine to make and meddle in others’ affairs,
+he is my son.”
+
+“‘Tis a lie!” cried the little King, hotly.
+
+“Boldly said, and I believe thee, whether thy small headpiece be sound
+or cracked, my boy.  But whether this scurvy ruffian be thy father
+or no, ’tis all one, he shall not have thee to beat thee and abuse,
+according to his threat, so thou prefer to bide with me.”
+
+“I do, I do--I know him not, I loathe him, and will die before I will go
+with him.”
+
+“Then ’tis settled, and there is nought more to say.”
+
+“We will see, as to that!” exclaimed John Canty, striding past Hendon to
+get at the boy; “by force shall he--”
+
+“If thou do but touch him, thou animated offal, I will spit thee like a
+goose!” said Hendon, barring the way and laying his hand upon his sword
+hilt.  Canty drew back.  “Now mark ye,” continued Hendon, “I took this
+lad under my protection when a mob of such as thou would have mishandled
+him, mayhap killed him; dost imagine I will desert him now to a worser
+fate?--for whether thou art his father or no--and sooth to say, I think
+it is a lie--a decent swift death were better for such a lad than life
+in such brute hands as thine.  So go thy ways, and set quick about it,
+for I like not much bandying of words, being not over-patient in my
+nature.”
+
+John Canty moved off, muttering threats and curses, and was swallowed
+from sight in the crowd.  Hendon ascended three flights of stairs to his
+room, with his charge, after ordering a meal to be sent thither.  It
+was a poor apartment, with a shabby bed and some odds and ends of old
+furniture in it, and was vaguely lighted by a couple of sickly candles.
+The little King dragged himself to the bed and lay down upon it, almost
+exhausted with hunger and fatigue.  He had been on his feet a good
+part of a day and a night (for it was now two or three o’clock in the
+morning), and had eaten nothing meantime.  He murmured drowsily--
+
+“Prithee call me when the table is spread,” and sank into a deep sleep
+immediately.
+
+A smile twinkled in Hendon’s eye, and he said to himself--
+
+“By the mass, the little beggar takes to one’s quarters and usurps one’s
+bed with as natural and easy a grace as if he owned them--with never
+a by-your-leave or so-please-it-you, or anything of the sort.  In his
+diseased ravings he called himself the Prince of Wales, and bravely doth
+he keep up the character.  Poor little friendless rat, doubtless his
+mind has been disordered with ill-usage.  Well, I will be his friend;
+I have saved him, and it draweth me strongly to him; already I love the
+bold-tongued little rascal.  How soldier-like he faced the smutty rabble
+and flung back his high defiance!  And what a comely, sweet and gentle
+face he hath, now that sleep hath conjured away its troubles and its
+griefs. I will teach him; I will cure his malady; yea, I will be his
+elder brother, and care for him and watch over him; and whoso would
+shame him or do him hurt may order his shroud, for though I be burnt for
+it he shall need it!”
+
+He bent over the boy and contemplated him with kind and pitying
+interest, tapping the young cheek tenderly and smoothing back the
+tangled curls with his great brown hand.  A slight shiver passed over
+the boy’s form. Hendon muttered--
+
+“See, now, how like a man it was to let him lie here uncovered and fill
+his body with deadly rheums.  Now what shall I do? ’twill wake him to
+take him up and put him within the bed, and he sorely needeth sleep.”
+
+He looked about for extra covering, but finding none, doffed his doublet
+and wrapped the lad in it, saying, “I am used to nipping air and scant
+apparel, ’tis little I shall mind the cold!”--then walked up and down
+the room, to keep his blood in motion, soliloquising as before.
+
+“His injured mind persuades him he is Prince of Wales; ’twill be odd to
+have a Prince of Wales still with us, now that he that _was_ the prince
+is prince no more, but king--for this poor mind is set upon the one
+fantasy, and will not reason out that now it should cast by the prince
+and call itself the king. . . If my father liveth still, after these
+seven years that I have heard nought from home in my foreign dungeon, he
+will welcome the poor lad and give him generous shelter for my sake; so
+will my good elder brother, Arthur; my other brother, Hugh--but I will
+crack his crown an _he_ interfere, the fox-hearted, ill-conditioned
+animal! Yes, thither will we fare--and straightway, too.”
+
+A servant entered with a smoking meal, disposed it upon a small deal
+table, placed the chairs, and took his departure, leaving such cheap
+lodgers as these to wait upon themselves.  The door slammed after him,
+and the noise woke the boy, who sprang to a sitting posture, and shot
+a glad glance about him; then a grieved look came into his face and he
+murmured to himself, with a deep sigh, “Alack, it was but a dream, woe
+is me!”  Next he noticed Miles Hendon’s doublet--glanced from that to
+Hendon, comprehended the sacrifice that had been made for him, and said,
+gently--
+
+“Thou art good to me, yes, thou art very good to me.  Take it and put it
+on--I shall not need it more.”
+
+Then he got up and walked to the washstand in the corner and stood
+there, waiting.  Hendon said in a cheery voice--
+
+“We’ll have a right hearty sup and bite, now, for everything is savoury
+and smoking hot, and that and thy nap together will make thee a little
+man again, never fear!”
+
+The boy made no answer, but bent a steady look, that was filled with
+grave surprise, and also somewhat touched with impatience, upon the tall
+knight of the sword.  Hendon was puzzled, and said--
+
+“What’s amiss?”
+
+“Good sir, I would wash me.”
+
+“Oh, is that all?  Ask no permission of Miles Hendon for aught thou
+cravest.  Make thyself perfectly free here, and welcome, with all that
+are his belongings.”
+
+Still the boy stood, and moved not; more, he tapped the floor once or
+twice with his small impatient foot.  Hendon was wholly perplexed.  Said
+he--
+
+“Bless us, what is it?”
+
+“Prithee pour the water, and make not so many words!”
+
+Hendon, suppressing a horse-laugh, and saying to himself, “By all the
+saints, but this is admirable!” stepped briskly forward and did the
+small insolent’s bidding; then stood by, in a sort of stupefaction,
+until the command, “Come--the towel!” woke him sharply up.  He took up a
+towel, from under the boy’s nose, and handed it to him without comment.
+ He now proceeded to comfort his own face with a wash, and while he was
+at it his adopted child seated himself at the table and prepared to fall
+to. Hendon despatched his ablutions with alacrity, then drew back the
+other chair and was about to place himself at table, when the boy said,
+indignantly--
+
+“Forbear!  Wouldst sit in the presence of the King?”
+
+This blow staggered Hendon to his foundations.  He muttered to himself,
+“Lo, the poor thing’s madness is up with the time!  It hath changed
+with the great change that is come to the realm, and now in fancy is
+he _king_! Good lack, I must humour the conceit, too--there is no other
+way--faith, he would order me to the Tower, else!”
+
+And pleased with this jest, he removed the chair from the table,
+took his stand behind the King, and proceeded to wait upon him in the
+courtliest way he was capable of.
+
+While the King ate, the rigour of his royal dignity relaxed a little,
+and with his growing contentment came a desire to talk. He said--“I
+think thou callest thyself Miles Hendon, if I heard thee aright?”
+
+“Yes, Sire,” Miles replied; then observed to himself, “If I _must_
+humour the poor lad’s madness, I must ‘Sire’ him, I must ‘Majesty’ him,
+I must not go by halves, I must stick at nothing that belongeth to the
+part I play, else shall I play it ill and work evil to this charitable
+and kindly cause.”
+
+The King warmed his heart with a second glass of wine, and said--“I
+would know thee--tell me thy story.  Thou hast a gallant way with thee,
+and a noble--art nobly born?”
+
+“We are of the tail of the nobility, good your Majesty.  My father is
+a baronet--one of the smaller lords by knight service {2}--Sir Richard
+Hendon of Hendon Hall, by Monk’s Holm in Kent.”
+
+“The name has escaped my memory.  Go on--tell me thy story.”
+
+“‘Tis not much, your Majesty, yet perchance it may beguile a short
+half-hour for want of a better.  My father, Sir Richard, is very rich,
+and of a most generous nature.  My mother died whilst I was yet a
+boy.  I have two brothers:  Arthur, my elder, with a soul like to
+his father’s; and Hugh, younger than I, a mean spirit, covetous,
+treacherous, vicious, underhanded--a reptile.  Such was he from the
+cradle; such was he ten years past, when I last saw him--a ripe rascal
+at nineteen, I being twenty then, and Arthur twenty-two.  There is
+none other of us but the Lady Edith, my cousin--she was sixteen
+then--beautiful, gentle, good, the daughter of an earl, the last of her
+race, heiress of a great fortune and a lapsed title.  My father was her
+guardian.  I loved her and she loved me; but she was betrothed to Arthur
+from the cradle, and Sir Richard would not suffer the contract to be
+broken.  Arthur loved another maid, and bade us be of good cheer and
+hold fast to the hope that delay and luck together would some day give
+success to our several causes.  Hugh loved the Lady Edith’s fortune,
+though in truth he said it was herself he loved--but then ’twas his way,
+alway, to say the one thing and mean the other.  But he lost his arts
+upon the girl; he could deceive my father, but none else.  My father
+loved him best of us all, and trusted and believed him; for he was the
+youngest child, and others hated him--these qualities being in all
+ages sufficient to win a parent’s dearest love; and he had a smooth
+persuasive tongue, with an admirable gift of lying--and these be
+qualities which do mightily assist a blind affection to cozen itself.
+ I was wild--in troth I might go yet farther and say _very_ wild, though
+‘twas a wildness of an innocent sort, since it hurt none but me, brought
+shame to none, nor loss, nor had in it any taint of crime or baseness,
+or what might not beseem mine honourable degree.
+
+“Yet did my brother Hugh turn these faults to good account--he seeing
+that our brother Arthur’s health was but indifferent, and hoping the
+worst might work him profit were I swept out of the path--so--but ’twere
+a long tale, good my liege, and little worth the telling.  Briefly,
+then, this brother did deftly magnify my faults and make them
+crimes; ending his base work with finding a silken ladder in mine
+apartments--conveyed thither by his own means--and did convince my
+father by this, and suborned evidence of servants and other lying
+knaves, that I was minded to carry off my Edith and marry with her in
+rank defiance of his will.
+
+“Three years of banishment from home and England might make a soldier
+and a man of me, my father said, and teach me some degree of wisdom.
+ I fought out my long probation in the continental wars, tasting
+sumptuously of hard knocks, privation, and adventure; but in my last
+battle I was taken captive, and during the seven years that have waxed
+and waned since then, a foreign dungeon hath harboured me.  Through wit
+and courage I won to the free air at last, and fled hither straight; and
+am but just arrived, right poor in purse and raiment, and poorer still
+in knowledge of what these dull seven years have wrought at Hendon Hall,
+its people and belongings.  So please you, sir, my meagre tale is told.”
+
+“Thou hast been shamefully abused!” said the little King, with a
+flashing eye.  “But I will right thee--by the cross will I!  The King
+hath said it.”
+
+Then, fired by the story of Miles’s wrongs, he loosed his tongue and
+poured the history of his own recent misfortunes into the ears of his
+astonished listener.  When he had finished, Miles said to himself--
+
+“Lo, what an imagination he hath!  Verily, this is no common mind; else,
+crazed or sane, it could not weave so straight and gaudy a tale as this
+out of the airy nothings wherewith it hath wrought this curious romaunt.
+Poor ruined little head, it shall not lack friend or shelter whilst I
+bide with the living.  He shall never leave my side; he shall be my
+pet, my little comrade.  And he shall be cured!--ay, made whole and
+sound--then will he make himself a name--and proud shall I be to say,
+‘Yes, he is mine--I took him, a homeless little ragamuffin, but I saw
+what was in him, and I said his name would be heard some day--behold
+him, observe him--was I right?’”
+
+The King spoke--in a thoughtful, measured voice--
+
+“Thou didst save me injury and shame, perchance my life, and so my
+crown. Such service demandeth rich reward.  Name thy desire, and so it
+be within the compass of my royal power, it is thine.”
+
+This fantastic suggestion startled Hendon out of his reverie.  He was
+about to thank the King and put the matter aside with saying he had only
+done his duty and desired no reward, but a wiser thought came into his
+head, and he asked leave to be silent a few moments and consider the
+gracious offer--an idea which the King gravely approved, remarking that
+it was best to be not too hasty with a thing of such great import.
+
+Miles reflected during some moments, then said to himself, “Yes, that is
+the thing to do--by any other means it were impossible to get at it--and
+certes, this hour’s experience has taught me ’twould be most wearing and
+inconvenient to continue it as it is. Yes, I will propose it; ’twas a
+happy accident that I did not throw the chance away.”  Then he dropped
+upon one knee and said--
+
+“My poor service went not beyond the limit of a subject’s simple duty,
+and therefore hath no merit; but since your Majesty is pleased to hold
+it worthy some reward, I take heart of grace to make petition to this
+effect.  Near four hundred years ago, as your grace knoweth, there being
+ill blood betwixt John, King of England, and the King of France, it was
+decreed that two champions should fight together in the lists, and so
+settle the dispute by what is called the arbitrament of God.  These two
+kings, and the Spanish king, being assembled to witness and judge the
+conflict, the French champion appeared; but so redoubtable was he, that
+our English knights refused to measure weapons with him.  So the matter,
+which was a weighty one, was like to go against the English monarch by
+default.  Now in the Tower lay the Lord de Courcy, the mightiest arm in
+England, stripped of his honours and possessions, and wasting with
+long captivity.  Appeal was made to him; he gave assent, and came forth
+arrayed for battle; but no sooner did the Frenchman glimpse his huge
+frame and hear his famous name but he fled away, and the French king’s
+cause was lost.  King John restored De Courcy’s titles and possessions,
+and said, ‘Name thy wish and thou shalt have it, though it cost me half
+my kingdom;’ whereat De Courcy, kneeling, as I do now, made answer,
+‘This, then, I ask, my liege; that I and my successors may have and
+hold the privilege of remaining covered in the presence of the kings of
+England, henceforth while the throne shall last.’ The boon was granted,
+as your Majesty knoweth; and there hath been no time, these four hundred
+years, that that line has failed of an heir; and so, even unto this day,
+the head of that ancient house still weareth his hat or helm before the
+King’s Majesty, without let or hindrance, and this none other may do.
+{3} Invoking this precedent in aid of my prayer, I beseech the King to
+grant to me but this one grace and privilege--to my more than sufficient
+reward--and none other, to wit:  that I and my heirs, for ever, may
+_sit_ in the presence of the Majesty of England!”
+
+“Rise, Sir Miles Hendon, Knight,” said the King, gravely--giving the
+accolade with Hendon’s sword--“rise, and seat thyself.  Thy petition is
+granted.  Whilst England remains, and the crown continues, the privilege
+shall not lapse.”
+
+His Majesty walked apart, musing, and Hendon dropped into a chair at
+table, observing to himself, “‘Twas a brave thought, and hath wrought
+me a mighty deliverance; my legs are grievously wearied. An I had not
+thought of that, I must have had to stand for weeks, till my poor lad’s
+wits are cured.”  After a little, he went on, “And so I am become a
+knight of the Kingdom of Dreams and Shadows! A most odd and strange
+position, truly, for one so matter-of-fact as I.  I will not laugh--no,
+God forbid, for this thing which is so substanceless to me is _real_ to
+him.  And to me, also, in one way, it is not a falsity, for it reflects
+with truth the sweet and generous spirit that is in him.”  After
+a pause: “Ah, what if he should call me by my fine title before
+folk!--there’d be a merry contrast betwixt my glory and my raiment!  But
+no matter, let him call me what he will, so it please him; I shall be
+content.”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII. The disappearance of the Prince.
+
+A heavy drowsiness presently fell upon the two comrades.  The King
+said--
+
+“Remove these rags.”--meaning his clothing.
+
+Hendon disapparelled the boy without dissent or remark, tucked him up in
+bed, then glanced about the room, saying to himself, ruefully, “He hath
+taken my bed again, as before--marry, what shall _I_ do?”  The little
+King observed his perplexity, and dissipated it with a word.  He said,
+sleepily--
+
+“Thou wilt sleep athwart the door, and guard it.”  In a moment more he
+was out of his troubles, in a deep slumber.
+
+“Dear heart, he should have been born a king!” muttered Hendon,
+admiringly; “he playeth the part to a marvel.”
+
+Then he stretched himself across the door, on the floor, saying
+contentedly--
+
+“I have lodged worse for seven years; ’twould be but ill gratitude to
+Him above to find fault with this.”
+
+He dropped asleep as the dawn appeared.  Toward noon he rose, uncovered
+his unconscious ward--a section at a time--and took his measure with a
+string.  The King awoke, just as he had completed his work, complained
+of the cold, and asked what he was doing.
+
+“‘Tis done, now, my liege,” said Hendon; “I have a bit of business
+outside, but will presently return; sleep thou again--thou needest it.
+There--let me cover thy head also--thou’lt be warm the sooner.”
+
+The King was back in dreamland before this speech was ended. Miles
+slipped softly out, and slipped as softly in again, in the course of
+thirty or forty minutes, with a complete second-hand suit of boy’s
+clothing, of cheap material, and showing signs of wear; but tidy, and
+suited to the season of the year.  He seated himself, and began to
+overhaul his purchase, mumbling to himself--
+
+“A longer purse would have got a better sort, but when one has not the
+long purse one must be content with what a short one may do--
+
+“‘There was a woman in our town, In our town did dwell--’
+
+“He stirred, methinks--I must sing in a less thunderous key; ’tis not
+good to mar his sleep, with this journey before him, and he so wearied
+out, poor chap . . . This garment--‘tis well enough--a stitch here and
+another one there will set it aright.  This other is better, albeit a
+stitch or two will not come amiss in it, likewise . . . _These_ be very
+good and sound, and will keep his small feet warm and dry--an odd new
+thing to him, belike, since he has doubtless been used to foot it bare,
+winters and summers the same . . . Would thread were bread, seeing one
+getteth a year’s sufficiency for a farthing, and such a brave big needle
+without cost, for mere love.  Now shall I have the demon’s own time to
+thread it!”
+
+And so he had.  He did as men have always done, and probably always will
+do, to the end of time--held the needle still, and tried to thrust the
+thread through the eye, which is the opposite of a woman’s way.  Time
+and time again the thread missed the mark, going sometimes on one side
+of the needle, sometimes on the other, sometimes doubling up against the
+shaft; but he was patient, having been through these experiences before,
+when he was soldiering.  He succeeded at last, and took up the garment
+that had lain waiting, meantime, across his lap, and began his work.
+
+“The inn is paid--the breakfast that is to come, included--and there is
+wherewithal left to buy a couple of donkeys and meet our little costs
+for the two or three days betwixt this and the plenty that awaits us at
+Hendon Hall--
+
+“‘She loved her hus--’
+
+“Body o’ me!  I have driven the needle under my nail! . . . It matters
+little--‘tis not a novelty--yet ’tis not a convenience, neither. . . .
+We shall be merry there, little one, never doubt it! Thy troubles will
+vanish there, and likewise thy sad distemper--
+
+“‘She loved her husband dearilee, But another man--’
+
+“These be noble large stitches!”--holding the garment up and viewing
+it admiringly--“they have a grandeur and a majesty that do cause
+these small stingy ones of the tailor-man to look mightily paltry and
+plebeian--
+
+“‘She loved her husband dearilee, But another man he loved she,--’
+
+“Marry, ’tis done--a goodly piece of work, too, and wrought with
+expedition.  Now will I wake him, apparel him, pour for him, feed him,
+and then will we hie us to the mart by the Tabard Inn in Southwark
+and--be pleased to rise, my liege!--he answereth not--what ho, my
+liege!--of a truth must I profane his sacred person with a touch, sith
+his slumber is deaf to speech.  What!”
+
+He threw back the covers--the boy was gone!
+
+He stared about him in speechless astonishment for a moment; noticed for
+the first time that his ward’s ragged raiment was also missing; then he
+began to rage and storm and shout for the innkeeper.  At that moment a
+servant entered with the breakfast.
+
+“Explain, thou limb of Satan, or thy time is come!” roared the man of
+war, and made so savage a spring toward the waiter that this latter
+could not find his tongue, for the instant, for fright and surprise.
+ “Where is the boy?”
+
+In disjointed and trembling syllables the man gave the information
+desired.
+
+“You were hardly gone from the place, your worship, when a youth came
+running and said it was your worship’s will that the boy come to you
+straight, at the bridge-end on the Southwark side.  I brought him
+hither; and when he woke the lad and gave his message, the lad did
+grumble some little for being disturbed ‘so early,’ as he called it, but
+straightway trussed on his rags and went with the youth, only saying
+it had been better manners that your worship came yourself, not sent a
+stranger--and so--”
+
+“And so thou’rt a fool!--a fool and easily cozened--hang all thy breed!
+Yet mayhap no hurt is done.  Possibly no harm is meant the boy.  I will
+go fetch him.  Make the table ready.  Stay! the coverings of the bed
+were disposed as if one lay beneath them--happened that by accident?”
+
+“I know not, good your worship.  I saw the youth meddle with them--he
+that came for the boy.”
+
+“Thousand deaths!  ‘Twas done to deceive me--‘tis plain ’twas done to
+gain time.  Hark ye!  Was that youth alone?”
+
+“All alone, your worship.”
+
+“Art sure?”
+
+“Sure, your worship.”
+
+“Collect thy scattered wits--bethink thee--take time, man.”
+
+After a moment’s thought, the servant said--
+
+“When he came, none came with him; but now I remember me that as the two
+stepped into the throng of the Bridge, a ruffian-looking man plunged out
+from some near place; and just as he was joining them--”
+
+“What _then_?--out with it!” thundered the impatient Hendon,
+interrupting.
+
+“Just then the crowd lapped them up and closed them in, and I saw no
+more, being called by my master, who was in a rage because a joint that
+the scrivener had ordered was forgot, though I take all the saints to
+witness that to blame _me_ for that miscarriage were like holding the
+unborn babe to judgment for sins com--”
+
+“Out of my sight, idiot!  Thy prating drives me mad!  Hold! Whither art
+flying?  Canst not bide still an instant?  Went they toward Southwark?”
+
+“Even so, your worship--for, as I said before, as to that detestable
+joint, the babe unborn is no whit more blameless than--”
+
+“Art here _yet_!  And prating still!  Vanish, lest I throttle thee!” The
+servitor vanished.  Hendon followed after him, passed him, and plunged
+down the stairs two steps at a stride, muttering, “‘Tis that scurvy
+villain that claimed he was his son.  I have lost thee, my poor little
+mad master--it is a bitter thought--and I had come to love thee so!  No!
+by book and bell, _not_ lost!  Not lost, for I will ransack the land
+till I find thee again.  Poor child, yonder is his breakfast--and mine,
+but I have no hunger now; so, let the rats have it--speed, speed! that
+is the word!”  As he wormed his swift way through the noisy multitudes
+upon the Bridge he several times said to himself--clinging to the
+thought as if it were a particularly pleasing one--“He grumbled, but he
+_went_--he went, yes, because he thought Miles Hendon asked it, sweet
+lad--he would ne’er have done it for another, I know it well.”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV. ‘Le Roi est mort--vive le Roi.’
+
+Toward daylight of the same morning, Tom Canty stirred out of a heavy
+sleep and opened his eyes in the dark.  He lay silent a few moments,
+trying to analyse his confused thoughts and impressions, and get some
+sort of meaning out of them; then suddenly he burst out in a rapturous
+but guarded voice--
+
+“I see it all, I see it all!  Now God be thanked, I am indeed awake at
+last!  Come, joy! vanish, sorrow!  Ho, Nan! Bet! kick off your straw and
+hie ye hither to my side, till I do pour into your unbelieving ears the
+wildest madcap dream that ever the spirits of night did conjure up to
+astonish the soul of man withal! . . . Ho, Nan, I say!  Bet!”
+
+A dim form appeared at his side, and a voice said--
+
+“Wilt deign to deliver thy commands?”
+
+“Commands? . . . O, woe is me, I know thy voice!  Speak thou--who am I?”
+
+“Thou?  In sooth, yesternight wert thou the Prince of Wales; to-day art
+thou my most gracious liege, Edward, King of England.”
+
+Tom buried his head among his pillows, murmuring plaintively--
+
+“Alack, it was no dream!  Go to thy rest, sweet sir--leave me to my
+sorrows.”
+
+Tom slept again, and after a time he had this pleasant dream.  He
+thought it was summer, and he was playing, all alone, in the fair meadow
+called Goodman’s Fields, when a dwarf only a foot high, with long red
+whiskers and a humped back, appeared to him suddenly and said, “Dig by
+that stump.”  He did so, and found twelve bright new pennies--wonderful
+riches!  Yet this was not the best of it; for the dwarf said--
+
+“I know thee.  Thou art a good lad, and a deserving; thy distresses
+shall end, for the day of thy reward is come.  Dig here every seventh
+day, and thou shalt find always the same treasure, twelve bright new
+pennies. Tell none--keep the secret.”
+
+Then the dwarf vanished, and Tom flew to Offal Court with his prize,
+saying to himself, “Every night will I give my father a penny; he
+will think I begged it, it will glad his heart, and I shall no more
+be beaten. One penny every week the good priest that teacheth me shall
+have; mother, Nan, and Bet the other four. We be done with hunger and
+rags, now, done with fears and frets and savage usage.”
+
+In his dream he reached his sordid home all out of breath, but with
+eyes dancing with grateful enthusiasm; cast four of his pennies into his
+mother’s lap and cried out--
+
+“They are for thee!--all of them, every one!--for thee and Nan and
+Bet--and honestly come by, not begged nor stolen!”
+
+The happy and astonished mother strained him to her breast and
+exclaimed--
+
+“It waxeth late--may it please your Majesty to rise?”
+
+Ah! that was not the answer he was expecting.  The dream had snapped
+asunder--he was awake.
+
+He opened his eyes--the richly clad First Lord of the Bedchamber was
+kneeling by his couch.  The gladness of the lying dream faded away--the
+poor boy recognised that he was still a captive and a king.  The room
+was filled with courtiers clothed in purple mantles--the mourning
+colour--and with noble servants of the monarch.  Tom sat up in bed and
+gazed out from the heavy silken curtains upon this fine company.
+
+The weighty business of dressing began, and one courtier after another
+knelt and paid his court and offered to the little King his condolences
+upon his heavy loss, whilst the dressing proceeded.  In the beginning, a
+shirt was taken up by the Chief Equerry in Waiting, who passed it to the
+First Lord of the Buckhounds, who passed it to the Second Gentleman of
+the Bedchamber, who passed it to the Head Ranger of Windsor Forest,
+who passed it to the Third Groom of the Stole, who passed it to the
+Chancellor Royal of the Duchy of Lancaster, who passed it to the Master
+of the Wardrobe, who passed it to Norroy King-at-Arms, who passed it to
+the Constable of the Tower, who passed it to the Chief Steward of the
+Household, who passed it to the Hereditary Grand Diaperer, who passed it
+to the Lord High Admiral of England, who passed it to the Archbishop of
+Canterbury, who passed it to the First Lord of the Bedchamber, who took
+what was left of it and put it on Tom.  Poor little wondering chap, it
+reminded him of passing buckets at a fire.
+
+Each garment in its turn had to go through this slow and solemn process;
+consequently Tom grew very weary of the ceremony; so weary that he felt
+an almost gushing gratefulness when he at last saw his long silken hose
+begin the journey down the line and knew that the end of the matter
+was drawing near.  But he exulted too soon.  The First Lord of the
+Bedchamber received the hose and was about to encase Tom’s legs in them,
+when a sudden flush invaded his face and he hurriedly hustled the things
+back into the hands of the Archbishop of Canterbury with an astounded
+look and a whispered, “See, my lord!” pointing to a something connected
+with the hose.  The Archbishop paled, then flushed, and passed the
+hose to the Lord High Admiral, whispering, “See, my lord!”  The Admiral
+passed the hose to the Hereditary Grand Diaperer, and had hardly breath
+enough in his body to ejaculate, “See, my lord!”  The hose drifted
+backward along the line, to the Chief Steward of the Household, the
+Constable of the Tower, Norroy King-at-Arms, the Master of the Wardrobe,
+the Chancellor Royal of the Duchy of Lancaster, the Third Groom of the
+Stole, the Head Ranger of Windsor Forest, the Second Gentleman of the
+Bedchamber, the First Lord of the Buckhounds,--accompanied always with
+that amazed and frightened “See! see!”--till they finally reached the
+hands of the Chief Equerry in Waiting, who gazed a moment, with a pallid
+face, upon what had caused all this dismay, then hoarsely whispered,
+“Body of my life, a tag gone from a truss-point!--to the Tower with
+the Head Keeper of the King’s Hose!”--after which he leaned upon the
+shoulder of the First Lord of the Buckhounds to regather his vanished
+strength whilst fresh hose, without any damaged strings to them, were
+brought.
+
+But all things must have an end, and so in time Tom Canty was in a
+condition to get out of bed.  The proper official poured water, the
+proper official engineered the washing, the proper official stood by
+with a towel, and by-and-by Tom got safely through the purifying stage
+and was ready for the services of the Hairdresser-royal.  When he at
+length emerged from this master’s hands, he was a gracious figure and
+as pretty as a girl, in his mantle and trunks of purple satin, and
+purple-plumed cap.  He now moved in state toward his breakfast-room,
+through the midst of the courtly assemblage; and as he passed, these
+fell back, leaving his way free, and dropped upon their knees.
+
+After breakfast he was conducted, with regal ceremony, attended by his
+great officers and his guard of fifty Gentlemen Pensioners bearing gilt
+battle-axes, to the throne-room, where he proceeded to transact business
+of state.  His ‘uncle,’ Lord Hertford, took his stand by the throne, to
+assist the royal mind with wise counsel.
+
+The body of illustrious men named by the late King as his executors
+appeared, to ask Tom’s approval of certain acts of theirs--rather a
+form, and yet not wholly a form, since there was no Protector as yet.
+ The Archbishop of Canterbury made report of the decree of the Council
+of Executors concerning the obsequies of his late most illustrious
+Majesty, and finished by reading the signatures of the Executors, to
+wit:  the Archbishop of Canterbury; the Lord Chancellor of England;
+William Lord St. John; John Lord Russell; Edward Earl of Hertford; John
+Viscount Lisle; Cuthbert Bishop of Durham--
+
+Tom was not listening--an earlier clause of the document was puzzling
+him.  At this point he turned and whispered to Lord Hertford--
+
+“What day did he say the burial hath been appointed for?”
+
+“The sixteenth of the coming month, my liege.”
+
+“‘Tis a strange folly.  Will he keep?”
+
+Poor chap, he was still new to the customs of royalty; he was used to
+seeing the forlorn dead of Offal Court hustled out of the way with a
+very different sort of expedition.  However, the Lord Hertford set his
+mind at rest with a word or two.
+
+A secretary of state presented an order of the Council appointing the
+morrow at eleven for the reception of the foreign ambassadors, and
+desired the King’s assent.
+
+Tom turned an inquiring look toward Hertford, who whispered--
+
+“Your Majesty will signify consent.  They come to testify their royal
+masters’ sense of the heavy calamity which hath visited your Grace and
+the realm of England.”
+
+Tom did as he was bidden.  Another secretary began to read a preamble
+concerning the expenses of the late King’s household, which had amounted
+to 28,000 pounds during the preceding six months--a sum so vast that it
+made Tom Canty gasp; he gasped again when the fact appeared that 20,000
+pounds of this money was still owing and unpaid; {4} and once more when
+it appeared that the King’s coffers were about empty, and his twelve
+hundred servants much embarrassed for lack of the wages due them.  Tom
+spoke out, with lively apprehension--
+
+“We be going to the dogs, ’tis plain.  ‘Tis meet and necessary that we
+take a smaller house and set the servants at large, sith they be of no
+value but to make delay, and trouble one with offices that harass the
+spirit and shame the soul, they misbecoming any but a doll, that hath
+nor brains nor hands to help itself withal.  I remember me of a small
+house that standeth over against the fish-market, by Billingsgate--”
+
+A sharp pressure upon Tom’s arm stopped his foolish tongue and sent a
+blush to his face; but no countenance there betrayed any sign that this
+strange speech had been remarked or given concern.
+
+A secretary made report that forasmuch as the late King had provided in
+his will for conferring the ducal degree upon the Earl of Hertford and
+raising his brother, Sir Thomas Seymour, to the peerage, and likewise
+Hertford’s son to an earldom, together with similar aggrandisements to
+other great servants of the Crown, the Council had resolved to hold a
+sitting on the 16th of February for the delivering and confirming of
+these honours, and that meantime, the late King not having granted,
+in writing, estates suitable to the support of these dignities, the
+Council, knowing his private wishes in that regard, had thought proper
+to grant to Seymour ‘500 pound lands,’ and to Hertford’s son ‘800
+pound lands, and 300 pound of the next bishop’s lands which should fall
+vacant,’--his present Majesty being willing. {5}
+
+Tom was about to blurt out something about the propriety of paying the
+late King’s debts first, before squandering all this money, but a
+timely touch upon his arm, from the thoughtful Hertford, saved him
+this indiscretion; wherefore he gave the royal assent, without spoken
+comment, but with much inward discomfort.  While he sat reflecting a
+moment over the ease with which he was doing strange and glittering
+miracles, a happy thought shot into his mind:  why not make his mother
+Duchess of Offal Court, and give her an estate?  But a sorrowful
+thought swept it instantly away: he was only a king in name, these grave
+veterans and great nobles were his masters; to them his mother was only
+the creature of a diseased mind; they would simply listen to his project
+with unbelieving ears, then send for the doctor.
+
+The dull work went tediously on.  Petitions were read, and
+proclamations, patents, and all manner of wordy, repetitious, and
+wearisome papers relating to the public business; and at last Tom sighed
+pathetically and murmured to himself, “In what have I offended, that the
+good God should take me away from the fields and the free air and the
+sunshine, to shut me up here and make me a king and afflict me so?”
+  Then his poor muddled head nodded a while and presently drooped to his
+shoulder; and the business of the empire came to a standstill for want
+of that august factor, the ratifying power.  Silence ensued around
+the slumbering child, and the sages of the realm ceased from their
+deliberations.
+
+During the forenoon, Tom had an enjoyable hour, by permission of his
+keepers, Hertford and St. John, with the Lady Elizabeth and the little
+Lady Jane Grey; though the spirits of the princesses were rather subdued
+by the mighty stroke that had fallen upon the royal house; and at the
+end of the visit his ‘elder sister’--afterwards the ‘Bloody Mary’ of
+history--chilled him with a solemn interview which had but one merit in
+his eyes, its brevity.  He had a few moments to himself, and then a slim
+lad of about twelve years of age was admitted to his presence, whose
+clothing, except his snowy ruff and the laces about his wrists, was of
+black,--doublet, hose, and all.  He bore no badge of mourning but a knot
+of purple ribbon on his shoulder.  He advanced hesitatingly, with head
+bowed and bare, and dropped upon one knee in front of Tom. Tom sat still
+and contemplated him soberly a moment.  Then he said--
+
+“Rise, lad.  Who art thou.  What wouldst have?”
+
+The boy rose, and stood at graceful ease, but with an aspect of concern
+in his face.  He said--
+
+“Of a surety thou must remember me, my lord.  I am thy whipping-boy.”
+
+“My _whipping_-boy?”
+
+“The same, your Grace.  I am Humphrey--Humphrey Marlow.”
+
+Tom perceived that here was someone whom his keepers ought to have
+posted him about.  The situation was delicate.  What should he
+do?--pretend he knew this lad, and then betray by his every utterance
+that he had never heard of him before?  No, that would not do.  An idea
+came to his relief: accidents like this might be likely to happen with
+some frequency, now that business urgencies would often call Hertford
+and St. John from his side, they being members of the Council of
+Executors; therefore perhaps it would be well to strike out a plan
+himself to meet the requirements of such emergencies.  Yes, that would
+be a wise course--he would practise on this boy, and see what sort of
+success he might achieve.  So he stroked his brow perplexedly a moment
+or two, and presently said--
+
+“Now I seem to remember thee somewhat--but my wit is clogged and dim
+with suffering--”
+
+“Alack, my poor master!” ejaculated the whipping-boy, with feeling;
+adding, to himself, “In truth ’tis as they said--his mind is gone--alas,
+poor soul!  But misfortune catch me, how am I forgetting!  They said one
+must not seem to observe that aught is wrong with him.”
+
+“‘Tis strange how my memory doth wanton with me these days,” said Tom.
+“But mind it not--I mend apace--a little clue doth often serve to bring
+me back again the things and names which had escaped me.  (And not they,
+only, forsooth, but e’en such as I ne’er heard before--as this lad shall
+see.)  Give thy business speech.”
+
+“‘Tis matter of small weight, my liege, yet will I touch upon it, an’ it
+please your Grace.  Two days gone by, when your Majesty faulted thrice
+in your Greek--in the morning lessons,--dost remember it?”
+
+“Y-e-s--methinks I do.  (It is not much of a lie--an’ I had meddled with
+the Greek at all, I had not faulted simply thrice, but forty times.)
+Yes, I do recall it, now--go on.”
+
+“The master, being wroth with what he termed such slovenly and doltish
+work, did promise that he would soundly whip me for it--and--”
+
+“Whip _thee_!” said Tom, astonished out of his presence of mind. “Why
+should he whip _thee_ for faults of mine?”
+
+“Ah, your Grace forgetteth again.  He always scourgeth me when thou dost
+fail in thy lessons.”
+
+“True, true--I had forgot.  Thou teachest me in private--then if I fail,
+he argueth that thy office was lamely done, and--”
+
+“Oh, my liege, what words are these?  I, the humblest of thy servants,
+presume to teach _thee_?”
+
+“Then where is thy blame?  What riddle is this?  Am I in truth gone mad,
+or is it thou?  Explain--speak out.”
+
+“But, good your Majesty, there’s nought that needeth simplifying.--None
+may visit the sacred person of the Prince of Wales with blows;
+wherefore, when he faulteth, ’tis I that take them; and meet it is and
+right, for that it is mine office and my livelihood.” {1}
+
+Tom stared at the tranquil boy, observing to himself, “Lo, it is a
+wonderful thing,--a most strange and curious trade; I marvel they have
+not hired a boy to take my combings and my dressings for me--would
+heaven they would!--an’ they will do this thing, I will take my lashings
+in mine own person, giving God thanks for the change.” Then he said
+aloud--
+
+“And hast thou been beaten, poor friend, according to the promise?”
+
+“No, good your Majesty, my punishment was appointed for this day, and
+peradventure it may be annulled, as unbefitting the season of mourning
+that is come upon us; I know not, and so have made bold to come hither
+and remind your Grace about your gracious promise to intercede in my
+behalf--”
+
+“With the master?  To save thee thy whipping?”
+
+“Ah, thou dost remember!”
+
+“My memory mendeth, thou seest.  Set thy mind at ease--thy back shall go
+unscathed--I will see to it.”
+
+“Oh, thanks, my good lord!” cried the boy, dropping upon his knee again.
+“Mayhap I have ventured far enow; and yet--”
+
+Seeing Master Humphrey hesitate, Tom encouraged him to go on, saying he
+was “in the granting mood.”
+
+“Then will I speak it out, for it lieth near my heart.  Sith thou art
+no more Prince of Wales but King, thou canst order matters as thou wilt,
+with none to say thee nay; wherefore it is not in reason that thou wilt
+longer vex thyself with dreary studies, but wilt burn thy books and
+turn thy mind to things less irksome. Then am I ruined, and mine orphan
+sisters with me!”
+
+“Ruined?  Prithee how?”
+
+“My back is my bread, O my gracious liege! if it go idle, I starve.  An’
+thou cease from study mine office is gone thou’lt need no whipping-boy.
+Do not turn me away!”
+
+Tom was touched with this pathetic distress.  He said, with a right
+royal burst of generosity--
+
+“Discomfort thyself no further, lad.  Thine office shall be permanent in
+thee and thy line for ever.”  Then he struck the boy a light blow on the
+shoulder with the flat of his sword, exclaiming, “Rise, Humphrey Marlow,
+Hereditary Grand Whipping-Boy to the Royal House of England!  Banish
+sorrow--I will betake me to my books again, and study so ill that they
+must in justice treble thy wage, so mightily shall the business of thine
+office be augmented.”
+
+The grateful Humphrey responded fervidly--
+
+“Thanks, O most noble master, this princely lavishness doth far surpass
+my most distempered dreams of fortune.  Now shall I be happy all my
+days, and all the house of Marlow after me.”
+
+Tom had wit enough to perceive that here was a lad who could be useful
+to him.  He encouraged Humphrey to talk, and he was nothing loath.
+ He was delighted to believe that he was helping in Tom’s ‘cure’; for
+always, as soon as he had finished calling back to Tom’s diseased mind
+the various particulars of his experiences and adventures in the royal
+school-room and elsewhere about the palace, he noticed that Tom was then
+able to ‘recall’ the circumstances quite clearly.  At the end of an
+hour Tom found himself well freighted with very valuable information
+concerning personages and matters pertaining to the Court; so he
+resolved to draw instruction from this source daily; and to this end he
+would give order to admit Humphrey to the royal closet whenever he might
+come, provided the Majesty of England was not engaged with other people.
+ Humphrey had hardly been dismissed when my Lord Hertford arrived with
+more trouble for Tom.
+
+He said that the Lords of the Council, fearing that some overwrought
+report of the King’s damaged health might have leaked out and got
+abroad, they deemed it wise and best that his Majesty should begin to
+dine in public after a day or two--his wholesome complexion and vigorous
+step, assisted by a carefully guarded repose of manner and ease and
+grace of demeanour, would more surely quiet the general pulse--in case
+any evil rumours _had_ gone about--than any other scheme that could be
+devised.
+
+Then the Earl proceeded, very delicately, to instruct Tom as to the
+observances proper to the stately occasion, under the rather thin
+disguise of ‘reminding’ him concerning things already known to him; but
+to his vast gratification it turned out that Tom needed very little help
+in this line--he had been making use of Humphrey in that direction, for
+Humphrey had mentioned that within a few days he was to begin to dine
+in public; having gathered it from the swift-winged gossip of the Court.
+Tom kept these facts to himself, however.
+
+Seeing the royal memory so improved, the Earl ventured to apply a
+few tests to it, in an apparently casual way, to find out how far its
+amendment had progressed.  The results were happy, here and there, in
+spots--spots where Humphrey’s tracks remained--and on the whole my lord
+was greatly pleased and encouraged.  So encouraged was he, indeed, that
+he spoke up and said in a quite hopeful voice--
+
+“Now am I persuaded that if your Majesty will but tax your memory yet
+a little further, it will resolve the puzzle of the Great Seal--a loss
+which was of moment yesterday, although of none to-day, since its term
+of service ended with our late lord’s life. May it please your Grace to
+make the trial?”
+
+Tom was at sea--a Great Seal was something which he was totally
+unacquainted with.  After a moment’s hesitation he looked up innocently
+and asked--
+
+“What was it like, my lord?”
+
+The Earl started, almost imperceptibly, muttering to himself, “Alack,
+his wits are flown again!--it was ill wisdom to lead him on to strain
+them”--then he deftly turned the talk to other matters, with the purpose
+of sweeping the unlucky seal out of Tom’s thoughts--a purpose which
+easily succeeded.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV. Tom as King.
+
+The next day the foreign ambassadors came, with their gorgeous trains;
+and Tom, throned in awful state, received them.  The splendours of the
+scene delighted his eye and fired his imagination at first, but
+the audience was long and dreary, and so were most of the
+addresses--wherefore, what began as a pleasure grew into weariness and
+home-sickness by-and-by.  Tom said the words which Hertford put into
+his mouth from time to time, and tried hard to acquit himself
+satisfactorily, but he was too new to such things, and too ill at ease
+to accomplish more than a tolerable success.  He looked sufficiently
+like a king, but he was ill able to feel like one.  He was cordially
+glad when the ceremony was ended.
+
+The larger part of his day was ‘wasted’--as he termed it, in his own
+mind--in labours pertaining to his royal office.  Even the two hours
+devoted to certain princely pastimes and recreations were rather a
+burden to him than otherwise, they were so fettered by restrictions
+and ceremonious observances.  However, he had a private hour with
+his whipping-boy which he counted clear gain, since he got both
+entertainment and needful information out of it.
+
+The third day of Tom Canty’s kingship came and went much as the others
+had done, but there was a lifting of his cloud in one way--he felt
+less uncomfortable than at first; he was getting a little used to his
+circumstances and surroundings; his chains still galled, but not all the
+time; he found that the presence and homage of the great afflicted and
+embarrassed him less and less sharply with every hour that drifted over
+his head.
+
+But for one single dread, he could have seen the fourth day approach
+without serious distress--the dining in public; it was to begin that
+day. There were greater matters in the programme--for on that day
+he would have to preside at a council which would take his views and
+commands concerning the policy to be pursued toward various foreign
+nations scattered far and near over the great globe; on that day, too,
+Hertford would be formally chosen to the grand office of Lord Protector;
+other things of note were appointed for that fourth day, also; but to
+Tom they were all insignificant compared with the ordeal of dining all
+by himself with a multitude of curious eyes fastened upon him and a
+multitude of mouths whispering comments upon his performance,--and upon
+his mistakes, if he should be so unlucky as to make any.
+
+Still, nothing could stop that fourth day, and so it came.  It found
+poor Tom low-spirited and absent-minded, and this mood continued; he
+could not shake it off.  The ordinary duties of the morning dragged upon
+his hands, and wearied him.  Once more he felt the sense of captivity
+heavy upon him.
+
+Late in the forenoon he was in a large audience-chamber, conversing
+with the Earl of Hertford and dully awaiting the striking of the hour
+appointed for a visit of ceremony from a considerable number of great
+officials and courtiers.
+
+After a little while, Tom, who had wandered to a window and become
+interested in the life and movement of the great highway beyond the
+palace gates--and not idly interested, but longing with all his heart
+to take part in person in its stir and freedom--saw the van of a hooting
+and shouting mob of disorderly men, women, and children of the lowest
+and poorest degree approaching from up the road.
+
+“I would I knew what ’tis about!” he exclaimed, with all a boy’s
+curiosity in such happenings.
+
+“Thou art the King!” solemnly responded the Earl, with a reverence.
+“Have I your Grace’s leave to act?”
+
+“O blithely, yes!  O gladly, yes!” exclaimed Tom excitedly, adding to
+himself with a lively sense of satisfaction, “In truth, being a king is
+not all dreariness--it hath its compensations and conveniences.”
+
+The Earl called a page, and sent him to the captain of the guard with
+the order--
+
+“Let the mob be halted, and inquiry made concerning the occasion of its
+movement.  By the King’s command!”
+
+A few seconds later a long rank of the royal guards, cased in flashing
+steel, filed out at the gates and formed across the highway in front
+of the multitude.  A messenger returned, to report that the crowd were
+following a man, a woman, and a young girl to execution for crimes
+committed against the peace and dignity of the realm.
+
+Death--and a violent death--for these poor unfortunates!  The thought
+wrung Tom’s heart-strings.  The spirit of compassion took control of
+him, to the exclusion of all other considerations; he never thought of
+the offended laws, or of the grief or loss which these three criminals
+had inflicted upon their victims; he could think of nothing but the
+scaffold and the grisly fate hanging over the heads of the condemned.
+ His concern made him even forget, for the moment, that he was but the
+false shadow of a king, not the substance; and before he knew it he had
+blurted out the command--
+
+“Bring them here!”
+
+Then he blushed scarlet, and a sort of apology sprung to his lips; but
+observing that his order had wrought no sort of surprise in the Earl or
+the waiting page, he suppressed the words he was about to utter.  The
+page, in the most matter-of-course way, made a profound obeisance
+and retired backwards out of the room to deliver the command.  Tom
+experienced a glow of pride and a renewed sense of the compensating
+advantages of the kingly office. He said to himself, “Truly it is like
+what I was used to feel when I read the old priest’s tales, and did
+imagine mine own self a prince, giving law and command to all, saying
+‘Do this, do that,’ whilst none durst offer let or hindrance to my
+will.”
+
+Now the doors swung open; one high-sounding title after another was
+announced, the personages owning them followed, and the place was
+quickly half-filled with noble folk and finery.  But Tom was hardly
+conscious of the presence of these people, so wrought up was he and so
+intensely absorbed in that other and more interesting matter.  He seated
+himself absently in his chair of state, and turned his eyes upon the
+door with manifestations of impatient expectancy; seeing which, the
+company forbore to trouble him, and fell to chatting a mixture of public
+business and court gossip one with another.
+
+In a little while the measured tread of military men was heard
+approaching, and the culprits entered the presence in charge of an
+under-sheriff and escorted by a detail of the king’s guard.  The civil
+officer knelt before Tom, then stood aside; the three doomed persons
+knelt, also, and remained so; the guard took position behind Tom’s
+chair.  Tom scanned the prisoners curiously. Something about the dress
+or appearance of the man had stirred a vague memory in him.  “Methinks
+I have seen this man ere now . . . but the when or the where fail
+me.”--Such was Tom’s thought. Just then the man glanced quickly up and
+quickly dropped his face again, not being able to endure the awful port
+of sovereignty; but the one full glimpse of the face which Tom got was
+sufficient.  He said to himself: “Now is the matter clear; this is the
+stranger that plucked Giles Witt out of the Thames, and saved his life,
+that windy, bitter, first day of the New Year--a brave good deed--pity
+he hath been doing baser ones and got himself in this sad case . . . I
+have not forgot the day, neither the hour; by reason that an hour after,
+upon the stroke of eleven, I did get a hiding by the hand of Gammer
+Canty which was of so goodly and admired severity that all that
+went before or followed after it were but fondlings and caresses by
+comparison.”
+
+Tom now ordered that the woman and the girl be removed from the presence
+for a little time; then addressed himself to the under-sheriff, saying--
+
+“Good sir, what is this man’s offence?”
+
+The officer knelt, and answered--
+
+“So please your Majesty, he hath taken the life of a subject by poison.”
+
+Tom’s compassion for the prisoner, and admiration of him as the daring
+rescuer of a drowning boy, experienced a most damaging shock.
+
+“The thing was proven upon him?” he asked.
+
+“Most clearly, sire.”
+
+Tom sighed, and said--
+
+“Take him away--he hath earned his death.  ‘Tis a pity, for he was a
+brave heart--na--na, I mean he hath the _look_ of it!”
+
+The prisoner clasped his hands together with sudden energy, and wrung
+them despairingly, at the same time appealing imploringly to the ‘King’
+in broken and terrified phrases--
+
+“O my lord the King, an’ thou canst pity the lost, have pity upon me!  I
+am innocent--neither hath that wherewith I am charged been more than
+but lamely proved--yet I speak not of that; the judgment is gone forth
+against me and may not suffer alteration; yet in mine extremity I beg a
+boon, for my doom is more than I can bear. A grace, a grace, my lord the
+King! in thy royal compassion grant my prayer--give commandment that I
+be hanged!”
+
+Tom was amazed.  This was not the outcome he had looked for.
+
+“Odds my life, a strange _boon_!  Was it not the fate intended thee?”
+
+“O good my liege, not so!  It is ordered that I be _boiled alive_!”
+
+The hideous surprise of these words almost made Tom spring from his
+chair.  As soon as he could recover his wits he cried out--
+
+“Have thy wish, poor soul! an’ thou had poisoned a hundred men thou
+shouldst not suffer so miserable a death.”
+
+The prisoner bowed his face to the ground and burst into passionate
+expressions of gratitude--ending with--
+
+“If ever thou shouldst know misfortune--which God forefend!--may thy
+goodness to me this day be remembered and requited!”
+
+Tom turned to the Earl of Hertford, and said--
+
+“My lord, is it believable that there was warrant for this man’s
+ferocious doom?”
+
+“It is the law, your Grace--for poisoners.  In Germany coiners be boiled
+to death in _oil_--not cast in of a sudden, but by a rope let down into
+the oil by degrees, and slowly; first the feet, then the legs, then--”
+
+“O prithee no more, my lord, I cannot bear it!” cried Tom, covering
+his eyes with his hands to shut out the picture.  “I beseech your good
+lordship that order be taken to change this law--oh, let no more poor
+creatures be visited with its tortures.”
+
+The Earl’s face showed profound gratification, for he was a man of
+merciful and generous impulses--a thing not very common with his class
+in that fierce age.  He said--
+
+“These your Grace’s noble words have sealed its doom.  History will
+remember it to the honour of your royal house.”
+
+The under-sheriff was about to remove his prisoner; Tom gave him a sign
+to wait; then he said--
+
+“Good sir, I would look into this matter further.  The man has said his
+deed was but lamely proved.  Tell me what thou knowest.”
+
+“If the King’s grace please, it did appear upon the trial that this
+man entered into a house in the hamlet of Islington where one lay
+sick--three witnesses say it was at ten of the clock in the morning, and
+two say it was some minutes later--the sick man being alone at the time,
+and sleeping--and presently the man came forth again and went his
+way.  The sick man died within the hour, being torn with spasms and
+retchings.”
+
+“Did any see the poison given?  Was poison found?”
+
+“Marry, no, my liege.”
+
+“Then how doth one know there was poison given at all?”
+
+“Please your Majesty, the doctors testified that none die with such
+symptoms but by poison.”
+
+Weighty evidence, this, in that simple age.  Tom recognised its
+formidable nature, and said--
+
+“The doctor knoweth his trade--belike they were right.  The matter hath
+an ill-look for this poor man.”
+
+“Yet was not this all, your Majesty; there is more and worse. Many
+testified that a witch, since gone from the village, none know whither,
+did foretell, and speak it privately in their ears, that the sick
+man _would die by poison_--and more, that a stranger would give it--a
+stranger with brown hair and clothed in a worn and common garb; and
+surely this prisoner doth answer woundily to the bill.  Please your
+Majesty to give the circumstance that solemn weight which is its due,
+seeing it was _foretold_.”
+
+This was an argument of tremendous force in that superstitious day.  Tom
+felt that the thing was settled; if evidence was worth anything, this
+poor fellow’s guilt was proved.  Still he offered the prisoner a chance,
+saying--
+
+“If thou canst say aught in thy behalf, speak.”
+
+“Nought that will avail, my King.  I am innocent, yet cannot I make
+it appear.  I have no friends, else might I show that I was not in
+Islington that day; so also might I show that at that hour they name I
+was above a league away, seeing I was at Wapping Old Stairs; yea more,
+my King, for I could show, that whilst they say I was _taking_ life, I
+was _saving_ it.  A drowning boy--”
+
+“Peace!  Sheriff, name the day the deed was done!”
+
+“At ten in the morning, or some minutes later, the first day of the New
+Year, most illustrious--”
+
+“Let the prisoner go free--it is the King’s will!”
+
+Another blush followed this unregal outburst, and he covered his
+indecorum as well as he could by adding--
+
+“It enrageth me that a man should be hanged upon such idle, hare-brained
+evidence!”
+
+A low buzz of admiration swept through the assemblage.  It was not
+admiration of the decree that had been delivered by Tom, for the
+propriety or expediency of pardoning a convicted poisoner was a thing
+which few there would have felt justified in either admitting or
+admiring--no, the admiration was for the intelligence and spirit which
+Tom had displayed.  Some of the low-voiced remarks were to this effect--
+
+“This is no mad king--he hath his wits sound.”
+
+“How sanely he put his questions--how like his former natural self was
+this abrupt imperious disposal of the matter!”
+
+“God be thanked, his infirmity is spent!  This is no weakling, but a
+king.  He hath borne himself like to his own father.”
+
+The air being filled with applause, Tom’s ear necessarily caught a
+little of it.  The effect which this had upon him was to put him
+greatly at his ease, and also to charge his system with very gratifying
+sensations.
+
+However, his juvenile curiosity soon rose superior to these pleasant
+thoughts and feelings; he was eager to know what sort of deadly mischief
+the woman and the little girl could have been about; so, by his command,
+the two terrified and sobbing creatures were brought before him.
+
+“What is it that these have done?” he inquired of the sheriff.
+
+“Please your Majesty, a black crime is charged upon them, and clearly
+proven; wherefore the judges have decreed, according to the law, that
+they be hanged.  They sold themselves to the devil--such is their
+crime.”
+
+Tom shuddered.  He had been taught to abhor people who did this wicked
+thing.  Still, he was not going to deny himself the pleasure of feeding
+his curiosity for all that; so he asked--
+
+“Where was this done?--and when?”
+
+“On a midnight in December, in a ruined church, your Majesty.”
+
+Tom shuddered again.
+
+“Who was there present?”
+
+“Only these two, your grace--and _that other_.”
+
+“Have these confessed?”
+
+“Nay, not so, sire--they do deny it.”
+
+“Then prithee, how was it known?”
+
+“Certain witness did see them wending thither, good your Majesty; this
+bred the suspicion, and dire effects have since confirmed and justified
+it.  In particular, it is in evidence that through the wicked power so
+obtained, they did invoke and bring about a storm that wasted all the
+region round about.  Above forty witnesses have proved the storm; and
+sooth one might have had a thousand, for all had reason to remember it,
+sith all had suffered by it.”
+
+“Certes this is a serious matter.”  Tom turned this dark piece of
+scoundrelism over in his mind a while, then asked--
+
+“Suffered the woman also by the storm?”
+
+Several old heads among the assemblage nodded their recognition of
+the wisdom of this question.  The sheriff, however, saw nothing
+consequential in the inquiry; he answered, with simple directness--
+
+“Indeed did she, your Majesty, and most righteously, as all aver. Her
+habitation was swept away, and herself and child left shelterless.”
+
+“Methinks the power to do herself so ill a turn was dearly bought. She
+had been cheated, had she paid but a farthing for it; that she paid
+her soul, and her child’s, argueth that she is mad; if she is mad she
+knoweth not what she doth, therefore sinneth not.”
+
+The elderly heads nodded recognition of Tom’s wisdom once more, and one
+individual murmured, “An’ the King be mad himself, according to report,
+then is it a madness of a sort that would improve the sanity of some I
+wot of, if by the gentle providence of God they could but catch it.”
+
+“What age hath the child?” asked Tom.
+
+“Nine years, please your Majesty.”
+
+“By the law of England may a child enter into covenant and sell itself,
+my lord?” asked Tom, turning to a learned judge.
+
+“The law doth not permit a child to make or meddle in any weighty
+matter, good my liege, holding that its callow wit unfitteth it to cope
+with the riper wit and evil schemings of them that are its elders.  The
+_Devil_ may buy a child, if he so choose, and the child agree thereto,
+but not an Englishman--in this latter case the contract would be null
+and void.”
+
+“It seemeth a rude unchristian thing, and ill contrived, that English
+law denieth privileges to Englishmen to waste them on the devil!” cried
+Tom, with honest heat.
+
+This novel view of the matter excited many smiles, and was stored
+away in many heads to be repeated about the Court as evidence of Tom’s
+originality as well as progress toward mental health.
+
+The elder culprit had ceased from sobbing, and was hanging upon Tom’s
+words with an excited interest and a growing hope.  Tom noticed this,
+and it strongly inclined his sympathies toward her in her perilous and
+unfriended situation.  Presently he asked--
+
+“How wrought they to bring the storm?”
+
+“_By pulling off their stockings_, sire.”
+
+This astonished Tom, and also fired his curiosity to fever heat. He
+said, eagerly--
+
+“It is wonderful!  Hath it always this dread effect?”
+
+“Always, my liege--at least if the woman desire it, and utter the
+needful words, either in her mind or with her tongue.”
+
+Tom turned to the woman, and said with impetuous zeal--
+
+“Exert thy power--I would see a storm!”
+
+There was a sudden paling of cheeks in the superstitious assemblage, and
+a general, though unexpressed, desire to get out of the place--all of
+which was lost upon Tom, who was dead to everything but the proposed
+cataclysm.  Seeing a puzzled and astonished look in the woman’s face, he
+added, excitedly--
+
+“Never fear--thou shalt be blameless.  More--thou shalt go free--none
+shall touch thee.  Exert thy power.”
+
+“Oh, my lord the King, I have it not--I have been falsely accused.”
+
+“Thy fears stay thee.  Be of good heart, thou shalt suffer no harm.
+ Make a storm--it mattereth not how small a one--I require nought great
+or harmful, but indeed prefer the opposite--do this and thy life is
+spared--thou shalt go out free, with thy child, bearing the King’s
+pardon, and safe from hurt or malice from any in the realm.”
+
+The woman prostrated herself, and protested, with tears, that she had
+no power to do the miracle, else she would gladly win her child’s life
+alone, and be content to lose her own, if by obedience to the King’s
+command so precious a grace might be acquired.
+
+Tom urged--the woman still adhered to her declarations.  Finally he
+said--
+
+“I think the woman hath said true.  An’ _my_ mother were in her place
+and gifted with the devil’s functions, she had not stayed a moment to
+call her storms and lay the whole land in ruins, if the saving of my
+forfeit life were the price she got!  It is argument that other
+mothers are made in like mould.  Thou art free, goodwife--thou and thy
+child--for I do think thee innocent.  _Now_ thou’st nought to fear,
+being pardoned--pull off thy stockings!--an’ thou canst make me a storm,
+thou shalt be rich!”
+
+The redeemed creature was loud in her gratitude, and proceeded to
+obey, whilst Tom looked on with eager expectancy, a little marred
+by apprehension; the courtiers at the same time manifesting decided
+discomfort and uneasiness.  The woman stripped her own feet and her
+little girl’s also, and plainly did her best to reward the King’s
+generosity with an earthquake, but it was all a failure and a
+disappointment.  Tom sighed, and said--
+
+“There, good soul, trouble thyself no further, thy power is departed
+out of thee.  Go thy way in peace; and if it return to thee at any time,
+forget me not, but fetch me a storm.” {13}
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI. The State Dinner.
+
+The dinner hour drew near--yet strangely enough, the thought brought
+but slight discomfort to Tom, and hardly any terror.  The morning’s
+experiences had wonderfully built up his confidence; the poor little
+ash-cat was already more wonted to his strange garret, after four
+days’ habit, than a mature person could have become in a full month.  A
+child’s facility in accommodating itself to circumstances was never more
+strikingly illustrated.
+
+Let us privileged ones hurry to the great banqueting-room and have a
+glance at matters there whilst Tom is being made ready for the
+imposing occasion.  It is a spacious apartment, with gilded pillars
+and pilasters, and pictured walls and ceilings.  At the door stand tall
+guards, as rigid as statues, dressed in rich and picturesque costumes,
+and bearing halberds.  In a high gallery which runs all around the place
+is a band of musicians and a packed company of citizens of both sexes,
+in brilliant attire.  In the centre of the room, upon a raised platform,
+is Tom’s table. Now let the ancient chronicler speak:
+
+“A gentleman enters the room bearing a rod, and along with him another
+bearing a tablecloth, which, after they have both kneeled three times
+with the utmost veneration, he spreads upon the table, and after
+kneeling again they both retire; then come two others, one with the rod
+again, the other with a salt-cellar, a plate, and bread; when they have
+kneeled as the others had done, and placed what was brought upon the
+table, they too retire with the same ceremonies performed by the first;
+at last come two nobles, richly clothed, one bearing a tasting-knife,
+who, after prostrating themselves three times in the most graceful
+manner, approach and rub the table with bread and salt, with as much awe
+as if the King had been present.” {6}
+
+So end the solemn preliminaries.  Now, far down the echoing corridors
+we hear a bugle-blast, and the indistinct cry, “Place for the King!
+ Way for the King’s most excellent majesty!”  These sounds are momently
+repeated--they grow nearer and nearer--and presently, almost in our
+faces, the martial note peals and the cry rings out, “Way for the King!”
+  At this instant the shining pageant appears, and files in at the door,
+with a measured march. Let the chronicler speak again:--
+
+“First come Gentlemen, Barons, Earls, Knights of the Garter, all richly
+dressed and bareheaded; next comes the Chancellor, between two, one of
+which carries the royal sceptre, the other the Sword of State in a red
+scabbard, studded with golden fleurs-de-lis, the point upwards; next
+comes the King himself--whom, upon his appearing, twelve trumpets and
+many drums salute with a great burst of welcome, whilst all in the
+galleries rise in their places, crying ‘God save the King!’  After him
+come nobles attached to his person, and on his right and left march his
+guard of honour, his fifty Gentlemen Pensioners, with gilt battle-axes.”
+
+This was all fine and pleasant.  Tom’s pulse beat high, and a glad light
+was in his eye.  He bore himself right gracefully, and all the more
+so because he was not thinking of how he was doing it, his mind being
+charmed and occupied with the blithe sights and sounds about him--and
+besides, nobody can be very ungraceful in nicely-fitting beautiful
+clothes after he has grown a little used to them--especially if he is
+for the moment unconscious of them. Tom remembered his instructions, and
+acknowledged his greeting with a slight inclination of his plumed head,
+and a courteous “I thank ye, my good people.”
+
+He seated himself at table, without removing his cap; and did it without
+the least embarrassment; for to eat with one’s cap on was the one
+solitary royal custom upon which the kings and the Cantys met upon
+common ground, neither party having any advantage over the other in the
+matter of old familiarity with it.  The pageant broke up and grouped
+itself picturesquely, and remained bareheaded.
+
+Now to the sound of gay music the Yeomen of the Guard entered,--“the
+tallest and mightiest men in England, they being carefully selected in
+this regard”--but we will let the chronicler tell about it:--
+
+“The Yeomen of the Guard entered, bareheaded, clothed in scarlet, with
+golden roses upon their backs; and these went and came, bringing in each
+turn a course of dishes, served in plate.  These dishes were received
+by a gentleman in the same order they were brought, and placed upon
+the table, while the taster gave to each guard a mouthful to eat of the
+particular dish he had brought, for fear of any poison.”
+
+Tom made a good dinner, notwithstanding he was conscious that hundreds
+of eyes followed each morsel to his mouth and watched him eat it with an
+interest which could not have been more intense if it had been a deadly
+explosive and was expected to blow him up and scatter him all about
+the place.  He was careful not to hurry, and equally careful not to do
+anything whatever for himself, but wait till the proper official knelt
+down and did it for him.  He got through without a mistake--flawless and
+precious triumph.
+
+When the meal was over at last and he marched away in the midst of his
+bright pageant, with the happy noises in his ears of blaring bugles,
+rolling drums, and thundering acclamations, he felt that if he had seen
+the worst of dining in public it was an ordeal which he would be glad
+to endure several times a day if by that means he could but buy himself
+free from some of the more formidable requirements of his royal office.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII. Foo-foo the First.
+
+Miles Hendon hurried along toward the Southwark end of the bridge,
+keeping a sharp look-out for the persons he sought, and hoping and
+expecting to overtake them presently.  He was disappointed in this,
+however.  By asking questions, he was enabled to track them part of the
+way through Southwark; then all traces ceased, and he was perplexed as
+to how to proceed.  Still, he continued his efforts as best he
+could during the rest of the day.  Nightfall found him leg-weary,
+half-famished, and his desire as far from accomplishment as ever; so
+he supped at the Tabard Inn and went to bed, resolved to make an early
+start in the morning, and give the town an exhaustive search.  As he lay
+thinking and planning, he presently began to reason thus:  The boy would
+escape from the ruffian, his reputed father, if possible; would he go
+back to London and seek his former haunts?  No, he would not do that,
+he would avoid recapture. What, then, would he do?  Never having had a
+friend in the world, or a protector, until he met Miles Hendon, he would
+naturally try to find that friend again, provided the effort did not
+require him to go toward London and danger.  He would strike for Hendon
+Hall, that is what he would do, for he knew Hendon was homeward bound
+and there he might expect to find him.  Yes, the case was plain to
+Hendon--he must lose no more time in Southwark, but move at once through
+Kent, toward Monk’s Holm, searching the wood and inquiring as he went.
+ Let us return to the vanished little King now.
+
+The ruffian whom the waiter at the inn on the bridge saw ‘about to join’
+the youth and the King did not exactly join them, but fell in close
+behind them and followed their steps.  He said nothing. His left arm was
+in a sling, and he wore a large green patch over his left eye; he limped
+slightly, and used an oaken staff as a support.  The youth led the King
+a crooked course through Southwark, and by-and-by struck into the
+high road beyond.  The King was irritated, now, and said he would stop
+here--it was Hendon’s place to come to him, not his to go to Hendon.  He
+would not endure such insolence; he would stop where he was.  The youth
+said--
+
+“Thou’lt tarry here, and thy friend lying wounded in the wood yonder?
+ So be it, then.”
+
+The King’s manner changed at once.  He cried out--
+
+“Wounded?  And who hath dared to do it?  But that is apart; lead on,
+lead on!  Faster, sirrah!  Art shod with lead?  Wounded, is he?  Now
+though the doer of it be a duke’s son he shall rue it!”
+
+It was some distance to the wood, but the space was speedily traversed.
+The youth looked about him, discovered a bough sticking in the ground,
+with a small bit of rag tied to it, then led the way into the forest,
+watching for similar boughs and finding them at intervals; they were
+evidently guides to the point he was aiming at.  By-and-by an open place
+was reached, where were the charred remains of a farm-house, and near
+them a barn which was falling to ruin and decay.  There was no sign of
+life anywhere, and utter silence prevailed.  The youth entered the barn,
+the King following eagerly upon his heels.  No one there! The King shot
+a surprised and suspicious glance at the youth, and asked--
+
+“Where is he?”
+
+A mocking laugh was his answer.  The King was in a rage in a moment; he
+seized a billet of wood and was in the act of charging upon the youth
+when another mocking laugh fell upon his ear.  It was from the lame
+ruffian who had been following at a distance. The King turned and said
+angrily--
+
+“Who art thou?  What is thy business here?”
+
+“Leave thy foolery,” said the man, “and quiet thyself.  My disguise is
+none so good that thou canst pretend thou knowest not thy father through
+it.”
+
+“Thou art not my father.  I know thee not.  I am the King.  If thou hast
+hid my servant, find him for me, or thou shalt sup sorrow for what thou
+hast done.”
+
+John Canty replied, in a stern and measured voice--
+
+“It is plain thou art mad, and I am loath to punish thee;  but if thou
+provoke me, I must.  Thy prating doth no harm here, where there are
+no ears that need to mind thy follies; yet it is well to practise thy
+tongue to wary speech, that it may do no hurt when our quarters change.
+ I have done a murder, and may not tarry at home--neither shalt thou,
+seeing I need thy service.  My name is changed, for wise reasons; it is
+Hobbs--John Hobbs; thine is Jack--charge thy memory accordingly.  Now,
+then, speak.  Where is thy mother?  Where are thy sisters?  They came
+not to the place appointed--knowest thou whither they went?”
+
+The King answered sullenly--
+
+“Trouble me not with these riddles.  My mother is dead; my sisters are
+in the palace.”
+
+The youth near by burst into a derisive laugh, and the King would have
+assaulted him, but Canty--or Hobbs, as he now called himself--prevented
+him, and said--
+
+“Peace, Hugo, vex him not; his mind is astray, and thy ways fret him.
+Sit thee down, Jack, and quiet thyself; thou shalt have a morsel to eat,
+anon.”
+
+Hobbs and Hugo fell to talking together, in low voices, and the King
+removed himself as far as he could from their disagreeable company.
+ He withdrew into the twilight of the farther end of the barn, where
+he found the earthen floor bedded a foot deep with straw.  He lay down
+here, drew straw over himself in lieu of blankets, and was soon absorbed
+in thinking.  He had many griefs, but the minor ones were swept almost
+into forgetfulness by the supreme one, the loss of his father.  To
+the rest of the world the name of Henry VIII. brought a shiver, and
+suggested an ogre whose nostrils breathed destruction and whose hand
+dealt scourgings and death; but to this boy the name brought only
+sensations of pleasure; the figure it invoked wore a countenance that
+was all gentleness and affection.  He called to mind a long succession
+of loving passages between his father and himself, and dwelt fondly upon
+them, his unstinted tears attesting how deep and real was the grief that
+possessed his heart. As the afternoon wasted away, the lad, wearied with
+his troubles, sank gradually into a tranquil and healing slumber.
+
+After a considerable time--he could not tell how long--his senses
+struggled to a half-consciousness, and as he lay with closed eyes
+vaguely wondering where he was and what had been happening, he noted a
+murmurous sound, the sullen beating of rain upon the roof. A snug sense
+of comfort stole over him, which was rudely broken, the next moment,
+by a chorus of piping cackles and coarse laughter.  It startled him
+disagreeably, and he unmuffled his head to see whence this interruption
+proceeded.  A grim and unsightly picture met his eye.  A bright fire was
+burning in the middle of the floor, at the other end of the barn; and
+around it, and lit weirdly up by the red glare, lolled and sprawled the
+motliest company of tattered gutter-scum and ruffians, of both sexes, he
+had ever read or dreamed of.  There were huge stalwart men, brown
+with exposure, long-haired, and clothed in fantastic rags; there were
+middle-sized youths, of truculent countenance, and similarly clad; there
+were blind mendicants, with patched or bandaged eyes; crippled ones,
+with wooden legs and crutches; diseased ones, with running sores peeping
+from ineffectual wrappings; there was a villain-looking pedlar with
+his pack; a knife-grinder, a tinker, and a barber-surgeon, with the
+implements of their trades; some of the females were hardly-grown girls,
+some were at prime, some were old and wrinkled hags, and all were loud,
+brazen, foul-mouthed; and all soiled and slatternly; there were three
+sore-faced babies; there were a couple of starveling curs, with strings
+about their necks, whose office was to lead the blind.
+
+The night was come, the gang had just finished feasting, an orgy was
+beginning; the can of liquor was passing from mouth to mouth. A general
+cry broke forth--
+
+“A song! a song from the Bat and Dick and Dot-and-go-One!”
+
+One of the blind men got up, and made ready by casting aside the patches
+that sheltered his excellent eyes, and the pathetic placard which
+recited the cause of his calamity.  Dot-and-go-One disencumbered himself
+of his timber leg and took his place, upon sound and healthy limbs,
+beside his fellow-rascal; then they roared out a rollicking ditty,
+and were reinforced by the whole crew, at the end of each stanza, in
+a rousing chorus.  By the time the last stanza was reached, the
+half-drunken enthusiasm had risen to such a pitch, that everybody joined
+in and sang it clear through from the beginning, producing a volume of
+villainous sound that made the rafters quake.  These were the inspiring
+words:--
+
+‘Bien Darkman’s then, Bouse Mort and Ken, The bien Coves bings awast, On
+Chates to trine by Rome Coves dine For his long lib at last. Bing’d out
+bien Morts and toure, and toure, Bing out of the Rome vile bine, And
+toure the Cove that cloy’d your duds, Upon the Chates to trine.’
+
+(From’The English Rogue.’ London, 1665.)
+
+Conversation followed; not in the thieves’ dialect of the song, for that
+was only used in talk when unfriendly ears might be listening.  In the
+course of it, it appeared that ‘John Hobbs’ was not altogether a new
+recruit, but had trained in the gang at some former time.  His later
+history was called for, and when he said he had ‘accidentally’ killed a
+man, considerable satisfaction was expressed; when he added that the
+man was a priest, he was roundly applauded, and had to take a drink with
+everybody.  Old acquaintances welcomed him joyously, and new ones were
+proud to shake him by the hand.  He was asked why he had ’tarried away
+so many months.’  He answered--
+
+“London is better than the country, and safer, these late years, the
+laws be so bitter and so diligently enforced.  An’ I had not had that
+accident, I had stayed there.  I had resolved to stay, and never more
+venture country-wards--but the accident has ended that.”
+
+He inquired how many persons the gang numbered now.  The ‘ruffler,’ or
+chief, answered--
+
+“Five and twenty sturdy budges, bulks, files, clapperdogeons and
+maunders, counting the dells and doxies and other morts. {7}  Most are
+here, the rest are wandering eastward, along the winter lay. We follow
+at dawn.”
+
+“I do not see the Wen among the honest folk about me.  Where may he be?”
+
+“Poor lad, his diet is brimstone, now, and over hot for a delicate
+taste. He was killed in a brawl, somewhere about midsummer.”
+
+“I sorrow to hear that; the Wen was a capable man, and brave.”
+
+“That was he, truly.  Black Bess, his dell, is of us yet, but absent on
+the eastward tramp; a fine lass, of nice ways and orderly conduct, none
+ever seeing her drunk above four days in the seven.”
+
+“She was ever strict--I remember it well--a goodly wench and worthy
+all commendation.  Her mother was more free and less particular; a
+troublesome and ugly-tempered beldame, but furnished with a wit above
+the common.”
+
+“We lost her through it.  Her gift of palmistry and other sorts of
+fortune-telling begot for her at last a witch’s name and fame. The
+law roasted her to death at a slow fire.  It did touch me to a sort of
+tenderness to see the gallant way she met her lot--cursing and reviling
+all the crowd that gaped and gazed around her, whilst the flames licked
+upward toward her face and catched her thin locks and crackled about
+her old gray head--cursing them! why an’ thou should’st live a thousand
+years thoud’st never hear so masterful a cursing.  Alack, her art died
+with her.  There be base and weakling imitations left, but no true
+blasphemy.”
+
+The Ruffler sighed; the listeners sighed in sympathy; a general
+depression fell upon the company for a moment, for even hardened
+outcasts like these are not wholly dead to sentiment, but are able to
+feel a fleeting sense of loss and affliction at wide intervals and
+under peculiarly favouring circumstances--as in cases like to this, for
+instance, when genius and culture depart and leave no heir.  However, a
+deep drink all round soon restored the spirits of the mourners.
+
+“Have any others of our friends fared hardly?” asked Hobbs.
+
+“Some--yes.  Particularly new comers--such as small husbandmen turned
+shiftless and hungry upon the world because their farms were taken from
+them to be changed to sheep ranges.  They begged, and were whipped at
+the cart’s tail, naked from the girdle up, till the blood ran; then set
+in the stocks to be pelted; they begged again, were whipped again, and
+deprived of an ear; they begged a third time--poor devils, what else
+could they do?--and were branded on the cheek with a red-hot iron, then
+sold for slaves; they ran away, were hunted down, and hanged.  ‘Tis
+a brief tale, and quickly told.  Others of us have fared less hardly.
+Stand forth, Yokel, Burns, and Hodge--show your adornments!”
+
+These stood up and stripped away some of their rags, exposing their
+backs, criss-crossed with ropy old welts left by the lash; one turned
+up his hair and showed the place where a left ear had once been; another
+showed a brand upon his shoulder--the letter V--and a mutilated ear; the
+third said--
+
+“I am Yokel, once a farmer and prosperous, with loving wife and
+kids--now am I somewhat different in estate and calling; and the wife
+and kids are gone; mayhap they are in heaven, mayhap in--in the other
+place--but the kindly God be thanked, they bide no more in _England_!
+ My good old blameless mother strove to earn bread by nursing the sick;
+one of these died, the doctors knew not how, so my mother was burnt for
+a witch, whilst my babes looked on and wailed.  English law!--up,
+all, with your cups!--now all together and with a cheer!--drink to the
+merciful English law that delivered _her_ from the English hell!  Thank
+you, mates, one and all.  I begged, from house to house--I and the
+wife--bearing with us the hungry kids--but it was crime to be hungry in
+England--so they stripped us and lashed us through three towns.  Drink
+ye all again to the merciful English law!--for its lash drank deep of my
+Mary’s blood and its blessed deliverance came quick.  She lies there, in
+the potter’s field, safe from all harms.  And the kids--well, whilst
+the law lashed me from town to town, they starved. Drink, lads--only
+a drop--a drop to the poor kids, that never did any creature harm.
+ I begged again--begged, for a crust, and got the stocks and lost an
+ear--see, here bides the stump; I begged again, and here is the stump
+of the other to keep me minded of it. And still I begged again, and was
+sold for a slave--here on my cheek under this stain, if I washed it off,
+ye might see the red S the branding-iron left there!  A _slave_!  Do
+you understand that word?  An English _slave_!--that is he that stands
+before ye.  I have run from my master, and when I am found--the heavy
+curse of heaven fall on the law of the land that hath commanded it!--I
+shall hang!” {1}
+
+A ringing voice came through the murky air--
+
+“Thou shalt _not_!--and this day the end of that law is come!”
+
+All turned, and saw the fantastic figure of the little King approaching
+hurriedly; as it emerged into the light and was clearly revealed, a
+general explosion of inquiries broke out--
+
+“Who is it?  _What_ is it?  Who art thou, manikin?”
+
+The boy stood unconfused in the midst of all those surprised and
+questioning eyes, and answered with princely dignity--
+
+“I am Edward, King of England.”
+
+A wild burst of laughter followed, partly of derision and partly of
+delight in the excellence of the joke.  The King was stung.  He said
+sharply--
+
+“Ye mannerless vagrants, is this your recognition of the royal boon I
+have promised?”
+
+He said more, with angry voice and excited gesture, but it was lost in
+a whirlwind of laughter and mocking exclamations.  ‘John Hobbs’ made
+several attempts to make himself heard above the din, and at last
+succeeded--saying--
+
+“Mates, he is my son, a dreamer, a fool, and stark mad--mind him not--he
+thinketh he _is_ the King.”
+
+“I _am_ the King,” said Edward, turning toward him, “as thou shalt know
+to thy cost, in good time.  Thou hast confessed a murder--thou shalt
+swing for it.”
+
+“_Thou’lt_ betray me?--_thou_?  An’ I get my hands upon thee--”
+
+“Tut-tut!” said the burley Ruffler, interposing in time to save the
+King, and emphasising this service by knocking Hobbs down with his fist,
+“hast respect for neither Kings _nor_ Rufflers?  An’ thou insult my
+presence so again, I’ll hang thee up myself.”  Then he said to his
+Majesty, “Thou must make no threats against thy mates, lad; and thou
+must guard thy tongue from saying evil of them elsewhere.  _Be king_, if
+it please thy mad humour, but be not harmful in it.  Sink the title thou
+hast uttered--‘tis treason; we be bad men in some few trifling ways, but
+none among us is so base as to be traitor to his King; we be loving
+and loyal hearts, in that regard.  Note if I speak truth.  Now--all
+together:  ‘Long live Edward, King of England!’”
+
+“LONG LIVE EDWARD, KING OF ENGLAND!”
+
+The response came with such a thundergust from the motley crew that the
+crazy building vibrated to the sound.  The little King’s face lighted
+with pleasure for an instant, and he slightly inclined his head, and
+said with grave simplicity--
+
+“I thank you, my good people.”
+
+This unexpected result threw the company into convulsions of merriment.
+When something like quiet was presently come again, the Ruffler said,
+firmly, but with an accent of good nature--
+
+“Drop it, boy, ’tis not wise, nor well.  Humour thy fancy, if thou must,
+but choose some other title.”
+
+A tinker shrieked out a suggestion--
+
+“Foo-foo the First, King of the Mooncalves!”
+
+The title ’took,’ at once, every throat responded, and a roaring shout
+went up, of--
+
+“Long live Foo-foo the First, King of the Mooncalves!” followed by
+hootings, cat-calls, and peals of laughter.
+
+“Hale him forth, and crown him!”
+
+“Robe him!”
+
+“Sceptre him!”
+
+“Throne him!”
+
+These and twenty other cries broke out at once! and almost before the
+poor little victim could draw a breath he was crowned with a tin basin,
+robed in a tattered blanket, throned upon a barrel, and sceptred with
+the tinker’s soldering-iron.  Then all flung themselves upon their
+knees about him and sent up a chorus of ironical wailings, and mocking
+supplications, whilst they swabbed their eyes with their soiled and
+ragged sleeves and aprons--
+
+“Be gracious to us, O sweet King!”
+
+“Trample not upon thy beseeching worms, O noble Majesty!”
+
+“Pity thy slaves, and comfort them with a royal kick!”
+
+“Cheer us and warm us with thy gracious rays, O flaming sun of
+sovereignty!”
+
+“Sanctify the ground with the touch of thy foot, that we may eat the
+dirt and be ennobled!”
+
+“Deign to spit upon us, O Sire, that our children’s children may tell of
+thy princely condescension, and be proud and happy for ever!”
+
+But the humorous tinker made the ‘hit’ of the evening and carried off
+the honours.  Kneeling, he pretended to kiss the King’s foot, and was
+indignantly spurned; whereupon he went about begging for a rag to paste
+over the place upon his face which had been touched by the foot, saying
+it must be preserved from contact with the vulgar air, and that he
+should make his fortune by going on the highway and exposing it to
+view at the rate of a hundred shillings a sight.  He made himself so
+killingly funny that he was the envy and admiration of the whole mangy
+rabble.
+
+Tears of shame and indignation stood in the little monarch’s eyes; and
+the thought in his heart was, “Had I offered them a deep wrong they
+could not be more cruel--yet have I proffered nought but to do them a
+kindness--and it is thus they use me for it!”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII. The Prince with the Tramps.
+
+The troop of vagabonds turned out at early dawn, and set forward on
+their march.  There was a lowering sky overhead, sloppy ground under
+foot, and a winter chill in the air.  All gaiety was gone from the
+company; some were sullen and silent, some were irritable and petulant,
+none were gentle-humoured, all were thirsty.
+
+The Ruffler put ‘Jack’ in Hugo’s charge, with some brief instructions,
+and commanded John Canty to keep away from him and let him alone; he
+also warned Hugo not to be too rough with the lad.
+
+After a while the weather grew milder, and the clouds lifted somewhat.
+The troop ceased to shiver, and their spirits began to improve.  They
+grew more and more cheerful, and finally began to chaff each other and
+insult passengers along the highway.  This showed that they were awaking
+to an appreciation of life and its joys once more.  The dread in which
+their sort was held was apparent in the fact that everybody gave them
+the road, and took their ribald insolences meekly, without venturing
+to talk back. They snatched linen from the hedges, occasionally in full
+view of the owners, who made no protest, but only seemed grateful that
+they did not take the hedges, too.
+
+By-and-by they invaded a small farmhouse and made themselves at home
+while the trembling farmer and his people swept the larder clean to
+furnish a breakfast for them.  They chucked the housewife and her
+daughters under the chin whilst receiving the food from their hands, and
+made coarse jests about them, accompanied with insulting epithets and
+bursts of horse-laughter.  They threw bones and vegetables at the farmer
+and his sons, kept them dodging all the time, and applauded uproariously
+when a good hit was made. They ended by buttering the head of one of
+the daughters who resented some of their familiarities.  When they took
+their leave they threatened to come back and burn the house over the
+heads of the family if any report of their doings got to the ears of the
+authorities.
+
+About noon, after a long and weary tramp, the gang came to a halt behind
+a hedge on the outskirts of a considerable village.  An hour was allowed
+for rest, then the crew scattered themselves abroad to enter the village
+at different points to ply their various trades--‘Jack’ was sent with
+Hugo.  They wandered hither and thither for some time, Hugo watching
+for opportunities to do a stroke of business, but finding none--so he
+finally said--
+
+“I see nought to steal; it is a paltry place.  Wherefore we will beg.”
+
+“_We_, forsooth!  Follow thy trade--it befits thee.  But _I_ will not
+beg.”
+
+“Thou’lt not beg!” exclaimed Hugo, eyeing the King with surprise.
+“Prithee, since when hast thou reformed?”
+
+“What dost thou mean?”
+
+“Mean?  Hast thou not begged the streets of London all thy life?”
+
+“I?  Thou idiot!”
+
+“Spare thy compliments--thy stock will last the longer.  Thy father says
+thou hast begged all thy days.  Mayhap he lied. Peradventure you will
+even make so bold as to _say_ he lied,” scoffed Hugo.
+
+“Him _you_ call my father?  Yes, he lied.”
+
+“Come, play not thy merry game of madman so far, mate; use it for thy
+amusement, not thy hurt.  An’ I tell him this, he will scorch thee
+finely for it.”
+
+“Save thyself the trouble.  I will tell him.”
+
+“I like thy spirit, I do in truth; but I do not admire thy judgment.
+Bone-rackings and bastings be plenty enow in this life, without going
+out of one’s way to invite them.  But a truce to these matters; _I_
+believe your father.  I doubt not he can lie; I doubt not he _doth_
+lie, upon occasion, for the best of us do that; but there is no occasion
+here.  A wise man does not waste so good a commodity as lying for
+nought.  But come; sith it is thy humour to give over begging,
+wherewithal shall we busy ourselves?  With robbing kitchens?”
+
+The King said, impatiently--
+
+“Have done with this folly--you weary me!”
+
+Hugo replied, with temper--
+
+“Now harkee, mate; you will not beg, you will not rob; so be it. But I
+will tell you what you _will_ do.  You will play decoy whilst _I_ beg.
+Refuse, an’ you think you may venture!”
+
+The King was about to reply contemptuously, when Hugo said,
+interrupting--
+
+“Peace!  Here comes one with a kindly face.  Now will I fall down in
+a fit.  When the stranger runs to me, set you up a wail, and fall upon
+your knees, seeming to weep; then cry out as all the devils of misery
+were in your belly, and say, ‘Oh, sir, it is my poor afflicted brother,
+and we be friendless; o’ God’s name cast through your merciful eyes one
+pitiful look upon a sick, forsaken, and most miserable wretch; bestow
+one little penny out of thy riches upon one smitten of God and ready
+to perish!’--and mind you, keep you _on_ wailing, and abate not till we
+bilk him of his penny, else shall you rue it.”
+
+Then immediately Hugo began to moan, and groan, and roll his eyes, and
+reel and totter about; and when the stranger was close at hand, down he
+sprawled before him, with a shriek, and began to writhe and wallow in
+the dirt, in seeming agony.
+
+“O, dear, O dear!” cried the benevolent stranger, “O poor soul, poor
+soul, how he doth suffer!  There--let me help thee up.”
+
+“O noble sir, forbear, and God love you for a princely gentleman--but it
+giveth me cruel pain to touch me when I am taken so.  My brother there
+will tell your worship how I am racked with anguish when these fits be
+upon me.  A penny, dear sir, a penny, to buy a little food; then leave
+me to my sorrows.”
+
+“A penny! thou shalt have three, thou hapless creature,”--and he fumbled
+in his pocket with nervous haste and got them out. “There, poor lad,
+take them and most welcome.  Now come hither, my boy, and help me carry
+thy stricken brother to yon house, where--”
+
+“I am not his brother,” said the King, interrupting.
+
+“What! not his brother?”
+
+“Oh, hear him!” groaned Hugo, then privately ground his teeth. “He
+denies his own brother--and he with one foot in the grave!”
+
+“Boy, thou art indeed hard of heart, if this is thy brother.  For
+shame!--and he scarce able to move hand or foot.  If he is not thy
+brother, who is he, then?”
+
+“A beggar and a thief!  He has got your money and has picked your pocket
+likewise.  An’ thou would’st do a healing miracle, lay thy staff over
+his shoulders and trust Providence for the rest.”
+
+But Hugo did not tarry for the miracle.  In a moment he was up and off
+like the wind, the gentleman following after and raising the hue and cry
+lustily as he went.  The King, breathing deep gratitude to Heaven for
+his own release, fled in the opposite direction, and did not slacken
+his pace until he was out of harm’s reach.  He took the first road that
+offered, and soon put the village behind him.  He hurried along, as
+briskly as he could, during several hours, keeping a nervous watch over
+his shoulder for pursuit; but his fears left him at last, and a grateful
+sense of security took their place.  He recognised, now, that he was
+hungry, and also very tired.  So he halted at a farmhouse; but when
+he was about to speak, he was cut short and driven rudely away.  His
+clothes were against him.
+
+He wandered on, wounded and indignant, and was resolved to put himself
+in the way of like treatment no more.  But hunger is pride’s master; so,
+as the evening drew near, he made an attempt at another farmhouse; but
+here he fared worse than before; for he was called hard names and was
+promised arrest as a vagrant except he moved on promptly.
+
+The night came on, chilly and overcast; and still the footsore monarch
+laboured slowly on.  He was obliged to keep moving, for every time he
+sat down to rest he was soon penetrated to the bone with the cold.  All
+his sensations and experiences, as he moved through the solemn gloom
+and the empty vastness of the night, were new and strange to him.  At
+intervals he heard voices approach, pass by, and fade into silence; and
+as he saw nothing more of the bodies they belonged to than a sort of
+formless drifting blur, there was something spectral and uncanny about
+it all that made him shudder.  Occasionally he caught the twinkle of a
+light--always far away, apparently--almost in another world; if he heard
+the tinkle of a sheep’s bell, it was vague, distant, indistinct;
+the muffled lowing of the herds floated to him on the night wind in
+vanishing cadences, a mournful sound; now and then came the complaining
+howl of a dog over viewless expanses of field and forest; all sounds
+were remote; they made the little King feel that all life and activity
+were far removed from him, and that he stood solitary, companionless, in
+the centre of a measureless solitude.
+
+He stumbled along, through the gruesome fascinations of this new
+experience, startled occasionally by the soft rustling of the dry leaves
+overhead, so like human whispers they seemed to sound; and by-and-by he
+came suddenly upon the freckled light of a tin lantern near at hand.  He
+stepped back into the shadows and waited.  The lantern stood by the
+open door of a barn.  The King waited some time--there was no sound,
+and nobody stirring.  He got so cold, standing still, and the hospitable
+barn looked so enticing, that at last he resolved to risk everything and
+enter. He started swiftly and stealthily, and just as he was crossing
+the threshold he heard voices behind him.  He darted behind a cask,
+within the barn, and stooped down.  Two farm-labourers came in, bringing
+the lantern with them, and fell to work, talking meanwhile.  Whilst they
+moved about with the light, the King made good use of his eyes and took
+the bearings of what seemed to be a good-sized stall at the further end
+of the place, purposing to grope his way to it when he should be left to
+himself.  He also noted the position of a pile of horse blankets, midway
+of the route, with the intent to levy upon them for the service of the
+crown of England for one night.
+
+By-and-by the men finished and went away, fastening the door behind
+them and taking the lantern with them.  The shivering King made for the
+blankets, with as good speed as the darkness would allow; gathered them
+up, and then groped his way safely to the stall.  Of two of the blankets
+he made a bed, then covered himself with the remaining two.  He was a
+glad monarch, now, though the blankets were old and thin, and not quite
+warm enough; and besides gave out a pungent horsey odour that was almost
+suffocatingly powerful.
+
+Although the King was hungry and chilly, he was also so tired and so
+drowsy that these latter influences soon began to get the advantage
+of the former, and he presently dozed off into a state of
+semi-consciousness.  Then, just as he was on the point of losing himself
+wholly, he distinctly felt something touch him!  He was broad awake in
+a moment, and gasping for breath.  The cold horror of that mysterious
+touch in the dark almost made his heart stand still.  He lay motionless,
+and listened, scarcely breathing. But nothing stirred, and there was
+no sound.  He continued to listen, and wait, during what seemed a long
+time, but still nothing stirred, and there was no sound.  So he began
+to drop into a drowse once more, at last; and all at once he felt that
+mysterious touch again!  It was a grisly thing, this light touch from
+this noiseless and invisible presence; it made the boy sick with ghostly
+fears.  What should he do?  That was the question; but he did not know
+how to answer it.  Should he leave these reasonably comfortable quarters
+and fly from this inscrutable horror?  But fly whither?  He could
+not get out of the barn; and the idea of scurrying blindly hither and
+thither in the dark, within the captivity of the four walls, with this
+phantom gliding after him, and visiting him with that soft hideous touch
+upon cheek or shoulder at every turn, was intolerable.  But to stay
+where he was, and endure this living death all night--was that better?
+ No.  What, then, was there left to do?  Ah, there was but one course;
+he knew it well--he must put out his hand and find that thing!
+
+It was easy to think this; but it was hard to brace himself up to try
+it. Three times he stretched his hand a little way out into the dark,
+gingerly; and snatched it suddenly back, with a gasp--not because it
+had encountered anything, but because he had felt so sure it was just
+_going_ to.  But the fourth time, he groped a little further, and his
+hand lightly swept against something soft and warm.  This petrified him,
+nearly, with fright; his mind was in such a state that he could imagine
+the thing to be nothing else than a corpse, newly dead and still warm.
+He thought he would rather die than touch it again.  But he thought this
+false thought because he did not know the immortal strength of
+human curiosity. In no long time his hand was tremblingly groping
+again--against his judgment, and without his consent--but groping
+persistently on, just the same.  It encountered a bunch of long hair; he
+shuddered, but followed up the hair and found what seemed to be a warm
+rope; followed up the rope and found an innocent calf!--for the rope was
+not a rope at all, but the calf’s tail.
+
+The King was cordially ashamed of himself for having gotten all that
+fright and misery out of so paltry a matter as a slumbering calf; but he
+need not have felt so about it, for it was not the calf that frightened
+him, but a dreadful non-existent something which the calf stood for; and
+any other boy, in those old superstitious times, would have acted and
+suffered just as he had done.
+
+The King was not only delighted to find that the creature was only a
+calf, but delighted to have the calf’s company; for he had been feeling
+so lonesome and friendless that the company and comradeship of even
+this humble animal were welcome.  And he had been so buffeted, so rudely
+entreated by his own kind, that it was a real comfort to him to feel
+that he was at last in the society of a fellow-creature that had at
+least a soft heart and a gentle spirit, whatever loftier attributes
+might be lacking.  So he resolved to waive rank and make friends with
+the calf.
+
+While stroking its sleek warm back--for it lay near him and within easy
+reach--it occurred to him that this calf might be utilised in more ways
+than one.  Whereupon he re-arranged his bed, spreading it down close to
+the calf; then he cuddled himself up to the calf’s back, drew the covers
+up over himself and his friend, and in a minute or two was as warm and
+comfortable as he had ever been in the downy couches of the regal palace
+of Westminster.
+
+Pleasant thoughts came at once; life took on a cheerfuller seeming.  He
+was free of the bonds of servitude and crime, free of the companionship
+of base and brutal outlaws; he was warm; he was sheltered; in a word, he
+was happy.  The night wind was rising; it swept by in fitful gusts
+that made the old barn quake and rattle, then its forces died down
+at intervals, and went moaning and wailing around corners and
+projections--but it was all music to the King, now that he was snug and
+comfortable: let it blow and rage, let it batter and bang, let it moan
+and wail, he minded it not, he only enjoyed it.  He merely snuggled
+the closer to his friend, in a luxury of warm contentment, and drifted
+blissfully out of consciousness into a deep and dreamless sleep that
+was full of serenity and peace.  The distant dogs howled, the melancholy
+kine complained, and the winds went on raging, whilst furious sheets
+of rain drove along the roof; but the Majesty of England slept on,
+undisturbed, and the calf did the same, it being a simple creature, and
+not easily troubled by storms or embarrassed by sleeping with a king.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX. The Prince with the peasants.
+
+When the King awoke in the early morning, he found that a wet but
+thoughtful rat had crept into the place during the night and made a cosy
+bed for itself in his bosom.  Being disturbed now, it scampered away.
+The boy smiled, and said, “Poor fool, why so fearful?  I am as forlorn
+as thou.  ‘Twould be a sham in me to hurt the helpless, who am myself so
+helpless.  Moreover, I owe you thanks for a good omen; for when a king
+has fallen so low that the very rats do make a bed of him, it surely
+meaneth that his fortunes be upon the turn, since it is plain he can no
+lower go.”
+
+He got up and stepped out of the stall, and just then he heard the sound
+of children’s voices.  The barn door opened and a couple of little girls
+came in.  As soon as they saw him their talking and laughing ceased, and
+they stopped and stood still, gazing at him with strong curiosity; they
+presently began to whisper together, then they approached nearer, and
+stopped again to gaze and whisper.  By-and-by they gathered courage and
+began to discuss him aloud.  One said--
+
+“He hath a comely face.”
+
+The other added--
+
+“And pretty hair.”
+
+“But is ill clothed enow.”
+
+“And how starved he looketh.”
+
+They came still nearer, sidling shyly around and about him, examining
+him minutely from all points, as if he were some strange new kind of
+animal, but warily and watchfully the while, as if they half feared he
+might be a sort of animal that would bite, upon occasion.  Finally they
+halted before him, holding each other’s hands for protection, and took a
+good satisfying stare with their innocent eyes; then one of them plucked
+up all her courage and inquired with honest directness--
+
+“Who art thou, boy?”
+
+“I am the King,” was the grave answer.
+
+The children gave a little start, and their eyes spread themselves wide
+open and remained so during a speechless half minute.  Then curiosity
+broke the silence--
+
+“The _King_?  What King?”
+
+“The King of England.”
+
+The children looked at each other--then at him--then at each other
+again--wonderingly, perplexedly; then one said--
+
+“Didst hear him, Margery?--he said he is the King.  Can that be true?”
+
+“How can it be else but true, Prissy?  Would he say a lie?  For look
+you, Prissy, an’ it were not true, it _would_ be a lie.  It surely would
+be. Now think on’t.  For all things that be not true, be lies--thou
+canst make nought else out of it.”
+
+It was a good tight argument, without a leak in it anywhere; and it left
+Prissy’s half-doubts not a leg to stand on.  She considered a moment,
+then put the King upon his honour with the simple remark--
+
+“If thou art truly the King, then I believe thee.”
+
+“I am truly the King.”
+
+This settled the matter.  His Majesty’s royalty was accepted without
+further question or discussion, and the two little girls began at once
+to inquire into how he came to be where he was, and how he came to be so
+unroyally clad, and whither he was bound, and all about his affairs.  It
+was a mighty relief to him to pour out his troubles where they would not
+be scoffed at or doubted; so he told his tale with feeling, forgetting
+even his hunger for the time; and it was received with the deepest and
+tenderest sympathy by the gentle little maids.  But when he got down
+to his latest experiences and they learned how long he had been without
+food, they cut him short and hurried him away to the farmhouse to find a
+breakfast for him.
+
+The King was cheerful and happy now, and said to himself, “When I
+am come to mine own again, I will always honour little children,
+remembering how that these trusted me and believed in me in my time
+of trouble; whilst they that were older, and thought themselves wiser,
+mocked at me and held me for a liar.”
+
+The children’s mother received the King kindly, and was full of pity;
+for his forlorn condition and apparently crazed intellect touched her
+womanly heart.  She was a widow, and rather poor; consequently she had
+seen trouble enough to enable her to feel for the unfortunate.  She
+imagined that the demented boy had wandered away from his friends or
+keepers; so she tried to find out whence he had come, in order that
+she might take measures to return him; but all her references to
+neighbouring towns and villages, and all her inquiries in the same line
+went for nothing--the boy’s face, and his answers, too, showed that the
+things she was talking of were not familiar to him.  He spoke earnestly
+and simply about court matters, and broke down, more than once, when
+speaking of the late King ‘his father’; but whenever the conversation
+changed to baser topics, he lost interest and became silent.
+
+The woman was mightily puzzled; but she did not give up.  As she
+proceeded with her cooking, she set herself to contriving devices to
+surprise the boy into betraying his real secret.  She talked about
+cattle--he showed no concern; then about sheep--the same result:  so
+her guess that he had been a shepherd boy was an error; she talked about
+mills; and about weavers, tinkers, smiths, trades and tradesmen of all
+sorts; and about Bedlam, and jails, and charitable retreats:  but no
+matter, she was baffled at all points.  Not altogether, either; for she
+argued that she had narrowed the thing down to domestic service.  Yes,
+she was sure she was on the right track, now; he must have been a house
+servant.  So she led up to that.  But the result was discouraging. The
+subject of sweeping appeared to weary him; fire-building failed to stir
+him; scrubbing and scouring awoke no enthusiasm. The goodwife touched,
+with a perishing hope, and rather as a matter of form, upon the subject
+of cooking.  To her surprise, and her vast delight, the King’s face
+lighted at once!  Ah, she had hunted him down at last, she thought; and
+she was right proud, too, of the devious shrewdness and tact which had
+accomplished it.
+
+Her tired tongue got a chance to rest, now; for the King’s, inspired
+by gnawing hunger and the fragrant smells that came from the sputtering
+pots and pans, turned itself loose and delivered itself up to such an
+eloquent dissertation upon certain toothsome dishes, that within three
+minutes the woman said to herself, “Of a truth I was right--he hath
+holpen in a kitchen!”  Then he broadened his bill of fare, and discussed
+it with such appreciation and animation, that the goodwife said to
+herself, “Good lack! how can he know so many dishes, and so fine ones
+withal?  For these belong only upon the tables of the rich and great.
+ Ah, now I see! ragged outcast as he is, he must have served in the
+palace before his reason went astray; yes, he must have helped in the
+very kitchen of the King himself!  I will test him.”
+
+Full of eagerness to prove her sagacity, she told the King to mind the
+cooking a moment--hinting that he might manufacture and add a dish or
+two, if he chose; then she went out of the room and gave her children a
+sign to follow after.  The King muttered--
+
+“Another English king had a commission like to this, in a bygone
+time--it is nothing against my dignity to undertake an office which the
+great Alfred stooped to assume.  But I will try to better serve my trust
+than he; for he let the cakes burn.”
+
+The intent was good, but the performance was not answerable to it, for
+this King, like the other one, soon fell into deep thinkings concerning
+his vast affairs, and the same calamity resulted--the cookery got
+burned. The woman returned in time to save the breakfast from entire
+destruction; and she promptly brought the King out of his dreams with a
+brisk and cordial tongue-lashing. Then, seeing how troubled he was
+over his violated trust, she softened at once, and was all goodness and
+gentleness toward him.
+
+The boy made a hearty and satisfying meal, and was greatly refreshed and
+gladdened by it.  It was a meal which was distinguished by this curious
+feature, that rank was waived on both sides; yet neither recipient
+of the favour was aware that it had been extended.  The goodwife had
+intended to feed this young tramp with broken victuals in a corner,
+like any other tramp or like a dog; but she was so remorseful for the
+scolding she had given him, that she did what she could to atone for it
+by allowing him to sit at the family table and eat with his betters, on
+ostensible terms of equality with them; and the King, on his side, was
+so remorseful for having broken his trust, after the family had been so
+kind to him, that he forced himself to atone for it by humbling himself
+to the family level, instead of requiring the woman and her children to
+stand and wait upon him, while he occupied their table in the solitary
+state due to his birth and dignity.  It does us all good to unbend
+sometimes.  This good woman was made happy all the day long by the
+applauses which she got out of herself for her magnanimous condescension
+to a tramp; and the King was just as self-complacent over his gracious
+humility toward a humble peasant woman.
+
+When breakfast was over, the housewife told the King to wash up the
+dishes.  This command was a staggerer, for a moment, and the King came
+near rebelling; but then he said to himself, “Alfred the Great watched
+the cakes; doubtless he would have washed the dishes too--therefore will
+I essay it.”
+
+He made a sufficiently poor job of it; and to his surprise too, for the
+cleaning of wooden spoons and trenchers had seemed an easy thing to do.
+It was a tedious and troublesome piece of work, but he finished it
+at last.  He was becoming impatient to get away on his journey now;
+however, he was not to lose this thrifty dame’s society so easily.  She
+furnished him some little odds and ends of employment, which he got
+through with after a fair fashion and with some credit.  Then she set
+him and the little girls to paring some winter apples; but he was so
+awkward at this service that she retired him from it and gave him a
+butcher knife to grind.
+
+Afterwards she kept him carding wool until he began to think he had laid
+the good King Alfred about far enough in the shade for the present in
+the matter of showy menial heroisms that would read picturesquely in
+story-books and histories, and so he was half-minded to resign.  And
+when, just after the noonday dinner, the goodwife gave him a basket
+of kittens to drown, he did resign.  At least he was just going to
+resign--for he felt that he must draw the line somewhere, and it
+seemed to him that to draw it at kitten-drowning was about the right
+thing--when there was an interruption.  The interruption was John
+Canty--with a peddler’s pack on his back--and Hugo.
+
+The King discovered these rascals approaching the front gate before they
+had had a chance to see him; so he said nothing about drawing the line,
+but took up his basket of kittens and stepped quietly out the back way,
+without a word.  He left the creatures in an out-house, and hurried on,
+into a narrow lane at the rear.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX. The Prince and the hermit.
+
+The high hedge hid him from the house, now; and so, under the impulse of
+a deadly fright, he let out all his forces and sped toward a wood in the
+distance.  He never looked back until he had almost gained the shelter
+of the forest; then he turned and descried two figures in the distance.
+That was sufficient; he did not wait to scan them critically, but
+hurried on, and never abated his pace till he was far within the
+twilight depths of the wood. Then he stopped; being persuaded that he
+was now tolerably safe. He listened intently, but the stillness was
+profound and solemn--awful, even, and depressing to the spirits.  At
+wide intervals his straining ear did detect sounds, but they were so
+remote, and hollow, and mysterious, that they seemed not to be real
+sounds, but only the moaning and complaining ghosts of departed
+ones.  So the sounds were yet more dreary than the silence which they
+interrupted.
+
+It was his purpose, in the beginning, to stay where he was the rest of
+the day; but a chill soon invaded his perspiring body, and he was at
+last obliged to resume movement in order to get warm. He struck straight
+through the forest, hoping to pierce to a road presently, but he was
+disappointed in this.  He travelled on and on; but the farther he went,
+the denser the wood became, apparently.  The gloom began to thicken,
+by-and-by, and the King realised that the night was coming on.  It made
+him shudder to think of spending it in such an uncanny place; so he
+tried to hurry faster, but he only made the less speed, for he could
+not now see well enough to choose his steps judiciously; consequently he
+kept tripping over roots and tangling himself in vines and briers.
+
+And how glad he was when at last he caught the glimmer of a light! He
+approached it warily, stopping often to look about him and listen.  It
+came from an unglazed window-opening in a shabby little hut.  He heard
+a voice, now, and felt a disposition to run and hide; but he changed his
+mind at once, for this voice was praying, evidently.  He glided to the
+one window of the hut, raised himself on tiptoe, and stole a glance
+within.  The room was small; its floor was the natural earth, beaten
+hard by use; in a corner was a bed of rushes and a ragged blanket or
+two; near it was a pail, a cup, a basin, and two or three pots and pans;
+there was a short bench and a three-legged stool; on the hearth the
+remains of a faggot fire were smouldering; before a shrine, which was
+lighted by a single candle, knelt an aged man, and on an old wooden box
+at his side lay an open book and a human skull.  The man was of large,
+bony frame; his hair and whiskers were very long and snowy white; he
+was clothed in a robe of sheepskins which reached from his neck to his
+heels.
+
+“A holy hermit!” said the King to himself; “now am I indeed fortunate.”
+
+The hermit rose from his knees; the King knocked.  A deep voice
+responded--
+
+“Enter!--but leave sin behind, for the ground whereon thou shalt stand
+is holy!”
+
+The King entered, and paused.  The hermit turned a pair of gleaming,
+unrestful eyes upon him, and said--
+
+“Who art thou?”
+
+“I am the King,” came the answer, with placid simplicity.
+
+“Welcome, King!” cried the hermit, with enthusiasm.  Then, bustling
+about with feverish activity, and constantly saying, “Welcome, welcome,”
+ he arranged his bench, seated the King on it, by the hearth, threw some
+faggots on the fire, and finally fell to pacing the floor with a nervous
+stride.
+
+“Welcome!  Many have sought sanctuary here, but they were not worthy,
+and were turned away.  But a King who casts his crown away, and despises
+the vain splendours of his office, and clothes his body in rags, to
+devote his life to holiness and the mortification of the flesh--he is
+worthy, he is welcome!--here shall he abide all his days till death
+come.”  The King hastened to interrupt and explain, but the hermit paid
+no attention to him--did not even hear him, apparently, but went right
+on with his talk, with a raised voice and a growing energy.  “And thou
+shalt be at peace here.  None shall find out thy refuge to disquiet thee
+with supplications to return to that empty and foolish life which God
+hath moved thee to abandon.  Thou shalt pray here; thou shalt study the
+Book; thou shalt meditate upon the follies and delusions of this world,
+and upon the sublimities of the world to come; thou shalt feed upon
+crusts and herbs, and scourge thy body with whips, daily, to the
+purifying of thy soul. Thou shalt wear a hair shirt next thy skin;
+thou shalt drink water only; and thou shalt be at peace; yes, wholly at
+peace; for whoso comes to seek thee shall go his way again, baffled; he
+shall not find thee, he shall not molest thee.”
+
+The old man, still pacing back and forth, ceased to speak aloud, and
+began to mutter.  The King seized this opportunity to state his case;
+and he did it with an eloquence inspired by uneasiness and apprehension.
+ But the hermit went on muttering, and gave no heed.  And still
+muttering, he approached the King and said impressively--
+
+“‘Sh!  I will tell you a secret!”  He bent down to impart it, but
+checked himself, and assumed a listening attitude.  After a moment
+or two he went on tiptoe to the window-opening, put his head out, and
+peered around in the gloaming, then came tiptoeing back again, put his
+face close down to the King’s, and whispered--
+
+“I am an archangel!”
+
+The King started violently, and said to himself, “Would God I were with
+the outlaws again; for lo, now am I the prisoner of a madman!”  His
+apprehensions were heightened, and they showed plainly in his face.  In
+a low excited voice the hermit continued--
+
+“I see you feel my atmosphere!  There’s awe in your face!  None may
+be in this atmosphere and not be thus affected; for it is the very
+atmosphere of heaven.  I go thither and return, in the twinkling of an
+eye.  I was made an archangel on this very spot, it is five years ago,
+by angels sent from heaven to confer that awful dignity.  Their presence
+filled this place with an intolerable brightness.  And they knelt to me,
+King! yes, they knelt to me! for I was greater than they.  I have walked
+in the courts of heaven, and held speech with the patriarchs.  Touch
+my hand--be not afraid--touch it.  There--now thou hast touched a hand
+which has been clasped by Abraham and Isaac and Jacob!  For I have
+walked in the golden courts; I have seen the Deity face to face!”  He
+paused, to give this speech effect; then his face suddenly changed, and
+he started to his feet again saying, with angry energy, “Yes, I am an
+archangel; _a mere archangel!_--I that might have been pope!  It is
+verily true.  I was told it from heaven in a dream, twenty years ago;
+ah, yes, I was to be pope!--and I _should_ have been pope, for Heaven
+had said it--but the King dissolved my religious house, and I, poor
+obscure unfriended monk, was cast homeless upon the world, robbed of my
+mighty destiny!” Here he began to mumble again, and beat his forehead in
+futile rage, with his fist; now and then articulating a venomous curse,
+and now and then a pathetic “Wherefore I am nought but an archangel--I
+that should have been pope!”
+
+So he went on, for an hour, whilst the poor little King sat and
+suffered. Then all at once the old man’s frenzy departed, and he became
+all gentleness.  His voice softened, he came down out of his clouds, and
+fell to prattling along so simply and so humanly, that he soon won the
+King’s heart completely.  The old devotee moved the boy nearer to the
+fire and made him comfortable; doctored his small bruises and abrasions
+with a deft and tender hand; and then set about preparing and cooking a
+supper--chatting pleasantly all the time, and occasionally stroking the
+lad’s cheek or patting his head, in such a gently caressing way that in
+a little while all the fear and repulsion inspired by the archangel were
+changed to reverence and affection for the man.
+
+This happy state of things continued while the two ate the supper; then,
+after a prayer before the shrine, the hermit put the boy to bed, in a
+small adjoining room, tucking him in as snugly and lovingly as a mother
+might; and so, with a parting caress, left him and sat down by the
+fire, and began to poke the brands about in an absent and aimless way.
+Presently he paused; then tapped his forehead several times with his
+fingers, as if trying to recall some thought which had escaped from his
+mind.  Apparently he was unsuccessful.  Now he started quickly up, and
+entered his guest’s room, and said--
+
+“Thou art King?”
+
+“Yes,” was the response, drowsily uttered.
+
+“What King?”
+
+“Of England.”
+
+“Of England?  Then Henry is gone!”
+
+“Alack, it is so.  I am his son.”
+
+A black frown settled down upon the hermit’s face, and he clenched his
+bony hands with a vindictive energy.  He stood a few moments, breathing
+fast and swallowing repeatedly, then said in a husky voice--
+
+“Dost know it was he that turned us out into the world houseless and
+homeless?”
+
+There was no response.  The old man bent down and scanned the boy’s
+reposeful face and listened to his placid breathing.  “He sleeps--sleeps
+soundly;” and the frown vanished away and gave place to an expression of
+evil satisfaction.  A smile flitted across the dreaming boy’s features.
+The hermit muttered, “So--his heart is happy;” and he turned away.  He
+went stealthily about the place, seeking here and there for something;
+now and then halting to listen, now and then jerking his head around
+and casting a quick glance toward the bed; and always muttering, always
+mumbling to himself.  At last he found what he seemed to want--a rusty
+old butcher knife and a whetstone.  Then he crept to his place by the
+fire, sat himself down, and began to whet the knife softly on the stone,
+still muttering, mumbling, ejaculating.  The winds sighed around the
+lonely place, the mysterious voices of the night floated by out of the
+distances.  The shining eyes of venturesome mice and rats peered out at
+the old man from cracks and coverts, but he went on with his work, rapt,
+absorbed, and noted none of these things.
+
+At long intervals he drew his thumb along the edge of his knife, and
+nodded his head with satisfaction.  “It grows sharper,” he said; “yes,
+it grows sharper.”
+
+He took no note of the flight of time, but worked tranquilly on,
+entertaining himself with his thoughts, which broke out occasionally in
+articulate speech--
+
+“His father wrought us evil, he destroyed us--and is gone down into the
+eternal fires!  Yes, down into the eternal fires!  He escaped us--but it
+was God’s will, yes it was God’s will, we must not repine.  But he
+hath not escaped the fires!  No, he hath not escaped the fires, the
+consuming, unpitying, remorseless fires--and _they_ are everlasting!”
+
+And so he wrought, and still wrought--mumbling, chuckling a low rasping
+chuckle at times--and at times breaking again into words--
+
+“It was his father that did it all.  I am but an archangel; but for him
+I should be pope!”
+
+The King stirred.  The hermit sprang noiselessly to the bedside, and
+went down upon his knees, bending over the prostrate form with his knife
+uplifted.  The boy stirred again; his eyes came open for an instant, but
+there was no speculation in them, they saw nothing; the next moment his
+tranquil breathing showed that his sleep was sound once more.
+
+The hermit watched and listened, for a time, keeping his position and
+scarcely breathing; then he slowly lowered his arms, and presently crept
+away, saying,--
+
+“It is long past midnight; it is not best that he should cry out, lest
+by accident someone be passing.”
+
+He glided about his hovel, gathering a rag here, a thong there, and
+another one yonder; then he returned, and by careful and gentle handling
+he managed to tie the King’s ankles together without waking him.  Next
+he essayed to tie the wrists; he made several attempts to cross them,
+but the boy always drew one hand or the other away, just as the cord was
+ready to be applied; but at last, when the archangel was almost ready
+to despair, the boy crossed his hands himself, and the next moment
+they were bound. Now a bandage was passed under the sleeper’s chin and
+brought up over his head and tied fast--and so softly, so gradually,
+and so deftly were the knots drawn together and compacted, that the boy
+slept peacefully through it all without stirring.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI. Hendon to the rescue.
+
+The old man glided away, stooping, stealthy, cat-like, and brought the
+low bench.  He seated himself upon it, half his body in the dim and
+flickering light, and the other half in shadow; and so, with his craving
+eyes bent upon the slumbering boy, he kept his patient vigil there,
+heedless of the drift of time, and softly whetted his knife, and mumbled
+and chuckled; and in aspect and attitude he resembled nothing so much as
+a grizzly, monstrous spider, gloating over some hapless insect that lay
+bound and helpless in his web.
+
+After a long while, the old man, who was still gazing,--yet not seeing,
+his mind having settled into a dreamy abstraction,--observed, on a
+sudden, that the boy’s eyes were open! wide open and staring!--staring
+up in frozen horror at the knife.  The smile of a gratified devil crept
+over the old man’s face, and he said, without changing his attitude or
+his occupation--
+
+“Son of Henry the Eighth, hast thou prayed?”
+
+The boy struggled helplessly in his bonds, and at the same time forced
+a smothered sound through his closed jaws, which the hermit chose to
+interpret as an affirmative answer to his question.
+
+“Then pray again.  Pray the prayer for the dying!”
+
+A shudder shook the boy’s frame, and his face blenched.  Then he
+struggled again to free himself--turning and twisting himself this way
+and that; tugging frantically, fiercely, desperately--but uselessly--to
+burst his fetters; and all the while the old ogre smiled down upon him,
+and nodded his head, and placidly whetted his knife; mumbling, from time
+to time, “The moments are precious, they are few and precious--pray the
+prayer for the dying!”
+
+The boy uttered a despairing groan, and ceased from his struggles,
+panting.  The tears came, then, and trickled, one after the other, down
+his face; but this piteous sight wrought no softening effect upon the
+savage old man.
+
+The dawn was coming now; the hermit observed it, and spoke up sharply,
+with a touch of nervous apprehension in his voice--
+
+“I may not indulge this ecstasy longer!  The night is already gone.  It
+seems but a moment--only a moment; would it had endured a year!  Seed of
+the Church’s spoiler, close thy perishing eyes, an’ thou fearest to look
+upon--”
+
+The rest was lost in inarticulate mutterings.  The old man sank upon his
+knees, his knife in his hand, and bent himself over the moaning boy.
+
+Hark!  There was a sound of voices near the cabin--the knife dropped
+from the hermit’s hand; he cast a sheepskin over the boy and started up,
+trembling.  The sounds increased, and presently the voices became rough
+and angry; then came blows, and cries for help; then a clatter of swift
+footsteps, retreating.  Immediately came a succession of thundering
+knocks upon the cabin door, followed by--
+
+“Hullo-o-o!  Open!  And despatch, in the name of all the devils!”
+
+Oh, this was the blessedest sound that had ever made music in the King’s
+ears; for it was Miles Hendon’s voice!
+
+The hermit, grinding his teeth in impotent rage, moved swiftly out of
+the bedchamber, closing the door behind him; and straightway the King
+heard a talk, to this effect, proceeding from the ‘chapel’:--
+
+“Homage and greeting, reverend sir!  Where is the boy--_my_ boy?”
+
+“What boy, friend?”
+
+“What boy!  Lie me no lies, sir priest, play me no deceptions!--I am not
+in the humour for it.  Near to this place I caught the scoundrels who I
+judged did steal him from me, and I made them confess; they said he was
+at large again, and they had tracked him to your door.  They showed me
+his very footprints.  Now palter no more; for look you, holy sir, an’
+thou produce him not--Where is the boy?”
+
+“O good sir, peradventure you mean the ragged regal vagrant that tarried
+here the night.  If such as you take an interest in such as he, know,
+then, that I have sent him of an errand.  He will be back anon.”
+
+“How soon?  How soon?  Come, waste not the time--cannot I overtake him?
+How soon will he be back?”
+
+“Thou need’st not stir; he will return quickly.”
+
+“So be it, then.  I will try to wait.  But stop!--_you_ sent him of an
+errand?--you!  Verily this is a lie--he would not go.  He would pull thy
+old beard, an’ thou didst offer him such an insolence. Thou hast lied,
+friend; thou hast surely lied!  He would not go for thee, nor for any
+man.”
+
+“For any _man_--no; haply not.  But I am not a man.”
+
+“_What_!  Now o’ God’s name what art thou, then?”
+
+“It is a secret--mark thou reveal it not.  I am an archangel!”
+
+There was a tremendous ejaculation from Miles Hendon--not altogether
+unprofane--followed by--
+
+“This doth well and truly account for his complaisance!  Right well
+I knew he would budge nor hand nor foot in the menial service of any
+mortal; but, lord, even a king must obey when an archangel gives the
+word o’ command!  Let me--‘sh!  What noise was that?”
+
+All this while the little King had been yonder, alternately quaking with
+terror and trembling with hope; and all the while, too, he had thrown
+all the strength he could into his anguished moanings, constantly
+expecting them to reach Hendon’s ear, but always realising, with
+bitterness, that they failed, or at least made no impression.  So this
+last remark of his servant came as comes a reviving breath from fresh
+fields to the dying; and he exerted himself once more, and with all his
+energy, just as the hermit was saying--
+
+“Noise?  I heard only the wind.”
+
+“Mayhap it was.  Yes, doubtless that was it.  I have been hearing it
+faintly all the--there it is again!  It is not the wind!  What an odd
+sound!  Come, we will hunt it out!”
+
+Now the King’s joy was nearly insupportable.  His tired lungs did
+their utmost--and hopefully, too--but the sealed jaws and the muffling
+sheepskin sadly crippled the effort.  Then the poor fellow’s heart sank,
+to hear the hermit say--
+
+“Ah, it came from without--I think from the copse yonder.  Come, I will
+lead the way.”
+
+The King heard the two pass out, talking; heard their footsteps die
+quickly away--then he was alone with a boding, brooding, awful silence.
+
+It seemed an age till he heard the steps and voices approaching
+again--and this time he heard an added sound,--the trampling of hoofs,
+apparently.  Then he heard Hendon say--
+
+“I will not wait longer.  I _cannot_ wait longer.  He has lost his way
+in this thick wood.  Which direction took he?  Quick--point it out to
+me.”
+
+“He--but wait; I will go with thee.”
+
+“Good--good!  Why, truly thou art better than thy looks.  Marry I do
+not think there’s not another archangel with so right a heart as thine.
+ Wilt ride?  Wilt take the wee donkey that’s for my boy, or wilt thou
+fork thy holy legs over this ill-conditioned slave of a mule that I have
+provided for myself?--and had been cheated in too, had he cost but the
+indifferent sum of a month’s usury on a brass farthing let to a tinker
+out of work.”
+
+“No--ride thy mule, and lead thine ass; I am surer on mine own feet, and
+will walk.”
+
+“Then prithee mind the little beast for me while I take my life in my
+hands and make what success I may toward mounting the big one.”
+
+Then followed a confusion of kicks, cuffs, tramplings and plungings,
+accompanied by a thunderous intermingling of volleyed curses, and
+finally a bitter apostrophe to the mule, which must have broken its
+spirit, for hostilities seemed to cease from that moment.
+
+With unutterable misery the fettered little King heard the voices and
+footsteps fade away and die out.  All hope forsook him, now, for the
+moment, and a dull despair settled down upon his heart. “My only friend
+is deceived and got rid of,” he said; “the hermit will return and--”  He
+finished with a gasp; and at once fell to struggling so frantically with
+his bonds again, that he shook off the smothering sheepskin.
+
+And now he heard the door open!  The sound chilled him to the
+marrow--already he seemed to feel the knife at his throat.  Horror made
+him close his eyes; horror made him open them again--and before him
+stood John Canty and Hugo!
+
+He would have said “Thank God!” if his jaws had been free.
+
+A moment or two later his limbs were at liberty, and his captors, each
+gripping him by an arm, were hurrying him with all speed through the
+forest.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII. A Victim of Treachery.
+
+Once more ‘King Foo-foo the First’ was roving with the tramps and
+outlaws, a butt for their coarse jests and dull-witted railleries, and
+sometimes the victim of small spitefulness at the hands of Canty and
+Hugo when the Ruffler’s back was turned.  None but Canty and Hugo really
+disliked him.  Some of the others liked him, and all admired his pluck
+and spirit.  During two or three days, Hugo, in whose ward and charge
+the King was, did what he covertly could to make the boy uncomfortable;
+and at night, during the customary orgies, he amused the company by
+putting small indignities upon him--always as if by accident.  Twice he
+stepped upon the King’s toes--accidentally--and the King, as became his
+royalty, was contemptuously unconscious of it and indifferent to it; but
+the third time Hugo entertained himself in that way, the King felled
+him to the ground with a cudgel, to the prodigious delight of the tribe.
+ Hugo, consumed with anger and shame, sprang up, seized a cudgel, and
+came at his small adversary in a fury.  Instantly a ring was formed
+around the gladiators, and the betting and cheering began.
+
+But poor Hugo stood no chance whatever.  His frantic and lubberly
+‘prentice-work found but a poor market for itself when pitted against
+an arm which had been trained by the first masters of Europe in
+single-stick, quarter-staff, and every art and trick of swordsmanship.
+ The little King stood, alert but at graceful ease, and caught and
+turned aside the thick rain of blows with a facility and precision which
+set the motley on-lookers wild with admiration; and every now and then,
+when his practised eye detected an opening, and a lightning-swift rap
+upon Hugo’s head followed as a result, the storm of cheers and laughter
+that swept the place was something wonderful to hear.  At the end of
+fifteen minutes, Hugo, all battered, bruised, and the target for
+a pitiless bombardment of ridicule, slunk from the field; and the
+unscathed hero of the fight was seized and borne aloft upon the
+shoulders of the joyous rabble to the place of honour beside the
+Ruffler, where with vast ceremony he was crowned King of the Game-Cocks;
+his meaner title being at the same time solemnly cancelled and annulled,
+and a decree of banishment from the gang pronounced against any who
+should thenceforth utter it.
+
+All attempts to make the King serviceable to the troop had failed. He
+had stubbornly refused to act; moreover, he was always trying to escape.
+ He had been thrust into an unwatched kitchen, the first day of his
+return; he not only came forth empty-handed, but tried to rouse the
+housemates. He was sent out with a tinker to help him at his work;
+he would not work; moreover, he threatened the tinker with his own
+soldering-iron; and finally both Hugo and the tinker found their
+hands full with the mere matter of keeping his from getting away.  He
+delivered the thunders of his royalty upon the heads of all who hampered
+his liberties or tried to force him to service.  He was sent out, in
+Hugo’s charge, in company with a slatternly woman and a diseased baby,
+to beg; but the result was not encouraging--he declined to plead for the
+mendicants, or be a party to their cause in any way.
+
+Thus several days went by; and the miseries of this tramping life, and
+the weariness and sordidness and meanness and vulgarity of it, became
+gradually and steadily so intolerable to the captive that he began at
+last to feel that his release from the hermit’s knife must prove only a
+temporary respite from death, at best.
+
+But at night, in his dreams, these things were forgotten, and he was
+on his throne, and master again.  This, of course, intensified the
+sufferings of the awakening--so the mortifications of each succeeding
+morning of the few that passed between his return to bondage and the
+combat with Hugo, grew bitterer and bitterer, and harder and harder to
+bear.
+
+The morning after that combat, Hugo got up with a heart filled with
+vengeful purposes against the King.  He had two plans, in particular.
+One was to inflict upon the lad what would be, to his proud spirit
+and ‘imagined’ royalty, a peculiar humiliation; and if he failed to
+accomplish this, his other plan was to put a crime of some kind upon the
+King, and then betray him into the implacable clutches of the law.
+
+In pursuance of the first plan, he purposed to put a ‘clime’ upon the
+King’s leg; rightly judging that that would mortify him to the last and
+perfect degree; and as soon as the clime should operate, he meant to get
+Canty’s help, and _force_ the King to expose his leg in the highway
+and beg for alms.  ‘Clime’ was the cant term for a sore, artificially
+created. To make a clime, the operator made a paste or poultice of
+unslaked lime, soap, and the rust of old iron, and spread it upon a
+piece of leather, which was then bound tightly upon the leg.  This would
+presently fret off the skin, and make the flesh raw and angry-looking;
+blood was then rubbed upon the limb, which, being fully dried, took on a
+dark and repulsive colour.  Then a bandage of soiled rags was put on in
+a cleverly careless way which would allow the hideous ulcer to be seen,
+and move the compassion of the passer-by. {8}
+
+Hugo got the help of the tinker whom the King had cowed with the
+soldering-iron; they took the boy out on a tinkering tramp, and as soon
+as they were out of sight of the camp they threw him down and the tinker
+held him while Hugo bound the poultice tight and fast upon his leg.
+
+The King raged and stormed, and promised to hang the two the moment the
+sceptre was in his hand again; but they kept a firm grip upon him
+and enjoyed his impotent struggling and jeered at his threats.  This
+continued until the poultice began to bite; and in no long time its work
+would have been perfected, if there had been no interruption.  But there
+was; for about this time the ‘slave’ who had made the speech denouncing
+England’s laws, appeared on the scene, and put an end to the enterprise,
+and stripped off the poultice and bandage.
+
+The King wanted to borrow his deliverer’s cudgel and warm the jackets
+of the two rascals on the spot; but the man said no, it would bring
+trouble--leave the matter till night; the whole tribe being together,
+then, the outside world would not venture to interfere or interrupt.  He
+marched the party back to camp and reported the affair to the Ruffler,
+who listened, pondered, and then decided that the King should not be
+again detailed to beg, since it was plain he was worthy of something
+higher and better--wherefore, on the spot he promoted him from the
+mendicant rank and appointed him to steal!
+
+Hugo was overjoyed.  He had already tried to make the King steal, and
+failed; but there would be no more trouble of that sort, now, for of
+course the King would not dream of defying a distinct command delivered
+directly from head-quarters.  So he planned a raid for that very
+afternoon, purposing to get the King in the law’s grip in the course of
+it; and to do it, too, with such ingenious strategy, that it should seem
+to be accidental and unintentional; for the King of the Game-Cocks was
+popular now, and the gang might not deal over-gently with an unpopular
+member who played so serious a treachery upon him as the delivering him
+over to the common enemy, the law.
+
+Very well.  All in good time Hugo strolled off to a neighbouring village
+with his prey; and the two drifted slowly up and down one street after
+another, the one watching sharply for a sure chance to achieve his evil
+purpose, and the other watching as sharply for a chance to dart away and
+get free of his infamous captivity for ever.
+
+Both threw away some tolerably fair-looking opportunities; for both,
+in their secret hearts, were resolved to make absolutely sure work this
+time, and neither meant to allow his fevered desires to seduce him into
+any venture that had much uncertainty about it.
+
+Hugo’s chance came first.  For at last a woman approached who carried a
+fat package of some sort in a basket.  Hugo’s eyes sparkled with sinful
+pleasure as he said to himself, “Breath o’ my life, an’ I can but
+put _that_ upon him, ’tis good-den and God keep thee, King of the
+Game-Cocks!” He waited and watched--outwardly patient, but inwardly
+consuming with excitement--till the woman had passed by, and the time
+was ripe; then said, in a low voice--
+
+“Tarry here till I come again,” and darted stealthily after the prey.
+
+The King’s heart was filled with joy--he could make his escape, now, if
+Hugo’s quest only carried him far enough away.
+
+But he was to have no such luck.  Hugo crept behind the woman, snatched
+the package, and came running back, wrapping it in an old piece of
+blanket which he carried on his arm.  The hue and cry was raised in a
+moment, by the woman, who knew her loss by the lightening of her burden,
+although she had not seen the pilfering done.  Hugo thrust the bundle
+into the King’s hands without halting, saying--
+
+“Now speed ye after me with the rest, and cry ‘Stop thief!’ but mind ye
+lead them astray!”
+
+The next moment Hugo turned a corner and darted down a crooked
+alley--and in another moment or two he lounged into view again, looking
+innocent and indifferent, and took up a position behind a post to watch
+results.
+
+The insulted King threw the bundle on the ground; and the blanket fell
+away from it just as the woman arrived, with an augmenting crowd at her
+heels; she seized the King’s wrist with one hand, snatched up her bundle
+with the other, and began to pour out a tirade of abuse upon the boy
+while he struggled, without success, to free himself from her grip.
+
+Hugo had seen enough--his enemy was captured and the law would get him,
+now--so he slipped away, jubilant and chuckling, and wended campwards,
+framing a judicious version of the matter to give to the Ruffler’s crew
+as he strode along.
+
+The King continued to struggle in the woman’s strong grasp, and now and
+then cried out in vexation--
+
+“Unhand me, thou foolish creature; it was not I that bereaved thee of
+thy paltry goods.”
+
+The crowd closed around, threatening the King and calling him names; a
+brawny blacksmith in leather apron, and sleeves rolled to his elbows,
+made a reach for him, saying he would trounce him well, for a lesson;
+but just then a long sword flashed in the air and fell with convincing
+force upon the man’s arm, flat side down, the fantastic owner of it
+remarking pleasantly, at the same time--
+
+“Marry, good souls, let us proceed gently, not with ill blood and
+uncharitable words.  This is matter for the law’s consideration,
+not private and unofficial handling.  Loose thy hold from the boy,
+goodwife.”
+
+The blacksmith averaged the stalwart soldier with a glance, then went
+muttering away, rubbing his arm; the woman released the boy’s wrist
+reluctantly; the crowd eyed the stranger unlovingly, but prudently
+closed their mouths.  The King sprang to his deliverer’s side, with
+flushed cheeks and sparkling eyes, exclaiming--
+
+“Thou hast lagged sorely, but thou comest in good season, now, Sir
+Miles; carve me this rabble to rags!”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII. The Prince a prisoner.
+
+Hendon forced back a smile, and bent down and whispered in the King’s
+ear--
+
+“Softly, softly, my prince, wag thy tongue warily--nay, suffer it not to
+wag at all.  Trust in me--all shall go well in the end.” Then he added
+to himself:  “_Sir_ Miles!  Bless me, I had totally forgot I was a
+knight! Lord, how marvellous a thing it is, the grip his memory doth
+take upon his quaint and crazy fancies! . . . An empty and foolish title
+is mine, and yet it is something to have deserved it; for I think it is
+more honour to be held worthy to be a spectre-knight in his Kingdom of
+Dreams and Shadows, than to be held base enough to be an earl in some of
+the _real_ kingdoms of this world.”
+
+The crowd fell apart to admit a constable, who approached and was about
+to lay his hand upon the King’s shoulder, when Hendon said--
+
+“Gently, good friend, withhold your hand--he shall go peaceably; I am
+responsible for that.  Lead on, we will follow.”
+
+The officer led, with the woman and her bundle; Miles and the King
+followed after, with the crowd at their heels.  The King was inclined to
+rebel; but Hendon said to him in a low voice--
+
+“Reflect, Sire--your laws are the wholesome breath of your own royalty;
+shall their source resist them, yet require the branches to respect
+them? Apparently one of these laws has been broken; when the King is on
+his throne again, can it ever grieve him to remember that when he was
+seemingly a private person he loyally sank the king in the citizen and
+submitted to its authority?”
+
+“Thou art right; say no more; thou shalt see that whatsoever the King
+of England requires a subject to suffer, under the law, he will himself
+suffer while he holdeth the station of a subject.”
+
+When the woman was called upon to testify before the justice of the
+peace, she swore that the small prisoner at the bar was the person who
+had committed the theft; there was none able to show the contrary, so
+the King stood convicted.  The bundle was now unrolled, and when the
+contents proved to be a plump little dressed pig, the judge looked
+troubled, whilst Hendon turned pale, and his body was thrilled with an
+electric shiver of dismay; but the King remained unmoved, protected
+by his ignorance.  The judge meditated, during an ominous pause, then
+turned to the woman, with the question--
+
+“What dost thou hold this property to be worth?”
+
+The woman courtesied and replied--
+
+“Three shillings and eightpence, your worship--I could not abate a penny
+and set forth the value honestly.”
+
+The justice glanced around uncomfortably upon the crowd, then nodded to
+the constable, and said--
+
+“Clear the court and close the doors.”
+
+It was done.  None remained but the two officials, the accused, the
+accuser, and Miles Hendon.  This latter was rigid and colourless, and
+on his forehead big drops of cold sweat gathered, broke and blended
+together, and trickled down his face.  The judge turned to the woman
+again, and said, in a compassionate voice--
+
+“‘Tis a poor ignorant lad, and mayhap was driven hard by hunger, for
+these be grievous times for the unfortunate; mark you, he hath not an
+evil face--but when hunger driveth--Good woman! dost know that when one
+steals a thing above the value of thirteenpence ha’penny the law saith
+he shall _hang_ for it?”
+
+The little King started, wide-eyed with consternation, but controlled
+himself and held his peace; but not so the woman.  She sprang to her
+feet, shaking with fright, and cried out--
+
+“Oh, good lack, what have I done!  God-a-mercy, I would not hang
+the poor thing for the whole world!  Ah, save me from this, your
+worship--what shall I do, what _can_ I do?”
+
+The justice maintained his judicial composure, and simply said--
+
+“Doubtless it is allowable to revise the value, since it is not yet writ
+upon the record.”
+
+“Then in God’s name call the pig eightpence, and heaven bless the day
+that freed my conscience of this awesome thing!”
+
+Miles Hendon forgot all decorum in his delight; and surprised the King
+and wounded his dignity, by throwing his arms around him and hugging
+him. The woman made her grateful adieux and started away with her pig;
+and when the constable opened the door for her, he followed her out into
+the narrow hall.  The justice proceeded to write in his record book.
+ Hendon, always alert, thought he would like to know why the officer
+followed the woman out; so he slipped softly into the dusky hall and
+listened.  He heard a conversation to this effect--
+
+“It is a fat pig, and promises good eating; I will buy it of thee; here
+is the eightpence.”
+
+“Eightpence, indeed!  Thou’lt do no such thing.  It cost me three
+shillings and eightpence, good honest coin of the last reign, that old
+Harry that’s just dead ne’er touched or tampered with.  A fig for thy
+eightpence!”
+
+“Stands the wind in that quarter?  Thou wast under oath, and so swore
+falsely when thou saidst the value was but eightpence.  Come straightway
+back with me before his worship, and answer for the crime!--and then the
+lad will hang.”
+
+“There, there, dear heart, say no more, I am content.  Give me the
+eightpence, and hold thy peace about the matter.”
+
+The woman went off crying:  Hendon slipped back into the court room,
+and the constable presently followed, after hiding his prize in some
+convenient place.  The justice wrote a while longer, then read the King
+a wise and kindly lecture, and sentenced him to a short imprisonment
+in the common jail, to be followed by a public flogging.  The astounded
+King opened his mouth, and was probably going to order the good judge to
+be beheaded on the spot; but he caught a warning sign from Hendon, and
+succeeded in closing his mouth again before he lost anything out of it.
+Hendon took him by the hand, now, made reverence to the justice, and the
+two departed in the wake of the constable toward the jail.  The moment
+the street was reached, the inflamed monarch halted, snatched away his
+hand, and exclaimed--
+
+“Idiot, dost imagine I will enter a common jail _alive_?”
+
+Hendon bent down and said, somewhat sharply--
+
+“_Will_ you trust in me?  Peace! and forbear to worsen our chances with
+dangerous speech.  What God wills, will happen; thou canst not hurry it,
+thou canst not alter it; therefore wait, and be patient--‘twill be time
+enow to rail or rejoice when what is to happen has happened.” {1}
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV. The Escape.
+
+The short winter day was nearly ended.  The streets were deserted, save
+for a few random stragglers, and these hurried straight along, with the
+intent look of people who were only anxious to accomplish their errands
+as quickly as possible, and then snugly house themselves from the rising
+wind and the gathering twilight. They looked neither to the right nor to
+the left; they paid no attention to our party, they did not even seem
+to see them. Edward the Sixth wondered if the spectacle of a king on his
+way to jail had ever encountered such marvellous indifference before.
+By-and-by the constable arrived at a deserted market-square, and
+proceeded to cross it.  When he had reached the middle of it, Hendon
+laid his hand upon his arm, and said in a low voice--
+
+“Bide a moment, good sir, there is none in hearing, and I would say a
+word to thee.”
+
+“My duty forbids it, sir; prithee hinder me not, the night comes on.”
+
+“Stay, nevertheless, for the matter concerns thee nearly.  Turn thy back
+a moment and seem not to see:  _let this poor lad escape_.”
+
+“This to me, sir!  I arrest thee in--”
+
+“Nay, be not too hasty.  See thou be careful and commit no foolish
+error,”--then he shut his voice down to a whisper, and said in the man’s
+ear--“the pig thou hast purchased for eightpence may cost thee thy neck,
+man!”
+
+The poor constable, taken by surprise, was speechless, at first, then
+found his tongue and fell to blustering and threatening; but Hendon
+was tranquil, and waited with patience till his breath was spent; then
+said--
+
+“I have a liking to thee, friend, and would not willingly see thee
+come to harm.  Observe, I heard it all--every word.  I will prove it to
+thee.” Then he repeated the conversation which the officer and the woman
+had had together in the hall, word for word, and ended with--
+
+“There--have I set it forth correctly?  Should not I be able to set it
+forth correctly before the judge, if occasion required?”
+
+The man was dumb with fear and distress, for a moment; then he rallied,
+and said with forced lightness--
+
+“‘Tis making a mighty matter, indeed, out of a jest; I but plagued the
+woman for mine amusement.”
+
+“Kept you the woman’s pig for amusement?”
+
+The man answered sharply--
+
+“Nought else, good sir--I tell thee ’twas but a jest.”
+
+“I do begin to believe thee,” said Hendon, with a perplexing mixture of
+mockery and half-conviction in his tone; “but tarry thou here a
+moment whilst I run and ask his worship--for nathless, he being a man
+experienced in law, in jests, in--”
+
+He was moving away, still talking; the constable hesitated, fidgeted,
+spat out an oath or two, then cried out--
+
+“Hold, hold, good sir--prithee wait a little--the judge!  Why, man, he
+hath no more sympathy with a jest than hath a dead corpse!--come, and we
+will speak further.  Ods body!  I seem to be in evil case--and all for
+an innocent and thoughtless pleasantry. I am a man of family; and my
+wife and little ones--List to reason, good your worship: what wouldst
+thou of me?”
+
+“Only that thou be blind and dumb and paralytic whilst one may count a
+hundred thousand--counting slowly,” said Hendon, with the expression of
+a man who asks but a reasonable favour, and that a very little one.
+
+“It is my destruction!” said the constable despairingly.  “Ah, be
+reasonable, good sir; only look at this matter, on all its sides, and
+see how mere a jest it is--how manifestly and how plainly it is so.  And
+even if one granted it were not a jest, it is a fault so small that
+e’en the grimmest penalty it could call forth would be but a rebuke and
+warning from the judge’s lips.”
+
+Hendon replied with a solemnity which chilled the air about him--
+
+“This jest of thine hath a name, in law,--wot you what it is?”
+
+“I knew it not!  Peradventure I have been unwise.  I never dreamed it
+had a name--ah, sweet heaven, I thought it was original.”
+
+“Yes, it hath a name.  In the law this crime is called Non compos mentis
+lex talionis sic transit gloria mundi.”
+
+“Ah, my God!”
+
+“And the penalty is death!”
+
+“God be merciful to me a sinner!”
+
+“By advantage taken of one in fault, in dire peril, and at thy mercy,
+thou hast seized goods worth above thirteenpence ha’penny, paying but
+a trifle for the same; and this, in the eye of the law, is constructive
+barratry, misprision of treason, malfeasance in office, ad hominem
+expurgatis in statu quo--and the penalty is death by the halter, without
+ransom, commutation, or benefit of clergy.”
+
+“Bear me up, bear me up, sweet sir, my legs do fail me!  Be thou
+merciful--spare me this doom, and I will turn my back and see nought
+that shall happen.”
+
+“Good! now thou’rt wise and reasonable.  And thou’lt restore the pig?”
+
+“I will, I will indeed--nor ever touch another, though heaven send it
+and an archangel fetch it.  Go--I am blind for thy sake--I see nothing.
+ I will say thou didst break in and wrest the prisoner from my hands by
+force.  It is but a crazy, ancient door--I will batter it down myself
+betwixt midnight and the morning.”
+
+“Do it, good soul, no harm will come of it; the judge hath a loving
+charity for this poor lad, and will shed no tears and break no jailer’s
+bones for his escape.”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV. Hendon Hall.
+
+As soon as Hendon and the King were out of sight of the constable, his
+Majesty was instructed to hurry to a certain place outside the town, and
+wait there, whilst Hendon should go to the inn and settle his account.
+Half an hour later the two friends were blithely jogging eastward on
+Hendon’s sorry steeds.  The King was warm and comfortable, now, for
+he had cast his rags and clothed himself in the second-hand suit which
+Hendon had bought on London Bridge.
+
+Hendon wished to guard against over-fatiguing the boy; he judged that
+hard journeys, irregular meals, and illiberal measures of sleep would be
+bad for his crazed mind; whilst rest, regularity, and moderate exercise
+would be pretty sure to hasten its cure; he longed to see the stricken
+intellect made well again and its diseased visions driven out of the
+tormented little head; therefore he resolved to move by easy stages
+toward the home whence he had so long been banished, instead of obeying
+the impulse of his impatience and hurrying along night and day.
+
+When he and the King had journeyed about ten miles, they reached a
+considerable village, and halted there for the night, at a good inn.
+ The former relations were resumed; Hendon stood behind the King’s
+chair, while he dined, and waited upon him; undressed him when he was
+ready for bed; then took the floor for his own quarters, and slept
+athwart the door, rolled up in a blanket.
+
+The next day, and the day after, they jogged lazily along talking
+over the adventures they had met since their separation, and mightily
+enjoying each other’s narratives.  Hendon detailed all his wide
+wanderings in search of the King, and described how the archangel had
+led him a fool’s journey all over the forest, and taken him back to
+the hut, finally, when he found he could not get rid of him.  Then--he
+said--the old man went into the bedchamber and came staggering back
+looking broken-hearted, and saying he had expected to find that the boy
+had returned and laid down in there to rest, but it was not so.  Hendon
+had waited at the hut all day; hope of the King’s return died out, then,
+and he departed upon the quest again.
+
+“And old Sanctum Sanctorum _was_ truly sorry your highness came not
+back,” said Hendon; “I saw it in his face.”
+
+“Marry I will never doubt _that_!” said the King--and then told his own
+story; after which, Hendon was sorry he had not destroyed the archangel.
+
+During the last day of the trip, Hendon’s spirits were soaring. His
+tongue ran constantly.  He talked about his old father, and his brother
+Arthur, and told of many things which illustrated their high and
+generous characters; he went into loving frenzies over his Edith,
+and was so glad-hearted that he was even able to say some gentle and
+brotherly things about Hugh.  He dwelt a deal on the coming meeting
+at Hendon Hall; what a surprise it would be to everybody, and what an
+outburst of thanksgiving and delight there would be.
+
+It was a fair region, dotted with cottages and orchards, and the road
+led through broad pasture lands whose receding expanses, marked with
+gentle elevations and depressions, suggested the swelling and subsiding
+undulations of the sea.  In the afternoon the returning prodigal made
+constant deflections from his course to see if by ascending some hillock
+he might not pierce the distance and catch a glimpse of his home.  At
+last he was successful, and cried out excitedly--
+
+“There is the village, my Prince, and there is the Hall close by! You
+may see the towers from here; and that wood there--that is my father’s
+park. Ah, _now_ thou’lt know what state and grandeur be! A house with
+seventy rooms--think of that!--and seven and twenty servants!  A brave
+lodging for such as we, is it not so?  Come, let us speed--my impatience
+will not brook further delay.”
+
+All possible hurry was made; still, it was after three o’clock before
+the village was reached.  The travellers scampered through it, Hendon’s
+tongue going all the time.  “Here is the church--covered with the same
+ivy--none gone, none added.”  “Yonder is the inn, the old Red Lion,--and
+yonder is the market-place.”  “Here is the Maypole, and here the
+pump--nothing is altered; nothing but the people, at any rate; ten years
+make a change in people; some of these I seem to know, but none know
+me.”  So his chat ran on. The end of the village was soon reached; then
+the travellers struck into a crooked, narrow road, walled in with tall
+hedges, and hurried briskly along it for half a mile, then passed into a
+vast flower garden through an imposing gateway, whose huge stone pillars
+bore sculptured armorial devices.  A noble mansion was before them.
+
+“Welcome to Hendon Hall, my King!” exclaimed Miles.  “Ah, ’tis a great
+day!  My father and my brother, and the Lady Edith will be so mad with
+joy that they will have eyes and tongue for none but me in the first
+transports of the meeting, and so thou’lt seem but coldly welcomed--but
+mind it not; ’twill soon seem otherwise; for when I say thou art my
+ward, and tell them how costly is my love for thee, thou’lt see them
+take thee to their breasts for Miles Hendon’s sake, and make their house
+and hearts thy home for ever after!”
+
+The next moment Hendon sprang to the ground before the great door,
+helped the King down, then took him by the hand and rushed within. A few
+steps brought him to a spacious apartment; he entered, seated the King
+with more hurry than ceremony, then ran toward a young man who sat at a
+writing-table in front of a generous fire of logs.
+
+“Embrace me, Hugh,” he cried, “and say thou’rt glad I am come again! and
+call our father, for home is not home till I shall touch his hand, and
+see his face, and hear his voice once more!”
+
+But Hugh only drew back, after betraying a momentary surprise, and bent
+a grave stare upon the intruder--a stare which indicated somewhat of
+offended dignity, at first, then changed, in response to some inward
+thought or purpose, to an expression of marvelling curiosity, mixed with
+a real or assumed compassion.  Presently he said, in a mild voice--
+
+“Thy wits seem touched, poor stranger; doubtless thou hast suffered
+privations and rude buffetings at the world’s hands; thy looks and dress
+betoken it.  Whom dost thou take me to be?”
+
+“Take thee?  Prithee for whom else than whom thou art?  I take thee to
+be Hugh Hendon,” said Miles, sharply.
+
+The other continued, in the same soft tone--
+
+“And whom dost thou imagine thyself to be?”
+
+“Imagination hath nought to do with it!  Dost thou pretend thou knowest
+me not for thy brother Miles Hendon?”
+
+An expression of pleased surprise flitted across Hugh’s face, and he
+exclaimed--
+
+“What! thou art not jesting? can the dead come to life?  God be praised
+if it be so!  Our poor lost boy restored to our arms after all these
+cruel years!  Ah, it seems too good to be true, it _is_ too good to be
+true--I charge thee, have pity, do not trifle with me!  Quick--come to
+the light--let me scan thee well!”
+
+He seized Miles by the arm, dragged him to the window, and began to
+devour him from head to foot with his eyes, turning him this way and
+that, and stepping briskly around him and about him to prove him
+from all points of view; whilst the returned prodigal, all aglow with
+gladness, smiled, laughed, and kept nodding his head and saying--
+
+“Go on, brother, go on, and fear not; thou’lt find nor limb nor feature
+that cannot bide the test.  Scour and scan me to thy content, my good
+old Hugh--I am indeed thy old Miles, thy same old Miles, thy lost
+brother, is’t not so?  Ah, ’tis a great day--I _said_ ’twas a great day!
+ Give me thy hand, give me thy cheek--lord, I am like to die of very
+joy!”
+
+He was about to throw himself upon his brother; but Hugh put up his hand
+in dissent, then dropped his chin mournfully upon his breast, saying
+with emotion--
+
+“Ah, God of his mercy give me strength to bear this grievous
+disappointment!”
+
+Miles, amazed, could not speak for a moment; then he found his tongue,
+and cried out--
+
+“_What_ disappointment?  Am I not thy brother?”
+
+Hugh shook his head sadly, and said--
+
+“I pray heaven it may prove so, and that other eyes may find the
+resemblances that are hid from mine.  Alack, I fear me the letter spoke
+but too truly.”
+
+“What letter?”
+
+“One that came from over sea, some six or seven years ago.  It said my
+brother died in battle.”
+
+“It was a lie!  Call thy father--he will know me.”
+
+“One may not call the dead.”
+
+“Dead?” Miles’s voice was subdued, and his lips trembled.  “My father
+dead!--oh, this is heavy news.  Half my new joy is withered now.
+ Prithee let me see my brother Arthur--he will know me; he will know me
+and console me.”
+
+“He, also, is dead.”
+
+“God be merciful to me, a stricken man!  Gone,--both gone--the worthy
+taken and the worthless spared, in me!  Ah! I crave your mercy!--do not
+say the Lady Edith--”
+
+“Is dead?  No, she lives.”
+
+“Then, God be praised, my joy is whole again!  Speed thee, brother--let
+her come to me!  An’ _she_ say I am not myself--but she will not; no,
+no, _she_ will know me, I were a fool to doubt it. Bring her--bring the
+old servants; they, too, will know me.”
+
+“All are gone but five--Peter, Halsey, David, Bernard, and Margaret.”
+
+So saying, Hugh left the room.  Miles stood musing a while, then began
+to walk the floor, muttering--
+
+“The five arch-villains have survived the two-and-twenty leal and
+honest--‘tis an odd thing.”
+
+He continued walking back and forth, muttering to himself; he had
+forgotten the King entirely.  By-and-by his Majesty said gravely, and
+with a touch of genuine compassion, though the words themselves were
+capable of being interpreted ironically--
+
+“Mind not thy mischance, good man; there be others in the world whose
+identity is denied, and whose claims are derided.  Thou hast company.”
+
+“Ah, my King,” cried Hendon, colouring slightly, “do not thou condemn
+me--wait, and thou shalt see.  I am no impostor--she will say it; you
+shall hear it from the sweetest lips in England.  I an impostor?  Why, I
+know this old hall, these pictures of my ancestors, and all these things
+that are about us, as a child knoweth its own nursery.  Here was I born
+and bred, my lord; I speak the truth; I would not deceive thee; and
+should none else believe, I pray thee do not _thou_ doubt me--I could
+not bear it.”
+
+“I do not doubt thee,” said the King, with a childlike simplicity and
+faith.
+
+“I thank thee out of my heart!” exclaimed Hendon with a fervency which
+showed that he was touched.  The King added, with the same gentle
+simplicity--
+
+“Dost thou doubt _me_?”
+
+A guilty confusion seized upon Hendon, and he was grateful that the door
+opened to admit Hugh, at that moment, and saved him the necessity of
+replying.
+
+A beautiful lady, richly clothed, followed Hugh, and after her came
+several liveried servants.  The lady walked slowly, with her head bowed
+and her eyes fixed upon the floor.  The face was unspeakably sad.  Miles
+Hendon sprang forward, crying out--
+
+“Oh, my Edith, my darling--”
+
+But Hugh waved him back, gravely, and said to the lady--
+
+“Look upon him.  Do you know him?”
+
+At the sound of Miles’s voice the woman had started slightly, and her
+cheeks had flushed; she was trembling now.  She stood still, during an
+impressive pause of several moments; then slowly lifted up her head and
+looked into Hendon’s eyes with a stony and frightened gaze; the blood
+sank out of her face, drop by drop, till nothing remained but the grey
+pallor of death; then she said, in a voice as dead as the face, “I know
+him not!” and turned, with a moan and a stifled sob, and tottered out of
+the room.
+
+Miles Hendon sank into a chair and covered his face with his hands.
+After a pause, his brother said to the servants--
+
+“You have observed him.  Do you know him?”
+
+They shook their heads; then the master said--
+
+“The servants know you not, sir.  I fear there is some mistake. You have
+seen that my wife knew you not.”
+
+“Thy _wife_!”  In an instant Hugh was pinned to the wall, with an iron
+grip about his throat.  “Oh, thou fox-hearted slave, I see it all!
+ Thou’st writ the lying letter thyself, and my stolen bride and goods
+are its fruit.  There--now get thee gone, lest I shame mine honourable
+soldiership with the slaying of so pitiful a mannikin!”
+
+Hugh, red-faced, and almost suffocated, reeled to the nearest chair, and
+commanded the servants to seize and bind the murderous stranger.  They
+hesitated, and one of them said--
+
+“He is armed, Sir Hugh, and we are weaponless.”
+
+“Armed!  What of it, and ye so many?  Upon him, I say!”
+
+But Miles warned them to be careful what they did, and added--
+
+“Ye know me of old--I have not changed; come on, an’ it like you.”
+
+This reminder did not hearten the servants much; they still held back.
+
+“Then go, ye paltry cowards, and arm yourselves and guard the doors,
+whilst I send one to fetch the watch!” said Hugh.  He turned at the
+threshold, and said to Miles, “You’ll find it to your advantage to
+offend not with useless endeavours at escape.”
+
+“Escape?  Spare thyself discomfort, an’ that is all that troubles thee.
+For Miles Hendon is master of Hendon Hall and all its belongings.  He
+will remain--doubt it not.”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI. Disowned.
+
+The King sat musing a few moments, then looked up and said--
+
+“‘Tis strange--most strange.  I cannot account for it.”
+
+“No, it is not strange, my liege.  I know him, and this conduct is but
+natural.  He was a rascal from his birth.”
+
+“Oh, I spake not of _him_, Sir Miles.”
+
+“Not of him?  Then of what?  What is it that is strange?”
+
+“That the King is not missed.”
+
+“How?  Which?  I doubt I do not understand.”
+
+“Indeed?  Doth it not strike you as being passing strange that the land
+is not filled with couriers and proclamations describing my person and
+making search for me?  Is it no matter for commotion and distress that
+the Head of the State is gone; that I am vanished away and lost?”
+
+“Most true, my King, I had forgot.”  Then Hendon sighed, and muttered to
+himself, “Poor ruined mind--still busy with its pathetic dream.”
+
+“But I have a plan that shall right us both--I will write a paper, in
+three tongues--Latin, Greek and English--and thou shalt haste away with
+it to London in the morning.  Give it to none but my uncle, the Lord
+Hertford; when he shall see it, he will know and say I wrote it.  Then
+he will send for me.”
+
+“Might it not be best, my Prince, that we wait here until I prove myself
+and make my rights secure to my domains?  I should be so much the better
+able then to--”
+
+The King interrupted him imperiously--
+
+“Peace!  What are thy paltry domains, thy trivial interests, contrasted
+with matters which concern the weal of a nation and the integrity of a
+throne?”  Then, he added, in a gentle voice, as if he were sorry for his
+severity, “Obey, and have no fear; I will right thee, I will make thee
+whole--yes, more than whole.  I shall remember, and requite.”
+
+So saying, he took the pen, and set himself to work.  Hendon
+contemplated him lovingly a while, then said to himself--
+
+“An’ it were dark, I should think it _was_ a king that spoke; there’s
+no denying it, when the humour’s upon on him he doth thunder and lighten
+like your true King; now where got he that trick?  See him scribble and
+scratch away contentedly at his meaningless pot-hooks, fancying them to
+be Latin and Greek--and except my wit shall serve me with a lucky device
+for diverting him from his purpose, I shall be forced to pretend to post
+away to-morrow on this wild errand he hath invented for me.”
+
+The next moment Sir Miles’s thoughts had gone back to the recent
+episode. So absorbed was he in his musings, that when the King presently
+handed him the paper which he had been writing, he received it and
+pocketed it without being conscious of the act. “How marvellous strange
+she acted,” he muttered.  “I think she knew me--and I think she did
+_not_ know me. These opinions do conflict, I perceive it plainly; I
+cannot reconcile them, neither can I, by argument, dismiss either of the
+two, or even persuade one to outweigh the other.  The matter standeth
+simply thus: she _must_ have known my face, my figure, my voice, for how
+could it be otherwise?  Yet she __said_ _she knew me not, and that is
+proof perfect, for she cannot lie.  But stop--I think I begin to see.
+Peradventure he hath influenced her, commanded her, compelled her to
+lie.  That is the solution.  The riddle is unriddled.  She seemed dead
+with fear--yes, she was under his compulsion.  I will seek her; I will
+find her; now that he is away, she will speak her true mind.  She will
+remember the old times when we were little playfellows together, and
+this will soften her heart, and she will no more betray me, but will
+confess me.  There is no treacherous blood in her--no, she was always
+honest and true.  She has loved me, in those old days--this is my
+security; for whom one has loved, one cannot betray.”
+
+He stepped eagerly toward the door; at that moment it opened, and the
+Lady Edith entered.  She was very pale, but she walked with a firm step,
+and her carriage was full of grace and gentle dignity. Her face was as
+sad as before.
+
+Miles sprang forward, with a happy confidence, to meet her, but she
+checked him with a hardly perceptible gesture, and he stopped where he
+was.  She seated herself, and asked him to do likewise. Thus simply did
+she take the sense of old comradeship out of him, and transform him
+into a stranger and a guest.  The surprise of it, the bewildering
+unexpectedness of it, made him begin to question, for a moment, if he
+_was_ the person he was pretending to be, after all.  The Lady Edith
+said--
+
+“Sir, I have come to warn you.  The mad cannot be persuaded out of
+their delusions, perchance; but doubtless they may be persuaded to avoid
+perils.  I think this dream of yours hath the seeming of honest truth to
+you, and therefore is not criminal--but do not tarry here with it; for
+here it is dangerous.”  She looked steadily into Miles’s face a moment,
+then added, impressively, “It is the more dangerous for that you _are_
+much like what our lost lad must have grown to be if he had lived.”
+
+“Heavens, madam, but I _am_ he!”
+
+“I truly think you think it, sir.  I question not your honesty in that;
+I but warn you, that is all.  My husband is master in this region; his
+power hath hardly any limit; the people prosper or starve, as he wills.
+If you resembled not the man whom you profess to be, my husband might
+bid you pleasure yourself with your dream in peace; but trust me, I know
+him well; I know what he will do; he will say to all that you are but a
+mad impostor, and straightway all will echo him.”  She bent upon Miles
+that same steady look once more, and added:  “If you _were_ Miles
+Hendon, and he knew it and all the region knew it--consider what I
+am saying, weigh it well--you would stand in the same peril, your
+punishment would be no less sure; he would deny you and denounce you,
+and none would be bold enough to give you countenance.”
+
+“Most truly I believe it,” said Miles, bitterly.  “The power that
+can command one life-long friend to betray and disown another, and be
+obeyed, may well look to be obeyed in quarters where bread and life are
+on the stake and no cobweb ties of loyalty and honour are concerned.”
+
+A faint tinge appeared for a moment in the lady’s cheek, and she dropped
+her eyes to the floor; but her voice betrayed no emotion when she
+proceeded--
+
+“I have warned you--I must still warn you--to go hence.  This man will
+destroy you, else.  He is a tyrant who knows no pity.  I, who am
+his fettered slave, know this.  Poor Miles, and Arthur, and my dear
+guardian, Sir Richard, are free of him, and at rest:  better that
+you were with them than that you bide here in the clutches of this
+miscreant.  Your pretensions are a menace to his title and possessions;
+you have assaulted him in his own house:  you are ruined if you stay.
+ Go--do not hesitate. If you lack money, take this purse, I beg of you,
+and bribe the servants to let you pass. Oh, be warned, poor soul, and
+escape while you may.”
+
+Miles declined the purse with a gesture, and rose up and stood before
+her.
+
+“Grant me one thing,” he said.  “Let your eyes rest upon mine, so that I
+may see if they be steady.  There--now answer me.  Am I Miles Hendon?”
+
+“No.  I know you not.”
+
+“Swear it!”
+
+The answer was low, but distinct--
+
+“I swear.”
+
+“Oh, this passes belief!”
+
+“Fly!  Why will you waste the precious time?  Fly, and save yourself.”
+
+At that moment the officers burst into the room, and a violent struggle
+began; but Hendon was soon overpowered and dragged away. The King was
+taken also, and both were bound and led to prison.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII. In Prison.
+
+The cells were all crowded; so the two friends were chained in a large
+room where persons charged with trifling offences were commonly kept.
+They had company, for there were some twenty manacled and fettered
+prisoners here, of both sexes and of varying ages,--an obscene and noisy
+gang.  The King chafed bitterly over the stupendous indignity thus put
+upon his royalty, but Hendon was moody and taciturn.  He was pretty
+thoroughly bewildered; he had come home, a jubilant prodigal, expecting
+to find everybody wild with joy over his return; and instead had got the
+cold shoulder and a jail.  The promise and the fulfilment differed so
+widely that the effect was stunning; he could not decide whether it
+was most tragic or most grotesque.  He felt much as a man might who had
+danced blithely out to enjoy a rainbow, and got struck by lightning.
+
+But gradually his confused and tormenting thoughts settled down into
+some sort of order, and then his mind centred itself upon Edith.  He
+turned her conduct over, and examined it in all lights, but he could not
+make anything satisfactory out of it.  Did she know him--or didn’t she
+know him?  It was a perplexing puzzle, and occupied him a long time; but
+he ended, finally, with the conviction that she did know him, and had
+repudiated him for interested reasons.  He wanted to load her name with
+curses now; but this name had so long been sacred to him that he found
+he could not bring his tongue to profane it.
+
+Wrapped in prison blankets of a soiled and tattered condition, Hendon
+and the King passed a troubled night.  For a bribe the jailer had
+furnished liquor to some of the prisoners; singing of ribald songs,
+fighting, shouting, and carousing was the natural consequence.  At last,
+a while after midnight, a man attacked a woman and nearly killed her by
+beating her over the head with his manacles before the jailer could
+come to the rescue.  The jailer restored peace by giving the man a sound
+clubbing about the head and shoulders--then the carousing ceased;
+and after that, all had an opportunity to sleep who did not mind the
+annoyance of the moanings and groanings of the two wounded people.
+
+During the ensuing week, the days and nights were of a monotonous
+sameness as to events; men whose faces Hendon remembered more or less
+distinctly, came, by day, to gaze at the ‘impostor’ and repudiate
+and insult him; and by night the carousing and brawling went on with
+symmetrical regularity.  However, there was a change of incident at
+last. The jailer brought in an old man, and said to him--
+
+“The villain is in this room--cast thy old eyes about and see if thou
+canst say which is he.”
+
+Hendon glanced up, and experienced a pleasant sensation for the first
+time since he had been in the jail.  He said to himself, “This is Blake
+Andrews, a servant all his life in my father’s family--a good honest
+soul, with a right heart in his breast. That is, formerly.  But none are
+true now; all are liars.  This man will know me--and will deny me, too,
+like the rest.”
+
+The old man gazed around the room, glanced at each face in turn, and
+finally said--
+
+“I see none here but paltry knaves, scum o’ the streets.  Which is he?”
+
+The jailer laughed.
+
+“Here,” he said; “scan this big animal, and grant me an opinion.”
+
+The old man approached, and looked Hendon over, long and earnestly, then
+shook his head and said--
+
+“Marry, _this_ is no Hendon--nor ever was!”
+
+“Right!  Thy old eyes are sound yet.  An’ I were Sir Hugh, I would take
+the shabby carle and--”
+
+The jailer finished by lifting himself a-tip-toe with an imaginary
+halter, at the same time making a gurgling noise in his throat
+suggestive of suffocation.  The old man said, vindictively--
+
+“Let him bless God an’ he fare no worse.  An’ _I_ had the handling o’
+the villain he should roast, or I am no true man!”
+
+The jailer laughed a pleasant hyena laugh, and said--
+
+“Give him a piece of thy mind, old man--they all do it.  Thou’lt find it
+good diversion.”
+
+Then he sauntered toward his ante-room and disappeared.  The old man
+dropped upon his knees and whispered--
+
+“God be thanked, thou’rt come again, my master!  I believed thou wert
+dead these seven years, and lo, here thou art alive!  I knew thee the
+moment I saw thee; and main hard work it was to keep a stony countenance
+and seem to see none here but tuppenny knaves and rubbish o’ the
+streets. I am old and poor, Sir Miles; but say the word and I will go
+forth and proclaim the truth though I be strangled for it.”
+
+“No,” said Hendon; “thou shalt not.  It would ruin thee, and yet help
+but little in my cause.  But I thank thee, for thou hast given me back
+somewhat of my lost faith in my kind.”
+
+The old servant became very valuable to Hendon and the King; for
+he dropped in several times a day to ‘abuse’ the former, and always
+smuggled in a few delicacies to help out the prison bill of fare; he
+also furnished the current news.  Hendon reserved the dainties for the
+King; without them his Majesty might not have survived, for he was
+not able to eat the coarse and wretched food provided by the jailer.
+ Andrews was obliged to confine himself to brief visits, in order to
+avoid suspicion; but he managed to impart a fair degree of information
+each time--information delivered in a low voice, for Hendon’s benefit,
+and interlarded with insulting epithets delivered in a louder voice for
+the benefit of other hearers.
+
+So, little by little, the story of the family came out.  Arthur had
+been dead six years.  This loss, with the absence of news from Hendon,
+impaired the father’s health; he believed he was going to die, and he
+wished to see Hugh and Edith settled in life before he passed away; but
+Edith begged hard for delay, hoping for Miles’s return; then the letter
+came which brought the news of Miles’s death; the shock prostrated Sir
+Richard; he believed his end was very near, and he and Hugh insisted
+upon the marriage; Edith begged for and obtained a month’s respite,
+then another, and finally a third; the marriage then took place by
+the death-bed of Sir Richard.  It had not proved a happy one.  It was
+whispered about the country that shortly after the nuptials the bride
+found among her husband’s papers several rough and incomplete drafts of
+the fatal letter, and had accused him of precipitating the marriage--and
+Sir Richard’s death, too--by a wicked forgery. Tales of cruelty to the
+Lady Edith and the servants were to be heard on all hands; and since the
+father’s death Sir Hugh had thrown off all soft disguises and become
+a pitiless master toward all who in any way depended upon him and his
+domains for bread.
+
+There was a bit of Andrew’s gossip which the King listened to with a
+lively interest--
+
+“There is rumour that the King is mad.  But in charity forbear to say
+_I_ mentioned it, for ’tis death to speak of it, they say.”
+
+His Majesty glared at the old man and said--
+
+“The King is _not_ mad, good man--and thou’lt find it to thy advantage
+to busy thyself with matters that nearer concern thee than this
+seditious prattle.”
+
+“What doth the lad mean?” said Andrews, surprised at this brisk assault
+from such an unexpected quarter.  Hendon gave him a sign, and he did not
+pursue his question, but went on with his budget--
+
+“The late King is to be buried at Windsor in a day or two--the 16th of
+the month--and the new King will be crowned at Westminster the 20th.”
+
+“Methinks they must needs find him first,” muttered his Majesty; then
+added, confidently, “but they will look to that--and so also shall I.”
+
+“In the name of--”
+
+But the old man got no further--a warning sign from Hendon checked his
+remark.  He resumed the thread of his gossip--
+
+“Sir Hugh goeth to the coronation--and with grand hopes.  He confidently
+looketh to come back a peer, for he is high in favour with the Lord
+Protector.”
+
+“What Lord Protector?” asked his Majesty.
+
+“His Grace the Duke of Somerset.”
+
+“What Duke of Somerset?”
+
+“Marry, there is but one--Seymour, Earl of Hertford.”
+
+The King asked sharply--
+
+“Since when is _he_ a duke, and Lord Protector?”
+
+“Since the last day of January.”
+
+“And prithee who made him so?”
+
+“Himself and the Great Council--with help of the King.”
+
+His Majesty started violently.  “The _King_!” he cried.  “_What_ king,
+good sir?”
+
+“What king, indeed! (God-a-mercy, what aileth the boy?)  Sith we have
+but one, ’tis not difficult to answer--his most sacred Majesty King
+Edward the Sixth--whom God preserve!  Yea, and a dear and gracious
+little urchin is he, too; and whether he be mad or no--and they say he
+mendeth daily--his praises are on all men’s lips; and all bless him,
+likewise, and offer prayers that he may be spared to reign long in
+England; for he began humanely with saving the old Duke of Norfolk’s
+life, and now is he bent on destroying the cruellest of the laws that
+harry and oppress the people.”
+
+This news struck his Majesty dumb with amazement, and plunged him into
+so deep and dismal a reverie that he heard no more of the old man’s
+gossip. He wondered if the ‘little urchin’ was the beggar-boy whom
+he left dressed in his own garments in the palace.  It did not seem
+possible that this could be, for surely his manners and speech would
+betray him if he pretended to be the Prince of Wales--then he would be
+driven out, and search made for the true prince.  Could it be that the
+Court had set up some sprig of the nobility in his place?  No, for his
+uncle would not allow that--he was all-powerful and could and would
+crush such a movement, of course.  The boy’s musings profited him
+nothing; the more he tried to unriddle the mystery the more perplexed he
+became, the more his head ached, and the worse he slept.  His
+impatience to get to London grew hourly, and his captivity became almost
+unendurable.
+
+Hendon’s arts all failed with the King--he could not be comforted; but a
+couple of women who were chained near him succeeded better. Under their
+gentle ministrations he found peace and learned a degree of patience.
+ He was very grateful, and came to love them dearly and to delight in
+the sweet and soothing influence of their presence.  He asked them why
+they were in prison, and when they said they were Baptists, he smiled,
+and inquired--
+
+“Is that a crime to be shut up for in a prison?  Now I grieve, for I
+shall lose ye--they will not keep ye long for such a little thing.”
+
+They did not answer; and something in their faces made him uneasy. He
+said, eagerly--
+
+“You do not speak; be good to me, and tell me--there will be no other
+punishment?  Prithee tell me there is no fear of that.”
+
+They tried to change the topic, but his fears were aroused, and he
+pursued it--
+
+“Will they scourge thee?  No, no, they would not be so cruel!  Say they
+would not.  Come, they _will_ not, will they?”
+
+The women betrayed confusion and distress, but there was no avoiding an
+answer, so one of them said, in a voice choked with emotion--
+
+“Oh, thou’lt break our hearts, thou gentle spirit!--God will help us to
+bear our--”
+
+“It is a confession!” the King broke in.  “Then they _will_ scourge
+thee, the stony-hearted wretches!  But oh, thou must not weep, I cannot
+bear it.  Keep up thy courage--I shall come to my own in time to save
+thee from this bitter thing, and I will do it!”
+
+When the King awoke in the morning, the women were gone.
+
+“They are saved!” he said, joyfully; then added, despondently, “but woe
+is me!--for they were my comforters.”
+
+Each of them had left a shred of ribbon pinned to his clothing, in token
+of remembrance.  He said he would keep these things always; and that
+soon he would seek out these dear good friends of his and take them
+under his protection.
+
+Just then the jailer came in with some subordinates, and commanded that
+the prisoners be conducted to the jail-yard.  The King was overjoyed--it
+would be a blessed thing to see the blue sky and breathe the fresh air
+once more.  He fretted and chafed at the slowness of the officers, but
+his turn came at last, and he was released from his staple and ordered
+to follow the other prisoners with Hendon.
+
+The court or quadrangle was stone-paved, and open to the sky.  The
+prisoners entered it through a massive archway of masonry, and were
+placed in file, standing, with their backs against the wall. A rope
+was stretched in front of them, and they were also guarded by their
+officers. It was a chill and lowering morning, and a light snow which
+had fallen during the night whitened the great empty space and added
+to the general dismalness of its aspect. Now and then a wintry wind
+shivered through the place and sent the snow eddying hither and thither.
+
+In the centre of the court stood two women, chained to posts.  A glance
+showed the King that these were his good friends.  He shuddered, and
+said to himself, “Alack, they are not gone free, as I had thought.  To
+think that such as these should know the lash!--in England!  Ay, there’s
+the shame of it--not in Heathennesse, Christian England!  They will be
+scourged; and I, whom they have comforted and kindly entreated, must
+look on and see the great wrong done; it is strange, so strange, that
+I, the very source of power in this broad realm, am helpless to protect
+them. But let these miscreants look well to themselves, for there is a
+day coming when I will require of them a heavy reckoning for this work.
+ For every blow they strike now, they shall feel a hundred then.”
+
+A great gate swung open, and a crowd of citizens poured in.  They
+flocked around the two women, and hid them from the King’s view. A
+clergyman entered and passed through the crowd, and he also was hidden.
+ The King now heard talking, back and forth, as if questions were being
+asked and answered, but he could not make out what was said.  Next there
+was a deal of bustle and preparation, and much passing and repassing of
+officials through that part of the crowd that stood on the further side
+of the women; and whilst this proceeded a deep hush gradually fell upon
+the people.
+
+Now, by command, the masses parted and fell aside, and the King saw a
+spectacle that froze the marrow in his bones.  Faggots had been piled
+about the two women, and a kneeling man was lighting them!
+
+The women bowed their heads, and covered their faces with their hands;
+the yellow flames began to climb upward among the snapping and crackling
+faggots, and wreaths of blue smoke to stream away on the wind; the
+clergyman lifted his hands and began a prayer--just then two young girls
+came flying through the great gate, uttering piercing screams, and threw
+themselves upon the women at the stake.  Instantly they were torn away
+by the officers, and one of them was kept in a tight grip, but the other
+broke loose, saying she would die with her mother; and before she could
+be stopped she had flung her arms about her mother’s neck again.  She
+was torn away once more, and with her gown on fire.  Two or three men
+held her, and the burning portion of her gown was snatched off and
+thrown flaming aside, she struggling all the while to free herself, and
+saying she would be alone in the world, now; and begging to be allowed
+to die with her mother.  Both the girls screamed continually, and fought
+for freedom; but suddenly this tumult was drowned under a volley of
+heart-piercing shrieks of mortal agony--the King glanced from the
+frantic girls to the stake, then turned away and leaned his ashen face
+against the wall, and looked no more.  He said, “That which I have seen,
+in that one little moment, will never go out from my memory, but will
+abide there; and I shall see it all the days, and dream of it all the
+nights, till I die.  Would God I had been blind!”
+
+Hendon was watching the King.  He said to himself, with satisfaction,
+“His disorder mendeth; he hath changed, and groweth gentler.  If he had
+followed his wont, he would have stormed at these varlets, and said he
+was King, and commanded that the women be turned loose unscathed.  Soon
+his delusion will pass away and be forgotten, and his poor mind will be
+whole again.  God speed the day!”
+
+That same day several prisoners were brought in to remain over night,
+who were being conveyed, under guard, to various places in the kingdom,
+to undergo punishment for crimes committed.  The King conversed with
+these--he had made it a point, from the beginning, to instruct himself
+for the kingly office by questioning prisoners whenever the opportunity
+offered--and the tale of their woes wrung his heart.  One of them was
+a poor half-witted woman who had stolen a yard or two of cloth from a
+weaver--she was to be hanged for it.  Another was a man who had been
+accused of stealing a horse; he said the proof had failed, and he had
+imagined that he was safe from the halter; but no--he was hardly free
+before he was arraigned for killing a deer in the King’s park; this was
+proved against him, and now he was on his way to the gallows.  There was
+a tradesman’s apprentice whose case particularly distressed the King;
+this youth said he found a hawk, one evening, that had escaped from its
+owner, and he took it home with him, imagining himself entitled to it;
+but the court convicted him of stealing it, and sentenced him to death.
+
+The King was furious over these inhumanities, and wanted Hendon to break
+jail and fly with him to Westminster, so that he could mount his throne
+and hold out his sceptre in mercy over these unfortunate people and
+save their lives.  “Poor child,” sighed Hendon, “these woeful tales
+have brought his malady upon him again; alack, but for this evil hap, he
+would have been well in a little time.”
+
+Among these prisoners was an old lawyer--a man with a strong face and a
+dauntless mien.  Three years past, he had written a pamphlet against the
+Lord Chancellor, accusing him of injustice, and had been punished for
+it by the loss of his ears in the pillory, and degradation from the
+bar, and in addition had been fined 3,000 pounds and sentenced to
+imprisonment for life.  Lately he had repeated his offence; and in
+consequence was now under sentence to lose _what remained of his ears_,
+pay a fine of 5,000 pounds, be branded on both cheeks, and remain in
+prison for life.
+
+“These be honourable scars,” he said, and turned back his grey hair and
+showed the mutilated stubs of what had once been his ears.
+
+The King’s eye burned with passion.  He said--
+
+“None believe in me--neither wilt thou.  But no matter--within the
+compass of a month thou shalt be free; and more, the laws that have
+dishonoured thee, and shamed the English name, shall be swept from the
+statute books.  The world is made wrong; kings should go to school to
+their own laws, at times, and so learn mercy.” {1}
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII. The sacrifice.
+
+Meantime Miles was growing sufficiently tired of confinement and
+inaction.  But now his trial came on, to his great gratification, and
+he thought he could welcome any sentence provided a further imprisonment
+should not be a part of it.  But he was mistaken about that.  He was in
+a fine fury when he found himself described as a ‘sturdy vagabond’ and
+sentenced to sit two hours in the stocks for bearing that character
+and for assaulting the master of Hendon Hall.  His pretensions as to
+brothership with his prosecutor, and rightful heirship to the Hendon
+honours and estates, were left contemptuously unnoticed, as being not
+even worth examination.
+
+He raged and threatened on his way to punishment, but it did no good; he
+was snatched roughly along by the officers, and got an occasional cuff,
+besides, for his irreverent conduct.
+
+The King could not pierce through the rabble that swarmed behind; so
+he was obliged to follow in the rear, remote from his good friend and
+servant.  The King had been nearly condemned to the stocks himself for
+being in such bad company, but had been let off with a lecture and a
+warning, in consideration of his youth.  When the crowd at last halted,
+he flitted feverishly from point to point around its outer rim, hunting
+a place to get through; and at last, after a deal of difficulty and
+delay, succeeded.  There sat his poor henchman in the degrading stocks,
+the sport and butt of a dirty mob--he, the body servant of the King
+of England!  Edward had heard the sentence pronounced, but he had not
+realised the half that it meant.  His anger began to rise as the sense
+of this new indignity which had been put upon him sank home; it jumped
+to summer heat, the next moment, when he saw an egg sail through the air
+and crush itself against Hendon’s cheek, and heard the crowd roar
+its enjoyment of the episode.  He sprang across the open circle and
+confronted the officer in charge, crying--
+
+“For shame!  This is my servant--set him free!  I am the--”
+
+“Oh, peace!” exclaimed Hendon, in a panic, “thou’lt destroy thyself.
+Mind him not, officer, he is mad.”
+
+“Give thyself no trouble as to the matter of minding him, good man, I
+have small mind to mind him; but as to teaching him somewhat, to that
+I am well inclined.”  He turned to a subordinate and said, “Give the
+little fool a taste or two of the lash, to mend his manners.”
+
+“Half a dozen will better serve his turn,” suggested Sir Hugh, who had
+ridden up, a moment before, to take a passing glance at the proceedings.
+
+The King was seized.  He did not even struggle, so paralysed was he
+with the mere thought of the monstrous outrage that was proposed to be
+inflicted upon his sacred person.  History was already defiled with
+the record of the scourging of an English king with whips--it was an
+intolerable reflection that he must furnish a duplicate of that shameful
+page.  He was in the toils, there was no help for him; he must either
+take this punishment or beg for its remission.  Hard conditions; he
+would take the stripes--a king might do that, but a king could not beg.
+
+But meantime, Miles Hendon was resolving the difficulty.  “Let the child
+go,” said he; “ye heartless dogs, do ye not see how young and frail he
+is?  Let him go--I will take his lashes.”
+
+“Marry, a good thought--and thanks for it,” said Sir Hugh, his face
+lighting with a sardonic satisfaction.  “Let the little beggar go, and
+give this fellow a dozen in his place--an honest dozen, well laid on.”
+ The King was in the act of entering a fierce protest, but Sir Hugh
+silenced him with the potent remark, “Yes, speak up, do, and free thy
+mind--only, mark ye, that for each word you utter he shall get six
+strokes the more.”
+
+Hendon was removed from the stocks, and his back laid bare; and whilst
+the lash was applied the poor little King turned away his face and
+allowed unroyal tears to channel his cheeks unchecked. “Ah, brave good
+heart,” he said to himself, “this loyal deed shall never perish out of
+my memory.  I will not forget it--and neither shall _they_!” he added,
+with passion.  Whilst he mused, his appreciation of Hendon’s magnanimous
+conduct grew to greater and still greater dimensions in his mind, and
+so also did his gratefulness for it.  Presently he said to himself, “Who
+saves his prince from wounds and possible death--and this he did for
+me--performs high service; but it is little--it is nothing--oh, less
+than nothing!--when ’tis weighed against the act of him who saves his
+prince from _shame_!”
+
+Hendon made no outcry under the scourge, but bore the heavy blows with
+soldierly fortitude.  This, together with his redeeming the boy by
+taking his stripes for him, compelled the respect of even that forlorn
+and degraded mob that was gathered there; and its gibes and hootings
+died away, and no sound remained but the sound of the falling blows.
+ The stillness that pervaded the place, when Hendon found himself once
+more in the stocks, was in strong contrast with the insulting clamour
+which had prevailed there so little a while before.  The King came
+softly to Hendon’s side, and whispered in his ear--
+
+“Kings cannot ennoble thee, thou good, great soul, for One who is higher
+than kings hath done that for thee; but a king can confirm thy nobility
+to men.”  He picked up the scourge from the ground, touched Hendon’s
+bleeding shoulders lightly with it, and whispered, “Edward of England
+dubs thee Earl!”
+
+Hendon was touched.  The water welled to his eyes, yet at the same time
+the grisly humour of the situation and circumstances so undermined his
+gravity that it was all he could do to keep some sign of his inward
+mirth from showing outside.  To be suddenly hoisted, naked and gory,
+from the common stocks to the Alpine altitude and splendour of
+an Earldom, seemed to him the last possibility in the line of the
+grotesque.  He said to himself, “Now am I finely tinselled, indeed!
+ The spectre-knight of the Kingdom of Dreams and Shadows is become a
+spectre-earl--a dizzy flight for a callow wing!  An’ this go on, I
+shall presently be hung like a very maypole with fantastic gauds and
+make-believe honours.  But I shall value them, all valueless as
+they are, for the love that doth bestow them. Better these poor mock
+dignities of mine, that come unasked, from a clean hand and a right
+spirit, than real ones bought by servility from grudging and interested
+power.”
+
+The dreaded Sir Hugh wheeled his horse about, and as he spurred away,
+the living wall divided silently to let him pass, and as silently closed
+together again.  And so remained; nobody went so far as to venture
+a remark in favour of the prisoner, or in compliment to him; but no
+matter--the absence of abuse was a sufficient homage in itself.  A
+late comer who was not posted as to the present circumstances, and who
+delivered a sneer at the ‘impostor,’ and was in the act of following it
+with a dead cat, was promptly knocked down and kicked out, without any
+words, and then the deep quiet resumed sway once more.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX. To London.
+
+When Hendon’s term of service in the stocks was finished, he was
+released and ordered to quit the region and come back no more. His sword
+was restored to him, and also his mule and his donkey. He mounted
+and rode off, followed by the King, the crowd opening with quiet
+respectfulness to let them pass, and then dispersing when they were
+gone.
+
+Hendon was soon absorbed in thought.  There were questions of high
+import to be answered.  What should he do?  Whither should he go?
+Powerful help must be found somewhere, or he must relinquish his
+inheritance and remain under the imputation of being an impostor
+besides.  Where could he hope to find this powerful help?  Where,
+indeed!  It was a knotty question. By-and-by a thought occurred to him
+which pointed to a possibility--the slenderest of slender possibilities,
+certainly, but still worth considering, for lack of any other that
+promised anything at all.  He remembered what old Andrews had said about
+the young King’s goodness and his generous championship of the wronged
+and unfortunate.  Why not go and try to get speech of him and beg for
+justice?  Ah, yes, but could so fantastic a pauper get admission to the
+august presence of a monarch? Never mind--let that matter take care of
+itself; it was a bridge that would not need to be crossed till he should
+come to it.  He was an old campaigner, and used to inventing shifts and
+expedients:  no doubt he would be able to find a way.  Yes, he would
+strike for the capital. Maybe his father’s old friend Sir Humphrey
+Marlow would help him--‘good old Sir Humphrey, Head Lieutenant of the
+late King’s kitchen, or stables, or something’--Miles could not remember
+just what or which.  Now that he had something to turn his energies to,
+a distinctly defined object to accomplish, the fog of humiliation and
+depression which had settled down upon his spirits lifted and blew away,
+and he raised his head and looked about him.  He was surprised to see
+how far he had come; the village was away behind him.  The King was
+jogging along in his wake, with his head bowed; for he, too, was deep
+in plans and thinkings.  A sorrowful misgiving clouded Hendon’s new-born
+cheerfulness:  would the boy be willing to go again to a city where,
+during all his brief life, he had never known anything but ill-usage and
+pinching want?  But the question must be asked; it could not be avoided;
+so Hendon reined up, and called out--
+
+“I had forgotten to inquire whither we are bound.  Thy commands, my
+liege!”
+
+“To London!”
+
+Hendon moved on again, mightily contented with the answer--but astounded
+at it too.
+
+The whole journey was made without an adventure of importance. But it
+ended with one.  About ten o’clock on the night of the 19th of February
+they stepped upon London Bridge, in the midst of a writhing, struggling
+jam of howling and hurrahing people, whose beer-jolly faces stood out
+strongly in the glare from manifold torches--and at that instant the
+decaying head of some former duke or other grandee tumbled down between
+them, striking Hendon on the elbow and then bounding off among the
+hurrying confusion of feet. So evanescent and unstable are men’s works
+in this world!--the late good King is but three weeks dead and three
+days in his grave, and already the adornments which he took such pains
+to select from prominent people for his noble bridge are falling.  A
+citizen stumbled over that head, and drove his own head into the back of
+somebody in front of him, who turned and knocked down the first person
+that came handy, and was promptly laid out himself by that person’s
+friend.  It was the right ripe time for a free fight, for the
+festivities of the morrow--Coronation Day--were already beginning;
+everybody was full of strong drink and patriotism; within five minutes
+the free fight was occupying a good deal of ground; within ten or twelve
+it covered an acre of so, and was become a riot.  By this time Hendon
+and the King were hopelessly separated from each other and lost in the
+rush and turmoil of the roaring masses of humanity.  And so we leave
+them.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX. Tom’s progress.
+
+Whilst the true King wandered about the land poorly clad, poorly
+fed, cuffed and derided by tramps one while, herding with thieves
+and murderers in a jail another, and called idiot and impostor by
+all impartially, the mock King Tom Canty enjoyed quite a different
+experience.
+
+When we saw him last, royalty was just beginning to have a bright side
+for him.  This bright side went on brightening more and more every
+day: in a very little while it was become almost all sunshine and
+delightfulness.  He lost his fears; his misgivings faded out and died;
+his embarrassments departed, and gave place to an easy and confident
+bearing.  He worked the whipping-boy mine to ever-increasing profit.
+
+He ordered my Lady Elizabeth and my Lady Jane Grey into his presence
+when he wanted to play or talk, and dismissed them when he was done with
+them, with the air of one familiarly accustomed to such performances.
+ It no longer confused him to have these lofty personages kiss his hand
+at parting.
+
+He came to enjoy being conducted to bed in state at night, and dressed
+with intricate and solemn ceremony in the morning.  It came to be a
+proud pleasure to march to dinner attended by a glittering procession
+of officers of state and gentlemen-at-arms; insomuch, indeed, that he
+doubled his guard of gentlemen-at-arms, and made them a hundred.  He
+liked to hear the bugles sounding down the long corridors, and the
+distant voices responding, “Way for the King!”
+
+He even learned to enjoy sitting in throned state in council, and
+seeming to be something more than the Lord Protector’s mouthpiece. He
+liked to receive great ambassadors and their gorgeous trains, and listen
+to the affectionate messages they brought from illustrious monarchs who
+called him brother.  O happy Tom Canty, late of Offal Court!
+
+He enjoyed his splendid clothes, and ordered more:  he found his four
+hundred servants too few for his proper grandeur, and trebled them.  The
+adulation of salaaming courtiers came to be sweet music to his ears.  He
+remained kind and gentle, and a sturdy and determined champion of all
+that were oppressed, and he made tireless war upon unjust laws:  yet
+upon occasion, being offended, he could turn upon an earl, or even a
+duke, and give him a look that would make him tremble.  Once, when his
+royal ‘sister,’ the grimly holy Lady Mary, set herself to reason with
+him against the wisdom of his course in pardoning so many people who
+would otherwise be jailed, or hanged, or burned, and reminded him that
+their august late father’s prisons had sometimes contained as high as
+sixty thousand convicts at one time, and that during his admirable reign
+he had delivered seventy-two thousand thieves and robbers over to death
+by the executioner, {9} the boy was filled with generous indignation,
+and commanded her to go to her closet, and beseech God to take away the
+stone that was in her breast, and give her a human heart.
+
+Did Tom Canty never feel troubled about the poor little rightful prince
+who had treated him so kindly, and flown out with such hot zeal to
+avenge him upon the insolent sentinel at the palace-gate? Yes; his first
+royal days and nights were pretty well sprinkled with painful thoughts
+about the lost prince, and with sincere longings for his return, and
+happy restoration to his native rights and splendours.  But as time
+wore on, and the prince did not come, Tom’s mind became more and more
+occupied with his new and enchanting experiences, and by little and
+little the vanished monarch faded almost out of his thoughts; and
+finally, when he did intrude upon them at intervals, he was become an
+unwelcome spectre, for he made Tom feel guilty and ashamed.
+
+Tom’s poor mother and sisters travelled the same road out of his mind.
+At first he pined for them, sorrowed for them, longed to see them, but
+later, the thought of their coming some day in their rags and dirt, and
+betraying him with their kisses, and pulling him down from his lofty
+place, and dragging him back to penury and degradation and the slums,
+made him shudder.  At last they ceased to trouble his thoughts almost
+wholly.  And he was content, even glad:  for, whenever their mournful
+and accusing faces did rise before him now, they made him feel more
+despicable than the worms that crawl.
+
+At midnight of the 19th of February, Tom Canty was sinking to sleep in
+his rich bed in the palace, guarded by his loyal vassals, and surrounded
+by the pomps of royalty, a happy boy; for tomorrow was the day appointed
+for his solemn crowning as King of England. At that same hour, Edward,
+the true king, hungry and thirsty, soiled and draggled, worn with
+travel, and clothed in rags and shreds--his share of the results of the
+riot--was wedged in among a crowd of people who were watching with deep
+interest certain hurrying gangs of workmen who streamed in and out of
+Westminster Abbey, busy as ants:  they were making the last preparation
+for the royal coronation.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI. The Recognition procession.
+
+When Tom Canty awoke the next morning, the air was heavy with a
+thunderous murmur:  all the distances were charged with it.  It was
+music to him; for it meant that the English world was out in its
+strength to give loyal welcome to the great day.
+
+Presently Tom found himself once more the chief figure in a wonderful
+floating pageant on the Thames; for by ancient custom the ‘recognition
+procession’ through London must start from the Tower, and he was bound
+thither.
+
+When he arrived there, the sides of the venerable fortress seemed
+suddenly rent in a thousand places, and from every rent leaped a
+red tongue of flame and a white gush of smoke; a deafening explosion
+followed, which drowned the shoutings of the multitude, and made the
+ground tremble; the flame-jets, the smoke, and the explosions, were
+repeated over and over again with marvellous celerity, so that in a few
+moments the old Tower disappeared in the vast fog of its own smoke, all
+but the very top of the tall pile called the White Tower; this, with
+its banners, stood out above the dense bank of vapour as a mountain-peak
+projects above a cloud-rack.
+
+Tom Canty, splendidly arrayed, mounted a prancing war-steed, whose rich
+trappings almost reached to the ground; his ‘uncle,’ the Lord Protector
+Somerset, similarly mounted, took place in his rear; the King’s Guard
+formed in single ranks on either side, clad in burnished armour;
+after the Protector followed a seemingly interminable procession of
+resplendent nobles attended by their vassals; after these came the lord
+mayor and the aldermanic body, in crimson velvet robes, and with their
+gold chains across their breasts; and after these the officers and
+members of all the guilds of London, in rich raiment, and bearing the
+showy banners of the several corporations.  Also in the procession, as a
+special guard of honour through the city, was the Ancient and Honourable
+Artillery Company--an organisation already three hundred years old
+at that time, and the only military body in England possessing the
+privilege (which it still possesses in our day) of holding itself
+independent of the commands of Parliament.  It was a brilliant
+spectacle, and was hailed with acclamations all along the line, as it
+took its stately way through the packed multitudes of citizens. The
+chronicler says, ‘The King, as he entered the city, was received by the
+people with prayers, welcomings, cries, and tender words, and all signs
+which argue an earnest love of subjects toward their sovereign; and the
+King, by holding up his glad countenance to such as stood afar off, and
+most tender language to those that stood nigh his Grace, showed himself
+no less thankful to receive the people’s goodwill than they to offer it.
+ To all that wished him well, he gave thanks.  To such as bade “God save
+his Grace,” he said in return, “God save you all!” and added that “he
+thanked them with all his heart.” Wonderfully transported were the
+people with the loving answers and gestures of their King.’
+
+In Fenchurch Street a ‘fair child, in costly apparel,’ stood on a stage
+to welcome his Majesty to the city.  The last verse of his greeting was
+in these words--
+
+‘Welcome, O King! as much as hearts can think; Welcome, again, as much
+as tongue can tell,--Welcome to joyous tongues, and hearts that will
+not shrink: God thee preserve, we pray, and wish thee ever well.’
+
+The people burst forth in a glad shout, repeating with one voice what
+the child had said.  Tom Canty gazed abroad over the surging sea of
+eager faces, and his heart swelled with exultation; and he felt that
+the one thing worth living for in this world was to be a king, and a
+nation’s idol.  Presently he caught sight, at a distance, of a couple
+of his ragged Offal Court comrades--one of them the lord high admiral in
+his late mimic court, the other the first lord of the bedchamber in the
+same pretentious fiction; and his pride swelled higher than ever.  Oh,
+if they could only recognise him now!  What unspeakable glory it would
+be, if they could recognise him, and realise that the derided mock king
+of the slums and back alleys was become a real King, with illustrious
+dukes and princes for his humble menials, and the English world at his
+feet!  But he had to deny himself, and choke down his desire, for such
+a recognition might cost more than it would come to:  so he turned away
+his head, and left the two soiled lads to go on with their shoutings and
+glad adulations, unsuspicious of whom it was they were lavishing them
+upon.
+
+Every now and then rose the cry, “A largess! a largess!” and Tom
+responded by scattering a handful of bright new coins abroad for the
+multitude to scramble for.
+
+The chronicler says, ‘At the upper end of Gracechurch Street, before the
+sign of the Eagle, the city had erected a gorgeous arch, beneath which
+was a stage, which stretched from one side of the street to the other.
+This was an historical pageant, representing the King’s immediate
+progenitors.  There sat Elizabeth of York in the midst of an immense
+white rose, whose petals formed elaborate furbelows around her; by her
+side was Henry VII., issuing out of a vast red rose, disposed in the
+same manner:  the hands of the royal pair were locked together, and the
+wedding-ring ostentatiously displayed.  From the red and white roses
+proceeded a stem, which reached up to a second stage, occupied by Henry
+VIII., issuing from a red and white rose, with the effigy of the new
+King’s mother, Jane Seymour, represented by his side.  One branch sprang
+from this pair, which mounted to a third stage, where sat the effigy of
+Edward VI. himself, enthroned in royal majesty; and the whole pageant
+was framed with wreaths of roses, red and white.’
+
+This quaint and gaudy spectacle so wrought upon the rejoicing people,
+that their acclamations utterly smothered the small voice of the child
+whose business it was to explain the thing in eulogistic rhymes.  But
+Tom Canty was not sorry; for this loyal uproar was sweeter music to him
+than any poetry, no matter what its quality might be.  Whithersoever Tom
+turned his happy young face, the people recognised the exactness of his
+effigy’s likeness to himself, the flesh and blood counterpart; and new
+whirlwinds of applause burst forth.
+
+The great pageant moved on, and still on, under one triumphal arch after
+another, and past a bewildering succession of spectacular and symbolical
+tableaux, each of which typified and exalted some virtue, or talent, or
+merit, of the little King’s.  ‘Throughout the whole of Cheapside, from
+every penthouse and window, hung banners and streamers; and the richest
+carpets, stuffs, and cloth-of-gold tapestried the streets--specimens
+of the great wealth of the stores within; and the splendour of this
+thoroughfare was equalled in the other streets, and in some even
+surpassed.’
+
+“And all these wonders and these marvels are to welcome me--me!”
+ murmured Tom Canty.
+
+The mock King’s cheeks were flushed with excitement, his eyes were
+flashing, his senses swam in a delirium of pleasure.  At this point,
+just as he was raising his hand to fling another rich largess, he caught
+sight of a pale, astounded face, which was strained forward out of
+the second rank of the crowd, its intense eyes riveted upon him.  A
+sickening consternation struck through him; he recognised his
+mother! and up flew his hand, palm outward, before his eyes--that old
+involuntary gesture, born of a forgotten episode, and perpetuated by
+habit.  In an instant more she had torn her way out of the press, and
+past the guards, and was at his side.  She embraced his leg, she covered
+it with kisses, she cried, “O my child, my darling!” lifting toward him
+a face that was transfigured with joy and love.  The same instant an
+officer of the King’s Guard snatched her away with a curse, and sent
+her reeling back whence she came with a vigorous impulse from his
+strong arm.  The words “I do not know you, woman!” were falling from Tom
+Canty’s lips when this piteous thing occurred; but it smote him to the
+heart to see her treated so; and as she turned for a last glimpse of
+him, whilst the crowd was swallowing her from his sight, she seemed so
+wounded, so broken-hearted, that a shame fell upon him which consumed
+his pride to ashes, and withered his stolen royalty.  His grandeurs were
+stricken valueless: they seemed to fall away from him like rotten rags.
+
+The procession moved on, and still on, through ever augmenting
+splendours and ever augmenting tempests of welcome; but to Tom Canty
+they were as if they had not been.  He neither saw nor heard.  Royalty
+had lost its grace and sweetness; its pomps were become a reproach.
+ Remorse was eating his heart out.  He said, “Would God I were free of
+my captivity!”
+
+He had unconsciously dropped back into the phraseology of the first days
+of his compulsory greatness.
+
+The shining pageant still went winding like a radiant and interminable
+serpent down the crooked lanes of the quaint old city, and through the
+huzzaing hosts; but still the King rode with bowed head and vacant eyes,
+seeing only his mother’s face and that wounded look in it.
+
+“Largess, largess!”  The cry fell upon an unheeding ear.
+
+“Long live Edward of England!”  It seemed as if the earth shook with the
+explosion; but there was no response from the King.  He heard it only as
+one hears the thunder of the surf when it is blown to the ear out of a
+great distance, for it was smothered under another sound which was still
+nearer, in his own breast, in his accusing conscience--a voice which
+kept repeating those shameful words, “I do not know you, woman!”
+
+The words smote upon the King’s soul as the strokes of a funeral bell
+smite upon the soul of a surviving friend when they remind him of secret
+treacheries suffered at his hands by him that is gone.
+
+New glories were unfolded at every turning; new wonders, new marvels,
+sprang into view; the pent clamours of waiting batteries were released;
+new raptures poured from the throats of the waiting multitudes:  but the
+King gave no sign, and the accusing voice that went moaning through his
+comfortless breast was all the sound he heard.
+
+By-and-by the gladness in the faces of the populace changed a little,
+and became touched with a something like solicitude or anxiety:  an
+abatement in the volume of the applause was observable too.  The Lord
+Protector was quick to notice these things:  he was as quick to detect
+the cause.  He spurred to the King’s side, bent low in his saddle,
+uncovered, and said--
+
+“My liege, it is an ill time for dreaming.  The people observe thy
+downcast head, thy clouded mien, and they take it for an omen.  Be
+advised:  unveil the sun of royalty, and let it shine upon these boding
+vapours, and disperse them.  Lift up thy face, and smile upon the
+people.”
+
+So saying, the Duke scattered a handful of coins to right and left, then
+retired to his place.  The mock King did mechanically as he had been
+bidden.  His smile had no heart in it, but few eyes were near enough
+or sharp enough to detect that.  The noddings of his plumed head as he
+saluted his subjects were full of grace and graciousness; the largess
+which he delivered from his hand was royally liberal:  so the people’s
+anxiety vanished, and the acclamations burst forth again in as mighty a
+volume as before.
+
+Still once more, a little before the progress was ended, the Duke was
+obliged to ride forward, and make remonstrance.  He whispered--
+
+“O dread sovereign! shake off these fatal humours; the eyes of the world
+are upon thee.”  Then he added with sharp annoyance, “Perdition catch
+that crazy pauper! ’twas she that hath disturbed your Highness.”
+
+The gorgeous figure turned a lustreless eye upon the Duke, and said in a
+dead voice--
+
+“She was my mother!”
+
+“My God!” groaned the Protector as he reined his horse backward to his
+post, “the omen was pregnant with prophecy.  He is gone mad again!”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII. Coronation Day.
+
+Let us go backward a few hours, and place ourselves in Westminster
+Abbey, at four o’clock in the morning of this memorable Coronation Day.
+ We are not without company; for although it is still night, we find
+the torch-lighted galleries already filling up with people who are well
+content to sit still and wait seven or eight hours till the time shall
+come for them to see what they may not hope to see twice in their
+lives--the coronation of a King.  Yes, London and Westminster have been
+astir ever since the warning guns boomed at three o’clock, and already
+crowds of untitled rich folk who have bought the privilege of trying
+to find sitting-room in the galleries are flocking in at the entrances
+reserved for their sort.
+
+The hours drag along tediously enough.  All stir has ceased for some
+time, for every gallery has long ago been packed.  We may sit, now, and
+look and think at our leisure.  We have glimpses, here and there
+and yonder, through the dim cathedral twilight, of portions of many
+galleries and balconies, wedged full with other people, the other
+portions of these galleries and balconies being cut off from sight by
+intervening pillars and architectural projections.  We have in view
+the whole of the great north transept--empty, and waiting for England’s
+privileged ones.  We see also the ample area or platform, carpeted with
+rich stuffs, whereon the throne stands.  The throne occupies the centre
+of the platform, and is raised above it upon an elevation of four steps.
+Within the seat of the throne is enclosed a rough flat rock--the stone
+of Scone--which many generations of Scottish kings sat on to be crowned,
+and so it in time became holy enough to answer a like purpose for
+English monarchs.  Both the throne and its footstool are covered with
+cloth of gold.
+
+Stillness reigns, the torches blink dully, the time drags heavily.
+But at last the lagging daylight asserts itself, the torches are
+extinguished, and a mellow radiance suffuses the great spaces. All
+features of the noble building are distinct now, but soft and dreamy,
+for the sun is lightly veiled with clouds.
+
+At seven o’clock the first break in the drowsy monotony occurs; for on
+the stroke of this hour the first peeress enters the transept, clothed
+like Solomon for splendour, and is conducted to her appointed place
+by an official clad in satins and velvets, whilst a duplicate of him
+gathers up the lady’s long train, follows after, and, when the lady is
+seated, arranges the train across her lap for her.  He then places her
+footstool according to her desire, after which he puts her coronet where
+it will be convenient to her hand when the time for the simultaneous
+coroneting of the nobles shall arrive.
+
+By this time the peeresses are flowing in in a glittering stream, and
+the satin-clad officials are flitting and glinting everywhere, seating
+them and making them comfortable.  The scene is animated enough now.
+ There is stir and life, and shifting colour everywhere.  After a time,
+quiet reigns again; for the peeresses are all come and are all in their
+places, a solid acre or such a matter, of human flowers, resplendent in
+variegated colours, and frosted like a Milky Way with diamonds.  There
+are all ages here: brown, wrinkled, white-haired dowagers who are able
+to go back, and still back, down the stream of time, and recall the
+crowning of Richard III. and the troublous days of that old forgotten
+age; and there are handsome middle-aged dames; and lovely and gracious
+young matrons; and gentle and beautiful young girls, with beaming eyes
+and fresh complexions, who may possibly put on their jewelled coronets
+awkwardly when the great time comes; for the matter will be new to
+them, and their excitement will be a sore hindrance. Still, this may
+not happen, for the hair of all these ladies has been arranged with a
+special view to the swift and successful lodging of the crown in its
+place when the signal comes.
+
+We have seen that this massed array of peeresses is sown thick with
+diamonds, and we also see that it is a marvellous spectacle--but now we
+are about to be astonished in earnest.  About nine, the clouds suddenly
+break away and a shaft of sunshine cleaves the mellow atmosphere, and
+drifts slowly along the ranks of ladies; and every rank it touches
+flames into a dazzling splendour of many-coloured fires, and we tingle
+to our finger-tips with the electric thrill that is shot through us by
+the surprise and the beauty of the spectacle!  Presently a special envoy
+from some distant corner of the Orient, marching with the general body
+of foreign ambassadors, crosses this bar of sunshine, and we catch our
+breath, the glory that streams and flashes and palpitates about him is
+so overpowering; for he is crusted from head to heel with gems, and his
+slightest movement showers a dancing radiance all around him.
+
+Let us change the tense for convenience.  The time drifted along--one
+hour--two hours--two hours and a half; then the deep booming of
+artillery told that the King and his grand procession had arrived at
+last; so the waiting multitude rejoiced.  All knew that a further delay
+must follow, for the King must be prepared and robed for the solemn
+ceremony; but this delay would be pleasantly occupied by the assembling
+of the peers of the realm in their stately robes.  These were conducted
+ceremoniously to their seats, and their coronets placed conveniently
+at hand; and meanwhile the multitude in the galleries were alive with
+interest, for most of them were beholding for the first time, dukes,
+earls, and barons, whose names had been historical for five hundred
+years.  When all were finally seated, the spectacle from the galleries
+and all coigns of vantage was complete; a gorgeous one to look upon and
+to remember.
+
+Now the robed and mitred great heads of the church, and their
+attendants, filed in upon the platform and took their appointed places;
+these were followed by the Lord Protector and other great officials, and
+these again by a steel-clad detachment of the Guard.
+
+There was a waiting pause; then, at a signal, a triumphant peal of music
+burst forth, and Tom Canty, clothed in a long robe of cloth of gold,
+appeared at a door, and stepped upon the platform.  The entire multitude
+rose, and the ceremony of the Recognition ensued.
+
+Then a noble anthem swept the Abbey with its rich waves of sound; and
+thus heralded and welcomed, Tom Canty was conducted to the throne.
+ The ancient ceremonies went on, with impressive solemnity, whilst the
+audience gazed; and as they drew nearer and nearer to completion, Tom
+Canty grew pale, and still paler, and a deep and steadily deepening woe
+and despondency settled down upon his spirits and upon his remorseful
+heart.
+
+At last the final act was at hand.  The Archbishop of Canterbury lifted
+up the crown of England from its cushion and held it out over the
+trembling mock-King’s head.  In the same instant a rainbow-radiance
+flashed along the spacious transept; for with one impulse every
+individual in the great concourse of nobles lifted a coronet and poised
+it over his or her head--and paused in that attitude.
+
+A deep hush pervaded the Abbey.  At this impressive moment, a startling
+apparition intruded upon the scene--an apparition observed by none in
+the absorbed multitude, until it suddenly appeared, moving up the great
+central aisle.  It was a boy, bareheaded, ill shod, and clothed in
+coarse plebeian garments that were falling to rags.  He raised his hand
+with a solemnity which ill comported with his soiled and sorry aspect,
+and delivered this note of warning--
+
+“I forbid you to set the crown of England upon that forfeited head.  I
+am the King!”
+
+In an instant several indignant hands were laid upon the boy; but in
+the same instant Tom Canty, in his regal vestments, made a swift step
+forward, and cried out in a ringing voice--
+
+“Loose him and forbear!  He _is_ the King!”
+
+A sort of panic of astonishment swept the assemblage, and they partly
+rose in their places and stared in a bewildered way at one another and
+at the chief figures in this scene, like persons who wondered whether
+they were awake and in their senses, or asleep and dreaming.  The Lord
+Protector was as amazed as the rest, but quickly recovered himself, and
+exclaimed in a voice of authority--
+
+“Mind not his Majesty, his malady is upon him again--seize the
+vagabond!”
+
+He would have been obeyed, but the mock-King stamped his foot and cried
+out--
+
+“On your peril!  Touch him not, he is the King!”
+
+The hands were withheld; a paralysis fell upon the house; no one moved,
+no one spoke; indeed, no one knew how to act or what to say, in so
+strange and surprising an emergency.  While all minds were struggling to
+right themselves, the boy still moved steadily forward, with high port
+and confident mien; he had never halted from the beginning; and while
+the tangled minds still floundered helplessly, he stepped upon the
+platform, and the mock-King ran with a glad face to meet him; and fell
+on his knees before him and said--
+
+“Oh, my lord the King, let poor Tom Canty be first to swear fealty to
+thee, and say, ‘Put on thy crown and enter into thine own again!’”
+
+The Lord Protector’s eye fell sternly upon the new-comer’s face; but
+straightway the sternness vanished away, and gave place to an expression
+of wondering surprise.  This thing happened also to the other great
+officers.  They glanced at each other, and retreated a step by a common
+and unconscious impulse.  The thought in each mind was the same:  “What
+a strange resemblance!”
+
+The Lord Protector reflected a moment or two in perplexity, then he
+said, with grave respectfulness--
+
+“By your favour, sir, I desire to ask certain questions which--”
+
+“I will answer them, my lord.”
+
+The Duke asked him many questions about the Court, the late King, the
+prince, the princesses--the boy answered them correctly and without
+hesitating.  He described the rooms of state in the palace, the late
+King’s apartments, and those of the Prince of Wales.
+
+It was strange; it was wonderful; yes, it was unaccountable--so all said
+that heard it.  The tide was beginning to turn, and Tom Canty’s hopes to
+run high, when the Lord Protector shook his head and said--
+
+“It is true it is most wonderful--but it is no more than our lord the
+King likewise can do.”  This remark, and this reference to himself as
+still the King, saddened Tom Canty, and he felt his hopes crumbling from
+under him.  “These are not _proofs_,” added the Protector.
+
+The tide was turning very fast now, very fast indeed--but in the wrong
+direction; it was leaving poor Tom Canty stranded on the throne,
+and sweeping the other out to sea.  The Lord Protector communed with
+himself--shook his head--the thought forced itself upon him, “It is
+perilous to the State and to us all, to entertain so fateful a riddle as
+this; it could divide the nation and undermine the throne.”  He turned
+and said--
+
+“Sir Thomas, arrest this--No, hold!”  His face lighted, and he
+confronted the ragged candidate with this question--
+
+“Where lieth the Great Seal?  Answer me this truly, and the riddle is
+unriddled; for only he that was Prince of Wales _can_ so answer! On so
+trivial a thing hang a throne and a dynasty!”
+
+It was a lucky thought, a happy thought.  That it was so considered by
+the great officials was manifested by the silent applause that shot from
+eye to eye around their circle in the form of bright approving glances.
+Yes, none but the true prince could dissolve the stubborn mystery of the
+vanished Great Seal--this forlorn little impostor had been taught his
+lesson well, but here his teachings must fail, for his teacher himself
+could not answer _that_ question--ah, very good, very good indeed;
+now we shall be rid of this troublesome and perilous business in
+short order! And so they nodded invisibly and smiled inwardly with
+satisfaction, and looked to see this foolish lad stricken with a palsy
+of guilty confusion. How surprised they were, then, to see nothing of
+the sort happen--how they marvelled to hear him answer up promptly, in a
+confident and untroubled voice, and say--
+
+“There is nought in this riddle that is difficult.”  Then, without so
+much as a by-your-leave to anybody, he turned and gave this command,
+with the easy manner of one accustomed to doing such things: “My Lord
+St. John, go you to my private cabinet in the palace--for none knoweth
+the place better than you--and, close down to the floor, in the left
+corner remotest from the door that opens from the ante-chamber, you
+shall find in the wall a brazen nail-head; press upon it and a little
+jewel-closet will fly open which not even you do know of--no, nor
+any soul else in all the world but me and the trusty artisan that did
+contrive it for me. The first thing that falleth under your eye will be
+the Great Seal--fetch it hither.”
+
+All the company wondered at this speech, and wondered still more to see
+the little mendicant pick out this peer without hesitancy or apparent
+fear of mistake, and call him by name with such a placidly convincing
+air of having known him all his life.  The peer was almost surprised
+into obeying.  He even made a movement as if to go, but quickly
+recovered his tranquil attitude and confessed his blunder with a blush.
+ Tom Canty turned upon him and said, sharply--
+
+“Why dost thou hesitate?  Hast not heard the King’s command?  Go!”
+
+The Lord St. John made a deep obeisance--and it was observed that it was
+a significantly cautious and non-committal one, it not being delivered
+at either of the kings, but at the neutral ground about half-way between
+the two--and took his leave.
+
+Now began a movement of the gorgeous particles of that official group
+which was slow, scarcely perceptible, and yet steady and persistent--a
+movement such as is observed in a kaleidoscope that is turned slowly,
+whereby the components of one splendid cluster fall away and join
+themselves to another--a movement which, little by little, in the
+present case, dissolved the glittering crowd that stood about Tom Canty
+and clustered it together again in the neighbourhood of the new-comer.
+ Tom Canty stood almost alone. Now ensued a brief season of deep
+suspense and waiting--during which even the few faint hearts still
+remaining near Tom Canty gradually scraped together courage enough to
+glide, one by one, over to the majority.  So at last Tom Canty, in his
+royal robes and jewels, stood wholly alone and isolated from the world,
+a conspicuous figure, occupying an eloquent vacancy.
+
+Now the Lord St. John was seen returning.  As he advanced up
+the mid-aisle the interest was so intense that the low murmur of
+conversation in the great assemblage died out and was succeeded by
+a profound hush, a breathless stillness, through which his footfalls
+pulsed with a dull and distant sound.  Every eye was fastened upon him
+as he moved along.  He reached the platform, paused a moment, then moved
+toward Tom Canty with a deep obeisance, and said--
+
+“Sire, the Seal is not there!”
+
+A mob does not melt away from the presence of a plague-patient with more
+haste than the band of pallid and terrified courtiers melted away from
+the presence of the shabby little claimant of the Crown.  In a moment
+he stood all alone, without friend or supporter, a target upon which
+was concentrated a bitter fire of scornful and angry looks.  The Lord
+Protector called out fiercely--
+
+“Cast the beggar into the street, and scourge him through the town--the
+paltry knave is worth no more consideration!”
+
+Officers of the guard sprang forward to obey, but Tom Canty waved them
+off and said--
+
+“Back!  Whoso touches him perils his life!”
+
+The Lord Protector was perplexed in the last degree.  He said to the
+Lord St. John--
+
+“Searched you well?--but it boots not to ask that.  It doth seem passing
+strange.  Little things, trifles, slip out of one’s ken, and one does
+not think it matter for surprise; but how so bulky a thing as the
+Seal of England can vanish away and no man be able to get track of it
+again--a massy golden disk--”
+
+Tom Canty, with beaming eyes, sprang forward and shouted--
+
+“Hold, that is enough!  Was it round?--and thick?--and had it letters
+and devices graved upon it?--yes?  Oh, _now_ I know what this Great Seal
+is that there’s been such worry and pother about. An’ ye had described
+it to me, ye could have had it three weeks ago.  Right well I know where
+it lies; but it was not I that put it there--first.”
+
+“Who, then, my liege?” asked the Lord Protector.
+
+“He that stands there--the rightful King of England.  And he shall tell
+you himself where it lies--then you will believe he knew it of his own
+knowledge.  Bethink thee, my King--spur thy memory--it was the last, the
+very _last_ thing thou didst that day before thou didst rush forth from
+the palace, clothed in my rags, to punish the soldier that insulted me.”
+
+A silence ensued, undisturbed by a movement or a whisper, and all eyes
+were fixed upon the new-comer, who stood, with bent head and corrugated
+brow, groping in his memory among a thronging multitude of valueless
+recollections for one single little elusive fact, which, found, would
+seat him upon a throne--unfound, would leave him as he was, for good and
+all--a pauper and an outcast.  Moment after moment passed--the moments
+built themselves into minutes--still the boy struggled silently on, and
+gave no sign.  But at last he heaved a sigh, shook his head slowly, and
+said, with a trembling lip and in a despondent voice--
+
+“I call the scene back--all of it--but the Seal hath no place in it.”
+  He paused, then looked up, and said with gentle dignity, “My lords and
+gentlemen, if ye will rob your rightful sovereign of his own for lack of
+this evidence which he is not able to furnish, I may not stay ye, being
+powerless.  But--”
+
+“Oh, folly, oh, madness, my King!” cried Tom Canty, in a panic,
+“wait!--think!  Do not give up!--the cause is not lost!  Nor _shall_ be,
+neither! List to what I say--follow every word--I am going to bring that
+morning back again, every hap just as it happened.  We talked--I told
+you of my sisters, Nan and Bet--ah, yes, you remember that; and about
+mine old grandam--and the rough games of the lads of Offal Court--yes,
+you remember these things also; very well, follow me still, you shall
+recall everything.  You gave me food and drink, and did with princely
+courtesy send away the servants, so that my low breeding might not shame
+me before them--ah, yes, this also you remember.”
+
+As Tom checked off his details, and the other boy nodded his head in
+recognition of them, the great audience and the officials stared in
+puzzled wonderment; the tale sounded like true history, yet how could
+this impossible conjunction between a prince and a beggar-boy have come
+about?  Never was a company of people so perplexed, so interested, and
+so stupefied, before.
+
+“For a jest, my prince, we did exchange garments.  Then we stood before
+a mirror; and so alike were we that both said it seemed as if there had
+been no change made--yes, you remember that.  Then you noticed that the
+soldier had hurt my hand--look! here it is, I cannot yet even write with
+it, the fingers are so stiff.  At this your Highness sprang up, vowing
+vengeance upon that soldier, and ran towards the door--you passed a
+table--that thing you call the Seal lay on that table--you snatched
+it up and looked eagerly about, as if for a place to hide it--your eye
+caught sight of--”
+
+“There, ’tis sufficient!--and the good God be thanked!” exclaimed the
+ragged claimant, in a mighty excitement.  “Go, my good St. John--in an
+arm-piece of the Milanese armour that hangs on the wall, thou’lt find
+the Seal!”
+
+“Right, my King! right!” cried Tom Canty; “_Now_ the sceptre of England
+is thine own; and it were better for him that would dispute it that he
+had been born dumb!  Go, my Lord St. John, give thy feet wings!”
+
+The whole assemblage was on its feet now, and well-nigh out of its mind
+with uneasiness, apprehension, and consuming excitement.  On the floor
+and on the platform a deafening buzz of frantic conversation burst
+forth, and for some time nobody knew anything or heard anything or was
+interested in anything but what his neighbour was shouting into his ear,
+or he was shouting into his neighbour’s ear.  Time--nobody knew how much
+of it--swept by unheeded and unnoted.  At last a sudden hush fell upon
+the house, and in the same moment St. John appeared upon the platform,
+and held the Great Seal aloft in his hand.  Then such a shout went up--
+
+“Long live the true King!”
+
+For five minutes the air quaked with shouts and the crash of musical
+instruments, and was white with a storm of waving handkerchiefs; and
+through it all a ragged lad, the most conspicuous figure in England,
+stood, flushed and happy and proud, in the centre of the spacious
+platform, with the great vassals of the kingdom kneeling around him.
+
+Then all rose, and Tom Canty cried out--
+
+“Now, O my King, take these regal garments back, and give poor Tom, thy
+servant, his shreds and remnants again.”
+
+The Lord Protector spoke up--
+
+“Let the small varlet be stripped and flung into the Tower.”
+
+But the new King, the true King, said--
+
+“I will not have it so.  But for him I had not got my crown again--none
+shall lay a hand upon him to harm him.  And as for thee, my good uncle,
+my Lord Protector, this conduct of thine is not grateful toward
+this poor lad, for I hear he hath made thee a duke”--the Protector
+blushed--“yet he was not a king; wherefore what is thy fine title
+worth now?  To-morrow you shall sue to me, _through him_, for its
+confirmation, else no duke, but a simple earl, shalt thou remain.”
+
+Under this rebuke, his Grace the Duke of Somerset retired a little from
+the front for the moment.  The King turned to Tom, and said kindly--“My
+poor boy, how was it that you could remember where I hid the Seal when I
+could not remember it myself?”
+
+“Ah, my King, that was easy, since I used it divers days.”
+
+“Used it--yet could not explain where it was?”
+
+“I did not know it was _that_ they wanted.  They did not describe it,
+your Majesty.”
+
+“Then how used you it?”
+
+The red blood began to steal up into Tom’s cheeks, and he dropped his
+eyes and was silent.
+
+“Speak up, good lad, and fear nothing,” said the King.  “How used you
+the Great Seal of England?”
+
+Tom stammered a moment, in a pathetic confusion, then got it out--
+
+“To crack nuts with!”
+
+Poor child, the avalanche of laughter that greeted this nearly swept him
+off his feet.  But if a doubt remained in any mind that Tom Canty was
+not the King of England and familiar with the august appurtenances of
+royalty, this reply disposed of it utterly.
+
+Meantime the sumptuous robe of state had been removed from Tom’s
+shoulders to the King’s, whose rags were effectually hidden from sight
+under it.  Then the coronation ceremonies were resumed; the true King
+was anointed and the crown set upon his head, whilst cannon thundered
+the news to the city, and all London seemed to rock with applause.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIII. Edward as King.
+
+Miles Hendon was picturesque enough before he got into the riot on
+London Bridge--he was more so when he got out of it.  He had but little
+money when he got in, none at all when he got out.  The pickpockets had
+stripped him of his last farthing.
+
+But no matter, so he found his boy.  Being a soldier, he did not go at
+his task in a random way, but set to work, first of all, to arrange his
+campaign.
+
+What would the boy naturally do?  Where would he naturally go?
+Well--argued Miles--he would naturally go to his former haunts, for that
+is the instinct of unsound minds, when homeless and forsaken, as well
+as of sound ones.  Whereabouts were his former haunts?  His rags,
+taken together with the low villain who seemed to know him and who even
+claimed to be his father, indicated that his home was in one or another
+of the poorest and meanest districts of London.  Would the search for
+him be difficult, or long?  No, it was likely to be easy and brief.  He
+would not hunt for the boy, he would hunt for a crowd; in the centre of
+a big crowd or a little one, sooner or later, he should find his poor
+little friend, sure; and the mangy mob would be entertaining itself
+with pestering and aggravating the boy, who would be proclaiming himself
+King, as usual.  Then Miles Hendon would cripple some of those people,
+and carry off his little ward, and comfort and cheer him with loving
+words, and the two would never be separated any more.
+
+So Miles started on his quest.  Hour after hour he tramped through back
+alleys and squalid streets, seeking groups and crowds, and finding no
+end of them, but never any sign of the boy.  This greatly surprised him,
+but did not discourage him.  To his notion, there was nothing the matter
+with his plan of campaign; the only miscalculation about it was that the
+campaign was becoming a lengthy one, whereas he had expected it to be
+short.
+
+When daylight arrived, at last, he had made many a mile, and canvassed
+many a crowd, but the only result was that he was tolerably tired,
+rather hungry and very sleepy.  He wanted some breakfast, but there was
+no way to get it.  To beg for it did not occur to him; as to pawning
+his sword, he would as soon have thought of parting with his honour;
+he could spare some of his clothes--yes, but one could as easily find a
+customer for a disease as for such clothes.
+
+At noon he was still tramping--among the rabble which followed after
+the royal procession, now; for he argued that this regal display would
+attract his little lunatic powerfully.  He followed the pageant through
+all its devious windings about London, and all the way to Westminster
+and the Abbey.  He drifted here and there amongst the multitudes
+that were massed in the vicinity for a weary long time, baffled and
+perplexed, and finally wandered off, thinking, and trying to contrive
+some way to better his plan of campaign.  By-and-by, when he came to
+himself out of his musings, he discovered that the town was far behind
+him and that the day was growing old.  He was near the river, and in the
+country; it was a region of fine rural seats--not the sort of district
+to welcome clothes like his.
+
+It was not at all cold; so he stretched himself on the ground in the lee
+of a hedge to rest and think.  Drowsiness presently began to settle upon
+his senses; the faint and far-off boom of cannon was wafted to his ear,
+and he said to himself, “The new King is crowned,” and straightway fell
+asleep.  He had not slept or rested, before, for more than thirty hours.
+He did not wake again until near the middle of the next morning.
+
+He got up, lame, stiff, and half famished, washed himself in the river,
+stayed his stomach with a pint or two of water, and trudged off toward
+Westminster, grumbling at himself for having wasted so much time.
+ Hunger helped him to a new plan, now; he would try to get speech with
+old Sir Humphrey Marlow and borrow a few marks, and--but that was enough
+of a plan for the present; it would be time enough to enlarge it when
+this first stage should be accomplished.
+
+Toward eleven o’clock he approached the palace; and although a host of
+showy people were about him, moving in the same direction, he was not
+inconspicuous--his costume took care of that.  He watched these people’s
+faces narrowly, hoping to find a charitable one whose possessor might
+be willing to carry his name to the old lieutenant--as to trying to get
+into the palace himself, that was simply out of the question.
+
+Presently our whipping-boy passed him, then wheeled about and scanned
+his figure well, saying to himself, “An’ that is not the very vagabond
+his Majesty is in such a worry about, then am I an ass--though belike I
+was that before.  He answereth the description to a rag--that God should
+make two such would be to cheapen miracles by wasteful repetition.  I
+would I could contrive an excuse to speak with him.”
+
+Miles Hendon saved him the trouble; for he turned about, then, as a man
+generally will when somebody mesmerises him by gazing hard at him from
+behind; and observing a strong interest in the boy’s eyes, he stepped
+toward him and said--
+
+“You have just come out from the palace; do you belong there?”
+
+“Yes, your worship.”
+
+“Know you Sir Humphrey Marlow?”
+
+The boy started, and said to himself, “Lord! mine old departed father!”
+ Then he answered aloud, “Right well, your worship.”
+
+“Good--is he within?”
+
+“Yes,” said the boy; and added, to himself, “within his grave.”
+
+“Might I crave your favour to carry my name to him, and say I beg to say
+a word in his ear?”
+
+“I will despatch the business right willingly, fair sir.”
+
+“Then say Miles Hendon, son of Sir Richard, is here without--I shall be
+greatly bounden to you, my good lad.”
+
+The boy looked disappointed.  “The King did not name him so,” he said to
+himself; “but it mattereth not, this is his twin brother, and can give
+his Majesty news of t’other Sir-Odds-and-Ends, I warrant.”  So he said
+to Miles, “Step in there a moment, good sir, and wait till I bring you
+word.”
+
+Hendon retired to the place indicated--it was a recess sunk in the
+palace wall, with a stone bench in it--a shelter for sentinels in bad
+weather. He had hardly seated himself when some halberdiers, in charge
+of an officer, passed by.  The officer saw him, halted his men, and
+commanded Hendon to come forth.  He obeyed, and was promptly arrested
+as a suspicious character prowling within the precincts of the palace.
+ Things began to look ugly.  Poor Miles was going to explain, but the
+officer roughly silenced him, and ordered his men to disarm him and
+search him.
+
+“God of his mercy grant that they find somewhat,” said poor Miles; “I
+have searched enow, and failed, yet is my need greater than theirs.”
+
+Nothing was found but a document.  The officer tore it open, and Hendon
+smiled when he recognised the ‘pot-hooks’ made by his lost little friend
+that black day at Hendon Hall.  The officer’s face grew dark as he read
+the English paragraph, and Miles blenched to the opposite colour as he
+listened.
+
+“Another new claimant of the Crown!” cried the officer.  “Verily they
+breed like rabbits, to-day.  Seize the rascal, men, and see ye keep
+him fast whilst I convey this precious paper within and send it to the
+King.”
+
+He hurried away, leaving the prisoner in the grip of the halberdiers.
+
+“Now is my evil luck ended at last,” muttered Hendon, “for I shall
+dangle at a rope’s end for a certainty, by reason of that bit of
+writing.  And what will become of my poor lad!--ah, only the good God
+knoweth.”
+
+By-and-by he saw the officer coming again, in a great hurry; so he
+plucked his courage together, purposing to meet his trouble as became a
+man.  The officer ordered the men to loose the prisoner and return his
+sword to him; then bowed respectfully, and said--
+
+“Please you, sir, to follow me.”
+
+Hendon followed, saying to himself, “An’ I were not travelling to death
+and judgment, and so must needs economise in sin, I would throttle this
+knave for his mock courtesy.”
+
+The two traversed a populous court, and arrived at the grand entrance of
+the palace, where the officer, with another bow, delivered Hendon into
+the hands of a gorgeous official, who received him with profound respect
+and led him forward through a great hall, lined on both sides with rows
+of splendid flunkeys (who made reverential obeisance as the two passed
+along, but fell into death-throes of silent laughter at our stately
+scarecrow the moment his back was turned), and up a broad staircase,
+among flocks of fine folk, and finally conducted him into a vast room,
+clove a passage for him through the assembled nobility of England, then
+made a bow, reminded him to take his hat off, and left him standing in
+the middle of the room, a mark for all eyes, for plenty of indignant
+frowns, and for a sufficiency of amused and derisive smiles.
+
+Miles Hendon was entirely bewildered.  There sat the young King, under
+a canopy of state, five steps away, with his head bent down and aside,
+speaking with a sort of human bird of paradise--a duke, maybe.  Hendon
+observed to himself that it was hard enough to be sentenced to death
+in the full vigour of life, without having this peculiarly public
+humiliation added.  He wished the King would hurry about it--some of the
+gaudy people near by were becoming pretty offensive.  At this moment
+the King raised his head slightly, and Hendon caught a good view of his
+face. The sight nearly took his breath away!--He stood gazing at the
+fair young face like one transfixed; then presently ejaculated--
+
+“Lo, the Lord of the Kingdom of Dreams and Shadows on his throne!”
+
+He muttered some broken sentences, still gazing and marvelling; then
+turned his eyes around and about, scanning the gorgeous throng and the
+splendid saloon, murmuring, “But these are _real_--verily these are
+_real_--surely it is not a dream.”
+
+He stared at the King again--and thought, “_Is_ it a dream . . . or _is_
+he the veritable Sovereign of England, and not the friendless poor Tom
+o’ Bedlam I took him for--who shall solve me this riddle?”
+
+A sudden idea flashed in his eye, and he strode to the wall, gathered up
+a chair, brought it back, planted it on the floor, and sat down in it!
+
+A buzz of indignation broke out, a rough hand was laid upon him and a
+voice exclaimed--
+
+“Up, thou mannerless clown! would’st sit in the presence of the King?”
+
+The disturbance attracted his Majesty’s attention, who stretched forth
+his hand and cried out--
+
+“Touch him not, it is his right!”
+
+The throng fell back, stupefied.  The King went on--
+
+“Learn ye all, ladies, lords, and gentlemen, that this is my trusty and
+well-beloved servant, Miles Hendon, who interposed his good sword and
+saved his prince from bodily harm and possible death--and for this he is
+a knight, by the King’s voice.  Also learn, that for a higher service,
+in that he saved his sovereign stripes and shame, taking these upon
+himself, he is a peer of England, Earl of Kent, and shall have gold
+and lands meet for the dignity.  More--the privilege which he hath just
+exercised is his by royal grant; for we have ordained that the chiefs
+of his line shall have and hold the right to sit in the presence of the
+Majesty of England henceforth, age after age, so long as the crown shall
+endure.  Molest him not.”
+
+Two persons, who, through delay, had only arrived from the country
+during this morning, and had now been in this room only five minutes,
+stood listening to these words and looking at the King, then at the
+scarecrow, then at the King again, in a sort of torpid bewilderment.
+ These were Sir Hugh and the Lady Edith.  But the new Earl did not
+see them.  He was still staring at the monarch, in a dazed way, and
+muttering--
+
+“Oh, body o’ me!  _this_ my pauper!  This my lunatic!  This is he whom
+_I_ would show what grandeur was, in my house of seventy rooms and
+seven-and-twenty servants!  This is he who had never known aught but
+rags for raiment, kicks for comfort, and offal for diet!  This is he
+whom _I_ adopted and would make respectable! Would God I had a bag to
+hide my head in!”
+
+Then his manners suddenly came back to him, and he dropped upon his
+knees, with his hands between the King’s, and swore allegiance and did
+homage for his lands and titles.  Then he rose and stood respectfully
+aside, a mark still for all eyes--and much envy, too.
+
+Now the King discovered Sir Hugh, and spoke out with wrathful voice and
+kindling eye--
+
+“Strip this robber of his false show and stolen estates, and put him
+under lock and key till I have need of him.”
+
+The late Sir Hugh was led away.
+
+There was a stir at the other end of the room, now; the assemblage fell
+apart, and Tom Canty, quaintly but richly clothed, marched down, between
+these living walls, preceded by an usher.  He knelt before the King, who
+said--
+
+“I have learned the story of these past few weeks, and am well pleased
+with thee.  Thou hast governed the realm with right royal gentleness and
+mercy.  Thou hast found thy mother and thy sisters again?  Good; they
+shall be cared for--and thy father shall hang, if thou desire it and the
+law consent.  Know, all ye that hear my voice, that from this day, they
+that abide in the shelter of Christ’s Hospital and share the King’s
+bounty shall have their minds and hearts fed, as well as their baser
+parts; and this boy shall dwell there, and hold the chief place in its
+honourable body of governors, during life.  And for that he hath been
+a king, it is meet that other than common observance shall be his due;
+wherefore note this his dress of state, for by it he shall be known, and
+none shall copy it; and wheresoever he shall come, it shall remind the
+people that he hath been royal, in his time, and none shall deny him his
+due of reverence or fail to give him salutation.  He hath the throne’s
+protection, he hath the crown’s support, he shall be known and called by
+the honourable title of the King’s Ward.”
+
+The proud and happy Tom Canty rose and kissed the King’s hand, and was
+conducted from the presence.  He did not waste any time, but flew to his
+mother, to tell her and Nan and Bet all about it and get them to help
+him enjoy the great news. {1}
+
+Conclusion. Justice and retribution.
+
+When the mysteries were all cleared up, it came out, by confession of
+Hugh Hendon, that his wife had repudiated Miles by his command, that
+day at Hendon Hall--a command assisted and supported by the perfectly
+trustworthy promise that if she did not deny that he was Miles Hendon,
+and stand firmly to it, he would have her life; whereupon she said,
+“Take it!”--she did not value it--and she would not repudiate
+Miles; then the husband said he would spare her life but have Miles
+assassinated!  This was a different matter; so she gave her word and
+kept it.
+
+Hugh was not prosecuted for his threats or for stealing his brother’s
+estates and title, because the wife and brother would not testify
+against him--and the former would not have been allowed to do it, even
+if she had wanted to.  Hugh deserted his wife and went over to the
+continent, where he presently died; and by-and-by the Earl of Kent
+married his relict. There were grand times and rejoicings at Hendon
+village when the couple paid their first visit to the Hall.
+
+Tom Canty’s father was never heard of again.
+
+The King sought out the farmer who had been branded and sold as a slave,
+and reclaimed him from his evil life with the Ruffler’s gang, and put
+him in the way of a comfortable livelihood.
+
+He also took that old lawyer out of prison and remitted his fine. He
+provided good homes for the daughters of the two Baptist women whom he
+saw burned at the stake, and roundly punished the official who laid the
+undeserved stripes upon Miles Hendon’s back.
+
+He saved from the gallows the boy who had captured the stray falcon, and
+also the woman who had stolen a remnant of cloth from a weaver; but he
+was too late to save the man who had been convicted of killing a deer in
+the royal forest.
+
+He showed favour to the justice who had pitied him when he was supposed
+to have stolen a pig, and he had the gratification of seeing him grow in
+the public esteem and become a great and honoured man.
+
+As long as the King lived he was fond of telling the story of his
+adventures, all through, from the hour that the sentinel cuffed him
+away from the palace gate till the final midnight when he deftly mixed
+himself into a gang of hurrying workmen and so slipped into the Abbey
+and climbed up and hid himself in the Confessor’s tomb, and then slept
+so long, next day, that he came within one of missing the Coronation
+altogether.  He said that the frequent rehearsing of the precious lesson
+kept him strong in his purpose to make its teachings yield benefits to
+his people; and so, whilst his life was spared he should continue to
+tell the story, and thus keep its sorrowful spectacles fresh in his
+memory and the springs of pity replenished in his heart.
+
+Miles Hendon and Tom Canty were favourites of the King, all through his
+brief reign, and his sincere mourners when he died. The good Earl
+of Kent had too much sense to abuse his peculiar privilege; but he
+exercised it twice after the instance we have seen of it before he was
+called from this world--once at the accession of Queen Mary, and once at
+the accession of Queen Elizabeth.  A descendant of his exercised it
+at the accession of James I.  Before this one’s son chose to use the
+privilege, near a quarter of a century had elapsed, and the ‘privilege
+of the Kents’ had faded out of most people’s memories; so, when the Kent
+of that day appeared before Charles I. and his court and sat down in the
+sovereign’s presence to assert and perpetuate the right of his house,
+there was a fine stir indeed!  But the matter was soon explained, and
+the right confirmed.  The last Earl of the line fell in the wars of the
+Commonwealth fighting for the King, and the odd privilege ended with
+him.
+
+Tom Canty lived to be a very old man, a handsome, white-haired old
+fellow, of grave and benignant aspect.  As long as he lasted he was
+honoured; and he was also reverenced, for his striking and peculiar
+costume kept the people reminded that ‘in his time he had been royal;’
+so, wherever he appeared the crowd fell apart, making way for him, and
+whispering, one to another, “Doff thy hat, it is the King’s Ward!”--and
+so they saluted, and got his kindly smile in return--and they valued it,
+too, for his was an honourable history.
+
+Yes, King Edward VI. lived only a few years, poor boy, but he lived them
+worthily.  More than once, when some great dignitary, some gilded vassal
+of the crown, made argument against his leniency, and urged that some
+law which he was bent upon amending was gentle enough for its purpose,
+and wrought no suffering or oppression which any one need mightily mind,
+the young King turned the mournful eloquence of his great compassionate
+eyes upon him and answered--
+
+“What dost _thou_ know of suffering and oppression?  I and my people
+know, but not thou.”
+
+The reign of Edward VI. was a singularly merciful one for those harsh
+times.  Now that we are taking leave of him, let us try to keep this in
+our minds, to his credit.
+
+FOOTNOTES AND TWAIN’S NOTES
+
+{1}  For Mark Twain’s note see below under the relevant chapter heading.
+
+{2}  He refers to the order of baronets, or baronettes; the barones
+minores, as distinct from the parliamentary barons--not, it need hardly
+be said, to the baronets of later creation.
+
+{3}  The lords of Kingsale, descendants of De Courcy, still enjoy this
+curious privilege.
+
+{4}  Hume.
+
+{5}  Ib.
+
+{6}  Leigh Hunt’s ‘The Town,’ p.408, quotation from an early tourist.
+
+{7}  Canting terms for various kinds of thieves, beggars and vagabonds,
+and their female companions.
+
+{8}  From ‘The English Rogue.’  London, 1665.
+
+{9}  Hume’s England.
+
+{10}  See Dr. J. Hammond Trumbull’s Blue Laws, True and False, p. 11.
+
+NOTE 1, Chapter IV. Christ’s Hospital Costume.
+
+It is most reasonable to regard the dress as copied from the costume
+of the citizens of London of that period, when long blue coats were the
+common habit of apprentices and serving-men, and yellow stockings
+were generally worn; the coat fits closely to the body, but has loose
+sleeves, and beneath is worn a sleeveless yellow under-coat; around the
+waist is a red leathern girdle; a clerical band around the neck, and
+a small flat black cap, about the size of a saucer, completes the
+costume.--Timbs’ Curiosities of London.
+
+NOTE 2, Chapter IV.
+
+It appears that Christ’s Hospital was not originally founded as a
+_school_; its object was to rescue children from the streets, to
+shelter, feed, clothe them.--Timbs’ Curiosities of London.
+
+NOTE 3, Chapter V. The Duke of Norfolk’s Condemnation commanded.
+
+The King was now approaching fast towards his end; and fearing lest
+Norfolk should escape him, he sent a message to the Commons, by which
+he desired them to hasten the Bill, on pretence that Norfolk enjoyed the
+dignity of Earl Marshal, and it was necessary to appoint another, who
+might officiate at the ensuing ceremony of installing his son Prince of
+Wales.--Hume’s History of England, vol. iii. p. 307.
+
+NOTE 4, Chapter VII.
+
+It was not till the end of this reign (Henry VIII.) that any salads,
+carrots, turnips, or other edible roots were produced in England.  The
+little of these vegetables that was used was formerly imported from
+Holland and Flanders.  Queen Catherine, when she wanted a salad, was
+obliged to despatch a messenger thither on purpose.--Hume’s History of
+England, vol. iii. p. 314.
+
+NOTE 5, Chapter VIII. Attainder of Norfolk.
+
+The House of Peers, without examining the prisoner, without trial or
+evidence, passed a Bill of Attainder against him and sent it down to the
+Commons . . . The obsequious Commons obeyed his (the King’s)
+directions; and the King, having affixed the Royal assent to the Bill by
+commissioners, issued orders for the execution of Norfolk on the morning
+of January 29 (the next day).--Hume’s History of England, vol iii. p
+306.
+
+NOTE 6, Chapter X. The Loving-cup.
+
+The loving-cup, and the peculiar ceremonies observed in drinking from
+it, are older than English history.  It is thought that both are Danish
+importations.  As far back as knowledge goes, the loving-cup has always
+been drunk at English banquets.  Tradition explains the ceremonies in
+this way.  In the rude ancient times it was deemed a wise precaution
+to have both hands of both drinkers employed, lest while the pledger
+pledged his love and fidelity to the pledgee, the pledgee take that
+opportunity to slip a dirk into him!
+
+NOTE 7, Chapter XI. The Duke of Norfolk’s narrow Escape.
+
+Had Henry VIII. survived a few hours longer, his order for the duke’s
+execution would have been carried into effect. ‘But news being
+carried to the Tower that the King himself had expired that night,
+the lieutenant deferred obeying the warrant; and it was not thought
+advisable by the Council to begin a new reign by the death of the
+greatest nobleman in the kingdom, who had been condemned by a sentence
+so unjust and tyrannical.’--Hume’s History of England, vol. iii, p. 307.
+
+NOTE 8, Chapter XIV. The Whipping-boy.
+
+James I. and Charles II. had whipping-boys, when they were little
+fellows, to take their punishment for them when they fell short in their
+lessons; so I have ventured to furnish my small prince with one, for my
+own purposes.
+
+NOTES to Chapter XV.
+
+Character of Hertford.
+
+The young King discovered an extreme attachment to his uncle, who
+was, in the main, a man of moderation and probity.--Hume’s History of
+England, vol. iii, p324.
+
+But if he (the Protector) gave offence by assuming too much state, he
+deserves great praise on account of the laws passed this session,
+by which the rigour of former statutes was much mitigated, and some
+security given to the freedom of the constitution.  All laws were
+repealed which extended the crime of treason beyond the statute of the
+twenty-fifth of Edward III.; all laws enacted during the late reign
+extending the crime of felony; all the former laws against Lollardy or
+heresy, together with the statute of the Six Articles.  None were to be
+accused for words, but within a month after they were spoken.  By
+these repeals several of the most rigorous laws that ever had passed
+in England were annulled; and some dawn, both of civil and religious
+liberty, began to appear to the people.  A repeal also passed of that
+law, the destruction of all laws, by which the King’s proclamation was
+made of equal force with a statute.--Ibid. vol. iii. p. 339.
+
+Boiling to Death.
+
+In the reign of Henry VIII. poisoners were, by Act of Parliament,
+condemned to be _boiled to death_.  This Act was repealed in the
+following reign.
+
+In Germany, even in the seventeenth century, this horrible punishment
+was inflicted on coiners and counterfeiters.  Taylor, the Water Poet,
+describes an execution he witnessed in Hamburg in 1616.  The judgment
+pronounced against a coiner of false money was that he should ‘_be
+boiled to death in oil_; not thrown into the vessel at once, but with
+a pulley or rope to be hanged under the armpits, and then let down into
+the oil _by degrees_; first the feet, and next the legs, and so to boil
+his flesh from his bones alive.’--Dr. J. Hammond Trumbull’s Blue Laws,
+True and False, p. 13.
+
+The Famous Stocking Case.
+
+A woman and her daughter, _nine years old_, were hanged in Huntingdon
+for selling their souls to the devil, and raising a storm by pulling off
+their stockings!--Dr. J. Hammond Trumbull’s Blue Laws, True and False,
+p. 20.
+
+NOTE 10, Chapter XVII. Enslaving.
+
+So young a King and so ignorant a peasant were likely to make mistakes;
+and this is an instance in point.  This peasant was suffering from this
+law _by anticipation_; the King was venting his indignation against a
+law which was not yet in existence; for this hideous statute was to
+have birth in this little King’s _own reign_. However, we know, from the
+humanity of his character, that it could never have been suggested by
+him.
+
+NOTES to Chapter XXIII. Death for Trifling Larcenies.
+
+When Connecticut and New Haven were framing their first codes, larceny
+above the value of twelve pence was a capital crime in England--as it
+had been since the time of Henry I.--Dr. J. Hammond Trumbull’s Blue
+Laws, True and False, p. 17.
+
+The curious old book called The English Rogue makes the limit thirteen
+pence ha’penny:  death being the portion of any who steal a thing ‘above
+the value of thirteen pence ha’penny.’
+
+NOTES to Chapter XXVII.
+
+From many descriptions of larceny the law expressly took away the
+benefit of clergy:  to steal a horse, or a _hawk_, or woollen cloth from
+the weaver, was a hanging matter.  So it was to kill a deer from the
+King’s forest, or to export sheep from the kingdom.--Dr. J. Hammond
+Trumbull’s Blue Laws, True and False, p.13.
+
+William Prynne, a learned barrister, was sentenced (long after Edward
+VI.’s time) to lose both his ears in the pillory, to degradation from
+the bar, a fine of 3,000 pounds, and imprisonment for life.  Three years
+afterwards he gave new offence to Laud by publishing a pamphlet against
+the hierarchy.  He was again prosecuted, and was sentenced to lose _what
+remained of his ears_, to pay a fine of 5,000 pounds, to be _branded on
+both his cheeks_ with the letters S. L. (for Seditious Libeller), and to
+remain in prison for life.  The severity of this sentence was equalled
+by the savage rigour of its execution.--Ibid. p. 12.
+
+NOTES to Chapter XXXIII.
+
+Christ’s Hospital, or Bluecoat School, ’the noblest institution in the
+world.’
+
+The ground on which the Priory of the Grey Friars stood was conferred
+by Henry VIII. on the Corporation of London (who caused the institution
+there of a home for poor boys and girls). Subsequently, Edward VI.
+caused the old Priory to be properly repaired, and founded within
+it that noble establishment called the Bluecoat School, or Christ’s
+Hospital, for the _education_ and maintenance of orphans and the
+children of indigent persons . . . Edward would not let him (Bishop
+Ridley) depart till the letter was written (to the Lord Mayor), and then
+charged him to deliver it himself, and signify his special request and
+commandment that no time might be lost in proposing what was convenient,
+and apprising him of the proceedings.  The work was zealously
+undertaken, Ridley himself engaging in it; and the result was the
+founding of Christ’s Hospital for the education of poor children. (The
+King endowed several other charities at the same time.) “Lord God,” said
+he, “I yield Thee most hearty thanks that Thou hast given me life thus
+long to finish this work to the glory of Thy name!”  That innocent and
+most exemplary life was drawing rapidly to its close, and in a few days
+he rendered up his spirit to his Creator, praying God to defend the
+realm from Papistry.--J. Heneage Jesse’s London:  its Celebrated
+Characters and Places.
+
+In the Great Hall hangs a large picture of King Edward VI. seated on his
+throne, in a scarlet and ermined robe, holding the sceptre in his left
+hand, and presenting with the other the Charter to the kneeling Lord
+Mayor.  By his side stands the Chancellor, holding the seals, and next
+to him are other officers of state.  Bishop Ridley kneels before him
+with uplifted hands, as if supplicating a blessing on the event; whilst
+the Aldermen, etc., with the Lord Mayor, kneel on both sides, occupying
+the middle ground of the picture; and lastly, in front, are a double row
+of boys on one side and girls on the other, from the master and matron
+down to the boy and girl who have stepped forward from their respective
+rows, and kneel with raised hands before the King.--Timbs’ Curiosities
+of London, p. 98.
+
+Christ’s Hospital, by ancient custom, possesses the privilege of
+addressing the Sovereign on the occasion of his or her coming into the
+City to partake of the hospitality of the Corporation of London.--Ibid.
+
+The Dining Hall, with its lobby and organ-gallery, occupies the entire
+storey, which is 187 feet long, 51 feet wide, and 47 feet high; it is
+lit by nine large windows, filled with stained glass on the south side;
+and is, next to Westminster Hall, the noblest room in the metropolis.
+ Here the boys, now about 800 in number, dine; and here are held the
+‘Suppings in Public,’ to which visitors are admitted by tickets issued
+by the Treasurer and by the Governors of Christ’s Hospital.  The tables
+are laid with cheese in wooden bowls, beer in wooden piggins, poured
+from leathern jacks, and bread brought in large baskets.  The official
+company enter; the Lord Mayor, or President, takes his seat in a state
+chair made of oak from St. Catherine’s Church, by the Tower; a hymn
+is sung, accompanied by the organ; a ‘Grecian,’ or head boy, reads the
+prayers from the pulpit, silence being enforced by three drops of a
+wooden hammer.  After prayer the supper commences, and the visitors walk
+between the tables.  At its close the ’trade-boys’ take up the baskets,
+bowls, jacks, piggins, and candlesticks, and pass in procession, the
+bowing to the Governors being curiously formal.  This spectacle was
+witnessed by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1845.
+
+Among the more eminent Bluecoat boys are Joshua Barnes, editor
+of Anacreon and Euripides; Jeremiah Markland, the eminent critic,
+particularly in Greek Literature; Camden, the antiquary; Bishop
+Stillingfleet; Samuel Richardson, the novelist; Thomas Mitchell, the
+translator of Aristophanes; Thomas Barnes, many years editor of the
+London Times; Coleridge, Charles Lamb, and Leigh Hunt.
+
+No boy is admitted before he is seven years old, or after he is nine;
+and no boy can remain in the school after he is fifteen, King’s boys and
+‘Grecians’ alone excepted.  There are about 500 Governors, at the head
+of whom are the Sovereign and the Prince of Wales.  The qualification
+for a Governor is payment of 500 pounds.--Ibid.
+
+GENERAL NOTE.
+
+One hears much about the ‘hideous Blue Laws of Connecticut,’ and is
+accustomed to shudder piously when they are mentioned.  There are people
+in America--and even in England!--who imagine that they were a very
+monument of malignity, pitilessness, and inhumanity; whereas in reality
+they were about the first _sweeping departure from judicial atrocity_
+which the ‘civilised’ world had seen.  This humane and kindly Blue Law
+Code, of two hundred and forty years ago, stands all by itself,
+with ages of bloody law on the further side of it, and a century and
+three-quarters of bloody English law on _this_ side of it.
+
+There has never been a time--under the Blue Laws or any other--when
+above _fourteen_ crimes were punishable by death in Connecticut.  But in
+England, within the memory of men who are still hale in body and mind,
+_two hundred and twenty-three_ crimes were punishable by death! {10}
+ These facts are worth knowing--and worth thinking about, too.
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Prince and The Pauper,
+Complete by Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
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+      THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER, COMPLETE, By Mark Twain
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+               font-weight: bold; color: black; background: #eeeeee; border: solid 1px;}
+    p.pfirst, p.noindent {text-indent: 0}
+    span.dropcap         { float: left; margin: 0 0.1em 0 0; line-height: 1 }
+    pre        { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;}
+
+</style>
+  </head>
+  <body>
+    <h1>
+      THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER
+    </h1>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Prince and The Pauper, Complete
+by Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Prince and The Pauper, Complete
+
+Author: Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
+
+Release Date: August 20, 2006 [EBook #1837]
+Last Updated: May 25, 2018
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PRINCE AND THE PAUPER ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Widger. The earliest PG edition was prepared by
+Les Bowler
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+    <p>
+      <br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <h1>
+      THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER
+    </h1>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <h2>
+      by Mark Twain
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="bookcover.jpg (148K)" src="images/cover.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="frontispiece1.jpg (135K)" src="images/frontispiece1.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="frontispiece2.jpg (123K)" src="images/frontispiece2.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="titlepage.jpg (62K)" src="images/titlepage.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="greatseal" id="greatseal"></a><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="greatseal.jpg (68K)" src="images/greatseal.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br />The Great Seal <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="dedication.jpg (21K)" src="images/dedication.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="inscription.jpg (16K)" src="images/inscription.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <blockquote>
+      <p>
+        <b> I will set down a tale as it was told to me by one who had it of his
+        father, which latter had it of HIS father, this last having in like
+        manner had it of HIS father&mdash;and so on, back and still back, three
+        hundred years and more, the fathers transmitting it to the sons and so
+        preserving it. &nbsp;It may be history, it may be only a legend, a
+        tradition. It may have happened, it may not have happened: &nbsp;but it
+        COULD have happened. &nbsp;It may be that the wise and the learned
+        believed it in the old days; it may be that only the unlearned and the
+        simple loved it and credited it.</b>
+      </p>
+    </blockquote>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <h2>
+      CONTENTS
+    </h2>
+    <table summary="">
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          I.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c1">The birth of the Prince and the Pauper.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          II.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c2">Tom&rsquo;s early life.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          III.&nbsp;&nbsp;
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c3">Tom&rsquo;s meeting with the Prince.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          IV.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c4">The Prince&rsquo;s troubles begin.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          V.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c5">Tom as a patrician.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          VI.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c6">Tom receives instructions.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          VII.&nbsp;&nbsp;
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c7">Tom&rsquo;s first royal dinner.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          VIII.&nbsp;&nbsp;
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c8">The question of the Seal.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          IX.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c9">The river pageant.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          X.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c10">The Prince in the toils.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XI.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c11">At Guildhall.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XII.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c12">The Prince and his deliverer.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XIII.&nbsp;&nbsp;
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c13">The disappearance of the Prince.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XIV.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c14">&lsquo;Le Roi est mort&rsquo;&mdash;vive le Roi.&lsquo;</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XV.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c15">Tom as King.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XVI.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c16">The state dinner.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XVII.&nbsp;&nbsp;
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c17">Foo-foo the First.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XVIII.&nbsp;&nbsp;
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c18">The Prince with the tramps.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XIX.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c19">The Prince with the peasants.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XX.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c20">The Prince and the hermit.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XXI.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c21">Hendon to the rescue.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XXII.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c22">A victim of treachery.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XXIII.&nbsp;&nbsp;
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c23">The Prince a prisoner.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XXIV.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c24">The escape.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XXV.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c25">Hendon Hall.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XXVI.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c26">Disowned.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XXVII.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c27">In prison.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XXVIII.&nbsp;&nbsp;
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c28">The sacrifice.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XXIX.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c29">To London.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XXX.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c30">Tom&rsquo;s progress.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XXXI.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c31">The Recognition procession.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XXXII.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c32">Coronation Day</a>.<br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XXXIII.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c33">Edward as King.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          CONCLUSION. &nbsp;
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c34">Justice and Retribution.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          &nbsp;
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#link35-403">Notes.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+    </table>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <h2>
+      ILLUSTRATIONS
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      <a href="#greatseal">THE GREAT SEAL (frontispiece)</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link01-021">THE BIRTH OF THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link01-023">"SPLENDID PAGEANTS AND GREAT BONFIRES"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link02-025">TOM&rsquo;S EARLY LIFE </a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link02-028">OFFAL COURT</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link02-029">"WITH
+      ANY MISERABLE CRUST"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link02-030">"HE OFTEN READ
+      THE PRIEST&rsquo;S BOOKS"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link02-031">"SAW POOR
+      ANNE ASKEW BURNED"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link02-032">"BROUGHT THEIR
+      PERPLEXITIES TO TOM"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link02-033">"LONGING FOR THE
+      PORK-PIES&rdquo; </a><br /><br /> <a href="#link03-035">TOM&rsquo;S MEETING
+      WITH THE PRINCE</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link03-037">"AT TEMPLE BAR"</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link03-039">"LET HIM IN"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link03-041">"HOW
+      OLD BE THESE</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link03-043">"DOFF THY RAGS, AND DON
+      THESE SPLENDORS"&nbsp;&nbsp;</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link03-046">"I SALUTE
+      YOUR GRACIOUS HIGHNESS!&rdquo;</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link04-047">THE
+      PRINCE&rsquo;S TROUBLES BEGIN</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link04-050">"SET
+      UPON BY DOGS"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link04-052">"A DRUNKEN RUFFIAN
+      COLLARED HIM"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link05-055">TOM AS A PATRICIAN</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link05-057">"NEXT HE DREW THE SWORD"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link05-058">"RESOLVED TO FLY"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link05-059">"THE
+      BOY WAS ON HIS KNEES"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link05-061">"NOBLES WALKED
+      UPON EACH SIDE OF HIM"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link05-062">"HE DROPPED
+      UPON HIS KNEES"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link05-064">"HE TURNED WITH JOYFUL
+      FACE"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link05-065">"THE PHYSICIAN BOWED LOW"</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link05-067">"THE KING FELL BACK UPON HIS COUCH"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link05-068">"IS THIS MAN TO LIVE FOREVER?"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link06-071">TOM RECEIVES INSTRUCTIONS</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link06-073">"PRITHEE, INSIST NOT"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link06-075">"THE LORD ST. JOHN MADE REVERENCE"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link06-077">HERTFORD AND THE PRINCESSES</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link06-079">"SHE MADE REVERENCE"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link06-080">"OFFERED
+      IT TO HIM ON A GOLDEN SALVER"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link06-082">"THEY
+      MUSED A WHILE"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link06-083">"PEACE MY LORD, THOU
+      UTTEREST TREASON!&rdquo;</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link06-084">"HE BEGAN TO
+      PACE THE FLOOR"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link07-087">TOM&rsquo;S FIRST
+      ROYAL DINNER</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link07-089">"FASTENED A NAPKIN ABOUT
+      HIS NECK"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link07-091">"TOM ATE WITH HIS FINGERS"</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link07-092">"HE GRAVELY TOOK A DRAUGHT"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link07-093">"TOM PUT ON THE GREAVES"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link08-095">THE QUESTION OF THE SEAL</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link08-098">"EASED HIM BACK UPON HIS PILLOWS"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link09-101">THE RIVER PAGEANT</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link09-104">"HALBERDIERS
+      APPEARED IN THE GATEWAY"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link09-106">"TOM CANTY
+      STEPPED INTO VIEW"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link10-107">THE PRINCE IN THE
+      TOILS</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link10-110">"A DIM FORM SANK TO THE GROUND"</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link10-111">"WHO ART THOU?"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link10-113">"INTO
+      GOOD WIFE CANTY&rsquo;S ARMS"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link10-115">"BENT
+      HEEDFULLY AND WARILY OVER HIM"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link10-116">"THE
+      PRINCE SPRANG UP"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link10-118">"HURRIED HIM ALONG
+      THE DARK WAY"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link10-120">"HE WASTE NO TIME"</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link11-121">AT GUILDHALL</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link11-124">"A
+      RICH CANOPY OF STATE"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link11-127">"BEGAN TO LAY
+      ABOUT HIM"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link11-128">"LONG LIVE THE KING!&rdquo;</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link12-131">THE PRINCE AND HIS DELIVERER</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link12-134">"OUR FRIENDS THREADED THEIR WAY"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link12-136">"OBJECT LESSONS&rdquo; IN ENGLISH HISTORY</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link12-137">"JOHN CANTY MOVED OFF"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link12-139">"SMOOTHING BACK THE TANGLED CURLS"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link12-141">"PRITHEE, POUR THE WATER"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link12-142">"GO ON&mdash;TELL ME THY STORY</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link12-145">"THOU HAST BEEN SHAMEFULLY ABUSED"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link12-146">"HE DROPPED ON ONE KNEE"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link12-148">"RISE, SIR MILES HENDON, BARONET"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link13-149">THE DISAPPEARANCE OF THE PRINCE</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link13-151">"HE DROPPED ASLEEP"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link13-153">"THESE
+      BE VERY GOOD AND SOUND"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link13-155">"EXPLAIN, THOU
+      LIMB OF SATAN"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link13-156">"HENDON FOLLOWED AFTER
+      HIM"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link14-159">"LE ROI EST MORT-VIVE LE ROI"</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link14-162">"WILT DEIGN TO DELIVER THY COMMANDS?"</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link14-164">"LORD OF THE BEDCHAMBER"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link14-166">"A SECRETARY OF STATE"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link14-170">"STOOD AT GRACEFUL EASE"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link14-172">&rdquo;&rsquo;TIS I THAT TAKE THEM"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link14-175">"BUT TAX YOUR MEMORY"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link15-177">TOM AS KING</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link15-181">"TOM
+      HAD WANDERED TO A WINDOW"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link15-183">"TOM SCANNED
+      THE PRISONERS"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link15-187">"LET THE PRISONER GO
+      FREE!&rdquo;</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link15-188">"WHAT IS IT THAT THESE
+      HAVE DONE?"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link15-190">"NODDED THEIR RECOGNITION"</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link16-193">THE STATE DINNER</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link16-196">"A
+      GENTLEMAN BEARING A ROD"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link16-197">"THE
+      CHANCELLOR BETWEEN TWO"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link16-198">"I THANK YOU
+      MY GOOD PEOPLE"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link16-199">"IN THE MIDST OF HIS
+      PAGEANT"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link17-201">FOO-FOO THE FIRST</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link17-205">"RUFFIAN FOLLOWED THEIR STEPS"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link17-206">"HE SEIZED A BILLET OF WOOD"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link17-207">"HE WAS SOON ABSORBED IN THINKING"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link17-208">"A GRIM AND UNSIGHTLY PICTURE"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link17-210">"THEY ROARED OUT A ROLLICKING DITTY"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link17-212">"WHILST THE FLAMES LICKED UPWARDS"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link17-213">"THEY WERE WHIPPED AT THE CART&rsquo;S TAIL"</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link17-215">"THOU SHALT NOT"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link17-216">"KNOCKING
+      HOBBS DOWN"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link17-218">"THRONE HIM"</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link18-221">THE PRINCE WITH THE TRAMPS</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link18-224">"TROOP OF VAGABONDS SET FORWARD"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link18-225">"THEY THREW BONES AND VEGETABLES</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link18-227">"WRITHE AND WALLOW IN THE DIRT"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link18-228">"KING FLED IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link18-230">"HE STUMBLED ALONG"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link18-232">"WHAT
+      SEEMED TO BE A WARM ROPE"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link18-233">"CUDDLED UP
+      TO THE CALF"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link19-235">THE PRINCE WITH THE
+      PEASANTS</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link19-239">"TOOK A GOOD SATISFYING
+      STARE"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link19-240">"MOTHER RECEIVED THE KING
+      KINDLY"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link19-242">"BROUGHT THE KING OUT OF HIS
+      DREAMS"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link19-244">"GAVE HIM A BUTCHER KNIFE TO
+      GRIND"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link20-245">THE PRINCE AND THE HERMIT</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link20-248">"HE TURNED AND DESCRIED TWO FIGURES"</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link20-249">"THE KING ENTERED AND PAUSED"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link20-251">"I WILL TELL YOU A SECRET"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link20-253">"CHATTING PLEASANTLY ALL THE TIME"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link20-255">"DREW HIS THUMB ALONG THE EDGE"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link20-256">"THE NEXT MOMENT THEY WERE BOUND"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link21-257">HENDON TO THE RESCUE</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link21-260">"SUNK
+      UPON HIS KNEES"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link21-262">"GOD MADE EVERY
+      CREATURE BUT YOU!&rdquo;</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link21-264">"THE FETTERED
+      LITTLE KING"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link22-267">A VICTIM OF TREACHERY</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link22-270">"HUGO STOOD NO CHANCE"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link22-272">"BOUND THE POULTICE TIGHT AND FAST"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link22-274">"TARRY HERE TILL I COME AGAIN</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link22-276">"KING SPRANG TO HIS DELIVERER&rsquo;S SIDE"</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link23-279">THE PRINCE A PRISONER</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link23-282">"GENTLY, GOOD FRIEND"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link23-284">"SHE SPRANG TO HER FEET"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link24-287">THE ESCAPE</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link24-290">"THE PIG
+      MAY COST THY NECK, MAN"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link24-292">"BEAR ME UP,
+      BEAR ME UP, SWEET SIR!&rdquo;</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link25-293">HENDON
+      HALL</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link25-296">"JOGGING EASTWARD ON SORRY
+      STEEDS"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link25-297">"THERE IS THE VILLAGE, MY
+      PRINCE!&rdquo;</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link25-299">&rdquo;&rsquo;EMBRACE ME,
+      HUGH,&rsquo; HE CRIED"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link25-301">"HUGH PUT UP
+      HIS HAND IN DISSENT"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link25-303">"A BEAUTIFUL
+      LADY, RICHLY CLOTHED"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link25-305">"HUGH WAS PINNED
+      TO THE WALL"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link26-307">DISOWNED</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link26-310">"OBEY, AND HAVE NO FEAR"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link26-313">"AM I MILES HENDON?"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link27-315">IN
+      PRISON</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link27-318">"CHAINED IN A LARGE ROOM"</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link27-320">"THE OLD MAN LOOKED HENDON OVER"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link27-321">"INFORMATION DELIVERED IN A LOW VOICE"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link27-323">"THE KING!&rdquo; HE CRIED. &ldquo;WHAT KING?"</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link27-326">"TWO WOMEN CHAINED TO POSTS"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link27-328">"TORN AWAY BY THE OFFICERS"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link27-329">"THE KING WAS FURIOUS"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link28-331">THE SACRIFICE</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link28-334">"HE
+      CONFRONTED THE OFFICER IN CHARGE"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link28-336">"WHILE
+      THE LASH WAS APPLIED"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link28-337">"SIR HUGH
+      SPURRED AWAY"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link29-339">TO LONDON</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link29-342">"MOUNTED AND RODE OFF WITH THE KING"</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link29-343">"MIDST OF A JAM OF HOWLING PEOPLE"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link30-345">TOM&rsquo;S PROGRESS</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link30-348">"TO
+      KISS HIS HAND AT PARTING"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link30-348">"COMMANDED
+      HER TO GO TO HER CLOSET"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link31-351">THE
+      RECOGNITION PROCESSION</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link31-353">THE START FOR
+      THE TOWER</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link31-355">"WELCOME, O KING!&rdquo;</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link31-356">"A LARGESS! A LARGESS!&rdquo;</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link31-359">"SHE WAS AT HIS SIDE"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link31-361">"IT IS AN ILL TIME FOR DREAMING"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link31-362">"SHE WAS MY MOTHER"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link32-363">CORONATION
+      DAY</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link32-366">"GATHERS UP THE LADY&rsquo;S LONG
+      TRAIN"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link32-368">"TOM CANTY APPEARED"</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link32-370">"AND FELL ON HIS KNEES BEFORE HIM"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link32-373">"THE GREAT SEAL&mdash;FETCH IT HITHER"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link32-375">"SIRE, THE SEAL IS NOT THERE"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link32-377">"BETHINK THEE, MY KING"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link32-379">"LONG LIVE THE TRUE KING!&rdquo;</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link32-381">"TO CRACK NUTS WITH"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link33-383">EDWARD
+      AS KING</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link33-386">"HE STRETCHED HIMSELF ON THE
+      GROUND"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link33-389">"ARRESTED AS A SUSPICIOUS
+      CHARACTER"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link33-392">"IT IS HIS RIGHT"</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link33-394">"STRIP THIS ROBBER"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link33-395">"TOM ROSE AND KISSED THE KING&rsquo;S HAND"</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link34-397">JUSTICE AND RETRIBUTION</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link35-403">NOTES</a><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br />
+      <a name="c1" id="c1"></a> <a name="link01-021" id="link01-021"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link01-021.jpg (73K)" src="images/01-021.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link01-023" id="link01-023"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link01-023.jpg (147K)" src="images/01-023.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter I. The birth of the Prince and the Pauper.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the ancient city of London, on a certain autumn day in the second
+      quarter of the sixteenth century, a boy was born to a poor family of the
+      name of Canty, who did not want him. &nbsp;On the same day another English
+      child was born to a rich family of the name of Tudor, who did want him.
+      All England wanted him too. &nbsp;England had so longed for him, and hoped
+      for him, and prayed God for him, that, now that he was really come, the
+      people went nearly mad for joy. &nbsp;Mere acquaintances hugged and kissed
+      each other and cried. Everybody took a holiday, and high and low, rich and
+      poor, feasted and danced and sang, and got very mellow; and they kept this
+      up for days and nights together. &nbsp;By day, London was a sight to see,
+      with gay banners waving from every balcony and housetop, and splendid
+      pageants marching along. &nbsp;By night, it was again a sight to see, with
+      its great bonfires at every corner, and its troops of revellers making
+      merry around them. &nbsp;There was no talk in all England but of the new
+      baby, Edward Tudor, Prince of Wales, who lay lapped in silks and satins,
+      unconscious of all this fuss, and not knowing that great lords and ladies
+      were tending him and watching over him&mdash;and not caring, either.
+      &nbsp;But there was no talk about the other baby, Tom Canty, lapped in his
+      poor rags, except among the family of paupers whom he had just come to
+      trouble with his presence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c2" id="c2"></a> <a
+      name="link02-025" id="link02-025"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link02-025.jpg (57K)" src="images/02-025.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter II. Tom&rsquo;s early life.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Let us skip a number of years.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      London was fifteen hundred years old, and was a great town&mdash;for that
+      day. It had a hundred thousand inhabitants&mdash;some think double as
+      many. &nbsp;The streets were very narrow, and crooked, and dirty,
+      especially in the part where Tom Canty lived, which was not far from
+      London Bridge. &nbsp;The houses were of wood, with the second story
+      projecting over the first, and the third sticking its elbows out beyond
+      the second. &nbsp;The higher the houses grew, the broader they grew.
+      &nbsp;They were skeletons of strong criss-cross beams, with solid material
+      between, coated with plaster. &nbsp;The beams were painted red or blue or
+      black, according to the owner&rsquo;s taste, and this gave the houses a
+      very picturesque look. &nbsp;The windows were small, glazed with little
+      diamond-shaped panes, and they opened outward, on hinges, like doors.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The house which Tom&rsquo;s father lived in was up a foul little pocket
+      called Offal Court, out of Pudding Lane. &nbsp;It was small, decayed, and
+      rickety, but it was packed full of wretchedly poor families. Canty&rsquo;s
+      tribe occupied a room on the third floor. &nbsp;The mother and father had
+      a sort of bedstead in the corner; but Tom, his grandmother, and his two
+      sisters, Bet and Nan, were not restricted&mdash;they had all the floor to
+      themselves, and might sleep where they chose. &nbsp;There were the remains
+      of a blanket or two, and some bundles of ancient and dirty straw, but
+      these could not rightly be called beds, for they were not organised; they
+      were kicked into a general pile, mornings, and selections made from the
+      mass at night, for service.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link02-028" id="link02-028"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link02-028.jpg (94K)" src="images/02-028.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Bet and Nan were fifteen years old&mdash;twins. &nbsp;They were
+      good-hearted girls, unclean, clothed in rags, and profoundly ignorant.
+      &nbsp;Their mother was like them. &nbsp;But the father and the grandmother
+      were a couple of fiends. &nbsp;They got drunk whenever they could; then
+      they fought each other or anybody else who came in the way; they cursed
+      and swore always, drunk or sober; John Canty was a thief, and his mother a
+      beggar. &nbsp;They made beggars of the children, but failed to make
+      thieves of them. &nbsp;Among, but not of, the dreadful rabble that
+      inhabited the house, was a good old priest whom the King had turned out of
+      house and home with a pension of a few farthings, and he used to get the
+      children aside and teach them right ways secretly. Father Andrew also
+      taught Tom a little Latin, and how to read and write; and would have done
+      the same with the girls, but they were afraid of the jeers of their
+      friends, who could not have endured such a queer accomplishment in them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All Offal Court was just such another hive as Canty&rsquo;s house.
+      Drunkenness, riot and brawling were the order, there, every night and
+      nearly all night long. &nbsp;Broken heads were as common as hunger in that
+      place. &nbsp;Yet little Tom was not unhappy. &nbsp;He had a hard time of
+      it, but did not know it. &nbsp;It was the sort of time that all the Offal
+      Court boys had, therefore he supposed it was the correct and comfortable
+      thing. &nbsp;When he came home empty-handed at night, he knew his father
+      would curse him and thrash him first, and that when he was done the awful
+      grandmother would do it all over again and improve on it; and that away in
+      the night his starving mother would slip to him stealthily with any
+      miserable scrap or crust she had been able to save for him by going hungry
+      herself, notwithstanding she was often caught in that sort of treason and
+      soundly beaten for it by her husband.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link02-029" id="link02-029"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link02-029.jpg (55K)" src="images/02-029.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      No, Tom&rsquo;s life went along well enough, especially in summer. &nbsp;He
+      only begged just enough to save himself, for the laws against mendicancy
+      were stringent, and the penalties heavy; so he put in a good deal of his
+      time listening to good Father Andrew&rsquo;s charming old tales and
+      legends about giants and fairies, dwarfs and genii, and enchanted castles,
+      and gorgeous kings and princes. &nbsp;His head grew to be full of these
+      wonderful things, and many a night as he lay in the dark on his scant and
+      offensive straw, tired, hungry, and smarting from a thrashing, he
+      unleashed his imagination and soon forgot his aches and pains in delicious
+      picturings to himself of the charmed life of a petted prince in a regal
+      palace. &nbsp;One desire came in time to haunt him day and night: &nbsp;it
+      was to see a real prince, with his own eyes. &nbsp;He spoke of it once to
+      some of his Offal Court comrades; but they jeered him and scoffed him so
+      unmercifully that he was glad to keep his dream to himself after that.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link02-030" id="link02-030"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link02-030.jpg (80K)" src="images/02-030.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He often read the priest&rsquo;s old books and got him to explain and
+      enlarge upon them. &nbsp;His dreamings and readings worked certain changes
+      in him, by- and-by. &nbsp;His dream-people were so fine that he grew to
+      lament his shabby clothing and his dirt, and to wish to be clean and
+      better clad. &nbsp;He went on playing in the mud just the same, and
+      enjoying it, too; but, instead of splashing around in the Thames solely
+      for the fun of it, he began to find an added value in it because of the
+      washings and cleansings it afforded.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom could always find something going on around the Maypole in Cheapside,
+      and at the fairs; and now and then he and the rest of London had a chance
+      to see a military parade when some famous unfortunate was carried prisoner
+      to the Tower, by land or boat. One summer&rsquo;s day he saw poor Anne
+      Askew and three men burned at the stake in Smithfield, and heard an
+      ex-Bishop preach a sermon to them which did not interest him. &nbsp;Yes,
+      Tom&rsquo;s life was varied and pleasant enough, on the whole.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link02-031" id="link02-031"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link02-031.jpg (171K)" src="images/02-031.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By-and-by Tom&rsquo;s reading and dreaming about princely life wrought
+      such a strong effect upon him that he began to <i>act</i> the prince,
+      unconsciously. His speech and manners became curiously ceremonious and
+      courtly, to the vast admiration and amusement of his intimates. &nbsp;But
+      Tom&rsquo;s influence among these young people began to grow now, day by
+      day; and in time he came to be looked up to, by them, with a sort of
+      wondering awe, as a superior being. &nbsp;He seemed to know so much! and
+      he could do and say such marvellous things! and withal, he was so deep and
+      wise! &nbsp;Tom&rsquo;s remarks, and Tom&rsquo;s performances, were
+      reported by the boys to their elders; and these, also, presently began to
+      discuss Tom Canty, and to regard him as a most gifted and extraordinary
+      creature. &nbsp;Full-grown people brought their perplexities to Tom for
+      solution, and were often astonished at the wit and wisdom of his
+      decisions. &nbsp;In fact he was become a hero to all who knew him except
+      his own family&mdash;these, only, saw nothing in him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link02-032" id="link02-032"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link02-032.jpg (47K)" src="images/02-032.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Privately, after a while, Tom organised a royal court! &nbsp;He was the
+      prince; his special comrades were guards, chamberlains, equerries, lords
+      and ladies in waiting, and the royal family. &nbsp;Daily the mock prince
+      was received with elaborate ceremonials borrowed by Tom from his romantic
+      readings; daily the great affairs of the mimic kingdom were discussed in
+      the royal council, and daily his mimic highness issued decrees to his
+      imaginary armies, navies, and viceroyalties.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After which, he would go forth in his rags and beg a few farthings, eat
+      his poor crust, take his customary cuffs and abuse, and then stretch
+      himself upon his handful of foul straw, and resume his empty grandeurs in
+      his dreams.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And still his desire to look just once upon a real prince, in the flesh,
+      grew upon him, day by day, and week by week, until at last it absorbed all
+      other desires, and became the one passion of his life.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link02-033" id="link02-033"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link02-033.jpg (41K)" src="images/02-033.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      One January day, on his usual begging tour, he tramped despondently up and
+      down the region round about Mincing Lane and Little East Cheap, hour after
+      hour, bare-footed and cold, looking in at cook-shop windows and longing
+      for the dreadful pork-pies and other deadly inventions displayed there&mdash;for
+      to him these were dainties fit for the angels; that is, judging by the
+      smell, they were&mdash;for it had never been his good luck to own and eat
+      one. There was a cold drizzle of rain; the atmosphere was murky; it was a
+      melancholy day. &nbsp;At night Tom reached home so wet and tired and
+      hungry that it was not possible for his father and grandmother to observe
+      his forlorn condition and not be moved&mdash;after their fashion;
+      wherefore they gave him a brisk cuffing at once and sent him to bed.
+      &nbsp;For a long time his pain and hunger, and the swearing and fighting
+      going on in the building, kept him awake; but at last his thoughts drifted
+      away to far, romantic lands, and he fell asleep in the company of jewelled
+      and gilded princelings who live in vast palaces, and had servants
+      salaaming before them or flying to execute their orders. &nbsp;And then,
+      as usual, he dreamed that <i>he</i> was a princeling himself.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All night long the glories of his royal estate shone upon him; he moved
+      among great lords and ladies, in a blaze of light, breathing perfumes,
+      drinking in delicious music, and answering the reverent obeisances of the
+      glittering throng as it parted to make way for him, with here a smile, and
+      there a nod of his princely head.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And when he awoke in the morning and looked upon the wretchedness about
+      him, his dream had had its usual effect&mdash;it had intensified the
+      sordidness of his surroundings a thousandfold. &nbsp;Then came bitterness,
+      and heart-break, and tears.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c3" id="c3"></a> <a
+      name="link03-035" id="link03-035"></a>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link03-035.jpg (77K)" src="images/03-035.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link03-037" id="link03-037"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link03-037.jpg (143K)" src="images/03-037.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter III. Tom&rsquo;s meeting with the Prince.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom got up hungry, and sauntered hungry away, but with his thoughts busy
+      with the shadowy splendours of his night&rsquo;s dreams. He wandered here
+      and there in the city, hardly noticing where he was going, or what was
+      happening around him. &nbsp;People jostled him, and some gave him rough
+      speech; but it was all lost on the musing boy. &nbsp;By-and-by he found
+      himself at Temple Bar, the farthest from home he had ever travelled in
+      that direction. &nbsp;He stopped and considered a moment, then fell into
+      his imaginings again, and passed on outside the walls of London. &nbsp;The
+      Strand had ceased to be a country-road then, and regarded itself as a
+      street, but by a strained construction; for, though there was a tolerably
+      compact row of houses on one side of it, there were only some scattered
+      great buildings on the other, these being palaces of rich nobles, with
+      ample and beautiful grounds stretching to the river&mdash;grounds that are
+      now closely packed with grim acres of brick and stone.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom discovered Charing Village presently, and rested himself at the
+      beautiful cross built there by a bereaved king of earlier days; then idled
+      down a quiet, lovely road, past the great cardinal&rsquo;s stately palace,
+      toward a far more mighty and majestic palace beyond&mdash;Westminster. Tom
+      stared in glad wonder at the vast pile of masonry, the wide-spreading
+      wings, the frowning bastions and turrets, the huge stone gateway, with its
+      gilded bars and its magnificent array of colossal granite lions, and other
+      the signs and symbols of English royalty. &nbsp;Was the desire of his soul
+      to be satisfied at last? &nbsp;Here, indeed, was a king&rsquo;s palace.
+      &nbsp;Might he not hope to see a prince now&mdash;a prince of flesh and
+      blood, if Heaven were willing?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At each side of the gilded gate stood a living statue&mdash;that is to
+      say, an erect and stately and motionless man-at-arms, clad from head to
+      heel in shining steel armour. &nbsp;At a respectful distance were many
+      country folk, and people from the city, waiting for any chance glimpse of
+      royalty that might offer. &nbsp;Splendid carriages, with splendid people
+      in them and splendid servants outside, were arriving and departing by
+      several other noble gateways that pierced the royal enclosure.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Poor little Tom, in his rags, approached, and was moving slowly and
+      timidly past the sentinels, with a beating heart and a rising hope, when
+      all at once he caught sight through the golden bars of a spectacle that
+      almost made him shout for joy. &nbsp;Within was a comely boy, tanned and
+      brown with sturdy outdoor sports and exercises, whose clothing was all of
+      lovely silks and satins, shining with jewels; at his hip a little jewelled
+      sword and dagger; dainty buskins on his feet, with red heels; and on his
+      head a jaunty crimson cap, with drooping plumes fastened with a great
+      sparkling gem. &nbsp;Several gorgeous gentlemen stood near&mdash;his
+      servants, without a doubt. &nbsp;Oh! he was a prince&mdash;a prince, a
+      living prince, a real prince&mdash;without the shadow of a question; and
+      the prayer of the pauper-boy&rsquo;s heart was answered at last.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom&rsquo;s breath came quick and short with excitement, and his eyes grew
+      big with wonder and delight. &nbsp;Everything gave way in his mind
+      instantly to one desire: &nbsp;that was to get close to the prince, and
+      have a good, devouring look at him. &nbsp;Before he knew what he was
+      about, he had his face against the gate-bars. &nbsp;The next instant one
+      of the soldiers snatched him rudely away, and sent him spinning among the
+      gaping crowd of country gawks and London idlers. &nbsp;The soldier said,&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mind thy manners, thou young beggar!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The crowd jeered and laughed; but the young prince sprang to the gate with
+      his face flushed, and his eyes flashing with indignation, and cried out,&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How dar&rsquo;st thou use a poor lad like that? &nbsp;How dar&rsquo;st
+      thou use the King my father&rsquo;s meanest subject so? &nbsp;Open the
+      gates, and let him in!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link03-039" id="link03-039"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link03-039.jpg (171K)" src="images/03-039.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      You should have seen that fickle crowd snatch off their hats then. You
+      should have heard them cheer, and shout, &ldquo;Long live the Prince of
+      Wales!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The soldiers presented arms with their halberds, opened the gates, and
+      presented again as the little Prince of Poverty passed in, in his
+      fluttering rags, to join hands with the Prince of Limitless Plenty.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Edward Tudor said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thou lookest tired and hungry: &nbsp;thou&rsquo;st been treated
+      ill. &nbsp;Come with me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Half a dozen attendants sprang forward to&mdash;I don&rsquo;t know what;
+      interfere, no doubt. &nbsp;But they were waved aside with a right royal
+      gesture, and they stopped stock still where they were, like so many
+      statues. &nbsp;Edward took Tom to a rich apartment in the palace, which he
+      called his cabinet. &nbsp;By his command a repast was brought such as Tom
+      had never encountered before except in books. &nbsp;The prince, with
+      princely delicacy and breeding, sent away the servants, so that his humble
+      guest might not be embarrassed by their critical presence; then he sat
+      near by, and asked questions while Tom ate.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What is thy name, lad?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Tom Canty, an&rsquo; it please thee, sir.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&rsquo;Tis an odd one. &nbsp;Where dost live?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In the city, please thee, sir. &nbsp;Offal Court, out of Pudding
+      Lane.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Offal Court! &nbsp;Truly &rsquo;tis another odd one. &nbsp;Hast
+      parents?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Parents have I, sir, and a grand-dam likewise that is but
+      indifferently precious to me, God forgive me if it be offence to say it&mdash;also
+      twin sisters, Nan and Bet.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then is thy grand-dam not over kind to thee, I take it?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Neither to any other is she, so please your worship. &nbsp;She hath
+      a wicked heart, and worketh evil all her days.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Doth she mistreat thee?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There be times that she stayeth her hand, being asleep or overcome
+      with drink; but when she hath her judgment clear again, she maketh it up
+      to me with goodly beatings.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A fierce look came into the little prince&rsquo;s eyes, and he cried out&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What! &nbsp;Beatings?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, indeed, yes, please you, sir.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;<i>Beatings</i>!&mdash;and thou so frail and little. &nbsp;Hark ye:
+      &nbsp;before the night come, she shall hie her to the Tower. &nbsp;The
+      King my father&rdquo;&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In sooth, you forget, sir, her low degree. &nbsp;The Tower is for
+      the great alone.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;True, indeed. &nbsp;I had not thought of that. &nbsp;I will
+      consider of her punishment. &nbsp;Is thy father kind to thee?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not more than Gammer Canty, sir.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Fathers be alike, mayhap. &nbsp;Mine hath not a doll&rsquo;s
+      temper. &nbsp;He smiteth with a heavy hand, yet spareth me: &nbsp;he
+      spareth me not always with his tongue, though, sooth to say. &nbsp;How
+      doth thy mother use thee?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;She is good, sir, and giveth me neither sorrow nor pain of any
+      sort. And Nan and Bet are like to her in this.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How old be these?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link03-041" id="link03-041"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link03-041.jpg (85K)" src="images/03-041.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Fifteen, an&rsquo; it please you, sir.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The Lady Elizabeth, my sister, is fourteen, and the Lady Jane Grey,
+      my cousin, is of mine own age, and comely and gracious withal; but my
+      sister the Lady Mary, with her gloomy mien and&mdash;Look you: &nbsp;do
+      thy sisters forbid their servants to smile, lest the sin destroy their
+      souls?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They? &nbsp;Oh, dost think, sir, that <i>they</i> have servants?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The little prince contemplated the little pauper gravely a moment, then
+      said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And prithee, why not? &nbsp;Who helpeth them undress at night?
+      &nbsp;Who attireth them when they rise?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;None, sir. &nbsp;Would&rsquo;st have them take off their garment,
+      and sleep without&mdash;like the beasts?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Their garment! &nbsp;Have they but one?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, good your worship, what would they do with more? &nbsp;Truly
+      they have not two bodies each.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is a quaint and marvellous thought! &nbsp;Thy pardon, I had not
+      meant to laugh. &nbsp;But thy good Nan and thy Bet shall have raiment and
+      lackeys enow, and that soon, too: &nbsp;my cofferer shall look to it.
+      &nbsp;No, thank me not; &rsquo;tis nothing. &nbsp;Thou speakest well; thou
+      hast an easy grace in it. &nbsp;Art learned?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know not if I am or not, sir. &nbsp;The good priest that is
+      called Father Andrew taught me, of his kindness, from his books.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Know&rsquo;st thou the Latin?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But scantly, sir, I doubt.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Learn it, lad: &nbsp;&rsquo;tis hard only at first. &nbsp;The Greek
+      is harder; but neither these nor any tongues else, I think, are hard to
+      the Lady Elizabeth and my cousin. &nbsp;Thou should&rsquo;st hear those
+      damsels at it! &nbsp;But tell me of thy Offal Court. &nbsp;Hast thou a
+      pleasant life there?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In truth, yes, so please you, sir, save when one is hungry. There
+      be Punch-and-Judy shows, and monkeys&mdash;oh such antic creatures! and so
+      bravely dressed!&mdash;and there be plays wherein they that play do shout
+      and fight till all are slain, and &rsquo;tis so fine to see, and costeth
+      but a farthing&mdash;albeit &rsquo;tis main hard to get the farthing,
+      please your worship.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Tell me more.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We lads of Offal Court do strive against each other with the
+      cudgel, like to the fashion of the &rsquo;prentices, sometimes.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The prince&rsquo;s eyes flashed. &nbsp;Said he&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Marry, that would not I mislike. &nbsp;Tell me more.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We strive in races, sir, to see who of us shall be fleetest.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That would I like also. &nbsp;Speak on.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In summer, sir, we wade and swim in the canals and in the river,
+      and each doth duck his neighbour, and splatter him with water, and dive
+      and shout and tumble and&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&rsquo;Twould be worth my father&rsquo;s kingdom but to enjoy it
+      once! Prithee go on.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We dance and sing about the Maypole in Cheapside; we play in the
+      sand, each covering his neighbour up; and times we make mud pastry&mdash;oh
+      the lovely mud, it hath not its like for delightfulness in all the world!&mdash;we
+      do fairly wallow in the mud, sir, saving your worship&rsquo;s presence.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, prithee, say no more, &rsquo;tis glorious! &nbsp;If that I
+      could but clothe me in raiment like to thine, and strip my feet, and revel
+      in the mud once, just once, with none to rebuke me or forbid, meseemeth I
+      could forego the crown!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And if that I could clothe me once, sweet sir, as thou art clad&mdash;just
+      once&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oho, would&rsquo;st like it? &nbsp;Then so shall it be. &nbsp;Doff
+      thy rags, and don these splendours, lad! &nbsp;It is a brief happiness,
+      but will be not less keen for that. &nbsp;We will have it while we may,
+      and change again before any come to molest.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link03-043" id="link03-043"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link03-043.jpg (201K)" src="images/03-043.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A few minutes later the little Prince of Wales was garlanded with Tom&rsquo;s
+      fluttering odds and ends, and the little Prince of Pauperdom was tricked
+      out in the gaudy plumage of royalty. &nbsp;The two went and stood side by
+      side before a great mirror, and lo, a miracle: there did not seem to have
+      been any change made! &nbsp;They stared at each other, then at the glass,
+      then at each other again. &nbsp;At last the puzzled princeling said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What dost thou make of this?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, good your worship, require me not to answer. &nbsp;It is not
+      meet that one of my degree should utter the thing.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then will <i>I</i> utter it. &nbsp;Thou hast the same hair, the
+      same eyes, the same voice and manner, the same form and stature, the same
+      face and countenance that I bear. &nbsp;Fared we forth naked, there is
+      none could say which was you, and which the Prince of Wales. &nbsp;And,
+      now that I am clothed as thou wert clothed, it seemeth I should be able
+      the more nearly to feel as thou didst when the brute soldier&mdash;Hark
+      ye, is not this a bruise upon your hand?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; but it is a slight thing, and your worship knoweth that the
+      poor man-at-arms&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Peace! &nbsp;It was a shameful thing and a cruel!&rdquo; cried the
+      little prince, stamping his bare foot. &nbsp;"If the King&mdash;Stir not a
+      step till I come again! It is a command!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In a moment he had snatched up and put away an article of national
+      importance that lay upon a table, and was out at the door and flying
+      through the palace grounds in his bannered rags, with a hot face and
+      glowing eyes. &nbsp;As soon as he reached the great gate, he seized the
+      bars, and tried to shake them, shouting&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Open! &nbsp;Unbar the gates!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The soldier that had maltreated Tom obeyed promptly; and as the prince
+      burst through the portal, half-smothered with royal wrath, the soldier
+      fetched him a sounding box on the ear that sent him whirling to the
+      roadway, and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Take that, thou beggar&rsquo;s spawn, for what thou got&rsquo;st me
+      from his Highness!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The crowd roared with laughter. &nbsp;The prince picked himself out of the
+      mud, and made fiercely at the sentry, shouting&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am the Prince of Wales, my person is sacred; and thou shalt hang
+      for laying thy hand upon me!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The soldier brought his halberd to a present-arms and said mockingly&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I salute your gracious Highness.&rdquo; &nbsp;Then angrily&mdash;&ldquo;Be
+      off, thou crazy rubbish!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link03-046" id="link03-046"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link03-046.jpg (154K)" src="images/03-046.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Here the jeering crowd closed round the poor little prince, and hustled
+      him far down the road, hooting him, and shouting&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Way for his Royal Highness! &nbsp;Way for the Prince of Wales!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c4" id="c4"></a> <a
+      name="link04-047" id="link04-047"></a>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link04-047.jpg (47K)" src="images/04-047.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter IV. The Prince&rsquo;s troubles begin.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After hours of persistent pursuit and persecution, the little prince was
+      at last deserted by the rabble and left to himself. &nbsp;As long as he
+      had been able to rage against the mob, and threaten it royally, and
+      royally utter commands that were good stuff to laugh at, he was very
+      entertaining; but when weariness finally forced him to be silent, he was
+      no longer of use to his tormentors, and they sought amusement elsewhere.
+      He looked about him, now, but could not recognise the locality. &nbsp;He
+      was within the city of London&mdash;that was all he knew. &nbsp;He moved
+      on, aimlessly, and in a little while the houses thinned, and the
+      passers-by were infrequent. &nbsp;He bathed his bleeding feet in the brook
+      which flowed then where Farringdon Street now is; rested a few moments,
+      then passed on, and presently came upon a great space with only a few
+      scattered houses in it, and a prodigious church. &nbsp;He recognised this
+      church. &nbsp;Scaffoldings were about, everywhere, and swarms of workmen;
+      for it was undergoing elaborate repairs. &nbsp;The prince took heart at
+      once&mdash;he felt that his troubles were at an end, now. &nbsp;He said to
+      himself, &ldquo;It is the ancient Grey Friars&rsquo; Church, which the
+      king my father hath taken from the monks and given for a home for ever for
+      poor and forsaken children, and new-named it Christ&rsquo;s Church. &nbsp;Right
+      gladly will they serve the son of him who hath done so generously by them&mdash;and
+      the more that that son is himself as poor and as forlorn as any that be
+      sheltered here this day, or ever shall be.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He was soon in the midst of a crowd of boys who were running, jumping,
+      playing at ball and leap-frog, and otherwise disporting themselves, and
+      right noisily, too. &nbsp;They were all dressed alike, and in the fashion
+      which in that day prevailed among serving-men and &rsquo;prentices{1}&mdash;that
+      is to say, each had on the crown of his head a flat black cap about the
+      size of a saucer, which was not useful as a covering, it being of such
+      scanty dimensions, neither was it ornamental; from beneath it the hair
+      fell, unparted, to the middle of the forehead, and was cropped straight
+      around; a clerical band at the neck; a blue gown that fitted closely and
+      hung as low as the knees or lower; full sleeves; a broad red belt; bright
+      yellow stockings, gartered above the knees; low shoes with large metal
+      buckles. It was a sufficiently ugly costume.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The boys stopped their play and flocked about the prince, who said with
+      native dignity&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good lads, say to your master that Edward Prince of Wales desireth
+      speech with him.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A great shout went up at this, and one rude fellow said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Marry, art thou his grace&rsquo;s messenger, beggar?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The prince&rsquo;s face flushed with anger, and his ready hand flew to his
+      hip, but there was nothing there. &nbsp;There was a storm of laughter, and
+      one boy said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Didst mark that? &nbsp;He fancied he had a sword&mdash;belike he is
+      the prince himself.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This sally brought more laughter. &nbsp;Poor Edward drew himself up
+      proudly and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am the prince; and it ill beseemeth you that feed upon the king
+      my father&rsquo;s bounty to use me so.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This was vastly enjoyed, as the laughter testified. &nbsp;The youth who
+      had first spoken, shouted to his comrades&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ho, swine, slaves, pensioners of his grace&rsquo;s princely father,
+      where be your manners? &nbsp;Down on your marrow bones, all of ye, and do
+      reverence to his kingly port and royal rags!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With boisterous mirth they dropped upon their knees in a body and did mock
+      homage to their prey. &nbsp;The prince spurned the nearest boy with his
+      foot, and said fiercely&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Take thou that, till the morrow come and I build thee a gibbet!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Ah, but this was not a joke&mdash;this was going beyond fun. &nbsp;The
+      laughter ceased on the instant, and fury took its place. &nbsp;A dozen
+      shouted&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hale him forth! &nbsp;To the horse-pond, to the horse-pond! &nbsp;Where
+      be the dogs? &nbsp;Ho, there, Lion! ho, Fangs!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then followed such a thing as England had never seen before&mdash;the
+      sacred person of the heir to the throne rudely buffeted by plebeian hands,
+      and set upon and torn by dogs.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link04-050" id="link04-050"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link04-050.jpg (84K)" src="images/04-050.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As night drew to a close that day, the prince found himself far down in
+      the close-built portion of the city. &nbsp;His body was bruised, his hands
+      were bleeding, and his rags were all besmirched with mud. &nbsp;He
+      wandered on and on, and grew more and more bewildered, and so tired and
+      faint he could hardly drag one foot after the other. &nbsp;He had ceased
+      to ask questions of anyone, since they brought him only insult instead of
+      information. &nbsp;He kept muttering to himself, &ldquo;Offal Court&mdash;that
+      is the name; if I can but find it before my strength is wholly spent and I
+      drop, then am I saved&mdash;for his people will take me to the palace and
+      prove that I am none of theirs, but the true prince, and I shall have mine
+      own again.&rdquo; &nbsp;And now and then his mind reverted to his
+      treatment by those rude Christ&rsquo;s Hospital boys, and he said, &ldquo;When
+      I am king, they shall not have bread and shelter only, but also teachings
+      out of books; for a full belly is little worth where the mind is starved,
+      and the heart. &nbsp;I will keep this diligently in my remembrance, that
+      this day&rsquo;s lesson be not lost upon me, and my people suffer thereby;
+      for learning softeneth the heart and breedeth gentleness and charity.&rdquo;
+      {1}
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The lights began to twinkle, it came on to rain, the wind rose, and a raw
+      and gusty night set in. &nbsp;The houseless prince, the homeless heir to
+      the throne of England, still moved on, drifting deeper into the maze of
+      squalid alleys where the swarming hives of poverty and misery were massed
+      together.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Suddenly a great drunken ruffian collared him and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link04-052" id="link04-052"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link04-052.jpg (80K)" src="images/04-052.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Out to this time of night again, and hast not brought a farthing
+      home, I warrant me! &nbsp;If it be so, an&rsquo; I do not break all the
+      bones in thy lean body, then am I not John Canty, but some other.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The prince twisted himself loose, unconsciously brushed his profaned
+      shoulder, and eagerly said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, art <i>his</i> father, truly? &nbsp;Sweet heaven grant it be so&mdash;then
+      wilt thou fetch him away and restore me!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;<i>His</i> father? &nbsp;I know not what thou mean&rsquo;st; I but
+      know I am <i>thy</i> father, as thou shalt soon have cause to&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, jest not, palter not, delay not!&mdash;I am worn, I am wounded,
+      I can bear no more. &nbsp;Take me to the king my father, and he will make
+      thee rich beyond thy wildest dreams. &nbsp;Believe me, man, believe me!&mdash;I
+      speak no lie, but only the truth!&mdash;put forth thy hand and save me!
+      &nbsp;I am indeed the Prince of Wales!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The man stared down, stupefied, upon the lad, then shook his head and
+      muttered&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Gone stark mad as any Tom o&rsquo; Bedlam!&rdquo;&mdash;then
+      collared him once more, and said with a coarse laugh and an oath, &ldquo;But
+      mad or no mad, I and thy Gammer Canty will soon find where the soft places
+      in thy bones lie, or I&rsquo;m no true man!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With this he dragged the frantic and struggling prince away, and
+      disappeared up a front court followed by a delighted and noisy swarm of
+      human vermin.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c5" id="c5"></a> <a
+      name="link05-055" id="link05-055"></a>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link05-055.jpg (73K)" src="images/05-055.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link05-057" id="link05-057"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link05-057.jpg (129K)" src="images/05-057.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter V. Tom as a Patrician.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom Canty, left alone in the prince&rsquo;s cabinet, made good use of his
+      opportunity. &nbsp;He turned himself this way and that before the great
+      mirror, admiring his finery; then walked away, imitating the prince&rsquo;s
+      high-bred carriage, and still observing results in the glass. &nbsp;Next
+      he drew the beautiful sword, and bowed, kissing the blade, and laying it
+      across his breast, as he had seen a noble knight do, by way of salute to
+      the lieutenant of the Tower, five or six weeks before, when delivering the
+      great lords of Norfolk and Surrey into his hands for captivity. &nbsp;Tom
+      played with the jewelled dagger that hung upon his thigh; he examined the
+      costly and exquisite ornaments of the room; he tried each of the sumptuous
+      chairs, and thought how proud he would be if the Offal Court herd could
+      only peep in and see him in his grandeur. &nbsp;He wondered if they would
+      believe the marvellous tale he should tell when he got home, or if they
+      would shake their heads, and say his overtaxed imagination had at last
+      upset his reason.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At the end of half an hour it suddenly occurred to him that the prince was
+      gone a long time; then right away he began to feel lonely; very soon he
+      fell to listening and longing, and ceased to toy with the pretty things
+      about him; he grew uneasy, then restless, then distressed. Suppose some
+      one should come, and catch him in the prince&rsquo;s clothes, and the
+      prince not there to explain. &nbsp;Might they not hang him at once, and
+      inquire into his case afterward? &nbsp;He had heard that the great were
+      prompt about small matters. &nbsp;His fear rose higher and higher; and
+      trembling he softly opened the door to the antechamber, resolved to fly
+      and seek the prince, and, through him, protection and release. &nbsp;Six
+      gorgeous gentlemen-servants and two young pages of high degree, clothed
+      like butterflies, sprang to their feet and bowed low before him. &nbsp;He
+      stepped quickly back and shut the door. &nbsp;He said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link05-058" id="link05-058"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link05-058.jpg (138K)" src="images/05-058.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, they mock at me! &nbsp;They will go and tell. &nbsp;Oh! why
+      came I here to cast away my life?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He walked up and down the floor, filled with nameless fears, listening,
+      starting at every trifling sound. &nbsp;Presently the door swung open, and
+      a silken page said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The Lady Jane Grey.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The door closed and a sweet young girl, richly clad, bounded toward him.
+      But she stopped suddenly, and said in a distressed voice&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, what aileth thee, my lord?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom&rsquo;s breath was nearly failing him; but he made shift to stammer
+      out&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, be merciful, thou! &nbsp;In sooth I am no lord, but only poor
+      Tom Canty of Offal Court in the city. &nbsp;Prithee let me see the prince,
+      and he will of his grace restore to me my rags, and let me hence unhurt.
+      &nbsp;Oh, be thou merciful, and save me!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By this time the boy was on his knees, and supplicating with his eyes and
+      uplifted hands as well as with his tongue. &nbsp;The young girl seemed
+      horror-stricken. &nbsp;She cried out&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link05-059" id="link05-059"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link05-059.jpg (104K)" src="images/05-059.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;O my lord, on thy knees?&mdash;and to <i>me</i>!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then she fled away in fright; and Tom, smitten with despair, sank down,
+      murmuring&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There is no help, there is no hope. &nbsp;Now will they come and
+      take me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Whilst he lay there benumbed with terror, dreadful tidings were speeding
+      through the palace. &nbsp;The whisper&mdash;for it was whispered always&mdash;flew
+      from menial to menial, from lord to lady, down all the long corridors,
+      from story to story, from saloon to saloon, &ldquo;The prince hath gone
+      mad, the prince hath gone mad!&rdquo; &nbsp;Soon every saloon, every
+      marble hall, had its groups of glittering lords and ladies, and other
+      groups of dazzling lesser folk, talking earnestly together in whispers,
+      and every face had in it dismay. Presently a splendid official came
+      marching by these groups, making solemn proclamation&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;IN THE NAME OF THE KING!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Let none list to this false and foolish matter, upon pain of death, nor
+      discuss the same, nor carry it abroad. &nbsp;In the name of the King!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The whisperings ceased as suddenly as if the whisperers had been stricken
+      dumb.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Soon there was a general buzz along the corridors, of &ldquo;The prince!
+      See, the prince comes!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Poor Tom came slowly walking past the low-bowing groups, trying to bow in
+      return, and meekly gazing upon his strange surroundings with bewildered
+      and pathetic eyes. &nbsp;Great nobles walked upon each side of him, making
+      him lean upon them, and so steady his steps. Behind him followed the
+      court-physicians and some servants.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link05-061" id="link05-061"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link05-061.jpg (144K)" src="images/05-061.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Presently Tom found himself in a noble apartment of the palace and heard
+      the door close behind him. &nbsp;Around him stood those who had come with
+      him. Before him, at a little distance, reclined a very large and very fat
+      man, with a wide, pulpy face, and a stern expression. &nbsp;His large head
+      was very grey; and his whiskers, which he wore only around his face, like
+      a frame, were grey also. &nbsp;His clothing was of rich stuff, but old,
+      and slightly frayed in places. &nbsp;One of his swollen legs had a pillow
+      under it, and was wrapped in bandages. &nbsp;There was silence now; and
+      there was no head there but was bent in reverence, except this man&rsquo;s.
+      &nbsp;This stern-countenanced invalid was the dread Henry VIII. &nbsp;He
+      said&mdash;and his face grew gentle as he began to speak&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How now, my lord Edward, my prince? &nbsp;Hast been minded to cozen
+      me, the good King thy father, who loveth thee, and kindly useth thee, with
+      a sorry jest?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Poor Tom was listening, as well as his dazed faculties would let him, to
+      the beginning of this speech; but when the words &lsquo;me, the good King&rsquo;
+      fell upon his ear, his face blanched, and he dropped as instantly upon his
+      knees as if a shot had brought him there. Lifting up his hands, he
+      exclaimed&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link05-062" id="link05-062"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link05-062.jpg (111K)" src="images/05-062.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thou the <i>King</i>? &nbsp;Then am I undone indeed!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This speech seemed to stun the King. &nbsp;His eyes wandered from face to
+      face aimlessly, then rested, bewildered, upon the boy before him. &nbsp;Then
+      he said in a tone of deep disappointment&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Alack, I had believed the rumour disproportioned to the truth; but
+      I fear me &rsquo;tis not so.&rdquo; &nbsp;He breathed a heavy sigh, and
+      said in a gentle voice, &ldquo;Come to thy father, child: &nbsp;thou art
+      not well.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom was assisted to his feet, and approached the Majesty of England,
+      humble and trembling. &nbsp;The King took the frightened face between his
+      hands, and gazed earnestly and lovingly into it awhile, as if seeking some
+      grateful sign of returning reason there, then pressed the curly head
+      against his breast, and patted it tenderly. &nbsp;Presently he said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Dost not know thy father, child? &nbsp;Break not mine old heart;
+      say thou know&rsquo;st me. &nbsp;Thou <i>dost</i> know me, dost thou not?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yea: &nbsp;thou art my dread lord the King, whom God preserve!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;True, true&mdash;that is well&mdash;be comforted, tremble not so;
+      there is none here would hurt thee; there is none here but loves thee.
+      Thou art better now; thy ill dream passeth&mdash;is&rsquo;t not so? &nbsp;Thou
+      wilt not miscall thyself again, as they say thou didst a little while
+      agone?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I pray thee of thy grace believe me, I did but speak the truth,
+      most dread lord; for I am the meanest among thy subjects, being a pauper
+      born, and &rsquo;tis by a sore mischance and accident I am here, albeit I
+      was therein nothing blameful. &nbsp;I am but young to die, and thou canst
+      save me with one little word. &nbsp;Oh speak it, sir!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Die? &nbsp;Talk not so, sweet prince&mdash;peace, peace, to thy
+      troubled heart&mdash;thou shalt not die!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom dropped upon his knees with a glad cry&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;God requite thy mercy, O my King, and save thee long to bless thy
+      land!&rdquo; Then springing up, he turned a joyful face toward the two
+      lords in waiting, and exclaimed, &ldquo;Thou heard&rsquo;st it! &nbsp;I am
+      not to die: &nbsp;the King hath said it!&rdquo; &nbsp;There was no
+      movement, save that all bowed with grave respect; but no one spoke. &nbsp;He
+      hesitated, a little confused, then turned timidly toward the King, saying,
+      &ldquo;I may go now?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link05-064" id="link05-064"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link05-064.jpg (126K)" src="images/05-064.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Go? &nbsp;Surely, if thou desirest. &nbsp;But why not tarry yet a
+      little? Whither would&rsquo;st go?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom dropped his eyes, and answered humbly&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Peradventure I mistook; but I did think me free, and so was I moved
+      to seek again the kennel where I was born and bred to misery, yet which
+      harboureth my mother and my sisters, and so is home to me; whereas these
+      pomps and splendours whereunto I am not used&mdash;oh, please you, sir, to
+      let me go!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King was silent and thoughtful a while, and his face betrayed a
+      growing distress and uneasiness. &nbsp;Presently he said, with something
+      of hope in his voice&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Perchance he is but mad upon this one strain, and hath his wits
+      unmarred as toucheth other matter. &nbsp;God send it may be so! &nbsp;We
+      will make trial.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then he asked Tom a question in Latin, and Tom answered him lamely in the
+      same tongue. &nbsp;The lords and doctors manifested their gratification
+      also. The King said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&rsquo;Twas not according to his schooling and ability, but showeth
+      that his mind is but diseased, not stricken fatally. &nbsp;How say you,
+      sir?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The physician addressed bowed low, and replied&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It jumpeth with my own conviction, sire, that thou hast divined
+      aright.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link05-065" id="link05-065"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link05-065.jpg (123K)" src="images/05-065.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King looked pleased with this encouragement, coming as it did from so
+      excellent authority, and continued with good heart&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now mark ye all: &nbsp;we will try him further.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He put a question to Tom in French. &nbsp;Tom stood silent a moment,
+      embarrassed by having so many eyes centred upon him, then said diffidently&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have no knowledge of this tongue, so please your majesty.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King fell back upon his couch. &nbsp;The attendants flew to his
+      assistance; but he put them aside, and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Trouble me not&mdash;it is nothing but a scurvy faintness. &nbsp;Raise
+      me! There, &rsquo;tis sufficient. &nbsp;Come hither, child; there, rest
+      thy poor troubled head upon thy father&rsquo;s heart, and be at peace.
+      &nbsp;Thou&rsquo;lt soon be well: &nbsp;&rsquo;tis but a passing fantasy.
+      &nbsp;Fear thou not; thou&rsquo;lt soon be well.&rdquo; &nbsp;Then he
+      turned toward the company: &nbsp;his gentle manner changed, and baleful
+      lightnings began to play from his eyes. &nbsp;He said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;List ye all! &nbsp;This my son is mad; but it is not permanent.
+      &nbsp;Over-study hath done this, and somewhat too much of confinement.
+      &nbsp;Away with his books and teachers! see ye to it. &nbsp;Pleasure him
+      with sports, beguile him in wholesome ways, so that his health come again.&rdquo;
+      &nbsp;He raised himself higher still, and went on with energy, &ldquo;He
+      is mad; but he is my son, and England&rsquo;s heir; and, mad or sane,
+      still shall he reign! &nbsp;And hear ye further, and proclaim it: whoso
+      speaketh of this his distemper worketh against the peace and order of
+      these realms, and shall to the gallows! . . . Give me to drink&mdash;I
+      burn: &nbsp;this sorrow sappeth my strength. . . . There, take away the
+      cup. . . . Support me. &nbsp;There, that is well. &nbsp;Mad, is he? &nbsp;Were
+      he a thousand times mad, yet is he Prince of Wales, and I the King will
+      confirm it. &nbsp;This very morrow shall he be installed in his princely
+      dignity in due and ancient form. &nbsp;Take instant order for it, my lord
+      Hertford.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link05-067" id="link05-067"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link05-067.jpg (162K)" src="images/05-067.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      One of the nobles knelt at the royal couch, and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The King&rsquo;s majesty knoweth that the Hereditary Great Marshal
+      of England lieth attainted in the Tower. &nbsp;It were not meet that one
+      attainted&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Peace! &nbsp;Insult not mine ears with his hated name. &nbsp;Is
+      this man to live for ever? &nbsp;Am I to be baulked of my will? &nbsp;Is
+      the prince to tarry uninstalled, because, forsooth, the realm lacketh an
+      Earl Marshal free of treasonable taint to invest him with his honours? No,
+      by the splendour of God! &nbsp;Warn my Parliament to bring me Norfolk&rsquo;s
+      doom before the sun rise again, else shall they answer for it grievously!&rdquo;
+      {1}
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Lord Hertford said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The King&rsquo;s will is law;&rdquo; and, rising, returned to his
+      former place.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link05-068" id="link05-068"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link05-068.jpg (114K)" src="images/05-068.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Gradually the wrath faded out of the old King&rsquo;s face, and he said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Kiss me, my prince. &nbsp;There . . . what fearest thou? &nbsp;Am I
+      not thy loving father?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thou art good to me that am unworthy, O mighty and gracious lord:
+      that in truth I know. &nbsp;But&mdash;but&mdash;it grieveth me to think of
+      him that is to die, and&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, &rsquo;tis like thee, &rsquo;tis like thee! &nbsp;I know thy
+      heart is still the same, even though thy mind hath suffered hurt, for thou
+      wert ever of a gentle spirit. &nbsp;But this duke standeth between thee
+      and thine honours: &nbsp;I will have another in his stead that shall bring
+      no taint to his great office. Comfort thee, my prince: &nbsp;trouble not
+      thy poor head with this matter.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But is it not I that speed him hence, my liege? &nbsp;How long
+      might he not live, but for me?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Take no thought of him, my prince: &nbsp;he is not worthy. &nbsp;Kiss
+      me once again, and go to thy trifles and amusements; for my malady
+      distresseth me. &nbsp;I am aweary, and would rest. &nbsp;Go with thine
+      uncle Hertford and thy people, and come again when my body is refreshed.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom, heavy-hearted, was conducted from the presence, for this last
+      sentence was a death-blow to the hope he had cherished that now he would
+      be set free. &nbsp;Once more he heard the buzz of low voices exclaiming,
+      &ldquo;The prince, the prince comes!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      His spirits sank lower and lower as he moved between the glittering files
+      of bowing courtiers; for he recognised that he was indeed a captive now,
+      and might remain for ever shut up in this gilded cage, a forlorn and
+      friendless prince, except God in his mercy take pity on him and set him
+      free.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And, turn where he would, he seemed to see floating in the air the severed
+      head and the remembered face of the great Duke of Norfolk, the eyes fixed
+      on him reproachfully.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      His old dreams had been so pleasant; but this reality was so dreary!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c6" id="c6"></a> <a
+      name="link06-071" id="link06-071"></a>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link06-071.jpg (65K)" src="images/06-071.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link06-073" id="link06-073"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link06-073.jpg (136K)" src="images/06-073.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter VI. Tom receives instructions.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom was conducted to the principal apartment of a noble suite, and made to
+      sit down&mdash;a thing which he was loth to do, since there were elderly
+      men and men of high degree about him. &nbsp;He begged them to be seated
+      also, but they only bowed their thanks or murmured them, and remained
+      standing. He would have insisted, but his &lsquo;uncle&rsquo; the Earl of
+      Hertford whispered in his ear&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Prithee, insist not, my lord; it is not meet that they sit in thy
+      presence.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Lord St. John was announced, and after making obeisance to Tom, he
+      said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I come upon the King&rsquo;s errand, concerning a matter which
+      requireth privacy. &nbsp;Will it please your royal highness to dismiss all
+      that attend you here, save my lord the Earl of Hertford?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Observing that Tom did not seem to know how to proceed, Hertford whispered
+      him to make a sign with his hand, and not trouble himself to speak unless
+      he chose. &nbsp;When the waiting gentlemen had retired, Lord St. John said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;His majesty commandeth, that for due and weighty reasons of state,
+      the prince&rsquo;s grace shall hide his infirmity in all ways that be
+      within his power, till it be passed and he be as he was before. &nbsp;To
+      wit, that he shall deny to none that he is the true prince, and heir to
+      England&rsquo;s greatness; that he shall uphold his princely dignity, and
+      shall receive, without word or sign of protest, that reverence and
+      observance which unto it do appertain of right and ancient usage; that he
+      shall cease to speak to any of that lowly birth and life his malady hath
+      conjured out of the unwholesome imaginings of o&rsquo;er-wrought fancy;
+      that he shall strive with diligence to bring unto his memory again those
+      faces which he was wont to know&mdash;and where he faileth he shall hold
+      his peace, neither betraying by semblance of surprise or other sign that
+      he hath forgot; that upon occasions of state, whensoever any matter shall
+      perplex him as to the thing he should do or the utterance he should make,
+      he shall show nought of unrest to the curious that look on, but take
+      advice in that matter of the Lord Hertford, or my humble self, which are
+      commanded of the King to be upon this service and close at call, till this
+      commandment be dissolved. Thus saith the King&rsquo;s majesty, who sendeth
+      greeting to your royal highness, and prayeth that God will of His mercy
+      quickly heal you and have you now and ever in His holy keeping.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Lord St. John made reverence and stood aside. &nbsp;Tom replied
+      resignedly&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link06-075" id="link06-075"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link06-075.jpg (97K)" src="images/06-075.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The King hath said it. &nbsp;None may palter with the King&rsquo;s
+      command, or fit it to his ease, where it doth chafe, with deft evasions.
+      The King shall be obeyed.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Lord Hertford said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Touching the King&rsquo;s majesty&rsquo;s ordainment concerning
+      books and such like serious matters, it may peradventure please your
+      highness to ease your time with lightsome entertainment, lest you go
+      wearied to the banquet and suffer harm thereby.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom&rsquo;s face showed inquiring surprise; and a blush followed when he
+      saw Lord St. John&rsquo;s eyes bent sorrowfully upon him. &nbsp;His
+      lordship said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thy memory still wrongeth thee, and thou hast shown surprise&mdash;but
+      suffer it not to trouble thee, for &rsquo;tis a matter that will not bide,
+      but depart with thy mending malady. &nbsp;My Lord of Hertford speaketh of
+      the city&rsquo;s banquet which the King&rsquo;s majesty did promise, some
+      two months flown, your highness should attend. &nbsp;Thou recallest it
+      now?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It grieves me to confess it had indeed escaped me,&rdquo; said Tom,
+      in a hesitating voice; and blushed again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At this moment the Lady Elizabeth and the Lady Jane Grey were announced.
+      The two lords exchanged significant glances, and Hertford stepped quickly
+      toward the door. &nbsp;As the young girls passed him, he said in a low
+      voice&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I pray ye, ladies, seem not to observe his humours, nor show
+      surprise when his memory doth lapse&mdash;it will grieve you to note how
+      it doth stick at every trifle.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link06-077" id="link06-077"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link06-077.jpg (101K)" src="images/06-077.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Meantime Lord St. John was saying in Tom&rsquo;s ear&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Please you, sir, keep diligently in mind his majesty&rsquo;s
+      desire. Remember all thou canst&mdash;<i>seem</i> to remember all else.
+      &nbsp;Let them not perceive that thou art much changed from thy wont, for
+      thou knowest how tenderly thy old play-fellows bear thee in their hearts
+      and how &rsquo;twould grieve them. Art willing, sir, that I remain?&mdash;and
+      thine uncle?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom signified assent with a gesture and a murmured word, for he was
+      already learning, and in his simple heart was resolved to acquit himself
+      as best he might, according to the King&rsquo;s command.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In spite of every precaution, the conversation among the young people
+      became a little embarrassing at times. &nbsp;More than once, in truth, Tom
+      was near to breaking down and confessing himself unequal to his tremendous
+      part; but the tact of the Princess Elizabeth saved him, or a word from one
+      or the other of the vigilant lords, thrown in apparently by chance, had
+      the same happy effect. &nbsp;Once the little Lady Jane turned to Tom and
+      dismayed him with this question,&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hast paid thy duty to the Queen&rsquo;s majesty to-day, my lord?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom hesitated, looked distressed, and was about to stammer out something
+      at hazard, when Lord St. John took the word and answered for him with the
+      easy grace of a courtier accustomed to encounter delicate difficulties and
+      to be ready for them&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He hath indeed, madam, and she did greatly hearten him, as touching
+      his majesty&rsquo;s condition; is it not so, your highness?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom mumbled something that stood for assent, but felt that he was getting
+      upon dangerous ground. &nbsp;Somewhat later it was mentioned that Tom was
+      to study no more at present, whereupon her little ladyship exclaimed&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&rsquo;Tis a pity, &rsquo;tis a pity! &nbsp;Thou wert proceeding
+      bravely. &nbsp;But bide thy time in patience: &nbsp;it will not be for
+      long. &nbsp;Thou&rsquo;lt yet be graced with learning like thy father, and
+      make thy tongue master of as many languages as his, good my prince.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My father!&rdquo; cried Tom, off his guard for the moment. &nbsp;"I
+      trow he cannot speak his own so that any but the swine that kennel in the
+      styes may tell his meaning; and as for learning of any sort soever&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He looked up and encountered a solemn warning in my Lord St. John&rsquo;s
+      eyes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He stopped, blushed, then continued low and sadly: &ldquo;Ah, my malady
+      persecuteth me again, and my mind wandereth. &nbsp;I meant the King&rsquo;s
+      grace no irreverence.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We know it, sir,&rdquo; said the Princess Elizabeth, taking her
+      &lsquo;brother&rsquo;s&rsquo; hand between her two palms, respectfully but
+      caressingly; &ldquo;trouble not thyself as to that. &nbsp;The fault is
+      none of thine, but thy distemper&rsquo;s.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thou&rsquo;rt a gentle comforter, sweet lady,&rdquo; said Tom,
+      gratefully, &ldquo;and my heart moveth me to thank thee for&rsquo;t, an&rsquo;
+      I may be so bold.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Once the giddy little Lady Jane fired a simple Greek phrase at Tom. &nbsp;The
+      Princess Elizabeth&rsquo;s quick eye saw by the serene blankness of the
+      target&rsquo;s front that the shaft was overshot; so she tranquilly
+      delivered a return volley of sounding Greek on Tom&rsquo;s behalf, and
+      then straightway changed the talk to other matters.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Time wore on pleasantly, and likewise smoothly, on the whole. Snags and
+      sandbars grew less and less frequent, and Tom grew more and more at his
+      ease, seeing that all were so lovingly bent upon helping him and
+      overlooking his mistakes. &nbsp;When it came out that the little ladies
+      were to accompany him to the Lord Mayor&rsquo;s banquet in the evening,
+      his heart gave a bound of relief and delight, for he felt that he should
+      not be friendless, now, among that multitude of strangers; whereas, an
+      hour earlier, the idea of their going with him would have been an
+      insupportable terror to him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom&rsquo;s guardian angels, the two lords, had had less comfort in the
+      interview than the other parties to it. &nbsp;They felt much as if they
+      were piloting a great ship through a dangerous channel; they were on the
+      alert constantly, and found their office no child&rsquo;s play. Wherefore,
+      at last, when the ladies&rsquo; visit was drawing to a close and the Lord
+      Guilford Dudley was announced, they not only felt that their charge had
+      been sufficiently taxed for the present, but also that they themselves
+      were not in the best condition to take their ship back and make their
+      anxious voyage all over again. &nbsp;So they respectfully advised Tom to
+      excuse himself, which he was very glad to do, although a slight shade of
+      disappointment might have been observed upon my Lady Jane&rsquo;s face
+      when she heard the splendid stripling denied admittance.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link06-079" id="link06-079"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link06-079.jpg (89K)" src="images/06-079.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a pause now, a sort of waiting silence which Tom could not
+      understand. &nbsp;He glanced at Lord Hertford, who gave him a sign&mdash;but
+      he failed to understand that also. &nbsp;The ready Elizabeth came to the
+      rescue with her usual easy grace. &nbsp;She made reverence and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Have we leave of the prince&rsquo;s grace my brother to go?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Indeed your ladyships can have whatsoever of me they will, for the
+      asking; yet would I rather give them any other thing that in my poor power
+      lieth, than leave to take the light and blessing of their presence hence.
+      &nbsp;Give ye good den, and God be with ye!&rdquo; Then he smiled inwardly
+      at the thought, &ldquo;&rsquo;Tis not for nought I have dwelt but among
+      princes in my reading, and taught my tongue some slight trick of their
+      broidered and gracious speech withal!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When the illustrious maidens were gone, Tom turned wearily to his keepers
+      and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;May it please your lordships to grant me leave to go into some
+      corner and rest me?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Lord Hertford said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;So please your highness, it is for you to command, it is for us to
+      obey. That thou should&rsquo;st rest is indeed a needful thing, since thou
+      must journey to the city presently.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He touched a bell, and a page appeared, who was ordered to desire the
+      presence of Sir William Herbert. &nbsp;This gentleman came straightway,
+      and conducted Tom to an inner apartment. &nbsp;Tom&rsquo;s first movement
+      there was to reach for a cup of water; but a silk-and-velvet servitor
+      seized it, dropped upon one knee, and offered it to him on a golden
+      salver.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link06-080" id="link06-080"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link06-080.jpg (154K)" src="images/06-080.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Next the tired captive sat down and was going to take off his buskins,
+      timidly asking leave with his eye, but another silk-and-velvet
+      discomforter went down upon his knees and took the office from him. &nbsp;He
+      made two or three further efforts to help himself, but being promptly
+      forestalled each time, he finally gave up, with a sigh of resignation and
+      a murmured &ldquo;Beshrew me, but I marvel they do not require to breathe
+      for me also!&rdquo; &nbsp;Slippered, and wrapped in a sumptuous robe, he
+      laid himself down at last to rest, but not to sleep, for his head was too
+      full of thoughts and the room too full of people. &nbsp;He could not
+      dismiss the former, so they stayed; he did not know enough to dismiss the
+      latter, so they stayed also, to his vast regret&mdash;and theirs.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom&rsquo;s departure had left his two noble guardians alone. &nbsp;They
+      mused a while, with much head-shaking and walking the floor, then Lord St.
+      John said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link06-082" id="link06-082"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link06-082.jpg (83K)" src="images/06-082.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Plainly, what dost thou think?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Plainly, then, this. &nbsp;The King is near his end; my nephew is
+      mad&mdash;mad will mount the throne, and mad remain. &nbsp;God protect
+      England, since she will need it!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Verily it promiseth so, indeed. &nbsp;But . . . have you no
+      misgivings as to . . . as to . . .&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The speaker hesitated, and finally stopped. &nbsp;He evidently felt that
+      he was upon delicate ground. &nbsp;Lord Hertford stopped before him,
+      looked into his face with a clear, frank eye, and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Speak on&mdash;there is none to hear but me. &nbsp;Misgivings as to
+      what?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am full loth to word the thing that is in my mind, and thou so
+      near to him in blood, my lord. &nbsp;But craving pardon if I do offend,
+      seemeth it not strange that madness could so change his port and manner?&mdash;not
+      but that his port and speech are princely still, but that they <i>differ</i>,
+      in one unweighty trifle or another, from what his custom was aforetime.
+      &nbsp;Seemeth it not strange that madness should filch from his memory his
+      father&rsquo;s very lineaments; the customs and observances that are his
+      due from such as be about him; and, leaving him his Latin, strip him of
+      his Greek and French? &nbsp;My lord, be not offended, but ease my mind of
+      its disquiet and receive my grateful thanks. &nbsp;It haunteth me, his
+      saying he was not the prince, and so&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Peace, my lord, thou utterest treason! &nbsp;Hast forgot the King&rsquo;s
+      command? Remember I am party to thy crime if I but listen.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link06-083" id="link06-083"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link06-083.jpg (108K)" src="images/06-083.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      St. John paled, and hastened to say&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I was in fault, I do confess it. &nbsp;Betray me not, grant me this
+      grace out of thy courtesy, and I will neither think nor speak of this
+      thing more. Deal not hardly with me, sir, else am I ruined.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am content, my lord. &nbsp;So thou offend not again, here or in
+      the ears of others, it shall be as though thou hadst not spoken. &nbsp;But
+      thou need&rsquo;st not have misgivings. &nbsp;He is my sister&rsquo;s son;
+      are not his voice, his face, his form, familiar to me from his cradle?
+      Madness can do all the odd conflicting things thou seest in him, and more.
+      &nbsp;Dost not recall how that the old Baron Marley, being mad, forgot the
+      favour of his own countenance that he had known for sixty years, and held
+      it was another&rsquo;s; nay, even claimed he was the son of Mary
+      Magdalene, and that his head was made of Spanish glass; and, sooth to say,
+      he suffered none to touch it, lest by mischance some heedless hand might
+      shiver it? &nbsp;Give thy misgivings easement, good my lord. &nbsp;This is
+      the very prince&mdash;I know him well&mdash;and soon will be thy king; it
+      may advantage thee to bear this in mind, and more dwell upon it than the
+      other.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After some further talk, in which the Lord St. John covered up his mistake
+      as well as he could by repeated protests that his faith was thoroughly
+      grounded now, and could not be assailed by doubts again, the Lord Hertford
+      relieved his fellow-keeper, and sat down to keep watch and ward alone.
+      &nbsp;He was soon deep in meditation, and evidently the longer he thought,
+      the more he was bothered. &nbsp;By-and-by he began to pace the floor and
+      mutter.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link06-084" id="link06-084"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link06-084.jpg (61K)" src="images/06-084.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Tush, he <i>must</i> be the prince! &nbsp;Will any be in all the
+      land maintain there can be two, not of one blood and birth, so
+      marvellously twinned? &nbsp;And even were it so, &rsquo;twere yet a
+      stranger miracle that chance should cast the one into the other&rsquo;s
+      place. Nay, &rsquo;tis folly, folly, folly!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Presently he said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now were he impostor and called himself prince, look you <i>that</i>
+      would be natural; that would be reasonable. &nbsp;But lived ever an
+      impostor yet, who, being called prince by the king, prince by the court,
+      prince by all, <i>denied</i> his dignity and pleaded against his
+      exaltation? &nbsp;<i>No</i>! &nbsp;By the soul of St. Swithin, no! &nbsp;This
+      is the true prince, gone mad!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c7" id="c7"></a> <a
+      name="link07-087" id="link07-087"></a>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link07-087.jpg (90K)" src="images/07-087.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link07-089" id="link07-089"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link07-089.jpg (133K)" src="images/07-089.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter VII. Tom&rsquo;s first royal dinner.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Somewhat after one in the afternoon, Tom resignedly underwent the ordeal
+      of being dressed for dinner. &nbsp;He found himself as finely clothed as
+      before, but everything different, everything changed, from his ruff to his
+      stockings. &nbsp;He was presently conducted with much state to a spacious
+      and ornate apartment, where a table was already set for one. &nbsp;Its
+      furniture was all of massy gold, and beautified with designs which
+      well-nigh made it priceless, since they were the work of Benvenuto. &nbsp;The
+      room was half-filled with noble servitors. &nbsp;A chaplain said grace,
+      and Tom was about to fall to, for hunger had long been constitutional with
+      him, but was interrupted by my lord the Earl of Berkeley, who fastened a
+      napkin about his neck; for the great post of Diaperers to the Prince of
+      Wales was hereditary in this nobleman&rsquo;s family. &nbsp;Tom&rsquo;s
+      cupbearer was present, and forestalled all his attempts to help himself to
+      wine. &nbsp;The Taster to his highness the Prince of Wales was there also,
+      prepared to taste any suspicious dish upon requirement, and run the risk
+      of being poisoned. &nbsp;He was only an ornamental appendage at this time,
+      and was seldom called upon to exercise his function; but there had been
+      times, not many generations past, when the office of taster had its
+      perils, and was not a grandeur to be desired. &nbsp;Why they did not use a
+      dog or a plumber seems strange; but all the ways of royalty are strange.
+      &nbsp;My Lord d&rsquo;Arcy, First Groom of the Chamber, was there, to do
+      goodness knows what; but there he was&mdash;let that suffice. &nbsp;The
+      Lord Chief Butler was there, and stood behind Tom&rsquo;s chair,
+      overseeing the solemnities, under command of the Lord Great Steward and
+      the Lord Head Cook, who stood near. &nbsp;Tom had three hundred and
+      eighty-four servants beside these; but they were not all in that room, of
+      course, nor the quarter of them; neither was Tom aware yet that they
+      existed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All those that were present had been well drilled within the hour to
+      remember that the prince was temporarily out of his head, and to be
+      careful to show no surprise at his vagaries. &nbsp;These &lsquo;vagaries&rsquo;
+      were soon on exhibition before them; but they only moved their compassion
+      and their sorrow, not their mirth. &nbsp;It was a heavy affliction to them
+      to see the beloved prince so stricken.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Poor Tom ate with his fingers mainly; but no one smiled at it, or even
+      seemed to observe it. &nbsp;He inspected his napkin curiously, and with
+      deep interest, for it was of a very dainty and beautiful fabric, then said
+      with simplicity&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Prithee, take it away, lest in mine unheedfulness it be soiled.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Hereditary Diaperer took it away with reverent manner, and without
+      word or protest of any sort.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link07-091" id="link07-091"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link07-091.jpg (156K)" src="images/07-091.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom examined the turnips and the lettuce with interest, and asked what
+      they were, and if they were to be eaten; for it was only recently that men
+      had begun to raise these things in England in place of importing them as
+      luxuries from Holland. {1} &nbsp;His question was answered with grave
+      respect, and no surprise manifested. &nbsp;When he had finished his
+      dessert, he filled his pockets with nuts; but nobody appeared to be aware
+      of it, or disturbed by it. &nbsp;But the next moment he was himself
+      disturbed by it, and showed discomposure; for this was the only service he
+      had been permitted to do with his own hands during the meal, and he did
+      not doubt that he had done a most improper and unprincely thing. &nbsp;At
+      that moment the muscles of his nose began to twitch, and the end of that
+      organ to lift and wrinkle. &nbsp;This continued, and Tom began to evince a
+      growing distress. &nbsp;He looked appealingly, first at one and then
+      another of the lords about him, and tears came into his eyes. &nbsp;They
+      sprang forward with dismay in their faces, and begged to know his trouble.
+      &nbsp;Tom said with genuine anguish&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I crave your indulgence: &nbsp;my nose itcheth cruelly. &nbsp;What
+      is the custom and usage in this emergence? &nbsp;Prithee, speed, for
+      &rsquo;tis but a little time that I can bear it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      None smiled; but all were sore perplexed, and looked one to the other in
+      deep tribulation for counsel. &nbsp;But behold, here was a dead wall, and
+      nothing in English history to tell how to get over it. &nbsp;The Master of
+      Ceremonies was not present: &nbsp;there was no one who felt safe to
+      venture upon this uncharted sea, or risk the attempt to solve this solemn
+      problem. &nbsp;Alas! there was no Hereditary Scratcher. &nbsp;Meantime the
+      tears had overflowed their banks, and begun to trickle down Tom&rsquo;s
+      cheeks. &nbsp;His twitching nose was pleading more urgently than ever for
+      relief. &nbsp;At last nature broke down the barriers of etiquette: &nbsp;Tom
+      lifted up an inward prayer for pardon if he was doing wrong, and brought
+      relief to the burdened hearts of his court by scratching his nose himself.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      His meal being ended, a lord came and held before him a broad, shallow,
+      golden dish with fragrant rosewater in it, to cleanse his mouth and
+      fingers with; and my lord the Hereditary Diaperer stood by with a napkin
+      for his use. &nbsp;Tom gazed at the dish a puzzled moment or two, then
+      raised it to his lips, and gravely took a draught. &nbsp;Then he returned
+      it to the waiting lord, and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nay, it likes me not, my lord: &nbsp;it hath a pretty flavour, but
+      it wanteth strength.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link07-092" id="link07-092"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link07-092.jpg (87K)" src="images/07-092.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This new eccentricity of the prince&rsquo;s ruined mind made all the
+      hearts about him ache; but the sad sight moved none to merriment.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom&rsquo;s next unconscious blunder was to get up and leave the table
+      just when the chaplain had taken his stand behind his chair, and with
+      uplifted hands, and closed, uplifted eyes, was in the act of beginning the
+      blessing. &nbsp;Still nobody seemed to perceive that the prince had done a
+      thing unusual.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link07-093" id="link07-093"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link07-093.jpg (179K)" src="images/07-093.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By his own request our small friend was now conducted to his private
+      cabinet, and left there alone to his own devices. &nbsp;Hanging upon hooks
+      in the oaken wainscoting were the several pieces of a suit of shining
+      steel armour, covered all over with beautiful designs exquisitely inlaid
+      in gold. &nbsp;This martial panoply belonged to the true prince&mdash;a
+      recent present from Madam Parr the Queen. Tom put on the greaves, the
+      gauntlets, the plumed helmet, and such other pieces as he could don
+      without assistance, and for a while was minded to call for help and
+      complete the matter, but bethought him of the nuts he had brought away
+      from dinner, and the joy it would be to eat them with no crowd to eye him,
+      and no Grand Hereditaries to pester him with undesired services; so he
+      restored the pretty things to their several places, and soon was cracking
+      nuts, and feeling almost naturally happy for the first time since God for
+      his sins had made him a prince. &nbsp;When the nuts were all gone, he
+      stumbled upon some inviting books in a closet, among them one about the
+      etiquette of the English court. &nbsp;This was a prize. He lay down upon a
+      sumptuous divan, and proceeded to instruct himself with honest zeal.
+      &nbsp;Let us leave him there for the present.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c8" id="c8"></a> <a
+      name="link08-095" id="link08-095"></a>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link08-095.jpg (51K)" src="images/08-095.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter VIII. The Question of the Seal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      About five o&rsquo;clock Henry VIII. awoke out of an unrefreshing nap, and
+      muttered to himself, &ldquo;Troublous dreams, troublous dreams! Mine end
+      is now at hand: &nbsp;so say these warnings, and my failing pulses do
+      confirm it.&rdquo; Presently a wicked light flamed up in his eye, and he
+      muttered, &ldquo;Yet will not I die till <i>He</i> go before.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      His attendants perceiving that he was awake, one of them asked his
+      pleasure concerning the Lord Chancellor, who was waiting without.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Admit him, admit him!&rdquo; exclaimed the King eagerly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Lord Chancellor entered, and knelt by the King&rsquo;s couch, saying&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have given order, and, according to the King&rsquo;s command, the
+      peers of the realm, in their robes, do now stand at the bar of the House,
+      where, having confirmed the Duke of Norfolk&rsquo;s doom, they humbly wait
+      his majesty&rsquo;s further pleasure in the matter.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King&rsquo;s face lit up with a fierce joy. &nbsp;Said he&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Lift me up! &nbsp;In mine own person will I go before my
+      Parliament, and with mine own hand will I seal the warrant that rids me of&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      His voice failed; an ashen pallor swept the flush from his cheeks; and the
+      attendants eased him back upon his pillows, and hurriedly assisted him
+      with restoratives. &nbsp;Presently he said sorrowfully&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Alack, how have I longed for this sweet hour! and lo, too late it
+      cometh, and I am robbed of this so coveted chance. &nbsp;But speed ye,
+      speed ye! let others do this happy office sith &rsquo;tis denied to me. I
+      put my Great Seal in commission: &nbsp;choose thou the lords that shall
+      compose it, and get ye to your work. &nbsp;Speed ye, man! &nbsp;Before the
+      sun shall rise and set again, bring me his head that I may see it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;According to the King&rsquo;s command, so shall it be. &nbsp;Will&rsquo;t
+      please your majesty to order that the Seal be now restored to me, so that
+      I may forth upon the business?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link08-098" id="link08-098"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link08-098.jpg (99K)" src="images/08-098.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The Seal? &nbsp;Who keepeth the Seal but thou?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Please your majesty, you did take it from me two days since, saying
+      it should no more do its office till your own royal hand should use it
+      upon the Duke of Norfolk&rsquo;s warrant.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why, so in sooth I did: &nbsp;I do remember. . . . What did I with
+      it? . . . I am very feeble. . . . So oft these days doth my memory play
+      the traitor with me. . . . &rsquo;Tis strange, strange&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King dropped into inarticulate mumblings, shaking his grey head weakly
+      from time to time, and gropingly trying to recollect what he had done with
+      the Seal. &nbsp;At last my Lord Hertford ventured to kneel and offer
+      information&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sire, if that I may be so bold, here be several that do remember
+      with me how that you gave the Great Seal into the hands of his highness
+      the Prince of Wales to keep against the day that&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;True, most true!&rdquo; interrupted the King. &nbsp;"Fetch it!
+      &nbsp;Go: &nbsp;time flieth!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Lord Hertford flew to Tom, but returned to the King before very long,
+      troubled and empty-handed. &nbsp;He delivered himself to this effect&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It grieveth me, my lord the King, to bear so heavy and unwelcome
+      tidings; but it is the will of God that the prince&rsquo;s affliction
+      abideth still, and he cannot recall to mind that he received the Seal.
+      &nbsp;So came I quickly to report, thinking it were waste of precious
+      time, and little worth withal, that any should attempt to search the long
+      array of chambers and saloons that belong unto his royal high&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A groan from the King interrupted the lord at this point. &nbsp;After a
+      little while his majesty said, with a deep sadness in his tone&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Trouble him no more, poor child. &nbsp;The hand of God lieth heavy
+      upon him, and my heart goeth out in loving compassion for him, and sorrow
+      that I may not bear his burden on mine old trouble-weighted shoulders, and
+      so bring him peace.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He closed his eyes, fell to mumbling, and presently was silent. After a
+      time he opened his eyes again, and gazed vacantly around until his glance
+      rested upon the kneeling Lord Chancellor. Instantly his face flushed with
+      wrath&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What, thou here yet! &nbsp;By the glory of God, an&rsquo; thou
+      gettest not about that traitor&rsquo;s business, thy mitre shall have
+      holiday the morrow for lack of a head to grace withal!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The trembling Chancellor answered&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good your Majesty, I cry you mercy! &nbsp;I but waited for the
+      Seal.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Man, hast lost thy wits? &nbsp;The small Seal which aforetime I was
+      wont to take with me abroad lieth in my treasury. &nbsp;And, since the
+      Great Seal hath flown away, shall not it suffice? &nbsp;Hast lost thy
+      wits? &nbsp;Begone! &nbsp;And hark ye&mdash;come no more till thou do
+      bring his head.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The poor Chancellor was not long in removing himself from this dangerous
+      vicinity; nor did the commission waste time in giving the royal assent to
+      the work of the slavish Parliament, and appointing the morrow for the
+      beheading of the premier peer of England, the luckless Duke of Norfolk.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c9" id="c9"></a> <a
+      name="link09-101" id="link09-101"></a>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link09-101.jpg (60K)" src="images/09-101.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter IX. The river pageant.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At nine in the evening the whole vast river-front of the palace was
+      blazing with light. &nbsp;The river itself, as far as the eye could reach
+      citywards, was so thickly covered with watermen&rsquo;s boats and with
+      pleasure-barges, all fringed with coloured lanterns, and gently agitated
+      by the waves, that it resembled a glowing and limitless garden of flowers
+      stirred to soft motion by summer winds. &nbsp;The grand terrace of stone
+      steps leading down to the water, spacious enough to mass the army of a
+      German principality upon, was a picture to see, with its ranks of royal
+      halberdiers in polished armour, and its troops of brilliantly costumed
+      servitors flitting up and down, and to and fro, in the hurry of
+      preparation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Presently a command was given, and immediately all living creatures
+      vanished from the steps. &nbsp;Now the air was heavy with the hush of
+      suspense and expectancy. &nbsp;As far as one&rsquo;s vision could carry,
+      he might see the myriads of people in the boats rise up, and shade their
+      eyes from the glare of lanterns and torches, and gaze toward the palace.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A file of forty or fifty state barges drew up to the steps. &nbsp;They
+      were richly gilt, and their lofty prows and sterns were elaborately
+      carved. Some of them were decorated with banners and streamers; some with
+      cloth-of-gold and arras embroidered with coats-of-arms; others with silken
+      flags that had numberless little silver bells fastened to them, which
+      shook out tiny showers of joyous music whenever the breezes fluttered
+      them; others of yet higher pretensions, since they belonged to nobles in
+      the prince&rsquo;s immediate service, had their sides picturesquely fenced
+      with shields gorgeously emblazoned with armorial bearings. &nbsp;Each
+      state barge was towed by a tender. &nbsp;Besides the rowers, these tenders
+      carried each a number of men-at-arms in glossy helmet and breastplate, and
+      a company of musicians.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link09-104" id="link09-104"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link09-104.jpg (178K)" src="images/09-104.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The advance-guard of the expected procession now appeared in the great
+      gateway, a troop of halberdiers. &nbsp;&rsquo;They were dressed in striped
+      hose of black and tawny, velvet caps graced at the sides with silver
+      roses, and doublets of murrey and blue cloth, embroidered on the front and
+      back with the three feathers, the prince&rsquo;s blazon, woven in gold.
+      &nbsp;Their halberd staves were covered with crimson velvet, fastened with
+      gilt nails, and ornamented with gold tassels. &nbsp;Filing off on the
+      right and left, they formed two long lines, extending from the gateway of
+      the palace to the water&rsquo;s edge. &nbsp;A thick rayed cloth or carpet
+      was then unfolded, and laid down between them by attendants in the
+      gold-and-crimson liveries of the prince. &nbsp;This done, a flourish of
+      trumpets resounded from within. &nbsp;A lively prelude arose from the
+      musicians on the water; and two ushers with white wands marched with a
+      slow and stately pace from the portal. &nbsp;They were followed by an
+      officer bearing the civic mace, after whom came another carrying the city&rsquo;s
+      sword; then several sergeants of the city guard, in their full
+      accoutrements, and with badges on their sleeves; then the Garter
+      King-at-arms, in his tabard; then several Knights of the Bath, each with a
+      white lace on his sleeve; then their esquires; then the judges, in their
+      robes of scarlet and coifs; then the Lord High Chancellor of England, in a
+      robe of scarlet, open before, and purfled with minever; then a deputation
+      of aldermen, in their scarlet cloaks; and then the heads of the different
+      civic companies, in their robes of state. Now came twelve French
+      gentlemen, in splendid habiliments, consisting of pourpoints of white
+      damask barred with gold, short mantles of crimson velvet lined with violet
+      taffeta, and carnation coloured hauts-de-chausses, and took their way down
+      the steps. &nbsp;They were of the suite of the French ambassador, and were
+      followed by twelve cavaliers of the suite of the Spanish ambassador,
+      clothed in black velvet, unrelieved by any ornament. &nbsp;Following these
+      came several great English nobles with their attendants.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a flourish of trumpets within; and the Prince&rsquo;s uncle, the
+      future great Duke of Somerset, emerged from the gateway, arrayed in a
+      &lsquo;doublet of black cloth-of-gold, and a cloak of crimson satin
+      flowered with gold, and ribanded with nets of silver.&rsquo; &nbsp;He
+      turned, doffed his plumed cap, bent his body in a low reverence, and began
+      to step backward, bowing at each step. &nbsp;A prolonged trumpet-blast
+      followed, and a proclamation, &ldquo;Way for the high and mighty the Lord
+      Edward, Prince of Wales!&rdquo; &nbsp;High aloft on the palace walls a
+      long line of red tongues of flame leapt forth with a thunder-crash; the
+      massed world on the river burst into a mighty roar of welcome; and Tom
+      Canty, the cause and hero of it all, stepped into view and slightly bowed
+      his princely head.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link09-106" id="link09-106"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link09-106.jpg (46K)" src="images/09-106.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He was &lsquo;magnificently habited in a doublet of white satin, with a
+      front-piece of purple cloth-of-tissue, powdered with diamonds, and edged
+      with ermine. &nbsp;Over this he wore a mantle of white cloth-of-gold,
+      pounced with the triple-feathered crest, lined with blue satin, set with
+      pearls and precious stones, and fastened with a clasp of brilliants.
+      &nbsp;About his neck hung the order of the Garter, and several princely
+      foreign orders;&rsquo; and wherever light fell upon him jewels responded
+      with a blinding flash. &nbsp;O Tom Canty, born in a hovel, bred in the
+      gutters of London, familiar with rags and dirt and misery, what a
+      spectacle is this!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c10" id="c10"></a> <a
+      name="link10-107" id="link10-107"></a>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link10-107.jpg (46K)" src="images/10-107.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter X. The Prince in the toils.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We left John Canty dragging the rightful prince into Offal Court, with a
+      noisy and delighted mob at his heels. &nbsp;There was but one person in it
+      who offered a pleading word for the captive, and he was not heeded; he was
+      hardly even heard, so great was the turmoil. &nbsp;The Prince continued to
+      struggle for freedom, and to rage against the treatment he was suffering,
+      until John Canty lost what little patience was left in him, and raised his
+      oaken cudgel in a sudden fury over the Prince&rsquo;s head. &nbsp;The
+      single pleader for the lad sprang to stop the man&rsquo;s arm, and the
+      blow descended upon his own wrist. &nbsp;Canty roared out&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thou&rsquo;lt meddle, wilt thou? &nbsp;Then have thy reward.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link10-110" id="link10-110"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link10-110.jpg (100K)" src="images/10-110.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      His cudgel crashed down upon the meddler&rsquo;s head: &nbsp;there was a
+      groan, a dim form sank to the ground among the feet of the crowd, and the
+      next moment it lay there in the dark alone. &nbsp;The mob pressed on,
+      their enjoyment nothing disturbed by this episode.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Presently the Prince found himself in John Canty&rsquo;s abode, with the
+      door closed against the outsiders. &nbsp;By the vague light of a tallow
+      candle which was thrust into a bottle, he made out the main features of
+      the loathsome den, and also the occupants of it. &nbsp;Two frowsy girls
+      and a middle-aged woman cowered against the wall in one corner, with the
+      aspect of animals habituated to harsh usage, and expecting and dreading it
+      now. From another corner stole a withered hag with streaming grey hair and
+      malignant eyes. &nbsp;John Canty said to this one&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Tarry! &nbsp;There&rsquo;s fine mummeries here. &nbsp;Mar them not
+      till thou&rsquo;st enjoyed them: &nbsp;then let thy hand be heavy as thou
+      wilt. &nbsp;Stand forth, lad. &nbsp;Now say thy foolery again, an thou&rsquo;st
+      not forgot it. Name thy name. &nbsp;Who art thou?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The insulted blood mounted to the little prince&rsquo;s cheek once more,
+      and he lifted a steady and indignant gaze to the man&rsquo;s face and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&rsquo;Tis but ill-breeding in such as thou to command me to speak.
+      &nbsp;I tell thee now, as I told thee before, I am Edward, Prince of
+      Wales, and none other.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link10-111" id="link10-111"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link10-111.jpg (133K)" src="images/10-111.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The stunning surprise of this reply nailed the hag&rsquo;s feet to the
+      floor where she stood, and almost took her breath. &nbsp;She stared at the
+      Prince in stupid amazement, which so amused her ruffianly son, that he
+      burst into a roar of laughter. &nbsp;But the effect upon Tom Canty&rsquo;s
+      mother and sisters was different. &nbsp;Their dread of bodily injury gave
+      way at once to distress of a different sort. &nbsp;They ran forward with
+      woe and dismay in their faces, exclaiming&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, poor Tom, poor lad!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The mother fell on her knees before the Prince, put her hands upon his
+      shoulders, and gazed yearningly into his face through her rising tears.
+      Then she said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, my poor boy! &nbsp;Thy foolish reading hath wrought its woeful
+      work at last, and ta&rsquo;en thy wit away. &nbsp;Ah! why did&rsquo;st
+      thou cleave to it when I so warned thee &rsquo;gainst it? &nbsp;Thou&rsquo;st
+      broke thy mother&rsquo;s heart.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Prince looked into her face, and said gently&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thy son is well, and hath not lost his wits, good dame. &nbsp;Comfort
+      thee: let me to the palace where he is, and straightway will the King my
+      father restore him to thee.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The King thy father! &nbsp;Oh, my child! unsay these words that be
+      freighted with death for thee, and ruin for all that be near to thee.
+      &nbsp;Shake of this gruesome dream. &nbsp;Call back thy poor wandering
+      memory. &nbsp;Look upon me. Am not I thy mother that bore thee, and loveth
+      thee?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Prince shook his head and reluctantly said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;God knoweth I am loth to grieve thy heart; but truly have I never
+      looked upon thy face before.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The woman sank back to a sitting posture on the floor, and, covering her
+      eyes with her hands, gave way to heart-broken sobs and wailings.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Let the show go on!&rdquo; shouted Canty. &nbsp;"What, Nan!&mdash;what,
+      Bet! mannerless wenches! will ye stand in the Prince&rsquo;s presence?
+      &nbsp;Upon your knees, ye pauper scum, and do him reverence!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He followed this with another horse-laugh. &nbsp;The girls began to plead
+      timidly for their brother; and Nan said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;An thou wilt but let him to bed, father, rest and sleep will heal
+      his madness: &nbsp;prithee, do.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do, father,&rdquo; said Bet; &ldquo;he is more worn than is his
+      wont. &nbsp;To-morrow will he be himself again, and will beg with
+      diligence, and come not empty home again.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This remark sobered the father&rsquo;s joviality, and brought his mind to
+      business. &nbsp;He turned angrily upon the Prince, and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The morrow must we pay two pennies to him that owns this hole; two
+      pennies, mark ye&mdash;all this money for a half-year&rsquo;s rent, else
+      out of this we go. &nbsp;Show what thou&rsquo;st gathered with thy lazy
+      begging.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Prince said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Offend me not with thy sordid matters. &nbsp;I tell thee again I am
+      the King&rsquo;s son.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A sounding blow upon the Prince&rsquo;s shoulder from Canty&rsquo;s broad
+      palm sent him staggering into goodwife Canty&rsquo;s arms, who clasped him
+      to her breast, and sheltered him from a pelting rain of cuffs and slaps by
+      interposing her own person. &nbsp;The frightened girls retreated to their
+      corner; but the grandmother stepped eagerly forward to assist her son.
+      &nbsp;The Prince sprang away from Mrs. Canty, exclaiming&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link10-113" id="link10-113"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link10-113.jpg (105K)" src="images/10-113.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thou shalt not suffer for me, madam. &nbsp;Let these swine do their
+      will upon me alone.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This speech infuriated the swine to such a degree that they set about
+      their work without waste of time. &nbsp;Between them they belaboured the
+      boy right soundly, and then gave the girls and their mother a beating for
+      showing sympathy for the victim.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now,&rdquo; said Canty, &ldquo;to bed, all of ye. &nbsp;The
+      entertainment has tired me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The light was put out, and the family retired. &nbsp;As soon as the
+      snorings of the head of the house and his mother showed that they were
+      asleep, the young girls crept to where the Prince lay, and covered him
+      tenderly from the cold with straw and rags; and their mother crept to him
+      also, and stroked his hair, and cried over him, whispering broken words of
+      comfort and compassion in his ear the while. &nbsp;She had saved a morsel
+      for him to eat, also; but the boy&rsquo;s pains had swept away all
+      appetite&mdash;at least for black and tasteless crusts. &nbsp;He was
+      touched by her brave and costly defence of him, and by her commiseration;
+      and he thanked her in very noble and princely words, and begged her to go
+      to her sleep and try to forget her sorrows. &nbsp;And he added that the
+      King his father would not let her loyal kindness and devotion go
+      unrewarded. &nbsp;This return to his &lsquo;madness&rsquo; broke her heart
+      anew, and she strained him to her breast again and again, and then went
+      back, drowned in tears, to her bed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As she lay thinking and mourning, the suggestion began to creep into her
+      mind that there was an undefinable something about this boy that was
+      lacking in Tom Canty, mad or sane. &nbsp;She could not describe it, she
+      could not tell just what it was, and yet her sharp mother-instinct seemed
+      to detect it and perceive it. &nbsp;What if the boy were really not her
+      son, after all? &nbsp;Oh, absurd! &nbsp;She almost smiled at the idea,
+      spite of her griefs and troubles. &nbsp;No matter, she found that it was
+      an idea that would not &lsquo;down,&rsquo; but persisted in haunting her.
+      &nbsp;It pursued her, it harassed her, it clung to her, and refused to be
+      put away or ignored. &nbsp;At last she perceived that there was not going
+      to be any peace for her until she should devise a test that should prove,
+      clearly and without question, whether this lad was her son or not, and so
+      banish these wearing and worrying doubts. &nbsp;Ah, yes, this was plainly
+      the right way out of the difficulty; therefore she set her wits to work at
+      once to contrive that test. &nbsp;But it was an easier thing to propose
+      than to accomplish. &nbsp;She turned over in her mind one promising test
+      after another, but was obliged to relinquish them all&mdash;none of them
+      were absolutely sure, absolutely perfect; and an imperfect one could not
+      satisfy her. &nbsp;Evidently she was racking her head in vain&mdash;it
+      seemed manifest that she must give the matter up. &nbsp;While this
+      depressing thought was passing through her mind, her ear caught the
+      regular breathing of the boy, and she knew he had fallen asleep. &nbsp;And
+      while she listened, the measured breathing was broken by a soft, startled
+      cry, such as one utters in a troubled dream. &nbsp;This chance occurrence
+      furnished her instantly with a plan worth all her laboured tests combined.
+      &nbsp;She at once set herself feverishly, but noiselessly, to work to
+      relight her candle, muttering to herself, &ldquo;Had I but seen him <i>then</i>,
+      I should have known! &nbsp;Since that day, when he was little, that the
+      powder burst in his face, he hath never been startled of a sudden out of
+      his dreams or out of his thinkings, but he hath cast his hand before his
+      eyes, even as he did that day; and not as others would do it, with the
+      palm inward, but always with the palm turned outward&mdash;I have seen it
+      a hundred times, and it hath never varied nor ever failed. &nbsp;Yes, I
+      shall soon know, now!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By this time she had crept to the slumbering boy&rsquo;s side, with the
+      candle, shaded, in her hand. &nbsp;She bent heedfully and warily over him,
+      scarcely breathing in her suppressed excitement, and suddenly flashed the
+      light in his face and struck the floor by his ear with her knuckles.
+      &nbsp;The sleeper&rsquo;s eyes sprang wide open, and he cast a startled
+      stare about him&mdash;but he made no special movement with his hands.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link10-115" id="link10-115"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link10-115.jpg (138K)" src="images/10-115.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The poor woman was smitten almost helpless with surprise and grief; but
+      she contrived to hide her emotions, and to soothe the boy to sleep again;
+      then she crept apart and communed miserably with herself upon the
+      disastrous result of her experiment. &nbsp;She tried to believe that her
+      Tom&rsquo;s madness had banished this habitual gesture of his; but she
+      could not do it. &nbsp;"No,&rdquo; she said, &ldquo;his <i>hands</i> are
+      not mad; they could not unlearn so old a habit in so brief a time. &nbsp;Oh,
+      this is a heavy day for me!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Still, hope was as stubborn now as doubt had been before; she could not
+      bring herself to accept the verdict of the test; she must try the thing
+      again&mdash;the failure must have been only an accident; so she startled
+      the boy out of his sleep a second and a third time, at intervals&mdash;with
+      the same result which had marked the first test; then she dragged herself
+      to bed, and fell sorrowfully asleep, saying, &ldquo;But I cannot give him
+      up&mdash;oh no, I cannot, I cannot&mdash;he <i>must</i> be my boy!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link10-116" id="link10-116"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link10-116.jpg (62K)" src="images/10-116.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The poor mother&rsquo;s interruptions having ceased, and the Prince&rsquo;s
+      pains having gradually lost their power to disturb him, utter weariness at
+      last sealed his eyes in a profound and restful sleep. Hour after hour
+      slipped away, and still he slept like the dead. Thus four or five hours
+      passed. Then his stupor began to lighten. Presently, while half asleep and
+      half awake, he murmured&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sir William!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After a moment&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ho, Sir William Herbert! &nbsp;Hie thee hither, and list to the
+      strangest dream that ever . . . Sir William! dost hear? &nbsp;Man, I did
+      think me changed to a pauper, and . . . Ho there! &nbsp;Guards! Sir
+      William! &nbsp;What! is there no groom of the chamber in waiting? Alack!
+      it shall go hard with&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What aileth thee?&rdquo; asked a whisper near him. &nbsp;"Who art
+      thou calling?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sir William Herbert. &nbsp;Who art thou?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I? &nbsp;Who should I be, but thy sister Nan? &nbsp;Oh, Tom, I had
+      forgot! Thou&rsquo;rt mad yet&mdash;poor lad, thou&rsquo;rt mad yet:
+      &nbsp;would I had never woke to know it again! &nbsp;But prithee master
+      thy tongue, lest we be all beaten till we die!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The startled Prince sprang partly up, but a sharp reminder from his
+      stiffened bruises brought him to himself, and he sank back among his foul
+      straw with a moan and the ejaculation&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Alas! it was no dream, then!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In a moment all the heavy sorrow and misery which sleep had banished were
+      upon him again, and he realised that he was no longer a petted prince in a
+      palace, with the adoring eyes of a nation upon him, but a pauper, an
+      outcast, clothed in rags, prisoner in a den fit only for beasts, and
+      consorting with beggars and thieves.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the midst of his grief he began to be conscious of hilarious noises and
+      shoutings, apparently but a block or two away. &nbsp;The next moment there
+      were several sharp raps at the door; John Canty ceased from snoring and
+      said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Who knocketh? &nbsp;What wilt thou?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A voice answered&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Know&rsquo;st thou who it was thou laid thy cudgel on?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No. &nbsp;Neither know I, nor care.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Belike thou&rsquo;lt change thy note eftsoons. &nbsp;An thou would
+      save thy neck, nothing but flight may stead thee. &nbsp;The man is this
+      moment delivering up the ghost. &nbsp;&rsquo;Tis the priest, Father
+      Andrew!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;God-a-mercy!&rdquo; exclaimed Canty. &nbsp;He roused his family,
+      and hoarsely commanded, &ldquo;Up with ye all and fly&mdash;or bide where
+      ye are and perish!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Scarcely five minutes later the Canty household were in the street and
+      flying for their lives. &nbsp;John Canty held the Prince by the wrist, and
+      hurried him along the dark way, giving him this caution in a low voice&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mind thy tongue, thou mad fool, and speak not our name. &nbsp;I
+      will choose me a new name, speedily, to throw the law&rsquo;s dogs off the
+      scent. &nbsp;Mind thy tongue, I tell thee!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link10-118" id="link10-118"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link10-118.jpg (142K)" src="images/10-118.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He growled these words to the rest of the family&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If it so chance that we be separated, let each make for London
+      Bridge; whoso findeth himself as far as the last linen-draper&rsquo;s shop
+      on the bridge, let him tarry there till the others be come, then will we
+      flee into Southwark together.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At this moment the party burst suddenly out of darkness into light; and
+      not only into light, but into the midst of a multitude of singing,
+      dancing, and shouting people, massed together on the river frontage. There
+      was a line of bonfires stretching as far as one could see, up and down the
+      Thames; London Bridge was illuminated; Southwark Bridge likewise; the
+      entire river was aglow with the flash and sheen of coloured lights; and
+      constant explosions of fireworks filled the skies with an intricate
+      commingling of shooting splendours and a thick rain of dazzling sparks
+      that almost turned night into day; everywhere were crowds of revellers;
+      all London seemed to be at large.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      John Canty delivered himself of a furious curse and commanded a retreat;
+      but it was too late. &nbsp;He and his tribe were swallowed up in that
+      swarming hive of humanity, and hopelessly separated from each other in an
+      instant. We are not considering that the Prince was one of his tribe;
+      Canty still kept his grip upon him. &nbsp;The Prince&rsquo;s heart was
+      beating high with hopes of escape, now. &nbsp;A burly waterman,
+      considerably exalted with liquor, found himself rudely shoved by Canty in
+      his efforts to plough through the crowd; he laid his great hand on Canty&rsquo;s
+      shoulder and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nay, whither so fast, friend? &nbsp;Dost canker thy soul with
+      sordid business when all that be leal men and true make holiday?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mine affairs are mine own, they concern thee not,&rdquo; answered
+      Canty, roughly; &ldquo;take away thy hand and let me pass.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sith that is thy humour, thou&rsquo;lt <i>not</i> pass, till thou&rsquo;st
+      drunk to the Prince of Wales, I tell thee that,&rdquo; said the waterman,
+      barring the way resolutely.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Give me the cup, then, and make speed, make speed!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Other revellers were interested by this time. &nbsp;They cried out&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The loving-cup, the loving-cup! make the sour knave drink the
+      loving-cup, else will we feed him to the fishes.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So a huge loving-cup was brought; the waterman, grasping it by one of its
+      handles, and with the other hand bearing up the end of an imaginary
+      napkin, presented it in due and ancient form to Canty, who had to grasp
+      the opposite handle with one of his hands and take off the lid with the
+      other, according to ancient custom. This left the Prince hand-free for a
+      second, of course. &nbsp;He wasted no time, but dived among the forest of
+      legs about him and disappeared. &nbsp;In another moment he could not have
+      been harder to find, under that tossing sea of life, if its billows had
+      been the Atlantic&rsquo;s and he a lost sixpence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link10-120" id="link10-120"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link10-120.jpg (148K)" src="images/10-120.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He very soon realised this fact, and straightway busied himself about his
+      own affairs without further thought of John Canty. &nbsp;He quickly
+      realised another thing, too. &nbsp;To wit, that a spurious Prince of Wales
+      was being feasted by the city in his stead. &nbsp;He easily concluded that
+      the pauper lad, Tom Canty, had deliberately taken advantage of his
+      stupendous opportunity and become a usurper.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Therefore there was but one course to pursue&mdash;find his way to the
+      Guildhall, make himself known, and denounce the impostor. &nbsp;He also
+      made up his mind that Tom should be allowed a reasonable time for
+      spiritual preparation, and then be hanged, drawn and quartered, according
+      to the law and usage of the day in cases of high treason.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c11" id="c11"></a> <a
+      name="link11-121" id="link11-121"></a>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link11-121.jpg (56K)" src="images/11-121.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XI. At Guildhall.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The royal barge, attended by its gorgeous fleet, took its stately way down
+      the Thames through the wilderness of illuminated boats. The air was laden
+      with music; the river banks were beruffled with joy-flames; the distant
+      city lay in a soft luminous glow from its countless invisible bonfires;
+      above it rose many a slender spire into the sky, incrusted with sparkling
+      lights, wherefore in their remoteness they seemed like jewelled lances
+      thrust aloft; as the fleet swept along, it was greeted from the banks with
+      a continuous hoarse roar of cheers and the ceaseless flash and boom of
+      artillery.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      To Tom Canty, half buried in his silken cushions, these sounds and this
+      spectacle were a wonder unspeakably sublime and astonishing. To his little
+      friends at his side, the Princess Elizabeth and the Lady Jane Grey, they
+      were nothing.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Arrived at the Dowgate, the fleet was towed up the limpid Walbrook (whose
+      channel has now been for two centuries buried out of sight under acres of
+      buildings) to Bucklersbury, past houses and under bridges populous with
+      merry-makers and brilliantly lighted, and at last came to a halt in a
+      basin where now is Barge Yard, in the centre of the ancient city of
+      London. &nbsp;Tom disembarked, and he and his gallant procession crossed
+      Cheapside and made a short march through the Old Jewry and Basinghall
+      Street to the Guildhall.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom and his little ladies were received with due ceremony by the Lord
+      Mayor and the Fathers of the City, in their gold chains and scarlet robes
+      of state, and conducted to a rich canopy of state at the head of the great
+      hall, preceded by heralds making proclamation, and by the Mace and the
+      City Sword. &nbsp;The lords and ladies who were to attend upon Tom and his
+      two small friends took their places behind their chairs.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link11-124" id="link11-124"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link11-124.jpg (173K)" src="images/11-124.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At a lower table the Court grandees and other guests of noble degree were
+      seated, with the magnates of the city; the commoners took places at a
+      multitude of tables on the main floor of the hall. &nbsp;From their lofty
+      vantage-ground the giants Gog and Magog, the ancient guardians of the
+      city, contemplated the spectacle below them with eyes grown familiar to it
+      in forgotten generations. &nbsp;There was a bugle-blast and a
+      proclamation, and a fat butler appeared in a high perch in the leftward
+      wall, followed by his servitors bearing with impressive solemnity a royal
+      baron of beef, smoking hot and ready for the knife.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After grace, Tom (being instructed) rose&mdash;and the whole house with
+      him&mdash;and drank from a portly golden loving-cup with the Princess
+      Elizabeth; from her it passed to the Lady Jane, and then traversed the
+      general assemblage. &nbsp;So the banquet began.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By midnight the revelry was at its height. &nbsp;Now came one of those
+      picturesque spectacles so admired in that old day. &nbsp;A description of
+      it is still extant in the quaint wording of a chronicler who witnessed it:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Space being made, presently entered a baron and an earl appareled
+      after the Turkish fashion in long robes of bawdkin powdered with gold;
+      hats on their heads of crimson velvet, with great rolls of gold, girded
+      with two swords, called scimitars, hanging by great bawdricks of gold.
+      &nbsp;Next came yet another baron and another earl, in two long gowns of
+      yellow satin, traversed with white satin, and in every bend of white was a
+      bend of crimson satin, after the fashion of Russia, with furred hats of
+      gray on their heads; either of them having an hatchet in their hands, and
+      boots with pykes&rsquo; (points a foot long), &rsquo;turned up. &nbsp;And
+      after them came a knight, then the Lord High Admiral, and with him five
+      nobles, in doublets of crimson velvet, voyded low on the back and before
+      to the cannell-bone, laced on the breasts with chains of silver; and over
+      that, short cloaks of crimson satin, and on their heads hats after the
+      dancers&rsquo; fashion, with pheasants&rsquo; feathers in them. &nbsp;These
+      were appareled after the fashion of Prussia. &nbsp;The torchbearers, which
+      were about an hundred, were appareled in crimson satin and green, like
+      Moors, their faces black. Next came in a mommarye. Then the minstrels,
+      which were disguised, danced; and the lords and ladies did wildly dance
+      also, that it was a pleasure to behold.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And while Tom, in his high seat, was gazing upon this &lsquo;wild&rsquo;
+      dancing, lost in admiration of the dazzling commingling of kaleidoscopic
+      colours which the whirling turmoil of gaudy figures below him presented,
+      the ragged but real little Prince of Wales was proclaiming his rights and
+      his wrongs, denouncing the impostor, and clamouring for admission at the
+      gates of Guildhall! The crowd enjoyed this episode prodigiously, and
+      pressed forward and craned their necks to see the small rioter. Presently
+      they began to taunt him and mock at him, purposely to goad him into a
+      higher and still more entertaining fury. &nbsp;Tears of mortification
+      sprang to his eyes, but he stood his ground and defied the mob right
+      royally. &nbsp;Other taunts followed, added mockings stung him, and he
+      exclaimed&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I tell ye again, you pack of unmannerly curs, I am the Prince of
+      Wales! And all forlorn and friendless as I be, with none to give me word
+      of grace or help me in my need, yet will not I be driven from my ground,
+      but will maintain it!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Though thou be prince or no prince, &rsquo;tis all one, thou be&rsquo;st
+      a gallant lad, and not friendless neither! &nbsp;Here stand I by thy side
+      to prove it; and mind I tell thee thou might&rsquo;st have a worser friend
+      than Miles Hendon and yet not tire thy legs with seeking. Rest thy small
+      jaw, my child; I talk the language of these base kennel-rats like to a
+      very native.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The speaker was a sort of Don Caesar de Bazan in dress, aspect, and
+      bearing. &nbsp;He was tall, trim-built, muscular. &nbsp;His doublet and
+      trunks were of rich material, but faded and threadbare, and their
+      gold-lace adornments were sadly tarnished; his ruff was rumpled and
+      damaged; the plume in his slouched hat was broken and had a bedraggled and
+      disreputable look; at his side he wore a long rapier in a rusty iron
+      sheath; his swaggering carriage marked him at once as a ruffler of the
+      camp. &nbsp;The speech of this fantastic figure was received with an
+      explosion of jeers and laughter. &nbsp;Some cried, &ldquo;&rsquo;Tis
+      another prince in disguise!&rdquo; &ldquo;&rsquo;Ware thy tongue, friend:
+      &nbsp;belike he is dangerous!&rdquo; &nbsp;"Marry, he looketh it&mdash;mark
+      his eye!&rdquo; &nbsp;"Pluck the lad from him&mdash;to the horse-pond wi&rsquo;
+      the cub!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Instantly a hand was laid upon the Prince, under the impulse of this happy
+      thought; as instantly the stranger&rsquo;s long sword was out and the
+      meddler went to the earth under a sounding thump with the flat of it. The
+      next moment a score of voices shouted, &ldquo;Kill the dog! &nbsp;Kill
+      him! Kill him!&rdquo; and the mob closed in on the warrior, who backed
+      himself against a wall and began to lay about him with his long weapon
+      like a madman. &nbsp;His victims sprawled this way and that, but the
+      mob-tide poured over their prostrate forms and dashed itself against the
+      champion with undiminished fury.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link11-127" id="link11-127"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link11-127.jpg (133K)" src="images/11-127.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      His moments seemed numbered, his destruction certain, when suddenly a
+      trumpet-blast sounded, a voice shouted, &ldquo;Way for the King&rsquo;s
+      messenger!&rdquo; and a troop of horsemen came charging down upon the mob,
+      who fled out of harm&rsquo;s reach as fast as their legs could carry them.
+      The bold stranger caught up the Prince in his arms, and was soon far away
+      from danger and the multitude.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Return we within the Guildhall. &nbsp;Suddenly, high above the jubilant
+      roar and thunder of the revel, broke the clear peal of a bugle-note.
+      &nbsp;There was instant silence&mdash;a deep hush; then a single voice
+      rose&mdash;that of the messenger from the palace&mdash;and began to pipe
+      forth a proclamation, the whole multitude standing listening.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The closing words, solemnly pronounced, were&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The King is dead!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The great assemblage bent their heads upon their breasts with one accord;
+      remained so, in profound silence, a few moments; then all sank upon their
+      knees in a body, stretched out their hands toward Tom, and a mighty shout
+      burst forth that seemed to shake the building&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Long live the King!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link11-128" id="link11-128"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link11-128.jpg (154K)" src="images/11-128.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Poor Tom&rsquo;s dazed eyes wandered abroad over this stupefying
+      spectacle, and finally rested dreamily upon the kneeling princesses beside
+      him, a moment, then upon the Earl of Hertford. A sudden purpose dawned in
+      his face. &nbsp;He said, in a low tone, at Lord Hertford&rsquo;s ear&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Answer me truly, on thy faith and honour! &nbsp;Uttered I here a
+      command, the which none but a king might hold privilege and prerogative to
+      utter, would such commandment be obeyed, and none rise up to say me nay?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;None, my liege, in all these realms. &nbsp;In thy person bides the
+      majesty of England. &nbsp;Thou art the king&mdash;thy word is law.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom responded, in a strong, earnest voice, and with great animation&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then shall the king&rsquo;s law be law of mercy, from this day, and
+      never more be law of blood! &nbsp;Up from thy knees and away! &nbsp;To the
+      Tower, and say the King decrees the Duke of Norfolk shall not die!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The words were caught up and carried eagerly from lip to lip far and wide
+      over the hall, and as Hertford hurried from the presence, another
+      prodigious shout burst forth&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The reign of blood is ended! &nbsp;Long live Edward, King of
+      England!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c12" id="c12"></a> <a
+      name="link12-131" id="link12-131"></a>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link12-131.jpg (62K)" src="images/12-131.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XII. The Prince and his Deliverer.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As soon as Miles Hendon and the little prince were clear of the mob, they
+      struck down through back lanes and alleys toward the river. &nbsp;Their
+      way was unobstructed until they approached London Bridge; then they
+      ploughed into the multitude again, Hendon keeping a fast grip upon the
+      Prince&rsquo;s&mdash;no, the King&rsquo;s&mdash;wrist. &nbsp;The
+      tremendous news was already abroad, and the boy learned it from a thousand
+      voices at once&mdash;&ldquo;The King is dead!&rdquo; &nbsp;The tidings
+      struck a chill to the heart of the poor little waif, and sent a shudder
+      through his frame. &nbsp;He realised the greatness of his loss, and was
+      filled with a bitter grief; for the grim tyrant who had been such a terror
+      to others had always been gentle with him. &nbsp;The tears sprang to his
+      eyes and blurred all objects. &nbsp;For an instant he felt himself the
+      most forlorn, outcast, and forsaken of God&rsquo;s creatures&mdash;then
+      another cry shook the night with its far-reaching thunders: &nbsp;"Long
+      live King Edward the Sixth!&rdquo; and this made his eyes kindle, and
+      thrilled him with pride to his fingers&rsquo; ends. &ldquo;Ah,&rdquo; he
+      thought, &ldquo;how grand and strange it seems&mdash;<i>I am King</i>!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link12-134" id="link12-134"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link12-134.jpg (116K)" src="images/12-134.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Our friends threaded their way slowly through the throngs upon the bridge.
+      &nbsp;This structure, which had stood for six hundred years, and had been
+      a noisy and populous thoroughfare all that time, was a curious affair, for
+      a closely packed rank of stores and shops, with family quarters overhead,
+      stretched along both sides of it, from one bank of the river to the other.
+      &nbsp;The Bridge was a sort of town to itself; it had its inn, its
+      beer-houses, its bakeries, its haberdasheries, its food markets, its
+      manufacturing industries, and even its church. &nbsp;It looked upon the
+      two neighbours which it linked together&mdash;London and Southwark&mdash;as
+      being well enough as suburbs, but not otherwise particularly important.
+      &nbsp;It was a close corporation, so to speak; it was a narrow town, of a
+      single street a fifth of a mile long, its population was but a village
+      population and everybody in it knew all his fellow-townsmen intimately,
+      and had known their fathers and mothers before them&mdash;and all their
+      little family affairs into the bargain. &nbsp;It had its aristocracy, of
+      course&mdash;its fine old families of butchers, and bakers, and what-not,
+      who had occupied the same old premises for five or six hundred years, and
+      knew the great history of the Bridge from beginning to end, and all its
+      strange legends; and who always talked bridgy talk, and thought bridgy
+      thoughts, and lied in a long, level, direct, substantial bridgy way.
+      &nbsp;It was just the sort of population to be narrow and ignorant and
+      self-conceited. Children were born on the Bridge, were reared there, grew
+      to old age, and finally died without ever having set a foot upon any part
+      of the world but London Bridge alone. &nbsp;Such people would naturally
+      imagine that the mighty and interminable procession which moved through
+      its street night and day, with its confused roar of shouts and cries, its
+      neighings and bellowing and bleatings and its muffled thunder-tramp, was
+      the one great thing in this world, and themselves somehow the proprietors
+      of it. &nbsp;And so they were, in effect&mdash;at least they could exhibit
+      it from their windows, and did&mdash;for a consideration&mdash;whenever a
+      returning king or hero gave it a fleeting splendour, for there was no
+      place like it for affording a long, straight, uninterrupted view of
+      marching columns.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Men born and reared upon the Bridge found life unendurably dull and inane
+      elsewhere. &nbsp;History tells of one of these who left the Bridge at the
+      age of seventy-one and retired to the country. &nbsp;But he could only
+      fret and toss in his bed; he could not go to sleep, the deep stillness was
+      so painful, so awful, so oppressive. &nbsp;When he was worn out with it,
+      at last, he fled back to his old home, a lean and haggard spectre, and
+      fell peacefully to rest and pleasant dreams under the lulling music of the
+      lashing waters and the boom and crash and thunder of London Bridge.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the times of which we are writing, the Bridge furnished &lsquo;object
+      lessons&rsquo; in English history for its children&mdash;namely, the livid
+      and decaying heads of renowned men impaled upon iron spikes atop of its
+      gateways. &nbsp;But we digress.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link12-136" id="link12-136"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link12-136.jpg (35K)" src="images/12-136.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hendon&rsquo;s lodgings were in the little inn on the Bridge. &nbsp;As he
+      neared the door with his small friend, a rough voice said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;So, thou&rsquo;rt come at last! &nbsp;Thou&rsquo;lt not escape
+      again, I warrant thee; and if pounding thy bones to a pudding can teach
+      thee somewhat, thou&rsquo;lt not keep us waiting another time, mayhap,&rdquo;&mdash;and
+      John Canty put out his hand to seize the boy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Miles Hendon stepped in the way and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not too fast, friend. &nbsp;Thou art needlessly rough, methinks.
+      &nbsp;What is the lad to thee?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If it be any business of thine to make and meddle in others&rsquo;
+      affairs, he is my son.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&rsquo;Tis a lie!&rdquo; cried the little King, hotly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Boldly said, and I believe thee, whether thy small headpiece be
+      sound or cracked, my boy. &nbsp;But whether this scurvy ruffian be thy
+      father or no, &rsquo;tis all one, he shall not have thee to beat thee and
+      abuse, according to his threat, so thou prefer to bide with me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I do, I do&mdash;I know him not, I loathe him, and will die before
+      I will go with him.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then &rsquo;tis settled, and there is nought more to say.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We will see, as to that!&rdquo; exclaimed John Canty, striding past
+      Hendon to get at the boy; &ldquo;by force shall he&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If thou do but touch him, thou animated offal, I will spit thee
+      like a goose!&rdquo; said Hendon, barring the way and laying his hand upon
+      his sword hilt. &nbsp;Canty drew back. &nbsp;"Now mark ye,&rdquo;
+      continued Hendon, &ldquo;I took this lad under my protection when a mob of
+      such as thou would have mishandled him, mayhap killed him; dost imagine I
+      will desert him now to a worser fate?&mdash;for whether thou art his
+      father or no&mdash;and sooth to say, I think it is a lie&mdash;a decent
+      swift death were better for such a lad than life in such brute hands as
+      thine. &nbsp;So go thy ways, and set quick about it, for I like not much
+      bandying of words, being not over-patient in my nature.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link12-137" id="link12-137"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link12-137.jpg (107K)" src="images/12-137.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      John Canty moved off, muttering threats and curses, and was swallowed from
+      sight in the crowd. &nbsp;Hendon ascended three flights of stairs to his
+      room, with his charge, after ordering a meal to be sent thither. &nbsp;It
+      was a poor apartment, with a shabby bed and some odds and ends of old
+      furniture in it, and was vaguely lighted by a couple of sickly candles.
+      The little King dragged himself to the bed and lay down upon it, almost
+      exhausted with hunger and fatigue. &nbsp;He had been on his feet a good
+      part of a day and a night (for it was now two or three o&rsquo;clock in
+      the morning), and had eaten nothing meantime. &nbsp;He murmured drowsily&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Prithee call me when the table is spread,&rdquo; and sank into a
+      deep sleep immediately.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A smile twinkled in Hendon&rsquo;s eye, and he said to himself&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;By the mass, the little beggar takes to one&rsquo;s quarters and
+      usurps one&rsquo;s bed with as natural and easy a grace as if he owned
+      them&mdash;with never a by-your-leave or so-please-it-you, or anything of
+      the sort. &nbsp;In his diseased ravings he called himself the Prince of
+      Wales, and bravely doth he keep up the character. &nbsp;Poor little
+      friendless rat, doubtless his mind has been disordered with ill-usage.
+      &nbsp;Well, I will be his friend; I have saved him, and it draweth me
+      strongly to him; already I love the bold-tongued little rascal. &nbsp;How
+      soldier-like he faced the smutty rabble and flung back his high defiance!
+      &nbsp;And what a comely, sweet and gentle face he hath, now that sleep
+      hath conjured away its troubles and its griefs. I will teach him; I will
+      cure his malady; yea, I will be his elder brother, and care for him and
+      watch over him; and whoso would shame him or do him hurt may order his
+      shroud, for though I be burnt for it he shall need it!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link12-139" id="link12-139"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link12-139.jpg (110K)" src="images/12-139.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He bent over the boy and contemplated him with kind and pitying interest,
+      tapping the young cheek tenderly and smoothing back the tangled curls with
+      his great brown hand. &nbsp;A slight shiver passed over the boy&rsquo;s
+      form. Hendon muttered&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;See, now, how like a man it was to let him lie here uncovered and
+      fill his body with deadly rheums. &nbsp;Now what shall I do? &rsquo;twill
+      wake him to take him up and put him within the bed, and he sorely needeth
+      sleep.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He looked about for extra covering, but finding none, doffed his doublet
+      and wrapped the lad in it, saying, &ldquo;I am used to nipping air and
+      scant apparel, &rsquo;tis little I shall mind the cold!&rdquo;&mdash;then
+      walked up and down the room, to keep his blood in motion, soliloquising as
+      before.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;His injured mind persuades him he is Prince of Wales; &rsquo;twill
+      be odd to have a Prince of Wales still with us, now that he that <i>was</i>
+      the prince is prince no more, but king&mdash;for this poor mind is set
+      upon the one fantasy, and will not reason out that now it should cast by
+      the prince and call itself the king. . . If my father liveth still, after
+      these seven years that I have heard nought from home in my foreign
+      dungeon, he will welcome the poor lad and give him generous shelter for my
+      sake; so will my good elder brother, Arthur; my other brother, Hugh&mdash;but
+      I will crack his crown an <i>he</i> interfere, the fox-hearted,
+      ill-conditioned animal! Yes, thither will we fare&mdash;and straightway,
+      too.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A servant entered with a smoking meal, disposed it upon a small deal
+      table, placed the chairs, and took his departure, leaving such cheap
+      lodgers as these to wait upon themselves. &nbsp;The door slammed after
+      him, and the noise woke the boy, who sprang to a sitting posture, and shot
+      a glad glance about him; then a grieved look came into his face and he
+      murmured to himself, with a deep sigh, &ldquo;Alack, it was but a dream,
+      woe is me!&rdquo; &nbsp;Next he noticed Miles Hendon&rsquo;s doublet&mdash;glanced
+      from that to Hendon, comprehended the sacrifice that had been made for
+      him, and said, gently&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thou art good to me, yes, thou art very good to me. &nbsp;Take it
+      and put it on&mdash;I shall not need it more.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then he got up and walked to the washstand in the corner and stood there,
+      waiting. &nbsp;Hendon said in a cheery voice&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll have a right hearty sup and bite, now, for everything
+      is savoury and smoking hot, and that and thy nap together will make thee a
+      little man again, never fear!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The boy made no answer, but bent a steady look, that was filled with grave
+      surprise, and also somewhat touched with impatience, upon the tall knight
+      of the sword. &nbsp;Hendon was puzzled, and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What&rsquo;s amiss?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good sir, I would wash me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, is that all? &nbsp;Ask no permission of Miles Hendon for aught
+      thou cravest. &nbsp;Make thyself perfectly free here, and welcome, with
+      all that are his belongings.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Still the boy stood, and moved not; more, he tapped the floor once or
+      twice with his small impatient foot. &nbsp;Hendon was wholly perplexed.
+      &nbsp;Said he&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Bless us, what is it?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Prithee pour the water, and make not so many words!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link12-141" id="link12-141"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link12-141.jpg (125K)" src="images/12-141.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hendon, suppressing a horse-laugh, and saying to himself, &ldquo;By all
+      the saints, but this is admirable!&rdquo; stepped briskly forward and did
+      the small insolent&rsquo;s bidding; then stood by, in a sort of
+      stupefaction, until the command, &ldquo;Come&mdash;the towel!&rdquo; woke
+      him sharply up. &nbsp;He took up a towel, from under the boy&rsquo;s nose,
+      and handed it to him without comment. &nbsp;He now proceeded to comfort
+      his own face with a wash, and while he was at it his adopted child seated
+      himself at the table and prepared to fall to. Hendon despatched his
+      ablutions with alacrity, then drew back the other chair and was about to
+      place himself at table, when the boy said, indignantly&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Forbear! &nbsp;Wouldst sit in the presence of the King?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This blow staggered Hendon to his foundations. &nbsp;He muttered to
+      himself, &ldquo;Lo, the poor thing&rsquo;s madness is up with the time!
+      &nbsp;It hath changed with the great change that is come to the realm, and
+      now in fancy is he <i>king</i>! Good lack, I must humour the conceit, too&mdash;there
+      is no other way&mdash;faith, he would order me to the Tower, else!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And pleased with this jest, he removed the chair from the table, took his
+      stand behind the King, and proceeded to wait upon him in the courtliest
+      way he was capable of.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      While the King ate, the rigour of his royal dignity relaxed a little, and
+      with his growing contentment came a desire to talk. He said&mdash;&ldquo;I
+      think thou callest thyself Miles Hendon, if I heard thee aright?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, Sire,&rdquo; Miles replied; then observed to himself, &ldquo;If
+      I <i>must</i> humour the poor lad&rsquo;s madness, I must &lsquo;Sire&rsquo;
+      him, I must &lsquo;Majesty&rsquo; him, I must not go by halves, I must
+      stick at nothing that belongeth to the part I play, else shall I play it
+      ill and work evil to this charitable and kindly cause.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King warmed his heart with a second glass of wine, and said&mdash;&ldquo;I
+      would know thee&mdash;tell me thy story. &nbsp;Thou hast a gallant way
+      with thee, and a noble&mdash;art nobly born?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We are of the tail of the nobility, good your Majesty. &nbsp;My
+      father is a baronet&mdash;one of the smaller lords by knight service {2}&mdash;Sir
+      Richard Hendon of Hendon Hall, by Monk&rsquo;s Holm in Kent.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The name has escaped my memory. &nbsp;Go on&mdash;tell me thy
+      story.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link12-142" id="link12-142"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link12-142.jpg (102K)" src="images/12-142.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&rsquo;Tis not much, your Majesty, yet perchance it may beguile a
+      short half-hour for want of a better. &nbsp;My father, Sir Richard, is
+      very rich, and of a most generous nature. &nbsp;My mother died whilst I
+      was yet a boy. &nbsp;I have two brothers: &nbsp;Arthur, my elder, with a
+      soul like to his father&rsquo;s; and Hugh, younger than I, a mean spirit,
+      covetous, treacherous, vicious, underhanded&mdash;a reptile. &nbsp;Such
+      was he from the cradle; such was he ten years past, when I last saw him&mdash;a
+      ripe rascal at nineteen, I being twenty then, and Arthur twenty-two.
+      &nbsp;There is none other of us but the Lady Edith, my cousin&mdash;she
+      was sixteen then&mdash;beautiful, gentle, good, the daughter of an earl,
+      the last of her race, heiress of a great fortune and a lapsed title.
+      &nbsp;My father was her guardian. &nbsp;I loved her and she loved me; but
+      she was betrothed to Arthur from the cradle, and Sir Richard would not
+      suffer the contract to be broken. &nbsp;Arthur loved another maid, and
+      bade us be of good cheer and hold fast to the hope that delay and luck
+      together would some day give success to our several causes. &nbsp;Hugh
+      loved the Lady Edith&rsquo;s fortune, though in truth he said it was
+      herself he loved&mdash;but then &rsquo;twas his way, alway, to say the one
+      thing and mean the other. &nbsp;But he lost his arts upon the girl; he
+      could deceive my father, but none else. &nbsp;My father loved him best of
+      us all, and trusted and believed him; for he was the youngest child, and
+      others hated him&mdash;these qualities being in all ages sufficient to win
+      a parent&rsquo;s dearest love; and he had a smooth persuasive tongue, with
+      an admirable gift of lying&mdash;and these be qualities which do mightily
+      assist a blind affection to cozen itself. &nbsp;I was wild&mdash;in troth
+      I might go yet farther and say <i>very</i> wild, though &rsquo;twas a
+      wildness of an innocent sort, since it hurt none but me, brought shame to
+      none, nor loss, nor had in it any taint of crime or baseness, or what
+      might not beseem mine honourable degree.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yet did my brother Hugh turn these faults to good account&mdash;he
+      seeing that our brother Arthur&rsquo;s health was but indifferent, and
+      hoping the worst might work him profit were I swept out of the path&mdash;so&mdash;but
+      &rsquo;twere a long tale, good my liege, and little worth the telling.
+      &nbsp;Briefly, then, this brother did deftly magnify my faults and make
+      them crimes; ending his base work with finding a silken ladder in mine
+      apartments&mdash;conveyed thither by his own means&mdash;and did convince
+      my father by this, and suborned evidence of servants and other lying
+      knaves, that I was minded to carry off my Edith and marry with her in rank
+      defiance of his will.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Three years of banishment from home and England might make a
+      soldier and a man of me, my father said, and teach me some degree of
+      wisdom. &nbsp;I fought out my long probation in the continental wars,
+      tasting sumptuously of hard knocks, privation, and adventure; but in my
+      last battle I was taken captive, and during the seven years that have
+      waxed and waned since then, a foreign dungeon hath harboured me. &nbsp;Through
+      wit and courage I won to the free air at last, and fled hither straight;
+      and am but just arrived, right poor in purse and raiment, and poorer still
+      in knowledge of what these dull seven years have wrought at Hendon Hall,
+      its people and belongings. &nbsp;So please you, sir, my meagre tale is
+      told.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thou hast been shamefully abused!&rdquo; said the little King, with
+      a flashing eye. &nbsp;"But I will right thee&mdash;by the cross will I!
+      &nbsp;The King hath said it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link12-145" id="link12-145"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link12-145.jpg (79K)" src="images/12-145.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then, fired by the story of Miles&rsquo;s wrongs, he loosed his tongue and
+      poured the history of his own recent misfortunes into the ears of his
+      astonished listener. &nbsp;When he had finished, Miles said to himself&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Lo, what an imagination he hath! &nbsp;Verily, this is no common
+      mind; else, crazed or sane, it could not weave so straight and gaudy a
+      tale as this out of the airy nothings wherewith it hath wrought this
+      curious romaunt. Poor ruined little head, it shall not lack friend or
+      shelter whilst I bide with the living. &nbsp;He shall never leave my side;
+      he shall be my pet, my little comrade. &nbsp;And he shall be cured!&mdash;ay,
+      made whole and sound&mdash;then will he make himself a name&mdash;and
+      proud shall I be to say, &lsquo;Yes, he is mine&mdash;I took him, a
+      homeless little ragamuffin, but I saw what was in him, and I said his name
+      would be heard some day&mdash;behold him, observe him&mdash;was I right?&rsquo;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King spoke&mdash;in a thoughtful, measured voice&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thou didst save me injury and shame, perchance my life, and so my
+      crown. Such service demandeth rich reward. &nbsp;Name thy desire, and so
+      it be within the compass of my royal power, it is thine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This fantastic suggestion startled Hendon out of his reverie. &nbsp;He was
+      about to thank the King and put the matter aside with saying he had only
+      done his duty and desired no reward, but a wiser thought came into his
+      head, and he asked leave to be silent a few moments and consider the
+      gracious offer&mdash;an idea which the King gravely approved, remarking
+      that it was best to be not too hasty with a thing of such great import.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Miles reflected during some moments, then said to himself, &ldquo;Yes,
+      that is the thing to do&mdash;by any other means it were impossible to get
+      at it&mdash;and certes, this hour&rsquo;s experience has taught me &rsquo;twould
+      be most wearing and inconvenient to continue it as it is. Yes, I will
+      propose it; &rsquo;twas a happy accident that I did not throw the chance
+      away.&rdquo; &nbsp;Then he dropped upon one knee and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link12-146" id="link12-146"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link12-146.jpg (100K)" src="images/12-146.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My poor service went not beyond the limit of a subject&rsquo;s
+      simple duty, and therefore hath no merit; but since your Majesty is
+      pleased to hold it worthy some reward, I take heart of grace to make
+      petition to this effect. &nbsp;Near four hundred years ago, as your grace
+      knoweth, there being ill blood betwixt John, King of England, and the King
+      of France, it was decreed that two champions should fight together in the
+      lists, and so settle the dispute by what is called the arbitrament of God.
+      &nbsp;These two kings, and the Spanish king, being assembled to witness
+      and judge the conflict, the French champion appeared; but so redoubtable
+      was he, that our English knights refused to measure weapons with him.
+      &nbsp;So the matter, which was a weighty one, was like to go against the
+      English monarch by default. &nbsp;Now in the Tower lay the Lord de Courcy,
+      the mightiest arm in England, stripped of his honours and possessions, and
+      wasting with long captivity. &nbsp;Appeal was made to him; he gave assent,
+      and came forth arrayed for battle; but no sooner did the Frenchman glimpse
+      his huge frame and hear his famous name but he fled away, and the French
+      king&rsquo;s cause was lost. &nbsp;King John restored De Courcy&rsquo;s
+      titles and possessions, and said, &lsquo;Name thy wish and thou shalt have
+      it, though it cost me half my kingdom;&rsquo; whereat De Courcy, kneeling,
+      as I do now, made answer, &lsquo;This, then, I ask, my liege; that I and
+      my successors may have and hold the privilege of remaining covered in the
+      presence of the kings of England, henceforth while the throne shall last.&rsquo;
+      The boon was granted, as your Majesty knoweth; and there hath been no
+      time, these four hundred years, that that line has failed of an heir; and
+      so, even unto this day, the head of that ancient house still weareth his
+      hat or helm before the King&rsquo;s Majesty, without let or hindrance, and
+      this none other may do. {3} Invoking this precedent in aid of my prayer, I
+      beseech the King to grant to me but this one grace and privilege&mdash;to
+      my more than sufficient reward&mdash;and none other, to wit: &nbsp;that I
+      and my heirs, for ever, may <i>sit</i> in the presence of the Majesty of
+      England!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Rise, Sir Miles Hendon, Knight,&rdquo; said the King, gravely&mdash;giving
+      the accolade with Hendon&rsquo;s sword&mdash;&ldquo;rise, and seat
+      thyself. &nbsp;Thy petition is granted. &nbsp;Whilst England remains, and
+      the crown continues, the privilege shall not lapse.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link12-148" id="link12-148"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link12-148.jpg (127K)" src="images/12-148.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      His Majesty walked apart, musing, and Hendon dropped into a chair at
+      table, observing to himself, &ldquo;&rsquo;Twas a brave thought, and hath
+      wrought me a mighty deliverance; my legs are grievously wearied. An I had
+      not thought of that, I must have had to stand for weeks, till my poor lad&rsquo;s
+      wits are cured.&rdquo; &nbsp;After a little, he went on, &ldquo;And so I
+      am become a knight of the Kingdom of Dreams and Shadows! A most odd and
+      strange position, truly, for one so matter-of-fact as I. &nbsp;I will not
+      laugh&mdash;no, God forbid, for this thing which is so substanceless to me
+      is <i>real</i> to him. &nbsp;And to me, also, in one way, it is not a
+      falsity, for it reflects with truth the sweet and generous spirit that is
+      in him.&rdquo; &nbsp;After a pause: &ldquo;Ah, what if he should call me
+      by my fine title before folk!&mdash;there&rsquo;d be a merry contrast
+      betwixt my glory and my raiment! &nbsp;But no matter, let him call me what
+      he will, so it please him; I shall be content.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c13" id="c13"></a> <a
+      name="link13-149" id="link13-149"></a>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link13-149.jpg (41K)" src="images/13-149.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link13-151" id="link13-151"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link13-151.jpg (124K)" src="images/13-151.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XIII. The disappearance of the Prince.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A heavy drowsiness presently fell upon the two comrades. &nbsp;The King
+      said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Remove these rags.&rdquo;&mdash;meaning his clothing.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hendon disapparelled the boy without dissent or remark, tucked him up in
+      bed, then glanced about the room, saying to himself, ruefully, &ldquo;He
+      hath taken my bed again, as before&mdash;marry, what shall <i>I</i> do?&rdquo;
+      &nbsp;The little King observed his perplexity, and dissipated it with a
+      word. &nbsp;He said, sleepily&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thou wilt sleep athwart the door, and guard it.&rdquo; &nbsp;In a
+      moment more he was out of his troubles, in a deep slumber.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Dear heart, he should have been born a king!&rdquo; muttered
+      Hendon, admiringly; &ldquo;he playeth the part to a marvel.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then he stretched himself across the door, on the floor, saying
+      contentedly&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have lodged worse for seven years; &rsquo;twould be but ill
+      gratitude to Him above to find fault with this.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He dropped asleep as the dawn appeared. &nbsp;Toward noon he rose,
+      uncovered his unconscious ward&mdash;a section at a time&mdash;and took
+      his measure with a string. &nbsp;The King awoke, just as he had completed
+      his work, complained of the cold, and asked what he was doing.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&rsquo;Tis done, now, my liege,&rdquo; said Hendon; &ldquo;I have a
+      bit of business outside, but will presently return; sleep thou again&mdash;thou
+      needest it. There&mdash;let me cover thy head also&mdash;thou&rsquo;lt be
+      warm the sooner.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King was back in dreamland before this speech was ended. Miles slipped
+      softly out, and slipped as softly in again, in the course of thirty or
+      forty minutes, with a complete second-hand suit of boy&rsquo;s clothing,
+      of cheap material, and showing signs of wear; but tidy, and suited to the
+      season of the year. &nbsp;He seated himself, and began to overhaul his
+      purchase, mumbling to himself&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A longer purse would have got a better sort, but when one has not
+      the long purse one must be content with what a short one may do&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;There was a woman in our town, <br />In our town did dwell&mdash;&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link13-153" id="link13-153"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link13-153.jpg (83K)" src="images/13-153.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He stirred, methinks&mdash;I must sing in a less thunderous key;
+      &rsquo;tis not good to mar his sleep, with this journey before him, and he
+      so wearied out, poor chap . . . This garment&mdash;&rsquo;tis well enough&mdash;a
+      stitch here and another one there will set it aright. &nbsp;This other is
+      better, albeit a stitch or two will not come amiss in it, likewise . . .
+      <i>These</i> be very good and sound, and will keep his small feet warm and
+      dry&mdash;an odd new thing to him, belike, since he has doubtless been
+      used to foot it bare, winters and summers the same . . . Would thread were
+      bread, seeing one getteth a year&rsquo;s sufficiency for a farthing, and
+      such a brave big needle without cost, for mere love. &nbsp;Now shall I
+      have the demon&rsquo;s own time to thread it!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And so he had. &nbsp;He did as men have always done, and probably always
+      will do, to the end of time&mdash;held the needle still, and tried to
+      thrust the thread through the eye, which is the opposite of a woman&rsquo;s
+      way. &nbsp;Time and time again the thread missed the mark, going sometimes
+      on one side of the needle, sometimes on the other, sometimes doubling up
+      against the shaft; but he was patient, having been through these
+      experiences before, when he was soldiering. &nbsp;He succeeded at last,
+      and took up the garment that had lain waiting, meantime, across his lap,
+      and began his work.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The inn is paid&mdash;the breakfast that is to come, included&mdash;and
+      there is wherewithal left to buy a couple of donkeys and meet our little
+      costs for the two or three days betwixt this and the plenty that awaits us
+      at Hendon Hall&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;She loved her hus&mdash;&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Body o&rsquo; me! &nbsp;I have driven the needle under my nail! . .
+      . It matters little&mdash;&rsquo;tis not a novelty&mdash;yet &rsquo;tis
+      not a convenience, neither. . . . We shall be merry there, little one,
+      never doubt it! Thy troubles will vanish there, and likewise thy sad
+      distemper&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;She loved her husband dearilee, <br />But another man&mdash;&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;These be noble large stitches!&rdquo;&mdash;holding the garment up
+      and viewing it admiringly&mdash;&ldquo;they have a grandeur and a majesty
+      that do cause these small stingy ones of the tailor-man to look mightily
+      paltry and plebeian&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;She loved her husband dearilee, <br />But another man he
+      loved she,&mdash;&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Marry, &rsquo;tis done&mdash;a goodly piece of work, too, and
+      wrought with expedition. &nbsp;Now will I wake him, apparel him, pour for
+      him, feed him, and then will we hie us to the mart by the Tabard Inn in
+      Southwark and&mdash;be pleased to rise, my liege!&mdash;he answereth not&mdash;what
+      ho, my liege!&mdash;of a truth must I profane his sacred person with a
+      touch, sith his slumber is deaf to speech. &nbsp;What!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He threw back the covers&mdash;the boy was gone!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He stared about him in speechless astonishment for a moment; noticed for
+      the first time that his ward&rsquo;s ragged raiment was also missing; then
+      he began to rage and storm and shout for the innkeeper. &nbsp;At that
+      moment a servant entered with the breakfast.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Explain, thou limb of Satan, or thy time is come!&rdquo; roared the
+      man of war, and made so savage a spring toward the waiter that this latter
+      could not find his tongue, for the instant, for fright and surprise.
+      &nbsp;"Where is the boy?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link13-155" id="link13-155"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link13-155.jpg (157K)" src="images/13-155.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In disjointed and trembling syllables the man gave the information
+      desired.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You were hardly gone from the place, your worship, when a youth
+      came running and said it was your worship&rsquo;s will that the boy come
+      to you straight, at the bridge-end on the Southwark side. &nbsp;I brought
+      him hither; and when he woke the lad and gave his message, the lad did
+      grumble some little for being disturbed &lsquo;so early,&rsquo; as he
+      called it, but straightway trussed on his rags and went with the youth,
+      only saying it had been better manners that your worship came yourself,
+      not sent a stranger&mdash;and so&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And so thou&rsquo;rt a fool!&mdash;a fool and easily cozened&mdash;hang
+      all thy breed! Yet mayhap no hurt is done. &nbsp;Possibly no harm is meant
+      the boy. &nbsp;I will go fetch him. &nbsp;Make the table ready. &nbsp;Stay!
+      the coverings of the bed were disposed as if one lay beneath them&mdash;happened
+      that by accident?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know not, good your worship. &nbsp;I saw the youth meddle with
+      them&mdash;he that came for the boy.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thousand deaths! &nbsp;&rsquo;Twas done to deceive me&mdash;&rsquo;tis
+      plain &rsquo;twas done to gain time. &nbsp;Hark ye! &nbsp;Was that youth
+      alone?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All alone, your worship.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Art sure?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure, your worship.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Collect thy scattered wits&mdash;bethink thee&mdash;take time, man.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After a moment&rsquo;s thought, the servant said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;When he came, none came with him; but now I remember me that as the
+      two stepped into the throng of the Bridge, a ruffian-looking man plunged
+      out from some near place; and just as he was joining them&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What <i>then</i>?&mdash;out with it!&rdquo; thundered the impatient
+      Hendon, interrupting.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Just then the crowd lapped them up and closed them in, and I saw no
+      more, being called by my master, who was in a rage because a joint that
+      the scrivener had ordered was forgot, though I take all the saints to
+      witness that to blame <i>me</i> for that miscarriage were like holding the
+      unborn babe to judgment for sins com&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Out of my sight, idiot! &nbsp;Thy prating drives me mad! &nbsp;Hold!
+      Whither art flying? &nbsp;Canst not bide still an instant? &nbsp;Went they
+      toward Southwark?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Even so, your worship&mdash;for, as I said before, as to that
+      detestable joint, the babe unborn is no whit more blameless than&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link13-156" id="link13-156"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link13-156.jpg (77K)" src="images/13-156.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Art here <i>yet</i>! &nbsp;And prating still! &nbsp;Vanish, lest I
+      throttle thee!&rdquo; The servitor vanished. &nbsp;Hendon followed after
+      him, passed him, and plunged down the stairs two steps at a stride,
+      muttering, &ldquo;&rsquo;Tis that scurvy villain that claimed he was his
+      son. &nbsp;I have lost thee, my poor little mad master&mdash;it is a
+      bitter thought&mdash;and I had come to love thee so! &nbsp;No! by book and
+      bell, <i>not</i> lost! &nbsp;Not lost, for I will ransack the land till I
+      find thee again. &nbsp;Poor child, yonder is his breakfast&mdash;and mine,
+      but I have no hunger now; so, let the rats have it&mdash;speed, speed!
+      that is the word!&rdquo; &nbsp;As he wormed his swift way through the
+      noisy multitudes upon the Bridge he several times said to himself&mdash;clinging
+      to the thought as if it were a particularly pleasing one&mdash;&ldquo;He
+      grumbled, but he <i>went</i>&mdash;he went, yes, because he thought Miles
+      Hendon asked it, sweet lad&mdash;he would ne&rsquo;er have done it for
+      another, I know it well.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c14" id="c14"></a> <a
+      name="link14-159" id="link14-159"></a>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link14-159.jpg (78K)" src="images/14-159.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XIV. &lsquo;Le Roi est mort&mdash;vive le Roi.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Toward daylight of the same morning, Tom Canty stirred out of a heavy
+      sleep and opened his eyes in the dark. &nbsp;He lay silent a few moments,
+      trying to analyse his confused thoughts and impressions, and get some sort
+      of meaning out of them; then suddenly he burst out in a rapturous but
+      guarded voice&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I see it all, I see it all! &nbsp;Now God be thanked, I am indeed
+      awake at last! &nbsp;Come, joy! vanish, sorrow! &nbsp;Ho, Nan! Bet! kick
+      off your straw and hie ye hither to my side, till I do pour into your
+      unbelieving ears the wildest madcap dream that ever the spirits of night
+      did conjure up to astonish the soul of man withal! . . . Ho, Nan, I say!
+      &nbsp;Bet!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A dim form appeared at his side, and a voice said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Wilt deign to deliver thy commands?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link14-162" id="link14-162"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link14-162.jpg (99K)" src="images/14-162.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Commands? . . . O, woe is me, I know thy voice! &nbsp;Speak thou&mdash;who
+      am I?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thou? &nbsp;In sooth, yesternight wert thou the Prince of Wales;
+      to-day art thou my most gracious liege, Edward, King of England.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom buried his head among his pillows, murmuring plaintively&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Alack, it was no dream! &nbsp;Go to thy rest, sweet sir&mdash;leave
+      me to my sorrows.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom slept again, and after a time he had this pleasant dream. &nbsp;He
+      thought it was summer, and he was playing, all alone, in the fair meadow
+      called Goodman&rsquo;s Fields, when a dwarf only a foot high, with long
+      red whiskers and a humped back, appeared to him suddenly and said, &ldquo;Dig
+      by that stump.&rdquo; &nbsp;He did so, and found twelve bright new pennies&mdash;wonderful
+      riches! &nbsp;Yet this was not the best of it; for the dwarf said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know thee. &nbsp;Thou art a good lad, and a deserving; thy
+      distresses shall end, for the day of thy reward is come. &nbsp;Dig here
+      every seventh day, and thou shalt find always the same treasure, twelve
+      bright new pennies. Tell none&mdash;keep the secret.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then the dwarf vanished, and Tom flew to Offal Court with his prize,
+      saying to himself, &ldquo;Every night will I give my father a penny; he
+      will think I begged it, it will glad his heart, and I shall no more be
+      beaten. One penny every week the good priest that teacheth me shall have;
+      mother, Nan, and Bet the other four. We be done with hunger and rags, now,
+      done with fears and frets and savage usage.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In his dream he reached his sordid home all out of breath, but with eyes
+      dancing with grateful enthusiasm; cast four of his pennies into his mother&rsquo;s
+      lap and cried out&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They are for thee!&mdash;all of them, every one!&mdash;for thee and
+      Nan and Bet&mdash;and honestly come by, not begged nor stolen!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The happy and astonished mother strained him to her breast and exclaimed&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It waxeth late&mdash;may it please your Majesty to rise?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Ah! that was not the answer he was expecting. &nbsp;The dream had snapped
+      asunder&mdash;he was awake.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He opened his eyes&mdash;the richly clad First Lord of the Bedchamber was
+      kneeling by his couch. &nbsp;The gladness of the lying dream faded away&mdash;the
+      poor boy recognised that he was still a captive and a king. &nbsp;The room
+      was filled with courtiers clothed in purple mantles&mdash;the mourning
+      colour&mdash;and with noble servants of the monarch. &nbsp;Tom sat up in
+      bed and gazed out from the heavy silken curtains upon this fine company.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The weighty business of dressing began, and one courtier after another
+      knelt and paid his court and offered to the little King his condolences
+      upon his heavy loss, whilst the dressing proceeded. &nbsp;In the
+      beginning, a shirt was taken up by the Chief Equerry in Waiting, who
+      passed it to the First Lord of the Buckhounds, who passed it to the Second
+      Gentleman of the Bedchamber, who passed it to the Head Ranger of Windsor
+      Forest, who passed it to the Third Groom of the Stole, who passed it to
+      the Chancellor Royal of the Duchy of Lancaster, who passed it to the
+      Master of the Wardrobe, who passed it to Norroy King-at-Arms, who passed
+      it to the Constable of the Tower, who passed it to the Chief Steward of
+      the Household, who passed it to the Hereditary Grand Diaperer, who passed
+      it to the Lord High Admiral of England, who passed it to the Archbishop of
+      Canterbury, who passed it to the First Lord of the Bedchamber, who took
+      what was left of it and put it on Tom. &nbsp;Poor little wondering chap,
+      it reminded him of passing buckets at a fire.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link14-164" id="link14-164"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link14-164.jpg (59K)" src="images/14-164.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Each garment in its turn had to go through this slow and solemn process;
+      consequently Tom grew very weary of the ceremony; so weary that he felt an
+      almost gushing gratefulness when he at last saw his long silken hose begin
+      the journey down the line and knew that the end of the matter was drawing
+      near. &nbsp;But he exulted too soon. &nbsp;The First Lord of the
+      Bedchamber received the hose and was about to encase Tom&rsquo;s legs in
+      them, when a sudden flush invaded his face and he hurriedly hustled the
+      things back into the hands of the Archbishop of Canterbury with an
+      astounded look and a whispered, &ldquo;See, my lord!&rdquo; pointing to a
+      something connected with the hose. &nbsp;The Archbishop paled, then
+      flushed, and passed the hose to the Lord High Admiral, whispering, &ldquo;See,
+      my lord!&rdquo; &nbsp;The Admiral passed the hose to the Hereditary Grand
+      Diaperer, and had hardly breath enough in his body to ejaculate, &ldquo;See,
+      my lord!&rdquo; &nbsp;The hose drifted backward along the line, to the
+      Chief Steward of the Household, the Constable of the Tower, Norroy
+      King-at-Arms, the Master of the Wardrobe, the Chancellor Royal of the
+      Duchy of Lancaster, the Third Groom of the Stole, the Head Ranger of
+      Windsor Forest, the Second Gentleman of the Bedchamber, the First Lord of
+      the Buckhounds,&mdash;accompanied always with that amazed and frightened
+      &ldquo;See! see!&rdquo;&mdash;till they finally reached the hands of the
+      Chief Equerry in Waiting, who gazed a moment, with a pallid face, upon
+      what had caused all this dismay, then hoarsely whispered, &ldquo;Body of
+      my life, a tag gone from a truss-point!&mdash;to the Tower with the Head
+      Keeper of the King&rsquo;s Hose!&rdquo;&mdash;after which he leaned upon
+      the shoulder of the First Lord of the Buckhounds to regather his vanished
+      strength whilst fresh hose, without any damaged strings to them, were
+      brought.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But all things must have an end, and so in time Tom Canty was in a
+      condition to get out of bed. &nbsp;The proper official poured water, the
+      proper official engineered the washing, the proper official stood by with
+      a towel, and by-and-by Tom got safely through the purifying stage and was
+      ready for the services of the Hairdresser-royal. &nbsp;When he at length
+      emerged from this master&rsquo;s hands, he was a gracious figure and as
+      pretty as a girl, in his mantle and trunks of purple satin, and
+      purple-plumed cap. &nbsp;He now moved in state toward his breakfast-room,
+      through the midst of the courtly assemblage; and as he passed, these fell
+      back, leaving his way free, and dropped upon their knees.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After breakfast he was conducted, with regal ceremony, attended by his
+      great officers and his guard of fifty Gentlemen Pensioners bearing gilt
+      battle-axes, to the throne-room, where he proceeded to transact business
+      of state. &nbsp;His &lsquo;uncle,&rsquo; Lord Hertford, took his stand by
+      the throne, to assist the royal mind with wise counsel.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The body of illustrious men named by the late King as his executors
+      appeared, to ask Tom&rsquo;s approval of certain acts of theirs&mdash;rather
+      a form, and yet not wholly a form, since there was no Protector as yet.
+      &nbsp;The Archbishop of Canterbury made report of the decree of the
+      Council of Executors concerning the obsequies of his late most illustrious
+      Majesty, and finished by reading the signatures of the Executors, to wit:
+      &nbsp;the Archbishop of Canterbury; the Lord Chancellor of England;
+      William Lord St. John; John Lord Russell; Edward Earl of Hertford; John
+      Viscount Lisle; Cuthbert Bishop of Durham&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom was not listening&mdash;an earlier clause of the document was puzzling
+      him. &nbsp;At this point he turned and whispered to Lord Hertford&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What day did he say the burial hath been appointed for?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The sixteenth of the coming month, my liege.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&rsquo;Tis a strange folly. &nbsp;Will he keep?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Poor chap, he was still new to the customs of royalty; he was used to
+      seeing the forlorn dead of Offal Court hustled out of the way with a very
+      different sort of expedition. &nbsp;However, the Lord Hertford set his
+      mind at rest with a word or two.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A secretary of state presented an order of the Council appointing the
+      morrow at eleven for the reception of the foreign ambassadors, and desired
+      the King&rsquo;s assent.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link14-166" id="link14-166"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link14-166.jpg (136K)" src="images/14-166.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom turned an inquiring look toward Hertford, who whispered&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your Majesty will signify consent. &nbsp;They come to testify their
+      royal masters&rsquo; sense of the heavy calamity which hath visited your
+      Grace and the realm of England.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom did as he was bidden. &nbsp;Another secretary began to read a preamble
+      concerning the expenses of the late King&rsquo;s household, which had
+      amounted to 28,000 pounds during the preceding six months&mdash;a sum so
+      vast that it made Tom Canty gasp; he gasped again when the fact appeared
+      that 20,000 pounds of this money was still owing and unpaid; {4} and once
+      more when it appeared that the King&rsquo;s coffers were about empty, and
+      his twelve hundred servants much embarrassed for lack of the wages due
+      them. &nbsp;Tom spoke out, with lively apprehension&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We be going to the dogs, &rsquo;tis plain. &nbsp;&rsquo;Tis meet
+      and necessary that we take a smaller house and set the servants at large,
+      sith they be of no value but to make delay, and trouble one with offices
+      that harass the spirit and shame the soul, they misbecoming any but a
+      doll, that hath nor brains nor hands to help itself withal. &nbsp;I
+      remember me of a small house that standeth over against the fish-market,
+      by Billingsgate&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A sharp pressure upon Tom&rsquo;s arm stopped his foolish tongue and sent
+      a blush to his face; but no countenance there betrayed any sign that this
+      strange speech had been remarked or given concern.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A secretary made report that forasmuch as the late King had provided in
+      his will for conferring the ducal degree upon the Earl of Hertford and
+      raising his brother, Sir Thomas Seymour, to the peerage, and likewise
+      Hertford&rsquo;s son to an earldom, together with similar aggrandisements
+      to other great servants of the Crown, the Council had resolved to hold a
+      sitting on the 16th of February for the delivering and confirming of these
+      honours, and that meantime, the late King not having granted, in writing,
+      estates suitable to the support of these dignities, the Council, knowing
+      his private wishes in that regard, had thought proper to grant to Seymour
+      &lsquo;500 pound lands,&rsquo; and to Hertford&rsquo;s son &lsquo;800
+      pound lands, and 300 pound of the next bishop&rsquo;s lands which should
+      fall vacant,&rsquo;&mdash;his present Majesty being willing. {5}
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom was about to blurt out something about the propriety of paying the
+      late King&rsquo;s debts first, before squandering all this money, but a
+      timely touch upon his arm, from the thoughtful Hertford, saved him this
+      indiscretion; wherefore he gave the royal assent, without spoken comment,
+      but with much inward discomfort. &nbsp;While he sat reflecting a moment
+      over the ease with which he was doing strange and glittering miracles, a
+      happy thought shot into his mind: &nbsp;why not make his mother Duchess of
+      Offal Court, and give her an estate? &nbsp;But a sorrowful thought swept
+      it instantly away: he was only a king in name, these grave veterans and
+      great nobles were his masters; to them his mother was only the creature of
+      a diseased mind; they would simply listen to his project with unbelieving
+      ears, then send for the doctor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The dull work went tediously on. &nbsp;Petitions were read, and
+      proclamations, patents, and all manner of wordy, repetitious, and
+      wearisome papers relating to the public business; and at last Tom sighed
+      pathetically and murmured to himself, &ldquo;In what have I offended, that
+      the good God should take me away from the fields and the free air and the
+      sunshine, to shut me up here and make me a king and afflict me so?&rdquo;
+      &nbsp;Then his poor muddled head nodded a while and presently drooped to
+      his shoulder; and the business of the empire came to a standstill for want
+      of that august factor, the ratifying power. &nbsp;Silence ensued around
+      the slumbering child, and the sages of the realm ceased from their
+      deliberations.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      During the forenoon, Tom had an enjoyable hour, by permission of his
+      keepers, Hertford and St. John, with the Lady Elizabeth and the little
+      Lady Jane Grey; though the spirits of the princesses were rather subdued
+      by the mighty stroke that had fallen upon the royal house; and at the end
+      of the visit his &lsquo;elder sister&rsquo;&mdash;afterwards the &lsquo;Bloody
+      Mary&rsquo; of history&mdash;chilled him with a solemn interview which had
+      but one merit in his eyes, its brevity. &nbsp;He had a few moments to
+      himself, and then a slim lad of about twelve years of age was admitted to
+      his presence, whose clothing, except his snowy ruff and the laces about
+      his wrists, was of black,&mdash;doublet, hose, and all. &nbsp;He bore no
+      badge of mourning but a knot of purple ribbon on his shoulder. &nbsp;He
+      advanced hesitatingly, with head bowed and bare, and dropped upon one knee
+      in front of Tom. Tom sat still and contemplated him soberly a moment.
+      &nbsp;Then he said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Rise, lad. &nbsp;Who art thou. &nbsp;What wouldst have?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The boy rose, and stood at graceful ease, but with an aspect of concern in
+      his face. &nbsp;He said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link14-170" id="link14-170"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link14-170.jpg (101K)" src="images/14-170.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of a surety thou must remember me, my lord. &nbsp;I am thy
+      whipping-boy.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My <i>whipping</i>-boy?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The same, your Grace. &nbsp;I am Humphrey&mdash;Humphrey Marlow.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom perceived that here was someone whom his keepers ought to have posted
+      him about. &nbsp;The situation was delicate. &nbsp;What should he do?&mdash;pretend
+      he knew this lad, and then betray by his every utterance that he had never
+      heard of him before? &nbsp;No, that would not do. &nbsp;An idea came to
+      his relief: accidents like this might be likely to happen with some
+      frequency, now that business urgencies would often call Hertford and St.
+      John from his side, they being members of the Council of Executors;
+      therefore perhaps it would be well to strike out a plan himself to meet
+      the requirements of such emergencies. &nbsp;Yes, that would be a wise
+      course&mdash;he would practise on this boy, and see what sort of success
+      he might achieve. &nbsp;So he stroked his brow perplexedly a moment or
+      two, and presently said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now I seem to remember thee somewhat&mdash;but my wit is clogged
+      and dim with suffering&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Alack, my poor master!&rdquo; ejaculated the whipping-boy, with
+      feeling; adding, to himself, &ldquo;In truth &rsquo;tis as they said&mdash;his
+      mind is gone&mdash;alas, poor soul! &nbsp;But misfortune catch me, how am
+      I forgetting! &nbsp;They said one must not seem to observe that aught is
+      wrong with him.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&rsquo;Tis strange how my memory doth wanton with me these days,&rdquo;
+      said Tom. &ldquo;But mind it not&mdash;I mend apace&mdash;a little clue
+      doth often serve to bring me back again the things and names which had
+      escaped me. &nbsp;(And not they, only, forsooth, but e&rsquo;en such as I
+      ne&rsquo;er heard before&mdash;as this lad shall see.) &nbsp;Give thy
+      business speech.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&rsquo;Tis matter of small weight, my liege, yet will I touch upon
+      it, an&rsquo; it please your Grace. &nbsp;Two days gone by, when your
+      Majesty faulted thrice in your Greek&mdash;in the morning lessons,&mdash;dost
+      remember it?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Y-e-s&mdash;methinks I do. &nbsp;(It is not much of a lie&mdash;an&rsquo;
+      I had meddled with the Greek at all, I had not faulted simply thrice, but
+      forty times.) Yes, I do recall it, now&mdash;go on.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The master, being wroth with what he termed such slovenly and
+      doltish work, did promise that he would soundly whip me for it&mdash;and&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Whip <i>thee</i>!&rdquo; said Tom, astonished out of his presence
+      of mind. &ldquo;Why should he whip <i>thee</i> for faults of mine?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, your Grace forgetteth again. &nbsp;He always scourgeth me when
+      thou dost fail in thy lessons.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;True, true&mdash;I had forgot. &nbsp;Thou teachest me in private&mdash;then
+      if I fail, he argueth that thy office was lamely done, and&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, my liege, what words are these? &nbsp;I, the humblest of thy
+      servants, presume to teach <i>thee</i>?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then where is thy blame? &nbsp;What riddle is this? &nbsp;Am I in
+      truth gone mad, or is it thou? &nbsp;Explain&mdash;speak out.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But, good your Majesty, there&rsquo;s nought that needeth
+      simplifying.&mdash;None may visit the sacred person of the Prince of Wales
+      with blows; wherefore, when he faulteth, &rsquo;tis I that take them; and
+      meet it is and right, for that it is mine office and my livelihood.&rdquo;
+      {1}
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link14-172" id="link14-172"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link14-172.jpg (84K)" src="images/14-172.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom stared at the tranquil boy, observing to himself, &ldquo;Lo, it is a
+      wonderful thing,&mdash;a most strange and curious trade; I marvel they
+      have not hired a boy to take my combings and my dressings for me&mdash;would
+      heaven they would!&mdash;an&rsquo; they will do this thing, I will take my
+      lashings in mine own person, giving God thanks for the change.&rdquo; Then
+      he said aloud&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And hast thou been beaten, poor friend, according to the promise?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, good your Majesty, my punishment was appointed for this day,
+      and peradventure it may be annulled, as unbefitting the season of mourning
+      that is come upon us; I know not, and so have made bold to come hither and
+      remind your Grace about your gracious promise to intercede in my behalf&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;With the master? &nbsp;To save thee thy whipping?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, thou dost remember!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My memory mendeth, thou seest. &nbsp;Set thy mind at ease&mdash;thy
+      back shall go unscathed&mdash;I will see to it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, thanks, my good lord!&rdquo; cried the boy, dropping upon his
+      knee again. &ldquo;Mayhap I have ventured far enow; and yet&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Seeing Master Humphrey hesitate, Tom encouraged him to go on, saying he
+      was &ldquo;in the granting mood.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then will I speak it out, for it lieth near my heart. &nbsp;Sith
+      thou art no more Prince of Wales but King, thou canst order matters as
+      thou wilt, with none to say thee nay; wherefore it is not in reason that
+      thou wilt longer vex thyself with dreary studies, but wilt burn thy books
+      and turn thy mind to things less irksome. Then am I ruined, and mine
+      orphan sisters with me!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ruined? &nbsp;Prithee how?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My back is my bread, O my gracious liege! if it go idle, I starve.
+      &nbsp;An&rsquo; thou cease from study mine office is gone thou&rsquo;lt
+      need no whipping-boy. Do not turn me away!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom was touched with this pathetic distress. &nbsp;He said, with a right
+      royal burst of generosity&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Discomfort thyself no further, lad. &nbsp;Thine office shall be
+      permanent in thee and thy line for ever.&rdquo; &nbsp;Then he struck the
+      boy a light blow on the shoulder with the flat of his sword, exclaiming,
+      &ldquo;Rise, Humphrey Marlow, Hereditary Grand Whipping-Boy to the Royal
+      House of England! &nbsp;Banish sorrow&mdash;I will betake me to my books
+      again, and study so ill that they must in justice treble thy wage, so
+      mightily shall the business of thine office be augmented.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The grateful Humphrey responded fervidly&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thanks, O most noble master, this princely lavishness doth far
+      surpass my most distempered dreams of fortune. &nbsp;Now shall I be happy
+      all my days, and all the house of Marlow after me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom had wit enough to perceive that here was a lad who could be useful to
+      him. &nbsp;He encouraged Humphrey to talk, and he was nothing loath.
+      &nbsp;He was delighted to believe that he was helping in Tom&rsquo;s
+      &lsquo;cure&rsquo;; for always, as soon as he had finished calling back to
+      Tom&rsquo;s diseased mind the various particulars of his experiences and
+      adventures in the royal school-room and elsewhere about the palace, he
+      noticed that Tom was then able to &lsquo;recall&rsquo; the circumstances
+      quite clearly. &nbsp;At the end of an hour Tom found himself well
+      freighted with very valuable information concerning personages and matters
+      pertaining to the Court; so he resolved to draw instruction from this
+      source daily; and to this end he would give order to admit Humphrey to the
+      royal closet whenever he might come, provided the Majesty of England was
+      not engaged with other people. &nbsp;Humphrey had hardly been dismissed
+      when my Lord Hertford arrived with more trouble for Tom.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He said that the Lords of the Council, fearing that some overwrought
+      report of the King&rsquo;s damaged health might have leaked out and got
+      abroad, they deemed it wise and best that his Majesty should begin to dine
+      in public after a day or two&mdash;his wholesome complexion and vigorous
+      step, assisted by a carefully guarded repose of manner and ease and grace
+      of demeanour, would more surely quiet the general pulse&mdash;in case any
+      evil rumours <i>had</i> gone about&mdash;than any other scheme that could
+      be devised.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then the Earl proceeded, very delicately, to instruct Tom as to the
+      observances proper to the stately occasion, under the rather thin disguise
+      of &lsquo;reminding&rsquo; him concerning things already known to him; but
+      to his vast gratification it turned out that Tom needed very little help
+      in this line&mdash;he had been making use of Humphrey in that direction,
+      for Humphrey had mentioned that within a few days he was to begin to dine
+      in public; having gathered it from the swift-winged gossip of the Court.
+      Tom kept these facts to himself, however.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Seeing the royal memory so improved, the Earl ventured to apply a few
+      tests to it, in an apparently casual way, to find out how far its
+      amendment had progressed. &nbsp;The results were happy, here and there, in
+      spots&mdash;spots where Humphrey&rsquo;s tracks remained&mdash;and on the
+      whole my lord was greatly pleased and encouraged. &nbsp;So encouraged was
+      he, indeed, that he spoke up and said in a quite hopeful voice&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link14-175" id="link14-175"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link14-175.jpg (98K)" src="images/14-175.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now am I persuaded that if your Majesty will but tax your memory
+      yet a little further, it will resolve the puzzle of the Great Seal&mdash;a
+      loss which was of moment yesterday, although of none to-day, since its
+      term of service ended with our late lord&rsquo;s life. May it please your
+      Grace to make the trial?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom was at sea&mdash;a Great Seal was something which he was totally
+      unacquainted with. &nbsp;After a moment&rsquo;s hesitation he looked up
+      innocently and asked&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What was it like, my lord?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Earl started, almost imperceptibly, muttering to himself, &ldquo;Alack,
+      his wits are flown again!&mdash;it was ill wisdom to lead him on to strain
+      them&rdquo;&mdash;then he deftly turned the talk to other matters, with
+      the purpose of sweeping the unlucky seal out of Tom&rsquo;s thoughts&mdash;a
+      purpose which easily succeeded.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c15" id="c15"></a> <a
+      name="link15-177" id="link15-177"></a>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link15-177.jpg (56K)" src="images/15-177.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XV. Tom as King.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The next day the foreign ambassadors came, with their gorgeous trains; and
+      Tom, throned in awful state, received them. &nbsp;The splendours of the
+      scene delighted his eye and fired his imagination at first, but the
+      audience was long and dreary, and so were most of the addresses&mdash;wherefore,
+      what began as a pleasure grew into weariness and home-sickness by-and-by.
+      &nbsp;Tom said the words which Hertford put into his mouth from time to
+      time, and tried hard to acquit himself satisfactorily, but he was too new
+      to such things, and too ill at ease to accomplish more than a tolerable
+      success. &nbsp;He looked sufficiently like a king, but he was ill able to
+      feel like one. &nbsp;He was cordially glad when the ceremony was ended.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The larger part of his day was &lsquo;wasted&rsquo;&mdash;as he termed it,
+      in his own mind&mdash;in labours pertaining to his royal office. &nbsp;Even
+      the two hours devoted to certain princely pastimes and recreations were
+      rather a burden to him than otherwise, they were so fettered by
+      restrictions and ceremonious observances. &nbsp;However, he had a private
+      hour with his whipping-boy which he counted clear gain, since he got both
+      entertainment and needful information out of it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The third day of Tom Canty&rsquo;s kingship came and went much as the
+      others had done, but there was a lifting of his cloud in one way&mdash;he
+      felt less uncomfortable than at first; he was getting a little used to his
+      circumstances and surroundings; his chains still galled, but not all the
+      time; he found that the presence and homage of the great afflicted and
+      embarrassed him less and less sharply with every hour that drifted over
+      his head.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But for one single dread, he could have seen the fourth day approach
+      without serious distress&mdash;the dining in public; it was to begin that
+      day. There were greater matters in the programme&mdash;for on that day he
+      would have to preside at a council which would take his views and commands
+      concerning the policy to be pursued toward various foreign nations
+      scattered far and near over the great globe; on that day, too, Hertford
+      would be formally chosen to the grand office of Lord Protector; other
+      things of note were appointed for that fourth day, also; but to Tom they
+      were all insignificant compared with the ordeal of dining all by himself
+      with a multitude of curious eyes fastened upon him and a multitude of
+      mouths whispering comments upon his performance,&mdash;and upon his
+      mistakes, if he should be so unlucky as to make any.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Still, nothing could stop that fourth day, and so it came. &nbsp;It found
+      poor Tom low-spirited and absent-minded, and this mood continued; he could
+      not shake it off. &nbsp;The ordinary duties of the morning dragged upon
+      his hands, and wearied him. &nbsp;Once more he felt the sense of captivity
+      heavy upon him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Late in the forenoon he was in a large audience-chamber, conversing with
+      the Earl of Hertford and dully awaiting the striking of the hour appointed
+      for a visit of ceremony from a considerable number of great officials and
+      courtiers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link15-181" id="link15-181"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link15-181.jpg (53K)" src="images/15-181.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After a little while, Tom, who had wandered to a window and become
+      interested in the life and movement of the great highway beyond the palace
+      gates&mdash;and not idly interested, but longing with all his heart to
+      take part in person in its stir and freedom&mdash;saw the van of a hooting
+      and shouting mob of disorderly men, women, and children of the lowest and
+      poorest degree approaching from up the road.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I would I knew what &rsquo;tis about!&rdquo; he exclaimed, with all
+      a boy&rsquo;s curiosity in such happenings.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thou art the King!&rdquo; solemnly responded the Earl, with a
+      reverence. &ldquo;Have I your Grace&rsquo;s leave to act?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;O blithely, yes! &nbsp;O gladly, yes!&rdquo; exclaimed Tom
+      excitedly, adding to himself with a lively sense of satisfaction, &ldquo;In
+      truth, being a king is not all dreariness&mdash;it hath its compensations
+      and conveniences.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Earl called a page, and sent him to the captain of the guard with the
+      order&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Let the mob be halted, and inquiry made concerning the occasion of
+      its movement. &nbsp;By the King&rsquo;s command!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A few seconds later a long rank of the royal guards, cased in flashing
+      steel, filed out at the gates and formed across the highway in front of
+      the multitude. &nbsp;A messenger returned, to report that the crowd were
+      following a man, a woman, and a young girl to execution for crimes
+      committed against the peace and dignity of the realm.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Death&mdash;and a violent death&mdash;for these poor unfortunates! &nbsp;The
+      thought wrung Tom&rsquo;s heart-strings. &nbsp;The spirit of compassion
+      took control of him, to the exclusion of all other considerations; he
+      never thought of the offended laws, or of the grief or loss which these
+      three criminals had inflicted upon their victims; he could think of
+      nothing but the scaffold and the grisly fate hanging over the heads of the
+      condemned. &nbsp;His concern made him even forget, for the moment, that he
+      was but the false shadow of a king, not the substance; and before he knew
+      it he had blurted out the command&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Bring them here!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then he blushed scarlet, and a sort of apology sprung to his lips; but
+      observing that his order had wrought no sort of surprise in the Earl or
+      the waiting page, he suppressed the words he was about to utter. &nbsp;The
+      page, in the most matter-of-course way, made a profound obeisance and
+      retired backwards out of the room to deliver the command. &nbsp;Tom
+      experienced a glow of pride and a renewed sense of the compensating
+      advantages of the kingly office. He said to himself, &ldquo;Truly it is
+      like what I was used to feel when I read the old priest&rsquo;s tales, and
+      did imagine mine own self a prince, giving law and command to all, saying
+      &lsquo;Do this, do that,&rsquo; whilst none durst offer let or hindrance
+      to my will.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now the doors swung open; one high-sounding title after another was
+      announced, the personages owning them followed, and the place was quickly
+      half-filled with noble folk and finery. &nbsp;But Tom was hardly conscious
+      of the presence of these people, so wrought up was he and so intensely
+      absorbed in that other and more interesting matter. &nbsp;He seated
+      himself absently in his chair of state, and turned his eyes upon the door
+      with manifestations of impatient expectancy; seeing which, the company
+      forbore to trouble him, and fell to chatting a mixture of public business
+      and court gossip one with another.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In a little while the measured tread of military men was heard
+      approaching, and the culprits entered the presence in charge of an
+      under-sheriff and escorted by a detail of the king&rsquo;s guard. &nbsp;The
+      civil officer knelt before Tom, then stood aside; the three doomed persons
+      knelt, also, and remained so; the guard took position behind Tom&rsquo;s
+      chair. &nbsp;Tom scanned the prisoners curiously. Something about the
+      dress or appearance of the man had stirred a vague memory in him. &nbsp;"Methinks
+      I have seen this man ere now . . . but the when or the where fail me.&rdquo;&mdash;Such
+      was Tom&rsquo;s thought. Just then the man glanced quickly up and quickly
+      dropped his face again, not being able to endure the awful port of
+      sovereignty; but the one full glimpse of the face which Tom got was
+      sufficient. &nbsp;He said to himself: &ldquo;Now is the matter clear; this
+      is the stranger that plucked Giles Witt out of the Thames, and saved his
+      life, that windy, bitter, first day of the New Year&mdash;a brave good
+      deed&mdash;pity he hath been doing baser ones and got himself in this sad
+      case . . . I have not forgot the day, neither the hour; by reason that an
+      hour after, upon the stroke of eleven, I did get a hiding by the hand of
+      Gammer Canty which was of so goodly and admired severity that all that
+      went before or followed after it were but fondlings and caresses by
+      comparison.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link15-183" id="link15-183"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link15-183.jpg (176K)" src="images/15-183.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom now ordered that the woman and the girl be removed from the presence
+      for a little time; then addressed himself to the under-sheriff, saying&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good sir, what is this man&rsquo;s offence?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The officer knelt, and answered&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;So please your Majesty, he hath taken the life of a subject by
+      poison.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom&rsquo;s compassion for the prisoner, and admiration of him as the
+      daring rescuer of a drowning boy, experienced a most damaging shock.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The thing was proven upon him?&rdquo; he asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Most clearly, sire.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom sighed, and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Take him away&mdash;he hath earned his death. &nbsp;&rsquo;Tis a
+      pity, for he was a brave heart&mdash;na&mdash;na, I mean he hath the <i>look</i>
+      of it!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The prisoner clasped his hands together with sudden energy, and wrung them
+      despairingly, at the same time appealing imploringly to the &lsquo;King&rsquo;
+      in broken and terrified phrases&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;O my lord the King, an&rsquo; thou canst pity the lost, have pity
+      upon me! &nbsp;I am innocent&mdash;neither hath that wherewith I am
+      charged been more than but lamely proved&mdash;yet I speak not of that;
+      the judgment is gone forth against me and may not suffer alteration; yet
+      in mine extremity I beg a boon, for my doom is more than I can bear. A
+      grace, a grace, my lord the King! in thy royal compassion grant my prayer&mdash;give
+      commandment that I be hanged!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom was amazed. &nbsp;This was not the outcome he had looked for.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Odds my life, a strange <i>boon</i>! &nbsp;Was it not the fate
+      intended thee?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;O good my liege, not so! &nbsp;It is ordered that I be <i>boiled
+      alive</i>!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The hideous surprise of these words almost made Tom spring from his chair.
+      &nbsp;As soon as he could recover his wits he cried out&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Have thy wish, poor soul! an&rsquo; thou had poisoned a hundred men
+      thou shouldst not suffer so miserable a death.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The prisoner bowed his face to the ground and burst into passionate
+      expressions of gratitude&mdash;ending with&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If ever thou shouldst know misfortune&mdash;which God forefend!&mdash;may
+      thy goodness to me this day be remembered and requited!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom turned to the Earl of Hertford, and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My lord, is it believable that there was warrant for this man&rsquo;s
+      ferocious doom?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is the law, your Grace&mdash;for poisoners. &nbsp;In Germany
+      coiners be boiled to death in <i>oil</i>&mdash;not cast in of a sudden,
+      but by a rope let down into the oil by degrees, and slowly; first the
+      feet, then the legs, then&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;O prithee no more, my lord, I cannot bear it!&rdquo; cried Tom,
+      covering his eyes with his hands to shut out the picture. &nbsp;"I beseech
+      your good lordship that order be taken to change this law&mdash;oh, let no
+      more poor creatures be visited with its tortures.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Earl&rsquo;s face showed profound gratification, for he was a man of
+      merciful and generous impulses&mdash;a thing not very common with his
+      class in that fierce age. &nbsp;He said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;These your Grace&rsquo;s noble words have sealed its doom. &nbsp;History
+      will remember it to the honour of your royal house.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The under-sheriff was about to remove his prisoner; Tom gave him a sign to
+      wait; then he said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good sir, I would look into this matter further. &nbsp;The man has
+      said his deed was but lamely proved. &nbsp;Tell me what thou knowest.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If the King&rsquo;s grace please, it did appear upon the trial that
+      this man entered into a house in the hamlet of Islington where one lay
+      sick&mdash;three witnesses say it was at ten of the clock in the morning,
+      and two say it was some minutes later&mdash;the sick man being alone at
+      the time, and sleeping&mdash;and presently the man came forth again and
+      went his way. &nbsp;The sick man died within the hour, being torn with
+      spasms and retchings.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Did any see the poison given? &nbsp;Was poison found?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Marry, no, my liege.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then how doth one know there was poison given at all?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Please your Majesty, the doctors testified that none die with such
+      symptoms but by poison.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Weighty evidence, this, in that simple age. &nbsp;Tom recognised its
+      formidable nature, and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The doctor knoweth his trade&mdash;belike they were right. &nbsp;The
+      matter hath an ill-look for this poor man.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yet was not this all, your Majesty; there is more and worse. Many
+      testified that a witch, since gone from the village, none know whither,
+      did foretell, and speak it privately in their ears, that the sick man <i>would
+      die by poison</i>&mdash;and more, that a stranger would give it&mdash;a
+      stranger with brown hair and clothed in a worn and common garb; and surely
+      this prisoner doth answer woundily to the bill. &nbsp;Please your Majesty
+      to give the circumstance that solemn weight which is its due, seeing it
+      was <i>foretold</i>.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This was an argument of tremendous force in that superstitious day. &nbsp;Tom
+      felt that the thing was settled; if evidence was worth anything, this poor
+      fellow&rsquo;s guilt was proved. &nbsp;Still he offered the prisoner a
+      chance, saying&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If thou canst say aught in thy behalf, speak.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nought that will avail, my King. &nbsp;I am innocent, yet cannot I
+      make it appear. &nbsp;I have no friends, else might I show that I was not
+      in Islington that day; so also might I show that at that hour they name I
+      was above a league away, seeing I was at Wapping Old Stairs; yea more, my
+      King, for I could show, that whilst they say I was <i>taking</i> life, I
+      was <i>saving</i> it. &nbsp;A drowning boy&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Peace! &nbsp;Sheriff, name the day the deed was done!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;At ten in the morning, or some minutes later, the first day of the
+      New Year, most illustrious&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Let the prisoner go free&mdash;it is the King&rsquo;s will!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link15-187" id="link15-187"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link15-187.jpg (170K)" src="images/15-187.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Another blush followed this unregal outburst, and he covered his indecorum
+      as well as he could by adding&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It enrageth me that a man should be hanged upon such idle,
+      hare-brained evidence!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A low buzz of admiration swept through the assemblage. &nbsp;It was not
+      admiration of the decree that had been delivered by Tom, for the propriety
+      or expediency of pardoning a convicted poisoner was a thing which few
+      there would have felt justified in either admitting or admiring&mdash;no,
+      the admiration was for the intelligence and spirit which Tom had
+      displayed. &nbsp;Some of the low-voiced remarks were to this effect&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This is no mad king&mdash;he hath his wits sound.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How sanely he put his questions&mdash;how like his former natural
+      self was this abrupt imperious disposal of the matter!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;God be thanked, his infirmity is spent! &nbsp;This is no weakling,
+      but a king. &nbsp;He hath borne himself like to his own father.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The air being filled with applause, Tom&rsquo;s ear necessarily caught a
+      little of it. &nbsp;The effect which this had upon him was to put him
+      greatly at his ease, and also to charge his system with very gratifying
+      sensations.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      However, his juvenile curiosity soon rose superior to these pleasant
+      thoughts and feelings; he was eager to know what sort of deadly mischief
+      the woman and the little girl could have been about; so, by his command,
+      the two terrified and sobbing creatures were brought before him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What is it that these have done?&rdquo; he inquired of the sheriff.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link15-188" id="link15-188"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link15-188.jpg (27K)" src="images/15-188.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Please your Majesty, a black crime is charged upon them, and
+      clearly proven; wherefore the judges have decreed, according to the law,
+      that they be hanged. &nbsp;They sold themselves to the devil&mdash;such is
+      their crime.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom shuddered. &nbsp;He had been taught to abhor people who did this
+      wicked thing. &nbsp;Still, he was not going to deny himself the pleasure
+      of feeding his curiosity for all that; so he asked&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where was this done?&mdash;and when?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;On a midnight in December, in a ruined church, your Majesty.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom shuddered again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Who was there present?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Only these two, your grace&mdash;and <i>that other</i>.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Have these confessed?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nay, not so, sire&mdash;they do deny it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then prithee, how was it known?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Certain witness did see them wending thither, good your Majesty;
+      this bred the suspicion, and dire effects have since confirmed and
+      justified it. &nbsp;In particular, it is in evidence that through the
+      wicked power so obtained, they did invoke and bring about a storm that
+      wasted all the region round about. &nbsp;Above forty witnesses have proved
+      the storm; and sooth one might have had a thousand, for all had reason to
+      remember it, sith all had suffered by it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Certes this is a serious matter.&rdquo; &nbsp;Tom turned this dark
+      piece of scoundrelism over in his mind a while, then asked&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Suffered the woman also by the storm?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link15-190" id="link15-190"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link15-190.jpg (69K)" src="images/15-190.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Several old heads among the assemblage nodded their recognition of the
+      wisdom of this question. &nbsp;The sheriff, however, saw nothing
+      consequential in the inquiry; he answered, with simple directness&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Indeed did she, your Majesty, and most righteously, as all aver.
+      Her habitation was swept away, and herself and child left shelterless.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Methinks the power to do herself so ill a turn was dearly bought.
+      She had been cheated, had she paid but a farthing for it; that she paid
+      her soul, and her child&rsquo;s, argueth that she is mad; if she is mad
+      she knoweth not what she doth, therefore sinneth not.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The elderly heads nodded recognition of Tom&rsquo;s wisdom once more, and
+      one individual murmured, &ldquo;An&rsquo; the King be mad himself,
+      according to report, then is it a madness of a sort that would improve the
+      sanity of some I wot of, if by the gentle providence of God they could but
+      catch it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What age hath the child?&rdquo; asked Tom.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nine years, please your Majesty.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;By the law of England may a child enter into covenant and sell
+      itself, my lord?&rdquo; asked Tom, turning to a learned judge.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The law doth not permit a child to make or meddle in any weighty
+      matter, good my liege, holding that its callow wit unfitteth it to cope
+      with the riper wit and evil schemings of them that are its elders. &nbsp;The
+      <i>Devil</i> may buy a child, if he so choose, and the child agree
+      thereto, but not an Englishman&mdash;in this latter case the contract
+      would be null and void.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It seemeth a rude unchristian thing, and ill contrived, that
+      English law denieth privileges to Englishmen to waste them on the devil!&rdquo;
+      cried Tom, with honest heat.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This novel view of the matter excited many smiles, and was stored away in
+      many heads to be repeated about the Court as evidence of Tom&rsquo;s
+      originality as well as progress toward mental health.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The elder culprit had ceased from sobbing, and was hanging upon Tom&rsquo;s
+      words with an excited interest and a growing hope. &nbsp;Tom noticed this,
+      and it strongly inclined his sympathies toward her in her perilous and
+      unfriended situation. &nbsp;Presently he asked&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How wrought they to bring the storm?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;<i>By pulling off their stockings</i>, sire.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This astonished Tom, and also fired his curiosity to fever heat. He said,
+      eagerly&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is wonderful! &nbsp;Hath it always this dread effect?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Always, my liege&mdash;at least if the woman desire it, and utter
+      the needful words, either in her mind or with her tongue.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom turned to the woman, and said with impetuous zeal&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Exert thy power&mdash;I would see a storm!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a sudden paling of cheeks in the superstitious assemblage, and a
+      general, though unexpressed, desire to get out of the place&mdash;all of
+      which was lost upon Tom, who was dead to everything but the proposed
+      cataclysm. &nbsp;Seeing a puzzled and astonished look in the woman&rsquo;s
+      face, he added, excitedly&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Never fear&mdash;thou shalt be blameless. &nbsp;More&mdash;thou
+      shalt go free&mdash;none shall touch thee. &nbsp;Exert thy power.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, my lord the King, I have it not&mdash;I have been falsely
+      accused.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thy fears stay thee. &nbsp;Be of good heart, thou shalt suffer no
+      harm. &nbsp;Make a storm&mdash;it mattereth not how small a one&mdash;I
+      require nought great or harmful, but indeed prefer the opposite&mdash;do
+      this and thy life is spared&mdash;thou shalt go out free, with thy child,
+      bearing the King&rsquo;s pardon, and safe from hurt or malice from any in
+      the realm.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The woman prostrated herself, and protested, with tears, that she had no
+      power to do the miracle, else she would gladly win her child&rsquo;s life
+      alone, and be content to lose her own, if by obedience to the King&rsquo;s
+      command so precious a grace might be acquired.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom urged&mdash;the woman still adhered to her declarations. &nbsp;Finally
+      he said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think the woman hath said true. &nbsp;An&rsquo; <i>my</i> mother
+      were in her place and gifted with the devil&rsquo;s functions, she had not
+      stayed a moment to call her storms and lay the whole land in ruins, if the
+      saving of my forfeit life were the price she got! &nbsp;It is argument
+      that other mothers are made in like mould. &nbsp;Thou art free, goodwife&mdash;thou
+      and thy child&mdash;for I do think thee innocent. &nbsp;<i>Now</i> thou&rsquo;st
+      nought to fear, being pardoned&mdash;pull off thy stockings!&mdash;an&rsquo;
+      thou canst make me a storm, thou shalt be rich!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The redeemed creature was loud in her gratitude, and proceeded to obey,
+      whilst Tom looked on with eager expectancy, a little marred by
+      apprehension; the courtiers at the same time manifesting decided
+      discomfort and uneasiness. &nbsp;The woman stripped her own feet and her
+      little girl&rsquo;s also, and plainly did her best to reward the King&rsquo;s
+      generosity with an earthquake, but it was all a failure and a
+      disappointment. &nbsp;Tom sighed, and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There, good soul, trouble thyself no further, thy power is departed
+      out of thee. &nbsp;Go thy way in peace; and if it return to thee at any
+      time, forget me not, but fetch me a storm.&rdquo; {13}
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c16" id="c16"></a> <a
+      name="link16-193" id="link16-193"></a>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link16-193.jpg (42K)" src="images/16-193.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XVI. The State Dinner.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The dinner hour drew near&mdash;yet strangely enough, the thought brought
+      but slight discomfort to Tom, and hardly any terror. &nbsp;The morning&rsquo;s
+      experiences had wonderfully built up his confidence; the poor little
+      ash-cat was already more wonted to his strange garret, after four days&rsquo;
+      habit, than a mature person could have become in a full month. &nbsp;A
+      child&rsquo;s facility in accommodating itself to circumstances was never
+      more strikingly illustrated.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Let us privileged ones hurry to the great banqueting-room and have a
+      glance at matters there whilst Tom is being made ready for the imposing
+      occasion. &nbsp;It is a spacious apartment, with gilded pillars and
+      pilasters, and pictured walls and ceilings. &nbsp;At the door stand tall
+      guards, as rigid as statues, dressed in rich and picturesque costumes, and
+      bearing halberds. &nbsp;In a high gallery which runs all around the place
+      is a band of musicians and a packed company of citizens of both sexes, in
+      brilliant attire. &nbsp;In the centre of the room, upon a raised platform,
+      is Tom&rsquo;s table. Now let the ancient chronicler speak:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link16-196" id="link16-196"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link16-196.jpg (65K)" src="images/16-196.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A gentleman enters the room bearing a rod, and along with him
+      another bearing a tablecloth, which, after they have both kneeled three
+      times with the utmost veneration, he spreads upon the table, and after
+      kneeling again they both retire; then come two others, one with the rod
+      again, the other with a salt-cellar, a plate, and bread; when they have
+      kneeled as the others had done, and placed what was brought upon the
+      table, they too retire with the same ceremonies performed by the first; at
+      last come two nobles, richly clothed, one bearing a tasting-knife, who,
+      after prostrating themselves three times in the most graceful manner,
+      approach and rub the table with bread and salt, with as much awe as if the
+      King had been present.&rdquo; {6}
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So end the solemn preliminaries. &nbsp;Now, far down the echoing corridors
+      we hear a bugle-blast, and the indistinct cry, &ldquo;Place for the King!
+      &nbsp;Way for the King&rsquo;s most excellent majesty!&rdquo; &nbsp;These
+      sounds are momently repeated&mdash;they grow nearer and nearer&mdash;and
+      presently, almost in our faces, the martial note peals and the cry rings
+      out, &ldquo;Way for the King!&rdquo; &nbsp;At this instant the shining
+      pageant appears, and files in at the door, with a measured march. Let the
+      chronicler speak again:&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;First come Gentlemen, Barons, Earls, Knights of the Garter, all
+      richly dressed and bareheaded; next comes the Chancellor, between two, one
+      of which carries the royal sceptre, the other the Sword of State in a red
+      scabbard, studded with golden fleurs-de-lis, the point upwards; next comes
+      the King himself&mdash;whom, upon his appearing, twelve trumpets and many
+      drums salute with a great burst of welcome, whilst all in the galleries
+      rise in their places, crying &lsquo;God save the King!&rsquo; &nbsp;After
+      him come nobles attached to his person, and on his right and left march
+      his guard of honour, his fifty Gentlemen Pensioners, with gilt
+      battle-axes.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link16-197" id="link16-197"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link16-197.jpg (183K)" src="images/16-197.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This was all fine and pleasant. &nbsp;Tom&rsquo;s pulse beat high, and a
+      glad light was in his eye. &nbsp;He bore himself right gracefully, and all
+      the more so because he was not thinking of how he was doing it, his mind
+      being charmed and occupied with the blithe sights and sounds about him&mdash;and
+      besides, nobody can be very ungraceful in nicely-fitting beautiful clothes
+      after he has grown a little used to them&mdash;especially if he is for the
+      moment unconscious of them. Tom remembered his instructions, and
+      acknowledged his greeting with a slight inclination of his plumed head,
+      and a courteous &ldquo;I thank ye, my good people.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link16-198" id="link16-198"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link16-198.jpg (43K)" src="images/16-198.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He seated himself at table, without removing his cap; and did it without
+      the least embarrassment; for to eat with one&rsquo;s cap on was the one
+      solitary royal custom upon which the kings and the Cantys met upon common
+      ground, neither party having any advantage over the other in the matter of
+      old familiarity with it. &nbsp;The pageant broke up and grouped itself
+      picturesquely, and remained bareheaded.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now to the sound of gay music the Yeomen of the Guard entered,&mdash;&ldquo;the
+      tallest and mightiest men in England, they being carefully selected in
+      this regard&rdquo;&mdash;but we will let the chronicler tell about it:&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The Yeomen of the Guard entered, bareheaded, clothed in scarlet,
+      with golden roses upon their backs; and these went and came, bringing in
+      each turn a course of dishes, served in plate. &nbsp;These dishes were
+      received by a gentleman in the same order they were brought, and placed
+      upon the table, while the taster gave to each guard a mouthful to eat of
+      the particular dish he had brought, for fear of any poison.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom made a good dinner, notwithstanding he was conscious that hundreds of
+      eyes followed each morsel to his mouth and watched him eat it with an
+      interest which could not have been more intense if it had been a deadly
+      explosive and was expected to blow him up and scatter him all about the
+      place. &nbsp;He was careful not to hurry, and equally careful not to do
+      anything whatever for himself, but wait till the proper official knelt
+      down and did it for him. &nbsp;He got through without a mistake&mdash;flawless
+      and precious triumph.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link16-199" id="link16-199"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link16-199.jpg (99K)" src="images/16-199.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When the meal was over at last and he marched away in the midst of his
+      bright pageant, with the happy noises in his ears of blaring bugles,
+      rolling drums, and thundering acclamations, he felt that if he had seen
+      the worst of dining in public it was an ordeal which he would be glad to
+      endure several times a day if by that means he could but buy himself free
+      from some of the more formidable requirements of his royal office.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c17" id="c17"></a> <a
+      name="link17-201" id="link17-201"></a>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link17-201.jpg (70K)" src="images/17-201.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XVII. Foo-foo the First.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Miles Hendon hurried along toward the Southwark end of the bridge, keeping
+      a sharp look-out for the persons he sought, and hoping and expecting to
+      overtake them presently. &nbsp;He was disappointed in this, however.
+      &nbsp;By asking questions, he was enabled to track them part of the way
+      through Southwark; then all traces ceased, and he was perplexed as to how
+      to proceed. &nbsp;Still, he continued his efforts as best he could during
+      the rest of the day. &nbsp;Nightfall found him leg-weary, half-famished,
+      and his desire as far from accomplishment as ever; so he supped at the
+      Tabard Inn and went to bed, resolved to make an early start in the
+      morning, and give the town an exhaustive search. &nbsp;As he lay thinking
+      and planning, he presently began to reason thus: &nbsp;The boy would
+      escape from the ruffian, his reputed father, if possible; would he go back
+      to London and seek his former haunts? &nbsp;No, he would not do that, he
+      would avoid recapture. What, then, would he do? &nbsp;Never having had a
+      friend in the world, or a protector, until he met Miles Hendon, he would
+      naturally try to find that friend again, provided the effort did not
+      require him to go toward London and danger. &nbsp;He would strike for
+      Hendon Hall, that is what he would do, for he knew Hendon was homeward
+      bound and there he might expect to find him. &nbsp;Yes, the case was plain
+      to Hendon&mdash;he must lose no more time in Southwark, but move at once
+      through Kent, toward Monk&rsquo;s Holm, searching the wood and inquiring
+      as he went. &nbsp;Let us return to the vanished little King now.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link17-205" id="link17-205"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link17-205.jpg (159K)" src="images/17-205.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The ruffian whom the waiter at the inn on the bridge saw &lsquo;about to
+      join&rsquo; the youth and the King did not exactly join them, but fell in
+      close behind them and followed their steps. &nbsp;He said nothing. His
+      left arm was in a sling, and he wore a large green patch over his left
+      eye; he limped slightly, and used an oaken staff as a support. &nbsp;The
+      youth led the King a crooked course through Southwark, and by-and-by
+      struck into the high road beyond. &nbsp;The King was irritated, now, and
+      said he would stop here&mdash;it was Hendon&rsquo;s place to come to him,
+      not his to go to Hendon. &nbsp;He would not endure such insolence; he
+      would stop where he was. &nbsp;The youth said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thou&rsquo;lt tarry here, and thy friend lying wounded in the wood
+      yonder? &nbsp;So be it, then.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King&rsquo;s manner changed at once. &nbsp;He cried out&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Wounded? &nbsp;And who hath dared to do it? &nbsp;But that is
+      apart; lead on, lead on! &nbsp;Faster, sirrah! &nbsp;Art shod with lead?
+      &nbsp;Wounded, is he? &nbsp;Now though the doer of it be a duke&rsquo;s
+      son he shall rue it!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was some distance to the wood, but the space was speedily traversed.
+      The youth looked about him, discovered a bough sticking in the ground,
+      with a small bit of rag tied to it, then led the way into the forest,
+      watching for similar boughs and finding them at intervals; they were
+      evidently guides to the point he was aiming at. &nbsp;By-and-by an open
+      place was reached, where were the charred remains of a farm-house, and
+      near them a barn which was falling to ruin and decay. &nbsp;There was no
+      sign of life anywhere, and utter silence prevailed. &nbsp;The youth
+      entered the barn, the King following eagerly upon his heels. &nbsp;No one
+      there! The King shot a surprised and suspicious glance at the youth, and
+      asked&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where is he?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A mocking laugh was his answer. &nbsp;The King was in a rage in a moment;
+      he seized a billet of wood and was in the act of charging upon the youth
+      when another mocking laugh fell upon his ear. &nbsp;It was from the lame
+      ruffian who had been following at a distance. The King turned and said
+      angrily&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link17-206" id="link17-206"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link17-206.jpg (110K)" src="images/17-206.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Who art thou? &nbsp;What is thy business here?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Leave thy foolery,&rdquo; said the man, &ldquo;and quiet thyself.
+      &nbsp;My disguise is none so good that thou canst pretend thou knowest not
+      thy father through it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thou art not my father. &nbsp;I know thee not. &nbsp;I am the King.
+      &nbsp;If thou hast hid my servant, find him for me, or thou shalt sup
+      sorrow for what thou hast done.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      John Canty replied, in a stern and measured voice&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is plain thou art mad, and I am loath to punish thee; &nbsp;but
+      if thou provoke me, I must. &nbsp;Thy prating doth no harm here, where
+      there are no ears that need to mind thy follies; yet it is well to
+      practise thy tongue to wary speech, that it may do no hurt when our
+      quarters change. &nbsp;I have done a murder, and may not tarry at home&mdash;neither
+      shalt thou, seeing I need thy service. &nbsp;My name is changed, for wise
+      reasons; it is Hobbs&mdash;John Hobbs; thine is Jack&mdash;charge thy
+      memory accordingly. &nbsp;Now, then, speak. &nbsp;Where is thy mother?
+      &nbsp;Where are thy sisters? &nbsp;They came not to the place appointed&mdash;knowest
+      thou whither they went?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King answered sullenly&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Trouble me not with these riddles. &nbsp;My mother is dead; my
+      sisters are in the palace.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The youth near by burst into a derisive laugh, and the King would have
+      assaulted him, but Canty&mdash;or Hobbs, as he now called himself&mdash;prevented
+      him, and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Peace, Hugo, vex him not; his mind is astray, and thy ways fret
+      him. Sit thee down, Jack, and quiet thyself; thou shalt have a morsel to
+      eat, anon.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hobbs and Hugo fell to talking together, in low voices, and the King
+      removed himself as far as he could from their disagreeable company. &nbsp;He
+      withdrew into the twilight of the farther end of the barn, where he found
+      the earthen floor bedded a foot deep with straw. &nbsp;He lay down here,
+      drew straw over himself in lieu of blankets, and was soon absorbed in
+      thinking. &nbsp;He had many griefs, but the minor ones were swept almost
+      into forgetfulness by the supreme one, the loss of his father. &nbsp;To
+      the rest of the world the name of Henry VIII. brought a shiver, and
+      suggested an ogre whose nostrils breathed destruction and whose hand dealt
+      scourgings and death; but to this boy the name brought only sensations of
+      pleasure; the figure it invoked wore a countenance that was all gentleness
+      and affection. &nbsp;He called to mind a long succession of loving
+      passages between his father and himself, and dwelt fondly upon them, his
+      unstinted tears attesting how deep and real was the grief that possessed
+      his heart. As the afternoon wasted away, the lad, wearied with his
+      troubles, sank gradually into a tranquil and healing slumber.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link17-207" id="link17-207"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link17-207.jpg (74K)" src="images/17-207.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After a considerable time&mdash;he could not tell how long&mdash;his
+      senses struggled to a half-consciousness, and as he lay with closed eyes
+      vaguely wondering where he was and what had been happening, he noted a
+      murmurous sound, the sullen beating of rain upon the roof. A snug sense of
+      comfort stole over him, which was rudely broken, the next moment, by a
+      chorus of piping cackles and coarse laughter. &nbsp;It startled him
+      disagreeably, and he unmuffled his head to see whence this interruption
+      proceeded. &nbsp;A grim and unsightly picture met his eye. &nbsp;A bright
+      fire was burning in the middle of the floor, at the other end of the barn;
+      and around it, and lit weirdly up by the red glare, lolled and sprawled
+      the motliest company of tattered gutter-scum and ruffians, of both sexes,
+      he had ever read or dreamed of. &nbsp;There were huge stalwart men, brown
+      with exposure, long-haired, and clothed in fantastic rags; there were
+      middle-sized youths, of truculent countenance, and similarly clad; there
+      were blind mendicants, with patched or bandaged eyes; crippled ones, with
+      wooden legs and crutches; diseased ones, with running sores peeping from
+      ineffectual wrappings; there was a villain-looking pedlar with his pack; a
+      knife-grinder, a tinker, and a barber-surgeon, with the implements of
+      their trades; some of the females were hardly-grown girls, some were at
+      prime, some were old and wrinkled hags, and all were loud, brazen,
+      foul-mouthed; and all soiled and slatternly; there were three sore-faced
+      babies; there were a couple of starveling curs, with strings about their
+      necks, whose office was to lead the blind.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link17-208" id="link17-208"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link17-208.jpg (160K)" src="images/17-208.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The night was come, the gang had just finished feasting, an orgy was
+      beginning; the can of liquor was passing from mouth to mouth. A general
+      cry broke forth&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A song! a song from the Bat and Dick and Dot-and-go-One!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      One of the blind men got up, and made ready by casting aside the patches
+      that sheltered his excellent eyes, and the pathetic placard which recited
+      the cause of his calamity. &nbsp;Dot-and-go-One disencumbered himself of
+      his timber leg and took his place, upon sound and healthy limbs, beside
+      his fellow-rascal; then they roared out a rollicking ditty, and were
+      reinforced by the whole crew, at the end of each stanza, in a rousing
+      chorus. &nbsp;By the time the last stanza was reached, the half-drunken
+      enthusiasm had risen to such a pitch, that everybody joined in and sang it
+      clear through from the beginning, producing a volume of villainous sound
+      that made the rafters quake. &nbsp;These were the inspiring words:&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Bien Darkman&rsquo;s then, Bouse Mort and Ken,<br /> The bien Coves
+      bings awast,<br /> On Chates to trine by Rome Coves dine<br /> For his long
+      lib at last.<br /> Bing&rsquo;d out bien Morts and toure, and toure,<br />
+      Bing out of the Rome vile bine,<br /> And toure the Cove that cloy&rsquo;d
+      your duds,<br /> Upon the Chates to trine.&lsquo;<br /><br /> (From&rsquo;The
+      English Rogue.&rsquo; London, 1665.)
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link17-210" id="link17-210"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link17-210.jpg (63K)" src="images/17-210.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Conversation followed; not in the thieves&rsquo; dialect of the song, for
+      that was only used in talk when unfriendly ears might be listening. &nbsp;In
+      the course of it, it appeared that &lsquo;John Hobbs&rsquo; was not
+      altogether a new recruit, but had trained in the gang at some former time.
+      &nbsp;His later history was called for, and when he said he had &lsquo;accidentally&rsquo;
+      killed a man, considerable satisfaction was expressed; when he added that
+      the man was a priest, he was roundly applauded, and had to take a drink
+      with everybody. &nbsp;Old acquaintances welcomed him joyously, and new
+      ones were proud to shake him by the hand. &nbsp;He was asked why he had
+      &rsquo;tarried away so many months.&rsquo; &nbsp;He answered&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;London is better than the country, and safer, these late years, the
+      laws be so bitter and so diligently enforced. &nbsp;An&rsquo; I had not
+      had that accident, I had stayed there. &nbsp;I had resolved to stay, and
+      never more venture country-wards&mdash;but the accident has ended that.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He inquired how many persons the gang numbered now. &nbsp;The &lsquo;ruffler,&rsquo;
+      or chief, answered&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Five and twenty sturdy budges, bulks, files, clapperdogeons and
+      maunders, counting the dells and doxies and other morts. {7} &nbsp;Most
+      are here, the rest are wandering eastward, along the winter lay. We follow
+      at dawn.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I do not see the Wen among the honest folk about me. &nbsp;Where
+      may he be?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Poor lad, his diet is brimstone, now, and over hot for a delicate
+      taste. He was killed in a brawl, somewhere about midsummer.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I sorrow to hear that; the Wen was a capable man, and brave.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That was he, truly. &nbsp;Black Bess, his dell, is of us yet, but
+      absent on the eastward tramp; a fine lass, of nice ways and orderly
+      conduct, none ever seeing her drunk above four days in the seven.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;She was ever strict&mdash;I remember it well&mdash;a goodly wench
+      and worthy all commendation. &nbsp;Her mother was more free and less
+      particular; a troublesome and ugly-tempered beldame, but furnished with a
+      wit above the common.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We lost her through it. &nbsp;Her gift of palmistry and other sorts
+      of fortune-telling begot for her at last a witch&rsquo;s name and fame.
+      The law roasted her to death at a slow fire. &nbsp;It did touch me to a
+      sort of tenderness to see the gallant way she met her lot&mdash;cursing
+      and reviling all the crowd that gaped and gazed around her, whilst the
+      flames licked upward toward her face and catched her thin locks and
+      crackled about her old gray head&mdash;cursing them! why an&rsquo; thou
+      should&rsquo;st live a thousand years thoud&rsquo;st never hear so
+      masterful a cursing. &nbsp;Alack, her art died with her. &nbsp;There be
+      base and weakling imitations left, but no true blasphemy.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link17-212" id="link17-212"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link17-212.jpg (44K)" src="images/17-212.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Ruffler sighed; the listeners sighed in sympathy; a general depression
+      fell upon the company for a moment, for even hardened outcasts like these
+      are not wholly dead to sentiment, but are able to feel a fleeting sense of
+      loss and affliction at wide intervals and under peculiarly favouring
+      circumstances&mdash;as in cases like to this, for instance, when genius
+      and culture depart and leave no heir. &nbsp;However, a deep drink all
+      round soon restored the spirits of the mourners.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Have any others of our friends fared hardly?&rdquo; asked Hobbs.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Some&mdash;yes. &nbsp;Particularly new comers&mdash;such as small
+      husbandmen turned shiftless and hungry upon the world because their farms
+      were taken from them to be changed to sheep ranges. &nbsp;They begged, and
+      were whipped at the cart&rsquo;s tail, naked from the girdle up, till the
+      blood ran; then set in the stocks to be pelted; they begged again, were
+      whipped again, and deprived of an ear; they begged a third time&mdash;poor
+      devils, what else could they do?&mdash;and were branded on the cheek with
+      a red-hot iron, then sold for slaves; they ran away, were hunted down, and
+      hanged. &nbsp;&rsquo;Tis a brief tale, and quickly told. &nbsp;Others of
+      us have fared less hardly. Stand forth, Yokel, Burns, and Hodge&mdash;show
+      your adornments!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link17-213" id="link17-213"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link17-213.jpg (125K)" src="images/17-213.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      These stood up and stripped away some of their rags, exposing their backs,
+      criss-crossed with ropy old welts left by the lash; one turned up his hair
+      and showed the place where a left ear had once been; another showed a
+      brand upon his shoulder&mdash;the letter V&mdash;and a mutilated ear; the
+      third said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am Yokel, once a farmer and prosperous, with loving wife and kids&mdash;now
+      am I somewhat different in estate and calling; and the wife and kids are
+      gone; mayhap they are in heaven, mayhap in&mdash;in the other place&mdash;but
+      the kindly God be thanked, they bide no more in <i>England</i>! &nbsp;My
+      good old blameless mother strove to earn bread by nursing the sick; one of
+      these died, the doctors knew not how, so my mother was burnt for a witch,
+      whilst my babes looked on and wailed. &nbsp;English law!&mdash;up, all,
+      with your cups!&mdash;now all together and with a cheer!&mdash;drink to
+      the merciful English law that delivered <i>her</i> from the English hell!
+      &nbsp;Thank you, mates, one and all. &nbsp;I begged, from house to house&mdash;I
+      and the wife&mdash;bearing with us the hungry kids&mdash;but it was crime
+      to be hungry in England&mdash;so they stripped us and lashed us through
+      three towns. &nbsp;Drink ye all again to the merciful English law!&mdash;for
+      its lash drank deep of my Mary&rsquo;s blood and its blessed deliverance
+      came quick. &nbsp;She lies there, in the potter&rsquo;s field, safe from
+      all harms. &nbsp;And the kids&mdash;well, whilst the law lashed me from
+      town to town, they starved. Drink, lads&mdash;only a drop&mdash;a drop to
+      the poor kids, that never did any creature harm. &nbsp;I begged again&mdash;begged,
+      for a crust, and got the stocks and lost an ear&mdash;see, here bides the
+      stump; I begged again, and here is the stump of the other to keep me
+      minded of it. And still I begged again, and was sold for a slave&mdash;here
+      on my cheek under this stain, if I washed it off, ye might see the red S
+      the branding-iron left there! &nbsp;A <i>slave</i>! &nbsp;Do you
+      understand that word? &nbsp;An English <i>slave</i>!&mdash;that is he that
+      stands before ye. &nbsp;I have run from my master, and when I am found&mdash;the
+      heavy curse of heaven fall on the law of the land that hath commanded it!&mdash;I
+      shall hang!&rdquo; {1}
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A ringing voice came through the murky air&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thou shalt <i>not</i>!&mdash;and this day the end of that law is
+      come!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link17-215" id="link17-215"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link17-215.jpg (87K)" src="images/17-215.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All turned, and saw the fantastic figure of the little King approaching
+      hurriedly; as it emerged into the light and was clearly revealed, a
+      general explosion of inquiries broke out&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Who is it? &nbsp;<i>What</i> is it? &nbsp;Who art thou, manikin?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The boy stood unconfused in the midst of all those surprised and
+      questioning eyes, and answered with princely dignity&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am Edward, King of England.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A wild burst of laughter followed, partly of derision and partly of
+      delight in the excellence of the joke. &nbsp;The King was stung. &nbsp;He
+      said sharply&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ye mannerless vagrants, is this your recognition of the royal boon
+      I have promised?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He said more, with angry voice and excited gesture, but it was lost in a
+      whirlwind of laughter and mocking exclamations. &nbsp;&rsquo;John Hobbs&rsquo;
+      made several attempts to make himself heard above the din, and at last
+      succeeded&mdash;saying&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mates, he is my son, a dreamer, a fool, and stark mad&mdash;mind
+      him not&mdash;he thinketh he <i>is</i> the King.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I <i>am</i> the King,&rdquo; said Edward, turning toward him,
+      &ldquo;as thou shalt know to thy cost, in good time. &nbsp;Thou hast
+      confessed a murder&mdash;thou shalt swing for it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;<i>Thou&rsquo;lt</i> betray me?&mdash;<i>thou</i>? &nbsp;An&rsquo;
+      I get my hands upon thee&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link17-216" id="link17-216"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link17-216.jpg (101K)" src="images/17-216.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Tut-tut!&rdquo; said the burley Ruffler, interposing in time to
+      save the King, and emphasising this service by knocking Hobbs down with
+      his fist, &ldquo;hast respect for neither Kings <i>nor</i> Rufflers?
+      &nbsp;An&rsquo; thou insult my presence so again, I&rsquo;ll hang thee up
+      myself.&rdquo; &nbsp;Then he said to his Majesty, &ldquo;Thou must make no
+      threats against thy mates, lad; and thou must guard thy tongue from saying
+      evil of them elsewhere. &nbsp;<i>Be king</i>, if it please thy mad humour,
+      but be not harmful in it. &nbsp;Sink the title thou hast uttered&mdash;&rsquo;tis
+      treason; we be bad men in some few trifling ways, but none among us is so
+      base as to be traitor to his King; we be loving and loyal hearts, in that
+      regard. &nbsp;Note if I speak truth. &nbsp;Now&mdash;all together: &nbsp;&rsquo;Long
+      live Edward, King of England!&rsquo;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;LONG LIVE EDWARD, KING OF ENGLAND!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The response came with such a thundergust from the motley crew that the
+      crazy building vibrated to the sound. &nbsp;The little King&rsquo;s face
+      lighted with pleasure for an instant, and he slightly inclined his head,
+      and said with grave simplicity&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I thank you, my good people.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This unexpected result threw the company into convulsions of merriment.
+      When something like quiet was presently come again, the Ruffler said,
+      firmly, but with an accent of good nature&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Drop it, boy, &rsquo;tis not wise, nor well. &nbsp;Humour thy
+      fancy, if thou must, but choose some other title.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A tinker shrieked out a suggestion&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Foo-foo the First, King of the Mooncalves!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The title &rsquo;took,&rsquo; at once, every throat responded, and a
+      roaring shout went up, of&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Long live Foo-foo the First, King of the Mooncalves!&rdquo;
+      followed by hootings, cat-calls, and peals of laughter.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hale him forth, and crown him!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Robe him!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sceptre him!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Throne him!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      These and twenty other cries broke out at once! and almost before the poor
+      little victim could draw a breath he was crowned with a tin basin, robed
+      in a tattered blanket, throned upon a barrel, and sceptred with the tinker&rsquo;s
+      soldering-iron. &nbsp;Then all flung themselves upon their knees about him
+      and sent up a chorus of ironical wailings, and mocking supplications,
+      whilst they swabbed their eyes with their soiled and ragged sleeves and
+      aprons&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link17-218" id="link17-218"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link17-218.jpg (108K)" src="images/17-218.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Be gracious to us, O sweet King!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Trample not upon thy beseeching worms, O noble Majesty!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Pity thy slaves, and comfort them with a royal kick!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Cheer us and warm us with thy gracious rays, O flaming sun of
+      sovereignty!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sanctify the ground with the touch of thy foot, that we may eat the
+      dirt and be ennobled!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Deign to spit upon us, O Sire, that our children&rsquo;s children
+      may tell of thy princely condescension, and be proud and happy for ever!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But the humorous tinker made the &lsquo;hit&rsquo; of the evening and
+      carried off the honours. &nbsp;Kneeling, he pretended to kiss the King&rsquo;s
+      foot, and was indignantly spurned; whereupon he went about begging for a
+      rag to paste over the place upon his face which had been touched by the
+      foot, saying it must be preserved from contact with the vulgar air, and
+      that he should make his fortune by going on the highway and exposing it to
+      view at the rate of a hundred shillings a sight. &nbsp;He made himself so
+      killingly funny that he was the envy and admiration of the whole mangy
+      rabble.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tears of shame and indignation stood in the little monarch&rsquo;s eyes;
+      and the thought in his heart was, &ldquo;Had I offered them a deep wrong
+      they could not be more cruel&mdash;yet have I proffered nought but to do
+      them a kindness&mdash;and it is thus they use me for it!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c18" id="c18"></a> <a
+      name="link18-221" id="link18-221"></a>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link18-221.jpg (75K)" src="images/18-221.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XVIII. The Prince with the Tramps.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The troop of vagabonds turned out at early dawn, and set forward on their
+      march. &nbsp;There was a lowering sky overhead, sloppy ground under foot,
+      and a winter chill in the air. &nbsp;All gaiety was gone from the company;
+      some were sullen and silent, some were irritable and petulant, none were
+      gentle-humoured, all were thirsty.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Ruffler put &lsquo;Jack&rsquo; in Hugo&rsquo;s charge, with some brief
+      instructions, and commanded John Canty to keep away from him and let him
+      alone; he also warned Hugo not to be too rough with the lad.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link18-224" id="link18-224"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link18-224.jpg (97K)" src="images/18-224.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After a while the weather grew milder, and the clouds lifted somewhat. The
+      troop ceased to shiver, and their spirits began to improve. &nbsp;They
+      grew more and more cheerful, and finally began to chaff each other and
+      insult passengers along the highway. &nbsp;This showed that they were
+      awaking to an appreciation of life and its joys once more. &nbsp;The dread
+      in which their sort was held was apparent in the fact that everybody gave
+      them the road, and took their ribald insolences meekly, without venturing
+      to talk back. They snatched linen from the hedges, occasionally in full
+      view of the owners, who made no protest, but only seemed grateful that
+      they did not take the hedges, too.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link18-225" id="link18-225"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link18-225.jpg (97K)" src="images/18-225.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By-and-by they invaded a small farmhouse and made themselves at home while
+      the trembling farmer and his people swept the larder clean to furnish a
+      breakfast for them. &nbsp;They chucked the housewife and her daughters
+      under the chin whilst receiving the food from their hands, and made coarse
+      jests about them, accompanied with insulting epithets and bursts of
+      horse-laughter. &nbsp;They threw bones and vegetables at the farmer and
+      his sons, kept them dodging all the time, and applauded uproariously when
+      a good hit was made. They ended by buttering the head of one of the
+      daughters who resented some of their familiarities. &nbsp;When they took
+      their leave they threatened to come back and burn the house over the heads
+      of the family if any report of their doings got to the ears of the
+      authorities.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      About noon, after a long and weary tramp, the gang came to a halt behind a
+      hedge on the outskirts of a considerable village. &nbsp;An hour was
+      allowed for rest, then the crew scattered themselves abroad to enter the
+      village at different points to ply their various trades&mdash;&lsquo;Jack&rsquo;
+      was sent with Hugo. &nbsp;They wandered hither and thither for some time,
+      Hugo watching for opportunities to do a stroke of business, but finding
+      none&mdash;so he finally said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I see nought to steal; it is a paltry place. &nbsp;Wherefore we
+      will beg.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;<i>We</i>, forsooth! &nbsp;Follow thy trade&mdash;it befits thee.
+      &nbsp;But <i>I</i> will not beg.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thou&rsquo;lt not beg!&rdquo; exclaimed Hugo, eyeing the King with
+      surprise. &ldquo;Prithee, since when hast thou reformed?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What dost thou mean?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mean? &nbsp;Hast thou not begged the streets of London all thy
+      life?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I? &nbsp;Thou idiot!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Spare thy compliments&mdash;thy stock will last the longer. &nbsp;Thy
+      father says thou hast begged all thy days. &nbsp;Mayhap he lied.
+      Peradventure you will even make so bold as to <i>say</i> he lied,&rdquo;
+      scoffed Hugo.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Him <i>you</i> call my father? &nbsp;Yes, he lied.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Come, play not thy merry game of madman so far, mate; use it for
+      thy amusement, not thy hurt. &nbsp;An&rsquo; I tell him this, he will
+      scorch thee finely for it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Save thyself the trouble. &nbsp;I will tell him.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I like thy spirit, I do in truth; but I do not admire thy judgment.
+      Bone-rackings and bastings be plenty enow in this life, without going out
+      of one&rsquo;s way to invite them. &nbsp;But a truce to these matters; <i>I</i>
+      believe your father. &nbsp;I doubt not he can lie; I doubt not he <i>doth</i>
+      lie, upon occasion, for the best of us do that; but there is no occasion
+      here. &nbsp;A wise man does not waste so good a commodity as lying for
+      nought. &nbsp;But come; sith it is thy humour to give over begging,
+      wherewithal shall we busy ourselves? &nbsp;With robbing kitchens?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King said, impatiently&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Have done with this folly&mdash;you weary me!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hugo replied, with temper&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now harkee, mate; you will not beg, you will not rob; so be it. But
+      I will tell you what you <i>will</i> do. &nbsp;You will play decoy whilst
+      <i>I</i> beg. Refuse, an&rsquo; you think you may venture!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King was about to reply contemptuously, when Hugo said, interrupting&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Peace! &nbsp;Here comes one with a kindly face. &nbsp;Now will I
+      fall down in a fit. &nbsp;When the stranger runs to me, set you up a wail,
+      and fall upon your knees, seeming to weep; then cry out as all the devils
+      of misery were in your belly, and say, &lsquo;Oh, sir, it is my poor
+      afflicted brother, and we be friendless; o&rsquo; God&rsquo;s name cast
+      through your merciful eyes one pitiful look upon a sick, forsaken, and
+      most miserable wretch; bestow one little penny out of thy riches upon one
+      smitten of God and ready to perish!&rsquo;&mdash;and mind you, keep you <i>on</i>
+      wailing, and abate not till we bilk him of his penny, else shall you rue
+      it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then immediately Hugo began to moan, and groan, and roll his eyes, and
+      reel and totter about; and when the stranger was close at hand, down he
+      sprawled before him, with a shriek, and began to writhe and wallow in the
+      dirt, in seeming agony.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link18-227" id="link18-227"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link18-227.jpg (143K)" src="images/18-227.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;O, dear, O dear!&rdquo; cried the benevolent stranger, &ldquo;O
+      poor soul, poor soul, how he doth suffer! &nbsp;There&mdash;let me help
+      thee up.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;O noble sir, forbear, and God love you for a princely gentleman&mdash;but
+      it giveth me cruel pain to touch me when I am taken so. &nbsp;My brother
+      there will tell your worship how I am racked with anguish when these fits
+      be upon me. &nbsp;A penny, dear sir, a penny, to buy a little food; then
+      leave me to my sorrows.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A penny! thou shalt have three, thou hapless creature,&rdquo;&mdash;and
+      he fumbled in his pocket with nervous haste and got them out. &ldquo;There,
+      poor lad, take them and most welcome. &nbsp;Now come hither, my boy, and
+      help me carry thy stricken brother to yon house, where&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am not his brother,&rdquo; said the King, interrupting.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What! not his brother?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, hear him!&rdquo; groaned Hugo, then privately ground his teeth.
+      &ldquo;He denies his own brother&mdash;and he with one foot in the grave!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Boy, thou art indeed hard of heart, if this is thy brother. &nbsp;For
+      shame!&mdash;and he scarce able to move hand or foot. &nbsp;If he is not
+      thy brother, who is he, then?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link18-228" id="link18-228"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link18-228.jpg (137K)" src="images/18-228.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A beggar and a thief! &nbsp;He has got your money and has picked
+      your pocket likewise. &nbsp;An&rsquo; thou would&rsquo;st do a healing
+      miracle, lay thy staff over his shoulders and trust Providence for the
+      rest.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But Hugo did not tarry for the miracle. &nbsp;In a moment he was up and
+      off like the wind, the gentleman following after and raising the hue and
+      cry lustily as he went. &nbsp;The King, breathing deep gratitude to Heaven
+      for his own release, fled in the opposite direction, and did not slacken
+      his pace until he was out of harm&rsquo;s reach. &nbsp;He took the first
+      road that offered, and soon put the village behind him. &nbsp;He hurried
+      along, as briskly as he could, during several hours, keeping a nervous
+      watch over his shoulder for pursuit; but his fears left him at last, and a
+      grateful sense of security took their place. &nbsp;He recognised, now,
+      that he was hungry, and also very tired. &nbsp;So he halted at a
+      farmhouse; but when he was about to speak, he was cut short and driven
+      rudely away. &nbsp;His clothes were against him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He wandered on, wounded and indignant, and was resolved to put himself in
+      the way of like treatment no more. &nbsp;But hunger is pride&rsquo;s
+      master; so, as the evening drew near, he made an attempt at another
+      farmhouse; but here he fared worse than before; for he was called hard
+      names and was promised arrest as a vagrant except he moved on promptly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The night came on, chilly and overcast; and still the footsore monarch
+      laboured slowly on. &nbsp;He was obliged to keep moving, for every time he
+      sat down to rest he was soon penetrated to the bone with the cold. &nbsp;All
+      his sensations and experiences, as he moved through the solemn gloom and
+      the empty vastness of the night, were new and strange to him. &nbsp;At
+      intervals he heard voices approach, pass by, and fade into silence; and as
+      he saw nothing more of the bodies they belonged to than a sort of formless
+      drifting blur, there was something spectral and uncanny about it all that
+      made him shudder. &nbsp;Occasionally he caught the twinkle of a light&mdash;always
+      far away, apparently&mdash;almost in another world; if he heard the tinkle
+      of a sheep&rsquo;s bell, it was vague, distant, indistinct; the muffled
+      lowing of the herds floated to him on the night wind in vanishing
+      cadences, a mournful sound; now and then came the complaining howl of a
+      dog over viewless expanses of field and forest; all sounds were remote;
+      they made the little King feel that all life and activity were far removed
+      from him, and that he stood solitary, companionless, in the centre of a
+      measureless solitude.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link18-230" id="link18-230"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link18-230.jpg (152K)" src="images/18-230.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He stumbled along, through the gruesome fascinations of this new
+      experience, startled occasionally by the soft rustling of the dry leaves
+      overhead, so like human whispers they seemed to sound; and by-and-by he
+      came suddenly upon the freckled light of a tin lantern near at hand.
+      &nbsp;He stepped back into the shadows and waited. &nbsp;The lantern stood
+      by the open door of a barn. &nbsp;The King waited some time&mdash;there
+      was no sound, and nobody stirring. &nbsp;He got so cold, standing still,
+      and the hospitable barn looked so enticing, that at last he resolved to
+      risk everything and enter. He started swiftly and stealthily, and just as
+      he was crossing the threshold he heard voices behind him. &nbsp;He darted
+      behind a cask, within the barn, and stooped down. &nbsp;Two farm-labourers
+      came in, bringing the lantern with them, and fell to work, talking
+      meanwhile. &nbsp;Whilst they moved about with the light, the King made
+      good use of his eyes and took the bearings of what seemed to be a
+      good-sized stall at the further end of the place, purposing to grope his
+      way to it when he should be left to himself. &nbsp;He also noted the
+      position of a pile of horse blankets, midway of the route, with the intent
+      to levy upon them for the service of the crown of England for one night.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By-and-by the men finished and went away, fastening the door behind them
+      and taking the lantern with them. &nbsp;The shivering King made for the
+      blankets, with as good speed as the darkness would allow; gathered them
+      up, and then groped his way safely to the stall. &nbsp;Of two of the
+      blankets he made a bed, then covered himself with the remaining two.
+      &nbsp;He was a glad monarch, now, though the blankets were old and thin,
+      and not quite warm enough; and besides gave out a pungent horsey odour
+      that was almost suffocatingly powerful.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Although the King was hungry and chilly, he was also so tired and so
+      drowsy that these latter influences soon began to get the advantage of the
+      former, and he presently dozed off into a state of semi-consciousness.
+      &nbsp;Then, just as he was on the point of losing himself wholly, he
+      distinctly felt something touch him! &nbsp;He was broad awake in a moment,
+      and gasping for breath. &nbsp;The cold horror of that mysterious touch in
+      the dark almost made his heart stand still. &nbsp;He lay motionless, and
+      listened, scarcely breathing. But nothing stirred, and there was no sound.
+      &nbsp;He continued to listen, and wait, during what seemed a long time,
+      but still nothing stirred, and there was no sound. &nbsp;So he began to
+      drop into a drowse once more, at last; and all at once he felt that
+      mysterious touch again! &nbsp;It was a grisly thing, this light touch from
+      this noiseless and invisible presence; it made the boy sick with ghostly
+      fears. &nbsp;What should he do? &nbsp;That was the question; but he did
+      not know how to answer it. &nbsp;Should he leave these reasonably
+      comfortable quarters and fly from this inscrutable horror? &nbsp;But fly
+      whither? &nbsp;He could not get out of the barn; and the idea of scurrying
+      blindly hither and thither in the dark, within the captivity of the four
+      walls, with this phantom gliding after him, and visiting him with that
+      soft hideous touch upon cheek or shoulder at every turn, was intolerable.
+      &nbsp;But to stay where he was, and endure this living death all night&mdash;was
+      that better? &nbsp;No. &nbsp;What, then, was there left to do? &nbsp;Ah,
+      there was but one course; he knew it well&mdash;he must put out his hand
+      and find that thing!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was easy to think this; but it was hard to brace himself up to try it.
+      Three times he stretched his hand a little way out into the dark,
+      gingerly; and snatched it suddenly back, with a gasp&mdash;not because it
+      had encountered anything, but because he had felt so sure it was just <i>going</i>
+      to. &nbsp;But the fourth time, he groped a little further, and his hand
+      lightly swept against something soft and warm. &nbsp;This petrified him,
+      nearly, with fright; his mind was in such a state that he could imagine
+      the thing to be nothing else than a corpse, newly dead and still warm. He
+      thought he would rather die than touch it again. &nbsp;But he thought this
+      false thought because he did not know the immortal strength of human
+      curiosity. In no long time his hand was tremblingly groping again&mdash;against
+      his judgment, and without his consent&mdash;but groping persistently on,
+      just the same. &nbsp;It encountered a bunch of long hair; he shuddered,
+      but followed up the hair and found what seemed to be a warm rope; followed
+      up the rope and found an innocent calf!&mdash;for the rope was not a rope
+      at all, but the calf&rsquo;s tail.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link18-232" id="link18-232"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link18-232.jpg (88K)" src="images/18-232.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King was cordially ashamed of himself for having gotten all that
+      fright and misery out of so paltry a matter as a slumbering calf; but he
+      need not have felt so about it, for it was not the calf that frightened
+      him, but a dreadful non-existent something which the calf stood for; and
+      any other boy, in those old superstitious times, would have acted and
+      suffered just as he had done.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link18-233" id="link18-233"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link18-233.jpg (109K)" src="images/18-233.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King was not only delighted to find that the creature was only a calf,
+      but delighted to have the calf&rsquo;s company; for he had been feeling so
+      lonesome and friendless that the company and comradeship of even this
+      humble animal were welcome. &nbsp;And he had been so buffeted, so rudely
+      entreated by his own kind, that it was a real comfort to him to feel that
+      he was at last in the society of a fellow-creature that had at least a
+      soft heart and a gentle spirit, whatever loftier attributes might be
+      lacking. &nbsp;So he resolved to waive rank and make friends with the
+      calf.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      While stroking its sleek warm back&mdash;for it lay near him and within
+      easy reach&mdash;it occurred to him that this calf might be utilised in
+      more ways than one. &nbsp;Whereupon he re-arranged his bed, spreading it
+      down close to the calf; then he cuddled himself up to the calf&rsquo;s
+      back, drew the covers up over himself and his friend, and in a minute or
+      two was as warm and comfortable as he had ever been in the downy couches
+      of the regal palace of Westminster.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Pleasant thoughts came at once; life took on a cheerfuller seeming. &nbsp;He
+      was free of the bonds of servitude and crime, free of the companionship of
+      base and brutal outlaws; he was warm; he was sheltered; in a word, he was
+      happy. &nbsp;The night wind was rising; it swept by in fitful gusts that
+      made the old barn quake and rattle, then its forces died down at
+      intervals, and went moaning and wailing around corners and projections&mdash;but
+      it was all music to the King, now that he was snug and comfortable: let it
+      blow and rage, let it batter and bang, let it moan and wail, he minded it
+      not, he only enjoyed it. &nbsp;He merely snuggled the closer to his
+      friend, in a luxury of warm contentment, and drifted blissfully out of
+      consciousness into a deep and dreamless sleep that was full of serenity
+      and peace. &nbsp;The distant dogs howled, the melancholy kine complained,
+      and the winds went on raging, whilst furious sheets of rain drove along
+      the roof; but the Majesty of England slept on, undisturbed, and the calf
+      did the same, it being a simple creature, and not easily troubled by
+      storms or embarrassed by sleeping with a king.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c19" id="c19"></a> <a
+      name="link19-235" id="link19-235"></a>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link19-235.jpg (57K)" src="images/19-235.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XIX. The Prince with the peasants.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When the King awoke in the early morning, he found that a wet but
+      thoughtful rat had crept into the place during the night and made a cosy
+      bed for itself in his bosom. &nbsp;Being disturbed now, it scampered away.
+      The boy smiled, and said, &ldquo;Poor fool, why so fearful? &nbsp;I am as
+      forlorn as thou. &nbsp;&rsquo;Twould be a sham in me to hurt the helpless,
+      who am myself so helpless. &nbsp;Moreover, I owe you thanks for a good
+      omen; for when a king has fallen so low that the very rats do make a bed
+      of him, it surely meaneth that his fortunes be upon the turn, since it is
+      plain he can no lower go.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He got up and stepped out of the stall, and just then he heard the sound
+      of children&rsquo;s voices. &nbsp;The barn door opened and a couple of
+      little girls came in. &nbsp;As soon as they saw him their talking and
+      laughing ceased, and they stopped and stood still, gazing at him with
+      strong curiosity; they presently began to whisper together, then they
+      approached nearer, and stopped again to gaze and whisper. &nbsp;By-and-by
+      they gathered courage and began to discuss him aloud. &nbsp;One said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He hath a comely face.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The other added&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And pretty hair.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But is ill clothed enow.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And how starved he looketh.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They came still nearer, sidling shyly around and about him, examining him
+      minutely from all points, as if he were some strange new kind of animal,
+      but warily and watchfully the while, as if they half feared he might be a
+      sort of animal that would bite, upon occasion. &nbsp;Finally they halted
+      before him, holding each other&rsquo;s hands for protection, and took a
+      good satisfying stare with their innocent eyes; then one of them plucked
+      up all her courage and inquired with honest directness&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Who art thou, boy?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am the King,&rdquo; was the grave answer.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link19-239" id="link19-239"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link19-239.jpg (71K)" src="images/19-239.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The children gave a little start, and their eyes spread themselves wide
+      open and remained so during a speechless half minute. &nbsp;Then curiosity
+      broke the silence&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The <i>King</i>? &nbsp;What King?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The King of England.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The children looked at each other&mdash;then at him&mdash;then at each
+      other again&mdash;wonderingly, perplexedly; then one said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Didst hear him, Margery?&mdash;he said he is the King. &nbsp;Can
+      that be true?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How can it be else but true, Prissy? &nbsp;Would he say a lie?
+      &nbsp;For look you, Prissy, an&rsquo; it were not true, it <i>would</i> be
+      a lie. &nbsp;It surely would be. Now think on&rsquo;t. &nbsp;For all
+      things that be not true, be lies&mdash;thou canst make nought else out of
+      it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was a good tight argument, without a leak in it anywhere; and it left
+      Prissy&rsquo;s half-doubts not a leg to stand on. &nbsp;She considered a
+      moment, then put the King upon his honour with the simple remark&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If thou art truly the King, then I believe thee.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am truly the King.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This settled the matter. &nbsp;His Majesty&rsquo;s royalty was accepted
+      without further question or discussion, and the two little girls began at
+      once to inquire into how he came to be where he was, and how he came to be
+      so unroyally clad, and whither he was bound, and all about his affairs.
+      &nbsp;It was a mighty relief to him to pour out his troubles where they
+      would not be scoffed at or doubted; so he told his tale with feeling,
+      forgetting even his hunger for the time; and it was received with the
+      deepest and tenderest sympathy by the gentle little maids. &nbsp;But when
+      he got down to his latest experiences and they learned how long he had
+      been without food, they cut him short and hurried him away to the
+      farmhouse to find a breakfast for him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King was cheerful and happy now, and said to himself, &ldquo;When I am
+      come to mine own again, I will always honour little children, remembering
+      how that these trusted me and believed in me in my time of trouble; whilst
+      they that were older, and thought themselves wiser, mocked at me and held
+      me for a liar.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link19-240" id="link19-240"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link19-240.jpg (103K)" src="images/19-240.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The children&rsquo;s mother received the King kindly, and was full of
+      pity; for his forlorn condition and apparently crazed intellect touched
+      her womanly heart. &nbsp;She was a widow, and rather poor; consequently
+      she had seen trouble enough to enable her to feel for the unfortunate.
+      &nbsp;She imagined that the demented boy had wandered away from his
+      friends or keepers; so she tried to find out whence he had come, in order
+      that she might take measures to return him; but all her references to
+      neighbouring towns and villages, and all her inquiries in the same line
+      went for nothing&mdash;the boy&rsquo;s face, and his answers, too, showed
+      that the things she was talking of were not familiar to him. &nbsp;He
+      spoke earnestly and simply about court matters, and broke down, more than
+      once, when speaking of the late King &lsquo;his father&rsquo;; but
+      whenever the conversation changed to baser topics, he lost interest and
+      became silent.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The woman was mightily puzzled; but she did not give up. &nbsp;As she
+      proceeded with her cooking, she set herself to contriving devices to
+      surprise the boy into betraying his real secret. &nbsp;She talked about
+      cattle&mdash;he showed no concern; then about sheep&mdash;the same result:
+      &nbsp;so her guess that he had been a shepherd boy was an error; she
+      talked about mills; and about weavers, tinkers, smiths, trades and
+      tradesmen of all sorts; and about Bedlam, and jails, and charitable
+      retreats: &nbsp;but no matter, she was baffled at all points. &nbsp;Not
+      altogether, either; for she argued that she had narrowed the thing down to
+      domestic service. &nbsp;Yes, she was sure she was on the right track, now;
+      he must have been a house servant. &nbsp;So she led up to that. &nbsp;But
+      the result was discouraging. The subject of sweeping appeared to weary
+      him; fire-building failed to stir him; scrubbing and scouring awoke no
+      enthusiasm. The goodwife touched, with a perishing hope, and rather as a
+      matter of form, upon the subject of cooking. &nbsp;To her surprise, and
+      her vast delight, the King&rsquo;s face lighted at once! &nbsp;Ah, she had
+      hunted him down at last, she thought; and she was right proud, too, of the
+      devious shrewdness and tact which had accomplished it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Her tired tongue got a chance to rest, now; for the King&rsquo;s, inspired
+      by gnawing hunger and the fragrant smells that came from the sputtering
+      pots and pans, turned itself loose and delivered itself up to such an
+      eloquent dissertation upon certain toothsome dishes, that within three
+      minutes the woman said to herself, &ldquo;Of a truth I was right&mdash;he
+      hath holpen in a kitchen!&rdquo; &nbsp;Then he broadened his bill of fare,
+      and discussed it with such appreciation and animation, that the goodwife
+      said to herself, &ldquo;Good lack! how can he know so many dishes, and so
+      fine ones withal? &nbsp;For these belong only upon the tables of the rich
+      and great. &nbsp;Ah, now I see! ragged outcast as he is, he must have
+      served in the palace before his reason went astray; yes, he must have
+      helped in the very kitchen of the King himself! &nbsp;I will test him.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Full of eagerness to prove her sagacity, she told the King to mind the
+      cooking a moment&mdash;hinting that he might manufacture and add a dish or
+      two, if he chose; then she went out of the room and gave her children a
+      sign to follow after. &nbsp;The King muttered&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Another English king had a commission like to this, in a bygone
+      time&mdash;it is nothing against my dignity to undertake an office which
+      the great Alfred stooped to assume. &nbsp;But I will try to better serve
+      my trust than he; for he let the cakes burn.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The intent was good, but the performance was not answerable to it, for
+      this King, like the other one, soon fell into deep thinkings concerning
+      his vast affairs, and the same calamity resulted&mdash;the cookery got
+      burned. The woman returned in time to save the breakfast from entire
+      destruction; and she promptly brought the King out of his dreams with a
+      brisk and cordial tongue-lashing. Then, seeing how troubled he was over
+      his violated trust, she softened at once, and was all goodness and
+      gentleness toward him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link19-242" id="link19-242"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link19-242.jpg (145K)" src="images/19-242.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The boy made a hearty and satisfying meal, and was greatly refreshed and
+      gladdened by it. &nbsp;It was a meal which was distinguished by this
+      curious feature, that rank was waived on both sides; yet neither recipient
+      of the favour was aware that it had been extended. &nbsp;The goodwife had
+      intended to feed this young tramp with broken victuals in a corner, like
+      any other tramp or like a dog; but she was so remorseful for the scolding
+      she had given him, that she did what she could to atone for it by allowing
+      him to sit at the family table and eat with his betters, on ostensible
+      terms of equality with them; and the King, on his side, was so remorseful
+      for having broken his trust, after the family had been so kind to him,
+      that he forced himself to atone for it by humbling himself to the family
+      level, instead of requiring the woman and her children to stand and wait
+      upon him, while he occupied their table in the solitary state due to his
+      birth and dignity. &nbsp;It does us all good to unbend sometimes. &nbsp;This
+      good woman was made happy all the day long by the applauses which she got
+      out of herself for her magnanimous condescension to a tramp; and the King
+      was just as self-complacent over his gracious humility toward a humble
+      peasant woman.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When breakfast was over, the housewife told the King to wash up the
+      dishes. &nbsp;This command was a staggerer, for a moment, and the King
+      came near rebelling; but then he said to himself, &ldquo;Alfred the Great
+      watched the cakes; doubtless he would have washed the dishes too&mdash;therefore
+      will I essay it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He made a sufficiently poor job of it; and to his surprise too, for the
+      cleaning of wooden spoons and trenchers had seemed an easy thing to do. It
+      was a tedious and troublesome piece of work, but he finished it at last.
+      &nbsp;He was becoming impatient to get away on his journey now; however,
+      he was not to lose this thrifty dame&rsquo;s society so easily. &nbsp;She
+      furnished him some little odds and ends of employment, which he got
+      through with after a fair fashion and with some credit. &nbsp;Then she set
+      him and the little girls to paring some winter apples; but he was so
+      awkward at this service that she retired him from it and gave him a
+      butcher knife to grind.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link19-244" id="link19-244"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link19-244.jpg (129K)" src="images/19-244.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Afterwards she kept him carding wool until he began to think he had laid
+      the good King Alfred about far enough in the shade for the present in the
+      matter of showy menial heroisms that would read picturesquely in
+      story-books and histories, and so he was half-minded to resign. &nbsp;And
+      when, just after the noonday dinner, the goodwife gave him a basket of
+      kittens to drown, he did resign. &nbsp;At least he was just going to
+      resign&mdash;for he felt that he must draw the line somewhere, and it
+      seemed to him that to draw it at kitten-drowning was about the right thing&mdash;when
+      there was an interruption. &nbsp;The interruption was John Canty&mdash;with
+      a peddler&rsquo;s pack on his back&mdash;and Hugo.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King discovered these rascals approaching the front gate before they
+      had had a chance to see him; so he said nothing about drawing the line,
+      but took up his basket of kittens and stepped quietly out the back way,
+      without a word. &nbsp;He left the creatures in an out-house, and hurried
+      on, into a narrow lane at the rear.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c20" id="c20"></a> <a
+      name="link20-245" id="link20-245"></a>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link20-245.jpg (42K)" src="images/20-245.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XX. The Prince and the hermit.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The high hedge hid him from the house, now; and so, under the impulse of a
+      deadly fright, he let out all his forces and sped toward a wood in the
+      distance. &nbsp;He never looked back until he had almost gained the
+      shelter of the forest; then he turned and descried two figures in the
+      distance. That was sufficient; he did not wait to scan them critically,
+      but hurried on, and never abated his pace till he was far within the
+      twilight depths of the wood. Then he stopped; being persuaded that he was
+      now tolerably safe. He listened intently, but the stillness was profound
+      and solemn&mdash;awful, even, and depressing to the spirits. &nbsp;At wide
+      intervals his straining ear did detect sounds, but they were so remote,
+      and hollow, and mysterious, that they seemed not to be real sounds, but
+      only the moaning and complaining ghosts of departed ones. &nbsp;So the
+      sounds were yet more dreary than the silence which they interrupted.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was his purpose, in the beginning, to stay where he was the rest of the
+      day; but a chill soon invaded his perspiring body, and he was at last
+      obliged to resume movement in order to get warm. He struck straight
+      through the forest, hoping to pierce to a road presently, but he was
+      disappointed in this. &nbsp;He travelled on and on; but the farther he
+      went, the denser the wood became, apparently. &nbsp;The gloom began to
+      thicken, by-and-by, and the King realised that the night was coming on.
+      &nbsp;It made him shudder to think of spending it in such an uncanny
+      place; so he tried to hurry faster, but he only made the less speed, for
+      he could not now see well enough to choose his steps judiciously;
+      consequently he kept tripping over roots and tangling himself in vines and
+      briers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link20-248" id="link20-248"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link20-248.jpg (160K)" src="images/20-248.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And how glad he was when at last he caught the glimmer of a light! He
+      approached it warily, stopping often to look about him and listen. &nbsp;It
+      came from an unglazed window-opening in a shabby little hut. &nbsp;He
+      heard a voice, now, and felt a disposition to run and hide; but he changed
+      his mind at once, for this voice was praying, evidently. &nbsp;He glided
+      to the one window of the hut, raised himself on tiptoe, and stole a glance
+      within. &nbsp;The room was small; its floor was the natural earth, beaten
+      hard by use; in a corner was a bed of rushes and a ragged blanket or two;
+      near it was a pail, a cup, a basin, and two or three pots and pans; there
+      was a short bench and a three-legged stool; on the hearth the remains of a
+      faggot fire were smouldering; before a shrine, which was lighted by a
+      single candle, knelt an aged man, and on an old wooden box at his side lay
+      an open book and a human skull. &nbsp;The man was of large, bony frame;
+      his hair and whiskers were very long and snowy white; he was clothed in a
+      robe of sheepskins which reached from his neck to his heels.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link20-249" id="link20-249"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link20-249.jpg (139K)" src="images/20-249.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A holy hermit!&rdquo; said the King to himself; &ldquo;now am I
+      indeed fortunate.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The hermit rose from his knees; the King knocked. &nbsp;A deep voice
+      responded&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Enter!&mdash;but leave sin behind, for the ground whereon thou
+      shalt stand is holy!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King entered, and paused. &nbsp;The hermit turned a pair of gleaming,
+      unrestful eyes upon him, and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Who art thou?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am the King,&rdquo; came the answer, with placid simplicity.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Welcome, King!&rdquo; cried the hermit, with enthusiasm. &nbsp;Then,
+      bustling about with feverish activity, and constantly saying, &ldquo;Welcome,
+      welcome,&rdquo; he arranged his bench, seated the King on it, by the
+      hearth, threw some faggots on the fire, and finally fell to pacing the
+      floor with a nervous stride.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Welcome! &nbsp;Many have sought sanctuary here, but they were not
+      worthy, and were turned away. &nbsp;But a King who casts his crown away,
+      and despises the vain splendours of his office, and clothes his body in
+      rags, to devote his life to holiness and the mortification of the flesh&mdash;he
+      is worthy, he is welcome!&mdash;here shall he abide all his days till
+      death come.&rdquo; &nbsp;The King hastened to interrupt and explain, but
+      the hermit paid no attention to him&mdash;did not even hear him,
+      apparently, but went right on with his talk, with a raised voice and a
+      growing energy. &nbsp;"And thou shalt be at peace here. &nbsp;None shall
+      find out thy refuge to disquiet thee with supplications to return to that
+      empty and foolish life which God hath moved thee to abandon. &nbsp;Thou
+      shalt pray here; thou shalt study the Book; thou shalt meditate upon the
+      follies and delusions of this world, and upon the sublimities of the world
+      to come; thou shalt feed upon crusts and herbs, and scourge thy body with
+      whips, daily, to the purifying of thy soul. Thou shalt wear a hair shirt
+      next thy skin; thou shalt drink water only; and thou shalt be at peace;
+      yes, wholly at peace; for whoso comes to seek thee shall go his way again,
+      baffled; he shall not find thee, he shall not molest thee.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The old man, still pacing back and forth, ceased to speak aloud, and began
+      to mutter. &nbsp;The King seized this opportunity to state his case; and
+      he did it with an eloquence inspired by uneasiness and apprehension.
+      &nbsp;But the hermit went on muttering, and gave no heed. &nbsp;And still
+      muttering, he approached the King and said impressively&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&rsquo;Sh! &nbsp;I will tell you a secret!&rdquo; &nbsp;He bent
+      down to impart it, but checked himself, and assumed a listening attitude.
+      &nbsp;After a moment or two he went on tiptoe to the window-opening, put
+      his head out, and peered around in the gloaming, then came tiptoeing back
+      again, put his face close down to the King&rsquo;s, and whispered&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am an archangel!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link20-251" id="link20-251"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link20-251.jpg (65K)" src="images/20-251.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King started violently, and said to himself, &ldquo;Would God I were
+      with the outlaws again; for lo, now am I the prisoner of a madman!&rdquo;
+      &nbsp;His apprehensions were heightened, and they showed plainly in his
+      face. &nbsp;In a low excited voice the hermit continued&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I see you feel my atmosphere! &nbsp;There&rsquo;s awe in your face!
+      &nbsp;None may be in this atmosphere and not be thus affected; for it is
+      the very atmosphere of heaven. &nbsp;I go thither and return, in the
+      twinkling of an eye. &nbsp;I was made an archangel on this very spot, it
+      is five years ago, by angels sent from heaven to confer that awful
+      dignity. &nbsp;Their presence filled this place with an intolerable
+      brightness. &nbsp;And they knelt to me, King! yes, they knelt to me! for I
+      was greater than they. &nbsp;I have walked in the courts of heaven, and
+      held speech with the patriarchs. &nbsp;Touch my hand&mdash;be not afraid&mdash;touch
+      it. &nbsp;There&mdash;now thou hast touched a hand which has been clasped
+      by Abraham and Isaac and Jacob! &nbsp;For I have walked in the golden
+      courts; I have seen the Deity face to face!&rdquo; &nbsp;He paused, to
+      give this speech effect; then his face suddenly changed, and he started to
+      his feet again saying, with angry energy, &ldquo;Yes, I am an archangel;
+      <i>a mere archangel!</i>&mdash;I that might have been pope! &nbsp;It is
+      verily true. &nbsp;I was told it from heaven in a dream, twenty years ago;
+      ah, yes, I was to be pope!&mdash;and I <i>should</i> have been pope, for
+      Heaven had said it&mdash;but the King dissolved my religious house, and I,
+      poor obscure unfriended monk, was cast homeless upon the world, robbed of
+      my mighty destiny!&rdquo; Here he began to mumble again, and beat his
+      forehead in futile rage, with his fist; now and then articulating a
+      venomous curse, and now and then a pathetic &ldquo;Wherefore I am nought
+      but an archangel&mdash;I that should have been pope!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So he went on, for an hour, whilst the poor little King sat and suffered.
+      Then all at once the old man&rsquo;s frenzy departed, and he became all
+      gentleness. &nbsp;His voice softened, he came down out of his clouds, and
+      fell to prattling along so simply and so humanly, that he soon won the
+      King&rsquo;s heart completely. &nbsp;The old devotee moved the boy nearer
+      to the fire and made him comfortable; doctored his small bruises and
+      abrasions with a deft and tender hand; and then set about preparing and
+      cooking a supper&mdash;chatting pleasantly all the time, and occasionally
+      stroking the lad&rsquo;s cheek or patting his head, in such a gently
+      caressing way that in a little while all the fear and repulsion inspired
+      by the archangel were changed to reverence and affection for the man.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link20-253" id="link20-253"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link20-253.jpg (131K)" src="images/20-253.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This happy state of things continued while the two ate the supper; then,
+      after a prayer before the shrine, the hermit put the boy to bed, in a
+      small adjoining room, tucking him in as snugly and lovingly as a mother
+      might; and so, with a parting caress, left him and sat down by the fire,
+      and began to poke the brands about in an absent and aimless way. Presently
+      he paused; then tapped his forehead several times with his fingers, as if
+      trying to recall some thought which had escaped from his mind. &nbsp;Apparently
+      he was unsuccessful. &nbsp;Now he started quickly up, and entered his
+      guest&rsquo;s room, and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thou art King?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; was the response, drowsily uttered.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What King?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of England.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of England? &nbsp;Then Henry is gone!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Alack, it is so. &nbsp;I am his son.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A black frown settled down upon the hermit&rsquo;s face, and he clenched
+      his bony hands with a vindictive energy. &nbsp;He stood a few moments,
+      breathing fast and swallowing repeatedly, then said in a husky voice&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Dost know it was he that turned us out into the world houseless and
+      homeless?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was no response. &nbsp;The old man bent down and scanned the boy&rsquo;s
+      reposeful face and listened to his placid breathing. &nbsp;"He sleeps&mdash;sleeps
+      soundly;&rdquo; and the frown vanished away and gave place to an
+      expression of evil satisfaction. &nbsp;A smile flitted across the dreaming
+      boy&rsquo;s features. The hermit muttered, &ldquo;So&mdash;his heart is
+      happy;&rdquo; and he turned away. &nbsp;He went stealthily about the
+      place, seeking here and there for something; now and then halting to
+      listen, now and then jerking his head around and casting a quick glance
+      toward the bed; and always muttering, always mumbling to himself. &nbsp;At
+      last he found what he seemed to want&mdash;a rusty old butcher knife and a
+      whetstone. &nbsp;Then he crept to his place by the fire, sat himself down,
+      and began to whet the knife softly on the stone, still muttering,
+      mumbling, ejaculating. &nbsp;The winds sighed around the lonely place, the
+      mysterious voices of the night floated by out of the distances. &nbsp;The
+      shining eyes of venturesome mice and rats peered out at the old man from
+      cracks and coverts, but he went on with his work, rapt, absorbed, and
+      noted none of these things.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At long intervals he drew his thumb along the edge of his knife, and
+      nodded his head with satisfaction. &nbsp;"It grows sharper,&rdquo; he
+      said; &ldquo;yes, it grows sharper.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He took no note of the flight of time, but worked tranquilly on,
+      entertaining himself with his thoughts, which broke out occasionally in
+      articulate speech&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;His father wrought us evil, he destroyed us&mdash;and is gone down
+      into the eternal fires! &nbsp;Yes, down into the eternal fires! &nbsp;He
+      escaped us&mdash;but it was God&rsquo;s will, yes it was God&rsquo;s will,
+      we must not repine. &nbsp;But he hath not escaped the fires! &nbsp;No, he
+      hath not escaped the fires, the consuming, unpitying, remorseless fires&mdash;and
+      <i>they</i> are everlasting!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And so he wrought, and still wrought&mdash;mumbling, chuckling a low
+      rasping chuckle at times&mdash;and at times breaking again into words&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It was his father that did it all. &nbsp;I am but an archangel; but
+      for him I should be pope!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link20-255" id="link20-255"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link20-255.jpg (128K)" src="images/20-255.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King stirred. &nbsp;The hermit sprang noiselessly to the bedside, and
+      went down upon his knees, bending over the prostrate form with his knife
+      uplifted. &nbsp;The boy stirred again; his eyes came open for an instant,
+      but there was no speculation in them, they saw nothing; the next moment
+      his tranquil breathing showed that his sleep was sound once more.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The hermit watched and listened, for a time, keeping his position and
+      scarcely breathing; then he slowly lowered his arms, and presently crept
+      away, saying,&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is long past midnight; it is not best that he should cry out,
+      lest by accident someone be passing.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link20-256" id="link20-256"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link20-256.jpg (69K)" src="images/20-256.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He glided about his hovel, gathering a rag here, a thong there, and
+      another one yonder; then he returned, and by careful and gentle handling
+      he managed to tie the King&rsquo;s ankles together without waking him.
+      &nbsp;Next he essayed to tie the wrists; he made several attempts to cross
+      them, but the boy always drew one hand or the other away, just as the cord
+      was ready to be applied; but at last, when the archangel was almost ready
+      to despair, the boy crossed his hands himself, and the next moment they
+      were bound. Now a bandage was passed under the sleeper&rsquo;s chin and
+      brought up over his head and tied fast&mdash;and so softly, so gradually,
+      and so deftly were the knots drawn together and compacted, that the boy
+      slept peacefully through it all without stirring.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c21" id="c21"></a> <a
+      name="link21-257" id="link21-257"></a>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link21-257.jpg (51K)" src="images/21-257.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XXI. Hendon to the rescue.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The old man glided away, stooping, stealthy, cat-like, and brought the low
+      bench. &nbsp;He seated himself upon it, half his body in the dim and
+      flickering light, and the other half in shadow; and so, with his craving
+      eyes bent upon the slumbering boy, he kept his patient vigil there,
+      heedless of the drift of time, and softly whetted his knife, and mumbled
+      and chuckled; and in aspect and attitude he resembled nothing so much as a
+      grizzly, monstrous spider, gloating over some hapless insect that lay
+      bound and helpless in his web.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After a long while, the old man, who was still gazing,&mdash;yet not
+      seeing, his mind having settled into a dreamy abstraction,&mdash;observed,
+      on a sudden, that the boy&rsquo;s eyes were open! wide open and staring!&mdash;staring
+      up in frozen horror at the knife. &nbsp;The smile of a gratified devil
+      crept over the old man&rsquo;s face, and he said, without changing his
+      attitude or his occupation&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Son of Henry the Eighth, hast thou prayed?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The boy struggled helplessly in his bonds, and at the same time forced a
+      smothered sound through his closed jaws, which the hermit chose to
+      interpret as an affirmative answer to his question.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then pray again. &nbsp;Pray the prayer for the dying!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A shudder shook the boy&rsquo;s frame, and his face blenched. &nbsp;Then
+      he struggled again to free himself&mdash;turning and twisting himself this
+      way and that; tugging frantically, fiercely, desperately&mdash;but
+      uselessly&mdash;to burst his fetters; and all the while the old ogre
+      smiled down upon him, and nodded his head, and placidly whetted his knife;
+      mumbling, from time to time, &ldquo;The moments are precious, they are few
+      and precious&mdash;pray the prayer for the dying!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The boy uttered a despairing groan, and ceased from his struggles,
+      panting. &nbsp;The tears came, then, and trickled, one after the other,
+      down his face; but this piteous sight wrought no softening effect upon the
+      savage old man.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The dawn was coming now; the hermit observed it, and spoke up sharply,
+      with a touch of nervous apprehension in his voice&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I may not indulge this ecstasy longer! &nbsp;The night is already
+      gone. &nbsp;It seems but a moment&mdash;only a moment; would it had
+      endured a year! &nbsp;Seed of the Church&rsquo;s spoiler, close thy
+      perishing eyes, an&rsquo; thou fearest to look upon&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The rest was lost in inarticulate mutterings. &nbsp;The old man sank upon
+      his knees, his knife in his hand, and bent himself over the moaning boy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link21-260" id="link21-260"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link21-260.jpg (111K)" src="images/21-260.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hark! &nbsp;There was a sound of voices near the cabin&mdash;the knife
+      dropped from the hermit&rsquo;s hand; he cast a sheepskin over the boy and
+      started up, trembling. &nbsp;The sounds increased, and presently the
+      voices became rough and angry; then came blows, and cries for help; then a
+      clatter of swift footsteps, retreating. &nbsp;Immediately came a
+      succession of thundering knocks upon the cabin door, followed by&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hullo-o-o! &nbsp;Open! &nbsp;And despatch, in the name of all the
+      devils!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Oh, this was the blessedest sound that had ever made music in the King&rsquo;s
+      ears; for it was Miles Hendon&rsquo;s voice!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The hermit, grinding his teeth in impotent rage, moved swiftly out of the
+      bedchamber, closing the door behind him; and straightway the King heard a
+      talk, to this effect, proceeding from the &lsquo;chapel&rsquo;:&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Homage and greeting, reverend sir! &nbsp;Where is the boy&mdash;<i>my</i>
+      boy?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What boy, friend?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What boy! &nbsp;Lie me no lies, sir priest, play me no deceptions!&mdash;I
+      am not in the humour for it. &nbsp;Near to this place I caught the
+      scoundrels who I judged did steal him from me, and I made them confess;
+      they said he was at large again, and they had tracked him to your door.
+      &nbsp;They showed me his very footprints. &nbsp;Now palter no more; for
+      look you, holy sir, an&rsquo; thou produce him not&mdash;Where is the boy?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;O good sir, peradventure you mean the ragged regal vagrant that
+      tarried here the night. &nbsp;If such as you take an interest in such as
+      he, know, then, that I have sent him of an errand. &nbsp;He will be back
+      anon.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How soon? &nbsp;How soon? &nbsp;Come, waste not the time&mdash;cannot
+      I overtake him? How soon will he be back?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thou need&rsquo;st not stir; he will return quickly.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;So be it, then. &nbsp;I will try to wait. &nbsp;But stop!&mdash;<i>you</i>
+      sent him of an errand?&mdash;you! &nbsp;Verily this is a lie&mdash;he
+      would not go. &nbsp;He would pull thy old beard, an&rsquo; thou didst
+      offer him such an insolence. Thou hast lied, friend; thou hast surely
+      lied! &nbsp;He would not go for thee, nor for any man.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;For any <i>man</i>&mdash;no; haply not. &nbsp;But I am not a man.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;<i>What</i>! &nbsp;Now o&rsquo; God&rsquo;s name what art thou,
+      then?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is a secret&mdash;mark thou reveal it not. &nbsp;I am an
+      archangel!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a tremendous ejaculation from Miles Hendon&mdash;not altogether
+      unprofane&mdash;followed by&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This doth well and truly account for his complaisance! &nbsp;Right
+      well I knew he would budge nor hand nor foot in the menial service of any
+      mortal; but, lord, even a king must obey when an archangel gives the word
+      o&rsquo; command! &nbsp;Let me&mdash;&rsquo;sh! &nbsp;What noise was that?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All this while the little King had been yonder, alternately quaking with
+      terror and trembling with hope; and all the while, too, he had thrown all
+      the strength he could into his anguished moanings, constantly expecting
+      them to reach Hendon&rsquo;s ear, but always realising, with bitterness,
+      that they failed, or at least made no impression. &nbsp;So this last
+      remark of his servant came as comes a reviving breath from fresh fields to
+      the dying; and he exerted himself once more, and with all his energy, just
+      as the hermit was saying&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Noise? &nbsp;I heard only the wind.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mayhap it was. &nbsp;Yes, doubtless that was it. &nbsp;I have been
+      hearing it faintly all the&mdash;there it is again! &nbsp;It is not the
+      wind! &nbsp;What an odd sound! &nbsp;Come, we will hunt it out!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now the King&rsquo;s joy was nearly insupportable. &nbsp;His tired lungs
+      did their utmost&mdash;and hopefully, too&mdash;but the sealed jaws and
+      the muffling sheepskin sadly crippled the effort. &nbsp;Then the poor
+      fellow&rsquo;s heart sank, to hear the hermit say&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, it came from without&mdash;I think from the copse yonder.
+      &nbsp;Come, I will lead the way.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King heard the two pass out, talking; heard their footsteps die
+      quickly away&mdash;then he was alone with a boding, brooding, awful
+      silence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It seemed an age till he heard the steps and voices approaching again&mdash;and
+      this time he heard an added sound,&mdash;the trampling of hoofs,
+      apparently. &nbsp;Then he heard Hendon say&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I will not wait longer. &nbsp;I <i>cannot</i> wait longer. &nbsp;He
+      has lost his way in this thick wood. &nbsp;Which direction took he? &nbsp;Quick&mdash;point
+      it out to me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He&mdash;but wait; I will go with thee.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good&mdash;good! &nbsp;Why, truly thou art better than thy looks.
+      &nbsp;Marry I do not think there&rsquo;s not another archangel with so
+      right a heart as thine. &nbsp;Wilt ride? &nbsp;Wilt take the wee donkey
+      that&rsquo;s for my boy, or wilt thou fork thy holy legs over this
+      ill-conditioned slave of a mule that I have provided for myself?&mdash;and
+      had been cheated in too, had he cost but the indifferent sum of a month&rsquo;s
+      usury on a brass farthing let to a tinker out of work.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No&mdash;ride thy mule, and lead thine ass; I am surer on mine own
+      feet, and will walk.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link21-262" id="link21-262"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link21-262.jpg (97K)" src="images/21-262.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then prithee mind the little beast for me while I take my life in
+      my hands and make what success I may toward mounting the big one.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then followed a confusion of kicks, cuffs, tramplings and plungings,
+      accompanied by a thunderous intermingling of volleyed curses, and finally
+      a bitter apostrophe to the mule, which must have broken its spirit, for
+      hostilities seemed to cease from that moment.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With unutterable misery the fettered little King heard the voices and
+      footsteps fade away and die out. &nbsp;All hope forsook him, now, for the
+      moment, and a dull despair settled down upon his heart. &ldquo;My only
+      friend is deceived and got rid of,&rdquo; he said; &ldquo;the hermit will
+      return and&mdash;&rdquo; &nbsp;He finished with a gasp; and at once fell
+      to struggling so frantically with his bonds again, that he shook off the
+      smothering sheepskin.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And now he heard the door open! &nbsp;The sound chilled him to the marrow&mdash;already
+      he seemed to feel the knife at his throat. &nbsp;Horror made him close his
+      eyes; horror made him open them again&mdash;and before him stood John
+      Canty and Hugo!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link21-264" id="link21-264"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link21-264.jpg (96K)" src="images/21-264.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He would have said &ldquo;Thank God!&rdquo; if his jaws had been free.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A moment or two later his limbs were at liberty, and his captors, each
+      gripping him by an arm, were hurrying him with all speed through the
+      forest.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c22" id="c22"></a> <a
+      name="link22-267" id="link22-267"></a>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link22-267.jpg (44K)" src="images/22-267.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XXII. A Victim of Treachery.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Once more &lsquo;King Foo-foo the First&rsquo; was roving with the tramps
+      and outlaws, a butt for their coarse jests and dull-witted railleries, and
+      sometimes the victim of small spitefulness at the hands of Canty and Hugo
+      when the Ruffler&rsquo;s back was turned. &nbsp;None but Canty and Hugo
+      really disliked him. &nbsp;Some of the others liked him, and all admired
+      his pluck and spirit. &nbsp;During two or three days, Hugo, in whose ward
+      and charge the King was, did what he covertly could to make the boy
+      uncomfortable; and at night, during the customary orgies, he amused the
+      company by putting small indignities upon him&mdash;always as if by
+      accident. &nbsp;Twice he stepped upon the King&rsquo;s toes&mdash;accidentally&mdash;and
+      the King, as became his royalty, was contemptuously unconscious of it and
+      indifferent to it; but the third time Hugo entertained himself in that
+      way, the King felled him to the ground with a cudgel, to the prodigious
+      delight of the tribe. &nbsp;Hugo, consumed with anger and shame, sprang
+      up, seized a cudgel, and came at his small adversary in a fury. &nbsp;Instantly
+      a ring was formed around the gladiators, and the betting and cheering
+      began.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link22-270" id="link22-270"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link22-270.jpg (85K)" src="images/22-270.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But poor Hugo stood no chance whatever. &nbsp;His frantic and lubberly
+      &rsquo;prentice-work found but a poor market for itself when pitted
+      against an arm which had been trained by the first masters of Europe in
+      single-stick, quarter-staff, and every art and trick of swordsmanship.
+      &nbsp;The little King stood, alert but at graceful ease, and caught and
+      turned aside the thick rain of blows with a facility and precision which
+      set the motley on-lookers wild with admiration; and every now and then,
+      when his practised eye detected an opening, and a lightning-swift rap upon
+      Hugo&rsquo;s head followed as a result, the storm of cheers and laughter
+      that swept the place was something wonderful to hear. &nbsp;At the end of
+      fifteen minutes, Hugo, all battered, bruised, and the target for a
+      pitiless bombardment of ridicule, slunk from the field; and the unscathed
+      hero of the fight was seized and borne aloft upon the shoulders of the
+      joyous rabble to the place of honour beside the Ruffler, where with vast
+      ceremony he was crowned King of the Game-Cocks; his meaner title being at
+      the same time solemnly cancelled and annulled, and a decree of banishment
+      from the gang pronounced against any who should thenceforth utter it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All attempts to make the King serviceable to the troop had failed. He had
+      stubbornly refused to act; moreover, he was always trying to escape.
+      &nbsp;He had been thrust into an unwatched kitchen, the first day of his
+      return; he not only came forth empty-handed, but tried to rouse the
+      housemates. He was sent out with a tinker to help him at his work; he
+      would not work; moreover, he threatened the tinker with his own
+      soldering-iron; and finally both Hugo and the tinker found their hands
+      full with the mere matter of keeping his from getting away. &nbsp;He
+      delivered the thunders of his royalty upon the heads of all who hampered
+      his liberties or tried to force him to service. &nbsp;He was sent out, in
+      Hugo&rsquo;s charge, in company with a slatternly woman and a diseased
+      baby, to beg; but the result was not encouraging&mdash;he declined to
+      plead for the mendicants, or be a party to their cause in any way.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Thus several days went by; and the miseries of this tramping life, and the
+      weariness and sordidness and meanness and vulgarity of it, became
+      gradually and steadily so intolerable to the captive that he began at last
+      to feel that his release from the hermit&rsquo;s knife must prove only a
+      temporary respite from death, at best.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But at night, in his dreams, these things were forgotten, and he was on
+      his throne, and master again. &nbsp;This, of course, intensified the
+      sufferings of the awakening&mdash;so the mortifications of each succeeding
+      morning of the few that passed between his return to bondage and the
+      combat with Hugo, grew bitterer and bitterer, and harder and harder to
+      bear.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The morning after that combat, Hugo got up with a heart filled with
+      vengeful purposes against the King. &nbsp;He had two plans, in particular.
+      One was to inflict upon the lad what would be, to his proud spirit and
+      &lsquo;imagined&rsquo; royalty, a peculiar humiliation; and if he failed
+      to accomplish this, his other plan was to put a crime of some kind upon
+      the King, and then betray him into the implacable clutches of the law.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In pursuance of the first plan, he purposed to put a &lsquo;clime&rsquo;
+      upon the King&rsquo;s leg; rightly judging that that would mortify him to
+      the last and perfect degree; and as soon as the clime should operate, he
+      meant to get Canty&rsquo;s help, and <i>force</i> the King to expose his
+      leg in the highway and beg for alms. &nbsp;&rsquo;Clime&rsquo; was the
+      cant term for a sore, artificially created. To make a clime, the operator
+      made a paste or poultice of unslaked lime, soap, and the rust of old iron,
+      and spread it upon a piece of leather, which was then bound tightly upon
+      the leg. &nbsp;This would presently fret off the skin, and make the flesh
+      raw and angry-looking; blood was then rubbed upon the limb, which, being
+      fully dried, took on a dark and repulsive colour. &nbsp;Then a bandage of
+      soiled rags was put on in a cleverly careless way which would allow the
+      hideous ulcer to be seen, and move the compassion of the passer-by. {8}
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hugo got the help of the tinker whom the King had cowed with the
+      soldering-iron; they took the boy out on a tinkering tramp, and as soon as
+      they were out of sight of the camp they threw him down and the tinker held
+      him while Hugo bound the poultice tight and fast upon his leg.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link22-272" id="link22-272"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link22-272.jpg (139K)" src="images/22-272.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King raged and stormed, and promised to hang the two the moment the
+      sceptre was in his hand again; but they kept a firm grip upon him and
+      enjoyed his impotent struggling and jeered at his threats. &nbsp;This
+      continued until the poultice began to bite; and in no long time its work
+      would have been perfected, if there had been no interruption. &nbsp;But
+      there was; for about this time the &lsquo;slave&rsquo; who had made the
+      speech denouncing England&rsquo;s laws, appeared on the scene, and put an
+      end to the enterprise, and stripped off the poultice and bandage.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King wanted to borrow his deliverer&rsquo;s cudgel and warm the
+      jackets of the two rascals on the spot; but the man said no, it would
+      bring trouble&mdash;leave the matter till night; the whole tribe being
+      together, then, the outside world would not venture to interfere or
+      interrupt. &nbsp;He marched the party back to camp and reported the affair
+      to the Ruffler, who listened, pondered, and then decided that the King
+      should not be again detailed to beg, since it was plain he was worthy of
+      something higher and better&mdash;wherefore, on the spot he promoted him
+      from the mendicant rank and appointed him to steal!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hugo was overjoyed. &nbsp;He had already tried to make the King steal, and
+      failed; but there would be no more trouble of that sort, now, for of
+      course the King would not dream of defying a distinct command delivered
+      directly from head-quarters. &nbsp;So he planned a raid for that very
+      afternoon, purposing to get the King in the law&rsquo;s grip in the course
+      of it; and to do it, too, with such ingenious strategy, that it should
+      seem to be accidental and unintentional; for the King of the Game-Cocks
+      was popular now, and the gang might not deal over-gently with an unpopular
+      member who played so serious a treachery upon him as the delivering him
+      over to the common enemy, the law.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Very well. &nbsp;All in good time Hugo strolled off to a neighbouring
+      village with his prey; and the two drifted slowly up and down one street
+      after another, the one watching sharply for a sure chance to achieve his
+      evil purpose, and the other watching as sharply for a chance to dart away
+      and get free of his infamous captivity for ever.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Both threw away some tolerably fair-looking opportunities; for both, in
+      their secret hearts, were resolved to make absolutely sure work this time,
+      and neither meant to allow his fevered desires to seduce him into any
+      venture that had much uncertainty about it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hugo&rsquo;s chance came first. &nbsp;For at last a woman approached who
+      carried a fat package of some sort in a basket. &nbsp;Hugo&rsquo;s eyes
+      sparkled with sinful pleasure as he said to himself, &ldquo;Breath o&rsquo;
+      my life, an&rsquo; I can but put <i>that</i> upon him, &rsquo;tis good-den
+      and God keep thee, King of the Game-Cocks!&rdquo; He waited and watched&mdash;outwardly
+      patient, but inwardly consuming with excitement&mdash;till the woman had
+      passed by, and the time was ripe; then said, in a low voice&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link22-274" id="link22-274"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link22-274.jpg (135K)" src="images/22-274.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Tarry here till I come again,&rdquo; and darted stealthily after
+      the prey.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King&rsquo;s heart was filled with joy&mdash;he could make his escape,
+      now, if Hugo&rsquo;s quest only carried him far enough away.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But he was to have no such luck. &nbsp;Hugo crept behind the woman,
+      snatched the package, and came running back, wrapping it in an old piece
+      of blanket which he carried on his arm. &nbsp;The hue and cry was raised
+      in a moment, by the woman, who knew her loss by the lightening of her
+      burden, although she had not seen the pilfering done. &nbsp;Hugo thrust
+      the bundle into the King&rsquo;s hands without halting, saying&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now speed ye after me with the rest, and cry &lsquo;Stop thief!&rsquo;
+      but mind ye lead them astray!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The next moment Hugo turned a corner and darted down a crooked alley&mdash;and
+      in another moment or two he lounged into view again, looking innocent and
+      indifferent, and took up a position behind a post to watch results.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The insulted King threw the bundle on the ground; and the blanket fell
+      away from it just as the woman arrived, with an augmenting crowd at her
+      heels; she seized the King&rsquo;s wrist with one hand, snatched up her
+      bundle with the other, and began to pour out a tirade of abuse upon the
+      boy while he struggled, without success, to free himself from her grip.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hugo had seen enough&mdash;his enemy was captured and the law would get
+      him, now&mdash;so he slipped away, jubilant and chuckling, and wended
+      campwards, framing a judicious version of the matter to give to the
+      Ruffler&rsquo;s crew as he strode along.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King continued to struggle in the woman&rsquo;s strong grasp, and now
+      and then cried out in vexation&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Unhand me, thou foolish creature; it was not I that bereaved thee
+      of thy paltry goods.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The crowd closed around, threatening the King and calling him names; a
+      brawny blacksmith in leather apron, and sleeves rolled to his elbows, made
+      a reach for him, saying he would trounce him well, for a lesson; but just
+      then a long sword flashed in the air and fell with convincing force upon
+      the man&rsquo;s arm, flat side down, the fantastic owner of it remarking
+      pleasantly, at the same time&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Marry, good souls, let us proceed gently, not with ill blood and
+      uncharitable words. &nbsp;This is matter for the law&rsquo;s
+      consideration, not private and unofficial handling. &nbsp;Loose thy hold
+      from the boy, goodwife.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link22-276" id="link22-276"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link22-276.jpg (140K)" src="images/22-276.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The blacksmith averaged the stalwart soldier with a glance, then went
+      muttering away, rubbing his arm; the woman released the boy&rsquo;s wrist
+      reluctantly; the crowd eyed the stranger unlovingly, but prudently closed
+      their mouths. &nbsp;The King sprang to his deliverer&rsquo;s side, with
+      flushed cheeks and sparkling eyes, exclaiming&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thou hast lagged sorely, but thou comest in good season, now, Sir
+      Miles; carve me this rabble to rags!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c23" id="c23"></a> <a
+      name="link23-279" id="link23-279"></a>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link23-279.jpg (41K)" src="images/23-279.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XXIII. The Prince a prisoner.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hendon forced back a smile, and bent down and whispered in the King&rsquo;s
+      ear&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Softly, softly, my prince, wag thy tongue warily&mdash;nay, suffer
+      it not to wag at all. &nbsp;Trust in me&mdash;all shall go well in the
+      end.&rdquo; Then he added to himself: &nbsp;&ldquo;<i>Sir</i> Miles!
+      &nbsp;Bless me, I had totally forgot I was a knight! Lord, how marvellous
+      a thing it is, the grip his memory doth take upon his quaint and crazy
+      fancies! . . . An empty and foolish title is mine, and yet it is something
+      to have deserved it; for I think it is more honour to be held worthy to be
+      a spectre-knight in his Kingdom of Dreams and Shadows, than to be held
+      base enough to be an earl in some of the <i>real</i> kingdoms of this
+      world.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The crowd fell apart to admit a constable, who approached and was about to
+      lay his hand upon the King&rsquo;s shoulder, when Hendon said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Gently, good friend, withhold your hand&mdash;he shall go
+      peaceably; I am responsible for that. &nbsp;Lead on, we will follow.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link23-282" id="link23-282"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link23-282.jpg (90K)" src="images/23-282.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The officer led, with the woman and her bundle; Miles and the King
+      followed after, with the crowd at their heels. &nbsp;The King was inclined
+      to rebel; but Hendon said to him in a low voice&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Reflect, Sire&mdash;your laws are the wholesome breath of your own
+      royalty; shall their source resist them, yet require the branches to
+      respect them? Apparently one of these laws has been broken; when the King
+      is on his throne again, can it ever grieve him to remember that when he
+      was seemingly a private person he loyally sank the king in the citizen and
+      submitted to its authority?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thou art right; say no more; thou shalt see that whatsoever the
+      King of England requires a subject to suffer, under the law, he will
+      himself suffer while he holdeth the station of a subject.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When the woman was called upon to testify before the justice of the peace,
+      she swore that the small prisoner at the bar was the person who had
+      committed the theft; there was none able to show the contrary, so the King
+      stood convicted. &nbsp;The bundle was now unrolled, and when the contents
+      proved to be a plump little dressed pig, the judge looked troubled, whilst
+      Hendon turned pale, and his body was thrilled with an electric shiver of
+      dismay; but the King remained unmoved, protected by his ignorance. &nbsp;The
+      judge meditated, during an ominous pause, then turned to the woman, with
+      the question&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What dost thou hold this property to be worth?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The woman courtesied and replied&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Three shillings and eightpence, your worship&mdash;I could not
+      abate a penny and set forth the value honestly.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The justice glanced around uncomfortably upon the crowd, then nodded to
+      the constable, and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Clear the court and close the doors.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was done. &nbsp;None remained but the two officials, the accused, the
+      accuser, and Miles Hendon. &nbsp;This latter was rigid and colourless, and
+      on his forehead big drops of cold sweat gathered, broke and blended
+      together, and trickled down his face. &nbsp;The judge turned to the woman
+      again, and said, in a compassionate voice&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&rsquo;Tis a poor ignorant lad, and mayhap was driven hard by
+      hunger, for these be grievous times for the unfortunate; mark you, he hath
+      not an evil face&mdash;but when hunger driveth&mdash;Good woman! dost know
+      that when one steals a thing above the value of thirteenpence ha&rsquo;penny
+      the law saith he shall <i>hang</i> for it?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The little King started, wide-eyed with consternation, but controlled
+      himself and held his peace; but not so the woman. &nbsp;She sprang to her
+      feet, shaking with fright, and cried out&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link23-284" id="link23-284"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link23-284.jpg (143K)" src="images/23-284.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, good lack, what have I done! &nbsp;God-a-mercy, I would not
+      hang the poor thing for the whole world! &nbsp;Ah, save me from this, your
+      worship&mdash;what shall I do, what <i>can</i> I do?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The justice maintained his judicial composure, and simply said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Doubtless it is allowable to revise the value, since it is not yet
+      writ upon the record.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then in God&rsquo;s name call the pig eightpence, and heaven bless
+      the day that freed my conscience of this awesome thing!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Miles Hendon forgot all decorum in his delight; and surprised the King and
+      wounded his dignity, by throwing his arms around him and hugging him. The
+      woman made her grateful adieux and started away with her pig; and when the
+      constable opened the door for her, he followed her out into the narrow
+      hall. &nbsp;The justice proceeded to write in his record book. &nbsp;Hendon,
+      always alert, thought he would like to know why the officer followed the
+      woman out; so he slipped softly into the dusky hall and listened. &nbsp;He
+      heard a conversation to this effect&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is a fat pig, and promises good eating; I will buy it of thee;
+      here is the eightpence.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Eightpence, indeed! &nbsp;Thou&rsquo;lt do no such thing. &nbsp;It
+      cost me three shillings and eightpence, good honest coin of the last
+      reign, that old Harry that&rsquo;s just dead ne&rsquo;er touched or
+      tampered with. &nbsp;A fig for thy eightpence!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Stands the wind in that quarter? &nbsp;Thou wast under oath, and so
+      swore falsely when thou saidst the value was but eightpence. &nbsp;Come
+      straightway back with me before his worship, and answer for the crime!&mdash;and
+      then the lad will hang.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There, there, dear heart, say no more, I am content. &nbsp;Give me
+      the eightpence, and hold thy peace about the matter.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The woman went off crying: &nbsp;Hendon slipped back into the court room,
+      and the constable presently followed, after hiding his prize in some
+      convenient place. &nbsp;The justice wrote a while longer, then read the
+      King a wise and kindly lecture, and sentenced him to a short imprisonment
+      in the common jail, to be followed by a public flogging. &nbsp;The
+      astounded King opened his mouth, and was probably going to order the good
+      judge to be beheaded on the spot; but he caught a warning sign from
+      Hendon, and succeeded in closing his mouth again before he lost anything
+      out of it. Hendon took him by the hand, now, made reverence to the
+      justice, and the two departed in the wake of the constable toward the
+      jail. &nbsp;The moment the street was reached, the inflamed monarch
+      halted, snatched away his hand, and exclaimed&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Idiot, dost imagine I will enter a common jail <i>alive</i>?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hendon bent down and said, somewhat sharply&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;<i>Will</i> you trust in me? &nbsp;Peace! and forbear to worsen our
+      chances with dangerous speech. &nbsp;What God wills, will happen; thou
+      canst not hurry it, thou canst not alter it; therefore wait, and be
+      patient&mdash;&rsquo;twill be time enow to rail or rejoice when what is to
+      happen has happened.&rdquo; {1}
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c24" id="c24"></a> <a
+      name="link24-287" id="link24-287"></a>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link24-287.jpg (51K)" src="images/24-287.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XXIV. The Escape.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The short winter day was nearly ended. &nbsp;The streets were deserted,
+      save for a few random stragglers, and these hurried straight along, with
+      the intent look of people who were only anxious to accomplish their
+      errands as quickly as possible, and then snugly house themselves from the
+      rising wind and the gathering twilight. They looked neither to the right
+      nor to the left; they paid no attention to our party, they did not even
+      seem to see them. Edward the Sixth wondered if the spectacle of a king on
+      his way to jail had ever encountered such marvellous indifference before.
+      By-and-by the constable arrived at a deserted market-square, and proceeded
+      to cross it. &nbsp;When he had reached the middle of it, Hendon laid his
+      hand upon his arm, and said in a low voice&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Bide a moment, good sir, there is none in hearing, and I would say
+      a word to thee.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My duty forbids it, sir; prithee hinder me not, the night comes on.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Stay, nevertheless, for the matter concerns thee nearly. &nbsp;Turn
+      thy back a moment and seem not to see: &nbsp;<i>let this poor lad escape</i>.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This to me, sir! &nbsp;I arrest thee in&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nay, be not too hasty. &nbsp;See thou be careful and commit no
+      foolish error,&rdquo;&mdash;then he shut his voice down to a whisper, and
+      said in the man&rsquo;s ear&mdash;&ldquo;the pig thou hast purchased for
+      eightpence may cost thee thy neck, man!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The poor constable, taken by surprise, was speechless, at first, then
+      found his tongue and fell to blustering and threatening; but Hendon was
+      tranquil, and waited with patience till his breath was spent; then said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have a liking to thee, friend, and would not willingly see thee
+      come to harm. &nbsp;Observe, I heard it all&mdash;every word. &nbsp;I will
+      prove it to thee.&rdquo; Then he repeated the conversation which the
+      officer and the woman had had together in the hall, word for word, and
+      ended with&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There&mdash;have I set it forth correctly? &nbsp;Should not I be
+      able to set it forth correctly before the judge, if occasion required?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The man was dumb with fear and distress, for a moment; then he rallied,
+      and said with forced lightness&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&rsquo;Tis making a mighty matter, indeed, out of a jest; I but
+      plagued the woman for mine amusement.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Kept you the woman&rsquo;s pig for amusement?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The man answered sharply&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nought else, good sir&mdash;I tell thee &rsquo;twas but a jest.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I do begin to believe thee,&rdquo; said Hendon, with a perplexing
+      mixture of mockery and half-conviction in his tone; &ldquo;but tarry thou
+      here a moment whilst I run and ask his worship&mdash;for nathless, he
+      being a man experienced in law, in jests, in&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link24-290" id="link24-290"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link24-290.jpg (55K)" src="images/24-290.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He was moving away, still talking; the constable hesitated, fidgeted, spat
+      out an oath or two, then cried out&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hold, hold, good sir&mdash;prithee wait a little&mdash;the judge!
+      &nbsp;Why, man, he hath no more sympathy with a jest than hath a dead
+      corpse!&mdash;come, and we will speak further. &nbsp;Ods body! &nbsp;I
+      seem to be in evil case&mdash;and all for an innocent and thoughtless
+      pleasantry. I am a man of family; and my wife and little ones&mdash;List
+      to reason, good your worship: what wouldst thou of me?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Only that thou be blind and dumb and paralytic whilst one may count
+      a hundred thousand&mdash;counting slowly,&rdquo; said Hendon, with the
+      expression of a man who asks but a reasonable favour, and that a very
+      little one.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is my destruction!&rdquo; said the constable despairingly.
+      &nbsp;"Ah, be reasonable, good sir; only look at this matter, on all its
+      sides, and see how mere a jest it is&mdash;how manifestly and how plainly
+      it is so. &nbsp;And even if one granted it were not a jest, it is a fault
+      so small that e&rsquo;en the grimmest penalty it could call forth would be
+      but a rebuke and warning from the judge&rsquo;s lips.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hendon replied with a solemnity which chilled the air about him&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This jest of thine hath a name, in law,&mdash;wot you what it is?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I knew it not! &nbsp;Peradventure I have been unwise. &nbsp;I never
+      dreamed it had a name&mdash;ah, sweet heaven, I thought it was original.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, it hath a name. &nbsp;In the law this crime is called Non
+      compos mentis lex talionis sic transit gloria mundi.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, my God!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And the penalty is death!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;God be merciful to me a sinner!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;By advantage taken of one in fault, in dire peril, and at thy
+      mercy, thou hast seized goods worth above thirteenpence ha&rsquo;penny,
+      paying but a trifle for the same; and this, in the eye of the law, is
+      constructive barratry, misprision of treason, malfeasance in office, ad
+      hominem expurgatis in statu quo&mdash;and the penalty is death by the
+      halter, without ransom, commutation, or benefit of clergy.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Bear me up, bear me up, sweet sir, my legs do fail me! &nbsp;Be
+      thou merciful&mdash;spare me this doom, and I will turn my back and see
+      nought that shall happen.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link24-292" id="link24-292"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link24-292.jpg (157K)" src="images/24-292.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good! now thou&rsquo;rt wise and reasonable. &nbsp;And thou&rsquo;lt
+      restore the pig?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I will, I will indeed&mdash;nor ever touch another, though heaven
+      send it and an archangel fetch it. &nbsp;Go&mdash;I am blind for thy sake&mdash;I
+      see nothing. &nbsp;I will say thou didst break in and wrest the prisoner
+      from my hands by force. &nbsp;It is but a crazy, ancient door&mdash;I will
+      batter it down myself betwixt midnight and the morning.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do it, good soul, no harm will come of it; the judge hath a loving
+      charity for this poor lad, and will shed no tears and break no jailer&rsquo;s
+      bones for his escape.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c25" id="c25"></a> <a
+      name="link25-293" id="link25-293"></a>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link25-293.jpg (54K)" src="images/25-293.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XXV. Hendon Hall.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As soon as Hendon and the King were out of sight of the constable, his
+      Majesty was instructed to hurry to a certain place outside the town, and
+      wait there, whilst Hendon should go to the inn and settle his account.
+      Half an hour later the two friends were blithely jogging eastward on
+      Hendon&rsquo;s sorry steeds. &nbsp;The King was warm and comfortable, now,
+      for he had cast his rags and clothed himself in the second-hand suit which
+      Hendon had bought on London Bridge.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link25-296" id="link25-296"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link25-296.jpg (148K)" src="images/25-296.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hendon wished to guard against over-fatiguing the boy; he judged that hard
+      journeys, irregular meals, and illiberal measures of sleep would be bad
+      for his crazed mind; whilst rest, regularity, and moderate exercise would
+      be pretty sure to hasten its cure; he longed to see the stricken intellect
+      made well again and its diseased visions driven out of the tormented
+      little head; therefore he resolved to move by easy stages toward the home
+      whence he had so long been banished, instead of obeying the impulse of his
+      impatience and hurrying along night and day.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When he and the King had journeyed about ten miles, they reached a
+      considerable village, and halted there for the night, at a good inn.
+      &nbsp;The former relations were resumed; Hendon stood behind the King&rsquo;s
+      chair, while he dined, and waited upon him; undressed him when he was
+      ready for bed; then took the floor for his own quarters, and slept athwart
+      the door, rolled up in a blanket.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The next day, and the day after, they jogged lazily along talking over the
+      adventures they had met since their separation, and mightily enjoying each
+      other&rsquo;s narratives. &nbsp;Hendon detailed all his wide wanderings in
+      search of the King, and described how the archangel had led him a fool&rsquo;s
+      journey all over the forest, and taken him back to the hut, finally, when
+      he found he could not get rid of him. &nbsp;Then&mdash;he said&mdash;the
+      old man went into the bedchamber and came staggering back looking
+      broken-hearted, and saying he had expected to find that the boy had
+      returned and laid down in there to rest, but it was not so. &nbsp;Hendon
+      had waited at the hut all day; hope of the King&rsquo;s return died out,
+      then, and he departed upon the quest again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And old Sanctum Sanctorum <i>was</i> truly sorry your highness came
+      not back,&rdquo; said Hendon; &ldquo;I saw it in his face.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Marry I will never doubt <i>that</i>!&rdquo; said the King&mdash;and
+      then told his own story; after which, Hendon was sorry he had not
+      destroyed the archangel.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      During the last day of the trip, Hendon&rsquo;s spirits were soaring. His
+      tongue ran constantly. &nbsp;He talked about his old father, and his
+      brother Arthur, and told of many things which illustrated their high and
+      generous characters; he went into loving frenzies over his Edith, and was
+      so glad-hearted that he was even able to say some gentle and brotherly
+      things about Hugh. &nbsp;He dwelt a deal on the coming meeting at Hendon
+      Hall; what a surprise it would be to everybody, and what an outburst of
+      thanksgiving and delight there would be.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was a fair region, dotted with cottages and orchards, and the road led
+      through broad pasture lands whose receding expanses, marked with gentle
+      elevations and depressions, suggested the swelling and subsiding
+      undulations of the sea. &nbsp;In the afternoon the returning prodigal made
+      constant deflections from his course to see if by ascending some hillock
+      he might not pierce the distance and catch a glimpse of his home. &nbsp;At
+      last he was successful, and cried out excitedly&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link25-297" id="link25-297"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link25-297.jpg (108K)" src="images/25-297.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There is the village, my Prince, and there is the Hall close by!
+      You may see the towers from here; and that wood there&mdash;that is my
+      father&rsquo;s park. Ah, <i>now</i> thou&rsquo;lt know what state and
+      grandeur be! A house with seventy rooms&mdash;think of that!&mdash;and
+      seven and twenty servants! &nbsp;A brave lodging for such as we, is it not
+      so? &nbsp;Come, let us speed&mdash;my impatience will not brook further
+      delay.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All possible hurry was made; still, it was after three o&rsquo;clock
+      before the village was reached. &nbsp;The travellers scampered through it,
+      Hendon&rsquo;s tongue going all the time. &nbsp;"Here is the church&mdash;covered
+      with the same ivy&mdash;none gone, none added.&rdquo; &nbsp;"Yonder is the
+      inn, the old Red Lion,&mdash;and yonder is the market-place.&rdquo; &nbsp;"Here
+      is the Maypole, and here the pump&mdash;nothing is altered; nothing but
+      the people, at any rate; ten years make a change in people; some of these
+      I seem to know, but none know me.&rdquo; &nbsp;So his chat ran on. The end
+      of the village was soon reached; then the travellers struck into a
+      crooked, narrow road, walled in with tall hedges, and hurried briskly
+      along it for half a mile, then passed into a vast flower garden through an
+      imposing gateway, whose huge stone pillars bore sculptured armorial
+      devices. &nbsp;A noble mansion was before them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Welcome to Hendon Hall, my King!&rdquo; exclaimed Miles. &nbsp;"Ah,
+      &rsquo;tis a great day! &nbsp;My father and my brother, and the Lady Edith
+      will be so mad with joy that they will have eyes and tongue for none but
+      me in the first transports of the meeting, and so thou&rsquo;lt seem but
+      coldly welcomed&mdash;but mind it not; &rsquo;twill soon seem otherwise;
+      for when I say thou art my ward, and tell them how costly is my love for
+      thee, thou&rsquo;lt see them take thee to their breasts for Miles Hendon&rsquo;s
+      sake, and make their house and hearts thy home for ever after!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The next moment Hendon sprang to the ground before the great door, helped
+      the King down, then took him by the hand and rushed within. A few steps
+      brought him to a spacious apartment; he entered, seated the King with more
+      hurry than ceremony, then ran toward a young man who sat at a
+      writing-table in front of a generous fire of logs.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link25-299" id="link25-299"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link25-299.jpg (107K)" src="images/25-299.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Embrace me, Hugh,&rdquo; he cried, &ldquo;and say thou&rsquo;rt
+      glad I am come again! and call our father, for home is not home till I
+      shall touch his hand, and see his face, and hear his voice once more!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But Hugh only drew back, after betraying a momentary surprise, and bent a
+      grave stare upon the intruder&mdash;a stare which indicated somewhat of
+      offended dignity, at first, then changed, in response to some inward
+      thought or purpose, to an expression of marvelling curiosity, mixed with a
+      real or assumed compassion. &nbsp;Presently he said, in a mild voice&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thy wits seem touched, poor stranger; doubtless thou hast suffered
+      privations and rude buffetings at the world&rsquo;s hands; thy looks and
+      dress betoken it. &nbsp;Whom dost thou take me to be?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Take thee? &nbsp;Prithee for whom else than whom thou art? &nbsp;I
+      take thee to be Hugh Hendon,&rdquo; said Miles, sharply.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The other continued, in the same soft tone&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And whom dost thou imagine thyself to be?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Imagination hath nought to do with it! &nbsp;Dost thou pretend thou
+      knowest me not for thy brother Miles Hendon?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      An expression of pleased surprise flitted across Hugh&rsquo;s face, and he
+      exclaimed&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What! thou art not jesting? can the dead come to life? &nbsp;God be
+      praised if it be so! &nbsp;Our poor lost boy restored to our arms after
+      all these cruel years! &nbsp;Ah, it seems too good to be true, it <i>is</i>
+      too good to be true&mdash;I charge thee, have pity, do not trifle with me!
+      &nbsp;Quick&mdash;come to the light&mdash;let me scan thee well!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He seized Miles by the arm, dragged him to the window, and began to devour
+      him from head to foot with his eyes, turning him this way and that, and
+      stepping briskly around him and about him to prove him from all points of
+      view; whilst the returned prodigal, all aglow with gladness, smiled,
+      laughed, and kept nodding his head and saying&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Go on, brother, go on, and fear not; thou&rsquo;lt find nor limb
+      nor feature that cannot bide the test. &nbsp;Scour and scan me to thy
+      content, my good old Hugh&mdash;I am indeed thy old Miles, thy same old
+      Miles, thy lost brother, is&rsquo;t not so? &nbsp;Ah, &rsquo;tis a great
+      day&mdash;I <i>said</i> &rsquo;twas a great day! &nbsp;Give me thy hand,
+      give me thy cheek&mdash;lord, I am like to die of very joy!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He was about to throw himself upon his brother; but Hugh put up his hand
+      in dissent, then dropped his chin mournfully upon his breast, saying with
+      emotion&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link25-301" id="link25-301"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link25-301.jpg (97K)" src="images/25-301.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, God of his mercy give me strength to bear this grievous
+      disappointment!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Miles, amazed, could not speak for a moment; then he found his tongue, and
+      cried out&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;<i>What</i> disappointment? &nbsp;Am I not thy brother?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hugh shook his head sadly, and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I pray heaven it may prove so, and that other eyes may find the
+      resemblances that are hid from mine. &nbsp;Alack, I fear me the letter
+      spoke but too truly.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What letter?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;One that came from over sea, some six or seven years ago. &nbsp;It
+      said my brother died in battle.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It was a lie! &nbsp;Call thy father&mdash;he will know me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;One may not call the dead.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Dead?&rdquo; Miles&rsquo;s voice was subdued, and his lips
+      trembled. &nbsp;"My father dead!&mdash;oh, this is heavy news. &nbsp;Half
+      my new joy is withered now. &nbsp;Prithee let me see my brother Arthur&mdash;he
+      will know me; he will know me and console me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He, also, is dead.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;God be merciful to me, a stricken man! &nbsp;Gone,&mdash;both gone&mdash;the
+      worthy taken and the worthless spared, in me! &nbsp;Ah! I crave your
+      mercy!&mdash;do not say the Lady Edith&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is dead? &nbsp;No, she lives.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then, God be praised, my joy is whole again! &nbsp;Speed thee,
+      brother&mdash;let her come to me! &nbsp;An&rsquo; <i>she</i> say I am not
+      myself&mdash;but she will not; no, no, <i>she</i> will know me, I were a
+      fool to doubt it. Bring her&mdash;bring the old servants; they, too, will
+      know me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All are gone but five&mdash;Peter, Halsey, David, Bernard, and
+      Margaret.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So saying, Hugh left the room. &nbsp;Miles stood musing a while, then
+      began to walk the floor, muttering&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The five arch-villains have survived the two-and-twenty leal and
+      honest&mdash;&rsquo;tis an odd thing.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He continued walking back and forth, muttering to himself; he had
+      forgotten the King entirely. &nbsp;By-and-by his Majesty said gravely, and
+      with a touch of genuine compassion, though the words themselves were
+      capable of being interpreted ironically&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mind not thy mischance, good man; there be others in the world
+      whose identity is denied, and whose claims are derided. &nbsp;Thou hast
+      company.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, my King,&rdquo; cried Hendon, colouring slightly, &ldquo;do not
+      thou condemn me&mdash;wait, and thou shalt see. &nbsp;I am no impostor&mdash;she
+      will say it; you shall hear it from the sweetest lips in England. &nbsp;I
+      an impostor? &nbsp;Why, I know this old hall, these pictures of my
+      ancestors, and all these things that are about us, as a child knoweth its
+      own nursery. &nbsp;Here was I born and bred, my lord; I speak the truth; I
+      would not deceive thee; and should none else believe, I pray thee do not
+      <i>thou</i> doubt me&mdash;I could not bear it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I do not doubt thee,&rdquo; said the King, with a childlike
+      simplicity and faith.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I thank thee out of my heart!&rdquo; exclaimed Hendon with a
+      fervency which showed that he was touched. &nbsp;The King added, with the
+      same gentle simplicity&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Dost thou doubt <i>me</i>?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A guilty confusion seized upon Hendon, and he was grateful that the door
+      opened to admit Hugh, at that moment, and saved him the necessity of
+      replying.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link25-303" id="link25-303"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link25-303.jpg (113K)" src="images/25-303.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A beautiful lady, richly clothed, followed Hugh, and after her came
+      several liveried servants. &nbsp;The lady walked slowly, with her head
+      bowed and her eyes fixed upon the floor. &nbsp;The face was unspeakably
+      sad. &nbsp;Miles Hendon sprang forward, crying out&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, my Edith, my darling&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But Hugh waved him back, gravely, and said to the lady&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Look upon him. &nbsp;Do you know him?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At the sound of Miles&rsquo;s voice the woman had started slightly, and
+      her cheeks had flushed; she was trembling now. &nbsp;She stood still,
+      during an impressive pause of several moments; then slowly lifted up her
+      head and looked into Hendon&rsquo;s eyes with a stony and frightened gaze;
+      the blood sank out of her face, drop by drop, till nothing remained but
+      the grey pallor of death; then she said, in a voice as dead as the face,
+      &ldquo;I know him not!&rdquo; and turned, with a moan and a stifled sob,
+      and tottered out of the room.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Miles Hendon sank into a chair and covered his face with his hands. After
+      a pause, his brother said to the servants&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You have observed him. &nbsp;Do you know him?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They shook their heads; then the master said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The servants know you not, sir. &nbsp;I fear there is some mistake.
+      You have seen that my wife knew you not.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link25-305" id="link25-305"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link25-305.jpg (121K)" src="images/25-305.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thy <i>wife</i>!&rdquo; &nbsp;In an instant Hugh was pinned to the
+      wall, with an iron grip about his throat. &nbsp;"Oh, thou fox-hearted
+      slave, I see it all! &nbsp;Thou&rsquo;st writ the lying letter thyself,
+      and my stolen bride and goods are its fruit. &nbsp;There&mdash;now get
+      thee gone, lest I shame mine honourable soldiership with the slaying of so
+      pitiful a mannikin!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hugh, red-faced, and almost suffocated, reeled to the nearest chair, and
+      commanded the servants to seize and bind the murderous stranger. &nbsp;They
+      hesitated, and one of them said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He is armed, Sir Hugh, and we are weaponless.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Armed! &nbsp;What of it, and ye so many? &nbsp;Upon him, I say!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But Miles warned them to be careful what they did, and added&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ye know me of old&mdash;I have not changed; come on, an&rsquo; it
+      like you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This reminder did not hearten the servants much; they still held back.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then go, ye paltry cowards, and arm yourselves and guard the doors,
+      whilst I send one to fetch the watch!&rdquo; said Hugh. &nbsp;He turned at
+      the threshold, and said to Miles, &ldquo;You&rsquo;ll find it to your
+      advantage to offend not with useless endeavours at escape.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Escape? &nbsp;Spare thyself discomfort, an&rsquo; that is all that
+      troubles thee. For Miles Hendon is master of Hendon Hall and all its
+      belongings. &nbsp;He will remain&mdash;doubt it not.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c26" id="c26"></a> <a
+      name="link26-307" id="link26-307"></a>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link26-307.jpg (71K)" src="images/26-307.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XXVI. Disowned.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King sat musing a few moments, then looked up and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&rsquo;Tis strange&mdash;most strange. &nbsp;I cannot account for
+      it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, it is not strange, my liege. &nbsp;I know him, and this conduct
+      is but natural. &nbsp;He was a rascal from his birth.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, I spake not of <i>him</i>, Sir Miles.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not of him? &nbsp;Then of what? &nbsp;What is it that is strange?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That the King is not missed.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How? &nbsp;Which? &nbsp;I doubt I do not understand.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Indeed? &nbsp;Doth it not strike you as being passing strange that
+      the land is not filled with couriers and proclamations describing my
+      person and making search for me? &nbsp;Is it no matter for commotion and
+      distress that the Head of the State is gone; that I am vanished away and
+      lost?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Most true, my King, I had forgot.&rdquo; &nbsp;Then Hendon sighed,
+      and muttered to himself, &ldquo;Poor ruined mind&mdash;still busy with its
+      pathetic dream.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But I have a plan that shall right us both&mdash;I will write a
+      paper, in three tongues&mdash;Latin, Greek and English&mdash;and thou
+      shalt haste away with it to London in the morning. &nbsp;Give it to none
+      but my uncle, the Lord Hertford; when he shall see it, he will know and
+      say I wrote it. &nbsp;Then he will send for me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Might it not be best, my Prince, that we wait here until I prove
+      myself and make my rights secure to my domains? &nbsp;I should be so much
+      the better able then to&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link26-310" id="link26-310"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link26-310.jpg (134K)" src="images/26-310.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King interrupted him imperiously&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Peace! &nbsp;What are thy paltry domains, thy trivial interests,
+      contrasted with matters which concern the weal of a nation and the
+      integrity of a throne?&rdquo; &nbsp;Then, he added, in a gentle voice, as
+      if he were sorry for his severity, &ldquo;Obey, and have no fear; I will
+      right thee, I will make thee whole&mdash;yes, more than whole. &nbsp;I
+      shall remember, and requite.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So saying, he took the pen, and set himself to work. &nbsp;Hendon
+      contemplated him lovingly a while, then said to himself&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;An&rsquo; it were dark, I should think it <i>was</i> a king that
+      spoke; there&rsquo;s no denying it, when the humour&rsquo;s upon on him he
+      doth thunder and lighten like your true King; now where got he that trick?
+      &nbsp;See him scribble and scratch away contentedly at his meaningless
+      pot-hooks, fancying them to be Latin and Greek&mdash;and except my wit
+      shall serve me with a lucky device for diverting him from his purpose, I
+      shall be forced to pretend to post away to-morrow on this wild errand he
+      hath invented for me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The next moment Sir Miles&rsquo;s thoughts had gone back to the recent
+      episode. So absorbed was he in his musings, that when the King presently
+      handed him the paper which he had been writing, he received it and
+      pocketed it without being conscious of the act. &ldquo;How marvellous
+      strange she acted,&rdquo; he muttered. &nbsp;"I think she knew me&mdash;and
+      I think she did <i>not</i> know me. These opinions do conflict, I perceive
+      it plainly; I cannot reconcile them, neither can I, by argument, dismiss
+      either of the two, or even persuade one to outweigh the other. &nbsp;The
+      matter standeth simply thus: she <i>must</i> have known my face, my
+      figure, my voice, for how could it be otherwise? &nbsp;Yet she <i>said</i>she
+      knew me not, and that is proof perfect, for she cannot lie. &nbsp;But stop&mdash;I
+      think I begin to see. Peradventure he hath influenced her, commanded her,
+      compelled her to lie. &nbsp;That is the solution. &nbsp;The riddle is
+      unriddled. &nbsp;She seemed dead with fear&mdash;yes, she was under his
+      compulsion. &nbsp;I will seek her; I will find her; now that he is away,
+      she will speak her true mind. &nbsp;She will remember the old times when
+      we were little playfellows together, and this will soften her heart, and
+      she will no more betray me, but will confess me. &nbsp;There is no
+      treacherous blood in her&mdash;no, she was always honest and true. &nbsp;She
+      has loved me, in those old days&mdash;this is my security; for whom one
+      has loved, one cannot betray.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He stepped eagerly toward the door; at that moment it opened, and the Lady
+      Edith entered. &nbsp;She was very pale, but she walked with a firm step,
+      and her carriage was full of grace and gentle dignity. Her face was as sad
+      as before.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Miles sprang forward, with a happy confidence, to meet her, but she
+      checked him with a hardly perceptible gesture, and he stopped where he
+      was. &nbsp;She seated herself, and asked him to do likewise. Thus simply
+      did she take the sense of old comradeship out of him, and transform him
+      into a stranger and a guest. &nbsp;The surprise of it, the bewildering
+      unexpectedness of it, made him begin to question, for a moment, if he <i>was</i>
+      the person he was pretending to be, after all. &nbsp;The Lady Edith said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sir, I have come to warn you. &nbsp;The mad cannot be persuaded out
+      of their delusions, perchance; but doubtless they may be persuaded to
+      avoid perils. &nbsp;I think this dream of yours hath the seeming of honest
+      truth to you, and therefore is not criminal&mdash;but do not tarry here
+      with it; for here it is dangerous.&rdquo; &nbsp;She looked steadily into
+      Miles&rsquo;s face a moment, then added, impressively, &ldquo;It is the
+      more dangerous for that you <i>are</i> much like what our lost lad must
+      have grown to be if he had lived.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Heavens, madam, but I <i>am</i> he!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I truly think you think it, sir. &nbsp;I question not your honesty
+      in that; I but warn you, that is all. &nbsp;My husband is master in this
+      region; his power hath hardly any limit; the people prosper or starve, as
+      he wills. If you resembled not the man whom you profess to be, my husband
+      might bid you pleasure yourself with your dream in peace; but trust me, I
+      know him well; I know what he will do; he will say to all that you are but
+      a mad impostor, and straightway all will echo him.&rdquo; &nbsp;She bent
+      upon Miles that same steady look once more, and added: &nbsp;"If you <i>were</i>
+      Miles Hendon, and he knew it and all the region knew it&mdash;consider
+      what I am saying, weigh it well&mdash;you would stand in the same peril,
+      your punishment would be no less sure; he would deny you and denounce you,
+      and none would be bold enough to give you countenance.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Most truly I believe it,&rdquo; said Miles, bitterly. &nbsp;"The
+      power that can command one life-long friend to betray and disown another,
+      and be obeyed, may well look to be obeyed in quarters where bread and life
+      are on the stake and no cobweb ties of loyalty and honour are concerned.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link26-313" id="link26-313"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link26-313.jpg (133K)" src="images/26-313.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A faint tinge appeared for a moment in the lady&rsquo;s cheek, and she
+      dropped her eyes to the floor; but her voice betrayed no emotion when she
+      proceeded&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have warned you&mdash;I must still warn you&mdash;to go hence.
+      &nbsp;This man will destroy you, else. &nbsp;He is a tyrant who knows no
+      pity. &nbsp;I, who am his fettered slave, know this. &nbsp;Poor Miles, and
+      Arthur, and my dear guardian, Sir Richard, are free of him, and at rest:
+      &nbsp;better that you were with them than that you bide here in the
+      clutches of this miscreant. &nbsp;Your pretensions are a menace to his
+      title and possessions; you have assaulted him in his own house: &nbsp;you
+      are ruined if you stay. &nbsp;Go&mdash;do not hesitate. If you lack money,
+      take this purse, I beg of you, and bribe the servants to let you pass. Oh,
+      be warned, poor soul, and escape while you may.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Miles declined the purse with a gesture, and rose up and stood before her.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Grant me one thing,&rdquo; he said. &nbsp;"Let your eyes rest upon
+      mine, so that I may see if they be steady. &nbsp;There&mdash;now answer
+      me. &nbsp;Am I Miles Hendon?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No. &nbsp;I know you not.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Swear it!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The answer was low, but distinct&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I swear.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, this passes belief!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Fly! &nbsp;Why will you waste the precious time? &nbsp;Fly, and
+      save yourself.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At that moment the officers burst into the room, and a violent struggle
+      began; but Hendon was soon overpowered and dragged away. The King was
+      taken also, and both were bound and led to prison.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c27" id="c27"></a> <a
+      name="link27-315" id="link27-315"></a>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link27-315.jpg (58K)" src="images/27-315.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XXVII. In Prison.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The cells were all crowded; so the two friends were chained in a large
+      room where persons charged with trifling offences were commonly kept. They
+      had company, for there were some twenty manacled and fettered prisoners
+      here, of both sexes and of varying ages,&mdash;an obscene and noisy gang.
+      &nbsp;The King chafed bitterly over the stupendous indignity thus put upon
+      his royalty, but Hendon was moody and taciturn. &nbsp;He was pretty
+      thoroughly bewildered; he had come home, a jubilant prodigal, expecting to
+      find everybody wild with joy over his return; and instead had got the cold
+      shoulder and a jail. &nbsp;The promise and the fulfilment differed so
+      widely that the effect was stunning; he could not decide whether it was
+      most tragic or most grotesque. &nbsp;He felt much as a man might who had
+      danced blithely out to enjoy a rainbow, and got struck by lightning.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But gradually his confused and tormenting thoughts settled down into some
+      sort of order, and then his mind centred itself upon Edith. &nbsp;He
+      turned her conduct over, and examined it in all lights, but he could not
+      make anything satisfactory out of it. &nbsp;Did she know him&mdash;or didn&rsquo;t
+      she know him? &nbsp;It was a perplexing puzzle, and occupied him a long
+      time; but he ended, finally, with the conviction that she did know him,
+      and had repudiated him for interested reasons. &nbsp;He wanted to load her
+      name with curses now; but this name had so long been sacred to him that he
+      found he could not bring his tongue to profane it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link27-318" id="link27-318"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link27-318.jpg (125K)" src="images/27-318.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Wrapped in prison blankets of a soiled and tattered condition, Hendon and
+      the King passed a troubled night. &nbsp;For a bribe the jailer had
+      furnished liquor to some of the prisoners; singing of ribald songs,
+      fighting, shouting, and carousing was the natural consequence. &nbsp;At
+      last, a while after midnight, a man attacked a woman and nearly killed her
+      by beating her over the head with his manacles before the jailer could
+      come to the rescue. &nbsp;The jailer restored peace by giving the man a
+      sound clubbing about the head and shoulders&mdash;then the carousing
+      ceased; and after that, all had an opportunity to sleep who did not mind
+      the annoyance of the moanings and groanings of the two wounded people.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      During the ensuing week, the days and nights were of a monotonous sameness
+      as to events; men whose faces Hendon remembered more or less distinctly,
+      came, by day, to gaze at the &lsquo;impostor&rsquo; and repudiate and
+      insult him; and by night the carousing and brawling went on with
+      symmetrical regularity. &nbsp;However, there was a change of incident at
+      last. The jailer brought in an old man, and said to him&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The villain is in this room&mdash;cast thy old eyes about and see
+      if thou canst say which is he.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hendon glanced up, and experienced a pleasant sensation for the first time
+      since he had been in the jail. &nbsp;He said to himself, &ldquo;This is
+      Blake Andrews, a servant all his life in my father&rsquo;s family&mdash;a
+      good honest soul, with a right heart in his breast. That is, formerly.
+      &nbsp;But none are true now; all are liars. &nbsp;This man will know me&mdash;and
+      will deny me, too, like the rest.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The old man gazed around the room, glanced at each face in turn, and
+      finally said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I see none here but paltry knaves, scum o&rsquo; the streets.
+      &nbsp;Which is he?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The jailer laughed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Here,&rdquo; he said; &ldquo;scan this big animal, and grant me an
+      opinion.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link27-320" id="link27-320"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link27-320.jpg (112K)" src="images/27-320.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The old man approached, and looked Hendon over, long and earnestly, then
+      shook his head and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Marry, <i>this</i> is no Hendon&mdash;nor ever was!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Right! &nbsp;Thy old eyes are sound yet. &nbsp;An&rsquo; I were Sir
+      Hugh, I would take the shabby carle and&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The jailer finished by lifting himself a-tip-toe with an imaginary halter,
+      at the same time making a gurgling noise in his throat suggestive of
+      suffocation. &nbsp;The old man said, vindictively&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Let him bless God an&rsquo; he fare no worse. &nbsp;An&rsquo; <i>I</i>
+      had the handling o&rsquo; the villain he should roast, or I am no true
+      man!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The jailer laughed a pleasant hyena laugh, and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Give him a piece of thy mind, old man&mdash;they all do it. &nbsp;Thou&rsquo;lt
+      find it good diversion.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then he sauntered toward his ante-room and disappeared. &nbsp;The old man
+      dropped upon his knees and whispered&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;God be thanked, thou&rsquo;rt come again, my master! &nbsp;I
+      believed thou wert dead these seven years, and lo, here thou art alive!
+      &nbsp;I knew thee the moment I saw thee; and main hard work it was to keep
+      a stony countenance and seem to see none here but tuppenny knaves and
+      rubbish o&rsquo; the streets. I am old and poor, Sir Miles; but say the
+      word and I will go forth and proclaim the truth though I be strangled for
+      it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; said Hendon; &ldquo;thou shalt not. &nbsp;It would ruin
+      thee, and yet help but little in my cause. &nbsp;But I thank thee, for
+      thou hast given me back somewhat of my lost faith in my kind.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The old servant became very valuable to Hendon and the King; for he
+      dropped in several times a day to &lsquo;abuse&rsquo; the former, and
+      always smuggled in a few delicacies to help out the prison bill of fare;
+      he also furnished the current news. &nbsp;Hendon reserved the dainties for
+      the King; without them his Majesty might not have survived, for he was not
+      able to eat the coarse and wretched food provided by the jailer. &nbsp;Andrews
+      was obliged to confine himself to brief visits, in order to avoid
+      suspicion; but he managed to impart a fair degree of information each time&mdash;information
+      delivered in a low voice, for Hendon&rsquo;s benefit, and interlarded with
+      insulting epithets delivered in a louder voice for the benefit of other
+      hearers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link27-321" id="link27-321"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link27-321.jpg (102K)" src="images/27-321.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So, little by little, the story of the family came out. &nbsp;Arthur had
+      been dead six years. &nbsp;This loss, with the absence of news from
+      Hendon, impaired the father&rsquo;s health; he believed he was going to
+      die, and he wished to see Hugh and Edith settled in life before he passed
+      away; but Edith begged hard for delay, hoping for Miles&rsquo;s return;
+      then the letter came which brought the news of Miles&rsquo;s death; the
+      shock prostrated Sir Richard; he believed his end was very near, and he
+      and Hugh insisted upon the marriage; Edith begged for and obtained a month&rsquo;s
+      respite, then another, and finally a third; the marriage then took place
+      by the death-bed of Sir Richard. &nbsp;It had not proved a happy one.
+      &nbsp;It was whispered about the country that shortly after the nuptials
+      the bride found among her husband&rsquo;s papers several rough and
+      incomplete drafts of the fatal letter, and had accused him of
+      precipitating the marriage&mdash;and Sir Richard&rsquo;s death, too&mdash;by
+      a wicked forgery. Tales of cruelty to the Lady Edith and the servants were
+      to be heard on all hands; and since the father&rsquo;s death Sir Hugh had
+      thrown off all soft disguises and become a pitiless master toward all who
+      in any way depended upon him and his domains for bread.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a bit of Andrew&rsquo;s gossip which the King listened to with a
+      lively interest&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There is rumour that the King is mad. &nbsp;But in charity forbear
+      to say <i>I</i> mentioned it, for &rsquo;tis death to speak of it, they
+      say.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      His Majesty glared at the old man and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The King is <i>not</i> mad, good man&mdash;and thou&rsquo;lt find
+      it to thy advantage to busy thyself with matters that nearer concern thee
+      than this seditious prattle.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What doth the lad mean?&rdquo; said Andrews, surprised at this
+      brisk assault from such an unexpected quarter. &nbsp;Hendon gave him a
+      sign, and he did not pursue his question, but went on with his budget&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The late King is to be buried at Windsor in a day or two&mdash;the
+      16th of the month&mdash;and the new King will be crowned at Westminster
+      the 20th.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Methinks they must needs find him first,&rdquo; muttered his
+      Majesty; then added, confidently, &ldquo;but they will look to that&mdash;and
+      so also shall I.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In the name of&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But the old man got no further&mdash;a warning sign from Hendon checked
+      his remark. &nbsp;He resumed the thread of his gossip&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sir Hugh goeth to the coronation&mdash;and with grand hopes. &nbsp;He
+      confidently looketh to come back a peer, for he is high in favour with the
+      Lord Protector.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What Lord Protector?&rdquo; asked his Majesty.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;His Grace the Duke of Somerset.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What Duke of Somerset?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Marry, there is but one&mdash;Seymour, Earl of Hertford.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King asked sharply&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Since when is <i>he</i> a duke, and Lord Protector?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Since the last day of January.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And prithee who made him so?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Himself and the Great Council&mdash;with help of the King.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      His Majesty started violently. &nbsp;"The <i>King</i>!&rdquo; he cried.
+      &nbsp;&ldquo;<i>What</i> king, good sir?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link27-323" id="link27-323"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link27-323.jpg (114K)" src="images/27-323.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What king, indeed! (God-a-mercy, what aileth the boy?) &nbsp;Sith
+      we have but one, &rsquo;tis not difficult to answer&mdash;his most sacred
+      Majesty King Edward the Sixth&mdash;whom God preserve! &nbsp;Yea, and a
+      dear and gracious little urchin is he, too; and whether he be mad or no&mdash;and
+      they say he mendeth daily&mdash;his praises are on all men&rsquo;s lips;
+      and all bless him, likewise, and offer prayers that he may be spared to
+      reign long in England; for he began humanely with saving the old Duke of
+      Norfolk&rsquo;s life, and now is he bent on destroying the cruellest of
+      the laws that harry and oppress the people.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This news struck his Majesty dumb with amazement, and plunged him into so
+      deep and dismal a reverie that he heard no more of the old man&rsquo;s
+      gossip. He wondered if the &lsquo;little urchin&rsquo; was the beggar-boy
+      whom he left dressed in his own garments in the palace. &nbsp;It did not
+      seem possible that this could be, for surely his manners and speech would
+      betray him if he pretended to be the Prince of Wales&mdash;then he would
+      be driven out, and search made for the true prince. &nbsp;Could it be that
+      the Court had set up some sprig of the nobility in his place? &nbsp;No,
+      for his uncle would not allow that&mdash;he was all-powerful and could and
+      would crush such a movement, of course. &nbsp;The boy&rsquo;s musings
+      profited him nothing; the more he tried to unriddle the mystery the more
+      perplexed he became, the more his head ached, and the worse he slept.
+      &nbsp;His impatience to get to London grew hourly, and his captivity
+      became almost unendurable.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hendon&rsquo;s arts all failed with the King&mdash;he could not be
+      comforted; but a couple of women who were chained near him succeeded
+      better. Under their gentle ministrations he found peace and learned a
+      degree of patience. &nbsp;He was very grateful, and came to love them
+      dearly and to delight in the sweet and soothing influence of their
+      presence. &nbsp;He asked them why they were in prison, and when they said
+      they were Baptists, he smiled, and inquired&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is that a crime to be shut up for in a prison? &nbsp;Now I grieve,
+      for I shall lose ye&mdash;they will not keep ye long for such a little
+      thing.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They did not answer; and something in their faces made him uneasy. He
+      said, eagerly&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You do not speak; be good to me, and tell me&mdash;there will be no
+      other punishment? &nbsp;Prithee tell me there is no fear of that.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They tried to change the topic, but his fears were aroused, and he pursued
+      it&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Will they scourge thee? &nbsp;No, no, they would not be so cruel!
+      &nbsp;Say they would not. &nbsp;Come, they <i>will</i> not, will they?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The women betrayed confusion and distress, but there was no avoiding an
+      answer, so one of them said, in a voice choked with emotion&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, thou&rsquo;lt break our hearts, thou gentle spirit!&mdash;God
+      will help us to bear our&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is a confession!&rdquo; the King broke in. &nbsp;"Then they <i>will</i>
+      scourge thee, the stony-hearted wretches! &nbsp;But oh, thou must not
+      weep, I cannot bear it. &nbsp;Keep up thy courage&mdash;I shall come to my
+      own in time to save thee from this bitter thing, and I will do it!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When the King awoke in the morning, the women were gone.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They are saved!&rdquo; he said, joyfully; then added, despondently,
+      &ldquo;but woe is me!&mdash;for they were my comforters.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Each of them had left a shred of ribbon pinned to his clothing, in token
+      of remembrance. &nbsp;He said he would keep these things always; and that
+      soon he would seek out these dear good friends of his and take them under
+      his protection.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Just then the jailer came in with some subordinates, and commanded that
+      the prisoners be conducted to the jail-yard. &nbsp;The King was overjoyed&mdash;it
+      would be a blessed thing to see the blue sky and breathe the fresh air
+      once more. &nbsp;He fretted and chafed at the slowness of the officers,
+      but his turn came at last, and he was released from his staple and ordered
+      to follow the other prisoners with Hendon.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The court or quadrangle was stone-paved, and open to the sky. &nbsp;The
+      prisoners entered it through a massive archway of masonry, and were placed
+      in file, standing, with their backs against the wall. A rope was stretched
+      in front of them, and they were also guarded by their officers. It was a
+      chill and lowering morning, and a light snow which had fallen during the
+      night whitened the great empty space and added to the general dismalness
+      of its aspect. Now and then a wintry wind shivered through the place and
+      sent the snow eddying hither and thither.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link27-326" id="link27-326"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link27-326.jpg (53K)" src="images/27-326.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the centre of the court stood two women, chained to posts. &nbsp;A
+      glance showed the King that these were his good friends. &nbsp;He
+      shuddered, and said to himself, &ldquo;Alack, they are not gone free, as I
+      had thought. &nbsp;To think that such as these should know the lash!&mdash;in
+      England! &nbsp;Ay, there&rsquo;s the shame of it&mdash;not in
+      Heathennesse, Christian England! &nbsp;They will be scourged; and I, whom
+      they have comforted and kindly entreated, must look on and see the great
+      wrong done; it is strange, so strange, that I, the very source of power in
+      this broad realm, am helpless to protect them. But let these miscreants
+      look well to themselves, for there is a day coming when I will require of
+      them a heavy reckoning for this work. &nbsp;For every blow they strike
+      now, they shall feel a hundred then.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A great gate swung open, and a crowd of citizens poured in. &nbsp;They
+      flocked around the two women, and hid them from the King&rsquo;s view. A
+      clergyman entered and passed through the crowd, and he also was hidden.
+      &nbsp;The King now heard talking, back and forth, as if questions were
+      being asked and answered, but he could not make out what was said. &nbsp;Next
+      there was a deal of bustle and preparation, and much passing and repassing
+      of officials through that part of the crowd that stood on the further side
+      of the women; and whilst this proceeded a deep hush gradually fell upon
+      the people.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now, by command, the masses parted and fell aside, and the King saw a
+      spectacle that froze the marrow in his bones. &nbsp;Faggots had been piled
+      about the two women, and a kneeling man was lighting them!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The women bowed their heads, and covered their faces with their hands; the
+      yellow flames began to climb upward among the snapping and crackling
+      faggots, and wreaths of blue smoke to stream away on the wind; the
+      clergyman lifted his hands and began a prayer&mdash;just then two young
+      girls came flying through the great gate, uttering piercing screams, and
+      threw themselves upon the women at the stake. &nbsp;Instantly they were
+      torn away by the officers, and one of them was kept in a tight grip, but
+      the other broke loose, saying she would die with her mother; and before
+      she could be stopped she had flung her arms about her mother&rsquo;s neck
+      again. &nbsp;She was torn away once more, and with her gown on fire.
+      &nbsp;Two or three men held her, and the burning portion of her gown was
+      snatched off and thrown flaming aside, she struggling all the while to
+      free herself, and saying she would be alone in the world, now; and begging
+      to be allowed to die with her mother. &nbsp;Both the girls screamed
+      continually, and fought for freedom; but suddenly this tumult was drowned
+      under a volley of heart-piercing shrieks of mortal agony&mdash;the King
+      glanced from the frantic girls to the stake, then turned away and leaned
+      his ashen face against the wall, and looked no more. &nbsp;He said,
+      &ldquo;That which I have seen, in that one little moment, will never go
+      out from my memory, but will abide there; and I shall see it all the days,
+      and dream of it all the nights, till I die. &nbsp;Would God I had been
+      blind!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link27-328" id="link27-328"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link27-328.jpg (118K)" src="images/27-328.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hendon was watching the King. &nbsp;He said to himself, with satisfaction,
+      &ldquo;His disorder mendeth; he hath changed, and groweth gentler. &nbsp;If
+      he had followed his wont, he would have stormed at these varlets, and said
+      he was King, and commanded that the women be turned loose unscathed.
+      &nbsp;Soon his delusion will pass away and be forgotten, and his poor mind
+      will be whole again. &nbsp;God speed the day!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      That same day several prisoners were brought in to remain over night, who
+      were being conveyed, under guard, to various places in the kingdom, to
+      undergo punishment for crimes committed. &nbsp;The King conversed with
+      these&mdash;he had made it a point, from the beginning, to instruct
+      himself for the kingly office by questioning prisoners whenever the
+      opportunity offered&mdash;and the tale of their woes wrung his heart.
+      &nbsp;One of them was a poor half-witted woman who had stolen a yard or
+      two of cloth from a weaver&mdash;she was to be hanged for it. &nbsp;Another
+      was a man who had been accused of stealing a horse; he said the proof had
+      failed, and he had imagined that he was safe from the halter; but no&mdash;he
+      was hardly free before he was arraigned for killing a deer in the King&rsquo;s
+      park; this was proved against him, and now he was on his way to the
+      gallows. &nbsp;There was a tradesman&rsquo;s apprentice whose case
+      particularly distressed the King; this youth said he found a hawk, one
+      evening, that had escaped from its owner, and he took it home with him,
+      imagining himself entitled to it; but the court convicted him of stealing
+      it, and sentenced him to death.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link27-329" id="link27-329"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link27-329.jpg (60K)" src="images/27-329.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King was furious over these inhumanities, and wanted Hendon to break
+      jail and fly with him to Westminster, so that he could mount his throne
+      and hold out his sceptre in mercy over these unfortunate people and save
+      their lives. &nbsp;"Poor child,&rdquo; sighed Hendon, &ldquo;these woeful
+      tales have brought his malady upon him again; alack, but for this evil
+      hap, he would have been well in a little time.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Among these prisoners was an old lawyer&mdash;a man with a strong face and
+      a dauntless mien. &nbsp;Three years past, he had written a pamphlet
+      against the Lord Chancellor, accusing him of injustice, and had been
+      punished for it by the loss of his ears in the pillory, and degradation
+      from the bar, and in addition had been fined 3,000 pounds and sentenced to
+      imprisonment for life. &nbsp;Lately he had repeated his offence; and in
+      consequence was now under sentence to lose <i>what remained of his ears</i>,
+      pay a fine of 5,000 pounds, be branded on both cheeks, and remain in
+      prison for life.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;These be honourable scars,&rdquo; he said, and turned back his grey
+      hair and showed the mutilated stubs of what had once been his ears.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King&rsquo;s eye burned with passion. &nbsp;He said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;None believe in me&mdash;neither wilt thou. &nbsp;But no matter&mdash;within
+      the compass of a month thou shalt be free; and more, the laws that have
+      dishonoured thee, and shamed the English name, shall be swept from the
+      statute books. &nbsp;The world is made wrong; kings should go to school to
+      their own laws, at times, and so learn mercy.&rdquo; {1}
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c28" id="c28"></a> <a
+      name="link28-331" id="link28-331"></a>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link28-331.jpg (48K)" src="images/28-331.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XXVIII. The sacrifice.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Meantime Miles was growing sufficiently tired of confinement and inaction.
+      &nbsp;But now his trial came on, to his great gratification, and he
+      thought he could welcome any sentence provided a further imprisonment
+      should not be a part of it. &nbsp;But he was mistaken about that. &nbsp;He
+      was in a fine fury when he found himself described as a &lsquo;sturdy
+      vagabond&rsquo; and sentenced to sit two hours in the stocks for bearing
+      that character and for assaulting the master of Hendon Hall. &nbsp;His
+      pretensions as to brothership with his prosecutor, and rightful heirship
+      to the Hendon honours and estates, were left contemptuously unnoticed, as
+      being not even worth examination.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He raged and threatened on his way to punishment, but it did no good; he
+      was snatched roughly along by the officers, and got an occasional cuff,
+      besides, for his irreverent conduct.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King could not pierce through the rabble that swarmed behind; so he
+      was obliged to follow in the rear, remote from his good friend and
+      servant. &nbsp;The King had been nearly condemned to the stocks himself
+      for being in such bad company, but had been let off with a lecture and a
+      warning, in consideration of his youth. &nbsp;When the crowd at last
+      halted, he flitted feverishly from point to point around its outer rim,
+      hunting a place to get through; and at last, after a deal of difficulty
+      and delay, succeeded. &nbsp;There sat his poor henchman in the degrading
+      stocks, the sport and butt of a dirty mob&mdash;he, the body servant of
+      the King of England! &nbsp;Edward had heard the sentence pronounced, but
+      he had not realised the half that it meant. &nbsp;His anger began to rise
+      as the sense of this new indignity which had been put upon him sank home;
+      it jumped to summer heat, the next moment, when he saw an egg sail through
+      the air and crush itself against Hendon&rsquo;s cheek, and heard the crowd
+      roar its enjoyment of the episode. &nbsp;He sprang across the open circle
+      and confronted the officer in charge, crying&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link28-334" id="link28-334"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link28-334.jpg (119K)" src="images/28-334.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;For shame! &nbsp;This is my servant&mdash;set him free! &nbsp;I am
+      the&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, peace!&rdquo; exclaimed Hendon, in a panic, &ldquo;thou&rsquo;lt
+      destroy thyself. Mind him not, officer, he is mad.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Give thyself no trouble as to the matter of minding him, good man,
+      I have small mind to mind him; but as to teaching him somewhat, to that I
+      am well inclined.&rdquo; &nbsp;He turned to a subordinate and said,
+      &ldquo;Give the little fool a taste or two of the lash, to mend his
+      manners.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Half a dozen will better serve his turn,&rdquo; suggested Sir Hugh,
+      who had ridden up, a moment before, to take a passing glance at the
+      proceedings.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King was seized. &nbsp;He did not even struggle, so paralysed was he
+      with the mere thought of the monstrous outrage that was proposed to be
+      inflicted upon his sacred person. &nbsp;History was already defiled with
+      the record of the scourging of an English king with whips&mdash;it was an
+      intolerable reflection that he must furnish a duplicate of that shameful
+      page. &nbsp;He was in the toils, there was no help for him; he must either
+      take this punishment or beg for its remission. &nbsp;Hard conditions; he
+      would take the stripes&mdash;a king might do that, but a king could not
+      beg.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But meantime, Miles Hendon was resolving the difficulty. &nbsp;"Let the
+      child go,&rdquo; said he; &ldquo;ye heartless dogs, do ye not see how
+      young and frail he is? &nbsp;Let him go&mdash;I will take his lashes.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Marry, a good thought&mdash;and thanks for it,&rdquo; said Sir
+      Hugh, his face lighting with a sardonic satisfaction. &nbsp;"Let the
+      little beggar go, and give this fellow a dozen in his place&mdash;an
+      honest dozen, well laid on.&rdquo; The King was in the act of entering a
+      fierce protest, but Sir Hugh silenced him with the potent remark, &ldquo;Yes,
+      speak up, do, and free thy mind&mdash;only, mark ye, that for each word
+      you utter he shall get six strokes the more.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link28-336" id="link28-336"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link28-336.jpg (85K)" src="images/28-336.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hendon was removed from the stocks, and his back laid bare; and whilst the
+      lash was applied the poor little King turned away his face and allowed
+      unroyal tears to channel his cheeks unchecked. &ldquo;Ah, brave good
+      heart,&rdquo; he said to himself, &ldquo;this loyal deed shall never
+      perish out of my memory. &nbsp;I will not forget it&mdash;and neither
+      shall <i>they</i>!&rdquo; he added, with passion. &nbsp;Whilst he mused,
+      his appreciation of Hendon&rsquo;s magnanimous conduct grew to greater and
+      still greater dimensions in his mind, and so also did his gratefulness for
+      it. &nbsp;Presently he said to himself, &ldquo;Who saves his prince from
+      wounds and possible death&mdash;and this he did for me&mdash;performs high
+      service; but it is little&mdash;it is nothing&mdash;oh, less than nothing!&mdash;when
+      &rsquo;tis weighed against the act of him who saves his prince from <i>shame</i>!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hendon made no outcry under the scourge, but bore the heavy blows with
+      soldierly fortitude. &nbsp;This, together with his redeeming the boy by
+      taking his stripes for him, compelled the respect of even that forlorn and
+      degraded mob that was gathered there; and its gibes and hootings died
+      away, and no sound remained but the sound of the falling blows. &nbsp;The
+      stillness that pervaded the place, when Hendon found himself once more in
+      the stocks, was in strong contrast with the insulting clamour which had
+      prevailed there so little a while before. &nbsp;The King came softly to
+      Hendon&rsquo;s side, and whispered in his ear&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Kings cannot ennoble thee, thou good, great soul, for One who is
+      higher than kings hath done that for thee; but a king can confirm thy
+      nobility to men.&rdquo; &nbsp;He picked up the scourge from the ground,
+      touched Hendon&rsquo;s bleeding shoulders lightly with it, and whispered,
+      &ldquo;Edward of England dubs thee Earl!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hendon was touched. &nbsp;The water welled to his eyes, yet at the same
+      time the grisly humour of the situation and circumstances so undermined
+      his gravity that it was all he could do to keep some sign of his inward
+      mirth from showing outside. &nbsp;To be suddenly hoisted, naked and gory,
+      from the common stocks to the Alpine altitude and splendour of an Earldom,
+      seemed to him the last possibility in the line of the grotesque. &nbsp;He
+      said to himself, &ldquo;Now am I finely tinselled, indeed! &nbsp;The
+      spectre-knight of the Kingdom of Dreams and Shadows is become a
+      spectre-earl&mdash;a dizzy flight for a callow wing! &nbsp;An&rsquo; this
+      go on, I shall presently be hung like a very maypole with fantastic gauds
+      and make-believe honours. &nbsp;But I shall value them, all valueless as
+      they are, for the love that doth bestow them. Better these poor mock
+      dignities of mine, that come unasked, from a clean hand and a right
+      spirit, than real ones bought by servility from grudging and interested
+      power.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link28-337" id="link28-337"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link28-337.jpg (124K)" src="images/28-337.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The dreaded Sir Hugh wheeled his horse about, and as he spurred away, the
+      living wall divided silently to let him pass, and as silently closed
+      together again. &nbsp;And so remained; nobody went so far as to venture a
+      remark in favour of the prisoner, or in compliment to him; but no matter&mdash;the
+      absence of abuse was a sufficient homage in itself. &nbsp;A late comer who
+      was not posted as to the present circumstances, and who delivered a sneer
+      at the &lsquo;impostor,&rsquo; and was in the act of following it with a
+      dead cat, was promptly knocked down and kicked out, without any words, and
+      then the deep quiet resumed sway once more.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c29" id="c29"></a> <a
+      name="link29-339" id="link29-339"></a>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link29-339.jpg (53K)" src="images/29-339.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XXIX. To London.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When Hendon&rsquo;s term of service in the stocks was finished, he was
+      released and ordered to quit the region and come back no more. His sword
+      was restored to him, and also his mule and his donkey. He mounted and rode
+      off, followed by the King, the crowd opening with quiet respectfulness to
+      let them pass, and then dispersing when they were gone.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link29-342" id="link29-342"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link29-342.jpg (142K)" src="images/29-342.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hendon was soon absorbed in thought. &nbsp;There were questions of high
+      import to be answered. &nbsp;What should he do? &nbsp;Whither should he
+      go? Powerful help must be found somewhere, or he must relinquish his
+      inheritance and remain under the imputation of being an impostor besides.
+      &nbsp;Where could he hope to find this powerful help? &nbsp;Where, indeed!
+      &nbsp;It was a knotty question. By-and-by a thought occurred to him which
+      pointed to a possibility&mdash;the slenderest of slender possibilities,
+      certainly, but still worth considering, for lack of any other that
+      promised anything at all. &nbsp;He remembered what old Andrews had said
+      about the young King&rsquo;s goodness and his generous championship of the
+      wronged and unfortunate. &nbsp;Why not go and try to get speech of him and
+      beg for justice? &nbsp;Ah, yes, but could so fantastic a pauper get
+      admission to the august presence of a monarch? Never mind&mdash;let that
+      matter take care of itself; it was a bridge that would not need to be
+      crossed till he should come to it. &nbsp;He was an old campaigner, and
+      used to inventing shifts and expedients: &nbsp;no doubt he would be able
+      to find a way. &nbsp;Yes, he would strike for the capital. Maybe his
+      father&rsquo;s old friend Sir Humphrey Marlow would help him&mdash;&lsquo;good
+      old Sir Humphrey, Head Lieutenant of the late King&rsquo;s kitchen, or
+      stables, or something&rsquo;&mdash;Miles could not remember just what or
+      which. &nbsp;Now that he had something to turn his energies to, a
+      distinctly defined object to accomplish, the fog of humiliation and
+      depression which had settled down upon his spirits lifted and blew away,
+      and he raised his head and looked about him. &nbsp;He was surprised to see
+      how far he had come; the village was away behind him. &nbsp;The King was
+      jogging along in his wake, with his head bowed; for he, too, was deep in
+      plans and thinkings. &nbsp;A sorrowful misgiving clouded Hendon&rsquo;s
+      new-born cheerfulness: &nbsp;would the boy be willing to go again to a
+      city where, during all his brief life, he had never known anything but
+      ill-usage and pinching want? &nbsp;But the question must be asked; it
+      could not be avoided; so Hendon reined up, and called out&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I had forgotten to inquire whither we are bound. &nbsp;Thy
+      commands, my liege!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;To London!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hendon moved on again, mightily contented with the answer&mdash;but
+      astounded at it too.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link29-343" id="link29-343"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link29-343.jpg (131K)" src="images/29-343.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The whole journey was made without an adventure of importance. But it
+      ended with one. &nbsp;About ten o&rsquo;clock on the night of the 19th of
+      February they stepped upon London Bridge, in the midst of a writhing,
+      struggling jam of howling and hurrahing people, whose beer-jolly faces
+      stood out strongly in the glare from manifold torches&mdash;and at that
+      instant the decaying head of some former duke or other grandee tumbled
+      down between them, striking Hendon on the elbow and then bounding off
+      among the hurrying confusion of feet. So evanescent and unstable are men&rsquo;s
+      works in this world!&mdash;the late good King is but three weeks dead and
+      three days in his grave, and already the adornments which he took such
+      pains to select from prominent people for his noble bridge are falling.
+      &nbsp;A citizen stumbled over that head, and drove his own head into the
+      back of somebody in front of him, who turned and knocked down the first
+      person that came handy, and was promptly laid out himself by that person&rsquo;s
+      friend. &nbsp;It was the right ripe time for a free fight, for the
+      festivities of the morrow&mdash;Coronation Day&mdash;were already
+      beginning; everybody was full of strong drink and patriotism; within five
+      minutes the free fight was occupying a good deal of ground; within ten or
+      twelve it covered an acre of so, and was become a riot. &nbsp;By this time
+      Hendon and the King were hopelessly separated from each other and lost in
+      the rush and turmoil of the roaring masses of humanity. &nbsp;And so we
+      leave them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c30" id="c30"></a> <a
+      name="link30-345" id="link30-345"></a>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link30-345.jpg (47K)" src="images/30-345.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XXX. Tom&rsquo;s progress.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Whilst the true King wandered about the land poorly clad, poorly fed,
+      cuffed and derided by tramps one while, herding with thieves and murderers
+      in a jail another, and called idiot and impostor by all impartially, the
+      mock King Tom Canty enjoyed quite a different experience.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When we saw him last, royalty was just beginning to have a bright side for
+      him. &nbsp;This bright side went on brightening more and more every day:
+      in a very little while it was become almost all sunshine and
+      delightfulness. &nbsp;He lost his fears; his misgivings faded out and
+      died; his embarrassments departed, and gave place to an easy and confident
+      bearing. &nbsp;He worked the whipping-boy mine to ever-increasing profit.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He ordered my Lady Elizabeth and my Lady Jane Grey into his presence when
+      he wanted to play or talk, and dismissed them when he was done with them,
+      with the air of one familiarly accustomed to such performances. &nbsp;It
+      no longer confused him to have these lofty personages kiss his hand at
+      parting.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link30-348" id="link30-348"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link30-348.jpg (92K)" src="images/30-348.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He came to enjoy being conducted to bed in state at night, and dressed
+      with intricate and solemn ceremony in the morning. &nbsp;It came to be a
+      proud pleasure to march to dinner attended by a glittering procession of
+      officers of state and gentlemen-at-arms; insomuch, indeed, that he doubled
+      his guard of gentlemen-at-arms, and made them a hundred. &nbsp;He liked to
+      hear the bugles sounding down the long corridors, and the distant voices
+      responding, &ldquo;Way for the King!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He even learned to enjoy sitting in throned state in council, and seeming
+      to be something more than the Lord Protector&rsquo;s mouthpiece. He liked
+      to receive great ambassadors and their gorgeous trains, and listen to the
+      affectionate messages they brought from illustrious monarchs who called
+      him brother. &nbsp;O happy Tom Canty, late of Offal Court!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He enjoyed his splendid clothes, and ordered more: &nbsp;he found his four
+      hundred servants too few for his proper grandeur, and trebled them. &nbsp;The
+      adulation of salaaming courtiers came to be sweet music to his ears.
+      &nbsp;He remained kind and gentle, and a sturdy and determined champion of
+      all that were oppressed, and he made tireless war upon unjust laws: &nbsp;yet
+      upon occasion, being offended, he could turn upon an earl, or even a duke,
+      and give him a look that would make him tremble. &nbsp;Once, when his
+      royal &lsquo;sister,&rsquo; the grimly holy Lady Mary, set herself to
+      reason with him against the wisdom of his course in pardoning so many
+      people who would otherwise be jailed, or hanged, or burned, and reminded
+      him that their august late father&rsquo;s prisons had sometimes contained
+      as high as sixty thousand convicts at one time, and that during his
+      admirable reign he had delivered seventy-two thousand thieves and robbers
+      over to death by the executioner, {9} the boy was filled with generous
+      indignation, and commanded her to go to her closet, and beseech God to
+      take away the stone that was in her breast, and give her a human heart.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link30-349" id="link30-349"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link30-349.jpg (94K)" src="images/30-349.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Did Tom Canty never feel troubled about the poor little rightful prince
+      who had treated him so kindly, and flown out with such hot zeal to avenge
+      him upon the insolent sentinel at the palace-gate? Yes; his first royal
+      days and nights were pretty well sprinkled with painful thoughts about the
+      lost prince, and with sincere longings for his return, and happy
+      restoration to his native rights and splendours. &nbsp;But as time wore
+      on, and the prince did not come, Tom&rsquo;s mind became more and more
+      occupied with his new and enchanting experiences, and by little and little
+      the vanished monarch faded almost out of his thoughts; and finally, when
+      he did intrude upon them at intervals, he was become an unwelcome spectre,
+      for he made Tom feel guilty and ashamed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom&rsquo;s poor mother and sisters travelled the same road out of his
+      mind. At first he pined for them, sorrowed for them, longed to see them,
+      but later, the thought of their coming some day in their rags and dirt,
+      and betraying him with their kisses, and pulling him down from his lofty
+      place, and dragging him back to penury and degradation and the slums, made
+      him shudder. &nbsp;At last they ceased to trouble his thoughts almost
+      wholly. &nbsp;And he was content, even glad: &nbsp;for, whenever their
+      mournful and accusing faces did rise before him now, they made him feel
+      more despicable than the worms that crawl.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At midnight of the 19th of February, Tom Canty was sinking to sleep in his
+      rich bed in the palace, guarded by his loyal vassals, and surrounded by
+      the pomps of royalty, a happy boy; for tomorrow was the day appointed for
+      his solemn crowning as King of England. At that same hour, Edward, the
+      true king, hungry and thirsty, soiled and draggled, worn with travel, and
+      clothed in rags and shreds&mdash;his share of the results of the riot&mdash;was
+      wedged in among a crowd of people who were watching with deep interest
+      certain hurrying gangs of workmen who streamed in and out of Westminster
+      Abbey, busy as ants: &nbsp;they were making the last preparation for the
+      royal coronation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c31" id="c31"></a> <a
+      name="link31-351" id="link31-351"></a>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link31-351.jpg (68K)" src="images/31-351.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br /> <a name="link31-353" id="link31-353"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link31-353.jpg (134K)" src="images/31-353.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XXXI. The Recognition procession.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When Tom Canty awoke the next morning, the air was heavy with a thunderous
+      murmur: &nbsp;all the distances were charged with it. &nbsp;It was music
+      to him; for it meant that the English world was out in its strength to
+      give loyal welcome to the great day.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Presently Tom found himself once more the chief figure in a wonderful
+      floating pageant on the Thames; for by ancient custom the &lsquo;recognition
+      procession&rsquo; through London must start from the Tower, and he was
+      bound thither.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When he arrived there, the sides of the venerable fortress seemed suddenly
+      rent in a thousand places, and from every rent leaped a red tongue of
+      flame and a white gush of smoke; a deafening explosion followed, which
+      drowned the shoutings of the multitude, and made the ground tremble; the
+      flame-jets, the smoke, and the explosions, were repeated over and over
+      again with marvellous celerity, so that in a few moments the old Tower
+      disappeared in the vast fog of its own smoke, all but the very top of the
+      tall pile called the White Tower; this, with its banners, stood out above
+      the dense bank of vapour as a mountain-peak projects above a cloud-rack.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom Canty, splendidly arrayed, mounted a prancing war-steed, whose rich
+      trappings almost reached to the ground; his &lsquo;uncle,&rsquo; the Lord
+      Protector Somerset, similarly mounted, took place in his rear; the King&rsquo;s
+      Guard formed in single ranks on either side, clad in burnished armour;
+      after the Protector followed a seemingly interminable procession of
+      resplendent nobles attended by their vassals; after these came the lord
+      mayor and the aldermanic body, in crimson velvet robes, and with their
+      gold chains across their breasts; and after these the officers and members
+      of all the guilds of London, in rich raiment, and bearing the showy
+      banners of the several corporations. &nbsp;Also in the procession, as a
+      special guard of honour through the city, was the Ancient and Honourable
+      Artillery Company&mdash;an organisation already three hundred years old at
+      that time, and the only military body in England possessing the privilege
+      (which it still possesses in our day) of holding itself independent of the
+      commands of Parliament. &nbsp;It was a brilliant spectacle, and was hailed
+      with acclamations all along the line, as it took its stately way through
+      the packed multitudes of citizens. The chronicler says, &lsquo;The King,
+      as he entered the city, was received by the people with prayers,
+      welcomings, cries, and tender words, and all signs which argue an earnest
+      love of subjects toward their sovereign; and the King, by holding up his
+      glad countenance to such as stood afar off, and most tender language to
+      those that stood nigh his Grace, showed himself no less thankful to
+      receive the people&rsquo;s goodwill than they to offer it. &nbsp;To all
+      that wished him well, he gave thanks. &nbsp;To such as bade &ldquo;God
+      save his Grace,&rdquo; he said in return, &ldquo;God save you all!&rdquo;
+      and added that &ldquo;he thanked them with all his heart.&rdquo;
+      Wonderfully transported were the people with the loving answers and
+      gestures of their King.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link31-355" id="link31-355"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link31-355.jpg (40K)" src="images/31-355.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In Fenchurch Street a &lsquo;fair child, in costly apparel,&rsquo; stood
+      on a stage to welcome his Majesty to the city. &nbsp;The last verse of his
+      greeting was in these words&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <blockquote>
+      <p>
+        &lsquo;Welcome, O King! as much as hearts can think;<br /> Welcome,
+        again, as much as tongue can tell,&mdash;<br /> Welcome to joyous
+        tongues, and hearts that will not shrink: <br /> God thee preserve, we
+        pray, and wish thee ever well.&rsquo;
+      </p>
+    </blockquote>
+    <p>
+      The people burst forth in a glad shout, repeating with one voice what the
+      child had said. &nbsp;Tom Canty gazed abroad over the surging sea of eager
+      faces, and his heart swelled with exultation; and he felt that the one
+      thing worth living for in this world was to be a king, and a nation&rsquo;s
+      idol. &nbsp;Presently he caught sight, at a distance, of a couple of his
+      ragged Offal Court comrades&mdash;one of them the lord high admiral in his
+      late mimic court, the other the first lord of the bedchamber in the same
+      pretentious fiction; and his pride swelled higher than ever. &nbsp;Oh, if
+      they could only recognise him now! &nbsp;What unspeakable glory it would
+      be, if they could recognise him, and realise that the derided mock king of
+      the slums and back alleys was become a real King, with illustrious dukes
+      and princes for his humble menials, and the English world at his feet!
+      &nbsp;But he had to deny himself, and choke down his desire, for such a
+      recognition might cost more than it would come to: &nbsp;so he turned away
+      his head, and left the two soiled lads to go on with their shoutings and
+      glad adulations, unsuspicious of whom it was they were lavishing them
+      upon.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link31-356" id="link31-356"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link31-356.jpg (195K)" src="images/31-356.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Every now and then rose the cry, &ldquo;A largess! a largess!&rdquo; and
+      Tom responded by scattering a handful of bright new coins abroad for the
+      multitude to scramble for.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The chronicler says, &lsquo;At the upper end of Gracechurch Street, before
+      the sign of the Eagle, the city had erected a gorgeous arch, beneath which
+      was a stage, which stretched from one side of the street to the other.
+      This was an historical pageant, representing the King&rsquo;s immediate
+      progenitors. &nbsp;There sat Elizabeth of York in the midst of an immense
+      white rose, whose petals formed elaborate furbelows around her; by her
+      side was Henry VII., issuing out of a vast red rose, disposed in the same
+      manner: &nbsp;the hands of the royal pair were locked together, and the
+      wedding-ring ostentatiously displayed. &nbsp;From the red and white roses
+      proceeded a stem, which reached up to a second stage, occupied by Henry
+      VIII., issuing from a red and white rose, with the effigy of the new King&rsquo;s
+      mother, Jane Seymour, represented by his side. &nbsp;One branch sprang
+      from this pair, which mounted to a third stage, where sat the effigy of
+      Edward VI. himself, enthroned in royal majesty; and the whole pageant was
+      framed with wreaths of roses, red and white.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This quaint and gaudy spectacle so wrought upon the rejoicing people, that
+      their acclamations utterly smothered the small voice of the child whose
+      business it was to explain the thing in eulogistic rhymes. &nbsp;But Tom
+      Canty was not sorry; for this loyal uproar was sweeter music to him than
+      any poetry, no matter what its quality might be. &nbsp;Whithersoever Tom
+      turned his happy young face, the people recognised the exactness of his
+      effigy&rsquo;s likeness to himself, the flesh and blood counterpart; and
+      new whirlwinds of applause burst forth.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The great pageant moved on, and still on, under one triumphal arch after
+      another, and past a bewildering succession of spectacular and symbolical
+      tableaux, each of which typified and exalted some virtue, or talent, or
+      merit, of the little King&rsquo;s. &nbsp;&rsquo;Throughout the whole of
+      Cheapside, from every penthouse and window, hung banners and streamers;
+      and the richest carpets, stuffs, and cloth-of-gold tapestried the streets&mdash;specimens
+      of the great wealth of the stores within; and the splendour of this
+      thoroughfare was equalled in the other streets, and in some even
+      surpassed.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And all these wonders and these marvels are to welcome me&mdash;me!&rdquo;
+      murmured Tom Canty.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The mock King&rsquo;s cheeks were flushed with excitement, his eyes were
+      flashing, his senses swam in a delirium of pleasure. &nbsp;At this point,
+      just as he was raising his hand to fling another rich largess, he caught
+      sight of a pale, astounded face, which was strained forward out of the
+      second rank of the crowd, its intense eyes riveted upon him. &nbsp;A
+      sickening consternation struck through him; he recognised his mother! and
+      up flew his hand, palm outward, before his eyes&mdash;that old involuntary
+      gesture, born of a forgotten episode, and perpetuated by habit. &nbsp;In
+      an instant more she had torn her way out of the press, and past the
+      guards, and was at his side. &nbsp;She embraced his leg, she covered it
+      with kisses, she cried, &ldquo;O my child, my darling!&rdquo; lifting
+      toward him a face that was transfigured with joy and love. &nbsp;The same
+      instant an officer of the King&rsquo;s Guard snatched her away with a
+      curse, and sent her reeling back whence she came with a vigorous impulse
+      from his strong arm. &nbsp;The words &ldquo;I do not know you, woman!&rdquo;
+      were falling from Tom Canty&rsquo;s lips when this piteous thing occurred;
+      but it smote him to the heart to see her treated so; and as she turned for
+      a last glimpse of him, whilst the crowd was swallowing her from his sight,
+      she seemed so wounded, so broken-hearted, that a shame fell upon him which
+      consumed his pride to ashes, and withered his stolen royalty. &nbsp;His
+      grandeurs were stricken valueless: they seemed to fall away from him like
+      rotten rags.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link31-359" id="link31-359"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link31-359.jpg (164K)" src="images/31-359.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The procession moved on, and still on, through ever augmenting splendours
+      and ever augmenting tempests of welcome; but to Tom Canty they were as if
+      they had not been. &nbsp;He neither saw nor heard. &nbsp;Royalty had lost
+      its grace and sweetness; its pomps were become a reproach. &nbsp;Remorse
+      was eating his heart out. &nbsp;He said, &ldquo;Would God I were free of
+      my captivity!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He had unconsciously dropped back into the phraseology of the first days
+      of his compulsory greatness.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The shining pageant still went winding like a radiant and interminable
+      serpent down the crooked lanes of the quaint old city, and through the
+      huzzaing hosts; but still the King rode with bowed head and vacant eyes,
+      seeing only his mother&rsquo;s face and that wounded look in it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Largess, largess!&rdquo; &nbsp;The cry fell upon an unheeding ear.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Long live Edward of England!&rdquo; &nbsp;It seemed as if the earth
+      shook with the explosion; but there was no response from the King. &nbsp;He
+      heard it only as one hears the thunder of the surf when it is blown to the
+      ear out of a great distance, for it was smothered under another sound
+      which was still nearer, in his own breast, in his accusing conscience&mdash;a
+      voice which kept repeating those shameful words, &ldquo;I do not know you,
+      woman!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The words smote upon the King&rsquo;s soul as the strokes of a funeral
+      bell smite upon the soul of a surviving friend when they remind him of
+      secret treacheries suffered at his hands by him that is gone.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      New glories were unfolded at every turning; new wonders, new marvels,
+      sprang into view; the pent clamours of waiting batteries were released;
+      new raptures poured from the throats of the waiting multitudes: &nbsp;but
+      the King gave no sign, and the accusing voice that went moaning through
+      his comfortless breast was all the sound he heard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By-and-by the gladness in the faces of the populace changed a little, and
+      became touched with a something like solicitude or anxiety: &nbsp;an
+      abatement in the volume of the applause was observable too. &nbsp;The Lord
+      Protector was quick to notice these things: &nbsp;he was as quick to
+      detect the cause. &nbsp;He spurred to the King&rsquo;s side, bent low in
+      his saddle, uncovered, and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My liege, it is an ill time for dreaming. &nbsp;The people observe
+      thy downcast head, thy clouded mien, and they take it for an omen. &nbsp;Be
+      advised: &nbsp;unveil the sun of royalty, and let it shine upon these
+      boding vapours, and disperse them. &nbsp;Lift up thy face, and smile upon
+      the people.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link31-361" id="link31-361"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link31-361.jpg (78K)" src="images/31-361.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So saying, the Duke scattered a handful of coins to right and left, then
+      retired to his place. &nbsp;The mock King did mechanically as he had been
+      bidden. &nbsp;His smile had no heart in it, but few eyes were near enough
+      or sharp enough to detect that. &nbsp;The noddings of his plumed head as
+      he saluted his subjects were full of grace and graciousness; the largess
+      which he delivered from his hand was royally liberal: &nbsp;so the people&rsquo;s
+      anxiety vanished, and the acclamations burst forth again in as mighty a
+      volume as before.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Still once more, a little before the progress was ended, the Duke was
+      obliged to ride forward, and make remonstrance. &nbsp;He whispered&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;O dread sovereign! shake off these fatal humours; the eyes of the
+      world are upon thee.&rdquo; &nbsp;Then he added with sharp annoyance,
+      &ldquo;Perdition catch that crazy pauper! &rsquo;twas she that hath
+      disturbed your Highness.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link31-362" id="link31-362"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link31-362.jpg (119K)" src="images/31-362.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The gorgeous figure turned a lustreless eye upon the Duke, and said in a
+      dead voice&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;She was my mother!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My God!&rdquo; groaned the Protector as he reined his horse
+      backward to his post, &ldquo;the omen was pregnant with prophecy. &nbsp;He
+      is gone mad again!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c32" id="c32"></a> <a
+      name="link32-363" id="link32-363"></a>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link32-363.jpg (51K)" src="images/32-363.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XXXII. Coronation Day.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Let us go backward a few hours, and place ourselves in Westminster Abbey,
+      at four o&rsquo;clock in the morning of this memorable Coronation Day.
+      &nbsp;We are not without company; for although it is still night, we find
+      the torch-lighted galleries already filling up with people who are well
+      content to sit still and wait seven or eight hours till the time shall
+      come for them to see what they may not hope to see twice in their lives&mdash;the
+      coronation of a King. &nbsp;Yes, London and Westminster have been astir
+      ever since the warning guns boomed at three o&rsquo;clock, and already
+      crowds of untitled rich folk who have bought the privilege of trying to
+      find sitting-room in the galleries are flocking in at the entrances
+      reserved for their sort.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The hours drag along tediously enough. &nbsp;All stir has ceased for some
+      time, for every gallery has long ago been packed. &nbsp;We may sit, now,
+      and look and think at our leisure. &nbsp;We have glimpses, here and there
+      and yonder, through the dim cathedral twilight, of portions of many
+      galleries and balconies, wedged full with other people, the other portions
+      of these galleries and balconies being cut off from sight by intervening
+      pillars and architectural projections. &nbsp;We have in view the whole of
+      the great north transept&mdash;empty, and waiting for England&rsquo;s
+      privileged ones. &nbsp;We see also the ample area or platform, carpeted
+      with rich stuffs, whereon the throne stands. &nbsp;The throne occupies the
+      centre of the platform, and is raised above it upon an elevation of four
+      steps. Within the seat of the throne is enclosed a rough flat rock&mdash;the
+      stone of Scone&mdash;which many generations of Scottish kings sat on to be
+      crowned, and so it in time became holy enough to answer a like purpose for
+      English monarchs. &nbsp;Both the throne and its footstool are covered with
+      cloth of gold.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Stillness reigns, the torches blink dully, the time drags heavily. But at
+      last the lagging daylight asserts itself, the torches are extinguished,
+      and a mellow radiance suffuses the great spaces. All features of the noble
+      building are distinct now, but soft and dreamy, for the sun is lightly
+      veiled with clouds.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At seven o&rsquo;clock the first break in the drowsy monotony occurs; for
+      on the stroke of this hour the first peeress enters the transept, clothed
+      like Solomon for splendour, and is conducted to her appointed place by an
+      official clad in satins and velvets, whilst a duplicate of him gathers up
+      the lady&rsquo;s long train, follows after, and, when the lady is seated,
+      arranges the train across her lap for her. &nbsp;He then places her
+      footstool according to her desire, after which he puts her coronet where
+      it will be convenient to her hand when the time for the simultaneous
+      coroneting of the nobles shall arrive.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link32-366" id="link32-366"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link32-366.jpg (53K)" src="images/32-366.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By this time the peeresses are flowing in in a glittering stream, and the
+      satin-clad officials are flitting and glinting everywhere, seating them
+      and making them comfortable. &nbsp;The scene is animated enough now.
+      &nbsp;There is stir and life, and shifting colour everywhere. &nbsp;After
+      a time, quiet reigns again; for the peeresses are all come and are all in
+      their places, a solid acre or such a matter, of human flowers, resplendent
+      in variegated colours, and frosted like a Milky Way with diamonds. &nbsp;There
+      are all ages here: brown, wrinkled, white-haired dowagers who are able to
+      go back, and still back, down the stream of time, and recall the crowning
+      of Richard III. and the troublous days of that old forgotten age; and
+      there are handsome middle-aged dames; and lovely and gracious young
+      matrons; and gentle and beautiful young girls, with beaming eyes and fresh
+      complexions, who may possibly put on their jewelled coronets awkwardly
+      when the great time comes; for the matter will be new to them, and their
+      excitement will be a sore hindrance. Still, this may not happen, for the
+      hair of all these ladies has been arranged with a special view to the
+      swift and successful lodging of the crown in its place when the signal
+      comes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We have seen that this massed array of peeresses is sown thick with
+      diamonds, and we also see that it is a marvellous spectacle&mdash;but now
+      we are about to be astonished in earnest. &nbsp;About nine, the clouds
+      suddenly break away and a shaft of sunshine cleaves the mellow atmosphere,
+      and drifts slowly along the ranks of ladies; and every rank it touches
+      flames into a dazzling splendour of many-coloured fires, and we tingle to
+      our finger-tips with the electric thrill that is shot through us by the
+      surprise and the beauty of the spectacle! &nbsp;Presently a special envoy
+      from some distant corner of the Orient, marching with the general body of
+      foreign ambassadors, crosses this bar of sunshine, and we catch our
+      breath, the glory that streams and flashes and palpitates about him is so
+      overpowering; for he is crusted from head to heel with gems, and his
+      slightest movement showers a dancing radiance all around him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link32-368" id="link32-368"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link32-368.jpg (158K)" src="images/32-368.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Let us change the tense for convenience. &nbsp;The time drifted along&mdash;one
+      hour&mdash;two hours&mdash;two hours and a half; then the deep booming of
+      artillery told that the King and his grand procession had arrived at last;
+      so the waiting multitude rejoiced. &nbsp;All knew that a further delay
+      must follow, for the King must be prepared and robed for the solemn
+      ceremony; but this delay would be pleasantly occupied by the assembling of
+      the peers of the realm in their stately robes. &nbsp;These were conducted
+      ceremoniously to their seats, and their coronets placed conveniently at
+      hand; and meanwhile the multitude in the galleries were alive with
+      interest, for most of them were beholding for the first time, dukes,
+      earls, and barons, whose names had been historical for five hundred years.
+      &nbsp;When all were finally seated, the spectacle from the galleries and
+      all coigns of vantage was complete; a gorgeous one to look upon and to
+      remember.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now the robed and mitred great heads of the church, and their attendants,
+      filed in upon the platform and took their appointed places; these were
+      followed by the Lord Protector and other great officials, and these again
+      by a steel-clad detachment of the Guard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a waiting pause; then, at a signal, a triumphant peal of music
+      burst forth, and Tom Canty, clothed in a long robe of cloth of gold,
+      appeared at a door, and stepped upon the platform. &nbsp;The entire
+      multitude rose, and the ceremony of the Recognition ensued.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then a noble anthem swept the Abbey with its rich waves of sound; and thus
+      heralded and welcomed, Tom Canty was conducted to the throne. &nbsp;The
+      ancient ceremonies went on, with impressive solemnity, whilst the audience
+      gazed; and as they drew nearer and nearer to completion, Tom Canty grew
+      pale, and still paler, and a deep and steadily deepening woe and
+      despondency settled down upon his spirits and upon his remorseful heart.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At last the final act was at hand. &nbsp;The Archbishop of Canterbury
+      lifted up the crown of England from its cushion and held it out over the
+      trembling mock-King&rsquo;s head. &nbsp;In the same instant a
+      rainbow-radiance flashed along the spacious transept; for with one impulse
+      every individual in the great concourse of nobles lifted a coronet and
+      poised it over his or her head&mdash;and paused in that attitude.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A deep hush pervaded the Abbey. &nbsp;At this impressive moment, a
+      startling apparition intruded upon the scene&mdash;an apparition observed
+      by none in the absorbed multitude, until it suddenly appeared, moving up
+      the great central aisle. &nbsp;It was a boy, bareheaded, ill shod, and
+      clothed in coarse plebeian garments that were falling to rags. &nbsp;He
+      raised his hand with a solemnity which ill comported with his soiled and
+      sorry aspect, and delivered this note of warning&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I forbid you to set the crown of England upon that forfeited head.
+      &nbsp;I am the King!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In an instant several indignant hands were laid upon the boy; but in the
+      same instant Tom Canty, in his regal vestments, made a swift step forward,
+      and cried out in a ringing voice&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Loose him and forbear! &nbsp;He <i>is</i> the King!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A sort of panic of astonishment swept the assemblage, and they partly rose
+      in their places and stared in a bewildered way at one another and at the
+      chief figures in this scene, like persons who wondered whether they were
+      awake and in their senses, or asleep and dreaming. &nbsp;The Lord
+      Protector was as amazed as the rest, but quickly recovered himself, and
+      exclaimed in a voice of authority&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mind not his Majesty, his malady is upon him again&mdash;seize the
+      vagabond!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He would have been obeyed, but the mock-King stamped his foot and cried
+      out&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;On your peril! &nbsp;Touch him not, he is the King!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The hands were withheld; a paralysis fell upon the house; no one moved, no
+      one spoke; indeed, no one knew how to act or what to say, in so strange
+      and surprising an emergency. &nbsp;While all minds were struggling to
+      right themselves, the boy still moved steadily forward, with high port and
+      confident mien; he had never halted from the beginning; and while the
+      tangled minds still floundered helplessly, he stepped upon the platform,
+      and the mock-King ran with a glad face to meet him; and fell on his knees
+      before him and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, my lord the King, let poor Tom Canty be first to swear fealty
+      to thee, and say, &lsquo;Put on thy crown and enter into thine own again!&rsquo;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link32-370" id="link32-370"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link32-370.jpg (121K)" src="images/32-370.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Lord Protector&rsquo;s eye fell sternly upon the new-comer&rsquo;s
+      face; but straightway the sternness vanished away, and gave place to an
+      expression of wondering surprise. &nbsp;This thing happened also to the
+      other great officers. &nbsp;They glanced at each other, and retreated a
+      step by a common and unconscious impulse. &nbsp;The thought in each mind
+      was the same: &nbsp;"What a strange resemblance!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Lord Protector reflected a moment or two in perplexity, then he said,
+      with grave respectfulness&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;By your favour, sir, I desire to ask certain questions which&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I will answer them, my lord.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Duke asked him many questions about the Court, the late King, the
+      prince, the princesses&mdash;the boy answered them correctly and without
+      hesitating. &nbsp;He described the rooms of state in the palace, the late
+      King&rsquo;s apartments, and those of the Prince of Wales.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was strange; it was wonderful; yes, it was unaccountable&mdash;so all
+      said that heard it. &nbsp;The tide was beginning to turn, and Tom Canty&rsquo;s
+      hopes to run high, when the Lord Protector shook his head and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is true it is most wonderful&mdash;but it is no more than our
+      lord the King likewise can do.&rdquo; &nbsp;This remark, and this
+      reference to himself as still the King, saddened Tom Canty, and he felt
+      his hopes crumbling from under him. &nbsp;"These are not <i>proofs</i>,&rdquo;
+      added the Protector.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The tide was turning very fast now, very fast indeed&mdash;but in the
+      wrong direction; it was leaving poor Tom Canty stranded on the throne, and
+      sweeping the other out to sea. &nbsp;The Lord Protector communed with
+      himself&mdash;shook his head&mdash;the thought forced itself upon him,
+      &ldquo;It is perilous to the State and to us all, to entertain so fateful
+      a riddle as this; it could divide the nation and undermine the throne.&rdquo;
+      &nbsp;He turned and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sir Thomas, arrest this&mdash;No, hold!&rdquo; &nbsp;His face
+      lighted, and he confronted the ragged candidate with this question&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where lieth the Great Seal? &nbsp;Answer me this truly, and the
+      riddle is unriddled; for only he that was Prince of Wales <i>can</i> so
+      answer! On so trivial a thing hang a throne and a dynasty!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was a lucky thought, a happy thought. &nbsp;That it was so considered
+      by the great officials was manifested by the silent applause that shot
+      from eye to eye around their circle in the form of bright approving
+      glances. Yes, none but the true prince could dissolve the stubborn mystery
+      of the vanished Great Seal&mdash;this forlorn little impostor had been
+      taught his lesson well, but here his teachings must fail, for his teacher
+      himself could not answer <i>that</i> question&mdash;ah, very good, very
+      good indeed; now we shall be rid of this troublesome and perilous business
+      in short order! And so they nodded invisibly and smiled inwardly with
+      satisfaction, and looked to see this foolish lad stricken with a palsy of
+      guilty confusion. How surprised they were, then, to see nothing of the
+      sort happen&mdash;how they marvelled to hear him answer up promptly, in a
+      confident and untroubled voice, and say&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link32-373" id="link32-373"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link32-373.jpg (201K)" src="images/32-373.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There is nought in this riddle that is difficult.&rdquo; &nbsp;Then,
+      without so much as a by-your-leave to anybody, he turned and gave this
+      command, with the easy manner of one accustomed to doing such things:
+      &ldquo;My Lord St. John, go you to my private cabinet in the palace&mdash;for
+      none knoweth the place better than you&mdash;and, close down to the floor,
+      in the left corner remotest from the door that opens from the
+      ante-chamber, you shall find in the wall a brazen nail-head; press upon it
+      and a little jewel-closet will fly open which not even you do know of&mdash;no,
+      nor any soul else in all the world but me and the trusty artisan that did
+      contrive it for me. The first thing that falleth under your eye will be
+      the Great Seal&mdash;fetch it hither.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All the company wondered at this speech, and wondered still more to see
+      the little mendicant pick out this peer without hesitancy or apparent fear
+      of mistake, and call him by name with such a placidly convincing air of
+      having known him all his life. &nbsp;The peer was almost surprised into
+      obeying. &nbsp;He even made a movement as if to go, but quickly recovered
+      his tranquil attitude and confessed his blunder with a blush. &nbsp;Tom
+      Canty turned upon him and said, sharply&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why dost thou hesitate? &nbsp;Hast not heard the King&rsquo;s
+      command? &nbsp;Go!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Lord St. John made a deep obeisance&mdash;and it was observed that it
+      was a significantly cautious and non-committal one, it not being delivered
+      at either of the kings, but at the neutral ground about half-way between
+      the two&mdash;and took his leave.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now began a movement of the gorgeous particles of that official group
+      which was slow, scarcely perceptible, and yet steady and persistent&mdash;a
+      movement such as is observed in a kaleidoscope that is turned slowly,
+      whereby the components of one splendid cluster fall away and join
+      themselves to another&mdash;a movement which, little by little, in the
+      present case, dissolved the glittering crowd that stood about Tom Canty
+      and clustered it together again in the neighbourhood of the new-comer.
+      &nbsp;Tom Canty stood almost alone. Now ensued a brief season of deep
+      suspense and waiting&mdash;during which even the few faint hearts still
+      remaining near Tom Canty gradually scraped together courage enough to
+      glide, one by one, over to the majority. &nbsp;So at last Tom Canty, in
+      his royal robes and jewels, stood wholly alone and isolated from the
+      world, a conspicuous figure, occupying an eloquent vacancy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now the Lord St. John was seen returning. &nbsp;As he advanced up the
+      mid-aisle the interest was so intense that the low murmur of conversation
+      in the great assemblage died out and was succeeded by a profound hush, a
+      breathless stillness, through which his footfalls pulsed with a dull and
+      distant sound. &nbsp;Every eye was fastened upon him as he moved along.
+      &nbsp;He reached the platform, paused a moment, then moved toward Tom
+      Canty with a deep obeisance, and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sire, the Seal is not there!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link32-375" id="link32-375"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link32-375.jpg (77K)" src="images/32-375.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A mob does not melt away from the presence of a plague-patient with more
+      haste than the band of pallid and terrified courtiers melted away from the
+      presence of the shabby little claimant of the Crown. &nbsp;In a moment he
+      stood all alone, without friend or supporter, a target upon which was
+      concentrated a bitter fire of scornful and angry looks. &nbsp;The Lord
+      Protector called out fiercely&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Cast the beggar into the street, and scourge him through the town&mdash;the
+      paltry knave is worth no more consideration!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Officers of the guard sprang forward to obey, but Tom Canty waved them off
+      and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Back! &nbsp;Whoso touches him perils his life!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Lord Protector was perplexed in the last degree. &nbsp;He said to the
+      Lord St. John&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Searched you well?&mdash;but it boots not to ask that. &nbsp;It
+      doth seem passing strange. &nbsp;Little things, trifles, slip out of one&rsquo;s
+      ken, and one does not think it matter for surprise; but how so bulky a
+      thing as the Seal of England can vanish away and no man be able to get
+      track of it again&mdash;a massy golden disk&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom Canty, with beaming eyes, sprang forward and shouted&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hold, that is enough! &nbsp;Was it round?&mdash;and thick?&mdash;and
+      had it letters and devices graved upon it?&mdash;yes? &nbsp;Oh, <i>now</i>
+      I know what this Great Seal is that there&rsquo;s been such worry and
+      pother about. An&rsquo; ye had described it to me, ye could have had it
+      three weeks ago. &nbsp;Right well I know where it lies; but it was not I
+      that put it there&mdash;first.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Who, then, my liege?&rdquo; asked the Lord Protector.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He that stands there&mdash;the rightful King of England. &nbsp;And
+      he shall tell you himself where it lies&mdash;then you will believe he
+      knew it of his own knowledge. &nbsp;Bethink thee, my King&mdash;spur thy
+      memory&mdash;it was the last, the very <i>last</i> thing thou didst that
+      day before thou didst rush forth from the palace, clothed in my rags, to
+      punish the soldier that insulted me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link32-377" id="link32-377"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link32-377.jpg (85K)" src="images/32-377.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A silence ensued, undisturbed by a movement or a whisper, and all eyes
+      were fixed upon the new-comer, who stood, with bent head and corrugated
+      brow, groping in his memory among a thronging multitude of valueless
+      recollections for one single little elusive fact, which, found, would seat
+      him upon a throne&mdash;unfound, would leave him as he was, for good and
+      all&mdash;a pauper and an outcast. &nbsp;Moment after moment passed&mdash;the
+      moments built themselves into minutes&mdash;still the boy struggled
+      silently on, and gave no sign. &nbsp;But at last he heaved a sigh, shook
+      his head slowly, and said, with a trembling lip and in a despondent voice&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I call the scene back&mdash;all of it&mdash;but the Seal hath no
+      place in it.&rdquo; &nbsp;He paused, then looked up, and said with gentle
+      dignity, &ldquo;My lords and gentlemen, if ye will rob your rightful
+      sovereign of his own for lack of this evidence which he is not able to
+      furnish, I may not stay ye, being powerless. &nbsp;But&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, folly, oh, madness, my King!&rdquo; cried Tom Canty, in a
+      panic, &ldquo;wait!&mdash;think! &nbsp;Do not give up!&mdash;the cause is
+      not lost! &nbsp;Nor <i>shall</i> be, neither! List to what I say&mdash;follow
+      every word&mdash;I am going to bring that morning back again, every hap
+      just as it happened. &nbsp;We talked&mdash;I told you of my sisters, Nan
+      and Bet&mdash;ah, yes, you remember that; and about mine old grandam&mdash;and
+      the rough games of the lads of Offal Court&mdash;yes, you remember these
+      things also; very well, follow me still, you shall recall everything.
+      &nbsp;You gave me food and drink, and did with princely courtesy send away
+      the servants, so that my low breeding might not shame me before them&mdash;ah,
+      yes, this also you remember.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As Tom checked off his details, and the other boy nodded his head in
+      recognition of them, the great audience and the officials stared in
+      puzzled wonderment; the tale sounded like true history, yet how could this
+      impossible conjunction between a prince and a beggar-boy have come about?
+      &nbsp;Never was a company of people so perplexed, so interested, and so
+      stupefied, before.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;For a jest, my prince, we did exchange garments. &nbsp;Then we
+      stood before a mirror; and so alike were we that both said it seemed as if
+      there had been no change made&mdash;yes, you remember that. &nbsp;Then you
+      noticed that the soldier had hurt my hand&mdash;look! here it is, I cannot
+      yet even write with it, the fingers are so stiff. &nbsp;At this your
+      Highness sprang up, vowing vengeance upon that soldier, and ran towards
+      the door&mdash;you passed a table&mdash;that thing you call the Seal lay
+      on that table&mdash;you snatched it up and looked eagerly about, as if for
+      a place to hide it&mdash;your eye caught sight of&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There, &rsquo;tis sufficient!&mdash;and the good God be thanked!&rdquo;
+      exclaimed the ragged claimant, in a mighty excitement. &nbsp;"Go, my good
+      St. John&mdash;in an arm-piece of the Milanese armour that hangs on the
+      wall, thou&rsquo;lt find the Seal!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Right, my King! right!&rdquo; cried Tom Canty; &ldquo;<i>Now</i>
+      the sceptre of England is thine own; and it were better for him that would
+      dispute it that he had been born dumb! &nbsp;Go, my Lord St. John, give
+      thy feet wings!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The whole assemblage was on its feet now, and well-nigh out of its mind
+      with uneasiness, apprehension, and consuming excitement. &nbsp;On the
+      floor and on the platform a deafening buzz of frantic conversation burst
+      forth, and for some time nobody knew anything or heard anything or was
+      interested in anything but what his neighbour was shouting into his ear,
+      or he was shouting into his neighbour&rsquo;s ear. &nbsp;Time&mdash;nobody
+      knew how much of it&mdash;swept by unheeded and unnoted. &nbsp;At last a
+      sudden hush fell upon the house, and in the same moment St. John appeared
+      upon the platform, and held the Great Seal aloft in his hand. &nbsp;Then
+      such a shout went up&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Long live the true King!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link32-379" id="link32-379"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link32-379.jpg (169K)" src="images/32-379.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For five minutes the air quaked with shouts and the crash of musical
+      instruments, and was white with a storm of waving handkerchiefs; and
+      through it all a ragged lad, the most conspicuous figure in England,
+      stood, flushed and happy and proud, in the centre of the spacious
+      platform, with the great vassals of the kingdom kneeling around him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then all rose, and Tom Canty cried out&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, O my King, take these regal garments back, and give poor Tom,
+      thy servant, his shreds and remnants again.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Lord Protector spoke up&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Let the small varlet be stripped and flung into the Tower.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But the new King, the true King, said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I will not have it so. &nbsp;But for him I had not got my crown
+      again&mdash;none shall lay a hand upon him to harm him. &nbsp;And as for
+      thee, my good uncle, my Lord Protector, this conduct of thine is not
+      grateful toward this poor lad, for I hear he hath made thee a duke&rdquo;&mdash;the
+      Protector blushed&mdash;&ldquo;yet he was not a king; wherefore what is
+      thy fine title worth now? &nbsp;To-morrow you shall sue to me, <i>through
+      him</i>, for its confirmation, else no duke, but a simple earl, shalt thou
+      remain.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Under this rebuke, his Grace the Duke of Somerset retired a little from
+      the front for the moment. &nbsp;The King turned to Tom, and said kindly&mdash;&ldquo;My
+      poor boy, how was it that you could remember where I hid the Seal when I
+      could not remember it myself?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, my King, that was easy, since I used it divers days.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Used it&mdash;yet could not explain where it was?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I did not know it was <i>that</i> they wanted. &nbsp;They did not
+      describe it, your Majesty.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then how used you it?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The red blood began to steal up into Tom&rsquo;s cheeks, and he dropped
+      his eyes and was silent.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Speak up, good lad, and fear nothing,&rdquo; said the King. &nbsp;"How
+      used you the Great Seal of England?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom stammered a moment, in a pathetic confusion, then got it out&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;To crack nuts with!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link32-381" id="link32-381"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link32-381.jpg (59K)" src="images/32-381.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Poor child, the avalanche of laughter that greeted this nearly swept him
+      off his feet. &nbsp;But if a doubt remained in any mind that Tom Canty was
+      not the King of England and familiar with the august appurtenances of
+      royalty, this reply disposed of it utterly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Meantime the sumptuous robe of state had been removed from Tom&rsquo;s
+      shoulders to the King&rsquo;s, whose rags were effectually hidden from
+      sight under it. &nbsp;Then the coronation ceremonies were resumed; the
+      true King was anointed and the crown set upon his head, whilst cannon
+      thundered the news to the city, and all London seemed to rock with
+      applause.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c33" id="c33"></a> <a
+      name="link33-383" id="link33-383"></a>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link33-383.jpg (86K)" src="images/33-383.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XXXIII. Edward as King.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Miles Hendon was picturesque enough before he got into the riot on London
+      Bridge&mdash;he was more so when he got out of it. &nbsp;He had but little
+      money when he got in, none at all when he got out. &nbsp;The pickpockets
+      had stripped him of his last farthing.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But no matter, so he found his boy. &nbsp;Being a soldier, he did not go
+      at his task in a random way, but set to work, first of all, to arrange his
+      campaign.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      What would the boy naturally do? &nbsp;Where would he naturally go? Well&mdash;argued
+      Miles&mdash;he would naturally go to his former haunts, for that is the
+      instinct of unsound minds, when homeless and forsaken, as well as of sound
+      ones. &nbsp;Whereabouts were his former haunts? &nbsp;His rags, taken
+      together with the low villain who seemed to know him and who even claimed
+      to be his father, indicated that his home was in one or another of the
+      poorest and meanest districts of London. &nbsp;Would the search for him be
+      difficult, or long? &nbsp;No, it was likely to be easy and brief. &nbsp;He
+      would not hunt for the boy, he would hunt for a crowd; in the centre of a
+      big crowd or a little one, sooner or later, he should find his poor little
+      friend, sure; and the mangy mob would be entertaining itself with
+      pestering and aggravating the boy, who would be proclaiming himself King,
+      as usual. &nbsp;Then Miles Hendon would cripple some of those people, and
+      carry off his little ward, and comfort and cheer him with loving words,
+      and the two would never be separated any more.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So Miles started on his quest. &nbsp;Hour after hour he tramped through
+      back alleys and squalid streets, seeking groups and crowds, and finding no
+      end of them, but never any sign of the boy. &nbsp;This greatly surprised
+      him, but did not discourage him. &nbsp;To his notion, there was nothing
+      the matter with his plan of campaign; the only miscalculation about it was
+      that the campaign was becoming a lengthy one, whereas he had expected it
+      to be short.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When daylight arrived, at last, he had made many a mile, and canvassed
+      many a crowd, but the only result was that he was tolerably tired, rather
+      hungry and very sleepy. &nbsp;He wanted some breakfast, but there was no
+      way to get it. &nbsp;To beg for it did not occur to him; as to pawning his
+      sword, he would as soon have thought of parting with his honour; he could
+      spare some of his clothes&mdash;yes, but one could as easily find a
+      customer for a disease as for such clothes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At noon he was still tramping&mdash;among the rabble which followed after
+      the royal procession, now; for he argued that this regal display would
+      attract his little lunatic powerfully. &nbsp;He followed the pageant
+      through all its devious windings about London, and all the way to
+      Westminster and the Abbey. &nbsp;He drifted here and there amongst the
+      multitudes that were massed in the vicinity for a weary long time, baffled
+      and perplexed, and finally wandered off, thinking, and trying to contrive
+      some way to better his plan of campaign. &nbsp;By-and-by, when he came to
+      himself out of his musings, he discovered that the town was far behind him
+      and that the day was growing old. &nbsp;He was near the river, and in the
+      country; it was a region of fine rural seats&mdash;not the sort of
+      district to welcome clothes like his.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link33-386" id="link33-386"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link33-386.jpg (94K)" src="images/33-386.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was not at all cold; so he stretched himself on the ground in the lee
+      of a hedge to rest and think. &nbsp;Drowsiness presently began to settle
+      upon his senses; the faint and far-off boom of cannon was wafted to his
+      ear, and he said to himself, &ldquo;The new King is crowned,&rdquo; and
+      straightway fell asleep. &nbsp;He had not slept or rested, before, for
+      more than thirty hours. He did not wake again until near the middle of the
+      next morning.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He got up, lame, stiff, and half famished, washed himself in the river,
+      stayed his stomach with a pint or two of water, and trudged off toward
+      Westminster, grumbling at himself for having wasted so much time. &nbsp;Hunger
+      helped him to a new plan, now; he would try to get speech with old Sir
+      Humphrey Marlow and borrow a few marks, and&mdash;but that was enough of a
+      plan for the present; it would be time enough to enlarge it when this
+      first stage should be accomplished.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Toward eleven o&rsquo;clock he approached the palace; and although a host
+      of showy people were about him, moving in the same direction, he was not
+      inconspicuous&mdash;his costume took care of that. &nbsp;He watched these
+      people&rsquo;s faces narrowly, hoping to find a charitable one whose
+      possessor might be willing to carry his name to the old lieutenant&mdash;as
+      to trying to get into the palace himself, that was simply out of the
+      question.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Presently our whipping-boy passed him, then wheeled about and scanned his
+      figure well, saying to himself, &ldquo;An&rsquo; that is not the very
+      vagabond his Majesty is in such a worry about, then am I an ass&mdash;though
+      belike I was that before. &nbsp;He answereth the description to a rag&mdash;that
+      God should make two such would be to cheapen miracles by wasteful
+      repetition. &nbsp;I would I could contrive an excuse to speak with him.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Miles Hendon saved him the trouble; for he turned about, then, as a man
+      generally will when somebody mesmerises him by gazing hard at him from
+      behind; and observing a strong interest in the boy&rsquo;s eyes, he
+      stepped toward him and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You have just come out from the palace; do you belong there?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, your worship.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Know you Sir Humphrey Marlow?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The boy started, and said to himself, &ldquo;Lord! mine old departed
+      father!&rdquo; Then he answered aloud, &ldquo;Right well, your worship.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good&mdash;is he within?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said the boy; and added, to himself, &ldquo;within his
+      grave.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Might I crave your favour to carry my name to him, and say I beg to
+      say a word in his ear?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I will despatch the business right willingly, fair sir.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then say Miles Hendon, son of Sir Richard, is here without&mdash;I
+      shall be greatly bounden to you, my good lad.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The boy looked disappointed. &nbsp;"The King did not name him so,&rdquo;
+      he said to himself; &ldquo;but it mattereth not, this is his twin brother,
+      and can give his Majesty news of t&rsquo;other Sir-Odds-and-Ends, I
+      warrant.&rdquo; &nbsp;So he said to Miles, &ldquo;Step in there a moment,
+      good sir, and wait till I bring you word.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hendon retired to the place indicated&mdash;it was a recess sunk in the
+      palace wall, with a stone bench in it&mdash;a shelter for sentinels in bad
+      weather. He had hardly seated himself when some halberdiers, in charge of
+      an officer, passed by. &nbsp;The officer saw him, halted his men, and
+      commanded Hendon to come forth. &nbsp;He obeyed, and was promptly arrested
+      as a suspicious character prowling within the precincts of the palace.
+      &nbsp;Things began to look ugly. &nbsp;Poor Miles was going to explain,
+      but the officer roughly silenced him, and ordered his men to disarm him
+      and search him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link33-389" id="link33-389"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link33-389.jpg (117K)" src="images/33-389.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;God of his mercy grant that they find somewhat,&rdquo; said poor
+      Miles; &ldquo;I have searched enow, and failed, yet is my need greater
+      than theirs.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Nothing was found but a document. &nbsp;The officer tore it open, and
+      Hendon smiled when he recognised the &lsquo;pot-hooks&rsquo; made by his
+      lost little friend that black day at Hendon Hall. &nbsp;The officer&rsquo;s
+      face grew dark as he read the English paragraph, and Miles blenched to the
+      opposite colour as he listened.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Another new claimant of the Crown!&rdquo; cried the officer. &nbsp;"Verily
+      they breed like rabbits, to-day. &nbsp;Seize the rascal, men, and see ye
+      keep him fast whilst I convey this precious paper within and send it to
+      the King.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He hurried away, leaving the prisoner in the grip of the halberdiers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now is my evil luck ended at last,&rdquo; muttered Hendon, &ldquo;for
+      I shall dangle at a rope&rsquo;s end for a certainty, by reason of that
+      bit of writing. &nbsp;And what will become of my poor lad!&mdash;ah, only
+      the good God knoweth.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By-and-by he saw the officer coming again, in a great hurry; so he plucked
+      his courage together, purposing to meet his trouble as became a man.
+      &nbsp;The officer ordered the men to loose the prisoner and return his
+      sword to him; then bowed respectfully, and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Please you, sir, to follow me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hendon followed, saying to himself, &ldquo;An&rsquo; I were not travelling
+      to death and judgment, and so must needs economise in sin, I would
+      throttle this knave for his mock courtesy.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The two traversed a populous court, and arrived at the grand entrance of
+      the palace, where the officer, with another bow, delivered Hendon into the
+      hands of a gorgeous official, who received him with profound respect and
+      led him forward through a great hall, lined on both sides with rows of
+      splendid flunkeys (who made reverential obeisance as the two passed along,
+      but fell into death-throes of silent laughter at our stately scarecrow the
+      moment his back was turned), and up a broad staircase, among flocks of
+      fine folk, and finally conducted him into a vast room, clove a passage for
+      him through the assembled nobility of England, then made a bow, reminded
+      him to take his hat off, and left him standing in the middle of the room,
+      a mark for all eyes, for plenty of indignant frowns, and for a sufficiency
+      of amused and derisive smiles.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Miles Hendon was entirely bewildered. &nbsp;There sat the young King,
+      under a canopy of state, five steps away, with his head bent down and
+      aside, speaking with a sort of human bird of paradise&mdash;a duke, maybe.
+      &nbsp;Hendon observed to himself that it was hard enough to be sentenced
+      to death in the full vigour of life, without having this peculiarly public
+      humiliation added. &nbsp;He wished the King would hurry about it&mdash;some
+      of the gaudy people near by were becoming pretty offensive. &nbsp;At this
+      moment the King raised his head slightly, and Hendon caught a good view of
+      his face. The sight nearly took his breath away!&mdash;He stood gazing at
+      the fair young face like one transfixed; then presently ejaculated&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Lo, the Lord of the Kingdom of Dreams and Shadows on his throne!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He muttered some broken sentences, still gazing and marvelling; then
+      turned his eyes around and about, scanning the gorgeous throng and the
+      splendid saloon, murmuring, &ldquo;But these are <i>real</i>&mdash;verily
+      these are <i>real</i>&mdash;surely it is not a dream.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He stared at the King again&mdash;and thought, &ldquo;<i>Is</i> it a dream
+      . . . or <i>is</i> he the veritable Sovereign of England, and not the
+      friendless poor Tom o&rsquo; Bedlam I took him for&mdash;who shall solve
+      me this riddle?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A sudden idea flashed in his eye, and he strode to the wall, gathered up a
+      chair, brought it back, planted it on the floor, and sat down in it!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link33-392" id="link33-392"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link33-392.jpg (184K)" src="images/33-392.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A buzz of indignation broke out, a rough hand was laid upon him and a
+      voice exclaimed&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Up, thou mannerless clown! would&rsquo;st sit in the presence of
+      the King?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The disturbance attracted his Majesty&rsquo;s attention, who stretched
+      forth his hand and cried out&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Touch him not, it is his right!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The throng fell back, stupefied. &nbsp;The King went on&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Learn ye all, ladies, lords, and gentlemen, that this is my trusty
+      and well-beloved servant, Miles Hendon, who interposed his good sword and
+      saved his prince from bodily harm and possible death&mdash;and for this he
+      is a knight, by the King&rsquo;s voice. &nbsp;Also learn, that for a
+      higher service, in that he saved his sovereign stripes and shame, taking
+      these upon himself, he is a peer of England, Earl of Kent, and shall have
+      gold and lands meet for the dignity. &nbsp;More&mdash;the privilege which
+      he hath just exercised is his by royal grant; for we have ordained that
+      the chiefs of his line shall have and hold the right to sit in the
+      presence of the Majesty of England henceforth, age after age, so long as
+      the crown shall endure. &nbsp;Molest him not.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Two persons, who, through delay, had only arrived from the country during
+      this morning, and had now been in this room only five minutes, stood
+      listening to these words and looking at the King, then at the scarecrow,
+      then at the King again, in a sort of torpid bewilderment. &nbsp;These were
+      Sir Hugh and the Lady Edith. &nbsp;But the new Earl did not see them.
+      &nbsp;He was still staring at the monarch, in a dazed way, and muttering&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, body o&rsquo; me! &nbsp;<i>this</i> my pauper! &nbsp;This my
+      lunatic! &nbsp;This is he whom <i>I</i> would show what grandeur was, in
+      my house of seventy rooms and seven-and-twenty servants! &nbsp;This is he
+      who had never known aught but rags for raiment, kicks for comfort, and
+      offal for diet! &nbsp;This is he whom <i>I</i> adopted and would make
+      respectable! Would God I had a bag to hide my head in!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then his manners suddenly came back to him, and he dropped upon his knees,
+      with his hands between the King&rsquo;s, and swore allegiance and did
+      homage for his lands and titles. &nbsp;Then he rose and stood respectfully
+      aside, a mark still for all eyes&mdash;and much envy, too.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now the King discovered Sir Hugh, and spoke out with wrathful voice and
+      kindling eye&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Strip this robber of his false show and stolen estates, and put him
+      under lock and key till I have need of him.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The late Sir Hugh was led away.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link33-394" id="link33-394"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link33-394.jpg (165K)" src="images/33-394.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a stir at the other end of the room, now; the assemblage fell
+      apart, and Tom Canty, quaintly but richly clothed, marched down, between
+      these living walls, preceded by an usher. &nbsp;He knelt before the King,
+      who said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have learned the story of these past few weeks, and am well
+      pleased with thee. &nbsp;Thou hast governed the realm with right royal
+      gentleness and mercy. &nbsp;Thou hast found thy mother and thy sisters
+      again? &nbsp;Good; they shall be cared for&mdash;and thy father shall
+      hang, if thou desire it and the law consent. &nbsp;Know, all ye that hear
+      my voice, that from this day, they that abide in the shelter of Christ&rsquo;s
+      Hospital and share the King&rsquo;s bounty shall have their minds and
+      hearts fed, as well as their baser parts; and this boy shall dwell there,
+      and hold the chief place in its honourable body of governors, during life.
+      &nbsp;And for that he hath been a king, it is meet that other than common
+      observance shall be his due; wherefore note this his dress of state, for
+      by it he shall be known, and none shall copy it; and wheresoever he shall
+      come, it shall remind the people that he hath been royal, in his time, and
+      none shall deny him his due of reverence or fail to give him salutation.
+      &nbsp;He hath the throne&rsquo;s protection, he hath the crown&rsquo;s
+      support, he shall be known and called by the honourable title of the King&rsquo;s
+      Ward.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link33-395" id="link33-395"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link33-395.jpg (145K)" src="images/33-395.jpg"
+       style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The proud and happy Tom Canty rose and kissed the King&rsquo;s hand, and
+      was conducted from the presence. &nbsp;He did not waste any time, but flew
+      to his mother, to tell her and Nan and Bet all about it and get them to
+      help him enjoy the great news. {1}
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c34" id="c34"></a> <a
+      name="link34-397" id="link34-397"></a>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link34-397.jpg (58K)" src="images/34-397.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Conclusion. Justice and retribution.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When the mysteries were all cleared up, it came out, by confession of Hugh
+      Hendon, that his wife had repudiated Miles by his command, that day at
+      Hendon Hall&mdash;a command assisted and supported by the perfectly
+      trustworthy promise that if she did not deny that he was Miles Hendon, and
+      stand firmly to it, he would have her life; whereupon she said, &ldquo;Take
+      it!&rdquo;&mdash;she did not value it&mdash;and she would not repudiate
+      Miles; then the husband said he would spare her life but have Miles
+      assassinated! &nbsp;This was a different matter; so she gave her word and
+      kept it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hugh was not prosecuted for his threats or for stealing his brother&rsquo;s
+      estates and title, because the wife and brother would not testify against
+      him&mdash;and the former would not have been allowed to do it, even if she
+      had wanted to. &nbsp;Hugh deserted his wife and went over to the
+      continent, where he presently died; and by-and-by the Earl of Kent married
+      his relict. There were grand times and rejoicings at Hendon village when
+      the couple paid their first visit to the Hall.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom Canty&rsquo;s father was never heard of again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King sought out the farmer who had been branded and sold as a slave,
+      and reclaimed him from his evil life with the Ruffler&rsquo;s gang, and
+      put him in the way of a comfortable livelihood.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He also took that old lawyer out of prison and remitted his fine. He
+      provided good homes for the daughters of the two Baptist women whom he saw
+      burned at the stake, and roundly punished the official who laid the
+      undeserved stripes upon Miles Hendon&rsquo;s back.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He saved from the gallows the boy who had captured the stray falcon, and
+      also the woman who had stolen a remnant of cloth from a weaver; but he was
+      too late to save the man who had been convicted of killing a deer in the
+      royal forest.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He showed favour to the justice who had pitied him when he was supposed to
+      have stolen a pig, and he had the gratification of seeing him grow in the
+      public esteem and become a great and honoured man.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As long as the King lived he was fond of telling the story of his
+      adventures, all through, from the hour that the sentinel cuffed him away
+      from the palace gate till the final midnight when he deftly mixed himself
+      into a gang of hurrying workmen and so slipped into the Abbey and climbed
+      up and hid himself in the Confessor&rsquo;s tomb, and then slept so long,
+      next day, that he came within one of missing the Coronation altogether.
+      &nbsp;He said that the frequent rehearsing of the precious lesson kept him
+      strong in his purpose to make its teachings yield benefits to his people;
+      and so, whilst his life was spared he should continue to tell the story,
+      and thus keep its sorrowful spectacles fresh in his memory and the springs
+      of pity replenished in his heart.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Miles Hendon and Tom Canty were favourites of the King, all through his
+      brief reign, and his sincere mourners when he died. The good Earl of Kent
+      had too much sense to abuse his peculiar privilege; but he exercised it
+      twice after the instance we have seen of it before he was called from this
+      world&mdash;once at the accession of Queen Mary, and once at the accession
+      of Queen Elizabeth. &nbsp;A descendant of his exercised it at the
+      accession of James I. &nbsp;Before this one&rsquo;s son chose to use the
+      privilege, near a quarter of a century had elapsed, and the &lsquo;privilege
+      of the Kents&rsquo; had faded out of most people&rsquo;s memories; so,
+      when the Kent of that day appeared before Charles I. and his court and sat
+      down in the sovereign&rsquo;s presence to assert and perpetuate the right
+      of his house, there was a fine stir indeed! &nbsp;But the matter was soon
+      explained, and the right confirmed. &nbsp;The last Earl of the line fell
+      in the wars of the Commonwealth fighting for the King, and the odd
+      privilege ended with him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom Canty lived to be a very old man, a handsome, white-haired old fellow,
+      of grave and benignant aspect. &nbsp;As long as he lasted he was honoured;
+      and he was also reverenced, for his striking and peculiar costume kept the
+      people reminded that &lsquo;in his time he had been royal;&rsquo; so,
+      wherever he appeared the crowd fell apart, making way for him, and
+      whispering, one to another, &ldquo;Doff thy hat, it is the King&rsquo;s
+      Ward!&rdquo;&mdash;and so they saluted, and got his kindly smile in return&mdash;and
+      they valued it, too, for his was an honourable history.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Yes, King Edward VI. lived only a few years, poor boy, but he lived them
+      worthily. &nbsp;More than once, when some great dignitary, some gilded
+      vassal of the crown, made argument against his leniency, and urged that
+      some law which he was bent upon amending was gentle enough for its
+      purpose, and wrought no suffering or oppression which any one need
+      mightily mind, the young King turned the mournful eloquence of his great
+      compassionate eyes upon him and answered&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What dost <i>thou</i> know of suffering and oppression? &nbsp;I and
+      my people know, but not thou.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The reign of Edward VI. was a singularly merciful one for those harsh
+      times. &nbsp;Now that we are taking leave of him, let us try to keep this
+      in our minds, to his credit.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c35" id="c35"></a> <a
+      name="link35-403" id="link35-403"></a>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
+      <img alt="link35-403.jpg (46K)" src="images/35-403.jpg" style="width:100%;" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      FOOTNOTES AND TWAIN&rsquo;S NOTES
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      {1} &nbsp;For Mark Twain&rsquo;s note see below under the relevant chapter
+      heading.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      {2} &nbsp;He refers to the order of baronets, or baronettes; the barones
+      minores, as distinct from the parliamentary barons&mdash;not, it need
+      hardly be said, to the baronets of later creation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      {3} &nbsp;The lords of Kingsale, descendants of De Courcy, still enjoy
+      this curious privilege.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      {4} &nbsp;Hume.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      {5} &nbsp;Ib.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      {6} &nbsp;Leigh Hunt&rsquo;s &lsquo;The Town,&rsquo; p.408, quotation from
+      an early tourist.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      {7} &nbsp;Canting terms for various kinds of thieves, beggars and
+      vagabonds, and their female companions.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      {8} &nbsp;From &lsquo;The English Rogue.&rsquo; &nbsp;London, 1665.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      {9} &nbsp;Hume&rsquo;s England.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      {10} &nbsp;See Dr. J. Hammond Trumbull&rsquo;s Blue Laws, True and False,
+      p. 11.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br />NOTE 1, Chapter IV. Christ&rsquo;s Hospital Costume.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It is most reasonable to regard the dress as copied from the costume of
+      the citizens of London of that period, when long blue coats were the
+      common habit of apprentices and serving-men, and yellow stockings were
+      generally worn; the coat fits closely to the body, but has loose sleeves,
+      and beneath is worn a sleeveless yellow under-coat; around the waist is a
+      red leathern girdle; a clerical band around the neck, and a small flat
+      black cap, about the size of a saucer, completes the costume.&mdash;Timbs&rsquo;
+      Curiosities of London.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br />NOTE 2, Chapter IV.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It appears that Christ&rsquo;s Hospital was not originally founded as a <i>school</i>;
+      its object was to rescue children from the streets, to shelter, feed,
+      clothe them.&mdash;Timbs&rsquo; Curiosities of London.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br />NOTE 3, Chapter V. The Duke of Norfolk&rsquo;s Condemnation
+      commanded.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King was now approaching fast towards his end; and fearing lest
+      Norfolk should escape him, he sent a message to the Commons, by which he
+      desired them to hasten the Bill, on pretence that Norfolk enjoyed the
+      dignity of Earl Marshal, and it was necessary to appoint another, who
+      might officiate at the ensuing ceremony of installing his son Prince of
+      Wales.&mdash;Hume&rsquo;s History of England, vol. iii. p. 307.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br />NOTE 4, Chapter VII.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was not till the end of this reign (Henry VIII.) that any salads,
+      carrots, turnips, or other edible roots were produced in England. &nbsp;The
+      little of these vegetables that was used was formerly imported from
+      Holland and Flanders. &nbsp;Queen Catherine, when she wanted a salad, was
+      obliged to despatch a messenger thither on purpose.&mdash;Hume&rsquo;s
+      History of England, vol. iii. p. 314.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br />NOTE 5, Chapter VIII. Attainder of Norfolk.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The House of Peers, without examining the prisoner, without trial or
+      evidence, passed a Bill of Attainder against him and sent it down to the
+      Commons . . . The obsequious Commons obeyed his (the King&rsquo;s)
+      directions; and the King, having affixed the Royal assent to the Bill by
+      commissioners, issued orders for the execution of Norfolk on the morning
+      of January 29 (the next day).&mdash;Hume&rsquo;s History of England, vol
+      iii. p 306.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br />NOTE 6, Chapter X. The Loving-cup.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The loving-cup, and the peculiar ceremonies observed in drinking from it,
+      are older than English history. &nbsp;It is thought that both are Danish
+      importations. &nbsp;As far back as knowledge goes, the loving-cup has
+      always been drunk at English banquets. &nbsp;Tradition explains the
+      ceremonies in this way. &nbsp;In the rude ancient times it was deemed a
+      wise precaution to have both hands of both drinkers employed, lest while
+      the pledger pledged his love and fidelity to the pledgee, the pledgee take
+      that opportunity to slip a dirk into him!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br />NOTE 7, Chapter XI. The Duke of Norfolk&rsquo;s narrow
+      Escape.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Had Henry VIII. survived a few hours longer, his order for the duke&rsquo;s
+      execution would have been carried into effect. &lsquo;But news being
+      carried to the Tower that the King himself had expired that night, the
+      lieutenant deferred obeying the warrant; and it was not thought advisable
+      by the Council to begin a new reign by the death of the greatest nobleman
+      in the kingdom, who had been condemned by a sentence so unjust and
+      tyrannical.&rsquo;&mdash;Hume&rsquo;s History of England, vol. iii, p.
+      307.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br />NOTE 8, Chapter XIV. The Whipping-boy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      James I. and Charles II. had whipping-boys, when they were little fellows,
+      to take their punishment for them when they fell short in their lessons;
+      so I have ventured to furnish my small prince with one, for my own
+      purposes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br />NOTES to Chapter XV.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Character of Hertford.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The young King discovered an extreme attachment to his uncle, who was, in
+      the main, a man of moderation and probity.&mdash;Hume&rsquo;s History of
+      England, vol. iii, p324.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But if he (the Protector) gave offence by assuming too much state, he
+      deserves great praise on account of the laws passed this session, by which
+      the rigour of former statutes was much mitigated, and some security given
+      to the freedom of the constitution. &nbsp;All laws were repealed which
+      extended the crime of treason beyond the statute of the twenty-fifth of
+      Edward III.; all laws enacted during the late reign extending the crime of
+      felony; all the former laws against Lollardy or heresy, together with the
+      statute of the Six Articles. &nbsp;None were to be accused for words, but
+      within a month after they were spoken. &nbsp;By these repeals several of
+      the most rigorous laws that ever had passed in England were annulled; and
+      some dawn, both of civil and religious liberty, began to appear to the
+      people. &nbsp;A repeal also passed of that law, the destruction of all
+      laws, by which the King&rsquo;s proclamation was made of equal force with
+      a statute.&mdash;Ibid. vol. iii. p. 339.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Boiling to Death.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the reign of Henry VIII. poisoners were, by Act of Parliament,
+      condemned to be <i>boiled to death</i>. &nbsp;This Act was repealed in the
+      following reign.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In Germany, even in the seventeenth century, this horrible punishment was
+      inflicted on coiners and counterfeiters. &nbsp;Taylor, the Water Poet,
+      describes an execution he witnessed in Hamburg in 1616. &nbsp;The judgment
+      pronounced against a coiner of false money was that he should &lsquo;<i>be
+      boiled to death in oil</i>; not thrown into the vessel at once, but with a
+      pulley or rope to be hanged under the armpits, and then let down into the
+      oil <i>by degrees</i>; first the feet, and next the legs, and so to boil
+      his flesh from his bones alive.&rsquo;&mdash;Dr. J. Hammond Trumbull&rsquo;s
+      Blue Laws, True and False, p. 13.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Famous Stocking Case.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A woman and her daughter, <i>nine years old</i>, were hanged in Huntingdon
+      for selling their souls to the devil, and raising a storm by pulling off
+      their stockings!&mdash;Dr. J. Hammond Trumbull&rsquo;s Blue Laws, True and
+      False, p. 20.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br />NOTE 10, Chapter XVII. Enslaving.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So young a King and so ignorant a peasant were likely to make mistakes;
+      and this is an instance in point. &nbsp;This peasant was suffering from
+      this law <i>by anticipation</i>; the King was venting his indignation
+      against a law which was not yet in existence; for this hideous statute was
+      to have birth in this little King&rsquo;s <i>own reign</i>. However, we
+      know, from the humanity of his character, that it could never have been
+      suggested by him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br />NOTES to Chapter XXIII. Death for Trifling Larcenies.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When Connecticut and New Haven were framing their first codes, larceny
+      above the value of twelve pence was a capital crime in England&mdash;as it
+      had been since the time of Henry I.&mdash;Dr. J. Hammond Trumbull&rsquo;s
+      Blue Laws, True and False, p. 17.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The curious old book called The English Rogue makes the limit thirteen
+      pence ha&rsquo;penny: &nbsp;death being the portion of any who steal a
+      thing &lsquo;above the value of thirteen pence ha&rsquo;penny.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br />NOTES to Chapter XXVII.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      From many descriptions of larceny the law expressly took away the benefit
+      of clergy: &nbsp;to steal a horse, or a <i>hawk</i>, or woollen cloth from
+      the weaver, was a hanging matter. &nbsp;So it was to kill a deer from the
+      King&rsquo;s forest, or to export sheep from the kingdom.&mdash;Dr. J.
+      Hammond Trumbull&rsquo;s Blue Laws, True and False, p.13.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      William Prynne, a learned barrister, was sentenced (long after Edward VI.&rsquo;s
+      time) to lose both his ears in the pillory, to degradation from the bar, a
+      fine of 3,000 pounds, and imprisonment for life. &nbsp;Three years
+      afterwards he gave new offence to Laud by publishing a pamphlet against
+      the hierarchy. &nbsp;He was again prosecuted, and was sentenced to lose <i>what
+      remained of his ears</i>, to pay a fine of 5,000 pounds, to be <i>branded
+      on both his cheeks</i> with the letters S. L. (for Seditious Libeller),
+      and to remain in prison for life. &nbsp;The severity of this sentence was
+      equalled by the savage rigour of its execution.&mdash;Ibid. p. 12.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br />NOTES to Chapter XXXIII.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Christ&rsquo;s Hospital, or Bluecoat School, &rsquo;the noblest
+      institution in the world.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The ground on which the Priory of the Grey Friars stood was conferred by
+      Henry VIII. on the Corporation of London (who caused the institution there
+      of a home for poor boys and girls). Subsequently, Edward VI. caused the
+      old Priory to be properly repaired, and founded within it that noble
+      establishment called the Bluecoat School, or Christ&rsquo;s Hospital, for
+      the <i>education</i> and maintenance of orphans and the children of
+      indigent persons . . . Edward would not let him (Bishop Ridley) depart
+      till the letter was written (to the Lord Mayor), and then charged him to
+      deliver it himself, and signify his special request and commandment that
+      no time might be lost in proposing what was convenient, and apprising him
+      of the proceedings. &nbsp;The work was zealously undertaken, Ridley
+      himself engaging in it; and the result was the founding of Christ&rsquo;s
+      Hospital for the education of poor children. (The King endowed several
+      other charities at the same time.) &ldquo;Lord God,&rdquo; said he,
+      &ldquo;I yield Thee most hearty thanks that Thou hast given me life thus
+      long to finish this work to the glory of Thy name!&rdquo; &nbsp;That
+      innocent and most exemplary life was drawing rapidly to its close, and in
+      a few days he rendered up his spirit to his Creator, praying God to defend
+      the realm from Papistry.&mdash;J. Heneage Jesse&rsquo;s London: &nbsp;its
+      Celebrated Characters and Places.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the Great Hall hangs a large picture of King Edward VI. seated on his
+      throne, in a scarlet and ermined robe, holding the sceptre in his left
+      hand, and presenting with the other the Charter to the kneeling Lord
+      Mayor. &nbsp;By his side stands the Chancellor, holding the seals, and
+      next to him are other officers of state. &nbsp;Bishop Ridley kneels before
+      him with uplifted hands, as if supplicating a blessing on the event;
+      whilst the Aldermen, etc., with the Lord Mayor, kneel on both sides,
+      occupying the middle ground of the picture; and lastly, in front, are a
+      double row of boys on one side and girls on the other, from the master and
+      matron down to the boy and girl who have stepped forward from their
+      respective rows, and kneel with raised hands before the King.&mdash;Timbs&rsquo;
+      Curiosities of London, p. 98.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Christ&rsquo;s Hospital, by ancient custom, possesses the privilege of
+      addressing the Sovereign on the occasion of his or her coming into the
+      City to partake of the hospitality of the Corporation of London.&mdash;Ibid.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Dining Hall, with its lobby and organ-gallery, occupies the entire
+      storey, which is 187 feet long, 51 feet wide, and 47 feet high; it is lit
+      by nine large windows, filled with stained glass on the south side; and
+      is, next to Westminster Hall, the noblest room in the metropolis. &nbsp;Here
+      the boys, now about 800 in number, dine; and here are held the &rsquo;Suppings
+      in Public,&rsquo; to which visitors are admitted by tickets issued by the
+      Treasurer and by the Governors of Christ&rsquo;s Hospital. &nbsp;The
+      tables are laid with cheese in wooden bowls, beer in wooden piggins,
+      poured from leathern jacks, and bread brought in large baskets. &nbsp;The
+      official company enter; the Lord Mayor, or President, takes his seat in a
+      state chair made of oak from St. Catherine&rsquo;s Church, by the Tower; a
+      hymn is sung, accompanied by the organ; a &lsquo;Grecian,&rsquo; or head
+      boy, reads the prayers from the pulpit, silence being enforced by three
+      drops of a wooden hammer. &nbsp;After prayer the supper commences, and the
+      visitors walk between the tables. &nbsp;At its close the &rsquo;trade-boys&rsquo;
+      take up the baskets, bowls, jacks, piggins, and candlesticks, and pass in
+      procession, the bowing to the Governors being curiously formal. &nbsp;This
+      spectacle was witnessed by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1845.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Among the more eminent Bluecoat boys are Joshua Barnes, editor of Anacreon
+      and Euripides; Jeremiah Markland, the eminent critic, particularly in
+      Greek Literature; Camden, the antiquary; Bishop Stillingfleet; Samuel
+      Richardson, the novelist; Thomas Mitchell, the translator of Aristophanes;
+      Thomas Barnes, many years editor of the London Times; Coleridge, Charles
+      Lamb, and Leigh Hunt.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      No boy is admitted before he is seven years old, or after he is nine; and
+      no boy can remain in the school after he is fifteen, King&rsquo;s boys and
+      &lsquo;Grecians&rsquo; alone excepted. &nbsp;There are about 500
+      Governors, at the head of whom are the Sovereign and the Prince of Wales.
+      &nbsp;The qualification for a Governor is payment of 500 pounds.&mdash;Ibid.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      GENERAL NOTE.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      One hears much about the &lsquo;hideous Blue Laws of Connecticut,&rsquo;
+      and is accustomed to shudder piously when they are mentioned. &nbsp;There
+      are people in America&mdash;and even in England!&mdash;who imagine that
+      they were a very monument of malignity, pitilessness, and inhumanity;
+      whereas in reality they were about the first <i>sweeping departure from
+      judicial atrocity</i> which the &lsquo;civilised&rsquo; world had seen.
+      &nbsp;This humane and kindly Blue Law Code, of two hundred and forty years
+      ago, stands all by itself, with ages of bloody law on the further side of
+      it, and a century and three-quarters of bloody English law on <i>this</i>
+      side of it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There has never been a time&mdash;under the Blue Laws or any other&mdash;when
+      above <i>fourteen</i> crimes were punishable by death in Connecticut.
+      &nbsp;But in England, within the memory of men who are still hale in body
+      and mind, <i>two hundred and twenty-three</i> crimes were punishable by
+      death! {10} &nbsp;These facts are worth knowing&mdash;and worth thinking
+      about, too.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Prince and The Pauper, Complete
+by Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
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+  </body>
+</html>
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+This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements,
+metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be
+in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES.
+
+Procedures for determining public domain status are described in
+the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org.
+
+No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in
+jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize
+this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright
+status under the laws that apply to them.
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+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #1837 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1837)
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+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1"?>
+
+<!DOCTYPE html
+   PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
+   "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" >
+
+<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
+  <head>
+    <title>
+      THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER, COMPLETE, By Mark Twain
+    </title>
+    <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve">
+
+		body {background:#faebd7; margin:5%; text-align:justify}
+    P { text-indent:   1em;
+        margin-top:    .25em;
+        margin-bottom: .25em; }
+    H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; }
+    HR  { width: 33%; text-align: center; }
+		blockquote {font-size: 97% }
+		.figleft   {float: left;}
+     div.fig     { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; }
+    .figright  {float: right;}
+    .toc       { margin-left: 15%; margin-bottom: 0em;}
+    .boxnote    {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin: 1em 10%; }
+    CENTER { padding: 10px;}
+
+</style>
+  </head>
+  <body>
+    <h1>
+      THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER
+    </h1>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Prince and The Pauper, Complete
+by Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net
+
+
+Title: The Prince and The Pauper, Complete
+
+Author: Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
+
+Release Date: August 20, 2006 [EBook #1837]
+Last Updated: October 22, 2012
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PRINCE AND THE PAUPER ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Widger. The earliest PG edition was prepared by
+Les Bowler
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+    <div class="boxnote">
+      <i> <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1837/old/orig1837-h/main.htm">
+      LINK TO THE ORIGINAL HTML FILE: This Ebook Has Been Reformatted For Better
+      Appearance In Mobile Viewers Such As Kindles And Others. The Original
+      Format, Which The Editor Believes Has A More Attractive Appearance For
+      Laptops And Other Computers, May Be Viewed By Clicking On This Box.</a>
+      </i>
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <h1>
+      THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER
+    </h1>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <h2>
+      by Mark Twain
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="bookcover.jpg (148K)" src="images/cover.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="frontispiece1.jpg (135K)" src="images/frontispiece1.jpg"
+      width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="frontispiece2.jpg (123K)" src="images/frontispiece2.jpg"
+      width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="titlepage.jpg (62K)" src="images/titlepage.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="greatseal" id="greatseal"></a><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="greatseal.jpg (68K)" src="images/greatseal.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br />The Great Seal <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="dedication.jpg (21K)" src="images/dedication.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="inscription.jpg (16K)" src="images/inscription.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <blockquote>
+      <p>
+        <b> I will set down a tale as it was told to me by one who had it of his
+        father, which latter had it of HIS father, this last having in like
+        manner had it of HIS father&mdash;and so on, back and still back, three
+        hundred years and more, the fathers transmitting it to the sons and so
+        preserving it. &nbsp;It may be history, it may be only a legend, a
+        tradition. It may have happened, it may not have happened: &nbsp;but it
+        COULD have happened. &nbsp;It may be that the wise and the learned
+        believed it in the old days; it may be that only the unlearned and the
+        simple loved it and credited it.</b>
+      </p>
+    </blockquote>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <h2>
+      CONTENTS
+    </h2>
+    <table summary="">
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          I.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c1">The birth of the Prince and the Pauper.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          II.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c2">Tom's early life.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          III.&nbsp;&nbsp;
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c3">Tom's meeting with the Prince.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          IV.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c4">The Prince's troubles begin.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          V.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c5">Tom as a patrician.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          VI.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c6">Tom receives instructions.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          VII.&nbsp;&nbsp;
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c7">Tom's first royal dinner.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          VIII.&nbsp;&nbsp;
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c8">The question of the Seal.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          IX.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c9">The river pageant.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          X.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c10">The Prince in the toils.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XI.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c11">At Guildhall.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XII.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c12">The Prince and his deliverer.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XIII.&nbsp;&nbsp;
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c13">The disappearance of the Prince.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XIV.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c14">'Le Roi est mort&mdash;vive le Roi.'</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XV.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c15">Tom as King.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XVI.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c16">The state dinner.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XVII.&nbsp;&nbsp;
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c17">Foo-foo the First.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XVIII.&nbsp;&nbsp;
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c18">The Prince with the tramps.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XIX.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c19">The Prince with the peasants.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XX.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c20">The Prince and the hermit.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XXI.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c21">Hendon to the rescue.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XXII.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c22">A victim of treachery.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XXIII.&nbsp;&nbsp;
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c23">The Prince a prisoner.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XXIV.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c24">The escape.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XXV.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c25">Hendon Hall.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XXVI.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c26">Disowned.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XXVII.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c27">In prison.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XXVIII.&nbsp;&nbsp;
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c28">The sacrifice.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XXIX.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c29">To London.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XXX.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c30">Tom's progress.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XXXI.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c31">The Recognition procession.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XXXII.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c32">Coronation Day</a>.<br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          XXXIII.
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c33">Edward as King.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          CONCLUSION. &nbsp;
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#c34">Justice and Retribution.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          &nbsp;
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <a href="#link35-403">Notes.</a><br />
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+    </table>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <h2>
+      ILLUSTRATIONS
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      <a href="#greatseal">THE GREAT SEAL (frontispiece)</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link01-021">THE BIRTH OF THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link01-023">"SPLENDID PAGEANTS AND GREAT BONFIRES"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link02-025">TOM'S EARLY LIFE </a><br /><br /> <a href="#link02-028">OFFAL
+      COURT</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link02-029">"WITH ANY MISERABLE CRUST"</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link02-030">"HE OFTEN READ THE PRIEST'S BOOKS"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link02-031">"SAW POOR ANNE ASKEW BURNED"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link02-032">"BROUGHT THEIR PERPLEXITIES TO TOM"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link02-033">"LONGING FOR THE PORK-PIES" </a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link03-035">TOM'S MEETING WITH THE PRINCE</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link03-037">"AT TEMPLE BAR"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link03-039">"LET
+      HIM IN"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link03-041">"HOW OLD BE THESE</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link03-043">"DOFF THY RAGS, AND DON THESE SPLENDORS"&nbsp;&nbsp;</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link03-046">"I SALUTE YOUR GRACIOUS HIGHNESS!"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link04-047">THE PRINCE'S TROUBLES BEGIN</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link04-050">"SET UPON BY DOGS"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link04-052">"A
+      DRUNKEN RUFFIAN COLLARED HIM"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link05-055">TOM AS A
+      PATRICIAN</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link05-057">"NEXT HE DREW THE SWORD"</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link05-058">"RESOLVED TO FLY"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link05-059">"THE
+      BOY WAS ON HIS KNEES"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link05-061">"NOBLES WALKED
+      UPON EACH SIDE OF HIM"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link05-062">"HE DROPPED
+      UPON HIS KNEES"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link05-064">"HE TURNED WITH JOYFUL
+      FACE"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link05-065">"THE PHYSICIAN BOWED LOW"</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link05-067">"THE KING FELL BACK UPON HIS COUCH"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link05-068">"IS THIS MAN TO LIVE FOREVER?"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link06-071">TOM RECEIVES INSTRUCTIONS</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link06-073">"PRITHEE, INSIST NOT"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link06-075">"THE LORD ST. JOHN MADE REVERENCE"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link06-077">HERTFORD AND THE PRINCESSES</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link06-079">"SHE MADE REVERENCE"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link06-080">"OFFERED
+      IT TO HIM ON A GOLDEN SALVER"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link06-082">"THEY
+      MUSED A WHILE"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link06-083">"PEACE MY LORD, THOU
+      UTTEREST TREASON!"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link06-084">"HE BEGAN TO PACE
+      THE FLOOR"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link07-087">TOM'S FIRST ROYAL DINNER</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link07-089">"FASTENED A NAPKIN ABOUT HIS NECK"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link07-091">"TOM ATE WITH HIS FINGERS"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link07-092">"HE GRAVELY TOOK A DRAUGHT"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link07-093">"TOM PUT ON THE GREAVES"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link08-095">THE QUESTION OF THE SEAL</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link08-098">"EASED HIM BACK UPON HIS PILLOWS"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link09-101">THE RIVER PAGEANT</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link09-104">"HALBERDIERS
+      APPEARED IN THE GATEWAY"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link09-106">"TOM CANTY
+      STEPPED INTO VIEW"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link10-107">THE PRINCE IN THE
+      TOILS</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link10-110">"A DIM FORM SANK TO THE GROUND"</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link10-111">"WHO ART THOU?"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link10-113">"INTO
+      GOOD WIFE CANTY'S ARMS"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link10-115">"BENT
+      HEEDFULLY AND WARILY OVER HIM"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link10-116">"THE
+      PRINCE SPRANG UP"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link10-118">"HURRIED HIM ALONG
+      THE DARK WAY"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link10-120">"HE WASTE NO TIME"</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link11-121">AT GUILDHALL</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link11-124">"A
+      RICH CANOPY OF STATE"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link11-127">"BEGAN TO LAY
+      ABOUT HIM"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link11-128">"LONG LIVE THE KING!"</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link12-131">THE PRINCE AND HIS DELIVERER</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link12-134">"OUR FRIENDS THREADED THEIR WAY"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link12-136">"OBJECT LESSONS" IN ENGLISH HISTORY</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link12-137">"JOHN CANTY MOVED OFF"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link12-139">"SMOOTHING BACK THE TANGLED CURLS"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link12-141">"PRITHEE, POUR THE WATER"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link12-142">"GO ON&mdash;TELL ME THY STORY</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link12-145">"THOU HAST BEEN SHAMEFULLY ABUSED"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link12-146">"HE DROPPED ON ONE KNEE"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link12-148">"RISE, SIR MILES HENDON, BARONET"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link13-149">THE DISAPPEARANCE OF THE PRINCE</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link13-151">"HE DROPPED ASLEEP"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link13-153">"THESE
+      BE VERY GOOD AND SOUND"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link13-155">"EXPLAIN, THOU
+      LIMB OF SATAN"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link13-156">"HENDON FOLLOWED AFTER
+      HIM"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link14-159">"LE ROI EST MORT-VIVE LE ROI"</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link14-162">"WILT DEIGN TO DELIVER THY COMMANDS?"</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link14-164">"LORD OF THE BEDCHAMBER"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link14-166">"A SECRETARY OF STATE"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link14-170">"STOOD AT GRACEFUL EASE"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link14-172">"'TIS I THAT TAKE THEM"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link14-175">"BUT TAX YOUR MEMORY"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link15-177">TOM AS KING</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link15-181">"TOM
+      HAD WANDERED TO A WINDOW"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link15-183">"TOM SCANNED
+      THE PRISONERS"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link15-187">"LET THE PRISONER GO
+      FREE!"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link15-188">"WHAT IS IT THAT THESE HAVE
+      DONE?"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link15-190">"NODDED THEIR RECOGNITION"</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link16-193">THE STATE DINNER</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link16-196">"A
+      GENTLEMAN BEARING A ROD"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link16-197">"THE
+      CHANCELLOR BETWEEN TWO"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link16-198">"I THANK YOU
+      MY GOOD PEOPLE"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link16-199">"IN THE MIDST OF HIS
+      PAGEANT"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link17-201">FOO-FOO THE FIRST</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link17-205">"RUFFIAN FOLLOWED THEIR STEPS"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link17-206">"HE SEIZED A BILLET OF WOOD"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link17-207">"HE WAS SOON ABSORBED IN THINKING"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link17-208">"A GRIM AND UNSIGHTLY PICTURE"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link17-210">"THEY ROARED OUT A ROLLICKING DITTY"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link17-212">"WHILST THE FLAMES LICKED UPWARDS"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link17-213">"THEY WERE WHIPPED AT THE CART'S TAIL"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link17-215">"THOU SHALT NOT"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link17-216">"KNOCKING
+      HOBBS DOWN"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link17-218">"THRONE HIM"</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link18-221">THE PRINCE WITH THE TRAMPS</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link18-224">"TROOP OF VAGABONDS SET FORWARD"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link18-225">"THEY THREW BONES AND VEGETABLES</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link18-227">"WRITHE AND WALLOW IN THE DIRT"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link18-228">"KING FLED IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link18-230">"HE STUMBLED ALONG"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link18-232">"WHAT
+      SEEMED TO BE A WARM ROPE"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link18-233">"CUDDLED UP
+      TO THE CALF"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link19-235">THE PRINCE WITH THE
+      PEASANTS</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link19-239">"TOOK A GOOD SATISFYING
+      STARE"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link19-240">"MOTHER RECEIVED THE KING
+      KINDLY"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link19-242">"BROUGHT THE KING OUT OF HIS
+      DREAMS"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link19-244">"GAVE HIM A BUTCHER KNIFE TO
+      GRIND"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link20-245">THE PRINCE AND THE HERMIT</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link20-248">"HE TURNED AND DESCRIED TWO FIGURES"</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link20-249">"THE KING ENTERED AND PAUSED"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link20-251">"I WILL TELL YOU A SECRET"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link20-253">"CHATTING PLEASANTLY ALL THE TIME"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link20-255">"DREW HIS THUMB ALONG THE EDGE"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link20-256">"THE NEXT MOMENT THEY WERE BOUND"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link21-257">HENDON TO THE RESCUE</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link21-260">"SUNK
+      UPON HIS KNEES"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link21-262">"GOD MADE EVERY
+      CREATURE BUT YOU!"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link21-264">"THE FETTERED
+      LITTLE KING"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link22-267">A VICTIM OF TREACHERY</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link22-270">"HUGO STOOD NO CHANCE"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link22-272">"BOUND THE POULTICE TIGHT AND FAST"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link22-274">"TARRY HERE TILL I COME AGAIN</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link22-276">"KING SPRANG TO HIS DELIVERER'S SIDE"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link23-279">THE PRINCE A PRISONER</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link23-282">"GENTLY, GOOD FRIEND"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link23-284">"SHE SPRANG TO HER FEET"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link24-287">THE ESCAPE</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link24-290">"THE PIG
+      MAY COST THY NECK, MAN"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link24-292">"BEAR ME UP,
+      BEAR ME UP, SWEET SIR!"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link25-293">HENDON HALL</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link25-296">"JOGGING EASTWARD ON SORRY STEEDS"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link25-297">"THERE IS THE VILLAGE, MY PRINCE!"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link25-299">"'EMBRACE ME, HUGH,' HE CRIED"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link25-301">"HUGH PUT UP HIS HAND IN DISSENT"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link25-303">"A BEAUTIFUL LADY, RICHLY CLOTHED"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link25-305">"HUGH WAS PINNED TO THE WALL"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link26-307">DISOWNED</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link26-310">"OBEY, AND
+      HAVE NO FEAR"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link26-313">"AM I MILES HENDON?"</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link27-315">IN PRISON</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link27-318">"CHAINED
+      IN A LARGE ROOM"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link27-320">"THE OLD MAN LOOKED
+      HENDON OVER"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link27-321">"INFORMATION DELIVERED IN
+      A LOW VOICE"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link27-323">"THE KING!" HE CRIED.
+      "WHAT KING?"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link27-326">"TWO WOMEN CHAINED TO
+      POSTS"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link27-328">"TORN AWAY BY THE OFFICERS"</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link27-329">"THE KING WAS FURIOUS"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link28-331">THE SACRIFICE</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link28-334">"HE
+      CONFRONTED THE OFFICER IN CHARGE"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link28-336">"WHILE
+      THE LASH WAS APPLIED"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link28-337">"SIR HUGH
+      SPURRED AWAY"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link29-339">TO LONDON</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link29-342">"MOUNTED AND RODE OFF WITH THE KING"</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link29-343">"MIDST OF A JAM OF HOWLING PEOPLE"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link30-345">TOM'S PROGRESS</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link30-348">"TO
+      KISS HIS HAND AT PARTING"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link30-348">"COMMANDED
+      HER TO GO TO HER CLOSET"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link31-351">THE
+      RECOGNITION PROCESSION</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link31-353">THE START FOR
+      THE TOWER</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link31-355">"WELCOME, O KING!"</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link31-356">"A LARGESS! A LARGESS!"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link31-359">"SHE WAS AT HIS SIDE"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link31-361">"IT IS AN ILL TIME FOR DREAMING"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link31-362">"SHE WAS MY MOTHER"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link32-363">CORONATION
+      DAY</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link32-366">"GATHERS UP THE LADY'S LONG TRAIN"</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link32-368">"TOM CANTY APPEARED"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link32-370">"AND FELL ON HIS KNEES BEFORE HIM"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link32-373">"THE GREAT SEAL&mdash;FETCH IT HITHER"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link32-375">"SIRE, THE SEAL IS NOT THERE"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link32-377">"BETHINK THEE, MY KING"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link32-379">"LONG LIVE THE TRUE KING!"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link32-381">"TO CRACK NUTS WITH"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link33-383">EDWARD
+      AS KING</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link33-386">"HE STRETCHED HIMSELF ON THE
+      GROUND"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link33-389">"ARRESTED AS A SUSPICIOUS
+      CHARACTER"</a><br /><br /> <a href="#link33-392">"IT IS HIS RIGHT"</a><br /><br />
+      <a href="#link33-394">"STRIP THIS ROBBER"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link33-395">"TOM ROSE AND KISSED THE KING'S HAND"</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link34-397">JUSTICE AND RETRIBUTION</a><br /><br /> <a
+      href="#link35-403">NOTES</a><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br />
+      <a name="c1" id="c1"></a> <a name="link01-021" id="link01-021"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link01-021.jpg (73K)" src="images/01-021.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link01-023" id="link01-023"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link01-023.jpg (147K)" src="images/01-023.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter I. The birth of the Prince and the Pauper.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the ancient city of London, on a certain autumn day in the second
+      quarter of the sixteenth century, a boy was born to a poor family of the
+      name of Canty, who did not want him. &nbsp;On the same day another English
+      child was born to a rich family of the name of Tudor, who did want him.
+      All England wanted him too. &nbsp;England had so longed for him, and hoped
+      for him, and prayed God for him, that, now that he was really come, the
+      people went nearly mad for joy. &nbsp;Mere acquaintances hugged and kissed
+      each other and cried. Everybody took a holiday, and high and low, rich and
+      poor, feasted and danced and sang, and got very mellow; and they kept this
+      up for days and nights together. &nbsp;By day, London was a sight to see,
+      with gay banners waving from every balcony and housetop, and splendid
+      pageants marching along. &nbsp;By night, it was again a sight to see, with
+      its great bonfires at every corner, and its troops of revellers making
+      merry around them. &nbsp;There was no talk in all England but of the new
+      baby, Edward Tudor, Prince of Wales, who lay lapped in silks and satins,
+      unconscious of all this fuss, and not knowing that great lords and ladies
+      were tending him and watching over him&mdash;and not caring, either.
+      &nbsp;But there was no talk about the other baby, Tom Canty, lapped in his
+      poor rags, except among the family of paupers whom he had just come to
+      trouble with his presence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c2" id="c2"></a> <a
+      name="link02-025" id="link02-025"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link02-025.jpg (57K)" src="images/02-025.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter II. Tom's early life.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Let us skip a number of years.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      London was fifteen hundred years old, and was a great town&mdash;for that
+      day. It had a hundred thousand inhabitants&mdash;some think double as
+      many. &nbsp;The streets were very narrow, and crooked, and dirty,
+      especially in the part where Tom Canty lived, which was not far from
+      London Bridge. &nbsp;The houses were of wood, with the second story
+      projecting over the first, and the third sticking its elbows out beyond
+      the second. &nbsp;The higher the houses grew, the broader they grew.
+      &nbsp;They were skeletons of strong criss-cross beams, with solid material
+      between, coated with plaster. &nbsp;The beams were painted red or blue or
+      black, according to the owner's taste, and this gave the houses a very
+      picturesque look. &nbsp;The windows were small, glazed with little
+      diamond-shaped panes, and they opened outward, on hinges, like doors.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The house which Tom's father lived in was up a foul little pocket called
+      Offal Court, out of Pudding Lane. &nbsp;It was small, decayed, and
+      rickety, but it was packed full of wretchedly poor families. Canty's tribe
+      occupied a room on the third floor. &nbsp;The mother and father had a sort
+      of bedstead in the corner; but Tom, his grandmother, and his two sisters,
+      Bet and Nan, were not restricted&mdash;they had all the floor to
+      themselves, and might sleep where they chose. &nbsp;There were the remains
+      of a blanket or two, and some bundles of ancient and dirty straw, but
+      these could not rightly be called beds, for they were not organised; they
+      were kicked into a general pile, mornings, and selections made from the
+      mass at night, for service.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link02-028" id="link02-028"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link02-028.jpg (94K)" src="images/02-028.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Bet and Nan were fifteen years old&mdash;twins. &nbsp;They were
+      good-hearted girls, unclean, clothed in rags, and profoundly ignorant.
+      &nbsp;Their mother was like them. &nbsp;But the father and the grandmother
+      were a couple of fiends. &nbsp;They got drunk whenever they could; then
+      they fought each other or anybody else who came in the way; they cursed
+      and swore always, drunk or sober; John Canty was a thief, and his mother a
+      beggar. &nbsp;They made beggars of the children, but failed to make
+      thieves of them. &nbsp;Among, but not of, the dreadful rabble that
+      inhabited the house, was a good old priest whom the King had turned out of
+      house and home with a pension of a few farthings, and he used to get the
+      children aside and teach them right ways secretly. Father Andrew also
+      taught Tom a little Latin, and how to read and write; and would have done
+      the same with the girls, but they were afraid of the jeers of their
+      friends, who could not have endured such a queer accomplishment in them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All Offal Court was just such another hive as Canty's house. Drunkenness,
+      riot and brawling were the order, there, every night and nearly all night
+      long. &nbsp;Broken heads were as common as hunger in that place. &nbsp;Yet
+      little Tom was not unhappy. &nbsp;He had a hard time of it, but did not
+      know it. &nbsp;It was the sort of time that all the Offal Court boys had,
+      therefore he supposed it was the correct and comfortable thing. &nbsp;When
+      he came home empty-handed at night, he knew his father would curse him and
+      thrash him first, and that when he was done the awful grandmother would do
+      it all over again and improve on it; and that away in the night his
+      starving mother would slip to him stealthily with any miserable scrap or
+      crust she had been able to save for him by going hungry herself,
+      notwithstanding she was often caught in that sort of treason and soundly
+      beaten for it by her husband.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link02-029" id="link02-029"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link02-029.jpg (55K)" src="images/02-029.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      No, Tom's life went along well enough, especially in summer. &nbsp;He only
+      begged just enough to save himself, for the laws against mendicancy were
+      stringent, and the penalties heavy; so he put in a good deal of his time
+      listening to good Father Andrew's charming old tales and legends about
+      giants and fairies, dwarfs and genii, and enchanted castles, and gorgeous
+      kings and princes. &nbsp;His head grew to be full of these wonderful
+      things, and many a night as he lay in the dark on his scant and offensive
+      straw, tired, hungry, and smarting from a thrashing, he unleashed his
+      imagination and soon forgot his aches and pains in delicious picturings to
+      himself of the charmed life of a petted prince in a regal palace. &nbsp;One
+      desire came in time to haunt him day and night: &nbsp;it was to see a real
+      prince, with his own eyes. &nbsp;He spoke of it once to some of his Offal
+      Court comrades; but they jeered him and scoffed him so unmercifully that
+      he was glad to keep his dream to himself after that.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link02-030" id="link02-030"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link02-030.jpg (80K)" src="images/02-030.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He often read the priest's old books and got him to explain and enlarge
+      upon them. &nbsp;His dreamings and readings worked certain changes in him,
+      by- and-by. &nbsp;His dream-people were so fine that he grew to lament his
+      shabby clothing and his dirt, and to wish to be clean and better clad.
+      &nbsp;He went on playing in the mud just the same, and enjoying it, too;
+      but, instead of splashing around in the Thames solely for the fun of it,
+      he began to find an added value in it because of the washings and
+      cleansings it afforded.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom could always find something going on around the Maypole in Cheapside,
+      and at the fairs; and now and then he and the rest of London had a chance
+      to see a military parade when some famous unfortunate was carried prisoner
+      to the Tower, by land or boat. One summer's day he saw poor Anne Askew and
+      three men burned at the stake in Smithfield, and heard an ex-Bishop
+      preach a sermon to them which did not interest him. &nbsp;Yes, Tom's life
+      was varied and pleasant enough, on the whole.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link02-031" id="link02-031"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link02-031.jpg (171K)" src="images/02-031.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By-and-by Tom's reading and dreaming about princely life wrought such a
+      strong effect upon him that he began to <i>act</i> the prince, unconsciously. His
+      speech and manners became curiously ceremonious and courtly, to the vast
+      admiration and amusement of his intimates. &nbsp;But Tom's influence among
+      these young people began to grow now, day by day; and in time he came to
+      be looked up to, by them, with a sort of wondering awe, as a superior
+      being. &nbsp;He seemed to know so much! and he could do and say such
+      marvellous things! and withal, he was so deep and wise! &nbsp;Tom's
+      remarks, and Tom's performances, were reported by the boys to their
+      elders; and these, also, presently began to discuss Tom Canty, and to
+      regard him as a most gifted and extraordinary creature. &nbsp;Full-grown
+      people brought their perplexities to Tom for solution, and were often
+      astonished at the wit and wisdom of his decisions. &nbsp;In fact he was
+      become a hero to all who knew him except his own family&mdash;these, only,
+      saw nothing in him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link02-032" id="link02-032"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link02-032.jpg (47K)" src="images/02-032.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Privately, after a while, Tom organised a royal court! &nbsp;He was the
+      prince; his special comrades were guards, chamberlains, equerries, lords
+      and ladies in waiting, and the royal family. &nbsp;Daily the mock prince
+      was received with elaborate ceremonials borrowed by Tom from his romantic
+      readings; daily the great affairs of the mimic kingdom were discussed in
+      the royal council, and daily his mimic highness issued decrees to his
+      imaginary armies, navies, and viceroyalties.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After which, he would go forth in his rags and beg a few farthings, eat
+      his poor crust, take his customary cuffs and abuse, and then stretch
+      himself upon his handful of foul straw, and resume his empty grandeurs in
+      his dreams.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And still his desire to look just once upon a real prince, in the flesh,
+      grew upon him, day by day, and week by week, until at last it absorbed all
+      other desires, and became the one passion of his life.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link02-033" id="link02-033"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link02-033.jpg (41K)" src="images/02-033.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      One January day, on his usual begging tour, he tramped despondently up and
+      down the region round about Mincing Lane and Little East Cheap, hour after
+      hour, bare-footed and cold, looking in at cook-shop windows and longing
+      for the dreadful pork-pies and other deadly inventions displayed there&mdash;for
+      to him these were dainties fit for the angels; that is, judging by the
+      smell, they were&mdash;for it had never been his good luck to own and eat
+      one. There was a cold drizzle of rain; the atmosphere was murky; it was a
+      melancholy day. &nbsp;At night Tom reached home so wet and tired and
+      hungry that it was not possible for his father and grandmother to observe
+      his forlorn condition and not be moved&mdash;after their fashion;
+      wherefore they gave him a brisk cuffing at once and sent him to bed.
+      &nbsp;For a long time his pain and hunger, and the swearing and fighting
+      going on in the building, kept him awake; but at last his thoughts drifted
+      away to far, romantic lands, and he fell asleep in the company of jewelled
+      and gilded princelings who live in vast palaces, and had servants
+      salaaming before them or flying to execute their orders. &nbsp;And then,
+      as usual, he dreamed that <i>he</i> was a princeling himself.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All night long the glories of his royal estate shone upon him; he moved
+      among great lords and ladies, in a blaze of light, breathing perfumes,
+      drinking in delicious music, and answering the reverent obeisances of the
+      glittering throng as it parted to make way for him, with here a smile, and
+      there a nod of his princely head.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And when he awoke in the morning and looked upon the wretchedness about
+      him, his dream had had its usual effect&mdash;it had intensified the
+      sordidness of his surroundings a thousandfold. &nbsp;Then came bitterness,
+      and heart-break, and tears.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c3" id="c3"></a> <a name="link03-035"
+      id="link03-035"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link03-035.jpg (77K)" src="images/03-035.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link03-037" id="link03-037"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link03-037.jpg (143K)" src="images/03-037.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter III. Tom's meeting with the Prince.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom got up hungry, and sauntered hungry away, but with his thoughts busy
+      with the shadowy splendours of his night's dreams. He wandered here and
+      there in the city, hardly noticing where he was going, or what was
+      happening around him. &nbsp;People jostled him, and some gave him rough
+      speech; but it was all lost on the musing boy. &nbsp;By-and-by he found
+      himself at Temple Bar, the farthest from home he had ever travelled in
+      that direction. &nbsp;He stopped and considered a moment, then fell into
+      his imaginings again, and passed on outside the walls of London. &nbsp;The
+      Strand had ceased to be a country-road then, and regarded itself as a
+      street, but by a strained construction; for, though there was a tolerably
+      compact row of houses on one side of it, there were only some scattered
+      great buildings on the other, these being palaces of rich nobles, with
+      ample and beautiful grounds stretching to the river&mdash;grounds that are
+      now closely packed with grim acres of brick and stone.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom discovered Charing Village presently, and rested himself at the
+      beautiful cross built there by a bereaved king of earlier days; then idled
+      down a quiet, lovely road, past the great cardinal's stately palace,
+      toward a far more mighty and majestic palace beyond&mdash;Westminster. Tom
+      stared in glad wonder at the vast pile of masonry, the wide-spreading
+      wings, the frowning bastions and turrets, the huge stone gateway, with its
+      gilded bars and its magnificent array of colossal granite lions, and other
+      the signs and symbols of English royalty. &nbsp;Was the desire of his soul
+      to be satisfied at last? &nbsp;Here, indeed, was a king's palace. &nbsp;Might
+      he not hope to see a prince now&mdash;a prince of flesh and blood, if
+      Heaven were willing?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At each side of the gilded gate stood a living statue&mdash;that is to
+      say, an erect and stately and motionless man-at-arms, clad from head to
+      heel in shining steel armour. &nbsp;At a respectful distance were many
+      country folk, and people from the city, waiting for any chance glimpse of
+      royalty that might offer. &nbsp;Splendid carriages, with splendid people
+      in them and splendid servants outside, were arriving and departing by
+      several other noble gateways that pierced the royal enclosure.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Poor little Tom, in his rags, approached, and was moving slowly and
+      timidly past the sentinels, with a beating heart and a rising hope, when
+      all at once he caught sight through the golden bars of a spectacle that
+      almost made him shout for joy. &nbsp;Within was a comely boy, tanned and
+      brown with sturdy outdoor sports and exercises, whose clothing was all of
+      lovely silks and satins, shining with jewels; at his hip a little jewelled
+      sword and dagger; dainty buskins on his feet, with red heels; and on his
+      head a jaunty crimson cap, with drooping plumes fastened with a great
+      sparkling gem. &nbsp;Several gorgeous gentlemen stood near&mdash;his
+      servants, without a doubt. &nbsp;Oh! he was a prince&mdash;a prince, a
+      living prince, a real prince&mdash;without the shadow of a question; and
+      the prayer of the pauper-boy's heart was answered at last.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom's breath came quick and short with excitement, and his eyes grew big
+      with wonder and delight. &nbsp;Everything gave way in his mind instantly
+      to one desire: &nbsp;that was to get close to the prince, and have a good,
+      devouring look at him. &nbsp;Before he knew what he was about, he had his
+      face against the gate-bars. &nbsp;The next instant one of the soldiers
+      snatched him rudely away, and sent him spinning among the gaping crowd of
+      country gawks and London idlers. &nbsp;The soldier said,&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Mind thy manners, thou young beggar!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The crowd jeered and laughed; but the young prince sprang to the gate with
+      his face flushed, and his eyes flashing with indignation, and cried out,&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "How dar'st thou use a poor lad like that? &nbsp;How dar'st thou use the
+      King my father's meanest subject so? &nbsp;Open the gates, and let him
+      in!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link03-039" id="link03-039"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link03-039.jpg (171K)" src="images/03-039.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      You should have seen that fickle crowd snatch off their hats then. You
+      should have heard them cheer, and shout, "Long live the Prince of Wales!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The soldiers presented arms with their halberds, opened the gates, and
+      presented again as the little Prince of Poverty passed in, in his
+      fluttering rags, to join hands with the Prince of Limitless Plenty.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Edward Tudor said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Thou lookest tired and hungry: &nbsp;thou'st been treated ill. &nbsp;Come
+      with me."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Half a dozen attendants sprang forward to&mdash;I don't know what;
+      interfere, no doubt. &nbsp;But they were waved aside with a right royal
+      gesture, and they stopped stock still where they were, like so many
+      statues. &nbsp;Edward took Tom to a rich apartment in the palace, which he
+      called his cabinet. &nbsp;By his command a repast was brought such as Tom
+      had never encountered before except in books. &nbsp;The prince, with
+      princely delicacy and breeding, sent away the servants, so that his humble
+      guest might not be embarrassed by their critical presence; then he sat
+      near by, and asked questions while Tom ate.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "What is thy name, lad?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Tom Canty, an' it please thee, sir."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "'Tis an odd one. &nbsp;Where dost live?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "In the city, please thee, sir. &nbsp;Offal Court, out of Pudding Lane."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Offal Court! &nbsp;Truly 'tis another odd one. &nbsp;Hast parents?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Parents have I, sir, and a grand-dam likewise that is but indifferently
+      precious to me, God forgive me if it be offence to say it&mdash;also twin
+      sisters, Nan and Bet."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Then is thy grand-dam not over kind to thee, I take it?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Neither to any other is she, so please your worship. &nbsp;She hath a
+      wicked heart, and worketh evil all her days."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Doth she mistreat thee?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "There be times that she stayeth her hand, being asleep or overcome with
+      drink; but when she hath her judgment clear again, she maketh it up to me
+      with goodly beatings."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A fierce look came into the little prince's eyes, and he cried out&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "What! &nbsp;Beatings?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Oh, indeed, yes, please you, sir."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "<i>Beatings</i>!&mdash;and thou so frail and little. &nbsp;Hark ye: &nbsp;before
+      the night come, she shall hie her to the Tower. &nbsp;The King my father"&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "In sooth, you forget, sir, her low degree. &nbsp;The Tower is for the
+      great alone."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "True, indeed. &nbsp;I had not thought of that. &nbsp;I will consider of
+      her punishment. &nbsp;Is thy father kind to thee?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Not more than Gammer Canty, sir."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Fathers be alike, mayhap. &nbsp;Mine hath not a doll's temper. &nbsp;He
+      smiteth with a heavy hand, yet spareth me: &nbsp;he spareth me not always
+      with his tongue, though, sooth to say. &nbsp;How doth thy mother use
+      thee?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "She is good, sir, and giveth me neither sorrow nor pain of any sort. And
+      Nan and Bet are like to her in this."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "How old be these?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link03-041" id="link03-041"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link03-041.jpg (85K)" src="images/03-041.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Fifteen, an' it please you, sir."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "The Lady Elizabeth, my sister, is fourteen, and the Lady Jane Grey, my
+      cousin, is of mine own age, and comely and gracious withal; but my sister
+      the Lady Mary, with her gloomy mien and&mdash;Look you: &nbsp;do thy
+      sisters forbid their servants to smile, lest the sin destroy their souls?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "They? &nbsp;Oh, dost think, sir, that <i>they</i> have servants?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The little prince contemplated the little pauper gravely a moment, then
+      said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "And prithee, why not? &nbsp;Who helpeth them undress at night? &nbsp;Who
+      attireth them when they rise?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "None, sir. &nbsp;Would'st have them take off their garment, and sleep
+      without&mdash;like the beasts?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Their garment! &nbsp;Have they but one?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Ah, good your worship, what would they do with more? &nbsp;Truly they
+      have not two bodies each."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "It is a quaint and marvellous thought! &nbsp;Thy pardon, I had not meant
+      to laugh. &nbsp;But thy good Nan and thy Bet shall have raiment and
+      lackeys enow, and that soon, too: &nbsp;my cofferer shall look to it.
+      &nbsp;No, thank me not; 'tis nothing. &nbsp;Thou speakest well; thou hast
+      an easy grace in it. &nbsp;Art learned?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I know not if I am or not, sir. &nbsp;The good priest that is called
+      Father Andrew taught me, of his kindness, from his books."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Know'st thou the Latin?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "But scantly, sir, I doubt."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Learn it, lad: &nbsp;'tis hard only at first. &nbsp;The Greek is harder;
+      but neither these nor any tongues else, I think, are hard to the Lady
+      Elizabeth and my cousin. &nbsp;Thou should'st hear those damsels at it!
+      &nbsp;But tell me of thy Offal Court. &nbsp;Hast thou a pleasant life
+      there?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "In truth, yes, so please you, sir, save when one is hungry. There be
+      Punch-and-Judy shows, and monkeys&mdash;oh such antic creatures! and so
+      bravely dressed!&mdash;and there be plays wherein they that play do shout
+      and fight till all are slain, and 'tis so fine to see, and costeth but a
+      farthing&mdash;albeit 'tis main hard to get the farthing, please your
+      worship."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Tell me more."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "We lads of Offal Court do strive against each other with the cudgel, like
+      to the fashion of the 'prentices, sometimes."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The prince's eyes flashed. &nbsp;Said he&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Marry, that would not I mislike. &nbsp;Tell me more."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "We strive in races, sir, to see who of us shall be fleetest."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "That would I like also. &nbsp;Speak on."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "In summer, sir, we wade and swim in the canals and in the river, and each
+      doth duck his neighbour, and splatter him with water, and dive and shout
+      and tumble and&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "'Twould be worth my father's kingdom but to enjoy it once! Prithee go
+      on."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "We dance and sing about the Maypole in Cheapside; we play in the sand,
+      each covering his neighbour up; and times we make mud pastry&mdash;oh the
+      lovely mud, it hath not its like for delightfulness in all the world!&mdash;we
+      do fairly wallow in the mud, sir, saving your worship's presence."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Oh, prithee, say no more, 'tis glorious! &nbsp;If that I could but clothe
+      me in raiment like to thine, and strip my feet, and revel in the mud once,
+      just once, with none to rebuke me or forbid, meseemeth I could forego the
+      crown!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "And if that I could clothe me once, sweet sir, as thou art clad&mdash;just
+      once&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Oho, would'st like it? &nbsp;Then so shall it be. &nbsp;Doff thy rags,
+      and don these splendours, lad! &nbsp;It is a brief happiness, but will be
+      not less keen for that. &nbsp;We will have it while we may, and change
+      again before any come to molest."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link03-043" id="link03-043"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link03-043.jpg (201K)" src="images/03-043.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A few minutes later the little Prince of Wales was garlanded with Tom's
+      fluttering odds and ends, and the little Prince of Pauperdom was tricked
+      out in the gaudy plumage of royalty. &nbsp;The two went and stood side by
+      side before a great mirror, and lo, a miracle: there did not seem to have
+      been any change made! &nbsp;They stared at each other, then at the glass,
+      then at each other again. &nbsp;At last the puzzled princeling said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "What dost thou make of this?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Ah, good your worship, require me not to answer. &nbsp;It is not meet
+      that one of my degree should utter the thing."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Then will <i>I</i> utter it. &nbsp;Thou hast the same hair, the same eyes, the
+      same voice and manner, the same form and stature, the same face and
+      countenance that I bear. &nbsp;Fared we forth naked, there is none could
+      say which was you, and which the Prince of Wales. &nbsp;And, now that I am
+      clothed as thou wert clothed, it seemeth I should be able the more nearly
+      to feel as thou didst when the brute soldier&mdash;Hark ye, is not this a
+      bruise upon your hand?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Yes; but it is a slight thing, and your worship knoweth that the poor
+      man-at-arms&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Peace! &nbsp;It was a shameful thing and a cruel!" cried the little
+      prince, stamping his bare foot. &nbsp;"If the King&mdash;Stir not a step
+      till I come again! It is a command!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In a moment he had snatched up and put away an article of national
+      importance that lay upon a table, and was out at the door and flying
+      through the palace grounds in his bannered rags, with a hot face and
+      glowing eyes. &nbsp;As soon as he reached the great gate, he seized the
+      bars, and tried to shake them, shouting&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Open! &nbsp;Unbar the gates!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The soldier that had maltreated Tom obeyed promptly; and as the prince
+      burst through the portal, half-smothered with royal wrath, the soldier
+      fetched him a sounding box on the ear that sent him whirling to the
+      roadway, and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Take that, thou beggar's spawn, for what thou got'st me from his
+      Highness!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The crowd roared with laughter. &nbsp;The prince picked himself out of the
+      mud, and made fiercely at the sentry, shouting&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I am the Prince of Wales, my person is sacred; and thou shalt hang for
+      laying thy hand upon me!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The soldier brought his halberd to a present-arms and said mockingly&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I salute your gracious Highness." &nbsp;Then angrily&mdash;"Be off, thou
+      crazy rubbish!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link03-046" id="link03-046"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link03-046.jpg (154K)" src="images/03-046.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Here the jeering crowd closed round the poor little prince, and hustled
+      him far down the road, hooting him, and shouting&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Way for his Royal Highness! &nbsp;Way for the Prince of Wales!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c4" id="c4"></a> <a name="link04-047"
+      id="link04-047"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link04-047.jpg (47K)" src="images/04-047.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter IV. The Prince's troubles begin.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After hours of persistent pursuit and persecution, the little prince was
+      at last deserted by the rabble and left to himself. &nbsp;As long as he
+      had been able to rage against the mob, and threaten it royally, and
+      royally utter commands that were good stuff to laugh at, he was very
+      entertaining; but when weariness finally forced him to be silent, he was
+      no longer of use to his tormentors, and they sought amusement elsewhere.
+      He looked about him, now, but could not recognise the locality. &nbsp;He
+      was within the city of London&mdash;that was all he knew. &nbsp;He moved
+      on, aimlessly, and in a little while the houses thinned, and the
+      passers-by were infrequent. &nbsp;He bathed his bleeding feet in the brook
+      which flowed then where Farringdon Street now is; rested a few moments,
+      then passed on, and presently came upon a great space with only a few
+      scattered houses in it, and a prodigious church. &nbsp;He recognised this
+      church. &nbsp;Scaffoldings were about, everywhere, and swarms of workmen;
+      for it was undergoing elaborate repairs. &nbsp;The prince took heart at
+      once&mdash;he felt that his troubles were at an end, now. &nbsp;He said to
+      himself, "It is the ancient Grey Friars' Church, which the king my father
+      hath taken from the monks and given for a home for ever for poor and
+      forsaken children, and new-named it Christ's Church. &nbsp;Right gladly
+      will they serve the son of him who hath done so generously by them&mdash;and
+      the more that that son is himself as poor and as forlorn as any that be
+      sheltered here this day, or ever shall be."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He was soon in the midst of a crowd of boys who were running, jumping,
+      playing at ball and leap-frog, and otherwise disporting themselves, and
+      right noisily, too. &nbsp;They were all dressed alike, and in the fashion
+      which in that day prevailed among serving-men and 'prentices{1}&mdash;that
+      is to say, each had on the crown of his head a flat black cap about the
+      size of a saucer, which was not useful as a covering, it being of such
+      scanty dimensions, neither was it ornamental; from beneath it the hair
+      fell, unparted, to the middle of the forehead, and was cropped straight
+      around; a clerical band at the neck; a blue gown that fitted closely and
+      hung as low as the knees or lower; full sleeves; a broad red belt; bright
+      yellow stockings, gartered above the knees; low shoes with large metal
+      buckles. It was a sufficiently ugly costume.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The boys stopped their play and flocked about the prince, who said with
+      native dignity&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Good lads, say to your master that Edward Prince of Wales desireth speech
+      with him."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A great shout went up at this, and one rude fellow said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Marry, art thou his grace's messenger, beggar?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The prince's face flushed with anger, and his ready hand flew to his hip,
+      but there was nothing there. &nbsp;There was a storm of laughter, and one
+      boy said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Didst mark that? &nbsp;He fancied he had a sword&mdash;belike he is the
+      prince himself."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This sally brought more laughter. &nbsp;Poor Edward drew himself up
+      proudly and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I am the prince; and it ill beseemeth you that feed upon the king my
+      father's bounty to use me so."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This was vastly enjoyed, as the laughter testified. &nbsp;The youth who
+      had first spoken, shouted to his comrades&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Ho, swine, slaves, pensioners of his grace's princely father, where be
+      your manners? &nbsp;Down on your marrow bones, all of ye, and do reverence
+      to his kingly port and royal rags!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With boisterous mirth they dropped upon their knees in a body and did mock
+      homage to their prey. &nbsp;The prince spurned the nearest boy with his
+      foot, and said fiercely&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Take thou that, till the morrow come and I build thee a gibbet!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Ah, but this was not a joke&mdash;this was going beyond fun. &nbsp;The
+      laughter ceased on the instant, and fury took its place. &nbsp;A dozen
+      shouted&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Hale him forth! &nbsp;To the horse-pond, to the horse-pond! &nbsp;Where
+      be the dogs? &nbsp;Ho, there, Lion! ho, Fangs!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then followed such a thing as England had never seen before&mdash;the
+      sacred person of the heir to the throne rudely buffeted by plebeian hands,
+      and set upon and torn by dogs.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link04-050" id="link04-050"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link04-050.jpg (84K)" src="images/04-050.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As night drew to a close that day, the prince found himself far down in
+      the close-built portion of the city. &nbsp;His body was bruised, his hands
+      were bleeding, and his rags were all besmirched with mud. &nbsp;He
+      wandered on and on, and grew more and more bewildered, and so tired and
+      faint he could hardly drag one foot after the other. &nbsp;He had ceased
+      to ask questions of anyone, since they brought him only insult instead of
+      information. &nbsp;He kept muttering to himself, "Offal Court&mdash;that
+      is the name; if I can but find it before my strength is wholly spent and I
+      drop, then am I saved&mdash;for his people will take me to the palace and
+      prove that I am none of theirs, but the true prince, and I shall have mine
+      own again." &nbsp;And now and then his mind reverted to his treatment by
+      those rude Christ's Hospital boys, and he said, "When I am king, they
+      shall not have bread and shelter only, but also teachings out of books;
+      for a full belly is little worth where the mind is starved, and the heart.
+      &nbsp;I will keep this diligently in my remembrance, that this day's
+      lesson be not lost upon me, and my people suffer thereby; for learning
+      softeneth the heart and breedeth gentleness and charity." {1}
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The lights began to twinkle, it came on to rain, the wind rose, and a raw
+      and gusty night set in. &nbsp;The houseless prince, the homeless heir to
+      the throne of England, still moved on, drifting deeper into the maze of
+      squalid alleys where the swarming hives of poverty and misery were massed
+      together.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Suddenly a great drunken ruffian collared him and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link04-052" id="link04-052"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link04-052.jpg (80K)" src="images/04-052.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Out to this time of night again, and hast not brought a farthing home, I
+      warrant me! &nbsp;If it be so, an' I do not break all the bones in thy
+      lean body, then am I not John Canty, but some other."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The prince twisted himself loose, unconsciously brushed his profaned
+      shoulder, and eagerly said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Oh, art <i>his</i> father, truly? &nbsp;Sweet heaven grant it be so&mdash;then
+      wilt thou fetch him away and restore me!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "<i>His</i> father? &nbsp;I know not what thou mean'st; I but know I am <i>thy</i>
+      father, as thou shalt soon have cause to&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Oh, jest not, palter not, delay not!&mdash;I am worn, I am wounded, I can
+      bear no more. &nbsp;Take me to the king my father, and he will make thee
+      rich beyond thy wildest dreams. &nbsp;Believe me, man, believe me!&mdash;I
+      speak no lie, but only the truth!&mdash;put forth thy hand and save me!
+      &nbsp;I am indeed the Prince of Wales!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The man stared down, stupefied, upon the lad, then shook his head and
+      muttered&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Gone stark mad as any Tom o' Bedlam!"&mdash;then collared him once more,
+      and said with a coarse laugh and an oath, "But mad or no mad, I and thy
+      Gammer Canty will soon find where the soft places in thy bones lie, or I'm
+      no true man!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With this he dragged the frantic and struggling prince away, and
+      disappeared up a front court followed by a delighted and noisy swarm of
+      human vermin.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c5" id="c5"></a> <a name="link05-055"
+      id="link05-055"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link05-055.jpg (73K)" src="images/05-055.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link05-057" id="link05-057"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link05-057.jpg (129K)" src="images/05-057.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter V. Tom as a Patrician.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom Canty, left alone in the prince's cabinet, made good use of his
+      opportunity. &nbsp;He turned himself this way and that before the great
+      mirror, admiring his finery; then walked away, imitating the prince's
+      high-bred carriage, and still observing results in the glass. &nbsp;Next
+      he drew the beautiful sword, and bowed, kissing the blade, and laying it
+      across his breast, as he had seen a noble knight do, by way of salute to
+      the lieutenant of the Tower, five or six weeks before, when delivering the
+      great lords of Norfolk and Surrey into his hands for captivity. &nbsp;Tom
+      played with the jewelled dagger that hung upon his thigh; he examined the
+      costly and exquisite ornaments of the room; he tried each of the sumptuous
+      chairs, and thought how proud he would be if the Offal Court herd could
+      only peep in and see him in his grandeur. &nbsp;He wondered if they would
+      believe the marvellous tale he should tell when he got home, or if they
+      would shake their heads, and say his overtaxed imagination had at last
+      upset his reason.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At the end of half an hour it suddenly occurred to him that the prince was
+      gone a long time; then right away he began to feel lonely; very soon he
+      fell to listening and longing, and ceased to toy with the pretty things
+      about him; he grew uneasy, then restless, then distressed. Suppose some
+      one should come, and catch him in the prince's clothes, and the prince not
+      there to explain. &nbsp;Might they not hang him at once, and inquire into
+      his case afterward? &nbsp;He had heard that the great were prompt about
+      small matters. &nbsp;His fear rose higher and higher; and trembling he
+      softly opened the door to the antechamber, resolved to fly and seek the
+      prince, and, through him, protection and release. &nbsp;Six gorgeous
+      gentlemen-servants and two young pages of high degree, clothed like
+      butterflies, sprang to their feet and bowed low before him. &nbsp;He
+      stepped quickly back and shut the door. &nbsp;He said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link05-058" id="link05-058"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link05-058.jpg (138K)" src="images/05-058.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Oh, they mock at me! &nbsp;They will go and tell. &nbsp;Oh! why came I
+      here to cast away my life?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He walked up and down the floor, filled with nameless fears, listening,
+      starting at every trifling sound. &nbsp;Presently the door swung open, and
+      a silken page said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "The Lady Jane Grey."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The door closed and a sweet young girl, richly clad, bounded toward him.
+      But she stopped suddenly, and said in a distressed voice&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Oh, what aileth thee, my lord?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom's breath was nearly failing him; but he made shift to stammer out&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Ah, be merciful, thou! &nbsp;In sooth I am no lord, but only poor Tom
+      Canty of Offal Court in the city. &nbsp;Prithee let me see the prince, and
+      he will of his grace restore to me my rags, and let me hence unhurt.
+      &nbsp;Oh, be thou merciful, and save me!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By this time the boy was on his knees, and supplicating with his eyes and
+      uplifted hands as well as with his tongue. &nbsp;The young girl seemed
+      horror-stricken. &nbsp;She cried out&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link05-059" id="link05-059"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link05-059.jpg (104K)" src="images/05-059.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "O my lord, on thy knees?&mdash;and to <i>me</i>!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then she fled away in fright; and Tom, smitten with despair, sank down,
+      murmuring&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "There is no help, there is no hope. &nbsp;Now will they come and take
+      me."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Whilst he lay there benumbed with terror, dreadful tidings were speeding
+      through the palace. &nbsp;The whisper&mdash;for it was whispered always&mdash;flew
+      from menial to menial, from lord to lady, down all the long corridors,
+      from story to story, from saloon to saloon, "The prince hath gone mad, the
+      prince hath gone mad!" &nbsp;Soon every saloon, every marble hall, had its
+      groups of glittering lords and ladies, and other groups of dazzling lesser
+      folk, talking earnestly together in whispers, and every face had in it
+      dismay. Presently a splendid official came marching by these groups,
+      making solemn proclamation&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "IN THE NAME OF THE KING!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Let none list to this false and foolish matter, upon pain of death, nor
+      discuss the same, nor carry it abroad. &nbsp;In the name of the King!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The whisperings ceased as suddenly as if the whisperers had been stricken
+      dumb.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Soon there was a general buzz along the corridors, of "The prince! See,
+      the prince comes!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Poor Tom came slowly walking past the low-bowing groups, trying to bow in
+      return, and meekly gazing upon his strange surroundings with bewildered
+      and pathetic eyes. &nbsp;Great nobles walked upon each side of him, making
+      him lean upon them, and so steady his steps. Behind him followed the
+      court-physicians and some servants.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link05-061" id="link05-061"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link05-061.jpg (144K)" src="images/05-061.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Presently Tom found himself in a noble apartment of the palace and heard
+      the door close behind him. &nbsp;Around him stood those who had come with
+      him. Before him, at a little distance, reclined a very large and very fat
+      man, with a wide, pulpy face, and a stern expression. &nbsp;His large head
+      was very grey; and his whiskers, which he wore only around his face, like
+      a frame, were grey also. &nbsp;His clothing was of rich stuff, but old,
+      and slightly frayed in places. &nbsp;One of his swollen legs had a pillow
+      under it, and was wrapped in bandages. &nbsp;There was silence now; and
+      there was no head there but was bent in reverence, except this man's.
+      &nbsp;This stern-countenanced invalid was the dread Henry VIII. &nbsp;He
+      said&mdash;and his face grew gentle as he began to speak&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "How now, my lord Edward, my prince? &nbsp;Hast been minded to cozen me,
+      the good King thy father, who loveth thee, and kindly useth thee, with a
+      sorry jest?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Poor Tom was listening, as well as his dazed faculties would let him, to
+      the beginning of this speech; but when the words 'me, the good King' fell
+      upon his ear, his face blanched, and he dropped as instantly upon his
+      knees as if a shot had brought him there. Lifting up his hands, he
+      exclaimed&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link05-062" id="link05-062"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link05-062.jpg (111K)" src="images/05-062.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Thou the <i>King</i>? &nbsp;Then am I undone indeed!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This speech seemed to stun the King. &nbsp;His eyes wandered from face to
+      face aimlessly, then rested, bewildered, upon the boy before him. &nbsp;Then
+      he said in a tone of deep disappointment&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Alack, I had believed the rumour disproportioned to the truth; but I fear
+      me 'tis not so." &nbsp;He breathed a heavy sigh, and said in a gentle
+      voice, "Come to thy father, child: &nbsp;thou art not well."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom was assisted to his feet, and approached the Majesty of England,
+      humble and trembling. &nbsp;The King took the frightened face between his
+      hands, and gazed earnestly and lovingly into it awhile, as if seeking some
+      grateful sign of returning reason there, then pressed the curly head
+      against his breast, and patted it tenderly. &nbsp;Presently he said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Dost not know thy father, child? &nbsp;Break not mine old heart; say thou
+      know'st me. &nbsp;Thou <i>dost</i> know me, dost thou not?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Yea: &nbsp;thou art my dread lord the King, whom God preserve!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "True, true&mdash;that is well&mdash;be comforted, tremble not so; there
+      is none here would hurt thee; there is none here but loves thee. Thou art
+      better now; thy ill dream passeth&mdash;is't not so? &nbsp;Thou wilt not
+      miscall thyself again, as they say thou didst a little while agone?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I pray thee of thy grace believe me, I did but speak the truth, most
+      dread lord; for I am the meanest among thy subjects, being a pauper born,
+      and 'tis by a sore mischance and accident I am here, albeit I was therein
+      nothing blameful. &nbsp;I am but young to die, and thou canst save me with
+      one little word. &nbsp;Oh speak it, sir!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Die? &nbsp;Talk not so, sweet prince&mdash;peace, peace, to thy troubled
+      heart&mdash;thou shalt not die!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom dropped upon his knees with a glad cry&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "God requite thy mercy, O my King, and save thee long to bless thy land!"
+      Then springing up, he turned a joyful face toward the two lords in
+      waiting, and exclaimed, "Thou heard'st it! &nbsp;I am not to die: &nbsp;the
+      King hath said it!" &nbsp;There was no movement, save that all bowed with
+      grave respect; but no one spoke. &nbsp;He hesitated, a little confused,
+      then turned timidly toward the King, saying, "I may go now?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link05-064" id="link05-064"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link05-064.jpg (126K)" src="images/05-064.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Go? &nbsp;Surely, if thou desirest. &nbsp;But why not tarry yet a little?
+      Whither would'st go?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom dropped his eyes, and answered humbly&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Peradventure I mistook; but I did think me free, and so was I moved to
+      seek again the kennel where I was born and bred to misery, yet which
+      harboureth my mother and my sisters, and so is home to me; whereas these
+      pomps and splendours whereunto I am not used&mdash;oh, please you, sir, to
+      let me go!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King was silent and thoughtful a while, and his face betrayed a
+      growing distress and uneasiness. &nbsp;Presently he said, with something
+      of hope in his voice&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Perchance he is but mad upon this one strain, and hath his wits unmarred
+      as toucheth other matter. &nbsp;God send it may be so! &nbsp;We will make
+      trial."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then he asked Tom a question in Latin, and Tom answered him lamely in the
+      same tongue. &nbsp;The lords and doctors manifested their gratification
+      also. The King said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "'Twas not according to his schooling and ability, but showeth that his
+      mind is but diseased, not stricken fatally. &nbsp;How say you, sir?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The physician addressed bowed low, and replied&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "It jumpeth with my own conviction, sire, that thou hast divined aright."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link05-065" id="link05-065"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link05-065.jpg (123K)" src="images/05-065.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King looked pleased with this encouragement, coming as it did from so
+      excellent authority, and continued with good heart&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Now mark ye all: &nbsp;we will try him further."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He put a question to Tom in French. &nbsp;Tom stood silent a moment,
+      embarrassed by having so many eyes centred upon him, then said diffidently&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I have no knowledge of this tongue, so please your majesty."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King fell back upon his couch. &nbsp;The attendants flew to his
+      assistance; but he put them aside, and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Trouble me not&mdash;it is nothing but a scurvy faintness. &nbsp;Raise
+      me! There, 'tis sufficient. &nbsp;Come hither, child; there, rest thy poor
+      troubled head upon thy father's heart, and be at peace. &nbsp;Thou'lt soon
+      be well: &nbsp;'tis but a passing fantasy. &nbsp;Fear thou not; thou'lt
+      soon be well." &nbsp;Then he turned toward the company: &nbsp;his gentle
+      manner changed, and baleful lightnings began to play from his eyes. &nbsp;He
+      said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "List ye all! &nbsp;This my son is mad; but it is not permanent. &nbsp;Over-study
+      hath done this, and somewhat too much of confinement. &nbsp;Away with his
+      books and teachers! see ye to it. &nbsp;Pleasure him with sports, beguile
+      him in wholesome ways, so that his health come again." &nbsp;He raised
+      himself higher still, and went on with energy, "He is mad; but he is my
+      son, and England's heir; and, mad or sane, still shall he reign! &nbsp;And
+      hear ye further, and proclaim it: whoso speaketh of this his distemper
+      worketh against the peace and order of these realms, and shall to the
+      gallows! . . . Give me to drink&mdash;I burn: &nbsp;this sorrow sappeth my
+      strength. . . . There, take away the cup. . . . Support me. &nbsp;There,
+      that is well. &nbsp;Mad, is he? &nbsp;Were he a thousand times mad, yet is
+      he Prince of Wales, and I the King will confirm it. &nbsp;This very morrow
+      shall he be installed in his princely dignity in due and ancient form.
+      &nbsp;Take instant order for it, my lord Hertford."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link05-067" id="link05-067"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link05-067.jpg (162K)" src="images/05-067.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      One of the nobles knelt at the royal couch, and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "The King's majesty knoweth that the Hereditary Great Marshal of England
+      lieth attainted in the Tower. &nbsp;It were not meet that one attainted&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Peace! &nbsp;Insult not mine ears with his hated name. &nbsp;Is this man
+      to live for ever? &nbsp;Am I to be baulked of my will? &nbsp;Is the prince
+      to tarry uninstalled, because, forsooth, the realm lacketh an Earl Marshal
+      free of treasonable taint to invest him with his honours? No, by the
+      splendour of God! &nbsp;Warn my Parliament to bring me Norfolk's doom
+      before the sun rise again, else shall they answer for it grievously!" {1}
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Lord Hertford said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "The King's will is law;" and, rising, returned to his former place.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link05-068" id="link05-068"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link05-068.jpg (114K)" src="images/05-068.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Gradually the wrath faded out of the old King's face, and he said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Kiss me, my prince. &nbsp;There . . . what fearest thou? &nbsp;Am I not
+      thy loving father?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Thou art good to me that am unworthy, O mighty and gracious lord: that in
+      truth I know. &nbsp;But&mdash;but&mdash;it grieveth me to think of him
+      that is to die, and&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Ah, 'tis like thee, 'tis like thee! &nbsp;I know thy heart is still the
+      same, even though thy mind hath suffered hurt, for thou wert ever of a
+      gentle spirit. &nbsp;But this duke standeth between thee and thine
+      honours: &nbsp;I will have another in his stead that shall bring no taint
+      to his great office. Comfort thee, my prince: &nbsp;trouble not thy poor
+      head with this matter."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "But is it not I that speed him hence, my liege? &nbsp;How long might he
+      not live, but for me?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Take no thought of him, my prince: &nbsp;he is not worthy. &nbsp;Kiss me
+      once again, and go to thy trifles and amusements; for my malady
+      distresseth me. &nbsp;I am aweary, and would rest. &nbsp;Go with thine
+      uncle Hertford and thy people, and come again when my body is refreshed."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom, heavy-hearted, was conducted from the presence, for this last
+      sentence was a death-blow to the hope he had cherished that now he would
+      be set free. &nbsp;Once more he heard the buzz of low voices exclaiming,
+      "The prince, the prince comes!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      His spirits sank lower and lower as he moved between the glittering files
+      of bowing courtiers; for he recognised that he was indeed a captive now,
+      and might remain for ever shut up in this gilded cage, a forlorn and
+      friendless prince, except God in his mercy take pity on him and set him
+      free.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And, turn where he would, he seemed to see floating in the air the severed
+      head and the remembered face of the great Duke of Norfolk, the eyes fixed
+      on him reproachfully.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      His old dreams had been so pleasant; but this reality was so dreary!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c6" id="c6"></a> <a name="link06-071"
+      id="link06-071"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link06-071.jpg (65K)" src="images/06-071.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link06-073" id="link06-073"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link06-073.jpg (136K)" src="images/06-073.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter VI. Tom receives instructions.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom was conducted to the principal apartment of a noble suite, and made to
+      sit down&mdash;a thing which he was loth to do, since there were elderly
+      men and men of high degree about him. &nbsp;He begged them to be seated
+      also, but they only bowed their thanks or murmured them, and remained
+      standing. He would have insisted, but his 'uncle' the Earl of Hertford
+      whispered in his ear&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Prithee, insist not, my lord; it is not meet that they sit in thy
+      presence."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Lord St. John was announced, and after making obeisance to Tom, he
+      said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I come upon the King's errand, concerning a matter which requireth
+      privacy. &nbsp;Will it please your royal highness to dismiss all that
+      attend you here, save my lord the Earl of Hertford?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Observing that Tom did not seem to know how to proceed, Hertford whispered
+      him to make a sign with his hand, and not trouble himself to speak unless
+      he chose. &nbsp;When the waiting gentlemen had retired, Lord St. John said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "His majesty commandeth, that for due and weighty reasons of state, the
+      prince's grace shall hide his infirmity in all ways that be within his
+      power, till it be passed and he be as he was before. &nbsp;To wit, that he
+      shall deny to none that he is the true prince, and heir to England's
+      greatness; that he shall uphold his princely dignity, and shall receive,
+      without word or sign of protest, that reverence and observance which unto
+      it do appertain of right and ancient usage; that he shall cease to speak
+      to any of that lowly birth and life his malady hath conjured out of the
+      unwholesome imaginings of o'er-wrought fancy; that he shall strive with
+      diligence to bring unto his memory again those faces which he was wont to
+      know&mdash;and where he faileth he shall hold his peace, neither betraying
+      by semblance of surprise or other sign that he hath forgot; that upon
+      occasions of state, whensoever any matter shall perplex him as to the
+      thing he should do or the utterance he should make, he shall show nought
+      of unrest to the curious that look on, but take advice in that matter of
+      the Lord Hertford, or my humble self, which are commanded of the King to
+      be upon this service and close at call, till this commandment be
+      dissolved. Thus saith the King's majesty, who sendeth greeting to your
+      royal highness, and prayeth that God will of His mercy quickly heal you
+      and have you now and ever in His holy keeping."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Lord St. John made reverence and stood aside. &nbsp;Tom replied
+      resignedly&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link06-075" id="link06-075"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link06-075.jpg (97K)" src="images/06-075.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "The King hath said it. &nbsp;None may palter with the King's command, or
+      fit it to his ease, where it doth chafe, with deft evasions. The King
+      shall be obeyed."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Lord Hertford said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Touching the King's majesty's ordainment concerning books and such like
+      serious matters, it may peradventure please your highness to ease your
+      time with lightsome entertainment, lest you go wearied to the banquet and
+      suffer harm thereby."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom's face showed inquiring surprise; and a blush followed when he saw
+      Lord St. John's eyes bent sorrowfully upon him. &nbsp;His lordship said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Thy memory still wrongeth thee, and thou hast shown surprise&mdash;but
+      suffer it not to trouble thee, for 'tis a matter that will not bide, but
+      depart with thy mending malady. &nbsp;My Lord of Hertford speaketh of the
+      city's banquet which the King's majesty did promise, some two months
+      flown, your highness should attend. &nbsp;Thou recallest it now?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "It grieves me to confess it had indeed escaped me," said Tom, in a
+      hesitating voice; and blushed again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At this moment the Lady Elizabeth and the Lady Jane Grey were announced.
+      The two lords exchanged significant glances, and Hertford stepped quickly
+      toward the door. &nbsp;As the young girls passed him, he said in a low
+      voice&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I pray ye, ladies, seem not to observe his humours, nor show surprise
+      when his memory doth lapse&mdash;it will grieve you to note how it doth
+      stick at every trifle."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link06-077" id="link06-077"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link06-077.jpg (101K)" src="images/06-077.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Meantime Lord St. John was saying in Tom's ear&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Please you, sir, keep diligently in mind his majesty's desire. Remember
+      all thou canst&mdash;<i>seem</i> to remember all else. &nbsp;Let them not
+      perceive that thou art much changed from thy wont, for thou knowest how
+      tenderly thy old play-fellows bear thee in their hearts and how 'twould
+      grieve them. Art willing, sir, that I remain?&mdash;and thine uncle?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom signified assent with a gesture and a murmured word, for he was
+      already learning, and in his simple heart was resolved to acquit himself
+      as best he might, according to the King's command.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In spite of every precaution, the conversation among the young people
+      became a little embarrassing at times. &nbsp;More than once, in truth, Tom
+      was near to breaking down and confessing himself unequal to his tremendous
+      part; but the tact of the Princess Elizabeth saved him, or a word from one
+      or the other of the vigilant lords, thrown in apparently by chance, had
+      the same happy effect. &nbsp;Once the little Lady Jane turned to Tom and
+      dismayed him with this question,&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Hast paid thy duty to the Queen's majesty to-day, my lord?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom hesitated, looked distressed, and was about to stammer out something
+      at hazard, when Lord St. John took the word and answered for him with the
+      easy grace of a courtier accustomed to encounter delicate difficulties and
+      to be ready for them&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "He hath indeed, madam, and she did greatly hearten him, as touching his
+      majesty's condition; is it not so, your highness?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom mumbled something that stood for assent, but felt that he was getting
+      upon dangerous ground. &nbsp;Somewhat later it was mentioned that Tom was
+      to study no more at present, whereupon her little ladyship exclaimed&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "'Tis a pity, 'tis a pity! &nbsp;Thou wert proceeding bravely. &nbsp;But
+      bide thy time in patience: &nbsp;it will not be for long. &nbsp;Thou'lt
+      yet be graced with learning like thy father, and make thy tongue master of
+      as many languages as his, good my prince."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "My father!" cried Tom, off his guard for the moment. &nbsp;"I trow he
+      cannot speak his own so that any but the swine that kennel in the styes
+      may tell his meaning; and as for learning of any sort soever&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He looked up and encountered a solemn warning in my Lord St. John's eyes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He stopped, blushed, then continued low and sadly: "Ah, my malady
+      persecuteth me again, and my mind wandereth. &nbsp;I meant the King's
+      grace no irreverence."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "We know it, sir," said the Princess Elizabeth, taking her 'brother's'
+      hand between her two palms, respectfully but caressingly; "trouble not
+      thyself as to that. &nbsp;The fault is none of thine, but thy
+      distemper's."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Thou'rt a gentle comforter, sweet lady," said Tom, gratefully, "and my
+      heart moveth me to thank thee for't, an' I may be so bold."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Once the giddy little Lady Jane fired a simple Greek phrase at Tom. &nbsp;The
+      Princess Elizabeth's quick eye saw by the serene blankness of the target's
+      front that the shaft was overshot; so she tranquilly delivered a return
+      volley of sounding Greek on Tom's behalf, and then straightway changed the
+      talk to other matters.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Time wore on pleasantly, and likewise smoothly, on the whole. Snags and
+      sandbars grew less and less frequent, and Tom grew more and more at his
+      ease, seeing that all were so lovingly bent upon helping him and
+      overlooking his mistakes. &nbsp;When it came out that the little ladies
+      were to accompany him to the Lord Mayor's banquet in the evening, his
+      heart gave a bound of relief and delight, for he felt that he should not
+      be friendless, now, among that multitude of strangers; whereas, an hour
+      earlier, the idea of their going with him would have been an insupportable
+      terror to him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom's guardian angels, the two lords, had had less comfort in the
+      interview than the other parties to it. &nbsp;They felt much as if they
+      were piloting a great ship through a dangerous channel; they were on the
+      alert constantly, and found their office no child's play. Wherefore, at
+      last, when the ladies' visit was drawing to a close and the Lord Guilford
+      Dudley was announced, they not only felt that their charge had been
+      sufficiently taxed for the present, but also that they themselves were not
+      in the best condition to take their ship back and make their anxious
+      voyage all over again. &nbsp;So they respectfully advised Tom to excuse
+      himself, which he was very glad to do, although a slight shade of
+      disappointment might have been observed upon my Lady Jane's face when she
+      heard the splendid stripling denied admittance.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link06-079" id="link06-079"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link06-079.jpg (89K)" src="images/06-079.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a pause now, a sort of waiting silence which Tom could not
+      understand. &nbsp;He glanced at Lord Hertford, who gave him a sign&mdash;but
+      he failed to understand that also. &nbsp;The ready Elizabeth came to the
+      rescue with her usual easy grace. &nbsp;She made reverence and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Have we leave of the prince's grace my brother to go?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Indeed your ladyships can have whatsoever of me they will, for the
+      asking; yet would I rather give them any other thing that in my poor power
+      lieth, than leave to take the light and blessing of their presence hence.
+      &nbsp;Give ye good den, and God be with ye!" Then he smiled inwardly at
+      the thought, "'Tis not for nought I have dwelt but among princes in my
+      reading, and taught my tongue some slight trick of their broidered and
+      gracious speech withal!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When the illustrious maidens were gone, Tom turned wearily to his keepers
+      and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "May it please your lordships to grant me leave to go into some corner and
+      rest me?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Lord Hertford said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "So please your highness, it is for you to command, it is for us to obey.
+      That thou should'st rest is indeed a needful thing, since thou must
+      journey to the city presently."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He touched a bell, and a page appeared, who was ordered to desire the
+      presence of Sir William Herbert. &nbsp;This gentleman came straightway,
+      and conducted Tom to an inner apartment. &nbsp;Tom's first movement there
+      was to reach for a cup of water; but a silk-and-velvet servitor seized it,
+      dropped upon one knee, and offered it to him on a golden salver.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link06-080" id="link06-080"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link06-080.jpg (154K)" src="images/06-080.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Next the tired captive sat down and was going to take off his buskins,
+      timidly asking leave with his eye, but another silk-and-velvet
+      discomforter went down upon his knees and took the office from him. &nbsp;He
+      made two or three further efforts to help himself, but being promptly
+      forestalled each time, he finally gave up, with a sigh of resignation and
+      a murmured "Beshrew me, but I marvel they do not require to breathe for me
+      also!" &nbsp;Slippered, and wrapped in a sumptuous robe, he laid himself
+      down at last to rest, but not to sleep, for his head was too full of
+      thoughts and the room too full of people. &nbsp;He could not dismiss the
+      former, so they stayed; he did not know enough to dismiss the latter, so
+      they stayed also, to his vast regret&mdash;and theirs.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom's departure had left his two noble guardians alone. &nbsp;They mused a
+      while, with much head-shaking and walking the floor, then Lord St. John
+      said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link06-082" id="link06-082"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link06-082.jpg (83K)" src="images/06-082.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Plainly, what dost thou think?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Plainly, then, this. &nbsp;The King is near his end; my nephew is mad&mdash;mad
+      will mount the throne, and mad remain. &nbsp;God protect England, since
+      she will need it!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Verily it promiseth so, indeed. &nbsp;But . . . have you no misgivings as
+      to . . . as to . . ."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The speaker hesitated, and finally stopped. &nbsp;He evidently felt that
+      he was upon delicate ground. &nbsp;Lord Hertford stopped before him,
+      looked into his face with a clear, frank eye, and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Speak on&mdash;there is none to hear but me. &nbsp;Misgivings as to
+      what?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I am full loth to word the thing that is in my mind, and thou so near to
+      him in blood, my lord. &nbsp;But craving pardon if I do offend, seemeth it
+      not strange that madness could so change his port and manner?&mdash;not
+      but that his port and speech are princely still, but that they <i>differ</i>, in
+      one unweighty trifle or another, from what his custom was aforetime.
+      &nbsp;Seemeth it not strange that madness should filch from his memory his
+      father's very lineaments; the customs and observances that are his due
+      from such as be about him; and, leaving him his Latin, strip him of his
+      Greek and French? &nbsp;My lord, be not offended, but ease my mind of its
+      disquiet and receive my grateful thanks. &nbsp;It haunteth me, his saying
+      he was not the prince, and so&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Peace, my lord, thou utterest treason! &nbsp;Hast forgot the King's
+      command? Remember I am party to thy crime if I but listen."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link06-083" id="link06-083"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link06-083.jpg (108K)" src="images/06-083.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      St. John paled, and hastened to say&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I was in fault, I do confess it. &nbsp;Betray me not, grant me this grace
+      out of thy courtesy, and I will neither think nor speak of this thing
+      more. Deal not hardly with me, sir, else am I ruined."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I am content, my lord. &nbsp;So thou offend not again, here or in the
+      ears of others, it shall be as though thou hadst not spoken. &nbsp;But
+      thou need'st not have misgivings. &nbsp;He is my sister's son; are not his
+      voice, his face, his form, familiar to me from his cradle? Madness can do
+      all the odd conflicting things thou seest in him, and more. &nbsp;Dost not
+      recall how that the old Baron Marley, being mad, forgot the favour of his
+      own countenance that he had known for sixty years, and held it was
+      another's; nay, even claimed he was the son of Mary Magdalene, and that
+      his head was made of Spanish glass; and, sooth to say, he suffered none to
+      touch it, lest by mischance some heedless hand might shiver it? &nbsp;Give
+      thy misgivings easement, good my lord. &nbsp;This is the very prince&mdash;I
+      know him well&mdash;and soon will be thy king; it may advantage thee to
+      bear this in mind, and more dwell upon it than the other."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After some further talk, in which the Lord St. John covered up his mistake
+      as well as he could by repeated protests that his faith was thoroughly
+      grounded now, and could not be assailed by doubts again, the Lord Hertford
+      relieved his fellow-keeper, and sat down to keep watch and ward alone.
+      &nbsp;He was soon deep in meditation, and evidently the longer he thought,
+      the more he was bothered. &nbsp;By-and-by he began to pace the floor and
+      mutter.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link06-084" id="link06-084"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link06-084.jpg (61K)" src="images/06-084.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Tush, he <i>must</i> be the prince! &nbsp;Will any be in all the land maintain
+      there can be two, not of one blood and birth, so marvellously twinned?
+      &nbsp;And even were it so, 'twere yet a stranger miracle that chance
+      should cast the one into the other's place. Nay, 'tis folly, folly,
+      folly!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Presently he said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Now were he impostor and called himself prince, look you <i>that</i> would be
+      natural; that would be reasonable. &nbsp;But lived ever an impostor yet,
+      who, being called prince by the king, prince by the court, prince by all,
+      <i>denied</i> his dignity and pleaded against his exaltation? &nbsp;<i>No</i>! &nbsp;By
+      the soul of St. Swithin, no! &nbsp;This is the true prince, gone mad!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c7" id="c7"></a> <a name="link07-087"
+      id="link07-087"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link07-087.jpg (90K)" src="images/07-087.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link07-089" id="link07-089"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link07-089.jpg (133K)" src="images/07-089.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter VII. Tom's first royal dinner.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Somewhat after one in the afternoon, Tom resignedly underwent the ordeal
+      of being dressed for dinner. &nbsp;He found himself as finely clothed as
+      before, but everything different, everything changed, from his ruff to his
+      stockings. &nbsp;He was presently conducted with much state to a spacious
+      and ornate apartment, where a table was already set for one. &nbsp;Its
+      furniture was all of massy gold, and beautified with designs which
+      well-nigh made it priceless, since they were the work of Benvenuto. &nbsp;The
+      room was half-filled with noble servitors. &nbsp;A chaplain said grace,
+      and Tom was about to fall to, for hunger had long been constitutional with
+      him, but was interrupted by my lord the Earl of Berkeley, who fastened a
+      napkin about his neck; for the great post of Diaperers to the Prince of
+      Wales was hereditary in this nobleman's family. &nbsp;Tom's cupbearer was
+      present, and forestalled all his attempts to help himself to wine. &nbsp;The
+      Taster to his highness the Prince of Wales was there also, prepared to
+      taste any suspicious dish upon requirement, and run the risk of being
+      poisoned. &nbsp;He was only an ornamental appendage at this time, and was
+      seldom called upon to exercise his function; but there had been times, not
+      many generations past, when the office of taster had its perils, and was
+      not a grandeur to be desired. &nbsp;Why they did not use a dog or a
+      plumber seems strange; but all the ways of royalty are strange. &nbsp;My
+      Lord d'Arcy, First Groom of the Chamber, was there, to do goodness knows
+      what; but there he was&mdash;let that suffice. &nbsp;The Lord Chief Butler
+      was there, and stood behind Tom's chair, overseeing the solemnities, under
+      command of the Lord Great Steward and the Lord Head Cook, who stood near.
+      &nbsp;Tom had three hundred and eighty-four servants beside these; but
+      they were not all in that room, of course, nor the quarter of them;
+      neither was Tom aware yet that they existed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All those that were present had been well drilled within the hour to
+      remember that the prince was temporarily out of his head, and to be
+      careful to show no surprise at his vagaries. &nbsp;These 'vagaries' were
+      soon on exhibition before them; but they only moved their compassion and
+      their sorrow, not their mirth. &nbsp;It was a heavy affliction to them to
+      see the beloved prince so stricken.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Poor Tom ate with his fingers mainly; but no one smiled at it, or even
+      seemed to observe it. &nbsp;He inspected his napkin curiously, and with
+      deep interest, for it was of a very dainty and beautiful fabric, then said
+      with simplicity&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Prithee, take it away, lest in mine unheedfulness it be soiled."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Hereditary Diaperer took it away with reverent manner, and without
+      word or protest of any sort.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link07-091" id="link07-091"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link07-091.jpg (156K)" src="images/07-091.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom examined the turnips and the lettuce with interest, and asked what
+      they were, and if they were to be eaten; for it was only recently that men
+      had begun to raise these things in England in place of importing them as
+      luxuries from Holland. {1} &nbsp;His question was answered with grave
+      respect, and no surprise manifested. &nbsp;When he had finished his
+      dessert, he filled his pockets with nuts; but nobody appeared to be aware
+      of it, or disturbed by it. &nbsp;But the next moment he was himself
+      disturbed by it, and showed discomposure; for this was the only service he
+      had been permitted to do with his own hands during the meal, and he did
+      not doubt that he had done a most improper and unprincely thing. &nbsp;At
+      that moment the muscles of his nose began to twitch, and the end of that
+      organ to lift and wrinkle. &nbsp;This continued, and Tom began to evince a
+      growing distress. &nbsp;He looked appealingly, first at one and then
+      another of the lords about him, and tears came into his eyes. &nbsp;They
+      sprang forward with dismay in their faces, and begged to know his trouble.
+      &nbsp;Tom said with genuine anguish&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I crave your indulgence: &nbsp;my nose itcheth cruelly. &nbsp;What is the
+      custom and usage in this emergence? &nbsp;Prithee, speed, for 'tis but a
+      little time that I can bear it."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      None smiled; but all were sore perplexed, and looked one to the other in
+      deep tribulation for counsel. &nbsp;But behold, here was a dead wall, and
+      nothing in English history to tell how to get over it. &nbsp;The Master of
+      Ceremonies was not present: &nbsp;there was no one who felt safe to
+      venture upon this uncharted sea, or risk the attempt to solve this solemn
+      problem. &nbsp;Alas! there was no Hereditary Scratcher. &nbsp;Meantime the
+      tears had overflowed their banks, and begun to trickle down Tom's cheeks.
+      &nbsp;His twitching nose was pleading more urgently than ever for relief.
+      &nbsp;At last nature broke down the barriers of etiquette: &nbsp;Tom
+      lifted up an inward prayer for pardon if he was doing wrong, and brought
+      relief to the burdened hearts of his court by scratching his nose himself.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      His meal being ended, a lord came and held before him a broad, shallow,
+      golden dish with fragrant rosewater in it, to cleanse his mouth and
+      fingers with; and my lord the Hereditary Diaperer stood by with a napkin
+      for his use. &nbsp;Tom gazed at the dish a puzzled moment or two, then
+      raised it to his lips, and gravely took a draught. &nbsp;Then he returned
+      it to the waiting lord, and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Nay, it likes me not, my lord: &nbsp;it hath a pretty flavour, but it
+      wanteth strength."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link07-092" id="link07-092"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link07-092.jpg (87K)" src="images/07-092.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This new eccentricity of the prince's ruined mind made all the hearts
+      about him ache; but the sad sight moved none to merriment.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom's next unconscious blunder was to get up and leave the table just when
+      the chaplain had taken his stand behind his chair, and with uplifted
+      hands, and closed, uplifted eyes, was in the act of beginning the
+      blessing. &nbsp;Still nobody seemed to perceive that the prince had done a
+      thing unusual.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link07-093" id="link07-093"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link07-093.jpg (179K)" src="images/07-093.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By his own request our small friend was now conducted to his private
+      cabinet, and left there alone to his own devices. &nbsp;Hanging upon hooks
+      in the oaken wainscoting were the several pieces of a suit of shining
+      steel armour, covered all over with beautiful designs exquisitely inlaid
+      in gold. &nbsp;This martial panoply belonged to the true prince&mdash;a
+      recent present from Madam Parr the Queen. Tom put on the greaves, the
+      gauntlets, the plumed helmet, and such other pieces as he could don
+      without assistance, and for a while was minded to call for help and
+      complete the matter, but bethought him of the nuts he had brought away
+      from dinner, and the joy it would be to eat them with no crowd to eye him,
+      and no Grand Hereditaries to pester him with undesired services; so he
+      restored the pretty things to their several places, and soon was cracking
+      nuts, and feeling almost naturally happy for the first time since God for
+      his sins had made him a prince. &nbsp;When the nuts were all gone, he
+      stumbled upon some inviting books in a closet, among them one about the
+      etiquette of the English court. &nbsp;This was a prize. He lay down upon a
+      sumptuous divan, and proceeded to instruct himself with honest zeal.
+      &nbsp;Let us leave him there for the present.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c8" id="c8"></a> <a name="link08-095"
+      id="link08-095"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link08-095.jpg (51K)" src="images/08-095.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter VIII. The Question of the Seal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      About five o'clock Henry VIII. awoke out of an unrefreshing nap, and
+      muttered to himself, "Troublous dreams, troublous dreams! Mine end is now
+      at hand: &nbsp;so say these warnings, and my failing pulses do confirm
+      it." Presently a wicked light flamed up in his eye, and he muttered, "Yet
+      will not I die till <i>He</i> go before."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      His attendants perceiving that he was awake, one of them asked his
+      pleasure concerning the Lord Chancellor, who was waiting without.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Admit him, admit him!" exclaimed the King eagerly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Lord Chancellor entered, and knelt by the King's couch, saying&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I have given order, and, according to the King's command, the peers of
+      the realm, in their robes, do now stand at the bar of the House, where,
+      having confirmed the Duke of Norfolk's doom, they humbly wait his
+      majesty's further pleasure in the matter."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King's face lit up with a fierce joy. &nbsp;Said he&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Lift me up! &nbsp;In mine own person will I go before my Parliament, and
+      with mine own hand will I seal the warrant that rids me of&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      His voice failed; an ashen pallor swept the flush from his cheeks; and the
+      attendants eased him back upon his pillows, and hurriedly assisted him
+      with restoratives. &nbsp;Presently he said sorrowfully&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Alack, how have I longed for this sweet hour! and lo, too late it cometh,
+      and I am robbed of this so coveted chance. &nbsp;But speed ye, speed ye!
+      let others do this happy office sith 'tis denied to me. I put my Great
+      Seal in commission: &nbsp;choose thou the lords that shall compose it, and
+      get ye to your work. &nbsp;Speed ye, man! &nbsp;Before the sun shall rise
+      and set again, bring me his head that I may see it."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "According to the King's command, so shall it be. &nbsp;Will't please your
+      majesty to order that the Seal be now restored to me, so that I may forth
+      upon the business?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link08-098" id="link08-098"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link08-098.jpg (99K)" src="images/08-098.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "The Seal? &nbsp;Who keepeth the Seal but thou?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Please your majesty, you did take it from me two days since, saying it
+      should no more do its office till your own royal hand should use it upon
+      the Duke of Norfolk's warrant."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Why, so in sooth I did: &nbsp;I do remember. . . . What did I with it? . . .
+      I am very feeble. . . . So oft these days doth my memory play the
+      traitor with me. . . . 'Tis strange, strange&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King dropped into inarticulate mumblings, shaking his grey head weakly
+      from time to time, and gropingly trying to recollect what he had done with
+      the Seal. &nbsp;At last my Lord Hertford ventured to kneel and offer
+      information&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Sire, if that I may be so bold, here be several that do remember with me
+      how that you gave the Great Seal into the hands of his highness the Prince
+      of Wales to keep against the day that&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "True, most true!" interrupted the King. &nbsp;"Fetch it! &nbsp;Go: &nbsp;time
+      flieth!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Lord Hertford flew to Tom, but returned to the King before very long,
+      troubled and empty-handed. &nbsp;He delivered himself to this effect&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "It grieveth me, my lord the King, to bear so heavy and unwelcome tidings;
+      but it is the will of God that the prince's affliction abideth still, and
+      he cannot recall to mind that he received the Seal. &nbsp;So came I
+      quickly to report, thinking it were waste of precious time, and little
+      worth withal, that any should attempt to search the long array of chambers
+      and saloons that belong unto his royal high&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A groan from the King interrupted the lord at this point. &nbsp;After a
+      little while his majesty said, with a deep sadness in his tone&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Trouble him no more, poor child. &nbsp;The hand of God lieth heavy upon
+      him, and my heart goeth out in loving compassion for him, and sorrow that
+      I may not bear his burden on mine old trouble-weighted shoulders, and so
+      bring him peace."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He closed his eyes, fell to mumbling, and presently was silent. After a
+      time he opened his eyes again, and gazed vacantly around until his glance
+      rested upon the kneeling Lord Chancellor. Instantly his face flushed with
+      wrath&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "What, thou here yet! &nbsp;By the glory of God, an' thou gettest not
+      about that traitor's business, thy mitre shall have holiday the morrow for
+      lack of a head to grace withal!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The trembling Chancellor answered&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Good your Majesty, I cry you mercy! &nbsp;I but waited for the Seal."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Man, hast lost thy wits? &nbsp;The small Seal which aforetime I was wont
+      to take with me abroad lieth in my treasury. &nbsp;And, since the Great
+      Seal hath flown away, shall not it suffice? &nbsp;Hast lost thy wits?
+      &nbsp;Begone! &nbsp;And hark ye&mdash;come no more till thou do bring his
+      head."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The poor Chancellor was not long in removing himself from this dangerous
+      vicinity; nor did the commission waste time in giving the royal assent to
+      the work of the slavish Parliament, and appointing the morrow for the
+      beheading of the premier peer of England, the luckless Duke of Norfolk.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c9" id="c9"></a> <a name="link09-101"
+      id="link09-101"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link09-101.jpg (60K)" src="images/09-101.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter IX. The river pageant.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At nine in the evening the whole vast river-front of the palace was
+      blazing with light. &nbsp;The river itself, as far as the eye could reach
+      citywards, was so thickly covered with watermen's boats and with
+      pleasure-barges, all fringed with coloured lanterns, and gently agitated
+      by the waves, that it resembled a glowing and limitless garden of flowers
+      stirred to soft motion by summer winds. &nbsp;The grand terrace of stone
+      steps leading down to the water, spacious enough to mass the army of a
+      German principality upon, was a picture to see, with its ranks of royal
+      halberdiers in polished armour, and its troops of brilliantly costumed
+      servitors flitting up and down, and to and fro, in the hurry of
+      preparation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Presently a command was given, and immediately all living creatures
+      vanished from the steps. &nbsp;Now the air was heavy with the hush of
+      suspense and expectancy. &nbsp;As far as one's vision could carry, he
+      might see the myriads of people in the boats rise up, and shade their eyes
+      from the glare of lanterns and torches, and gaze toward the palace.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A file of forty or fifty state barges drew up to the steps. &nbsp;They
+      were richly gilt, and their lofty prows and sterns were elaborately
+      carved. Some of them were decorated with banners and streamers; some with
+      cloth-of-gold and arras embroidered with coats-of-arms; others with silken
+      flags that had numberless little silver bells fastened to them, which
+      shook out tiny showers of joyous music whenever the breezes fluttered
+      them; others of yet higher pretensions, since they belonged to nobles in
+      the prince's immediate service, had their sides picturesquely fenced with
+      shields gorgeously emblazoned with armorial bearings. &nbsp;Each state
+      barge was towed by a tender. &nbsp;Besides the rowers, these tenders
+      carried each a number of men-at-arms in glossy helmet and breastplate, and
+      a company of musicians.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link09-104" id="link09-104"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link09-104.jpg (178K)" src="images/09-104.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The advance-guard of the expected procession now appeared in the great
+      gateway, a troop of halberdiers. &nbsp;'They were dressed in striped hose
+      of black and tawny, velvet caps graced at the sides with silver roses, and
+      doublets of murrey and blue cloth, embroidered on the front and back with
+      the three feathers, the prince's blazon, woven in gold. &nbsp;Their
+      halberd staves were covered with crimson velvet, fastened with gilt nails,
+      and ornamented with gold tassels. &nbsp;Filing off on the right and left,
+      they formed two long lines, extending from the gateway of the palace to
+      the water's edge. &nbsp;A thick rayed cloth or carpet was then unfolded,
+      and laid down between them by attendants in the gold-and-crimson liveries
+      of the prince. &nbsp;This done, a flourish of trumpets resounded from
+      within. &nbsp;A lively prelude arose from the musicians on the water; and
+      two ushers with white wands marched with a slow and stately pace from the
+      portal. &nbsp;They were followed by an officer bearing the civic mace,
+      after whom came another carrying the city's sword; then several sergeants
+      of the city guard, in their full accoutrements, and with badges on their
+      sleeves; then the Garter King-at-arms, in his tabard; then several Knights
+      of the Bath, each with a white lace on his sleeve; then their esquires;
+      then the judges, in their robes of scarlet and coifs; then the Lord High
+      Chancellor of England, in a robe of scarlet, open before, and purfled with
+      minever; then a deputation of aldermen, in their scarlet cloaks; and then
+      the heads of the different civic companies, in their robes of state. Now
+      came twelve French gentlemen, in splendid habiliments, consisting of
+      pourpoints of white damask barred with gold, short mantles of crimson
+      velvet lined with violet taffeta, and carnation coloured
+      hauts-de-chausses, and took their way down the steps. &nbsp;They were of
+      the suite of the French ambassador, and were followed by twelve cavaliers
+      of the suite of the Spanish ambassador, clothed in black velvet,
+      unrelieved by any ornament. &nbsp;Following these came several great
+      English nobles with their attendants.'
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a flourish of trumpets within; and the Prince's uncle, the
+      future great Duke of Somerset, emerged from the gateway, arrayed in a
+      'doublet of black cloth-of-gold, and a cloak of crimson satin flowered
+      with gold, and ribanded with nets of silver.' &nbsp;He turned, doffed his
+      plumed cap, bent his body in a low reverence, and began to step backward,
+      bowing at each step. &nbsp;A prolonged trumpet-blast followed, and a
+      proclamation, "Way for the high and mighty the Lord Edward, Prince of
+      Wales!" &nbsp;High aloft on the palace walls a long line of red tongues of
+      flame leapt forth with a thunder-crash; the massed world on the river
+      burst into a mighty roar of welcome; and Tom Canty, the cause and hero of
+      it all, stepped into view and slightly bowed his princely head.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link09-106" id="link09-106"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link09-106.jpg (46K)" src="images/09-106.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He was 'magnificently habited in a doublet of white satin, with a
+      front-piece of purple cloth-of-tissue, powdered with diamonds, and edged
+      with ermine. &nbsp;Over this he wore a mantle of white cloth-of-gold,
+      pounced with the triple-feathered crest, lined with blue satin, set with
+      pearls and precious stones, and fastened with a clasp of brilliants.
+      &nbsp;About his neck hung the order of the Garter, and several princely
+      foreign orders;' and wherever light fell upon him jewels responded with a
+      blinding flash. &nbsp;O Tom Canty, born in a hovel, bred in the gutters of
+      London, familiar with rags and dirt and misery, what a spectacle is this!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c10" id="c10"></a> <a name="link10-107"
+      id="link10-107"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link10-107.jpg (46K)" src="images/10-107.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter X. The Prince in the toils.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We left John Canty dragging the rightful prince into Offal Court, with a
+      noisy and delighted mob at his heels. &nbsp;There was but one person in it
+      who offered a pleading word for the captive, and he was not heeded; he was
+      hardly even heard, so great was the turmoil. &nbsp;The Prince continued to
+      struggle for freedom, and to rage against the treatment he was suffering,
+      until John Canty lost what little patience was left in him, and raised his
+      oaken cudgel in a sudden fury over the Prince's head. &nbsp;The single
+      pleader for the lad sprang to stop the man's arm, and the blow descended
+      upon his own wrist. &nbsp;Canty roared out&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Thou'lt meddle, wilt thou? &nbsp;Then have thy reward."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link10-110" id="link10-110"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link10-110.jpg (100K)" src="images/10-110.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      His cudgel crashed down upon the meddler's head: &nbsp;there was a groan,
+      a dim form sank to the ground among the feet of the crowd, and the next
+      moment it lay there in the dark alone. &nbsp;The mob pressed on, their
+      enjoyment nothing disturbed by this episode.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Presently the Prince found himself in John Canty's abode, with the door
+      closed against the outsiders. &nbsp;By the vague light of a tallow candle
+      which was thrust into a bottle, he made out the main features of the
+      loathsome den, and also the occupants of it. &nbsp;Two frowsy girls and a
+      middle-aged woman cowered against the wall in one corner, with the aspect
+      of animals habituated to harsh usage, and expecting and dreading it now.
+      From another corner stole a withered hag with streaming grey hair and
+      malignant eyes. &nbsp;John Canty said to this one&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Tarry! &nbsp;There's fine mummeries here. &nbsp;Mar them not till thou'st
+      enjoyed them: &nbsp;then let thy hand be heavy as thou wilt. &nbsp;Stand
+      forth, lad. &nbsp;Now say thy foolery again, an thou'st not forgot it.
+      Name thy name. &nbsp;Who art thou?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The insulted blood mounted to the little prince's cheek once more, and he
+      lifted a steady and indignant gaze to the man's face and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "'Tis but ill-breeding in such as thou to command me to speak. &nbsp;I
+      tell thee now, as I told thee before, I am Edward, Prince of Wales, and
+      none other."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link10-111" id="link10-111"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link10-111.jpg (133K)" src="images/10-111.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The stunning surprise of this reply nailed the hag's feet to the floor
+      where she stood, and almost took her breath. &nbsp;She stared at the
+      Prince in stupid amazement, which so amused her ruffianly son, that he
+      burst into a roar of laughter. &nbsp;But the effect upon Tom Canty's
+      mother and sisters was different. &nbsp;Their dread of bodily injury gave
+      way at once to distress of a different sort. &nbsp;They ran forward with
+      woe and dismay in their faces, exclaiming&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Oh, poor Tom, poor lad!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The mother fell on her knees before the Prince, put her hands upon his
+      shoulders, and gazed yearningly into his face through her rising tears.
+      Then she said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Oh, my poor boy! &nbsp;Thy foolish reading hath wrought its woeful work
+      at last, and ta'en thy wit away. &nbsp;Ah! why did'st thou cleave to it
+      when I so warned thee 'gainst it? &nbsp;Thou'st broke thy mother's heart."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Prince looked into her face, and said gently&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Thy son is well, and hath not lost his wits, good dame. &nbsp;Comfort
+      thee: let me to the palace where he is, and straightway will the King my
+      father restore him to thee."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "The King thy father! &nbsp;Oh, my child! unsay these words that be
+      freighted with death for thee, and ruin for all that be near to thee.
+      &nbsp;Shake of this gruesome dream. &nbsp;Call back thy poor wandering
+      memory. &nbsp;Look upon me. Am not I thy mother that bore thee, and loveth
+      thee?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Prince shook his head and reluctantly said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "God knoweth I am loth to grieve thy heart; but truly have I never looked
+      upon thy face before."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The woman sank back to a sitting posture on the floor, and, covering her
+      eyes with her hands, gave way to heart-broken sobs and wailings.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Let the show go on!" shouted Canty. &nbsp;"What, Nan!&mdash;what, Bet!
+      mannerless wenches! will ye stand in the Prince's presence? &nbsp;Upon
+      your knees, ye pauper scum, and do him reverence!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He followed this with another horse-laugh. &nbsp;The girls began to plead
+      timidly for their brother; and Nan said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "An thou wilt but let him to bed, father, rest and sleep will heal his
+      madness: &nbsp;prithee, do."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Do, father," said Bet; "he is more worn than is his wont. &nbsp;To-morrow
+      will he be himself again, and will beg with diligence, and come not empty
+      home again."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This remark sobered the father's joviality, and brought his mind to
+      business. &nbsp;He turned angrily upon the Prince, and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "The morrow must we pay two pennies to him that owns this hole; two
+      pennies, mark ye&mdash;all this money for a half-year's rent, else out of
+      this we go. &nbsp;Show what thou'st gathered with thy lazy begging."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Prince said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Offend me not with thy sordid matters. &nbsp;I tell thee again I am the
+      King's son."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A sounding blow upon the Prince's shoulder from Canty's broad palm sent
+      him staggering into goodwife Canty's arms, who clasped him to her breast,
+      and sheltered him from a pelting rain of cuffs and slaps by interposing
+      her own person. &nbsp;The frightened girls retreated to their corner; but
+      the grandmother stepped eagerly forward to assist her son. &nbsp;The
+      Prince sprang away from Mrs. Canty, exclaiming&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link10-113" id="link10-113"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link10-113.jpg (105K)" src="images/10-113.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Thou shalt not suffer for me, madam. &nbsp;Let these swine do their will
+      upon me alone."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This speech infuriated the swine to such a degree that they set about
+      their work without waste of time. &nbsp;Between them they belaboured the
+      boy right soundly, and then gave the girls and their mother a beating for
+      showing sympathy for the victim.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Now," said Canty, "to bed, all of ye. &nbsp;The entertainment has tired
+      me."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The light was put out, and the family retired. &nbsp;As soon as the
+      snorings of the head of the house and his mother showed that they were
+      asleep, the young girls crept to where the Prince lay, and covered him
+      tenderly from the cold with straw and rags; and their mother crept to him
+      also, and stroked his hair, and cried over him, whispering broken words of
+      comfort and compassion in his ear the while. &nbsp;She had saved a morsel
+      for him to eat, also; but the boy's pains had swept away all appetite&mdash;at
+      least for black and tasteless crusts. &nbsp;He was touched by her brave
+      and costly defence of him, and by her commiseration; and he thanked her in
+      very noble and princely words, and begged her to go to her sleep and try
+      to forget her sorrows. &nbsp;And he added that the King his father would
+      not let her loyal kindness and devotion go unrewarded. &nbsp;This return
+      to his 'madness' broke her heart anew, and she strained him to her breast
+      again and again, and then went back, drowned in tears, to her bed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As she lay thinking and mourning, the suggestion began to creep into her
+      mind that there was an undefinable something about this boy that was
+      lacking in Tom Canty, mad or sane. &nbsp;She could not describe it, she
+      could not tell just what it was, and yet her sharp mother-instinct seemed
+      to detect it and perceive it. &nbsp;What if the boy were really not her
+      son, after all? &nbsp;Oh, absurd! &nbsp;She almost smiled at the idea,
+      spite of her griefs and troubles. &nbsp;No matter, she found that it was
+      an idea that would not 'down,' but persisted in haunting her. &nbsp;It
+      pursued her, it harassed her, it clung to her, and refused to be put away
+      or ignored. &nbsp;At last she perceived that there was not going to be any
+      peace for her until she should devise a test that should prove, clearly
+      and without question, whether this lad was her son or not, and so banish
+      these wearing and worrying doubts. &nbsp;Ah, yes, this was plainly the
+      right way out of the difficulty; therefore she set her wits to work at
+      once to contrive that test. &nbsp;But it was an easier thing to propose
+      than to accomplish. &nbsp;She turned over in her mind one promising test
+      after another, but was obliged to relinquish them all&mdash;none of them
+      were absolutely sure, absolutely perfect; and an imperfect one could not
+      satisfy her. &nbsp;Evidently she was racking her head in vain&mdash;it
+      seemed manifest that she must give the matter up. &nbsp;While this
+      depressing thought was passing through her mind, her ear caught the
+      regular breathing of the boy, and she knew he had fallen asleep. &nbsp;And
+      while she listened, the measured breathing was broken by a soft, startled
+      cry, such as one utters in a troubled dream. &nbsp;This chance occurrence
+      furnished her instantly with a plan worth all her laboured tests combined.
+      &nbsp;She at once set herself feverishly, but noiselessly, to work to
+      relight her candle, muttering to herself, "Had I but seen him <i>then</i>, I
+      should have known! &nbsp;Since that day, when he was little, that the
+      powder burst in his face, he hath never been startled of a sudden out of
+      his dreams or out of his thinkings, but he hath cast his hand before his
+      eyes, even as he did that day; and not as others would do it, with the
+      palm inward, but always with the palm turned outward&mdash;I have seen it
+      a hundred times, and it hath never varied nor ever failed. &nbsp;Yes, I
+      shall soon know, now!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By this time she had crept to the slumbering boy's side, with the candle,
+      shaded, in her hand. &nbsp;She bent heedfully and warily over him,
+      scarcely breathing in her suppressed excitement, and suddenly flashed the
+      light in his face and struck the floor by his ear with her knuckles.
+      &nbsp;The sleeper's eyes sprang wide open, and he cast a startled stare
+      about him&mdash;but he made no special movement with his hands.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link10-115" id="link10-115"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link10-115.jpg (138K)" src="images/10-115.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The poor woman was smitten almost helpless with surprise and grief; but
+      she contrived to hide her emotions, and to soothe the boy to sleep again;
+      then she crept apart and communed miserably with herself upon the
+      disastrous result of her experiment. &nbsp;She tried to believe that her
+      Tom's madness had banished this habitual gesture of his; but she could not
+      do it. &nbsp;"No," she said, "his <i>hands</i> are not mad; they could not
+      unlearn so old a habit in so brief a time. &nbsp;Oh, this is a heavy day
+      for me!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Still, hope was as stubborn now as doubt had been before; she could not
+      bring herself to accept the verdict of the test; she must try the thing
+      again&mdash;the failure must have been only an accident; so she startled
+      the boy out of his sleep a second and a third time, at intervals&mdash;with
+      the same result which had marked the first test; then she dragged herself
+      to bed, and fell sorrowfully asleep, saying, "But I cannot give him up&mdash;oh
+      no, I cannot, I cannot&mdash;he <i>must</i> be my boy!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link10-116" id="link10-116"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link10-116.jpg (62K)" src="images/10-116.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The poor mother's interruptions having ceased, and the Prince's pains
+      having gradually lost their power to disturb him, utter weariness at last
+      sealed his eyes in a profound and restful sleep. Hour after hour slipped
+      away, and still he slept like the dead. Thus four or five hours passed.
+      Then his stupor began to lighten. Presently, while half asleep and half
+      awake, he murmured&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Sir William!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After a moment&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Ho, Sir William Herbert! &nbsp;Hie thee hither, and list to the strangest
+      dream that ever . . . Sir William! dost hear? &nbsp;Man, I did think me
+      changed to a pauper, and . . . Ho there! &nbsp;Guards! Sir William! &nbsp;What!
+      is there no groom of the chamber in waiting? Alack! it shall go hard with&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "What aileth thee?" asked a whisper near him. &nbsp;"Who art thou
+      calling?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Sir William Herbert. &nbsp;Who art thou?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I? &nbsp;Who should I be, but thy sister Nan? &nbsp;Oh, Tom, I had
+      forgot! Thou'rt mad yet&mdash;poor lad, thou'rt mad yet: &nbsp;would I had
+      never woke to know it again! &nbsp;But prithee master thy tongue, lest we
+      be all beaten till we die!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The startled Prince sprang partly up, but a sharp reminder from his
+      stiffened bruises brought him to himself, and he sank back among his foul
+      straw with a moan and the ejaculation&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Alas! it was no dream, then!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In a moment all the heavy sorrow and misery which sleep had banished were
+      upon him again, and he realised that he was no longer a petted prince in a
+      palace, with the adoring eyes of a nation upon him, but a pauper, an
+      outcast, clothed in rags, prisoner in a den fit only for beasts, and
+      consorting with beggars and thieves.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the midst of his grief he began to be conscious of hilarious noises and
+      shoutings, apparently but a block or two away. &nbsp;The next moment there
+      were several sharp raps at the door; John Canty ceased from snoring and
+      said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Who knocketh? &nbsp;What wilt thou?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A voice answered&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Know'st thou who it was thou laid thy cudgel on?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "No. &nbsp;Neither know I, nor care."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Belike thou'lt change thy note eftsoons. &nbsp;An thou would save thy
+      neck, nothing but flight may stead thee. &nbsp;The man is this moment
+      delivering up the ghost. &nbsp;'Tis the priest, Father Andrew!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "God-a-mercy!" exclaimed Canty. &nbsp;He roused his family, and hoarsely
+      commanded, "Up with ye all and fly&mdash;or bide where ye are and perish!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Scarcely five minutes later the Canty household were in the street and
+      flying for their lives. &nbsp;John Canty held the Prince by the wrist, and
+      hurried him along the dark way, giving him this caution in a low voice&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Mind thy tongue, thou mad fool, and speak not our name. &nbsp;I will
+      choose me a new name, speedily, to throw the law's dogs off the scent.
+      &nbsp;Mind thy tongue, I tell thee!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link10-118" id="link10-118"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link10-118.jpg (142K)" src="images/10-118.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He growled these words to the rest of the family&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "If it so chance that we be separated, let each make for London Bridge;
+      whoso findeth himself as far as the last linen-draper's shop on the
+      bridge, let him tarry there till the others be come, then will we flee
+      into Southwark together."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At this moment the party burst suddenly out of darkness into light; and
+      not only into light, but into the midst of a multitude of singing,
+      dancing, and shouting people, massed together on the river frontage. There
+      was a line of bonfires stretching as far as one could see, up and down the
+      Thames; London Bridge was illuminated; Southwark Bridge likewise; the
+      entire river was aglow with the flash and sheen of coloured lights; and
+      constant explosions of fireworks filled the skies with an intricate
+      commingling of shooting splendours and a thick rain of dazzling sparks
+      that almost turned night into day; everywhere were crowds of revellers;
+      all London seemed to be at large.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      John Canty delivered himself of a furious curse and commanded a retreat;
+      but it was too late. &nbsp;He and his tribe were swallowed up in that
+      swarming hive of humanity, and hopelessly separated from each other in an
+      instant. We are not considering that the Prince was one of his tribe;
+      Canty still kept his grip upon him. &nbsp;The Prince's heart was beating
+      high with hopes of escape, now. &nbsp;A burly waterman, considerably
+      exalted with liquor, found himself rudely shoved by Canty in his efforts
+      to plough through the crowd; he laid his great hand on Canty's shoulder
+      and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Nay, whither so fast, friend? &nbsp;Dost canker thy soul with sordid
+      business when all that be leal men and true make holiday?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Mine affairs are mine own, they concern thee not," answered Canty,
+      roughly; "take away thy hand and let me pass."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Sith that is thy humour, thou'lt <i>not</i> pass, till thou'st drunk to the
+      Prince of Wales, I tell thee that," said the waterman, barring the way
+      resolutely.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Give me the cup, then, and make speed, make speed!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Other revellers were interested by this time. &nbsp;They cried out&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "The loving-cup, the loving-cup! make the sour knave drink the loving-cup,
+      else will we feed him to the fishes."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So a huge loving-cup was brought; the waterman, grasping it by one of its
+      handles, and with the other hand bearing up the end of an imaginary
+      napkin, presented it in due and ancient form to Canty, who had to grasp
+      the opposite handle with one of his hands and take off the lid with the
+      other, according to ancient custom. This left the Prince hand-free for a
+      second, of course. &nbsp;He wasted no time, but dived among the forest of
+      legs about him and disappeared. &nbsp;In another moment he could not have
+      been harder to find, under that tossing sea of life, if its billows had
+      been the Atlantic's and he a lost sixpence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link10-120" id="link10-120"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link10-120.jpg (148K)" src="images/10-120.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He very soon realised this fact, and straightway busied himself about his
+      own affairs without further thought of John Canty. &nbsp;He quickly
+      realised another thing, too. &nbsp;To wit, that a spurious Prince of Wales
+      was being feasted by the city in his stead. &nbsp;He easily concluded that
+      the pauper lad, Tom Canty, had deliberately taken advantage of his
+      stupendous opportunity and become a usurper.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Therefore there was but one course to pursue&mdash;find his way to the
+      Guildhall, make himself known, and denounce the impostor. &nbsp;He also
+      made up his mind that Tom should be allowed a reasonable time for
+      spiritual preparation, and then be hanged, drawn and quartered, according
+      to the law and usage of the day in cases of high treason.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c11" id="c11"></a> <a name="link11-121"
+      id="link11-121"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link11-121.jpg (56K)" src="images/11-121.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XI. At Guildhall.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The royal barge, attended by its gorgeous fleet, took its stately way down
+      the Thames through the wilderness of illuminated boats. The air was laden
+      with music; the river banks were beruffled with joy-flames; the distant
+      city lay in a soft luminous glow from its countless invisible bonfires;
+      above it rose many a slender spire into the sky, incrusted with sparkling
+      lights, wherefore in their remoteness they seemed like jewelled lances
+      thrust aloft; as the fleet swept along, it was greeted from the banks with
+      a continuous hoarse roar of cheers and the ceaseless flash and boom of
+      artillery.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      To Tom Canty, half buried in his silken cushions, these sounds and this
+      spectacle were a wonder unspeakably sublime and astonishing. To his little
+      friends at his side, the Princess Elizabeth and the Lady Jane Grey, they
+      were nothing.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Arrived at the Dowgate, the fleet was towed up the limpid Walbrook (whose
+      channel has now been for two centuries buried out of sight under acres of
+      buildings) to Bucklersbury, past houses and under bridges populous with
+      merry-makers and brilliantly lighted, and at last came to a halt in a
+      basin where now is Barge Yard, in the centre of the ancient city of
+      London. &nbsp;Tom disembarked, and he and his gallant procession crossed
+      Cheapside and made a short march through the Old Jewry and Basinghall
+      Street to the Guildhall.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom and his little ladies were received with due ceremony by the Lord
+      Mayor and the Fathers of the City, in their gold chains and scarlet robes
+      of state, and conducted to a rich canopy of state at the head of the great
+      hall, preceded by heralds making proclamation, and by the Mace and the
+      City Sword. &nbsp;The lords and ladies who were to attend upon Tom and his
+      two small friends took their places behind their chairs.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link11-124" id="link11-124"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link11-124.jpg (173K)" src="images/11-124.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At a lower table the Court grandees and other guests of noble degree were
+      seated, with the magnates of the city; the commoners took places at a
+      multitude of tables on the main floor of the hall. &nbsp;From their lofty
+      vantage-ground the giants Gog and Magog, the ancient guardians of the
+      city, contemplated the spectacle below them with eyes grown familiar to it
+      in forgotten generations. &nbsp;There was a bugle-blast and a
+      proclamation, and a fat butler appeared in a high perch in the leftward
+      wall, followed by his servitors bearing with impressive solemnity a royal
+      baron of beef, smoking hot and ready for the knife.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After grace, Tom (being instructed) rose&mdash;and the whole house with
+      him&mdash;and drank from a portly golden loving-cup with the Princess
+      Elizabeth; from her it passed to the Lady Jane, and then traversed the
+      general assemblage. &nbsp;So the banquet began.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By midnight the revelry was at its height. &nbsp;Now came one of those
+      picturesque spectacles so admired in that old day. &nbsp;A description of
+      it is still extant in the quaint wording of a chronicler who witnessed it:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      'Space being made, presently entered a baron and an earl appareled after
+      the Turkish fashion in long robes of bawdkin powdered with gold; hats on
+      their heads of crimson velvet, with great rolls of gold, girded with two
+      swords, called scimitars, hanging by great bawdricks of gold. &nbsp;Next
+      came yet another baron and another earl, in two long gowns of yellow
+      satin, traversed with white satin, and in every bend of white was a bend
+      of crimson satin, after the fashion of Russia, with furred hats of gray on
+      their heads; either of them having an hatchet in their hands, and boots
+      with pykes' (points a foot long), 'turned up. &nbsp;And after them came a
+      knight, then the Lord High Admiral, and with him five nobles, in doublets
+      of crimson velvet, voyded low on the back and before to the cannell-bone,
+      laced on the breasts with chains of silver; and over that, short cloaks of
+      crimson satin, and on their heads hats after the dancers' fashion, with
+      pheasants' feathers in them. &nbsp;These were appareled after the fashion
+      of Prussia. &nbsp;The torchbearers, which were about an hundred, were
+      appareled in crimson satin and green, like Moors, their faces black. Next
+      came in a mommarye. Then the minstrels, which were disguised, danced; and
+      the lords and ladies did wildly dance also, that it was a pleasure to
+      behold.'
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And while Tom, in his high seat, was gazing upon this 'wild' dancing, lost
+      in admiration of the dazzling commingling of kaleidoscopic colours which
+      the whirling turmoil of gaudy figures below him presented, the ragged but
+      real little Prince of Wales was proclaiming his rights and his wrongs,
+      denouncing the impostor, and clamouring for admission at the gates of
+      Guildhall! The crowd enjoyed this episode prodigiously, and pressed
+      forward and craned their necks to see the small rioter. Presently they
+      began to taunt him and mock at him, purposely to goad him into a higher
+      and still more entertaining fury. &nbsp;Tears of mortification sprang to
+      his eyes, but he stood his ground and defied the mob right royally. &nbsp;Other
+      taunts followed, added mockings stung him, and he exclaimed&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I tell ye again, you pack of unmannerly curs, I am the Prince of Wales!
+      And all forlorn and friendless as I be, with none to give me word of grace
+      or help me in my need, yet will not I be driven from my ground, but will
+      maintain it!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Though thou be prince or no prince, 'tis all one, thou be'st a gallant
+      lad, and not friendless neither! &nbsp;Here stand I by thy side to prove
+      it; and mind I tell thee thou might'st have a worser friend than Miles
+      Hendon and yet not tire thy legs with seeking. Rest thy small jaw, my
+      child; I talk the language of these base kennel-rats like to a very
+      native."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The speaker was a sort of Don Caesar de Bazan in dress, aspect, and
+      bearing. &nbsp;He was tall, trim-built, muscular. &nbsp;His doublet and
+      trunks were of rich material, but faded and threadbare, and their
+      gold-lace adornments were sadly tarnished; his ruff was rumpled and
+      damaged; the plume in his slouched hat was broken and had a bedraggled and
+      disreputable look; at his side he wore a long rapier in a rusty iron
+      sheath; his swaggering carriage marked him at once as a ruffler of the
+      camp. &nbsp;The speech of this fantastic figure was received with an
+      explosion of jeers and laughter. &nbsp;Some cried, "'Tis another prince in
+      disguise!" "'Ware thy tongue, friend: &nbsp;belike he is dangerous!"
+      &nbsp;"Marry, he looketh it&mdash;mark his eye!" &nbsp;"Pluck the lad from
+      him&mdash;to the horse-pond wi' the cub!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Instantly a hand was laid upon the Prince, under the impulse of this happy
+      thought; as instantly the stranger's long sword was out and the meddler
+      went to the earth under a sounding thump with the flat of it. The next
+      moment a score of voices shouted, "Kill the dog! &nbsp;Kill him! Kill
+      him!" and the mob closed in on the warrior, who backed himself against a
+      wall and began to lay about him with his long weapon like a madman. &nbsp;His
+      victims sprawled this way and that, but the mob-tide poured over their
+      prostrate forms and dashed itself against the champion with undiminished
+      fury.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link11-127" id="link11-127"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link11-127.jpg (133K)" src="images/11-127.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      His moments seemed numbered, his destruction certain, when suddenly a
+      trumpet-blast sounded, a voice shouted, "Way for the King's messenger!"
+      and a troop of horsemen came charging down upon the mob, who fled out of
+      harm's reach as fast as their legs could carry them. The bold stranger
+      caught up the Prince in his arms, and was soon far away from danger and
+      the multitude.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Return we within the Guildhall. &nbsp;Suddenly, high above the jubilant
+      roar and thunder of the revel, broke the clear peal of a bugle-note.
+      &nbsp;There was instant silence&mdash;a deep hush; then a single voice
+      rose&mdash;that of the messenger from the palace&mdash;and began to pipe
+      forth a proclamation, the whole multitude standing listening.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The closing words, solemnly pronounced, were&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "The King is dead!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The great assemblage bent their heads upon their breasts with one accord;
+      remained so, in profound silence, a few moments; then all sank upon their
+      knees in a body, stretched out their hands toward Tom, and a mighty shout
+      burst forth that seemed to shake the building&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Long live the King!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link11-128" id="link11-128"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link11-128.jpg (154K)" src="images/11-128.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Poor Tom's dazed eyes wandered abroad over this stupefying spectacle, and
+      finally rested dreamily upon the kneeling princesses beside him, a moment,
+      then upon the Earl of Hertford. A sudden purpose dawned in his face.
+      &nbsp;He said, in a low tone, at Lord Hertford's ear&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Answer me truly, on thy faith and honour! &nbsp;Uttered I here a command,
+      the which none but a king might hold privilege and prerogative to utter,
+      would such commandment be obeyed, and none rise up to say me nay?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "None, my liege, in all these realms. &nbsp;In thy person bides the
+      majesty of England. &nbsp;Thou art the king&mdash;thy word is law."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom responded, in a strong, earnest voice, and with great animation&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Then shall the king's law be law of mercy, from this day, and never more
+      be law of blood! &nbsp;Up from thy knees and away! &nbsp;To the Tower, and
+      say the King decrees the Duke of Norfolk shall not die!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The words were caught up and carried eagerly from lip to lip far and wide
+      over the hall, and as Hertford hurried from the presence, another
+      prodigious shout burst forth&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "The reign of blood is ended! &nbsp;Long live Edward, King of England!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c12" id="c12"></a> <a name="link12-131"
+      id="link12-131"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link12-131.jpg (62K)" src="images/12-131.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XII. The Prince and his Deliverer.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As soon as Miles Hendon and the little prince were clear of the mob, they
+      struck down through back lanes and alleys toward the river. &nbsp;Their
+      way was unobstructed until they approached London Bridge; then they
+      ploughed into the multitude again, Hendon keeping a fast grip upon the
+      Prince's&mdash;no, the King's&mdash;wrist. &nbsp;The tremendous news was
+      already abroad, and the boy learned it from a thousand voices at once&mdash;"The
+      King is dead!" &nbsp;The tidings struck a chill to the heart of the poor
+      little waif, and sent a shudder through his frame. &nbsp;He realised the
+      greatness of his loss, and was filled with a bitter grief; for the grim
+      tyrant who had been such a terror to others had always been gentle with
+      him. &nbsp;The tears sprang to his eyes and blurred all objects. &nbsp;For
+      an instant he felt himself the most forlorn, outcast, and forsaken of
+      God's creatures&mdash;then another cry shook the night with its
+      far-reaching thunders: &nbsp;"Long live King Edward the Sixth!" and this
+      made his eyes kindle, and thrilled him with pride to his fingers' ends.
+      "Ah," he thought, "how grand and strange it seems&mdash;<i>I am King</i>!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link12-134" id="link12-134"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link12-134.jpg (116K)" src="images/12-134.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Our friends threaded their way slowly through the throngs upon the bridge.
+      &nbsp;This structure, which had stood for six hundred years, and had been
+      a noisy and populous thoroughfare all that time, was a curious affair, for
+      a closely packed rank of stores and shops, with family quarters overhead,
+      stretched along both sides of it, from one bank of the river to the other.
+      &nbsp;The Bridge was a sort of town to itself; it had its inn, its
+      beer-houses, its bakeries, its haberdasheries, its food markets, its
+      manufacturing industries, and even its church. &nbsp;It looked upon the
+      two neighbours which it linked together&mdash;London and Southwark&mdash;as
+      being well enough as suburbs, but not otherwise particularly important.
+      &nbsp;It was a close corporation, so to speak; it was a narrow town, of a
+      single street a fifth of a mile long, its population was but a village
+      population and everybody in it knew all his fellow-townsmen intimately,
+      and had known their fathers and mothers before them&mdash;and all their
+      little family affairs into the bargain. &nbsp;It had its aristocracy, of
+      course&mdash;its fine old families of butchers, and bakers, and what-not,
+      who had occupied the same old premises for five or six hundred years, and
+      knew the great history of the Bridge from beginning to end, and all its
+      strange legends; and who always talked bridgy talk, and thought bridgy
+      thoughts, and lied in a long, level, direct, substantial bridgy way.
+      &nbsp;It was just the sort of population to be narrow and ignorant and
+      self-conceited. Children were born on the Bridge, were reared there, grew
+      to old age, and finally died without ever having set a foot upon any part
+      of the world but London Bridge alone. &nbsp;Such people would naturally
+      imagine that the mighty and interminable procession which moved through
+      its street night and day, with its confused roar of shouts and cries, its
+      neighings and bellowing and bleatings and its muffled thunder-tramp, was
+      the one great thing in this world, and themselves somehow the proprietors
+      of it. &nbsp;And so they were, in effect&mdash;at least they could exhibit
+      it from their windows, and did&mdash;for a consideration&mdash;whenever a
+      returning king or hero gave it a fleeting splendour, for there was no
+      place like it for affording a long, straight, uninterrupted view of
+      marching columns.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Men born and reared upon the Bridge found life unendurably dull and inane
+      elsewhere. &nbsp;History tells of one of these who left the Bridge at the
+      age of seventy-one and retired to the country. &nbsp;But he could only
+      fret and toss in his bed; he could not go to sleep, the deep stillness was
+      so painful, so awful, so oppressive. &nbsp;When he was worn out with it,
+      at last, he fled back to his old home, a lean and haggard spectre, and
+      fell peacefully to rest and pleasant dreams under the lulling music of the
+      lashing waters and the boom and crash and thunder of London Bridge.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the times of which we are writing, the Bridge furnished 'object
+      lessons' in English history for its children&mdash;namely, the livid and
+      decaying heads of renowned men impaled upon iron spikes atop of its
+      gateways. &nbsp;But we digress.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link12-136" id="link12-136"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link12-136.jpg (35K)" src="images/12-136.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hendon's lodgings were in the little inn on the Bridge. &nbsp;As he neared
+      the door with his small friend, a rough voice said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "So, thou'rt come at last! &nbsp;Thou'lt not escape again, I warrant thee;
+      and if pounding thy bones to a pudding can teach thee somewhat, thou'lt
+      not keep us waiting another time, mayhap,"&mdash;and John Canty put out
+      his hand to seize the boy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Miles Hendon stepped in the way and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Not too fast, friend. &nbsp;Thou art needlessly rough, methinks. &nbsp;What
+      is the lad to thee?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "If it be any business of thine to make and meddle in others' affairs, he
+      is my son."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "'Tis a lie!" cried the little King, hotly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Boldly said, and I believe thee, whether thy small headpiece be sound or
+      cracked, my boy. &nbsp;But whether this scurvy ruffian be thy father or
+      no, 'tis all one, he shall not have thee to beat thee and abuse, according
+      to his threat, so thou prefer to bide with me."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I do, I do&mdash;I know him not, I loathe him, and will die before I will
+      go with him."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Then 'tis settled, and there is nought more to say."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "We will see, as to that!" exclaimed John Canty, striding past Hendon to
+      get at the boy; "by force shall he&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "If thou do but touch him, thou animated offal, I will spit thee like a
+      goose!" said Hendon, barring the way and laying his hand upon his sword
+      hilt. &nbsp;Canty drew back. &nbsp;"Now mark ye," continued Hendon, "I
+      took this lad under my protection when a mob of such as thou would have
+      mishandled him, mayhap killed him; dost imagine I will desert him now to a
+      worser fate?&mdash;for whether thou art his father or no&mdash;and sooth
+      to say, I think it is a lie&mdash;a decent swift death were better for
+      such a lad than life in such brute hands as thine. &nbsp;So go thy ways,
+      and set quick about it, for I like not much bandying of words, being not
+      over-patient in my nature."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link12-137" id="link12-137"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link12-137.jpg (107K)" src="images/12-137.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      John Canty moved off, muttering threats and curses, and was swallowed from
+      sight in the crowd. &nbsp;Hendon ascended three flights of stairs to his
+      room, with his charge, after ordering a meal to be sent thither. &nbsp;It
+      was a poor apartment, with a shabby bed and some odds and ends of old
+      furniture in it, and was vaguely lighted by a couple of sickly candles.
+      The little King dragged himself to the bed and lay down upon it, almost
+      exhausted with hunger and fatigue. &nbsp;He had been on his feet a good
+      part of a day and a night (for it was now two or three o'clock in the
+      morning), and had eaten nothing meantime. &nbsp;He murmured drowsily&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Prithee call me when the table is spread," and sank into a deep sleep
+      immediately.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A smile twinkled in Hendon's eye, and he said to himself&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "By the mass, the little beggar takes to one's quarters and usurps one's
+      bed with as natural and easy a grace as if he owned them&mdash;with never
+      a by-your-leave or so-please-it-you, or anything of the sort. &nbsp;In his
+      diseased ravings he called himself the Prince of Wales, and bravely doth
+      he keep up the character. &nbsp;Poor little friendless rat, doubtless his
+      mind has been disordered with ill-usage. &nbsp;Well, I will be his friend;
+      I have saved him, and it draweth me strongly to him; already I love the
+      bold-tongued little rascal. &nbsp;How soldier-like he faced the smutty
+      rabble and flung back his high defiance! &nbsp;And what a comely, sweet
+      and gentle face he hath, now that sleep hath conjured away its troubles
+      and its griefs. I will teach him; I will cure his malady; yea, I will be
+      his elder brother, and care for him and watch over him; and whoso would
+      shame him or do him hurt may order his shroud, for though I be burnt for
+      it he shall need it!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link12-139" id="link12-139"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link12-139.jpg (110K)" src="images/12-139.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He bent over the boy and contemplated him with kind and pitying interest,
+      tapping the young cheek tenderly and smoothing back the tangled curls with
+      his great brown hand. &nbsp;A slight shiver passed over the boy's form.
+      Hendon muttered&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "See, now, how like a man it was to let him lie here uncovered and fill
+      his body with deadly rheums. &nbsp;Now what shall I do? 'twill wake him to
+      take him up and put him within the bed, and he sorely needeth sleep."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He looked about for extra covering, but finding none, doffed his doublet
+      and wrapped the lad in it, saying, "I am used to nipping air and scant
+      apparel, 'tis little I shall mind the cold!"&mdash;then walked up and down
+      the room, to keep his blood in motion, soliloquising as before.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "His injured mind persuades him he is Prince of Wales; 'twill be odd to
+      have a Prince of Wales still with us, now that he that <i>was</i> the prince is
+      prince no more, but king&mdash;for this poor mind is set upon the one
+      fantasy, and will not reason out that now it should cast by the prince and
+      call itself the king. . . If my father liveth still, after these seven
+      years that I have heard nought from home in my foreign dungeon, he will
+      welcome the poor lad and give him generous shelter for my sake; so will my
+      good elder brother, Arthur; my other brother, Hugh&mdash;but I will crack
+      his crown an <i>he</i> interfere, the fox-hearted, ill-conditioned animal! Yes,
+      thither will we fare&mdash;and straightway, too."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A servant entered with a smoking meal, disposed it upon a small deal
+      table, placed the chairs, and took his departure, leaving such cheap
+      lodgers as these to wait upon themselves. &nbsp;The door slammed after
+      him, and the noise woke the boy, who sprang to a sitting posture, and shot
+      a glad glance about him; then a grieved look came into his face and he
+      murmured to himself, with a deep sigh, "Alack, it was but a dream, woe is
+      me!" &nbsp;Next he noticed Miles Hendon's doublet&mdash;glanced from that
+      to Hendon, comprehended the sacrifice that had been made for him, and
+      said, gently&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Thou art good to me, yes, thou art very good to me. &nbsp;Take it and put
+      it on&mdash;I shall not need it more."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then he got up and walked to the washstand in the corner and stood there,
+      waiting. &nbsp;Hendon said in a cheery voice&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "We'll have a right hearty sup and bite, now, for everything is savoury
+      and smoking hot, and that and thy nap together will make thee a little man
+      again, never fear!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The boy made no answer, but bent a steady look, that was filled with grave
+      surprise, and also somewhat touched with impatience, upon the tall knight
+      of the sword. &nbsp;Hendon was puzzled, and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "What's amiss?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Good sir, I would wash me."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Oh, is that all? &nbsp;Ask no permission of Miles Hendon for aught thou
+      cravest. &nbsp;Make thyself perfectly free here, and welcome, with all
+      that are his belongings."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Still the boy stood, and moved not; more, he tapped the floor once or
+      twice with his small impatient foot. &nbsp;Hendon was wholly perplexed.
+      &nbsp;Said he&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Bless us, what is it?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Prithee pour the water, and make not so many words!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link12-141" id="link12-141"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link12-141.jpg (125K)" src="images/12-141.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hendon, suppressing a horse-laugh, and saying to himself, "By all the
+      saints, but this is admirable!" stepped briskly forward and did the small
+      insolent's bidding; then stood by, in a sort of stupefaction, until the
+      command, "Come&mdash;the towel!" woke him sharply up. &nbsp;He took up a
+      towel, from under the boy's nose, and handed it to him without comment.
+      &nbsp;He now proceeded to comfort his own face with a wash, and while he
+      was at it his adopted child seated himself at the table and prepared to
+      fall to. Hendon despatched his ablutions with alacrity, then drew back the
+      other chair and was about to place himself at table, when the boy said,
+      indignantly&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Forbear! &nbsp;Wouldst sit in the presence of the King?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This blow staggered Hendon to his foundations. &nbsp;He muttered to
+      himself, "Lo, the poor thing's madness is up with the time! &nbsp;It hath
+      changed with the great change that is come to the realm, and now in fancy
+      is he <i>king</i>! Good lack, I must humour the conceit, too&mdash;there is no
+      other way&mdash;faith, he would order me to the Tower, else!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And pleased with this jest, he removed the chair from the table, took his
+      stand behind the King, and proceeded to wait upon him in the courtliest
+      way he was capable of.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      While the King ate, the rigour of his royal dignity relaxed a little, and
+      with his growing contentment came a desire to talk. He said&mdash;"I think
+      thou callest thyself Miles Hendon, if I heard thee aright?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Yes, Sire," Miles replied; then observed to himself, "If I <i>must</i> humour
+      the poor lad's madness, I must 'Sire' him, I must 'Majesty' him, I must
+      not go by halves, I must stick at nothing that belongeth to the part I
+      play, else shall I play it ill and work evil to this charitable and kindly
+      cause."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King warmed his heart with a second glass of wine, and said&mdash;"I
+      would know thee&mdash;tell me thy story. &nbsp;Thou hast a gallant way
+      with thee, and a noble&mdash;art nobly born?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "We are of the tail of the nobility, good your Majesty. &nbsp;My father is
+      a baronet&mdash;one of the smaller lords by knight service {2}&mdash;Sir
+      Richard Hendon of Hendon Hall, by Monk's Holm in Kent."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "The name has escaped my memory. &nbsp;Go on&mdash;tell me thy story."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link12-142" id="link12-142"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link12-142.jpg (102K)" src="images/12-142.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "'Tis not much, your Majesty, yet perchance it may beguile a short
+      half-hour for want of a better. &nbsp;My father, Sir Richard, is very
+      rich, and of a most generous nature. &nbsp;My mother died whilst I was yet
+      a boy. &nbsp;I have two brothers: &nbsp;Arthur, my elder, with a soul like
+      to his father's; and Hugh, younger than I, a mean spirit, covetous,
+      treacherous, vicious, underhanded&mdash;a reptile. &nbsp;Such was he from
+      the cradle; such was he ten years past, when I last saw him&mdash;a ripe
+      rascal at nineteen, I being twenty then, and Arthur twenty-two. &nbsp;There
+      is none other of us but the Lady Edith, my cousin&mdash;she was sixteen
+      then&mdash;beautiful, gentle, good, the daughter of an earl, the last of
+      her race, heiress of a great fortune and a lapsed title. &nbsp;My father
+      was her guardian. &nbsp;I loved her and she loved me; but she was
+      betrothed to Arthur from the cradle, and Sir Richard would not suffer the
+      contract to be broken. &nbsp;Arthur loved another maid, and bade us be of
+      good cheer and hold fast to the hope that delay and luck together would
+      some day give success to our several causes. &nbsp;Hugh loved the Lady
+      Edith's fortune, though in truth he said it was herself he loved&mdash;but
+      then 'twas his way, alway, to say the one thing and mean the other. &nbsp;But
+      he lost his arts upon the girl; he could deceive my father, but none else.
+      &nbsp;My father loved him best of us all, and trusted and believed him;
+      for he was the youngest child, and others hated him&mdash;these qualities
+      being in all ages sufficient to win a parent's dearest love; and he had a
+      smooth persuasive tongue, with an admirable gift of lying&mdash;and these
+      be qualities which do mightily assist a blind affection to cozen itself.
+      &nbsp;I was wild&mdash;in troth I might go yet farther and say <i>very</i> wild,
+      though 'twas a wildness of an innocent sort, since it hurt none but me,
+      brought shame to none, nor loss, nor had in it any taint of crime or
+      baseness, or what might not beseem mine honourable degree.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Yet did my brother Hugh turn these faults to good account&mdash;he seeing
+      that our brother Arthur's health was but indifferent, and hoping the worst
+      might work him profit were I swept out of the path&mdash;so&mdash;but
+      'twere a long tale, good my liege, and little worth the telling. &nbsp;Briefly,
+      then, this brother did deftly magnify my faults and make them crimes;
+      ending his base work with finding a silken ladder in mine apartments&mdash;conveyed
+      thither by his own means&mdash;and did convince my father by this, and
+      suborned evidence of servants and other lying knaves, that I was minded to
+      carry off my Edith and marry with her in rank defiance of his will.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Three years of banishment from home and England might make a soldier and
+      a man of me, my father said, and teach me some degree of wisdom. &nbsp;I
+      fought out my long probation in the continental wars, tasting sumptuously
+      of hard knocks, privation, and adventure; but in my last battle I was
+      taken captive, and during the seven years that have waxed and waned since
+      then, a foreign dungeon hath harboured me. &nbsp;Through wit and courage I
+      won to the free air at last, and fled hither straight; and am but just
+      arrived, right poor in purse and raiment, and poorer still in knowledge of
+      what these dull seven years have wrought at Hendon Hall, its people and
+      belongings. &nbsp;So please you, sir, my meagre tale is told."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Thou hast been shamefully abused!" said the little King, with a flashing
+      eye. &nbsp;"But I will right thee&mdash;by the cross will I! &nbsp;The
+      King hath said it."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link12-145" id="link12-145"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link12-145.jpg (79K)" src="images/12-145.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then, fired by the story of Miles's wrongs, he loosed his tongue and
+      poured the history of his own recent misfortunes into the ears of his
+      astonished listener. &nbsp;When he had finished, Miles said to himself&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Lo, what an imagination he hath! &nbsp;Verily, this is no common mind;
+      else, crazed or sane, it could not weave so straight and gaudy a tale as
+      this out of the airy nothings wherewith it hath wrought this curious
+      romaunt. Poor ruined little head, it shall not lack friend or shelter
+      whilst I bide with the living. &nbsp;He shall never leave my side; he
+      shall be my pet, my little comrade. &nbsp;And he shall be cured!&mdash;ay,
+      made whole and sound&mdash;then will he make himself a name&mdash;and
+      proud shall I be to say, 'Yes, he is mine&mdash;I took him, a homeless
+      little ragamuffin, but I saw what was in him, and I said his name would be
+      heard some day&mdash;behold him, observe him&mdash;was I right?'"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King spoke&mdash;in a thoughtful, measured voice&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Thou didst save me injury and shame, perchance my life, and so my crown.
+      Such service demandeth rich reward. &nbsp;Name thy desire, and so it be
+      within the compass of my royal power, it is thine."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This fantastic suggestion startled Hendon out of his reverie. &nbsp;He was
+      about to thank the King and put the matter aside with saying he had only
+      done his duty and desired no reward, but a wiser thought came into his
+      head, and he asked leave to be silent a few moments and consider the
+      gracious offer&mdash;an idea which the King gravely approved, remarking
+      that it was best to be not too hasty with a thing of such great import.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Miles reflected during some moments, then said to himself, "Yes, that is
+      the thing to do&mdash;by any other means it were impossible to get at it&mdash;and
+      certes, this hour's experience has taught me 'twould be most wearing and
+      inconvenient to continue it as it is. Yes, I will propose it; 'twas a
+      happy accident that I did not throw the chance away." &nbsp;Then he
+      dropped upon one knee and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link12-146" id="link12-146"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link12-146.jpg (100K)" src="images/12-146.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "My poor service went not beyond the limit of a subject's simple duty, and
+      therefore hath no merit; but since your Majesty is pleased to hold it
+      worthy some reward, I take heart of grace to make petition to this effect.
+      &nbsp;Near four hundred years ago, as your grace knoweth, there being ill
+      blood betwixt John, King of England, and the King of France, it was
+      decreed that two champions should fight together in the lists, and so
+      settle the dispute by what is called the arbitrament of God. &nbsp;These
+      two kings, and the Spanish king, being assembled to witness and judge the
+      conflict, the French champion appeared; but so redoubtable was he, that
+      our English knights refused to measure weapons with him. &nbsp;So the
+      matter, which was a weighty one, was like to go against the English
+      monarch by default. &nbsp;Now in the Tower lay the Lord de Courcy, the
+      mightiest arm in England, stripped of his honours and possessions, and
+      wasting with long captivity. &nbsp;Appeal was made to him; he gave assent,
+      and came forth arrayed for battle; but no sooner did the Frenchman glimpse
+      his huge frame and hear his famous name but he fled away, and the French
+      king's cause was lost. &nbsp;King John restored De Courcy's titles and
+      possessions, and said, 'Name thy wish and thou shalt have it, though it
+      cost me half my kingdom;' whereat De Courcy, kneeling, as I do now, made
+      answer, 'This, then, I ask, my liege; that I and my successors may have
+      and hold the privilege of remaining covered in the presence of the kings
+      of England, henceforth while the throne shall last.' The boon was granted,
+      as your Majesty knoweth; and there hath been no time, these four hundred
+      years, that that line has failed of an heir; and so, even unto this day,
+      the head of that ancient house still weareth his hat or helm before the
+      King's Majesty, without let or hindrance, and this none other may do. {3}
+      Invoking this precedent in aid of my prayer, I beseech the King to grant
+      to me but this one grace and privilege&mdash;to my more than sufficient
+      reward&mdash;and none other, to wit: &nbsp;that I and my heirs, for ever,
+      may <i>sit</i> in the presence of the Majesty of England!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Rise, Sir Miles Hendon, Knight," said the King, gravely&mdash;giving the
+      accolade with Hendon's sword&mdash;"rise, and seat thyself. &nbsp;Thy
+      petition is granted. &nbsp;Whilst England remains, and the crown
+      continues, the privilege shall not lapse."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link12-148" id="link12-148"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link12-148.jpg (127K)" src="images/12-148.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      His Majesty walked apart, musing, and Hendon dropped into a chair at
+      table, observing to himself, "'Twas a brave thought, and hath wrought me a
+      mighty deliverance; my legs are grievously wearied. An I had not thought
+      of that, I must have had to stand for weeks, till my poor lad's wits are
+      cured." &nbsp;After a little, he went on, "And so I am become a knight of
+      the Kingdom of Dreams and Shadows! A most odd and strange position, truly,
+      for one so matter-of-fact as I. &nbsp;I will not laugh&mdash;no, God
+      forbid, for this thing which is so substanceless to me is <i>real</i> to him.
+      &nbsp;And to me, also, in one way, it is not a falsity, for it reflects
+      with truth the sweet and generous spirit that is in him." &nbsp;After a
+      pause: "Ah, what if he should call me by my fine title before folk!&mdash;there'd
+      be a merry contrast betwixt my glory and my raiment! &nbsp;But no matter,
+      let him call me what he will, so it please him; I shall be content."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c13" id="c13"></a> <a name="link13-149"
+      id="link13-149"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link13-149.jpg (41K)" src="images/13-149.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link13-151" id="link13-151"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link13-151.jpg (124K)" src="images/13-151.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XIII. The disappearance of the Prince.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A heavy drowsiness presently fell upon the two comrades. &nbsp;The King
+      said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Remove these rags."&mdash;meaning his clothing.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hendon disapparelled the boy without dissent or remark, tucked him up in
+      bed, then glanced about the room, saying to himself, ruefully, "He hath
+      taken my bed again, as before&mdash;marry, what shall <i>I</i> do?" &nbsp;The
+      little King observed his perplexity, and dissipated it with a word. &nbsp;He
+      said, sleepily&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Thou wilt sleep athwart the door, and guard it." &nbsp;In a moment more
+      he was out of his troubles, in a deep slumber.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Dear heart, he should have been born a king!" muttered Hendon,
+      admiringly; "he playeth the part to a marvel."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then he stretched himself across the door, on the floor, saying
+      contentedly&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I have lodged worse for seven years; 'twould be but ill gratitude to Him
+      above to find fault with this."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He dropped asleep as the dawn appeared. &nbsp;Toward noon he rose,
+      uncovered his unconscious ward&mdash;a section at a time&mdash;and took
+      his measure with a string. &nbsp;The King awoke, just as he had completed
+      his work, complained of the cold, and asked what he was doing.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "'Tis done, now, my liege," said Hendon; "I have a bit of business
+      outside, but will presently return; sleep thou again&mdash;thou needest
+      it. There&mdash;let me cover thy head also&mdash;thou'lt be warm the
+      sooner."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King was back in dreamland before this speech was ended. Miles slipped
+      softly out, and slipped as softly in again, in the course of thirty or
+      forty minutes, with a complete second-hand suit of boy's clothing, of
+      cheap material, and showing signs of wear; but tidy, and suited to the
+      season of the year. &nbsp;He seated himself, and began to overhaul his
+      purchase, mumbling to himself&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "A longer purse would have got a better sort, but when one has not the
+      long purse one must be content with what a short one may do&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "'There was a woman in our town, <br />In our town did dwell&mdash;'
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link13-153" id="link13-153"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link13-153.jpg (83K)" src="images/13-153.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "He stirred, methinks&mdash;I must sing in a less thunderous key; 'tis not
+      good to mar his sleep, with this journey before him, and he so wearied
+      out, poor chap . . . This garment&mdash;'tis well enough&mdash;a stitch
+      here and another one there will set it aright. &nbsp;This other is better,
+      albeit a stitch or two will not come amiss in it, likewise . . . <i>These</i> be
+      very good and sound, and will keep his small feet warm and dry&mdash;an
+      odd new thing to him, belike, since he has doubtless been used to foot it
+      bare, winters and summers the same . . . Would thread were bread, seeing
+      one getteth a year's sufficiency for a farthing, and such a brave big
+      needle without cost, for mere love. &nbsp;Now shall I have the demon's own
+      time to thread it!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And so he had. &nbsp;He did as men have always done, and probably always
+      will do, to the end of time&mdash;held the needle still, and tried to
+      thrust the thread through the eye, which is the opposite of a woman's way.
+      &nbsp;Time and time again the thread missed the mark, going sometimes on
+      one side of the needle, sometimes on the other, sometimes doubling up
+      against the shaft; but he was patient, having been through these
+      experiences before, when he was soldiering. &nbsp;He succeeded at last,
+      and took up the garment that had lain waiting, meantime, across his lap,
+      and began his work.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "The inn is paid&mdash;the breakfast that is to come, included&mdash;and
+      there is wherewithal left to buy a couple of donkeys and meet our little
+      costs for the two or three days betwixt this and the plenty that awaits us
+      at Hendon Hall&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "'She loved her hus&mdash;'
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Body o' me! &nbsp;I have driven the needle under my nail! . . . It
+      matters little&mdash;'tis not a novelty&mdash;yet 'tis not a convenience,
+      neither. . . . We shall be merry there, little one, never doubt it! Thy
+      troubles will vanish there, and likewise thy sad distemper&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "'She loved her husband dearilee, <br />But another man&mdash;'
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "These be noble large stitches!"&mdash;holding the garment up and viewing
+      it admiringly&mdash;"they have a grandeur and a majesty that do cause
+      these small stingy ones of the tailor-man to look mightily paltry and
+      plebeian&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "'She loved her husband dearilee, <br />But another man he loved she,&mdash;'
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Marry, 'tis done&mdash;a goodly piece of work, too, and wrought with
+      expedition. &nbsp;Now will I wake him, apparel him, pour for him, feed
+      him, and then will we hie us to the mart by the Tabard Inn in Southwark
+      and&mdash;be pleased to rise, my liege!&mdash;he answereth not&mdash;what
+      ho, my liege!&mdash;of a truth must I profane his sacred person with a
+      touch, sith his slumber is deaf to speech. &nbsp;What!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He threw back the covers&mdash;the boy was gone!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He stared about him in speechless astonishment for a moment; noticed for
+      the first time that his ward's ragged raiment was also missing; then he
+      began to rage and storm and shout for the innkeeper. &nbsp;At that moment
+      a servant entered with the breakfast.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Explain, thou limb of Satan, or thy time is come!" roared the man of war,
+      and made so savage a spring toward the waiter that this latter could not
+      find his tongue, for the instant, for fright and surprise. &nbsp;"Where is
+      the boy?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link13-155" id="link13-155"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link13-155.jpg (157K)" src="images/13-155.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In disjointed and trembling syllables the man gave the information
+      desired.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "You were hardly gone from the place, your worship, when a youth came
+      running and said it was your worship's will that the boy come to you
+      straight, at the bridge-end on the Southwark side. &nbsp;I brought him
+      hither; and when he woke the lad and gave his message, the lad did grumble
+      some little for being disturbed 'so early,' as he called it, but
+      straightway trussed on his rags and went with the youth, only saying it
+      had been better manners that your worship came yourself, not sent a
+      stranger&mdash;and so&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "And so thou'rt a fool!&mdash;a fool and easily cozened&mdash;hang all thy
+      breed! Yet mayhap no hurt is done. &nbsp;Possibly no harm is meant the
+      boy. &nbsp;I will go fetch him. &nbsp;Make the table ready. &nbsp;Stay!
+      the coverings of the bed were disposed as if one lay beneath them&mdash;happened
+      that by accident?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I know not, good your worship. &nbsp;I saw the youth meddle with them&mdash;he
+      that came for the boy."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Thousand deaths! &nbsp;'Twas done to deceive me&mdash;'tis plain 'twas
+      done to gain time. &nbsp;Hark ye! &nbsp;Was that youth alone?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "All alone, your worship."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Art sure?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Sure, your worship."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Collect thy scattered wits&mdash;bethink thee&mdash;take time, man."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After a moment's thought, the servant said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "When he came, none came with him; but now I remember me that as the two
+      stepped into the throng of the Bridge, a ruffian-looking man plunged out
+      from some near place; and just as he was joining them&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "What <i>then</i>?&mdash;out with it!" thundered the impatient Hendon,
+      interrupting.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Just then the crowd lapped them up and closed them in, and I saw no more,
+      being called by my master, who was in a rage because a joint that the
+      scrivener had ordered was forgot, though I take all the saints to witness
+      that to blame <i>me</i> for that miscarriage were like holding the unborn babe to
+      judgment for sins com&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Out of my sight, idiot! &nbsp;Thy prating drives me mad! &nbsp;Hold!
+      Whither art flying? &nbsp;Canst not bide still an instant? &nbsp;Went they
+      toward Southwark?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Even so, your worship&mdash;for, as I said before, as to that detestable
+      joint, the babe unborn is no whit more blameless than&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link13-156" id="link13-156"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link13-156.jpg (77K)" src="images/13-156.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Art here <i>yet</i>! &nbsp;And prating still! &nbsp;Vanish, lest I throttle
+      thee!" The servitor vanished. &nbsp;Hendon followed after him, passed him,
+      and plunged down the stairs two steps at a stride, muttering, "'Tis that
+      scurvy villain that claimed he was his son. &nbsp;I have lost thee, my
+      poor little mad master&mdash;it is a bitter thought&mdash;and I had come
+      to love thee so! &nbsp;No! by book and bell, <i>not</i> lost! &nbsp;Not lost, for
+      I will ransack the land till I find thee again. &nbsp;Poor child, yonder
+      is his breakfast&mdash;and mine, but I have no hunger now; so, let the
+      rats have it&mdash;speed, speed! that is the word!" &nbsp;As he wormed his
+      swift way through the noisy multitudes upon the Bridge he several times
+      said to himself&mdash;clinging to the thought as if it were a particularly
+      pleasing one&mdash;"He grumbled, but he <i>went</i>&mdash;he went, yes, because
+      he thought Miles Hendon asked it, sweet lad&mdash;he would ne'er have done
+      it for another, I know it well."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c14" id="c14"></a> <a name="link14-159"
+      id="link14-159"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link14-159.jpg (78K)" src="images/14-159.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XIV. 'Le Roi est mort&mdash;vive le Roi.'
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Toward daylight of the same morning, Tom Canty stirred out of a heavy
+      sleep and opened his eyes in the dark. &nbsp;He lay silent a few moments,
+      trying to analyse his confused thoughts and impressions, and get some sort
+      of meaning out of them; then suddenly he burst out in a rapturous but
+      guarded voice&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I see it all, I see it all! &nbsp;Now God be thanked, I am indeed awake
+      at last! &nbsp;Come, joy! vanish, sorrow! &nbsp;Ho, Nan! Bet! kick off
+      your straw and hie ye hither to my side, till I do pour into your
+      unbelieving ears the wildest madcap dream that ever the spirits of night
+      did conjure up to astonish the soul of man withal! . . . Ho, Nan, I say!
+      &nbsp;Bet!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A dim form appeared at his side, and a voice said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Wilt deign to deliver thy commands?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link14-162" id="link14-162"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link14-162.jpg (99K)" src="images/14-162.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Commands? . . . O, woe is me, I know thy voice! &nbsp;Speak thou&mdash;who
+      am I?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Thou? &nbsp;In sooth, yesternight wert thou the Prince of Wales; to-day
+      art thou my most gracious liege, Edward, King of England."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom buried his head among his pillows, murmuring plaintively&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Alack, it was no dream! &nbsp;Go to thy rest, sweet sir&mdash;leave me to
+      my sorrows."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom slept again, and after a time he had this pleasant dream. &nbsp;He
+      thought it was summer, and he was playing, all alone, in the fair meadow
+      called Goodman's Fields, when a dwarf only a foot high, with long red
+      whiskers and a humped back, appeared to him suddenly and said, "Dig by
+      that stump." &nbsp;He did so, and found twelve bright new pennies&mdash;wonderful
+      riches! &nbsp;Yet this was not the best of it; for the dwarf said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I know thee. &nbsp;Thou art a good lad, and a deserving; thy distresses
+      shall end, for the day of thy reward is come. &nbsp;Dig here every seventh
+      day, and thou shalt find always the same treasure, twelve bright new
+      pennies. Tell none&mdash;keep the secret."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then the dwarf vanished, and Tom flew to Offal Court with his prize,
+      saying to himself, "Every night will I give my father a penny; he will
+      think I begged it, it will glad his heart, and I shall no more be beaten.
+      One penny every week the good priest that teacheth me shall have; mother,
+      Nan, and Bet the other four. We be done with hunger and rags, now, done
+      with fears and frets and savage usage."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In his dream he reached his sordid home all out of breath, but with eyes
+      dancing with grateful enthusiasm; cast four of his pennies into his
+      mother's lap and cried out&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "They are for thee!&mdash;all of them, every one!&mdash;for thee and Nan
+      and Bet&mdash;and honestly come by, not begged nor stolen!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The happy and astonished mother strained him to her breast and exclaimed&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "It waxeth late&mdash;may it please your Majesty to rise?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Ah! that was not the answer he was expecting. &nbsp;The dream had snapped
+      asunder&mdash;he was awake.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He opened his eyes&mdash;the richly clad First Lord of the Bedchamber was
+      kneeling by his couch. &nbsp;The gladness of the lying dream faded away&mdash;the
+      poor boy recognised that he was still a captive and a king. &nbsp;The room
+      was filled with courtiers clothed in purple mantles&mdash;the mourning
+      colour&mdash;and with noble servants of the monarch. &nbsp;Tom sat up in
+      bed and gazed out from the heavy silken curtains upon this fine company.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The weighty business of dressing began, and one courtier after another
+      knelt and paid his court and offered to the little King his condolences
+      upon his heavy loss, whilst the dressing proceeded. &nbsp;In the
+      beginning, a shirt was taken up by the Chief Equerry in Waiting, who
+      passed it to the First Lord of the Buckhounds, who passed it to the Second
+      Gentleman of the Bedchamber, who passed it to the Head Ranger of Windsor
+      Forest, who passed it to the Third Groom of the Stole, who passed it to
+      the Chancellor Royal of the Duchy of Lancaster, who passed it to the
+      Master of the Wardrobe, who passed it to Norroy King-at-Arms, who passed
+      it to the Constable of the Tower, who passed it to the Chief Steward of
+      the Household, who passed it to the Hereditary Grand Diaperer, who passed
+      it to the Lord High Admiral of England, who passed it to the Archbishop of
+      Canterbury, who passed it to the First Lord of the Bedchamber, who took
+      what was left of it and put it on Tom. &nbsp;Poor little wondering chap,
+      it reminded him of passing buckets at a fire.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link14-164" id="link14-164"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link14-164.jpg (59K)" src="images/14-164.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Each garment in its turn had to go through this slow and solemn process;
+      consequently Tom grew very weary of the ceremony; so weary that he felt an
+      almost gushing gratefulness when he at last saw his long silken hose begin
+      the journey down the line and knew that the end of the matter was drawing
+      near. &nbsp;But he exulted too soon. &nbsp;The First Lord of the
+      Bedchamber received the hose and was about to encase Tom's legs in them,
+      when a sudden flush invaded his face and he hurriedly hustled the things
+      back into the hands of the Archbishop of Canterbury with an astounded look
+      and a whispered, "See, my lord!" pointing to a something connected with
+      the hose. &nbsp;The Archbishop paled, then flushed, and passed the hose to
+      the Lord High Admiral, whispering, "See, my lord!" &nbsp;The Admiral
+      passed the hose to the Hereditary Grand Diaperer, and had hardly breath
+      enough in his body to ejaculate, "See, my lord!" &nbsp;The hose drifted
+      backward along the line, to the Chief Steward of the Household, the
+      Constable of the Tower, Norroy King-at-Arms, the Master of the Wardrobe,
+      the Chancellor Royal of the Duchy of Lancaster, the Third Groom of the
+      Stole, the Head Ranger of Windsor Forest, the Second Gentleman of the
+      Bedchamber, the First Lord of the Buckhounds,&mdash;accompanied always
+      with that amazed and frightened "See! see!"&mdash;till they finally
+      reached the hands of the Chief Equerry in Waiting, who gazed a moment,
+      with a pallid face, upon what had caused all this dismay, then hoarsely
+      whispered, "Body of my life, a tag gone from a truss-point!&mdash;to the
+      Tower with the Head Keeper of the King's Hose!"&mdash;after which he
+      leaned upon the shoulder of the First Lord of the Buckhounds to regather
+      his vanished strength whilst fresh hose, without any damaged strings to
+      them, were brought.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But all things must have an end, and so in time Tom Canty was in a
+      condition to get out of bed. &nbsp;The proper official poured water, the
+      proper official engineered the washing, the proper official stood by with
+      a towel, and by-and-by Tom got safely through the purifying stage and was
+      ready for the services of the Hairdresser-royal. &nbsp;When he at length
+      emerged from this master's hands, he was a gracious figure and as pretty
+      as a girl, in his mantle and trunks of purple satin, and purple-plumed
+      cap. &nbsp;He now moved in state toward his breakfast-room, through the
+      midst of the courtly assemblage; and as he passed, these fell back,
+      leaving his way free, and dropped upon their knees.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After breakfast he was conducted, with regal ceremony, attended by his
+      great officers and his guard of fifty Gentlemen Pensioners bearing gilt
+      battle-axes, to the throne-room, where he proceeded to transact business
+      of state. &nbsp;His 'uncle,' Lord Hertford, took his stand by the throne,
+      to assist the royal mind with wise counsel.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The body of illustrious men named by the late King as his executors
+      appeared, to ask Tom's approval of certain acts of theirs&mdash;rather a
+      form, and yet not wholly a form, since there was no Protector as yet.
+      &nbsp;The Archbishop of Canterbury made report of the decree of the
+      Council of Executors concerning the obsequies of his late most illustrious
+      Majesty, and finished by reading the signatures of the Executors, to wit:
+      &nbsp;the Archbishop of Canterbury; the Lord Chancellor of England;
+      William Lord St. John; John Lord Russell; Edward Earl of Hertford; John
+      Viscount Lisle; Cuthbert Bishop of Durham&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom was not listening&mdash;an earlier clause of the document was puzzling
+      him. &nbsp;At this point he turned and whispered to Lord Hertford&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "What day did he say the burial hath been appointed for?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "The sixteenth of the coming month, my liege."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "'Tis a strange folly. &nbsp;Will he keep?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Poor chap, he was still new to the customs of royalty; he was used to
+      seeing the forlorn dead of Offal Court hustled out of the way with a very
+      different sort of expedition. &nbsp;However, the Lord Hertford set his
+      mind at rest with a word or two.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A secretary of state presented an order of the Council appointing the
+      morrow at eleven for the reception of the foreign ambassadors, and desired
+      the King's assent.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link14-166" id="link14-166"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link14-166.jpg (136K)" src="images/14-166.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom turned an inquiring look toward Hertford, who whispered&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Your Majesty will signify consent. &nbsp;They come to testify their royal
+      masters' sense of the heavy calamity which hath visited your Grace and the
+      realm of England."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom did as he was bidden. &nbsp;Another secretary began to read a preamble
+      concerning the expenses of the late King's household, which had amounted
+      to 28,000 pounds during the preceding six months&mdash;a sum so vast that
+      it made Tom Canty gasp; he gasped again when the fact appeared that 20,000
+      pounds of this money was still owing and unpaid; {4} and once more when it
+      appeared that the King's coffers were about empty, and his twelve hundred
+      servants much embarrassed for lack of the wages due them. &nbsp;Tom spoke
+      out, with lively apprehension&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "We be going to the dogs, 'tis plain. &nbsp;'Tis meet and necessary that
+      we take a smaller house and set the servants at large, sith they be of no
+      value but to make delay, and trouble one with offices that harass the
+      spirit and shame the soul, they misbecoming any but a doll, that hath nor
+      brains nor hands to help itself withal. &nbsp;I remember me of a small
+      house that standeth over against the fish-market, by Billingsgate&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A sharp pressure upon Tom's arm stopped his foolish tongue and sent a
+      blush to his face; but no countenance there betrayed any sign that this
+      strange speech had been remarked or given concern.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A secretary made report that forasmuch as the late King had provided in
+      his will for conferring the ducal degree upon the Earl of Hertford and
+      raising his brother, Sir Thomas Seymour, to the peerage, and likewise
+      Hertford's son to an earldom, together with similar aggrandisements to
+      other great servants of the Crown, the Council had resolved to hold a
+      sitting on the 16th of February for the delivering and confirming of these
+      honours, and that meantime, the late King not having granted, in writing,
+      estates suitable to the support of these dignities, the Council, knowing
+      his private wishes in that regard, had thought proper to grant to Seymour
+      '500 pound lands,' and to Hertford's son '800 pound lands, and 300 pound
+      of the next bishop's lands which should fall vacant,'&mdash;his present
+      Majesty being willing. {5}
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom was about to blurt out something about the propriety of paying the
+      late King's debts first, before squandering all this money, but a timely
+      touch upon his arm, from the thoughtful Hertford, saved him this
+      indiscretion; wherefore he gave the royal assent, without spoken comment,
+      but with much inward discomfort. &nbsp;While he sat reflecting a moment
+      over the ease with which he was doing strange and glittering miracles, a
+      happy thought shot into his mind: &nbsp;why not make his mother Duchess of
+      Offal Court, and give her an estate? &nbsp;But a sorrowful thought swept
+      it instantly away: he was only a king in name, these grave veterans and
+      great nobles were his masters; to them his mother was only the creature of
+      a diseased mind; they would simply listen to his project with unbelieving
+      ears, then send for the doctor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The dull work went tediously on. &nbsp;Petitions were read, and
+      proclamations, patents, and all manner of wordy, repetitious, and
+      wearisome papers relating to the public business; and at last Tom sighed
+      pathetically and murmured to himself, "In what have I offended, that the
+      good God should take me away from the fields and the free air and the
+      sunshine, to shut me up here and make me a king and afflict me so?" &nbsp;Then
+      his poor muddled head nodded a while and presently drooped to his
+      shoulder; and the business of the empire came to a standstill for want of
+      that august factor, the ratifying power. &nbsp;Silence ensued around the
+      slumbering child, and the sages of the realm ceased from their
+      deliberations.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      During the forenoon, Tom had an enjoyable hour, by permission of his
+      keepers, Hertford and St. John, with the Lady Elizabeth and the little
+      Lady Jane Grey; though the spirits of the princesses were rather subdued
+      by the mighty stroke that had fallen upon the royal house; and at the end
+      of the visit his 'elder sister'&mdash;afterwards the 'Bloody Mary' of
+      history&mdash;chilled him with a solemn interview which had but one merit
+      in his eyes, its brevity. &nbsp;He had a few moments to himself, and then
+      a slim lad of about twelve years of age was admitted to his presence,
+      whose clothing, except his snowy ruff and the laces about his wrists, was
+      of black,&mdash;doublet, hose, and all. &nbsp;He bore no badge of mourning
+      but a knot of purple ribbon on his shoulder. &nbsp;He advanced
+      hesitatingly, with head bowed and bare, and dropped upon one knee in front
+      of Tom. Tom sat still and contemplated him soberly a moment. &nbsp;Then he
+      said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Rise, lad. &nbsp;Who art thou. &nbsp;What wouldst have?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The boy rose, and stood at graceful ease, but with an aspect of concern in
+      his face. &nbsp;He said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link14-170" id="link14-170"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link14-170.jpg (101K)" src="images/14-170.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Of a surety thou must remember me, my lord. &nbsp;I am thy whipping-boy."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "My <i>whipping</i>-boy?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "The same, your Grace. &nbsp;I am Humphrey&mdash;Humphrey Marlow."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom perceived that here was someone whom his keepers ought to have posted
+      him about. &nbsp;The situation was delicate. &nbsp;What should he do?&mdash;pretend
+      he knew this lad, and then betray by his every utterance that he had never
+      heard of him before? &nbsp;No, that would not do. &nbsp;An idea came to
+      his relief: accidents like this might be likely to happen with some
+      frequency, now that business urgencies would often call Hertford and St.
+      John from his side, they being members of the Council of Executors;
+      therefore perhaps it would be well to strike out a plan himself to meet
+      the requirements of such emergencies. &nbsp;Yes, that would be a wise
+      course&mdash;he would practise on this boy, and see what sort of success
+      he might achieve. &nbsp;So he stroked his brow perplexedly a moment or
+      two, and presently said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Now I seem to remember thee somewhat&mdash;but my wit is clogged and dim
+      with suffering&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Alack, my poor master!" ejaculated the whipping-boy, with feeling;
+      adding, to himself, "In truth 'tis as they said&mdash;his mind is gone&mdash;alas,
+      poor soul! &nbsp;But misfortune catch me, how am I forgetting! &nbsp;They
+      said one must not seem to observe that aught is wrong with him."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "'Tis strange how my memory doth wanton with me these days," said Tom.
+      "But mind it not&mdash;I mend apace&mdash;a little clue doth often serve
+      to bring me back again the things and names which had escaped me. &nbsp;(And
+      not they, only, forsooth, but e'en such as I ne'er heard before&mdash;as
+      this lad shall see.) &nbsp;Give thy business speech."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "'Tis matter of small weight, my liege, yet will I touch upon it, an' it
+      please your Grace. &nbsp;Two days gone by, when your Majesty faulted
+      thrice in your Greek&mdash;in the morning lessons,&mdash;dost remember
+      it?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Y-e-s&mdash;methinks I do. &nbsp;(It is not much of a lie&mdash;an' I had
+      meddled with the Greek at all, I had not faulted simply thrice, but forty
+      times.) Yes, I do recall it, now&mdash;go on."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "The master, being wroth with what he termed such slovenly and doltish
+      work, did promise that he would soundly whip me for it&mdash;and&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Whip <i>thee</i>!" said Tom, astonished out of his presence of mind. "Why should
+      he whip <i>thee</i> for faults of mine?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Ah, your Grace forgetteth again. &nbsp;He always scourgeth me when thou
+      dost fail in thy lessons."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "True, true&mdash;I had forgot. &nbsp;Thou teachest me in private&mdash;then
+      if I fail, he argueth that thy office was lamely done, and&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Oh, my liege, what words are these? &nbsp;I, the humblest of thy
+      servants, presume to teach <i>thee</i>?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Then where is thy blame? &nbsp;What riddle is this? &nbsp;Am I in truth
+      gone mad, or is it thou? &nbsp;Explain&mdash;speak out."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "But, good your Majesty, there's nought that needeth simplifying.&mdash;None
+      may visit the sacred person of the Prince of Wales with blows; wherefore,
+      when he faulteth, 'tis I that take them; and meet it is and right, for
+      that it is mine office and my livelihood." {1}
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link14-172" id="link14-172"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link14-172.jpg (84K)" src="images/14-172.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom stared at the tranquil boy, observing to himself, "Lo, it is a
+      wonderful thing,&mdash;a most strange and curious trade; I marvel they
+      have not hired a boy to take my combings and my dressings for me&mdash;would
+      heaven they would!&mdash;an' they will do this thing, I will take my
+      lashings in mine own person, giving God thanks for the change." Then he
+      said aloud&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "And hast thou been beaten, poor friend, according to the promise?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "No, good your Majesty, my punishment was appointed for this day, and
+      peradventure it may be annulled, as unbefitting the season of mourning
+      that is come upon us; I know not, and so have made bold to come hither and
+      remind your Grace about your gracious promise to intercede in my behalf&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "With the master? &nbsp;To save thee thy whipping?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Ah, thou dost remember!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "My memory mendeth, thou seest. &nbsp;Set thy mind at ease&mdash;thy back
+      shall go unscathed&mdash;I will see to it."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Oh, thanks, my good lord!" cried the boy, dropping upon his knee again.
+      "Mayhap I have ventured far enow; and yet&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Seeing Master Humphrey hesitate, Tom encouraged him to go on, saying he
+      was "in the granting mood."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Then will I speak it out, for it lieth near my heart. &nbsp;Sith thou art
+      no more Prince of Wales but King, thou canst order matters as thou wilt,
+      with none to say thee nay; wherefore it is not in reason that thou wilt
+      longer vex thyself with dreary studies, but wilt burn thy books and turn
+      thy mind to things less irksome. Then am I ruined, and mine orphan sisters
+      with me!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Ruined? &nbsp;Prithee how?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "My back is my bread, O my gracious liege! if it go idle, I starve. &nbsp;An'
+      thou cease from study mine office is gone thou'lt need no whipping-boy. Do
+      not turn me away!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom was touched with this pathetic distress. &nbsp;He said, with a right
+      royal burst of generosity&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Discomfort thyself no further, lad. &nbsp;Thine office shall be permanent
+      in thee and thy line for ever." &nbsp;Then he struck the boy a light blow
+      on the shoulder with the flat of his sword, exclaiming, "Rise, Humphrey
+      Marlow, Hereditary Grand Whipping-Boy to the Royal House of England!
+      &nbsp;Banish sorrow&mdash;I will betake me to my books again, and study so
+      ill that they must in justice treble thy wage, so mightily shall the
+      business of thine office be augmented."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The grateful Humphrey responded fervidly&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Thanks, O most noble master, this princely lavishness doth far surpass my
+      most distempered dreams of fortune. &nbsp;Now shall I be happy all my
+      days, and all the house of Marlow after me."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom had wit enough to perceive that here was a lad who could be useful to
+      him. &nbsp;He encouraged Humphrey to talk, and he was nothing loath.
+      &nbsp;He was delighted to believe that he was helping in Tom's 'cure'; for
+      always, as soon as he had finished calling back to Tom's diseased mind the
+      various particulars of his experiences and adventures in the royal
+      school-room and elsewhere about the palace, he noticed that Tom was then
+      able to 'recall' the circumstances quite clearly. &nbsp;At the end of an
+      hour Tom found himself well freighted with very valuable information
+      concerning personages and matters pertaining to the Court; so he resolved
+      to draw instruction from this source daily; and to this end he would give
+      order to admit Humphrey to the royal closet whenever he might come,
+      provided the Majesty of England was not engaged with other people. &nbsp;Humphrey
+      had hardly been dismissed when my Lord Hertford arrived with more trouble
+      for Tom.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He said that the Lords of the Council, fearing that some overwrought
+      report of the King's damaged health might have leaked out and got abroad,
+      they deemed it wise and best that his Majesty should begin to dine in
+      public after a day or two&mdash;his wholesome complexion and vigorous
+      step, assisted by a carefully guarded repose of manner and ease and grace
+      of demeanour, would more surely quiet the general pulse&mdash;in case any
+      evil rumours <i>had</i> gone about&mdash;than any other scheme that could be
+      devised.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then the Earl proceeded, very delicately, to instruct Tom as to the
+      observances proper to the stately occasion, under the rather thin disguise
+      of 'reminding' him concerning things already known to him; but to his vast
+      gratification it turned out that Tom needed very little help in this line&mdash;he
+      had been making use of Humphrey in that direction, for Humphrey had
+      mentioned that within a few days he was to begin to dine in public; having
+      gathered it from the swift-winged gossip of the Court. Tom kept these
+      facts to himself, however.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Seeing the royal memory so improved, the Earl ventured to apply a few
+      tests to it, in an apparently casual way, to find out how far its
+      amendment had progressed. &nbsp;The results were happy, here and there, in
+      spots&mdash;spots where Humphrey's tracks remained&mdash;and on the whole
+      my lord was greatly pleased and encouraged. &nbsp;So encouraged was he,
+      indeed, that he spoke up and said in a quite hopeful voice&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link14-175" id="link14-175"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link14-175.jpg (98K)" src="images/14-175.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Now am I persuaded that if your Majesty will but tax your memory yet a
+      little further, it will resolve the puzzle of the Great Seal&mdash;a loss
+      which was of moment yesterday, although of none to-day, since its term of
+      service ended with our late lord's life. May it please your Grace to make
+      the trial?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom was at sea&mdash;a Great Seal was something which he was totally
+      unacquainted with. &nbsp;After a moment's hesitation he looked up
+      innocently and asked&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "What was it like, my lord?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Earl started, almost imperceptibly, muttering to himself, "Alack, his
+      wits are flown again!&mdash;it was ill wisdom to lead him on to strain
+      them"&mdash;then he deftly turned the talk to other matters, with the
+      purpose of sweeping the unlucky seal out of Tom's thoughts&mdash;a purpose
+      which easily succeeded.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c15" id="c15"></a> <a name="link15-177"
+      id="link15-177"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link15-177.jpg (56K)" src="images/15-177.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XV. Tom as King.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The next day the foreign ambassadors came, with their gorgeous trains; and
+      Tom, throned in awful state, received them. &nbsp;The splendours of the
+      scene delighted his eye and fired his imagination at first, but the
+      audience was long and dreary, and so were most of the addresses&mdash;wherefore,
+      what began as a pleasure grew into weariness and home-sickness by-and-by.
+      &nbsp;Tom said the words which Hertford put into his mouth from time to
+      time, and tried hard to acquit himself satisfactorily, but he was too new
+      to such things, and too ill at ease to accomplish more than a tolerable
+      success. &nbsp;He looked sufficiently like a king, but he was ill able to
+      feel like one. &nbsp;He was cordially glad when the ceremony was ended.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The larger part of his day was 'wasted'&mdash;as he termed it, in his own
+      mind&mdash;in labours pertaining to his royal office. &nbsp;Even the two
+      hours devoted to certain princely pastimes and recreations were rather a
+      burden to him than otherwise, they were so fettered by restrictions and
+      ceremonious observances. &nbsp;However, he had a private hour with his
+      whipping-boy which he counted clear gain, since he got both entertainment
+      and needful information out of it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The third day of Tom Canty's kingship came and went much as the others had
+      done, but there was a lifting of his cloud in one way&mdash;he felt less
+      uncomfortable than at first; he was getting a little used to his
+      circumstances and surroundings; his chains still galled, but not all the
+      time; he found that the presence and homage of the great afflicted and
+      embarrassed him less and less sharply with every hour that drifted over
+      his head.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But for one single dread, he could have seen the fourth day approach
+      without serious distress&mdash;the dining in public; it was to begin that
+      day. There were greater matters in the programme&mdash;for on that day he
+      would have to preside at a council which would take his views and commands
+      concerning the policy to be pursued toward various foreign nations
+      scattered far and near over the great globe; on that day, too, Hertford
+      would be formally chosen to the grand office of Lord Protector; other
+      things of note were appointed for that fourth day, also; but to Tom they
+      were all insignificant compared with the ordeal of dining all by himself
+      with a multitude of curious eyes fastened upon him and a multitude of
+      mouths whispering comments upon his performance,&mdash;and upon his
+      mistakes, if he should be so unlucky as to make any.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Still, nothing could stop that fourth day, and so it came. &nbsp;It found
+      poor Tom low-spirited and absent-minded, and this mood continued; he could
+      not shake it off. &nbsp;The ordinary duties of the morning dragged upon
+      his hands, and wearied him. &nbsp;Once more he felt the sense of captivity
+      heavy upon him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Late in the forenoon he was in a large audience-chamber, conversing with
+      the Earl of Hertford and dully awaiting the striking of the hour appointed
+      for a visit of ceremony from a considerable number of great officials and
+      courtiers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link15-181" id="link15-181"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link15-181.jpg (53K)" src="images/15-181.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After a little while, Tom, who had wandered to a window and become
+      interested in the life and movement of the great highway beyond the palace
+      gates&mdash;and not idly interested, but longing with all his heart to
+      take part in person in its stir and freedom&mdash;saw the van of a hooting
+      and shouting mob of disorderly men, women, and children of the lowest and
+      poorest degree approaching from up the road.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I would I knew what 'tis about!" he exclaimed, with all a boy's curiosity
+      in such happenings.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Thou art the King!" solemnly responded the Earl, with a reverence. "Have
+      I your Grace's leave to act?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "O blithely, yes! &nbsp;O gladly, yes!" exclaimed Tom excitedly, adding to
+      himself with a lively sense of satisfaction, "In truth, being a king is
+      not all dreariness&mdash;it hath its compensations and conveniences."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Earl called a page, and sent him to the captain of the guard with the
+      order&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Let the mob be halted, and inquiry made concerning the occasion of its
+      movement. &nbsp;By the King's command!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A few seconds later a long rank of the royal guards, cased in flashing
+      steel, filed out at the gates and formed across the highway in front of
+      the multitude. &nbsp;A messenger returned, to report that the crowd were
+      following a man, a woman, and a young girl to execution for crimes
+      committed against the peace and dignity of the realm.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Death&mdash;and a violent death&mdash;for these poor unfortunates! &nbsp;The
+      thought wrung Tom's heart-strings. &nbsp;The spirit of compassion took
+      control of him, to the exclusion of all other considerations; he never
+      thought of the offended laws, or of the grief or loss which these three
+      criminals had inflicted upon their victims; he could think of nothing but
+      the scaffold and the grisly fate hanging over the heads of the condemned.
+      &nbsp;His concern made him even forget, for the moment, that he was but
+      the false shadow of a king, not the substance; and before he knew it he
+      had blurted out the command&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Bring them here!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then he blushed scarlet, and a sort of apology sprung to his lips; but
+      observing that his order had wrought no sort of surprise in the Earl or
+      the waiting page, he suppressed the words he was about to utter. &nbsp;The
+      page, in the most matter-of-course way, made a profound obeisance and
+      retired backwards out of the room to deliver the command. &nbsp;Tom
+      experienced a glow of pride and a renewed sense of the compensating
+      advantages of the kingly office. He said to himself, "Truly it is like
+      what I was used to feel when I read the old priest's tales, and did
+      imagine mine own self a prince, giving law and command to all, saying 'Do
+      this, do that,' whilst none durst offer let or hindrance to my will."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now the doors swung open; one high-sounding title after another was
+      announced, the personages owning them followed, and the place was quickly
+      half-filled with noble folk and finery. &nbsp;But Tom was hardly conscious
+      of the presence of these people, so wrought up was he and so intensely
+      absorbed in that other and more interesting matter. &nbsp;He seated
+      himself absently in his chair of state, and turned his eyes upon the door
+      with manifestations of impatient expectancy; seeing which, the company
+      forbore to trouble him, and fell to chatting a mixture of public business
+      and court gossip one with another.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In a little while the measured tread of military men was heard
+      approaching, and the culprits entered the presence in charge of an
+      under-sheriff and escorted by a detail of the king's guard. &nbsp;The
+      civil officer knelt before Tom, then stood aside; the three doomed persons
+      knelt, also, and remained so; the guard took position behind Tom's chair.
+      &nbsp;Tom scanned the prisoners curiously. Something about the dress or
+      appearance of the man had stirred a vague memory in him. &nbsp;"Methinks I
+      have seen this man ere now . . . but the when or the where fail me."&mdash;Such
+      was Tom's thought. Just then the man glanced quickly up and quickly
+      dropped his face again, not being able to endure the awful port of
+      sovereignty; but the one full glimpse of the face which Tom got was
+      sufficient. &nbsp;He said to himself: "Now is the matter clear; this is
+      the stranger that plucked Giles Witt out of the Thames, and saved his
+      life, that windy, bitter, first day of the New Year&mdash;a brave good
+      deed&mdash;pity he hath been doing baser ones and got himself in this sad
+      case . . . I have not forgot the day, neither the hour; by reason that an
+      hour after, upon the stroke of eleven, I did get a hiding by the hand of
+      Gammer Canty which was of so goodly and admired severity that all that
+      went before or followed after it were but fondlings and caresses by
+      comparison."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link15-183" id="link15-183"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link15-183.jpg (176K)" src="images/15-183.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom now ordered that the woman and the girl be removed from the presence
+      for a little time; then addressed himself to the under-sheriff, saying&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Good sir, what is this man's offence?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The officer knelt, and answered&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "So please your Majesty, he hath taken the life of a subject by poison."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom's compassion for the prisoner, and admiration of him as the daring
+      rescuer of a drowning boy, experienced a most damaging shock.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "The thing was proven upon him?" he asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Most clearly, sire."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom sighed, and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Take him away&mdash;he hath earned his death. &nbsp;'Tis a pity, for he
+      was a brave heart&mdash;na&mdash;na, I mean he hath the <i>look</i> of it!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The prisoner clasped his hands together with sudden energy, and wrung them
+      despairingly, at the same time appealing imploringly to the 'King' in
+      broken and terrified phrases&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "O my lord the King, an' thou canst pity the lost, have pity upon me!
+      &nbsp;I am innocent&mdash;neither hath that wherewith I am charged been
+      more than but lamely proved&mdash;yet I speak not of that; the judgment is
+      gone forth against me and may not suffer alteration; yet in mine extremity
+      I beg a boon, for my doom is more than I can bear. A grace, a grace, my
+      lord the King! in thy royal compassion grant my prayer&mdash;give
+      commandment that I be hanged!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom was amazed. &nbsp;This was not the outcome he had looked for.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Odds my life, a strange <i>boon</i>! &nbsp;Was it not the fate intended thee?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "O good my liege, not so! &nbsp;It is ordered that I be <i>boiled alive</i>!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The hideous surprise of these words almost made Tom spring from his chair.
+      &nbsp;As soon as he could recover his wits he cried out&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Have thy wish, poor soul! an' thou had poisoned a hundred men thou
+      shouldst not suffer so miserable a death."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The prisoner bowed his face to the ground and burst into passionate
+      expressions of gratitude&mdash;ending with&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "If ever thou shouldst know misfortune&mdash;which God forefend!&mdash;may
+      thy goodness to me this day be remembered and requited!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom turned to the Earl of Hertford, and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "My lord, is it believable that there was warrant for this man's ferocious
+      doom?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "It is the law, your Grace&mdash;for poisoners. &nbsp;In Germany coiners
+      be boiled to death in <i>oil</i>&mdash;not cast in of a sudden, but by a rope let
+      down into the oil by degrees, and slowly; first the feet, then the legs,
+      then&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "O prithee no more, my lord, I cannot bear it!" cried Tom, covering his
+      eyes with his hands to shut out the picture. &nbsp;"I beseech your good
+      lordship that order be taken to change this law&mdash;oh, let no more poor
+      creatures be visited with its tortures."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Earl's face showed profound gratification, for he was a man of
+      merciful and generous impulses&mdash;a thing not very common with his
+      class in that fierce age. &nbsp;He said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "These your Grace's noble words have sealed its doom. &nbsp;History will
+      remember it to the honour of your royal house."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The under-sheriff was about to remove his prisoner; Tom gave him a sign to
+      wait; then he said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Good sir, I would look into this matter further. &nbsp;The man has said
+      his deed was but lamely proved. &nbsp;Tell me what thou knowest."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "If the King's grace please, it did appear upon the trial that this man
+      entered into a house in the hamlet of Islington where one lay sick&mdash;three
+      witnesses say it was at ten of the clock in the morning, and two say it
+      was some minutes later&mdash;the sick man being alone at the time, and
+      sleeping&mdash;and presently the man came forth again and went his way.
+      &nbsp;The sick man died within the hour, being torn with spasms and
+      retchings."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Did any see the poison given? &nbsp;Was poison found?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Marry, no, my liege."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Then how doth one know there was poison given at all?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Please your Majesty, the doctors testified that none die with such
+      symptoms but by poison."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Weighty evidence, this, in that simple age. &nbsp;Tom recognised its
+      formidable nature, and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "The doctor knoweth his trade&mdash;belike they were right. &nbsp;The
+      matter hath an ill-look for this poor man."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Yet was not this all, your Majesty; there is more and worse. Many
+      testified that a witch, since gone from the village, none know whither,
+      did foretell, and speak it privately in their ears, that the sick man
+      <i>would die by poison</i>&mdash;and more, that a stranger would give it&mdash;a
+      stranger with brown hair and clothed in a worn and common garb; and surely
+      this prisoner doth answer woundily to the bill. &nbsp;Please your Majesty
+      to give the circumstance that solemn weight which is its due, seeing it
+      was <i>foretold</i>."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This was an argument of tremendous force in that superstitious day. &nbsp;Tom
+      felt that the thing was settled; if evidence was worth anything, this poor
+      fellow's guilt was proved. &nbsp;Still he offered the prisoner a chance,
+      saying&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "If thou canst say aught in thy behalf, speak."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Nought that will avail, my King. &nbsp;I am innocent, yet cannot I make
+      it appear. &nbsp;I have no friends, else might I show that I was not in
+      Islington that day; so also might I show that at that hour they name I was
+      above a league away, seeing I was at Wapping Old Stairs; yea more, my
+      King, for I could show, that whilst they say I was <i>taking</i> life, I was
+      <i>saving</i> it. &nbsp;A drowning boy&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Peace! &nbsp;Sheriff, name the day the deed was done!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "At ten in the morning, or some minutes later, the first day of the New
+      Year, most illustrious&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Let the prisoner go free&mdash;it is the King's will!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link15-187" id="link15-187"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link15-187.jpg (170K)" src="images/15-187.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Another blush followed this unregal outburst, and he covered his indecorum
+      as well as he could by adding&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "It enrageth me that a man should be hanged upon such idle, hare-brained
+      evidence!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A low buzz of admiration swept through the assemblage. &nbsp;It was not
+      admiration of the decree that had been delivered by Tom, for the propriety
+      or expediency of pardoning a convicted poisoner was a thing which few
+      there would have felt justified in either admitting or admiring&mdash;no,
+      the admiration was for the intelligence and spirit which Tom had
+      displayed. &nbsp;Some of the low-voiced remarks were to this effect&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "This is no mad king&mdash;he hath his wits sound."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "How sanely he put his questions&mdash;how like his former natural self
+      was this abrupt imperious disposal of the matter!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "God be thanked, his infirmity is spent! &nbsp;This is no weakling, but a
+      king. &nbsp;He hath borne himself like to his own father."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The air being filled with applause, Tom's ear necessarily caught a little
+      of it. &nbsp;The effect which this had upon him was to put him greatly at
+      his ease, and also to charge his system with very gratifying sensations.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      However, his juvenile curiosity soon rose superior to these pleasant
+      thoughts and feelings; he was eager to know what sort of deadly mischief
+      the woman and the little girl could have been about; so, by his command,
+      the two terrified and sobbing creatures were brought before him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "What is it that these have done?" he inquired of the sheriff.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link15-188" id="link15-188"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link15-188.jpg (27K)" src="images/15-188.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Please your Majesty, a black crime is charged upon them, and clearly
+      proven; wherefore the judges have decreed, according to the law, that they
+      be hanged. &nbsp;They sold themselves to the devil&mdash;such is their
+      crime."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom shuddered. &nbsp;He had been taught to abhor people who did this
+      wicked thing. &nbsp;Still, he was not going to deny himself the pleasure
+      of feeding his curiosity for all that; so he asked&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Where was this done?&mdash;and when?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "On a midnight in December, in a ruined church, your Majesty."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom shuddered again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Who was there present?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Only these two, your grace&mdash;and <i>that other</i>."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Have these confessed?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Nay, not so, sire&mdash;they do deny it."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Then prithee, how was it known?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Certain witness did see them wending thither, good your Majesty; this
+      bred the suspicion, and dire effects have since confirmed and justified
+      it. &nbsp;In particular, it is in evidence that through the wicked power
+      so obtained, they did invoke and bring about a storm that wasted all the
+      region round about. &nbsp;Above forty witnesses have proved the storm; and
+      sooth one might have had a thousand, for all had reason to remember it,
+      sith all had suffered by it."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Certes this is a serious matter." &nbsp;Tom turned this dark piece of
+      scoundrelism over in his mind a while, then asked&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Suffered the woman also by the storm?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link15-190" id="link15-190"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link15-190.jpg (69K)" src="images/15-190.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Several old heads among the assemblage nodded their recognition of the
+      wisdom of this question. &nbsp;The sheriff, however, saw nothing
+      consequential in the inquiry; he answered, with simple directness&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Indeed did she, your Majesty, and most righteously, as all aver. Her
+      habitation was swept away, and herself and child left shelterless."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Methinks the power to do herself so ill a turn was dearly bought. She had
+      been cheated, had she paid but a farthing for it; that she paid her soul,
+      and her child's, argueth that she is mad; if she is mad she knoweth not
+      what she doth, therefore sinneth not."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The elderly heads nodded recognition of Tom's wisdom once more, and one
+      individual murmured, "An' the King be mad himself, according to report,
+      then is it a madness of a sort that would improve the sanity of some I wot
+      of, if by the gentle providence of God they could but catch it."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "What age hath the child?" asked Tom.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Nine years, please your Majesty."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "By the law of England may a child enter into covenant and sell itself, my
+      lord?" asked Tom, turning to a learned judge.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "The law doth not permit a child to make or meddle in any weighty matter,
+      good my liege, holding that its callow wit unfitteth it to cope with the
+      riper wit and evil schemings of them that are its elders. &nbsp;The <i>Devil</i>
+      may buy a child, if he so choose, and the child agree thereto, but not an
+      Englishman&mdash;in this latter case the contract would be null and void."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "It seemeth a rude unchristian thing, and ill contrived, that English law
+      denieth privileges to Englishmen to waste them on the devil!" cried Tom,
+      with honest heat.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This novel view of the matter excited many smiles, and was stored away in
+      many heads to be repeated about the Court as evidence of Tom's originality
+      as well as progress toward mental health.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The elder culprit had ceased from sobbing, and was hanging upon Tom's
+      words with an excited interest and a growing hope. &nbsp;Tom noticed this,
+      and it strongly inclined his sympathies toward her in her perilous and
+      unfriended situation. &nbsp;Presently he asked&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "How wrought they to bring the storm?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "<i>By pulling off their stockings</i>, sire."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This astonished Tom, and also fired his curiosity to fever heat. He said,
+      eagerly&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "It is wonderful! &nbsp;Hath it always this dread effect?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Always, my liege&mdash;at least if the woman desire it, and utter the
+      needful words, either in her mind or with her tongue."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom turned to the woman, and said with impetuous zeal&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Exert thy power&mdash;I would see a storm!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a sudden paling of cheeks in the superstitious assemblage, and a
+      general, though unexpressed, desire to get out of the place&mdash;all of
+      which was lost upon Tom, who was dead to everything but the proposed
+      cataclysm. &nbsp;Seeing a puzzled and astonished look in the woman's face,
+      he added, excitedly&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Never fear&mdash;thou shalt be blameless. &nbsp;More&mdash;thou shalt go
+      free&mdash;none shall touch thee. &nbsp;Exert thy power."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Oh, my lord the King, I have it not&mdash;I have been falsely accused."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Thy fears stay thee. &nbsp;Be of good heart, thou shalt suffer no harm.
+      &nbsp;Make a storm&mdash;it mattereth not how small a one&mdash;I require
+      nought great or harmful, but indeed prefer the opposite&mdash;do this and
+      thy life is spared&mdash;thou shalt go out free, with thy child, bearing
+      the King's pardon, and safe from hurt or malice from any in the realm."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The woman prostrated herself, and protested, with tears, that she had no
+      power to do the miracle, else she would gladly win her child's life alone,
+      and be content to lose her own, if by obedience to the King's command so
+      precious a grace might be acquired.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom urged&mdash;the woman still adhered to her declarations. &nbsp;Finally
+      he said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I think the woman hath said true. &nbsp;An' <i>my</i> mother were in her place
+      and gifted with the devil's functions, she had not stayed a moment to call
+      her storms and lay the whole land in ruins, if the saving of my forfeit
+      life were the price she got! &nbsp;It is argument that other mothers are
+      made in like mould. &nbsp;Thou art free, goodwife&mdash;thou and thy child&mdash;for
+      I do think thee innocent. &nbsp;<i>Now</i> thou'st nought to fear, being pardoned&mdash;pull
+      off thy stockings!&mdash;an' thou canst make me a storm, thou shalt be
+      rich!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The redeemed creature was loud in her gratitude, and proceeded to obey,
+      whilst Tom looked on with eager expectancy, a little marred by
+      apprehension; the courtiers at the same time manifesting decided
+      discomfort and uneasiness. &nbsp;The woman stripped her own feet and her
+      little girl's also, and plainly did her best to reward the King's
+      generosity with an earthquake, but it was all a failure and a
+      disappointment. &nbsp;Tom sighed, and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "There, good soul, trouble thyself no further, thy power is departed out
+      of thee. &nbsp;Go thy way in peace; and if it return to thee at any time,
+      forget me not, but fetch me a storm." {13}
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c16" id="c16"></a> <a name="link16-193"
+      id="link16-193"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link16-193.jpg (42K)" src="images/16-193.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XVI. The State Dinner.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The dinner hour drew near&mdash;yet strangely enough, the thought brought
+      but slight discomfort to Tom, and hardly any terror. &nbsp;The morning's
+      experiences had wonderfully built up his confidence; the poor little
+      ash-cat was already more wonted to his strange garret, after four days'
+      habit, than a mature person could have become in a full month. &nbsp;A
+      child's facility in accommodating itself to circumstances was never more
+      strikingly illustrated.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Let us privileged ones hurry to the great banqueting-room and have a
+      glance at matters there whilst Tom is being made ready for the imposing
+      occasion. &nbsp;It is a spacious apartment, with gilded pillars and
+      pilasters, and pictured walls and ceilings. &nbsp;At the door stand tall
+      guards, as rigid as statues, dressed in rich and picturesque costumes, and
+      bearing halberds. &nbsp;In a high gallery which runs all around the place
+      is a band of musicians and a packed company of citizens of both sexes, in
+      brilliant attire. &nbsp;In the centre of the room, upon a raised platform,
+      is Tom's table. Now let the ancient chronicler speak:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link16-196" id="link16-196"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link16-196.jpg (65K)" src="images/16-196.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "A gentleman enters the room bearing a rod, and along with him another
+      bearing a tablecloth, which, after they have both kneeled three times with
+      the utmost veneration, he spreads upon the table, and after kneeling again
+      they both retire; then come two others, one with the rod again, the other
+      with a salt-cellar, a plate, and bread; when they have kneeled as the
+      others had done, and placed what was brought upon the table, they too
+      retire with the same ceremonies performed by the first; at last come two
+      nobles, richly clothed, one bearing a tasting-knife, who, after
+      prostrating themselves three times in the most graceful manner, approach
+      and rub the table with bread and salt, with as much awe as if the King had
+      been present." {6}
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So end the solemn preliminaries. &nbsp;Now, far down the echoing corridors
+      we hear a bugle-blast, and the indistinct cry, "Place for the King! &nbsp;Way
+      for the King's most excellent majesty!" &nbsp;These sounds are momently
+      repeated&mdash;they grow nearer and nearer&mdash;and presently, almost in
+      our faces, the martial note peals and the cry rings out, "Way for the
+      King!" &nbsp;At this instant the shining pageant appears, and files in at
+      the door, with a measured march. Let the chronicler speak again:&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "First come Gentlemen, Barons, Earls, Knights of the Garter, all richly
+      dressed and bareheaded; next comes the Chancellor, between two, one of
+      which carries the royal sceptre, the other the Sword of State in a red
+      scabbard, studded with golden fleurs-de-lis, the point upwards; next comes
+      the King himself&mdash;whom, upon his appearing, twelve trumpets and many
+      drums salute with a great burst of welcome, whilst all in the galleries
+      rise in their places, crying 'God save the King!' &nbsp;After him come
+      nobles attached to his person, and on his right and left march his guard
+      of honour, his fifty Gentlemen Pensioners, with gilt battle-axes."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link16-197" id="link16-197"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link16-197.jpg (183K)" src="images/16-197.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This was all fine and pleasant. &nbsp;Tom's pulse beat high, and a glad
+      light was in his eye. &nbsp;He bore himself right gracefully, and all the
+      more so because he was not thinking of how he was doing it, his mind being
+      charmed and occupied with the blithe sights and sounds about him&mdash;and
+      besides, nobody can be very ungraceful in nicely-fitting beautiful clothes
+      after he has grown a little used to them&mdash;especially if he is for the
+      moment unconscious of them. Tom remembered his instructions, and
+      acknowledged his greeting with a slight inclination of his plumed head,
+      and a courteous "I thank ye, my good people."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link16-198" id="link16-198"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link16-198.jpg (43K)" src="images/16-198.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He seated himself at table, without removing his cap; and did it without
+      the least embarrassment; for to eat with one's cap on was the one solitary
+      royal custom upon which the kings and the Cantys met upon common ground,
+      neither party having any advantage over the other in the matter of old
+      familiarity with it. &nbsp;The pageant broke up and grouped itself
+      picturesquely, and remained bareheaded.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now to the sound of gay music the Yeomen of the Guard entered,&mdash;"the
+      tallest and mightiest men in England, they being carefully selected in
+      this regard"&mdash;but we will let the chronicler tell about it:&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "The Yeomen of the Guard entered, bareheaded, clothed in scarlet, with
+      golden roses upon their backs; and these went and came, bringing in each
+      turn a course of dishes, served in plate. &nbsp;These dishes were received
+      by a gentleman in the same order they were brought, and placed upon the
+      table, while the taster gave to each guard a mouthful to eat of the
+      particular dish he had brought, for fear of any poison."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom made a good dinner, notwithstanding he was conscious that hundreds of
+      eyes followed each morsel to his mouth and watched him eat it with an
+      interest which could not have been more intense if it had been a deadly
+      explosive and was expected to blow him up and scatter him all about the
+      place. &nbsp;He was careful not to hurry, and equally careful not to do
+      anything whatever for himself, but wait till the proper official knelt
+      down and did it for him. &nbsp;He got through without a mistake&mdash;flawless
+      and precious triumph.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link16-199" id="link16-199"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link16-199.jpg (99K)" src="images/16-199.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When the meal was over at last and he marched away in the midst of his
+      bright pageant, with the happy noises in his ears of blaring bugles,
+      rolling drums, and thundering acclamations, he felt that if he had seen
+      the worst of dining in public it was an ordeal which he would be glad to
+      endure several times a day if by that means he could but buy himself free
+      from some of the more formidable requirements of his royal office.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c17" id="c17"></a> <a name="link17-201"
+      id="link17-201"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link17-201.jpg (70K)" src="images/17-201.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XVII. Foo-foo the First.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Miles Hendon hurried along toward the Southwark end of the bridge, keeping
+      a sharp look-out for the persons he sought, and hoping and expecting to
+      overtake them presently. &nbsp;He was disappointed in this, however.
+      &nbsp;By asking questions, he was enabled to track them part of the way
+      through Southwark; then all traces ceased, and he was perplexed as to how
+      to proceed. &nbsp;Still, he continued his efforts as best he could during
+      the rest of the day. &nbsp;Nightfall found him leg-weary, half-famished,
+      and his desire as far from accomplishment as ever; so he supped at the
+      Tabard Inn and went to bed, resolved to make an early start in the
+      morning, and give the town an exhaustive search. &nbsp;As he lay thinking
+      and planning, he presently began to reason thus: &nbsp;The boy would
+      escape from the ruffian, his reputed father, if possible; would he go back
+      to London and seek his former haunts? &nbsp;No, he would not do that, he
+      would avoid recapture. What, then, would he do? &nbsp;Never having had a
+      friend in the world, or a protector, until he met Miles Hendon, he would
+      naturally try to find that friend again, provided the effort did not
+      require him to go toward London and danger. &nbsp;He would strike for
+      Hendon Hall, that is what he would do, for he knew Hendon was homeward
+      bound and there he might expect to find him. &nbsp;Yes, the case was plain
+      to Hendon&mdash;he must lose no more time in Southwark, but move at once
+      through Kent, toward Monk's Holm, searching the wood and inquiring as he
+      went. &nbsp;Let us return to the vanished little King now.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link17-205" id="link17-205"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link17-205.jpg (159K)" src="images/17-205.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The ruffian whom the waiter at the inn on the bridge saw 'about to join'
+      the youth and the King did not exactly join them, but fell in close behind
+      them and followed their steps. &nbsp;He said nothing. His left arm was in
+      a sling, and he wore a large green patch over his left eye; he limped
+      slightly, and used an oaken staff as a support. &nbsp;The youth led the
+      King a crooked course through Southwark, and by-and-by struck into the
+      high road beyond. &nbsp;The King was irritated, now, and said he would
+      stop here&mdash;it was Hendon's place to come to him, not his to go to
+      Hendon. &nbsp;He would not endure such insolence; he would stop where he
+      was. &nbsp;The youth said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Thou'lt tarry here, and thy friend lying wounded in the wood yonder?
+      &nbsp;So be it, then."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King's manner changed at once. &nbsp;He cried out&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Wounded? &nbsp;And who hath dared to do it? &nbsp;But that is apart; lead
+      on, lead on! &nbsp;Faster, sirrah! &nbsp;Art shod with lead? &nbsp;Wounded,
+      is he? &nbsp;Now though the doer of it be a duke's son he shall rue it!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was some distance to the wood, but the space was speedily traversed.
+      The youth looked about him, discovered a bough sticking in the ground,
+      with a small bit of rag tied to it, then led the way into the forest,
+      watching for similar boughs and finding them at intervals; they were
+      evidently guides to the point he was aiming at. &nbsp;By-and-by an open
+      place was reached, where were the charred remains of a farm-house, and
+      near them a barn which was falling to ruin and decay. &nbsp;There was no
+      sign of life anywhere, and utter silence prevailed. &nbsp;The youth
+      entered the barn, the King following eagerly upon his heels. &nbsp;No one
+      there! The King shot a surprised and suspicious glance at the youth, and
+      asked&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Where is he?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A mocking laugh was his answer. &nbsp;The King was in a rage in a moment;
+      he seized a billet of wood and was in the act of charging upon the youth
+      when another mocking laugh fell upon his ear. &nbsp;It was from the lame
+      ruffian who had been following at a distance. The King turned and said
+      angrily&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link17-206" id="link17-206"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link17-206.jpg (110K)" src="images/17-206.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Who art thou? &nbsp;What is thy business here?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Leave thy foolery," said the man, "and quiet thyself. &nbsp;My disguise
+      is none so good that thou canst pretend thou knowest not thy father
+      through it."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Thou art not my father. &nbsp;I know thee not. &nbsp;I am the King.
+      &nbsp;If thou hast hid my servant, find him for me, or thou shalt sup
+      sorrow for what thou hast done."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      John Canty replied, in a stern and measured voice&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "It is plain thou art mad, and I am loath to punish thee; &nbsp;but if
+      thou provoke me, I must. &nbsp;Thy prating doth no harm here, where there
+      are no ears that need to mind thy follies; yet it is well to practise thy
+      tongue to wary speech, that it may do no hurt when our quarters change.
+      &nbsp;I have done a murder, and may not tarry at home&mdash;neither shalt
+      thou, seeing I need thy service. &nbsp;My name is changed, for wise
+      reasons; it is Hobbs&mdash;John Hobbs; thine is Jack&mdash;charge thy
+      memory accordingly. &nbsp;Now, then, speak. &nbsp;Where is thy mother?
+      &nbsp;Where are thy sisters? &nbsp;They came not to the place appointed&mdash;knowest
+      thou whither they went?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King answered sullenly&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Trouble me not with these riddles. &nbsp;My mother is dead; my sisters
+      are in the palace."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The youth near by burst into a derisive laugh, and the King would have
+      assaulted him, but Canty&mdash;or Hobbs, as he now called himself&mdash;prevented
+      him, and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Peace, Hugo, vex him not; his mind is astray, and thy ways fret him. Sit
+      thee down, Jack, and quiet thyself; thou shalt have a morsel to eat,
+      anon."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hobbs and Hugo fell to talking together, in low voices, and the King
+      removed himself as far as he could from their disagreeable company. &nbsp;He
+      withdrew into the twilight of the farther end of the barn, where he found
+      the earthen floor bedded a foot deep with straw. &nbsp;He lay down here,
+      drew straw over himself in lieu of blankets, and was soon absorbed in
+      thinking. &nbsp;He had many griefs, but the minor ones were swept almost
+      into forgetfulness by the supreme one, the loss of his father. &nbsp;To
+      the rest of the world the name of Henry VIII. brought a shiver, and
+      suggested an ogre whose nostrils breathed destruction and whose hand dealt
+      scourgings and death; but to this boy the name brought only sensations of
+      pleasure; the figure it invoked wore a countenance that was all gentleness
+      and affection. &nbsp;He called to mind a long succession of loving
+      passages between his father and himself, and dwelt fondly upon them, his
+      unstinted tears attesting how deep and real was the grief that possessed
+      his heart. As the afternoon wasted away, the lad, wearied with his
+      troubles, sank gradually into a tranquil and healing slumber.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link17-207" id="link17-207"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link17-207.jpg (74K)" src="images/17-207.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After a considerable time&mdash;he could not tell how long&mdash;his
+      senses struggled to a half-consciousness, and as he lay with closed eyes
+      vaguely wondering where he was and what had been happening, he noted a
+      murmurous sound, the sullen beating of rain upon the roof. A snug sense of
+      comfort stole over him, which was rudely broken, the next moment, by a
+      chorus of piping cackles and coarse laughter. &nbsp;It startled him
+      disagreeably, and he unmuffled his head to see whence this interruption
+      proceeded. &nbsp;A grim and unsightly picture met his eye. &nbsp;A bright
+      fire was burning in the middle of the floor, at the other end of the barn;
+      and around it, and lit weirdly up by the red glare, lolled and sprawled
+      the motliest company of tattered gutter-scum and ruffians, of both sexes,
+      he had ever read or dreamed of. &nbsp;There were huge stalwart men, brown
+      with exposure, long-haired, and clothed in fantastic rags; there were
+      middle-sized youths, of truculent countenance, and similarly clad; there
+      were blind mendicants, with patched or bandaged eyes; crippled ones, with
+      wooden legs and crutches; diseased ones, with running sores peeping from
+      ineffectual wrappings; there was a villain-looking pedlar with his pack; a
+      knife-grinder, a tinker, and a barber-surgeon, with the implements of
+      their trades; some of the females were hardly-grown girls, some were at
+      prime, some were old and wrinkled hags, and all were loud, brazen,
+      foul-mouthed; and all soiled and slatternly; there were three sore-faced
+      babies; there were a couple of starveling curs, with strings about their
+      necks, whose office was to lead the blind.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link17-208" id="link17-208"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link17-208.jpg (160K)" src="images/17-208.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The night was come, the gang had just finished feasting, an orgy was
+      beginning; the can of liquor was passing from mouth to mouth. A general
+      cry broke forth&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "A song! a song from the Bat and Dick and Dot-and-go-One!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      One of the blind men got up, and made ready by casting aside the patches
+      that sheltered his excellent eyes, and the pathetic placard which recited
+      the cause of his calamity. &nbsp;Dot-and-go-One disencumbered himself of
+      his timber leg and took his place, upon sound and healthy limbs, beside
+      his fellow-rascal; then they roared out a rollicking ditty, and were
+      reinforced by the whole crew, at the end of each stanza, in a rousing
+      chorus. &nbsp;By the time the last stanza was reached, the half-drunken
+      enthusiasm had risen to such a pitch, that everybody joined in and sang it
+      clear through from the beginning, producing a volume of villainous sound
+      that made the rafters quake. &nbsp;These were the inspiring words:&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      'Bien Darkman's then, Bouse Mort and Ken,<br /> The bien Coves bings awast,<br />
+      On Chates to trine by Rome Coves dine<br /> For his long lib at last.<br />
+      Bing'd out bien Morts and toure, and toure,<br /> Bing out of the Rome vile
+      bine,<br /> And toure the Cove that cloy'd your duds,<br /> Upon the Chates
+      to trine.'<br /><br /> (From'The English Rogue.' London, 1665.)
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link17-210" id="link17-210"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link17-210.jpg (63K)" src="images/17-210.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Conversation followed; not in the thieves' dialect of the song, for that
+      was only used in talk when unfriendly ears might be listening. &nbsp;In
+      the course of it, it appeared that 'John Hobbs' was not altogether a new
+      recruit, but had trained in the gang at some former time. &nbsp;His later
+      history was called for, and when he said he had 'accidentally' killed a
+      man, considerable satisfaction was expressed; when he added that the man
+      was a priest, he was roundly applauded, and had to take a drink with
+      everybody. &nbsp;Old acquaintances welcomed him joyously, and new ones
+      were proud to shake him by the hand. &nbsp;He was asked why he had
+      'tarried away so many months.' &nbsp;He answered&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "London is better than the country, and safer, these late years, the laws
+      be so bitter and so diligently enforced. &nbsp;An' I had not had that
+      accident, I had stayed there. &nbsp;I had resolved to stay, and never more
+      venture country-wards&mdash;but the accident has ended that."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He inquired how many persons the gang numbered now. &nbsp;The 'ruffler,'
+      or chief, answered&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Five and twenty sturdy budges, bulks, files, clapperdogeons and maunders,
+      counting the dells and doxies and other morts. {7} &nbsp;Most are here,
+      the rest are wandering eastward, along the winter lay. We follow at dawn."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I do not see the Wen among the honest folk about me. &nbsp;Where may he
+      be?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Poor lad, his diet is brimstone, now, and over hot for a delicate taste.
+      He was killed in a brawl, somewhere about midsummer."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I sorrow to hear that; the Wen was a capable man, and brave."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "That was he, truly. &nbsp;Black Bess, his dell, is of us yet, but absent
+      on the eastward tramp; a fine lass, of nice ways and orderly conduct, none
+      ever seeing her drunk above four days in the seven."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "She was ever strict&mdash;I remember it well&mdash;a goodly wench and
+      worthy all commendation. &nbsp;Her mother was more free and less
+      particular; a troublesome and ugly-tempered beldame, but furnished with a
+      wit above the common."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "We lost her through it. &nbsp;Her gift of palmistry and other sorts of
+      fortune-telling begot for her at last a witch's name and fame. The law
+      roasted her to death at a slow fire. &nbsp;It did touch me to a sort of
+      tenderness to see the gallant way she met her lot&mdash;cursing and
+      reviling all the crowd that gaped and gazed around her, whilst the flames
+      licked upward toward her face and catched her thin locks and crackled
+      about her old gray head&mdash;cursing them! why an' thou should'st live a
+      thousand years thoud'st never hear so masterful a cursing. &nbsp;Alack,
+      her art died with her. &nbsp;There be base and weakling imitations left,
+      but no true blasphemy."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link17-212" id="link17-212"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link17-212.jpg (44K)" src="images/17-212.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Ruffler sighed; the listeners sighed in sympathy; a general depression
+      fell upon the company for a moment, for even hardened outcasts like these
+      are not wholly dead to sentiment, but are able to feel a fleeting sense of
+      loss and affliction at wide intervals and under peculiarly favouring
+      circumstances&mdash;as in cases like to this, for instance, when genius
+      and culture depart and leave no heir. &nbsp;However, a deep drink all
+      round soon restored the spirits of the mourners.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Have any others of our friends fared hardly?" asked Hobbs.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Some&mdash;yes. &nbsp;Particularly new comers&mdash;such as small
+      husbandmen turned shiftless and hungry upon the world because their farms
+      were taken from them to be changed to sheep ranges. &nbsp;They begged, and
+      were whipped at the cart's tail, naked from the girdle up, till the blood
+      ran; then set in the stocks to be pelted; they begged again, were whipped
+      again, and deprived of an ear; they begged a third time&mdash;poor devils,
+      what else could they do?&mdash;and were branded on the cheek with a
+      red-hot iron, then sold for slaves; they ran away, were hunted down, and
+      hanged. &nbsp;'Tis a brief tale, and quickly told. &nbsp;Others of us have
+      fared less hardly. Stand forth, Yokel, Burns, and Hodge&mdash;show your
+      adornments!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link17-213" id="link17-213"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link17-213.jpg (125K)" src="images/17-213.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      These stood up and stripped away some of their rags, exposing their backs,
+      criss-crossed with ropy old welts left by the lash; one turned up his hair
+      and showed the place where a left ear had once been; another showed a
+      brand upon his shoulder&mdash;the letter V&mdash;and a mutilated ear; the
+      third said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I am Yokel, once a farmer and prosperous, with loving wife and kids&mdash;now
+      am I somewhat different in estate and calling; and the wife and kids are
+      gone; mayhap they are in heaven, mayhap in&mdash;in the other place&mdash;but
+      the kindly God be thanked, they bide no more in <i>England</i>! &nbsp;My good old
+      blameless mother strove to earn bread by nursing the sick; one of these
+      died, the doctors knew not how, so my mother was burnt for a witch, whilst
+      my babes looked on and wailed. &nbsp;English law!&mdash;up, all, with your
+      cups!&mdash;now all together and with a cheer!&mdash;drink to the merciful
+      English law that delivered <i>her</i> from the English hell! &nbsp;Thank you,
+      mates, one and all. &nbsp;I begged, from house to house&mdash;I and the
+      wife&mdash;bearing with us the hungry kids&mdash;but it was crime to be
+      hungry in England&mdash;so they stripped us and lashed us through three
+      towns. &nbsp;Drink ye all again to the merciful English law!&mdash;for its
+      lash drank deep of my Mary's blood and its blessed deliverance came quick.
+      &nbsp;She lies there, in the potter's field, safe from all harms. &nbsp;And
+      the kids&mdash;well, whilst the law lashed me from town to town, they
+      starved. Drink, lads&mdash;only a drop&mdash;a drop to the poor kids, that
+      never did any creature harm. &nbsp;I begged again&mdash;begged, for a
+      crust, and got the stocks and lost an ear&mdash;see, here bides the stump;
+      I begged again, and here is the stump of the other to keep me minded of
+      it. And still I begged again, and was sold for a slave&mdash;here on my
+      cheek under this stain, if I washed it off, ye might see the red S the
+      branding-iron left there! &nbsp;A <i>slave</i>! &nbsp;Do you understand that
+      word? &nbsp;An English <i>slave</i>!&mdash;that is he that stands before ye.
+      &nbsp;I have run from my master, and when I am found&mdash;the heavy curse
+      of heaven fall on the law of the land that hath commanded it!&mdash;I
+      shall hang!" {1}
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A ringing voice came through the murky air&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Thou shalt <i>not</i>!&mdash;and this day the end of that law is come!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link17-215" id="link17-215"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link17-215.jpg (87K)" src="images/17-215.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All turned, and saw the fantastic figure of the little King approaching
+      hurriedly; as it emerged into the light and was clearly revealed, a
+      general explosion of inquiries broke out&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Who is it? &nbsp;<i>What</i> is it? &nbsp;Who art thou, manikin?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The boy stood unconfused in the midst of all those surprised and
+      questioning eyes, and answered with princely dignity&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I am Edward, King of England."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A wild burst of laughter followed, partly of derision and partly of
+      delight in the excellence of the joke. &nbsp;The King was stung. &nbsp;He
+      said sharply&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Ye mannerless vagrants, is this your recognition of the royal boon I have
+      promised?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He said more, with angry voice and excited gesture, but it was lost in a
+      whirlwind of laughter and mocking exclamations. &nbsp;'John Hobbs' made
+      several attempts to make himself heard above the din, and at last
+      succeeded&mdash;saying&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Mates, he is my son, a dreamer, a fool, and stark mad&mdash;mind him not&mdash;he
+      thinketh he <i>is</i> the King."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I <i>am</i> the King," said Edward, turning toward him, "as thou shalt know to
+      thy cost, in good time. &nbsp;Thou hast confessed a murder&mdash;thou
+      shalt swing for it."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "<i>Thou'lt</i> betray me?&mdash;<i>thou</i>? &nbsp;An' I get my hands upon thee&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link17-216" id="link17-216"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link17-216.jpg (101K)" src="images/17-216.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Tut-tut!" said the burley Ruffler, interposing in time to save the King,
+      and emphasising this service by knocking Hobbs down with his fist, "hast
+      respect for neither Kings <i>nor</i> Rufflers? &nbsp;An' thou insult my presence
+      so again, I'll hang thee up myself." &nbsp;Then he said to his Majesty,
+      "Thou must make no threats against thy mates, lad; and thou must guard thy
+      tongue from saying evil of them elsewhere. &nbsp;<i>Be king</i>, if it please thy
+      mad humour, but be not harmful in it. &nbsp;Sink the title thou hast
+      uttered&mdash;'tis treason; we be bad men in some few trifling ways, but
+      none among us is so base as to be traitor to his King; we be loving and
+      loyal hearts, in that regard. &nbsp;Note if I speak truth. &nbsp;Now&mdash;all
+      together: &nbsp;'Long live Edward, King of England!'"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "LONG LIVE EDWARD, KING OF ENGLAND!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The response came with such a thundergust from the motley crew that the
+      crazy building vibrated to the sound. &nbsp;The little King's face lighted
+      with pleasure for an instant, and he slightly inclined his head, and said
+      with grave simplicity&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I thank you, my good people."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This unexpected result threw the company into convulsions of merriment.
+      When something like quiet was presently come again, the Ruffler said,
+      firmly, but with an accent of good nature&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Drop it, boy, 'tis not wise, nor well. &nbsp;Humour thy fancy, if thou
+      must, but choose some other title."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A tinker shrieked out a suggestion&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Foo-foo the First, King of the Mooncalves!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The title 'took,' at once, every throat responded, and a roaring shout
+      went up, of&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Long live Foo-foo the First, King of the Mooncalves!" followed by
+      hootings, cat-calls, and peals of laughter.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Hale him forth, and crown him!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Robe him!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Sceptre him!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Throne him!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      These and twenty other cries broke out at once! and almost before the poor
+      little victim could draw a breath he was crowned with a tin basin, robed
+      in a tattered blanket, throned upon a barrel, and sceptred with the
+      tinker's soldering-iron. &nbsp;Then all flung themselves upon their knees
+      about him and sent up a chorus of ironical wailings, and mocking
+      supplications, whilst they swabbed their eyes with their soiled and ragged
+      sleeves and aprons&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link17-218" id="link17-218"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link17-218.jpg (108K)" src="images/17-218.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Be gracious to us, O sweet King!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Trample not upon thy beseeching worms, O noble Majesty!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Pity thy slaves, and comfort them with a royal kick!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Cheer us and warm us with thy gracious rays, O flaming sun of
+      sovereignty!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Sanctify the ground with the touch of thy foot, that we may eat the dirt
+      and be ennobled!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Deign to spit upon us, O Sire, that our children's children may tell of
+      thy princely condescension, and be proud and happy for ever!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But the humorous tinker made the 'hit' of the evening and carried off the
+      honours. &nbsp;Kneeling, he pretended to kiss the King's foot, and was
+      indignantly spurned; whereupon he went about begging for a rag to paste
+      over the place upon his face which had been touched by the foot, saying it
+      must be preserved from contact with the vulgar air, and that he should
+      make his fortune by going on the highway and exposing it to view at the
+      rate of a hundred shillings a sight. &nbsp;He made himself so killingly
+      funny that he was the envy and admiration of the whole mangy rabble.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tears of shame and indignation stood in the little monarch's eyes; and the
+      thought in his heart was, "Had I offered them a deep wrong they could not
+      be more cruel&mdash;yet have I proffered nought but to do them a kindness&mdash;and
+      it is thus they use me for it!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c18" id="c18"></a> <a name="link18-221"
+      id="link18-221"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link18-221.jpg (75K)" src="images/18-221.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XVIII. The Prince with the Tramps.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The troop of vagabonds turned out at early dawn, and set forward on their
+      march. &nbsp;There was a lowering sky overhead, sloppy ground under foot,
+      and a winter chill in the air. &nbsp;All gaiety was gone from the company;
+      some were sullen and silent, some were irritable and petulant, none were
+      gentle-humoured, all were thirsty.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Ruffler put 'Jack' in Hugo's charge, with some brief instructions, and
+      commanded John Canty to keep away from him and let him alone; he also
+      warned Hugo not to be too rough with the lad.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link18-224" id="link18-224"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link18-224.jpg (97K)" src="images/18-224.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After a while the weather grew milder, and the clouds lifted somewhat. The
+      troop ceased to shiver, and their spirits began to improve. &nbsp;They
+      grew more and more cheerful, and finally began to chaff each other and
+      insult passengers along the highway. &nbsp;This showed that they were
+      awaking to an appreciation of life and its joys once more. &nbsp;The dread
+      in which their sort was held was apparent in the fact that everybody gave
+      them the road, and took their ribald insolences meekly, without venturing
+      to talk back. They snatched linen from the hedges, occasionally in full
+      view of the owners, who made no protest, but only seemed grateful that
+      they did not take the hedges, too.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link18-225" id="link18-225"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link18-225.jpg (97K)" src="images/18-225.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By-and-by they invaded a small farmhouse and made themselves at home while
+      the trembling farmer and his people swept the larder clean to furnish a
+      breakfast for them. &nbsp;They chucked the housewife and her daughters
+      under the chin whilst receiving the food from their hands, and made coarse
+      jests about them, accompanied with insulting epithets and bursts of
+      horse-laughter. &nbsp;They threw bones and vegetables at the farmer and
+      his sons, kept them dodging all the time, and applauded uproariously when
+      a good hit was made. They ended by buttering the head of one of the
+      daughters who resented some of their familiarities. &nbsp;When they took
+      their leave they threatened to come back and burn the house over the heads
+      of the family if any report of their doings got to the ears of the
+      authorities.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      About noon, after a long and weary tramp, the gang came to a halt behind a
+      hedge on the outskirts of a considerable village. &nbsp;An hour was
+      allowed for rest, then the crew scattered themselves abroad to enter the
+      village at different points to ply their various trades&mdash;'Jack' was
+      sent with Hugo. &nbsp;They wandered hither and thither for some time, Hugo
+      watching for opportunities to do a stroke of business, but finding none&mdash;so
+      he finally said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I see nought to steal; it is a paltry place. &nbsp;Wherefore we will
+      beg."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "<i>We</i>, forsooth! &nbsp;Follow thy trade&mdash;it befits thee. &nbsp;But <i>I</i>
+      will not beg."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Thou'lt not beg!" exclaimed Hugo, eyeing the King with surprise.
+      "Prithee, since when hast thou reformed?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "What dost thou mean?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Mean? &nbsp;Hast thou not begged the streets of London all thy life?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I? &nbsp;Thou idiot!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Spare thy compliments&mdash;thy stock will last the longer. &nbsp;Thy
+      father says thou hast begged all thy days. &nbsp;Mayhap he lied.
+      Peradventure you will even make so bold as to <i>say</i> he lied," scoffed Hugo.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Him <i>you</i> call my father? &nbsp;Yes, he lied."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Come, play not thy merry game of madman so far, mate; use it for thy
+      amusement, not thy hurt. &nbsp;An' I tell him this, he will scorch thee
+      finely for it."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Save thyself the trouble. &nbsp;I will tell him."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I like thy spirit, I do in truth; but I do not admire thy judgment.
+      Bone-rackings and bastings be plenty enow in this life, without going out
+      of one's way to invite them. &nbsp;But a truce to these matters; <i>I</i>
+      believe your father. &nbsp;I doubt not he can lie; I doubt not he <i>doth</i>
+      lie, upon occasion, for the best of us do that; but there is no occasion
+      here. &nbsp;A wise man does not waste so good a commodity as lying for
+      nought. &nbsp;But come; sith it is thy humour to give over begging,
+      wherewithal shall we busy ourselves? &nbsp;With robbing kitchens?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King said, impatiently&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Have done with this folly&mdash;you weary me!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hugo replied, with temper&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Now harkee, mate; you will not beg, you will not rob; so be it. But I
+      will tell you what you <i>will</i> do. &nbsp;You will play decoy whilst <i>I</i> beg.
+      Refuse, an' you think you may venture!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King was about to reply contemptuously, when Hugo said, interrupting&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Peace! &nbsp;Here comes one with a kindly face. &nbsp;Now will I fall
+      down in a fit. &nbsp;When the stranger runs to me, set you up a wail, and
+      fall upon your knees, seeming to weep; then cry out as all the devils of
+      misery were in your belly, and say, 'Oh, sir, it is my poor afflicted
+      brother, and we be friendless; o' God's name cast through your merciful
+      eyes one pitiful look upon a sick, forsaken, and most miserable wretch;
+      bestow one little penny out of thy riches upon one smitten of God and
+      ready to perish!'&mdash;and mind you, keep you <i>on</i> wailing, and abate not
+      till we bilk him of his penny, else shall you rue it."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then immediately Hugo began to moan, and groan, and roll his eyes, and
+      reel and totter about; and when the stranger was close at hand, down he
+      sprawled before him, with a shriek, and began to writhe and wallow in the
+      dirt, in seeming agony.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link18-227" id="link18-227"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link18-227.jpg (143K)" src="images/18-227.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "O, dear, O dear!" cried the benevolent stranger, "O poor soul, poor soul,
+      how he doth suffer! &nbsp;There&mdash;let me help thee up."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "O noble sir, forbear, and God love you for a princely gentleman&mdash;but
+      it giveth me cruel pain to touch me when I am taken so. &nbsp;My brother
+      there will tell your worship how I am racked with anguish when these fits
+      be upon me. &nbsp;A penny, dear sir, a penny, to buy a little food; then
+      leave me to my sorrows."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "A penny! thou shalt have three, thou hapless creature,"&mdash;and he
+      fumbled in his pocket with nervous haste and got them out. "There, poor
+      lad, take them and most welcome. &nbsp;Now come hither, my boy, and help
+      me carry thy stricken brother to yon house, where&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I am not his brother," said the King, interrupting.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "What! not his brother?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Oh, hear him!" groaned Hugo, then privately ground his teeth. "He denies
+      his own brother&mdash;and he with one foot in the grave!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Boy, thou art indeed hard of heart, if this is thy brother. &nbsp;For
+      shame!&mdash;and he scarce able to move hand or foot. &nbsp;If he is not
+      thy brother, who is he, then?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link18-228" id="link18-228"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link18-228.jpg (137K)" src="images/18-228.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "A beggar and a thief! &nbsp;He has got your money and has picked your
+      pocket likewise. &nbsp;An' thou would'st do a healing miracle, lay thy
+      staff over his shoulders and trust Providence for the rest."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But Hugo did not tarry for the miracle. &nbsp;In a moment he was up and
+      off like the wind, the gentleman following after and raising the hue and
+      cry lustily as he went. &nbsp;The King, breathing deep gratitude to Heaven
+      for his own release, fled in the opposite direction, and did not slacken
+      his pace until he was out of harm's reach. &nbsp;He took the first road
+      that offered, and soon put the village behind him. &nbsp;He hurried along,
+      as briskly as he could, during several hours, keeping a nervous watch over
+      his shoulder for pursuit; but his fears left him at last, and a grateful
+      sense of security took their place. &nbsp;He recognised, now, that he was
+      hungry, and also very tired. &nbsp;So he halted at a farmhouse; but when
+      he was about to speak, he was cut short and driven rudely away. &nbsp;His
+      clothes were against him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He wandered on, wounded and indignant, and was resolved to put himself in
+      the way of like treatment no more. &nbsp;But hunger is pride's master; so,
+      as the evening drew near, he made an attempt at another farmhouse; but
+      here he fared worse than before; for he was called hard names and was
+      promised arrest as a vagrant except he moved on promptly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The night came on, chilly and overcast; and still the footsore monarch
+      laboured slowly on. &nbsp;He was obliged to keep moving, for every time he
+      sat down to rest he was soon penetrated to the bone with the cold. &nbsp;All
+      his sensations and experiences, as he moved through the solemn gloom and
+      the empty vastness of the night, were new and strange to him. &nbsp;At
+      intervals he heard voices approach, pass by, and fade into silence; and as
+      he saw nothing more of the bodies they belonged to than a sort of formless
+      drifting blur, there was something spectral and uncanny about it all that
+      made him shudder. &nbsp;Occasionally he caught the twinkle of a light&mdash;always
+      far away, apparently&mdash;almost in another world; if he heard the tinkle
+      of a sheep's bell, it was vague, distant, indistinct; the muffled lowing
+      of the herds floated to him on the night wind in vanishing cadences, a
+      mournful sound; now and then came the complaining howl of a dog over
+      viewless expanses of field and forest; all sounds were remote; they made
+      the little King feel that all life and activity were far removed from him,
+      and that he stood solitary, companionless, in the centre of a measureless
+      solitude.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link18-230" id="link18-230"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link18-230.jpg (152K)" src="images/18-230.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He stumbled along, through the gruesome fascinations of this new
+      experience, startled occasionally by the soft rustling of the dry leaves
+      overhead, so like human whispers they seemed to sound; and by-and-by he
+      came suddenly upon the freckled light of a tin lantern near at hand.
+      &nbsp;He stepped back into the shadows and waited. &nbsp;The lantern stood
+      by the open door of a barn. &nbsp;The King waited some time&mdash;there
+      was no sound, and nobody stirring. &nbsp;He got so cold, standing still,
+      and the hospitable barn looked so enticing, that at last he resolved to
+      risk everything and enter. He started swiftly and stealthily, and just as
+      he was crossing the threshold he heard voices behind him. &nbsp;He darted
+      behind a cask, within the barn, and stooped down. &nbsp;Two farm-labourers
+      came in, bringing the lantern with them, and fell to work, talking
+      meanwhile. &nbsp;Whilst they moved about with the light, the King made
+      good use of his eyes and took the bearings of what seemed to be a
+      good-sized stall at the further end of the place, purposing to grope his
+      way to it when he should be left to himself. &nbsp;He also noted the
+      position of a pile of horse blankets, midway of the route, with the intent
+      to levy upon them for the service of the crown of England for one night.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By-and-by the men finished and went away, fastening the door behind them
+      and taking the lantern with them. &nbsp;The shivering King made for the
+      blankets, with as good speed as the darkness would allow; gathered them
+      up, and then groped his way safely to the stall. &nbsp;Of two of the
+      blankets he made a bed, then covered himself with the remaining two.
+      &nbsp;He was a glad monarch, now, though the blankets were old and thin,
+      and not quite warm enough; and besides gave out a pungent horsey odour
+      that was almost suffocatingly powerful.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Although the King was hungry and chilly, he was also so tired and so
+      drowsy that these latter influences soon began to get the advantage of the
+      former, and he presently dozed off into a state of semi-consciousness.
+      &nbsp;Then, just as he was on the point of losing himself wholly, he
+      distinctly felt something touch him! &nbsp;He was broad awake in a moment,
+      and gasping for breath. &nbsp;The cold horror of that mysterious touch in
+      the dark almost made his heart stand still. &nbsp;He lay motionless, and
+      listened, scarcely breathing. But nothing stirred, and there was no sound.
+      &nbsp;He continued to listen, and wait, during what seemed a long time,
+      but still nothing stirred, and there was no sound. &nbsp;So he began to
+      drop into a drowse once more, at last; and all at once he felt that
+      mysterious touch again! &nbsp;It was a grisly thing, this light touch from
+      this noiseless and invisible presence; it made the boy sick with ghostly
+      fears. &nbsp;What should he do? &nbsp;That was the question; but he did
+      not know how to answer it. &nbsp;Should he leave these reasonably
+      comfortable quarters and fly from this inscrutable horror? &nbsp;But fly
+      whither? &nbsp;He could not get out of the barn; and the idea of scurrying
+      blindly hither and thither in the dark, within the captivity of the four
+      walls, with this phantom gliding after him, and visiting him with that
+      soft hideous touch upon cheek or shoulder at every turn, was intolerable.
+      &nbsp;But to stay where he was, and endure this living death all night&mdash;was
+      that better? &nbsp;No. &nbsp;What, then, was there left to do? &nbsp;Ah,
+      there was but one course; he knew it well&mdash;he must put out his hand
+      and find that thing!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was easy to think this; but it was hard to brace himself up to try it.
+      Three times he stretched his hand a little way out into the dark,
+      gingerly; and snatched it suddenly back, with a gasp&mdash;not because it
+      had encountered anything, but because he had felt so sure it was just
+      <i>going</i> to. &nbsp;But the fourth time, he groped a little further, and his
+      hand lightly swept against something soft and warm. &nbsp;This petrified
+      him, nearly, with fright; his mind was in such a state that he could
+      imagine the thing to be nothing else than a corpse, newly dead and still
+      warm. He thought he would rather die than touch it again. &nbsp;But he
+      thought this false thought because he did not know the immortal strength
+      of human curiosity. In no long time his hand was tremblingly groping again&mdash;against
+      his judgment, and without his consent&mdash;but groping persistently on,
+      just the same. &nbsp;It encountered a bunch of long hair; he shuddered,
+      but followed up the hair and found what seemed to be a warm rope; followed
+      up the rope and found an innocent calf!&mdash;for the rope was not a rope
+      at all, but the calf's tail.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link18-232" id="link18-232"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link18-232.jpg (88K)" src="images/18-232.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King was cordially ashamed of himself for having gotten all that
+      fright and misery out of so paltry a matter as a slumbering calf; but he
+      need not have felt so about it, for it was not the calf that frightened
+      him, but a dreadful non-existent something which the calf stood for; and
+      any other boy, in those old superstitious times, would have acted and
+      suffered just as he had done.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link18-233" id="link18-233"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link18-233.jpg (109K)" src="images/18-233.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King was not only delighted to find that the creature was only a calf,
+      but delighted to have the calf's company; for he had been feeling so
+      lonesome and friendless that the company and comradeship of even this
+      humble animal were welcome. &nbsp;And he had been so buffeted, so rudely
+      entreated by his own kind, that it was a real comfort to him to feel that
+      he was at last in the society of a fellow-creature that had at least a
+      soft heart and a gentle spirit, whatever loftier attributes might be
+      lacking. &nbsp;So he resolved to waive rank and make friends with the
+      calf.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      While stroking its sleek warm back&mdash;for it lay near him and within
+      easy reach&mdash;it occurred to him that this calf might be utilised in
+      more ways than one. &nbsp;Whereupon he re-arranged his bed, spreading it
+      down close to the calf; then he cuddled himself up to the calf's back,
+      drew the covers up over himself and his friend, and in a minute or two was
+      as warm and comfortable as he had ever been in the downy couches of the
+      regal palace of Westminster.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Pleasant thoughts came at once; life took on a cheerfuller seeming. &nbsp;He
+      was free of the bonds of servitude and crime, free of the companionship of
+      base and brutal outlaws; he was warm; he was sheltered; in a word, he was
+      happy. &nbsp;The night wind was rising; it swept by in fitful gusts that
+      made the old barn quake and rattle, then its forces died down at
+      intervals, and went moaning and wailing around corners and projections&mdash;but
+      it was all music to the King, now that he was snug and comfortable: let it
+      blow and rage, let it batter and bang, let it moan and wail, he minded it
+      not, he only enjoyed it. &nbsp;He merely snuggled the closer to his
+      friend, in a luxury of warm contentment, and drifted blissfully out of
+      consciousness into a deep and dreamless sleep that was full of serenity
+      and peace. &nbsp;The distant dogs howled, the melancholy kine complained,
+      and the winds went on raging, whilst furious sheets of rain drove along
+      the roof; but the Majesty of England slept on, undisturbed, and the calf
+      did the same, it being a simple creature, and not easily troubled by
+      storms or embarrassed by sleeping with a king.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c19" id="c19"></a> <a name="link19-235"
+      id="link19-235"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link19-235.jpg (57K)" src="images/19-235.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XIX. The Prince with the peasants.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When the King awoke in the early morning, he found that a wet but
+      thoughtful rat had crept into the place during the night and made a cosy
+      bed for itself in his bosom. &nbsp;Being disturbed now, it scampered away.
+      The boy smiled, and said, "Poor fool, why so fearful? &nbsp;I am as
+      forlorn as thou. &nbsp;'Twould be a sham in me to hurt the helpless, who
+      am myself so helpless. &nbsp;Moreover, I owe you thanks for a good omen;
+      for when a king has fallen so low that the very rats do make a bed of him,
+      it surely meaneth that his fortunes be upon the turn, since it is plain he
+      can no lower go."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He got up and stepped out of the stall, and just then he heard the sound
+      of children's voices. &nbsp;The barn door opened and a couple of little
+      girls came in. &nbsp;As soon as they saw him their talking and laughing
+      ceased, and they stopped and stood still, gazing at him with strong
+      curiosity; they presently began to whisper together, then they approached
+      nearer, and stopped again to gaze and whisper. &nbsp;By-and-by they
+      gathered courage and began to discuss him aloud. &nbsp;One said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "He hath a comely face."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The other added&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "And pretty hair."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "But is ill clothed enow."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "And how starved he looketh."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They came still nearer, sidling shyly around and about him, examining him
+      minutely from all points, as if he were some strange new kind of animal,
+      but warily and watchfully the while, as if they half feared he might be a
+      sort of animal that would bite, upon occasion. &nbsp;Finally they halted
+      before him, holding each other's hands for protection, and took a good
+      satisfying stare with their innocent eyes; then one of them plucked up all
+      her courage and inquired with honest directness&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Who art thou, boy?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I am the King," was the grave answer.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link19-239" id="link19-239"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link19-239.jpg (71K)" src="images/19-239.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The children gave a little start, and their eyes spread themselves wide
+      open and remained so during a speechless half minute. &nbsp;Then curiosity
+      broke the silence&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "The <i>King</i>? &nbsp;What King?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "The King of England."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The children looked at each other&mdash;then at him&mdash;then at each
+      other again&mdash;wonderingly, perplexedly; then one said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Didst hear him, Margery?&mdash;he said he is the King. &nbsp;Can that be
+      true?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "How can it be else but true, Prissy? &nbsp;Would he say a lie? &nbsp;For
+      look you, Prissy, an' it were not true, it <i>would</i> be a lie. &nbsp;It surely
+      would be. Now think on't. &nbsp;For all things that be not true, be lies&mdash;thou
+      canst make nought else out of it."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was a good tight argument, without a leak in it anywhere; and it left
+      Prissy's half-doubts not a leg to stand on. &nbsp;She considered a moment,
+      then put the King upon his honour with the simple remark&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "If thou art truly the King, then I believe thee."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I am truly the King."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This settled the matter. &nbsp;His Majesty's royalty was accepted without
+      further question or discussion, and the two little girls began at once to
+      inquire into how he came to be where he was, and how he came to be so
+      unroyally clad, and whither he was bound, and all about his affairs.
+      &nbsp;It was a mighty relief to him to pour out his troubles where they
+      would not be scoffed at or doubted; so he told his tale with feeling,
+      forgetting even his hunger for the time; and it was received with the
+      deepest and tenderest sympathy by the gentle little maids. &nbsp;But when
+      he got down to his latest experiences and they learned how long he had
+      been without food, they cut him short and hurried him away to the
+      farmhouse to find a breakfast for him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King was cheerful and happy now, and said to himself, "When I am come
+      to mine own again, I will always honour little children, remembering how
+      that these trusted me and believed in me in my time of trouble; whilst
+      they that were older, and thought themselves wiser, mocked at me and held
+      me for a liar."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link19-240" id="link19-240"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link19-240.jpg (103K)" src="images/19-240.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The children's mother received the King kindly, and was full of pity; for
+      his forlorn condition and apparently crazed intellect touched her womanly
+      heart. &nbsp;She was a widow, and rather poor; consequently she had seen
+      trouble enough to enable her to feel for the unfortunate. &nbsp;She
+      imagined that the demented boy had wandered away from his friends or
+      keepers; so she tried to find out whence he had come, in order that she
+      might take measures to return him; but all her references to neighbouring
+      towns and villages, and all her inquiries in the same line went for
+      nothing&mdash;the boy's face, and his answers, too, showed that the things
+      she was talking of were not familiar to him. &nbsp;He spoke earnestly and
+      simply about court matters, and broke down, more than once, when speaking
+      of the late King 'his father'; but whenever the conversation changed to
+      baser topics, he lost interest and became silent.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The woman was mightily puzzled; but she did not give up. &nbsp;As she
+      proceeded with her cooking, she set herself to contriving devices to
+      surprise the boy into betraying his real secret. &nbsp;She talked about
+      cattle&mdash;he showed no concern; then about sheep&mdash;the same result:
+      &nbsp;so her guess that he had been a shepherd boy was an error; she
+      talked about mills; and about weavers, tinkers, smiths, trades and
+      tradesmen of all sorts; and about Bedlam, and jails, and charitable
+      retreats: &nbsp;but no matter, she was baffled at all points. &nbsp;Not
+      altogether, either; for she argued that she had narrowed the thing down to
+      domestic service. &nbsp;Yes, she was sure she was on the right track, now;
+      he must have been a house servant. &nbsp;So she led up to that. &nbsp;But
+      the result was discouraging. The subject of sweeping appeared to weary
+      him; fire-building failed to stir him; scrubbing and scouring awoke no
+      enthusiasm. The goodwife touched, with a perishing hope, and rather as a
+      matter of form, upon the subject of cooking. &nbsp;To her surprise, and
+      her vast delight, the King's face lighted at once! &nbsp;Ah, she had
+      hunted him down at last, she thought; and she was right proud, too, of the
+      devious shrewdness and tact which had accomplished it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Her tired tongue got a chance to rest, now; for the King's, inspired by
+      gnawing hunger and the fragrant smells that came from the sputtering pots
+      and pans, turned itself loose and delivered itself up to such an eloquent
+      dissertation upon certain toothsome dishes, that within three minutes the
+      woman said to herself, "Of a truth I was right&mdash;he hath holpen in a
+      kitchen!" &nbsp;Then he broadened his bill of fare, and discussed it with
+      such appreciation and animation, that the goodwife said to herself, "Good
+      lack! how can he know so many dishes, and so fine ones withal? &nbsp;For
+      these belong only upon the tables of the rich and great. &nbsp;Ah, now I
+      see! ragged outcast as he is, he must have served in the palace before his
+      reason went astray; yes, he must have helped in the very kitchen of the
+      King himself! &nbsp;I will test him."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Full of eagerness to prove her sagacity, she told the King to mind the
+      cooking a moment&mdash;hinting that he might manufacture and add a dish or
+      two, if he chose; then she went out of the room and gave her children a
+      sign to follow after. &nbsp;The King muttered&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Another English king had a commission like to this, in a bygone time&mdash;it
+      is nothing against my dignity to undertake an office which the great
+      Alfred stooped to assume. &nbsp;But I will try to better serve my trust
+      than he; for he let the cakes burn."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The intent was good, but the performance was not answerable to it, for
+      this King, like the other one, soon fell into deep thinkings concerning
+      his vast affairs, and the same calamity resulted&mdash;the cookery got
+      burned. The woman returned in time to save the breakfast from entire
+      destruction; and she promptly brought the King out of his dreams with a
+      brisk and cordial tongue-lashing. Then, seeing how troubled he was over
+      his violated trust, she softened at once, and was all goodness and
+      gentleness toward him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link19-242" id="link19-242"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link19-242.jpg (145K)" src="images/19-242.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The boy made a hearty and satisfying meal, and was greatly refreshed and
+      gladdened by it. &nbsp;It was a meal which was distinguished by this
+      curious feature, that rank was waived on both sides; yet neither recipient
+      of the favour was aware that it had been extended. &nbsp;The goodwife had
+      intended to feed this young tramp with broken victuals in a corner, like
+      any other tramp or like a dog; but she was so remorseful for the scolding
+      she had given him, that she did what she could to atone for it by allowing
+      him to sit at the family table and eat with his betters, on ostensible
+      terms of equality with them; and the King, on his side, was so remorseful
+      for having broken his trust, after the family had been so kind to him,
+      that he forced himself to atone for it by humbling himself to the family
+      level, instead of requiring the woman and her children to stand and wait
+      upon him, while he occupied their table in the solitary state due to his
+      birth and dignity. &nbsp;It does us all good to unbend sometimes. &nbsp;This
+      good woman was made happy all the day long by the applauses which she got
+      out of herself for her magnanimous condescension to a tramp; and the King
+      was just as self-complacent over his gracious humility toward a humble
+      peasant woman.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When breakfast was over, the housewife told the King to wash up the
+      dishes. &nbsp;This command was a staggerer, for a moment, and the King
+      came near rebelling; but then he said to himself, "Alfred the Great
+      watched the cakes; doubtless he would have washed the dishes too&mdash;therefore
+      will I essay it."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He made a sufficiently poor job of it; and to his surprise too, for the
+      cleaning of wooden spoons and trenchers had seemed an easy thing to do. It
+      was a tedious and troublesome piece of work, but he finished it at last.
+      &nbsp;He was becoming impatient to get away on his journey now; however,
+      he was not to lose this thrifty dame's society so easily. &nbsp;She
+      furnished him some little odds and ends of employment, which he got
+      through with after a fair fashion and with some credit. &nbsp;Then she set
+      him and the little girls to paring some winter apples; but he was so
+      awkward at this service that she retired him from it and gave him a
+      butcher knife to grind.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link19-244" id="link19-244"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link19-244.jpg (129K)" src="images/19-244.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Afterwards she kept him carding wool until he began to think he had laid
+      the good King Alfred about far enough in the shade for the present in the
+      matter of showy menial heroisms that would read picturesquely in
+      story-books and histories, and so he was half-minded to resign. &nbsp;And
+      when, just after the noonday dinner, the goodwife gave him a basket of
+      kittens to drown, he did resign. &nbsp;At least he was just going to
+      resign&mdash;for he felt that he must draw the line somewhere, and it
+      seemed to him that to draw it at kitten-drowning was about the right thing&mdash;when
+      there was an interruption. &nbsp;The interruption was John Canty&mdash;with
+      a peddler's pack on his back&mdash;and Hugo.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King discovered these rascals approaching the front gate before they
+      had had a chance to see him; so he said nothing about drawing the line,
+      but took up his basket of kittens and stepped quietly out the back way,
+      without a word. &nbsp;He left the creatures in an out-house, and hurried
+      on, into a narrow lane at the rear.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c20" id="c20"></a> <a name="link20-245"
+      id="link20-245"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link20-245.jpg (42K)" src="images/20-245.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XX. The Prince and the hermit.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The high hedge hid him from the house, now; and so, under the impulse of a
+      deadly fright, he let out all his forces and sped toward a wood in the
+      distance. &nbsp;He never looked back until he had almost gained the
+      shelter of the forest; then he turned and descried two figures in the
+      distance. That was sufficient; he did not wait to scan them critically,
+      but hurried on, and never abated his pace till he was far within the
+      twilight depths of the wood. Then he stopped; being persuaded that he was
+      now tolerably safe. He listened intently, but the stillness was profound
+      and solemn&mdash;awful, even, and depressing to the spirits. &nbsp;At wide
+      intervals his straining ear did detect sounds, but they were so remote,
+      and hollow, and mysterious, that they seemed not to be real sounds, but
+      only the moaning and complaining ghosts of departed ones. &nbsp;So the
+      sounds were yet more dreary than the silence which they interrupted.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was his purpose, in the beginning, to stay where he was the rest of the
+      day; but a chill soon invaded his perspiring body, and he was at last
+      obliged to resume movement in order to get warm. He struck straight
+      through the forest, hoping to pierce to a road presently, but he was
+      disappointed in this. &nbsp;He travelled on and on; but the farther he
+      went, the denser the wood became, apparently. &nbsp;The gloom began to
+      thicken, by-and-by, and the King realised that the night was coming on.
+      &nbsp;It made him shudder to think of spending it in such an uncanny
+      place; so he tried to hurry faster, but he only made the less speed, for
+      he could not now see well enough to choose his steps judiciously;
+      consequently he kept tripping over roots and tangling himself in vines and
+      briers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link20-248" id="link20-248"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link20-248.jpg (160K)" src="images/20-248.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And how glad he was when at last he caught the glimmer of a light! He
+      approached it warily, stopping often to look about him and listen. &nbsp;It
+      came from an unglazed window-opening in a shabby little hut. &nbsp;He
+      heard a voice, now, and felt a disposition to run and hide; but he changed
+      his mind at once, for this voice was praying, evidently. &nbsp;He glided
+      to the one window of the hut, raised himself on tiptoe, and stole a glance
+      within. &nbsp;The room was small; its floor was the natural earth, beaten
+      hard by use; in a corner was a bed of rushes and a ragged blanket or two;
+      near it was a pail, a cup, a basin, and two or three pots and pans; there
+      was a short bench and a three-legged stool; on the hearth the remains of a
+      faggot fire were smouldering; before a shrine, which was lighted by a
+      single candle, knelt an aged man, and on an old wooden box at his side lay
+      an open book and a human skull. &nbsp;The man was of large, bony frame;
+      his hair and whiskers were very long and snowy white; he was clothed in a
+      robe of sheepskins which reached from his neck to his heels.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link20-249" id="link20-249"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link20-249.jpg (139K)" src="images/20-249.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "A holy hermit!" said the King to himself; "now am I indeed fortunate."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The hermit rose from his knees; the King knocked. &nbsp;A deep voice
+      responded&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Enter!&mdash;but leave sin behind, for the ground whereon thou shalt
+      stand is holy!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King entered, and paused. &nbsp;The hermit turned a pair of gleaming,
+      unrestful eyes upon him, and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Who art thou?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I am the King," came the answer, with placid simplicity.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Welcome, King!" cried the hermit, with enthusiasm. &nbsp;Then, bustling
+      about with feverish activity, and constantly saying, "Welcome, welcome,"
+      he arranged his bench, seated the King on it, by the hearth, threw some
+      faggots on the fire, and finally fell to pacing the floor with a nervous
+      stride.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Welcome! &nbsp;Many have sought sanctuary here, but they were not worthy,
+      and were turned away. &nbsp;But a King who casts his crown away, and
+      despises the vain splendours of his office, and clothes his body in rags,
+      to devote his life to holiness and the mortification of the flesh&mdash;he
+      is worthy, he is welcome!&mdash;here shall he abide all his days till
+      death come." &nbsp;The King hastened to interrupt and explain, but the
+      hermit paid no attention to him&mdash;did not even hear him, apparently,
+      but went right on with his talk, with a raised voice and a growing energy.
+      &nbsp;"And thou shalt be at peace here. &nbsp;None shall find out thy
+      refuge to disquiet thee with supplications to return to that empty and
+      foolish life which God hath moved thee to abandon. &nbsp;Thou shalt pray
+      here; thou shalt study the Book; thou shalt meditate upon the follies and
+      delusions of this world, and upon the sublimities of the world to come;
+      thou shalt feed upon crusts and herbs, and scourge thy body with whips,
+      daily, to the purifying of thy soul. Thou shalt wear a hair shirt next thy
+      skin; thou shalt drink water only; and thou shalt be at peace; yes, wholly
+      at peace; for whoso comes to seek thee shall go his way again, baffled; he
+      shall not find thee, he shall not molest thee."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The old man, still pacing back and forth, ceased to speak aloud, and began
+      to mutter. &nbsp;The King seized this opportunity to state his case; and
+      he did it with an eloquence inspired by uneasiness and apprehension.
+      &nbsp;But the hermit went on muttering, and gave no heed. &nbsp;And still
+      muttering, he approached the King and said impressively&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "'Sh! &nbsp;I will tell you a secret!" &nbsp;He bent down to impart it,
+      but checked himself, and assumed a listening attitude. &nbsp;After a
+      moment or two he went on tiptoe to the window-opening, put his head out,
+      and peered around in the gloaming, then came tiptoeing back again, put his
+      face close down to the King's, and whispered&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I am an archangel!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link20-251" id="link20-251"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link20-251.jpg (65K)" src="images/20-251.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King started violently, and said to himself, "Would God I were with
+      the outlaws again; for lo, now am I the prisoner of a madman!" &nbsp;His
+      apprehensions were heightened, and they showed plainly in his face. &nbsp;In
+      a low excited voice the hermit continued&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I see you feel my atmosphere! &nbsp;There's awe in your face! &nbsp;None
+      may be in this atmosphere and not be thus affected; for it is the very
+      atmosphere of heaven. &nbsp;I go thither and return, in the twinkling of
+      an eye. &nbsp;I was made an archangel on this very spot, it is five years
+      ago, by angels sent from heaven to confer that awful dignity. &nbsp;Their
+      presence filled this place with an intolerable brightness. &nbsp;And they
+      knelt to me, King! yes, they knelt to me! for I was greater than they.
+      &nbsp;I have walked in the courts of heaven, and held speech with the
+      patriarchs. &nbsp;Touch my hand&mdash;be not afraid&mdash;touch it. &nbsp;There&mdash;now
+      thou hast touched a hand which has been clasped by Abraham and Isaac and
+      Jacob! &nbsp;For I have walked in the golden courts; I have seen the Deity
+      face to face!" &nbsp;He paused, to give this speech effect; then his face
+      suddenly changed, and he started to his feet again saying, with angry
+      energy, "Yes, I am an archangel; <i>a mere archangel!</i>&mdash;I that might have
+      been pope! &nbsp;It is verily true. &nbsp;I was told it from heaven in a
+      dream, twenty years ago; ah, yes, I was to be pope!&mdash;and I <i>should</i>
+      have been pope, for Heaven had said it&mdash;but the King dissolved my
+      religious house, and I, poor obscure unfriended monk, was cast homeless
+      upon the world, robbed of my mighty destiny!" Here he began to mumble
+      again, and beat his forehead in futile rage, with his fist; now and then
+      articulating a venomous curse, and now and then a pathetic "Wherefore I am
+      nought but an archangel&mdash;I that should have been pope!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So he went on, for an hour, whilst the poor little King sat and suffered.
+      Then all at once the old man's frenzy departed, and he became all
+      gentleness. &nbsp;His voice softened, he came down out of his clouds, and
+      fell to prattling along so simply and so humanly, that he soon won the
+      King's heart completely. &nbsp;The old devotee moved the boy nearer to the
+      fire and made him comfortable; doctored his small bruises and abrasions
+      with a deft and tender hand; and then set about preparing and cooking a
+      supper&mdash;chatting pleasantly all the time, and occasionally stroking
+      the lad's cheek or patting his head, in such a gently caressing way that
+      in a little while all the fear and repulsion inspired by the archangel
+      were changed to reverence and affection for the man.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link20-253" id="link20-253"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link20-253.jpg (131K)" src="images/20-253.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This happy state of things continued while the two ate the supper; then,
+      after a prayer before the shrine, the hermit put the boy to bed, in a
+      small adjoining room, tucking him in as snugly and lovingly as a mother
+      might; and so, with a parting caress, left him and sat down by the fire,
+      and began to poke the brands about in an absent and aimless way. Presently
+      he paused; then tapped his forehead several times with his fingers, as if
+      trying to recall some thought which had escaped from his mind. &nbsp;Apparently
+      he was unsuccessful. &nbsp;Now he started quickly up, and entered his
+      guest's room, and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Thou art King?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Yes," was the response, drowsily uttered.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "What King?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Of England."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Of England? &nbsp;Then Henry is gone!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Alack, it is so. &nbsp;I am his son."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A black frown settled down upon the hermit's face, and he clenched his
+      bony hands with a vindictive energy. &nbsp;He stood a few moments,
+      breathing fast and swallowing repeatedly, then said in a husky voice&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Dost know it was he that turned us out into the world houseless and
+      homeless?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was no response. &nbsp;The old man bent down and scanned the boy's
+      reposeful face and listened to his placid breathing. &nbsp;"He sleeps&mdash;sleeps
+      soundly;" and the frown vanished away and gave place to an expression of
+      evil satisfaction. &nbsp;A smile flitted across the dreaming boy's
+      features. The hermit muttered, "So&mdash;his heart is happy;" and he
+      turned away. &nbsp;He went stealthily about the place, seeking here and
+      there for something; now and then halting to listen, now and then jerking
+      his head around and casting a quick glance toward the bed; and always
+      muttering, always mumbling to himself. &nbsp;At last he found what he
+      seemed to want&mdash;a rusty old butcher knife and a whetstone. &nbsp;Then
+      he crept to his place by the fire, sat himself down, and began to whet the
+      knife softly on the stone, still muttering, mumbling, ejaculating. &nbsp;The
+      winds sighed around the lonely place, the mysterious voices of the night
+      floated by out of the distances. &nbsp;The shining eyes of venturesome
+      mice and rats peered out at the old man from cracks and coverts, but he
+      went on with his work, rapt, absorbed, and noted none of these things.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At long intervals he drew his thumb along the edge of his knife, and
+      nodded his head with satisfaction. &nbsp;"It grows sharper," he said;
+      "yes, it grows sharper."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He took no note of the flight of time, but worked tranquilly on,
+      entertaining himself with his thoughts, which broke out occasionally in
+      articulate speech&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "His father wrought us evil, he destroyed us&mdash;and is gone down into
+      the eternal fires! &nbsp;Yes, down into the eternal fires! &nbsp;He
+      escaped us&mdash;but it was God's will, yes it was God's will, we must not
+      repine. &nbsp;But he hath not escaped the fires! &nbsp;No, he hath not
+      escaped the fires, the consuming, unpitying, remorseless fires&mdash;and
+      <i>they</i> are everlasting!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And so he wrought, and still wrought&mdash;mumbling, chuckling a low
+      rasping chuckle at times&mdash;and at times breaking again into words&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "It was his father that did it all. &nbsp;I am but an archangel; but for
+      him I should be pope!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link20-255" id="link20-255"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link20-255.jpg (128K)" src="images/20-255.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King stirred. &nbsp;The hermit sprang noiselessly to the bedside, and
+      went down upon his knees, bending over the prostrate form with his knife
+      uplifted. &nbsp;The boy stirred again; his eyes came open for an instant,
+      but there was no speculation in them, they saw nothing; the next moment
+      his tranquil breathing showed that his sleep was sound once more.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The hermit watched and listened, for a time, keeping his position and
+      scarcely breathing; then he slowly lowered his arms, and presently crept
+      away, saying,&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "It is long past midnight; it is not best that he should cry out, lest by
+      accident someone be passing."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link20-256" id="link20-256"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link20-256.jpg (69K)" src="images/20-256.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He glided about his hovel, gathering a rag here, a thong there, and
+      another one yonder; then he returned, and by careful and gentle handling
+      he managed to tie the King's ankles together without waking him. &nbsp;Next
+      he essayed to tie the wrists; he made several attempts to cross them, but
+      the boy always drew one hand or the other away, just as the cord was ready
+      to be applied; but at last, when the archangel was almost ready to
+      despair, the boy crossed his hands himself, and the next moment they were
+      bound. Now a bandage was passed under the sleeper's chin and brought up
+      over his head and tied fast&mdash;and so softly, so gradually, and so
+      deftly were the knots drawn together and compacted, that the boy slept
+      peacefully through it all without stirring.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c21" id="c21"></a> <a name="link21-257"
+      id="link21-257"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link21-257.jpg (51K)" src="images/21-257.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XXI. Hendon to the rescue.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The old man glided away, stooping, stealthy, cat-like, and brought the low
+      bench. &nbsp;He seated himself upon it, half his body in the dim and
+      flickering light, and the other half in shadow; and so, with his craving
+      eyes bent upon the slumbering boy, he kept his patient vigil there,
+      heedless of the drift of time, and softly whetted his knife, and mumbled
+      and chuckled; and in aspect and attitude he resembled nothing so much as a
+      grizzly, monstrous spider, gloating over some hapless insect that lay
+      bound and helpless in his web.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After a long while, the old man, who was still gazing,&mdash;yet not
+      seeing, his mind having settled into a dreamy abstraction,&mdash;observed,
+      on a sudden, that the boy's eyes were open! wide open and staring!&mdash;staring
+      up in frozen horror at the knife. &nbsp;The smile of a gratified devil
+      crept over the old man's face, and he said, without changing his attitude
+      or his occupation&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Son of Henry the Eighth, hast thou prayed?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The boy struggled helplessly in his bonds, and at the same time forced a
+      smothered sound through his closed jaws, which the hermit chose to
+      interpret as an affirmative answer to his question.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Then pray again. &nbsp;Pray the prayer for the dying!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A shudder shook the boy's frame, and his face blenched. &nbsp;Then he
+      struggled again to free himself&mdash;turning and twisting himself this
+      way and that; tugging frantically, fiercely, desperately&mdash;but
+      uselessly&mdash;to burst his fetters; and all the while the old ogre
+      smiled down upon him, and nodded his head, and placidly whetted his knife;
+      mumbling, from time to time, "The moments are precious, they are few and
+      precious&mdash;pray the prayer for the dying!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The boy uttered a despairing groan, and ceased from his struggles,
+      panting. &nbsp;The tears came, then, and trickled, one after the other,
+      down his face; but this piteous sight wrought no softening effect upon the
+      savage old man.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The dawn was coming now; the hermit observed it, and spoke up sharply,
+      with a touch of nervous apprehension in his voice&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I may not indulge this ecstasy longer! &nbsp;The night is already gone.
+      &nbsp;It seems but a moment&mdash;only a moment; would it had endured a
+      year! &nbsp;Seed of the Church's spoiler, close thy perishing eyes, an'
+      thou fearest to look upon&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The rest was lost in inarticulate mutterings. &nbsp;The old man sank upon
+      his knees, his knife in his hand, and bent himself over the moaning boy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link21-260" id="link21-260"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link21-260.jpg (111K)" src="images/21-260.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hark! &nbsp;There was a sound of voices near the cabin&mdash;the knife
+      dropped from the hermit's hand; he cast a sheepskin over the boy and
+      started up, trembling. &nbsp;The sounds increased, and presently the
+      voices became rough and angry; then came blows, and cries for help; then a
+      clatter of swift footsteps, retreating. &nbsp;Immediately came a
+      succession of thundering knocks upon the cabin door, followed by&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Hullo-o-o! &nbsp;Open! &nbsp;And despatch, in the name of all the
+      devils!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Oh, this was the blessedest sound that had ever made music in the King's
+      ears; for it was Miles Hendon's voice!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The hermit, grinding his teeth in impotent rage, moved swiftly out of the
+      bedchamber, closing the door behind him; and straightway the King heard a
+      talk, to this effect, proceeding from the 'chapel':&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Homage and greeting, reverend sir! &nbsp;Where is the boy&mdash;<i>my</i> boy?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "What boy, friend?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "What boy! &nbsp;Lie me no lies, sir priest, play me no deceptions!&mdash;I
+      am not in the humour for it. &nbsp;Near to this place I caught the
+      scoundrels who I judged did steal him from me, and I made them confess;
+      they said he was at large again, and they had tracked him to your door.
+      &nbsp;They showed me his very footprints. &nbsp;Now palter no more; for
+      look you, holy sir, an' thou produce him not&mdash;Where is the boy?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "O good sir, peradventure you mean the ragged regal vagrant that tarried
+      here the night. &nbsp;If such as you take an interest in such as he, know,
+      then, that I have sent him of an errand. &nbsp;He will be back anon."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "How soon? &nbsp;How soon? &nbsp;Come, waste not the time&mdash;cannot I
+      overtake him? How soon will he be back?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Thou need'st not stir; he will return quickly."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "So be it, then. &nbsp;I will try to wait. &nbsp;But stop!&mdash;<i>you</i> sent
+      him of an errand?&mdash;you! &nbsp;Verily this is a lie&mdash;he would not
+      go. &nbsp;He would pull thy old beard, an' thou didst offer him such an
+      insolence. Thou hast lied, friend; thou hast surely lied! &nbsp;He would
+      not go for thee, nor for any man."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "For any <i>man</i>&mdash;no; haply not. &nbsp;But I am not a man."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "<i>What</i>! &nbsp;Now o' God's name what art thou, then?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "It is a secret&mdash;mark thou reveal it not. &nbsp;I am an archangel!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a tremendous ejaculation from Miles Hendon&mdash;not altogether
+      unprofane&mdash;followed by&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "This doth well and truly account for his complaisance! &nbsp;Right well I
+      knew he would budge nor hand nor foot in the menial service of any mortal;
+      but, lord, even a king must obey when an archangel gives the word o'
+      command! &nbsp;Let me&mdash;'sh! &nbsp;What noise was that?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All this while the little King had been yonder, alternately quaking with
+      terror and trembling with hope; and all the while, too, he had thrown all
+      the strength he could into his anguished moanings, constantly expecting
+      them to reach Hendon's ear, but always realising, with bitterness, that
+      they failed, or at least made no impression. &nbsp;So this last remark of
+      his servant came as comes a reviving breath from fresh fields to the
+      dying; and he exerted himself once more, and with all his energy, just as
+      the hermit was saying&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Noise? &nbsp;I heard only the wind."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Mayhap it was. &nbsp;Yes, doubtless that was it. &nbsp;I have been
+      hearing it faintly all the&mdash;there it is again! &nbsp;It is not the
+      wind! &nbsp;What an odd sound! &nbsp;Come, we will hunt it out!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now the King's joy was nearly insupportable. &nbsp;His tired lungs did
+      their utmost&mdash;and hopefully, too&mdash;but the sealed jaws and the
+      muffling sheepskin sadly crippled the effort. &nbsp;Then the poor fellow's
+      heart sank, to hear the hermit say&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Ah, it came from without&mdash;I think from the copse yonder. &nbsp;Come,
+      I will lead the way."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King heard the two pass out, talking; heard their footsteps die
+      quickly away&mdash;then he was alone with a boding, brooding, awful
+      silence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It seemed an age till he heard the steps and voices approaching again&mdash;and
+      this time he heard an added sound,&mdash;the trampling of hoofs,
+      apparently. &nbsp;Then he heard Hendon say&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I will not wait longer. &nbsp;I <i>cannot</i> wait longer. &nbsp;He has lost his
+      way in this thick wood. &nbsp;Which direction took he? &nbsp;Quick&mdash;point
+      it out to me."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "He&mdash;but wait; I will go with thee."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Good&mdash;good! &nbsp;Why, truly thou art better than thy looks. &nbsp;Marry
+      I do not think there's not another archangel with so right a heart as
+      thine. &nbsp;Wilt ride? &nbsp;Wilt take the wee donkey that's for my boy,
+      or wilt thou fork thy holy legs over this ill-conditioned slave of a mule
+      that I have provided for myself?&mdash;and had been cheated in too, had he
+      cost but the indifferent sum of a month's usury on a brass farthing let to
+      a tinker out of work."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "No&mdash;ride thy mule, and lead thine ass; I am surer on mine own feet,
+      and will walk."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link21-262" id="link21-262"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link21-262.jpg (97K)" src="images/21-262.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Then prithee mind the little beast for me while I take my life in my
+      hands and make what success I may toward mounting the big one."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then followed a confusion of kicks, cuffs, tramplings and plungings,
+      accompanied by a thunderous intermingling of volleyed curses, and finally
+      a bitter apostrophe to the mule, which must have broken its spirit, for
+      hostilities seemed to cease from that moment.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With unutterable misery the fettered little King heard the voices and
+      footsteps fade away and die out. &nbsp;All hope forsook him, now, for the
+      moment, and a dull despair settled down upon his heart. "My only friend is
+      deceived and got rid of," he said; "the hermit will return and&mdash;"
+      &nbsp;He finished with a gasp; and at once fell to struggling so
+      frantically with his bonds again, that he shook off the smothering
+      sheepskin.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And now he heard the door open! &nbsp;The sound chilled him to the marrow&mdash;already
+      he seemed to feel the knife at his throat. &nbsp;Horror made him close his
+      eyes; horror made him open them again&mdash;and before him stood John
+      Canty and Hugo!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link21-264" id="link21-264"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link21-264.jpg (96K)" src="images/21-264.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He would have said "Thank God!" if his jaws had been free.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A moment or two later his limbs were at liberty, and his captors, each
+      gripping him by an arm, were hurrying him with all speed through the
+      forest.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c22" id="c22"></a> <a name="link22-267"
+      id="link22-267"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link22-267.jpg (44K)" src="images/22-267.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XXII. A Victim of Treachery.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Once more 'King Foo-foo the First' was roving with the tramps and outlaws,
+      a butt for their coarse jests and dull-witted railleries, and sometimes
+      the victim of small spitefulness at the hands of Canty and Hugo when the
+      Ruffler's back was turned. &nbsp;None but Canty and Hugo really disliked
+      him. &nbsp;Some of the others liked him, and all admired his pluck and
+      spirit. &nbsp;During two or three days, Hugo, in whose ward and charge the
+      King was, did what he covertly could to make the boy uncomfortable; and at
+      night, during the customary orgies, he amused the company by putting small
+      indignities upon him&mdash;always as if by accident. &nbsp;Twice he
+      stepped upon the King's toes&mdash;accidentally&mdash;and the King, as
+      became his royalty, was contemptuously unconscious of it and indifferent
+      to it; but the third time Hugo entertained himself in that way, the King
+      felled him to the ground with a cudgel, to the prodigious delight of the
+      tribe. &nbsp;Hugo, consumed with anger and shame, sprang up, seized a
+      cudgel, and came at his small adversary in a fury. &nbsp;Instantly a ring
+      was formed around the gladiators, and the betting and cheering began.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link22-270" id="link22-270"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link22-270.jpg (85K)" src="images/22-270.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But poor Hugo stood no chance whatever. &nbsp;His frantic and lubberly
+      'prentice-work found but a poor market for itself when pitted against an
+      arm which had been trained by the first masters of Europe in single-stick,
+      quarter-staff, and every art and trick of swordsmanship. &nbsp;The little
+      King stood, alert but at graceful ease, and caught and turned aside the
+      thick rain of blows with a facility and precision which set the motley
+      on-lookers wild with admiration; and every now and then, when his
+      practised eye detected an opening, and a lightning-swift rap upon Hugo's
+      head followed as a result, the storm of cheers and laughter that swept the
+      place was something wonderful to hear. &nbsp;At the end of fifteen
+      minutes, Hugo, all battered, bruised, and the target for a pitiless
+      bombardment of ridicule, slunk from the field; and the unscathed hero of
+      the fight was seized and borne aloft upon the shoulders of the joyous
+      rabble to the place of honour beside the Ruffler, where with vast ceremony
+      he was crowned King of the Game-Cocks; his meaner title being at the same
+      time solemnly cancelled and annulled, and a decree of banishment from the
+      gang pronounced against any who should thenceforth utter it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All attempts to make the King serviceable to the troop had failed. He had
+      stubbornly refused to act; moreover, he was always trying to escape.
+      &nbsp;He had been thrust into an unwatched kitchen, the first day of his
+      return; he not only came forth empty-handed, but tried to rouse the
+      housemates. He was sent out with a tinker to help him at his work; he
+      would not work; moreover, he threatened the tinker with his own
+      soldering-iron; and finally both Hugo and the tinker found their hands
+      full with the mere matter of keeping his from getting away. &nbsp;He
+      delivered the thunders of his royalty upon the heads of all who hampered
+      his liberties or tried to force him to service. &nbsp;He was sent out, in
+      Hugo's charge, in company with a slatternly woman and a diseased baby, to
+      beg; but the result was not encouraging&mdash;he declined to plead for the
+      mendicants, or be a party to their cause in any way.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Thus several days went by; and the miseries of this tramping life, and the
+      weariness and sordidness and meanness and vulgarity of it, became
+      gradually and steadily so intolerable to the captive that he began at last
+      to feel that his release from the hermit's knife must prove only a
+      temporary respite from death, at best.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But at night, in his dreams, these things were forgotten, and he was on
+      his throne, and master again. &nbsp;This, of course, intensified the
+      sufferings of the awakening&mdash;so the mortifications of each succeeding
+      morning of the few that passed between his return to bondage and the
+      combat with Hugo, grew bitterer and bitterer, and harder and harder to
+      bear.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The morning after that combat, Hugo got up with a heart filled with
+      vengeful purposes against the King. &nbsp;He had two plans, in particular.
+      One was to inflict upon the lad what would be, to his proud spirit and
+      'imagined' royalty, a peculiar humiliation; and if he failed to accomplish
+      this, his other plan was to put a crime of some kind upon the King, and
+      then betray him into the implacable clutches of the law.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In pursuance of the first plan, he purposed to put a 'clime' upon the
+      King's leg; rightly judging that that would mortify him to the last and
+      perfect degree; and as soon as the clime should operate, he meant to get
+      Canty's help, and <i>force</i> the King to expose his leg in the highway and beg
+      for alms. &nbsp;'Clime' was the cant term for a sore, artificially
+      created. To make a clime, the operator made a paste or poultice of
+      unslaked lime, soap, and the rust of old iron, and spread it upon a piece
+      of leather, which was then bound tightly upon the leg. &nbsp;This would
+      presently fret off the skin, and make the flesh raw and angry-looking;
+      blood was then rubbed upon the limb, which, being fully dried, took on a
+      dark and repulsive colour. &nbsp;Then a bandage of soiled rags was put on
+      in a cleverly careless way which would allow the hideous ulcer to be seen,
+      and move the compassion of the passer-by. {8}
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hugo got the help of the tinker whom the King had cowed with the
+      soldering-iron; they took the boy out on a tinkering tramp, and as soon as
+      they were out of sight of the camp they threw him down and the tinker held
+      him while Hugo bound the poultice tight and fast upon his leg.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link22-272" id="link22-272"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link22-272.jpg (139K)" src="images/22-272.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King raged and stormed, and promised to hang the two the moment the
+      sceptre was in his hand again; but they kept a firm grip upon him and
+      enjoyed his impotent struggling and jeered at his threats. &nbsp;This
+      continued until the poultice began to bite; and in no long time its work
+      would have been perfected, if there had been no interruption. &nbsp;But
+      there was; for about this time the 'slave' who had made the speech
+      denouncing England's laws, appeared on the scene, and put an end to the
+      enterprise, and stripped off the poultice and bandage.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King wanted to borrow his deliverer's cudgel and warm the jackets of
+      the two rascals on the spot; but the man said no, it would bring trouble&mdash;leave
+      the matter till night; the whole tribe being together, then, the outside
+      world would not venture to interfere or interrupt. &nbsp;He marched the
+      party back to camp and reported the affair to the Ruffler, who listened,
+      pondered, and then decided that the King should not be again detailed to
+      beg, since it was plain he was worthy of something higher and better&mdash;wherefore,
+      on the spot he promoted him from the mendicant rank and appointed him to
+      steal!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hugo was overjoyed. &nbsp;He had already tried to make the King steal, and
+      failed; but there would be no more trouble of that sort, now, for of
+      course the King would not dream of defying a distinct command delivered
+      directly from head-quarters. &nbsp;So he planned a raid for that very
+      afternoon, purposing to get the King in the law's grip in the course of
+      it; and to do it, too, with such ingenious strategy, that it should seem
+      to be accidental and unintentional; for the King of the Game-Cocks was
+      popular now, and the gang might not deal over-gently with an unpopular
+      member who played so serious a treachery upon him as the delivering him
+      over to the common enemy, the law.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Very well. &nbsp;All in good time Hugo strolled off to a neighbouring
+      village with his prey; and the two drifted slowly up and down one street
+      after another, the one watching sharply for a sure chance to achieve his
+      evil purpose, and the other watching as sharply for a chance to dart away
+      and get free of his infamous captivity for ever.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Both threw away some tolerably fair-looking opportunities; for both, in
+      their secret hearts, were resolved to make absolutely sure work this time,
+      and neither meant to allow his fevered desires to seduce him into any
+      venture that had much uncertainty about it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hugo's chance came first. &nbsp;For at last a woman approached who carried
+      a fat package of some sort in a basket. &nbsp;Hugo's eyes sparkled with
+      sinful pleasure as he said to himself, "Breath o' my life, an' I can but
+      put <i>that</i> upon him, 'tis good-den and God keep thee, King of the
+      Game-Cocks!" He waited and watched&mdash;outwardly patient, but inwardly
+      consuming with excitement&mdash;till the woman had passed by, and the time
+      was ripe; then said, in a low voice&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link22-274" id="link22-274"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link22-274.jpg (135K)" src="images/22-274.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Tarry here till I come again," and darted stealthily after the prey.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King's heart was filled with joy&mdash;he could make his escape, now,
+      if Hugo's quest only carried him far enough away.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But he was to have no such luck. &nbsp;Hugo crept behind the woman,
+      snatched the package, and came running back, wrapping it in an old piece
+      of blanket which he carried on his arm. &nbsp;The hue and cry was raised
+      in a moment, by the woman, who knew her loss by the lightening of her
+      burden, although she had not seen the pilfering done. &nbsp;Hugo thrust
+      the bundle into the King's hands without halting, saying&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Now speed ye after me with the rest, and cry 'Stop thief!' but mind ye
+      lead them astray!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The next moment Hugo turned a corner and darted down a crooked alley&mdash;and
+      in another moment or two he lounged into view again, looking innocent and
+      indifferent, and took up a position behind a post to watch results.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The insulted King threw the bundle on the ground; and the blanket fell
+      away from it just as the woman arrived, with an augmenting crowd at her
+      heels; she seized the King's wrist with one hand, snatched up her bundle
+      with the other, and began to pour out a tirade of abuse upon the boy while
+      he struggled, without success, to free himself from her grip.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hugo had seen enough&mdash;his enemy was captured and the law would get
+      him, now&mdash;so he slipped away, jubilant and chuckling, and wended
+      campwards, framing a judicious version of the matter to give to the
+      Ruffler's crew as he strode along.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King continued to struggle in the woman's strong grasp, and now and
+      then cried out in vexation&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Unhand me, thou foolish creature; it was not I that bereaved thee of thy
+      paltry goods."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The crowd closed around, threatening the King and calling him names; a
+      brawny blacksmith in leather apron, and sleeves rolled to his elbows, made
+      a reach for him, saying he would trounce him well, for a lesson; but just
+      then a long sword flashed in the air and fell with convincing force upon
+      the man's arm, flat side down, the fantastic owner of it remarking
+      pleasantly, at the same time&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Marry, good souls, let us proceed gently, not with ill blood and
+      uncharitable words. &nbsp;This is matter for the law's consideration, not
+      private and unofficial handling. &nbsp;Loose thy hold from the boy,
+      goodwife."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link22-276" id="link22-276"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link22-276.jpg (140K)" src="images/22-276.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The blacksmith averaged the stalwart soldier with a glance, then went
+      muttering away, rubbing his arm; the woman released the boy's wrist
+      reluctantly; the crowd eyed the stranger unlovingly, but prudently closed
+      their mouths. &nbsp;The King sprang to his deliverer's side, with flushed
+      cheeks and sparkling eyes, exclaiming&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Thou hast lagged sorely, but thou comest in good season, now, Sir Miles;
+      carve me this rabble to rags!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c23" id="c23"></a> <a name="link23-279"
+      id="link23-279"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link23-279.jpg (41K)" src="images/23-279.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XXIII. The Prince a prisoner.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hendon forced back a smile, and bent down and whispered in the King's ear&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Softly, softly, my prince, wag thy tongue warily&mdash;nay, suffer it not
+      to wag at all. &nbsp;Trust in me&mdash;all shall go well in the end." Then
+      he added to himself: &nbsp;"<i>Sir</i> Miles! &nbsp;Bless me, I had totally
+      forgot I was a knight! Lord, how marvellous a thing it is, the grip his
+      memory doth take upon his quaint and crazy fancies! . . . An empty and
+      foolish title is mine, and yet it is something to have deserved it; for I
+      think it is more honour to be held worthy to be a spectre-knight in his
+      Kingdom of Dreams and Shadows, than to be held base enough to be an earl
+      in some of the <i>real</i> kingdoms of this world."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The crowd fell apart to admit a constable, who approached and was about to
+      lay his hand upon the King's shoulder, when Hendon said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Gently, good friend, withhold your hand&mdash;he shall go peaceably; I am
+      responsible for that. &nbsp;Lead on, we will follow."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link23-282" id="link23-282"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link23-282.jpg (90K)" src="images/23-282.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The officer led, with the woman and her bundle; Miles and the King
+      followed after, with the crowd at their heels. &nbsp;The King was inclined
+      to rebel; but Hendon said to him in a low voice&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Reflect, Sire&mdash;your laws are the wholesome breath of your own
+      royalty; shall their source resist them, yet require the branches to
+      respect them? Apparently one of these laws has been broken; when the King
+      is on his throne again, can it ever grieve him to remember that when he
+      was seemingly a private person he loyally sank the king in the citizen and
+      submitted to its authority?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Thou art right; say no more; thou shalt see that whatsoever the King of
+      England requires a subject to suffer, under the law, he will himself
+      suffer while he holdeth the station of a subject."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When the woman was called upon to testify before the justice of the peace,
+      she swore that the small prisoner at the bar was the person who had
+      committed the theft; there was none able to show the contrary, so the King
+      stood convicted. &nbsp;The bundle was now unrolled, and when the contents
+      proved to be a plump little dressed pig, the judge looked troubled, whilst
+      Hendon turned pale, and his body was thrilled with an electric shiver of
+      dismay; but the King remained unmoved, protected by his ignorance. &nbsp;The
+      judge meditated, during an ominous pause, then turned to the woman, with
+      the question&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "What dost thou hold this property to be worth?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The woman courtesied and replied&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Three shillings and eightpence, your worship&mdash;I could not abate a
+      penny and set forth the value honestly."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The justice glanced around uncomfortably upon the crowd, then nodded to
+      the constable, and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Clear the court and close the doors."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was done. &nbsp;None remained but the two officials, the accused, the
+      accuser, and Miles Hendon. &nbsp;This latter was rigid and colourless, and
+      on his forehead big drops of cold sweat gathered, broke and blended
+      together, and trickled down his face. &nbsp;The judge turned to the woman
+      again, and said, in a compassionate voice&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "'Tis a poor ignorant lad, and mayhap was driven hard by hunger, for these
+      be grievous times for the unfortunate; mark you, he hath not an evil face&mdash;but
+      when hunger driveth&mdash;Good woman! dost know that when one steals a
+      thing above the value of thirteenpence ha'penny the law saith he shall
+      <i>hang</i> for it?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The little King started, wide-eyed with consternation, but controlled
+      himself and held his peace; but not so the woman. &nbsp;She sprang to her
+      feet, shaking with fright, and cried out&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link23-284" id="link23-284"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link23-284.jpg (143K)" src="images/23-284.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Oh, good lack, what have I done! &nbsp;God-a-mercy, I would not hang the
+      poor thing for the whole world! &nbsp;Ah, save me from this, your worship&mdash;what
+      shall I do, what <i>can</i> I do?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The justice maintained his judicial composure, and simply said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Doubtless it is allowable to revise the value, since it is not yet writ
+      upon the record."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Then in God's name call the pig eightpence, and heaven bless the day that
+      freed my conscience of this awesome thing!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Miles Hendon forgot all decorum in his delight; and surprised the King and
+      wounded his dignity, by throwing his arms around him and hugging him. The
+      woman made her grateful adieux and started away with her pig; and when the
+      constable opened the door for her, he followed her out into the narrow
+      hall. &nbsp;The justice proceeded to write in his record book. &nbsp;Hendon,
+      always alert, thought he would like to know why the officer followed the
+      woman out; so he slipped softly into the dusky hall and listened. &nbsp;He
+      heard a conversation to this effect&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "It is a fat pig, and promises good eating; I will buy it of thee; here is
+      the eightpence."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Eightpence, indeed! &nbsp;Thou'lt do no such thing. &nbsp;It cost me
+      three shillings and eightpence, good honest coin of the last reign, that
+      old Harry that's just dead ne'er touched or tampered with. &nbsp;A fig for
+      thy eightpence!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Stands the wind in that quarter? &nbsp;Thou wast under oath, and so swore
+      falsely when thou saidst the value was but eightpence. &nbsp;Come
+      straightway back with me before his worship, and answer for the crime!&mdash;and
+      then the lad will hang."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "There, there, dear heart, say no more, I am content. &nbsp;Give me the
+      eightpence, and hold thy peace about the matter."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The woman went off crying: &nbsp;Hendon slipped back into the court room,
+      and the constable presently followed, after hiding his prize in some
+      convenient place. &nbsp;The justice wrote a while longer, then read the
+      King a wise and kindly lecture, and sentenced him to a short imprisonment
+      in the common jail, to be followed by a public flogging. &nbsp;The
+      astounded King opened his mouth, and was probably going to order the good
+      judge to be beheaded on the spot; but he caught a warning sign from
+      Hendon, and succeeded in closing his mouth again before he lost anything
+      out of it. Hendon took him by the hand, now, made reverence to the
+      justice, and the two departed in the wake of the constable toward the
+      jail. &nbsp;The moment the street was reached, the inflamed monarch
+      halted, snatched away his hand, and exclaimed&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Idiot, dost imagine I will enter a common jail <i>alive</i>?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hendon bent down and said, somewhat sharply&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "<i>Will</i> you trust in me? &nbsp;Peace! and forbear to worsen our chances with
+      dangerous speech. &nbsp;What God wills, will happen; thou canst not hurry
+      it, thou canst not alter it; therefore wait, and be patient&mdash;'twill
+      be time enow to rail or rejoice when what is to happen has happened." {1}
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c24" id="c24"></a> <a name="link24-287"
+      id="link24-287"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link24-287.jpg (51K)" src="images/24-287.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XXIV. The Escape.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The short winter day was nearly ended. &nbsp;The streets were deserted,
+      save for a few random stragglers, and these hurried straight along, with
+      the intent look of people who were only anxious to accomplish their
+      errands as quickly as possible, and then snugly house themselves from the
+      rising wind and the gathering twilight. They looked neither to the right
+      nor to the left; they paid no attention to our party, they did not even
+      seem to see them. Edward the Sixth wondered if the spectacle of a king on
+      his way to jail had ever encountered such marvellous indifference before.
+      By-and-by the constable arrived at a deserted market-square, and proceeded
+      to cross it. &nbsp;When he had reached the middle of it, Hendon laid his
+      hand upon his arm, and said in a low voice&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Bide a moment, good sir, there is none in hearing, and I would say a word
+      to thee."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "My duty forbids it, sir; prithee hinder me not, the night comes on."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Stay, nevertheless, for the matter concerns thee nearly. &nbsp;Turn thy
+      back a moment and seem not to see: &nbsp;<i>let this poor lad escape</i>."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "This to me, sir! &nbsp;I arrest thee in&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Nay, be not too hasty. &nbsp;See thou be careful and commit no foolish
+      error,"&mdash;then he shut his voice down to a whisper, and said in the
+      man's ear&mdash;"the pig thou hast purchased for eightpence may cost thee
+      thy neck, man!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The poor constable, taken by surprise, was speechless, at first, then
+      found his tongue and fell to blustering and threatening; but Hendon was
+      tranquil, and waited with patience till his breath was spent; then said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I have a liking to thee, friend, and would not willingly see thee come to
+      harm. &nbsp;Observe, I heard it all&mdash;every word. &nbsp;I will prove
+      it to thee." Then he repeated the conversation which the officer and the
+      woman had had together in the hall, word for word, and ended with&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "There&mdash;have I set it forth correctly? &nbsp;Should not I be able to
+      set it forth correctly before the judge, if occasion required?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The man was dumb with fear and distress, for a moment; then he rallied,
+      and said with forced lightness&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "'Tis making a mighty matter, indeed, out of a jest; I but plagued the
+      woman for mine amusement."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Kept you the woman's pig for amusement?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The man answered sharply&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Nought else, good sir&mdash;I tell thee 'twas but a jest."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I do begin to believe thee," said Hendon, with a perplexing mixture of
+      mockery and half-conviction in his tone; "but tarry thou here a moment
+      whilst I run and ask his worship&mdash;for nathless, he being a man
+      experienced in law, in jests, in&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link24-290" id="link24-290"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link24-290.jpg (55K)" src="images/24-290.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He was moving away, still talking; the constable hesitated, fidgeted, spat
+      out an oath or two, then cried out&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Hold, hold, good sir&mdash;prithee wait a little&mdash;the judge! &nbsp;Why,
+      man, he hath no more sympathy with a jest than hath a dead corpse!&mdash;come,
+      and we will speak further. &nbsp;Ods body! &nbsp;I seem to be in evil case&mdash;and
+      all for an innocent and thoughtless pleasantry. I am a man of family; and
+      my wife and little ones&mdash;List to reason, good your worship: what
+      wouldst thou of me?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Only that thou be blind and dumb and paralytic whilst one may count a
+      hundred thousand&mdash;counting slowly," said Hendon, with the expression
+      of a man who asks but a reasonable favour, and that a very little one.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "It is my destruction!" said the constable despairingly. &nbsp;"Ah, be
+      reasonable, good sir; only look at this matter, on all its sides, and see
+      how mere a jest it is&mdash;how manifestly and how plainly it is so.
+      &nbsp;And even if one granted it were not a jest, it is a fault so small
+      that e'en the grimmest penalty it could call forth would be but a rebuke
+      and warning from the judge's lips."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hendon replied with a solemnity which chilled the air about him&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "This jest of thine hath a name, in law,&mdash;wot you what it is?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I knew it not! &nbsp;Peradventure I have been unwise. &nbsp;I never
+      dreamed it had a name&mdash;ah, sweet heaven, I thought it was original."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Yes, it hath a name. &nbsp;In the law this crime is called Non compos
+      mentis lex talionis sic transit gloria mundi."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Ah, my God!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "And the penalty is death!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "God be merciful to me a sinner!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "By advantage taken of one in fault, in dire peril, and at thy mercy, thou
+      hast seized goods worth above thirteenpence ha'penny, paying but a trifle
+      for the same; and this, in the eye of the law, is constructive barratry,
+      misprision of treason, malfeasance in office, ad hominem expurgatis in
+      statu quo&mdash;and the penalty is death by the halter, without ransom,
+      commutation, or benefit of clergy."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Bear me up, bear me up, sweet sir, my legs do fail me! &nbsp;Be thou
+      merciful&mdash;spare me this doom, and I will turn my back and see nought
+      that shall happen."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link24-292" id="link24-292"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link24-292.jpg (157K)" src="images/24-292.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Good! now thou'rt wise and reasonable. &nbsp;And thou'lt restore the
+      pig?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I will, I will indeed&mdash;nor ever touch another, though heaven send it
+      and an archangel fetch it. &nbsp;Go&mdash;I am blind for thy sake&mdash;I
+      see nothing. &nbsp;I will say thou didst break in and wrest the prisoner
+      from my hands by force. &nbsp;It is but a crazy, ancient door&mdash;I will
+      batter it down myself betwixt midnight and the morning."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Do it, good soul, no harm will come of it; the judge hath a loving
+      charity for this poor lad, and will shed no tears and break no jailer's
+      bones for his escape."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c25" id="c25"></a> <a name="link25-293"
+      id="link25-293"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link25-293.jpg (54K)" src="images/25-293.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XXV. Hendon Hall.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As soon as Hendon and the King were out of sight of the constable, his
+      Majesty was instructed to hurry to a certain place outside the town, and
+      wait there, whilst Hendon should go to the inn and settle his account.
+      Half an hour later the two friends were blithely jogging eastward on
+      Hendon's sorry steeds. &nbsp;The King was warm and comfortable, now, for
+      he had cast his rags and clothed himself in the second-hand suit which
+      Hendon had bought on London Bridge.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link25-296" id="link25-296"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link25-296.jpg (148K)" src="images/25-296.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hendon wished to guard against over-fatiguing the boy; he judged that hard
+      journeys, irregular meals, and illiberal measures of sleep would be bad
+      for his crazed mind; whilst rest, regularity, and moderate exercise would
+      be pretty sure to hasten its cure; he longed to see the stricken intellect
+      made well again and its diseased visions driven out of the tormented
+      little head; therefore he resolved to move by easy stages toward the home
+      whence he had so long been banished, instead of obeying the impulse of his
+      impatience and hurrying along night and day.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When he and the King had journeyed about ten miles, they reached a
+      considerable village, and halted there for the night, at a good inn.
+      &nbsp;The former relations were resumed; Hendon stood behind the King's
+      chair, while he dined, and waited upon him; undressed him when he was
+      ready for bed; then took the floor for his own quarters, and slept athwart
+      the door, rolled up in a blanket.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The next day, and the day after, they jogged lazily along talking over the
+      adventures they had met since their separation, and mightily enjoying each
+      other's narratives. &nbsp;Hendon detailed all his wide wanderings in
+      search of the King, and described how the archangel had led him a fool's
+      journey all over the forest, and taken him back to the hut, finally, when
+      he found he could not get rid of him. &nbsp;Then&mdash;he said&mdash;the
+      old man went into the bedchamber and came staggering back looking
+      broken-hearted, and saying he had expected to find that the boy had
+      returned and laid down in there to rest, but it was not so. &nbsp;Hendon
+      had waited at the hut all day; hope of the King's return died out, then,
+      and he departed upon the quest again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "And old Sanctum Sanctorum <i>was</i> truly sorry your highness came not back,"
+      said Hendon; "I saw it in his face."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Marry I will never doubt <i>that</i>!" said the King&mdash;and then told his own
+      story; after which, Hendon was sorry he had not destroyed the archangel.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      During the last day of the trip, Hendon's spirits were soaring. His tongue
+      ran constantly. &nbsp;He talked about his old father, and his brother
+      Arthur, and told of many things which illustrated their high and generous
+      characters; he went into loving frenzies over his Edith, and was so
+      glad-hearted that he was even able to say some gentle and brotherly things
+      about Hugh. &nbsp;He dwelt a deal on the coming meeting at Hendon Hall;
+      what a surprise it would be to everybody, and what an outburst of
+      thanksgiving and delight there would be.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was a fair region, dotted with cottages and orchards, and the road led
+      through broad pasture lands whose receding expanses, marked with gentle
+      elevations and depressions, suggested the swelling and subsiding
+      undulations of the sea. &nbsp;In the afternoon the returning prodigal made
+      constant deflections from his course to see if by ascending some hillock
+      he might not pierce the distance and catch a glimpse of his home. &nbsp;At
+      last he was successful, and cried out excitedly&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link25-297" id="link25-297"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link25-297.jpg (108K)" src="images/25-297.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "There is the village, my Prince, and there is the Hall close by! You may
+      see the towers from here; and that wood there&mdash;that is my father's
+      park. Ah, <i>now</i> thou'lt know what state and grandeur be! A house with
+      seventy rooms&mdash;think of that!&mdash;and seven and twenty servants!
+      &nbsp;A brave lodging for such as we, is it not so? &nbsp;Come, let us
+      speed&mdash;my impatience will not brook further delay."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All possible hurry was made; still, it was after three o'clock before the
+      village was reached. &nbsp;The travellers scampered through it, Hendon's
+      tongue going all the time. &nbsp;"Here is the church&mdash;covered with
+      the same ivy&mdash;none gone, none added." &nbsp;"Yonder is the inn, the
+      old Red Lion,&mdash;and yonder is the market-place." &nbsp;"Here is the
+      Maypole, and here the pump&mdash;nothing is altered; nothing but the
+      people, at any rate; ten years make a change in people; some of these I
+      seem to know, but none know me." &nbsp;So his chat ran on. The end of the
+      village was soon reached; then the travellers struck into a crooked,
+      narrow road, walled in with tall hedges, and hurried briskly along it for
+      half a mile, then passed into a vast flower garden through an imposing
+      gateway, whose huge stone pillars bore sculptured armorial devices. &nbsp;A
+      noble mansion was before them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Welcome to Hendon Hall, my King!" exclaimed Miles. &nbsp;"Ah, 'tis a
+      great day! &nbsp;My father and my brother, and the Lady Edith will be so
+      mad with joy that they will have eyes and tongue for none but me in the
+      first transports of the meeting, and so thou'lt seem but coldly welcomed&mdash;but
+      mind it not; 'twill soon seem otherwise; for when I say thou art my ward,
+      and tell them how costly is my love for thee, thou'lt see them take thee
+      to their breasts for Miles Hendon's sake, and make their house and hearts
+      thy home for ever after!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The next moment Hendon sprang to the ground before the great door, helped
+      the King down, then took him by the hand and rushed within. A few steps
+      brought him to a spacious apartment; he entered, seated the King with more
+      hurry than ceremony, then ran toward a young man who sat at a
+      writing-table in front of a generous fire of logs.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link25-299" id="link25-299"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link25-299.jpg (107K)" src="images/25-299.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Embrace me, Hugh," he cried, "and say thou'rt glad I am come again! and
+      call our father, for home is not home till I shall touch his hand, and see
+      his face, and hear his voice once more!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But Hugh only drew back, after betraying a momentary surprise, and bent a
+      grave stare upon the intruder&mdash;a stare which indicated somewhat of
+      offended dignity, at first, then changed, in response to some inward
+      thought or purpose, to an expression of marvelling curiosity, mixed with a
+      real or assumed compassion. &nbsp;Presently he said, in a mild voice&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Thy wits seem touched, poor stranger; doubtless thou hast suffered
+      privations and rude buffetings at the world's hands; thy looks and dress
+      betoken it. &nbsp;Whom dost thou take me to be?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Take thee? &nbsp;Prithee for whom else than whom thou art? &nbsp;I take
+      thee to be Hugh Hendon," said Miles, sharply.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The other continued, in the same soft tone&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "And whom dost thou imagine thyself to be?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Imagination hath nought to do with it! &nbsp;Dost thou pretend thou
+      knowest me not for thy brother Miles Hendon?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      An expression of pleased surprise flitted across Hugh's face, and he
+      exclaimed&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "What! thou art not jesting? can the dead come to life? &nbsp;God be
+      praised if it be so! &nbsp;Our poor lost boy restored to our arms after
+      all these cruel years! &nbsp;Ah, it seems too good to be true, it <i>is</i> too
+      good to be true&mdash;I charge thee, have pity, do not trifle with me!
+      &nbsp;Quick&mdash;come to the light&mdash;let me scan thee well!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He seized Miles by the arm, dragged him to the window, and began to devour
+      him from head to foot with his eyes, turning him this way and that, and
+      stepping briskly around him and about him to prove him from all points of
+      view; whilst the returned prodigal, all aglow with gladness, smiled,
+      laughed, and kept nodding his head and saying&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Go on, brother, go on, and fear not; thou'lt find nor limb nor feature
+      that cannot bide the test. &nbsp;Scour and scan me to thy content, my good
+      old Hugh&mdash;I am indeed thy old Miles, thy same old Miles, thy lost
+      brother, is't not so? &nbsp;Ah, 'tis a great day&mdash;I <i>said</i> 'twas a
+      great day! &nbsp;Give me thy hand, give me thy cheek&mdash;lord, I am like
+      to die of very joy!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He was about to throw himself upon his brother; but Hugh put up his hand
+      in dissent, then dropped his chin mournfully upon his breast, saying with
+      emotion&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link25-301" id="link25-301"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link25-301.jpg (97K)" src="images/25-301.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Ah, God of his mercy give me strength to bear this grievous
+      disappointment!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Miles, amazed, could not speak for a moment; then he found his tongue, and
+      cried out&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "<i>What</i> disappointment? &nbsp;Am I not thy brother?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hugh shook his head sadly, and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I pray heaven it may prove so, and that other eyes may find the
+      resemblances that are hid from mine. &nbsp;Alack, I fear me the letter
+      spoke but too truly."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "What letter?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "One that came from over sea, some six or seven years ago. &nbsp;It said
+      my brother died in battle."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "It was a lie! &nbsp;Call thy father&mdash;he will know me."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "One may not call the dead."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Dead?" Miles's voice was subdued, and his lips trembled. &nbsp;"My father
+      dead!&mdash;oh, this is heavy news. &nbsp;Half my new joy is withered now.
+      &nbsp;Prithee let me see my brother Arthur&mdash;he will know me; he will
+      know me and console me."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "He, also, is dead."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "God be merciful to me, a stricken man! &nbsp;Gone,&mdash;both gone&mdash;the
+      worthy taken and the worthless spared, in me! &nbsp;Ah! I crave your
+      mercy!&mdash;do not say the Lady Edith&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Is dead? &nbsp;No, she lives."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Then, God be praised, my joy is whole again! &nbsp;Speed thee, brother&mdash;let
+      her come to me! &nbsp;An' <i>she</i> say I am not myself&mdash;but she will not;
+      no, no, <i>she</i> will know me, I were a fool to doubt it. Bring her&mdash;bring
+      the old servants; they, too, will know me."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "All are gone but five&mdash;Peter, Halsey, David, Bernard, and Margaret."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So saying, Hugh left the room. &nbsp;Miles stood musing a while, then
+      began to walk the floor, muttering&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "The five arch-villains have survived the two-and-twenty leal and honest&mdash;'tis
+      an odd thing."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He continued walking back and forth, muttering to himself; he had
+      forgotten the King entirely. &nbsp;By-and-by his Majesty said gravely, and
+      with a touch of genuine compassion, though the words themselves were
+      capable of being interpreted ironically&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Mind not thy mischance, good man; there be others in the world whose
+      identity is denied, and whose claims are derided. &nbsp;Thou hast
+      company."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Ah, my King," cried Hendon, colouring slightly, "do not thou condemn me&mdash;wait,
+      and thou shalt see. &nbsp;I am no impostor&mdash;she will say it; you
+      shall hear it from the sweetest lips in England. &nbsp;I an impostor?
+      &nbsp;Why, I know this old hall, these pictures of my ancestors, and all
+      these things that are about us, as a child knoweth its own nursery. &nbsp;Here
+      was I born and bred, my lord; I speak the truth; I would not deceive thee;
+      and should none else believe, I pray thee do not <i>thou</i> doubt me&mdash;I
+      could not bear it."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I do not doubt thee," said the King, with a childlike simplicity and
+      faith.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I thank thee out of my heart!" exclaimed Hendon with a fervency which
+      showed that he was touched. &nbsp;The King added, with the same gentle
+      simplicity&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Dost thou doubt <i>me</i>?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A guilty confusion seized upon Hendon, and he was grateful that the door
+      opened to admit Hugh, at that moment, and saved him the necessity of
+      replying.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link25-303" id="link25-303"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link25-303.jpg (113K)" src="images/25-303.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A beautiful lady, richly clothed, followed Hugh, and after her came
+      several liveried servants. &nbsp;The lady walked slowly, with her head
+      bowed and her eyes fixed upon the floor. &nbsp;The face was unspeakably
+      sad. &nbsp;Miles Hendon sprang forward, crying out&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Oh, my Edith, my darling&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But Hugh waved him back, gravely, and said to the lady&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Look upon him. &nbsp;Do you know him?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At the sound of Miles's voice the woman had started slightly, and her
+      cheeks had flushed; she was trembling now. &nbsp;She stood still, during
+      an impressive pause of several moments; then slowly lifted up her head and
+      looked into Hendon's eyes with a stony and frightened gaze; the blood sank
+      out of her face, drop by drop, till nothing remained but the grey pallor
+      of death; then she said, in a voice as dead as the face, "I know him not!"
+      and turned, with a moan and a stifled sob, and tottered out of the room.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Miles Hendon sank into a chair and covered his face with his hands. After
+      a pause, his brother said to the servants&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "You have observed him. &nbsp;Do you know him?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They shook their heads; then the master said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "The servants know you not, sir. &nbsp;I fear there is some mistake. You
+      have seen that my wife knew you not."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link25-305" id="link25-305"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link25-305.jpg (121K)" src="images/25-305.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Thy <i>wife</i>!" &nbsp;In an instant Hugh was pinned to the wall, with an iron
+      grip about his throat. &nbsp;"Oh, thou fox-hearted slave, I see it all!
+      &nbsp;Thou'st writ the lying letter thyself, and my stolen bride and goods
+      are its fruit. &nbsp;There&mdash;now get thee gone, lest I shame mine
+      honourable soldiership with the slaying of so pitiful a mannikin!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hugh, red-faced, and almost suffocated, reeled to the nearest chair, and
+      commanded the servants to seize and bind the murderous stranger. &nbsp;They
+      hesitated, and one of them said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "He is armed, Sir Hugh, and we are weaponless."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Armed! &nbsp;What of it, and ye so many? &nbsp;Upon him, I say!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But Miles warned them to be careful what they did, and added&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Ye know me of old&mdash;I have not changed; come on, an' it like you."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This reminder did not hearten the servants much; they still held back.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Then go, ye paltry cowards, and arm yourselves and guard the doors,
+      whilst I send one to fetch the watch!" said Hugh. &nbsp;He turned at the
+      threshold, and said to Miles, "You'll find it to your advantage to offend
+      not with useless endeavours at escape."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Escape? &nbsp;Spare thyself discomfort, an' that is all that troubles
+      thee. For Miles Hendon is master of Hendon Hall and all its belongings.
+      &nbsp;He will remain&mdash;doubt it not."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c26" id="c26"></a> <a name="link26-307"
+      id="link26-307"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link26-307.jpg (71K)" src="images/26-307.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XXVI. Disowned.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King sat musing a few moments, then looked up and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "'Tis strange&mdash;most strange. &nbsp;I cannot account for it."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "No, it is not strange, my liege. &nbsp;I know him, and this conduct is
+      but natural. &nbsp;He was a rascal from his birth."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Oh, I spake not of <i>him</i>, Sir Miles."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Not of him? &nbsp;Then of what? &nbsp;What is it that is strange?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "That the King is not missed."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "How? &nbsp;Which? &nbsp;I doubt I do not understand."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Indeed? &nbsp;Doth it not strike you as being passing strange that the
+      land is not filled with couriers and proclamations describing my person
+      and making search for me? &nbsp;Is it no matter for commotion and distress
+      that the Head of the State is gone; that I am vanished away and lost?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Most true, my King, I had forgot." &nbsp;Then Hendon sighed, and muttered
+      to himself, "Poor ruined mind&mdash;still busy with its pathetic dream."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "But I have a plan that shall right us both&mdash;I will write a paper, in
+      three tongues&mdash;Latin, Greek and English&mdash;and thou shalt haste
+      away with it to London in the morning. &nbsp;Give it to none but my uncle,
+      the Lord Hertford; when he shall see it, he will know and say I wrote it.
+      &nbsp;Then he will send for me."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Might it not be best, my Prince, that we wait here until I prove myself
+      and make my rights secure to my domains? &nbsp;I should be so much the
+      better able then to&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link26-310" id="link26-310"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link26-310.jpg (134K)" src="images/26-310.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King interrupted him imperiously&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Peace! &nbsp;What are thy paltry domains, thy trivial interests,
+      contrasted with matters which concern the weal of a nation and the
+      integrity of a throne?" &nbsp;Then, he added, in a gentle voice, as if he
+      were sorry for his severity, "Obey, and have no fear; I will right thee, I
+      will make thee whole&mdash;yes, more than whole. &nbsp;I shall remember,
+      and requite."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So saying, he took the pen, and set himself to work. &nbsp;Hendon
+      contemplated him lovingly a while, then said to himself&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "An' it were dark, I should think it <i>was</i> a king that spoke; there's no
+      denying it, when the humour's upon on him he doth thunder and lighten like
+      your true King; now where got he that trick? &nbsp;See him scribble and
+      scratch away contentedly at his meaningless pot-hooks, fancying them to be
+      Latin and Greek&mdash;and except my wit shall serve me with a lucky device
+      for diverting him from his purpose, I shall be forced to pretend to post
+      away to-morrow on this wild errand he hath invented for me."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The next moment Sir Miles's thoughts had gone back to the recent episode.
+      So absorbed was he in his musings, that when the King presently handed him
+      the paper which he had been writing, he received it and pocketed it
+      without being conscious of the act. "How marvellous strange she acted," he
+      muttered. &nbsp;"I think she knew me&mdash;and I think she did <i>not</i> know
+      me. These opinions do conflict, I perceive it plainly; I cannot reconcile
+      them, neither can I, by argument, dismiss either of the two, or even
+      persuade one to outweigh the other. &nbsp;The matter standeth simply thus:
+      she <i>must</i> have known my face, my figure, my voice, for how could it be
+      otherwise? &nbsp;Yet she <i>said</i>she knew me not, and that is proof perfect,
+      for she cannot lie. &nbsp;But stop&mdash;I think I begin to see.
+      Peradventure he hath influenced her, commanded her, compelled her to lie.
+      &nbsp;That is the solution. &nbsp;The riddle is unriddled. &nbsp;She
+      seemed dead with fear&mdash;yes, she was under his compulsion. &nbsp;I
+      will seek her; I will find her; now that he is away, she will speak her
+      true mind. &nbsp;She will remember the old times when we were little
+      playfellows together, and this will soften her heart, and she will no more
+      betray me, but will confess me. &nbsp;There is no treacherous blood in her&mdash;no,
+      she was always honest and true. &nbsp;She has loved me, in those old days&mdash;this
+      is my security; for whom one has loved, one cannot betray."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He stepped eagerly toward the door; at that moment it opened, and the Lady
+      Edith entered. &nbsp;She was very pale, but she walked with a firm step,
+      and her carriage was full of grace and gentle dignity. Her face was as sad
+      as before.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Miles sprang forward, with a happy confidence, to meet her, but she
+      checked him with a hardly perceptible gesture, and he stopped where he
+      was. &nbsp;She seated herself, and asked him to do likewise. Thus simply
+      did she take the sense of old comradeship out of him, and transform him
+      into a stranger and a guest. &nbsp;The surprise of it, the bewildering
+      unexpectedness of it, made him begin to question, for a moment, if he <i>was</i>
+      the person he was pretending to be, after all. &nbsp;The Lady Edith said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Sir, I have come to warn you. &nbsp;The mad cannot be persuaded out of
+      their delusions, perchance; but doubtless they may be persuaded to avoid
+      perils. &nbsp;I think this dream of yours hath the seeming of honest truth
+      to you, and therefore is not criminal&mdash;but do not tarry here with it;
+      for here it is dangerous." &nbsp;She looked steadily into Miles's face a
+      moment, then added, impressively, "It is the more dangerous for that you
+      <i>are</i> much like what our lost lad must have grown to be if he had lived."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Heavens, madam, but I <i>am</i> he!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I truly think you think it, sir. &nbsp;I question not your honesty in
+      that; I but warn you, that is all. &nbsp;My husband is master in this
+      region; his power hath hardly any limit; the people prosper or starve, as
+      he wills. If you resembled not the man whom you profess to be, my husband
+      might bid you pleasure yourself with your dream in peace; but trust me, I
+      know him well; I know what he will do; he will say to all that you are but
+      a mad impostor, and straightway all will echo him." &nbsp;She bent upon
+      Miles that same steady look once more, and added: &nbsp;"If you <i>were</i> Miles
+      Hendon, and he knew it and all the region knew it&mdash;consider what I am
+      saying, weigh it well&mdash;you would stand in the same peril, your
+      punishment would be no less sure; he would deny you and denounce you, and
+      none would be bold enough to give you countenance."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Most truly I believe it," said Miles, bitterly. &nbsp;"The power that can
+      command one life-long friend to betray and disown another, and be obeyed,
+      may well look to be obeyed in quarters where bread and life are on the
+      stake and no cobweb ties of loyalty and honour are concerned."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link26-313" id="link26-313"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link26-313.jpg (133K)" src="images/26-313.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A faint tinge appeared for a moment in the lady's cheek, and she dropped
+      her eyes to the floor; but her voice betrayed no emotion when she
+      proceeded&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I have warned you&mdash;I must still warn you&mdash;to go hence. &nbsp;This
+      man will destroy you, else. &nbsp;He is a tyrant who knows no pity. &nbsp;I,
+      who am his fettered slave, know this. &nbsp;Poor Miles, and Arthur, and my
+      dear guardian, Sir Richard, are free of him, and at rest: &nbsp;better
+      that you were with them than that you bide here in the clutches of this
+      miscreant. &nbsp;Your pretensions are a menace to his title and
+      possessions; you have assaulted him in his own house: &nbsp;you are ruined
+      if you stay. &nbsp;Go&mdash;do not hesitate. If you lack money, take this
+      purse, I beg of you, and bribe the servants to let you pass. Oh, be
+      warned, poor soul, and escape while you may."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Miles declined the purse with a gesture, and rose up and stood before her.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Grant me one thing," he said. &nbsp;"Let your eyes rest upon mine, so
+      that I may see if they be steady. &nbsp;There&mdash;now answer me. &nbsp;Am
+      I Miles Hendon?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "No. &nbsp;I know you not."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Swear it!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The answer was low, but distinct&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I swear."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Oh, this passes belief!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Fly! &nbsp;Why will you waste the precious time? &nbsp;Fly, and save
+      yourself."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At that moment the officers burst into the room, and a violent struggle
+      began; but Hendon was soon overpowered and dragged away. The King was
+      taken also, and both were bound and led to prison.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c27" id="c27"></a> <a name="link27-315"
+      id="link27-315"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link27-315.jpg (58K)" src="images/27-315.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XXVII. In Prison.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The cells were all crowded; so the two friends were chained in a large
+      room where persons charged with trifling offences were commonly kept. They
+      had company, for there were some twenty manacled and fettered prisoners
+      here, of both sexes and of varying ages,&mdash;an obscene and noisy gang.
+      &nbsp;The King chafed bitterly over the stupendous indignity thus put upon
+      his royalty, but Hendon was moody and taciturn. &nbsp;He was pretty
+      thoroughly bewildered; he had come home, a jubilant prodigal, expecting to
+      find everybody wild with joy over his return; and instead had got the cold
+      shoulder and a jail. &nbsp;The promise and the fulfilment differed so
+      widely that the effect was stunning; he could not decide whether it was
+      most tragic or most grotesque. &nbsp;He felt much as a man might who had
+      danced blithely out to enjoy a rainbow, and got struck by lightning.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But gradually his confused and tormenting thoughts settled down into some
+      sort of order, and then his mind centred itself upon Edith. &nbsp;He
+      turned her conduct over, and examined it in all lights, but he could not
+      make anything satisfactory out of it. &nbsp;Did she know him&mdash;or
+      didn't she know him? &nbsp;It was a perplexing puzzle, and occupied him a
+      long time; but he ended, finally, with the conviction that she did know
+      him, and had repudiated him for interested reasons. &nbsp;He wanted to
+      load her name with curses now; but this name had so long been sacred to
+      him that he found he could not bring his tongue to profane it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link27-318" id="link27-318"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link27-318.jpg (125K)" src="images/27-318.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Wrapped in prison blankets of a soiled and tattered condition, Hendon and
+      the King passed a troubled night. &nbsp;For a bribe the jailer had
+      furnished liquor to some of the prisoners; singing of ribald songs,
+      fighting, shouting, and carousing was the natural consequence. &nbsp;At
+      last, a while after midnight, a man attacked a woman and nearly killed her
+      by beating her over the head with his manacles before the jailer could
+      come to the rescue. &nbsp;The jailer restored peace by giving the man a
+      sound clubbing about the head and shoulders&mdash;then the carousing
+      ceased; and after that, all had an opportunity to sleep who did not mind
+      the annoyance of the moanings and groanings of the two wounded people.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      During the ensuing week, the days and nights were of a monotonous sameness
+      as to events; men whose faces Hendon remembered more or less distinctly,
+      came, by day, to gaze at the 'impostor' and repudiate and insult him; and
+      by night the carousing and brawling went on with symmetrical regularity.
+      &nbsp;However, there was a change of incident at last. The jailer brought
+      in an old man, and said to him&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "The villain is in this room&mdash;cast thy old eyes about and see if thou
+      canst say which is he."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hendon glanced up, and experienced a pleasant sensation for the first time
+      since he had been in the jail. &nbsp;He said to himself, "This is Blake
+      Andrews, a servant all his life in my father's family&mdash;a good honest
+      soul, with a right heart in his breast. That is, formerly. &nbsp;But none
+      are true now; all are liars. &nbsp;This man will know me&mdash;and will
+      deny me, too, like the rest."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The old man gazed around the room, glanced at each face in turn, and
+      finally said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I see none here but paltry knaves, scum o' the streets. &nbsp;Which is
+      he?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The jailer laughed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Here," he said; "scan this big animal, and grant me an opinion."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link27-320" id="link27-320"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link27-320.jpg (112K)" src="images/27-320.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The old man approached, and looked Hendon over, long and earnestly, then
+      shook his head and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Marry, <i>this</i> is no Hendon&mdash;nor ever was!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Right! &nbsp;Thy old eyes are sound yet. &nbsp;An' I were Sir Hugh, I
+      would take the shabby carle and&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The jailer finished by lifting himself a-tip-toe with an imaginary halter,
+      at the same time making a gurgling noise in his throat suggestive of
+      suffocation. &nbsp;The old man said, vindictively&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Let him bless God an' he fare no worse. &nbsp;An' <i>I</i> had the handling o'
+      the villain he should roast, or I am no true man!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The jailer laughed a pleasant hyena laugh, and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Give him a piece of thy mind, old man&mdash;they all do it. &nbsp;Thou'lt
+      find it good diversion."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then he sauntered toward his ante-room and disappeared. &nbsp;The old man
+      dropped upon his knees and whispered&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "God be thanked, thou'rt come again, my master! &nbsp;I believed thou wert
+      dead these seven years, and lo, here thou art alive! &nbsp;I knew thee the
+      moment I saw thee; and main hard work it was to keep a stony countenance
+      and seem to see none here but tuppenny knaves and rubbish o' the streets.
+      I am old and poor, Sir Miles; but say the word and I will go forth and
+      proclaim the truth though I be strangled for it."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "No," said Hendon; "thou shalt not. &nbsp;It would ruin thee, and yet help
+      but little in my cause. &nbsp;But I thank thee, for thou hast given me
+      back somewhat of my lost faith in my kind."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The old servant became very valuable to Hendon and the King; for he
+      dropped in several times a day to 'abuse' the former, and always smuggled
+      in a few delicacies to help out the prison bill of fare; he also furnished
+      the current news. &nbsp;Hendon reserved the dainties for the King; without
+      them his Majesty might not have survived, for he was not able to eat the
+      coarse and wretched food provided by the jailer. &nbsp;Andrews was obliged
+      to confine himself to brief visits, in order to avoid suspicion; but he
+      managed to impart a fair degree of information each time&mdash;information
+      delivered in a low voice, for Hendon's benefit, and interlarded with
+      insulting epithets delivered in a louder voice for the benefit of other
+      hearers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link27-321" id="link27-321"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link27-321.jpg (102K)" src="images/27-321.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So, little by little, the story of the family came out. &nbsp;Arthur had
+      been dead six years. &nbsp;This loss, with the absence of news from
+      Hendon, impaired the father's health; he believed he was going to die, and
+      he wished to see Hugh and Edith settled in life before he passed away; but
+      Edith begged hard for delay, hoping for Miles's return; then the letter
+      came which brought the news of Miles's death; the shock prostrated Sir
+      Richard; he believed his end was very near, and he and Hugh insisted upon
+      the marriage; Edith begged for and obtained a month's respite, then
+      another, and finally a third; the marriage then took place by the
+      death-bed of Sir Richard. &nbsp;It had not proved a happy one. &nbsp;It
+      was whispered about the country that shortly after the nuptials the bride
+      found among her husband's papers several rough and incomplete drafts of
+      the fatal letter, and had accused him of precipitating the marriage&mdash;and
+      Sir Richard's death, too&mdash;by a wicked forgery. Tales of cruelty to
+      the Lady Edith and the servants were to be heard on all hands; and since
+      the father's death Sir Hugh had thrown off all soft disguises and become a
+      pitiless master toward all who in any way depended upon him and his
+      domains for bread.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a bit of Andrew's gossip which the King listened to with a
+      lively interest&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "There is rumour that the King is mad. &nbsp;But in charity forbear to say
+      <i>I</i> mentioned it, for 'tis death to speak of it, they say."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      His Majesty glared at the old man and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "The King is <i>not</i> mad, good man&mdash;and thou'lt find it to thy advantage
+      to busy thyself with matters that nearer concern thee than this seditious
+      prattle."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "What doth the lad mean?" said Andrews, surprised at this brisk assault
+      from such an unexpected quarter. &nbsp;Hendon gave him a sign, and he did
+      not pursue his question, but went on with his budget&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "The late King is to be buried at Windsor in a day or two&mdash;the 16th
+      of the month&mdash;and the new King will be crowned at Westminster the
+      20th."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Methinks they must needs find him first," muttered his Majesty; then
+      added, confidently, "but they will look to that&mdash;and so also shall
+      I."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "In the name of&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But the old man got no further&mdash;a warning sign from Hendon checked
+      his remark. &nbsp;He resumed the thread of his gossip&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Sir Hugh goeth to the coronation&mdash;and with grand hopes. &nbsp;He
+      confidently looketh to come back a peer, for he is high in favour with the
+      Lord Protector."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "What Lord Protector?" asked his Majesty.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "His Grace the Duke of Somerset."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "What Duke of Somerset?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Marry, there is but one&mdash;Seymour, Earl of Hertford."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King asked sharply&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Since when is <i>he</i> a duke, and Lord Protector?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Since the last day of January."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "And prithee who made him so?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Himself and the Great Council&mdash;with help of the King."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      His Majesty started violently. &nbsp;"The <i>King</i>!" he cried. &nbsp;"<i>What</i>
+      king, good sir?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link27-323" id="link27-323"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link27-323.jpg (114K)" src="images/27-323.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "What king, indeed! (God-a-mercy, what aileth the boy?) &nbsp;Sith we have
+      but one, 'tis not difficult to answer&mdash;his most sacred Majesty King
+      Edward the Sixth&mdash;whom God preserve! &nbsp;Yea, and a dear and
+      gracious little urchin is he, too; and whether he be mad or no&mdash;and
+      they say he mendeth daily&mdash;his praises are on all men's lips; and all
+      bless him, likewise, and offer prayers that he may be spared to reign long
+      in England; for he began humanely with saving the old Duke of Norfolk's
+      life, and now is he bent on destroying the cruellest of the laws that
+      harry and oppress the people."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This news struck his Majesty dumb with amazement, and plunged him into so
+      deep and dismal a reverie that he heard no more of the old man's gossip.
+      He wondered if the 'little urchin' was the beggar-boy whom he left dressed
+      in his own garments in the palace. &nbsp;It did not seem possible that
+      this could be, for surely his manners and speech would betray him if he
+      pretended to be the Prince of Wales&mdash;then he would be driven out, and
+      search made for the true prince. &nbsp;Could it be that the Court had set
+      up some sprig of the nobility in his place? &nbsp;No, for his uncle would
+      not allow that&mdash;he was all-powerful and could and would crush such a
+      movement, of course. &nbsp;The boy's musings profited him nothing; the
+      more he tried to unriddle the mystery the more perplexed he became, the
+      more his head ached, and the worse he slept. &nbsp;His impatience to get
+      to London grew hourly, and his captivity became almost unendurable.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hendon's arts all failed with the King&mdash;he could not be comforted;
+      but a couple of women who were chained near him succeeded better. Under
+      their gentle ministrations he found peace and learned a degree of
+      patience. &nbsp;He was very grateful, and came to love them dearly and to
+      delight in the sweet and soothing influence of their presence. &nbsp;He
+      asked them why they were in prison, and when they said they were Baptists,
+      he smiled, and inquired&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Is that a crime to be shut up for in a prison? &nbsp;Now I grieve, for I
+      shall lose ye&mdash;they will not keep ye long for such a little thing."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They did not answer; and something in their faces made him uneasy. He
+      said, eagerly&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "You do not speak; be good to me, and tell me&mdash;there will be no other
+      punishment? &nbsp;Prithee tell me there is no fear of that."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They tried to change the topic, but his fears were aroused, and he pursued
+      it&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Will they scourge thee? &nbsp;No, no, they would not be so cruel! &nbsp;Say
+      they would not. &nbsp;Come, they <i>will</i> not, will they?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The women betrayed confusion and distress, but there was no avoiding an
+      answer, so one of them said, in a voice choked with emotion&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Oh, thou'lt break our hearts, thou gentle spirit!&mdash;God will help us
+      to bear our&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "It is a confession!" the King broke in. &nbsp;"Then they <i>will</i> scourge
+      thee, the stony-hearted wretches! &nbsp;But oh, thou must not weep, I
+      cannot bear it. &nbsp;Keep up thy courage&mdash;I shall come to my own in
+      time to save thee from this bitter thing, and I will do it!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When the King awoke in the morning, the women were gone.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "They are saved!" he said, joyfully; then added, despondently, "but woe is
+      me!&mdash;for they were my comforters."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Each of them had left a shred of ribbon pinned to his clothing, in token
+      of remembrance. &nbsp;He said he would keep these things always; and that
+      soon he would seek out these dear good friends of his and take them under
+      his protection.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Just then the jailer came in with some subordinates, and commanded that
+      the prisoners be conducted to the jail-yard. &nbsp;The King was overjoyed&mdash;it
+      would be a blessed thing to see the blue sky and breathe the fresh air
+      once more. &nbsp;He fretted and chafed at the slowness of the officers,
+      but his turn came at last, and he was released from his staple and ordered
+      to follow the other prisoners with Hendon.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The court or quadrangle was stone-paved, and open to the sky. &nbsp;The
+      prisoners entered it through a massive archway of masonry, and were placed
+      in file, standing, with their backs against the wall. A rope was stretched
+      in front of them, and they were also guarded by their officers. It was a
+      chill and lowering morning, and a light snow which had fallen during the
+      night whitened the great empty space and added to the general dismalness
+      of its aspect. Now and then a wintry wind shivered through the place and
+      sent the snow eddying hither and thither.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link27-326" id="link27-326"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link27-326.jpg (53K)" src="images/27-326.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the centre of the court stood two women, chained to posts. &nbsp;A
+      glance showed the King that these were his good friends. &nbsp;He
+      shuddered, and said to himself, "Alack, they are not gone free, as I had
+      thought. &nbsp;To think that such as these should know the lash!&mdash;in
+      England! &nbsp;Ay, there's the shame of it&mdash;not in Heathennesse,
+      Christian England! &nbsp;They will be scourged; and I, whom they have
+      comforted and kindly entreated, must look on and see the great wrong done;
+      it is strange, so strange, that I, the very source of power in this broad
+      realm, am helpless to protect them. But let these miscreants look well to
+      themselves, for there is a day coming when I will require of them a heavy
+      reckoning for this work. &nbsp;For every blow they strike now, they shall
+      feel a hundred then."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A great gate swung open, and a crowd of citizens poured in. &nbsp;They
+      flocked around the two women, and hid them from the King's view. A
+      clergyman entered and passed through the crowd, and he also was hidden.
+      &nbsp;The King now heard talking, back and forth, as if questions were
+      being asked and answered, but he could not make out what was said. &nbsp;Next
+      there was a deal of bustle and preparation, and much passing and repassing
+      of officials through that part of the crowd that stood on the further side
+      of the women; and whilst this proceeded a deep hush gradually fell upon
+      the people.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now, by command, the masses parted and fell aside, and the King saw a
+      spectacle that froze the marrow in his bones. &nbsp;Faggots had been piled
+      about the two women, and a kneeling man was lighting them!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The women bowed their heads, and covered their faces with their hands; the
+      yellow flames began to climb upward among the snapping and crackling
+      faggots, and wreaths of blue smoke to stream away on the wind; the
+      clergyman lifted his hands and began a prayer&mdash;just then two young
+      girls came flying through the great gate, uttering piercing screams, and
+      threw themselves upon the women at the stake. &nbsp;Instantly they were
+      torn away by the officers, and one of them was kept in a tight grip, but
+      the other broke loose, saying she would die with her mother; and before
+      she could be stopped she had flung her arms about her mother's neck again.
+      &nbsp;She was torn away once more, and with her gown on fire. &nbsp;Two or
+      three men held her, and the burning portion of her gown was snatched off
+      and thrown flaming aside, she struggling all the while to free herself,
+      and saying she would be alone in the world, now; and begging to be allowed
+      to die with her mother. &nbsp;Both the girls screamed continually, and
+      fought for freedom; but suddenly this tumult was drowned under a volley of
+      heart-piercing shrieks of mortal agony&mdash;the King glanced from the
+      frantic girls to the stake, then turned away and leaned his ashen face
+      against the wall, and looked no more. &nbsp;He said, "That which I have
+      seen, in that one little moment, will never go out from my memory, but
+      will abide there; and I shall see it all the days, and dream of it all the
+      nights, till I die. &nbsp;Would God I had been blind!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link27-328" id="link27-328"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link27-328.jpg (118K)" src="images/27-328.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hendon was watching the King. &nbsp;He said to himself, with satisfaction,
+      "His disorder mendeth; he hath changed, and groweth gentler. &nbsp;If he
+      had followed his wont, he would have stormed at these varlets, and said he
+      was King, and commanded that the women be turned loose unscathed. &nbsp;Soon
+      his delusion will pass away and be forgotten, and his poor mind will be
+      whole again. &nbsp;God speed the day!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      That same day several prisoners were brought in to remain over night, who
+      were being conveyed, under guard, to various places in the kingdom, to
+      undergo punishment for crimes committed. &nbsp;The King conversed with
+      these&mdash;he had made it a point, from the beginning, to instruct
+      himself for the kingly office by questioning prisoners whenever the
+      opportunity offered&mdash;and the tale of their woes wrung his heart.
+      &nbsp;One of them was a poor half-witted woman who had stolen a yard or
+      two of cloth from a weaver&mdash;she was to be hanged for it. &nbsp;Another
+      was a man who had been accused of stealing a horse; he said the proof had
+      failed, and he had imagined that he was safe from the halter; but no&mdash;he
+      was hardly free before he was arraigned for killing a deer in the King's
+      park; this was proved against him, and now he was on his way to the
+      gallows. &nbsp;There was a tradesman's apprentice whose case particularly
+      distressed the King; this youth said he found a hawk, one evening, that
+      had escaped from its owner, and he took it home with him, imagining
+      himself entitled to it; but the court convicted him of stealing it, and
+      sentenced him to death.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link27-329" id="link27-329"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link27-329.jpg (60K)" src="images/27-329.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King was furious over these inhumanities, and wanted Hendon to break
+      jail and fly with him to Westminster, so that he could mount his throne
+      and hold out his sceptre in mercy over these unfortunate people and save
+      their lives. &nbsp;"Poor child," sighed Hendon, "these woeful tales have
+      brought his malady upon him again; alack, but for this evil hap, he would
+      have been well in a little time."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Among these prisoners was an old lawyer&mdash;a man with a strong face and
+      a dauntless mien. &nbsp;Three years past, he had written a pamphlet
+      against the Lord Chancellor, accusing him of injustice, and had been
+      punished for it by the loss of his ears in the pillory, and degradation
+      from the bar, and in addition had been fined 3,000 pounds and sentenced to
+      imprisonment for life. &nbsp;Lately he had repeated his offence; and in
+      consequence was now under sentence to lose <i>what remained of his ears</i>, pay
+      a fine of 5,000 pounds, be branded on both cheeks, and remain in prison
+      for life.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "These be honourable scars," he said, and turned back his grey hair and
+      showed the mutilated stubs of what had once been his ears.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King's eye burned with passion. &nbsp;He said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "None believe in me&mdash;neither wilt thou. &nbsp;But no matter&mdash;within
+      the compass of a month thou shalt be free; and more, the laws that have
+      dishonoured thee, and shamed the English name, shall be swept from the
+      statute books. &nbsp;The world is made wrong; kings should go to school to
+      their own laws, at times, and so learn mercy." {1}
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c28" id="c28"></a> <a name="link28-331"
+      id="link28-331"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link28-331.jpg (48K)" src="images/28-331.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XXVIII. The sacrifice.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Meantime Miles was growing sufficiently tired of confinement and inaction.
+      &nbsp;But now his trial came on, to his great gratification, and he
+      thought he could welcome any sentence provided a further imprisonment
+      should not be a part of it. &nbsp;But he was mistaken about that. &nbsp;He
+      was in a fine fury when he found himself described as a 'sturdy vagabond'
+      and sentenced to sit two hours in the stocks for bearing that character
+      and for assaulting the master of Hendon Hall. &nbsp;His pretensions as to
+      brothership with his prosecutor, and rightful heirship to the Hendon
+      honours and estates, were left contemptuously unnoticed, as being not even
+      worth examination.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He raged and threatened on his way to punishment, but it did no good; he
+      was snatched roughly along by the officers, and got an occasional cuff,
+      besides, for his irreverent conduct.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King could not pierce through the rabble that swarmed behind; so he
+      was obliged to follow in the rear, remote from his good friend and
+      servant. &nbsp;The King had been nearly condemned to the stocks himself
+      for being in such bad company, but had been let off with a lecture and a
+      warning, in consideration of his youth. &nbsp;When the crowd at last
+      halted, he flitted feverishly from point to point around its outer rim,
+      hunting a place to get through; and at last, after a deal of difficulty
+      and delay, succeeded. &nbsp;There sat his poor henchman in the degrading
+      stocks, the sport and butt of a dirty mob&mdash;he, the body servant of
+      the King of England! &nbsp;Edward had heard the sentence pronounced, but
+      he had not realised the half that it meant. &nbsp;His anger began to rise
+      as the sense of this new indignity which had been put upon him sank home;
+      it jumped to summer heat, the next moment, when he saw an egg sail through
+      the air and crush itself against Hendon's cheek, and heard the crowd roar
+      its enjoyment of the episode. &nbsp;He sprang across the open circle and
+      confronted the officer in charge, crying&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link28-334" id="link28-334"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link28-334.jpg (119K)" src="images/28-334.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "For shame! &nbsp;This is my servant&mdash;set him free! &nbsp;I am the&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Oh, peace!" exclaimed Hendon, in a panic, "thou'lt destroy thyself. Mind
+      him not, officer, he is mad."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Give thyself no trouble as to the matter of minding him, good man, I have
+      small mind to mind him; but as to teaching him somewhat, to that I am well
+      inclined." &nbsp;He turned to a subordinate and said, "Give the little
+      fool a taste or two of the lash, to mend his manners."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Half a dozen will better serve his turn," suggested Sir Hugh, who had
+      ridden up, a moment before, to take a passing glance at the proceedings.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King was seized. &nbsp;He did not even struggle, so paralysed was he
+      with the mere thought of the monstrous outrage that was proposed to be
+      inflicted upon his sacred person. &nbsp;History was already defiled with
+      the record of the scourging of an English king with whips&mdash;it was an
+      intolerable reflection that he must furnish a duplicate of that shameful
+      page. &nbsp;He was in the toils, there was no help for him; he must either
+      take this punishment or beg for its remission. &nbsp;Hard conditions; he
+      would take the stripes&mdash;a king might do that, but a king could not
+      beg.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But meantime, Miles Hendon was resolving the difficulty. &nbsp;"Let the
+      child go," said he; "ye heartless dogs, do ye not see how young and frail
+      he is? &nbsp;Let him go&mdash;I will take his lashes."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Marry, a good thought&mdash;and thanks for it," said Sir Hugh, his face
+      lighting with a sardonic satisfaction. &nbsp;"Let the little beggar go,
+      and give this fellow a dozen in his place&mdash;an honest dozen, well laid
+      on." The King was in the act of entering a fierce protest, but Sir Hugh
+      silenced him with the potent remark, "Yes, speak up, do, and free thy mind&mdash;only,
+      mark ye, that for each word you utter he shall get six strokes the more."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link28-336" id="link28-336"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link28-336.jpg (85K)" src="images/28-336.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hendon was removed from the stocks, and his back laid bare; and whilst the
+      lash was applied the poor little King turned away his face and allowed
+      unroyal tears to channel his cheeks unchecked. "Ah, brave good heart," he
+      said to himself, "this loyal deed shall never perish out of my memory.
+      &nbsp;I will not forget it&mdash;and neither shall <i>they</i>!" he added, with
+      passion. &nbsp;Whilst he mused, his appreciation of Hendon's magnanimous
+      conduct grew to greater and still greater dimensions in his mind, and so
+      also did his gratefulness for it. &nbsp;Presently he said to himself, "Who
+      saves his prince from wounds and possible death&mdash;and this he did for
+      me&mdash;performs high service; but it is little&mdash;it is nothing&mdash;oh,
+      less than nothing!&mdash;when 'tis weighed against the act of him who
+      saves his prince from <i>shame</i>!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hendon made no outcry under the scourge, but bore the heavy blows with
+      soldierly fortitude. &nbsp;This, together with his redeeming the boy by
+      taking his stripes for him, compelled the respect of even that forlorn and
+      degraded mob that was gathered there; and its gibes and hootings died
+      away, and no sound remained but the sound of the falling blows. &nbsp;The
+      stillness that pervaded the place, when Hendon found himself once more in
+      the stocks, was in strong contrast with the insulting clamour which had
+      prevailed there so little a while before. &nbsp;The King came softly to
+      Hendon's side, and whispered in his ear&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Kings cannot ennoble thee, thou good, great soul, for One who is higher
+      than kings hath done that for thee; but a king can confirm thy nobility to
+      men." &nbsp;He picked up the scourge from the ground, touched Hendon's
+      bleeding shoulders lightly with it, and whispered, "Edward of England dubs
+      thee Earl!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hendon was touched. &nbsp;The water welled to his eyes, yet at the same
+      time the grisly humour of the situation and circumstances so undermined
+      his gravity that it was all he could do to keep some sign of his inward
+      mirth from showing outside. &nbsp;To be suddenly hoisted, naked and gory,
+      from the common stocks to the Alpine altitude and splendour of an Earldom,
+      seemed to him the last possibility in the line of the grotesque. &nbsp;He
+      said to himself, "Now am I finely tinselled, indeed! &nbsp;The
+      spectre-knight of the Kingdom of Dreams and Shadows is become a
+      spectre-earl&mdash;a dizzy flight for a callow wing! &nbsp;An' this go on,
+      I shall presently be hung like a very maypole with fantastic gauds and
+      make-believe honours. &nbsp;But I shall value them, all valueless as they
+      are, for the love that doth bestow them. Better these poor mock dignities
+      of mine, that come unasked, from a clean hand and a right spirit, than
+      real ones bought by servility from grudging and interested power."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link28-337" id="link28-337"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link28-337.jpg (124K)" src="images/28-337.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The dreaded Sir Hugh wheeled his horse about, and as he spurred away, the
+      living wall divided silently to let him pass, and as silently closed
+      together again. &nbsp;And so remained; nobody went so far as to venture a
+      remark in favour of the prisoner, or in compliment to him; but no matter&mdash;the
+      absence of abuse was a sufficient homage in itself. &nbsp;A late comer who
+      was not posted as to the present circumstances, and who delivered a sneer
+      at the 'impostor,' and was in the act of following it with a dead cat, was
+      promptly knocked down and kicked out, without any words, and then the deep
+      quiet resumed sway once more.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c29" id="c29"></a> <a name="link29-339"
+      id="link29-339"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link29-339.jpg (53K)" src="images/29-339.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XXIX. To London.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When Hendon's term of service in the stocks was finished, he was released
+      and ordered to quit the region and come back no more. His sword was
+      restored to him, and also his mule and his donkey. He mounted and rode
+      off, followed by the King, the crowd opening with quiet respectfulness to
+      let them pass, and then dispersing when they were gone.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link29-342" id="link29-342"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link29-342.jpg (142K)" src="images/29-342.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hendon was soon absorbed in thought. &nbsp;There were questions of high
+      import to be answered. &nbsp;What should he do? &nbsp;Whither should he
+      go? Powerful help must be found somewhere, or he must relinquish his
+      inheritance and remain under the imputation of being an impostor besides.
+      &nbsp;Where could he hope to find this powerful help? &nbsp;Where, indeed!
+      &nbsp;It was a knotty question. By-and-by a thought occurred to him which
+      pointed to a possibility&mdash;the slenderest of slender possibilities,
+      certainly, but still worth considering, for lack of any other that
+      promised anything at all. &nbsp;He remembered what old Andrews had said
+      about the young King's goodness and his generous championship of the
+      wronged and unfortunate. &nbsp;Why not go and try to get speech of him and
+      beg for justice? &nbsp;Ah, yes, but could so fantastic a pauper get
+      admission to the august presence of a monarch? Never mind&mdash;let that
+      matter take care of itself; it was a bridge that would not need to be
+      crossed till he should come to it. &nbsp;He was an old campaigner, and
+      used to inventing shifts and expedients: &nbsp;no doubt he would be able
+      to find a way. &nbsp;Yes, he would strike for the capital. Maybe his
+      father's old friend Sir Humphrey Marlow would help him&mdash;'good old Sir
+      Humphrey, Head Lieutenant of the late King's kitchen, or stables, or
+      something'&mdash;Miles could not remember just what or which. &nbsp;Now
+      that he had something to turn his energies to, a distinctly defined object
+      to accomplish, the fog of humiliation and depression which had settled
+      down upon his spirits lifted and blew away, and he raised his head and
+      looked about him. &nbsp;He was surprised to see how far he had come; the
+      village was away behind him. &nbsp;The King was jogging along in his wake,
+      with his head bowed; for he, too, was deep in plans and thinkings. &nbsp;A
+      sorrowful misgiving clouded Hendon's new-born cheerfulness: &nbsp;would
+      the boy be willing to go again to a city where, during all his brief life,
+      he had never known anything but ill-usage and pinching want? &nbsp;But the
+      question must be asked; it could not be avoided; so Hendon reined up, and
+      called out&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I had forgotten to inquire whither we are bound. &nbsp;Thy commands, my
+      liege!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "To London!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hendon moved on again, mightily contented with the answer&mdash;but
+      astounded at it too.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link29-343" id="link29-343"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link29-343.jpg (131K)" src="images/29-343.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The whole journey was made without an adventure of importance. But it
+      ended with one. &nbsp;About ten o'clock on the night of the 19th of
+      February they stepped upon London Bridge, in the midst of a writhing,
+      struggling jam of howling and hurrahing people, whose beer-jolly faces
+      stood out strongly in the glare from manifold torches&mdash;and at that
+      instant the decaying head of some former duke or other grandee tumbled
+      down between them, striking Hendon on the elbow and then bounding off
+      among the hurrying confusion of feet. So evanescent and unstable are men's
+      works in this world!&mdash;the late good King is but three weeks dead and
+      three days in his grave, and already the adornments which he took such
+      pains to select from prominent people for his noble bridge are falling.
+      &nbsp;A citizen stumbled over that head, and drove his own head into the
+      back of somebody in front of him, who turned and knocked down the first
+      person that came handy, and was promptly laid out himself by that person's
+      friend. &nbsp;It was the right ripe time for a free fight, for the
+      festivities of the morrow&mdash;Coronation Day&mdash;were already
+      beginning; everybody was full of strong drink and patriotism; within five
+      minutes the free fight was occupying a good deal of ground; within ten or
+      twelve it covered an acre of so, and was become a riot. &nbsp;By this time
+      Hendon and the King were hopelessly separated from each other and lost in
+      the rush and turmoil of the roaring masses of humanity. &nbsp;And so we
+      leave them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c30" id="c30"></a> <a name="link30-345"
+      id="link30-345"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link30-345.jpg (47K)" src="images/30-345.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XXX. Tom's progress.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Whilst the true King wandered about the land poorly clad, poorly fed,
+      cuffed and derided by tramps one while, herding with thieves and murderers
+      in a jail another, and called idiot and impostor by all impartially, the
+      mock King Tom Canty enjoyed quite a different experience.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When we saw him last, royalty was just beginning to have a bright side for
+      him. &nbsp;This bright side went on brightening more and more every day:
+      in a very little while it was become almost all sunshine and
+      delightfulness. &nbsp;He lost his fears; his misgivings faded out and
+      died; his embarrassments departed, and gave place to an easy and confident
+      bearing. &nbsp;He worked the whipping-boy mine to ever-increasing profit.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He ordered my Lady Elizabeth and my Lady Jane Grey into his presence when
+      he wanted to play or talk, and dismissed them when he was done with them,
+      with the air of one familiarly accustomed to such performances. &nbsp;It
+      no longer confused him to have these lofty personages kiss his hand at
+      parting.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link30-348" id="link30-348"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link30-348.jpg (92K)" src="images/30-348.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He came to enjoy being conducted to bed in state at night, and dressed
+      with intricate and solemn ceremony in the morning. &nbsp;It came to be a
+      proud pleasure to march to dinner attended by a glittering procession of
+      officers of state and gentlemen-at-arms; insomuch, indeed, that he doubled
+      his guard of gentlemen-at-arms, and made them a hundred. &nbsp;He liked to
+      hear the bugles sounding down the long corridors, and the distant voices
+      responding, "Way for the King!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He even learned to enjoy sitting in throned state in council, and seeming
+      to be something more than the Lord Protector's mouthpiece. He liked to
+      receive great ambassadors and their gorgeous trains, and listen to the
+      affectionate messages they brought from illustrious monarchs who called
+      him brother. &nbsp;O happy Tom Canty, late of Offal Court!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He enjoyed his splendid clothes, and ordered more: &nbsp;he found his four
+      hundred servants too few for his proper grandeur, and trebled them. &nbsp;The
+      adulation of salaaming courtiers came to be sweet music to his ears.
+      &nbsp;He remained kind and gentle, and a sturdy and determined champion of
+      all that were oppressed, and he made tireless war upon unjust laws: &nbsp;yet
+      upon occasion, being offended, he could turn upon an earl, or even a duke,
+      and give him a look that would make him tremble. &nbsp;Once, when his
+      royal 'sister,' the grimly holy Lady Mary, set herself to reason with him
+      against the wisdom of his course in pardoning so many people who would
+      otherwise be jailed, or hanged, or burned, and reminded him that their
+      august late father's prisons had sometimes contained as high as sixty
+      thousand convicts at one time, and that during his admirable reign he had
+      delivered seventy-two thousand thieves and robbers over to death by the
+      executioner, {9} the boy was filled with generous indignation, and
+      commanded her to go to her closet, and beseech God to take away the stone
+      that was in her breast, and give her a human heart.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link30-349" id="link30-349"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link30-349.jpg (94K)" src="images/30-349.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Did Tom Canty never feel troubled about the poor little rightful prince
+      who had treated him so kindly, and flown out with such hot zeal to avenge
+      him upon the insolent sentinel at the palace-gate? Yes; his first royal
+      days and nights were pretty well sprinkled with painful thoughts about the
+      lost prince, and with sincere longings for his return, and happy
+      restoration to his native rights and splendours. &nbsp;But as time wore
+      on, and the prince did not come, Tom's mind became more and more occupied
+      with his new and enchanting experiences, and by little and little the
+      vanished monarch faded almost out of his thoughts; and finally, when he
+      did intrude upon them at intervals, he was become an unwelcome spectre,
+      for he made Tom feel guilty and ashamed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom's poor mother and sisters travelled the same road out of his mind. At
+      first he pined for them, sorrowed for them, longed to see them, but later,
+      the thought of their coming some day in their rags and dirt, and betraying
+      him with their kisses, and pulling him down from his lofty place, and
+      dragging him back to penury and degradation and the slums, made him
+      shudder. &nbsp;At last they ceased to trouble his thoughts almost wholly.
+      &nbsp;And he was content, even glad: &nbsp;for, whenever their mournful
+      and accusing faces did rise before him now, they made him feel more
+      despicable than the worms that crawl.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At midnight of the 19th of February, Tom Canty was sinking to sleep in his
+      rich bed in the palace, guarded by his loyal vassals, and surrounded by
+      the pomps of royalty, a happy boy; for tomorrow was the day appointed for
+      his solemn crowning as King of England. At that same hour, Edward, the
+      true king, hungry and thirsty, soiled and draggled, worn with travel, and
+      clothed in rags and shreds&mdash;his share of the results of the riot&mdash;was
+      wedged in among a crowd of people who were watching with deep interest
+      certain hurrying gangs of workmen who streamed in and out of Westminster
+      Abbey, busy as ants: &nbsp;they were making the last preparation for the
+      royal coronation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c31" id="c31"></a> <a name="link31-351"
+      id="link31-351"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link31-351.jpg (68K)" src="images/31-351.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br /> <a name="link31-353" id="link31-353"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link31-353.jpg (134K)" src="images/31-353.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XXXI. The Recognition procession.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When Tom Canty awoke the next morning, the air was heavy with a thunderous
+      murmur: &nbsp;all the distances were charged with it. &nbsp;It was music
+      to him; for it meant that the English world was out in its strength to
+      give loyal welcome to the great day.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Presently Tom found himself once more the chief figure in a wonderful
+      floating pageant on the Thames; for by ancient custom the 'recognition
+      procession' through London must start from the Tower, and he was bound
+      thither.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When he arrived there, the sides of the venerable fortress seemed suddenly
+      rent in a thousand places, and from every rent leaped a red tongue of
+      flame and a white gush of smoke; a deafening explosion followed, which
+      drowned the shoutings of the multitude, and made the ground tremble; the
+      flame-jets, the smoke, and the explosions, were repeated over and over
+      again with marvellous celerity, so that in a few moments the old Tower
+      disappeared in the vast fog of its own smoke, all but the very top of the
+      tall pile called the White Tower; this, with its banners, stood out above
+      the dense bank of vapour as a mountain-peak projects above a cloud-rack.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom Canty, splendidly arrayed, mounted a prancing war-steed, whose rich
+      trappings almost reached to the ground; his 'uncle,' the Lord Protector
+      Somerset, similarly mounted, took place in his rear; the King's Guard
+      formed in single ranks on either side, clad in burnished armour; after the
+      Protector followed a seemingly interminable procession of resplendent
+      nobles attended by their vassals; after these came the lord mayor and the
+      aldermanic body, in crimson velvet robes, and with their gold chains
+      across their breasts; and after these the officers and members of all the
+      guilds of London, in rich raiment, and bearing the showy banners of the
+      several corporations. &nbsp;Also in the procession, as a special guard of
+      honour through the city, was the Ancient and Honourable Artillery Company&mdash;an
+      organisation already three hundred years old at that time, and the only
+      military body in England possessing the privilege (which it still
+      possesses in our day) of holding itself independent of the commands of
+      Parliament. &nbsp;It was a brilliant spectacle, and was hailed with
+      acclamations all along the line, as it took its stately way through the
+      packed multitudes of citizens. The chronicler says, 'The King, as he
+      entered the city, was received by the people with prayers, welcomings,
+      cries, and tender words, and all signs which argue an earnest love of
+      subjects toward their sovereign; and the King, by holding up his glad
+      countenance to such as stood afar off, and most tender language to those
+      that stood nigh his Grace, showed himself no less thankful to receive the
+      people's goodwill than they to offer it. &nbsp;To all that wished him
+      well, he gave thanks. &nbsp;To such as bade "God save his Grace," he said
+      in return, "God save you all!" and added that "he thanked them with all
+      his heart." Wonderfully transported were the people with the loving
+      answers and gestures of their King.'
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link31-355" id="link31-355"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link31-355.jpg (40K)" src="images/31-355.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In Fenchurch Street a 'fair child, in costly apparel,' stood on a stage to
+      welcome his Majesty to the city. &nbsp;The last verse of his greeting was
+      in these words&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <blockquote>
+      <p>
+        'Welcome, O King! as much as hearts can think;<br /> Welcome, again, as
+        much as tongue can tell,&mdash;<br /> Welcome to joyous tongues, and
+        hearts that will not shrink: <br /> God thee preserve, we pray, and wish
+        thee ever well.'
+      </p>
+    </blockquote>
+    <p>
+      The people burst forth in a glad shout, repeating with one voice what the
+      child had said. &nbsp;Tom Canty gazed abroad over the surging sea of eager
+      faces, and his heart swelled with exultation; and he felt that the one
+      thing worth living for in this world was to be a king, and a nation's
+      idol. &nbsp;Presently he caught sight, at a distance, of a couple of his
+      ragged Offal Court comrades&mdash;one of them the lord high admiral in his
+      late mimic court, the other the first lord of the bedchamber in the same
+      pretentious fiction; and his pride swelled higher than ever. &nbsp;Oh, if
+      they could only recognise him now! &nbsp;What unspeakable glory it would
+      be, if they could recognise him, and realise that the derided mock king of
+      the slums and back alleys was become a real King, with illustrious dukes
+      and princes for his humble menials, and the English world at his feet!
+      &nbsp;But he had to deny himself, and choke down his desire, for such a
+      recognition might cost more than it would come to: &nbsp;so he turned away
+      his head, and left the two soiled lads to go on with their shoutings and
+      glad adulations, unsuspicious of whom it was they were lavishing them
+      upon.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link31-356" id="link31-356"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link31-356.jpg (195K)" src="images/31-356.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Every now and then rose the cry, "A largess! a largess!" and Tom responded
+      by scattering a handful of bright new coins abroad for the multitude to
+      scramble for.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The chronicler says, 'At the upper end of Gracechurch Street, before the
+      sign of the Eagle, the city had erected a gorgeous arch, beneath which was
+      a stage, which stretched from one side of the street to the other. This
+      was an historical pageant, representing the King's immediate progenitors.
+      &nbsp;There sat Elizabeth of York in the midst of an immense white rose,
+      whose petals formed elaborate furbelows around her; by her side was Henry
+      VII., issuing out of a vast red rose, disposed in the same manner: &nbsp;the
+      hands of the royal pair were locked together, and the wedding-ring
+      ostentatiously displayed. &nbsp;From the red and white roses proceeded a
+      stem, which reached up to a second stage, occupied by Henry VIII., issuing
+      from a red and white rose, with the effigy of the new King's mother, Jane
+      Seymour, represented by his side. &nbsp;One branch sprang from this pair,
+      which mounted to a third stage, where sat the effigy of Edward VI.
+      himself, enthroned in royal majesty; and the whole pageant was framed with
+      wreaths of roses, red and white.'
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This quaint and gaudy spectacle so wrought upon the rejoicing people, that
+      their acclamations utterly smothered the small voice of the child whose
+      business it was to explain the thing in eulogistic rhymes. &nbsp;But Tom
+      Canty was not sorry; for this loyal uproar was sweeter music to him than
+      any poetry, no matter what its quality might be. &nbsp;Whithersoever Tom
+      turned his happy young face, the people recognised the exactness of his
+      effigy's likeness to himself, the flesh and blood counterpart; and new
+      whirlwinds of applause burst forth.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The great pageant moved on, and still on, under one triumphal arch after
+      another, and past a bewildering succession of spectacular and symbolical
+      tableaux, each of which typified and exalted some virtue, or talent, or
+      merit, of the little King's. &nbsp;'Throughout the whole of Cheapside,
+      from every penthouse and window, hung banners and streamers; and the
+      richest carpets, stuffs, and cloth-of-gold tapestried the streets&mdash;specimens
+      of the great wealth of the stores within; and the splendour of this
+      thoroughfare was equalled in the other streets, and in some even
+      surpassed.'
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "And all these wonders and these marvels are to welcome me&mdash;me!"
+      murmured Tom Canty.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The mock King's cheeks were flushed with excitement, his eyes were
+      flashing, his senses swam in a delirium of pleasure. &nbsp;At this point,
+      just as he was raising his hand to fling another rich largess, he caught
+      sight of a pale, astounded face, which was strained forward out of the
+      second rank of the crowd, its intense eyes riveted upon him. &nbsp;A
+      sickening consternation struck through him; he recognised his mother! and
+      up flew his hand, palm outward, before his eyes&mdash;that old involuntary
+      gesture, born of a forgotten episode, and perpetuated by habit. &nbsp;In
+      an instant more she had torn her way out of the press, and past the
+      guards, and was at his side. &nbsp;She embraced his leg, she covered it
+      with kisses, she cried, "O my child, my darling!" lifting toward him a
+      face that was transfigured with joy and love. &nbsp;The same instant an
+      officer of the King's Guard snatched her away with a curse, and sent her
+      reeling back whence she came with a vigorous impulse from his strong arm.
+      &nbsp;The words "I do not know you, woman!" were falling from Tom Canty's
+      lips when this piteous thing occurred; but it smote him to the heart to
+      see her treated so; and as she turned for a last glimpse of him, whilst
+      the crowd was swallowing her from his sight, she seemed so wounded, so
+      broken-hearted, that a shame fell upon him which consumed his pride to
+      ashes, and withered his stolen royalty. &nbsp;His grandeurs were stricken
+      valueless: they seemed to fall away from him like rotten rags.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link31-359" id="link31-359"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link31-359.jpg (164K)" src="images/31-359.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The procession moved on, and still on, through ever augmenting splendours
+      and ever augmenting tempests of welcome; but to Tom Canty they were as if
+      they had not been. &nbsp;He neither saw nor heard. &nbsp;Royalty had lost
+      its grace and sweetness; its pomps were become a reproach. &nbsp;Remorse
+      was eating his heart out. &nbsp;He said, "Would God I were free of my
+      captivity!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He had unconsciously dropped back into the phraseology of the first days
+      of his compulsory greatness.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The shining pageant still went winding like a radiant and interminable
+      serpent down the crooked lanes of the quaint old city, and through the
+      huzzaing hosts; but still the King rode with bowed head and vacant eyes,
+      seeing only his mother's face and that wounded look in it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Largess, largess!" &nbsp;The cry fell upon an unheeding ear.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Long live Edward of England!" &nbsp;It seemed as if the earth shook with
+      the explosion; but there was no response from the King. &nbsp;He heard it
+      only as one hears the thunder of the surf when it is blown to the ear out
+      of a great distance, for it was smothered under another sound which was
+      still nearer, in his own breast, in his accusing conscience&mdash;a voice
+      which kept repeating those shameful words, "I do not know you, woman!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The words smote upon the King's soul as the strokes of a funeral bell
+      smite upon the soul of a surviving friend when they remind him of secret
+      treacheries suffered at his hands by him that is gone.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      New glories were unfolded at every turning; new wonders, new marvels,
+      sprang into view; the pent clamours of waiting batteries were released;
+      new raptures poured from the throats of the waiting multitudes: &nbsp;but
+      the King gave no sign, and the accusing voice that went moaning through
+      his comfortless breast was all the sound he heard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By-and-by the gladness in the faces of the populace changed a little, and
+      became touched with a something like solicitude or anxiety: &nbsp;an
+      abatement in the volume of the applause was observable too. &nbsp;The Lord
+      Protector was quick to notice these things: &nbsp;he was as quick to
+      detect the cause. &nbsp;He spurred to the King's side, bent low in his
+      saddle, uncovered, and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "My liege, it is an ill time for dreaming. &nbsp;The people observe thy
+      downcast head, thy clouded mien, and they take it for an omen. &nbsp;Be
+      advised: &nbsp;unveil the sun of royalty, and let it shine upon these
+      boding vapours, and disperse them. &nbsp;Lift up thy face, and smile upon
+      the people."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link31-361" id="link31-361"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link31-361.jpg (78K)" src="images/31-361.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So saying, the Duke scattered a handful of coins to right and left, then
+      retired to his place. &nbsp;The mock King did mechanically as he had been
+      bidden. &nbsp;His smile had no heart in it, but few eyes were near enough
+      or sharp enough to detect that. &nbsp;The noddings of his plumed head as
+      he saluted his subjects were full of grace and graciousness; the largess
+      which he delivered from his hand was royally liberal: &nbsp;so the
+      people's anxiety vanished, and the acclamations burst forth again in as
+      mighty a volume as before.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Still once more, a little before the progress was ended, the Duke was
+      obliged to ride forward, and make remonstrance. &nbsp;He whispered&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "O dread sovereign! shake off these fatal humours; the eyes of the world
+      are upon thee." &nbsp;Then he added with sharp annoyance, "Perdition catch
+      that crazy pauper! 'twas she that hath disturbed your Highness."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link31-362" id="link31-362"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link31-362.jpg (119K)" src="images/31-362.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The gorgeous figure turned a lustreless eye upon the Duke, and said in a
+      dead voice&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "She was my mother!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "My God!" groaned the Protector as he reined his horse backward to his
+      post, "the omen was pregnant with prophecy. &nbsp;He is gone mad again!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c32" id="c32"></a> <a name="link32-363"
+      id="link32-363"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link32-363.jpg (51K)" src="images/32-363.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XXXII. Coronation Day.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Let us go backward a few hours, and place ourselves in Westminster Abbey,
+      at four o'clock in the morning of this memorable Coronation Day. &nbsp;We
+      are not without company; for although it is still night, we find the
+      torch-lighted galleries already filling up with people who are well
+      content to sit still and wait seven or eight hours till the time shall
+      come for them to see what they may not hope to see twice in their lives&mdash;the
+      coronation of a King. &nbsp;Yes, London and Westminster have been astir
+      ever since the warning guns boomed at three o'clock, and already crowds of
+      untitled rich folk who have bought the privilege of trying to find
+      sitting-room in the galleries are flocking in at the entrances reserved
+      for their sort.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The hours drag along tediously enough. &nbsp;All stir has ceased for some
+      time, for every gallery has long ago been packed. &nbsp;We may sit, now,
+      and look and think at our leisure. &nbsp;We have glimpses, here and there
+      and yonder, through the dim cathedral twilight, of portions of many
+      galleries and balconies, wedged full with other people, the other portions
+      of these galleries and balconies being cut off from sight by intervening
+      pillars and architectural projections. &nbsp;We have in view the whole of
+      the great north transept&mdash;empty, and waiting for England's privileged
+      ones. &nbsp;We see also the ample area or platform, carpeted with rich
+      stuffs, whereon the throne stands. &nbsp;The throne occupies the centre of
+      the platform, and is raised above it upon an elevation of four steps.
+      Within the seat of the throne is enclosed a rough flat rock&mdash;the
+      stone of Scone&mdash;which many generations of Scottish kings sat on to be
+      crowned, and so it in time became holy enough to answer a like purpose for
+      English monarchs. &nbsp;Both the throne and its footstool are covered with
+      cloth of gold.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Stillness reigns, the torches blink dully, the time drags heavily. But at
+      last the lagging daylight asserts itself, the torches are extinguished,
+      and a mellow radiance suffuses the great spaces. All features of the noble
+      building are distinct now, but soft and dreamy, for the sun is lightly
+      veiled with clouds.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At seven o'clock the first break in the drowsy monotony occurs; for on the
+      stroke of this hour the first peeress enters the transept, clothed like
+      Solomon for splendour, and is conducted to her appointed place by an
+      official clad in satins and velvets, whilst a duplicate of him gathers up
+      the lady's long train, follows after, and, when the lady is seated,
+      arranges the train across her lap for her. &nbsp;He then places her
+      footstool according to her desire, after which he puts her coronet where
+      it will be convenient to her hand when the time for the simultaneous
+      coroneting of the nobles shall arrive.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link32-366" id="link32-366"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link32-366.jpg (53K)" src="images/32-366.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By this time the peeresses are flowing in in a glittering stream, and the
+      satin-clad officials are flitting and glinting everywhere, seating them
+      and making them comfortable. &nbsp;The scene is animated enough now.
+      &nbsp;There is stir and life, and shifting colour everywhere. &nbsp;After
+      a time, quiet reigns again; for the peeresses are all come and are all in
+      their places, a solid acre or such a matter, of human flowers, resplendent
+      in variegated colours, and frosted like a Milky Way with diamonds. &nbsp;There
+      are all ages here: brown, wrinkled, white-haired dowagers who are able to
+      go back, and still back, down the stream of time, and recall the crowning
+      of Richard III. and the troublous days of that old forgotten age; and
+      there are handsome middle-aged dames; and lovely and gracious young
+      matrons; and gentle and beautiful young girls, with beaming eyes and fresh
+      complexions, who may possibly put on their jewelled coronets awkwardly
+      when the great time comes; for the matter will be new to them, and their
+      excitement will be a sore hindrance. Still, this may not happen, for the
+      hair of all these ladies has been arranged with a special view to the
+      swift and successful lodging of the crown in its place when the signal
+      comes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We have seen that this massed array of peeresses is sown thick with
+      diamonds, and we also see that it is a marvellous spectacle&mdash;but now
+      we are about to be astonished in earnest. &nbsp;About nine, the clouds
+      suddenly break away and a shaft of sunshine cleaves the mellow atmosphere,
+      and drifts slowly along the ranks of ladies; and every rank it touches
+      flames into a dazzling splendour of many-coloured fires, and we tingle to
+      our finger-tips with the electric thrill that is shot through us by the
+      surprise and the beauty of the spectacle! &nbsp;Presently a special envoy
+      from some distant corner of the Orient, marching with the general body of
+      foreign ambassadors, crosses this bar of sunshine, and we catch our
+      breath, the glory that streams and flashes and palpitates about him is so
+      overpowering; for he is crusted from head to heel with gems, and his
+      slightest movement showers a dancing radiance all around him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link32-368" id="link32-368"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link32-368.jpg (158K)" src="images/32-368.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Let us change the tense for convenience. &nbsp;The time drifted along&mdash;one
+      hour&mdash;two hours&mdash;two hours and a half; then the deep booming of
+      artillery told that the King and his grand procession had arrived at last;
+      so the waiting multitude rejoiced. &nbsp;All knew that a further delay
+      must follow, for the King must be prepared and robed for the solemn
+      ceremony; but this delay would be pleasantly occupied by the assembling of
+      the peers of the realm in their stately robes. &nbsp;These were conducted
+      ceremoniously to their seats, and their coronets placed conveniently at
+      hand; and meanwhile the multitude in the galleries were alive with
+      interest, for most of them were beholding for the first time, dukes,
+      earls, and barons, whose names had been historical for five hundred years.
+      &nbsp;When all were finally seated, the spectacle from the galleries and
+      all coigns of vantage was complete; a gorgeous one to look upon and to
+      remember.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now the robed and mitred great heads of the church, and their attendants,
+      filed in upon the platform and took their appointed places; these were
+      followed by the Lord Protector and other great officials, and these again
+      by a steel-clad detachment of the Guard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a waiting pause; then, at a signal, a triumphant peal of music
+      burst forth, and Tom Canty, clothed in a long robe of cloth of gold,
+      appeared at a door, and stepped upon the platform. &nbsp;The entire
+      multitude rose, and the ceremony of the Recognition ensued.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then a noble anthem swept the Abbey with its rich waves of sound; and thus
+      heralded and welcomed, Tom Canty was conducted to the throne. &nbsp;The
+      ancient ceremonies went on, with impressive solemnity, whilst the audience
+      gazed; and as they drew nearer and nearer to completion, Tom Canty grew
+      pale, and still paler, and a deep and steadily deepening woe and
+      despondency settled down upon his spirits and upon his remorseful heart.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At last the final act was at hand. &nbsp;The Archbishop of Canterbury
+      lifted up the crown of England from its cushion and held it out over the
+      trembling mock-King's head. &nbsp;In the same instant a rainbow-radiance
+      flashed along the spacious transept; for with one impulse every individual
+      in the great concourse of nobles lifted a coronet and poised it over his
+      or her head&mdash;and paused in that attitude.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A deep hush pervaded the Abbey. &nbsp;At this impressive moment, a
+      startling apparition intruded upon the scene&mdash;an apparition observed
+      by none in the absorbed multitude, until it suddenly appeared, moving up
+      the great central aisle. &nbsp;It was a boy, bareheaded, ill shod, and
+      clothed in coarse plebeian garments that were falling to rags. &nbsp;He
+      raised his hand with a solemnity which ill comported with his soiled and
+      sorry aspect, and delivered this note of warning&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I forbid you to set the crown of England upon that forfeited head. &nbsp;I
+      am the King!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In an instant several indignant hands were laid upon the boy; but in the
+      same instant Tom Canty, in his regal vestments, made a swift step forward,
+      and cried out in a ringing voice&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Loose him and forbear! &nbsp;He <i>is</i> the King!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A sort of panic of astonishment swept the assemblage, and they partly rose
+      in their places and stared in a bewildered way at one another and at the
+      chief figures in this scene, like persons who wondered whether they were
+      awake and in their senses, or asleep and dreaming. &nbsp;The Lord
+      Protector was as amazed as the rest, but quickly recovered himself, and
+      exclaimed in a voice of authority&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Mind not his Majesty, his malady is upon him again&mdash;seize the
+      vagabond!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He would have been obeyed, but the mock-King stamped his foot and cried
+      out&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "On your peril! &nbsp;Touch him not, he is the King!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The hands were withheld; a paralysis fell upon the house; no one moved, no
+      one spoke; indeed, no one knew how to act or what to say, in so strange
+      and surprising an emergency. &nbsp;While all minds were struggling to
+      right themselves, the boy still moved steadily forward, with high port and
+      confident mien; he had never halted from the beginning; and while the
+      tangled minds still floundered helplessly, he stepped upon the platform,
+      and the mock-King ran with a glad face to meet him; and fell on his knees
+      before him and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Oh, my lord the King, let poor Tom Canty be first to swear fealty to
+      thee, and say, 'Put on thy crown and enter into thine own again!'"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link32-370" id="link32-370"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link32-370.jpg (121K)" src="images/32-370.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Lord Protector's eye fell sternly upon the new-comer's face; but
+      straightway the sternness vanished away, and gave place to an expression
+      of wondering surprise. &nbsp;This thing happened also to the other great
+      officers. &nbsp;They glanced at each other, and retreated a step by a
+      common and unconscious impulse. &nbsp;The thought in each mind was the
+      same: &nbsp;"What a strange resemblance!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Lord Protector reflected a moment or two in perplexity, then he said,
+      with grave respectfulness&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "By your favour, sir, I desire to ask certain questions which&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I will answer them, my lord."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Duke asked him many questions about the Court, the late King, the
+      prince, the princesses&mdash;the boy answered them correctly and without
+      hesitating. &nbsp;He described the rooms of state in the palace, the late
+      King's apartments, and those of the Prince of Wales.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was strange; it was wonderful; yes, it was unaccountable&mdash;so all
+      said that heard it. &nbsp;The tide was beginning to turn, and Tom Canty's
+      hopes to run high, when the Lord Protector shook his head and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "It is true it is most wonderful&mdash;but it is no more than our lord the
+      King likewise can do." &nbsp;This remark, and this reference to himself as
+      still the King, saddened Tom Canty, and he felt his hopes crumbling from
+      under him. &nbsp;"These are not <i>proofs</i>," added the Protector.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The tide was turning very fast now, very fast indeed&mdash;but in the
+      wrong direction; it was leaving poor Tom Canty stranded on the throne, and
+      sweeping the other out to sea. &nbsp;The Lord Protector communed with
+      himself&mdash;shook his head&mdash;the thought forced itself upon him, "It
+      is perilous to the State and to us all, to entertain so fateful a riddle
+      as this; it could divide the nation and undermine the throne." &nbsp;He
+      turned and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Sir Thomas, arrest this&mdash;No, hold!" &nbsp;His face lighted, and he
+      confronted the ragged candidate with this question&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Where lieth the Great Seal? &nbsp;Answer me this truly, and the riddle is
+      unriddled; for only he that was Prince of Wales <i>can</i> so answer! On so
+      trivial a thing hang a throne and a dynasty!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was a lucky thought, a happy thought. &nbsp;That it was so considered
+      by the great officials was manifested by the silent applause that shot
+      from eye to eye around their circle in the form of bright approving
+      glances. Yes, none but the true prince could dissolve the stubborn mystery
+      of the vanished Great Seal&mdash;this forlorn little impostor had been
+      taught his lesson well, but here his teachings must fail, for his teacher
+      himself could not answer <i>that</i> question&mdash;ah, very good, very good
+      indeed; now we shall be rid of this troublesome and perilous business in
+      short order! And so they nodded invisibly and smiled inwardly with
+      satisfaction, and looked to see this foolish lad stricken with a palsy of
+      guilty confusion. How surprised they were, then, to see nothing of the
+      sort happen&mdash;how they marvelled to hear him answer up promptly, in a
+      confident and untroubled voice, and say&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link32-373" id="link32-373"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link32-373.jpg (201K)" src="images/32-373.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "There is nought in this riddle that is difficult." &nbsp;Then, without so
+      much as a by-your-leave to anybody, he turned and gave this command, with
+      the easy manner of one accustomed to doing such things: "My Lord St. John,
+      go you to my private cabinet in the palace&mdash;for none knoweth the
+      place better than you&mdash;and, close down to the floor, in the left
+      corner remotest from the door that opens from the ante-chamber, you shall
+      find in the wall a brazen nail-head; press upon it and a little
+      jewel-closet will fly open which not even you do know of&mdash;no, nor any
+      soul else in all the world but me and the trusty artisan that did contrive
+      it for me. The first thing that falleth under your eye will be the Great
+      Seal&mdash;fetch it hither."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All the company wondered at this speech, and wondered still more to see
+      the little mendicant pick out this peer without hesitancy or apparent fear
+      of mistake, and call him by name with such a placidly convincing air of
+      having known him all his life. &nbsp;The peer was almost surprised into
+      obeying. &nbsp;He even made a movement as if to go, but quickly recovered
+      his tranquil attitude and confessed his blunder with a blush. &nbsp;Tom
+      Canty turned upon him and said, sharply&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Why dost thou hesitate? &nbsp;Hast not heard the King's command? &nbsp;Go!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Lord St. John made a deep obeisance&mdash;and it was observed that it
+      was a significantly cautious and non-committal one, it not being delivered
+      at either of the kings, but at the neutral ground about half-way between
+      the two&mdash;and took his leave.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now began a movement of the gorgeous particles of that official group
+      which was slow, scarcely perceptible, and yet steady and persistent&mdash;a
+      movement such as is observed in a kaleidoscope that is turned slowly,
+      whereby the components of one splendid cluster fall away and join
+      themselves to another&mdash;a movement which, little by little, in the
+      present case, dissolved the glittering crowd that stood about Tom Canty
+      and clustered it together again in the neighbourhood of the new-comer.
+      &nbsp;Tom Canty stood almost alone. Now ensued a brief season of deep
+      suspense and waiting&mdash;during which even the few faint hearts still
+      remaining near Tom Canty gradually scraped together courage enough to
+      glide, one by one, over to the majority. &nbsp;So at last Tom Canty, in
+      his royal robes and jewels, stood wholly alone and isolated from the
+      world, a conspicuous figure, occupying an eloquent vacancy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now the Lord St. John was seen returning. &nbsp;As he advanced up the
+      mid-aisle the interest was so intense that the low murmur of conversation
+      in the great assemblage died out and was succeeded by a profound hush, a
+      breathless stillness, through which his footfalls pulsed with a dull and
+      distant sound. &nbsp;Every eye was fastened upon him as he moved along.
+      &nbsp;He reached the platform, paused a moment, then moved toward Tom
+      Canty with a deep obeisance, and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Sire, the Seal is not there!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link32-375" id="link32-375"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link32-375.jpg (77K)" src="images/32-375.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A mob does not melt away from the presence of a plague-patient with more
+      haste than the band of pallid and terrified courtiers melted away from the
+      presence of the shabby little claimant of the Crown. &nbsp;In a moment he
+      stood all alone, without friend or supporter, a target upon which was
+      concentrated a bitter fire of scornful and angry looks. &nbsp;The Lord
+      Protector called out fiercely&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Cast the beggar into the street, and scourge him through the town&mdash;the
+      paltry knave is worth no more consideration!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Officers of the guard sprang forward to obey, but Tom Canty waved them off
+      and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Back! &nbsp;Whoso touches him perils his life!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Lord Protector was perplexed in the last degree. &nbsp;He said to the
+      Lord St. John&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Searched you well?&mdash;but it boots not to ask that. &nbsp;It doth seem
+      passing strange. &nbsp;Little things, trifles, slip out of one's ken, and
+      one does not think it matter for surprise; but how so bulky a thing as the
+      Seal of England can vanish away and no man be able to get track of it
+      again&mdash;a massy golden disk&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom Canty, with beaming eyes, sprang forward and shouted&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Hold, that is enough! &nbsp;Was it round?&mdash;and thick?&mdash;and had
+      it letters and devices graved upon it?&mdash;yes? &nbsp;Oh, <i>now</i> I know
+      what this Great Seal is that there's been such worry and pother about. An'
+      ye had described it to me, ye could have had it three weeks ago. &nbsp;Right
+      well I know where it lies; but it was not I that put it there&mdash;first."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Who, then, my liege?" asked the Lord Protector.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "He that stands there&mdash;the rightful King of England. &nbsp;And he
+      shall tell you himself where it lies&mdash;then you will believe he knew
+      it of his own knowledge. &nbsp;Bethink thee, my King&mdash;spur thy memory&mdash;it
+      was the last, the very <i>last</i> thing thou didst that day before thou didst
+      rush forth from the palace, clothed in my rags, to punish the soldier that
+      insulted me."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link32-377" id="link32-377"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link32-377.jpg (85K)" src="images/32-377.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A silence ensued, undisturbed by a movement or a whisper, and all eyes
+      were fixed upon the new-comer, who stood, with bent head and corrugated
+      brow, groping in his memory among a thronging multitude of valueless
+      recollections for one single little elusive fact, which, found, would seat
+      him upon a throne&mdash;unfound, would leave him as he was, for good and
+      all&mdash;a pauper and an outcast. &nbsp;Moment after moment passed&mdash;the
+      moments built themselves into minutes&mdash;still the boy struggled
+      silently on, and gave no sign. &nbsp;But at last he heaved a sigh, shook
+      his head slowly, and said, with a trembling lip and in a despondent voice&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I call the scene back&mdash;all of it&mdash;but the Seal hath no place in
+      it." &nbsp;He paused, then looked up, and said with gentle dignity, "My
+      lords and gentlemen, if ye will rob your rightful sovereign of his own for
+      lack of this evidence which he is not able to furnish, I may not stay ye,
+      being powerless. &nbsp;But&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Oh, folly, oh, madness, my King!" cried Tom Canty, in a panic, "wait!&mdash;think!
+      &nbsp;Do not give up!&mdash;the cause is not lost! &nbsp;Nor <i>shall</i> be,
+      neither! List to what I say&mdash;follow every word&mdash;I am going to
+      bring that morning back again, every hap just as it happened. &nbsp;We
+      talked&mdash;I told you of my sisters, Nan and Bet&mdash;ah, yes, you
+      remember that; and about mine old grandam&mdash;and the rough games of the
+      lads of Offal Court&mdash;yes, you remember these things also; very well,
+      follow me still, you shall recall everything. &nbsp;You gave me food and
+      drink, and did with princely courtesy send away the servants, so that my
+      low breeding might not shame me before them&mdash;ah, yes, this also you
+      remember."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As Tom checked off his details, and the other boy nodded his head in
+      recognition of them, the great audience and the officials stared in
+      puzzled wonderment; the tale sounded like true history, yet how could this
+      impossible conjunction between a prince and a beggar-boy have come about?
+      &nbsp;Never was a company of people so perplexed, so interested, and so
+      stupefied, before.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "For a jest, my prince, we did exchange garments. &nbsp;Then we stood
+      before a mirror; and so alike were we that both said it seemed as if there
+      had been no change made&mdash;yes, you remember that. &nbsp;Then you
+      noticed that the soldier had hurt my hand&mdash;look! here it is, I cannot
+      yet even write with it, the fingers are so stiff. &nbsp;At this your
+      Highness sprang up, vowing vengeance upon that soldier, and ran towards
+      the door&mdash;you passed a table&mdash;that thing you call the Seal lay
+      on that table&mdash;you snatched it up and looked eagerly about, as if for
+      a place to hide it&mdash;your eye caught sight of&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "There, 'tis sufficient!&mdash;and the good God be thanked!" exclaimed the
+      ragged claimant, in a mighty excitement. &nbsp;"Go, my good St. John&mdash;in
+      an arm-piece of the Milanese armour that hangs on the wall, thou'lt find
+      the Seal!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Right, my King! right!" cried Tom Canty; "<i>Now</i> the sceptre of England is
+      thine own; and it were better for him that would dispute it that he had
+      been born dumb! &nbsp;Go, my Lord St. John, give thy feet wings!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The whole assemblage was on its feet now, and well-nigh out of its mind
+      with uneasiness, apprehension, and consuming excitement. &nbsp;On the
+      floor and on the platform a deafening buzz of frantic conversation burst
+      forth, and for some time nobody knew anything or heard anything or was
+      interested in anything but what his neighbour was shouting into his ear,
+      or he was shouting into his neighbour's ear. &nbsp;Time&mdash;nobody knew
+      how much of it&mdash;swept by unheeded and unnoted. &nbsp;At last a sudden
+      hush fell upon the house, and in the same moment St. John appeared upon
+      the platform, and held the Great Seal aloft in his hand. &nbsp;Then such a
+      shout went up&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Long live the true King!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link32-379" id="link32-379"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link32-379.jpg (169K)" src="images/32-379.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For five minutes the air quaked with shouts and the crash of musical
+      instruments, and was white with a storm of waving handkerchiefs; and
+      through it all a ragged lad, the most conspicuous figure in England,
+      stood, flushed and happy and proud, in the centre of the spacious
+      platform, with the great vassals of the kingdom kneeling around him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then all rose, and Tom Canty cried out&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Now, O my King, take these regal garments back, and give poor Tom, thy
+      servant, his shreds and remnants again."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Lord Protector spoke up&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Let the small varlet be stripped and flung into the Tower."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But the new King, the true King, said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I will not have it so. &nbsp;But for him I had not got my crown again&mdash;none
+      shall lay a hand upon him to harm him. &nbsp;And as for thee, my good
+      uncle, my Lord Protector, this conduct of thine is not grateful toward
+      this poor lad, for I hear he hath made thee a duke"&mdash;the Protector
+      blushed&mdash;"yet he was not a king; wherefore what is thy fine title
+      worth now? &nbsp;To-morrow you shall sue to me, <i>through him</i>, for its
+      confirmation, else no duke, but a simple earl, shalt thou remain."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Under this rebuke, his Grace the Duke of Somerset retired a little from
+      the front for the moment. &nbsp;The King turned to Tom, and said kindly&mdash;"My
+      poor boy, how was it that you could remember where I hid the Seal when I
+      could not remember it myself?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Ah, my King, that was easy, since I used it divers days."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Used it&mdash;yet could not explain where it was?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I did not know it was <i>that</i> they wanted. &nbsp;They did not describe it,
+      your Majesty."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Then how used you it?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The red blood began to steal up into Tom's cheeks, and he dropped his eyes
+      and was silent.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Speak up, good lad, and fear nothing," said the King. &nbsp;"How used you
+      the Great Seal of England?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom stammered a moment, in a pathetic confusion, then got it out&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "To crack nuts with!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link32-381" id="link32-381"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link32-381.jpg (59K)" src="images/32-381.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Poor child, the avalanche of laughter that greeted this nearly swept him
+      off his feet. &nbsp;But if a doubt remained in any mind that Tom Canty was
+      not the King of England and familiar with the august appurtenances of
+      royalty, this reply disposed of it utterly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Meantime the sumptuous robe of state had been removed from Tom's shoulders
+      to the King's, whose rags were effectually hidden from sight under it.
+      &nbsp;Then the coronation ceremonies were resumed; the true King was
+      anointed and the crown set upon his head, whilst cannon thundered the news
+      to the city, and all London seemed to rock with applause.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c33" id="c33"></a> <a name="link33-383"
+      id="link33-383"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link33-383.jpg (86K)" src="images/33-383.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Chapter XXXIII. Edward as King.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Miles Hendon was picturesque enough before he got into the riot on London
+      Bridge&mdash;he was more so when he got out of it. &nbsp;He had but little
+      money when he got in, none at all when he got out. &nbsp;The pickpockets
+      had stripped him of his last farthing.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But no matter, so he found his boy. &nbsp;Being a soldier, he did not go
+      at his task in a random way, but set to work, first of all, to arrange his
+      campaign.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      What would the boy naturally do? &nbsp;Where would he naturally go? Well&mdash;argued
+      Miles&mdash;he would naturally go to his former haunts, for that is the
+      instinct of unsound minds, when homeless and forsaken, as well as of sound
+      ones. &nbsp;Whereabouts were his former haunts? &nbsp;His rags, taken
+      together with the low villain who seemed to know him and who even claimed
+      to be his father, indicated that his home was in one or another of the
+      poorest and meanest districts of London. &nbsp;Would the search for him be
+      difficult, or long? &nbsp;No, it was likely to be easy and brief. &nbsp;He
+      would not hunt for the boy, he would hunt for a crowd; in the centre of a
+      big crowd or a little one, sooner or later, he should find his poor little
+      friend, sure; and the mangy mob would be entertaining itself with
+      pestering and aggravating the boy, who would be proclaiming himself King,
+      as usual. &nbsp;Then Miles Hendon would cripple some of those people, and
+      carry off his little ward, and comfort and cheer him with loving words,
+      and the two would never be separated any more.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So Miles started on his quest. &nbsp;Hour after hour he tramped through
+      back alleys and squalid streets, seeking groups and crowds, and finding no
+      end of them, but never any sign of the boy. &nbsp;This greatly surprised
+      him, but did not discourage him. &nbsp;To his notion, there was nothing
+      the matter with his plan of campaign; the only miscalculation about it was
+      that the campaign was becoming a lengthy one, whereas he had expected it
+      to be short.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When daylight arrived, at last, he had made many a mile, and canvassed
+      many a crowd, but the only result was that he was tolerably tired, rather
+      hungry and very sleepy. &nbsp;He wanted some breakfast, but there was no
+      way to get it. &nbsp;To beg for it did not occur to him; as to pawning his
+      sword, he would as soon have thought of parting with his honour; he could
+      spare some of his clothes&mdash;yes, but one could as easily find a
+      customer for a disease as for such clothes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At noon he was still tramping&mdash;among the rabble which followed after
+      the royal procession, now; for he argued that this regal display would
+      attract his little lunatic powerfully. &nbsp;He followed the pageant
+      through all its devious windings about London, and all the way to
+      Westminster and the Abbey. &nbsp;He drifted here and there amongst the
+      multitudes that were massed in the vicinity for a weary long time, baffled
+      and perplexed, and finally wandered off, thinking, and trying to contrive
+      some way to better his plan of campaign. &nbsp;By-and-by, when he came to
+      himself out of his musings, he discovered that the town was far behind him
+      and that the day was growing old. &nbsp;He was near the river, and in the
+      country; it was a region of fine rural seats&mdash;not the sort of
+      district to welcome clothes like his.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link33-386" id="link33-386"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link33-386.jpg (94K)" src="images/33-386.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was not at all cold; so he stretched himself on the ground in the lee
+      of a hedge to rest and think. &nbsp;Drowsiness presently began to settle
+      upon his senses; the faint and far-off boom of cannon was wafted to his
+      ear, and he said to himself, "The new King is crowned," and straightway
+      fell asleep. &nbsp;He had not slept or rested, before, for more than
+      thirty hours. He did not wake again until near the middle of the next
+      morning.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He got up, lame, stiff, and half famished, washed himself in the river,
+      stayed his stomach with a pint or two of water, and trudged off toward
+      Westminster, grumbling at himself for having wasted so much time. &nbsp;Hunger
+      helped him to a new plan, now; he would try to get speech with old Sir
+      Humphrey Marlow and borrow a few marks, and&mdash;but that was enough of a
+      plan for the present; it would be time enough to enlarge it when this
+      first stage should be accomplished.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Toward eleven o'clock he approached the palace; and although a host of
+      showy people were about him, moving in the same direction, he was not
+      inconspicuous&mdash;his costume took care of that. &nbsp;He watched these
+      people's faces narrowly, hoping to find a charitable one whose possessor
+      might be willing to carry his name to the old lieutenant&mdash;as to
+      trying to get into the palace himself, that was simply out of the
+      question.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Presently our whipping-boy passed him, then wheeled about and scanned his
+      figure well, saying to himself, "An' that is not the very vagabond his
+      Majesty is in such a worry about, then am I an ass&mdash;though belike I
+      was that before. &nbsp;He answereth the description to a rag&mdash;that
+      God should make two such would be to cheapen miracles by wasteful
+      repetition. &nbsp;I would I could contrive an excuse to speak with him."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Miles Hendon saved him the trouble; for he turned about, then, as a man
+      generally will when somebody mesmerises him by gazing hard at him from
+      behind; and observing a strong interest in the boy's eyes, he stepped
+      toward him and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "You have just come out from the palace; do you belong there?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Yes, your worship."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Know you Sir Humphrey Marlow?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The boy started, and said to himself, "Lord! mine old departed father!"
+      Then he answered aloud, "Right well, your worship."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Good&mdash;is he within?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Yes," said the boy; and added, to himself, "within his grave."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Might I crave your favour to carry my name to him, and say I beg to say a
+      word in his ear?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I will despatch the business right willingly, fair sir."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Then say Miles Hendon, son of Sir Richard, is here without&mdash;I shall
+      be greatly bounden to you, my good lad."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The boy looked disappointed. &nbsp;"The King did not name him so," he said
+      to himself; "but it mattereth not, this is his twin brother, and can give
+      his Majesty news of t'other Sir-Odds-and-Ends, I warrant." &nbsp;So he
+      said to Miles, "Step in there a moment, good sir, and wait till I bring
+      you word."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hendon retired to the place indicated&mdash;it was a recess sunk in the
+      palace wall, with a stone bench in it&mdash;a shelter for sentinels in bad
+      weather. He had hardly seated himself when some halberdiers, in charge of
+      an officer, passed by. &nbsp;The officer saw him, halted his men, and
+      commanded Hendon to come forth. &nbsp;He obeyed, and was promptly arrested
+      as a suspicious character prowling within the precincts of the palace.
+      &nbsp;Things began to look ugly. &nbsp;Poor Miles was going to explain,
+      but the officer roughly silenced him, and ordered his men to disarm him
+      and search him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link33-389" id="link33-389"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link33-389.jpg (117K)" src="images/33-389.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "God of his mercy grant that they find somewhat," said poor Miles; "I have
+      searched enow, and failed, yet is my need greater than theirs."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Nothing was found but a document. &nbsp;The officer tore it open, and
+      Hendon smiled when he recognised the 'pot-hooks' made by his lost little
+      friend that black day at Hendon Hall. &nbsp;The officer's face grew dark
+      as he read the English paragraph, and Miles blenched to the opposite
+      colour as he listened.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Another new claimant of the Crown!" cried the officer. &nbsp;"Verily they
+      breed like rabbits, to-day. &nbsp;Seize the rascal, men, and see ye keep
+      him fast whilst I convey this precious paper within and send it to the
+      King."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He hurried away, leaving the prisoner in the grip of the halberdiers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Now is my evil luck ended at last," muttered Hendon, "for I shall dangle
+      at a rope's end for a certainty, by reason of that bit of writing. &nbsp;And
+      what will become of my poor lad!&mdash;ah, only the good God knoweth."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By-and-by he saw the officer coming again, in a great hurry; so he plucked
+      his courage together, purposing to meet his trouble as became a man.
+      &nbsp;The officer ordered the men to loose the prisoner and return his
+      sword to him; then bowed respectfully, and said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Please you, sir, to follow me."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hendon followed, saying to himself, "An' I were not travelling to death
+      and judgment, and so must needs economise in sin, I would throttle this
+      knave for his mock courtesy."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The two traversed a populous court, and arrived at the grand entrance of
+      the palace, where the officer, with another bow, delivered Hendon into the
+      hands of a gorgeous official, who received him with profound respect and
+      led him forward through a great hall, lined on both sides with rows of
+      splendid flunkeys (who made reverential obeisance as the two passed along,
+      but fell into death-throes of silent laughter at our stately scarecrow the
+      moment his back was turned), and up a broad staircase, among flocks of
+      fine folk, and finally conducted him into a vast room, clove a passage for
+      him through the assembled nobility of England, then made a bow, reminded
+      him to take his hat off, and left him standing in the middle of the room,
+      a mark for all eyes, for plenty of indignant frowns, and for a sufficiency
+      of amused and derisive smiles.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Miles Hendon was entirely bewildered. &nbsp;There sat the young King,
+      under a canopy of state, five steps away, with his head bent down and
+      aside, speaking with a sort of human bird of paradise&mdash;a duke, maybe.
+      &nbsp;Hendon observed to himself that it was hard enough to be sentenced
+      to death in the full vigour of life, without having this peculiarly public
+      humiliation added. &nbsp;He wished the King would hurry about it&mdash;some
+      of the gaudy people near by were becoming pretty offensive. &nbsp;At this
+      moment the King raised his head slightly, and Hendon caught a good view of
+      his face. The sight nearly took his breath away!&mdash;He stood gazing at
+      the fair young face like one transfixed; then presently ejaculated&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Lo, the Lord of the Kingdom of Dreams and Shadows on his throne!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He muttered some broken sentences, still gazing and marvelling; then
+      turned his eyes around and about, scanning the gorgeous throng and the
+      splendid saloon, murmuring, "But these are <i>real</i>&mdash;verily these are
+      <i>real</i>&mdash;surely it is not a dream."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He stared at the King again&mdash;and thought, "<i>Is</i> it a dream . . . or <i>is</i>
+      he the veritable Sovereign of England, and not the friendless poor Tom o'
+      Bedlam I took him for&mdash;who shall solve me this riddle?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A sudden idea flashed in his eye, and he strode to the wall, gathered up a
+      chair, brought it back, planted it on the floor, and sat down in it!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link33-392" id="link33-392"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link33-392.jpg (184K)" src="images/33-392.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A buzz of indignation broke out, a rough hand was laid upon him and a
+      voice exclaimed&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Up, thou mannerless clown! would'st sit in the presence of the King?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The disturbance attracted his Majesty's attention, who stretched forth his
+      hand and cried out&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Touch him not, it is his right!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The throng fell back, stupefied. &nbsp;The King went on&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Learn ye all, ladies, lords, and gentlemen, that this is my trusty and
+      well-beloved servant, Miles Hendon, who interposed his good sword and
+      saved his prince from bodily harm and possible death&mdash;and for this he
+      is a knight, by the King's voice. &nbsp;Also learn, that for a higher
+      service, in that he saved his sovereign stripes and shame, taking these
+      upon himself, he is a peer of England, Earl of Kent, and shall have gold
+      and lands meet for the dignity. &nbsp;More&mdash;the privilege which he
+      hath just exercised is his by royal grant; for we have ordained that the
+      chiefs of his line shall have and hold the right to sit in the presence of
+      the Majesty of England henceforth, age after age, so long as the crown
+      shall endure. &nbsp;Molest him not."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Two persons, who, through delay, had only arrived from the country during
+      this morning, and had now been in this room only five minutes, stood
+      listening to these words and looking at the King, then at the scarecrow,
+      then at the King again, in a sort of torpid bewilderment. &nbsp;These were
+      Sir Hugh and the Lady Edith. &nbsp;But the new Earl did not see them.
+      &nbsp;He was still staring at the monarch, in a dazed way, and muttering&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Oh, body o' me! &nbsp;<i>this</i> my pauper! &nbsp;This my lunatic! &nbsp;This
+      is he whom <i>I</i> would show what grandeur was, in my house of seventy rooms
+      and seven-and-twenty servants! &nbsp;This is he who had never known aught
+      but rags for raiment, kicks for comfort, and offal for diet! &nbsp;This is
+      he whom <i>I</i> adopted and would make respectable! Would God I had a bag to
+      hide my head in!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then his manners suddenly came back to him, and he dropped upon his knees,
+      with his hands between the King's, and swore allegiance and did homage for
+      his lands and titles. &nbsp;Then he rose and stood respectfully aside, a
+      mark still for all eyes&mdash;and much envy, too.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now the King discovered Sir Hugh, and spoke out with wrathful voice and
+      kindling eye&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Strip this robber of his false show and stolen estates, and put him under
+      lock and key till I have need of him."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The late Sir Hugh was led away.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link33-394" id="link33-394"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link33-394.jpg (165K)" src="images/33-394.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a stir at the other end of the room, now; the assemblage fell
+      apart, and Tom Canty, quaintly but richly clothed, marched down, between
+      these living walls, preceded by an usher. &nbsp;He knelt before the King,
+      who said&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I have learned the story of these past few weeks, and am well pleased
+      with thee. &nbsp;Thou hast governed the realm with right royal gentleness
+      and mercy. &nbsp;Thou hast found thy mother and thy sisters again? &nbsp;Good;
+      they shall be cared for&mdash;and thy father shall hang, if thou desire it
+      and the law consent. &nbsp;Know, all ye that hear my voice, that from this
+      day, they that abide in the shelter of Christ's Hospital and share the
+      King's bounty shall have their minds and hearts fed, as well as their
+      baser parts; and this boy shall dwell there, and hold the chief place in
+      its honourable body of governors, during life. &nbsp;And for that he hath
+      been a king, it is meet that other than common observance shall be his
+      due; wherefore note this his dress of state, for by it he shall be known,
+      and none shall copy it; and wheresoever he shall come, it shall remind the
+      people that he hath been royal, in his time, and none shall deny him his
+      due of reverence or fail to give him salutation. &nbsp;He hath the
+      throne's protection, he hath the crown's support, he shall be known and
+      called by the honourable title of the King's Ward."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /> <a name="link33-395" id="link33-395"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link33-395.jpg (145K)" src="images/33-395.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The proud and happy Tom Canty rose and kissed the King's hand, and was
+      conducted from the presence. &nbsp;He did not waste any time, but flew to
+      his mother, to tell her and Nan and Bet all about it and get them to help
+      him enjoy the great news. {1}
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c34" id="c34"></a> <a name="link34-397"
+      id="link34-397"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link34-397.jpg (58K)" src="images/34-397.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Conclusion. Justice and retribution.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When the mysteries were all cleared up, it came out, by confession of Hugh
+      Hendon, that his wife had repudiated Miles by his command, that day at
+      Hendon Hall&mdash;a command assisted and supported by the perfectly
+      trustworthy promise that if she did not deny that he was Miles Hendon, and
+      stand firmly to it, he would have her life; whereupon she said, "Take it!"&mdash;she
+      did not value it&mdash;and she would not repudiate Miles; then the husband
+      said he would spare her life but have Miles assassinated! &nbsp;This was a
+      different matter; so she gave her word and kept it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hugh was not prosecuted for his threats or for stealing his brother's
+      estates and title, because the wife and brother would not testify against
+      him&mdash;and the former would not have been allowed to do it, even if she
+      had wanted to. &nbsp;Hugh deserted his wife and went over to the
+      continent, where he presently died; and by-and-by the Earl of Kent married
+      his relict. There were grand times and rejoicings at Hendon village when
+      the couple paid their first visit to the Hall.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom Canty's father was never heard of again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King sought out the farmer who had been branded and sold as a slave,
+      and reclaimed him from his evil life with the Ruffler's gang, and put him
+      in the way of a comfortable livelihood.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He also took that old lawyer out of prison and remitted his fine. He
+      provided good homes for the daughters of the two Baptist women whom he saw
+      burned at the stake, and roundly punished the official who laid the
+      undeserved stripes upon Miles Hendon's back.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He saved from the gallows the boy who had captured the stray falcon, and
+      also the woman who had stolen a remnant of cloth from a weaver; but he was
+      too late to save the man who had been convicted of killing a deer in the
+      royal forest.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He showed favour to the justice who had pitied him when he was supposed to
+      have stolen a pig, and he had the gratification of seeing him grow in the
+      public esteem and become a great and honoured man.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As long as the King lived he was fond of telling the story of his
+      adventures, all through, from the hour that the sentinel cuffed him away
+      from the palace gate till the final midnight when he deftly mixed himself
+      into a gang of hurrying workmen and so slipped into the Abbey and climbed
+      up and hid himself in the Confessor's tomb, and then slept so long, next
+      day, that he came within one of missing the Coronation altogether. &nbsp;He
+      said that the frequent rehearsing of the precious lesson kept him strong
+      in his purpose to make its teachings yield benefits to his people; and so,
+      whilst his life was spared he should continue to tell the story, and thus
+      keep its sorrowful spectacles fresh in his memory and the springs of pity
+      replenished in his heart.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Miles Hendon and Tom Canty were favourites of the King, all through his
+      brief reign, and his sincere mourners when he died. The good Earl of Kent
+      had too much sense to abuse his peculiar privilege; but he exercised it
+      twice after the instance we have seen of it before he was called from this
+      world&mdash;once at the accession of Queen Mary, and once at the accession
+      of Queen Elizabeth. &nbsp;A descendant of his exercised it at the
+      accession of James I. &nbsp;Before this one's son chose to use the
+      privilege, near a quarter of a century had elapsed, and the 'privilege of
+      the Kents' had faded out of most people's memories; so, when the Kent of
+      that day appeared before Charles I. and his court and sat down in the
+      sovereign's presence to assert and perpetuate the right of his house,
+      there was a fine stir indeed! &nbsp;But the matter was soon explained, and
+      the right confirmed. &nbsp;The last Earl of the line fell in the wars of
+      the Commonwealth fighting for the King, and the odd privilege ended with
+      him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom Canty lived to be a very old man, a handsome, white-haired old fellow,
+      of grave and benignant aspect. &nbsp;As long as he lasted he was honoured;
+      and he was also reverenced, for his striking and peculiar costume kept the
+      people reminded that 'in his time he had been royal;' so, wherever he
+      appeared the crowd fell apart, making way for him, and whispering, one to
+      another, "Doff thy hat, it is the King's Ward!"&mdash;and so they saluted,
+      and got his kindly smile in return&mdash;and they valued it, too, for his
+      was an honourable history.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Yes, King Edward VI. lived only a few years, poor boy, but he lived them
+      worthily. &nbsp;More than once, when some great dignitary, some gilded
+      vassal of the crown, made argument against his leniency, and urged that
+      some law which he was bent upon amending was gentle enough for its
+      purpose, and wrought no suffering or oppression which any one need
+      mightily mind, the young King turned the mournful eloquence of his great
+      compassionate eyes upon him and answered&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "What dost <i>thou</i> know of suffering and oppression? &nbsp;I and my people
+      know, but not thou."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The reign of Edward VI. was a singularly merciful one for those harsh
+      times. &nbsp;Now that we are taking leave of him, let us try to keep this
+      in our minds, to his credit.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /><br /> <a name="c35" id="c35"></a> <a name="link35-403"
+      id="link35-403"></a> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+      <img alt="link35-403.jpg (46K)" src="images/35-403.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      FOOTNOTES AND TWAIN'S NOTES
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      {1} &nbsp;For Mark Twain's note see below under the relevant chapter
+      heading.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      {2} &nbsp;He refers to the order of baronets, or baronettes; the barones
+      minores, as distinct from the parliamentary barons&mdash;not, it need
+      hardly be said, to the baronets of later creation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      {3} &nbsp;The lords of Kingsale, descendants of De Courcy, still enjoy
+      this curious privilege.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      {4} &nbsp;Hume.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      {5} &nbsp;Ib.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      {6} &nbsp;Leigh Hunt's 'The Town,' p.408, quotation from an early tourist.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      {7} &nbsp;Canting terms for various kinds of thieves, beggars and
+      vagabonds, and their female companions.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      {8} &nbsp;From 'The English Rogue.' &nbsp;London, 1665.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      {9} &nbsp;Hume's England.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      {10} &nbsp;See Dr. J. Hammond Trumbull's Blue Laws, True and False, p. 11.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br />NOTE 1, Chapter IV. Christ's Hospital Costume.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It is most reasonable to regard the dress as copied from the costume of
+      the citizens of London of that period, when long blue coats were the
+      common habit of apprentices and serving-men, and yellow stockings were
+      generally worn; the coat fits closely to the body, but has loose sleeves,
+      and beneath is worn a sleeveless yellow under-coat; around the waist is a
+      red leathern girdle; a clerical band around the neck, and a small flat
+      black cap, about the size of a saucer, completes the costume.&mdash;Timbs'
+      Curiosities of London.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br />NOTE 2, Chapter IV.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It appears that Christ's Hospital was not originally founded as a <i>school</i>;
+      its object was to rescue children from the streets, to shelter, feed,
+      clothe them.&mdash;Timbs' Curiosities of London.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br />NOTE 3, Chapter V. The Duke of Norfolk's Condemnation
+      commanded.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The King was now approaching fast towards his end; and fearing lest
+      Norfolk should escape him, he sent a message to the Commons, by which he
+      desired them to hasten the Bill, on pretence that Norfolk enjoyed the
+      dignity of Earl Marshal, and it was necessary to appoint another, who
+      might officiate at the ensuing ceremony of installing his son Prince of
+      Wales.&mdash;Hume's History of England, vol. iii. p. 307.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br />NOTE 4, Chapter VII.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was not till the end of this reign (Henry VIII.) that any salads,
+      carrots, turnips, or other edible roots were produced in England. &nbsp;The
+      little of these vegetables that was used was formerly imported from
+      Holland and Flanders. &nbsp;Queen Catherine, when she wanted a salad, was
+      obliged to despatch a messenger thither on purpose.&mdash;Hume's History
+      of England, vol. iii. p. 314.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br />NOTE 5, Chapter VIII. Attainder of Norfolk.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The House of Peers, without examining the prisoner, without trial or
+      evidence, passed a Bill of Attainder against him and sent it down to the
+      Commons . . . The obsequious Commons obeyed his (the King's) directions;
+      and the King, having affixed the Royal assent to the Bill by
+      commissioners, issued orders for the execution of Norfolk on the morning
+      of January 29 (the next day).&mdash;Hume's History of England, vol iii. p
+      306.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br />NOTE 6, Chapter X. The Loving-cup.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The loving-cup, and the peculiar ceremonies observed in drinking from it,
+      are older than English history. &nbsp;It is thought that both are Danish
+      importations. &nbsp;As far back as knowledge goes, the loving-cup has
+      always been drunk at English banquets. &nbsp;Tradition explains the
+      ceremonies in this way. &nbsp;In the rude ancient times it was deemed a
+      wise precaution to have both hands of both drinkers employed, lest while
+      the pledger pledged his love and fidelity to the pledgee, the pledgee take
+      that opportunity to slip a dirk into him!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br />NOTE 7, Chapter XI. The Duke of Norfolk's narrow Escape.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Had Henry VIII. survived a few hours longer, his order for the duke's
+      execution would have been carried into effect. 'But news being carried to
+      the Tower that the King himself had expired that night, the lieutenant
+      deferred obeying the warrant; and it was not thought advisable by the
+      Council to begin a new reign by the death of the greatest nobleman in the
+      kingdom, who had been condemned by a sentence so unjust and tyrannical.'&mdash;Hume's
+      History of England, vol. iii, p. 307.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br />NOTE 8, Chapter XIV. The Whipping-boy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      James I. and Charles II. had whipping-boys, when they were little fellows,
+      to take their punishment for them when they fell short in their lessons;
+      so I have ventured to furnish my small prince with one, for my own
+      purposes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br />NOTES to Chapter XV.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Character of Hertford.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The young King discovered an extreme attachment to his uncle, who was, in
+      the main, a man of moderation and probity.&mdash;Hume's History of
+      England, vol. iii, p324.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But if he (the Protector) gave offence by assuming too much state, he
+      deserves great praise on account of the laws passed this session, by which
+      the rigour of former statutes was much mitigated, and some security given
+      to the freedom of the constitution. &nbsp;All laws were repealed which
+      extended the crime of treason beyond the statute of the twenty-fifth of
+      Edward III.; all laws enacted during the late reign extending the crime of
+      felony; all the former laws against Lollardy or heresy, together with the
+      statute of the Six Articles. &nbsp;None were to be accused for words, but
+      within a month after they were spoken. &nbsp;By these repeals several of
+      the most rigorous laws that ever had passed in England were annulled; and
+      some dawn, both of civil and religious liberty, began to appear to the
+      people. &nbsp;A repeal also passed of that law, the destruction of all
+      laws, by which the King's proclamation was made of equal force with a
+      statute.&mdash;Ibid. vol. iii. p. 339.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Boiling to Death.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the reign of Henry VIII. poisoners were, by Act of Parliament,
+      condemned to be <i>boiled to death</i>. &nbsp;This Act was repealed in the
+      following reign.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In Germany, even in the seventeenth century, this horrible punishment was
+      inflicted on coiners and counterfeiters. &nbsp;Taylor, the Water Poet,
+      describes an execution he witnessed in Hamburg in 1616. &nbsp;The judgment
+      pronounced against a coiner of false money was that he should '<i>be boiled
+            to death in oil</i>; not thrown into the vessel at once, but with a pulley or
+      rope to be hanged under the armpits, and then let down into the oil <i>by
+            degrees</i>; first the feet, and next the legs, and so to boil his flesh from
+      his bones alive.'&mdash;Dr. J. Hammond Trumbull's Blue Laws, True and
+      False, p. 13.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Famous Stocking Case.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A woman and her daughter, <i>nine years old</i>, were hanged in Huntingdon for
+      selling their souls to the devil, and raising a storm by pulling off their
+      stockings!&mdash;Dr. J. Hammond Trumbull's Blue Laws, True and False, p.
+      20.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br />NOTE 10, Chapter XVII. Enslaving.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So young a King and so ignorant a peasant were likely to make mistakes;
+      and this is an instance in point. &nbsp;This peasant was suffering from
+      this law <i>by anticipation</i>; the King was venting his indignation against a
+      law which was not yet in existence; for this hideous statute was to have
+      birth in this little King's <i>own reign</i>. However, we know, from the humanity
+      of his character, that it could never have been suggested by him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br />NOTES to Chapter XXIII. Death for Trifling Larcenies.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When Connecticut and New Haven were framing their first codes, larceny
+      above the value of twelve pence was a capital crime in England&mdash;as it
+      had been since the time of Henry I.&mdash;Dr. J. Hammond Trumbull's Blue
+      Laws, True and False, p. 17.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The curious old book called The English Rogue makes the limit thirteen
+      pence ha'penny: &nbsp;death being the portion of any who steal a thing
+      'above the value of thirteen pence ha'penny.'
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br />NOTES to Chapter XXVII.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      From many descriptions of larceny the law expressly took away the benefit
+      of clergy: &nbsp;to steal a horse, or a <i>hawk</i>, or woollen cloth from the
+      weaver, was a hanging matter. &nbsp;So it was to kill a deer from the
+      King's forest, or to export sheep from the kingdom.&mdash;Dr. J. Hammond
+      Trumbull's Blue Laws, True and False, p.13.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      William Prynne, a learned barrister, was sentenced (long after Edward
+      VI.'s time) to lose both his ears in the pillory, to degradation from the
+      bar, a fine of 3,000 pounds, and imprisonment for life. &nbsp;Three years
+      afterwards he gave new offence to Laud by publishing a pamphlet against
+      the hierarchy. &nbsp;He was again prosecuted, and was sentenced to lose
+      <i>what remained of his ears</i>, to pay a fine of 5,000 pounds, to be <i>branded on
+            both his cheeks</i> with the letters S. L. (for Seditious Libeller), and to
+      remain in prison for life. &nbsp;The severity of this sentence was
+      equalled by the savage rigour of its execution.&mdash;Ibid. p. 12.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br />NOTES to Chapter XXXIII.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Christ's Hospital, or Bluecoat School, 'the noblest institution in the
+      world.'
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The ground on which the Priory of the Grey Friars stood was conferred by
+      Henry VIII. on the Corporation of London (who caused the institution there
+      of a home for poor boys and girls). Subsequently, Edward VI. caused the
+      old Priory to be properly repaired, and founded within it that noble
+      establishment called the Bluecoat School, or Christ's Hospital, for the
+      <i>education</i> and maintenance of orphans and the children of indigent persons
+      . . . Edward would not let him (Bishop Ridley) depart till the letter was
+      written (to the Lord Mayor), and then charged him to deliver it himself,
+      and signify his special request and commandment that no time might be lost
+      in proposing what was convenient, and apprising him of the proceedings.
+      &nbsp;The work was zealously undertaken, Ridley himself engaging in it;
+      and the result was the founding of Christ's Hospital for the education of
+      poor children. (The King endowed several other charities at the same
+      time.) "Lord God," said he, "I yield Thee most hearty thanks that Thou
+      hast given me life thus long to finish this work to the glory of Thy
+      name!" &nbsp;That innocent and most exemplary life was drawing rapidly to
+      its close, and in a few days he rendered up his spirit to his Creator,
+      praying God to defend the realm from Papistry.&mdash;J. Heneage Jesse's
+      London: &nbsp;its Celebrated Characters and Places.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the Great Hall hangs a large picture of King Edward VI. seated on his
+      throne, in a scarlet and ermined robe, holding the sceptre in his left
+      hand, and presenting with the other the Charter to the kneeling Lord
+      Mayor. &nbsp;By his side stands the Chancellor, holding the seals, and
+      next to him are other officers of state. &nbsp;Bishop Ridley kneels before
+      him with uplifted hands, as if supplicating a blessing on the event;
+      whilst the Aldermen, etc., with the Lord Mayor, kneel on both sides,
+      occupying the middle ground of the picture; and lastly, in front, are a
+      double row of boys on one side and girls on the other, from the master and
+      matron down to the boy and girl who have stepped forward from their
+      respective rows, and kneel with raised hands before the King.&mdash;Timbs'
+      Curiosities of London, p. 98.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Christ's Hospital, by ancient custom, possesses the privilege of
+      addressing the Sovereign on the occasion of his or her coming into the
+      City to partake of the hospitality of the Corporation of London.&mdash;Ibid.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Dining Hall, with its lobby and organ-gallery, occupies the entire
+      storey, which is 187 feet long, 51 feet wide, and 47 feet high; it is lit
+      by nine large windows, filled with stained glass on the south side; and
+      is, next to Westminster Hall, the noblest room in the metropolis. &nbsp;Here
+      the boys, now about 800 in number, dine; and here are held the 'Suppings
+      in Public,' to which visitors are admitted by tickets issued by the
+      Treasurer and by the Governors of Christ's Hospital. &nbsp;The tables are
+      laid with cheese in wooden bowls, beer in wooden piggins, poured from
+      leathern jacks, and bread brought in large baskets. &nbsp;The official
+      company enter; the Lord Mayor, or President, takes his seat in a state
+      chair made of oak from St. Catherine's Church, by the Tower; a hymn is
+      sung, accompanied by the organ; a 'Grecian,' or head boy, reads the
+      prayers from the pulpit, silence being enforced by three drops of a wooden
+      hammer. &nbsp;After prayer the supper commences, and the visitors walk
+      between the tables. &nbsp;At its close the 'trade-boys' take up the
+      baskets, bowls, jacks, piggins, and candlesticks, and pass in procession,
+      the bowing to the Governors being curiously formal. &nbsp;This spectacle
+      was witnessed by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1845.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Among the more eminent Bluecoat boys are Joshua Barnes, editor of Anacreon
+      and Euripides; Jeremiah Markland, the eminent critic, particularly in
+      Greek Literature; Camden, the antiquary; Bishop Stillingfleet; Samuel
+      Richardson, the novelist; Thomas Mitchell, the translator of Aristophanes;
+      Thomas Barnes, many years editor of the London Times; Coleridge, Charles
+      Lamb, and Leigh Hunt.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      No boy is admitted before he is seven years old, or after he is nine; and
+      no boy can remain in the school after he is fifteen, King's boys and
+      'Grecians' alone excepted. &nbsp;There are about 500 Governors, at the
+      head of whom are the Sovereign and the Prince of Wales. &nbsp;The
+      qualification for a Governor is payment of 500 pounds.&mdash;Ibid.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      GENERAL NOTE.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      One hears much about the 'hideous Blue Laws of Connecticut,' and is
+      accustomed to shudder piously when they are mentioned. &nbsp;There are
+      people in America&mdash;and even in England!&mdash;who imagine that they
+      were a very monument of malignity, pitilessness, and inhumanity; whereas
+      in reality they were about the first <i>sweeping departure from judicial
+            atrocity</i> which the 'civilised' world had seen. &nbsp;This humane and
+      kindly Blue Law Code, of two hundred and forty years ago, stands all by
+      itself, with ages of bloody law on the further side of it, and a century
+      and three-quarters of bloody English law on <i>this</i> side of it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There has never been a time&mdash;under the Blue Laws or any other&mdash;when
+      above <i>fourteen</i> crimes were punishable by death in Connecticut. &nbsp;But
+      in England, within the memory of men who are still hale in body and mind,
+      <i>two hundred and twenty-three</i> crimes were punishable by death! {10} &nbsp;These
+      facts are worth knowing&mdash;and worth thinking about, too.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+
+
+
+
+
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+<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
+<html>
+<head>
+<title>THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER, By Mark Twain, Complete</title>
+<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
+<link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg">
+
+<style type="text/css">
+    <!--
+		body {background:#faebd7; margin:10%; text-align:justify}
+    P { text-indent:   1em;
+        margin-top:    .75em;
+        margin-bottom: .75em; }
+    H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; }
+    HR  { width: 33%; text-align: center; }
+		blockquote {font-size: 97% }
+		.figleft   {float: left;}
+    .figright  {float: right;}
+    .toc       { margin-left: 15%; margin-bottom: 0em;}
+    CENTER { padding: 10px;}
+    // -->
+</style>
+
+</head>
+<body>
+
+
+<h2><a href="#contents">THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER, By Mark Twain, Complete</a></h2>
+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Prince and The Pauper, Complete
+by Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net
+
+
+Title: The Prince and The Pauper, Complete
+
+Author: Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
+
+Release Date: August 20, 2006 [EBook #1837]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PRINCE AND THE PAUPER ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Widger. The earliest PG edition was prepared by
+Les Bowler
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<a name="contents"></a>
+<br>
+
+                                <h3>CONTENTS</h3>
+
+<center>
+<table summary="" cellPadding=4 border=3>
+
+
+<tr><td><a href="p1.htm"><big><b>Part 1.</b></big></a>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td> Chapter&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td>    I. </td><td>    to&nbsp;&nbsp; </td><td>   IV.</td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="p2.htm"><big><b>Part 2.</b></big></a></td><td> Chapter </td><td>   V.</td><td>   to </td><td>   VII.</td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="p3.htm"><big><b>Part 3.</b></big></a></td><td> Chapter</td><td>    VIII.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td>to </td><td>   XI.</td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="p4.htm"><big><b>Part 4.</b></big></a></td><td> Chapter </td><td>   XII. </td><td>   to </td><td>   XIV.</td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="p5.htm"><big><b>Part 5.</b></big></a></td><td> Chapter </td><td>   XV.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td>   to </td><td>   XVII.</td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="p6.htm"><big><b>Part 6.</b></big></a></td><td> Chapter </td><td>   XVIII.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td>  to </td><td>   XXI.</td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="p7.htm"><big><b>Part 7.</b></big></a></td><td> Chapter </td><td>   XXII.</td><td>  to </td><td>   XXVI.</td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="p8.htm"><big><b>Part 8.</b></big></a></td><td> Chapter </td><td>   XXVII.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td>  to </td><td>   XXXI.</td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="p9.htm"><big><b>Part 9.</b></big></a></td><td> Chapter </td><td>   XXXII.</td><td>  to </td><td>   Conclusion</td></tr>
+
+
+
+</table>
+</center>
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<h3>
+INDEX OF CHAPTERS</h3>
+
+
+
+<center>
+<table summary="">
+<tr><td align=right>
+
+
+I. </td><td><a href="p1.htm#c1">The birth of the Prince and the Pauper.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+II. </td><td><a href="p1.htm#c2">Tom's early life.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+III.</td><td><a href="p1.htm#c3">Tom's meeting with the Prince.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+IV. </td><td><a href="p1.htm#c4">The Prince's troubles begin.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+
+V.</td><td> <a href="p2.htm#c5">Tom as a patrician.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+VI.</td><td><a href="p2.htm#c6">Tom receives instructions.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+VII.</td><td><a href="p2.htm#c7">Tom's first royal dinner.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+
+VIII. </td><td><a href="p3.htm#c8">The question of the Seal.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+IX. </td><td><a href="p3.htm#c9">The river pageant.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+X. </td><td><a href="p3.htm#c10">The Prince in the toils.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+XI. </td><td><a href="p3.htm#c11">At Guildhall.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+
+XII. </td><td><a href="p4.htm#c12">The Prince and his deliverer.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+XIII. </td><td><a href="p4.htm#c13">The disappearance of the Prince.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+XIV. </td><td><a href="p4.htm#c14">'Le Roi est mort&mdash;vive le Roi.'</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+
+XV. </td><td><a href="p5.htm#c15">Tom as King.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+XVI. </td><td><a href="p5.htm#c16">The state dinner.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+XVII. </td><td><a href="p5.htm#c17">Foo-foo the First.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+
+XVIII. </td><td><a href="p6.htm#c18">The Prince with the tramps.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+XIX. </td><td><a href="p6.htm#c19">The Prince with the peasants.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+XX. </td><td><a href="p6.htm#c20">The Prince and the hermit.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+XXI. </td><td><a href="p6.htm#c21">Hendon to the rescue.</a><br></td></tr><tr>
+
+
+<td align=right>XXII. </td><td><a href="p7.htm#c22">A victim of treachery.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+XXIII.</td><td><a href="p7.htm#c23">The Prince a prisoner.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+XXIV. </td><td><a href="p7.htm#c24">The escape.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+XXV. </td><td><a href="p7.htm#c25">Hendon Hall.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+XXVI. </td><td><a href="p7.htm#c26">Disowned.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+
+XXVII. </td><td><a href="p8.htm#c27">In prison.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+XXVIII. </td><td><a href="p8.htm#c28">The sacrifice.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+XXIX. </td><td><a href="p8.htm#c29">To London.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+XXX. </td><td><a href="p8.htm#c30">Tom's progress.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+XXXI. </td><td><a href="p8.htm#c31">The Recognition procession.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+
+
+XXXII. </td><td><a href="p9.htm#c32">Coronation Day</a>.<br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+XXXIII. </td><td><a href="p9.htm#c33">Edward as King.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+Conclusion. </td><td><a href="p9.htm#c34">Justice and Retribution.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+&nbsp;    </td><td><a href="p9.htm#35-403">Notes.</a><br></td></tr>
+
+
+
+</table>
+</center>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+
+<center>
+<h1>THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER</h1>
+<br><br>
+<h2>by Mark Twain
+<br><br><br><br>Complete
+</h2>
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="bookcover.jpg (148K)" src="images/bookcover.jpg" height="1018" width="948">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="frontispiece1.jpg (135K)" src="images/frontispiece1.jpg" height="1067" width="745">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="frontispiece2.jpg (123K)" src="images/frontispiece2.jpg" height="939" width="747">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="titlepage.jpg (62K)" src="images/titlepage.jpg" height="1083" width="815">
+</center>
+<br><br>
+
+<a name="greatseal"></a><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="greatseal.jpg (68K)" src="images/greatseal.jpg" height="438" width="711">
+<br>The Great Seal
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="dedication.jpg (21K)" src="images/dedication.jpg" height="420" width="663">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="inscription.jpg (16K)" src="images/inscription.jpg" height="219" width="601">
+</center>
+
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<br><br>
+<blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><blockquote>
+<b>
+I will set down a tale as it was told to me by one who had it of his
+father, which latter had it of HIS father, this last having in like
+manner had it of HIS father&mdash;and so on, back and still back, three
+hundred years and more, the fathers transmitting it to the sons and so
+preserving it. &nbsp;It may be history, it may be only a legend, a tradition.
+It may have happened, it may not have happened: &nbsp;but it COULD have
+happened. &nbsp;It may be that the wise and the learned believed it in the old
+days; it may be that only the unlearned and the simple loved it and
+credited it.</b>
+</blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote>
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                                <h3>CONTENTS</h3>
+
+<center>
+<table summary="" cellPadding=4 border=3>
+
+
+<tr><td><a href="p1.htm"><big><b>Part 1.</b></big></a>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td> Chapter&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td>    I. </td><td>    to&nbsp;&nbsp; </td><td>   IV.</td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="p2.htm"><big><b>Part 2.</b></big></a></td><td> Chapter </td><td>   V.</td><td>   to </td><td>   VII.</td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="p3.htm"><big><b>Part 3.</b></big></a></td><td> Chapter</td><td>    VIII.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td>to </td><td>   XI.</td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="p4.htm"><big><b>Part 4.</b></big></a></td><td> Chapter </td><td>   XII. </td><td>   to </td><td>   XIV.</td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="p5.htm"><big><b>Part 5.</b></big></a></td><td> Chapter </td><td>   XV.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td>   to </td><td>   XVII.</td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="p6.htm"><big><b>Part 6.</b></big></a></td><td> Chapter </td><td>   XVIII.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td>  to </td><td>   XXI.</td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="p7.htm"><big><b>Part 7.</b></big></a></td><td> Chapter </td><td>   XXII.</td><td>  to </td><td>   XXVI.</td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="p8.htm"><big><b>Part 8.</b></big></a></td><td> Chapter </td><td>   XXVII.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td>  to </td><td>   XXXI.</td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="p9.htm"><big><b>Part 9.</b></big></a></td><td> Chapter </td><td>   XXXII.</td><td>  to </td><td>   Conclusion</td></tr>
+
+
+
+</table>
+</center>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Prince and The Pauper, Complete
+by Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PRINCE AND THE PAUPER ***
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+</body>
+</html>
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+<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
+<html>
+<head>
+<title>THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER, By Mark Twain, Complete</title>
+<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
+<link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg">
+
+<style type="text/css">
+    <!--
+		body {background:#faebd7; margin:10%; text-align:justify}
+    P { text-indent:   1em;
+        margin-top:    .75em;
+        margin-bottom: .75em; }
+    H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; }
+    HR  { width: 33%; text-align: center; }
+		blockquote {font-size: 97% }
+		.figleft   {float: left;}
+    .figright  {float: right;}
+    .toc       { margin-left: 15%; margin-bottom: 0em;}
+    CENTER { padding: 10px;}
+    // -->
+</style>
+
+</head>
+<body>
+
+
+<h2><a href="#contents">THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER, By Mark Twain, Complete</a></h2>
+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Prince and The Pauper, Complete
+by Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net
+
+
+Title: The Prince and The Pauper, Complete
+
+Author: Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
+
+Release Date: August 20, 2006 [EBook #1837]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PRINCE AND THE PAUPER ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Widger. The earliest PG edition was prepared by
+Les Bowler
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<a name="contents"></a>
+<br>
+
+                                <h3>CONTENTS</h3>
+
+<center>
+<table summary="" cellPadding=4 border=3>
+
+
+<tr><td><a href="p1.htm"><big><b>Part 1.</b></big></a>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td> Chapter&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td>    I. </td><td>    to&nbsp;&nbsp; </td><td>   IV.</td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="p2.htm"><big><b>Part 2.</b></big></a></td><td> Chapter </td><td>   V.</td><td>   to </td><td>   VII.</td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="p3.htm"><big><b>Part 3.</b></big></a></td><td> Chapter</td><td>    VIII.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td>to </td><td>   XI.</td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="p4.htm"><big><b>Part 4.</b></big></a></td><td> Chapter </td><td>   XII. </td><td>   to </td><td>   XIV.</td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="p5.htm"><big><b>Part 5.</b></big></a></td><td> Chapter </td><td>   XV.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td>   to </td><td>   XVII.</td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="p6.htm"><big><b>Part 6.</b></big></a></td><td> Chapter </td><td>   XVIII.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td>  to </td><td>   XXI.</td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="p7.htm"><big><b>Part 7.</b></big></a></td><td> Chapter </td><td>   XXII.</td><td>  to </td><td>   XXVI.</td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="p8.htm"><big><b>Part 8.</b></big></a></td><td> Chapter </td><td>   XXVII.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td>  to </td><td>   XXXI.</td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="p9.htm"><big><b>Part 9.</b></big></a></td><td> Chapter </td><td>   XXXII.</td><td>  to </td><td>   Conclusion</td></tr>
+
+
+
+</table>
+</center>
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<h3>
+INDEX OF CHAPTERS</h3>
+
+
+
+<center>
+<table summary="">
+<tr><td align=right>
+
+
+I. </td><td><a href="p1.htm#c1">The birth of the Prince and the Pauper.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+II. </td><td><a href="p1.htm#c2">Tom's early life.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+III.</td><td><a href="p1.htm#c3">Tom's meeting with the Prince.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+IV. </td><td><a href="p1.htm#c4">The Prince's troubles begin.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+
+V.</td><td> <a href="p2.htm#c5">Tom as a patrician.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+VI.</td><td><a href="p2.htm#c6">Tom receives instructions.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+VII.</td><td><a href="p2.htm#c7">Tom's first royal dinner.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+
+VIII. </td><td><a href="p3.htm#c8">The question of the Seal.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+IX. </td><td><a href="p3.htm#c9">The river pageant.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+X. </td><td><a href="p3.htm#c10">The Prince in the toils.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+XI. </td><td><a href="p3.htm#c11">At Guildhall.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+
+XII. </td><td><a href="p4.htm#c12">The Prince and his deliverer.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+XIII. </td><td><a href="p4.htm#c13">The disappearance of the Prince.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+XIV. </td><td><a href="p4.htm#c14">'Le Roi est mort&mdash;vive le Roi.'</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+
+XV. </td><td><a href="p5.htm#c15">Tom as King.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+XVI. </td><td><a href="p5.htm#c16">The state dinner.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+XVII. </td><td><a href="p5.htm#c17">Foo-foo the First.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+
+XVIII. </td><td><a href="p6.htm#c18">The Prince with the tramps.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+XIX. </td><td><a href="p6.htm#c19">The Prince with the peasants.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+XX. </td><td><a href="p6.htm#c20">The Prince and the hermit.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+XXI. </td><td><a href="p6.htm#c21">Hendon to the rescue.</a><br></td></tr><tr>
+
+
+<td align=right>XXII. </td><td><a href="p7.htm#c22">A victim of treachery.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+XXIII.</td><td><a href="p7.htm#c23">The Prince a prisoner.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+XXIV. </td><td><a href="p7.htm#c24">The escape.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+XXV. </td><td><a href="p7.htm#c25">Hendon Hall.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+XXVI. </td><td><a href="p7.htm#c26">Disowned.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+
+XXVII. </td><td><a href="p8.htm#c27">In prison.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+XXVIII. </td><td><a href="p8.htm#c28">The sacrifice.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+XXIX. </td><td><a href="p8.htm#c29">To London.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+XXX. </td><td><a href="p8.htm#c30">Tom's progress.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+XXXI. </td><td><a href="p8.htm#c31">The Recognition procession.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+
+
+XXXII. </td><td><a href="p9.htm#c32">Coronation Day</a>.<br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+XXXIII. </td><td><a href="p9.htm#c33">Edward as King.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+Conclusion. </td><td><a href="p9.htm#c34">Justice and Retribution.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td align=right>
+&nbsp;    </td><td><a href="p9.htm#35-403">Notes.</a><br></td></tr>
+
+
+
+</table>
+</center>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+
+<center>
+<h1>THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER</h1>
+<br><br>
+<h2>by Mark Twain
+<br><br><br><br>Complete
+</h2>
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="bookcover.jpg (148K)" src="images/bookcover.jpg" height="1018" width="948">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="frontispiece1.jpg (135K)" src="images/frontispiece1.jpg" height="1067" width="745">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="frontispiece2.jpg (123K)" src="images/frontispiece2.jpg" height="939" width="747">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="titlepage.jpg (62K)" src="images/titlepage.jpg" height="1083" width="815">
+</center>
+<br><br>
+
+<a name="greatseal"></a><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="greatseal.jpg (68K)" src="images/greatseal.jpg" height="438" width="711">
+<br>The Great Seal
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="dedication.jpg (21K)" src="images/dedication.jpg" height="420" width="663">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="inscription.jpg (16K)" src="images/inscription.jpg" height="219" width="601">
+</center>
+
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<br><br>
+<blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><blockquote>
+<b>
+I will set down a tale as it was told to me by one who had it of his
+father, which latter had it of HIS father, this last having in like
+manner had it of HIS father&mdash;and so on, back and still back, three
+hundred years and more, the fathers transmitting it to the sons and so
+preserving it. &nbsp;It may be history, it may be only a legend, a tradition.
+It may have happened, it may not have happened: &nbsp;but it COULD have
+happened. &nbsp;It may be that the wise and the learned believed it in the old
+days; it may be that only the unlearned and the simple loved it and
+credited it.</b>
+</blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote>
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                                <h3>CONTENTS</h3>
+
+<center>
+<table summary="" cellPadding=4 border=3>
+
+
+<tr><td><a href="p1.htm"><big><b>Part 1.</b></big></a>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td> Chapter&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td>    I. </td><td>    to&nbsp;&nbsp; </td><td>   IV.</td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="p2.htm"><big><b>Part 2.</b></big></a></td><td> Chapter </td><td>   V.</td><td>   to </td><td>   VII.</td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="p3.htm"><big><b>Part 3.</b></big></a></td><td> Chapter</td><td>    VIII.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td>to </td><td>   XI.</td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="p4.htm"><big><b>Part 4.</b></big></a></td><td> Chapter </td><td>   XII. </td><td>   to </td><td>   XIV.</td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="p5.htm"><big><b>Part 5.</b></big></a></td><td> Chapter </td><td>   XV.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td>   to </td><td>   XVII.</td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="p6.htm"><big><b>Part 6.</b></big></a></td><td> Chapter </td><td>   XVIII.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td>  to </td><td>   XXI.</td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="p7.htm"><big><b>Part 7.</b></big></a></td><td> Chapter </td><td>   XXII.</td><td>  to </td><td>   XXVI.</td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="p8.htm"><big><b>Part 8.</b></big></a></td><td> Chapter </td><td>   XXVII.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td>  to </td><td>   XXXI.</td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="p9.htm"><big><b>Part 9.</b></big></a></td><td> Chapter </td><td>   XXXII.</td><td>  to </td><td>   Conclusion</td></tr>
+
+
+
+</table>
+</center>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Prince and The Pauper, Complete
+by Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
+
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+</pre>
+
+</body>
+</html>
diff --git a/old/orig1837-h/p1.htm b/old/orig1837-h/p1.htm
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c5c5785
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/orig1837-h/p1.htm
@@ -0,0 +1,937 @@
+<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
+<html>
+<head>
+<title>THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER, By Mark Twain, Part 1.</title>
+<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
+
+<style type="text/css">
+    <!--
+		body {background:#faebd7; margin:10%; text-align:justify}
+    P { text-indent:   1em;
+        margin-top:    .75em;
+        margin-bottom: .75em; }
+    H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; }
+    HR  { width: 33%; text-align: center; }
+		blockquote {font-size: 97% }
+		.figleft   {float: left;}
+    .figright  {float: right;}
+    .toc       { margin-left: 15%; margin-bottom: 0em;}
+    CENTER { padding: 10px;}
+    // -->
+</style>
+
+</head>
+<body>
+
+<center>
+<table summary="" cellPadding=4 border=3>
+<tr><td>
+ &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="p2.htm">Next Part</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+</td><td>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="1837-h.htm">Main Index</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+</td></tr>
+</table>
+</center>
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+
+<center>
+<h1>THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER</h1>
+<br><br>
+<h2>by Mark Twain
+<br><br><br><br>Part One
+</h2>
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="bookcover.jpg (148K)" src="images/bookcover.jpg" height="1018" width="948">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="frontispiece1.jpg (135K)" src="images/frontispiece1.jpg" height="1067" width="745">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="frontispiece2.jpg (123K)" src="images/frontispiece2.jpg" height="939" width="747">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="titlepage.jpg (62K)" src="images/titlepage.jpg" height="1083" width="815">
+</center>
+<br><br>
+
+<a name="greatseal"></a><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="greatseal.jpg (68K)" src="images/greatseal.jpg" height="438" width="711">
+<br>The Great Seal
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="dedication.jpg (21K)" src="images/dedication.jpg" height="420" width="663">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="inscription.jpg (16K)" src="images/inscription.jpg" height="219" width="601">
+</center>
+
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<br><br>
+<blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><blockquote>
+<b>
+I will set down a tale as it was told to me by one who had it of his
+father, which latter had it of HIS father, this last having in like
+manner had it of HIS father&mdash;and so on, back and still back, three
+hundred years and more, the fathers transmitting it to the sons and so
+preserving it. &nbsp;It may be history, it may be only a legend, a tradition.
+It may have happened, it may not have happened: &nbsp;but it COULD have
+happened. &nbsp;It may be that the wise and the learned believed it in the old
+days; it may be that only the unlearned and the simple loved it and
+credited it.</b>
+</blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote>
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+
+
+<h2>
+CONTENTS</h2>
+
+<center>
+<table summary="">
+<tr><td>
+
+
+
+I. </td><td><a href="#c1">The birth of the Prince and the Pauper.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td>
+II. </td><td><a href="#c2">Tom's early life.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td>
+III.&nbsp;&nbsp; </td><td><a href="#c3">Tom's meeting with the Prince.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td>
+IV. </td><td><a href="#c4">The Prince's troubles begin.</a><br></td></tr>
+
+
+
+
+</table>
+</center>
+
+
+
+
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<h2>ILLUSTRATIONS</h2>
+<center>
+<table summary="">
+<tr><td>
+
+<a href="#greatseal">THE GREAT SEAL (frontispiece)</a><br><br>
+<a href="#01-021">THE BIRTH OF THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER</a><br><br>
+<a href="#01-023">"SPLENDID PAGEANTS AND GREAT BONFIRES"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#02-025">TOM'S EARLY LIFE </a><br><br>
+<a href="#02-028">OFFAL COURT</a><br><br>
+<a href="#02-029">"WITH ANY MISERABLE CRUST"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#02-030">"HE OFTEN READ THE PRIEST'S BOOKS"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#02-031">"SAW POOR ANNE ASKEW BURNED"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#02-032">"BROUGHT THEIR PERPLEXITIES TO TOM"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#02-033">"LONGING FOR THE PORK-PIES" </a><br><br>
+<a href="#03-035">TOM'S MEETING WITH THE PRINCE</a><br><br>
+<a href="#03-037">"AT TEMPLE BAR"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#03-039">"LET HIM IN"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#03-041">"HOW OLD BE THESE</a><br><br>
+<a href="#03-043">"DOFF THY RAGS, AND DON THESE SPLENDORS"&nbsp;&nbsp;</a><br><br>
+<a href="#03-046">"I SALUTE YOUR GRACIOUS HIGHNESS!"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#04-047">THE PRINCE'S TROUBLES BEGIN</a><br><br>
+<a href="#04-050">"SET UPON BY DOGS"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#04-052">"A DRUNKEN RUFFIAN COLLARED HIM"</a><br><br>
+
+</td></tr>
+</table>
+</center>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+<br><br>
+<a name="c1"></a>
+<a name="01-021"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="01-021.jpg (73K)" src="images/01-021.jpg" height="546" width="720">
+</center>
+<br><br>
+<a name="01-023"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="01-023.jpg (147K)" src="images/01-023.jpg" height="923" width="752">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>Chapter I. The birth of the Prince and the Pauper.</p>
+
+<p>In the ancient city of London, on a certain autumn day in the second
+quarter of the sixteenth century, a boy was born to a poor family of the
+name of Canty, who did not want him. &nbsp;On the same day another English
+child was born to a rich family of the name of Tudor, who did want him.
+All England wanted him too. &nbsp;England had so longed for him, and hoped for
+him, and prayed God for him, that, now that he was really come, the
+people went nearly mad for joy. &nbsp;Mere acquaintances hugged and kissed
+each other and cried. Everybody took a holiday, and high and low, rich
+and poor, feasted and danced and sang, and got very mellow; and they kept
+this up for days and nights together. &nbsp;By day, London was a sight to see,
+with gay banners waving from every balcony and housetop, and splendid
+pageants marching along. &nbsp;By night, it was again a sight to see, with its
+great bonfires at every corner, and its troops of revellers making merry
+around them. &nbsp;There was no talk in all England but of the new baby,
+Edward Tudor, Prince of Wales, who lay lapped in silks and satins,
+unconscious of all this fuss, and not knowing that great lords and ladies
+were tending him and watching over him&mdash;and not caring, either. &nbsp;But
+there was no talk about the other baby, Tom Canty, lapped in his poor
+rags, except among the family of paupers whom he had just come to trouble
+with his presence.</p>
+
+
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+<br><br>
+<a name="c2"></a>
+<a name="02-025"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="02-025.jpg (57K)" src="images/02-025.jpg" height="449" width="709">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+
+<p>Chapter II. Tom's early life.</p>
+
+<p>Let us skip a number of years.</p>
+
+<p>London was fifteen hundred years old, and was a great town&mdash;for that day.
+It had a hundred thousand inhabitants&mdash;some think double as many. &nbsp;The
+streets were very narrow, and crooked, and dirty, especially in the part
+where Tom Canty lived, which was not far from London Bridge. &nbsp;The houses
+were of wood, with the second story projecting over the first, and the
+third sticking its elbows out beyond the second. &nbsp;The higher the houses
+grew, the broader they grew. &nbsp;They were skeletons of strong criss-cross
+beams, with solid material between, coated with plaster. &nbsp;The beams were
+painted red or blue or black, according to the owner's taste, and this
+gave the houses a very picturesque look. &nbsp;The windows were small, glazed
+with little diamond-shaped panes, and they opened outward, on hinges,
+like doors.</p>
+
+<p>The house which Tom's father lived in was up a foul little pocket called
+Offal Court, out of Pudding Lane. &nbsp;It was small, decayed, and rickety,
+but it was packed full of wretchedly poor families. Canty's tribe
+occupied a room on the third floor. &nbsp;The mother and father had a sort of
+bedstead in the corner; but Tom, his grandmother, and his two sisters,
+Bet and Nan, were not restricted&mdash;they had all the floor to themselves,
+and might sleep where they chose. &nbsp;There were the remains of a blanket or
+two, and some bundles of ancient and dirty straw, but these could not
+rightly be called beds, for they were not organised; they were kicked
+into a general pile, mornings, and selections made from the mass at
+night, for service.</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="02-028"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="02-028.jpg (94K)" src="images/02-028.jpg" height="855" width="443">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>Bet and Nan were fifteen years old&mdash;twins. &nbsp;They were good-hearted girls,
+unclean, clothed in rags, and profoundly ignorant. &nbsp;Their mother was like
+them. &nbsp;But the father and the grandmother were a couple of fiends. &nbsp;They
+got drunk whenever they could; then they fought each other or anybody
+else who came in the way; they cursed and swore always, drunk or sober;
+John Canty was a thief, and his mother a beggar. &nbsp;They made beggars of
+the children, but failed to make thieves of them. &nbsp;Among, but not of, the
+dreadful rabble that inhabited the house, was a good old priest whom the
+King had turned out of house and home with a pension of a few farthings,
+and he used to get the children aside and teach them right ways secretly.
+Father Andrew also taught Tom a little Latin, and how to read and write;
+and would have done the same with the girls, but they were afraid of the
+jeers of their friends, who could not have endured such a queer
+accomplishment in them.</p>
+
+<p>All Offal Court was just such another hive as Canty's house. Drunkenness,
+riot and brawling were the order, there, every night and nearly all night
+long. &nbsp;Broken heads were as common as hunger in that place. &nbsp;Yet little
+Tom was not unhappy. &nbsp;He had a hard time of it, but did not know it. &nbsp;It
+was the sort of time that all the Offal Court boys had, therefore he
+supposed it was the correct and comfortable thing. &nbsp;When he came home
+empty-handed at night, he knew his father would curse him and thrash him
+first, and that when he was done the awful grandmother would do it all
+over again and improve on it; and that away in the night his starving
+mother would slip to him stealthily with any miserable scrap or crust she
+had been able to save for him by going hungry herself, notwithstanding
+she was often caught in that sort of treason and soundly beaten for it by
+her husband.</p>
+
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="02-029"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="02-029.jpg (55K)" src="images/02-029.jpg" height="358" width="472">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>No, Tom's life went along well enough, especially in summer. &nbsp;He only
+begged just enough to save himself, for the laws against mendicancy were
+stringent, and the penalties heavy; so he put in a good deal of his time
+listening to good Father Andrew's charming old tales and legends about
+giants and fairies, dwarfs and genii, and enchanted castles, and gorgeous
+kings and princes. &nbsp;His head grew to be full of these wonderful things,
+and many a night as he lay in the dark on his scant and offensive straw,
+tired, hungry, and smarting from a thrashing, he unleashed his
+imagination and soon forgot his aches and pains in delicious picturings
+to himself of the charmed life of a petted prince in a regal palace. &nbsp;One
+desire came in time to haunt him day and night: &nbsp;it was to see a real
+prince, with his own eyes. &nbsp;He spoke of it once to some of his Offal
+Court comrades; but they jeered him and scoffed him so unmercifully that
+he was glad to keep his dream to himself after that.</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="02-030"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="02-030.jpg (80K)" src="images/02-030.jpg" height="702" width="443">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>He often read the priest's old books and got him to explain and enlarge
+upon them. &nbsp;His dreamings and readings worked certain changes in him, by-
+and-by. &nbsp;His dream-people were so fine that he grew to lament his shabby
+clothing and his dirt, and to wish to be clean and better clad. &nbsp;He went
+on playing in the mud just the same, and enjoying it, too; but, instead
+of splashing around in the Thames solely for the fun of it, he began to
+find an added value in it because of the washings and cleansings it
+afforded.</p>
+
+<p>Tom could always find something going on around the Maypole in Cheapside,
+and at the fairs; and now and then he and the rest of London had a chance
+to see a military parade when some famous unfortunate was carried
+prisoner to the Tower, by land or boat. One summer's day he saw poor Anne
+Askew and three men burned at the stake in Smithfield, and heard an ex-
+Bishop preach a sermon to them which did not interest him. &nbsp;Yes, Tom's
+life was varied and pleasant enough, on the whole.</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="02-031"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="02-031.jpg (171K)" src="images/02-031.jpg" height="1019" width="748">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>By-and-by Tom's reading and dreaming about princely life wrought such a
+strong effect upon him that he began to ACT the prince, unconsciously.
+His speech and manners became curiously ceremonious and courtly, to the
+vast admiration and amusement of his intimates. &nbsp;But Tom's influence
+among these young people began to grow now, day by day; and in time he
+came to be looked up to, by them, with a sort of wondering awe, as a
+superior being. &nbsp;He seemed to know so much! and he could do and say such
+marvellous things! and withal, he was so deep and wise! &nbsp;Tom's remarks,
+and Tom's performances, were reported by the boys to their elders; and
+these, also, presently began to discuss Tom Canty, and to regard him as a
+most gifted and extraordinary creature. &nbsp;Full-grown people brought their
+perplexities to Tom for solution, and were often astonished at the wit
+and wisdom of his decisions. &nbsp;In fact he was become a hero to all who
+knew him except his own family&mdash;these, only, saw nothing in him.</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="02-032"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="02-032.jpg (47K)" src="images/02-032.jpg" height="470" width="343">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>Privately, after a while, Tom organised a royal court! &nbsp;He was the
+prince; his special comrades were guards, chamberlains, equerries, lords
+and ladies in waiting, and the royal family. &nbsp;Daily the mock prince was
+received with elaborate ceremonials borrowed by Tom from his romantic
+readings; daily the great affairs of the mimic kingdom were discussed in
+the royal council, and daily his mimic highness issued decrees to his
+imaginary armies, navies, and viceroyalties.</p>
+
+<p>After which, he would go forth in his rags and beg a few farthings, eat
+his poor crust, take his customary cuffs and abuse, and then stretch
+himself upon his handful of foul straw, and resume his empty grandeurs in
+his dreams.</p>
+
+<p>And still his desire to look just once upon a real prince, in the flesh,
+grew upon him, day by day, and week by week, until at last it absorbed
+all other desires, and became the one passion of his life.</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="02-033"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="02-033.jpg (41K)" src="images/02-033.jpg" height="490" width="258">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>One January day, on his usual begging tour, he tramped despondently up
+and down the region round about Mincing Lane and Little East Cheap, hour
+after hour, bare-footed and cold, looking in at cook-shop windows and
+longing for the dreadful pork-pies and other deadly inventions displayed
+there&mdash;for to him these were dainties fit for the angels; that is,
+judging by the smell, they were&mdash;for it had never been his good luck to
+own and eat one. There was a cold drizzle of rain; the atmosphere was
+murky; it was a melancholy day. &nbsp;At night Tom reached home so wet and
+tired and hungry that it was not possible for his father and grandmother
+to observe his forlorn condition and not be moved&mdash;after their fashion;
+wherefore they gave him a brisk cuffing at once and sent him to bed. &nbsp;For
+a long time his pain and hunger, and the swearing and fighting going on
+in the building, kept him awake; but at last his thoughts drifted away to
+far, romantic lands, and he fell asleep in the company of jewelled and
+gilded princelings who live in vast palaces, and had servants salaaming
+before them or flying to execute their orders. &nbsp;And then, as usual, he
+dreamed that HE was a princeling himself.</p>
+
+<p>All night long the glories of his royal estate shone upon him; he moved
+among great lords and ladies, in a blaze of light, breathing perfumes,
+drinking in delicious music, and answering the reverent obeisances of the
+glittering throng as it parted to make way for him, with here a smile,
+and there a nod of his princely head.</p>
+
+<p>And when he awoke in the morning and looked upon the wretchedness about
+him, his dream had had its usual effect&mdash;it had intensified the
+sordidness of his surroundings a thousandfold. &nbsp;Then came bitterness, and
+heart-break, and tears.</p>
+
+
+<br><br><hr><br>
+<br><br>
+<a name="c3"></a>
+<a name="03-035"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="03-035.jpg (77K)" src="images/03-035.jpg" height="557" width="710">
+</center>
+<br><br>
+<a name="03-037"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="03-037.jpg (143K)" src="images/03-037.jpg" height="856" width="769">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+<p>Chapter III. Tom's meeting with the Prince.</p>
+
+<p>Tom got up hungry, and sauntered hungry away, but with his thoughts busy
+with the shadowy splendours of his night's dreams. He wandered here and
+there in the city, hardly noticing where he was going, or what was
+happening around him. &nbsp;People jostled him, and some gave him rough
+speech; but it was all lost on the musing boy. &nbsp;By-and-by he found
+himself at Temple Bar, the farthest from home he had ever travelled in
+that direction. &nbsp;He stopped and considered a moment, then fell into his
+imaginings again, and passed on outside the walls of London. &nbsp;The Strand
+had ceased to be a country-road then, and regarded itself as a street,
+but by a strained construction; for, though there was a tolerably compact
+row of houses on one side of it, there were only some scattered great
+buildings on the other, these being palaces of rich nobles, with ample
+and beautiful grounds stretching to the river&mdash;grounds that are now
+closely packed with grim acres of brick and stone.</p>
+
+<p>Tom discovered Charing Village presently, and rested himself at the
+beautiful cross built there by a bereaved king of earlier days; then
+idled down a quiet, lovely road, past the great cardinal's stately
+palace, toward a far more mighty and majestic palace beyond&mdash;Westminster.
+Tom stared in glad wonder at the vast pile of masonry, the wide-spreading
+wings, the frowning bastions and turrets, the huge stone gateway, with
+its gilded bars and its magnificent array of colossal granite lions, and
+other the signs and symbols of English royalty. &nbsp;Was the desire of his
+soul to be satisfied at last? &nbsp;Here, indeed, was a king's palace. &nbsp;Might
+he not hope to see a prince now&mdash;a prince of flesh and blood, if Heaven
+were willing?</p>
+
+<p>At each side of the gilded gate stood a living statue&mdash;that is to say, an
+erect and stately and motionless man-at-arms, clad from head to heel in
+shining steel armour. &nbsp;At a respectful distance were many country folk,
+and people from the city, waiting for any chance glimpse of royalty that
+might offer. &nbsp;Splendid carriages, with splendid people in them and
+splendid servants outside, were arriving and departing by several other
+noble gateways that pierced the royal enclosure.</p>
+
+<p>Poor little Tom, in his rags, approached, and was moving slowly and
+timidly past the sentinels, with a beating heart and a rising hope, when
+all at once he caught sight through the golden bars of a spectacle that
+almost made him shout for joy. &nbsp;Within was a comely boy, tanned and brown
+with sturdy outdoor sports and exercises, whose clothing was all of
+lovely silks and satins, shining with jewels; at his hip a little
+jewelled sword and dagger; dainty buskins on his feet, with red heels;
+and on his head a jaunty crimson cap, with drooping plumes fastened with
+a great sparkling gem. &nbsp;Several gorgeous gentlemen stood near&mdash;his
+servants, without a doubt. &nbsp;Oh! he was a prince&mdash;a prince, a living
+prince, a real prince&mdash;without the shadow of a question; and the prayer
+of the pauper-boy's heart was answered at last.</p>
+
+<p>Tom's breath came quick and short with excitement, and his eyes grew big
+with wonder and delight. &nbsp;Everything gave way in his mind instantly to
+one desire: &nbsp;that was to get close to the prince, and have a good,
+devouring look at him. &nbsp;Before he knew what he was about, he had his face
+against the gate-bars. &nbsp;The next instant one of the soldiers snatched him
+rudely away, and sent him spinning among the gaping crowd of country
+gawks and London idlers. &nbsp;The soldier said,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Mind thy manners, thou young beggar!"</p>
+
+<p>The crowd jeered and laughed; but the young prince sprang to the gate
+with his face flushed, and his eyes flashing with indignation, and cried
+out,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"How dar'st thou use a poor lad like that? &nbsp;How dar'st thou use the King
+my father's meanest subject so? &nbsp;Open the gates, and let him in!"</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="03-039"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="03-039.jpg (171K)" src="images/03-039.jpg" height="1055" width="741">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>You should have seen that fickle crowd snatch off their hats then. You
+should have heard them cheer, and shout, "Long live the Prince of Wales!"</p>
+
+<p>The soldiers presented arms with their halberds, opened the gates, and
+presented again as the little Prince of Poverty passed in, in his
+fluttering rags, to join hands with the Prince of Limitless Plenty.</p>
+
+<p>Edward Tudor said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Thou lookest tired and hungry: &nbsp;thou'st been treated ill. &nbsp;Come with
+me."</p>
+
+<p>Half a dozen attendants sprang forward to&mdash;I don't know what; interfere,
+no doubt. &nbsp;But they were waved aside with a right royal gesture, and they
+stopped stock still where they were, like so many statues. &nbsp;Edward took
+Tom to a rich apartment in the palace, which he called his cabinet. &nbsp;By
+his command a repast was brought such as Tom had never encountered before
+except in books. &nbsp;The prince, with princely delicacy and breeding, sent
+away the servants, so that his humble guest might not be embarrassed by
+their critical presence; then he sat near by, and asked questions while
+Tom ate.</p>
+
+<p>"What is thy name, lad?"</p>
+
+<p>"Tom Canty, an' it please thee, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"'Tis an odd one. &nbsp;Where dost live?"</p>
+
+<p>"In the city, please thee, sir. &nbsp;Offal Court, out of Pudding Lane."</p>
+
+<p>"Offal Court! &nbsp;Truly 'tis another odd one. &nbsp;Hast parents?"</p>
+
+<p>"Parents have I, sir, and a grand-dam likewise that is but indifferently
+precious to me, God forgive me if it be offence to say it&mdash;also twin
+sisters, Nan and Bet."</p>
+
+<p>"Then is thy grand-dam not over kind to thee, I take it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Neither to any other is she, so please your worship. &nbsp;She hath a wicked
+heart, and worketh evil all her days."</p>
+
+<p>"Doth she mistreat thee?"</p>
+
+<p>"There be times that she stayeth her hand, being asleep or overcome with
+drink; but when she hath her judgment clear again, she maketh it up to me
+with goodly beatings."</p>
+
+<p>A fierce look came into the little prince's eyes, and he cried out&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"What! &nbsp;Beatings?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, indeed, yes, please you, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"BEATINGS!&mdash;and thou so frail and little. &nbsp;Hark ye: &nbsp;before the night
+come, she shall hie her to the Tower. &nbsp;The King my father"&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"In sooth, you forget, sir, her low degree. &nbsp;The Tower is for the great
+alone."</p>
+
+<p>"True, indeed. &nbsp;I had not thought of that. &nbsp;I will consider of her
+punishment. &nbsp;Is thy father kind to thee?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not more than Gammer Canty, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"Fathers be alike, mayhap. &nbsp;Mine hath not a doll's temper. &nbsp;He smiteth
+with a heavy hand, yet spareth me: &nbsp;he spareth me not always with his
+tongue, though, sooth to say. &nbsp;How doth thy mother use thee?"</p>
+
+<p>"She is good, sir, and giveth me neither sorrow nor pain of any sort.
+And Nan and Bet are like to her in this."</p>
+
+<p>"How old be these?"</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="03-041"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="03-041.jpg (85K)" src="images/03-041.jpg" height="410" width="728">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>"Fifteen, an' it please you, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"The Lady Elizabeth, my sister, is fourteen, and the Lady Jane Grey, my
+cousin, is of mine own age, and comely and gracious withal; but my sister
+the Lady Mary, with her gloomy mien and&mdash;Look you: &nbsp;do thy sisters forbid
+their servants to smile, lest the sin destroy their souls?"</p>
+
+<p>"They? &nbsp;Oh, dost think, sir, that THEY have servants?"</p>
+
+<p>The little prince contemplated the little pauper gravely a moment, then
+said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"And prithee, why not? &nbsp;Who helpeth them undress at night? &nbsp;Who attireth
+them when they rise?"</p>
+
+<p>"None, sir. &nbsp;Would'st have them take off their garment, and sleep
+without&mdash;like the beasts?"</p>
+
+<p>"Their garment! &nbsp;Have they but one?"</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, good your worship, what would they do with more? &nbsp;Truly they have
+not two bodies each."</p>
+
+<p>"It is a quaint and marvellous thought! &nbsp;Thy pardon, I had not meant to
+laugh. &nbsp;But thy good Nan and thy Bet shall have raiment and lackeys enow,
+and that soon, too: &nbsp;my cofferer shall look to it. &nbsp;No, thank me not;
+'tis nothing. &nbsp;Thou speakest well; thou hast an easy grace in it. &nbsp;Art
+learned?"</p>
+
+<p>"I know not if I am or not, sir. &nbsp;The good priest that is called Father
+Andrew taught me, of his kindness, from his books."</p>
+
+<p>"Know'st thou the Latin?"</p>
+
+<p>"But scantly, sir, I doubt."</p>
+
+<p>"Learn it, lad: &nbsp;'tis hard only at first. &nbsp;The Greek is harder; but
+neither these nor any tongues else, I think, are hard to the Lady
+Elizabeth and my cousin. &nbsp;Thou should'st hear those damsels at it! &nbsp;But
+tell me of thy Offal Court. &nbsp;Hast thou a pleasant life there?"</p>
+
+<p>"In truth, yes, so please you, sir, save when one is hungry. There be
+Punch-and-Judy shows, and monkeys&mdash;oh such antic creatures! and so
+bravely dressed!&mdash;and there be plays wherein they that play do shout and
+fight till all are slain, and 'tis so fine to see, and costeth but a
+farthing&mdash;albeit 'tis main hard to get the farthing, please your
+worship."</p>
+
+<p>"Tell me more."</p>
+
+<p>"We lads of Offal Court do strive against each other with the cudgel,
+like to the fashion of the 'prentices, sometimes."</p>
+
+<p>The prince's eyes flashed. &nbsp;Said he&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Marry, that would not I mislike. &nbsp;Tell me more."</p>
+
+<p>"We strive in races, sir, to see who of us shall be fleetest."</p>
+
+<p>"That would I like also. &nbsp;Speak on."</p>
+
+<p>"In summer, sir, we wade and swim in the canals and in the river, and
+each doth duck his neighbour, and splatter him with water, and dive and
+shout and tumble and&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"'Twould be worth my father's kingdom but to enjoy it once! Prithee go
+on."</p>
+
+<p>"We dance and sing about the Maypole in Cheapside; we play in the sand,
+each covering his neighbour up; and times we make mud pastry&mdash;oh the
+lovely mud, it hath not its like for delightfulness in all the world!&mdash;we
+do fairly wallow in the mud, sir, saving your worship's presence."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, prithee, say no more, 'tis glorious! &nbsp;If that I could but clothe me
+in raiment like to thine, and strip my feet, and revel in the mud once,
+just once, with none to rebuke me or forbid, meseemeth I could forego the
+crown!"</p>
+
+<p>"And if that I could clothe me once, sweet sir, as thou art clad&mdash;just
+once&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Oho, would'st like it? &nbsp;Then so shall it be. &nbsp;Doff thy rags, and don
+these splendours, lad! &nbsp;It is a brief happiness, but will be not less
+keen for that. &nbsp;We will have it while we may, and change again before any
+come to molest."</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="03-043"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="03-043.jpg (201K)" src="images/03-043.jpg" height="1029" width="766">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>A few minutes later the little Prince of Wales was garlanded with Tom's
+fluttering odds and ends, and the little Prince of Pauperdom was tricked
+out in the gaudy plumage of royalty. &nbsp;The two went and stood side by side
+before a great mirror, and lo, a miracle: there did not seem to have been
+any change made! &nbsp;They stared at each other, then at the glass, then at
+each other again. &nbsp;At last the puzzled princeling said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"What dost thou make of this?"</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, good your worship, require me not to answer. &nbsp;It is not meet that
+one of my degree should utter the thing."</p>
+
+<p>"Then will _I_ utter it. &nbsp;Thou hast the same hair, the same eyes, the
+same voice and manner, the same form and stature, the same face and
+countenance that I bear. &nbsp;Fared we forth naked, there is none could say
+which was you, and which the Prince of Wales. &nbsp;And, now that I am clothed
+as thou wert clothed, it seemeth I should be able the more nearly to feel
+as thou didst when the brute soldier&mdash;Hark ye, is not this a bruise upon
+your hand?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; but it is a slight thing, and your worship knoweth that the poor
+man-at-arms&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Peace! &nbsp;It was a shameful thing and a cruel!" cried the little prince,
+stamping his bare foot. &nbsp;"If the King&mdash;Stir not a step till I come again!
+It is a command!"</p>
+
+<p>In a moment he had snatched up and put away an article of national
+importance that lay upon a table, and was out at the door and flying
+through the palace grounds in his bannered rags, with a hot face and
+glowing eyes. &nbsp;As soon as he reached the great gate, he seized the bars,
+and tried to shake them, shouting&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Open! &nbsp;Unbar the gates!"</p>
+
+<p>The soldier that had maltreated Tom obeyed promptly; and as the prince
+burst through the portal, half-smothered with royal wrath, the soldier
+fetched him a sounding box on the ear that sent him whirling to the
+roadway, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Take that, thou beggar's spawn, for what thou got'st me from his
+Highness!"</p>
+
+<p>The crowd roared with laughter. &nbsp;The prince picked himself out of the
+mud, and made fiercely at the sentry, shouting&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I am the Prince of Wales, my person is sacred; and thou shalt hang for
+laying thy hand upon me!"</p>
+
+<p>The soldier brought his halberd to a present-arms and said mockingly&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I salute your gracious Highness." &nbsp;Then angrily&mdash;"Be off, thou crazy
+rubbish!"</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="03-046"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="03-046.jpg (154K)" src="images/03-046.jpg" height="999" width="737">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>Here the jeering crowd closed round the poor little prince, and hustled
+him far down the road, hooting him, and shouting&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Way for his Royal Highness! &nbsp;Way for the Prince of Wales!"</p>
+
+
+
+<br><br><hr><br>
+<br><br>
+<a name="c4"></a>
+<a name="04-047"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="04-047.jpg (47K)" src="images/04-047.jpg" height="462" width="702">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+<p>Chapter IV. The Prince's troubles begin.</p>
+
+<p>After hours of persistent pursuit and persecution, the little prince was
+at last deserted by the rabble and left to himself. &nbsp;As long as he had
+been able to rage against the mob, and threaten it royally, and royally
+utter commands that were good stuff to laugh at, he was very
+entertaining; but when weariness finally forced him to be silent, he was
+no longer of use to his tormentors, and they sought amusement elsewhere.
+He looked about him, now, but could not recognise the locality. &nbsp;He was
+within the city of London&mdash;that was all he knew. &nbsp;He moved on, aimlessly,
+and in a little while the houses thinned, and the passers-by were
+infrequent. &nbsp;He bathed his bleeding feet in the brook which flowed then
+where Farringdon Street now is; rested a few moments, then passed on, and
+presently came upon a great space with only a few scattered houses in it,
+and a prodigious church. &nbsp;He recognised this church. &nbsp;Scaffoldings were
+about, everywhere, and swarms of workmen; for it was undergoing elaborate
+repairs. &nbsp;The prince took heart at once&mdash;he felt that his troubles were
+at an end, now. &nbsp;He said to himself, "It is the ancient Grey Friars'
+Church, which the king my father hath taken from the monks and given for
+a home for ever for poor and forsaken children, and new-named it Christ's
+Church. &nbsp;Right gladly will they serve the son of him who hath done so
+generously by them&mdash;and the more that that son is himself as poor and as
+forlorn as any that be sheltered here this day, or ever shall be."</p>
+
+<p>He was soon in the midst of a crowd of boys who were running, jumping,
+playing at ball and leap-frog, and otherwise disporting themselves, and
+right noisily, too. &nbsp;They were all dressed alike, and in the fashion
+which in that day prevailed among serving-men and 'prentices{1}&mdash;that is
+to say, each had on the crown of his head a flat black cap about the size
+of a saucer, which was not useful as a covering, it being of such scanty
+dimensions, neither was it ornamental; from beneath it the hair fell,
+unparted, to the middle of the forehead, and was cropped straight around;
+a clerical band at the neck; a blue gown that fitted closely and hung as
+low as the knees or lower; full sleeves; a broad red belt; bright yellow
+stockings, gartered above the knees; low shoes with large metal buckles.
+It was a sufficiently ugly costume.</p>
+
+<p>The boys stopped their play and flocked about the prince, who said with
+native dignity&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Good lads, say to your master that Edward Prince of Wales desireth
+speech with him."</p>
+
+<p>A great shout went up at this, and one rude fellow said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Marry, art thou his grace's messenger, beggar?"</p>
+
+<p>The prince's face flushed with anger, and his ready hand flew to his hip,
+but there was nothing there. &nbsp;There was a storm of laughter, and one boy
+said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Didst mark that? &nbsp;He fancied he had a sword&mdash;belike he is the prince
+himself."</p>
+
+<p>This sally brought more laughter. &nbsp;Poor Edward drew himself up proudly
+and said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I am the prince; and it ill beseemeth you that feed upon the king my
+father's bounty to use me so."</p>
+
+<p>This was vastly enjoyed, as the laughter testified. &nbsp;The youth who had
+first spoken, shouted to his comrades&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Ho, swine, slaves, pensioners of his grace's princely father, where be
+your manners? &nbsp;Down on your marrow bones, all of ye, and do reverence to
+his kingly port and royal rags!"</p>
+
+<p>With boisterous mirth they dropped upon their knees in a body and did
+mock homage to their prey. &nbsp;The prince spurned the nearest boy with his
+foot, and said fiercely&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Take thou that, till the morrow come and I build thee a gibbet!"</p>
+
+<p>Ah, but this was not a joke&mdash;this was going beyond fun. &nbsp;The laughter
+ceased on the instant, and fury took its place. &nbsp;A dozen shouted&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Hale him forth! &nbsp;To the horse-pond, to the horse-pond! &nbsp;Where be the
+dogs? &nbsp;Ho, there, Lion! ho, Fangs!"</p>
+
+<p>Then followed such a thing as England had never seen before&mdash;the sacred
+person of the heir to the throne rudely buffeted by plebeian hands, and
+set upon and torn by dogs.</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="04-050"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="04-050.jpg (84K)" src="images/04-050.jpg" height="509" width="557">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>As night drew to a close that day, the prince found himself far down in
+the close-built portion of the city. &nbsp;His body was bruised, his hands
+were bleeding, and his rags were all besmirched with mud. &nbsp;He wandered on
+and on, and grew more and more bewildered, and so tired and faint he
+could hardly drag one foot after the other. &nbsp;He had ceased to ask
+questions of anyone, since they brought him only insult instead of
+information. &nbsp;He kept muttering to himself, "Offal Court&mdash;that is the
+name; if I can but find it before my strength is wholly spent and I drop,
+then am I saved&mdash;for his people will take me to the palace and prove that
+I am none of theirs, but the true prince, and I shall have mine own
+again." &nbsp;And now and then his mind reverted to his treatment by those
+rude Christ's Hospital boys, and he said, "When I am king, they shall not
+have bread and shelter only, but also teachings out of books; for a full
+belly is little worth where the mind is starved, and the heart. &nbsp;I will
+keep this diligently in my remembrance, that this day's lesson be not
+lost upon me, and my people suffer thereby; for learning softeneth the
+heart and breedeth gentleness and charity." {1}</p>
+
+<p>The lights began to twinkle, it came on to rain, the wind rose, and a raw
+and gusty night set in. &nbsp;The houseless prince, the homeless heir to the
+throne of England, still moved on, drifting deeper into the maze of
+squalid alleys where the swarming hives of poverty and misery were massed
+together.</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly a great drunken ruffian collared him and said&mdash;</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="04-052"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="04-052.jpg (80K)" src="images/04-052.jpg" height="578" width="417">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>"Out to this time of night again, and hast not brought a farthing home, I
+warrant me! &nbsp;If it be so, an' I do not break all the bones in thy lean
+body, then am I not John Canty, but some other."</p>
+
+<p>The prince twisted himself loose, unconsciously brushed his profaned
+shoulder, and eagerly said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, art HIS father, truly? &nbsp;Sweet heaven grant it be so&mdash;then wilt thou
+fetch him away and restore me!"</p>
+
+<p>"HIS father? &nbsp;I know not what thou mean'st; I but know I am THY father,
+as thou shalt soon have cause to&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, jest not, palter not, delay not!&mdash;I am worn, I am wounded, I can
+bear no more. &nbsp;Take me to the king my father, and he will make thee rich
+beyond thy wildest dreams. &nbsp;Believe me, man, believe me!&mdash;I speak no lie,
+but only the truth!&mdash;put forth thy hand and save me! &nbsp;I am indeed the
+Prince of Wales!"</p>
+
+<p>The man stared down, stupefied, upon the lad, then shook his head and
+muttered&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Gone stark mad as any Tom o' Bedlam!"&mdash;then collared him once more, and
+said with a coarse laugh and an oath, "But mad or no mad, I and thy
+Gammer Canty will soon find where the soft places in thy bones lie, or
+I'm no true man!"</p>
+
+<p>With this he dragged the frantic and struggling prince away, and
+disappeared up a front court followed by a delighted and noisy swarm of
+human vermin.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<br>
+<br>
+
+
+<center>
+<table summary="" cellPadding=4 border=3>
+<tr><td>
+ &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="p2.htm">Next Part</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+</td><td>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="1837-h.htm">Main Index</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+</td></tr>
+</table>
+</center>
+
+</body>
+</html>
+
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+<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
+<html>
+<head>
+<title>THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER, By Mark Twain, Part 2.</title>
+<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
+
+<style type="text/css">
+    <!--
+		body {background:#faebd7; margin:10%; text-align:justify}
+    P { text-indent:   1em;
+        margin-top:    .75em;
+        margin-bottom: .75em; }
+    H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; }
+    HR  { width: 33%; text-align: center; }
+		blockquote {font-size: 97% }
+		.figleft   {float: left;}
+    .figright  {float: right;}
+    .toc       { margin-left: 15%; margin-bottom: 0em;}
+    CENTER { padding: 10px;}
+    // -->
+</style>
+
+</head>
+<body>
+
+
+<center>
+<table summary="" cellPadding=4 border=3>
+<tr><td>
+ &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="p1.htm">Previous Part</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+</td><td>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="1837-h.htm">Main Index</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+</td><td>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="p3.htm">Next Part</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+ 
+</td></tr>
+</table>
+</center>
+
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+
+<center>
+<h1>THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER</h1>
+<br><br>
+<h2>by Mark Twain
+<br><br><br><br>Part Two
+</h2>
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="bookcover.jpg (148K)" src="images/bookcover.jpg" height="1018" width="948">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="frontispiece1.jpg (135K)" src="images/frontispiece1.jpg" height="1067" width="745">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="frontispiece2.jpg (123K)" src="images/frontispiece2.jpg" height="939" width="747">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="titlepage.jpg (62K)" src="images/titlepage.jpg" height="1083" width="815">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="greatseal.jpg (68K)" src="images/greatseal.jpg" height="438" width="711">
+<br>The Great Seal
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="dedication.jpg (21K)" src="images/dedication.jpg" height="420" width="663">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="inscription.jpg (16K)" src="images/inscription.jpg" height="219" width="601">
+</center>
+
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<br><br>
+<blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><blockquote>
+<b>
+I will set down a tale as it was told to me by one who had it of his
+father, which latter had it of HIS father, this last having in like
+manner had it of HIS father&mdash;and so on, back and still back, three
+hundred years and more, the fathers transmitting it to the sons and so
+preserving it. &nbsp;It may be history, it may be only a legend, a tradition.
+It may have happened, it may not have happened: &nbsp;but it COULD have
+happened. &nbsp;It may be that the wise and the learned believed it in the old
+days; it may be that only the unlearned and the simple loved it and
+credited it.</b>
+</blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote>
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+
+
+<center><h2>
+CONTENTS</h2>
+
+<center>
+<table summary="">
+<tr><td>
+
+V.</td><td> <a href="#c5">Tom as a patrician.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td>
+VI.</td><td><a href="#c6">Tom receives instructions.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td>
+VII.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td><a href="#c7">Tom's first royal dinner.</a><br></td></tr>
+
+
+
+</table>
+</center>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<h2>ILLUSTRATIONS</h2>
+<center>
+<table summary="">
+<tr><td>
+
+
+
+
+<a href="#05-055">TOM AS A PATRICIAN</a><br><br>
+<a href="#05-057">"NEXT HE DREW THE SWORD"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#05-058">"RESOLVED TO FLY"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#05-059">"THE BOY WAS ON HIS KNEES"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#05-061">"NOBLES WALKED UPON EACH SIDE OF HIM"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#05-062">"HE DROPPED UPON HIS KNEES"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#05-064">"HE TURNED WITH JOYFUL FACE"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#05-065">"THE PHYSICIAN BOWED LOW"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#05-067">"THE KING FELL BACK UPON HIS COUCH"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#05-068">"IS THIS MAN TO LIVE FOREVER?"</a><br><br>
+
+<a href="#06-071">TOM RECEIVES INSTRUCTIONS</a><br><br>
+<a href="#06-073">"PRITHEE, INSIST NOT"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#06-075">"THE LORD ST. JOHN MADE REVERENCE"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#06-077">HERTFORD AND THE PRINCESSES</a><br><br>
+<a href="#06-079">"SHE MADE REVERENCE"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#06-080">"OFFERED IT TO HIM ON A GOLDEN SALVER"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#06-082">"THEY MUSED A WHILE"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#06-083">"PEACE MY LORD, THOU UTTEREST TREASON!"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#06-084">"HE BEGAN TO PACE THE FLOOR"</a><br><br>
+
+<a href="#07-087">TOM'S FIRST ROYAL DINNER</a><br><br>
+<a href="#07-089">"FASTENED A NAPKIN ABOUT HIS NECK"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#07-091">"TOM ATE WITH HIS FINGERS"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#07-092">"HE GRAVELY TOOK A DRAUGHT"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#07-093">"TOM PUT ON THE GREAVES"</a><br><br>
+
+
+</td></tr>
+</table>
+</center>
+
+
+</center>
+
+
+
+<br><br><hr><br>
+<br><br>
+<a name="c5"></a>
+<a name="05-055"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="05-055.jpg (73K)" src="images/05-055.jpg" height="660" width="714">
+</center>
+<br><br>
+<a name="05-057"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="05-057.jpg (129K)" src="images/05-057.jpg" height="866" width="747">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+<p>Chapter V. Tom as a patrician.</p>
+
+<p>Tom Canty, left alone in the prince's cabinet, made good use of his
+opportunity. &nbsp;He turned himself this way and that before the great
+mirror, admiring his finery; then walked away, imitating the prince's
+high-bred carriage, and still observing results in the glass. &nbsp;Next he
+drew the beautiful sword, and bowed, kissing the blade, and laying it
+across his breast, as he had seen a noble knight do, by way of salute to
+the lieutenant of the Tower, five or six weeks before, when delivering
+the great lords of Norfolk and Surrey into his hands for captivity. &nbsp;Tom
+played with the jewelled dagger that hung upon his thigh; he examined the
+costly and exquisite ornaments of the room; he tried each of the
+sumptuous chairs, and thought how proud he would be if the Offal Court
+herd could only peep in and see him in his grandeur. &nbsp;He wondered if they
+would believe the marvellous tale he should tell when he got home, or if
+they would shake their heads, and say his overtaxed imagination had at
+last upset his reason.</p>
+
+<p>At the end of half an hour it suddenly occurred to him that the prince
+was gone a long time; then right away he began to feel lonely; very soon
+he fell to listening and longing, and ceased to toy with the pretty
+things about him; he grew uneasy, then restless, then distressed.
+Suppose some one should come, and catch him in the prince's clothes, and
+the prince not there to explain. &nbsp;Might they not hang him at once, and
+inquire into his case afterward? &nbsp;He had heard that the great were prompt
+about small matters. &nbsp;His fear rose higher and higher; and trembling he
+softly opened the door to the antechamber, resolved to fly and seek the
+prince, and, through him, protection and release. &nbsp;Six gorgeous
+gentlemen-servants and two young pages of high degree, clothed like
+butterflies, sprang to their feet and bowed low before him. &nbsp;He stepped
+quickly back and shut the door. &nbsp;He said&mdash;</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="05-058"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="05-058.jpg (138K)" src="images/05-058.jpg" height="843" width="717">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+<p>"Oh, they mock at me! &nbsp;They will go and tell. &nbsp;Oh! why came I here to
+cast away my life?"</p>
+
+<p>He walked up and down the floor, filled with nameless fears, listening,
+starting at every trifling sound. &nbsp;Presently the door swung open, and a
+silken page said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"The Lady Jane Grey."</p>
+
+<p>The door closed and a sweet young girl, richly clad, bounded toward him.
+But she stopped suddenly, and said in a distressed voice&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, what aileth thee, my lord?"</p>
+
+<p>Tom's breath was nearly failing him; but he made shift to stammer out&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, be merciful, thou! &nbsp;In sooth I am no lord, but only poor Tom Canty
+of Offal Court in the city. &nbsp;Prithee let me see the prince, and he will
+of his grace restore to me my rags, and let me hence unhurt. &nbsp;Oh, be thou
+merciful, and save me!"</p>
+
+<p>By this time the boy was on his knees, and supplicating with his eyes and
+uplifted hands as well as with his tongue. &nbsp;The young girl seemed
+horror-stricken. &nbsp;She cried out&mdash;</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="05-059"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="05-059.jpg (104K)" src="images/05-059.jpg" height="655" width="708">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+<p>"O my lord, on thy knees?&mdash;and to ME!"</p>
+
+<p>Then she fled away in fright; and Tom, smitten with despair, sank down,
+murmuring&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"There is no help, there is no hope. &nbsp;Now will they come and take me."</p>
+
+<p>Whilst he lay there benumbed with terror, dreadful tidings were speeding
+through the palace. &nbsp;The whisper&mdash;for it was whispered always&mdash;flew from
+menial to menial, from lord to lady, down all the long corridors, from
+story to story, from saloon to saloon, "The prince hath gone mad, the
+prince hath gone mad!" &nbsp;Soon every saloon, every marble hall, had its
+groups of glittering lords and ladies, and other groups of dazzling
+lesser folk, talking earnestly together in whispers, and every face had
+in it dismay. Presently a splendid official came marching by these
+groups, making solemn proclamation&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"IN THE NAME OF THE KING!</p>
+
+<p>Let none list to this false and foolish matter, upon pain of death, nor
+discuss the same, nor carry it abroad. &nbsp;In the name of the King!"</p>
+
+<p>The whisperings ceased as suddenly as if the whisperers had been stricken
+dumb.</p>
+
+<p>Soon there was a general buzz along the corridors, of "The prince! See,
+the prince comes!"</p>
+
+<p>Poor Tom came slowly walking past the low-bowing groups, trying to bow in
+return, and meekly gazing upon his strange surroundings with bewildered
+and pathetic eyes. &nbsp;Great nobles walked upon each side of him, making him
+lean upon them, and so steady his steps. Behind him followed the
+court-physicians and some servants.</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="05-061"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="05-061.jpg (144K)" src="images/05-061.jpg" height="807" width="735">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>Presently Tom found himself in a noble apartment of the palace and heard
+the door close behind him. &nbsp;Around him stood those who had come with him.
+Before him, at a little distance, reclined a very large and very fat man,
+with a wide, pulpy face, and a stern expression. &nbsp;His large head was very
+grey; and his whiskers, which he wore only around his face, like a frame,
+were grey also. &nbsp;His clothing was of rich stuff, but old, and slightly
+frayed in places. &nbsp;One of his swollen legs had a pillow under it, and was
+wrapped in bandages. &nbsp;There was silence now; and there was no head there
+but was bent in reverence, except this man's. &nbsp;This stern-countenanced
+invalid was the dread Henry VIII. &nbsp;He said&mdash;and his face grew gentle as
+he began to speak&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"How now, my lord Edward, my prince? &nbsp;Hast been minded to cozen me, the
+good King thy father, who loveth thee, and kindly useth thee, with a
+sorry jest?"</p>
+
+<p>Poor Tom was listening, as well as his dazed faculties would let him, to
+the beginning of this speech; but when the words 'me, the good King' fell
+upon his ear, his face blanched, and he dropped as instantly upon his
+knees as if a shot had brought him there. Lifting up his hands, he
+exclaimed&mdash;</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="05-062"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="05-062.jpg (111K)" src="images/05-062.jpg" height="589" width="708">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>"Thou the KING? &nbsp;Then am I undone indeed!"</p>
+
+<p>This speech seemed to stun the King. &nbsp;His eyes wandered from face to face
+aimlessly, then rested, bewildered, upon the boy before him. &nbsp;Then he
+said in a tone of deep disappointment&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Alack, I had believed the rumour disproportioned to the truth; but I
+fear me 'tis not so." &nbsp;He breathed a heavy sigh, and said in a gentle
+voice, "Come to thy father, child: &nbsp;thou art not well."</p>
+
+<p>Tom was assisted to his feet, and approached the Majesty of England,
+humble and trembling. &nbsp;The King took the frightened face between his
+hands, and gazed earnestly and lovingly into it awhile, as if seeking
+some grateful sign of returning reason there, then pressed the curly head
+against his breast, and patted it tenderly. &nbsp;Presently he said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Dost not know thy father, child? &nbsp;Break not mine old heart; say thou
+know'st me. &nbsp;Thou DOST know me, dost thou not?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yea: &nbsp;thou art my dread lord the King, whom God preserve!"</p>
+
+<p>"True, true&mdash;that is well&mdash;be comforted, tremble not so; there is none
+here would hurt thee; there is none here but loves thee. Thou art better
+now; thy ill dream passeth&mdash;is't not so? &nbsp;Thou wilt not miscall thyself
+again, as they say thou didst a little while agone?"</p>
+
+<p>"I pray thee of thy grace believe me, I did but speak the truth, most
+dread lord; for I am the meanest among thy subjects, being a pauper born,
+and 'tis by a sore mischance and accident I am here, albeit I was therein
+nothing blameful. &nbsp;I am but young to die, and thou canst save me with one
+little word. &nbsp;Oh speak it, sir!"</p>
+
+<p>"Die? &nbsp;Talk not so, sweet prince&mdash;peace, peace, to thy troubled
+heart&mdash;thou shalt not die!"</p>
+
+<p>Tom dropped upon his knees with a glad cry&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"God requite thy mercy, O my King, and save thee long to bless thy land!"
+Then springing up, he turned a joyful face toward the two lords in
+waiting, and exclaimed, "Thou heard'st it! &nbsp;I am not to die: &nbsp;the King
+hath said it!" &nbsp;There was no movement, save that all bowed with grave
+respect; but no one spoke. &nbsp;He hesitated, a little confused, then turned
+timidly toward the King, saying, "I may go now?"</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="05-064"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="05-064.jpg (126K)" src="images/05-064.jpg" height="669" width="718">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>"Go? &nbsp;Surely, if thou desirest. &nbsp;But why not tarry yet a little? Whither
+would'st go?"</p>
+
+<p>Tom dropped his eyes, and answered humbly&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Peradventure I mistook; but I did think me free, and so was I moved to
+seek again the kennel where I was born and bred to misery, yet which
+harboureth my mother and my sisters, and so is home to me; whereas these
+pomps and splendours whereunto I am not used&mdash;oh, please you, sir, to let
+me go!"</p>
+
+<p>The King was silent and thoughtful a while, and his face betrayed a
+growing distress and uneasiness. &nbsp;Presently he said, with something of
+hope in his voice&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Perchance he is but mad upon this one strain, and hath his wits unmarred
+as toucheth other matter. &nbsp;God send it may be so! &nbsp;We will make trial."</p>
+
+<p>Then he asked Tom a question in Latin, and Tom answered him lamely in the
+same tongue. &nbsp;The lords and doctors manifested their gratification also.
+The King said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"'Twas not according to his schooling and ability, but showeth that his
+mind is but diseased, not stricken fatally. &nbsp;How say you, sir?"</p>
+
+<p>The physician addressed bowed low, and replied&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"It jumpeth with my own conviction, sire, that thou hast divined aright."</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="05-065"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="05-065.jpg (123K)" src="images/05-065.jpg" height="659" width="706">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>The King looked pleased with this encouragement, coming as it did from so
+excellent authority, and continued with good heart&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Now mark ye all: &nbsp;we will try him further."</p>
+
+<p>He put a question to Tom in French. &nbsp;Tom stood silent a moment,
+embarrassed by having so many eyes centred upon him, then said
+diffidently&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I have no knowledge of this tongue, so please your majesty."</p>
+
+<p>The King fell back upon his couch. &nbsp;The attendants flew to his
+assistance; but he put them aside, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Trouble me not&mdash;it is nothing but a scurvy faintness. &nbsp;Raise me! There,
+'tis sufficient. &nbsp;Come hither, child; there, rest thy poor troubled head
+upon thy father's heart, and be at peace. &nbsp;Thou'lt soon be well: &nbsp;'tis
+but a passing fantasy. &nbsp;Fear thou not; thou'lt soon be well." &nbsp;Then he
+turned toward the company: &nbsp;his gentle manner changed, and baleful
+lightnings began to play from his eyes. &nbsp;He said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"List ye all! &nbsp;This my son is mad; but it is not permanent. &nbsp;Over-study
+hath done this, and somewhat too much of confinement. &nbsp;Away with his
+books and teachers! see ye to it. &nbsp;Pleasure him with sports, beguile him
+in wholesome ways, so that his health come again." &nbsp;He raised himself
+higher still, and went on with energy, "He is mad; but he is my son, and
+England's heir; and, mad or sane, still shall he reign! &nbsp;And hear ye
+further, and proclaim it: whoso speaketh of this his distemper worketh
+against the peace and order of these realms, and shall to the gallows!
+. . . Give me to drink&mdash;I burn: &nbsp;this sorrow sappeth my strength. . . .
+There, take away the cup. . . . Support me. &nbsp;There, that is well. &nbsp;Mad,
+is he? &nbsp;Were he a thousand times mad, yet is he Prince of Wales, and I the
+King will confirm it. &nbsp;This very morrow shall he be installed in his
+princely dignity in due and ancient form. &nbsp;Take instant order for it, my
+lord Hertford."</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="05-067"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="05-067.jpg (162K)" src="images/05-067.jpg" height="1037" width="736">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+<p>One of the nobles knelt at the royal couch, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"The King's majesty knoweth that the Hereditary Great Marshal of England
+lieth attainted in the Tower. &nbsp;It were not meet that one attainted&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Peace! &nbsp;Insult not mine ears with his hated name. &nbsp;Is this man to live
+for ever? &nbsp;Am I to be baulked of my will? &nbsp;Is the prince to tarry
+uninstalled, because, forsooth, the realm lacketh an Earl Marshal free of
+treasonable taint to invest him with his honours? No, by the splendour of
+God! &nbsp;Warn my Parliament to bring me Norfolk's doom before the sun rise
+again, else shall they answer for it grievously!" {1}</p>
+
+<p>Lord Hertford said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"The King's will is law;" and, rising, returned to his former place.</p>
+
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="05-068"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="05-068.jpg (114K)" src="images/05-068.jpg" height="663" width="732">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>Gradually the wrath faded out of the old King's face, and he said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Kiss me, my prince. &nbsp;There . . . what fearest thou? &nbsp;Am I not thy loving
+father?"</p>
+
+<p>"Thou art good to me that am unworthy, O mighty and gracious lord: that
+in truth I know. &nbsp;But&mdash;but&mdash;it grieveth me to think of him that is to
+die, and&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, 'tis like thee, 'tis like thee! &nbsp;I know thy heart is still the same,
+even though thy mind hath suffered hurt, for thou wert ever of a gentle
+spirit. &nbsp;But this duke standeth between thee and thine honours: &nbsp;I will
+have another in his stead that shall bring no taint to his great office.
+Comfort thee, my prince: &nbsp;trouble not thy poor head with this matter."</p>
+
+<p>"But is it not I that speed him hence, my liege? &nbsp;How long might he not
+live, but for me?"</p>
+
+<p>"Take no thought of him, my prince: &nbsp;he is not worthy. &nbsp;Kiss me once
+again, and go to thy trifles and amusements; for my malady distresseth
+me. &nbsp;I am aweary, and would rest. &nbsp;Go with thine uncle Hertford and thy
+people, and come again when my body is refreshed."</p>
+
+<p>Tom, heavy-hearted, was conducted from the presence, for this last
+sentence was a death-blow to the hope he had cherished that now he would
+be set free. &nbsp;Once more he heard the buzz of low voices exclaiming, "The
+prince, the prince comes!"</p>
+
+<p>His spirits sank lower and lower as he moved between the glittering files
+of bowing courtiers; for he recognised that he was indeed a captive now,
+and might remain for ever shut up in this gilded cage, a forlorn and
+friendless prince, except God in his mercy take pity on him and set him
+free.</p>
+
+<p>And, turn where he would, he seemed to see floating in the air the
+severed head and the remembered face of the great Duke of Norfolk, the
+eyes fixed on him reproachfully.</p>
+
+<p>His old dreams had been so pleasant; but this reality was so dreary!</p>
+
+
+<br><br><hr><br>
+<br><br>
+<a name="c6"></a>
+<a name="06-071"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="06-071.jpg (65K)" src="images/06-071.jpg" height="627" width="721">
+</center>
+<br><br>
+<a name="06-073"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="06-073.jpg (136K)" src="images/06-073.jpg" height="901" width="740">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+<p>Chapter VI. Tom receives instructions.</p>
+
+<p>Tom was conducted to the principal apartment of a noble suite, and made
+to sit down&mdash;a thing which he was loth to do, since there were elderly
+men and men of high degree about him. &nbsp;He begged them to be seated also,
+but they only bowed their thanks or murmured them, and remained standing.
+He would have insisted, but his 'uncle' the Earl of Hertford whispered in
+his ear&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Prithee, insist not, my lord; it is not meet that they sit in thy
+presence."</p>
+
+<p>The Lord St. John was announced, and after making obeisance to Tom, he
+said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I come upon the King's errand, concerning a matter which requireth
+privacy. &nbsp;Will it please your royal highness to dismiss all that attend
+you here, save my lord the Earl of Hertford?"</p>
+
+<p>Observing that Tom did not seem to know how to proceed, Hertford
+whispered him to make a sign with his hand, and not trouble himself to
+speak unless he chose. &nbsp;When the waiting gentlemen had retired, Lord St.
+John said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"His majesty commandeth, that for due and weighty reasons of state, the
+prince's grace shall hide his infirmity in all ways that be within his
+power, till it be passed and he be as he was before. &nbsp;To wit, that he
+shall deny to none that he is the true prince, and heir to England's
+greatness; that he shall uphold his princely dignity, and shall receive,
+without word or sign of protest, that reverence and observance which unto
+it do appertain of right and ancient usage; that he shall cease to speak
+to any of that lowly birth and life his malady hath conjured out of the
+unwholesome imaginings of o'er-wrought fancy; that he shall strive with
+diligence to bring unto his memory again those faces which he was wont to
+know&mdash;and where he faileth he shall hold his peace, neither betraying by
+semblance of surprise or other sign that he hath forgot; that upon
+occasions of state, whensoever any matter shall perplex him as to the
+thing he should do or the utterance he should make, he shall show nought
+of unrest to the curious that look on, but take advice in that matter of
+the Lord Hertford, or my humble self, which are commanded of the King to
+be upon this service and close at call, till this commandment be
+dissolved. Thus saith the King's majesty, who sendeth greeting to your
+royal highness, and prayeth that God will of His mercy quickly heal you
+and have you now and ever in His holy keeping."</p>
+
+<p>The Lord St. John made reverence and stood aside. &nbsp;Tom replied
+resignedly&mdash;</p>
+
+
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="06-075"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="06-075.jpg (97K)" src="images/06-075.jpg" height="540" width="702">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+<p>"The King hath said it. &nbsp;None may palter with the King's command, or fit
+it to his ease, where it doth chafe, with deft evasions. The King shall
+be obeyed."</p>
+
+<p>Lord Hertford said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Touching the King's majesty's ordainment concerning books and such like
+serious matters, it may peradventure please your highness to ease your
+time with lightsome entertainment, lest you go wearied to the banquet and
+suffer harm thereby."</p>
+
+<p>Tom's face showed inquiring surprise; and a blush followed when he saw
+Lord St. John's eyes bent sorrowfully upon him. &nbsp;His lordship said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Thy memory still wrongeth thee, and thou hast shown surprise&mdash;but suffer
+it not to trouble thee, for 'tis a matter that will not bide, but depart
+with thy mending malady. &nbsp;My Lord of Hertford speaketh of the city's
+banquet which the King's majesty did promise, some two months flown, your
+highness should attend. &nbsp;Thou recallest it now?"</p>
+
+<p>"It grieves me to confess it had indeed escaped me," said Tom, in a
+hesitating voice; and blushed again.</p>
+
+<p>At this moment the Lady Elizabeth and the Lady Jane Grey were announced.
+The two lords exchanged significant glances, and Hertford stepped quickly
+toward the door. &nbsp;As the young girls passed him, he said in a low voice&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I pray ye, ladies, seem not to observe his humours, nor show surprise
+when his memory doth lapse&mdash;it will grieve you to note how it doth stick
+at every trifle."</p>
+
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="06-077"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="06-077.jpg (101K)" src="images/06-077.jpg" height="616" width="707">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+<p>Meantime Lord St. John was saying in Tom's ear&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Please you, sir, keep diligently in mind his majesty's desire. Remember
+all thou canst&mdash;SEEM to remember all else. &nbsp;Let them not perceive that
+thou art much changed from thy wont, for thou knowest how tenderly thy
+old play-fellows bear thee in their hearts and how 'twould grieve them.
+Art willing, sir, that I remain?&mdash;and thine uncle?"</p>
+
+<p>Tom signified assent with a gesture and a murmured word, for he was
+already learning, and in his simple heart was resolved to acquit himself
+as best he might, according to the King's command.</p>
+
+<p>In spite of every precaution, the conversation among the young people
+became a little embarrassing at times. &nbsp;More than once, in truth, Tom was
+near to breaking down and confessing himself unequal to his tremendous
+part; but the tact of the Princess Elizabeth saved him, or a word from
+one or the other of the vigilant lords, thrown in apparently by chance,
+had the same happy effect. &nbsp;Once the little Lady Jane turned to Tom and
+dismayed him with this question,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Hast paid thy duty to the Queen's majesty to-day, my lord?"</p>
+
+<p>Tom hesitated, looked distressed, and was about to stammer out something
+at hazard, when Lord St. John took the word and answered for him with the
+easy grace of a courtier accustomed to encounter delicate difficulties
+and to be ready for them&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"He hath indeed, madam, and she did greatly hearten him, as touching his
+majesty's condition; is it not so, your highness?"</p>
+
+<p>Tom mumbled something that stood for assent, but felt that he was getting
+upon dangerous ground. &nbsp;Somewhat later it was mentioned that Tom was to
+study no more at present, whereupon her little ladyship exclaimed&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"'Tis a pity, 'tis a pity! &nbsp;Thou wert proceeding bravely. &nbsp;But bide thy
+time in patience: &nbsp;it will not be for long. &nbsp;Thou'lt yet be graced with
+learning like thy father, and make thy tongue master of as many languages
+as his, good my prince."</p>
+
+<p>"My father!" cried Tom, off his guard for the moment. &nbsp;"I trow he cannot
+speak his own so that any but the swine that kennel in the styes may tell
+his meaning; and as for learning of any sort soever&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>He looked up and encountered a solemn warning in my Lord St. John's eyes.</p>
+
+<p>He stopped, blushed, then continued low and sadly: "Ah, my malady
+persecuteth me again, and my mind wandereth. &nbsp;I meant the King's grace no
+irreverence."</p>
+
+<p>"We know it, sir," said the Princess Elizabeth, taking her 'brother's'
+hand between her two palms, respectfully but caressingly; "trouble not
+thyself as to that. &nbsp;The fault is none of thine, but thy distemper's."</p>
+
+<p>"Thou'rt a gentle comforter, sweet lady," said Tom, gratefully, "and my
+heart moveth me to thank thee for't, an' I may be so bold."</p>
+
+<p>Once the giddy little Lady Jane fired a simple Greek phrase at Tom. &nbsp;The
+Princess Elizabeth's quick eye saw by the serene blankness of the
+target's front that the shaft was overshot; so she tranquilly delivered a
+return volley of sounding Greek on Tom's behalf, and then straightway
+changed the talk to other matters.</p>
+
+<p>Time wore on pleasantly, and likewise smoothly, on the whole. Snags and
+sandbars grew less and less frequent, and Tom grew more and more at his
+ease, seeing that all were so lovingly bent upon helping him and
+overlooking his mistakes. &nbsp;When it came out that the little ladies were
+to accompany him to the Lord Mayor's banquet in the evening, his heart
+gave a bound of relief and delight, for he felt that he should not be
+friendless, now, among that multitude of strangers; whereas, an hour
+earlier, the idea of their going with him would have been an
+insupportable terror to him.</p>
+
+<p>Tom's guardian angels, the two lords, had had less comfort in the
+interview than the other parties to it. &nbsp;They felt much as if they were
+piloting a great ship through a dangerous channel; they were on the alert
+constantly, and found their office no child's play. Wherefore, at last,
+when the ladies' visit was drawing to a close and the Lord Guilford
+Dudley was announced, they not only felt that their charge had been
+sufficiently taxed for the present, but also that they themselves were
+not in the best condition to take their ship back and make their anxious
+voyage all over again. &nbsp;So they respectfully advised Tom to excuse
+himself, which he was very glad to do, although a slight shade of
+disappointment might have been observed upon my Lady Jane's face when she
+heard the splendid stripling denied admittance.</p>
+
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="06-079"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="06-079.jpg (89K)" src="images/06-079.jpg" height="435" width="666">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+<p>There was a pause now, a sort of waiting silence which Tom could not
+understand. &nbsp;He glanced at Lord Hertford, who gave him a sign&mdash;but he
+failed to understand that also. &nbsp;The ready Elizabeth came to the rescue
+with her usual easy grace. &nbsp;She made reverence and said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Have we leave of the prince's grace my brother to go?"</p>
+
+<p>Tom said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed your ladyships can have whatsoever of me they will, for the
+asking; yet would I rather give them any other thing that in my poor
+power lieth, than leave to take the light and blessing of their presence
+hence. &nbsp;Give ye good den, and God be with ye!" Then he smiled inwardly at
+the thought, "'Tis not for nought I have dwelt but among princes in my
+reading, and taught my tongue some slight trick of their broidered and
+gracious speech withal!"</p>
+
+<p>When the illustrious maidens were gone, Tom turned wearily to his keepers
+and said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"May it please your lordships to grant me leave to go into some corner
+and rest me?"</p>
+
+<p>Lord Hertford said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"So please your highness, it is for you to command, it is for us to obey.
+That thou should'st rest is indeed a needful thing, since thou must
+journey to the city presently."</p>
+
+<p>He touched a bell, and a page appeared, who was ordered to desire the
+presence of Sir William Herbert. &nbsp;This gentleman came straightway, and
+conducted Tom to an inner apartment. &nbsp;Tom's first movement there was to
+reach for a cup of water; but a silk-and-velvet servitor seized it,
+dropped upon one knee, and offered it to him on a golden salver.</p>
+
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="06-080"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="06-080.jpg (154K)" src="images/06-080.jpg" height="948" width="732">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+<p>Next the tired captive sat down and was going to take off his buskins,
+timidly asking leave with his eye, but another silk-and-velvet
+discomforter went down upon his knees and took the office from him. &nbsp;He
+made two or three further efforts to help himself, but being promptly
+forestalled each time, he finally gave up, with a sigh of resignation and
+a murmured "Beshrew me, but I marvel they do not require to breathe for
+me also!" &nbsp;Slippered, and wrapped in a sumptuous robe, he laid himself
+down at last to rest, but not to sleep, for his head was too full of
+thoughts and the room too full of people. &nbsp;He could not dismiss the
+former, so they stayed; he did not know enough to dismiss the latter, so
+they stayed also, to his vast regret&mdash;and theirs.</p>
+
+<p>
+Tom's departure had left his two noble guardians alone. &nbsp;They mused a
+while, with much head-shaking and walking the floor, then Lord St. John
+said&mdash;</p>
+
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="06-082"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="06-082.jpg (83K)" src="images/06-082.jpg" height="522" width="641">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+<p>"Plainly, what dost thou think?"</p>
+
+<p>"Plainly, then, this. &nbsp;The King is near his end; my nephew is mad&mdash;mad
+will mount the throne, and mad remain. &nbsp;God protect England, since she
+will need it!"</p>
+
+<p>"Verily it promiseth so, indeed. &nbsp;But . . . have you no misgivings as to
+. . . as to . . ."</p>
+
+<p>The speaker hesitated, and finally stopped. &nbsp;He evidently felt that he
+was upon delicate ground. &nbsp;Lord Hertford stopped before him, looked into
+his face with a clear, frank eye, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Speak on&mdash;there is none to hear but me. &nbsp;Misgivings as to what?"</p>
+
+<p>"I am full loth to word the thing that is in my mind, and thou so near to
+him in blood, my lord. &nbsp;But craving pardon if I do offend, seemeth it not
+strange that madness could so change his port and manner?&mdash;not but that
+his port and speech are princely still, but that they DIFFER, in one
+unweighty trifle or another, from what his custom was aforetime. &nbsp;Seemeth
+it not strange that madness should filch from his memory his father's
+very lineaments; the customs and observances that are his due from such
+as be about him; and, leaving him his Latin, strip him of his Greek and
+French? &nbsp;My lord, be not offended, but ease my mind of its disquiet and
+receive my grateful thanks. &nbsp;It haunteth me, his saying he was not the
+prince, and so&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Peace, my lord, thou utterest treason! &nbsp;Hast forgot the King's command?
+Remember I am party to thy crime if I but listen."</p>
+
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="06-083"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="06-083.jpg (108K)" src="images/06-083.jpg" height="580" width="718">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+<p>St. John paled, and hastened to say&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I was in fault, I do confess it. &nbsp;Betray me not, grant me this grace out
+of thy courtesy, and I will neither think nor speak of this thing more.
+Deal not hardly with me, sir, else am I ruined."</p>
+
+<p>"I am content, my lord. &nbsp;So thou offend not again, here or in the ears of
+others, it shall be as though thou hadst not spoken. &nbsp;But thou need'st
+not have misgivings. &nbsp;He is my sister's son; are not his voice, his face,
+his form, familiar to me from his cradle? Madness can do all the odd
+conflicting things thou seest in him, and more. &nbsp;Dost not recall how that
+the old Baron Marley, being mad, forgot the favour of his own countenance
+that he had known for sixty years, and held it was another's; nay, even
+claimed he was the son of Mary Magdalene, and that his head was made of
+Spanish glass; and, sooth to say, he suffered none to touch it, lest by
+mischance some heedless hand might shiver it? &nbsp;Give thy misgivings
+easement, good my lord. &nbsp;This is the very prince&mdash;I know him well&mdash;and
+soon will be thy king; it may advantage thee to bear this in mind, and
+more dwell upon it than the other."</p>
+
+<p>After some further talk, in which the Lord St. John covered up his
+mistake as well as he could by repeated protests that his faith was
+thoroughly grounded now, and could not be assailed by doubts again, the
+Lord Hertford relieved his fellow-keeper, and sat down to keep watch and
+ward alone. &nbsp;He was soon deep in meditation, and evidently the longer he
+thought, the more he was bothered. &nbsp;By-and-by he began to pace the floor
+and mutter.</p>
+
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="06-084"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="06-084.jpg (61K)" src="images/06-084.jpg" height="724" width="365">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+<p>"Tush, he MUST be the prince! &nbsp;Will any be in all the land maintain there
+can be two, not of one blood and birth, so marvellously twinned? &nbsp;And
+even were it so, 'twere yet a stranger miracle that chance should cast
+the one into the other's place. Nay, 'tis folly, folly, folly!"</p>
+
+<p>Presently he said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Now were he impostor and called himself prince, look you THAT would be
+natural; that would be reasonable. &nbsp;But lived ever an impostor yet, who,
+being called prince by the king, prince by the court, prince by all,
+DENIED his dignity and pleaded against his exaltation? &nbsp;NO! &nbsp;By the soul
+of St. Swithin, no! &nbsp;This is the true prince, gone mad!"</p>
+
+<br><br><hr><br>
+<br><br>
+<a name="c7"></a>
+<a name="07-087"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="07-087.jpg (90K)" src="images/07-087.jpg" height="663" width="757">
+</center>
+<br><br>
+<a name="07-089"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="07-089.jpg (133K)" src="images/07-089.jpg" height="869" width="743">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>Chapter VII. Tom's first royal dinner.</p>
+
+<p>Somewhat after one in the afternoon, Tom resignedly underwent the ordeal
+of being dressed for dinner. &nbsp;He found himself as finely clothed as
+before, but everything different, everything changed, from his ruff to
+his stockings. &nbsp;He was presently conducted with much state to a spacious
+and ornate apartment, where a table was already set for one. &nbsp;Its
+furniture was all of massy gold, and beautified with designs which
+well-nigh made it priceless, since they were the work of Benvenuto. &nbsp;The room
+was half-filled with noble servitors. &nbsp;A chaplain said grace, and Tom was
+about to fall to, for hunger had long been constitutional with him, but
+was interrupted by my lord the Earl of Berkeley, who fastened a napkin
+about his neck; for the great post of Diaperers to the Prince of Wales
+was hereditary in this nobleman's family. &nbsp;Tom's cupbearer was present,
+and forestalled all his attempts to help himself to wine. &nbsp;The Taster to
+his highness the Prince of Wales was there also, prepared to taste any
+suspicious dish upon requirement, and run the risk of being poisoned. &nbsp;He
+was only an ornamental appendage at this time, and was seldom called upon
+to exercise his function; but there had been times, not many generations
+past, when the office of taster had its perils, and was not a grandeur to
+be desired. &nbsp;Why they did not use a dog or a plumber seems strange; but
+all the ways of royalty are strange. &nbsp;My Lord d'Arcy, First Groom of the
+Chamber, was there, to do goodness knows what; but there he was&mdash;let that
+suffice. &nbsp;The Lord Chief Butler was there, and stood behind Tom's chair,
+overseeing the solemnities, under command of the Lord Great Steward and
+the Lord Head Cook, who stood near. &nbsp;Tom had three hundred and
+eighty-four servants beside these; but they were not all in that room, of
+course, nor the quarter of them; neither was Tom aware yet that they
+existed.</p>
+
+<p>All those that were present had been well drilled within the hour to
+remember that the prince was temporarily out of his head, and to be
+careful to show no surprise at his vagaries. &nbsp;These 'vagaries' were soon
+on exhibition before them; but they only moved their compassion and their
+sorrow, not their mirth. &nbsp;It was a heavy affliction to them to see the
+beloved prince so stricken.</p>
+
+<p>Poor Tom ate with his fingers mainly; but no one smiled at it, or even
+seemed to observe it. &nbsp;He inspected his napkin curiously, and with deep
+interest, for it was of a very dainty and beautiful fabric, then said
+with simplicity&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Prithee, take it away, lest in mine unheedfulness it be soiled."</p>
+
+<p>The Hereditary Diaperer took it away with reverent manner, and without
+word or protest of any sort.</p>
+
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="07-091"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="07-091.jpg (156K)" src="images/07-091.jpg" height="913" width="735">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+<p>Tom examined the turnips and the lettuce with interest, and asked what
+they were, and if they were to be eaten; for it was only recently that
+men had begun to raise these things in England in place of importing them
+as luxuries from Holland. {1} &nbsp;His question was answered with grave
+respect, and no surprise manifested. &nbsp;When he had finished his dessert,
+he filled his pockets with nuts; but nobody appeared to be aware of it,
+or disturbed by it. &nbsp;But the next moment he was himself disturbed by it,
+and showed discomposure; for this was the only service he had been
+permitted to do with his own hands during the meal, and he did not doubt
+that he had done a most improper and unprincely thing. &nbsp;At that moment
+the muscles of his nose began to twitch, and the end of that organ to
+lift and wrinkle. &nbsp;This continued, and Tom began to evince a growing
+distress. &nbsp;He looked appealingly, first at one and then another of the
+lords about him, and tears came into his eyes. &nbsp;They sprang forward with
+dismay in their faces, and begged to know his trouble. &nbsp;Tom said with
+genuine anguish&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I crave your indulgence: &nbsp;my nose itcheth cruelly. &nbsp;What is the custom
+and usage in this emergence? &nbsp;Prithee, speed, for 'tis but a little time
+that I can bear it."</p>
+
+<p>None smiled; but all were sore perplexed, and looked one to the other in
+deep tribulation for counsel. &nbsp;But behold, here was a dead wall, and
+nothing in English history to tell how to get over it. &nbsp;The Master of
+Ceremonies was not present: &nbsp;there was no one who felt safe to venture
+upon this uncharted sea, or risk the attempt to solve this solemn
+problem. &nbsp;Alas! there was no Hereditary Scratcher. &nbsp;Meantime the tears
+had overflowed their banks, and begun to trickle down Tom's cheeks. &nbsp;His
+twitching nose was pleading more urgently than ever for relief. &nbsp;At last
+nature broke down the barriers of etiquette: &nbsp;Tom lifted up an inward
+prayer for pardon if he was doing wrong, and brought relief to the
+burdened hearts of his court by scratching his nose himself.</p>
+
+<p>His meal being ended, a lord came and held before him a broad, shallow,
+golden dish with fragrant rosewater in it, to cleanse his mouth and
+fingers with; and my lord the Hereditary Diaperer stood by with a napkin
+for his use. &nbsp;Tom gazed at the dish a puzzled moment or two, then raised
+it to his lips, and gravely took a draught. &nbsp;Then he returned it to the
+waiting lord, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Nay, it likes me not, my lord: &nbsp;it hath a pretty flavour, but it wanteth
+strength."</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="07-092"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="07-092.jpg (87K)" src="images/07-092.jpg" height="518" width="699">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>This new eccentricity of the prince's ruined mind made all the hearts
+about him ache; but the sad sight moved none to merriment.</p>
+
+<p>Tom's next unconscious blunder was to get up and leave the table just
+when the chaplain had taken his stand behind his chair, and with uplifted
+hands, and closed, uplifted eyes, was in the act of beginning the
+blessing. &nbsp;Still nobody seemed to perceive that the prince had done a
+thing unusual.</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="07-093"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="07-093.jpg (179K)" src="images/07-093.jpg" height="1015" width="737">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>By his own request our small friend was now conducted to his private
+cabinet, and left there alone to his own devices. &nbsp;Hanging upon hooks in
+the oaken wainscoting were the several pieces of a suit of shining steel
+armour, covered all over with beautiful designs exquisitely inlaid in
+gold. &nbsp;This martial panoply belonged to the true prince&mdash;a recent present
+from Madam Parr the Queen. Tom put on the greaves, the gauntlets, the
+plumed helmet, and such other pieces as he could don without assistance,
+and for a while was minded to call for help and complete the matter, but
+bethought him of the nuts he had brought away from dinner, and the joy it
+would be to eat them with no crowd to eye him, and no Grand Hereditaries
+to pester him with undesired services; so he restored the pretty things
+to their several places, and soon was cracking nuts, and feeling almost
+naturally happy for the first time since God for his sins had made him a
+prince. &nbsp;When the nuts were all gone, he stumbled upon some inviting
+books in a closet, among them one about the etiquette of the English
+court. &nbsp;This was a prize. He lay down upon a sumptuous divan, and
+proceeded to instruct himself with honest zeal. &nbsp;Let us leave him there
+for the present.</p>
+
+
+
+<br>
+<br>
+
+
+<center>
+<table summary="" cellPadding=4 border=3>
+<tr><td>
+ &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="p1.htm">Previous Part</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+</td><td>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="1837-h.htm">Main Index</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+</td><td>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="p3.htm">Next Part</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+ 
+</td></tr>
+</table>
+</center>
+
+</body>
+</html>
+
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+<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
+<html>
+<head>
+<title>THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER, By Mark Twain, Part 3.</title>
+<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
+
+<style type="text/css">
+    <!--
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+    P { text-indent:   1em;
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+        margin-bottom: .75em; }
+    H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; }
+    HR  { width: 33%; text-align: center; }
+		blockquote {font-size: 97% }
+		.figleft   {float: left;}
+    .figright  {float: right;}
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+    // -->
+</style>
+
+</head>
+<body>
+
+
+<center>
+<table summary="" cellPadding=4 border=3>
+<tr><td>
+ &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="p2.htm">Previous Part</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+</td><td>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="1837-h.htm">Main Index</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+</td><td>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="p4.htm">Next Part</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+ 
+</td></tr>
+</table>
+</center>
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+
+<center>
+<h1>THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER</h1>
+<br><br>
+<h2>by Mark Twain
+<br><br><br><br>Part Three
+</h2>
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="bookcover.jpg (148K)" src="images/bookcover.jpg" height="1018" width="948">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="frontispiece1.jpg (135K)" src="images/frontispiece1.jpg" height="1067" width="745">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="frontispiece2.jpg (123K)" src="images/frontispiece2.jpg" height="939" width="747">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="titlepage.jpg (62K)" src="images/titlepage.jpg" height="1083" width="815">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="greatseal.jpg (68K)" src="images/greatseal.jpg" height="438" width="711">
+<br>The Great Seal
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="dedication.jpg (21K)" src="images/dedication.jpg" height="420" width="663">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="inscription.jpg (16K)" src="images/inscription.jpg" height="219" width="601">
+</center>
+
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<br><br>
+<blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><blockquote>
+<b>
+I will set down a tale as it was told to me by one who had it of his
+father, which latter had it of HIS father, this last having in like
+manner had it of HIS father&mdash;and so on, back and still back, three
+hundred years and more, the fathers transmitting it to the sons and so
+preserving it. &nbsp;It may be history, it may be only a legend, a tradition.
+It may have happened, it may not have happened: &nbsp;but it COULD have
+happened. &nbsp;It may be that the wise and the learned believed it in the old
+days; it may be that only the unlearned and the simple loved it and
+credited it.</b>
+</blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote>
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+
+
+<h2>
+CONTENTS</h2>
+
+<center>
+<table summary="">
+<tr><td>
+
+VIII.&nbsp;&nbsp; </td><td><a href="#c8">The question of the Seal.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td>
+IX. </td><td><a href="#c9">The river pageant.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td>
+X. </td><td><a href="#c10">The Prince in the toils.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td>
+XI. </td><td><a href="#c11">At Guildhall.</a><br></td></tr>
+
+
+
+</table>
+</center>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<h2>ILLUSTRATIONS</h2>
+
+
+<center>
+<table summary="">
+<tr><td>
+
+
+
+
+<a href="#08-095">THE QUESTION OF THE SEAL</a><br><br>
+<a href="#08-098">"EASED HIM BACK UPON HIS PILLOWS"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#09-101">THE RIVER PAGEANT</a><br><br>
+<a href="#09-104">"HALBERDIERS APPEARED IN THE GATEWAY"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#09-106">"TOM CANTY STEPPED INTO VIEW"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#10-107">THE PRINCE IN THE TOILS</a><br><br>
+<a href="#10-110">"A DIM FORM SANK TO THE GROUND"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#10-111">"WHO ART THOU?"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#10-113">"INTO GOOD WIFE CANTY'S ARMS"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#10-115">"BENT HEEDFULLY AND WARILY OVER HIM"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#10-116">"THE PRINCE SPRANG UP"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#10-118">"HURRIED HIM ALONG THE DARK WAY"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#10-120">"HE WASTE NO TIME"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#11-121">AT GUILDHALL</a><br><br>
+<a href="#11-124">"A RICH CANOPY OF STATE"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#11-127">"BEGAN TO LAY ABOUT HIM"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#11-128">"LONG LIVE THE KING!"</a><br><br>
+
+
+</td></tr>
+</table>
+</center>
+
+<br><br><hr><br>
+<br><br>
+<a name="c8"></a>
+<a name="08-095"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="08-095.jpg (51K)" src="images/08-095.jpg" height="391" width="812">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>Chapter VIII. The question of the Seal.</p>
+
+<p>About five o'clock Henry VIII. awoke out of an unrefreshing nap, and
+muttered to himself, "Troublous dreams, troublous dreams! Mine end is now
+at hand: &nbsp;so say these warnings, and my failing pulses do confirm it."
+Presently a wicked light flamed up in his eye, and he muttered, "Yet will
+not I die till HE go before."</p>
+
+<p>His attendants perceiving that he was awake, one of them asked his
+pleasure concerning the Lord Chancellor, who was waiting without.</p>
+
+<p>"Admit him, admit him!" exclaimed the King eagerly.</p>
+
+<p>The Lord Chancellor entered, and knelt by the King's couch, saying&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I have given order, and, according to the King's command, the peers of
+the realm, in their robes, do now stand at the bar of the House, where,
+having confirmed the Duke of Norfolk's doom, they humbly wait his
+majesty's further pleasure in the matter."</p>
+
+<p>The King's face lit up with a fierce joy. &nbsp;Said he&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Lift me up! &nbsp;In mine own person will I go before my Parliament, and with
+mine own hand will I seal the warrant that rids me of&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>His voice failed; an ashen pallor swept the flush from his cheeks; and
+the attendants eased him back upon his pillows, and hurriedly assisted
+him with restoratives. &nbsp;Presently he said sorrowfully&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Alack, how have I longed for this sweet hour! and lo, too late it
+cometh, and I am robbed of this so coveted chance. &nbsp;But speed ye, speed
+ye! let others do this happy office sith 'tis denied to me. I put my
+Great Seal in commission: &nbsp;choose thou the lords that shall compose it,
+and get ye to your work. &nbsp;Speed ye, man! &nbsp;Before the sun shall rise and
+set again, bring me his head that I may see it."</p>
+
+<p>"According to the King's command, so shall it be. &nbsp;Will't please your
+majesty to order that the Seal be now restored to me, so that I may forth
+upon the business?"</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="08-098"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="08-098.jpg (99K)" src="images/08-098.jpg" height="603" width="712">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>"The Seal? &nbsp;Who keepeth the Seal but thou?"</p>
+
+<p>"Please your majesty, you did take it from me two days since, saying it
+should no more do its office till your own royal hand should use it upon
+the Duke of Norfolk's warrant."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, so in sooth I did: &nbsp;I do remember. . . . What did I with it? . . . I
+am very feeble. . . . So oft these days doth my memory play the traitor
+with me. . . . 'Tis strange, strange&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>The King dropped into inarticulate mumblings, shaking his grey head
+weakly from time to time, and gropingly trying to recollect what he had
+done with the Seal. &nbsp;At last my Lord Hertford ventured to kneel and offer
+information&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Sire, if that I may be so bold, here be several that do remember with me
+how that you gave the Great Seal into the hands of his highness the
+Prince of Wales to keep against the day that&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"True, most true!" interrupted the King. &nbsp;"Fetch it! &nbsp;Go: &nbsp;time flieth!"</p>
+
+<p>Lord Hertford flew to Tom, but returned to the King before very long,
+troubled and empty-handed. &nbsp;He delivered himself to this effect&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"It grieveth me, my lord the King, to bear so heavy and unwelcome
+tidings; but it is the will of God that the prince's affliction abideth
+still, and he cannot recall to mind that he received the Seal. &nbsp;So came I
+quickly to report, thinking it were waste of precious time, and little
+worth withal, that any should attempt to search the long array of
+chambers and saloons that belong unto his royal high&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>A groan from the King interrupted the lord at this point. &nbsp;After a little
+while his majesty said, with a deep sadness in his tone&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Trouble him no more, poor child. &nbsp;The hand of God lieth heavy upon him,
+and my heart goeth out in loving compassion for him, and sorrow that I
+may not bear his burden on mine old trouble-weighted shoulders, and so
+bring him peace."</p>
+
+<p>He closed his eyes, fell to mumbling, and presently was silent. After a
+time he opened his eyes again, and gazed vacantly around until his glance
+rested upon the kneeling Lord Chancellor. Instantly his face flushed with
+wrath&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"What, thou here yet! &nbsp;By the glory of God, an' thou gettest not about
+that traitor's business, thy mitre shall have holiday the morrow for lack
+of a head to grace withal!"</p>
+
+<p>The trembling Chancellor answered&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Good your Majesty, I cry you mercy! &nbsp;I but waited for the Seal."</p>
+
+<p>"Man, hast lost thy wits? &nbsp;The small Seal which aforetime I was wont to
+take with me abroad lieth in my treasury. &nbsp;And, since the Great Seal hath
+flown away, shall not it suffice? &nbsp;Hast lost thy wits? &nbsp;Begone! &nbsp;And hark
+ye&mdash;come no more till thou do bring his head."</p>
+
+<p>The poor Chancellor was not long in removing himself from this dangerous
+vicinity; nor did the commission waste time in giving the royal assent to
+the work of the slavish Parliament, and appointing the morrow for the
+beheading of the premier peer of England, the luckless Duke of Norfolk.
+</p>
+
+<br><br><hr><br>
+<br><br>
+<a name="c9"></a>
+<a name="09-101"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="09-101.jpg (60K)" src="images/09-101.jpg" height="461" width="753">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+<p>Chapter IX. The river pageant.</p>
+
+<p>At nine in the evening the whole vast river-front of the palace was
+blazing with light. &nbsp;The river itself, as far as the eye could reach
+citywards, was so thickly covered with watermen's boats and with
+pleasure-barges, all fringed with coloured lanterns, and gently agitated
+by the waves, that it resembled a glowing and limitless garden of flowers
+stirred to soft motion by summer winds. &nbsp;The grand terrace of stone steps
+leading down to the water, spacious enough to mass the army of a German
+principality upon, was a picture to see, with its ranks of royal
+halberdiers in polished armour, and its troops of brilliantly costumed
+servitors flitting up and down, and to and fro, in the hurry of
+preparation.</p>
+
+<p>Presently a command was given, and immediately all living creatures
+vanished from the steps. &nbsp;Now the air was heavy with the hush of suspense
+and expectancy. &nbsp;As far as one's vision could carry, he might see the
+myriads of people in the boats rise up, and shade their eyes from the
+glare of lanterns and torches, and gaze toward the palace.</p>
+
+<p>A file of forty or fifty state barges drew up to the steps. &nbsp;They were
+richly gilt, and their lofty prows and sterns were elaborately carved.
+Some of them were decorated with banners and streamers; some with
+cloth-of-gold and arras embroidered with coats-of-arms; others with silken
+flags that had numberless little silver bells fastened to them, which
+shook out tiny showers of joyous music whenever the breezes fluttered
+them; others of yet higher pretensions, since they belonged to nobles in
+the prince's immediate service, had their sides picturesquely fenced with
+shields gorgeously emblazoned with armorial bearings. &nbsp;Each state barge
+was towed by a tender. &nbsp;Besides the rowers, these tenders carried each a
+number of men-at-arms in glossy helmet and breastplate, and a company of
+musicians.</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="09-104"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="09-104.jpg (178K)" src="images/09-104.jpg" height="951" width="734">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>The advance-guard of the expected procession now appeared in the great
+gateway, a troop of halberdiers. &nbsp;'They were dressed in striped hose of
+black and tawny, velvet caps graced at the sides with silver roses, and
+doublets of murrey and blue cloth, embroidered on the front and back with
+the three feathers, the prince's blazon, woven in gold. &nbsp;Their halberd
+staves were covered with crimson velvet, fastened with gilt nails, and
+ornamented with gold tassels. &nbsp;Filing off on the right and left, they
+formed two long lines, extending from the gateway of the palace to the
+water's edge. &nbsp;A thick rayed cloth or carpet was then unfolded, and laid
+down between them by attendants in the gold-and-crimson liveries of the
+prince. &nbsp;This done, a flourish of trumpets resounded from within. &nbsp;A
+lively prelude arose from the musicians on the water; and two ushers with
+white wands marched with a slow and stately pace from the portal. &nbsp;They
+were followed by an officer bearing the civic mace, after whom came
+another carrying the city's sword; then several sergeants of the city
+guard, in their full accoutrements, and with badges on their sleeves;
+then the Garter King-at-arms, in his tabard; then several Knights of the
+Bath, each with a white lace on his sleeve; then their esquires; then the
+judges, in their robes of scarlet and coifs; then the Lord High
+Chancellor of England, in a robe of scarlet, open before, and purfled
+with minever; then a deputation of aldermen, in their scarlet cloaks; and
+then the heads of the different civic companies, in their robes of state.
+Now came twelve French gentlemen, in splendid habiliments, consisting of
+pourpoints of white damask barred with gold, short mantles of crimson
+velvet lined with violet taffeta, and carnation coloured
+hauts-de-chausses, and took their way down the steps. &nbsp;They were of the suite of
+the French ambassador, and were followed by twelve cavaliers of the suite
+of the Spanish ambassador, clothed in black velvet, unrelieved by any
+ornament. &nbsp;Following these came several great English nobles with their
+attendants.'</p>
+
+<p>There was a flourish of trumpets within; and the Prince's uncle, the
+future great Duke of Somerset, emerged from the gateway, arrayed in a
+'doublet of black cloth-of-gold, and a cloak of crimson satin flowered
+with gold, and ribanded with nets of silver.' &nbsp;He turned, doffed his
+plumed cap, bent his body in a low reverence, and began to step backward,
+bowing at each step. &nbsp;A prolonged trumpet-blast followed, and a
+proclamation, "Way for the high and mighty the Lord Edward, Prince of
+Wales!" &nbsp;High aloft on the palace walls a long line of red tongues of
+flame leapt forth with a thunder-crash; the massed world on the river
+burst into a mighty roar of welcome; and Tom Canty, the cause and hero of
+it all, stepped into view and slightly bowed his princely head.</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="09-106"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="09-106.jpg (46K)" src="images/09-106.jpg" height="586" width="359">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>He was 'magnificently habited in a doublet of white satin, with a
+front-piece of purple cloth-of-tissue, powdered with diamonds, and edged with
+ermine. &nbsp;Over this he wore a mantle of white cloth-of-gold, pounced with
+the triple-feathered crest, lined with blue satin, set with pearls and
+precious stones, and fastened with a clasp of brilliants. &nbsp;About his neck
+hung the order of the Garter, and several princely foreign orders;' and
+wherever light fell upon him jewels responded with a blinding flash. &nbsp;O
+Tom Canty, born in a hovel, bred in the gutters of London, familiar with
+rags and dirt and misery, what a spectacle is this!</p>
+
+
+<br><br><hr><br>
+<br><br>
+<a name="c10"></a>
+<a name="10-107"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="10-107.jpg (46K)" src="images/10-107.jpg" height="392" width="671">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+<p>Chapter X. The Prince in the toils.</p>
+
+<p>We left John Canty dragging the rightful prince into Offal Court, with a
+noisy and delighted mob at his heels. &nbsp;There was but one person in it who
+offered a pleading word for the captive, and he was not heeded; he was
+hardly even heard, so great was the turmoil. &nbsp;The Prince continued to
+struggle for freedom, and to rage against the treatment he was suffering,
+until John Canty lost what little patience was left in him, and raised
+his oaken cudgel in a sudden fury over the Prince's head. &nbsp;The single
+pleader for the lad sprang to stop the man's arm, and the blow descended
+upon his own wrist. &nbsp;Canty roared out&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Thou'lt meddle, wilt thou? &nbsp;Then have thy reward."</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="10-110"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="10-110.jpg (100K)" src="images/10-110.jpg" height="568" width="542">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>His cudgel crashed down upon the meddler's head: &nbsp;there was a groan, a
+dim form sank to the ground among the feet of the crowd, and the next
+moment it lay there in the dark alone. &nbsp;The mob pressed on, their
+enjoyment nothing disturbed by this episode.</p>
+
+<p>Presently the Prince found himself in John Canty's abode, with the door
+closed against the outsiders. &nbsp;By the vague light of a tallow candle
+which was thrust into a bottle, he made out the main features of the
+loathsome den, and also the occupants of it. &nbsp;Two frowsy girls and a
+middle-aged woman cowered against the wall in one corner, with the aspect
+of animals habituated to harsh usage, and expecting and dreading it now.
+From another corner stole a withered hag with streaming grey hair and
+malignant eyes. &nbsp;John Canty said to this one&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Tarry! &nbsp;There's fine mummeries here. &nbsp;Mar them not till thou'st enjoyed
+them: &nbsp;then let thy hand be heavy as thou wilt. &nbsp;Stand forth, lad. &nbsp;Now
+say thy foolery again, an thou'st not forgot it. Name thy name. &nbsp;Who art
+thou?"</p>
+
+<p>The insulted blood mounted to the little prince's cheek once more, and he
+lifted a steady and indignant gaze to the man's face and said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"'Tis but ill-breeding in such as thou to command me to speak. &nbsp;I tell
+thee now, as I told thee before, I am Edward, Prince of Wales, and none
+other."</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="10-111"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="10-111.jpg (133K)" src="images/10-111.jpg" height="698" width="724">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+<p>The stunning surprise of this reply nailed the hag's feet to the floor
+where she stood, and almost took her breath. &nbsp;She stared at the Prince in
+stupid amazement, which so amused her ruffianly son, that he burst into a
+roar of laughter. &nbsp;But the effect upon Tom Canty's mother and sisters was
+different. &nbsp;Their dread of bodily injury gave way at once to distress of
+a different sort. &nbsp;They ran forward with woe and dismay in their faces,
+exclaiming&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, poor Tom, poor lad!"</p>
+
+<p>The mother fell on her knees before the Prince, put her hands upon his
+shoulders, and gazed yearningly into his face through her rising tears.
+Then she said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, my poor boy! &nbsp;Thy foolish reading hath wrought its woeful work at
+last, and ta'en thy wit away. &nbsp;Ah! why did'st thou cleave to it when I so
+warned thee 'gainst it? &nbsp;Thou'st broke thy mother's heart."</p>
+
+<p>The Prince looked into her face, and said gently&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Thy son is well, and hath not lost his wits, good dame. &nbsp;Comfort thee:
+let me to the palace where he is, and straightway will the King my father
+restore him to thee."</p>
+
+<p>"The King thy father! &nbsp;Oh, my child! unsay these words that be freighted
+with death for thee, and ruin for all that be near to thee. &nbsp;Shake of
+this gruesome dream. &nbsp;Call back thy poor wandering memory. &nbsp;Look upon me.
+Am not I thy mother that bore thee, and loveth thee?"</p>
+
+<p>The Prince shook his head and reluctantly said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"God knoweth I am loth to grieve thy heart; but truly have I never looked
+upon thy face before."</p>
+
+<p>The woman sank back to a sitting posture on the floor, and, covering her
+eyes with her hands, gave way to heart-broken sobs and wailings.</p>
+
+<p>"Let the show go on!" shouted Canty. &nbsp;"What, Nan!&mdash;what, Bet! mannerless
+wenches! will ye stand in the Prince's presence? &nbsp;Upon your knees, ye
+pauper scum, and do him reverence!"</p>
+
+<p>He followed this with another horse-laugh. &nbsp;The girls began to plead
+timidly for their brother; and Nan said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"An thou wilt but let him to bed, father, rest and sleep will heal his
+madness: &nbsp;prithee, do."</p>
+
+<p>"Do, father," said Bet; "he is more worn than is his wont. &nbsp;To-morrow
+will he be himself again, and will beg with diligence, and come not empty
+home again."</p>
+
+<p>This remark sobered the father's joviality, and brought his mind to
+business. &nbsp;He turned angrily upon the Prince, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"The morrow must we pay two pennies to him that owns this hole; two
+pennies, mark ye&mdash;all this money for a half-year's rent, else out of this
+we go. &nbsp;Show what thou'st gathered with thy lazy begging."</p>
+
+<p>The Prince said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Offend me not with thy sordid matters. &nbsp;I tell thee again I am the
+King's son."</p>
+
+<p>A sounding blow upon the Prince's shoulder from Canty's broad palm sent
+him staggering into goodwife Canty's arms, who clasped him to her breast,
+and sheltered him from a pelting rain of cuffs and slaps by interposing
+her own person. &nbsp;The frightened girls retreated to their corner; but the
+grandmother stepped eagerly forward to assist her son. &nbsp;The Prince sprang
+away from Mrs. Canty, exclaiming&mdash;</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="10-113"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="10-113.jpg (105K)" src="images/10-113.jpg" height="573" width="720">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+<p>"Thou shalt not suffer for me, madam. &nbsp;Let these swine do their will upon
+me alone."</p>
+
+<p>This speech infuriated the swine to such a degree that they set about
+their work without waste of time. &nbsp;Between them they belaboured the boy
+right soundly, and then gave the girls and their mother a beating for
+showing sympathy for the victim.</p>
+
+<p>"Now," said Canty, "to bed, all of ye. &nbsp;The entertainment has tired me."</p>
+
+<p>The light was put out, and the family retired. &nbsp;As soon as the snorings
+of the head of the house and his mother showed that they were asleep, the
+young girls crept to where the Prince lay, and covered him tenderly from
+the cold with straw and rags; and their mother crept to him also, and
+stroked his hair, and cried over him, whispering broken words of comfort
+and compassion in his ear the while. &nbsp;She had saved a morsel for him to
+eat, also; but the boy's pains had swept away all appetite&mdash;at least for
+black and tasteless crusts. &nbsp;He was touched by her brave and costly
+defence of him, and by her commiseration; and he thanked her in very
+noble and princely words, and begged her to go to her sleep and try to
+forget her sorrows. &nbsp;And he added that the King his father would not let
+her loyal kindness and devotion go unrewarded. &nbsp;This return to his
+'madness' broke her heart anew, and she strained him to her breast again
+and again, and then went back, drowned in tears, to her bed.</p>
+
+<p>As she lay thinking and mourning, the suggestion began to creep into her
+mind that there was an undefinable something about this boy that was
+lacking in Tom Canty, mad or sane. &nbsp;She could not describe it, she could
+not tell just what it was, and yet her sharp mother-instinct seemed to
+detect it and perceive it. &nbsp;What if the boy were really not her son,
+after all? &nbsp;Oh, absurd! &nbsp;She almost smiled at the idea, spite of her
+griefs and troubles. &nbsp;No matter, she found that it was an idea that would
+not 'down,' but persisted in haunting her. &nbsp;It pursued her, it harassed
+her, it clung to her, and refused to be put away or ignored. &nbsp;At last she
+perceived that there was not going to be any peace for her until she
+should devise a test that should prove, clearly and without question,
+whether this lad was her son or not, and so banish these wearing and
+worrying doubts. &nbsp;Ah, yes, this was plainly the right way out of the
+difficulty; therefore she set her wits to work at once to contrive that
+test. &nbsp;But it was an easier thing to propose than to accomplish. &nbsp;She
+turned over in her mind one promising test after another, but was obliged
+to relinquish them all&mdash;none of them were absolutely sure, absolutely
+perfect; and an imperfect one could not satisfy her. &nbsp;Evidently she was
+racking her head in vain&mdash;it seemed manifest that she must give the
+matter up. &nbsp;While this depressing thought was passing through her mind,
+her ear caught the regular breathing of the boy, and she knew he had
+fallen asleep. &nbsp;And while she listened, the measured breathing was broken
+by a soft, startled cry, such as one utters in a troubled dream. &nbsp;This
+chance occurrence furnished her instantly with a plan worth all her
+laboured tests combined. &nbsp;She at once set herself feverishly, but
+noiselessly, to work to relight her candle, muttering to herself, "Had I
+but seen him THEN, I should have known! &nbsp;Since that day, when he was
+little, that the powder burst in his face, he hath never been startled of
+a sudden out of his dreams or out of his thinkings, but he hath cast his
+hand before his eyes, even as he did that day; and not as others would do
+it, with the palm inward, but always with the palm turned outward&mdash;I have
+seen it a hundred times, and it hath never varied nor ever failed. &nbsp;Yes,
+I shall soon know, now!"</p>
+
+<p>By this time she had crept to the slumbering boy's side, with the candle,
+shaded, in her hand. &nbsp;She bent heedfully and warily over him, scarcely
+breathing in her suppressed excitement, and suddenly flashed the light in
+his face and struck the floor by his ear with her knuckles. &nbsp;The
+sleeper's eyes sprang wide open, and he cast a startled stare about
+him&mdash;but he made no special movement with his hands.</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="10-115"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="10-115.jpg (138K)" src="images/10-115.jpg" height="662" width="724">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+<p>The poor woman was smitten almost helpless with surprise and grief; but
+she contrived to hide her emotions, and to soothe the boy to sleep again;
+then she crept apart and communed miserably with herself upon the
+disastrous result of her experiment. &nbsp;She tried to believe that her Tom's
+madness had banished this habitual gesture of his; but she could not do
+it. &nbsp;"No," she said, "his HANDS are not mad; they could not unlearn so
+old a habit in so brief a time. &nbsp;Oh, this is a heavy day for me!"</p>
+
+<p>Still, hope was as stubborn now as doubt had been before; she could not
+bring herself to accept the verdict of the test; she must try the thing
+again&mdash;the failure must have been only an accident; so she startled the
+boy out of his sleep a second and a third time, at intervals&mdash;with the
+same result which had marked the first test; then she dragged herself to
+bed, and fell sorrowfully asleep, saying, "But I cannot give him up&mdash;oh
+no, I cannot, I cannot&mdash;he MUST be my boy!"</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="10-116"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="10-116.jpg (62K)" src="images/10-116.jpg" height="445" width="463">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>The poor mother's interruptions having ceased, and the Prince's pains
+having gradually lost their power to disturb him, utter weariness at last
+sealed his eyes in a profound and restful sleep. Hour after hour slipped
+away, and still he slept like the dead. Thus four or five hours passed.
+Then his stupor began to lighten. Presently, while half asleep and half
+awake, he murmured&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Sir William!"</p>
+
+<p>After a moment&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Ho, Sir William Herbert! &nbsp;Hie thee hither, and list to the strangest
+dream that ever . . . Sir William! dost hear? &nbsp;Man, I did think me
+changed to a pauper, and . . . Ho there! &nbsp;Guards! Sir William! &nbsp;What! is
+there no groom of the chamber in waiting? Alack! it shall go hard with&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"What aileth thee?" asked a whisper near him. &nbsp;"Who art thou calling?"</p>
+
+<p>"Sir William Herbert. &nbsp;Who art thou?"</p>
+
+<p>"I? &nbsp;Who should I be, but thy sister Nan? &nbsp;Oh, Tom, I had forgot! Thou'rt
+mad yet&mdash;poor lad, thou'rt mad yet: &nbsp;would I had never woke to know it
+again! &nbsp;But prithee master thy tongue, lest we be all beaten till we
+die!"</p>
+
+<p>The startled Prince sprang partly up, but a sharp reminder from his
+stiffened bruises brought him to himself, and he sank back among his foul
+straw with a moan and the ejaculation&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Alas! it was no dream, then!"</p>
+
+<p>In a moment all the heavy sorrow and misery which sleep had banished were
+upon him again, and he realised that he was no longer a petted prince in
+a palace, with the adoring eyes of a nation upon him, but a pauper, an
+outcast, clothed in rags, prisoner in a den fit only for beasts, and
+consorting with beggars and thieves.</p>
+
+<p>In the midst of his grief he began to be conscious of hilarious noises
+and shoutings, apparently but a block or two away. &nbsp;The next moment there
+were several sharp raps at the door; John Canty ceased from snoring and
+said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Who knocketh? &nbsp;What wilt thou?"</p>
+
+<p>A voice answered&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Know'st thou who it was thou laid thy cudgel on?"</p>
+
+<p>"No. &nbsp;Neither know I, nor care."</p>
+
+<p>"Belike thou'lt change thy note eftsoons. &nbsp;An thou would save thy neck,
+nothing but flight may stead thee. &nbsp;The man is this moment delivering up
+the ghost. &nbsp;'Tis the priest, Father Andrew!"</p>
+
+<p>"God-a-mercy!" exclaimed Canty. &nbsp;He roused his family, and hoarsely
+commanded, "Up with ye all and fly&mdash;or bide where ye are and perish!"</p>
+
+<p>Scarcely five minutes later the Canty household were in the street and
+flying for their lives. &nbsp;John Canty held the Prince by the wrist, and
+hurried him along the dark way, giving him this caution in a low voice&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Mind thy tongue, thou mad fool, and speak not our name. &nbsp;I will choose
+me a new name, speedily, to throw the law's dogs off the scent. &nbsp;Mind thy
+tongue, I tell thee!"</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="10-118"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="10-118.jpg (142K)" src="images/10-118.jpg" height="757" width="741">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>He growled these words to the rest of the family&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"If it so chance that we be separated, let each make for London Bridge;
+whoso findeth himself as far as the last linen-draper's shop on the
+bridge, let him tarry there till the others be come, then will we flee
+into Southwark together."</p>
+
+<p>At this moment the party burst suddenly out of darkness into light; and
+not only into light, but into the midst of a multitude of singing,
+dancing, and shouting people, massed together on the river frontage.
+There was a line of bonfires stretching as far as one could see, up and
+down the Thames; London Bridge was illuminated; Southwark Bridge
+likewise; the entire river was aglow with the flash and sheen of coloured
+lights; and constant explosions of fireworks filled the skies with an
+intricate commingling of shooting splendours and a thick rain of dazzling
+sparks that almost turned night into day; everywhere were crowds of
+revellers; all London seemed to be at large.</p>
+
+<p>John Canty delivered himself of a furious curse and commanded a retreat;
+but it was too late. &nbsp;He and his tribe were swallowed up in that swarming
+hive of humanity, and hopelessly separated from each other in an instant.
+We are not considering that the Prince was one of his tribe; Canty still
+kept his grip upon him. &nbsp;The Prince's heart was beating high with hopes
+of escape, now. &nbsp;A burly waterman, considerably exalted with liquor,
+found himself rudely shoved by Canty in his efforts to plough through the
+crowd; he laid his great hand on Canty's shoulder and said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Nay, whither so fast, friend? &nbsp;Dost canker thy soul with sordid business
+when all that be leal men and true make holiday?"</p>
+
+<p>"Mine affairs are mine own, they concern thee not," answered Canty,
+roughly; "take away thy hand and let me pass."</p>
+
+<p>"Sith that is thy humour, thou'lt NOT pass, till thou'st drunk to the
+Prince of Wales, I tell thee that," said the waterman, barring the way
+resolutely.</p>
+
+<p>"Give me the cup, then, and make speed, make speed!"</p>
+
+<p>Other revellers were interested by this time. &nbsp;They cried out&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"The loving-cup, the loving-cup! make the sour knave drink the
+loving-cup, else will we feed him to the fishes."</p>
+
+<p>So a huge loving-cup was brought; the waterman, grasping it by one of its
+handles, and with the other hand bearing up the end of an imaginary
+napkin, presented it in due and ancient form to Canty, who had to grasp
+the opposite handle with one of his hands and take off the lid with the
+other, according to ancient custom.  This left the Prince hand-free
+for a second, of course. &nbsp;He wasted no time, but dived among the forest
+of legs about him and disappeared. &nbsp;In another moment he could not have
+been harder to find, under that tossing sea of life, if its billows had
+been the Atlantic's and he a lost sixpence.</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="10-120"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="10-120.jpg (148K)" src="images/10-120.jpg" height="803" width="713">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>He very soon realised this fact, and straightway busied himself about his
+own affairs without further thought of John Canty. &nbsp;He quickly realised
+another thing, too. &nbsp;To wit, that a spurious Prince of Wales was being
+feasted by the city in his stead. &nbsp;He easily concluded that the pauper
+lad, Tom Canty, had deliberately taken advantage of his stupendous
+opportunity and become a usurper.</p>
+
+<p>Therefore there was but one course to pursue&mdash;find his way to the
+Guildhall, make himself known, and denounce the impostor. &nbsp;He also made
+up his mind that Tom should be allowed a reasonable time for spiritual
+preparation, and then be hanged, drawn and quartered, according to the
+law and usage of the day in cases of high treason.</p>
+
+
+
+<br><br><hr><br>
+<br><br>
+<a name="c11"></a>
+<a name="11-121"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="11-121.jpg (56K)" src="images/11-121.jpg" height="448" width="718">
+</center>
+<br><br>
+<br><br>
+
+
+
+<p>
+Chapter XI. At Guildhall.</p>
+
+<p>The royal barge, attended by its gorgeous fleet, took its stately way
+down the Thames through the wilderness of illuminated boats. The air was
+laden with music; the river banks were beruffled with joy-flames; the
+distant city lay in a soft luminous glow from its countless invisible
+bonfires; above it rose many a slender spire into the sky, incrusted with
+sparkling lights, wherefore in their remoteness they seemed like jewelled
+lances thrust aloft; as the fleet swept along, it was greeted from the
+banks with a continuous hoarse roar of cheers and the ceaseless flash and
+boom of artillery.</p>
+
+<p>To Tom Canty, half buried in his silken cushions, these sounds and this
+spectacle were a wonder unspeakably sublime and astonishing. To his
+little friends at his side, the Princess Elizabeth and the Lady Jane
+Grey, they were nothing.</p>
+
+<p>Arrived at the Dowgate, the fleet was towed up the limpid Walbrook (whose
+channel has now been for two centuries buried out of sight under acres of
+buildings) to Bucklersbury, past houses and under bridges populous with
+merry-makers and brilliantly lighted, and at last came to a halt in a
+basin where now is Barge Yard, in the centre of the ancient city of
+London. &nbsp;Tom disembarked, and he and his gallant procession crossed
+Cheapside and made a short march through the Old Jewry and Basinghall
+Street to the Guildhall.</p>
+
+<p>Tom and his little ladies were received with due ceremony by the Lord
+Mayor and the Fathers of the City, in their gold chains and scarlet robes
+of state, and conducted to a rich canopy of state at the head of the
+great hall, preceded by heralds making proclamation, and by the Mace and
+the City Sword. &nbsp;The lords and ladies who were to attend upon Tom and his
+two small friends took their places behind their chairs.</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="11-124"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="11-124.jpg (173K)" src="images/11-124.jpg" height="1063" width="729">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>At a lower table the Court grandees and other guests of noble degree were
+seated, with the magnates of the city; the commoners took places at a
+multitude of tables on the main floor of the hall. &nbsp;From their lofty
+vantage-ground the giants Gog and Magog, the ancient guardians of the
+city, contemplated the spectacle below them with eyes grown familiar to
+it in forgotten generations. &nbsp;There was a bugle-blast and a proclamation,
+and a fat butler appeared in a high perch in the leftward wall, followed
+by his servitors bearing with impressive solemnity a royal baron of beef,
+smoking hot and ready for the knife.</p>
+
+<p>After grace, Tom (being instructed) rose&mdash;and the whole house with
+him&mdash;and drank from a portly golden loving-cup with the Princess Elizabeth;
+from her it passed to the Lady Jane, and then traversed the general
+assemblage. &nbsp;So the banquet began.</p>
+
+<p>By midnight the revelry was at its height. &nbsp;Now came one of those
+picturesque spectacles so admired in that old day. &nbsp;A description of it
+is still extant in the quaint wording of a chronicler who witnessed it:</p>
+
+<p>'Space being made, presently entered a baron and an earl appareled after
+the Turkish fashion in long robes of bawdkin powdered with gold; hats on
+their heads of crimson velvet, with great rolls of gold, girded with two
+swords, called scimitars, hanging by great bawdricks of gold. &nbsp;Next came
+yet another baron and another earl, in two long gowns of yellow satin,
+traversed with white satin, and in every bend of white was a bend of
+crimson satin, after the fashion of Russia, with furred hats of gray on
+their heads; either of them having an hatchet in their hands, and boots
+with pykes' (points a foot long), 'turned up. &nbsp;And after them came a
+knight, then the Lord High Admiral, and with him five nobles, in doublets
+of crimson velvet, voyded low on the back and before to the cannell-bone,
+laced on the breasts with chains of silver; and over that, short cloaks
+of crimson satin, and on their heads hats after the dancers' fashion,
+with pheasants' feathers in them. &nbsp;These were appareled after the fashion
+of Prussia. &nbsp;The torchbearers, which were about an hundred, were
+appareled in crimson satin and green, like Moors, their faces black.
+Next came in a mommarye. Then the minstrels, which were disguised,
+danced; and the lords and ladies did wildly dance also, that it was a
+pleasure to behold.'</p>
+
+<p>And while Tom, in his high seat, was gazing upon this 'wild' dancing,
+lost in admiration of the dazzling commingling of kaleidoscopic colours
+which the whirling turmoil of gaudy figures below him presented, the
+ragged but real little Prince of Wales was proclaiming his rights and his
+wrongs, denouncing the impostor, and clamouring for admission at the
+gates of Guildhall! The crowd enjoyed this episode prodigiously, and
+pressed forward and craned their necks to see the small rioter.
+Presently they began to taunt him and mock at him, purposely to goad him
+into a higher and still more entertaining fury. &nbsp;Tears of mortification
+sprang to his eyes, but he stood his ground and defied the mob right
+royally. &nbsp;Other taunts followed, added mockings stung him, and he
+exclaimed&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I tell ye again, you pack of unmannerly curs, I am the Prince of Wales!
+And all forlorn and friendless as I be, with none to give me word of
+grace or help me in my need, yet will not I be driven from my ground, but
+will maintain it!"</p>
+
+<p>"Though thou be prince or no prince, 'tis all one, thou be'st a gallant
+lad, and not friendless neither! &nbsp;Here stand I by thy side to prove it;
+and mind I tell thee thou might'st have a worser friend than Miles Hendon
+and yet not tire thy legs with seeking. Rest thy small jaw, my child; I
+talk the language of these base kennel-rats like to a very native."</p>
+
+<p>The speaker was a sort of Don Caesar de Bazan in dress, aspect, and
+bearing. &nbsp;He was tall, trim-built, muscular. &nbsp;His doublet and trunks were
+of rich material, but faded and threadbare, and their gold-lace
+adornments were sadly tarnished; his ruff was rumpled and damaged; the
+plume in his slouched hat was broken and had a bedraggled and
+disreputable look; at his side he wore a long rapier in a rusty iron
+sheath; his swaggering carriage marked him at once as a ruffler of the
+camp. &nbsp;The speech of this fantastic figure was received with an explosion
+of jeers and laughter. &nbsp;Some cried, "'Tis another prince in disguise!"
+"'Ware thy tongue, friend: &nbsp;belike he is dangerous!" &nbsp;"Marry, he looketh
+it&mdash;mark his eye!" &nbsp;"Pluck the lad from him&mdash;to the horse-pond wi' the
+cub!"</p>
+
+<p>Instantly a hand was laid upon the Prince, under the impulse of this
+happy thought; as instantly the stranger's long sword was out and the
+meddler went to the earth under a sounding thump with the flat of it.
+The next moment a score of voices shouted, "Kill the dog! &nbsp;Kill him!
+Kill him!" and the mob closed in on the warrior, who backed himself
+against a wall and began to lay about him with his long weapon like a
+madman. &nbsp;His victims sprawled this way and that, but the mob-tide poured
+over their prostrate forms and dashed itself against the champion with
+undiminished fury.
+</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="11-127"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="11-127.jpg (133K)" src="images/11-127.jpg" height="582" width="714">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>
+His moments seemed numbered, his destruction certain,
+when suddenly a trumpet-blast sounded, a voice shouted, "Way for the
+King's messenger!" and a troop of horsemen came charging down upon the
+mob, who fled out of harm's reach as fast as their legs could carry them.
+The bold stranger caught up the Prince in his arms, and was soon far away
+from danger and the multitude.</p>
+
+<p>Return we within the Guildhall. &nbsp;Suddenly, high above the jubilant roar
+and thunder of the revel, broke the clear peal of a bugle-note. &nbsp;There
+was instant silence&mdash;a deep hush; then a single voice rose&mdash;that of the
+messenger from the palace&mdash;and began to pipe forth a proclamation, the
+whole multitude standing listening.</p>
+
+<p>The closing words, solemnly pronounced, were&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"The King is dead!"</p>
+
+<p>The great assemblage bent their heads upon their breasts with one accord;
+remained so, in profound silence, a few moments; then all sank upon their
+knees in a body, stretched out their hands toward Tom, and a mighty shout
+burst forth that seemed to shake the building&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Long live the King!"</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="11-128"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="11-128.jpg (154K)" src="images/11-128.jpg" height="854" width="727">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+<p>Poor Tom's dazed eyes wandered abroad over this stupefying spectacle, and
+finally rested dreamily upon the kneeling princesses beside him, a
+moment, then upon the Earl of Hertford. A sudden purpose dawned in his
+face. &nbsp;He said, in a low tone, at Lord Hertford's ear&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Answer me truly, on thy faith and honour! &nbsp;Uttered I here a command, the
+which none but a king might hold privilege and prerogative to utter,
+would such commandment be obeyed, and none rise up to say me nay?"</p>
+
+<p>"None, my liege, in all these realms. &nbsp;In thy person bides the majesty of
+England. &nbsp;Thou art the king&mdash;thy word is law."</p>
+
+<p>Tom responded, in a strong, earnest voice, and with great animation&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Then shall the king's law be law of mercy, from this day, and never more
+be law of blood! &nbsp;Up from thy knees and away! &nbsp;To the Tower, and say the
+King decrees the Duke of Norfolk shall not die!"</p>
+
+<p>The words were caught up and carried eagerly from lip to lip far and wide
+over the hall, and as Hertford hurried from the presence, another
+prodigious shout burst forth&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"The reign of blood is ended! &nbsp;Long live Edward, King of England!"</p>
+
+
+
+
+<br>
+<br>
+
+
+<center>
+<table summary="" cellPadding=4 border=3>
+<tr><td>
+ &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="p2.htm">Previous Part</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+</td><td>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="1837-h.htm">Main Index</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+</td><td>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="p4.htm">Next Part</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+ 
+</td></tr>
+</table>
+</center>
+
+</body>
+</html>
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+<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
+<html>
+<head>
+<title>THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER, By Mark Twain, Part 4.</title>
+<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
+
+<style type="text/css">
+    <!--
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+    H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; }
+    HR  { width: 33%; text-align: center; }
+		blockquote {font-size: 97% }
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+
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+<body>
+
+
+<center>
+<table summary="" cellPadding=4 border=3>
+<tr><td>
+ &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="p3.htm">Previous Part</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+</td><td>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="1837-h.htm">Main Index</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+</td><td>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="p5.htm">Next Part</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+</td></tr>
+</table>
+</center>
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+
+<center>
+<h1>THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER</h1>
+<br><br>
+<h2>by Mark Twain
+<br><br><br><br>Part Four
+</h2>
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="bookcover.jpg (148K)" src="images/bookcover.jpg" height="1018" width="948">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="frontispiece1.jpg (135K)" src="images/frontispiece1.jpg" height="1067" width="745">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="frontispiece2.jpg (123K)" src="images/frontispiece2.jpg" height="939" width="747">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="titlepage.jpg (62K)" src="images/titlepage.jpg" height="1083" width="815">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="greatseal.jpg (68K)" src="images/greatseal.jpg" height="438" width="711">
+<br>The Great Seal
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="dedication.jpg (21K)" src="images/dedication.jpg" height="420" width="663">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="inscription.jpg (16K)" src="images/inscription.jpg" height="219" width="601">
+</center>
+
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<br><br>
+<blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><blockquote>
+<b>
+I will set down a tale as it was told to me by one who had it of his
+father, which latter had it of HIS father, this last having in like
+manner had it of HIS father&mdash;and so on, back and still back, three
+hundred years and more, the fathers transmitting it to the sons and so
+preserving it. &nbsp;It may be history, it may be only a legend, a tradition.
+It may have happened, it may not have happened: &nbsp;but it COULD have
+happened. &nbsp;It may be that the wise and the learned believed it in the old
+days; it may be that only the unlearned and the simple loved it and
+credited it.</b>
+</blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote>
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+
+
+<h2>
+CONTENTS</h2>
+
+
+<center>
+<table summary="">
+<tr><td>
+
+
+XII. </td><td><a href="#c12">The Prince and his deliverer.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td>
+XIII.&nbsp;&nbsp; </td><td><a href="#c13">The disappearance of the Prince.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td>
+XIV. </td><td><a href="#c14">'Le Roi est mort&mdash;vive le Roi.'</a><br></td></tr>
+
+
+
+
+</table>
+</center>
+
+
+
+
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<h2>ILLUSTRATIONS</h2>
+<center>
+<table summary="">
+<tr><td>
+
+
+
+
+
+<a href="#12-131">THE PRINCE AND HIS DELIVERER</a><br><br>
+<a href="#12-134">"OUR FRIENDS THREADED THEIR WAY"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#12-136">"OBJECT LESSONS" IN ENGLISH HISTORY</a><br><br>
+<a href="#12-137">"JOHN CANTY MOVED OFF"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#12-139">"SMOOTHING BACK THE TANGLED CURLS"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#12-141">"PRITHEE, POUR THE WATER"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#12-142">"GO ON&mdash;TELL ME THY STORY</a><br><br>
+<a href="#12-145">"THOU HAST BEEN SHAMEFULLY ABUSED"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#12-146">"HE DROPPED ON ONE KNEE"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#12-148">"RISE, SIR MILES HENDON, BARONET"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#13-149">THE DISAPPEARANCE OF THE PRINCE</a><br><br>
+<a href="#13-151">"HE DROPPED ASLEEP"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#13-153">"THESE BE VERY GOOD AND SOUND"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#13-155">"EXPLAIN, THOU LIMB OF SATAN"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#13-156">"HENDON FOLLOWED AFTER HIM"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#14-159">"LE ROI EST MORT-VIVE LE ROI"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#14-162">"WILT DEIGN TO DELIVER THY COMMANDS?"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#14-164">"LORD OF THE BEDCHAMBER"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#14-166">"A SECRETARY OF STATE"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#14-170">"STOOD AT GRACEFUL EASE"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#14-172">"'TIS I THAT TAKE THEM"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#14-175">"BUT TAX YOUR MEMORY"</a><br><br>
+
+
+</td></tr>
+</table>
+</center>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<br><br><hr><br>
+<br><br>
+<a name="c12"></a>
+<a name="12-131"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="12-131.jpg (62K)" src="images/12-131.jpg" height="578" width="589">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+<p>Chapter XII. The Prince and his deliverer.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as Miles Hendon and the little prince were clear of the mob, they
+struck down through back lanes and alleys toward the river. &nbsp;Their way
+was unobstructed until they approached London Bridge; then they ploughed
+into the multitude again, Hendon keeping a fast grip upon the
+Prince's&mdash;no, the King's&mdash;wrist. &nbsp;The tremendous news was already abroad, and the
+boy learned it from a thousand voices at once&mdash;"The King is dead!" &nbsp;The
+tidings struck a chill to the heart of the poor little waif, and sent a
+shudder through his frame. &nbsp;He realised the greatness of his loss, and
+was filled with a bitter grief; for the grim tyrant who had been such a
+terror to others had always been gentle with him. &nbsp;The tears sprang to
+his eyes and blurred all objects. &nbsp;For an instant he felt himself the
+most forlorn, outcast, and forsaken of God's creatures&mdash;then another cry
+shook the night with its far-reaching thunders: &nbsp;"Long live King Edward
+the Sixth!" and this made his eyes kindle, and thrilled him with pride to
+his fingers' ends. "Ah," he thought, "how grand and strange it seems&mdash;I
+AM KING!"</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="12-134"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="12-134.jpg (116K)" src="images/12-134.jpg" height="679" width="597">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>Our friends threaded their way slowly through the throngs upon the
+bridge. &nbsp;This structure, which had stood for six hundred years, and had
+been a noisy and populous thoroughfare all that time, was a curious
+affair, for a closely packed rank of stores and shops, with family
+quarters overhead, stretched along both sides of it, from one bank of the
+river to the other. &nbsp;The Bridge was a sort of town to itself; it had its
+inn, its beer-houses, its bakeries, its haberdasheries, its food markets,
+its manufacturing industries, and even its church. &nbsp;It looked upon the
+two neighbours which it linked together&mdash;London and Southwark&mdash;as being
+well enough as suburbs, but not otherwise particularly important. &nbsp;It was
+a close corporation, so to speak; it was a narrow town, of a single
+street a fifth of a mile long, its population was but a village
+population and everybody in it knew all his fellow-townsmen intimately,
+and had known their fathers and mothers before them&mdash;and all their little
+family affairs into the bargain. &nbsp;It had its aristocracy, of course&mdash;its
+fine old families of butchers, and bakers, and what-not, who had occupied
+the same old premises for five or six hundred years, and knew the great
+history of the Bridge from beginning to end, and all its strange legends;
+and who always talked bridgy talk, and thought bridgy thoughts, and lied
+in a long, level, direct, substantial bridgy way. &nbsp;It was just the sort
+of population to be narrow and ignorant and self-conceited. Children were
+born on the Bridge, were reared there, grew to old age, and finally died
+without ever having set a foot upon any part of the world but London
+Bridge alone. &nbsp;Such people would naturally imagine that the mighty and
+interminable procession which moved through its street night and day,
+with its confused roar of shouts and cries, its neighings and bellowing
+and bleatings and its muffled thunder-tramp, was the one great thing in
+this world, and themselves somehow the proprietors of it. &nbsp;And so they
+were, in effect&mdash;at least they could exhibit it from their windows, and
+did&mdash;for a consideration&mdash;whenever a returning king or hero gave it a
+fleeting splendour, for there was no place like it for affording a long,
+straight, uninterrupted view of marching columns.</p>
+
+<p>Men born and reared upon the Bridge found life unendurably dull and inane
+elsewhere. &nbsp;History tells of one of these who left the Bridge at the age
+of seventy-one and retired to the country. &nbsp;But he could only fret and
+toss in his bed; he could not go to sleep, the deep stillness was so
+painful, so awful, so oppressive. &nbsp;When he was worn out with it, at last,
+he fled back to his old home, a lean and haggard spectre, and fell
+peacefully to rest and pleasant dreams under the lulling music of the
+lashing waters and the boom and crash and thunder of London Bridge.</p>
+
+<p>In the times of which we are writing, the Bridge furnished 'object
+lessons' in English history for its children&mdash;namely, the livid and
+decaying heads of renowned men impaled upon iron spikes atop of its
+gateways. &nbsp;But we digress.</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="12-136"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="12-136.jpg (35K)" src="images/12-136.jpg" height="419" width="363">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>Hendon's lodgings were in the little inn on the Bridge. &nbsp;As he neared the
+door with his small friend, a rough voice said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"So, thou'rt come at last! &nbsp;Thou'lt not escape again, I warrant thee; and
+if pounding thy bones to a pudding can teach thee somewhat, thou'lt not
+keep us waiting another time, mayhap,"&mdash;and John Canty put out his hand to
+seize the boy.</p>
+
+<p>Miles Hendon stepped in the way and said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Not too fast, friend. &nbsp;Thou art needlessly rough, methinks. &nbsp;What is the
+lad to thee?"</p>
+
+<p>"If it be any business of thine to make and meddle in others' affairs, he
+is my son."</p>
+
+<p>"'Tis a lie!" cried the little King, hotly.</p>
+
+<p>"Boldly said, and I believe thee, whether thy small headpiece be sound or
+cracked, my boy. &nbsp;But whether this scurvy ruffian be thy father or no,
+'tis all one, he shall not have thee to beat thee and abuse, according to
+his threat, so thou prefer to bide with me."</p>
+
+<p>"I do, I do&mdash;I know him not, I loathe him, and will die before I will go
+with him."</p>
+
+<p>"Then 'tis settled, and there is nought more to say."</p>
+
+<p>"We will see, as to that!" exclaimed John Canty, striding past Hendon to
+get at the boy; "by force shall he&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"If thou do but touch him, thou animated offal, I will spit thee like a
+goose!" said Hendon, barring the way and laying his hand upon his sword
+hilt. &nbsp;Canty drew back. &nbsp;"Now mark ye," continued Hendon, "I took this
+lad under my protection when a mob of such as thou would have mishandled
+him, mayhap killed him; dost imagine I will desert him now to a worser
+fate?&mdash;for whether thou art his father or no&mdash;and sooth to say, I think
+it is a lie&mdash;a decent swift death were better for such a lad than life in
+such brute hands as thine. &nbsp;So go thy ways, and set quick about it, for I
+like not much bandying of words, being not over-patient in my nature."</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="12-137"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="12-137.jpg (107K)" src="images/12-137.jpg" height="620" width="577">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>John Canty moved off, muttering threats and curses, and was swallowed
+from sight in the crowd. &nbsp;Hendon ascended three flights of stairs to his
+room, with his charge, after ordering a meal to be sent thither. &nbsp;It was
+a poor apartment, with a shabby bed and some odds and ends of old
+furniture in it, and was vaguely lighted by a couple of sickly candles.
+The little King dragged himself to the bed and lay down upon it, almost
+exhausted with hunger and fatigue. &nbsp;He had been on his feet a good part
+of a day and a night (for it was now two or three o'clock in the
+morning), and had eaten nothing meantime. &nbsp;He murmured drowsily&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Prithee call me when the table is spread," and sank into a deep sleep
+immediately.</p>
+
+<p>A smile twinkled in Hendon's eye, and he said to himself&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"By the mass, the little beggar takes to one's quarters and usurps one's
+bed with as natural and easy a grace as if he owned them&mdash;with never a
+by-your-leave or so-please-it-you, or anything of the sort. &nbsp;In his
+diseased ravings he called himself the Prince of Wales, and bravely doth
+he keep up the character. &nbsp;Poor little friendless rat, doubtless his mind
+has been disordered with ill-usage. &nbsp;Well, I will be his friend; I have
+saved him, and it draweth me strongly to him; already I love the
+bold-tongued little rascal. &nbsp;How soldier-like he faced the smutty rabble and
+flung back his high defiance! &nbsp;And what a comely, sweet and gentle face
+he hath, now that sleep hath conjured away its troubles and its griefs.
+I will teach him; I will cure his malady; yea, I will be his elder
+brother, and care for him and watch over him; and whoso would shame him
+or do him hurt may order his shroud, for though I be burnt for it he
+shall need it!"</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="12-139"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="12-139.jpg (110K)" src="images/12-139.jpg" height="612" width="712">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>He bent over the boy and contemplated him with kind and pitying interest,
+tapping the young cheek tenderly and smoothing back the tangled curls
+with his great brown hand. &nbsp;A slight shiver passed over the boy's form.
+Hendon muttered&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"See, now, how like a man it was to let him lie here uncovered and fill
+his body with deadly rheums. &nbsp;Now what shall I do? 'twill wake him to
+take him up and put him within the bed, and he sorely needeth sleep."</p>
+
+<p>He looked about for extra covering, but finding none, doffed his doublet
+and wrapped the lad in it, saying, "I am used to nipping air and scant
+apparel, 'tis little I shall mind the cold!"&mdash;then walked up and down the
+room, to keep his blood in motion, soliloquising as before.</p>
+
+<p>"His injured mind persuades him he is Prince of Wales; 'twill be odd to
+have a Prince of Wales still with us, now that he that WAS the prince is
+prince no more, but king&mdash;for this poor mind is set upon the one fantasy,
+and will not reason out that now it should cast by the prince and call
+itself the king. . . If my father liveth still, after these seven years
+that I have heard nought from home in my foreign dungeon, he will welcome
+the poor lad and give him generous shelter for my sake; so will my good
+elder brother, Arthur; my other brother, Hugh&mdash;but I will crack his crown
+an HE interfere, the fox-hearted, ill-conditioned animal! Yes, thither
+will we fare&mdash;and straightway, too."</p>
+
+<p>A servant entered with a smoking meal, disposed it upon a small deal
+table, placed the chairs, and took his departure, leaving such cheap
+lodgers as these to wait upon themselves. &nbsp;The door slammed after him,
+and the noise woke the boy, who sprang to a sitting posture, and shot a
+glad glance about him; then a grieved look came into his face and he
+murmured to himself, with a deep sigh, "Alack, it was but a dream, woe is
+me!" &nbsp;Next he noticed Miles Hendon's doublet&mdash;glanced from that to
+Hendon, comprehended the sacrifice that had been made for him, and said,
+gently&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Thou art good to me, yes, thou art very good to me. &nbsp;Take it and put it
+on&mdash;I shall not need it more."</p>
+
+<p>Then he got up and walked to the washstand in the corner and stood there,
+waiting. &nbsp;Hendon said in a cheery voice&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"We'll have a right hearty sup and bite, now, for everything is savoury
+and smoking hot, and that and thy nap together will make thee a little
+man again, never fear!"</p>
+
+<p>The boy made no answer, but bent a steady look, that was filled with
+grave surprise, and also somewhat touched with impatience, upon the tall
+knight of the sword. &nbsp;Hendon was puzzled, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"What's amiss?"</p>
+
+<p>"Good sir, I would wash me."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, is that all? &nbsp;Ask no permission of Miles Hendon for aught thou
+cravest. &nbsp;Make thyself perfectly free here, and welcome, with all that
+are his belongings."</p>
+
+<p>Still the boy stood, and moved not; more, he tapped the floor once or
+twice with his small impatient foot. &nbsp;Hendon was wholly perplexed. &nbsp;Said
+he&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Bless us, what is it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Prithee pour the water, and make not so many words!"</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="12-141"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="12-141.jpg (125K)" src="images/12-141.jpg" height="736" width="730">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>Hendon, suppressing a horse-laugh, and saying to himself, "By all the
+saints, but this is admirable!" stepped briskly forward and did the small
+insolent's bidding; then stood by, in a sort of stupefaction, until the
+command, "Come&mdash;the towel!" woke him sharply up. &nbsp;He took up a towel,
+from under the boy's nose, and handed it to him without comment. &nbsp;He now
+proceeded to comfort his own face with a wash, and while he was at it his
+adopted child seated himself at the table and prepared to fall to.
+Hendon despatched his ablutions with alacrity, then drew back the other
+chair and was about to place himself at table, when the boy said,
+indignantly&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Forbear! &nbsp;Wouldst sit in the presence of the King?"</p>
+
+<p>This blow staggered Hendon to his foundations. &nbsp;He muttered to himself,
+"Lo, the poor thing's madness is up with the time! &nbsp;It hath changed with
+the great change that is come to the realm, and now in fancy is he KING!
+Good lack, I must humour the conceit, too&mdash;there is no other way&mdash;faith,
+he would order me to the Tower, else!"</p>
+
+<p>And pleased with this jest, he removed the chair from the table, took his
+stand behind the King, and proceeded to wait upon him in the courtliest
+way he was capable of.</p>
+
+<p>While the King ate, the rigour of his royal dignity relaxed a little, and
+with his growing contentment came a desire to talk. He said&mdash;"I think
+thou callest thyself Miles Hendon, if I heard thee aright?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, Sire," Miles replied; then observed to himself, "If I MUST humour
+the poor lad's madness, I must 'Sire' him, I must 'Majesty' him, I must
+not go by halves, I must stick at nothing that belongeth to the part I
+play, else shall I play it ill and work evil to this charitable and
+kindly cause."</p>
+
+<p>The King warmed his heart with a second glass of wine, and said&mdash;"I would
+know thee&mdash;tell me thy story. &nbsp;Thou hast a gallant way with thee, and a
+noble&mdash;art nobly born?"</p>
+
+<p>"We are of the tail of the nobility, good your Majesty. &nbsp;My father is a
+baronet&mdash;one of the smaller lords by knight service {2}&mdash;Sir Richard
+Hendon of Hendon Hall, by Monk's Holm in Kent."</p>
+
+<p>"The name has escaped my memory. &nbsp;Go on&mdash;tell me thy story."</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="12-142"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="12-142.jpg (102K)" src="images/12-142.jpg" height="612" width="723">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>"'Tis not much, your Majesty, yet perchance it may beguile a short
+half-hour for want of a better. &nbsp;My father, Sir Richard, is very rich, and of
+a most generous nature. &nbsp;My mother died whilst I was yet a boy. &nbsp;I have
+two brothers: &nbsp;Arthur, my elder, with a soul like to his father's; and
+Hugh, younger than I, a mean spirit, covetous, treacherous, vicious,
+underhanded&mdash;a reptile. &nbsp;Such was he from the cradle; such was he ten
+years past, when I last saw him&mdash;a ripe rascal at nineteen, I being
+twenty then, and Arthur twenty-two. &nbsp;There is none other of us but the
+Lady Edith, my cousin&mdash;she was sixteen then&mdash;beautiful, gentle, good, the
+daughter of an earl, the last of her race, heiress of a great fortune and
+a lapsed title. &nbsp;My father was her guardian. &nbsp;I loved her and she loved
+me; but she was betrothed to Arthur from the cradle, and Sir Richard
+would not suffer the contract to be broken. &nbsp;Arthur loved another maid,
+and bade us be of good cheer and hold fast to the hope that delay and
+luck together would some day give success to our several causes. &nbsp;Hugh
+loved the Lady Edith's fortune, though in truth he said it was herself he
+loved&mdash;but then 'twas his way, alway, to say the one thing and mean the
+other. &nbsp;But he lost his arts upon the girl; he could deceive my father,
+but none else. &nbsp;My father loved him best of us all, and trusted and
+believed him; for he was the youngest child, and others hated him&mdash;these
+qualities being in all ages sufficient to win a parent's dearest love;
+and he had a smooth persuasive tongue, with an admirable gift of
+lying&mdash;and these be qualities which do mightily assist a blind affection to
+cozen itself. &nbsp;I was wild&mdash;in troth I might go yet farther and say VERY
+wild, though 'twas a wildness of an innocent sort, since it hurt none but
+me, brought shame to none, nor loss, nor had in it any taint of crime or
+baseness, or what might not beseem mine honourable degree.</p>
+
+<p>"Yet did my brother Hugh turn these faults to good account&mdash;he seeing
+that our brother Arthur's health was but indifferent, and hoping the
+worst might work him profit were I swept out of the path&mdash;so&mdash;but 'twere
+a long tale, good my liege, and little worth the telling. &nbsp;Briefly, then,
+this brother did deftly magnify my faults and make them crimes; ending
+his base work with finding a silken ladder in mine apartments&mdash;conveyed
+thither by his own means&mdash;and did convince my father by this, and
+suborned evidence of servants and other lying knaves, that I was minded
+to carry off my Edith and marry with her in rank defiance of his will.</p>
+
+<p>"Three years of banishment from home and England might make a soldier and
+a man of me, my father said, and teach me some degree of wisdom. &nbsp;I
+fought out my long probation in the continental wars, tasting sumptuously
+of hard knocks, privation, and adventure; but in my last battle I was
+taken captive, and during the seven years that have waxed and waned since
+then, a foreign dungeon hath harboured me. &nbsp;Through wit and courage I won
+to the free air at last, and fled hither straight; and am but just
+arrived, right poor in purse and raiment, and poorer still in knowledge
+of what these dull seven years have wrought at Hendon Hall, its people
+and belongings. &nbsp;So please you, sir, my meagre tale is told."</p>
+
+<p>"Thou hast been shamefully abused!" said the little King, with a flashing
+eye. &nbsp;"But I will right thee&mdash;by the cross will I! &nbsp;The King hath said
+it."</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="12-145"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="12-145.jpg (79K)" src="images/12-145.jpg" height="589" width="533">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>Then, fired by the story of Miles's wrongs, he loosed his tongue and
+poured the history of his own recent misfortunes into the ears of his
+astonished listener. &nbsp;When he had finished, Miles said to himself&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Lo, what an imagination he hath! &nbsp;Verily, this is no common mind; else,
+crazed or sane, it could not weave so straight and gaudy a tale as this
+out of the airy nothings wherewith it hath wrought this curious romaunt.
+Poor ruined little head, it shall not lack friend or shelter whilst I
+bide with the living. &nbsp;He shall never leave my side; he shall be my pet,
+my little comrade. &nbsp;And he shall be cured!&mdash;ay, made whole and
+sound&mdash;then will he make himself a name&mdash;and proud shall I be to say, 'Yes, he
+is mine&mdash;I took him, a homeless little ragamuffin, but I saw what was in
+him, and I said his name would be heard some day&mdash;behold him, observe
+him&mdash;was I right?'"</p>
+
+<p>The King spoke&mdash;in a thoughtful, measured voice&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Thou didst save me injury and shame, perchance my life, and so my crown.
+Such service demandeth rich reward. &nbsp;Name thy desire, and so it be within
+the compass of my royal power, it is thine."</p>
+
+<p>This fantastic suggestion startled Hendon out of his reverie. &nbsp;He was
+about to thank the King and put the matter aside with saying he had only
+done his duty and desired no reward, but a wiser thought came into his
+head, and he asked leave to be silent a few moments and consider the
+gracious offer&mdash;an idea which the King gravely approved, remarking that
+it was best to be not too hasty with a thing of such great import.</p>
+
+<p>Miles reflected during some moments, then said to himself, "Yes, that is
+the thing to do&mdash;by any other means it were impossible to get at it&mdash;and
+certes, this hour's experience has taught me 'twould be most wearing and
+inconvenient to continue it as it is. Yes, I will propose it; 'twas a
+happy accident that I did not throw the chance away." &nbsp;Then he dropped
+upon one knee and said&mdash;</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="12-146"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="12-146.jpg (100K)" src="images/12-146.jpg" height="592" width="721">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>"My poor service went not beyond the limit of a subject's simple duty,
+and therefore hath no merit; but since your Majesty is pleased to hold it
+worthy some reward, I take heart of grace to make petition to this
+effect. &nbsp;Near four hundred years ago, as your grace knoweth, there being
+ill blood betwixt John, King of England, and the King of France, it was
+decreed that two champions should fight together in the lists, and so
+settle the dispute by what is called the arbitrament of God. &nbsp;These two
+kings, and the Spanish king, being assembled to witness and judge the
+conflict, the French champion appeared; but so redoubtable was he, that
+our English knights refused to measure weapons with him. &nbsp;So the matter,
+which was a weighty one, was like to go against the English monarch by
+default. &nbsp;Now in the Tower lay the Lord de Courcy, the mightiest arm in
+England, stripped of his honours and possessions, and wasting with long
+captivity. &nbsp;Appeal was made to him; he gave assent, and came forth
+arrayed for battle; but no sooner did the Frenchman glimpse his huge
+frame and hear his famous name but he fled away, and the French king's
+cause was lost. &nbsp;King John restored De Courcy's titles and possessions,
+and said, 'Name thy wish and thou shalt have it, though it cost me half
+my kingdom;' whereat De Courcy, kneeling, as I do now, made answer,
+'This, then, I ask, my liege; that I and my successors may have and hold
+the privilege of remaining covered in the presence of the kings of
+England, henceforth while the throne shall last.' The boon was granted,
+as your Majesty knoweth; and there hath been no time, these four hundred
+years, that that line has failed of an heir; and so, even unto this day,
+the head of that ancient house still weareth his hat or helm before the
+King's Majesty, without let or hindrance, and this none other may do. {3}
+Invoking this precedent in aid of my prayer, I beseech the King to grant
+to me but this one grace and privilege&mdash;to my more than sufficient
+reward&mdash;and none other, to wit: &nbsp;that I and my heirs, for ever, may SIT
+in the presence of the Majesty of England!"</p>
+
+<p>"Rise, Sir Miles Hendon, Knight," said the King, gravely&mdash;giving the
+accolade with Hendon's sword&mdash;"rise, and seat thyself. &nbsp;Thy petition is
+granted. &nbsp;Whilst England remains, and the crown continues, the privilege
+shall not lapse."</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="12-148"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="12-148.jpg (127K)" src="images/12-148.jpg" height="766" width="724">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>His Majesty walked apart, musing, and Hendon dropped into a chair at
+table, observing to himself, "'Twas a brave thought, and hath wrought me
+a mighty deliverance; my legs are grievously wearied. An I had not
+thought of that, I must have had to stand for weeks, till my poor lad's
+wits are cured." &nbsp;After a little, he went on, "And so I am become a
+knight of the Kingdom of Dreams and Shadows! A most odd and strange
+position, truly, for one so matter-of-fact as I. &nbsp;I will not laugh&mdash;no,
+God forbid, for this thing which is so substanceless to me is REAL to
+him. &nbsp;And to me, also, in one way, it is not a falsity, for it reflects
+with truth the sweet and generous spirit that is in him." &nbsp;After a pause:
+"Ah, what if he should call me by my fine title before folk!&mdash;there'd be
+a merry contrast betwixt my glory and my raiment! &nbsp;But no matter, let him
+call me what he will, so it please him; I shall be content."</p>
+
+
+<br><br><hr><br>
+<br><br>
+<a name="c13"></a>
+<a name="13-149"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="13-149.jpg (41K)" src="images/13-149.jpg" height="350" width="694">
+</center>
+<br><br>
+<a name="13-151"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="13-151.jpg (124K)" src="images/13-151.jpg" height="872" width="722">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+
+<p>Chapter XIII. The disappearance of the Prince.</p>
+
+<p>A heavy drowsiness presently fell upon the two comrades. &nbsp;The King said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Remove these rags."&mdash;meaning his clothing.</p>
+
+<p>Hendon disapparelled the boy without dissent or remark, tucked him up in
+bed, then glanced about the room, saying to himself, ruefully, "He hath
+taken my bed again, as before&mdash;marry, what shall _I_ do?" &nbsp;The little
+King observed his perplexity, and dissipated it with a word. &nbsp;He said,
+sleepily&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Thou wilt sleep athwart the door, and guard it." &nbsp;In a moment more he
+was out of his troubles, in a deep slumber.</p>
+
+<p>"Dear heart, he should have been born a king!" muttered Hendon,
+admiringly; "he playeth the part to a marvel."</p>
+
+<p>Then he stretched himself across the door, on the floor, saying
+contentedly&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I have lodged worse for seven years; 'twould be but ill gratitude to Him
+above to find fault with this."</p>
+
+<p>He dropped asleep as the dawn appeared. &nbsp;Toward noon he rose, uncovered
+his unconscious ward&mdash;a section at a time&mdash;and took his measure with a
+string. &nbsp;The King awoke, just as he had completed his work, complained of
+the cold, and asked what he was doing.</p>
+
+<p>"'Tis done, now, my liege," said Hendon; "I have a bit of business
+outside, but will presently return; sleep thou again&mdash;thou needest it.
+There&mdash;let me cover thy head also&mdash;thou'lt be warm the sooner."</p>
+
+<p>The King was back in dreamland before this speech was ended. Miles
+slipped softly out, and slipped as softly in again, in the course of
+thirty or forty minutes, with a complete second-hand suit of boy's
+clothing, of cheap material, and showing signs of wear; but tidy, and
+suited to the season of the year. &nbsp;He seated himself, and began to
+overhaul his purchase, mumbling to himself&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"A longer purse would have got a better sort, but when one has not the
+long purse one must be content with what a short one may do&mdash;</p>
+<center>
+<p>"'There was a woman in our town,
+<br>In our town did dwell&mdash;'</p>
+</center>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="13-153"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="13-153.jpg (83K)" src="images/13-153.jpg" height="644" width="488">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+<p>"He stirred, methinks&mdash;I must sing in a less thunderous key; 'tis not
+good to mar his sleep, with this journey before him, and he so wearied
+out, poor chap . . . This garment&mdash;'tis well enough&mdash;a stitch here and
+another one there will set it aright. &nbsp;This other is better, albeit a
+stitch or two will not come amiss in it, likewise . . . THESE be very
+good and sound, and will keep his small feet warm and dry&mdash;an odd new
+thing to him, belike, since he has doubtless been used to foot it bare,
+winters and summers the same . . . Would thread were bread, seeing one
+getteth a year's sufficiency for a farthing, and such a brave big needle
+without cost, for mere love. &nbsp;Now shall I have the demon's own time to
+thread it!"</p>
+
+<p>And so he had. &nbsp;He did as men have always done, and probably always will
+do, to the end of time&mdash;held the needle still, and tried to thrust the
+thread through the eye, which is the opposite of a woman's way. &nbsp;Time and
+time again the thread missed the mark, going sometimes on one side of the
+needle, sometimes on the other, sometimes doubling up against the shaft;
+but he was patient, having been through these experiences before, when he
+was soldiering. &nbsp;He succeeded at last, and took up the garment that had
+lain waiting, meantime, across his lap, and began his work.</p>
+
+<p>"The inn is paid&mdash;the breakfast that is to come, included&mdash;and there is
+wherewithal left to buy a couple of donkeys and meet our little costs for
+the two or three days betwixt this and the plenty that awaits us at
+Hendon Hall&mdash;</p>
+<center>
+<p>"'She loved her hus&mdash;'</p>
+</center>
+<p>"Body o' me! &nbsp;I have driven the needle under my nail! . . . It matters
+little&mdash;'tis not a novelty&mdash;yet 'tis not a convenience, neither. . . . We
+shall be merry there, little one, never doubt it! Thy troubles will
+vanish there, and likewise thy sad distemper&mdash;</p>
+<center>
+<p>"'She loved her husband dearilee,
+<br>But another man&mdash;'</p>
+</center>
+<p>"These be noble large stitches!"&mdash;holding the garment up and viewing it
+admiringly&mdash;"they have a grandeur and a majesty that do cause these small
+stingy ones of the tailor-man to look mightily paltry and plebeian&mdash;</p>
+<center>
+<p>"'She loved her husband dearilee,
+<br>But another man he loved she,&mdash;'</p>
+</center>
+<p>"Marry, 'tis done&mdash;a goodly piece of work, too, and wrought with
+expedition. &nbsp;Now will I wake him, apparel him, pour for him, feed him,
+and then will we hie us to the mart by the Tabard Inn in Southwark
+and&mdash;be pleased to rise, my liege!&mdash;he answereth not&mdash;what ho, my liege!&mdash;of a
+truth must I profane his sacred person with a touch, sith his slumber is
+deaf to speech. &nbsp;What!"</p>
+
+<p>He threw back the covers&mdash;the boy was gone!</p>
+
+<p>He stared about him in speechless astonishment for a moment; noticed for
+the first time that his ward's ragged raiment was also missing; then he
+began to rage and storm and shout for the innkeeper. &nbsp;At that moment a
+servant entered with the breakfast.</p>
+
+<p>"Explain, thou limb of Satan, or thy time is come!" roared the man of
+war, and made so savage a spring toward the waiter that this latter could
+not find his tongue, for the instant, for fright and surprise. &nbsp;"Where is
+the boy?"</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="13-155"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="13-155.jpg (157K)" src="images/13-155.jpg" height="892" width="728">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>In disjointed and trembling syllables the man gave the information
+desired.</p>
+
+<p>"You were hardly gone from the place, your worship, when a youth came
+running and said it was your worship's will that the boy come to you
+straight, at the bridge-end on the Southwark side. &nbsp;I brought him hither;
+and when he woke the lad and gave his message, the lad did grumble some
+little for being disturbed 'so early,' as he called it, but straightway
+trussed on his rags and went with the youth, only saying it had been
+better manners that your worship came yourself, not sent a stranger&mdash;and
+so&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"And so thou'rt a fool!&mdash;a fool and easily cozened&mdash;hang all thy breed!
+Yet mayhap no hurt is done. &nbsp;Possibly no harm is meant the boy. &nbsp;I will
+go fetch him. &nbsp;Make the table ready. &nbsp;Stay! the coverings of the bed were
+disposed as if one lay beneath them&mdash;happened that by accident?"</p>
+
+<p>"I know not, good your worship. &nbsp;I saw the youth meddle with them&mdash;he
+that came for the boy."</p>
+
+<p>"Thousand deaths! &nbsp;'Twas done to deceive me&mdash;'tis plain 'twas done to
+gain time. &nbsp;Hark ye! &nbsp;Was that youth alone?"</p>
+
+<p>"All alone, your worship."</p>
+
+<p>"Art sure?"</p>
+
+<p>"Sure, your worship."</p>
+
+<p>"Collect thy scattered wits&mdash;bethink thee&mdash;take time, man."</p>
+
+<p>After a moment's thought, the servant said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"When he came, none came with him; but now I remember me that as the two
+stepped into the throng of the Bridge, a ruffian-looking man plunged out
+from some near place; and just as he was joining them&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"What THEN?&mdash;out with it!" thundered the impatient Hendon, interrupting.</p>
+
+<p>"Just then the crowd lapped them up and closed them in, and I saw no
+more, being called by my master, who was in a rage because a joint that
+the scrivener had ordered was forgot, though I take all the saints to
+witness that to blame ME for that miscarriage were like holding the
+unborn babe to judgment for sins com&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Out of my sight, idiot! &nbsp;Thy prating drives me mad! &nbsp;Hold! Whither art
+flying? &nbsp;Canst not bide still an instant? &nbsp;Went they toward Southwark?"</p>
+
+<p>"Even so, your worship&mdash;for, as I said before, as to that detestable
+joint, the babe unborn is no whit more blameless than&mdash;"</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="13-156"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="13-156.jpg (77K)" src="images/13-156.jpg" height="717" width="394">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>"Art here YET! &nbsp;And prating still! &nbsp;Vanish, lest I throttle thee!" The
+servitor vanished. &nbsp;Hendon followed after him, passed him, and plunged
+down the stairs two steps at a stride, muttering, "'Tis that scurvy
+villain that claimed he was his son. &nbsp;I have lost thee, my poor little
+mad master&mdash;it is a bitter thought&mdash;and I had come to love thee so! &nbsp;No!
+by book and bell, NOT lost! &nbsp;Not lost, for I will ransack the land till I
+find thee again. &nbsp;Poor child, yonder is his breakfast&mdash;and mine, but I
+have no hunger now; so, let the rats have it&mdash;speed, speed! that is the
+word!" &nbsp;As he wormed his swift way through the noisy multitudes upon the
+Bridge he several times said to himself&mdash;clinging to the thought as if it
+were a particularly pleasing one&mdash;"He grumbled, but he WENT&mdash;he went,
+yes, because he thought Miles Hendon asked it, sweet lad&mdash;he would ne'er
+have done it for another, I know it well."</p>
+
+
+
+
+<br><br><hr><br>
+<br><br>
+<a name="c14"></a>
+<a name="14-159"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="14-159.jpg (78K)" src="images/14-159.jpg" height="595" width="669">
+</center>
+<br><br>
+<br><br>
+
+
+<p>Chapter XIV. 'Le Roi est mort&mdash;vive le Roi.'</p>
+
+<p>Toward daylight of the same morning, Tom Canty stirred out of a heavy
+sleep and opened his eyes in the dark. &nbsp;He lay silent a few moments,
+trying to analyse his confused thoughts and impressions, and get some
+sort of meaning out of them; then suddenly he burst out in a rapturous
+but guarded voice&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I see it all, I see it all! &nbsp;Now God be thanked, I am indeed awake at
+last! &nbsp;Come, joy! vanish, sorrow! &nbsp;Ho, Nan! Bet! kick off your straw and
+hie ye hither to my side, till I do pour into your unbelieving ears the
+wildest madcap dream that ever the spirits of night did conjure up to
+astonish the soul of man withal! . . . Ho, Nan, I say! &nbsp;Bet!"</p>
+
+<p>A dim form appeared at his side, and a voice said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Wilt deign to deliver thy commands?"</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="14-162"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="14-162.jpg (99K)" src="images/14-162.jpg" height="560" width="729">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>"Commands? . . . O, woe is me, I know thy voice! &nbsp;Speak thou&mdash;who am I?"</p>
+
+<p>"Thou? &nbsp;In sooth, yesternight wert thou the Prince of Wales; to-day art
+thou my most gracious liege, Edward, King of England."</p>
+
+<p>Tom buried his head among his pillows, murmuring plaintively&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Alack, it was no dream! &nbsp;Go to thy rest, sweet sir&mdash;leave me to my
+sorrows."</p>
+
+<p>Tom slept again, and after a time he had this pleasant dream. &nbsp;He thought
+it was summer, and he was playing, all alone, in the fair meadow called
+Goodman's Fields, when a dwarf only a foot high, with long red whiskers
+and a humped back, appeared to him suddenly and said, "Dig by that
+stump." &nbsp;He did so, and found twelve bright new pennies&mdash;wonderful
+riches! &nbsp;Yet this was not the best of it; for the dwarf said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I know thee. &nbsp;Thou art a good lad, and a deserving; thy distresses shall
+end, for the day of thy reward is come. &nbsp;Dig here every seventh day, and
+thou shalt find always the same treasure, twelve bright new pennies.
+Tell none&mdash;keep the secret."</p>
+
+<p>Then the dwarf vanished, and Tom flew to Offal Court with his prize,
+saying to himself, "Every night will I give my father a penny; he will
+think I begged it, it will glad his heart, and I shall no more be beaten.
+One penny every week the good priest that teacheth me shall have; mother,
+Nan, and Bet the other four. We be done with hunger and rags, now, done
+with fears and frets and savage usage."</p>
+
+<p>In his dream he reached his sordid home all out of breath, but with eyes
+dancing with grateful enthusiasm; cast four of his pennies into his
+mother's lap and cried out&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"They are for thee!&mdash;all of them, every one!&mdash;for thee and Nan and
+Bet&mdash;and honestly come by, not begged nor stolen!"</p>
+
+<p>The happy and astonished mother strained him to her breast and exclaimed&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"It waxeth late&mdash;may it please your Majesty to rise?"</p>
+
+<p>Ah! that was not the answer he was expecting. &nbsp;The dream had snapped
+asunder&mdash;he was awake.</p>
+
+<p>He opened his eyes&mdash;the richly clad First Lord of the Bedchamber was
+kneeling by his couch. &nbsp;The gladness of the lying dream faded away&mdash;the
+poor boy recognised that he was still a captive and a king. &nbsp;The room was
+filled with courtiers clothed in purple mantles&mdash;the mourning colour&mdash;and
+with noble servants of the monarch. &nbsp;Tom sat up in bed and gazed out from
+the heavy silken curtains upon this fine company.</p>
+
+<p>The weighty business of dressing began, and one courtier after another
+knelt and paid his court and offered to the little King his condolences
+upon his heavy loss, whilst the dressing proceeded. &nbsp;In the beginning, a
+shirt was taken up by the Chief Equerry in Waiting, who passed it to the
+First Lord of the Buckhounds, who passed it to the Second Gentleman of
+the Bedchamber, who passed it to the Head Ranger of Windsor Forest, who
+passed it to the Third Groom of the Stole, who passed it to the
+Chancellor Royal of the Duchy of Lancaster, who passed it to the Master
+of the Wardrobe, who passed it to Norroy King-at-Arms, who passed it to
+the Constable of the Tower, who passed it to the Chief Steward of the
+Household, who passed it to the Hereditary Grand Diaperer, who passed it
+to the Lord High Admiral of England, who passed it to the Archbishop of
+Canterbury, who passed it to the First Lord of the Bedchamber, who took
+what was left of it and put it on Tom. &nbsp;Poor little wondering chap, it
+reminded him of passing buckets at a fire.</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="14-164"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="14-164.jpg (59K)" src="images/14-164.jpg" height="363" width="720">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>Each garment in its turn had to go through this slow and solemn process;
+consequently Tom grew very weary of the ceremony; so weary that he felt
+an almost gushing gratefulness when he at last saw his long silken hose
+begin the journey down the line and knew that the end of the matter was
+drawing near. &nbsp;But he exulted too soon. &nbsp;The First Lord of the Bedchamber
+received the hose and was about to encase Tom's legs in them, when a
+sudden flush invaded his face and he hurriedly hustled the things back
+into the hands of the Archbishop of Canterbury with an astounded look and
+a whispered, "See, my lord!" pointing to a something connected with the
+hose. &nbsp;The Archbishop paled, then flushed, and passed the hose to the
+Lord High Admiral, whispering, "See, my lord!" &nbsp;The Admiral passed the
+hose to the Hereditary Grand Diaperer, and had hardly breath enough in
+his body to ejaculate, "See, my lord!" &nbsp;The hose drifted backward along
+the line, to the Chief Steward of the Household, the Constable of the
+Tower, Norroy King-at-Arms, the Master of the Wardrobe, the Chancellor
+Royal of the Duchy of Lancaster, the Third Groom of the Stole, the Head
+Ranger of Windsor Forest, the Second Gentleman of the Bedchamber, the
+First Lord of the Buckhounds,&mdash;accompanied always with that amazed and
+frightened "See! see!"&mdash;till they finally reached the hands of the Chief
+Equerry in Waiting, who gazed a moment, with a pallid face, upon what had
+caused all this dismay, then hoarsely whispered, "Body of my life, a tag
+gone from a truss-point!&mdash;to the Tower with the Head Keeper of the King's
+Hose!"&mdash;after which he leaned upon the shoulder of the First Lord of the
+Buckhounds to regather his vanished strength whilst fresh hose, without
+any damaged strings to them, were brought.</p>
+
+<p>But all things must have an end, and so in time Tom Canty was in a
+condition to get out of bed. &nbsp;The proper official poured water, the
+proper official engineered the washing, the proper official stood by with
+a towel, and by-and-by Tom got safely through the purifying stage and was
+ready for the services of the Hairdresser-royal. &nbsp;When he at length
+emerged from this master's hands, he was a gracious figure and as pretty
+as a girl, in his mantle and trunks of purple satin, and purple-plumed
+cap. &nbsp;He now moved in state toward his breakfast-room, through the midst
+of the courtly assemblage; and as he passed, these fell back, leaving his
+way free, and dropped upon their knees.</p>
+
+<p>After breakfast he was conducted, with regal ceremony, attended by his
+great officers and his guard of fifty Gentlemen Pensioners bearing gilt
+battle-axes, to the throne-room, where he proceeded to transact business
+of state. &nbsp;His 'uncle,' Lord Hertford, took his stand by the throne, to
+assist the royal mind with wise counsel.</p>
+
+<p>The body of illustrious men named by the late King as his executors
+appeared, to ask Tom's approval of certain acts of theirs&mdash;rather a form,
+and yet not wholly a form, since there was no Protector as yet. &nbsp;The
+Archbishop of Canterbury made report of the decree of the Council of
+Executors concerning the obsequies of his late most illustrious Majesty,
+and finished by reading the signatures of the Executors, to wit: &nbsp;the
+Archbishop of Canterbury; the Lord Chancellor of England; William Lord
+St. John; John Lord Russell; Edward Earl of Hertford; John Viscount
+Lisle; Cuthbert Bishop of Durham&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>Tom was not listening&mdash;an earlier clause of the document was puzzling
+him. &nbsp;At this point he turned and whispered to Lord Hertford&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"What day did he say the burial hath been appointed for?"</p>
+
+<p>"The sixteenth of the coming month, my liege."</p>
+
+<p>"'Tis a strange folly. &nbsp;Will he keep?"</p>
+
+<p>Poor chap, he was still new to the customs of royalty; he was used to
+seeing the forlorn dead of Offal Court hustled out of the way with a very
+different sort of expedition. &nbsp;However, the Lord Hertford set his mind at
+rest with a word or two.</p>
+
+<p>A secretary of state presented an order of the Council appointing the
+morrow at eleven for the reception of the foreign ambassadors, and
+desired the King's assent.</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="14-166"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="14-166.jpg (136K)" src="images/14-166.jpg" height="615" width="736">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>Tom turned an inquiring look toward Hertford, who whispered&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Your Majesty will signify consent. &nbsp;They come to testify their royal
+masters' sense of the heavy calamity which hath visited your Grace and
+the realm of England."</p>
+
+<p>Tom did as he was bidden. &nbsp;Another secretary began to read a preamble
+concerning the expenses of the late King's household, which had amounted
+to 28,000 pounds during the preceding six months&mdash;a sum so vast that it
+made Tom Canty gasp; he gasped again when the fact appeared that 20,000
+pounds of this money was still owing and unpaid; {4} and once more when
+it appeared that the King's coffers were about empty, and his twelve
+hundred servants much embarrassed for lack of the wages due them. &nbsp;Tom
+spoke out, with lively apprehension&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"We be going to the dogs, 'tis plain. &nbsp;'Tis meet and necessary that we
+take a smaller house and set the servants at large, sith they be of no
+value but to make delay, and trouble one with offices that harass the
+spirit and shame the soul, they misbecoming any but a doll, that hath nor
+brains nor hands to help itself withal. &nbsp;I remember me of a small house
+that standeth over against the fish-market, by Billingsgate&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>A sharp pressure upon Tom's arm stopped his foolish tongue and sent a
+blush to his face; but no countenance there betrayed any sign that this
+strange speech had been remarked or given concern.</p>
+
+<p>A secretary made report that forasmuch as the late King had provided in
+his will for conferring the ducal degree upon the Earl of Hertford and
+raising his brother, Sir Thomas Seymour, to the peerage, and likewise
+Hertford's son to an earldom, together with similar aggrandisements to
+other great servants of the Crown, the Council had resolved to hold a
+sitting on the 16th of February for the delivering and confirming of
+these honours, and that meantime, the late King not having granted, in
+writing, estates suitable to the support of these dignities, the Council,
+knowing his private wishes in that regard, had thought proper to grant to
+Seymour '500 pound lands,' and to Hertford's son '800 pound lands, and
+300 pound of the next bishop's lands which should fall vacant,'&mdash;his
+present Majesty being willing. {5}</p>
+
+<p>Tom was about to blurt out something about the propriety of paying the
+late King's debts first, before squandering all this money, but a timely
+touch upon his arm, from the thoughtful Hertford, saved him this
+indiscretion; wherefore he gave the royal assent, without spoken comment,
+but with much inward discomfort. &nbsp;While he sat reflecting a moment over
+the ease with which he was doing strange and glittering miracles, a happy
+thought shot into his mind: &nbsp;why not make his mother Duchess of Offal
+Court, and give her an estate? &nbsp;But a sorrowful thought swept it
+instantly away: he was only a king in name, these grave veterans and
+great nobles were his masters; to them his mother was only the creature
+of a diseased mind; they would simply listen to his project with
+unbelieving ears, then send for the doctor.</p>
+
+<p>The dull work went tediously on. &nbsp;Petitions were read, and proclamations,
+patents, and all manner of wordy, repetitious, and wearisome papers
+relating to the public business; and at last Tom sighed pathetically and
+murmured to himself, "In what have I offended, that the good God should
+take me away from the fields and the free air and the sunshine, to shut
+me up here and make me a king and afflict me so?" &nbsp;Then his poor muddled
+head nodded a while and presently drooped to his shoulder; and the
+business of the empire came to a standstill for want of that august
+factor, the ratifying power. &nbsp;Silence ensued around the slumbering child,
+and the sages of the realm ceased from their deliberations.</p>
+
+<p>During the forenoon, Tom had an enjoyable hour, by permission of his
+keepers, Hertford and St. John, with the Lady Elizabeth and the little
+Lady Jane Grey; though the spirits of the princesses were rather subdued
+by the mighty stroke that had fallen upon the royal house; and at the end
+of the visit his 'elder sister'&mdash;afterwards the 'Bloody Mary' of
+history&mdash;chilled him with a solemn interview which had but one merit in his eyes,
+its brevity. &nbsp;He had a few moments to himself, and then a slim lad of
+about twelve years of age was admitted to his presence, whose clothing,
+except his snowy ruff and the laces about his wrists, was of
+black,&mdash;doublet, hose, and all. &nbsp;He bore no badge of mourning but a knot of
+purple ribbon on his shoulder. &nbsp;He advanced hesitatingly, with head bowed
+and bare, and dropped upon one knee in front of Tom. Tom sat still and
+contemplated him soberly a moment. &nbsp;Then he said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Rise, lad. &nbsp;Who art thou. &nbsp;What wouldst have?"</p>
+
+<p>The boy rose, and stood at graceful ease, but with an aspect of concern
+in his face. &nbsp;He said&mdash;</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="14-170"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="14-170.jpg (101K)" src="images/14-170.jpg" height="565" width="710">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>"Of a surety thou must remember me, my lord. &nbsp;I am thy whipping-boy."</p>
+
+<p>"My WHIPPING-boy?"</p>
+
+<p>"The same, your Grace. &nbsp;I am Humphrey&mdash;Humphrey Marlow."</p>
+
+<p>Tom perceived that here was someone whom his keepers ought to have posted
+him about. &nbsp;The situation was delicate. &nbsp;What should he do?&mdash;pretend he
+knew this lad, and then betray by his every utterance that he had never
+heard of him before? &nbsp;No, that would not do. &nbsp;An idea came to his relief:
+accidents like this might be likely to happen with some frequency, now
+that business urgencies would often call Hertford and St. John from his
+side, they being members of the Council of Executors; therefore perhaps
+it would be well to strike out a plan himself to meet the requirements of
+such emergencies. &nbsp;Yes, that would be a wise course&mdash;he would practise on
+this boy, and see what sort of success he might achieve. &nbsp;So he stroked
+his brow perplexedly a moment or two, and presently said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Now I seem to remember thee somewhat&mdash;but my wit is clogged and dim with
+suffering&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Alack, my poor master!" ejaculated the whipping-boy, with feeling;
+adding, to himself, "In truth 'tis as they said&mdash;his mind is gone&mdash;alas,
+poor soul! &nbsp;But misfortune catch me, how am I forgetting! &nbsp;They said one
+must not seem to observe that aught is wrong with him."</p>
+
+<p>"'Tis strange how my memory doth wanton with me these days," said Tom.
+"But mind it not&mdash;I mend apace&mdash;a little clue doth often serve to bring
+me back again the things and names which had escaped me. &nbsp;(And not they,
+only, forsooth, but e'en such as I ne'er heard before&mdash;as this lad shall
+see.) &nbsp;Give thy business speech."</p>
+
+<p>"'Tis matter of small weight, my liege, yet will I touch upon it, an' it
+please your Grace. &nbsp;Two days gone by, when your Majesty faulted thrice in
+your Greek&mdash;in the morning lessons,&mdash;dost remember it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Y-e-s&mdash;methinks I do. &nbsp;(It is not much of a lie&mdash;an' I had meddled with
+the Greek at all, I had not faulted simply thrice, but forty times.)
+Yes, I do recall it, now&mdash;go on."</p>
+
+<p>"The master, being wroth with what he termed such slovenly and doltish
+work, did promise that he would soundly whip me for it&mdash;and&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Whip THEE!" said Tom, astonished out of his presence of mind. "Why
+should he whip THEE for faults of mine?"</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, your Grace forgetteth again. &nbsp;He always scourgeth me when thou dost
+fail in thy lessons."</p>
+
+<p>"True, true&mdash;I had forgot. &nbsp;Thou teachest me in private&mdash;then if I fail,
+he argueth that thy office was lamely done, and&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, my liege, what words are these? &nbsp;I, the humblest of thy servants,
+presume to teach THEE?"</p>
+
+<p>"Then where is thy blame? &nbsp;What riddle is this? &nbsp;Am I in truth gone mad,
+or is it thou? &nbsp;Explain&mdash;speak out."</p>
+
+<p>"But, good your Majesty, there's nought that needeth simplifying.&mdash;None
+may visit the sacred person of the Prince of Wales with blows; wherefore,
+when he faulteth, 'tis I that take them; and meet it is and right, for
+that it is mine office and my livelihood." {1}</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="14-172"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="14-172.jpg (84K)" src="images/14-172.jpg" height="554" width="709">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>Tom stared at the tranquil boy, observing to himself, "Lo, it is a
+wonderful thing,&mdash;a most strange and curious trade; I marvel they have
+not hired a boy to take my combings and my dressings for me&mdash;would heaven
+they would!&mdash;an' they will do this thing, I will take my lashings in mine
+own person, giving God thanks for the change." Then he said aloud&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"And hast thou been beaten, poor friend, according to the promise?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, good your Majesty, my punishment was appointed for this day, and
+peradventure it may be annulled, as unbefitting the season of mourning
+that is come upon us; I know not, and so have made bold to come hither
+and remind your Grace about your gracious promise to intercede in my
+behalf&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"With the master? &nbsp;To save thee thy whipping?"</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, thou dost remember!"</p>
+
+<p>"My memory mendeth, thou seest. &nbsp;Set thy mind at ease&mdash;thy back shall go
+unscathed&mdash;I will see to it."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, thanks, my good lord!" cried the boy, dropping upon his knee again.
+"Mayhap I have ventured far enow; and yet&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>Seeing Master Humphrey hesitate, Tom encouraged him to go on, saying he
+was "in the granting mood."</p>
+
+<p>"Then will I speak it out, for it lieth near my heart. &nbsp;Sith thou art no
+more Prince of Wales but King, thou canst order matters as thou wilt,
+with none to say thee nay; wherefore it is not in reason that thou wilt
+longer vex thyself with dreary studies, but wilt burn thy books and turn
+thy mind to things less irksome. Then am I ruined, and mine orphan
+sisters with me!"</p>
+
+<p>"Ruined? &nbsp;Prithee how?"</p>
+
+<p>"My back is my bread, O my gracious liege! if it go idle, I starve. &nbsp;An'
+thou cease from study mine office is gone thou'lt need no whipping-boy.
+Do not turn me away!"</p>
+
+<p>Tom was touched with this pathetic distress. &nbsp;He said, with a right royal
+burst of generosity&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Discomfort thyself no further, lad. &nbsp;Thine office shall be permanent in
+thee and thy line for ever." &nbsp;Then he struck the boy a light blow on the
+shoulder with the flat of his sword, exclaiming, "Rise, Humphrey Marlow,
+Hereditary Grand Whipping-Boy to the Royal House of England! &nbsp;Banish
+sorrow&mdash;I will betake me to my books again, and study so ill that they
+must in justice treble thy wage, so mightily shall the business of thine
+office be augmented."</p>
+
+<p>The grateful Humphrey responded fervidly&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Thanks, O most noble master, this princely lavishness doth far surpass
+my most distempered dreams of fortune. &nbsp;Now shall I be happy all my days,
+and all the house of Marlow after me."</p>
+
+<p>Tom had wit enough to perceive that here was a lad who could be useful to
+him. &nbsp;He encouraged Humphrey to talk, and he was nothing loath. &nbsp;He was
+delighted to believe that he was helping in Tom's 'cure'; for always, as
+soon as he had finished calling back to Tom's diseased mind the various
+particulars of his experiences and adventures in the royal school-room
+and elsewhere about the palace, he noticed that Tom was then able to
+'recall' the circumstances quite clearly. &nbsp;At the end of an hour Tom
+found himself well freighted with very valuable information concerning
+personages and matters pertaining to the Court; so he resolved to draw
+instruction from this source daily; and to this end he would give order
+to admit Humphrey to the royal closet whenever he might come, provided
+the Majesty of England was not engaged with other people. &nbsp;Humphrey had
+hardly been dismissed when my Lord Hertford arrived with more trouble for
+Tom.</p>
+
+<p>He said that the Lords of the Council, fearing that some overwrought
+report of the King's damaged health might have leaked out and got abroad,
+they deemed it wise and best that his Majesty should begin to dine in
+public after a day or two&mdash;his wholesome complexion and vigorous step,
+assisted by a carefully guarded repose of manner and ease and grace of
+demeanour, would more surely quiet the general pulse&mdash;in case any evil
+rumours HAD gone about&mdash;than any other scheme that could be devised.</p>
+
+<p>Then the Earl proceeded, very delicately, to instruct Tom as to the
+observances proper to the stately occasion, under the rather thin
+disguise of 'reminding' him concerning things already known to him; but
+to his vast gratification it turned out that Tom needed very little help
+in this line&mdash;he had been making use of Humphrey in that direction, for
+Humphrey had mentioned that within a few days he was to begin to dine in
+public; having gathered it from the swift-winged gossip of the Court.
+Tom kept these facts to himself, however.</p>
+
+<p>Seeing the royal memory so improved, the Earl ventured to apply a few
+tests to it, in an apparently casual way, to find out how far its
+amendment had progressed. &nbsp;The results were happy, here and there, in
+spots&mdash;spots where Humphrey's tracks remained&mdash;and on the whole my lord
+was greatly pleased and encouraged. &nbsp;So encouraged was he, indeed, that
+he spoke up and said in a quite hopeful voice&mdash;</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="14-175"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="14-175.jpg (98K)" src="images/14-175.jpg" height="588" width="686">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>"Now am I persuaded that if your Majesty will but tax your memory yet a
+little further, it will resolve the puzzle of the Great Seal&mdash;a loss
+which was of moment yesterday, although of none to-day, since its term of
+service ended with our late lord's life. May it please your Grace to make
+the trial?"</p>
+
+<p>Tom was at sea&mdash;a Great Seal was something which he was totally
+unacquainted with. &nbsp;After a moment's hesitation he looked up innocently
+and asked&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"What was it like, my lord?"</p>
+
+<p>The Earl started, almost imperceptibly, muttering to himself, "Alack, his
+wits are flown again!&mdash;it was ill wisdom to lead him on to strain
+them"&mdash;then he deftly turned the talk to other matters, with the purpose of
+sweeping the unlucky seal out of Tom's thoughts&mdash;a purpose which easily
+succeeded.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<br>
+<br>
+
+
+<center>
+<table summary="" cellPadding=4 border=3>
+<tr><td>
+ &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="p3.htm">Previous Part</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+</td><td>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="1837-h.htm">Main Index</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+</td><td>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="p5.htm">Next Part</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+ 
+</td></tr>
+</table>
+</center>
+
+</body>
+</html>
+
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+<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
+<html>
+<head>
+<title>THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER, By Mark Twain, Part 5.</title>
+<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
+
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+<center>
+<table summary="" cellPadding=4 border=3>
+<tr><td>
+ &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="p4.htm">Previous Part</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+</td><td>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="1837-h.htm">Main Index</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+</td><td>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="p6.htm">Next Part</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+</td></tr>
+</table>
+</center>
+
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+
+<center>
+<h1>THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER</h1>
+<br><br>
+<h2>by Mark Twain
+<br><br><br><br>Part Five
+</h2>
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="bookcover.jpg (148K)" src="images/bookcover.jpg" height="1018" width="948">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="frontispiece1.jpg (135K)" src="images/frontispiece1.jpg" height="1067" width="745">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="frontispiece2.jpg (123K)" src="images/frontispiece2.jpg" height="939" width="747">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="titlepage.jpg (62K)" src="images/titlepage.jpg" height="1083" width="815">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="greatseal.jpg (68K)" src="images/greatseal.jpg" height="438" width="711">
+<br>The Great Seal
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="dedication.jpg (21K)" src="images/dedication.jpg" height="420" width="663">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="inscription.jpg (16K)" src="images/inscription.jpg" height="219" width="601">
+</center>
+
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<br><br>
+<blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><blockquote>
+<b>
+I will set down a tale as it was told to me by one who had it of his
+father, which latter had it of HIS father, this last having in like
+manner had it of HIS father&mdash;and so on, back and still back, three
+hundred years and more, the fathers transmitting it to the sons and so
+preserving it. &nbsp;It may be history, it may be only a legend, a tradition.
+It may have happened, it may not have happened: &nbsp;but it COULD have
+happened. &nbsp;It may be that the wise and the learned believed it in the old
+days; it may be that only the unlearned and the simple loved it and
+credited it.</b>
+</blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote>
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+
+
+<h2>
+CONTENTS</h2>
+<center>
+<table summary="">
+<tr><td>
+
+XV. </td><td><a href="#c15">Tom as King.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td>
+XVI. </td><td><a href="#c16">The state dinner.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td>
+XVII.&nbsp;&nbsp; </td><td><a href="#c17">Foo-foo the First.</a><br></td></tr>
+
+
+
+</table>
+</center>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<h2>ILLUSTRATIONS</h2>
+<center>
+<table summary="">
+<tr><td>
+
+
+
+<a href="#15-177">TOM AS KING</a><br><br>
+<a href="#15-181">"TOM HAD WANDERED TO A WINDOW"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#15-183">"TOM SCANNED THE PRISONERS"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#15-187">"LET THE PRISONER GO FREE!"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#15-188">"WHAT IS IT THAT THESE HAVE DONE?"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#15-190">"NODDED THEIR RECOGNITION"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#16-193">THE STATE DINNER</a><br><br>
+<a href="#16-196">"A GENTLEMAN BEARING A ROD"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#16-197">"THE CHANCELLOR BETWEEN TWO"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#16-198">"I THANK YOU MY GOOD PEOPLE"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#16-199">"IN THE MIDST OF HIS PAGEANT"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#17-201">FOO-FOO THE FIRST</a><br><br>
+<a href="#17-205">"RUFFIAN FOLLOWED THEIR STEPS"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#17-206">"HE SEIZED A BILLET OF WOOD"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#17-207">"HE WAS SOON ABSORBED IN THINKING"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#17-208">"A GRIM AND UNSIGHTLY PICTURE"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#17-210">"THEY ROARED OUT A ROLLICKING DITTY"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#17-212">"WHILST THE FLAMES LICKED UPWARDS"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#17-213">"THEY WERE WHIPPED AT THE CART'S TAIL"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#17-215">"THOU SHALT NOT"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#17-216">"KNOCKING HOBBS DOWN"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#17-218">"THRONE HIM"</a><br><br>
+
+</td></tr>
+</table>
+</center>
+
+
+
+
+
+<br><br><hr><br>
+<br><br>
+<a name="c15"></a>
+<a name="15-177"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="15-177.jpg (56K)" src="images/15-177.jpg" height="369" width="668">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+<p>Chapter XV. Tom as King.</p>
+
+<p>The next day the foreign ambassadors came, with their gorgeous trains;
+and Tom, throned in awful state, received them. &nbsp;The splendours of the
+scene delighted his eye and fired his imagination at first, but the
+audience was long and dreary, and so were most of the
+addresses&mdash;wherefore, what began as a pleasure grew into weariness and home-sickness
+by-and-by. &nbsp;Tom said the words which Hertford put into his mouth from
+time to time, and tried hard to acquit himself satisfactorily, but he was
+too new to such things, and too ill at ease to accomplish more than a
+tolerable success. &nbsp;He looked sufficiently like a king, but he was ill
+able to feel like one. &nbsp;He was cordially glad when the ceremony was
+ended.</p>
+
+<p>The larger part of his day was 'wasted'&mdash;as he termed it, in his own
+mind&mdash;in labours pertaining to his royal office. &nbsp;Even the two hours
+devoted to certain princely pastimes and recreations were rather a burden
+to him than otherwise, they were so fettered by restrictions and
+ceremonious observances. &nbsp;However, he had a private hour with his
+whipping-boy which he counted clear gain, since he got both entertainment
+and needful information out of it.</p>
+
+<p>The third day of Tom Canty's kingship came and went much as the others
+had done, but there was a lifting of his cloud in one way&mdash;he felt less
+uncomfortable than at first; he was getting a little used to his
+circumstances and surroundings; his chains still galled, but not all the
+time; he found that the presence and homage of the great afflicted and
+embarrassed him less and less sharply with every hour that drifted over
+his head.</p>
+
+<p>But for one single dread, he could have seen the fourth day approach
+without serious distress&mdash;the dining in public; it was to begin that day.
+There were greater matters in the programme&mdash;for on that day he would
+have to preside at a council which would take his views and commands
+concerning the policy to be pursued toward various foreign nations
+scattered far and near over the great globe; on that day, too, Hertford
+would be formally chosen to the grand office of Lord Protector; other
+things of note were appointed for that fourth day, also; but to Tom they
+were all insignificant compared with the ordeal of dining all by himself
+with a multitude of curious eyes fastened upon him and a multitude of
+mouths whispering comments upon his performance,&mdash;and upon his mistakes,
+if he should be so unlucky as to make any.</p>
+
+<p>Still, nothing could stop that fourth day, and so it came. &nbsp;It found poor
+Tom low-spirited and absent-minded, and this mood continued; he could not
+shake it off. &nbsp;The ordinary duties of the morning dragged upon his hands,
+and wearied him. &nbsp;Once more he felt the sense of captivity heavy upon
+him.</p>
+
+<p>Late in the forenoon he was in a large audience-chamber, conversing with
+the Earl of Hertford and dully awaiting the striking of the hour
+appointed for a visit of ceremony from a considerable number of great
+officials and courtiers.</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="15-181"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="15-181.jpg (53K)" src="images/15-181.jpg" height="659" width="297">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>After a little while, Tom, who had wandered to a window and become
+interested in the life and movement of the great highway beyond the
+palace gates&mdash;and not idly interested, but longing with all his heart to
+take part in person in its stir and freedom&mdash;saw the van of a hooting and
+shouting mob of disorderly men, women, and children of the lowest and
+poorest degree approaching from up the road.</p>
+
+<p>"I would I knew what 'tis about!" he exclaimed, with all a boy's
+curiosity in such happenings.</p>
+
+<p>"Thou art the King!" solemnly responded the Earl, with a reverence.
+"Have I your Grace's leave to act?"</p>
+
+<p>"O blithely, yes! &nbsp;O gladly, yes!" exclaimed Tom excitedly, adding to
+himself with a lively sense of satisfaction, "In truth, being a king is
+not all dreariness&mdash;it hath its compensations and conveniences."</p>
+
+<p>The Earl called a page, and sent him to the captain of the guard with the
+order&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Let the mob be halted, and inquiry made concerning the occasion of its
+movement. &nbsp;By the King's command!"</p>
+
+<p>A few seconds later a long rank of the royal guards, cased in flashing
+steel, filed out at the gates and formed across the highway in front of
+the multitude. &nbsp;A messenger returned, to report that the crowd were
+following a man, a woman, and a young girl to execution for crimes
+committed against the peace and dignity of the realm.</p>
+
+<p>Death&mdash;and a violent death&mdash;for these poor unfortunates! &nbsp;The thought
+wrung Tom's heart-strings. &nbsp;The spirit of compassion took control of him,
+to the exclusion of all other considerations; he never thought of the
+offended laws, or of the grief or loss which these three criminals had
+inflicted upon their victims; he could think of nothing but the scaffold
+and the grisly fate hanging over the heads of the condemned. &nbsp;His concern
+made him even forget, for the moment, that he was but the false shadow of
+a king, not the substance; and before he knew it he had blurted out the
+command&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Bring them here!"</p>
+
+<p>Then he blushed scarlet, and a sort of apology sprung to his lips; but
+observing that his order had wrought no sort of surprise in the Earl or
+the waiting page, he suppressed the words he was about to utter. &nbsp;The
+page, in the most matter-of-course way, made a profound obeisance and
+retired backwards out of the room to deliver the command. &nbsp;Tom
+experienced a glow of pride and a renewed sense of the compensating
+advantages of the kingly office. He said to himself, "Truly it is like
+what I was used to feel when I read the old priest's tales, and did
+imagine mine own self a prince, giving law and command to all, saying 'Do
+this, do that,' whilst none durst offer let or hindrance to my will."</p>
+
+<p>Now the doors swung open; one high-sounding title after another was
+announced, the personages owning them followed, and the place was quickly
+half-filled with noble folk and finery. &nbsp;But Tom was hardly conscious of
+the presence of these people, so wrought up was he and so intensely
+absorbed in that other and more interesting matter. &nbsp;He seated himself
+absently in his chair of state, and turned his eyes upon the door with
+manifestations of impatient expectancy; seeing which, the company forbore
+to trouble him, and fell to chatting a mixture of public business and
+court gossip one with another.</p>
+
+<p>In a little while the measured tread of military men was heard
+approaching, and the culprits entered the presence in charge of an
+under-sheriff and escorted by a detail of the king's guard. &nbsp;The civil officer
+knelt before Tom, then stood aside; the three doomed persons knelt, also,
+and remained so; the guard took position behind Tom's chair. &nbsp;Tom scanned
+the prisoners curiously. Something about the dress or appearance of the
+man had stirred a vague memory in him. &nbsp;"Methinks I have seen this man
+ere now . . . but the when or the where fail me."&mdash;Such was Tom's thought.
+Just then the man glanced quickly up and quickly dropped his face again,
+not being able to endure the awful port of sovereignty; but the one full
+glimpse of the face which Tom got was sufficient. &nbsp;He said to himself:
+"Now is the matter clear; this is the stranger that plucked Giles Witt
+out of the Thames, and saved his life, that windy, bitter, first day of
+the New Year&mdash;a brave good deed&mdash;pity he hath been doing baser ones and
+got himself in this sad case . . . I have not forgot the day, neither the
+hour; by reason that an hour after, upon the stroke of eleven, I did get
+a hiding by the hand of Gammer Canty which was of so goodly and admired
+severity that all that went before or followed after it were but
+fondlings and caresses by comparison."</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="15-183"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="15-183.jpg (176K)" src="images/15-183.jpg" height="1034" width="720">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>Tom now ordered that the woman and the girl be removed from the presence
+for a little time; then addressed himself to the under-sheriff, saying&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Good sir, what is this man's offence?"</p>
+
+<p>The officer knelt, and answered&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"So please your Majesty, he hath taken the life of a subject by poison."</p>
+
+<p>Tom's compassion for the prisoner, and admiration of him as the daring
+rescuer of a drowning boy, experienced a most damaging shock.</p>
+
+<p>"The thing was proven upon him?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Most clearly, sire."</p>
+
+<p>Tom sighed, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Take him away&mdash;he hath earned his death. &nbsp;'Tis a pity, for he was a
+brave heart&mdash;na&mdash;na, I mean he hath the LOOK of it!"</p>
+
+<p>The prisoner clasped his hands together with sudden energy, and wrung
+them despairingly, at the same time appealing imploringly to the 'King'
+in broken and terrified phrases&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"O my lord the King, an' thou canst pity the lost, have pity upon me! &nbsp;I
+am innocent&mdash;neither hath that wherewith I am charged been more than but
+lamely proved&mdash;yet I speak not of that; the judgment is gone forth
+against me and may not suffer alteration; yet in mine extremity I beg a
+boon, for my doom is more than I can bear. A grace, a grace, my lord the
+King! in thy royal compassion grant my prayer&mdash;give commandment that I be
+hanged!"</p>
+
+<p>Tom was amazed. &nbsp;This was not the outcome he had looked for.</p>
+
+<p>"Odds my life, a strange BOON! &nbsp;Was it not the fate intended thee?"</p>
+
+<p>"O good my liege, not so! &nbsp;It is ordered that I be BOILED ALIVE!"</p>
+
+<p>The hideous surprise of these words almost made Tom spring from his
+chair. &nbsp;As soon as he could recover his wits he cried out&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Have thy wish, poor soul! an' thou had poisoned a hundred men thou
+shouldst not suffer so miserable a death."</p>
+
+<p>The prisoner bowed his face to the ground and burst into passionate
+expressions of gratitude&mdash;ending with&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"If ever thou shouldst know misfortune&mdash;which God forefend!&mdash;may thy
+goodness to me this day be remembered and requited!"</p>
+
+<p>Tom turned to the Earl of Hertford, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"My lord, is it believable that there was warrant for this man's
+ferocious doom?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is the law, your Grace&mdash;for poisoners. &nbsp;In Germany coiners be boiled
+to death in OIL&mdash;not cast in of a sudden, but by a rope let down into the
+oil by degrees, and slowly; first the feet, then the legs, then&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"O prithee no more, my lord, I cannot bear it!" cried Tom, covering his
+eyes with his hands to shut out the picture. &nbsp;"I beseech your good
+lordship that order be taken to change this law&mdash;oh, let no more poor
+creatures be visited with its tortures."</p>
+
+<p>The Earl's face showed profound gratification, for he was a man of
+merciful and generous impulses&mdash;a thing not very common with his class in
+that fierce age. &nbsp;He said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"These your Grace's noble words have sealed its doom. &nbsp;History will
+remember it to the honour of your royal house."</p>
+
+<p>The under-sheriff was about to remove his prisoner; Tom gave him a sign
+to wait; then he said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Good sir, I would look into this matter further. &nbsp;The man has said his
+deed was but lamely proved. &nbsp;Tell me what thou knowest."</p>
+
+<p>"If the King's grace please, it did appear upon the trial that this man
+entered into a house in the hamlet of Islington where one lay sick&mdash;three
+witnesses say it was at ten of the clock in the morning, and two say it
+was some minutes later&mdash;the sick man being alone at the time, and
+sleeping&mdash;and presently the man came forth again and went his way. &nbsp;The
+sick man died within the hour, being torn with spasms and retchings."</p>
+
+<p>"Did any see the poison given? &nbsp;Was poison found?"</p>
+
+<p>"Marry, no, my liege."</p>
+
+<p>"Then how doth one know there was poison given at all?"</p>
+
+<p>"Please your Majesty, the doctors testified that none die with such
+symptoms but by poison."</p>
+
+<p>Weighty evidence, this, in that simple age. &nbsp;Tom recognised its
+formidable nature, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"The doctor knoweth his trade&mdash;belike they were right. &nbsp;The matter hath
+an ill-look for this poor man."</p>
+
+<p>"Yet was not this all, your Majesty; there is more and worse. Many
+testified that a witch, since gone from the village, none know whither,
+did foretell, and speak it privately in their ears, that the sick man
+WOULD DIE BY POISON&mdash;and more, that a stranger would give it&mdash;a stranger
+with brown hair and clothed in a worn and common garb; and surely this
+prisoner doth answer woundily to the bill. &nbsp;Please your Majesty to give
+the circumstance that solemn weight which is its due, seeing it was
+FORETOLD."</p>
+
+<p>This was an argument of tremendous force in that superstitious day. &nbsp;Tom
+felt that the thing was settled; if evidence was worth anything, this
+poor fellow's guilt was proved. &nbsp;Still he offered the prisoner a chance,
+saying&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"If thou canst say aught in thy behalf, speak."</p>
+
+<p>"Nought that will avail, my King. &nbsp;I am innocent, yet cannot I make it
+appear. &nbsp;I have no friends, else might I show that I was not in Islington
+that day; so also might I show that at that hour they name I was above a
+league away, seeing I was at Wapping Old Stairs; yea more, my King, for I
+could show, that whilst they say I was TAKING life, I was SAVING it. &nbsp;A
+drowning boy&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Peace! &nbsp;Sheriff, name the day the deed was done!"</p>
+
+<p>"At ten in the morning, or some minutes later, the first day of the New
+Year, most illustrious&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Let the prisoner go free&mdash;it is the King's will!"</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="15-187"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="15-187.jpg (170K)" src="images/15-187.jpg" height="1041" width="725">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>Another blush followed this unregal outburst, and he covered his
+indecorum as well as he could by adding&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"It enrageth me that a man should be hanged upon such idle, hare-brained
+evidence!"</p>
+
+<p>A low buzz of admiration swept through the assemblage. &nbsp;It was not
+admiration of the decree that had been delivered by Tom, for the
+propriety or expediency of pardoning a convicted poisoner was a thing
+which few there would have felt justified in either admitting or
+admiring&mdash;no, the admiration was for the intelligence and spirit which
+Tom had displayed. &nbsp;Some of the low-voiced remarks were to this effect&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"This is no mad king&mdash;he hath his wits sound."</p>
+
+<p>"How sanely he put his questions&mdash;how like his former natural self was
+this abrupt imperious disposal of the matter!"</p>
+
+<p>"God be thanked, his infirmity is spent! &nbsp;This is no weakling, but a
+king. &nbsp;He hath borne himself like to his own father."</p>
+
+<p>The air being filled with applause, Tom's ear necessarily caught a little
+of it. &nbsp;The effect which this had upon him was to put him greatly at his
+ease, and also to charge his system with very gratifying sensations.</p>
+
+<p>However, his juvenile curiosity soon rose superior to these pleasant
+thoughts and feelings; he was eager to know what sort of deadly mischief
+the woman and the little girl could have been about; so, by his command,
+the two terrified and sobbing creatures were brought before him.</p>
+
+<p>"What is it that these have done?" he inquired of the sheriff.</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="15-188"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="15-188.jpg (27K)" src="images/15-188.jpg" height="320" width="361">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>"Please your Majesty, a black crime is charged upon them, and clearly
+proven; wherefore the judges have decreed, according to the law, that
+they be hanged. &nbsp;They sold themselves to the devil&mdash;such is their crime."</p>
+
+<p>Tom shuddered. &nbsp;He had been taught to abhor people who did this wicked
+thing. &nbsp;Still, he was not going to deny himself the pleasure of feeding
+his curiosity for all that; so he asked&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Where was this done?&mdash;and when?"</p>
+
+<p>"On a midnight in December, in a ruined church, your Majesty."</p>
+
+<p>Tom shuddered again.</p>
+
+<p>"Who was there present?"</p>
+
+<p>"Only these two, your grace&mdash;and THAT OTHER."</p>
+
+<p>"Have these confessed?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nay, not so, sire&mdash;they do deny it."</p>
+
+<p>"Then prithee, how was it known?"</p>
+
+<p>"Certain witness did see them wending thither, good your Majesty; this
+bred the suspicion, and dire effects have since confirmed and justified
+it. &nbsp;In particular, it is in evidence that through the wicked power so
+obtained, they did invoke and bring about a storm that wasted all the
+region round about. &nbsp;Above forty witnesses have proved the storm; and
+sooth one might have had a thousand, for all had reason to remember it,
+sith all had suffered by it."</p>
+
+<p>"Certes this is a serious matter." &nbsp;Tom turned this dark piece of
+scoundrelism over in his mind a while, then asked&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Suffered the woman also by the storm?"</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="15-190"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="15-190.jpg (69K)" src="images/15-190.jpg" height="363" width="728">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>Several old heads among the assemblage nodded their recognition of the
+wisdom of this question. &nbsp;The sheriff, however, saw nothing consequential
+in the inquiry; he answered, with simple directness&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed did she, your Majesty, and most righteously, as all aver. Her
+habitation was swept away, and herself and child left shelterless."</p>
+
+<p>"Methinks the power to do herself so ill a turn was dearly bought. She
+had been cheated, had she paid but a farthing for it; that she paid her
+soul, and her child's, argueth that she is mad; if she is mad she knoweth
+not what she doth, therefore sinneth not."</p>
+
+<p>The elderly heads nodded recognition of Tom's wisdom once more, and one
+individual murmured, "An' the King be mad himself, according to report,
+then is it a madness of a sort that would improve the sanity of some I
+wot of, if by the gentle providence of God they could but catch it."</p>
+
+<p>"What age hath the child?" asked Tom.</p>
+
+<p>"Nine years, please your Majesty."</p>
+
+<p>"By the law of England may a child enter into covenant and sell itself,
+my lord?" asked Tom, turning to a learned judge.</p>
+
+<p>"The law doth not permit a child to make or meddle in any weighty matter,
+good my liege, holding that its callow wit unfitteth it to cope with the
+riper wit and evil schemings of them that are its elders. &nbsp;The DEVIL may
+buy a child, if he so choose, and the child agree thereto, but not an
+Englishman&mdash;in this latter case the contract would be null and void."</p>
+
+<p>"It seemeth a rude unchristian thing, and ill contrived, that English law
+denieth privileges to Englishmen to waste them on the devil!" cried Tom,
+with honest heat.</p>
+
+<p>This novel view of the matter excited many smiles, and was stored away in
+many heads to be repeated about the Court as evidence of Tom's
+originality as well as progress toward mental health.</p>
+
+<p>The elder culprit had ceased from sobbing, and was hanging upon Tom's
+words with an excited interest and a growing hope. &nbsp;Tom noticed this, and
+it strongly inclined his sympathies toward her in her perilous and
+unfriended situation. &nbsp;Presently he asked&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"How wrought they to bring the storm?"</p>
+
+<p>"BY PULLING OFF THEIR STOCKINGS, sire."</p>
+
+<p>This astonished Tom, and also fired his curiosity to fever heat. He said,
+eagerly&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"It is wonderful! &nbsp;Hath it always this dread effect?"</p>
+
+<p>"Always, my liege&mdash;at least if the woman desire it, and utter the needful
+words, either in her mind or with her tongue."</p>
+
+<p>Tom turned to the woman, and said with impetuous zeal&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Exert thy power&mdash;I would see a storm!"</p>
+
+<p>There was a sudden paling of cheeks in the superstitious assemblage, and
+a general, though unexpressed, desire to get out of the place&mdash;all of
+which was lost upon Tom, who was dead to everything but the proposed
+cataclysm. &nbsp;Seeing a puzzled and astonished look in the woman's face, he
+added, excitedly&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Never fear&mdash;thou shalt be blameless. &nbsp;More&mdash;thou shalt go free&mdash;none
+shall touch thee. &nbsp;Exert thy power."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, my lord the King, I have it not&mdash;I have been falsely accused."</p>
+
+<p>"Thy fears stay thee. &nbsp;Be of good heart, thou shalt suffer no harm. &nbsp;Make
+a storm&mdash;it mattereth not how small a one&mdash;I require nought great or
+harmful, but indeed prefer the opposite&mdash;do this and thy life is
+spared&mdash;thou shalt go out free, with thy child, bearing the King's pardon, and
+safe from hurt or malice from any in the realm."</p>
+
+<p>The woman prostrated herself, and protested, with tears, that she had no
+power to do the miracle, else she would gladly win her child's life
+alone, and be content to lose her own, if by obedience to the King's
+command so precious a grace might be acquired.</p>
+
+<p>Tom urged&mdash;the woman still adhered to her declarations. &nbsp;Finally he said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I think the woman hath said true. &nbsp;An' MY mother were in her place and
+gifted with the devil's functions, she had not stayed a moment to call
+her storms and lay the whole land in ruins, if the saving of my forfeit
+life were the price she got! &nbsp;It is argument that other mothers are made
+in like mould. &nbsp;Thou art free, goodwife&mdash;thou and thy child&mdash;for I do
+think thee innocent. &nbsp;NOW thou'st nought to fear, being pardoned&mdash;pull
+off thy stockings!&mdash;an' thou canst make me a storm, thou shalt be rich!"</p>
+
+<p>The redeemed creature was loud in her gratitude, and proceeded to obey,
+whilst Tom looked on with eager expectancy, a little marred by
+apprehension; the courtiers at the same time manifesting decided
+discomfort and uneasiness. &nbsp;The woman stripped her own feet and her
+little girl's also, and plainly did her best to reward the King's
+generosity with an earthquake, but it was all a failure and a
+disappointment. &nbsp;Tom sighed, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"There, good soul, trouble thyself no further, thy power is departed out
+of thee. &nbsp;Go thy way in peace; and if it return to thee at any time,
+forget me not, but fetch me a storm." {13}</p>
+
+
+<br><br><hr><br>
+<br><br>
+<a name="c16"></a>
+<a name="16-193"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="16-193.jpg (42K)" src="images/16-193.jpg" height="400" width="610">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+<p>Chapter XVI. The State Dinner.</p>
+
+<p>The dinner hour drew near&mdash;yet strangely enough, the thought brought but
+slight discomfort to Tom, and hardly any terror. &nbsp;The morning's
+experiences had wonderfully built up his confidence; the poor little
+ash-cat was already more wonted to his strange garret, after four days'
+habit, than a mature person could have become in a full month. &nbsp;A child's
+facility in accommodating itself to circumstances was never more
+strikingly illustrated.</p>
+
+<p>Let us privileged ones hurry to the great banqueting-room and have a
+glance at matters there whilst Tom is being made ready for the imposing
+occasion. &nbsp;It is a spacious apartment, with gilded pillars and pilasters,
+and pictured walls and ceilings. &nbsp;At the door stand tall guards, as rigid
+as statues, dressed in rich and picturesque costumes, and bearing
+halberds. &nbsp;In a high gallery which runs all around the place is a band of
+musicians and a packed company of citizens of both sexes, in brilliant
+attire. &nbsp;In the centre of the room, upon a raised platform, is Tom's
+table. Now let the ancient chronicler speak:</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="16-196"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="16-196.jpg (65K)" src="images/16-196.jpg" height="608" width="505">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>"A gentleman enters the room bearing a rod, and along with him another
+bearing a tablecloth, which, after they have both kneeled three times
+with the utmost veneration, he spreads upon the table, and after kneeling
+again they both retire; then come two others, one with the rod again, the
+other with a salt-cellar, a plate, and bread; when they have kneeled as
+the others had done, and placed what was brought upon the table, they too
+retire with the same ceremonies performed by the first; at last come two
+nobles, richly clothed, one bearing a tasting-knife, who, after
+prostrating themselves three times in the most graceful manner, approach
+and rub the table with bread and salt, with as much awe as if the King
+had been present." {6}</p>
+
+<p>So end the solemn preliminaries. &nbsp;Now, far down the echoing corridors we
+hear a bugle-blast, and the indistinct cry, "Place for the King! &nbsp;Way for
+the King's most excellent majesty!" &nbsp;These sounds are momently
+repeated&mdash;they grow nearer and nearer&mdash;and presently, almost in our faces, the
+martial note peals and the cry rings out, "Way for the King!" &nbsp;At this
+instant the shining pageant appears, and files in at the door, with a
+measured march. Let the chronicler speak again:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"First come Gentlemen, Barons, Earls, Knights of the Garter, all richly
+dressed and bareheaded; next comes the Chancellor, between two, one of
+which carries the royal sceptre, the other the Sword of State in a red
+scabbard, studded with golden fleurs-de-lis, the point upwards; next
+comes the King himself&mdash;whom, upon his appearing, twelve trumpets and
+many drums salute with a great burst of welcome, whilst all in the
+galleries rise in their places, crying 'God save the King!' &nbsp;After him
+come nobles attached to his person, and on his right and left march his
+guard of honour, his fifty Gentlemen Pensioners, with gilt battle-axes."</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="16-197"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="16-197.jpg (183K)" src="images/16-197.jpg" height="1007" width="735">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>This was all fine and pleasant. &nbsp;Tom's pulse beat high, and a glad light
+was in his eye. &nbsp;He bore himself right gracefully, and all the more so
+because he was not thinking of how he was doing it, his mind being
+charmed and occupied with the blithe sights and sounds about him&mdash;and
+besides, nobody can be very ungraceful in nicely-fitting beautiful
+clothes after he has grown a little used to them&mdash;especially if he is for
+the moment unconscious of them. Tom remembered his instructions, and
+acknowledged his greeting with a slight inclination of his plumed head,
+and a courteous "I thank ye, my good people."</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="16-198"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="16-198.jpg (43K)" src="images/16-198.jpg" height="438" width="372">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+<p>He seated himself at table, without removing his cap; and did it without
+the least embarrassment; for to eat with one's cap on was the one
+solitary royal custom upon which the kings and the Cantys met upon common
+ground, neither party having any advantage over the other in the matter
+of old familiarity with it. &nbsp;The pageant broke up and grouped itself
+picturesquely, and remained bareheaded.</p>
+
+<p>Now to the sound of gay music the Yeomen of the Guard entered,&mdash;"the
+tallest and mightiest men in England, they being carefully selected in
+this regard"&mdash;but we will let the chronicler tell about it:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"The Yeomen of the Guard entered, bareheaded, clothed in scarlet, with
+golden roses upon their backs; and these went and came, bringing in each
+turn a course of dishes, served in plate. &nbsp;These dishes were received by
+a gentleman in the same order they were brought, and placed upon the
+table, while the taster gave to each guard a mouthful to eat of the
+particular dish he had brought, for fear of any poison."</p>
+
+<p>Tom made a good dinner, notwithstanding he was conscious that hundreds of
+eyes followed each morsel to his mouth and watched him eat it with an
+interest which could not have been more intense if it had been a deadly
+explosive and was expected to blow him up and scatter him all about the
+place. &nbsp;He was careful not to hurry, and equally careful not to do
+anything whatever for himself, but wait till the proper official knelt
+down and did it for him. &nbsp;He got through without a mistake&mdash;flawless and
+precious triumph.</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="16-199"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="16-199.jpg (99K)" src="images/16-199.jpg" height="586" width="724">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>When the meal was over at last and he marched away in the midst of his
+bright pageant, with the happy noises in his ears of blaring bugles,
+rolling drums, and thundering acclamations, he felt that if he had seen
+the worst of dining in public it was an ordeal which he would be glad to
+endure several times a day if by that means he could but buy himself free
+from some of the more formidable requirements of his royal office.</p>
+
+
+<br><br><hr><br>
+<br><br>
+<a name="c17"></a>
+<a name="17-201"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="17-201.jpg (70K)" src="images/17-201.jpg" height="497" width="717">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>Chapter XVII. Foo-foo the First.</p>
+
+<p>Miles Hendon hurried along toward the Southwark end of the bridge,
+keeping a sharp look-out for the persons he sought, and hoping and
+expecting to overtake them presently. &nbsp;He was disappointed in this,
+however. &nbsp;By asking questions, he was enabled to track them part of the
+way through Southwark; then all traces ceased, and he was perplexed as to
+how to proceed. &nbsp;Still, he continued his efforts as best he could during
+the rest of the day. &nbsp;Nightfall found him leg-weary, half-famished, and
+his desire as far from accomplishment as ever; so he supped at the Tabard
+Inn and went to bed, resolved to make an early start in the morning, and
+give the town an exhaustive search. &nbsp;As he lay thinking and planning, he
+presently began to reason thus: &nbsp;The boy would escape from the ruffian,
+his reputed father, if possible; would he go back to London and seek his
+former haunts? &nbsp;No, he would not do that, he would avoid recapture.
+What, then, would he do? &nbsp;Never having had a friend in the world, or a
+protector, until he met Miles Hendon, he would naturally try to find that
+friend again, provided the effort did not require him to go toward London
+and danger. &nbsp;He would strike for Hendon Hall, that is what he would do,
+for he knew Hendon was homeward bound and there he might expect to find
+him. &nbsp;Yes, the case was plain to Hendon&mdash;he must lose no more time in
+Southwark, but move at once through Kent, toward Monk's Holm, searching
+the wood and inquiring as he went. &nbsp;Let us return to the vanished little
+King now.</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="17-205"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="17-205.jpg (159K)" src="images/17-205.jpg" height="1018" width="742">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>The ruffian whom the waiter at the inn on the bridge saw 'about to join'
+the youth and the King did not exactly join them, but fell in close
+behind them and followed their steps. &nbsp;He said nothing. His left arm was
+in a sling, and he wore a large green patch over his left eye; he limped
+slightly, and used an oaken staff as a support. &nbsp;The youth led the King a
+crooked course through Southwark, and by-and-by struck into the high road
+beyond. &nbsp;The King was irritated, now, and said he would stop here&mdash;it was
+Hendon's place to come to him, not his to go to Hendon. &nbsp;He would not
+endure such insolence; he would stop where he was. &nbsp;The youth said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Thou'lt tarry here, and thy friend lying wounded in the wood yonder? &nbsp;So
+be it, then."</p>
+
+<p>The King's manner changed at once. &nbsp;He cried out&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Wounded? &nbsp;And who hath dared to do it? &nbsp;But that is apart; lead on, lead
+on! &nbsp;Faster, sirrah! &nbsp;Art shod with lead? &nbsp;Wounded, is he? &nbsp;Now though
+the doer of it be a duke's son he shall rue it!"</p>
+
+<p>It was some distance to the wood, but the space was speedily traversed.
+The youth looked about him, discovered a bough sticking in the ground,
+with a small bit of rag tied to it, then led the way into the forest,
+watching for similar boughs and finding them at intervals; they were
+evidently guides to the point he was aiming at. &nbsp;By-and-by an open place
+was reached, where were the charred remains of a farm-house, and near
+them a barn which was falling to ruin and decay. &nbsp;There was no sign of
+life anywhere, and utter silence prevailed. &nbsp;The youth entered the barn,
+the King following eagerly upon his heels. &nbsp;No one there! The King shot a
+surprised and suspicious glance at the youth, and asked&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Where is he?"</p>
+
+<p>A mocking laugh was his answer. &nbsp;The King was in a rage in a moment; he
+seized a billet of wood and was in the act of charging upon the youth
+when another mocking laugh fell upon his ear. &nbsp;It was from the lame
+ruffian who had been following at a distance. The King turned and said
+angrily&mdash;</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="17-206"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="17-206.jpg (110K)" src="images/17-206.jpg" height="650" width="593">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>"Who art thou? &nbsp;What is thy business here?"</p>
+
+<p>"Leave thy foolery," said the man, "and quiet thyself. &nbsp;My disguise is
+none so good that thou canst pretend thou knowest not thy father through
+it."</p>
+
+<p>"Thou art not my father. &nbsp;I know thee not. &nbsp;I am the King. &nbsp;If thou hast
+hid my servant, find him for me, or thou shalt sup sorrow for what thou
+hast done."</p>
+
+<p>John Canty replied, in a stern and measured voice&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"It is plain thou art mad, and I am loath to punish thee; &nbsp;but if thou
+provoke me, I must. &nbsp;Thy prating doth no harm here, where there are no
+ears that need to mind thy follies; yet it is well to practise thy tongue
+to wary speech, that it may do no hurt when our quarters change. &nbsp;I have
+done a murder, and may not tarry at home&mdash;neither shalt thou, seeing I
+need thy service. &nbsp;My name is changed, for wise reasons; it is
+Hobbs&mdash;John Hobbs; thine is Jack&mdash;charge thy memory accordingly. &nbsp;Now, then,
+speak. &nbsp;Where is thy mother? &nbsp;Where are thy sisters? &nbsp;They came not to
+the place appointed&mdash;knowest thou whither they went?"</p>
+
+<p>The King answered sullenly&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Trouble me not with these riddles. &nbsp;My mother is dead; my sisters are in
+the palace."</p>
+
+<p>The youth near by burst into a derisive laugh, and the King would have
+assaulted him, but Canty&mdash;or Hobbs, as he now called himself&mdash;prevented
+him, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Peace, Hugo, vex him not; his mind is astray, and thy ways fret him.
+Sit thee down, Jack, and quiet thyself; thou shalt have a morsel to eat,
+anon."</p>
+
+<p>Hobbs and Hugo fell to talking together, in low voices, and the King
+removed himself as far as he could from their disagreeable company. &nbsp;He
+withdrew into the twilight of the farther end of the barn, where he found
+the earthen floor bedded a foot deep with straw. &nbsp;He lay down here, drew
+straw over himself in lieu of blankets, and was soon absorbed in
+thinking. &nbsp;He had many griefs, but the minor ones were swept almost into
+forgetfulness by the supreme one, the loss of his father. &nbsp;To the rest of
+the world the name of Henry VIII. brought a shiver, and suggested an ogre
+whose nostrils breathed destruction and whose hand dealt scourgings and
+death; but to this boy the name brought only sensations of pleasure; the
+figure it invoked wore a countenance that was all gentleness and
+affection. &nbsp;He called to mind a long succession of loving passages
+between his father and himself, and dwelt fondly upon them, his unstinted
+tears attesting how deep and real was the grief that possessed his heart.
+As the afternoon wasted away, the lad, wearied with his troubles, sank
+gradually into a tranquil and healing slumber.</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="17-207"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="17-207.jpg (74K)" src="images/17-207.jpg" height="380" width="714">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>After a considerable time&mdash;he could not tell how long&mdash;his senses
+struggled to a half-consciousness, and as he lay with closed eyes vaguely
+wondering where he was and what had been happening, he noted a murmurous
+sound, the sullen beating of rain upon the roof. A snug sense of comfort
+stole over him, which was rudely broken, the next moment, by a chorus of
+piping cackles and coarse laughter. &nbsp;It startled him disagreeably, and he
+unmuffled his head to see whence this interruption proceeded. &nbsp;A grim and
+unsightly picture met his eye. &nbsp;A bright fire was burning in the middle
+of the floor, at the other end of the barn; and around it, and lit
+weirdly up by the red glare, lolled and sprawled the motliest company of
+tattered gutter-scum and ruffians, of both sexes, he had ever read or
+dreamed of. &nbsp;There were huge stalwart men, brown with exposure,
+long-haired, and clothed in fantastic rags; there were middle-sized youths, of
+truculent countenance, and similarly clad; there were blind mendicants,
+with patched or bandaged eyes; crippled ones, with wooden legs and
+crutches; diseased ones, with running sores peeping from ineffectual
+wrappings; there was a villain-looking pedlar with his pack; a
+knife-grinder, a tinker, and a barber-surgeon, with the implements of their
+trades; some of the females were hardly-grown girls, some were at prime,
+some were old and wrinkled hags, and all were loud, brazen, foul-mouthed;
+and all soiled and slatternly; there were three sore-faced babies; there
+were a couple of starveling curs, with strings about their necks, whose
+office was to lead the blind.</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="17-208"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="17-208.jpg (160K)" src="images/17-208.jpg" height="795" width="739">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>The night was come, the gang had just finished feasting, an orgy was
+beginning; the can of liquor was passing from mouth to mouth. A general
+cry broke forth&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"A song! a song from the Bat and Dick and Dot-and-go-One!"</p>
+
+<p>One of the blind men got up, and made ready by casting aside the patches
+that sheltered his excellent eyes, and the pathetic placard which recited
+the cause of his calamity. &nbsp;Dot-and-go-One disencumbered himself of his
+timber leg and took his place, upon sound and healthy limbs, beside his
+fellow-rascal; then they roared out a rollicking ditty, and were
+reinforced by the whole crew, at the end of each stanza, in a rousing
+chorus. &nbsp;By the time the last stanza was reached, the half-drunken
+enthusiasm had risen to such a pitch, that everybody joined in and sang
+it clear through from the beginning, producing a volume of villainous
+sound that made the rafters quake. &nbsp;These were the inspiring words:&mdash;</p>
+<center>
+<p>'Bien Darkman's then, Bouse Mort and Ken,<br>
+The bien Coves bings awast,<br>
+On Chates to trine by Rome Coves dine<br>
+For his long lib at last.<br>
+Bing'd out bien Morts and toure, and toure,<br>
+Bing out of the Rome vile bine,<br>
+And toure the Cove that cloy'd your duds,<br>
+Upon the Chates to trine.'<br><br>
+
+(From'The English Rogue.' London, 1665.)</p>
+</center>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="17-210"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="17-210.jpg (63K)" src="images/17-210.jpg" height="671" width="384">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>Conversation followed; not in the thieves' dialect of the song, for that
+was only used in talk when unfriendly ears might be listening. &nbsp;In the
+course of it, it appeared that 'John Hobbs' was not altogether a new
+recruit, but had trained in the gang at some former time. &nbsp;His later
+history was called for, and when he said he had 'accidentally' killed a
+man, considerable satisfaction was expressed; when he added that the man
+was a priest, he was roundly applauded, and had to take a drink with
+everybody. &nbsp;Old acquaintances welcomed him joyously, and new ones were
+proud to shake him by the hand. &nbsp;He was asked why he had 'tarried away so
+many months.' &nbsp;He answered&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"London is better than the country, and safer, these late years, the laws
+be so bitter and so diligently enforced. &nbsp;An' I had not had that
+accident, I had stayed there. &nbsp;I had resolved to stay, and never more
+venture country-wards&mdash;but the accident has ended that."</p>
+
+<p>He inquired how many persons the gang numbered now. &nbsp;The 'ruffler,' or
+chief, answered&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Five and twenty sturdy budges, bulks, files, clapperdogeons and
+maunders, counting the dells and doxies and other morts. {7} &nbsp;Most are
+here, the rest are wandering eastward, along the winter lay. We follow at
+dawn."</p>
+
+<p>"I do not see the Wen among the honest folk about me. &nbsp;Where may he be?"</p>
+
+<p>"Poor lad, his diet is brimstone, now, and over hot for a delicate taste.
+He was killed in a brawl, somewhere about midsummer."</p>
+
+<p>"I sorrow to hear that; the Wen was a capable man, and brave."</p>
+
+<p>"That was he, truly. &nbsp;Black Bess, his dell, is of us yet, but absent on
+the eastward tramp; a fine lass, of nice ways and orderly conduct, none
+ever seeing her drunk above four days in the seven."</p>
+
+<p>"She was ever strict&mdash;I remember it well&mdash;a goodly wench and worthy all
+commendation. &nbsp;Her mother was more free and less particular; a
+troublesome and ugly-tempered beldame, but furnished with a wit above the
+common."</p>
+
+<p>"We lost her through it. &nbsp;Her gift of palmistry and other sorts of
+fortune-telling begot for her at last a witch's name and fame. The law
+roasted her to death at a slow fire. &nbsp;It did touch me to a sort of
+tenderness to see the gallant way she met her lot&mdash;cursing and reviling
+all the crowd that gaped and gazed around her, whilst the flames licked
+upward toward her face and catched her thin locks and crackled about her
+old gray head&mdash;cursing them! why an' thou should'st live a thousand years
+thoud'st never hear so masterful a cursing. &nbsp;Alack, her art died with
+her. &nbsp;There be base and weakling imitations left, but no true blasphemy."</p>
+
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="17-212"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="17-212.jpg (44K)" src="images/17-212.jpg" height="604" width="330">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>The Ruffler sighed; the listeners sighed in sympathy; a general
+depression fell upon the company for a moment, for even hardened outcasts
+like these are not wholly dead to sentiment, but are able to feel a
+fleeting sense of loss and affliction at wide intervals and under
+peculiarly favouring circumstances&mdash;as in cases like to this, for
+instance, when genius and culture depart and leave no heir. &nbsp;However, a
+deep drink all round soon restored the spirits of the mourners.</p>
+
+<p>"Have any others of our friends fared hardly?" asked Hobbs.</p>
+
+<p>"Some&mdash;yes. &nbsp;Particularly new comers&mdash;such as small husbandmen turned
+shiftless and hungry upon the world because their farms were taken from
+them to be changed to sheep ranges. &nbsp;They begged, and were whipped at the
+cart's tail, naked from the girdle up, till the blood ran; then set in
+the stocks to be pelted; they begged again, were whipped again, and
+deprived of an ear; they begged a third time&mdash;poor devils, what else
+could they do?&mdash;and were branded on the cheek with a red-hot iron, then
+sold for slaves; they ran away, were hunted down, and hanged. &nbsp;'Tis a
+brief tale, and quickly told. &nbsp;Others of us have fared less hardly. Stand
+forth, Yokel, Burns, and Hodge&mdash;show your adornments!"</p>
+
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="17-213"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="17-213.jpg (125K)" src="images/17-213.jpg" height="632" width="706">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>These stood up and stripped away some of their rags, exposing their
+backs, criss-crossed with ropy old welts left by the lash; one turned up
+his hair and showed the place where a left ear had once been; another
+showed a brand upon his shoulder&mdash;the letter V&mdash;and a mutilated ear; the
+third said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I am Yokel, once a farmer and prosperous, with loving wife and kids&mdash;now
+am I somewhat different in estate and calling; and the wife and kids are
+gone; mayhap they are in heaven, mayhap in&mdash;in the other place&mdash;but the
+kindly God be thanked, they bide no more in ENGLAND! &nbsp;My good old
+blameless mother strove to earn bread by nursing the sick; one of these
+died, the doctors knew not how, so my mother was burnt for a witch,
+whilst my babes looked on and wailed. &nbsp;English law!&mdash;up, all, with your
+cups!&mdash;now all together and with a cheer!&mdash;drink to the merciful English
+law that delivered HER from the English hell! &nbsp;Thank you, mates, one and
+all. &nbsp;I begged, from house to house&mdash;I and the wife&mdash;bearing with us the
+hungry kids&mdash;but it was crime to be hungry in England&mdash;so they stripped
+us and lashed us through three towns. &nbsp;Drink ye all again to the merciful
+English law!&mdash;for its lash drank deep of my Mary's blood and its blessed
+deliverance came quick. &nbsp;She lies there, in the potter's field, safe from
+all harms. &nbsp;And the kids&mdash;well, whilst the law lashed me from town to
+town, they starved. Drink, lads&mdash;only a drop&mdash;a drop to the poor kids,
+that never did any creature harm. &nbsp;I begged again&mdash;begged, for a crust,
+and got the stocks and lost an ear&mdash;see, here bides the stump; I begged
+again, and here is the stump of the other to keep me minded of it. And
+still I begged again, and was sold for a slave&mdash;here on my cheek under
+this stain, if I washed it off, ye might see the red S the branding-iron
+left there! &nbsp;A SLAVE! &nbsp;Do you understand that word? &nbsp;An English
+SLAVE!&mdash;that is he that stands before ye. &nbsp;I have run from my master, and when I
+am found&mdash;the heavy curse of heaven fall on the law of the land that hath
+commanded it!&mdash;I shall hang!" {1}</p>
+
+<p>A ringing voice came through the murky air&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Thou shalt NOT!&mdash;and this day the end of that law is come!"</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="17-215"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="17-215.jpg (87K)" src="images/17-215.jpg" height="565" width="556">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>All turned, and saw the fantastic figure of the little King approaching
+hurriedly; as it emerged into the light and was clearly revealed, a
+general explosion of inquiries broke out&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Who is it? &nbsp;WHAT is it? &nbsp;Who art thou, manikin?"</p>
+
+<p>The boy stood unconfused in the midst of all those surprised and
+questioning eyes, and answered with princely dignity&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I am Edward, King of England."</p>
+
+<p>A wild burst of laughter followed, partly of derision and partly of
+delight in the excellence of the joke. &nbsp;The King was stung. &nbsp;He said
+sharply&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Ye mannerless vagrants, is this your recognition of the royal boon I
+have promised?"</p>
+
+<p>He said more, with angry voice and excited gesture, but it was lost in a
+whirlwind of laughter and mocking exclamations. &nbsp;'John Hobbs' made
+several attempts to make himself heard above the din, and at last
+succeeded&mdash;saying&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Mates, he is my son, a dreamer, a fool, and stark mad&mdash;mind him not&mdash;he
+thinketh he IS the King."</p>
+
+<p>"I AM the King," said Edward, turning toward him, "as thou shalt know to
+thy cost, in good time. &nbsp;Thou hast confessed a murder&mdash;thou shalt swing
+for it."</p>
+
+<p>"THOU'LT betray me?&mdash;THOU? &nbsp;An' I get my hands upon thee&mdash;"</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="17-216"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="17-216.jpg (101K)" src="images/17-216.jpg" height="653" width="556">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>"Tut-tut!" said the burley Ruffler, interposing in time to save the King,
+and emphasising this service by knocking Hobbs down with his fist, "hast
+respect for neither Kings NOR Rufflers? &nbsp;An' thou insult my presence so
+again, I'll hang thee up myself." &nbsp;Then he said to his Majesty, "Thou
+must make no threats against thy mates, lad; and thou must guard thy
+tongue from saying evil of them elsewhere. &nbsp;BE King, if it please thy mad
+humour, but be not harmful in it. &nbsp;Sink the title thou hast uttered&mdash;'tis
+treason; we be bad men in some few trifling ways, but none among us is so
+base as to be traitor to his King; we be loving and loyal hearts, in that
+regard. &nbsp;Note if I speak truth. &nbsp;Now&mdash;all together: &nbsp;'Long live Edward,
+King of England!'"</p>
+
+<p>"LONG LIVE EDWARD, KING OF ENGLAND!"</p>
+
+<p>The response came with such a thundergust from the motley crew that the
+crazy building vibrated to the sound. &nbsp;The little King's face lighted
+with pleasure for an instant, and he slightly inclined his head, and said
+with grave simplicity&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I thank you, my good people."</p>
+
+<p>This unexpected result threw the company into convulsions of merriment.
+When something like quiet was presently come again, the Ruffler said,
+firmly, but with an accent of good nature&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Drop it, boy, 'tis not wise, nor well. &nbsp;Humour thy fancy, if thou must,
+but choose some other title."</p>
+
+<p>A tinker shrieked out a suggestion&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Foo-foo the First, King of the Mooncalves!"</p>
+
+<p>The title 'took,' at once, every throat responded, and a roaring shout
+went up, of&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Long live Foo-foo the First, King of the Mooncalves!" followed by
+hootings, cat-calls, and peals of laughter.</p>
+
+<p>"Hale him forth, and crown him!"</p>
+
+<p>"Robe him!"</p>
+
+<p>"Sceptre him!"</p>
+
+<p>"Throne him!"</p>
+
+<p>These and twenty other cries broke out at once! and almost before the
+poor little victim could draw a breath he was crowned with a tin basin,
+robed in a tattered blanket, throned upon a barrel, and sceptred with the
+tinker's soldering-iron. &nbsp;Then all flung themselves upon their knees
+about him and sent up a chorus of ironical wailings, and mocking
+supplications, whilst they swabbed their eyes with their soiled and
+ragged sleeves and aprons&mdash;</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="17-218"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="17-218.jpg (108K)" src="images/17-218.jpg" height="561" width="710">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>"Be gracious to us, O sweet King!"</p>
+
+<p>"Trample not upon thy beseeching worms, O noble Majesty!"</p>
+
+<p>"Pity thy slaves, and comfort them with a royal kick!"</p>
+
+<p>"Cheer us and warm us with thy gracious rays, O flaming sun of
+sovereignty!"</p>
+
+<p>"Sanctify the ground with the touch of thy foot, that we may eat the dirt
+and be ennobled!"</p>
+
+<p>"Deign to spit upon us, O Sire, that our children's children may tell of
+thy princely condescension, and be proud and happy for ever!"</p>
+
+<p>But the humorous tinker made the 'hit' of the evening and carried off the
+honours. &nbsp;Kneeling, he pretended to kiss the King's foot, and was
+indignantly spurned; whereupon he went about begging for a rag to paste
+over the place upon his face which had been touched by the foot, saying
+it must be preserved from contact with the vulgar air, and that he should
+make his fortune by going on the highway and exposing it to view at the
+rate of a hundred shillings a sight. &nbsp;He made himself so killingly funny
+that he was the envy and admiration of the whole mangy rabble.</p>
+
+<p>Tears of shame and indignation stood in the little monarch's eyes; and
+the thought in his heart was, "Had I offered them a deep wrong they could
+not be more cruel&mdash;yet have I proffered nought but to do them a
+kindness&mdash;and it is thus they use me for it!"</p>
+
+
+
+
+<br>
+<br>
+
+
+<center>
+<table summary="" cellPadding=4 border=3>
+<tr><td>
+ &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="p4.htm">Previous Part</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+</td><td>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="1837-h.htm">Main Index</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+</td><td>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="p6.htm">Next Part</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+</td></tr>
+</table>
+</center>
+
+</body>
+</html>
+
+
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+<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
+<html>
+<head>
+<title>THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER, By Mark Twain, Part 6.</title>
+<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
+
+<style type="text/css">
+    <!--
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+<table summary="" cellPadding=4 border=3>
+<tr><td>
+ &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="p5.htm">Previous Part</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+</td><td>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="1837-h.htm">Main Index</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+</td><td>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="p7.htm">Next Part</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+</td></tr>
+</table>
+</center>
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+
+<center>
+<h1>THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER</h1>
+<br><br>
+<h2>by Mark Twain
+<br><br><br><br>Part Six
+</h2>
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="bookcover.jpg (148K)" src="images/bookcover.jpg" height="1018" width="948">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="frontispiece1.jpg (135K)" src="images/frontispiece1.jpg" height="1067" width="745">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="frontispiece2.jpg (123K)" src="images/frontispiece2.jpg" height="939" width="747">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="titlepage.jpg (62K)" src="images/titlepage.jpg" height="1083" width="815">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="greatseal.jpg (68K)" src="images/greatseal.jpg" height="438" width="711">
+<br>The Great Seal
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="dedication.jpg (21K)" src="images/dedication.jpg" height="420" width="663">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="inscription.jpg (16K)" src="images/inscription.jpg" height="219" width="601">
+</center>
+
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<br><br>
+<blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><blockquote>
+<b>
+I will set down a tale as it was told to me by one who had it of his
+father, which latter had it of HIS father, this last having in like
+manner had it of HIS father&mdash;and so on, back and still back, three
+hundred years and more, the fathers transmitting it to the sons and so
+preserving it. &nbsp;It may be history, it may be only a legend, a tradition.
+It may have happened, it may not have happened: &nbsp;but it COULD have
+happened. &nbsp;It may be that the wise and the learned believed it in the old
+days; it may be that only the unlearned and the simple loved it and
+credited it.</b>
+</blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote>
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+
+
+<h2>
+CONTENTS</h2>
+
+<center>
+<table summary="">
+<tr><td>
+
+XVIII.&nbsp;&nbsp; </td><td><a href="#c18">The Prince with the tramps.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td>
+XIX. </td><td><a href="#c19">The Prince with the peasants.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td>
+XX. </td><td><a href="#c20">The Prince and the hermit.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td>
+XXI. </td><td><a href="#c21">Hendon to the rescue.</a><br></td></tr>
+
+
+
+</table>
+</center>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<h2>ILLUSTRATIONS</h2>
+<center>
+<table summary="">
+<tr><td>
+
+
+
+
+<a href="#18-221">THE PRINCE WITH THE TRAMPS</a><br><br>
+<a href="#18-224">"TROOP OF VAGABONDS SET FORWARD"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#18-225">"THEY THREW BONES AND VEGETABLES</a><br><br>
+<a href="#18-227">"WRITHE AND WALLOW IN THE DIRT"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#18-228">"KING FLED IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#18-230">"HE STUMBLED ALONG"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#18-232">"WHAT SEEMED TO BE A WARM ROPE"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#18-233">"CUDDLED UP TO THE CALF"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#19-235">THE PRINCE WITH THE PEASANTS</a><br><br>
+<a href="#19-239">"TOOK A GOOD SATISFYING STARE"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#19-240">"MOTHER RECEIVED THE KING KINDLY"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#19-242">"BROUGHT THE KING OUT OF HIS DREAMS"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#19-244">"GAVE HIM A BUTCHER KNIFE TO GRIND"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#20-245">THE PRINCE AND THE HERMIT</a><br><br>
+<a href="#20-248">"HE TURNED AND DESCRIED TWO FIGURES"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#20-249">"THE KING ENTERED AND PAUSED"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#20-251">"I WILL TELL YOU A SECRET"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#20-253">"CHATTING PLEASANTLY ALL THE TIME"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#20-255">"DREW HIS THUMB ALONG THE EDGE"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#20-256">"THE NEXT MOMENT THEY WERE BOUND"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#21-257">HENDON TO THE RESCUE</a><br><br>
+<a href="#21-260">"SUNK UPON HIS KNEES"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#21-262">"GOD MADE EVERY CREATURE BUT YOU!"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#21-264">"THE FETTERED LITTLE KING"</a><br><br>
+
+</td></tr>
+</table>
+</center>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<br><br><hr><br>
+<br><br>
+<a name="c18"></a>
+<a name="18-221"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="18-221.jpg (75K)" src="images/18-221.jpg" height="614" width="650">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>Chapter XVIII. The Prince with the tramps.</p>
+
+<p>The troop of vagabonds turned out at early dawn, and set forward on their
+march. &nbsp;There was a lowering sky overhead, sloppy ground under foot, and
+a winter chill in the air. &nbsp;All gaiety was gone from the company; some
+were sullen and silent, some were irritable and petulant, none were
+gentle-humoured, all were thirsty.</p>
+
+<p>The Ruffler put 'Jack' in Hugo's charge, with some brief instructions,
+and commanded John Canty to keep away from him and let him alone; he also
+warned Hugo not to be too rough with the lad.</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="18-224"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="18-224.jpg (97K)" src="images/18-224.jpg" height="606" width="558">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>After a while the weather grew milder, and the clouds lifted somewhat.
+The troop ceased to shiver, and their spirits began to improve. &nbsp;They
+grew more and more cheerful, and finally began to chaff each other and
+insult passengers along the highway. &nbsp;This showed that they were awaking
+to an appreciation of life and its joys once more. &nbsp;The dread in which
+their sort was held was apparent in the fact that everybody gave them the
+road, and took their ribald insolences meekly, without venturing to talk
+back. They snatched linen from the hedges, occasionally in full view of
+the owners, who made no protest, but only seemed grateful that they did
+not take the hedges, too.</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="18-225"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="18-225.jpg (97K)" src="images/18-225.jpg" height="544" width="713">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>By-and-by they invaded a small farmhouse and made themselves at home
+while the trembling farmer and his people swept the larder clean to
+furnish a breakfast for them. &nbsp;They chucked the housewife and her
+daughters under the chin whilst receiving the food from their hands, and
+made coarse jests about them, accompanied with insulting epithets and
+bursts of horse-laughter. &nbsp;They threw bones and vegetables at the farmer
+and his sons, kept them dodging all the time, and applauded uproariously
+when a good hit was made. They ended by buttering the head of one of the
+daughters who resented some of their familiarities. &nbsp;When they took their
+leave they threatened to come back and burn the house over the heads of
+the family if any report of their doings got to the ears of the
+authorities.</p>
+
+<p>About noon, after a long and weary tramp, the gang came to a halt behind
+a hedge on the outskirts of a considerable village. &nbsp;An hour was allowed
+for rest, then the crew scattered themselves abroad to enter the village
+at different points to ply their various trades&mdash;'Jack' was sent with
+Hugo. &nbsp;They wandered hither and thither for some time, Hugo watching for
+opportunities to do a stroke of business, but finding none&mdash;so he finally
+said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I see nought to steal; it is a paltry place. &nbsp;Wherefore we will beg."</p>
+
+<p>"WE, forsooth! &nbsp;Follow thy trade&mdash;it befits thee. &nbsp;But _I_ will not beg."</p>
+
+<p>"Thou'lt not beg!" exclaimed Hugo, eyeing the King with surprise.
+"Prithee, since when hast thou reformed?"</p>
+
+<p>"What dost thou mean?"</p>
+
+<p>"Mean? &nbsp;Hast thou not begged the streets of London all thy life?"</p>
+
+<p>"I? &nbsp;Thou idiot!"</p>
+
+<p>"Spare thy compliments&mdash;thy stock will last the longer. &nbsp;Thy father says
+thou hast begged all thy days. &nbsp;Mayhap he lied. Peradventure you will
+even make so bold as to SAY he lied," scoffed Hugo.</p>
+
+<p>"Him YOU call my father? &nbsp;Yes, he lied."</p>
+
+<p>"Come, play not thy merry game of madman so far, mate; use it for thy
+amusement, not thy hurt. &nbsp;An' I tell him this, he will scorch thee finely
+for it."</p>
+
+<p>"Save thyself the trouble. &nbsp;I will tell him."</p>
+
+<p>"I like thy spirit, I do in truth; but I do not admire thy judgment.
+Bone-rackings and bastings be plenty enow in this life, without going out
+of one's way to invite them. &nbsp;But a truce to these matters; _I_ believe
+your father. &nbsp;I doubt not he can lie; I doubt not he DOTH lie, upon
+occasion, for the best of us do that; but there is no occasion here. &nbsp;A
+wise man does not waste so good a commodity as lying for nought. &nbsp;But
+come; sith it is thy humour to give over begging, wherewithal shall we
+busy ourselves? &nbsp;With robbing kitchens?"</p>
+
+<p>The King said, impatiently&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Have done with this folly&mdash;you weary me!"</p>
+
+<p>Hugo replied, with temper&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Now harkee, mate; you will not beg, you will not rob; so be it. But I
+will tell you what you WILL do. &nbsp;You will play decoy whilst _I_ beg.
+Refuse, an' you think you may venture!"</p>
+
+<p>The King was about to reply contemptuously, when Hugo said, interrupting&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Peace! &nbsp;Here comes one with a kindly face. &nbsp;Now will I fall down in a
+fit. &nbsp;When the stranger runs to me, set you up a wail, and fall upon your
+knees, seeming to weep; then cry out as all the devils of misery were in
+your belly, and say, 'Oh, sir, it is my poor afflicted brother, and we be
+friendless; o' God's name cast through your merciful eyes one pitiful
+look upon a sick, forsaken, and most miserable wretch; bestow one little
+penny out of thy riches upon one smitten of God and ready to
+perish!'&mdash;and mind you, keep you ON wailing, and abate not till we bilk him of his
+penny, else shall you rue it."</p>
+
+<p>Then immediately Hugo began to moan, and groan, and roll his eyes, and
+reel and totter about; and when the stranger was close at hand, down he
+sprawled before him, with a shriek, and began to writhe and wallow in the
+dirt, in seeming agony.</p>
+
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="18-227"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="18-227.jpg (143K)" src="images/18-227.jpg" height="794" width="722">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>"O, dear, O dear!" cried the benevolent stranger, "O poor soul, poor
+soul, how he doth suffer! &nbsp;There&mdash;let me help thee up."</p>
+
+<p>"O noble sir, forbear, and God love you for a princely gentleman&mdash;but it
+giveth me cruel pain to touch me when I am taken so. &nbsp;My brother there
+will tell your worship how I am racked with anguish when these fits be
+upon me. &nbsp;A penny, dear sir, a penny, to buy a little food; then leave me
+to my sorrows."</p>
+
+<p>"A penny! thou shalt have three, thou hapless creature,"&mdash;and he fumbled
+in his pocket with nervous haste and got them out. "There, poor lad, take
+them and most welcome. &nbsp;Now come hither, my boy, and help me carry thy
+stricken brother to yon house, where&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"I am not his brother," said the King, interrupting.</p>
+
+<p>"What! not his brother?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, hear him!" groaned Hugo, then privately ground his teeth. "He denies
+his own brother&mdash;and he with one foot in the grave!"</p>
+
+<p>"Boy, thou art indeed hard of heart, if this is thy brother. &nbsp;For
+shame!&mdash;and he scarce able to move hand or foot. &nbsp;If he is not thy brother, who
+is he, then?"</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="18-228"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="18-228.jpg (137K)" src="images/18-228.jpg" height="782" width="713">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>"A beggar and a thief! &nbsp;He has got your money and has picked your pocket
+likewise. &nbsp;An' thou would'st do a healing miracle, lay thy staff over his
+shoulders and trust Providence for the rest."</p>
+
+<p>But Hugo did not tarry for the miracle. &nbsp;In a moment he was up and off
+like the wind, the gentleman following after and raising the hue and cry
+lustily as he went. &nbsp;The King, breathing deep gratitude to Heaven for his
+own release, fled in the opposite direction, and did not slacken his pace
+until he was out of harm's reach. &nbsp;He took the first road that offered,
+and soon put the village behind him. &nbsp;He hurried along, as briskly as he
+could, during several hours, keeping a nervous watch over his shoulder
+for pursuit; but his fears left him at last, and a grateful sense of
+security took their place. &nbsp;He recognised, now, that he was hungry, and
+also very tired. &nbsp;So he halted at a farmhouse; but when he was about to
+speak, he was cut short and driven rudely away. &nbsp;His clothes were against
+him.</p>
+
+<p>He wandered on, wounded and indignant, and was resolved to put himself in
+the way of like treatment no more. &nbsp;But hunger is pride's master; so, as
+the evening drew near, he made an attempt at another farmhouse; but here
+he fared worse than before; for he was called hard names and was promised
+arrest as a vagrant except he moved on promptly.</p>
+
+<p>The night came on, chilly and overcast; and still the footsore monarch
+laboured slowly on. &nbsp;He was obliged to keep moving, for every time he sat
+down to rest he was soon penetrated to the bone with the cold. &nbsp;All his
+sensations and experiences, as he moved through the solemn gloom and the
+empty vastness of the night, were new and strange to him. &nbsp;At intervals
+he heard voices approach, pass by, and fade into silence; and as he saw
+nothing more of the bodies they belonged to than a sort of formless
+drifting blur, there was something spectral and uncanny about it all that
+made him shudder. &nbsp;Occasionally he caught the twinkle of a light&mdash;always
+far away, apparently&mdash;almost in another world; if he heard the tinkle of
+a sheep's bell, it was vague, distant, indistinct; the muffled lowing of
+the herds floated to him on the night wind in vanishing cadences, a
+mournful sound; now and then came the complaining howl of a dog over
+viewless expanses of field and forest; all sounds were remote; they made
+the little King feel that all life and activity were far removed from
+him, and that he stood solitary, companionless, in the centre of a
+measureless solitude.</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="18-230"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="18-230.jpg (152K)" src="images/18-230.jpg" height="848" width="697">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>He stumbled along, through the gruesome fascinations of this new
+experience, startled occasionally by the soft rustling of the dry leaves
+overhead, so like human whispers they seemed to sound; and by-and-by he
+came suddenly upon the freckled light of a tin lantern near at hand. &nbsp;He
+stepped back into the shadows and waited. &nbsp;The lantern stood by the open
+door of a barn. &nbsp;The King waited some time&mdash;there was no sound, and
+nobody stirring. &nbsp;He got so cold, standing still, and the hospitable barn
+looked so enticing, that at last he resolved to risk everything and
+enter. He started swiftly and stealthily, and just as he was crossing the
+threshold he heard voices behind him. &nbsp;He darted behind a cask, within
+the barn, and stooped down. &nbsp;Two farm-labourers came in, bringing the
+lantern with them, and fell to work, talking meanwhile. &nbsp;Whilst they
+moved about with the light, the King made good use of his eyes and took
+the bearings of what seemed to be a good-sized stall at the further end
+of the place, purposing to grope his way to it when he should be left to
+himself. &nbsp;He also noted the position of a pile of horse blankets, midway
+of the route, with the intent to levy upon them for the service of the
+crown of England for one night.</p>
+
+<p>By-and-by the men finished and went away, fastening the door behind them
+and taking the lantern with them. &nbsp;The shivering King made for the
+blankets, with as good speed as the darkness would allow; gathered them
+up, and then groped his way safely to the stall. &nbsp;Of two of the blankets
+he made a bed, then covered himself with the remaining two. &nbsp;He was a
+glad monarch, now, though the blankets were old and thin, and not quite
+warm enough; and besides gave out a pungent horsey odour that was almost
+suffocatingly powerful.</p>
+
+<p>Although the King was hungry and chilly, he was also so tired and so
+drowsy that these latter influences soon began to get the advantage of
+the former, and he presently dozed off into a state of
+semi-consciousness. &nbsp;Then, just as he was on the point of losing himself
+wholly, he distinctly felt something touch him! &nbsp;He was broad awake in a
+moment, and gasping for breath. &nbsp;The cold horror of that mysterious touch
+in the dark almost made his heart stand still. &nbsp;He lay motionless, and
+listened, scarcely breathing. But nothing stirred, and there was no
+sound. &nbsp;He continued to listen, and wait, during what seemed a long time,
+but still nothing stirred, and there was no sound. &nbsp;So he began to drop
+into a drowse once more, at last; and all at once he felt that mysterious
+touch again! &nbsp;It was a grisly thing, this light touch from this noiseless
+and invisible presence; it made the boy sick with ghostly fears. &nbsp;What
+should he do? &nbsp;That was the question; but he did not know how to answer
+it. &nbsp;Should he leave these reasonably comfortable quarters and fly from
+this inscrutable horror? &nbsp;But fly whither? &nbsp;He could not get out of the
+barn; and the idea of scurrying blindly hither and thither in the dark,
+within the captivity of the four walls, with this phantom gliding after
+him, and visiting him with that soft hideous touch upon cheek or shoulder
+at every turn, was intolerable. &nbsp;But to stay where he was, and endure
+this living death all night&mdash;was that better? &nbsp;No. &nbsp;What, then, was there
+left to do? &nbsp;Ah, there was but one course; he knew it well&mdash;he must put
+out his hand and find that thing!</p>
+
+<p>It was easy to think this; but it was hard to brace himself up to try it.
+Three times he stretched his hand a little way out into the dark,
+gingerly; and snatched it suddenly back, with a gasp&mdash;not because it had
+encountered anything, but because he had felt so sure it was just GOING
+to. &nbsp;But the fourth time, he groped a little further, and his hand
+lightly swept against something soft and warm. &nbsp;This petrified him,
+nearly, with fright; his mind was in such a state that he could imagine
+the thing to be nothing else than a corpse, newly dead and still warm.
+He thought he would rather die than touch it again. &nbsp;But he thought this
+false thought because he did not know the immortal strength of human
+curiosity. In no long time his hand was tremblingly groping
+again&mdash;against his judgment, and without his consent&mdash;but groping persistently
+on, just the same. &nbsp;It encountered a bunch of long hair; he shuddered,
+but followed up the hair and found what seemed to be a warm rope;
+followed up the rope and found an innocent calf!&mdash;for the rope was not a
+rope at all, but the calf's tail.</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="18-232"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="18-232.jpg (88K)" src="images/18-232.jpg" height="371" width="704">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>The King was cordially ashamed of himself for having gotten all that
+fright and misery out of so paltry a matter as a slumbering calf; but he
+need not have felt so about it, for it was not the calf that frightened
+him, but a dreadful non-existent something which the calf stood for; and
+any other boy, in those old superstitious times, would have acted and
+suffered just as he had done.</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="18-233"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="18-233.jpg (109K)" src="images/18-233.jpg" height="575" width="708">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+<p>The King was not only delighted to find that the creature was only a
+calf, but delighted to have the calf's company; for he had been feeling
+so lonesome and friendless that the company and comradeship of even this
+humble animal were welcome. &nbsp;And he had been so buffeted, so rudely
+entreated by his own kind, that it was a real comfort to him to feel that
+he was at last in the society of a fellow-creature that had at least a
+soft heart and a gentle spirit, whatever loftier attributes might be
+lacking. &nbsp;So he resolved to waive rank and make friends with the calf.</p>
+
+<p>While stroking its sleek warm back&mdash;for it lay near him and within easy
+reach&mdash;it occurred to him that this calf might be utilised in more ways
+than one. &nbsp;Whereupon he re-arranged his bed, spreading it down close to
+the calf; then he cuddled himself up to the calf's back, drew the covers
+up over himself and his friend, and in a minute or two was as warm and
+comfortable as he had ever been in the downy couches of the regal palace
+of Westminster.</p>
+
+<p>Pleasant thoughts came at once; life took on a cheerfuller seeming. &nbsp;He
+was free of the bonds of servitude and crime, free of the companionship
+of base and brutal outlaws; he was warm; he was sheltered; in a word, he
+was happy. &nbsp;The night wind was rising; it swept by in fitful gusts that
+made the old barn quake and rattle, then its forces died down at
+intervals, and went moaning and wailing around corners and
+projections&mdash;but it was all music to the King, now that he was snug and comfortable:
+let it blow and rage, let it batter and bang, let it moan and wail, he
+minded it not, he only enjoyed it. &nbsp;He merely snuggled the closer to his
+friend, in a luxury of warm contentment, and drifted blissfully out of
+consciousness into a deep and dreamless sleep that was full of serenity
+and peace. &nbsp;The distant dogs howled, the melancholy kine complained, and
+the winds went on raging, whilst furious sheets of rain drove along the
+roof; but the Majesty of England slept on, undisturbed, and the calf did
+the same, it being a simple creature, and not easily troubled by storms
+or embarrassed by sleeping with a king.</p>
+
+
+<br><br><hr><br>
+<br><br>
+<a name="c19"></a>
+<a name="19-235"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="19-235.jpg (57K)" src="images/19-235.jpg" height="559" width="505">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+<p>Chapter XIX. The Prince with the peasants.</p>
+
+<p>When the King awoke in the early morning, he found that a wet but
+thoughtful rat had crept into the place during the night and made a cosy
+bed for itself in his bosom. &nbsp;Being disturbed now, it scampered away.
+The boy smiled, and said, "Poor fool, why so fearful? &nbsp;I am as forlorn as
+thou. &nbsp;'Twould be a sham in me to hurt the helpless, who am myself so
+helpless. &nbsp;Moreover, I owe you thanks for a good omen; for when a king
+has fallen so low that the very rats do make a bed of him, it surely
+meaneth that his fortunes be upon the turn, since it is plain he can no
+lower go."</p>
+
+<p>He got up and stepped out of the stall, and just then he heard the sound
+of children's voices. &nbsp;The barn door opened and a couple of little girls
+came in. &nbsp;As soon as they saw him their talking and laughing ceased, and
+they stopped and stood still, gazing at him with strong curiosity; they
+presently began to whisper together, then they approached nearer, and
+stopped again to gaze and whisper. &nbsp;By-and-by they gathered courage and
+began to discuss him aloud. &nbsp;One said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"He hath a comely face."</p>
+
+<p>The other added&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"And pretty hair."</p>
+
+<p>"But is ill clothed enow."</p>
+
+<p>"And how starved he looketh."</p>
+
+<p>They came still nearer, sidling shyly around and about him, examining him
+minutely from all points, as if he were some strange new kind of animal,
+but warily and watchfully the while, as if they half feared he might be a
+sort of animal that would bite, upon occasion. &nbsp;Finally they halted
+before him, holding each other's hands for protection, and took a good
+satisfying stare with their innocent eyes; then one of them plucked up
+all her courage and inquired with honest directness&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Who art thou, boy?"</p>
+
+<p>"I am the King," was the grave answer.</p>
+
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="19-239"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="19-239.jpg (71K)" src="images/19-239.jpg" height="453" width="546">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>The children gave a little start, and their eyes spread themselves wide
+open and remained so during a speechless half minute. &nbsp;Then curiosity
+broke the silence&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"The KING? &nbsp;What King?"</p>
+
+<p>"The King of England."</p>
+
+<p>The children looked at each other&mdash;then at him&mdash;then at each other
+again&mdash;wonderingly, perplexedly; then one said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Didst hear him, Margery?&mdash;he said he is the King. &nbsp;Can that be true?"</p>
+
+<p>"How can it be else but true, Prissy? &nbsp;Would he say a lie? &nbsp;For look you,
+Prissy, an' it were not true, it WOULD be a lie. &nbsp;It surely would be.
+Now think on't. &nbsp;For all things that be not true, be lies&mdash;thou canst
+make nought else out of it."</p>
+
+<p>It was a good tight argument, without a leak in it anywhere; and it left
+Prissy's half-doubts not a leg to stand on. &nbsp;She considered a moment,
+then put the King upon his honour with the simple remark&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"If thou art truly the King, then I believe thee."</p>
+
+<p>"I am truly the King."</p>
+
+<p>This settled the matter. &nbsp;His Majesty's royalty was accepted without
+further question or discussion, and the two little girls began at once to
+inquire into how he came to be where he was, and how he came to be so
+unroyally clad, and whither he was bound, and all about his affairs. &nbsp;It
+was a mighty relief to him to pour out his troubles where they would not
+be scoffed at or doubted; so he told his tale with feeling, forgetting
+even his hunger for the time; and it was received with the deepest and
+tenderest sympathy by the gentle little maids. &nbsp;But when he got down to
+his latest experiences and they learned how long he had been without
+food, they cut him short and hurried him away to the farmhouse to find a
+breakfast for him.</p>
+
+<p>The King was cheerful and happy now, and said to himself, "When I am come
+to mine own again, I will always honour little children, remembering how
+that these trusted me and believed in me in my time of trouble; whilst
+they that were older, and thought themselves wiser, mocked at me and held
+me for a liar."</p>
+
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="19-240"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="19-240.jpg (103K)" src="images/19-240.jpg" height="557" width="729">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>The children's mother received the King kindly, and was full of pity; for
+his forlorn condition and apparently crazed intellect touched her womanly
+heart. &nbsp;She was a widow, and rather poor; consequently she had seen
+trouble enough to enable her to feel for the unfortunate. &nbsp;She imagined
+that the demented boy had wandered away from his friends or keepers; so
+she tried to find out whence he had come, in order that she might take
+measures to return him; but all her references to neighbouring towns and
+villages, and all her inquiries in the same line went for nothing&mdash;the
+boy's face, and his answers, too, showed that the things she was talking
+of were not familiar to him. &nbsp;He spoke earnestly and simply about court
+matters, and broke down, more than once, when speaking of the late King
+'his father'; but whenever the conversation changed to baser topics, he
+lost interest and became silent.</p>
+
+<p>The woman was mightily puzzled; but she did not give up. &nbsp;As she
+proceeded with her cooking, she set herself to contriving devices to
+surprise the boy into betraying his real secret. &nbsp;She talked about
+cattle&mdash;he showed no concern; then about sheep&mdash;the same result: &nbsp;so her
+guess that he had been a shepherd boy was an error; she talked about
+mills; and about weavers, tinkers, smiths, trades and tradesmen of all
+sorts; and about Bedlam, and jails, and charitable retreats: &nbsp;but no
+matter, she was baffled at all points. &nbsp;Not altogether, either; for she
+argued that she had narrowed the thing down to domestic service. &nbsp;Yes,
+she was sure she was on the right track, now; he must have been a house
+servant. &nbsp;So she led up to that. &nbsp;But the result was discouraging. The
+subject of sweeping appeared to weary him; fire-building failed to stir
+him; scrubbing and scouring awoke no enthusiasm. The goodwife touched,
+with a perishing hope, and rather as a matter of form, upon the subject
+of cooking. &nbsp;To her surprise, and her vast delight, the King's face
+lighted at once! &nbsp;Ah, she had hunted him down at last, she thought; and
+she was right proud, too, of the devious shrewdness and tact which had
+accomplished it.</p>
+
+<p>Her tired tongue got a chance to rest, now; for the King's, inspired by
+gnawing hunger and the fragrant smells that came from the sputtering pots
+and pans, turned itself loose and delivered itself up to such an eloquent
+dissertation upon certain toothsome dishes, that within three minutes the
+woman said to herself, "Of a truth I was right&mdash;he hath holpen in a
+kitchen!" &nbsp;Then he broadened his bill of fare, and discussed it with such
+appreciation and animation, that the goodwife said to herself, "Good
+lack! how can he know so many dishes, and so fine ones withal? &nbsp;For these
+belong only upon the tables of the rich and great. &nbsp;Ah, now I see! ragged
+outcast as he is, he must have served in the palace before his reason
+went astray; yes, he must have helped in the very kitchen of the King
+himself! &nbsp;I will test him."</p>
+
+<p>Full of eagerness to prove her sagacity, she told the King to mind the
+cooking a moment&mdash;hinting that he might manufacture and add a dish or
+two, if he chose; then she went out of the room and gave her children a
+sign to follow after. &nbsp;The King muttered&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Another English king had a commission like to this, in a bygone time&mdash;it
+is nothing against my dignity to undertake an office which the great
+Alfred stooped to assume. &nbsp;But I will try to better serve my trust than
+he; for he let the cakes burn."</p>
+
+<p>The intent was good, but the performance was not answerable to it, for
+this King, like the other one, soon fell into deep thinkings concerning
+his vast affairs, and the same calamity resulted&mdash;the cookery got burned.
+The woman returned in time to save the breakfast from entire destruction;
+and she promptly brought the King out of his dreams with a brisk and
+cordial tongue-lashing. Then, seeing how troubled he was over his
+violated trust, she softened at once, and was all goodness and gentleness
+toward him.</p>
+
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="19-242"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="19-242.jpg (145K)" src="images/19-242.jpg" height="793" width="726">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>The boy made a hearty and satisfying meal, and was greatly refreshed and
+gladdened by it. &nbsp;It was a meal which was distinguished by this curious
+feature, that rank was waived on both sides; yet neither recipient of the
+favour was aware that it had been extended. &nbsp;The goodwife had intended to
+feed this young tramp with broken victuals in a corner, like any other
+tramp or like a dog; but she was so remorseful for the scolding she had
+given him, that she did what she could to atone for it by allowing him to
+sit at the family table and eat with his betters, on ostensible terms of
+equality with them; and the King, on his side, was so remorseful for
+having broken his trust, after the family had been so kind to him, that
+he forced himself to atone for it by humbling himself to the family
+level, instead of requiring the woman and her children to stand and wait
+upon him, while he occupied their table in the solitary state due to his
+birth and dignity. &nbsp;It does us all good to unbend sometimes. &nbsp;This good
+woman was made happy all the day long by the applauses which she got out
+of herself for her magnanimous condescension to a tramp; and the King was
+just as self-complacent over his gracious humility toward a humble
+peasant woman.</p>
+
+<p>When breakfast was over, the housewife told the King to wash up the
+dishes. &nbsp;This command was a staggerer, for a moment, and the King came
+near rebelling; but then he said to himself, "Alfred the Great watched
+the cakes; doubtless he would have washed the dishes too&mdash;therefore will
+I essay it."</p>
+
+<p>He made a sufficiently poor job of it; and to his surprise too, for the
+cleaning of wooden spoons and trenchers had seemed an easy thing to do.
+It was a tedious and troublesome piece of work, but he finished it at
+last. &nbsp;He was becoming impatient to get away on his journey now; however,
+he was not to lose this thrifty dame's society so easily. &nbsp;She furnished
+him some little odds and ends of employment, which he got through with
+after a fair fashion and with some credit. &nbsp;Then she set him and the
+little girls to paring some winter apples; but he was so awkward at this
+service that she retired him from it and gave him a butcher knife to
+grind. </p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="19-244"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="19-244.jpg (129K)" src="images/19-244.jpg" height="842" width="724">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>
+Afterwards she kept him carding wool until he began to think he
+had laid the good King Alfred about far enough in the shade for the
+present in the matter of showy menial heroisms that would read
+picturesquely in story-books and histories, and so he was half-minded to
+resign. &nbsp;And when, just after the noonday dinner, the goodwife gave him a
+basket of kittens to drown, he did resign. &nbsp;At least he was just going to
+resign&mdash;for he felt that he must draw the line somewhere, and it seemed
+to him that to draw it at kitten-drowning was about the right thing&mdash;when
+there was an interruption. &nbsp;The interruption was John Canty&mdash;with a
+peddler's pack on his back&mdash;and Hugo.</p>
+
+<p>The King discovered these rascals approaching the front gate before they
+had had a chance to see him; so he said nothing about drawing the line,
+but took up his basket of kittens and stepped quietly out the back way,
+without a word. &nbsp;He left the creatures in an out-house, and hurried on,
+into a narrow lane at the rear.</p>
+
+
+<br><br><hr><br>
+<br><br>
+<a name="c20"></a>
+<a name="20-245"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="20-245.jpg (42K)" src="images/20-245.jpg" height="375" width="655">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+<p>Chapter XX. The Prince and the hermit.</p>
+
+<p>The high hedge hid him from the house, now; and so, under the impulse of
+a deadly fright, he let out all his forces and sped toward a wood in the
+distance. &nbsp;He never looked back until he had almost gained the shelter of
+the forest; then he turned and descried two figures in the distance.
+That was sufficient; he did not wait to scan them critically, but hurried
+on, and never abated his pace till he was far within the twilight depths
+of the wood. Then he stopped; being persuaded that he was now tolerably
+safe. He listened intently, but the stillness was profound and
+solemn&mdash;awful, even, and depressing to the spirits. &nbsp;At wide intervals his
+straining ear did detect sounds, but they were so remote, and hollow, and
+mysterious, that they seemed not to be real sounds, but only the moaning
+and complaining ghosts of departed ones. &nbsp;So the sounds were yet more
+dreary than the silence which they interrupted.</p>
+
+<p>It was his purpose, in the beginning, to stay where he was the rest of
+the day; but a chill soon invaded his perspiring body, and he was at last
+obliged to resume movement in order to get warm. He struck straight
+through the forest, hoping to pierce to a road presently, but he was
+disappointed in this. &nbsp;He travelled on and on; but the farther he went,
+the denser the wood became, apparently. &nbsp;The gloom began to thicken,
+by-and-by, and the King realised that the night was coming on. &nbsp;It made him
+shudder to think of spending it in such an uncanny place; so he tried to
+hurry faster, but he only made the less speed, for he could not now see
+well enough to choose his steps judiciously; consequently he kept
+tripping over roots and tangling himself in vines and briers.</p>
+
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="20-248"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="20-248.jpg (160K)" src="images/20-248.jpg" height="849" width="708">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+<p>And how glad he was when at last he caught the glimmer of a light! He
+approached it warily, stopping often to look about him and listen. &nbsp;It
+came from an unglazed window-opening in a shabby little hut. &nbsp;He heard a
+voice, now, and felt a disposition to run and hide; but he changed his
+mind at once, for this voice was praying, evidently. &nbsp;He glided to the
+one window of the hut, raised himself on tiptoe, and stole a glance
+within. &nbsp;The room was small; its floor was the natural earth, beaten hard
+by use; in a corner was a bed of rushes and a ragged blanket or two; near
+it was a pail, a cup, a basin, and two or three pots and pans; there was
+a short bench and a three-legged stool; on the hearth the remains of a
+faggot fire were smouldering; before a shrine, which was lighted by a
+single candle, knelt an aged man, and on an old wooden box at his side
+lay an open book and a human skull. &nbsp;The man was of large, bony frame;
+his hair and whiskers were very long and snowy white; he was clothed in a
+robe of sheepskins which reached from his neck to his heels.</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="20-249"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="20-249.jpg (139K)" src="images/20-249.jpg" height="839" width="762">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+<p>"A holy hermit!" said the King to himself; "now am I indeed fortunate."</p>
+
+<p>The hermit rose from his knees; the King knocked. &nbsp;A deep voice
+responded&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Enter!&mdash;but leave sin behind, for the ground whereon thou shalt stand is
+holy!"</p>
+
+<p>The King entered, and paused. &nbsp;The hermit turned a pair of gleaming,
+unrestful eyes upon him, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Who art thou?"</p>
+
+<p>"I am the King," came the answer, with placid simplicity.</p>
+
+<p>"Welcome, King!" cried the hermit, with enthusiasm. &nbsp;Then, bustling about
+with feverish activity, and constantly saying, "Welcome, welcome," he
+arranged his bench, seated the King on it, by the hearth, threw some
+faggots on the fire, and finally fell to pacing the floor with a nervous
+stride.</p>
+
+<p>"Welcome! &nbsp;Many have sought sanctuary here, but they were not worthy, and
+were turned away. &nbsp;But a King who casts his crown away, and despises the
+vain splendours of his office, and clothes his body in rags, to devote
+his life to holiness and the mortification of the flesh&mdash;he is worthy, he
+is welcome!&mdash;here shall he abide all his days till death come." &nbsp;The King
+hastened to interrupt and explain, but the hermit paid no attention to
+him&mdash;did not even hear him, apparently, but went right on with his talk,
+with a raised voice and a growing energy. &nbsp;"And thou shalt be at peace
+here. &nbsp;None shall find out thy refuge to disquiet thee with supplications
+to return to that empty and foolish life which God hath moved thee to
+abandon. &nbsp;Thou shalt pray here; thou shalt study the Book; thou shalt
+meditate upon the follies and delusions of this world, and upon the
+sublimities of the world to come; thou shalt feed upon crusts and herbs,
+and scourge thy body with whips, daily, to the purifying of thy soul.
+Thou shalt wear a hair shirt next thy skin; thou shalt drink water only;
+and thou shalt be at peace; yes, wholly at peace; for whoso comes to seek
+thee shall go his way again, baffled; he shall not find thee, he shall
+not molest thee."</p>
+
+<p>The old man, still pacing back and forth, ceased to speak aloud, and
+began to mutter. &nbsp;The King seized this opportunity to state his case; and
+he did it with an eloquence inspired by uneasiness and apprehension. &nbsp;But
+the hermit went on muttering, and gave no heed. &nbsp;And still muttering, he
+approached the King and said impressively&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"'Sh! &nbsp;I will tell you a secret!" &nbsp;He bent down to impart it, but checked
+himself, and assumed a listening attitude. &nbsp;After a moment or two he went
+on tiptoe to the window-opening, put his head out, and peered around in
+the gloaming, then came tiptoeing back again, put his face close down to
+the King's, and whispered&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I am an archangel!"</p>
+
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="20-251"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="20-251.jpg (65K)" src="images/20-251.jpg" height="645" width="331">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>The King started violently, and said to himself, "Would God I were with
+the outlaws again; for lo, now am I the prisoner of a madman!" &nbsp;His
+apprehensions were heightened, and they showed plainly in his face. &nbsp;In a
+low excited voice the hermit continued&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I see you feel my atmosphere! &nbsp;There's awe in your face! &nbsp;None may be in
+this atmosphere and not be thus affected; for it is the very atmosphere
+of heaven. &nbsp;I go thither and return, in the twinkling of an eye. &nbsp;I was
+made an archangel on this very spot, it is five years ago, by angels sent
+from heaven to confer that awful dignity. &nbsp;Their presence filled this
+place with an intolerable brightness. &nbsp;And they knelt to me, King! yes,
+they knelt to me! for I was greater than they. &nbsp;I have walked in the
+courts of heaven, and held speech with the patriarchs. &nbsp;Touch my hand&mdash;be
+not afraid&mdash;touch it. &nbsp;There&mdash;now thou hast touched a hand which has been
+clasped by Abraham and Isaac and Jacob! &nbsp;For I have walked in the golden
+courts; I have seen the Deity face to face!" &nbsp;He paused, to give this
+speech effect; then his face suddenly changed, and he started to his feet
+again saying, with angry energy, "Yes, I am an archangel; A MERE
+ARCHANGEL!&mdash;I that might have been pope! &nbsp;It is verily true. &nbsp;I was told
+it from heaven in a dream, twenty years ago; ah, yes, I was to be
+pope!&mdash;and I SHOULD have been pope, for Heaven had said it&mdash;but the King
+dissolved my religious house, and I, poor obscure unfriended monk, was
+cast homeless upon the world, robbed of my mighty destiny!" Here he began
+to mumble again, and beat his forehead in futile rage, with his fist; now
+and then articulating a venomous curse, and now and then a pathetic
+"Wherefore I am nought but an archangel&mdash;I that should have been pope!"</p>
+
+<p>So he went on, for an hour, whilst the poor little King sat and suffered.
+Then all at once the old man's frenzy departed, and he became all
+gentleness. &nbsp;His voice softened, he came down out of his clouds, and fell
+to prattling along so simply and so humanly, that he soon won the King's
+heart completely. &nbsp;The old devotee moved the boy nearer to the fire and
+made him comfortable; doctored his small bruises and abrasions with a
+deft and tender hand; and then set about preparing and cooking a
+supper&mdash;chatting pleasantly all the time, and occasionally stroking the lad's
+cheek or patting his head, in such a gently caressing way that in a
+little while all the fear and repulsion inspired by the archangel were
+changed to reverence and affection for the man.</p>
+
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="20-253"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="20-253.jpg (131K)" src="images/20-253.jpg" height="756" width="730">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>This happy state of things continued while the two ate the supper; then,
+after a prayer before the shrine, the hermit put the boy to bed, in a
+small adjoining room, tucking him in as snugly and lovingly as a mother
+might; and so, with a parting caress, left him and sat down by the fire,
+and began to poke the brands about in an absent and aimless way.
+Presently he paused; then tapped his forehead several times with his
+fingers, as if trying to recall some thought which had escaped from his
+mind. &nbsp;Apparently he was unsuccessful. &nbsp;Now he started quickly up, and
+entered his guest's room, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Thou art King?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," was the response, drowsily uttered.</p>
+
+<p>"What King?"</p>
+
+<p>"Of England."</p>
+
+<p>"Of England? &nbsp;Then Henry is gone!"</p>
+
+<p>"Alack, it is so. &nbsp;I am his son."</p>
+
+<p>A black frown settled down upon the hermit's face, and he clenched his
+bony hands with a vindictive energy. &nbsp;He stood a few moments, breathing
+fast and swallowing repeatedly, then said in a husky voice&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Dost know it was he that turned us out into the world houseless and
+homeless?"</p>
+
+<p>There was no response. &nbsp;The old man bent down and scanned the boy's
+reposeful face and listened to his placid breathing. &nbsp;"He sleeps&mdash;sleeps
+soundly;" and the frown vanished away and gave place to an expression of
+evil satisfaction. &nbsp;A smile flitted across the dreaming boy's features.
+The hermit muttered, "So&mdash;his heart is happy;" and he turned away. &nbsp;He
+went stealthily about the place, seeking here and there for something;
+now and then halting to listen, now and then jerking his head around and
+casting a quick glance toward the bed; and always muttering, always
+mumbling to himself. &nbsp;At last he found what he seemed to want&mdash;a rusty
+old butcher knife and a whetstone. &nbsp;Then he crept to his place by the
+fire, sat himself down, and began to whet the knife softly on the stone,
+still muttering, mumbling, ejaculating. &nbsp;The winds sighed around the
+lonely place, the mysterious voices of the night floated by out of the
+distances. &nbsp;The shining eyes of venturesome mice and rats peered out at
+the old man from cracks and coverts, but he went on with his work, rapt,
+absorbed, and noted none of these things.</p>
+
+<p>At long intervals he drew his thumb along the edge of his knife, and
+nodded his head with satisfaction. &nbsp;"It grows sharper," he said; "yes, it
+grows sharper."</p>
+
+<p>He took no note of the flight of time, but worked tranquilly on,
+entertaining himself with his thoughts, which broke out occasionally in
+articulate speech&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"His father wrought us evil, he destroyed us&mdash;and is gone down into the
+eternal fires! &nbsp;Yes, down into the eternal fires! &nbsp;He escaped us&mdash;but it
+was God's will, yes it was God's will, we must not repine. &nbsp;But he hath
+not escaped the fires! &nbsp;No, he hath not escaped the fires, the consuming,
+unpitying, remorseless fires&mdash;and THEY are everlasting!"</p>
+
+<p>And so he wrought, and still wrought&mdash;mumbling, chuckling a low rasping
+chuckle at times&mdash;and at times breaking again into words&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"It was his father that did it all. &nbsp;I am but an archangel; but for him I
+should be pope!"</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="20-255"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="20-255.jpg (128K)" src="images/20-255.jpg" height="755" width="719">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+<p>The King stirred. &nbsp;The hermit sprang noiselessly to the bedside, and went
+down upon his knees, bending over the prostrate form with his knife
+uplifted. &nbsp;The boy stirred again; his eyes came open for an instant, but
+there was no speculation in them, they saw nothing; the next moment his
+tranquil breathing showed that his sleep was sound once more.</p>
+
+<p>The hermit watched and listened, for a time, keeping his position and
+scarcely breathing; then he slowly lowered his arms, and presently crept
+away, saying,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"It is long past midnight; it is not best that he should cry out, lest by
+accident someone be passing."</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="20-256"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="20-256.jpg (69K)" src="images/20-256.jpg" height="464" width="734">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+<p>He glided about his hovel, gathering a rag here, a thong there, and
+another one yonder; then he returned, and by careful and gentle handling
+he managed to tie the King's ankles together without waking him. &nbsp;Next he
+essayed to tie the wrists; he made several attempts to cross them, but
+the boy always drew one hand or the other away, just as the cord was
+ready to be applied; but at last, when the archangel was almost ready to
+despair, the boy crossed his hands himself, and the next moment they were
+bound. Now a bandage was passed under the sleeper's chin and brought up
+over his head and tied fast&mdash;and so softly, so gradually, and so deftly
+were the knots drawn together and compacted, that the boy slept
+peacefully through it all without stirring.</p>
+
+
+
+<br><br><hr><br>
+<br><br>
+<a name="c21"></a>
+<a name="21-257"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="21-257.jpg (51K)" src="images/21-257.jpg" height="386" width="651">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+<p>Chapter XXI. Hendon to the rescue.</p>
+
+<p>The old man glided away, stooping, stealthy, cat-like, and brought the
+low bench. &nbsp;He seated himself upon it, half his body in the dim and
+flickering light, and the other half in shadow; and so, with his craving
+eyes bent upon the slumbering boy, he kept his patient vigil there,
+heedless of the drift of time, and softly whetted his knife, and mumbled
+and chuckled; and in aspect and attitude he resembled nothing so much as
+a grizzly, monstrous spider, gloating over some hapless insect that lay
+bound and helpless in his web.</p>
+
+<p>After a long while, the old man, who was still gazing,&mdash;yet not seeing,
+his mind having settled into a dreamy abstraction,&mdash;observed, on a
+sudden, that the boy's eyes were open! wide open and staring!&mdash;staring up
+in frozen horror at the knife. &nbsp;The smile of a gratified devil crept over
+the old man's face, and he said, without changing his attitude or his
+occupation&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Son of Henry the Eighth, hast thou prayed?"</p>
+
+<p>The boy struggled helplessly in his bonds, and at the same time forced a
+smothered sound through his closed jaws, which the hermit chose to
+interpret as an affirmative answer to his question.</p>
+
+<p>"Then pray again. &nbsp;Pray the prayer for the dying!"</p>
+
+<p>A shudder shook the boy's frame, and his face blenched. &nbsp;Then he
+struggled again to free himself&mdash;turning and twisting himself this way
+and that; tugging frantically, fiercely, desperately&mdash;but uselessly&mdash;to
+burst his fetters; and all the while the old ogre smiled down upon him,
+and nodded his head, and placidly whetted his knife; mumbling, from time
+to time, "The moments are precious, they are few and precious&mdash;pray the
+prayer for the dying!"</p>
+
+<p>The boy uttered a despairing groan, and ceased from his struggles,
+panting. &nbsp;The tears came, then, and trickled, one after the other, down
+his face; but this piteous sight wrought no softening effect upon the
+savage old man.</p>
+
+<p>The dawn was coming now; the hermit observed it, and spoke up sharply,
+with a touch of nervous apprehension in his voice&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I may not indulge this ecstasy longer! &nbsp;The night is already gone. &nbsp;It
+seems but a moment&mdash;only a moment; would it had endured a year! &nbsp;Seed of
+the Church's spoiler, close thy perishing eyes, an' thou fearest to look
+upon&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>The rest was lost in inarticulate mutterings. &nbsp;The old man sank upon his
+knees, his knife in his hand, and bent himself over the moaning boy.</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="21-260"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="21-260.jpg (111K)" src="images/21-260.jpg" height="669" width="727">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>Hark! &nbsp;There was a sound of voices near the cabin&mdash;the knife dropped from
+the hermit's hand; he cast a sheepskin over the boy and started up,
+trembling. &nbsp;The sounds increased, and presently the voices became rough
+and angry; then came blows, and cries for help; then a clatter of swift
+footsteps, retreating. &nbsp;Immediately came a succession of thundering
+knocks upon the cabin door, followed by&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Hullo-o-o! &nbsp;Open! &nbsp;And despatch, in the name of all the devils!"</p>
+
+<p>Oh, this was the blessedest sound that had ever made music in the King's
+ears; for it was Miles Hendon's voice!</p>
+
+<p>The hermit, grinding his teeth in impotent rage, moved swiftly out of the
+bedchamber, closing the door behind him; and straightway the King heard a
+talk, to this effect, proceeding from the 'chapel':&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Homage and greeting, reverend sir! &nbsp;Where is the boy&mdash;MY boy?"</p>
+
+<p>"What boy, friend?"</p>
+
+<p>"What boy! &nbsp;Lie me no lies, sir priest, play me no deceptions!&mdash;I am not
+in the humour for it. &nbsp;Near to this place I caught the scoundrels who I
+judged did steal him from me, and I made them confess; they said he was
+at large again, and they had tracked him to your door. &nbsp;They showed me
+his very footprints. &nbsp;Now palter no more; for look you, holy sir, an'
+thou produce him not&mdash;Where is the boy?"</p>
+
+<p>"O good sir, peradventure you mean the ragged regal vagrant that tarried
+here the night. &nbsp;If such as you take an interest in such as he, know,
+then, that I have sent him of an errand. &nbsp;He will be back anon."</p>
+
+<p>"How soon? &nbsp;How soon? &nbsp;Come, waste not the time&mdash;cannot I overtake him?
+How soon will he be back?"</p>
+
+<p>"Thou need'st not stir; he will return quickly."</p>
+
+<p>"So be it, then. &nbsp;I will try to wait. &nbsp;But stop!&mdash;YOU sent him of an
+errand?&mdash;you! &nbsp;Verily this is a lie&mdash;he would not go. &nbsp;He would pull thy
+old beard, an' thou didst offer him such an insolence. Thou hast lied,
+friend; thou hast surely lied! &nbsp;He would not go for thee, nor for any
+man."</p>
+
+<p>"For any MAN&mdash;no; haply not. &nbsp;But I am not a man."</p>
+
+<p>"WHAT! &nbsp;Now o' God's name what art thou, then?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is a secret&mdash;mark thou reveal it not. &nbsp;I am an archangel!"</p>
+
+<p>There was a tremendous ejaculation from Miles Hendon&mdash;not altogether
+unprofane&mdash;followed by&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"This doth well and truly account for his complaisance! &nbsp;Right well I
+knew he would budge nor hand nor foot in the menial service of any
+mortal; but, lord, even a king must obey when an archangel gives the word
+o' command! &nbsp;Let me&mdash;'sh! &nbsp;What noise was that?"</p>
+
+<p>All this while the little King had been yonder, alternately quaking with
+terror and trembling with hope; and all the while, too, he had thrown all
+the strength he could into his anguished moanings, constantly expecting
+them to reach Hendon's ear, but always realising, with bitterness, that
+they failed, or at least made no impression. &nbsp;So this last remark of his
+servant came as comes a reviving breath from fresh fields to the dying;
+and he exerted himself once more, and with all his energy, just as the
+hermit was saying&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Noise? &nbsp;I heard only the wind."</p>
+
+<p>"Mayhap it was. &nbsp;Yes, doubtless that was it. &nbsp;I have been hearing it
+faintly all the&mdash;there it is again! &nbsp;It is not the wind! &nbsp;What an odd
+sound! &nbsp;Come, we will hunt it out!"</p>
+
+<p>Now the King's joy was nearly insupportable. &nbsp;His tired lungs did their
+utmost&mdash;and hopefully, too&mdash;but the sealed jaws and the muffling
+sheepskin sadly crippled the effort. &nbsp;Then the poor fellow's heart sank,
+to hear the hermit say&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, it came from without&mdash;I think from the copse yonder. &nbsp;Come, I will
+lead the way."</p>
+
+<p>The King heard the two pass out, talking; heard their footsteps die
+quickly away&mdash;then he was alone with a boding, brooding, awful silence.</p>
+
+<p>It seemed an age till he heard the steps and voices approaching
+again&mdash;and this time he heard an added sound,&mdash;the trampling of hoofs,
+apparently. &nbsp;Then he heard Hendon say&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I will not wait longer. &nbsp;I CANNOT wait longer. &nbsp;He has lost his way in
+this thick wood. &nbsp;Which direction took he? &nbsp;Quick&mdash;point it out to me."</p>
+
+<p>"He&mdash;but wait; I will go with thee."</p>
+
+<p>"Good&mdash;good! &nbsp;Why, truly thou art better than thy looks. &nbsp;Marry I do not
+think there's not another archangel with so right a heart as thine. &nbsp;Wilt
+ride? &nbsp;Wilt take the wee donkey that's for my boy, or wilt thou fork thy
+holy legs over this ill-conditioned slave of a mule that I have provided
+for myself?&mdash;and had been cheated in too, had he cost but the indifferent
+sum of a month's usury on a brass farthing let to a tinker out of work."</p>
+
+<p>"No&mdash;ride thy mule, and lead thine ass; I am surer on mine own feet, and
+will walk."</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="21-262"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="21-262.jpg (97K)" src="images/21-262.jpg" height="562" width="728">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>"Then prithee mind the little beast for me while I take my life in my
+hands and make what success I may toward mounting the big one."</p>
+
+<p>Then followed a confusion of kicks, cuffs, tramplings and plungings,
+accompanied by a thunderous intermingling of volleyed curses, and finally
+a bitter apostrophe to the mule, which must have broken its spirit, for
+hostilities seemed to cease from that moment.</p>
+
+<p>With unutterable misery the fettered little King heard the voices and
+footsteps fade away and die out. &nbsp;All hope forsook him, now, for the
+moment, and a dull despair settled down upon his heart. "My only friend
+is deceived and got rid of," he said; "the hermit will return and&mdash;" &nbsp;He
+finished with a gasp; and at once fell to struggling so frantically with
+his bonds again, that he shook off the smothering sheepskin.</p>
+
+<p>And now he heard the door open! &nbsp;The sound chilled him to the
+marrow&mdash;already he seemed to feel the knife at his throat. &nbsp;Horror made him close
+his eyes; horror made him open them again&mdash;and before him stood John
+Canty and Hugo!</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="21-264"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="21-264.jpg (96K)" src="images/21-264.jpg" height="560" width="728">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>He would have said "Thank God!" if his jaws had been free.</p>
+
+<p>A moment or two later his limbs were at liberty, and his captors, each
+gripping him by an arm, were hurrying him with all speed through the
+forest.</p>
+
+
+
+<br>
+<br>
+
+
+<center>
+<table summary="" cellPadding=4 border=3>
+<tr><td>
+ &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="p5.htm">Previous Part</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+</td><td>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="1837-h.htm">Main Index</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+</td><td>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="p7.htm">Next Part</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+</td></tr>
+</table>
+</center>
+
+</body>
+</html>
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+<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
+<html>
+<head>
+<title>THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER, By Mark Twain, Part 7.</title>
+<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
+
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+<table summary="" cellPadding=4 border=3>
+<tr><td>
+ &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="p6.htm">Previous Part</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+</td><td>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="1837-h.htm">Main Index</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+</td><td>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="p8.htm">Next Part</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+</td></tr>
+</table>
+</center>
+
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+
+<center>
+<h1>THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER</h1>
+<br><br>
+<h2>by Mark Twain
+<br><br><br><br>Part Seven
+</h2>
+</center>
+
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="bookcover.jpg (148K)" src="images/bookcover.jpg" height="1018" width="948">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="frontispiece1.jpg (135K)" src="images/frontispiece1.jpg" height="1067" width="745">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="frontispiece2.jpg (123K)" src="images/frontispiece2.jpg" height="939" width="747">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="titlepage.jpg (62K)" src="images/titlepage.jpg" height="1083" width="815">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="greatseal.jpg (68K)" src="images/greatseal.jpg" height="438" width="711">
+<br>The Great Seal
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="dedication.jpg (21K)" src="images/dedication.jpg" height="420" width="663">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="inscription.jpg (16K)" src="images/inscription.jpg" height="219" width="601">
+</center>
+
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<br><br>
+<blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><blockquote>
+<b>
+I will set down a tale as it was told to me by one who had it of his
+father, which latter had it of HIS father, this last having in like
+manner had it of HIS father&mdash;and so on, back and still back, three
+hundred years and more, the fathers transmitting it to the sons and so
+preserving it. &nbsp;It may be history, it may be only a legend, a tradition.
+It may have happened, it may not have happened: &nbsp;but it COULD have
+happened. &nbsp;It may be that the wise and the learned believed it in the old
+days; it may be that only the unlearned and the simple loved it and
+credited it.</b>
+</blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote>
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+
+
+<h2>
+CONTENTS</h2>
+
+<center>
+<table summary="">
+<tr><td>
+
+
+
+XXII. </td><td><a href="#c22">A victim of treachery.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td>
+XXIII.&nbsp;&nbsp; </td><td><a href="#c23">The Prince a prisoner.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td>
+XXIV. </td><td><a href="#c24">The escape.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td>
+XXV. </td><td><a href="#c25">Hendon Hall.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td>
+XXVI. </td><td><a href="#c26">Disowned.</a><br></td></tr>
+
+
+
+</table>
+</center>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<h2>ILLUSTRATIONS</h2>
+
+<center>
+<table summary="">
+<tr><td>
+
+
+
+<a href="#22-267">A VICTIM OF TREACHERY</a><br><br>
+<a href="#22-270">"HUGO STOOD NO CHANCE"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#22-272">"BOUND THE POULTICE TIGHT AND FAST"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#22-274">"TARRY HERE TILL I COME AGAIN</a><br><br>
+<a href="#22-276">"KING SPRANG TO HIS DELIVERER'S SIDE"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#23-279">THE PRINCE A PRISONER</a><br><br>
+<a href="#23-282">"GENTLY, GOOD FRIEND"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#23-284">"SHE SPRANG TO HER FEET"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#24-287">THE ESCAPE</a><br><br>
+<a href="#24-290">"THE PIG MAY COST THY NECK, MAN"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#24-292">"BEAR ME UP, BEAR ME UP, SWEET SIR!"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#25-293">HENDON HALL</a><br><br>
+<a href="#25-296">"JOGGING EASTWARD ON SORRY STEEDS"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#25-297">"THERE IS THE VILLAGE, MY PRINCE!"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#25-299">"'EMBRACE ME, HUGH,' HE CRIED"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#25-301">"HUGH PUT UP HIS HAND IN DISSENT"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#25-303">"A BEAUTIFUL LADY, RICHLY CLOTHED"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#25-305">"HUGH WAS PINNED TO THE WALL"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#26-307">DISOWNED</a><br><br>
+<a href="#26-310">"OBEY, AND HAVE NO FEAR"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#26-313">"AM I MILES HENDON?"</a><br><br>
+
+
+</td></tr>
+</table>
+</center>
+
+
+
+
+
+<br><br><hr><br>
+<br><br>
+<a name="c22"></a>
+<a name="22-267"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="22-267.jpg (44K)" src="images/22-267.jpg" height="370" width="692">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>Chapter XXII. A victim of treachery.</p>
+
+<p>Once more 'King Foo-foo the First' was roving with the tramps and
+outlaws, a butt for their coarse jests and dull-witted railleries, and
+sometimes the victim of small spitefulness at the hands of Canty and Hugo
+when the Ruffler's back was turned. &nbsp;None but Canty and Hugo really
+disliked him. &nbsp;Some of the others liked him, and all admired his pluck
+and spirit. &nbsp;During two or three days, Hugo, in whose ward and charge the
+King was, did what he covertly could to make the boy uncomfortable; and
+at night, during the customary orgies, he amused the company by putting
+small indignities upon him&mdash;always as if by accident. &nbsp;Twice he stepped
+upon the King's toes&mdash;accidentally&mdash;and the King, as became his royalty,
+was contemptuously unconscious of it and indifferent to it; but the third
+time Hugo entertained himself in that way, the King felled him to the
+ground with a cudgel, to the prodigious delight of the tribe. &nbsp;Hugo,
+consumed with anger and shame, sprang up, seized a cudgel, and came at
+his small adversary in a fury. &nbsp;Instantly a ring was formed around the
+gladiators, and the betting and cheering began.
+</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="22-270"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="22-270.jpg (85K)" src="images/22-270.jpg" height="597" width="461">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>
+But poor Hugo stood no
+chance whatever. &nbsp;His frantic and lubberly 'prentice-work found but a
+poor market for itself when pitted against an arm which had been trained
+by the first masters of Europe in single-stick, quarter-staff, and every
+art and trick of swordsmanship. &nbsp;The little King stood, alert but at
+graceful ease, and caught and turned aside the thick rain of blows with a
+facility and precision which set the motley on-lookers wild with
+admiration; and every now and then, when his practised eye detected an
+opening, and a lightning-swift rap upon Hugo's head followed as a result,
+the storm of cheers and laughter that swept the place was something
+wonderful to hear. &nbsp;At the end of fifteen minutes, Hugo, all battered,
+bruised, and the target for a pitiless bombardment of ridicule, slunk
+from the field; and the unscathed hero of the fight was seized and borne
+aloft upon the shoulders of the joyous rabble to the place of honour
+beside the Ruffler, where with vast ceremony he was crowned King of the
+Game-Cocks; his meaner title being at the same time solemnly cancelled
+and annulled, and a decree of banishment from the gang pronounced against
+any who should thenceforth utter it.</p>
+
+<p>All attempts to make the King serviceable to the troop had failed. He had
+stubbornly refused to act; moreover, he was always trying to escape. &nbsp;He
+had been thrust into an unwatched kitchen, the first day of his return;
+he not only came forth empty-handed, but tried to rouse the housemates.
+He was sent out with a tinker to help him at his work; he would not work;
+moreover, he threatened the tinker with his own soldering-iron; and
+finally both Hugo and the tinker found their hands full with the mere
+matter of keeping his from getting away. &nbsp;He delivered the thunders of
+his royalty upon the heads of all who hampered his liberties or tried to
+force him to service. &nbsp;He was sent out, in Hugo's charge, in company with
+a slatternly woman and a diseased baby, to beg; but the result was not
+encouraging&mdash;he declined to plead for the mendicants, or be a party to
+their cause in any way.</p>
+
+<p>Thus several days went by; and the miseries of this tramping life, and
+the weariness and sordidness and meanness and vulgarity of it, became
+gradually and steadily so intolerable to the captive that he began at
+last to feel that his release from the hermit's knife must prove only a
+temporary respite from death, at best.</p>
+
+<p>But at night, in his dreams, these things were forgotten, and he was on
+his throne, and master again. &nbsp;This, of course, intensified the
+sufferings of the awakening&mdash;so the mortifications of each succeeding
+morning of the few that passed between his return to bondage and the
+combat with Hugo, grew bitterer and bitterer, and harder and harder to
+bear.</p>
+
+<p>The morning after that combat, Hugo got up with a heart filled with
+vengeful purposes against the King. &nbsp;He had two plans, in particular.
+One was to inflict upon the lad what would be, to his proud spirit and
+'imagined' royalty, a peculiar humiliation; and if he failed to
+accomplish this, his other plan was to put a crime of some kind upon the
+King, and then betray him into the implacable clutches of the law.</p>
+
+<p>In pursuance of the first plan, he purposed to put a 'clime' upon the
+King's leg; rightly judging that that would mortify him to the last and
+perfect degree; and as soon as the clime should operate, he meant to get
+Canty's help, and FORCE the King to expose his leg in the highway and beg
+for alms. &nbsp;'Clime' was the cant term for a sore, artificially created.
+To make a clime, the operator made a paste or poultice of unslaked lime,
+soap, and the rust of old iron, and spread it upon a piece of leather,
+which was then bound tightly upon the leg. &nbsp;This would presently fret off
+the skin, and make the flesh raw and angry-looking; blood was then rubbed
+upon the limb, which, being fully dried, took on a dark and repulsive
+colour. &nbsp;Then a bandage of soiled rags was put on in a cleverly careless
+way which would allow the hideous ulcer to be seen, and move the
+compassion of the passer-by. {8}</p>
+
+<p>Hugo got the help of the tinker whom the King had cowed with the
+soldering-iron; they took the boy out on a tinkering tramp, and as soon
+as they were out of sight of the camp they threw him down and the tinker
+held him while Hugo bound the poultice tight and fast upon his leg.</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="22-272"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="22-272.jpg (139K)" src="images/22-272.jpg" height="699" width="711">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>The King raged and stormed, and promised to hang the two the moment the
+sceptre was in his hand again; but they kept a firm grip upon him and
+enjoyed his impotent struggling and jeered at his threats. &nbsp;This
+continued until the poultice began to bite; and in no long time its work
+would have been perfected, if there had been no interruption. &nbsp;But there
+was; for about this time the 'slave' who had made the speech denouncing
+England's laws, appeared on the scene, and put an end to the enterprise,
+and stripped off the poultice and bandage.</p>
+
+<p>The King wanted to borrow his deliverer's cudgel and warm the jackets of
+the two rascals on the spot; but the man said no, it would bring
+trouble&mdash;leave the matter till night; the whole tribe being together, then, the
+outside world would not venture to interfere or interrupt. &nbsp;He marched
+the party back to camp and reported the affair to the Ruffler, who
+listened, pondered, and then decided that the King should not be again
+detailed to beg, since it was plain he was worthy of something higher and
+better&mdash;wherefore, on the spot he promoted him from the mendicant rank
+and appointed him to steal!</p>
+
+<p>Hugo was overjoyed. &nbsp;He had already tried to make the King steal, and
+failed; but there would be no more trouble of that sort, now, for of
+course the King would not dream of defying a distinct command delivered
+directly from head-quarters. &nbsp;So he planned a raid for that very
+afternoon, purposing to get the King in the law's grip in the course of
+it; and to do it, too, with such ingenious strategy, that it should seem
+to be accidental and unintentional; for the King of the Game-Cocks was
+popular now, and the gang might not deal over-gently with an unpopular
+member who played so serious a treachery upon him as the delivering him
+over to the common enemy, the law.</p>
+
+<p>Very well. &nbsp;All in good time Hugo strolled off to a neighbouring village
+with his prey; and the two drifted slowly up and down one street after
+another, the one watching sharply for a sure chance to achieve his evil
+purpose, and the other watching as sharply for a chance to dart away and
+get free of his infamous captivity for ever.</p>
+
+<p>Both threw away some tolerably fair-looking opportunities; for both, in
+their secret hearts, were resolved to make absolutely sure work this
+time, and neither meant to allow his fevered desires to seduce him into
+any venture that had much uncertainty about it.</p>
+
+<p>Hugo's chance came first. &nbsp;For at last a woman approached who carried a
+fat package of some sort in a basket. &nbsp;Hugo's eyes sparkled with sinful
+pleasure as he said to himself, "Breath o' my life, an' I can but put
+THAT upon him, 'tis good-den and God keep thee, King of the Game-Cocks!"
+He waited and watched&mdash;outwardly patient, but inwardly consuming with
+excitement&mdash;till the woman had passed by, and the time was ripe; then
+said, in a low voice&mdash;</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="22-274"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="22-274.jpg (135K)" src="images/22-274.jpg" height="729" width="734">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>"Tarry here till I come again," and darted stealthily after the prey.</p>
+
+<p>The King's heart was filled with joy&mdash;he could make his escape, now, if
+Hugo's quest only carried him far enough away.</p>
+
+<p>But he was to have no such luck. &nbsp;Hugo crept behind the woman, snatched
+the package, and came running back, wrapping it in an old piece of
+blanket which he carried on his arm. &nbsp;The hue and cry was raised in a
+moment, by the woman, who knew her loss by the lightening of her burden,
+although she had not seen the pilfering done. &nbsp;Hugo thrust the bundle
+into the King's hands without halting, saying&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Now speed ye after me with the rest, and cry 'Stop thief!' but mind ye
+lead them astray!"</p>
+
+<p>The next moment Hugo turned a corner and darted down a crooked alley&mdash;and
+in another moment or two he lounged into view again, looking innocent and
+indifferent, and took up a position behind a post to watch results.</p>
+
+<p>The insulted King threw the bundle on the ground; and the blanket fell
+away from it just as the woman arrived, with an augmenting crowd at her
+heels; she seized the King's wrist with one hand, snatched up her bundle
+with the other, and began to pour out a tirade of abuse upon the boy
+while he struggled, without success, to free himself from her grip.</p>
+
+<p>Hugo had seen enough&mdash;his enemy was captured and the law would get him,
+now&mdash;so he slipped away, jubilant and chuckling, and wended campwards,
+framing a judicious version of the matter to give to the Ruffler's crew
+as he strode along.</p>
+
+<p>The King continued to struggle in the woman's strong grasp, and now and
+then cried out in vexation&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Unhand me, thou foolish creature; it was not I that bereaved thee of thy
+paltry goods."</p>
+
+<p>The crowd closed around, threatening the King and calling him names; a
+brawny blacksmith in leather apron, and sleeves rolled to his elbows,
+made a reach for him, saying he would trounce him well, for a lesson; but
+just then a long sword flashed in the air and fell with convincing force
+upon the man's arm, flat side down, the fantastic owner of it remarking
+pleasantly, at the same time&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Marry, good souls, let us proceed gently, not with ill blood and
+uncharitable words. &nbsp;This is matter for the law's consideration, not
+private and unofficial handling. &nbsp;Loose thy hold from the boy, goodwife."</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="22-276"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="22-276.jpg (140K)" src="images/22-276.jpg" height="677" width="746">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>The blacksmith averaged the stalwart soldier with a glance, then went
+muttering away, rubbing his arm; the woman released the boy's wrist
+reluctantly; the crowd eyed the stranger unlovingly, but prudently closed
+their mouths. &nbsp;The King sprang to his deliverer's side, with flushed
+cheeks and sparkling eyes, exclaiming&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Thou hast lagged sorely, but thou comest in good season, now, Sir Miles;
+carve me this rabble to rags!"</p>
+
+
+<br><br><hr><br>
+<br><br>
+<a name="c23"></a>
+<a name="23-279"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="23-279.jpg (41K)" src="images/23-279.jpg" height="335" width="697">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>Chapter XXIII. The Prince a prisoner.</p>
+
+<p>Hendon forced back a smile, and bent down and whispered in the King's
+ear&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Softly, softly, my prince, wag thy tongue warily&mdash;nay, suffer it not to
+wag at all. &nbsp;Trust in me&mdash;all shall go well in the end." Then he added to
+himself: &nbsp;"SIR Miles! &nbsp;Bless me, I had totally forgot I was a knight!
+Lord, how marvellous a thing it is, the grip his memory doth take upon
+his quaint and crazy fancies! . . . An empty and foolish title is mine,
+and yet it is something to have deserved it; for I think it is more
+honour to be held worthy to be a spectre-knight in his Kingdom of Dreams
+and Shadows, than to be held base enough to be an earl in some of the
+REAL kingdoms of this world."</p>
+
+<p>The crowd fell apart to admit a constable, who approached and was about
+to lay his hand upon the King's shoulder, when Hendon said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Gently, good friend, withhold your hand&mdash;he shall go peaceably; I am
+responsible for that. &nbsp;Lead on, we will follow."</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="23-282"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="23-282.jpg (90K)" src="images/23-282.jpg" height="680" width="488">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>The officer led, with the woman and her bundle; Miles and the King
+followed after, with the crowd at their heels. &nbsp;The King was inclined to
+rebel; but Hendon said to him in a low voice&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Reflect, Sire&mdash;your laws are the wholesome breath of your own royalty;
+shall their source resist them, yet require the branches to respect them?
+Apparently one of these laws has been broken; when the King is on his
+throne again, can it ever grieve him to remember that when he was
+seemingly a private person he loyally sank the king in the citizen and
+submitted to its authority?"</p>
+
+<p>"Thou art right; say no more; thou shalt see that whatsoever the King of
+England requires a subject to suffer, under the law, he will himself
+suffer while he holdeth the station of a subject."</p>
+
+<p>When the woman was called upon to testify before the justice of the
+peace, she swore that the small prisoner at the bar was the person who
+had committed the theft; there was none able to show the contrary, so the
+King stood convicted. &nbsp;The bundle was now unrolled, and when the contents
+proved to be a plump little dressed pig, the judge looked troubled,
+whilst Hendon turned pale, and his body was thrilled with an electric
+shiver of dismay; but the King remained unmoved, protected by his
+ignorance. &nbsp;The judge meditated, during an ominous pause, then turned to
+the woman, with the question&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"What dost thou hold this property to be worth?"</p>
+
+<p>The woman courtesied and replied&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Three shillings and eightpence, your worship&mdash;I could not abate a penny
+and set forth the value honestly."</p>
+
+<p>The justice glanced around uncomfortably upon the crowd, then nodded to
+the constable, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Clear the court and close the doors."</p>
+
+<p>It was done. &nbsp;None remained but the two officials, the accused, the
+accuser, and Miles Hendon. &nbsp;This latter was rigid and colourless, and on
+his forehead big drops of cold sweat gathered, broke and blended
+together, and trickled down his face. &nbsp;The judge turned to the woman
+again, and said, in a compassionate voice&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"'Tis a poor ignorant lad, and mayhap was driven hard by hunger, for
+these be grievous times for the unfortunate; mark you, he hath not an
+evil face&mdash;but when hunger driveth&mdash;Good woman! dost know that when one
+steals a thing above the value of thirteenpence ha'penny the law saith he
+shall HANG for it?"</p>
+
+<p>The little King started, wide-eyed with consternation, but controlled
+himself and held his peace; but not so the woman. &nbsp;She sprang to her
+feet, shaking with fright, and cried out&mdash;</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="23-284"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="23-284.jpg (143K)" src="images/23-284.jpg" height="785" width="718">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>"Oh, good lack, what have I done! &nbsp;God-a-mercy, I would not hang the poor
+thing for the whole world! &nbsp;Ah, save me from this, your worship&mdash;what
+shall I do, what CAN I do?"</p>
+
+<p>The justice maintained his judicial composure, and simply said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Doubtless it is allowable to revise the value, since it is not yet writ
+upon the record."</p>
+
+<p>"Then in God's name call the pig eightpence, and heaven bless the day
+that freed my conscience of this awesome thing!"</p>
+
+<p>Miles Hendon forgot all decorum in his delight; and surprised the King
+and wounded his dignity, by throwing his arms around him and hugging him.
+The woman made her grateful adieux and started away with her pig; and
+when the constable opened the door for her, he followed her out into the
+narrow hall. &nbsp;The justice proceeded to write in his record book. &nbsp;Hendon,
+always alert, thought he would like to know why the officer followed the
+woman out; so he slipped softly into the dusky hall and listened. &nbsp;He
+heard a conversation to this effect&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"It is a fat pig, and promises good eating; I will buy it of thee; here
+is the eightpence."</p>
+
+<p>"Eightpence, indeed! &nbsp;Thou'lt do no such thing. &nbsp;It cost me three
+shillings and eightpence, good honest coin of the last reign, that old
+Harry that's just dead ne'er touched or tampered with. &nbsp;A fig for thy
+eightpence!"</p>
+
+<p>"Stands the wind in that quarter? &nbsp;Thou wast under oath, and so swore
+falsely when thou saidst the value was but eightpence. &nbsp;Come straightway
+back with me before his worship, and answer for the crime!&mdash;and then the
+lad will hang."</p>
+
+<p>"There, there, dear heart, say no more, I am content. &nbsp;Give me the
+eightpence, and hold thy peace about the matter."</p>
+
+<p>The woman went off crying: &nbsp;Hendon slipped back into the court room, and
+the constable presently followed, after hiding his prize in some
+convenient place. &nbsp;The justice wrote a while longer, then read the King a
+wise and kindly lecture, and sentenced him to a short imprisonment in the
+common jail, to be followed by a public flogging. &nbsp;The astounded King
+opened his mouth, and was probably going to order the good judge to be
+beheaded on the spot; but he caught a warning sign from Hendon, and
+succeeded in closing his mouth again before he lost anything out of it.
+Hendon took him by the hand, now, made reverence to the justice, and the
+two departed in the wake of the constable toward the jail. &nbsp;The moment
+the street was reached, the inflamed monarch halted, snatched away his
+hand, and exclaimed&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Idiot, dost imagine I will enter a common jail ALIVE?"</p>
+
+<p>Hendon bent down and said, somewhat sharply&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"WILL you trust in me? &nbsp;Peace! and forbear to worsen our chances with
+dangerous speech. &nbsp;What God wills, will happen; thou canst not hurry it,
+thou canst not alter it; therefore wait, and be patient&mdash;'twill be time
+enow to rail or rejoice when what is to happen has happened." {1}</p>
+
+
+<br><br><hr><br>
+<br><br>
+<a name="c24"></a>
+<a name="24-287"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="24-287.jpg (51K)" src="images/24-287.jpg" height="376" width="745">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>Chapter XXIV. The escape.</p>
+
+<p>The short winter day was nearly ended. &nbsp;The streets were deserted, save
+for a few random stragglers, and these hurried straight along, with the
+intent look of people who were only anxious to accomplish their errands
+as quickly as possible, and then snugly house themselves from the rising
+wind and the gathering twilight. They looked neither to the right nor to
+the left; they paid no attention to our party, they did not even seem to
+see them. Edward the Sixth wondered if the spectacle of a king on his way
+to jail had ever encountered such marvellous indifference before.
+By-and-by the constable arrived at a deserted market-square, and proceeded to
+cross it. &nbsp;When he had reached the middle of it, Hendon laid his hand
+upon his arm, and said in a low voice&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Bide a moment, good sir, there is none in hearing, and I would say a
+word to thee."</p>
+
+<p>"My duty forbids it, sir; prithee hinder me not, the night comes on."</p>
+
+<p>"Stay, nevertheless, for the matter concerns thee nearly. &nbsp;Turn thy back
+a moment and seem not to see: &nbsp;LET THIS POOR LAD ESCAPE."</p>
+
+<p>"This to me, sir! &nbsp;I arrest thee in&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Nay, be not too hasty. &nbsp;See thou be careful and commit no foolish
+error,"&mdash;then he shut his voice down to a whisper, and said in the man's
+ear&mdash;"the pig thou hast purchased for eightpence may cost thee thy neck,
+man!"</p>
+
+<p>The poor constable, taken by surprise, was speechless, at first, then
+found his tongue and fell to blustering and threatening; but Hendon was
+tranquil, and waited with patience till his breath was spent; then said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I have a liking to thee, friend, and would not willingly see thee come
+to harm. &nbsp;Observe, I heard it all&mdash;every word. &nbsp;I will prove it to thee."
+Then he repeated the conversation which the officer and the woman had had
+together in the hall, word for word, and ended with&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"There&mdash;have I set it forth correctly? &nbsp;Should not I be able to set it
+forth correctly before the judge, if occasion required?"</p>
+
+<p>The man was dumb with fear and distress, for a moment; then he rallied,
+and said with forced lightness&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"'Tis making a mighty matter, indeed, out of a jest; I but plagued the
+woman for mine amusement."</p>
+
+<p>"Kept you the woman's pig for amusement?"</p>
+
+<p>The man answered sharply&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Nought else, good sir&mdash;I tell thee 'twas but a jest."</p>
+
+<p>"I do begin to believe thee," said Hendon, with a perplexing mixture of
+mockery and half-conviction in his tone; "but tarry thou here a moment
+whilst I run and ask his worship&mdash;for nathless, he being a man
+experienced in law, in jests, in&mdash;"</p>
+
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="24-290"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="24-290.jpg (55K)" src="images/24-290.jpg" height="479" width="469">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>He was moving away, still talking; the constable hesitated, fidgeted,
+spat out an oath or two, then cried out&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Hold, hold, good sir&mdash;prithee wait a little&mdash;the judge! &nbsp;Why, man, he
+hath no more sympathy with a jest than hath a dead corpse!&mdash;come, and we
+will speak further. &nbsp;Ods body! &nbsp;I seem to be in evil case&mdash;and all for an
+innocent and thoughtless pleasantry. I am a man of family; and my wife
+and little ones&mdash;List to reason, good your worship: what wouldst thou
+of me?"</p>
+
+<p>"Only that thou be blind and dumb and paralytic whilst one may count a
+hundred thousand&mdash;counting slowly," said Hendon, with the expression of a
+man who asks but a reasonable favour, and that a very little one.</p>
+
+<p>"It is my destruction!" said the constable despairingly. &nbsp;"Ah, be
+reasonable, good sir; only look at this matter, on all its sides, and see
+how mere a jest it is&mdash;how manifestly and how plainly it is so. &nbsp;And even
+if one granted it were not a jest, it is a fault so small that e'en the
+grimmest penalty it could call forth would be but a rebuke and warning
+from the judge's lips."</p>
+
+<p>Hendon replied with a solemnity which chilled the air about him&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"This jest of thine hath a name, in law,&mdash;wot you what it is?"</p>
+
+<p>"I knew it not! &nbsp;Peradventure I have been unwise. &nbsp;I never dreamed it had
+a name&mdash;ah, sweet heaven, I thought it was original."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, it hath a name. &nbsp;In the law this crime is called Non compos mentis
+lex talionis sic transit gloria mundi."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, my God!"</p>
+
+<p>"And the penalty is death!"</p>
+
+<p>"God be merciful to me a sinner!"</p>
+
+<p>"By advantage taken of one in fault, in dire peril, and at thy mercy,
+thou hast seized goods worth above thirteenpence ha'penny, paying but a
+trifle for the same; and this, in the eye of the law, is constructive
+barratry, misprision of treason, malfeasance in office, ad hominem
+expurgatis in statu quo&mdash;and the penalty is death by the halter, without
+ransom, commutation, or benefit of clergy."</p>
+
+<p>"Bear me up, bear me up, sweet sir, my legs do fail me! &nbsp;Be thou
+merciful&mdash;spare me this doom, and I will turn my back and see nought that
+shall happen."</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="24-292"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="24-292.jpg (157K)" src="images/24-292.jpg" height="891" width="724">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+<p>"Good! now thou'rt wise and reasonable. &nbsp;And thou'lt restore the pig?"</p>
+
+<p>"I will, I will indeed&mdash;nor ever touch another, though heaven send it and
+an archangel fetch it. &nbsp;Go&mdash;I am blind for thy sake&mdash;I see nothing. &nbsp;I
+will say thou didst break in and wrest the prisoner from my hands by
+force. &nbsp;It is but a crazy, ancient door&mdash;I will batter it down myself
+betwixt midnight and the morning."</p>
+
+<p>"Do it, good soul, no harm will come of it; the judge hath a loving
+charity for this poor lad, and will shed no tears and break no jailer's
+bones for his escape."</p>
+
+<br><br><hr><br>
+<br><br>
+<a name="c25"></a>
+<a name="25-293"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="25-293.jpg (54K)" src="images/25-293.jpg" height="398" width="722">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>Chapter XXV. Hendon Hall.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as Hendon and the King were out of sight of the constable, his
+Majesty was instructed to hurry to a certain place outside the town, and
+wait there, whilst Hendon should go to the inn and settle his account.
+Half an hour later the two friends were blithely jogging eastward on
+Hendon's sorry steeds. &nbsp;The King was warm and comfortable, now, for he
+had cast his rags and clothed himself in the second-hand suit which
+Hendon had bought on London Bridge.</p>
+
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="25-296"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="25-296.jpg (148K)" src="images/25-296.jpg" height="833" width="722">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+<p>Hendon wished to guard against over-fatiguing the boy; he judged that
+hard journeys, irregular meals, and illiberal measures of sleep would be
+bad for his crazed mind; whilst rest, regularity, and moderate exercise
+would be pretty sure to hasten its cure; he longed to see the stricken
+intellect made well again and its diseased visions driven out of the
+tormented little head; therefore he resolved to move by easy stages
+toward the home whence he had so long been banished, instead of obeying
+the impulse of his impatience and hurrying along night and day.</p>
+
+<p>When he and the King had journeyed about ten miles, they reached a
+considerable village, and halted there for the night, at a good inn. &nbsp;The
+former relations were resumed; Hendon stood behind the King's chair,
+while he dined, and waited upon him; undressed him when he was ready for
+bed; then took the floor for his own quarters, and slept athwart the
+door, rolled up in a blanket.</p>
+
+<p>The next day, and the day after, they jogged lazily along talking over
+the adventures they had met since their separation, and mightily enjoying
+each other's narratives. &nbsp;Hendon detailed all his wide wanderings in
+search of the King, and described how the archangel had led him a fool's
+journey all over the forest, and taken him back to the hut, finally, when
+he found he could not get rid of him. &nbsp;Then&mdash;he said&mdash;the old man went
+into the bedchamber and came staggering back looking broken-hearted, and
+saying he had expected to find that the boy had returned and laid down in
+there to rest, but it was not so. &nbsp;Hendon had waited at the hut all day;
+hope of the King's return died out, then, and he departed upon the quest
+again.</p>
+
+<p>"And old Sanctum Sanctorum WAS truly sorry your highness came not back,"
+said Hendon; "I saw it in his face."</p>
+
+<p>"Marry I will never doubt THAT!" said the King&mdash;and then told his own
+story; after which, Hendon was sorry he had not destroyed the archangel.</p>
+
+<p>During the last day of the trip, Hendon's spirits were soaring. His
+tongue ran constantly. &nbsp;He talked about his old father, and his brother
+Arthur, and told of many things which illustrated their high and generous
+characters; he went into loving frenzies over his Edith, and was so
+glad-hearted that he was even able to say some gentle and brotherly things
+about Hugh. &nbsp;He dwelt a deal on the coming meeting at Hendon Hall; what a
+surprise it would be to everybody, and what an outburst of thanksgiving
+and delight there would be.</p>
+
+<p>It was a fair region, dotted with cottages and orchards, and the road led
+through broad pasture lands whose receding expanses, marked with gentle
+elevations and depressions, suggested the swelling and subsiding
+undulations of the sea. &nbsp;In the afternoon the returning prodigal made
+constant deflections from his course to see if by ascending some hillock
+he might not pierce the distance and catch a glimpse of his home. &nbsp;At
+last he was successful, and cried out excitedly&mdash;</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="25-297"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="25-297.jpg (108K)" src="images/25-297.jpg" height="623" width="717">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>"There is the village, my Prince, and there is the Hall close by! You may
+see the towers from here; and that wood there&mdash;that is my father's park.
+Ah, NOW thou'lt know what state and grandeur be! A house with seventy
+rooms&mdash;think of that!&mdash;and seven and twenty servants! &nbsp;A brave lodging
+for such as we, is it not so? &nbsp;Come, let us speed&mdash;my impatience will not
+brook further delay."</p>
+
+<p>All possible hurry was made; still, it was after three o'clock before the
+village was reached. &nbsp;The travellers scampered through it, Hendon's
+tongue going all the time. &nbsp;"Here is the church&mdash;covered with the same
+ivy&mdash;none gone, none added." &nbsp;"Yonder is the inn, the old Red Lion,&mdash;and
+yonder is the market-place." &nbsp;"Here is the Maypole, and here the
+pump&mdash;nothing is altered; nothing but the people, at any rate; ten years make a
+change in people; some of these I seem to know, but none know me." &nbsp;So
+his chat ran on. The end of the village was soon reached; then the
+travellers struck into a crooked, narrow road, walled in with tall
+hedges, and hurried briskly along it for half a mile, then passed into a
+vast flower garden through an imposing gateway, whose huge stone pillars
+bore sculptured armorial devices. &nbsp;A noble mansion was before them.</p>
+
+<p>"Welcome to Hendon Hall, my King!" exclaimed Miles. &nbsp;"Ah, 'tis a great
+day! &nbsp;My father and my brother, and the Lady Edith will be so mad with
+joy that they will have eyes and tongue for none but me in the first
+transports of the meeting, and so thou'lt seem but coldly welcomed&mdash;but
+mind it not; 'twill soon seem otherwise; for when I say thou art my ward,
+and tell them how costly is my love for thee, thou'lt see them take thee
+to their breasts for Miles Hendon's sake, and make their house and hearts
+thy home for ever after!"</p>
+
+<p>The next moment Hendon sprang to the ground before the great door, helped
+the King down, then took him by the hand and rushed within. A few steps
+brought him to a spacious apartment; he entered, seated the King with
+more hurry than ceremony, then ran toward a young man who sat at a
+writing-table in front of a generous fire of logs.</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="25-299"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="25-299.jpg (107K)" src="images/25-299.jpg" height="571" width="721">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+<p>"Embrace me, Hugh," he cried, "and say thou'rt glad I am come again! and
+call our father, for home is not home till I shall touch his hand, and
+see his face, and hear his voice once more!"</p>
+
+<p>But Hugh only drew back, after betraying a momentary surprise, and bent a
+grave stare upon the intruder&mdash;a stare which indicated somewhat of
+offended dignity, at first, then changed, in response to some inward
+thought or purpose, to an expression of marvelling curiosity, mixed with
+a real or assumed compassion. &nbsp;Presently he said, in a mild voice&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Thy wits seem touched, poor stranger; doubtless thou hast suffered
+privations and rude buffetings at the world's hands; thy looks and dress
+betoken it. &nbsp;Whom dost thou take me to be?"</p>
+
+<p>"Take thee? &nbsp;Prithee for whom else than whom thou art? &nbsp;I take thee to be
+Hugh Hendon," said Miles, sharply.</p>
+
+<p>The other continued, in the same soft tone&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"And whom dost thou imagine thyself to be?"</p>
+
+<p>"Imagination hath nought to do with it! &nbsp;Dost thou pretend thou knowest
+me not for thy brother Miles Hendon?"</p>
+
+<p>An expression of pleased surprise flitted across Hugh's face, and he
+exclaimed&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"What! thou art not jesting? can the dead come to life? &nbsp;God be praised
+if it be so! &nbsp;Our poor lost boy restored to our arms after all these
+cruel years! &nbsp;Ah, it seems too good to be true, it IS too good to be
+true&mdash;I charge thee, have pity, do not trifle with me! &nbsp;Quick&mdash;come to
+the light&mdash;let me scan thee well!"</p>
+
+<p>He seized Miles by the arm, dragged him to the window, and began to
+devour him from head to foot with his eyes, turning him this way and
+that, and stepping briskly around him and about him to prove him from all
+points of view; whilst the returned prodigal, all aglow with gladness,
+smiled, laughed, and kept nodding his head and saying&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Go on, brother, go on, and fear not; thou'lt find nor limb nor feature
+that cannot bide the test. &nbsp;Scour and scan me to thy content, my good old
+Hugh&mdash;I am indeed thy old Miles, thy same old Miles, thy lost brother,
+is't not so? &nbsp;Ah, 'tis a great day&mdash;I SAID 'twas a great day! &nbsp;Give me
+thy hand, give me thy cheek&mdash;lord, I am like to die of very joy!"</p>
+
+<p>He was about to throw himself upon his brother; but Hugh put up his hand
+in dissent, then dropped his chin mournfully upon his breast, saying with
+emotion&mdash;</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="25-301"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="25-301.jpg (97K)" src="images/25-301.jpg" height="505" width="733">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>"Ah, God of his mercy give me strength to bear this grievous
+disappointment!"</p>
+
+<p>Miles, amazed, could not speak for a moment; then he found his tongue,
+and cried out&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"WHAT disappointment? &nbsp;Am I not thy brother?"</p>
+
+<p>Hugh shook his head sadly, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I pray heaven it may prove so, and that other eyes may find the
+resemblances that are hid from mine. &nbsp;Alack, I fear me the letter spoke
+but too truly."</p>
+
+<p>"What letter?"</p>
+
+<p>"One that came from over sea, some six or seven years ago. &nbsp;It said my
+brother died in battle."</p>
+
+<p>"It was a lie! &nbsp;Call thy father&mdash;he will know me."</p>
+
+<p>"One may not call the dead."</p>
+
+<p>"Dead?" Miles's voice was subdued, and his lips trembled. &nbsp;"My father
+dead!&mdash;oh, this is heavy news. &nbsp;Half my new joy is withered now. &nbsp;Prithee
+let me see my brother Arthur&mdash;he will know me; he will know me and
+console me."</p>
+
+<p>"He, also, is dead."</p>
+
+<p>"God be merciful to me, a stricken man! &nbsp;Gone,&mdash;both gone&mdash;the worthy
+taken and the worthless spared, in me! &nbsp;Ah! I crave your mercy!&mdash;do not
+say the Lady Edith&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Is dead? &nbsp;No, she lives."</p>
+
+<p>"Then, God be praised, my joy is whole again! &nbsp;Speed thee, brother&mdash;let
+her come to me! &nbsp;An' SHE say I am not myself&mdash;but she will not; no, no,
+SHE will know me, I were a fool to doubt it. Bring her&mdash;bring the old
+servants; they, too, will know me."</p>
+
+<p>"All are gone but five&mdash;Peter, Halsey, David, Bernard, and Margaret."</p>
+
+<p>So saying, Hugh left the room. &nbsp;Miles stood musing a while, then began to
+walk the floor, muttering&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"The five arch-villains have survived the two-and-twenty leal and
+honest&mdash;'tis an odd thing."</p>
+
+<p>He continued walking back and forth, muttering to himself; he had
+forgotten the King entirely. &nbsp;By-and-by his Majesty said gravely, and
+with a touch of genuine compassion, though the words themselves were
+capable of being interpreted ironically&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Mind not thy mischance, good man; there be others in the world whose
+identity is denied, and whose claims are derided. &nbsp;Thou hast company."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, my King," cried Hendon, colouring slightly, "do not thou condemn
+me&mdash;wait, and thou shalt see. &nbsp;I am no impostor&mdash;she will say it; you shall
+hear it from the sweetest lips in England. &nbsp;I an impostor? &nbsp;Why, I know
+this old hall, these pictures of my ancestors, and all these things that
+are about us, as a child knoweth its own nursery. &nbsp;Here was I born and
+bred, my lord; I speak the truth; I would not deceive thee; and should
+none else believe, I pray thee do not THOU doubt me&mdash;I could not bear
+it."</p>
+
+<p>"I do not doubt thee," said the King, with a childlike simplicity and
+faith.</p>
+
+<p>"I thank thee out of my heart!" exclaimed Hendon with a fervency which
+showed that he was touched. &nbsp;The King added, with the same gentle
+simplicity&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Dost thou doubt ME?"</p>
+
+<p>A guilty confusion seized upon Hendon, and he was grateful that the door
+opened to admit Hugh, at that moment, and saved him the necessity of
+replying.</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="25-303"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="25-303.jpg (113K)" src="images/25-303.jpg" height="552" width="725">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>A beautiful lady, richly clothed, followed Hugh, and after her came
+several liveried servants. &nbsp;The lady walked slowly, with her head bowed
+and her eyes fixed upon the floor. &nbsp;The face was unspeakably sad. &nbsp;Miles
+Hendon sprang forward, crying out&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, my Edith, my darling&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>But Hugh waved him back, gravely, and said to the lady&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Look upon him. &nbsp;Do you know him?"</p>
+
+<p>At the sound of Miles's voice the woman had started slightly, and her
+cheeks had flushed; she was trembling now. &nbsp;She stood still, during an
+impressive pause of several moments; then slowly lifted up her head and
+looked into Hendon's eyes with a stony and frightened gaze; the blood
+sank out of her face, drop by drop, till nothing remained but the grey
+pallor of death; then she said, in a voice as dead as the face, "I know
+him not!" and turned, with a moan and a stifled sob, and tottered out of
+the room.</p>
+
+<p>Miles Hendon sank into a chair and covered his face with his hands.
+After a pause, his brother said to the servants&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"You have observed him. &nbsp;Do you know him?"</p>
+
+<p>They shook their heads; then the master said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"The servants know you not, sir. &nbsp;I fear there is some mistake. You have
+seen that my wife knew you not."</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="25-305"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="25-305.jpg (121K)" src="images/25-305.jpg" height="699" width="727">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>"Thy WIFE!" &nbsp;In an instant Hugh was pinned to the wall, with an iron grip
+about his throat. &nbsp;"Oh, thou fox-hearted slave, I see it all! &nbsp;Thou'st
+writ the lying letter thyself, and my stolen bride and goods are its
+fruit. &nbsp;There&mdash;now get thee gone, lest I shame mine honourable
+soldiership with the slaying of so pitiful a mannikin!"</p>
+
+<p>Hugh, red-faced, and almost suffocated, reeled to the nearest chair, and
+commanded the servants to seize and bind the murderous stranger. &nbsp;They
+hesitated, and one of them said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"He is armed, Sir Hugh, and we are weaponless."</p>
+
+<p>"Armed! &nbsp;What of it, and ye so many? &nbsp;Upon him, I say!"</p>
+
+<p>But Miles warned them to be careful what they did, and added&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Ye know me of old&mdash;I have not changed; come on, an' it like you."</p>
+
+<p>This reminder did not hearten the servants much; they still held back.</p>
+
+<p>"Then go, ye paltry cowards, and arm yourselves and guard the doors,
+whilst I send one to fetch the watch!" said Hugh. &nbsp;He turned at the
+threshold, and said to Miles, "You'll find it to your advantage to offend
+not with useless endeavours at escape."</p>
+
+<p>"Escape? &nbsp;Spare thyself discomfort, an' that is all that troubles thee.
+For Miles Hendon is master of Hendon Hall and all its belongings. &nbsp;He
+will remain&mdash;doubt it not."</p>
+
+<br><br><hr><br>
+<br><br>
+<a name="c26"></a>
+<a name="26-307"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="26-307.jpg (71K)" src="images/26-307.jpg" height="581" width="722">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>Chapter XXVI. Disowned.</p>
+
+<p>The King sat musing a few moments, then looked up and said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"'Tis strange&mdash;most strange. &nbsp;I cannot account for it."</p>
+
+<p>"No, it is not strange, my liege. &nbsp;I know him, and this conduct is but
+natural. &nbsp;He was a rascal from his birth."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I spake not of HIM, Sir Miles."</p>
+
+<p>"Not of him? &nbsp;Then of what? &nbsp;What is it that is strange?"</p>
+
+<p>"That the King is not missed."</p>
+
+<p>"How? &nbsp;Which? &nbsp;I doubt I do not understand."</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed? &nbsp;Doth it not strike you as being passing strange that the land
+is not filled with couriers and proclamations describing my person and
+making search for me? &nbsp;Is it no matter for commotion and distress that
+the Head of the State is gone; that I am vanished away and lost?"</p>
+
+<p>"Most true, my King, I had forgot." &nbsp;Then Hendon sighed, and muttered to
+himself, "Poor ruined mind&mdash;still busy with its pathetic dream."</p>
+
+<p>"But I have a plan that shall right us both&mdash;I will write a paper, in
+three tongues&mdash;Latin, Greek and English&mdash;and thou shalt haste away with
+it to London in the morning. &nbsp;Give it to none but my uncle, the Lord
+Hertford; when he shall see it, he will know and say I wrote it. &nbsp;Then he
+will send for me."</p>
+
+<p>"Might it not be best, my Prince, that we wait here until I prove myself
+and make my rights secure to my domains? &nbsp;I should be so much the better
+able then to&mdash;"</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="26-310"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="26-310.jpg (134K)" src="images/26-310.jpg" height="783" width="726">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>The King interrupted him imperiously&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Peace! &nbsp;What are thy paltry domains, thy trivial interests, contrasted
+with matters which concern the weal of a nation and the integrity of a
+throne?" &nbsp;Then, he added, in a gentle voice, as if he were sorry for his
+severity, "Obey, and have no fear; I will right thee, I will make thee
+whole&mdash;yes, more than whole. &nbsp;I shall remember, and requite."</p>
+
+<p>So saying, he took the pen, and set himself to work. &nbsp;Hendon contemplated
+him lovingly a while, then said to himself&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"An' it were dark, I should think it WAS a king that spoke; there's no
+denying it, when the humour's upon on him he doth thunder and lighten
+like your true King; now where got he that trick? &nbsp;See him scribble and
+scratch away contentedly at his meaningless pot-hooks, fancying them to
+be Latin and Greek&mdash;and except my wit shall serve me with a lucky device
+for diverting him from his purpose, I shall be forced to pretend to post
+away to-morrow on this wild errand he hath invented for me."</p>
+
+<p>The next moment Sir Miles's thoughts had gone back to the recent episode.
+So absorbed was he in his musings, that when the King presently handed
+him the paper which he had been writing, he received it and pocketed it
+without being conscious of the act. "How marvellous strange she acted,"
+he muttered. &nbsp;"I think she knew me&mdash;and I think she did NOT know me.
+These opinions do conflict, I perceive it plainly; I cannot reconcile
+them, neither can I, by argument, dismiss either of the two, or even
+persuade one to outweigh the other. &nbsp;The matter standeth simply thus:
+she MUST have known my face, my figure, my voice, for how could it be
+otherwise? &nbsp;Yet she SAID she knew me not, and that is proof perfect, for
+she cannot lie. &nbsp;But stop&mdash;I think I begin to see. Peradventure he hath
+influenced her, commanded her, compelled her to lie. &nbsp;That is the
+solution. &nbsp;The riddle is unriddled. &nbsp;She seemed dead with fear&mdash;yes, she
+was under his compulsion. &nbsp;I will seek her; I will find her; now that he
+is away, she will speak her true mind. &nbsp;She will remember the old times
+when we were little playfellows together, and this will soften her heart,
+and she will no more betray me, but will confess me. &nbsp;There is no
+treacherous blood in her&mdash;no, she was always honest and true. &nbsp;She has
+loved me, in those old days&mdash;this is my security; for whom one has loved,
+one cannot betray."</p>
+
+<p>He stepped eagerly toward the door; at that moment it opened, and the
+Lady Edith entered. &nbsp;She was very pale, but she walked with a firm step,
+and her carriage was full of grace and gentle dignity. Her face was as
+sad as before.</p>
+
+<p>Miles sprang forward, with a happy confidence, to meet her, but she
+checked him with a hardly perceptible gesture, and he stopped where he
+was. &nbsp;She seated herself, and asked him to do likewise. Thus simply did
+she take the sense of old comradeship out of him, and transform him into
+a stranger and a guest. &nbsp;The surprise of it, the bewildering
+unexpectedness of it, made him begin to question, for a moment, if he WAS
+the person he was pretending to be, after all. &nbsp;The Lady Edith said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Sir, I have come to warn you. &nbsp;The mad cannot be persuaded out of their
+delusions, perchance; but doubtless they may be persuaded to avoid
+perils. &nbsp;I think this dream of yours hath the seeming of honest truth to
+you, and therefore is not criminal&mdash;but do not tarry here with it; for
+here it is dangerous." &nbsp;She looked steadily into Miles's face a moment,
+then added, impressively, "It is the more dangerous for that you ARE much
+like what our lost lad must have grown to be if he had lived."</p>
+
+<p>"Heavens, madam, but I AM he!"</p>
+
+<p>"I truly think you think it, sir. &nbsp;I question not your honesty in that; I
+but warn you, that is all. &nbsp;My husband is master in this region; his
+power hath hardly any limit; the people prosper or starve, as he wills.
+If you resembled not the man whom you profess to be, my husband might bid
+you pleasure yourself with your dream in peace; but trust me, I know him
+well; I know what he will do; he will say to all that you are but a mad
+impostor, and straightway all will echo him." &nbsp;She bent upon Miles that
+same steady look once more, and added: &nbsp;"If you WERE Miles Hendon, and he
+knew it and all the region knew it&mdash;consider what I am saying, weigh it
+well&mdash;you would stand in the same peril, your punishment would be no less
+sure; he would deny you and denounce you, and none would be bold enough
+to give you countenance."</p>
+
+<p>"Most truly I believe it," said Miles, bitterly. &nbsp;"The power that can
+command one life-long friend to betray and disown another, and be obeyed,
+may well look to be obeyed in quarters where bread and life are on the
+stake and no cobweb ties of loyalty and honour are concerned."</p>
+
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="26-313"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="26-313.jpg (133K)" src="images/26-313.jpg" height="722" width="720">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+<p>A faint tinge appeared for a moment in the lady's cheek, and she dropped
+her eyes to the floor; but her voice betrayed no emotion when she
+proceeded&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I have warned you&mdash;I must still warn you&mdash;to go hence. &nbsp;This man will
+destroy you, else. &nbsp;He is a tyrant who knows no pity. &nbsp;I, who am his
+fettered slave, know this. &nbsp;Poor Miles, and Arthur, and my dear guardian,
+Sir Richard, are free of him, and at rest: &nbsp;better that you were with
+them than that you bide here in the clutches of this miscreant. &nbsp;Your
+pretensions are a menace to his title and possessions; you have assaulted
+him in his own house: &nbsp;you are ruined if you stay. &nbsp;Go&mdash;do not hesitate.
+If you lack money, take this purse, I beg of you, and bribe the servants
+to let you pass. Oh, be warned, poor soul, and escape while you may."</p>
+
+<p>Miles declined the purse with a gesture, and rose up and stood before
+her.</p>
+
+<p>"Grant me one thing," he said. &nbsp;"Let your eyes rest upon mine, so that I
+may see if they be steady. &nbsp;There&mdash;now answer me. &nbsp;Am I Miles Hendon?"</p>
+
+
+<p>"No. &nbsp;I know you not."</p>
+
+<p>"Swear it!"</p>
+
+<p>The answer was low, but distinct&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I swear."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, this passes belief!"</p>
+
+<p>"Fly! &nbsp;Why will you waste the precious time? &nbsp;Fly, and save yourself."</p>
+
+<p>At that moment the officers burst into the room, and a violent struggle
+began; but Hendon was soon overpowered and dragged away. The King was
+taken also, and both were bound and led to prison.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<br>
+<br>
+
+
+<center>
+<table summary="" cellPadding=4 border=3>
+<tr><td>
+ &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="p6.htm">Previous Part</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+</td><td>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="1837-h.htm">Main Index</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+</td><td>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="p8.htm">Next Part</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+</td></tr>
+</table>
+</center>
+
+</body>
+</html>
+
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+<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
+<html>
+<head>
+<title>THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER, By Mark Twain, Part 8.</title>
+<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
+
+<style type="text/css">
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+    HR  { width: 33%; text-align: center; }
+		blockquote {font-size: 97% }
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+<body>
+
+<center>
+<table summary="" cellPadding=4 border=3>
+<tr><td>
+ &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="p7.htm">Previous Part</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+</td><td>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="1837-h.htm">Main Index</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+</td><td>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="p9.htm">Next Part</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+</td></tr>
+</table>
+</center>
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+
+<center>
+<h1>THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER</h1>
+<br><br>
+<h2>by Mark Twain
+<br><br><br><br>Part Eight
+</h2>
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="bookcover.jpg (148K)" src="images/bookcover.jpg" height="1018" width="948">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="frontispiece1.jpg (135K)" src="images/frontispiece1.jpg" height="1067" width="745">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="frontispiece2.jpg (123K)" src="images/frontispiece2.jpg" height="939" width="747">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="titlepage.jpg (62K)" src="images/titlepage.jpg" height="1083" width="815">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="greatseal.jpg (68K)" src="images/greatseal.jpg" height="438" width="711">
+<br>The Great Seal
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="dedication.jpg (21K)" src="images/dedication.jpg" height="420" width="663">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="inscription.jpg (16K)" src="images/inscription.jpg" height="219" width="601">
+</center>
+
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<br><br>
+<blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><blockquote>
+<b>
+I will set down a tale as it was told to me by one who had it of his
+father, which latter had it of HIS father, this last having in like
+manner had it of HIS father&mdash;and so on, back and still back, three
+hundred years and more, the fathers transmitting it to the sons and so
+preserving it. &nbsp;It may be history, it may be only a legend, a tradition.
+It may have happened, it may not have happened: &nbsp;but it COULD have
+happened. &nbsp;It may be that the wise and the learned believed it in the old
+days; it may be that only the unlearned and the simple loved it and
+credited it.</b>
+</blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote>
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+
+
+<h2>
+CONTENTS</h2>
+
+<center>
+<table summary="">
+<tr><td>
+
+
+
+XXVII. </td><td><a href="#c27">In prison.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td>
+XXVIII.&nbsp;&nbsp; </td><td><a href="#c28">The sacrifice.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td>
+XXIX. </td><td><a href="#c29">To London.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td>
+XXX. </td><td><a href="#c30">Tom's progress.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td>
+XXXI. </td><td><a href="#c31">The Recognition procession.</a><br></td></tr>
+
+
+
+</table>
+</center>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<h2>ILLUSTRATIONS</h2>
+<center>
+<table summary="">
+<tr><td>
+
+
+
+<a href="#27-315">IN PRISON</a><br><br>
+<a href="#27-318">"CHAINED IN A LARGE ROOM"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#27-320">"THE OLD MAN LOOKED HENDON OVER"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#27-321">"INFORMATION DELIVERED IN A LOW VOICE"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#27-323">"THE KING!" HE CRIED. "WHAT KING?"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#27-326">"TWO WOMEN CHAINED TO POSTS"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#27-328">"TORN AWAY BY THE OFFICERS"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#27-329">"THE KING WAS FURIOUS"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#28-331">THE SACRIFICE</a><br><br>
+<a href="#28-334">"HE CONFRONTED THE OFFICER IN CHARGE"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#28-336">"WHILE THE LASH WAS APPLIED"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#28-337">"SIR HUGH SPURRED AWAY"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#29-339">TO LONDON</a><br><br>
+<a href="#29-342">"MOUNTED AND RODE OFF WITH THE KING"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#29-343">"MIDST OF A JAM OF HOWLING PEOPLE"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#30-345">TOM'S PROGRESS</a><br><br>
+<a href="#30-348">"TO KISS HIS HAND AT PARTING"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#30-348">"COMMANDED HER TO GO TO HER CLOSET"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#31-351">THE RECOGNITION PROCESSION</a><br><br>
+<a href="#31-353">THE START FOR THE TOWER</a><br><br>
+<a href="#31-355">"WELCOME, O KING!"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#31-356">"A LARGESS! A LARGESS!"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#31-359">"SHE WAS AT HIS SIDE"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#31-361">"IT IS AN ILL TIME FOR DREAMING"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#31-362">"SHE WAS MY MOTHER"</a><br><br>
+
+
+</td></tr>
+</table>
+</center>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<br><br><hr><br>
+<br><br>
+<a name="c27"></a>
+<a name="27-315"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="27-315.jpg (58K)" src="images/27-315.jpg" height="569" width="600">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>Chapter XXVII. In prison.</p>
+
+<p>The cells were all crowded; so the two friends were chained in a large
+room where persons charged with trifling offences were commonly kept.
+They had company, for there were some twenty manacled and fettered
+prisoners here, of both sexes and of varying ages,&mdash;an obscene and noisy
+gang. &nbsp;The King chafed bitterly over the stupendous indignity thus put
+upon his royalty, but Hendon was moody and taciturn. &nbsp;He was pretty
+thoroughly bewildered; he had come home, a jubilant prodigal, expecting
+to find everybody wild with joy over his return; and instead had got the
+cold shoulder and a jail. &nbsp;The promise and the fulfilment differed so
+widely that the effect was stunning; he could not decide whether it was
+most tragic or most grotesque. &nbsp;He felt much as a man might who had
+danced blithely out to enjoy a rainbow, and got struck by lightning.</p>
+
+<p>But gradually his confused and tormenting thoughts settled down into some
+sort of order, and then his mind centred itself upon Edith. &nbsp;He turned
+her conduct over, and examined it in all lights, but he could not make
+anything satisfactory out of it. &nbsp;Did she know him&mdash;or didn't she know
+him? &nbsp;It was a perplexing puzzle, and occupied him a long time; but he
+ended, finally, with the conviction that she did know him, and had
+repudiated him for interested reasons. &nbsp;He wanted to load her name with
+curses now; but this name had so long been sacred to him that he found he
+could not bring his tongue to profane it.</p>
+
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="27-318"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="27-318.jpg (125K)" src="images/27-318.jpg" height="721" width="724">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>Wrapped in prison blankets of a soiled and tattered condition, Hendon and
+the King passed a troubled night. &nbsp;For a bribe the jailer had furnished
+liquor to some of the prisoners; singing of ribald songs, fighting,
+shouting, and carousing was the natural consequence. &nbsp;At last, a while
+after midnight, a man attacked a woman and nearly killed her by beating
+her over the head with his manacles before the jailer could come to the
+rescue. &nbsp;The jailer restored peace by giving the man a sound clubbing
+about the head and shoulders&mdash;then the carousing ceased; and after that,
+all had an opportunity to sleep who did not mind the annoyance of the
+moanings and groanings of the two wounded people.</p>
+
+<p>During the ensuing week, the days and nights were of a monotonous
+sameness as to events; men whose faces Hendon remembered more or less
+distinctly, came, by day, to gaze at the 'impostor' and repudiate and
+insult him; and by night the carousing and brawling went on with
+symmetrical regularity. &nbsp;However, there was a change of incident at last.
+The jailer brought in an old man, and said to him&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"The villain is in this room&mdash;cast thy old eyes about and see if thou
+canst say which is he."</p>
+
+<p>Hendon glanced up, and experienced a pleasant sensation for the first
+time since he had been in the jail. &nbsp;He said to himself, "This is Blake
+Andrews, a servant all his life in my father's family&mdash;a good honest
+soul, with a right heart in his breast. That is, formerly. &nbsp;But none are
+true now; all are liars. &nbsp;This man will know me&mdash;and will deny me, too,
+like the rest."</p>
+
+<p>The old man gazed around the room, glanced at each face in turn, and
+finally said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I see none here but paltry knaves, scum o' the streets. &nbsp;Which is he?"</p>
+
+<p>The jailer laughed.</p>
+
+<p>"Here," he said; "scan this big animal, and grant me an opinion."</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="27-320"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="27-320.jpg (112K)" src="images/27-320.jpg" height="642" width="654">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>The old man approached, and looked Hendon over, long and earnestly, then
+shook his head and said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Marry, THIS is no Hendon&mdash;nor ever was!"</p>
+
+<p>"Right! &nbsp;Thy old eyes are sound yet. &nbsp;An' I were Sir Hugh, I would take
+the shabby carle and&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>The jailer finished by lifting himself a-tip-toe with an imaginary
+halter, at the same time making a gurgling noise in his throat suggestive
+of suffocation. &nbsp;The old man said, vindictively&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Let him bless God an' he fare no worse. &nbsp;An' _I_ had the handling o' the
+villain he should roast, or I am no true man!"</p>
+
+<p>The jailer laughed a pleasant hyena laugh, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Give him a piece of thy mind, old man&mdash;they all do it. &nbsp;Thou'lt find it
+good diversion."</p>
+
+<p>Then he sauntered toward his ante-room and disappeared. &nbsp;The old man
+dropped upon his knees and whispered&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"God be thanked, thou'rt come again, my master! &nbsp;I believed thou wert
+dead these seven years, and lo, here thou art alive! &nbsp;I knew thee the
+moment I saw thee; and main hard work it was to keep a stony countenance
+and seem to see none here but tuppenny knaves and rubbish o' the streets.
+I am old and poor, Sir Miles; but say the word and I will go forth and
+proclaim the truth though I be strangled for it."</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Hendon; "thou shalt not. &nbsp;It would ruin thee, and yet help but
+little in my cause. &nbsp;But I thank thee, for thou hast given me back
+somewhat of my lost faith in my kind."</p>
+
+<p>The old servant became very valuable to Hendon and the King; for he
+dropped in several times a day to 'abuse' the former, and always smuggled
+in a few delicacies to help out the prison bill of fare; he also
+furnished the current news. &nbsp;Hendon reserved the dainties for the King;
+without them his Majesty might not have survived, for he was not able to
+eat the coarse and wretched food provided by the jailer. &nbsp;Andrews was
+obliged to confine himself to brief visits, in order to avoid suspicion;
+but he managed to impart a fair degree of information each
+time&mdash;information delivered in a low voice, for Hendon's benefit, and
+interlarded with insulting epithets delivered in a louder voice for the
+benefit of other hearers.</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="27-321"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="27-321.jpg (102K)" src="images/27-321.jpg" height="575" width="697">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>So, little by little, the story of the family came out. &nbsp;Arthur had been
+dead six years. &nbsp;This loss, with the absence of news from Hendon,
+impaired the father's health; he believed he was going to die, and he
+wished to see Hugh and Edith settled in life before he passed away; but
+Edith begged hard for delay, hoping for Miles's return; then the letter
+came which brought the news of Miles's death; the shock prostrated Sir
+Richard; he believed his end was very near, and he and Hugh insisted upon
+the marriage; Edith begged for and obtained a month's respite, then
+another, and finally a third; the marriage then took place by the
+death-bed of Sir Richard. &nbsp;It had not proved a happy one. &nbsp;It was whispered
+about the country that shortly after the nuptials the bride found among
+her husband's papers several rough and incomplete drafts of the fatal
+letter, and had accused him of precipitating the marriage&mdash;and Sir
+Richard's death, too&mdash;by a wicked forgery. Tales of cruelty to the Lady
+Edith and the servants were to be heard on all hands; and since the
+father's death Sir Hugh had thrown off all soft disguises and become a
+pitiless master toward all who in any way depended upon him and his
+domains for bread.</p>
+
+<p>There was a bit of Andrew's gossip which the King listened to with a
+lively interest&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"There is rumour that the King is mad. &nbsp;But in charity forbear to say _I_
+mentioned it, for 'tis death to speak of it, they say."</p>
+
+<p>His Majesty glared at the old man and said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"The King is NOT mad, good man&mdash;and thou'lt find it to thy advantage to
+busy thyself with matters that nearer concern thee than this seditious
+prattle."</p>
+
+<p>"What doth the lad mean?" said Andrews, surprised at this brisk assault
+from such an unexpected quarter. &nbsp;Hendon gave him a sign, and he did not
+pursue his question, but went on with his budget&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"The late King is to be buried at Windsor in a day or two&mdash;the 16th of
+the month&mdash;and the new King will be crowned at Westminster the 20th."</p>
+
+<p>"Methinks they must needs find him first," muttered his Majesty; then
+added, confidently, "but they will look to that&mdash;and so also shall I."</p>
+
+<p>"In the name of&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>But the old man got no further&mdash;a warning sign from Hendon checked his
+remark. &nbsp;He resumed the thread of his gossip&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Sir Hugh goeth to the coronation&mdash;and with grand hopes. &nbsp;He confidently
+looketh to come back a peer, for he is high in favour with the Lord
+Protector."</p>
+
+<p>"What Lord Protector?" asked his Majesty.</p>
+
+<p>"His Grace the Duke of Somerset."</p>
+
+<p>"What Duke of Somerset?"</p>
+
+<p>"Marry, there is but one&mdash;Seymour, Earl of Hertford."</p>
+
+<p>The King asked sharply&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Since when is HE a duke, and Lord Protector?"</p>
+
+<p>"Since the last day of January."</p>
+
+<p>"And prithee who made him so?"</p>
+
+<p>"Himself and the Great Council&mdash;with help of the King."</p>
+
+<p>His Majesty started violently. &nbsp;"The KING!" he cried. &nbsp;"WHAT king, good
+sir?"</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="27-323"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="27-323.jpg (114K)" src="images/27-323.jpg" height="667" width="718">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>"What king, indeed! (God-a-mercy, what aileth the boy?) &nbsp;Sith we have but
+one, 'tis not difficult to answer&mdash;his most sacred Majesty King Edward
+the Sixth&mdash;whom God preserve! &nbsp;Yea, and a dear and gracious little urchin
+is he, too; and whether he be mad or no&mdash;and they say he mendeth
+daily&mdash;his praises are on all men's lips; and all bless him, likewise, and offer
+prayers that he may be spared to reign long in England; for he began
+humanely with saving the old Duke of Norfolk's life, and now is he bent
+on destroying the cruellest of the laws that harry and oppress the
+people."</p>
+
+<p>This news struck his Majesty dumb with amazement, and plunged him into so
+deep and dismal a reverie that he heard no more of the old man's gossip.
+He wondered if the 'little urchin' was the beggar-boy whom he left
+dressed in his own garments in the palace. &nbsp;It did not seem possible that
+this could be, for surely his manners and speech would betray him if he
+pretended to be the Prince of Wales&mdash;then he would be driven out, and
+search made for the true prince. &nbsp;Could it be that the Court had set up
+some sprig of the nobility in his place? &nbsp;No, for his uncle would not
+allow that&mdash;he was all-powerful and could and would crush such a
+movement, of course. &nbsp;The boy's musings profited him nothing; the more he
+tried to unriddle the mystery the more perplexed he became, the more his
+head ached, and the worse he slept. &nbsp;His impatience to get to London grew
+hourly, and his captivity became almost unendurable.</p>
+
+<p>Hendon's arts all failed with the King&mdash;he could not be comforted; but a
+couple of women who were chained near him succeeded better. Under their
+gentle ministrations he found peace and learned a degree of patience. &nbsp;He
+was very grateful, and came to love them dearly and to delight in the
+sweet and soothing influence of their presence. &nbsp;He asked them why they
+were in prison, and when they said they were Baptists, he smiled, and
+inquired&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Is that a crime to be shut up for in a prison? &nbsp;Now I grieve, for I
+shall lose ye&mdash;they will not keep ye long for such a little thing."</p>
+
+<p>They did not answer; and something in their faces made him uneasy. He
+said, eagerly&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"You do not speak; be good to me, and tell me&mdash;there will be no other
+punishment? &nbsp;Prithee tell me there is no fear of that."</p>
+
+<p>They tried to change the topic, but his fears were aroused, and he
+pursued it&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Will they scourge thee? &nbsp;No, no, they would not be so cruel! &nbsp;Say they
+would not. &nbsp;Come, they WILL not, will they?"</p>
+
+<p>The women betrayed confusion and distress, but there was no avoiding an
+answer, so one of them said, in a voice choked with emotion&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, thou'lt break our hearts, thou gentle spirit!&mdash;God will help us to
+bear our&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"It is a confession!" the King broke in. &nbsp;"Then they WILL scourge thee,
+the stony-hearted wretches! &nbsp;But oh, thou must not weep, I cannot bear
+it. &nbsp;Keep up thy courage&mdash;I shall come to my own in time to save thee
+from this bitter thing, and I will do it!"</p>
+
+<p>When the King awoke in the morning, the women were gone.</p>
+
+<p>"They are saved!" he said, joyfully; then added, despondently, "but woe
+is me!&mdash;for they were my comforters."</p>
+
+<p>Each of them had left a shred of ribbon pinned to his clothing, in token
+of remembrance. &nbsp;He said he would keep these things always; and that soon
+he would seek out these dear good friends of his and take them under his
+protection.</p>
+
+<p>Just then the jailer came in with some subordinates, and commanded that
+the prisoners be conducted to the jail-yard. &nbsp;The King was overjoyed&mdash;it
+would be a blessed thing to see the blue sky and breathe the fresh air
+once more. &nbsp;He fretted and chafed at the slowness of the officers, but
+his turn came at last, and he was released from his staple and ordered to
+follow the other prisoners with Hendon.</p>
+
+<p>The court or quadrangle was stone-paved, and open to the sky. &nbsp;The
+prisoners entered it through a massive archway of masonry, and were
+placed in file, standing, with their backs against the wall. A rope was
+stretched in front of them, and they were also guarded by their officers.
+It was a chill and lowering morning, and a light snow which had fallen
+during the night whitened the great empty space and added to the general
+dismalness of its aspect. Now and then a wintry wind shivered through the
+place and sent the snow eddying hither and thither.</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="27-326"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="27-326.jpg (53K)" src="images/27-326.jpg" height="627" width="384">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>In the centre of the court stood two women, chained to posts. &nbsp;A glance
+showed the King that these were his good friends. &nbsp;He shuddered, and said
+to himself, "Alack, they are not gone free, as I had thought. &nbsp;To think
+that such as these should know the lash!&mdash;in England! &nbsp;Ay, there's the
+shame of it&mdash;not in Heathennesse, Christian England! &nbsp;They will be
+scourged; and I, whom they have comforted and kindly entreated, must look
+on and see the great wrong done; it is strange, so strange, that I, the
+very source of power in this broad realm, am helpless to protect them.
+But let these miscreants look well to themselves, for there is a day
+coming when I will require of them a heavy reckoning for this work. &nbsp;For
+every blow they strike now, they shall feel a hundred then."</p>
+
+<p>A great gate swung open, and a crowd of citizens poured in. &nbsp;They flocked
+around the two women, and hid them from the King's view. A clergyman
+entered and passed through the crowd, and he also was hidden. &nbsp;The King
+now heard talking, back and forth, as if questions were being asked and
+answered, but he could not make out what was said. &nbsp;Next there was a deal
+of bustle and preparation, and much passing and repassing of officials
+through that part of the crowd that stood on the further side of the
+women; and whilst this proceeded a deep hush gradually fell upon the
+people.</p>
+
+<p>Now, by command, the masses parted and fell aside, and the King saw a
+spectacle that froze the marrow in his bones. &nbsp;Faggots had been piled
+about the two women, and a kneeling man was lighting them!</p>
+
+<p>The women bowed their heads, and covered their faces with their hands;
+the yellow flames began to climb upward among the snapping and crackling
+faggots, and wreaths of blue smoke to stream away on the wind; the
+clergyman lifted his hands and began a prayer&mdash;just then two young girls
+came flying through the great gate, uttering piercing screams, and threw
+themselves upon the women at the stake. &nbsp;Instantly they were torn away by
+the officers, and one of them was kept in a tight grip, but the other
+broke loose, saying she would die with her mother; and before she could
+be stopped she had flung her arms about her mother's neck again. &nbsp;She was
+torn away once more, and with her gown on fire. &nbsp;Two or three men held
+her, and the burning portion of her gown was snatched off and thrown
+flaming aside, she struggling all the while to free herself, and saying
+she would be alone in the world, now; and begging to be allowed to die
+with her mother. &nbsp;Both the girls screamed continually, and fought for
+freedom; but suddenly this tumult was drowned under a volley of
+heart-piercing shrieks of mortal agony&mdash;the King glanced from the frantic girls
+to the stake, then turned away and leaned his ashen face against the
+wall, and looked no more. &nbsp;He said, "That which I have seen, in that one
+little moment, will never go out from my memory, but will abide there;
+and I shall see it all the days, and dream of it all the nights, till I
+die. &nbsp;Would God I had been blind!"</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="27-328"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="27-328.jpg (118K)" src="images/27-328.jpg" height="673" width="737">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>Hendon was watching the King. &nbsp;He said to himself, with satisfaction,
+"His disorder mendeth; he hath changed, and groweth gentler. &nbsp;If he had
+followed his wont, he would have stormed at these varlets, and said he
+was King, and commanded that the women be turned loose unscathed. &nbsp;Soon
+his delusion will pass away and be forgotten, and his poor mind will be
+whole again. &nbsp;God speed the day!"</p>
+
+<p>That same day several prisoners were brought in to remain over night, who
+were being conveyed, under guard, to various places in the kingdom, to
+undergo punishment for crimes committed. &nbsp;The King conversed with
+these&mdash;he had made it a point, from the beginning, to instruct himself for the
+kingly office by questioning prisoners whenever the opportunity
+offered&mdash;and the tale of their woes wrung his heart. &nbsp;One of them was a poor
+half-witted woman who had stolen a yard or two of cloth from a weaver&mdash;she was
+to be hanged for it. &nbsp;Another was a man who had been accused of stealing
+a horse; he said the proof had failed, and he had imagined that he was
+safe from the halter; but no&mdash;he was hardly free before he was arraigned
+for killing a deer in the King's park; this was proved against him, and
+now he was on his way to the gallows. &nbsp;There was a tradesman's apprentice
+whose case particularly distressed the King; this youth said he found a
+hawk, one evening, that had escaped from its owner, and he took it home
+with him, imagining himself entitled to it; but the court convicted him
+of stealing it, and sentenced him to death.</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="27-329"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="27-329.jpg (60K)" src="images/27-329.jpg" height="613" width="382">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>The King was furious over these inhumanities, and wanted Hendon to break
+jail and fly with him to Westminster, so that he could mount his throne
+and hold out his sceptre in mercy over these unfortunate people and save
+their lives. &nbsp;"Poor child," sighed Hendon, "these woeful tales have
+brought his malady upon him again; alack, but for this evil hap, he would
+have been well in a little time."</p>
+
+<p>Among these prisoners was an old lawyer&mdash;a man with a strong face and a
+dauntless mien. &nbsp;Three years past, he had written a pamphlet against the
+Lord Chancellor, accusing him of injustice, and had been punished for it
+by the loss of his ears in the pillory, and degradation from the bar, and
+in addition had been fined 3,000 pounds and sentenced to imprisonment for
+life. &nbsp;Lately he had repeated his offence; and in consequence was now
+under sentence to lose WHAT REMAINED OF HIS EARS, pay a fine of 5,000
+pounds, be branded on both cheeks, and remain in prison for life.</p>
+
+<p>"These be honourable scars," he said, and turned back his grey hair and
+showed the mutilated stubs of what had once been his ears.</p>
+
+<p>The King's eye burned with passion. &nbsp;He said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"None believe in me&mdash;neither wilt thou. &nbsp;But no matter&mdash;within the
+compass of a month thou shalt be free; and more, the laws that have
+dishonoured thee, and shamed the English name, shall be swept from the
+statute books. &nbsp;The world is made wrong; kings should go to school to
+their own laws, at times, and so learn mercy." {1}</p>
+
+
+<br><br><hr><br>
+<br><br>
+<a name="c28"></a>
+<a name="28-331"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="28-331.jpg (48K)" src="images/28-331.jpg" height="421" width="734">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<p>Chapter XXVIII. The sacrifice.</p>
+
+<p>Meantime Miles was growing sufficiently tired of confinement and
+inaction. &nbsp;But now his trial came on, to his great gratification, and he
+thought he could welcome any sentence provided a further imprisonment
+should not be a part of it. &nbsp;But he was mistaken about that. &nbsp;He was in a
+fine fury when he found himself described as a 'sturdy vagabond' and
+sentenced to sit two hours in the stocks for bearing that character and
+for assaulting the master of Hendon Hall. &nbsp;His pretensions as to
+brothership with his prosecutor, and rightful heirship to the Hendon
+honours and estates, were left contemptuously unnoticed, as being not
+even worth examination.</p>
+
+<p>He raged and threatened on his way to punishment, but it did no good; he
+was snatched roughly along by the officers, and got an occasional cuff,
+besides, for his irreverent conduct.</p>
+
+<p>The King could not pierce through the rabble that swarmed behind; so he
+was obliged to follow in the rear, remote from his good friend and
+servant. &nbsp;The King had been nearly condemned to the stocks himself for
+being in such bad company, but had been let off with a lecture and a
+warning, in consideration of his youth. &nbsp;When the crowd at last halted,
+he flitted feverishly from point to point around its outer rim, hunting a
+place to get through; and at last, after a deal of difficulty and delay,
+succeeded. &nbsp;There sat his poor henchman in the degrading stocks, the
+sport and butt of a dirty mob&mdash;he, the body servant of the King of
+England! &nbsp;Edward had heard the sentence pronounced, but he had not
+realised the half that it meant. &nbsp;His anger began to rise as the sense of
+this new indignity which had been put upon him sank home; it jumped to
+summer heat, the next moment, when he saw an egg sail through the air and
+crush itself against Hendon's cheek, and heard the crowd roar its
+enjoyment of the episode. &nbsp;He sprang across the open circle and
+confronted the officer in charge, crying&mdash;</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="28-334"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="28-334.jpg (119K)" src="images/28-334.jpg" height="637" width="707">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>"For shame! &nbsp;This is my servant&mdash;set him free! &nbsp;I am the&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, peace!" exclaimed Hendon, in a panic, "thou'lt destroy thyself.
+Mind him not, officer, he is mad."</p>
+
+<p>"Give thyself no trouble as to the matter of minding him, good man, I
+have small mind to mind him; but as to teaching him somewhat, to that I
+am well inclined." &nbsp;He turned to a subordinate and said, "Give the little
+fool a taste or two of the lash, to mend his manners."</p>
+
+<p>"Half a dozen will better serve his turn," suggested Sir Hugh, who had
+ridden up, a moment before, to take a passing glance at the proceedings.</p>
+
+<p>The King was seized. &nbsp;He did not even struggle, so paralysed was he with
+the mere thought of the monstrous outrage that was proposed to be
+inflicted upon his sacred person. &nbsp;History was already defiled with the
+record of the scourging of an English king with whips&mdash;it was an
+intolerable reflection that he must furnish a duplicate of that shameful
+page. &nbsp;He was in the toils, there was no help for him; he must either
+take this punishment or beg for its remission. &nbsp;Hard conditions; he would
+take the stripes&mdash;a king might do that, but a king could not beg.</p>
+
+<p>But meantime, Miles Hendon was resolving the difficulty. &nbsp;"Let the child
+go," said he; "ye heartless dogs, do ye not see how young and frail he
+is? &nbsp;Let him go&mdash;I will take his lashes."</p>
+
+<p>"Marry, a good thought&mdash;and thanks for it," said Sir Hugh, his face
+lighting with a sardonic satisfaction. &nbsp;"Let the little beggar go, and
+give this fellow a dozen in his place&mdash;an honest dozen, well laid on."
+The King was in the act of entering a fierce protest, but Sir Hugh
+silenced him with the potent remark, "Yes, speak up, do, and free thy
+mind&mdash;only, mark ye, that for each word you utter he shall get six
+strokes the more."</p>
+
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="28-336"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="28-336.jpg (85K)" src="images/28-336.jpg" height="657" width="535">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>Hendon was removed from the stocks, and his back laid bare; and whilst
+the lash was applied the poor little King turned away his face and
+allowed unroyal tears to channel his cheeks unchecked. "Ah, brave good
+heart," he said to himself, "this loyal deed shall never perish out of my
+memory. &nbsp;I will not forget it&mdash;and neither shall THEY!" he added, with
+passion. &nbsp;Whilst he mused, his appreciation of Hendon's magnanimous
+conduct grew to greater and still greater dimensions in his mind, and so
+also did his gratefulness for it. &nbsp;Presently he said to himself, "Who
+saves his prince from wounds and possible death&mdash;and this he did for
+me&mdash;performs high service; but it is little&mdash;it is nothing&mdash;oh, less than
+nothing!&mdash;when 'tis weighed against the act of him who saves his prince
+from SHAME!"</p>
+
+<p>Hendon made no outcry under the scourge, but bore the heavy blows with
+soldierly fortitude. &nbsp;This, together with his redeeming the boy by taking
+his stripes for him, compelled the respect of even that forlorn and
+degraded mob that was gathered there; and its gibes and hootings died
+away, and no sound remained but the sound of the falling blows. &nbsp;The
+stillness that pervaded the place, when Hendon found himself once more in
+the stocks, was in strong contrast with the insulting clamour which had
+prevailed there so little a while before. &nbsp;The King came softly to
+Hendon's side, and whispered in his ear&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Kings cannot ennoble thee, thou good, great soul, for One who is higher
+than kings hath done that for thee; but a king can confirm thy nobility
+to men." &nbsp;He picked up the scourge from the ground, touched Hendon's
+bleeding shoulders lightly with it, and whispered, "Edward of England
+dubs thee Earl!"</p>
+
+<p>Hendon was touched. &nbsp;The water welled to his eyes, yet at the same time
+the grisly humour of the situation and circumstances so undermined his
+gravity that it was all he could do to keep some sign of his inward mirth
+from showing outside. &nbsp;To be suddenly hoisted, naked and gory, from the
+common stocks to the Alpine altitude and splendour of an Earldom, seemed
+to him the last possibility in the line of the grotesque. &nbsp;He said to
+himself, "Now am I finely tinselled, indeed! &nbsp;The spectre-knight of the
+Kingdom of Dreams and Shadows is become a spectre-earl&mdash;a dizzy flight
+for a callow wing! &nbsp;An' this go on, I shall presently be hung like a very
+maypole with fantastic gauds and make-believe honours. &nbsp;But I shall value
+them, all valueless as they are, for the love that doth bestow them.
+Better these poor mock dignities of mine, that come unasked, from a clean
+hand and a right spirit, than real ones bought by servility from grudging
+and interested power."</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="28-337"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="28-337.jpg (124K)" src="images/28-337.jpg" height="699" width="728">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>The dreaded Sir Hugh wheeled his horse about, and as he spurred away, the
+living wall divided silently to let him pass, and as silently closed
+together again. &nbsp;And so remained; nobody went so far as to venture a
+remark in favour of the prisoner, or in compliment to him; but no
+matter&mdash;the absence of abuse was a sufficient homage in itself. &nbsp;A late comer
+who was not posted as to the present circumstances, and who delivered a
+sneer at the 'impostor,' and was in the act of following it with a dead
+cat, was promptly knocked down and kicked out, without any words, and
+then the deep quiet resumed sway once more.</p>
+
+<br><br><hr><br>
+<br><br>
+<a name="c29"></a>
+<a name="29-339"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="29-339.jpg (53K)" src="images/29-339.jpg" height="534" width="538">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+<p>Chapter XXIX. To London.</p>
+
+<p>When Hendon's term of service in the stocks was finished, he was released
+and ordered to quit the region and come back no more. His sword was
+restored to him, and also his mule and his donkey. He mounted and rode
+off, followed by the King, the crowd opening with quiet respectfulness to
+let them pass, and then dispersing when they were gone.</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="29-342"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="29-342.jpg (142K)" src="images/29-342.jpg" height="748" width="726">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>Hendon was soon absorbed in thought. &nbsp;There were questions of high import
+to be answered. &nbsp;What should he do? &nbsp;Whither should he go? Powerful help
+must be found somewhere, or he must relinquish his inheritance and remain
+under the imputation of being an impostor besides. &nbsp;Where could he hope
+to find this powerful help? &nbsp;Where, indeed! &nbsp;It was a knotty question.
+By-and-by a thought occurred to him which pointed to a possibility&mdash;the
+slenderest of slender possibilities, certainly, but still worth
+considering, for lack of any other that promised anything at all. &nbsp;He
+remembered what old Andrews had said about the young King's goodness and
+his generous championship of the wronged and unfortunate. &nbsp;Why not go and
+try to get speech of him and beg for justice? &nbsp;Ah, yes, but could so
+fantastic a pauper get admission to the august presence of a monarch?
+Never mind&mdash;let that matter take care of itself; it was a bridge that
+would not need to be crossed till he should come to it. &nbsp;He was an old
+campaigner, and used to inventing shifts and expedients: &nbsp;no doubt he
+would be able to find a way. &nbsp;Yes, he would strike for the capital.
+Maybe his father's old friend Sir Humphrey Marlow would help him&mdash;'good
+old Sir Humphrey, Head Lieutenant of the late King's kitchen, or stables,
+or something'&mdash;Miles could not remember just what or which. &nbsp;Now that he
+had something to turn his energies to, a distinctly defined object to
+accomplish, the fog of humiliation and depression which had settled down
+upon his spirits lifted and blew away, and he raised his head and looked
+about him. &nbsp;He was surprised to see how far he had come; the village was
+away behind him. &nbsp;The King was jogging along in his wake, with his head
+bowed; for he, too, was deep in plans and thinkings. &nbsp;A sorrowful
+misgiving clouded Hendon's new-born cheerfulness: &nbsp;would the boy be
+willing to go again to a city where, during all his brief life, he had
+never known anything but ill-usage and pinching want? &nbsp;But the question
+must be asked; it could not be avoided; so Hendon reined up, and called
+out&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I had forgotten to inquire whither we are bound. &nbsp;Thy commands, my
+liege!"</p>
+
+<p>"To London!"</p>
+
+<p>Hendon moved on again, mightily contented with the answer&mdash;but astounded
+at it too.</p>
+
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="29-343"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="29-343.jpg (131K)" src="images/29-343.jpg" height="622" width="722">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>The whole journey was made without an adventure of importance. But it
+ended with one. &nbsp;About ten o'clock on the night of the 19th of February
+they stepped upon London Bridge, in the midst of a writhing, struggling
+jam of howling and hurrahing people, whose beer-jolly faces stood out
+strongly in the glare from manifold torches&mdash;and at that instant the
+decaying head of some former duke or other grandee tumbled down between
+them, striking Hendon on the elbow and then bounding off among the
+hurrying confusion of feet. So evanescent and unstable are men's works in
+this world!&mdash;the late good King is but three weeks dead and three days in
+his grave, and already the adornments which he took such pains to select
+from prominent people for his noble bridge are falling. &nbsp;A citizen
+stumbled over that head, and drove his own head into the back of somebody
+in front of him, who turned and knocked down the first person that came
+handy, and was promptly laid out himself by that person's friend. &nbsp;It was
+the right ripe time for a free fight, for the festivities of the
+morrow&mdash;Coronation Day&mdash;were already beginning; everybody was full of strong
+drink and patriotism; within five minutes the free fight was occupying a
+good deal of ground; within ten or twelve it covered an acre of so, and
+was become a riot. &nbsp;By this time Hendon and the King were hopelessly
+separated from each other and lost in the rush and turmoil of the roaring
+masses of humanity. &nbsp;And so we leave them.</p>
+
+<br><br><hr><br>
+<br><br>
+<a name="c30"></a>
+<a name="30-345"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="30-345.jpg (47K)" src="images/30-345.jpg" height="398" width="768">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>Chapter XXX. Tom's progress.</p>
+
+<p>Whilst the true King wandered about the land poorly clad, poorly fed,
+cuffed and derided by tramps one while, herding with thieves and
+murderers in a jail another, and called idiot and impostor by all
+impartially, the mock King Tom Canty enjoyed quite a different
+experience.</p>
+
+<p>When we saw him last, royalty was just beginning to have a bright side
+for him. &nbsp;This bright side went on brightening more and more every day:
+in a very little while it was become almost all sunshine and
+delightfulness. &nbsp;He lost his fears; his misgivings faded out and died;
+his embarrassments departed, and gave place to an easy and confident
+bearing. &nbsp;He worked the whipping-boy mine to ever-increasing profit.</p>
+
+<p>He ordered my Lady Elizabeth and my Lady Jane Grey into his presence when
+he wanted to play or talk, and dismissed them when he was done with them,
+with the air of one familiarly accustomed to such performances. &nbsp;It no
+longer confused him to have these lofty personages kiss his hand at
+parting.</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="30-348"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="30-348.jpg (92K)" src="images/30-348.jpg" height="522" width="724">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>He came to enjoy being conducted to bed in state at night, and dressed
+with intricate and solemn ceremony in the morning. &nbsp;It came to be a proud
+pleasure to march to dinner attended by a glittering procession of
+officers of state and gentlemen-at-arms; insomuch, indeed, that he
+doubled his guard of gentlemen-at-arms, and made them a hundred. &nbsp;He
+liked to hear the bugles sounding down the long corridors, and the
+distant voices responding, "Way for the King!"</p>
+
+<p>He even learned to enjoy sitting in throned state in council, and seeming
+to be something more than the Lord Protector's mouthpiece. He liked to
+receive great ambassadors and their gorgeous trains, and listen to the
+affectionate messages they brought from illustrious monarchs who called
+him brother. &nbsp;O happy Tom Canty, late of Offal Court!</p>
+
+<p>He enjoyed his splendid clothes, and ordered more: &nbsp;he found his four
+hundred servants too few for his proper grandeur, and trebled them. &nbsp;The
+adulation of salaaming courtiers came to be sweet music to his ears. &nbsp;He
+remained kind and gentle, and a sturdy and determined champion of all
+that were oppressed, and he made tireless war upon unjust laws: &nbsp;yet upon
+occasion, being offended, he could turn upon an earl, or even a duke, and
+give him a look that would make him tremble. &nbsp;Once, when his royal
+'sister,' the grimly holy Lady Mary, set herself to reason with him
+against the wisdom of his course in pardoning so many people who would
+otherwise be jailed, or hanged, or burned, and reminded him that their
+august late father's prisons had sometimes contained as high as sixty
+thousand convicts at one time, and that during his admirable reign he had
+delivered seventy-two thousand thieves and robbers over to death by the
+executioner, {9} the boy was filled with generous indignation, and
+commanded her to go to her closet, and beseech God to take away the stone
+that was in her breast, and give her a human heart.</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="30-349"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="30-349.jpg (94K)" src="images/30-349.jpg" height="575" width="726">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>Did Tom Canty never feel troubled about the poor little rightful prince
+who had treated him so kindly, and flown out with such hot zeal to avenge
+him upon the insolent sentinel at the palace-gate? Yes; his first royal
+days and nights were pretty well sprinkled with painful thoughts about
+the lost prince, and with sincere longings for his return, and happy
+restoration to his native rights and splendours. &nbsp;But as time wore on,
+and the prince did not come, Tom's mind became more and more occupied
+with his new and enchanting experiences, and by little and little the
+vanished monarch faded almost out of his thoughts; and finally, when he
+did intrude upon them at intervals, he was become an unwelcome spectre,
+for he made Tom feel guilty and ashamed.</p>
+
+<p>Tom's poor mother and sisters travelled the same road out of his mind.
+At first he pined for them, sorrowed for them, longed to see them, but
+later, the thought of their coming some day in their rags and dirt, and
+betraying him with their kisses, and pulling him down from his lofty
+place, and dragging him back to penury and degradation and the slums,
+made him shudder. &nbsp;At last they ceased to trouble his thoughts almost
+wholly. &nbsp;And he was content, even glad: &nbsp;for, whenever their mournful and
+accusing faces did rise before him now, they made him feel more
+despicable than the worms that crawl.</p>
+
+<p>At midnight of the 19th of February, Tom Canty was sinking to sleep in
+his rich bed in the palace, guarded by his loyal vassals, and surrounded
+by the pomps of royalty, a happy boy; for tomorrow was the day appointed
+for his solemn crowning as King of England. At that same hour, Edward,
+the true king, hungry and thirsty, soiled and draggled, worn with travel,
+and clothed in rags and shreds&mdash;his share of the results of the riot&mdash;was
+wedged in among a crowd of people who were watching with deep interest
+certain hurrying gangs of workmen who streamed in and out of Westminster
+Abbey, busy as ants: &nbsp;they were making the last preparation for the royal
+coronation.</p>
+
+<br><br><hr><br>
+<br><br>
+<a name="c31"></a>
+<a name="31-351"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="31-351.jpg (68K)" src="images/31-351.jpg" height="477" width="723">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<a name="31-353"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="31-353.jpg (134K)" src="images/31-353.jpg" height="876" width="747">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+<p>Chapter XXXI. The Recognition procession.</p>
+
+<p>When Tom Canty awoke the next morning, the air was heavy with a
+thunderous murmur: &nbsp;all the distances were charged with it. &nbsp;It was music
+to him; for it meant that the English world was out in its strength to
+give loyal welcome to the great day.</p>
+
+<p>Presently Tom found himself once more the chief figure in a wonderful
+floating pageant on the Thames; for by ancient custom the 'recognition
+procession' through London must start from the Tower, and he was bound
+thither.</p>
+
+<p>When he arrived there, the sides of the venerable fortress seemed
+suddenly rent in a thousand places, and from every rent leaped a red
+tongue of flame and a white gush of smoke; a deafening explosion
+followed, which drowned the shoutings of the multitude, and made the
+ground tremble; the flame-jets, the smoke, and the explosions, were
+repeated over and over again with marvellous celerity, so that in a few
+moments the old Tower disappeared in the vast fog of its own smoke, all
+but the very top of the tall pile called the White Tower; this, with its
+banners, stood out above the dense bank of vapour as a mountain-peak
+projects above a cloud-rack.</p>
+
+<p>Tom Canty, splendidly arrayed, mounted a prancing war-steed, whose rich
+trappings almost reached to the ground; his 'uncle,' the Lord Protector
+Somerset, similarly mounted, took place in his rear; the King's Guard
+formed in single ranks on either side, clad in burnished armour; after
+the Protector followed a seemingly interminable procession of resplendent
+nobles attended by their vassals; after these came the lord mayor and the
+aldermanic body, in crimson velvet robes, and with their gold chains
+across their breasts; and after these the officers and members of all the
+guilds of London, in rich raiment, and bearing the showy banners of the
+several corporations. &nbsp;Also in the procession, as a special guard of
+honour through the city, was the Ancient and Honourable Artillery
+Company&mdash;an organisation already three hundred years old at that time,
+and the only military body in England possessing the privilege (which it
+still possesses in our day) of holding itself independent of the commands
+of Parliament. &nbsp;It was a brilliant spectacle, and was hailed with
+acclamations all along the line, as it took its stately way through the
+packed multitudes of citizens. The chronicler says, 'The King, as he
+entered the city, was received by the people with prayers, welcomings,
+cries, and tender words, and all signs which argue an earnest love of
+subjects toward their sovereign; and the King, by holding up his glad
+countenance to such as stood afar off, and most tender language to those
+that stood nigh his Grace, showed himself no less thankful to receive the
+people's goodwill than they to offer it. &nbsp;To all that wished him well, he
+gave thanks. &nbsp;To such as bade "God save his Grace," he said in return,
+"God save you all!" and added that "he thanked them with all his heart."
+Wonderfully transported were the people with the loving answers and
+gestures of their King.'</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="31-355"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="31-355.jpg (40K)" src="images/31-355.jpg" height="677" width="320">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>In Fenchurch Street a 'fair child, in costly apparel,' stood on a stage
+to welcome his Majesty to the city. &nbsp;The last verse of his greeting was
+in these words&mdash;</p>
+
+<center>
+<table summary="">
+<tr><td>
+<p><br>
+'Welcome, O King! as much as hearts can think;<br>
+Welcome, again, as much as tongue can tell,&mdash;<br>
+Welcome to joyous tongues, and hearts that will not shrink: <br>
+God thee preserve, we pray, and wish thee ever well.'</p>
+
+</td></tr>
+</table>
+</center>
+
+
+
+<p>The people burst forth in a glad shout, repeating with one voice what the
+child had said. &nbsp;Tom Canty gazed abroad over the surging sea of eager
+faces, and his heart swelled with exultation; and he felt that the one
+thing worth living for in this world was to be a king, and a nation's
+idol. &nbsp;Presently he caught sight, at a distance, of a couple of his
+ragged Offal Court comrades&mdash;one of them the lord high admiral in his
+late mimic court, the other the first lord of the bedchamber in the same
+pretentious fiction; and his pride swelled higher than ever. &nbsp;Oh, if they
+could only recognise him now! &nbsp;What unspeakable glory it would be, if
+they could recognise him, and realise that the derided mock king of the
+slums and back alleys was become a real King, with illustrious dukes and
+princes for his humble menials, and the English world at his feet! &nbsp;But
+he had to deny himself, and choke down his desire, for such a recognition
+might cost more than it would come to: &nbsp;so he turned away his head, and
+left the two soiled lads to go on with their shoutings and glad
+adulations, unsuspicious of whom it was they were lavishing them upon.</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="31-356"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="31-356.jpg (195K)" src="images/31-356.jpg" height="1062" width="724">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>Every now and then rose the cry, "A largess! a largess!" and Tom
+responded by scattering a handful of bright new coins abroad for the
+multitude to scramble for.</p>
+
+<p>The chronicler says, 'At the upper end of Gracechurch Street, before the
+sign of the Eagle, the city had erected a gorgeous arch, beneath which
+was a stage, which stretched from one side of the street to the other.
+This was an historical pageant, representing the King's immediate
+progenitors. &nbsp;There sat Elizabeth of York in the midst of an immense
+white rose, whose petals formed elaborate furbelows around her; by her
+side was Henry VII., issuing out of a vast red rose, disposed in the same
+manner: &nbsp;the hands of the royal pair were locked together, and the
+wedding-ring ostentatiously displayed. &nbsp;From the red and white roses
+proceeded a stem, which reached up to a second stage, occupied by Henry
+VIII., issuing from a red and white rose, with the effigy of the new
+King's mother, Jane Seymour, represented by his side. &nbsp;One branch sprang
+from this pair, which mounted to a third stage, where sat the effigy of
+Edward VI. himself, enthroned in royal majesty; and the whole pageant was
+framed with wreaths of roses, red and white.'</p>
+
+<p>This quaint and gaudy spectacle so wrought upon the rejoicing people,
+that their acclamations utterly smothered the small voice of the child
+whose business it was to explain the thing in eulogistic rhymes. &nbsp;But Tom
+Canty was not sorry; for this loyal uproar was sweeter music to him than
+any poetry, no matter what its quality might be. &nbsp;Whithersoever Tom
+turned his happy young face, the people recognised the exactness of his
+effigy's likeness to himself, the flesh and blood counterpart; and new
+whirlwinds of applause burst forth.</p>
+
+<p>The great pageant moved on, and still on, under one triumphal arch after
+another, and past a bewildering succession of spectacular and symbolical
+tableaux, each of which typified and exalted some virtue, or talent, or
+merit, of the little King's. &nbsp;'Throughout the whole of Cheapside, from
+every penthouse and window, hung banners and streamers; and the richest
+carpets, stuffs, and cloth-of-gold tapestried the streets&mdash;specimens of
+the great wealth of the stores within; and the splendour of this
+thoroughfare was equalled in the other streets, and in some even
+surpassed.'</p>
+
+<p>"And all these wonders and these marvels are to welcome me&mdash;me!" murmured
+Tom Canty.</p>
+
+<p>The mock King's cheeks were flushed with excitement, his eyes were
+flashing, his senses swam in a delirium of pleasure. &nbsp;At this point, just
+as he was raising his hand to fling another rich largess, he caught sight
+of a pale, astounded face, which was strained forward out of the second
+rank of the crowd, its intense eyes riveted upon him. &nbsp;A sickening
+consternation struck through him; he recognised his mother! and up flew
+his hand, palm outward, before his eyes&mdash;that old involuntary gesture,
+born of a forgotten episode, and perpetuated by habit. &nbsp;In an instant
+more she had torn her way out of the press, and past the guards, and was
+at his side. &nbsp;She embraced his leg, she covered it with kisses, she
+cried, "O my child, my darling!" lifting toward him a face that was
+transfigured with joy and love. &nbsp;The same instant an officer of the
+King's Guard snatched her away with a curse, and sent her reeling back
+whence she came with a vigorous impulse from his strong arm. &nbsp;The words
+"I do not know you, woman!" were falling from Tom Canty's lips when this
+piteous thing occurred; but it smote him to the heart to see her treated
+so; and as she turned for a last glimpse of him, whilst the crowd was
+swallowing her from his sight, she seemed so wounded, so broken-hearted,
+that a shame fell upon him which consumed his pride to ashes, and
+withered his stolen royalty. &nbsp;His grandeurs were stricken valueless:
+they seemed to fall away from him like rotten rags.</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="31-359"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="31-359.jpg (164K)" src="images/31-359.jpg" height="878" width="735">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+<p>The procession moved on, and still on, through ever augmenting splendours
+and ever augmenting tempests of welcome; but to Tom Canty they were as if
+they had not been. &nbsp;He neither saw nor heard. &nbsp;Royalty had lost its grace
+and sweetness; its pomps were become a reproach. &nbsp;Remorse was eating his
+heart out. &nbsp;He said, "Would God I were free of my captivity!"</p>
+
+<p>He had unconsciously dropped back into the phraseology of the first days
+of his compulsory greatness.</p>
+
+<p>The shining pageant still went winding like a radiant and interminable
+serpent down the crooked lanes of the quaint old city, and through the
+huzzaing hosts; but still the King rode with bowed head and vacant eyes,
+seeing only his mother's face and that wounded look in it.</p>
+
+<p>"Largess, largess!" &nbsp;The cry fell upon an unheeding ear.</p>
+
+<p>"Long live Edward of England!" &nbsp;It seemed as if the earth shook with the
+explosion; but there was no response from the King. &nbsp;He heard it only as
+one hears the thunder of the surf when it is blown to the ear out of a
+great distance, for it was smothered under another sound which was still
+nearer, in his own breast, in his accusing conscience&mdash;a voice which kept
+repeating those shameful words, "I do not know you, woman!"</p>
+
+<p>The words smote upon the King's soul as the strokes of a funeral bell
+smite upon the soul of a surviving friend when they remind him of secret
+treacheries suffered at his hands by him that is gone.</p>
+
+<p>New glories were unfolded at every turning; new wonders, new marvels,
+sprang into view; the pent clamours of waiting batteries were released;
+new raptures poured from the throats of the waiting multitudes: &nbsp;but the
+King gave no sign, and the accusing voice that went moaning through his
+comfortless breast was all the sound he heard.</p>
+
+<p>By-and-by the gladness in the faces of the populace changed a little, and
+became touched with a something like solicitude or anxiety: &nbsp;an abatement
+in the volume of the applause was observable too. &nbsp;The Lord Protector was
+quick to notice these things: &nbsp;he was as quick to detect the cause. &nbsp;He
+spurred to the King's side, bent low in his saddle, uncovered, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"My liege, it is an ill time for dreaming. &nbsp;The people observe thy
+downcast head, thy clouded mien, and they take it for an omen. &nbsp;Be
+advised: &nbsp;unveil the sun of royalty, and let it shine upon these boding
+vapours, and disperse them. &nbsp;Lift up thy face, and smile upon the
+people."</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="31-361"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="31-361.jpg (78K)" src="images/31-361.jpg" height="515" width="766">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>So saying, the Duke scattered a handful of coins to right and left, then
+retired to his place. &nbsp;The mock King did mechanically as he had been
+bidden. &nbsp;His smile had no heart in it, but few eyes were near enough or
+sharp enough to detect that. &nbsp;The noddings of his plumed head as he
+saluted his subjects were full of grace and graciousness; the largess
+which he delivered from his hand was royally liberal: &nbsp;so the people's
+anxiety vanished, and the acclamations burst forth again in as mighty a
+volume as before.</p>
+
+<p>Still once more, a little before the progress was ended, the Duke was
+obliged to ride forward, and make remonstrance. &nbsp;He whispered&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"O dread sovereign! shake off these fatal humours; the eyes of the world
+are upon thee." &nbsp;Then he added with sharp annoyance, "Perdition catch
+that crazy pauper! 'twas she that hath disturbed your Highness."</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="31-362"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="31-362.jpg (119K)" src="images/31-362.jpg" height="631" width="736">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>The gorgeous figure turned a lustreless eye upon the Duke, and said in a
+dead voice&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"She was my mother!"</p>
+
+<p>"My God!" groaned the Protector as he reined his horse backward to his
+post, "the omen was pregnant with prophecy. &nbsp;He is gone mad again!"</p>
+
+
+
+
+<br>
+<br>
+
+
+<center>
+<table summary="" cellPadding=4 border=3>
+<tr><td>
+ &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="p7.htm">Previous Part</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+</td><td>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="1837-h.htm">Main Index</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+</td><td>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="p9.htm">Next Part</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+</td></tr>
+</table>
+</center>
+
+</body>
+</html>
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+<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
+<html>
+<head>
+<title>THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER, By Mark Twain, Part 9.</title>
+<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
+
+<style type="text/css">
+    <!--
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+    H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; }
+    HR  { width: 33%; text-align: center; }
+		blockquote {font-size: 97% }
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+<body>
+
+<center>
+<table summary="" cellPadding=4 border=3>
+<tr><td>
+ &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="p8.htm">Previous Part</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+</td><td>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="1837-h.htm">Main Index</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+</td></tr>
+</table>
+</center>
+
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+
+<center>
+<h1>THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER</h1>
+<br><br>
+<h2>by Mark Twain
+<br><br><br><br>Part Nine
+</h2>
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="bookcover.jpg (148K)" src="images/bookcover.jpg" height="1018" width="948">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="frontispiece1.jpg (135K)" src="images/frontispiece1.jpg" height="1067" width="745">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="frontispiece2.jpg (123K)" src="images/frontispiece2.jpg" height="939" width="747">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="titlepage.jpg (62K)" src="images/titlepage.jpg" height="1083" width="815">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="greatseal.jpg (68K)" src="images/greatseal.jpg" height="438" width="711">
+<br>The Great Seal
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="dedication.jpg (21K)" src="images/dedication.jpg" height="420" width="663">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="inscription.jpg (16K)" src="images/inscription.jpg" height="219" width="601">
+</center>
+
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<br><br>
+<blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><blockquote>
+<b>
+I will set down a tale as it was told to me by one who had it of his
+father, which latter had it of HIS father, this last having in like
+manner had it of HIS father&mdash;and so on, back and still back, three
+hundred years and more, the fathers transmitting it to the sons and so
+preserving it. &nbsp;It may be history, it may be only a legend, a tradition.
+It may have happened, it may not have happened: &nbsp;but it COULD have
+happened. &nbsp;It may be that the wise and the learned believed it in the old
+days; it may be that only the unlearned and the simple loved it and
+credited it.</b>
+</blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote>
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+
+
+<h2>
+CONTENTS</h2>
+
+<center>
+<table summary="">
+<tr><td>
+
+
+
+XXXII. </td><td><a href="#c32">Coronation Day</a>.<br></td></tr><tr><td>
+XXXIII. </td><td><a href="#c33">Edward as King.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td>
+Conclusion. &nbsp;</td><td><a href="#c34">Justice and Retribution.</a><br></td></tr><tr><td>
+&nbsp;    </td><td><a href="#35-403">Notes.</a><br></td></tr>
+
+
+
+</table>
+</center>
+
+
+
+
+
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<h2>ILLUSTRATIONS</h2>
+<center>
+<table summary="">
+<tr><td>
+
+
+
+<a href="#32-363">CORONATION DAY</a><br><br>
+<a href="#32-366">"GATHERS UP THE LADY'S LONG TRAIN"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#32-368">"TOM CANTY APPEARED"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#32-370">"AND FELL ON HIS KNEES BEFORE HIM"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#32-373">"THE GREAT SEAL&mdash;FETCH IT HITHER"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#32-375">"SIRE, THE SEAL IS NOT THERE"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#32-377">"BETHINK THEE, MY KING"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#32-379">"LONG LIVE THE TRUE KING!"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#32-381">"TO CRACK NUTS WITH"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#33-383">EDWARD AS KING</a><br><br>
+<a href="#33-386">"HE STRETCHED HIMSELF ON THE GROUND"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#33-389">"ARRESTED AS A SUSPICIOUS CHARACTER"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#33-392">"IT IS HIS RIGHT"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#33-394">"STRIP THIS ROBBER"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#33-395">"TOM ROSE AND KISSED THE KING'S HAND"</a><br><br>
+<a href="#34-397">JUSTICE AND RETRIBUTION</a><br><br>
+<a href="#35-403">NOTES</a><br><br>
+
+
+</td></tr>
+</table>
+</center>
+
+
+
+<br><br><hr><br>
+<br><br>
+<a name="c32"></a>
+<a name="32-363"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="32-363.jpg (51K)" src="images/32-363.jpg" height="434" width="682">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+<p>Chapter XXXII. Coronation Day.</p>
+
+<p>Let us go backward a few hours, and place ourselves in Westminster Abbey,
+at four o'clock in the morning of this memorable Coronation Day. &nbsp;We are
+not without company; for although it is still night, we find the
+torch-lighted galleries already filling up with people who are well content to
+sit still and wait seven or eight hours till the time shall come for them
+to see what they may not hope to see twice in their lives&mdash;the coronation
+of a King. &nbsp;Yes, London and Westminster have been astir ever since the
+warning guns boomed at three o'clock, and already crowds of untitled rich
+folk who have bought the privilege of trying to find sitting-room in the
+galleries are flocking in at the entrances reserved for their sort.</p>
+
+<p>The hours drag along tediously enough. &nbsp;All stir has ceased for some
+time, for every gallery has long ago been packed. &nbsp;We may sit, now, and
+look and think at our leisure. &nbsp;We have glimpses, here and there and
+yonder, through the dim cathedral twilight, of portions of many galleries
+and balconies, wedged full with other people, the other portions of these
+galleries and balconies being cut off from sight by intervening pillars
+and architectural projections. &nbsp;We have in view the whole of the great
+north transept&mdash;empty, and waiting for England's privileged ones. &nbsp;We see
+also the ample area or platform, carpeted with rich stuffs, whereon the
+throne stands. &nbsp;The throne occupies the centre of the platform, and is
+raised above it upon an elevation of four steps. Within the seat of the
+throne is enclosed a rough flat rock&mdash;the stone of Scone&mdash;which many
+generations of Scottish kings sat on to be crowned, and so it in time
+became holy enough to answer a like purpose for English monarchs. &nbsp;Both
+the throne and its footstool are covered with cloth of gold.</p>
+
+<p>Stillness reigns, the torches blink dully, the time drags heavily. But at
+last the lagging daylight asserts itself, the torches are extinguished,
+and a mellow radiance suffuses the great spaces. All features of the
+noble building are distinct now, but soft and dreamy, for the sun is
+lightly veiled with clouds.</p>
+
+<p>At seven o'clock the first break in the drowsy monotony occurs; for on
+the stroke of this hour the first peeress enters the transept, clothed
+like Solomon for splendour, and is conducted to her appointed place by an
+official clad in satins and velvets, whilst a duplicate of him gathers up
+the lady's long train, follows after, and, when the lady is seated,
+arranges the train across her lap for her. &nbsp;He then places her footstool
+according to her desire, after which he puts her coronet where it will be
+convenient to her hand when the time for the simultaneous coroneting of
+the nobles shall arrive.</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="32-366"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="32-366.jpg (53K)" src="images/32-366.jpg" height="366" width="732">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>By this time the peeresses are flowing in in a glittering stream, and the
+satin-clad officials are flitting and glinting everywhere, seating them
+and making them comfortable. &nbsp;The scene is animated enough now. &nbsp;There is
+stir and life, and shifting colour everywhere. &nbsp;After a time, quiet
+reigns again; for the peeresses are all come and are all in their places,
+a solid acre or such a matter, of human flowers, resplendent in
+variegated colours, and frosted like a Milky Way with diamonds. &nbsp;There
+are all ages here: brown, wrinkled, white-haired dowagers who are able to
+go back, and still back, down the stream of time, and recall the crowning
+of Richard III. and the troublous days of that old forgotten age; and
+there are handsome middle-aged dames; and lovely and gracious young
+matrons; and gentle and beautiful young girls, with beaming eyes and
+fresh complexions, who may possibly put on their jewelled coronets
+awkwardly when the great time comes; for the matter will be new to them,
+and their excitement will be a sore hindrance. Still, this may not
+happen, for the hair of all these ladies has been arranged with a special
+view to the swift and successful lodging of the crown in its place when
+the signal comes.</p>
+
+<p>We have seen that this massed array of peeresses is sown thick with
+diamonds, and we also see that it is a marvellous spectacle&mdash;but now we
+are about to be astonished in earnest. &nbsp;About nine, the clouds suddenly
+break away and a shaft of sunshine cleaves the mellow atmosphere, and
+drifts slowly along the ranks of ladies; and every rank it touches flames
+into a dazzling splendour of many-coloured fires, and we tingle to our
+finger-tips with the electric thrill that is shot through us by the
+surprise and the beauty of the spectacle! &nbsp;Presently a special envoy from
+some distant corner of the Orient, marching with the general body of
+foreign ambassadors, crosses this bar of sunshine, and we catch our
+breath, the glory that streams and flashes and palpitates about him is so
+overpowering; for he is crusted from head to heel with gems, and his
+slightest movement showers a dancing radiance all around him.</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="32-368"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="32-368.jpg (158K)" src="images/32-368.jpg" height="1017" width="732">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>Let us change the tense for convenience. &nbsp;The time drifted along&mdash;one
+hour&mdash;two hours&mdash;two hours and a half; then the deep booming of artillery
+told that the King and his grand procession had arrived at last; so the
+waiting multitude rejoiced. &nbsp;All knew that a further delay must follow,
+for the King must be prepared and robed for the solemn ceremony; but this
+delay would be pleasantly occupied by the assembling of the peers of the
+realm in their stately robes. &nbsp;These were conducted ceremoniously to
+their seats, and their coronets placed conveniently at hand; and
+meanwhile the multitude in the galleries were alive with interest, for
+most of them were beholding for the first time, dukes, earls, and barons,
+whose names had been historical for five hundred years. &nbsp;When all were
+finally seated, the spectacle from the galleries and all coigns of
+vantage was complete; a gorgeous one to look upon and to remember.</p>
+
+<p>Now the robed and mitred great heads of the church, and their attendants,
+filed in upon the platform and took their appointed places; these were
+followed by the Lord Protector and other great officials, and these again
+by a steel-clad detachment of the Guard.</p>
+
+<p>There was a waiting pause; then, at a signal, a triumphant peal of music
+burst forth, and Tom Canty, clothed in a long robe of cloth of gold,
+appeared at a door, and stepped upon the platform. &nbsp;The entire multitude
+rose, and the ceremony of the Recognition ensued.</p>
+
+<p>Then a noble anthem swept the Abbey with its rich waves of sound; and
+thus heralded and welcomed, Tom Canty was conducted to the throne. &nbsp;The
+ancient ceremonies went on, with impressive solemnity, whilst the
+audience gazed; and as they drew nearer and nearer to completion, Tom
+Canty grew pale, and still paler, and a deep and steadily deepening woe
+and despondency settled down upon his spirits and upon his remorseful
+heart.</p>
+
+<p>At last the final act was at hand. &nbsp;The Archbishop of Canterbury lifted
+up the crown of England from its cushion and held it out over the
+trembling mock-King's head. &nbsp;In the same instant a rainbow-radiance
+flashed along the spacious transept; for with one impulse every
+individual in the great concourse of nobles lifted a coronet and poised
+it over his or her head&mdash;and paused in that attitude.</p>
+
+<p>A deep hush pervaded the Abbey. &nbsp;At this impressive moment, a startling
+apparition intruded upon the scene&mdash;an apparition observed by none in the
+absorbed multitude, until it suddenly appeared, moving up the great
+central aisle. &nbsp;It was a boy, bareheaded, ill shod, and clothed in coarse
+plebeian garments that were falling to rags. &nbsp;He raised his hand with a
+solemnity which ill comported with his soiled and sorry aspect, and
+delivered this note of warning&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I forbid you to set the crown of England upon that forfeited head. &nbsp;I am
+the King!"</p>
+
+<p>In an instant several indignant hands were laid upon the boy; but in the
+same instant Tom Canty, in his regal vestments, made a swift step
+forward, and cried out in a ringing voice&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Loose him and forbear! &nbsp;He IS the King!"</p>
+
+<p>A sort of panic of astonishment swept the assemblage, and they partly
+rose in their places and stared in a bewildered way at one another and at
+the chief figures in this scene, like persons who wondered whether they
+were awake and in their senses, or asleep and dreaming. &nbsp;The Lord
+Protector was as amazed as the rest, but quickly recovered himself, and
+exclaimed in a voice of authority&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Mind not his Majesty, his malady is upon him again&mdash;seize the vagabond!"</p>
+
+<p>He would have been obeyed, but the mock-King stamped his foot and cried
+out&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"On your peril! &nbsp;Touch him not, he is the King!"</p>
+
+<p>The hands were withheld; a paralysis fell upon the house; no one moved,
+no one spoke; indeed, no one knew how to act or what to say, in so
+strange and surprising an emergency. &nbsp;While all minds were struggling to
+right themselves, the boy still moved steadily forward, with high port
+and confident mien; he had never halted from the beginning; and while the
+tangled minds still floundered helplessly, he stepped upon the platform,
+and the mock-King ran with a glad face to meet him; and fell on his knees
+before him and said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, my lord the King, let poor Tom Canty be first to swear fealty to
+thee, and say, 'Put on thy crown and enter into thine own again!'"</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="32-370"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="32-370.jpg (121K)" src="images/32-370.jpg" height="553" width="708">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+<p>The Lord Protector's eye fell sternly upon the new-comer's face; but
+straightway the sternness vanished away, and gave place to an expression
+of wondering surprise. &nbsp;This thing happened also to the other great
+officers. &nbsp;They glanced at each other, and retreated a step by a common
+and unconscious impulse. &nbsp;The thought in each mind was the same: &nbsp;"What a
+strange resemblance!"</p>
+
+<p>The Lord Protector reflected a moment or two in perplexity, then he said,
+with grave respectfulness&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"By your favour, sir, I desire to ask certain questions which&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"I will answer them, my lord."</p>
+
+<p>The Duke asked him many questions about the Court, the late King, the
+prince, the princesses&mdash;the boy answered them correctly and without
+hesitating. &nbsp;He described the rooms of state in the palace, the late
+King's apartments, and those of the Prince of Wales.</p>
+
+<p>It was strange; it was wonderful; yes, it was unaccountable&mdash;so all said
+that heard it. &nbsp;The tide was beginning to turn, and Tom Canty's hopes to
+run high, when the Lord Protector shook his head and said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"It is true it is most wonderful&mdash;but it is no more than our lord the
+King likewise can do." &nbsp;This remark, and this reference to himself as
+still the King, saddened Tom Canty, and he felt his hopes crumbling from
+under him. &nbsp;"These are not PROOFS," added the Protector.</p>
+
+<p>The tide was turning very fast now, very fast indeed&mdash;but in the wrong
+direction; it was leaving poor Tom Canty stranded on the throne, and
+sweeping the other out to sea. &nbsp;The Lord Protector communed with
+himself&mdash;shook his head&mdash;the thought forced itself upon him, "It is perilous to
+the State and to us all, to entertain so fateful a riddle as this; it
+could divide the nation and undermine the throne." &nbsp;He turned and said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Sir Thomas, arrest this&mdash;No, hold!" &nbsp;His face lighted, and he confronted
+the ragged candidate with this question&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Where lieth the Great Seal? &nbsp;Answer me this truly, and the riddle is
+unriddled; for only he that was Prince of Wales CAN so answer! On so
+trivial a thing hang a throne and a dynasty!"</p>
+
+<p>It was a lucky thought, a happy thought. &nbsp;That it was so considered by
+the great officials was manifested by the silent applause that shot from
+eye to eye around their circle in the form of bright approving glances.
+Yes, none but the true prince could dissolve the stubborn mystery of the
+vanished Great Seal&mdash;this forlorn little impostor had been taught his
+lesson well, but here his teachings must fail, for his teacher himself
+could not answer THAT question&mdash;ah, very good, very good indeed; now we
+shall be rid of this troublesome and perilous business in short order!
+And so they nodded invisibly and smiled inwardly with satisfaction, and
+looked to see this foolish lad stricken with a palsy of guilty confusion.
+How surprised they were, then, to see nothing of the sort happen&mdash;how
+they marvelled to hear him answer up promptly, in a confident and
+untroubled voice, and say&mdash;</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="32-373"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="32-373.jpg (201K)" src="images/32-373.jpg" height="1035" width="762">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>"There is nought in this riddle that is difficult." &nbsp;Then, without so
+much as a by-your-leave to anybody, he turned and gave this command, with
+the easy manner of one accustomed to doing such things: "My Lord St.
+John, go you to my private cabinet in the palace&mdash;for none knoweth the
+place better than you&mdash;and, close down to the floor, in the left corner
+remotest from the door that opens from the ante-chamber, you shall find
+in the wall a brazen nail-head; press upon it and a little jewel-closet
+will fly open which not even you do know of&mdash;no, nor any soul else in
+all the world but me and the trusty artisan that did contrive it for me.
+The first thing that falleth under your eye will be the Great Seal&mdash;fetch
+it hither."</p>
+
+<p>All the company wondered at this speech, and wondered still more to see
+the little mendicant pick out this peer without hesitancy or apparent
+fear of mistake, and call him by name with such a placidly convincing air
+of having known him all his life. &nbsp;The peer was almost surprised into
+obeying. &nbsp;He even made a movement as if to go, but quickly recovered his
+tranquil attitude and confessed his blunder with a blush. &nbsp;Tom Canty
+turned upon him and said, sharply&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Why dost thou hesitate? &nbsp;Hast not heard the King's command? &nbsp;Go!"</p>
+
+<p>The Lord St. John made a deep obeisance&mdash;and it was observed that it was
+a significantly cautious and non-committal one, it not being delivered at
+either of the kings, but at the neutral ground about half-way between the
+two&mdash;and took his leave.</p>
+
+<p>Now began a movement of the gorgeous particles of that official group
+which was slow, scarcely perceptible, and yet steady and persistent&mdash;a
+movement such as is observed in a kaleidoscope that is turned slowly,
+whereby the components of one splendid cluster fall away and join
+themselves to another&mdash;a movement which, little by little, in the present
+case, dissolved the glittering crowd that stood about Tom Canty and
+clustered it together again in the neighbourhood of the new-comer. &nbsp;Tom
+Canty stood almost alone. Now ensued a brief season of deep suspense and
+waiting&mdash;during which even the few faint hearts still remaining near Tom
+Canty gradually scraped together courage enough to glide, one by one,
+over to the majority. &nbsp;So at last Tom Canty, in his royal robes and
+jewels, stood wholly alone and isolated from the world, a conspicuous
+figure, occupying an eloquent vacancy.</p>
+
+<p>Now the Lord St. John was seen returning. &nbsp;As he advanced up the
+mid-aisle the interest was so intense that the low murmur of conversation in
+the great assemblage died out and was succeeded by a profound hush, a
+breathless stillness, through which his footfalls pulsed with a dull and
+distant sound. &nbsp;Every eye was fastened upon him as he moved along. &nbsp;He
+reached the platform, paused a moment, then moved toward Tom Canty with a
+deep obeisance, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Sire, the Seal is not there!"</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="32-375"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="32-375.jpg (77K)" src="images/32-375.jpg" height="392" width="733">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>A mob does not melt away from the presence of a plague-patient with more
+haste than the band of pallid and terrified courtiers melted away from
+the presence of the shabby little claimant of the Crown. &nbsp;In a moment he
+stood all alone, without friend or supporter, a target upon which was
+concentrated a bitter fire of scornful and angry looks. &nbsp;The Lord
+Protector called out fiercely&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Cast the beggar into the street, and scourge him through the town&mdash;the
+paltry knave is worth no more consideration!"</p>
+
+<p>Officers of the guard sprang forward to obey, but Tom Canty waved them
+off and said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Back! &nbsp;Whoso touches him perils his life!"</p>
+
+<p>The Lord Protector was perplexed in the last degree. &nbsp;He said to the Lord
+St. John&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Searched you well?&mdash;but it boots not to ask that. &nbsp;It doth seem passing
+strange. &nbsp;Little things, trifles, slip out of one's ken, and one does not
+think it matter for surprise; but how so bulky a thing as the Seal of
+England can vanish away and no man be able to get track of it again&mdash;a
+massy golden disk&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>Tom Canty, with beaming eyes, sprang forward and shouted&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Hold, that is enough! &nbsp;Was it round?&mdash;and thick?&mdash;and had it letters and
+devices graved upon it?&mdash;yes? &nbsp;Oh, NOW I know what this Great Seal is
+that there's been such worry and pother about. An' ye had described it to
+me, ye could have had it three weeks ago. &nbsp;Right well I know where it
+lies; but it was not I that put it there&mdash;first."</p>
+
+<p>"Who, then, my liege?" asked the Lord Protector.</p>
+
+<p>"He that stands there&mdash;the rightful King of England. &nbsp;And he shall tell
+you himself where it lies&mdash;then you will believe he knew it of his own
+knowledge. &nbsp;Bethink thee, my King&mdash;spur thy memory&mdash;it was the last, the
+very LAST thing thou didst that day before thou didst rush forth from the
+palace, clothed in my rags, to punish the soldier that insulted me."</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="32-377"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="32-377.jpg (85K)" src="images/32-377.jpg" height="466" width="744">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>A silence ensued, undisturbed by a movement or a whisper, and all eyes
+were fixed upon the new-comer, who stood, with bent head and corrugated
+brow, groping in his memory among a thronging multitude of valueless
+recollections for one single little elusive fact, which, found, would
+seat him upon a throne&mdash;unfound, would leave him as he was, for good and
+all&mdash;a pauper and an outcast. &nbsp;Moment after moment passed&mdash;the moments
+built themselves into minutes&mdash;still the boy struggled silently on, and
+gave no sign. &nbsp;But at last he heaved a sigh, shook his head slowly, and
+said, with a trembling lip and in a despondent voice&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I call the scene back&mdash;all of it&mdash;but the Seal hath no place in it." &nbsp;He
+paused, then looked up, and said with gentle dignity, "My lords and
+gentlemen, if ye will rob your rightful sovereign of his own for lack of
+this evidence which he is not able to furnish, I may not stay ye, being
+powerless. &nbsp;But&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, folly, oh, madness, my King!" cried Tom Canty, in a panic,
+"wait!&mdash;think! &nbsp;Do not give up!&mdash;the cause is not lost! &nbsp;Nor SHALL be, neither!
+List to what I say&mdash;follow every word&mdash;I am going to bring that morning
+back again, every hap just as it happened. &nbsp;We talked&mdash;I told you of my
+sisters, Nan and Bet&mdash;ah, yes, you remember that; and about mine old
+grandam&mdash;and the rough games of the lads of Offal Court&mdash;yes, you
+remember these things also; very well, follow me still, you shall recall
+everything. &nbsp;You gave me food and drink, and did with princely courtesy
+send away the servants, so that my low breeding might not shame me before
+them&mdash;ah, yes, this also you remember."</p>
+
+<p>As Tom checked off his details, and the other boy nodded his head in
+recognition of them, the great audience and the officials stared in
+puzzled wonderment; the tale sounded like true history, yet how could
+this impossible conjunction between a prince and a beggar-boy have come
+about? &nbsp;Never was a company of people so perplexed, so interested, and so
+stupefied, before.</p>
+
+<p>"For a jest, my prince, we did exchange garments. &nbsp;Then we stood before a
+mirror; and so alike were we that both said it seemed as if there had
+been no change made&mdash;yes, you remember that. &nbsp;Then you noticed that the
+soldier had hurt my hand&mdash;look! here it is, I cannot yet even write with
+it, the fingers are so stiff. &nbsp;At this your Highness sprang up, vowing
+vengeance upon that soldier, and ran towards the door&mdash;you passed a
+table&mdash;that thing you call the Seal lay on that table&mdash;you snatched it up
+and looked eagerly about, as if for a place to hide it&mdash;your eye caught
+sight of&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"There, 'tis sufficient!&mdash;and the good God be thanked!" exclaimed the
+ragged claimant, in a mighty excitement. &nbsp;"Go, my good St. John&mdash;in an
+arm-piece of the Milanese armour that hangs on the wall, thou'lt find the
+Seal!"</p>
+
+<p>"Right, my King! right!" cried Tom Canty; "NOW the sceptre of England is
+thine own; and it were better for him that would dispute it that he had
+been born dumb! &nbsp;Go, my Lord St. John, give thy feet wings!"</p>
+
+<p>The whole assemblage was on its feet now, and well-nigh out of its mind
+with uneasiness, apprehension, and consuming excitement. &nbsp;On the floor
+and on the platform a deafening buzz of frantic conversation burst forth,
+and for some time nobody knew anything or heard anything or was
+interested in anything but what his neighbour was shouting into his ear,
+or he was shouting into his neighbour's ear. &nbsp;Time&mdash;nobody knew how much
+of it&mdash;swept by unheeded and unnoted. &nbsp;At last a sudden hush fell upon
+the house, and in the same moment St. John appeared upon the platform,
+and held the Great Seal aloft in his hand. &nbsp;Then such a shout went up&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Long live the true King!"</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="32-379"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="32-379.jpg (169K)" src="images/32-379.jpg" height="1010" width="720">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>For five minutes the air quaked with shouts and the crash of musical
+instruments, and was white with a storm of waving handkerchiefs; and
+through it all a ragged lad, the most conspicuous figure in England,
+stood, flushed and happy and proud, in the centre of the spacious
+platform, with the great vassals of the kingdom kneeling around him.</p>
+
+<p>Then all rose, and Tom Canty cried out&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Now, O my King, take these regal garments back, and give poor Tom, thy
+servant, his shreds and remnants again."</p>
+
+<p>The Lord Protector spoke up&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Let the small varlet be stripped and flung into the Tower."</p>
+
+<p>But the new King, the true King, said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I will not have it so. &nbsp;But for him I had not got my crown again&mdash;none
+shall lay a hand upon him to harm him. &nbsp;And as for thee, my good uncle,
+my Lord Protector, this conduct of thine is not grateful toward this poor
+lad, for I hear he hath made thee a duke"&mdash;the Protector blushed&mdash;"yet he
+was not a king; wherefore what is thy fine title worth now? &nbsp;To-morrow
+you shall sue to me, THROUGH HIM, for its confirmation, else no duke, but
+a simple earl, shalt thou remain."</p>
+
+<p>Under this rebuke, his Grace the Duke of Somerset retired a little from
+the front for the moment. &nbsp;The King turned to Tom, and said kindly&mdash;"My
+poor boy, how was it that you could remember where I hid the Seal when I
+could not remember it myself?"</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, my King, that was easy, since I used it divers days."</p>
+
+<p>"Used it&mdash;yet could not explain where it was?"</p>
+
+<p>"I did not know it was THAT they wanted. &nbsp;They did not describe it, your
+Majesty."</p>
+
+<p>"Then how used you it?"</p>
+
+<p>The red blood began to steal up into Tom's cheeks, and he dropped his
+eyes and was silent.</p>
+
+<p>"Speak up, good lad, and fear nothing," said the King. &nbsp;"How used you the
+Great Seal of England?"</p>
+
+<p>Tom stammered a moment, in a pathetic confusion, then got it out&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"To crack nuts with!"</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="32-381"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="32-381.jpg (59K)" src="images/32-381.jpg" height="298" width="732">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>Poor child, the avalanche of laughter that greeted this nearly swept him
+off his feet. &nbsp;But if a doubt remained in any mind that Tom Canty was not
+the King of England and familiar with the august appurtenances of
+royalty, this reply disposed of it utterly.</p>
+
+<p>Meantime the sumptuous robe of state had been removed from Tom's
+shoulders to the King's, whose rags were effectually hidden from sight
+under it. &nbsp;Then the coronation ceremonies were resumed; the true King was
+anointed and the crown set upon his head, whilst cannon thundered the
+news to the city, and all London seemed to rock with applause.</p>
+
+
+
+<br><br><hr><br>
+<br><br>
+<a name="c33"></a>
+<a name="33-383"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="33-383.jpg (86K)" src="images/33-383.jpg" height="784" width="641">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+
+<p>Chapter XXXIII. Edward as King.</p>
+
+<p>Miles Hendon was picturesque enough before he got into the riot on London
+Bridge&mdash;he was more so when he got out of it. &nbsp;He had but little money
+when he got in, none at all when he got out. &nbsp;The pickpockets had
+stripped him of his last farthing.</p>
+
+<p>But no matter, so he found his boy. &nbsp;Being a soldier, he did not go at
+his task in a random way, but set to work, first of all, to arrange his
+campaign.</p>
+
+<p>What would the boy naturally do? &nbsp;Where would he naturally go?
+Well&mdash;argued Miles&mdash;he would naturally go to his former haunts, for that is the
+instinct of unsound minds, when homeless and forsaken, as well as of
+sound ones. &nbsp;Whereabouts were his former haunts? &nbsp;His rags, taken
+together with the low villain who seemed to know him and who even claimed
+to be his father, indicated that his home was in one or another of the
+poorest and meanest districts of London. &nbsp;Would the search for him be
+difficult, or long? &nbsp;No, it was likely to be easy and brief. &nbsp;He would
+not hunt for the boy, he would hunt for a crowd; in the centre of a big
+crowd or a little one, sooner or later, he should find his poor little
+friend, sure; and the mangy mob would be entertaining itself with
+pestering and aggravating the boy, who would be proclaiming himself King,
+as usual. &nbsp;Then Miles Hendon would cripple some of those people, and
+carry off his little ward, and comfort and cheer him with loving words,
+and the two would never be separated any more.</p>
+
+<p>So Miles started on his quest. &nbsp;Hour after hour he tramped through back
+alleys and squalid streets, seeking groups and crowds, and finding no end
+of them, but never any sign of the boy. &nbsp;This greatly surprised him, but
+did not discourage him. &nbsp;To his notion, there was nothing the matter with
+his plan of campaign; the only miscalculation about it was that the
+campaign was becoming a lengthy one, whereas he had expected it to be
+short.</p>
+
+<p>When daylight arrived, at last, he had made many a mile, and canvassed
+many a crowd, but the only result was that he was tolerably tired, rather
+hungry and very sleepy. &nbsp;He wanted some breakfast, but there was no way
+to get it. &nbsp;To beg for it did not occur to him; as to pawning his sword,
+he would as soon have thought of parting with his honour; he could spare
+some of his clothes&mdash;yes, but one could as easily find a customer for a
+disease as for such clothes.</p>
+
+<p>At noon he was still tramping&mdash;among the rabble which followed after the
+royal procession, now; for he argued that this regal display would
+attract his little lunatic powerfully. &nbsp;He followed the pageant through
+all its devious windings about London, and all the way to Westminster and
+the Abbey. &nbsp;He drifted here and there amongst the multitudes that were
+massed in the vicinity for a weary long time, baffled and perplexed, and
+finally wandered off, thinking, and trying to contrive some way to better
+his plan of campaign. &nbsp;By-and-by, when he came to himself out of his
+musings, he discovered that the town was far behind him and that the day
+was growing old. &nbsp;He was near the river, and in the country; it was a
+region of fine rural seats&mdash;not the sort of district to welcome clothes
+like his.</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="33-386"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="33-386.jpg (94K)" src="images/33-386.jpg" height="482" width="718">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>It was not at all cold; so he stretched himself on the ground in the lee
+of a hedge to rest and think. &nbsp;Drowsiness presently began to settle upon
+his senses; the faint and far-off boom of cannon was wafted to his ear,
+and he said to himself, "The new King is crowned," and straightway fell
+asleep. &nbsp;He had not slept or rested, before, for more than thirty hours.
+He did not wake again until near the middle of the next morning.</p>
+
+<p>He got up, lame, stiff, and half famished, washed himself in the river,
+stayed his stomach with a pint or two of water, and trudged off toward
+Westminster, grumbling at himself for having wasted so much time. &nbsp;Hunger
+helped him to a new plan, now; he would try to get speech with old Sir
+Humphrey Marlow and borrow a few marks, and&mdash;but that was enough of a
+plan for the present; it would be time enough to enlarge it when this
+first stage should be accomplished.</p>
+
+<p>Toward eleven o'clock he approached the palace; and although a host of
+showy people were about him, moving in the same direction, he was not
+inconspicuous&mdash;his costume took care of that. &nbsp;He watched these people's
+faces narrowly, hoping to find a charitable one whose possessor might be
+willing to carry his name to the old lieutenant&mdash;as to trying to get into
+the palace himself, that was simply out of the question.</p>
+
+<p>Presently our whipping-boy passed him, then wheeled about and scanned his
+figure well, saying to himself, "An' that is not the very vagabond his
+Majesty is in such a worry about, then am I an ass&mdash;though belike I was
+that before. &nbsp;He answereth the description to a rag&mdash;that God should make
+two such would be to cheapen miracles by wasteful repetition. &nbsp;I would I
+could contrive an excuse to speak with him."</p>
+
+<p>Miles Hendon saved him the trouble; for he turned about, then, as a man
+generally will when somebody mesmerises him by gazing hard at him from
+behind; and observing a strong interest in the boy's eyes, he stepped
+toward him and said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"You have just come out from the palace; do you belong there?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, your worship."</p>
+
+<p>"Know you Sir Humphrey Marlow?"</p>
+
+<p>The boy started, and said to himself, "Lord! mine old departed father!"
+Then he answered aloud, "Right well, your worship."</p>
+
+<p>"Good&mdash;is he within?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said the boy; and added, to himself, "within his grave."</p>
+
+<p>"Might I crave your favour to carry my name to him, and say I beg to say
+a word in his ear?"</p>
+
+<p>"I will despatch the business right willingly, fair sir."</p>
+
+<p>"Then say Miles Hendon, son of Sir Richard, is here without&mdash;I shall be
+greatly bounden to you, my good lad."</p>
+
+<p>The boy looked disappointed. &nbsp;"The King did not name him so," he said to
+himself; "but it mattereth not, this is his twin brother, and can give
+his Majesty news of t'other Sir-Odds-and-Ends, I warrant." &nbsp;So he said to
+Miles, "Step in there a moment, good sir, and wait till I bring you
+word."</p>
+
+<p>Hendon retired to the place indicated&mdash;it was a recess sunk in the palace
+wall, with a stone bench in it&mdash;a shelter for sentinels in bad weather.
+He had hardly seated himself when some halberdiers, in charge of an
+officer, passed by. &nbsp;The officer saw him, halted his men, and commanded
+Hendon to come forth. &nbsp;He obeyed, and was promptly arrested as a
+suspicious character prowling within the precincts of the palace. &nbsp;Things
+began to look ugly. &nbsp;Poor Miles was going to explain, but the officer
+roughly silenced him, and ordered his men to disarm him and search him.</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="33-389"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="33-389.jpg (117K)" src="images/33-389.jpg" height="658" width="720">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>"God of his mercy grant that they find somewhat," said poor Miles; "I
+have searched enow, and failed, yet is my need greater than theirs."</p>
+
+<p>Nothing was found but a document. &nbsp;The officer tore it open, and Hendon
+smiled when he recognised the 'pot-hooks' made by his lost little friend
+that black day at Hendon Hall. &nbsp;The officer's face grew dark as he read
+the English paragraph, and Miles blenched to the opposite colour as he
+listened.</p>
+
+<p>"Another new claimant of the Crown!" cried the officer. &nbsp;"Verily they
+breed like rabbits, to-day. &nbsp;Seize the rascal, men, and see ye keep him
+fast whilst I convey this precious paper within and send it to the King."</p>
+
+<p>He hurried away, leaving the prisoner in the grip of the halberdiers.</p>
+
+<p>"Now is my evil luck ended at last," muttered Hendon, "for I shall dangle
+at a rope's end for a certainty, by reason of that bit of writing. &nbsp;And
+what will become of my poor lad!&mdash;ah, only the good God knoweth."</p>
+
+<p>By-and-by he saw the officer coming again, in a great hurry; so he
+plucked his courage together, purposing to meet his trouble as became a
+man. &nbsp;The officer ordered the men to loose the prisoner and return his
+sword to him; then bowed respectfully, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Please you, sir, to follow me."</p>
+
+<p>Hendon followed, saying to himself, "An' I were not travelling to death
+and judgment, and so must needs economise in sin, I would throttle this
+knave for his mock courtesy."</p>
+
+<p>The two traversed a populous court, and arrived at the grand entrance of
+the palace, where the officer, with another bow, delivered Hendon into
+the hands of a gorgeous official, who received him with profound respect
+and led him forward through a great hall, lined on both sides with rows
+of splendid flunkeys (who made reverential obeisance as the two passed
+along, but fell into death-throes of silent laughter at our stately
+scarecrow the moment his back was turned), and up a broad staircase,
+among flocks of fine folk, and finally conducted him into a vast room,
+clove a passage for him through the assembled nobility of England, then
+made a bow, reminded him to take his hat off, and left him standing in
+the middle of the room, a mark for all eyes, for plenty of indignant
+frowns, and for a sufficiency of amused and derisive smiles.</p>
+
+<p>Miles Hendon was entirely bewildered. &nbsp;There sat the young King, under a
+canopy of state, five steps away, with his head bent down and aside,
+speaking with a sort of human bird of paradise&mdash;a duke, maybe. &nbsp;Hendon
+observed to himself that it was hard enough to be sentenced to death in
+the full vigour of life, without having this peculiarly public
+humiliation added. &nbsp;He wished the King would hurry about it&mdash;some of the
+gaudy people near by were becoming pretty offensive. &nbsp;At this moment the
+King raised his head slightly, and Hendon caught a good view of his face.
+The sight nearly took his breath away!&mdash;He stood gazing at the fair young
+face like one transfixed; then presently ejaculated&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Lo, the Lord of the Kingdom of Dreams and Shadows on his throne!"</p>
+
+<p>He muttered some broken sentences, still gazing and marvelling; then
+turned his eyes around and about, scanning the gorgeous throng and the
+splendid saloon, murmuring, "But these are REAL&mdash;verily these are
+REAL&mdash;surely it is not a dream."</p>
+
+<p>He stared at the King again&mdash;and thought, "IS it a dream . . . or IS he
+the veritable Sovereign of England, and not the friendless poor Tom o'
+Bedlam I took him for&mdash;who shall solve me this riddle?"</p>
+
+<p>A sudden idea flashed in his eye, and he strode to the wall, gathered up
+a chair, brought it back, planted it on the floor, and sat down in it!</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="33-392"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="33-392.jpg (184K)" src="images/33-392.jpg" height="1039" width="746">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>A buzz of indignation broke out, a rough hand was laid upon him and a
+voice exclaimed&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Up, thou mannerless clown! would'st sit in the presence of the King?"</p>
+
+<p>The disturbance attracted his Majesty's attention, who stretched forth
+his hand and cried out&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Touch him not, it is his right!"</p>
+
+<p>The throng fell back, stupefied. &nbsp;The King went on&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Learn ye all, ladies, lords, and gentlemen, that this is my trusty and
+well-beloved servant, Miles Hendon, who interposed his good sword and
+saved his prince from bodily harm and possible death&mdash;and for this he is
+a knight, by the King's voice. &nbsp;Also learn, that for a higher service, in
+that he saved his sovereign stripes and shame, taking these upon himself,
+he is a peer of England, Earl of Kent, and shall have gold and lands meet
+for the dignity. &nbsp;More&mdash;the privilege which he hath just exercised is his
+by royal grant; for we have ordained that the chiefs of his line shall
+have and hold the right to sit in the presence of the Majesty of England
+henceforth, age after age, so long as the crown shall endure. &nbsp;Molest him
+not."</p>
+
+<p>Two persons, who, through delay, had only arrived from the country during
+this morning, and had now been in this room only five minutes, stood
+listening to these words and looking at the King, then at the scarecrow,
+then at the King again, in a sort of torpid bewilderment. &nbsp;These were Sir
+Hugh and the Lady Edith. &nbsp;But the new Earl did not see them. &nbsp;He was
+still staring at the monarch, in a dazed way, and muttering&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, body o' me! &nbsp;THIS my pauper! &nbsp;This my lunatic! &nbsp;This is he whom _I_
+would show what grandeur was, in my house of seventy rooms and
+seven-and-twenty servants! &nbsp;This is he who had never known aught but rags for
+raiment, kicks for comfort, and offal for diet! &nbsp;This is he whom _I_
+adopted and would make respectable! Would God I had a bag to hide my head
+in!"</p>
+
+<p>Then his manners suddenly came back to him, and he dropped upon his
+knees, with his hands between the King's, and swore allegiance and did
+homage for his lands and titles. &nbsp;Then he rose and stood respectfully
+aside, a mark still for all eyes&mdash;and much envy, too.</p>
+
+<p>Now the King discovered Sir Hugh, and spoke out with wrathful voice and
+kindling eye&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Strip this robber of his false show and stolen estates, and put him
+under lock and key till I have need of him."</p>
+
+<p>The late Sir Hugh was led away.</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="33-394"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="33-394.jpg (165K)" src="images/33-394.jpg" height="828" width="719">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>There was a stir at the other end of the room, now; the assemblage fell
+apart, and Tom Canty, quaintly but richly clothed, marched down, between
+these living walls, preceded by an usher. &nbsp;He knelt before the King, who
+said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I have learned the story of these past few weeks, and am well pleased
+with thee. &nbsp;Thou hast governed the realm with right royal gentleness and
+mercy. &nbsp;Thou hast found thy mother and thy sisters again? &nbsp;Good; they
+shall be cared for&mdash;and thy father shall hang, if thou desire it and the
+law consent. &nbsp;Know, all ye that hear my voice, that from this day, they
+that abide in the shelter of Christ's Hospital and share the King's
+bounty shall have their minds and hearts fed, as well as their baser
+parts; and this boy shall dwell there, and hold the chief place in its
+honourable body of governors, during life. &nbsp;And for that he hath been a
+king, it is meet that other than common observance shall be his due;
+wherefore note this his dress of state, for by it he shall be known, and
+none shall copy it; and wheresoever he shall come, it shall remind the
+people that he hath been royal, in his time, and none shall deny him his
+due of reverence or fail to give him salutation. &nbsp;He hath the throne's
+protection, he hath the crown's support, he shall be known and called by
+the honourable title of the King's Ward."</p>
+
+<br><br>
+<a name="33-395"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="33-395.jpg (145K)" src="images/33-395.jpg" height="772" width="708">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>The proud and happy Tom Canty rose and kissed the King's hand, and was
+conducted from the presence. &nbsp;He did not waste any time, but flew to his
+mother, to tell her and Nan and Bet all about it and get them to help him
+enjoy the great news. {1}</p>
+
+<br><br><hr><br>
+<br><br>
+<a name="c34"></a>
+<a name="34-397"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="34-397.jpg (58K)" src="images/34-397.jpg" height="477" width="750">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>Conclusion. Justice and retribution.</p>
+
+<p>When the mysteries were all cleared up, it came out, by confession of
+Hugh Hendon, that his wife had repudiated Miles by his command, that day
+at Hendon Hall&mdash;a command assisted and supported by the perfectly
+trustworthy promise that if she did not deny that he was Miles Hendon,
+and stand firmly to it, he would have her life; whereupon she said, "Take
+it!"&mdash;she did not value it&mdash;and she would not repudiate Miles; then the
+husband said he would spare her life but have Miles assassinated! &nbsp;This
+was a different matter; so she gave her word and kept it.</p>
+
+<p>Hugh was not prosecuted for his threats or for stealing his brother's
+estates and title, because the wife and brother would not testify against
+him&mdash;and the former would not have been allowed to do it, even if she had
+wanted to. &nbsp;Hugh deserted his wife and went over to the continent, where
+he presently died; and by-and-by the Earl of Kent married his relict.
+There were grand times and rejoicings at Hendon village when the couple
+paid their first visit to the Hall.</p>
+
+<p>Tom Canty's father was never heard of again.</p>
+
+<p>The King sought out the farmer who had been branded and sold as a slave,
+and reclaimed him from his evil life with the Ruffler's gang, and put him
+in the way of a comfortable livelihood.</p>
+
+<p>He also took that old lawyer out of prison and remitted his fine. He
+provided good homes for the daughters of the two Baptist women whom he
+saw burned at the stake, and roundly punished the official who laid the
+undeserved stripes upon Miles Hendon's back.</p>
+
+<p>He saved from the gallows the boy who had captured the stray falcon, and
+also the woman who had stolen a remnant of cloth from a weaver; but he
+was too late to save the man who had been convicted of killing a deer in
+the royal forest.</p>
+
+<p>He showed favour to the justice who had pitied him when he was supposed
+to have stolen a pig, and he had the gratification of seeing him grow in
+the public esteem and become a great and honoured man.</p>
+
+<p>As long as the King lived he was fond of telling the story of his
+adventures, all through, from the hour that the sentinel cuffed him away
+from the palace gate till the final midnight when he deftly mixed himself
+into a gang of hurrying workmen and so slipped into the Abbey and climbed
+up and hid himself in the Confessor's tomb, and then slept so long, next
+day, that he came within one of missing the Coronation altogether. &nbsp;He
+said that the frequent rehearsing of the precious lesson kept him strong
+in his purpose to make its teachings yield benefits to his people; and
+so, whilst his life was spared he should continue to tell the story, and
+thus keep its sorrowful spectacles fresh in his memory and the springs of
+pity replenished in his heart.</p>
+
+<p>Miles Hendon and Tom Canty were favourites of the King, all through his
+brief reign, and his sincere mourners when he died. The good Earl of Kent
+had too much sense to abuse his peculiar privilege; but he exercised it
+twice after the instance we have seen of it before he was called from
+this world&mdash;once at the accession of Queen Mary, and once at the
+accession of Queen Elizabeth. &nbsp;A descendant of his exercised it at the
+accession of James I. &nbsp;Before this one's son chose to use the privilege,
+near a quarter of a century had elapsed, and the 'privilege of the Kents'
+had faded out of most people's memories; so, when the Kent of that day
+appeared before Charles I. and his court and sat down in the sovereign's
+presence to assert and perpetuate the right of his house, there was a
+fine stir indeed! &nbsp;But the matter was soon explained, and the right
+confirmed. &nbsp;The last Earl of the line fell in the wars of the
+Commonwealth fighting for the King, and the odd privilege ended with him.</p>
+
+<p>Tom Canty lived to be a very old man, a handsome, white-haired old
+fellow, of grave and benignant aspect. &nbsp;As long as he lasted he was
+honoured; and he was also reverenced, for his striking and peculiar
+costume kept the people reminded that 'in his time he had been royal;'
+so, wherever he appeared the crowd fell apart, making way for him, and
+whispering, one to another, "Doff thy hat, it is the King's Ward!"&mdash;and
+so they saluted, and got his kindly smile in return&mdash;and they valued it,
+too, for his was an honourable history.</p>
+
+<p>Yes, King Edward VI. lived only a few years, poor boy, but he lived them
+worthily. &nbsp;More than once, when some great dignitary, some gilded vassal
+of the crown, made argument against his leniency, and urged that some law
+which he was bent upon amending was gentle enough for its purpose, and
+wrought no suffering or oppression which any one need mightily mind, the
+young King turned the mournful eloquence of his great compassionate eyes
+upon him and answered&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"What dost THOU know of suffering and oppression? &nbsp;I and my people know,
+but not thou."</p>
+
+<p>The reign of Edward VI. was a singularly merciful one for those harsh
+times. &nbsp;Now that we are taking leave of him, let us try to keep this in
+our minds, to his credit.</p>
+
+<br><br><hr><br>
+<br><br>
+<a name="c35"></a>
+<a name="35-403"></a>
+<br><br>
+<center>
+<img alt="35-403.jpg (46K)" src="images/35-403.jpg" height="464" width="728">
+</center>
+<br><br><br><br>
+
+<p>FOOTNOTES AND TWAIN'S NOTES</p>
+
+<p>
+
+{1} &nbsp;For Mark Twain's note see below under the relevant chapter heading.</p>
+
+<p>{2} &nbsp;He refers to the order of baronets, or baronettes; the barones
+minores, as distinct from the parliamentary barons&mdash;not, it need hardly
+be said, to the baronets of later creation.</p>
+
+<p>{3} &nbsp;The lords of Kingsale, descendants of De Courcy, still enjoy this
+curious privilege.</p>
+
+<p>{4} &nbsp;Hume.</p>
+
+<p>{5} &nbsp;Ib.</p>
+
+<p>{6} &nbsp;Leigh Hunt's 'The Town,' p.408, quotation from an early tourist.</p>
+
+<p>{7} &nbsp;Canting terms for various kinds of thieves, beggars and vagabonds,
+and their female companions.</p>
+
+<p>{8} &nbsp;From 'The English Rogue.' &nbsp;London, 1665.</p>
+
+<p>{9} &nbsp;Hume's England.</p>
+
+<p>{10} &nbsp;See Dr. J. Hammond Trumbull's Blue Laws, True and False, p. 11.</p>
+
+<p><br><br><br>NOTE 1, Chapter IV. Christ's Hospital Costume.</p>
+
+<p>It is most reasonable to regard the dress as copied from the costume of
+the citizens of London of that period, when long blue coats were the
+common habit of apprentices and serving-men, and yellow stockings were
+generally worn; the coat fits closely to the body, but has loose sleeves,
+and beneath is worn a sleeveless yellow under-coat; around the waist is a
+red leathern girdle; a clerical band around the neck, and a small flat
+black cap, about the size of a saucer, completes the costume.&mdash;Timbs'
+Curiosities of London.</p>
+
+<p><br><br><br>NOTE 2, Chapter IV.</p>
+
+<p>It appears that Christ's Hospital was not originally founded as a SCHOOL;
+its object was to rescue children from the streets, to shelter, feed,
+clothe them.&mdash;Timbs' Curiosities of London.</p>
+
+<p><br><br><br>NOTE 3, Chapter V. The Duke of Norfolk's Condemnation commanded.</p>
+
+<p>The King was now approaching fast towards his end; and fearing lest
+Norfolk should escape him, he sent a message to the Commons, by which he
+desired them to hasten the Bill, on pretence that Norfolk enjoyed the
+dignity of Earl Marshal, and it was necessary to appoint another, who
+might officiate at the ensuing ceremony of installing his son Prince of
+Wales.&mdash;Hume's History of England, vol. iii. p. 307.</p>
+
+<p><br><br><br>NOTE 4, Chapter VII.</p>
+
+<p>It was not till the end of this reign (Henry VIII.) that any salads,
+carrots, turnips, or other edible roots were produced in England. &nbsp;The
+little of these vegetables that was used was formerly imported from
+Holland and Flanders. &nbsp;Queen Catherine, when she wanted a salad, was
+obliged to despatch a messenger thither on purpose.&mdash;Hume's History of
+England, vol. iii. p. 314.</p>
+
+<p><br><br><br>NOTE 5, Chapter VIII. Attainder of Norfolk.</p>
+
+<p>The House of Peers, without examining the prisoner, without trial or
+evidence, passed a Bill of Attainder against him and sent it down to the
+Commons . . . The obsequious Commons obeyed his (the King's) directions;
+and the King, having affixed the Royal assent to the Bill by
+commissioners, issued orders for the execution of Norfolk on the morning
+of January 29 (the next day).&mdash;Hume's History of England, vol iii. p 306.</p>
+
+<p><br><br><br>NOTE 6, Chapter X. The Loving-cup.</p>
+
+<p>The loving-cup, and the peculiar ceremonies observed in drinking from it,
+are older than English history. &nbsp;It is thought that both are Danish
+importations. &nbsp;As far back as knowledge goes, the loving-cup has always
+been drunk at English banquets. &nbsp;Tradition explains the ceremonies in
+this way. &nbsp;In the rude ancient times it was deemed a wise precaution to
+have both hands of both drinkers employed, lest while the pledger pledged
+his love and fidelity to the pledgee, the pledgee take that opportunity
+to slip a dirk into him!</p>
+
+<p><br><br><br>NOTE 7, Chapter XI. The Duke of Norfolk's narrow Escape.</p>
+
+<p>Had Henry VIII. survived a few hours longer, his order for the duke's
+execution would have been carried into effect. 'But news being carried to
+the Tower that the King himself had expired that night, the lieutenant
+deferred obeying the warrant; and it was not thought advisable by the
+Council to begin a new reign by the death of the greatest nobleman in the
+kingdom, who had been condemned by a sentence so unjust and
+tyrannical.'&mdash;Hume's History of England, vol. iii, p. 307.</p>
+
+<p><br><br><br>NOTE 8, Chapter XIV. The Whipping-boy.</p>
+
+<p>James I. and Charles II. had whipping-boys, when they were little
+fellows, to take their punishment for them when they fell short in their
+lessons; so I have ventured to furnish my small prince with one, for my
+own purposes.</p>
+
+<p><br><br><br>NOTES to Chapter XV.</p>
+
+<p>Character of Hertford.</p>
+
+<p>The young King discovered an extreme attachment to his uncle, who was, in
+the main, a man of moderation and probity.&mdash;Hume's History of England,
+vol. iii, p324.</p>
+
+<p>But if he (the Protector) gave offence by assuming too much state, he
+deserves great praise on account of the laws passed this session, by
+which the rigour of former statutes was much mitigated, and some security
+given to the freedom of the constitution. &nbsp;All laws were repealed which
+extended the crime of treason beyond the statute of the twenty-fifth of
+Edward III.; all laws enacted during the late reign extending the crime
+of felony; all the former laws against Lollardy or heresy, together with
+the statute of the Six Articles. &nbsp;None were to be accused for words, but
+within a month after they were spoken. &nbsp;By these repeals several of the
+most rigorous laws that ever had passed in England were annulled; and
+some dawn, both of civil and religious liberty, began to appear to the
+people. &nbsp;A repeal also passed of that law, the destruction of all laws,
+by which the King's proclamation was made of equal force with a statute.
+&mdash;Ibid. vol. iii. p. 339.</p>
+
+<p>Boiling to Death.</p>
+
+<p>In the reign of Henry VIII. poisoners were, by Act of Parliament,
+condemned to be BOILED TO DEATH. &nbsp;This Act was repealed in the following
+reign.</p>
+
+<p>In Germany, even in the seventeenth century, this horrible punishment was
+inflicted on coiners and counterfeiters. &nbsp;Taylor, the Water Poet,
+describes an execution he witnessed in Hamburg in 1616. &nbsp;The judgment
+pronounced against a coiner of false money was that he should 'BE BOILED
+TO DEATH IN OIL; not thrown into the vessel at once, but with a pulley or
+rope to be hanged under the armpits, and then let down into the oil BY
+DEGREES; first the feet, and next the legs, and so to boil his flesh from
+his bones alive.'&mdash;Dr. J. Hammond Trumbull's Blue Laws, True and False,
+p. 13.</p>
+
+<p>The Famous Stocking Case.</p>
+
+<p>A woman and her daughter, NINE YEARS OLD, were hanged in Huntingdon for
+selling their souls to the devil, and raising a storm by pulling off
+their stockings!&mdash;Dr. J. Hammond Trumbull's Blue Laws, True and False, p.
+20.</p>
+
+<p><br><br><br>NOTE 10, Chapter XVII. Enslaving.</p>
+
+<p>So young a King and so ignorant a peasant were likely to make mistakes;
+and this is an instance in point. &nbsp;This peasant was suffering from this
+law BY ANTICIPATION; the King was venting his indignation against a law
+which was not yet in existence; for this hideous statute was to have
+birth in this little King's OWN REIGN. However, we know, from the
+humanity of his character, that it could never have been suggested by
+him.</p>
+
+<p><br><br><br>NOTES to Chapter XXIII. Death for Trifling Larcenies.</p>
+
+<p>When Connecticut and New Haven were framing their first codes, larceny
+above the value of twelve pence was a capital crime in England&mdash;as it had
+been since the time of Henry I.&mdash;Dr. J. Hammond Trumbull's Blue Laws,
+True and False, p. 17.</p>
+
+<p>The curious old book called The English Rogue makes the limit thirteen
+pence ha'penny: &nbsp;death being the portion of any who steal a thing 'above
+the value of thirteen pence ha'penny.'</p>
+
+<p><br><br><br>NOTES to Chapter XXVII.</p>
+
+<p>From many descriptions of larceny the law expressly took away the benefit
+of clergy: &nbsp;to steal a horse, or a HAWK, or woollen cloth from the
+weaver, was a hanging matter. &nbsp;So it was to kill a deer from the King's
+forest, or to export sheep from the kingdom.&mdash;Dr. J. Hammond Trumbull's
+Blue Laws, True and False, p.13.</p>
+
+<p>William Prynne, a learned barrister, was sentenced (long after Edward
+VI.'s time) to lose both his ears in the pillory, to degradation from the
+bar, a fine of 3,000 pounds, and imprisonment for life. &nbsp;Three years
+afterwards he gave new offence to Laud by publishing a pamphlet against
+the hierarchy. &nbsp;He was again prosecuted, and was sentenced to lose WHAT
+REMAINED OF HIS EARS, to pay a fine of 5,000 pounds, to be BRANDED ON
+BOTH HIS CHEEKS with the letters S. L. (for Seditious Libeller), and to
+remain in prison for life. &nbsp;The severity of this sentence was equalled by
+the savage rigour of its execution.&mdash;Ibid. p. 12.</p>
+
+<p><br><br><br>NOTES to Chapter XXXIII.</p>
+
+<p>Christ's Hospital, or Bluecoat School, 'the noblest institution in the
+world.'</p>
+
+<p>The ground on which the Priory of the Grey Friars stood was conferred by
+Henry VIII. on the Corporation of London (who caused the institution
+there of a home for poor boys and girls). Subsequently, Edward VI. caused
+the old Priory to be properly repaired, and founded within it that noble
+establishment called the Bluecoat School, or Christ's Hospital, for the
+EDUCATION and maintenance of orphans and the children of indigent persons
+. . . Edward would not let him (Bishop Ridley) depart till the letter was
+written (to the Lord Mayor), and then charged him to deliver it himself,
+and signify his special request and commandment that no time might be
+lost in proposing what was convenient, and apprising him of the
+proceedings. &nbsp;The work was zealously undertaken, Ridley himself engaging
+in it; and the result was the founding of Christ's Hospital for the
+education of poor children. (The King endowed several other charities at
+the same time.) "Lord God," said he, "I yield Thee most hearty thanks
+that Thou hast given me life thus long to finish this work to the glory
+of Thy name!" &nbsp;That innocent and most exemplary life was drawing rapidly
+to its close, and in a few days he rendered up his spirit to his Creator,
+praying God to defend the realm from Papistry.&mdash;J. Heneage Jesse's
+London: &nbsp;its Celebrated Characters and Places.</p>
+
+<p>In the Great Hall hangs a large picture of King Edward VI. seated on his
+throne, in a scarlet and ermined robe, holding the sceptre in his left
+hand, and presenting with the other the Charter to the kneeling Lord
+Mayor. &nbsp;By his side stands the Chancellor, holding the seals, and next to
+him are other officers of state. &nbsp;Bishop Ridley kneels before him with
+uplifted hands, as if supplicating a blessing on the event; whilst the
+Aldermen, etc., with the Lord Mayor, kneel on both sides, occupying the
+middle ground of the picture; and lastly, in front, are a double row of
+boys on one side and girls on the other, from the master and matron down
+to the boy and girl who have stepped forward from their respective rows,
+and kneel with raised hands before the King.&mdash;Timbs' Curiosities of
+London, p. 98.</p>
+
+<p>Christ's Hospital, by ancient custom, possesses the privilege of
+addressing the Sovereign on the occasion of his or her coming into the
+City to partake of the hospitality of the Corporation of London.&mdash;Ibid.</p>
+
+<p>The Dining Hall, with its lobby and organ-gallery, occupies the entire
+storey, which is 187 feet long, 51 feet wide, and 47 feet high; it is lit
+by nine large windows, filled with stained glass on the south side; and
+is, next to Westminster Hall, the noblest room in the metropolis. &nbsp;Here
+the boys, now about 800 in number, dine; and here are held the 'Suppings
+in Public,' to which visitors are admitted by tickets issued by the
+Treasurer and by the Governors of Christ's Hospital. &nbsp;The tables are laid
+with cheese in wooden bowls, beer in wooden piggins, poured from leathern
+jacks, and bread brought in large baskets. &nbsp;The official company enter;
+the Lord Mayor, or President, takes his seat in a state chair made of oak
+from St. Catherine's Church, by the Tower; a hymn is sung, accompanied by
+the organ; a 'Grecian,' or head boy, reads the prayers from the pulpit,
+silence being enforced by three drops of a wooden hammer. &nbsp;After prayer
+the supper commences, and the visitors walk between the tables. &nbsp;At its
+close the 'trade-boys' take up the baskets, bowls, jacks, piggins, and
+candlesticks, and pass in procession, the bowing to the Governors being
+curiously formal. &nbsp;This spectacle was witnessed by Queen Victoria and
+Prince Albert in 1845.</p>
+
+<p>Among the more eminent Bluecoat boys are Joshua Barnes, editor of
+Anacreon and Euripides; Jeremiah Markland, the eminent critic,
+particularly in Greek Literature; Camden, the antiquary; Bishop
+Stillingfleet; Samuel Richardson, the novelist; Thomas Mitchell, the
+translator of Aristophanes; Thomas Barnes, many years editor of the
+London Times; Coleridge, Charles Lamb, and Leigh Hunt.</p>
+
+<p>No boy is admitted before he is seven years old, or after he is nine; and
+no boy can remain in the school after he is fifteen, King's boys and
+'Grecians' alone excepted. &nbsp;There are about 500 Governors, at the head of
+whom are the Sovereign and the Prince of Wales. &nbsp;The qualification for a
+Governor is payment of 500 pounds.&mdash;Ibid.</p>
+
+<br><br><br>
+<p>
+GENERAL NOTE.</p>
+
+<p>
+One hears much about the 'hideous Blue Laws of Connecticut,' and is
+accustomed to shudder piously when they are mentioned. &nbsp;There are people
+in America&mdash;and even in England!&mdash;who imagine that they were a very
+monument of malignity, pitilessness, and inhumanity; whereas in reality
+they were about the first SWEEPING DEPARTURE FROM JUDICIAL ATROCITY which
+the 'civilised' world had seen. &nbsp;This humane and kindly Blue Law Code, of
+two hundred and forty years ago, stands all by itself, with ages of
+bloody law on the further side of it, and a century and three-quarters of
+bloody English law on THIS side of it.</p>
+
+<p>There has never been a time&mdash;under the Blue Laws or any other&mdash;when above
+FOURTEEN crimes were punishable by death in Connecticut. &nbsp;But in England,
+within the memory of men who are still hale in body and mind, TWO HUNDRED
+AND TWENTY-THREE crimes were punishable by death! {10} &nbsp;These facts are
+worth knowing&mdash;and worth thinking about, too.</p>
+
+
+
+<br>
+<br>
+
+
+<center>
+<table summary="" cellPadding=4 border=3>
+<tr><td>
+ &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="p8.htm">Previous Part</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+</td><td>
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+</td></tr>
+</table>
+</center>
+
+</body>
+</html>
+
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+Project Gutenberg Etext The Prince and the Pauper, by Mark Twain
+#14 in our series by Mark Twain
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+The Prince and the Pauper
+
+by Mark Twain
+
+July, 1999  [Etext #1837]
+
+
+Project Gutenberg Etext The Prince and the Pauper, by Mark Twain
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+
+
+This etext was prepared by Les Bowler, St. Ives, Dorset from
+from the 1904 Chatto & Windus edition.
+
+
+
+
+
+The Prince and the Pauper
+
+by Mark Twain
+
+
+
+
+Hugh Latimer, Bishop of Worcester, to Lord Cromwell, on the birth
+of the Prince of Wales (afterward Edward VI.).
+
+From the National Manuscripts preserved by the British Government.
+
+Ryght honorable, Salutem in Christo Jesu, and Syr here ys no lesse
+joynge and rejossynge in thes partees for the byrth of our prynce,
+hoom we hungurde for so longe, then ther was (I trow), inter
+vicinos att the byrth of S. J. Baptyste, as thys berer, Master
+Erance, can telle you.  Gode gyffe us alle grace, to yelde dew
+thankes to our Lorde Gode, Gode of Inglonde, for verely He hathe
+shoyd Hym selff Gode of Inglonde, or rather an Inglyssh Gode, yf
+we consydyr and pondyr welle alle Hys procedynges with us from
+tyme to tyme.  He hath over cumme alle our yllnesse with Hys
+excedynge goodnesse, so that we are now moor then compellyd to
+serve Hym, seke Hys glory, promott Hys wurde, yf the Devylle of
+alle Devylles be natt in us.  We have now the stooppe of vayne
+trustes ande the stey of vayne expectations; lett us alle pray for
+hys preservatione.  Ande I for my partt wylle wyssh that hys Grace
+allways have, and evyn now from the begynynge, Governares,
+Instructores and offyceres of ryght jugmente, ne optimum ingenium
+non optima educatione deprevetur.
+
+Butt whatt a grett fowlle am I!  So, whatt devotione shoyth many
+tymys butt lytelle dyscretione!  Ande thus the Gode of Inglonde be
+ever with you in alle your procedynges.
+
+The 19 of October.
+
+Youres, H. L. B. of Wurcestere, now att Hartlebury.
+
+Yf you wolde excytt thys berere to be moore hartye ayen the abuse
+of ymagry or mor forwarde to promotte the veryte, ytt myght doo
+goode.  Natt that ytt came of me, butt of your selffe, etc.
+
+(Addressed)
+To the Ryght Honorable Loorde P. Sealle hys synguler gode Lorde.
+
+
+
+To those good-mannered and agreeable children
+Susie and Clara Clemens
+this book is affectionately inscribed by their father.
+
+
+
+I will set down a tale as it was told to me by one who had it of
+his father, which latter had it of HIS father, this last having in
+like manner had it of HIS father--and so on, back and still back,
+three hundred years and more, the fathers transmitting it to the
+sons and so preserving it.  It may be history, it may be only a
+legend, a tradition.  It may have happened, it may not have
+happened:  but it COULD have happened.  It may be that the wise
+and the learned believed it in the old days; it may be that only
+the unlearned and the simple loved it and credited it.
+
+
+Contents.
+
+I.      The birth of the Prince and the Pauper.
+II.     Tom's early life.
+III.    Tom's meeting with the Prince.
+IV.     The Prince's troubles begin.
+V.      Tom as a patrician.
+VI.     Tom receives instructions.
+VII.    Tom's first royal dinner.
+VIII.   The question of the Seal.
+IX.     The river pageant.
+X.      The Prince in the toils.
+XI.     At Guildhall.
+XII.    The Prince and his deliverer.
+XIII.   The disappearance of the Prince.
+XIV.    'Le Roi est mort--vive le Roi.'
+XV.     Tom as King.
+XVI.    The state dinner.
+XVII.   Foo-foo the First.
+XVIII.  The Prince with the tramps.
+XIX.    The Prince with the peasants.
+XX.     The Prince and the hermit.
+XXI.    Hendon to the rescue.
+XXII.   A victim of treachery.
+XXIII.  The Prince a prisoner.
+XXIV.   The escape.
+XXV.    Hendon Hall.
+XXVI.   Disowned.
+XXVII.  In prison.
+XXVIII. The sacrifice.
+XXIX.   To London.
+XXX.    Tom's progress.
+XXXI.   The Recognition procession.
+XXXII.  Coronation Day.
+XXXIII. Edward as King.
+Conclusion. Justice and Retribution.
+Notes.
+
+
+
+     'The quality of mercy . . . is twice bless'd;
+      It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes;
+      'Tis mightiest in the mightiest:  it becomes
+      The thron-ed monarch better than his crown'.
+                                   Merchant of Venice.
+
+
+
+Chapter I. The birth of the Prince and the Pauper.
+
+In the ancient city of London, on a certain autumn day in the
+second quarter of the sixteenth century, a boy was born to a poor
+family of the name of Canty, who did not want him.  On the same
+day another English child was born to a rich family of the name of
+Tudor, who did want him.  All England wanted him too.  England had
+so longed for him, and hoped for him, and prayed God for him,
+that, now that he was really come, the people went nearly mad for
+joy.  Mere acquaintances hugged and kissed each other and cried.
+Everybody took a holiday, and high and low, rich and poor, feasted
+and danced and sang, and got very mellow; and they kept this up
+for days and nights together.  By day, London was a sight to see,
+with gay banners waving from every balcony and housetop, and
+splendid pageants marching along.  By night, it was again a sight
+to see, with its great bonfires at every corner, and its troops of
+revellers making merry around them.  There was no talk in all
+England but of the new baby, Edward Tudor, Prince of Wales, who
+lay lapped in silks and satins, unconscious of all this fuss, and
+not knowing that great lords and ladies were tending him and
+watching over him--and not caring, either.  But there was no talk
+about the other baby, Tom Canty, lapped in his poor rags, except
+among the family of paupers whom he had just come to trouble with
+his presence.
+
+
+
+Chapter II. Tom's early life.
+
+Let us skip a number of years.
+
+London was fifteen hundred years old, and was a great town--for
+that day.  It had a hundred thousand inhabitants--some think
+double as many.  The streets were very narrow, and crooked, and
+dirty, especially in the part where Tom Canty lived, which was not
+far from London Bridge.  The houses were of wood, with the second
+story projecting over the first, and the third sticking its elbows
+out beyond the second.  The higher the houses grew, the broader
+they grew.  They were skeletons of strong criss-cross beams, with
+solid material between, coated with plaster.  The beams were
+painted red or blue or black, according to the owner's taste, and
+this gave the houses a very picturesque look.  The windows were
+small, glazed with little diamond-shaped panes, and they opened
+outward, on hinges, like doors.
+
+The house which Tom's father lived in was up a foul little pocket
+called Offal Court, out of Pudding Lane.  It was small, decayed,
+and rickety, but it was packed full of wretchedly poor families.
+Canty's tribe occupied a room on the third floor.  The mother and
+father had a sort of bedstead in the corner; but Tom, his
+grandmother, and his two sisters, Bet and Nan, were not
+restricted--they had all the floor to themselves, and might sleep
+where they chose.  There were the remains of a blanket or two, and
+some bundles of ancient and dirty straw, but these could not
+rightly be called beds, for they were not organised; they were
+kicked into a general pile, mornings, and selections made from the
+mass at night, for service.
+
+Bet and Nan were fifteen years old--twins.  They were good-hearted
+girls, unclean, clothed in rags, and profoundly ignorant.  Their
+mother was like them.  But the father and the grandmother were a
+couple of fiends.  They got drunk whenever they could; then they
+fought each other or anybody else who came in the way; they cursed
+and swore always, drunk or sober; John Canty was a thief, and his
+mother a beggar.  They made beggars of the children, but failed to
+make thieves of them.  Among, but not of, the dreadful rabble that
+inhabited the house, was a good old priest whom the King had
+turned out of house and home with a pension of a few farthings,
+and he used to get the children aside and teach them right ways
+secretly.  Father Andrew also taught Tom a little Latin, and how
+to read and write; and would have done the same with the girls,
+but they were afraid of the jeers of their friends, who could not
+have endured such a queer accomplishment in them.
+
+All Offal Court was just such another hive as Canty's house.
+Drunkenness, riot and brawling were the order, there, every night
+and nearly all night long.  Broken heads were as common as hunger
+in that place.  Yet little Tom was not unhappy.  He had a hard
+time of it, but did not know it.  It was the sort of time that all
+the Offal Court boys had, therefore he supposed it was the correct
+and comfortable thing.  When he came home empty-handed at night,
+he knew his father would curse him and thrash him first, and that
+when he was done the awful grandmother would do it all over again
+and improve on it; and that away in the night his starving mother
+would slip to him stealthily with any miserable scrap or crust she
+had been able to save for him by going hungry herself,
+notwithstanding she was often caught in that sort of treason and
+soundly beaten for it by her husband.
+
+No, Tom's life went along well enough, especially in summer.  He
+only begged just enough to save himself, for the laws against
+mendicancy were stringent, and the penalties heavy; so he put in a
+good deal of his time listening to good Father Andrew's charming
+old tales and legends about giants and fairies, dwarfs and genii,
+and enchanted castles, and gorgeous kings and princes.  His head
+grew to be full of these wonderful things, and many a night as he
+lay in the dark on his scant and offensive straw, tired, hungry,
+and smarting from a thrashing, he unleashed his imagination and
+soon forgot his aches and pains in delicious picturings to himself
+of the charmed life of a petted prince in a regal palace.  One
+desire came in time to haunt him day and night:  it was to see a
+real prince, with his own eyes.  He spoke of it once to some of
+his Offal Court comrades; but they jeered him and scoffed him so
+unmercifully that he was glad to keep his dream to himself after
+that.
+
+He often read the priest's old books and got him to explain and
+enlarge upon them.  His dreamings and readings worked certain
+changes in him, by-and-by.  His dream-people were so fine that he
+grew to lament his shabby clothing and his dirt, and to wish to be
+clean and better clad.  He went on playing in the mud just the
+same, and enjoying it, too; but, instead of splashing around in
+the Thames solely for the fun of it, he began to find an added
+value in it because of the washings and cleansings it afforded.
+
+Tom could always find something going on around the Maypole in
+Cheapside, and at the fairs; and now and then he and the rest of
+London had a chance to see a military parade when some famous
+unfortunate was carried prisoner to the Tower, by land or boat.
+One summer's day he saw poor Anne Askew and three men burned at
+the stake in Smithfield, and heard an ex-Bishop preach a sermon to
+them which did not interest him.  Yes, Tom's life was varied and
+pleasant enough, on the whole.
+
+By-and-by Tom's reading and dreaming about princely life wrought
+such a strong effect upon him that he began to ACT the prince,
+unconsciously.  His speech and manners became curiously
+ceremonious and courtly, to the vast admiration and amusement of
+his intimates.  But Tom's influence among these young people began
+to grow now, day by day; and in time he came to be looked up to,
+by them, with a sort of wondering awe, as a superior being.  He
+seemed to know so much! and he could do and say such marvellous
+things! and withal, he was so deep and wise!  Tom's remarks, and
+Tom's performances, were reported by the boys to their elders; and
+these, also, presently began to discuss Tom Canty, and to regard
+him as a most gifted and extraordinary creature.  Full-grown
+people brought their perplexities to Tom for solution, and were
+often astonished at the wit and wisdom of his decisions.  In fact
+he was become a hero to all who knew him except his own family--
+these, only, saw nothing in him.
+
+Privately, after a while, Tom organised a royal court!  He was the
+prince; his special comrades were guards, chamberlains, equerries,
+lords and ladies in waiting, and the royal family.  Daily the mock
+prince was received with elaborate ceremonials borrowed by Tom
+from his romantic readings; daily the great affairs of the mimic
+kingdom were discussed in the royal council, and daily his mimic
+highness issued decrees to his imaginary armies, navies, and
+viceroyalties.
+
+After which, he would go forth in his rags and beg a few
+farthings, eat his poor crust, take his customary cuffs and abuse,
+and then stretch himself upon his handful of foul straw, and
+resume his empty grandeurs in his dreams.
+
+And still his desire to look just once upon a real prince, in the
+flesh, grew upon him, day by day, and week by week, until at last
+it absorbed all other desires, and became the one passion of his
+life.
+
+One January day, on his usual begging tour, he tramped
+despondently up and down the region round about Mincing Lane and
+Little East Cheap, hour after hour, bare-footed and cold, looking
+in at cook-shop windows and longing for the dreadful pork-pies and
+other deadly inventions displayed there--for to him these were
+dainties fit for the angels; that is, judging by the smell, they
+were--for it had never been his good luck to own and eat one.
+There was a cold drizzle of rain; the atmosphere was murky; it was
+a melancholy day.  At night Tom reached home so wet and tired and
+hungry that it was not possible for his father and grandmother to
+observe his forlorn condition and not be moved--after their
+fashion; wherefore they gave him a brisk cuffing at once and sent
+him to bed.  For a long time his pain and hunger, and the swearing
+and fighting going on in the building, kept him awake; but at last
+his thoughts drifted away to far, romantic lands, and he fell
+asleep in the company of jewelled and gilded princelings who live
+in vast palaces, and had servants salaaming before them or flying
+to execute their orders.  And then, as usual, he dreamed that HE
+was a princeling himself.
+
+All night long the glories of his royal estate shone upon him; he
+moved among great lords and ladies, in a blaze of light, breathing
+perfumes, drinking in delicious music, and answering the reverent
+obeisances of the glittering throng as it parted to make way for
+him, with here a smile, and there a nod of his princely head.
+
+And when he awoke in the morning and looked upon the wretchedness
+about him, his dream had had its usual effect--it had intensified
+the sordidness of his surroundings a thousandfold.  Then came
+bitterness, and heart-break, and tears.
+
+
+
+Chapter III. Tom's meeting with the Prince.
+
+Tom got up hungry, and sauntered hungry away, but with his
+thoughts busy with the shadowy splendours of his night's dreams.
+He wandered here and there in the city, hardly noticing where he
+was going, or what was happening around him.  People jostled him,
+and some gave him rough speech; but it was all lost on the musing
+boy.  By-and-by he found himself at Temple Bar, the farthest from
+home he had ever travelled in that direction.  He stopped and
+considered a moment, then fell into his imaginings again, and
+passed on outside the walls of London.  The Strand had ceased to
+be a country-road then, and regarded itself as a street, but by a
+strained construction; for, though there was a tolerably compact
+row of houses on one side of it, there were only some scattered
+great buildings on the other, these being palaces of rich nobles,
+with ample and beautiful grounds stretching to the river--grounds
+that are now closely packed with grim acres of brick and stone.
+
+Tom discovered Charing Village presently, and rested himself at
+the beautiful cross built there by a bereaved king of earlier
+days; then idled down a quiet, lovely road, past the great
+cardinal's stately palace, toward a far more mighty and majestic
+palace beyond--Westminster.  Tom stared in glad wonder at the vast
+pile of masonry, the wide-spreading wings, the frowning bastions
+and turrets, the huge stone gateway, with its gilded bars and its
+magnificent array of colossal granite lions, and other the signs
+and symbols of English royalty.  Was the desire of his soul to be
+satisfied at last?  Here, indeed, was a king's palace.  Might he
+not hope to see a prince now--a prince of flesh and blood, if
+Heaven were willing?
+
+At each side of the gilded gate stood a living statue--that is to
+say, an erect and stately and motionless man-at-arms, clad from
+head to heel in shining steel armour.  At a respectful distance
+were many country folk, and people from the city, waiting for any
+chance glimpse of royalty that might offer.  Splendid carriages,
+with splendid people in them and splendid servants outside, were
+arriving and departing by several other noble gateways that
+pierced the royal enclosure.
+
+Poor little Tom, in his rags, approached, and was moving slowly
+and timidly past the sentinels, with a beating heart and a rising
+hope, when all at once he caught sight through the golden bars of
+a spectacle that almost made him shout for joy.  Within was a
+comely boy, tanned and brown with sturdy outdoor sports and
+exercises, whose clothing was all of lovely silks and satins,
+shining with jewels; at his hip a little jewelled sword and
+dagger; dainty buskins on his feet, with red heels; and on his
+head a jaunty crimson cap, with drooping plumes fastened with a
+great sparkling gem.  Several gorgeous gentlemen stood near--his
+servants, without a doubt.  Oh! he was a prince--a prince, a
+living prince, a real prince--without the shadow of a question;
+and the prayer of the pauper-boy's heart was answered at last.
+
+Tom's breath came quick and short with excitement, and his eyes
+grew big with wonder and delight.  Everything gave way in his mind
+instantly to one desire:  that was to get close to the prince, and
+have a good, devouring look at him.  Before he knew what he was
+about, he had his face against the gate-bars.  The next instant
+one of the soldiers snatched him rudely away, and sent him
+spinning among the gaping crowd of country gawks and London
+idlers.  The soldier said,--
+
+"Mind thy manners, thou young beggar!"
+
+The crowd jeered and laughed; but the young prince sprang to the
+gate with his face flushed, and his eyes flashing with
+indignation, and cried out,--
+
+"How dar'st thou use a poor lad like that?  How dar'st thou use
+the King my father's meanest subject so?  Open the gates, and let
+him in!"
+
+You should have seen that fickle crowd snatch off their hats then.
+You should have heard them cheer, and shout, "Long live the Prince
+of Wales!"
+
+The soldiers presented arms with their halberds, opened the gates,
+and presented again as the little Prince of Poverty passed in, in
+his fluttering rags, to join hands with the Prince of Limitless
+Plenty.
+
+Edward Tudor said--
+
+"Thou lookest tired and hungry:  thou'st been treated ill.  Come
+with me."
+
+Half a dozen attendants sprang forward to--I don't know what;
+interfere, no doubt.  But they were waved aside with a right royal
+gesture, and they stopped stock still where they were, like so
+many statues.  Edward took Tom to a rich apartment in the palace,
+which he called his cabinet.  By his command a repast was brought
+such as Tom had never encountered before except in books.  The
+prince, with princely delicacy and breeding, sent away the
+servants, so that his humble guest might not be embarrassed by
+their critical presence; then he sat near by, and asked questions
+while Tom ate.
+
+"What is thy name, lad?"
+
+"Tom Canty, an' it please thee, sir."
+
+"'Tis an odd one.  Where dost live?"
+
+"In the city, please thee, sir.  Offal Court, out of Pudding
+Lane."
+
+"Offal Court!  Truly 'tis another odd one.  Hast parents?"
+
+"Parents have I, sir, and a grand-dam likewise that is but
+indifferently precious to me, God forgive me if it be offence to
+say it--also twin sisters, Nan and Bet."
+
+"Then is thy grand-dam not over kind to thee, I take it?"
+
+"Neither to any other is she, so please your worship.  She hath a
+wicked heart, and worketh evil all her days."
+
+"Doth she mistreat thee?"
+
+"There be times that she stayeth her hand, being asleep or
+overcome with drink; but when she hath her judgment clear again,
+she maketh it up to me with goodly beatings."
+
+A fierce look came into the little prince's eyes, and he cried
+out--
+
+"What!  Beatings?"
+
+"Oh, indeed, yes, please you, sir."
+
+"BEATINGS!--and thou so frail and little.  Hark ye:  before the
+night come, she shall hie her to the Tower.  The King my father"--
+
+"In sooth, you forget, sir, her low degree.  The Tower is for the
+great alone."
+
+"True, indeed.  I had not thought of that.  I will consider of her
+punishment.  Is thy father kind to thee?"
+
+"Not more than Gammer Canty, sir."
+
+"Fathers be alike, mayhap.  Mine hath not a doll's temper.  He
+smiteth with a heavy hand, yet spareth me:  he spareth me not
+always with his tongue, though, sooth to say.  How doth thy mother
+use thee?"
+
+"She is good, sir, and giveth me neither sorrow nor pain of any
+sort.  And Nan and Bet are like to her in this."
+
+"How old be these?"
+
+"Fifteen, an' it please you, sir."
+
+"The Lady Elizabeth, my sister, is fourteen, and the Lady Jane
+Grey, my cousin, is of mine own age, and comely and gracious
+withal; but my sister the Lady Mary, with her gloomy mien and--
+Look you:  do thy sisters forbid their servants to smile, lest the
+sin destroy their souls?"
+
+"They?  Oh, dost think, sir, that THEY have servants?"
+
+The little prince contemplated the little pauper gravely a moment,
+then said--
+
+"And prithee, why not?  Who helpeth them undress at night?  Who
+attireth them when they rise?"
+
+"None, sir.  Would'st have them take off their garment, and sleep
+without--like the beasts?"
+
+"Their garment!  Have they but one?"
+
+"Ah, good your worship, what would they do with more?  Truly they
+have not two bodies each."
+
+"It is a quaint and marvellous thought!  Thy pardon, I had not
+meant to laugh.  But thy good Nan and thy Bet shall have raiment
+and lackeys enow, and that soon, too:  my cofferer shall look to
+it.  No, thank me not; 'tis nothing.  Thou speakest well; thou
+hast an easy grace in it.  Art learned?"
+
+"I know not if I am or not, sir.  The good priest that is called
+Father Andrew taught me, of his kindness, from his books."
+
+"Know'st thou the Latin?"
+
+"But scantly, sir, I doubt."
+
+"Learn it, lad:  'tis hard only at first.  The Greek is harder;
+but neither these nor any tongues else, I think, are hard to the
+Lady Elizabeth and my cousin.  Thou should'st hear those damsels
+at it!  But tell me of thy Offal Court.  Hast thou a pleasant life
+there?"
+
+"In truth, yes, so please you, sir, save when one is hungry.
+There be Punch-and-Judy shows, and monkeys--oh such antic
+creatures! and so bravely dressed!--and there be plays wherein
+they that play do shout and fight till all are slain, and 'tis so
+fine to see, and costeth but a farthing--albeit 'tis main hard to
+get the farthing, please your worship."
+
+"Tell me more."
+
+"We lads of Offal Court do strive against each other with the
+cudgel, like to the fashion of the 'prentices, sometimes."
+
+The prince's eyes flashed.  Said he--
+
+"Marry, that would not I mislike.  Tell me more."
+
+"We strive in races, sir, to see who of us shall be fleetest."
+
+"That would I like also.  Speak on."
+
+"In summer, sir, we wade and swim in the canals and in the river,
+and each doth duck his neighbour, and splatter him with water, and
+dive and shout and tumble and--"
+
+"'Twould be worth my father's kingdom but to enjoy it once!
+Prithee go on."
+
+"We dance and sing about the Maypole in Cheapside; we play in the
+sand, each covering his neighbour up; and times we make mud
+pastry--oh the lovely mud, it hath not its like for delightfulness
+in all the world!--we do fairly wallow in the mud, sir, saving
+your worship's presence."
+
+"Oh, prithee, say no more, 'tis glorious!  If that I could but
+clothe me in raiment like to thine, and strip my feet, and revel
+in the mud once, just once, with none to rebuke me or forbid,
+meseemeth I could forego the crown!"
+
+"And if that I could clothe me once, sweet sir, as thou art clad--
+just once--"
+
+"Oho, would'st like it?  Then so shall it be.  Doff thy rags, and
+don these splendours, lad!  It is a brief happiness, but will be
+not less keen for that.  We will have it while we may, and change
+again before any come to molest."
+
+A few minutes later the little Prince of Wales was garlanded with
+Tom's fluttering odds and ends, and the little Prince of Pauperdom
+was tricked out in the gaudy plumage of royalty.  The two went and
+stood side by side before a great mirror, and lo, a miracle:
+there did not seem to have been any change made!  They stared at
+each other, then at the glass, then at each other again.  At last
+the puzzled princeling said--
+
+"What dost thou make of this?"
+
+"Ah, good your worship, require me not to answer.  It is not meet
+that one of my degree should utter the thing."
+
+"Then will _I_ utter it.  Thou hast the same hair, the same eyes,
+the same voice and manner, the same form and stature, the same
+face and countenance that I bear.  Fared we forth naked, there is
+none could say which was you, and which the Prince of Wales.  And,
+now that I am clothed as thou wert clothed, it seemeth I should be
+able the more nearly to feel as thou didst when the brute soldier-
+-Hark ye, is not this a bruise upon your hand?"
+
+"Yes; but it is a slight thing, and your worship knoweth that the
+poor man-at-arms--"
+
+"Peace!  It was a shameful thing and a cruel!" cried the little
+prince, stamping his bare foot.  "If the King--Stir not a step
+till I come again!  It is a command!"
+
+In a moment he had snatched up and put away an article of national
+importance that lay upon a table, and was out at the door and
+flying through the palace grounds in his bannered rags, with a hot
+face and glowing eyes.  As soon as he reached the great gate, he
+seized the bars, and tried to shake them, shouting--
+
+"Open!  Unbar the gates!"
+
+The soldier that had maltreated Tom obeyed promptly; and as the
+prince burst through the portal, half-smothered with royal wrath,
+the soldier fetched him a sounding box on the ear that sent him
+whirling to the roadway, and said--
+
+"Take that, thou beggar's spawn, for what thou got'st me from his
+Highness!"
+
+The crowd roared with laughter.  The prince picked himself out of
+the mud, and made fiercely at the sentry, shouting--
+
+"I am the Prince of Wales, my person is sacred; and thou shalt
+hang for laying thy hand upon me!"
+
+The soldier brought his halberd to a present-arms and said
+mockingly--
+
+"I salute your gracious Highness."  Then angrily--  "Be off, thou
+crazy rubbish!"
+
+Here the jeering crowd closed round the poor little prince, and
+hustled him far down the road, hooting him, and shouting--
+
+"Way for his Royal Highness!  Way for the Prince of Wales!"
+
+
+
+Chapter IV. The Prince's troubles begin.
+
+After hours of persistent pursuit and persecution, the little
+prince was at last deserted by the rabble and left to himself.  As
+long as he had been able to rage against the mob, and threaten it
+royally, and royally utter commands that were good stuff to laugh
+at, he was very entertaining; but when weariness finally forced
+him to be silent, he was no longer of use to his tormentors, and
+they sought amusement elsewhere.  He looked about him, now, but
+could not recognise the locality.  He was within the city of
+London--that was all he knew.  He moved on, aimlessly, and in a
+little while the houses thinned, and the passers-by were
+infrequent.  He bathed his bleeding feet in the brook which flowed
+then where Farringdon Street now is; rested a few moments, then
+passed on, and presently came upon a great space with only a few
+scattered houses in it, and a prodigious church.  He recognised
+this church.  Scaffoldings were about, everywhere, and swarms of
+workmen; for it was undergoing elaborate repairs.  The prince took
+heart at once--he felt that his troubles were at an end, now.  He
+said to himself, "It is the ancient Grey Friars' Church, which the
+king my father hath taken from the monks and given for a home for
+ever for poor and forsaken children, and new-named it Christ's
+Church.  Right gladly will they serve the son of him who hath done
+so generously by them--and the more that that son is himself as
+poor and as forlorn as any that be sheltered here this day, or
+ever shall be."
+
+He was soon in the midst of a crowd of boys who were running,
+jumping, playing at ball and leap-frog, and otherwise disporting
+themselves, and right noisily, too.  They were all dressed alike,
+and in the fashion which in that day prevailed among serving-men
+and 'prentices{1}--that is to say, each had on the crown of his
+head a flat black cap about the size of a saucer, which was not
+useful as a covering, it being of such scanty dimensions, neither
+was it ornamental; from beneath it the hair fell, unparted, to the
+middle of the forehead, and was cropped straight around; a
+clerical band at the neck; a blue gown that fitted closely and
+hung as low as the knees or lower; full sleeves; a broad red belt;
+bright yellow stockings, gartered above the knees; low shoes with
+large metal buckles.  It was a sufficiently ugly costume.
+
+The boys stopped their play and flocked about the prince, who said
+with native dignity--
+
+"Good lads, say to your master that Edward Prince of Wales
+desireth speech with him."
+
+A great shout went up at this, and one rude fellow said--
+
+"Marry, art thou his grace's messenger, beggar?"
+
+The prince's face flushed with anger, and his ready hand flew to
+his hip, but there was nothing there.  There was a storm of
+laughter, and one boy said--
+
+"Didst mark that?  He fancied he had a sword--belike he is the
+prince himself."
+
+This sally brought more laughter.  Poor Edward drew himself up
+proudly and said--
+
+"I am the prince; and it ill beseemeth you that feed upon the king
+my father's bounty to use me so."
+
+This was vastly enjoyed, as the laughter testified.  The youth who
+had first spoken, shouted to his comrades--
+
+"Ho, swine, slaves, pensioners of his grace's princely father,
+where be your manners?  Down on your marrow bones, all of ye, and
+do reverence to his kingly port and royal rags!"
+
+With boisterous mirth they dropped upon their knees in a body and
+did mock homage to their prey.  The prince spurned the nearest boy
+with his foot, and said fiercely--
+
+"Take thou that, till the morrow come and I build thee a gibbet!"
+
+Ah, but this was not a joke--this was going beyond fun.  The
+laughter ceased on the instant, and fury took its place.  A dozen
+shouted--
+
+"Hale him forth!  To the horse-pond, to the horse-pond!  Where be
+the dogs?  Ho, there, Lion! ho, Fangs!"
+
+Then followed such a thing as England had never seen before--the
+sacred person of the heir to the throne rudely buffeted by
+plebeian hands, and set upon and torn by dogs.
+
+As night drew to a close that day, the prince found himself far
+down in the close-built portion of the city.  His body was
+bruised, his hands were bleeding, and his rags were all besmirched
+with mud.  He wandered on and on, and grew more and more
+bewildered, and so tired and faint he could hardly drag one foot
+after the other.  He had ceased to ask questions of anyone, since
+they brought him only insult instead of information.  He kept
+muttering to himself, "Offal Court--that is the name; if I can but
+find it before my strength is wholly spent and I drop, then am I
+saved--for his people will take me to the palace and prove that I
+am none of theirs, but the true prince, and I shall have mine own
+again."  And now and then his mind reverted to his treatment by
+those rude Christ's Hospital boys, and he said, "When I am king,
+they shall not have bread and shelter only, but also teachings out
+of books; for a full belly is little worth where the mind is
+starved, and the heart.  I will keep this diligently in my
+remembrance, that this day's lesson be not lost upon me, and my
+people suffer thereby; for learning softeneth the heart and
+breedeth gentleness and charity. {1}
+
+The lights began to twinkle, it came on to rain, the wind rose,
+and a raw and gusty night set in.  The houseless prince, the
+homeless heir to the throne of England, still moved on, drifting
+deeper into the maze of squalid alleys where the swarming hives of
+poverty and misery were massed together.
+
+Suddenly a great drunken ruffian collared him and said--
+
+"Out to this time of night again, and hast not brought a farthing
+home, I warrant me!  If it be so, an' I do not break all the bones
+in thy lean body, then am I not John Canty, but some other."
+
+The prince twisted himself loose, unconsciously brushed his
+profaned shoulder, and eagerly said--
+
+"Oh, art HIS father, truly?  Sweet heaven grant it be so--then
+wilt thou fetch him away and restore me!"
+
+"HIS father?  I know not what thou mean'st; I but know I am THY
+father, as thou shalt soon have cause to--"
+
+"Oh, jest not, palter not, delay not!--I am worn, I am wounded, I
+can bear no more.  Take me to the king my father, and he will make
+thee rich beyond thy wildest dreams.  Believe me, man, believe
+me!--I speak no lie, but only the truth!--put forth thy hand and
+save me!  I am indeed the Prince of Wales!"
+
+The man stared down, stupefied, upon the lad, then shook his head
+and muttered--
+
+"Gone stark mad as any Tom o' Bedlam!"--then collared him once
+more, and said with a coarse laugh and an oath, "But mad or no
+mad, I and thy Gammer Canty will soon find where the soft places
+in thy bones lie, or I'm no true man!"
+
+With this he dragged the frantic and struggling prince away, and
+disappeared up a front court followed by a delighted and noisy
+swarm of human vermin.
+
+
+
+Chapter V. Tom as a patrician.
+
+Tom Canty, left alone in the prince's cabinet, made good use of
+his opportunity.  He turned himself this way and that before the
+great mirror, admiring his finery; then walked away, imitating the
+prince's high-bred carriage, and still observing results in the
+glass.  Next he drew the beautiful sword, and bowed, kissing the
+blade, and laying it across his breast, as he had seen a noble
+knight do, by way of salute to the lieutenant of the Tower, five
+or six weeks before, when delivering the great lords of Norfolk
+and Surrey into his hands for captivity.  Tom played with the
+jewelled dagger that hung upon his thigh; he examined the costly
+and exquisite ornaments of the room; he tried each of the
+sumptuous chairs, and thought how proud he would be if the Offal
+Court herd could only peep in and see him in his grandeur.  He
+wondered if they would believe the marvellous tale he should tell
+when he got home, or if they would shake their heads, and say his
+overtaxed imagination had at last upset his reason.
+
+At the end of half an hour it suddenly occurred to him that the
+prince was gone a long time; then right away he began to feel
+lonely; very soon he fell to listening and longing, and ceased to
+toy with the pretty things about him; he grew uneasy, then
+restless, then distressed.  Suppose some one should come, and
+catch him in the prince's clothes, and the prince not there to
+explain.  Might they not hang him at once, and inquire into his
+case afterward?  He had heard that the great were prompt about
+small matters.  His fear rose higher and higher; and trembling he
+softly opened the door to the antechamber, resolved to fly and
+seek the prince, and, through him, protection and release.  Six
+gorgeous gentlemen-servants and two young pages of high degree,
+clothed like butterflies, sprang to their feet and bowed low
+before him.  He stepped quickly back and shut the door.  He said--
+
+"Oh, they mock at me!  They will go and tell.  Oh! why came I here
+to cast away my life?"
+
+He walked up and down the floor, filled with nameless fears,
+listening, starting at every trifling sound.  Presently the door
+swung open, and a silken page said--
+
+"The Lady Jane Grey."
+
+The door closed and a sweet young girl, richly clad, bounded
+toward him.  But she stopped suddenly, and said in a distressed
+voice--
+
+"Oh, what aileth thee, my lord?"
+
+Tom's breath was nearly failing him; but he made shift to stammer
+out--
+
+"Ah, be merciful, thou!  In sooth I am no lord, but only poor Tom
+Canty of Offal Court in the city.  Prithee let me see the prince,
+and he will of his grace restore to me my rags, and let me hence
+unhurt.  Oh, be thou merciful, and save me!"
+
+By this time the boy was on his knees, and supplicating with his
+eyes and uplifted hands as well as with his tongue.  The young
+girl seemed horror-stricken.  She cried out--
+
+"O my lord, on thy knees?--and to ME!"
+
+Then she fled away in fright; and Tom, smitten with despair, sank
+down, murmuring--
+
+"There is no help, there is no hope.  Now will they come and take
+me."
+
+Whilst he lay there benumbed with terror, dreadful tidings were
+speeding through the palace.  The whisper--for it was whispered
+always--flew from menial to menial, from lord to lady, down all
+the long corridors, from story to story, from saloon to saloon,
+"The prince hath gone mad, the prince hath gone mad!"  Soon every
+saloon, every marble hall, had its groups of glittering lords and
+ladies, and other groups of dazzling lesser folk, talking
+earnestly together in whispers, and every face had in it dismay.
+Presently a splendid official came marching by these groups,
+making solemn proclamation--
+
+                    "IN THE NAME OF THE KING!
+
+Let none list to this false and foolish matter, upon pain of
+death, nor discuss the same, nor carry it abroad.  In the name of
+the King!"
+
+The whisperings ceased as suddenly as if the whisperers had been
+stricken dumb.
+
+Soon there was a general buzz along the corridors, of "The prince!
+See, the prince comes!"
+
+Poor Tom came slowly walking past the low-bowing groups, trying to
+bow in return, and meekly gazing upon his strange surroundings
+with bewildered and pathetic eyes.  Great nobles walked upon each
+side of him, making him lean upon them, and so steady his steps.
+Behind him followed the court-physicians and some servants.
+
+Presently Tom found himself in a noble apartment of the palace and
+heard the door close behind him.  Around him stood those who had
+come with him.  Before him, at a little distance, reclined a very
+large and very fat man, with a wide, pulpy face, and a stern
+expression.  His large head was very grey; and his whiskers, which
+he wore only around his face, like a frame, were grey also.  His
+clothing was of rich stuff, but old, and slightly frayed in
+places.  One of his swollen legs had a pillow under it, and was
+wrapped in bandages.  There was silence now; and there was no head
+there but was bent in reverence, except this man's.  This stern-
+countenanced invalid was the dread Henry VIII.  He said--and his
+face grew gentle as he began to speak--
+
+"How now, my lord Edward, my prince?  Hast been minded to cozen
+me, the good King thy father, who loveth thee, and kindly useth
+thee, with a sorry jest?"
+
+Poor Tom was listening, as well as his dazed faculties would let
+him, to the beginning of this speech; but when the words 'me, the
+good King' fell upon his ear, his face blanched, and he dropped as
+instantly upon his knees as if a shot had brought him there.
+Lifting up his hands, he exclaimed--
+
+"Thou the KING?  Then am I undone indeed!"
+
+This speech seemed to stun the King.  His eyes wandered from face
+to face aimlessly, then rested, bewildered, upon the boy before
+him.  Then he said in a tone of deep disappointment--
+
+"Alack, I had believed the rumour disproportioned to the truth;
+but I fear me 'tis not so."  He breathed a heavy sigh, and said in
+a gentle voice, "Come to thy father, child:  thou art not well."
+
+Tom was assisted to his feet, and approached the Majesty of
+England, humble and trembling.  The King took the frightened face
+between his hands, and gazed earnestly and lovingly into it
+awhile, as if seeking some grateful sign of returning reason
+there, then pressed the curly head against his breast, and patted
+it tenderly.  Presently he said--
+
+"Dost not know thy father, child?  Break not mine old heart; say
+thou know'st me.  Thou DOST know me, dost thou not?"
+
+"Yea:  thou art my dread lord the King, whom God preserve!"
+
+"True, true--that is well--be comforted, tremble not so; there is
+none here would hurt thee; there is none here but loves thee.
+Thou art better now; thy ill dream passeth--is't not so?  Thou
+wilt not miscall thyself again, as they say thou didst a little
+while agone?"
+
+"I pray thee of thy grace believe me, I did but speak the truth,
+most dread lord; for I am the meanest among thy subjects, being a
+pauper born, and 'tis by a sore mischance and accident I am here,
+albeit I was therein nothing blameful.  I am but young to die, and
+thou canst save me with one little word.  Oh speak it, sir!"
+
+"Die?  Talk not so, sweet prince--peace, peace, to thy troubled
+heart--thou shalt not die!"
+
+Tom dropped upon his knees with a glad cry--
+
+"God requite thy mercy, O my King, and save thee long to bless thy
+land!"  Then springing up, he turned a joyful face toward the two
+lords in waiting, and exclaimed, "Thou heard'st it!  I am not to
+die:  the King hath said it!"  There was no movement, save that
+all bowed with grave respect; but no one spoke.  He hesitated, a
+little confused, then turned timidly toward the King, saying, "I
+may go now?"
+
+"Go?  Surely, if thou desirest.  But why not tarry yet a little?
+Whither would'st go?"
+
+Tom dropped his eyes, and answered humbly--
+
+"Peradventure I mistook; but I did think me free, and so was I
+moved to seek again the kennel where I was born and bred to
+misery, yet which harboureth my mother and my sisters, and so is
+home to me; whereas these pomps and splendours whereunto I am not
+used--oh, please you, sir, to let me go!"
+
+The King was silent and thoughtful a while, and his face betrayed
+a growing distress and uneasiness.  Presently he said, with
+something of hope in his voice--
+
+"Perchance he is but mad upon this one strain, and hath his wits
+unmarred as toucheth other matter.  God send it may be so!  We
+will make trial."
+
+Then he asked Tom a question in Latin, and Tom answered him lamely
+in the same tongue.  The lords and doctors manifested their
+gratification also.  The King said--
+
+"'Twas not according to his schooling and ability, but showeth
+that his mind is but diseased, not stricken fatally.  How say you,
+sir?"
+
+The physician addressed bowed low, and replied--
+
+"It jumpeth with my own conviction, sire, that thou hast divined
+aright."
+
+The King looked pleased with this encouragement, coming as it did
+from so excellent authority, and continued with good heart--
+
+"Now mark ye all:  we will try him further."
+
+He put a question to Tom in French.  Tom stood silent a moment,
+embarrassed by having so many eyes centred upon him, then said
+diffidently--
+
+"I have no knowledge of this tongue, so please your majesty."
+
+The King fell back upon his couch.  The attendants flew to his
+assistance; but he put them aside, and said--
+
+"Trouble me not--it is nothing but a scurvy faintness.  Raise me!
+There, 'tis sufficient.  Come hither, child; there, rest thy poor
+troubled head upon thy father's heart, and be at peace.  Thou'lt
+soon be well:  'tis but a passing fantasy.  Fear thou not; thou'lt
+soon be well."  Then he turned toward the company:  his gentle
+manner changed, and baleful lightnings began to play from his
+eyes.  He said--
+
+"List ye all!  This my son is mad; but it is not permanent.  Over-
+study hath done this, and somewhat too much of confinement.  Away
+with his books and teachers! see ye to it.  Pleasure him with
+sports, beguile him in wholesome ways, so that his health come
+again."  He raised himself higher still, and went on with energy,
+"He is mad; but he is my son, and England's heir; and, mad or
+sane, still shall he reign!  And hear ye further, and proclaim it:
+whoso speaketh of this his distemper worketh against the peace and
+order of these realms, and shall to the gallows! . . . Give me to
+drink--I burn:  this sorrow sappeth my strength. . . . There, take
+away the cup. . . . Support me.  There, that is well.  Mad, is he?
+Were he a thousand times mad, yet is he Prince of Wales, and I the
+King will confirm it.  This very morrow shall he be installed in
+his princely dignity in due and ancient form.  Take instant order
+for it, my lord Hertford."
+
+One of the nobles knelt at the royal couch, and said--
+
+"The King's majesty knoweth that the Hereditary Great Marshal of
+England lieth attainted in the Tower.  It were not meet that one
+attainted--"
+
+"Peace!  Insult not mine ears with his hated name.  Is this man to
+live for ever?  Am I to be baulked of my will?  Is the prince to
+tarry uninstalled, because, forsooth, the realm lacketh an Earl
+Marshal free of treasonable taint to invest him with his honours?
+No, by the splendour of God!  Warn my Parliament to bring me
+Norfolk's doom before the sun rise again, else shall they answer
+for it grievously!" {1}
+
+Lord Hertford said--
+
+"The King's will is law;" and, rising, returned to his former
+place.
+
+Gradually the wrath faded out of the old King's face, and he said-
+-
+
+"Kiss me, my prince.  There . . . what fearest thou?  Am I not thy
+loving father?"
+
+"Thou art good to me that am unworthy, O mighty and gracious lord:
+that in truth I know.  But--but--it grieveth me to think of him
+that is to die, and--"
+
+"Ah, 'tis like thee, 'tis like thee!  I know thy heart is still
+the same, even though thy mind hath suffered hurt, for thou wert
+ever of a gentle spirit.  But this duke standeth between thee and
+thine honours:  I will have another in his stead that shall bring
+no taint to his great office.  Comfort thee, my prince:  trouble
+not thy poor head with this matter."
+
+"But is it not I that speed him hence, my liege?  How long might
+he not live, but for me?"
+
+"Take no thought of him, my prince:  he is not worthy.  Kiss me
+once again, and go to thy trifles and amusements; for my malady
+distresseth me.  I am aweary, and would rest.  Go with thine uncle
+Hertford and thy people, and come again when my body is
+refreshed."
+
+Tom, heavy-hearted, was conducted from the presence, for this last
+sentence was a death-blow to the hope he had cherished that now he
+would be set free.  Once more he heard the buzz of low voices
+exclaiming, "The prince, the prince comes!"
+
+His spirits sank lower and lower as he moved between the
+glittering files of bowing courtiers; for he recognised that he
+was indeed a captive now, and might remain for ever shut up in
+this gilded cage, a forlorn and friendless prince, except God in
+his mercy take pity on him and set him free.
+
+And, turn where he would, he seemed to see floating in the air the
+severed head and the remembered face of the great Duke of Norfolk,
+the eyes fixed on him reproachfully.
+
+His old dreams had been so pleasant; but this reality was so
+dreary!
+
+
+
+Chapter VI. Tom receives instructions.
+
+Tom was conducted to the principal apartment of a noble suite, and
+made to sit down--a thing which he was loth to do, since there
+were elderly men and men of high degree about him.  He begged them
+to be seated also, but they only bowed their thanks or murmured
+them, and remained standing.  He would have insisted, but his
+'uncle' the Earl of Hertford whispered in his ear--
+
+"Prithee, insist not, my lord; it is not meet that they sit in thy
+presence."
+
+The Lord St. John was announced, and after making obeisance to
+Tom, he said--
+
+"I come upon the King's errand, concerning a matter which
+requireth privacy.  Will it please your royal highness to dismiss
+all that attend you here, save my lord the Earl of Hertford?"
+
+Observing that Tom did not seem to know how to proceed, Hertford
+whispered him to make a sign with his hand, and not trouble
+himself to speak unless he chose.  When the waiting gentlemen had
+retired, Lord St. John said--
+
+"His majesty commandeth, that for due and weighty reasons of
+state, the prince's grace shall hide his infirmity in all ways
+that be within his power, till it be passed and he be as he was
+before.  To wit, that he shall deny to none that he is the true
+prince, and heir to England's greatness; that he shall uphold his
+princely dignity, and shall receive, without word or sign of
+protest, that reverence and observance which unto it do appertain
+of right and ancient usage; that he shall cease to speak to any of
+that lowly birth and life his malady hath conjured out of the
+unwholesome imaginings of o'er-wrought fancy; that he shall strive
+with diligence to bring unto his memory again those faces which he
+was wont to know--and where he faileth he shall hold his peace,
+neither betraying by semblance of surprise or other sign that he
+hath forgot; that upon occasions of state, whensoever any matter
+shall perplex him as to the thing he should do or the utterance he
+should make, he shall show nought of unrest to the curious that
+look on, but take advice in that matter of the Lord Hertford, or
+my humble self, which are commanded of the King to be upon this
+service and close at call, till this commandment be dissolved.
+Thus saith the King's majesty, who sendeth greeting to your royal
+highness, and prayeth that God will of His mercy quickly heal you
+and have you now and ever in His holy keeping."
+
+The Lord St. John made reverence and stood aside.  Tom replied
+resignedly--
+
+"The King hath said it.  None may palter with the King's command,
+or fit it to his ease, where it doth chafe, with deft evasions.
+The King shall be obeyed."
+
+Lord Hertford said--
+
+"Touching the King's majesty's ordainment concerning books and
+such like serious matters, it may peradventure please your
+highness to ease your time with lightsome entertainment, lest you
+go wearied to the banquet and suffer harm thereby."
+
+Tom's face showed inquiring surprise; and a blush followed when he
+saw Lord St. John's eyes bent sorrowfully upon him.  His lordship
+said--
+
+"Thy memory still wrongeth thee, and thou hast shown surprise--but
+suffer it not to trouble thee, for 'tis a matter that will not
+bide, but depart with thy mending malady.  My Lord of Hertford
+speaketh of the city's banquet which the King's majesty did
+promise, some two months flown, your highness should attend.  Thou
+recallest it now?"
+
+"It grieves me to confess it had indeed escaped me," said Tom, in
+a hesitating voice; and blushed again.
+
+At this moment the Lady Elizabeth and the Lady Jane Grey were
+announced.  The two lords exchanged significant glances, and
+Hertford stepped quickly toward the door.  As the young girls
+passed him, he said in a low voice--
+
+"I pray ye, ladies, seem not to observe his humours, nor show
+surprise when his memory doth lapse--it will grieve you to note
+how it doth stick at every trifle."
+
+Meantime Lord St. John was saying in Tom's ear--
+
+"Please you, sir, keep diligently in mind his majesty's desire.
+Remember all thou canst--SEEM to remember all else.  Let them not
+perceive that thou art much changed from thy wont, for thou
+knowest how tenderly thy old play-fellows bear thee in their
+hearts and how 'twould grieve them.  Art willing, sir, that I
+remain?--and thine uncle?"
+
+Tom signified assent with a gesture and a murmured word, for he
+was already learning, and in his simple heart was resolved to
+acquit himself as best he might, according to the King's command.
+
+In spite of every precaution, the conversation among the young
+people became a little embarrassing at times.  More than once, in
+truth, Tom was near to breaking down and confessing himself
+unequal to his tremendous part; but the tact of the Princess
+Elizabeth saved him, or a word from one or the other of the
+vigilant lords, thrown in apparently by chance, had the same happy
+effect.  Once the little Lady Jane turned to Tom and dismayed him
+with this question,--
+
+"Hast paid thy duty to the Queen's majesty to-day, my lord?"
+
+Tom hesitated, looked distressed, and was about to stammer out
+something at hazard, when Lord St. John took the word and answered
+for him with the easy grace of a courtier accustomed to encounter
+delicate difficulties and to be ready for them--
+
+"He hath indeed, madam, and she did greatly hearten him, as
+touching his majesty's condition; is it not so, your highness?"
+
+Tom mumbled something that stood for assent, but felt that he was
+getting upon dangerous ground.  Somewhat later it was mentioned
+that Tom was to study no more at present, whereupon her little
+ladyship exclaimed--
+
+"'Tis a pity, 'tis a pity!  Thou wert proceeding bravely.  But
+bide thy time in patience:  it will not be for long.  Thou'lt yet
+be graced with learning like thy father, and make thy tongue
+master of as many languages as his, good my prince."
+
+"My father!" cried Tom, off his guard for the moment.  "I trow he
+cannot speak his own so that any but the swine that kennel in the
+styes may tell his meaning; and as for learning of any sort
+soever--"
+
+He looked up and encountered a solemn warning in my Lord St.
+John's eyes.
+
+He stopped, blushed, then continued low and sadly: "Ah, my malady
+persecuteth me again, and my mind wandereth.  I meant the King's
+grace no irreverence."
+
+"We know it, sir," said the Princess Elizabeth, taking her
+'brother's' hand between her two palms, respectfully but
+caressingly; "trouble not thyself as to that.  The fault is none
+of thine, but thy distemper's."
+
+"Thou'rt a gentle comforter, sweet lady," said Tom, gratefully,
+"and my heart moveth me to thank thee for't, an' I may be so
+bold."
+
+Once the giddy little Lady Jane fired a simple Greek phrase at
+Tom.  The Princess Elizabeth's quick eye saw by the serene
+blankness of the target's front that the shaft was overshot; so
+she tranquilly delivered a return volley of sounding Greek on
+Tom's behalf, and then straightway changed the talk to other
+matters.
+
+Time wore on pleasantly, and likewise smoothly, on the whole.
+Snags and sandbars grew less and less frequent, and Tom grew more
+and more at his ease, seeing that all were so lovingly bent upon
+helping him and overlooking his mistakes.  When it came out that
+the little ladies were to accompany him to the Lord Mayor's
+banquet in the evening, his heart gave a bound of relief and
+delight, for he felt that he should not be friendless, now, among
+that multitude of strangers; whereas, an hour earlier, the idea of
+their going with him would have been an insupportable terror to
+him.
+
+Tom's guardian angels, the two lords, had had less comfort in the
+interview than the other parties to it.  They felt much as if they
+were piloting a great ship through a dangerous channel; they were
+on the alert constantly, and found their office no child's play.
+Wherefore, at last, when the ladies' visit was drawing to a close
+and the Lord Guilford Dudley was announced, they not only felt
+that their charge had been sufficiently taxed for the present, but
+also that they themselves were not in the best condition to take
+their ship back and make their anxious voyage all over again.  So
+they respectfully advised Tom to excuse himself, which he was very
+glad to do, although a slight shade of disappointment might have
+been observed upon my Lady Jane's face when she heard the splendid
+stripling denied admittance.
+
+There was a pause now, a sort of waiting silence which Tom could
+not understand.  He glanced at Lord Hertford, who gave him a sign-
+-but he failed to understand that also.  The ready Elizabeth came
+to the rescue with her usual easy grace.  She made reverence and
+said--
+
+"Have we leave of the prince's grace my brother to go?"
+
+Tom said--
+
+"Indeed your ladyships can have whatsoever of me they will, for
+the asking; yet would I rather give them any other thing that in
+my poor power lieth, than leave to take the light and blessing of
+their presence hence.  Give ye good den, and God be with ye!"
+Then he smiled inwardly at the thought, "'Tis not for nought I
+have dwelt but among princes in my reading, and taught my tongue
+some slight trick of their broidered and gracious speech withal!"
+
+When the illustrious maidens were gone, Tom turned wearily to his
+keepers and said--
+
+"May it please your lordships to grant me leave to go into some
+corner and rest me?"
+
+Lord Hertford said--
+
+"So please your highness, it is for you to command, it is for us
+to obey.  That thou should'st rest is indeed a needful thing,
+since thou must journey to the city presently."
+
+He touched a bell, and a page appeared, who was ordered to desire
+the presence of Sir William Herbert.  This gentleman came
+straightway, and conducted Tom to an inner apartment.  Tom's first
+movement there was to reach for a cup of water; but a silk-and-
+velvet servitor seized it, dropped upon one knee, and offered it
+to him on a golden salver.
+
+Next the tired captive sat down and was going to take off his
+buskins, timidly asking leave with his eye, but another silk-and-
+velvet discomforter went down upon his knees and took the office
+from him.  He made two or three further efforts to help himself,
+but being promptly forestalled each time, he finally gave up, with
+a sigh of resignation and a murmured "Beshrew me, but I marvel
+they do not require to breathe for me also!"  Slippered, and
+wrapped in a sumptuous robe, he laid himself down at last to rest,
+but not to sleep, for his head was too full of thoughts and the
+room too full of people.  He could not dismiss the former, so they
+stayed; he did not know enough to dismiss the latter, so they
+stayed also, to his vast regret--and theirs.
+
+
+Tom's departure had left his two noble guardians alone.  They
+mused a while, with much head-shaking and walking the floor, then
+Lord St. John said--
+
+"Plainly, what dost thou think?"
+
+"Plainly, then, this.  The King is near his end; my nephew is mad-
+-mad will mount the throne, and mad remain.  God protect England,
+since she will need it!"
+
+"Verily it promiseth so, indeed.  But . . . have you no misgivings
+as to . . . as to . . ."
+
+The speaker hesitated, and finally stopped.  He evidently felt
+that he was upon delicate ground.  Lord Hertford stopped before
+him, looked into his face with a clear, frank eye, and said--
+
+"Speak on--there is none to hear but me.  Misgivings as to what?"
+
+"I am full loth to word the thing that is in my mind, and thou so
+near to him in blood, my lord.  But craving pardon if I do offend,
+seemeth it not strange that madness could so change his port and
+manner?--not but that his port and speech are princely still, but
+that they DIFFER, in one unweighty trifle or another, from what
+his custom was aforetime.  Seemeth it not strange that madness
+should filch from his memory his father's very lineaments; the
+customs and observances that are his due from such as be about
+him; and, leaving him his Latin, strip him of his Greek and
+French?  My lord, be not offended, but ease my mind of its
+disquiet and receive my grateful thanks.  It haunteth me, his
+saying he was not the prince, and so--"
+
+"Peace, my lord, thou utterest treason!  Hast forgot the King's
+command?  Remember I am party to thy crime if I but listen."
+
+St. John paled, and hastened to say--
+
+"I was in fault, I do confess it.  Betray me not, grant me this
+grace out of thy courtesy, and I will neither think nor speak of
+this thing more.  Deal not hardly with me, sir, else am I ruined."
+
+"I am content, my lord.  So thou offend not again, here or in the
+ears of others, it shall be as though thou hadst not spoken.  But
+thou need'st not have misgivings.  He is my sister's son; are not
+his voice, his face, his form, familiar to me from his cradle?
+Madness can do all the odd conflicting things thou seest in him,
+and more.  Dost not recall how that the old Baron Marley, being
+mad, forgot the favour of his own countenance that he had known
+for sixty years, and held it was another's; nay, even claimed he
+was the son of Mary Magdalene, and that his head was made of
+Spanish glass; and, sooth to say, he suffered none to touch it,
+lest by mischance some heedless hand might shiver it?  Give thy
+misgivings easement, good my lord.  This is the very prince--I
+know him well--and soon will be thy king; it may advantage thee to
+bear this in mind, and more dwell upon it than the other."
+
+After some further talk, in which the Lord St. John covered up his
+mistake as well as he could by repeated protests that his faith
+was thoroughly grounded now, and could not be assailed by doubts
+again, the Lord Hertford relieved his fellow-keeper, and sat down
+to keep watch and ward alone.  He was soon deep in meditation, and
+evidently the longer he thought, the more he was bothered.  By-
+and-by he began to pace the floor and mutter.
+
+"Tush, he MUST be the prince!  Will any he in all the land
+maintain there can be two, not of one blood and birth, so
+marvellously twinned?  And even were it so, 'twere yet a stranger
+miracle that chance should cast the one into the other's place.
+Nay, 'tis folly, folly, folly!"
+
+Presently he said--
+
+"Now were he impostor and called himself prince, look you THAT
+would be natural; that would be reasonable.  But lived ever an
+impostor yet, who, being called prince by the king, prince by the
+court, prince by all, DENIED his dignity and pleaded against his
+exaltation?  NO!  By the soul of St. Swithin, no!  This is the
+true prince, gone mad!"
+
+
+
+Chapter VII. Tom's first royal dinner.
+
+Somewhat after one in the afternoon, Tom resignedly underwent the
+ordeal of being dressed for dinner.  He found himself as finely
+clothed as before, but everything different, everything changed,
+from his ruff to his stockings.  He was presently conducted with
+much state to a spacious and ornate apartment, where a table was
+already set for one.  Its furniture was all of massy gold, and
+beautified with designs which well-nigh made it priceless, since
+they were the work of Benvenuto.  The room was half-filled with
+noble servitors.  A chaplain said grace, and Tom was about to fall
+to, for hunger had long been constitutional with him, but was
+interrupted by my lord the Earl of Berkeley, who fastened a napkin
+about his neck; for the great post of Diaperers to the Prince of
+Wales was hereditary in this nobleman's family.  Tom's cupbearer
+was present, and forestalled all his attempts to help himself to
+wine.  The Taster to his highness the Prince of Wales was there
+also, prepared to taste any suspicious dish upon requirement, and
+run the risk of being poisoned.  He was only an ornamental
+appendage at this time, and was seldom called upon to exercise his
+function; but there had been times, not many generations past,
+when the office of taster had its perils, and was not a grandeur
+to be desired.  Why they did not use a dog or a plumber seems
+strange; but all the ways of royalty are strange.  My Lord d'Arcy,
+First Groom of the Chamber, was there, to do goodness knows what;
+but there he was--let that suffice.  The Lord Chief Butler was
+there, and stood behind Tom's chair, overseeing the solemnities,
+under command of the Lord Great Steward and the Lord Head Cook,
+who stood near.  Tom had three hundred and eighty-four servants
+beside these; but they were not all in that room, of course, nor
+the quarter of them; neither was Tom aware yet that they existed.
+
+All those that were present had been well drilled within the hour
+to remember that the prince was temporarily out of his head, and
+to be careful to show no surprise at his vagaries.  These
+'vagaries' were soon on exhibition before them; but they only
+moved their compassion and their sorrow, not their mirth.  It was
+a heavy affliction to them to see the beloved prince so stricken.
+
+Poor Tom ate with his fingers mainly; but no one smiled at it, or
+even seemed to observe it.  He inspected his napkin curiously, and
+with deep interest, for it was of a very dainty and beautiful
+fabric, then said with simplicity--
+
+"Prithee, take it away, lest in mine unheedfulness it be soiled."
+
+The Hereditary Diaperer took it away with reverent manner, and
+without word or protest of any sort.
+
+Tom examined the turnips and the lettuce with interest, and asked
+what they were, and if they were to be eaten; for it was only
+recently that men had begun to raise these things in England in
+place of importing them as luxuries from Holland. {1}  His
+question was answered with grave respect, and no surprise
+manifested.  When he had finished his dessert, he filled his
+pockets with nuts; but nobody appeared to be aware of it, or
+disturbed by it.  But the next moment he was himself disturbed by
+it, and showed discomposure; for this was the only service he had
+been permitted to do with his own hands during the meal, and he
+did not doubt that he had done a most improper and unprincely
+thing.  At that moment the muscles of his nose began to twitch,
+and the end of that organ to lift and wrinkle.  This continued,
+and Tom began to evince a growing distress.  He looked
+appealingly, first at one and then another of the lords about him,
+and tears came into his eyes.  They sprang forward with dismay in
+their faces, and begged to know his trouble.  Tom said with
+genuine anguish--
+
+"I crave your indulgence:  my nose itcheth cruelly.  What is the
+custom and usage in this emergence?  Prithee, speed, for 'tis but
+a little time that I can bear it."
+
+None smiled; but all were sore perplexed, and looked one to the
+other in deep tribulation for counsel.  But behold, here was a
+dead wall, and nothing in English history to tell how to get over
+it.  The Master of Ceremonies was not present:  there was no one
+who felt safe to venture upon this uncharted sea, or risk the
+attempt to solve this solemn problem.  Alas! there was no
+Hereditary Scratcher.  Meantime the tears had overflowed their
+banks, and begun to trickle down Tom's cheeks.  His twitching nose
+was pleading more urgently than ever for relief.  At last nature
+broke down the barriers of etiquette:  Tom lifted up an inward
+prayer for pardon if he was doing wrong, and brought relief to the
+burdened hearts of his court by scratching his nose himself.
+
+His meal being ended, a lord came and held before him a broad,
+shallow, golden dish with fragrant rosewater in it, to cleanse his
+mouth and fingers with; and my lord the Hereditary Diaperer stood
+by with a napkin for his use.  Tom gazed at the dish a puzzled
+moment or two, then raised it to his lips, and gravely took a
+draught.  Then he returned it to the waiting lord, and said--
+
+"Nay, it likes me not, my lord:  it hath a pretty flavour, but it
+wanteth strength."
+
+This new eccentricity of the prince's ruined mind made all the
+hearts about him ache; but the sad sight moved none to merriment.
+
+Tom's next unconscious blunder was to get up and leave the table
+just when the chaplain had taken his stand behind his chair, and
+with uplifted hands, and closed, uplifted eyes, was in the act of
+beginning the blessing.  Still nobody seemed to perceive that the
+prince had done a thing unusual.
+
+By his own request our small friend was now conducted to his
+private cabinet, and left there alone to his own devices.  Hanging
+upon hooks in the oaken wainscoting were the several pieces of a
+suit of shining steel armour, covered all over with beautiful
+designs exquisitely inlaid in gold.  This martial panoply belonged
+to the true prince--a recent present from Madam Parr the Queen.
+Tom put on the greaves, the gauntlets, the plumed helmet, and such
+other pieces as he could don without assistance, and for a while
+was minded to call for help and complete the matter, but bethought
+him of the nuts he had brought away from dinner, and the joy it
+would be to eat them with no crowd to eye him, and no Grand
+Hereditaries to pester him with undesired services; so he restored
+the pretty things to their several places, and soon was cracking
+nuts, and feeling almost naturally happy for the first time since
+God for his sins had made him a prince.  When the nuts were all
+gone, he stumbled upon some inviting books in a closet, among them
+one about the etiquette of the English court.  This was a prize.
+He lay down upon a sumptuous divan, and proceeded to instruct
+himself with honest zeal.  Let us leave him there for the present.
+
+
+
+Chapter VIII. The question of the Seal.
+
+About five o'clock Henry VIII. awoke out of an unrefreshing nap,
+and muttered to himself, "Troublous dreams, troublous dreams!
+Mine end is now at hand:  so say these warnings, and my failing
+pulses do confirm it."  Presently a wicked light flamed up in his
+eye, and he muttered, "Yet will not I die till HE go before."
+
+His attendants perceiving that he was awake, one of them asked his
+pleasure concerning the Lord Chancellor, who was waiting without.
+
+"Admit him, admit him!" exclaimed the King eagerly.
+
+The Lord Chancellor entered, and knelt by the King's couch,
+saying--
+
+"I have given order, and, according to the King's command, the
+peers of the realm, in their robes, do now stand at the bar of the
+House, where, having confirmed the Duke of Norfolk's doom, they
+humbly wait his majesty's further pleasure in the matter."
+
+The King's face lit up with a fierce joy.  Said he--
+
+"Lift me up!  In mine own person will I go before my Parliament,
+and with mine own hand will I seal the warrant that rids me of--"
+
+His voice failed; an ashen pallor swept the flush from his cheeks;
+and the attendants eased him back upon his pillows, and hurriedly
+assisted him with restoratives.  Presently he said sorrowfully--
+
+"Alack, how have I longed for this sweet hour! and lo, too late it
+cometh, and I am robbed of this so coveted chance.  But speed ye,
+speed ye! let others do this happy office sith 'tis denied to me.
+I put my Great Seal in commission:  choose thou the lords that
+shall compose it, and get ye to your work.  Speed ye, man!  Before
+the sun shall rise and set again, bring me his head that I may see
+it."
+
+"According to the King's command, so shall it be.  Will't please
+your majesty to order that the Seal be now restored to me, so that
+I may forth upon the business?"
+
+"The Seal?  Who keepeth the Seal but thou?"
+
+"Please your majesty, you did take it from me two days since,
+saying it should no more do its office till your own royal hand
+should use it upon the Duke of Norfolk's warrant."
+
+"Why, so in sooth I did:  I do remember . . . What did I with it?
+. . . I am very feeble . . . So oft these days doth my memory play
+the traitor with me . . . 'Tis strange, strange--"
+
+The King dropped into inarticulate mumblings, shaking his grey
+head weakly from time to time, and gropingly trying to recollect
+what he had done with the Seal.  At last my Lord Hertford ventured
+to kneel and offer information--
+
+"Sire, if that I may be so bold, here be several that do remember
+with me how that you gave the Great Seal into the hands of his
+highness the Prince of Wales to keep against the day that--"
+
+"True, most true!" interrupted the King.  "Fetch it!  Go:  time
+flieth!"
+
+Lord Hertford flew to Tom, but returned to the King before very
+long, troubled and empty-handed.  He delivered himself to this
+effect--
+
+"It grieveth me, my lord the King, to bear so heavy and unwelcome
+tidings; but it is the will of God that the prince's affliction
+abideth still, and he cannot recall to mind that he received the
+Seal.  So came I quickly to report, thinking it were waste of
+precious time, and little worth withal, that any should attempt to
+search the long array of chambers and saloons that belong unto his
+royal high--"
+
+A groan from the King interrupted the lord at this point.  After a
+little while his majesty said, with a deep sadness in his tone--
+
+"Trouble him no more, poor child.  The hand of God lieth heavy
+upon him, and my heart goeth out in loving compassion for him, and
+sorrow that I may not bear his burden on mine old trouble-weighted
+shoulders, and so bring him peace."
+
+He closed his eyes, fell to mumbling, and presently was silent.
+After a time he opened his eyes again, and gazed vacantly around
+until his glance rested upon the kneeling Lord Chancellor.
+Instantly his face flushed with wrath--
+
+"What, thou here yet!  By the glory of God, an' thou gettest not
+about that traitor's business, thy mitre shall have holiday the
+morrow for lack of a head to grace withal!"
+
+The trembling Chancellor answered--
+
+"Good your Majesty, I cry you mercy!  I but waited for the Seal."
+
+"Man, hast lost thy wits?  The small Seal which aforetime I was
+wont to take with me abroad lieth in my treasury.  And, since the
+Great Seal hath flown away, shall not it suffice?  Hast lost thy
+wits?  Begone!  And hark ye--come no more till thou do bring his
+head."
+
+The poor Chancellor was not long in removing himself from this
+dangerous vicinity; nor did the commission waste time in giving
+the royal assent to the work of the slavish Parliament, and
+appointing the morrow for the beheading of the premier peer of
+England, the luckless Duke of Norfolk. {1}
+
+
+
+Chapter IX. The river pageant.
+
+At nine in the evening the whole vast river-front of the palace
+was blazing with light.  The river itself, as far as the eye could
+reach citywards, was so thickly covered with watermen's boats and
+with pleasure-barges, all fringed with coloured lanterns, and
+gently agitated by the waves, that it resembled a glowing and
+limitless garden of flowers stirred to soft motion by summer
+winds.  The grand terrace of stone steps leading down to the
+water, spacious enough to mass the army of a German principality
+upon, was a picture to see, with its ranks of royal halberdiers in
+polished armour, and its troops of brilliantly costumed servitors
+flitting up and down, and to and fro, in the hurry of preparation.
+
+Presently a command was given, and immediately all living
+creatures vanished from the steps.  Now the air was heavy with the
+hush of suspense and expectancy.  As far as one's vision could
+carry, he might see the myriads of people in the boats rise up,
+and shade their eyes from the glare of lanterns and torches, and
+gaze toward the palace.
+
+A file of forty or fifty state barges drew up to the steps.  They
+were richly gilt, and their lofty prows and sterns were
+elaborately carved.  Some of them were decorated with banners and
+streamers; some with cloth-of-gold and arras embroidered with
+coats-of-arms; others with silken flags that had numberless little
+silver bells fastened to them, which shook out tiny showers of
+joyous music whenever the breezes fluttered them; others of yet
+higher pretensions, since they belonged to nobles in the prince's
+immediate service, had their sides picturesquely fenced with
+shields gorgeously emblazoned with armorial bearings.  Each state
+barge was towed by a tender.  Besides the rowers, these tenders
+carried each a number of men-at-arms in glossy helmet and
+breastplate, and a company of musicians.
+
+The advance-guard of the expected procession now appeared in the
+great gateway, a troop of halberdiers.  'They were dressed in
+striped hose of black and tawny, velvet caps graced at the sides
+with silver roses, and doublets of murrey and blue cloth,
+embroidered on the front and back with the three feathers, the
+prince's blazon, woven in gold.  Their halberd staves were covered
+with crimson velvet, fastened with gilt nails, and ornamented with
+gold tassels.  Filing off on the right and left, they formed two
+long lines, extending from the gateway of the palace to the
+water's edge.  A thick rayed cloth or carpet was then unfolded,
+and laid down between them by attendants in the gold-and-crimson
+liveries of the prince.  This done, a flourish of trumpets
+resounded from within.  A lively prelude arose from the musicians
+on the water; and two ushers with white wands marched with a slow
+and stately pace from the portal.  They were followed by an
+officer bearing the civic mace, after whom came another carrying
+the city's sword; then several sergeants of the city guard, in
+their full accoutrements, and with badges on their sleeves; then
+the Garter King-at-arms, in his tabard; then several Knights of
+the Bath, each with a white lace on his sleeve; then their
+esquires; then the judges, in their robes of scarlet and coifs;
+then the Lord High Chancellor of England, in a robe of scarlet,
+open before, and purfled with minever; then a deputation of
+aldermen, in their scarlet cloaks; and then the heads of the
+different civic companies, in their robes of state.  Now came
+twelve French gentlemen, in splendid habiliments, consisting of
+pourpoints of white damask barred with gold, short mantles of
+crimson velvet lined with violet taffeta, and carnation coloured
+hauts-de-chausses, and took their way down the steps.  They were
+of the suite of the French ambassador, and were followed by twelve
+cavaliers of the suite of the Spanish ambassador, clothed in black
+velvet, unrelieved by any ornament.  Following these came several
+great English nobles with their attendants.'
+
+There was a flourish of trumpets within; and the Prince's uncle,
+the future great Duke of Somerset, emerged from the gateway,
+arrayed in a 'doublet of black cloth-of-gold, and a cloak of
+crimson satin flowered with gold, and ribanded with nets of
+silver.'  He turned, doffed his plumed cap, bent his body in a low
+reverence, and began to step backward, bowing at each step.  A
+prolonged trumpet-blast followed, and a proclamation, "Way for the
+high and mighty the Lord Edward, Prince of Wales!"  High aloft on
+the palace walls a long line of red tongues of flame leapt forth
+with a thunder-crash; the massed world on the river burst into a
+mighty roar of welcome; and Tom Canty, the cause and hero of it
+all, stepped into view and slightly bowed his princely head.
+
+He was 'magnificently habited in a doublet of white satin, with a
+front-piece of purple cloth-of-tissue, powdered with diamonds, and
+edged with ermine.  Over this he wore a mantle of white cloth-of-
+gold, pounced with the triple-feathered crest, lined with blue
+satin, set with pearls and precious stones, and fastened with a
+clasp of brilliants.  About his neck hung the order of the Garter,
+and several princely foreign orders;' and wherever light fell upon
+him jewels responded with a blinding flash.  O Tom Canty, born in
+a hovel, bred in the gutters of London, familiar with rags and
+dirt and misery, what a spectacle is this!
+
+
+
+Chapter X. The Prince in the toils.
+
+We left John Canty dragging the rightful prince into Offal Court,
+with a noisy and delighted mob at his heels.  There was but one
+person in it who offered a pleading word for the captive, and he
+was not heeded; he was hardly even heard, so great was the
+turmoil.  The Prince continued to struggle for freedom, and to
+rage against the treatment he was suffering, until John Canty lost
+what little patience was left in him, and raised his oaken cudgel
+in a sudden fury over the Prince's head.  The single pleader for
+the lad sprang to stop the man's arm, and the blow descended upon
+his own wrist.  Canty roared out--
+
+"Thou'lt meddle, wilt thou?  Then have thy reward."
+
+His cudgel crashed down upon the meddler's head:  there was a
+groan, a dim form sank to the ground among the feet of the crowd,
+and the next moment it lay there in the dark alone.  The mob
+pressed on, their enjoyment nothing disturbed by this episode.
+
+Presently the Prince found himself in John Canty's abode, with the
+door closed against the outsiders.  By the vague light of a tallow
+candle which was thrust into a bottle, he made out the main
+features of the loathsome den, and also the occupants of it.  Two
+frowsy girls and a middle-aged woman cowered against the wall in
+one corner, with the aspect of animals habituated to harsh usage,
+and expecting and dreading it now.  From another corner stole a
+withered hag with streaming grey hair and malignant eyes.  John
+Canty said to this one--
+
+"Tarry!  There's fine mummeries here.  Mar them not till thou'st
+enjoyed them:  then let thy hand be heavy as thou wilt.  Stand
+forth, lad.  Now say thy foolery again, an thou'st not forgot it.
+Name thy name.  Who art thou?"
+
+The insulted blood mounted to the little prince's cheek once more,
+and he lifted a steady and indignant gaze to the man's face and
+said--
+
+"'Tis but ill-breeding in such as thou to command me to speak.  I
+tell thee now, as I told thee before, I am Edward, Prince of
+Wales, and none other."
+
+The stunning surprise of this reply nailed the hag's feet to the
+floor where she stood, and almost took her breath.  She stared at
+the Prince in stupid amazement, which so amused her ruffianly son,
+that he burst into a roar of laughter.  But the effect upon Tom
+Canty's mother and sisters was different.  Their dread of bodily
+injury gave way at once to distress of a different sort.  They ran
+forward with woe and dismay in their faces, exclaiming--
+
+"Oh, poor Tom, poor lad!"
+
+The mother fell on her knees before the Prince, put her hands upon
+his shoulders, and gazed yearningly into his face through her
+rising tears.  Then she said--
+
+"Oh, my poor boy!  Thy foolish reading hath wrought its woeful
+work at last, and ta'en thy wit away.  Ah! why did'st thou cleave
+to it when I so warned thee 'gainst it?  Thou'st broke thy
+mother's heart."
+
+The Prince looked into her face, and said gently--
+
+"Thy son is well, and hath not lost his wits, good dame.  Comfort
+thee:  let me to the palace where he is, and straightway will the
+King my father restore him to thee."
+
+"The King thy father!  Oh, my child! unsay these words that be
+freighted with death for thee, and ruin for all that be near to
+thee.  Shake of this gruesome dream.  Call back thy poor wandering
+memory.  Look upon me.  Am not I thy mother that bore thee, and
+loveth thee?"
+
+The Prince shook his head and reluctantly said--
+
+"God knoweth I am loth to grieve thy heart; but truly have I never
+looked upon thy face before."
+
+The woman sank back to a sitting posture on the floor, and,
+covering her eyes with her hands, gave way to heart-broken sobs
+and wailings.
+
+"Let the show go on!" shouted Canty.  "What, Nan!--what, Bet!
+mannerless wenches! will ye stand in the Prince's presence?  Upon
+your knees, ye pauper scum, and do him reverence!"
+
+He followed this with another horse-laugh.  The girls began to
+plead timidly for their brother; and Nan said--
+
+"An thou wilt but let him to bed, father, rest and sleep will heal
+his madness:  prithee, do."
+
+"Do, father," said Bet; "he is more worn than is his wont.  To-
+morrow will he be himself again, and will beg with diligence, and
+come not empty home again."
+
+This remark sobered the father's joviality, and brought his mind
+to business.  He turned angrily upon the Prince, and said--
+
+"The morrow must we pay two pennies to him that owns this hole;
+two pennies, mark ye--all this money for a half-year's rent, else
+out of this we go.  Show what thou'st gathered with thy lazy
+begging."
+
+The Prince said--
+
+"Offend me not with thy sordid matters.  I tell thee again I am
+the King's son."
+
+A sounding blow upon the Prince's shoulder from Canty's broad palm
+sent him staggering into goodwife Canty's arms, who clasped him to
+her breast, and sheltered him from a pelting rain of cuffs and
+slaps by interposing her own person.  The frightened girls
+retreated to their corner; but the grandmother stepped eagerly
+forward to assist her son.  The Prince sprang away from Mrs.
+Canty, exclaiming--
+
+"Thou shalt not suffer for me, madam.  Let these swine do their
+will upon me alone."
+
+This speech infuriated the swine to such a degree that they set
+about their work without waste of time.  Between them they
+belaboured the boy right soundly, and then gave the girls and
+their mother a beating for showing sympathy for the victim.
+
+"Now," said Canty, "to bed, all of ye.  The entertainment has
+tired me."
+
+The light was put out, and the family retired.  As soon as the
+snorings of the head of the house and his mother showed that they
+were asleep, the young girls crept to where the Prince lay, and
+covered him tenderly from the cold with straw and rags; and their
+mother crept to him also, and stroked his hair, and cried over
+him, whispering broken words of comfort and compassion in his ear
+the while.  She had saved a morsel for him to eat, also; but the
+boy's pains had swept away all appetite--at least for black and
+tasteless crusts.  He was touched by her brave and costly defence
+of him, and by her commiseration; and he thanked her in very noble
+and princely words, and begged her to go to her sleep and try to
+forget her sorrows.  And he added that the King his father would
+not let her loyal kindness and devotion go unrewarded.  This
+return to his 'madness' broke her heart anew, and she strained him
+to her breast again and again, and then went back, drowned in
+tears, to her bed.
+
+As she lay thinking and mourning, the suggestion began to creep
+into her mind that there was an undefinable something about this
+boy that was lacking in Tom Canty, mad or sane.  She could not
+describe it, she could not tell just what it was, and yet her
+sharp mother-instinct seemed to detect it and perceive it.  What
+if the boy were really not her son, after all?  Oh, absurd!  She
+almost smiled at the idea, spite of her griefs and troubles.  No
+matter, she found that it was an idea that would not 'down,' but
+persisted in haunting her.  It pursued her, it harassed her, it
+clung to her, and refused to be put away or ignored.  At last she
+perceived that there was not going to be any peace for her until
+she should devise a test that should prove, clearly and without
+question, whether this lad was her son or not, and so banish these
+wearing and worrying doubts.  Ah, yes, this was plainly the right
+way out of the difficulty; therefore she set her wits to work at
+once to contrive that test.  But it was an easier thing to propose
+than to accomplish.  She turned over in her mind one promising
+test after another, but was obliged to relinquish them all--none
+of them were absolutely sure, absolutely perfect; and an imperfect
+one could not satisfy her.  Evidently she was racking her head in
+vain--it seemed manifest that she must give the matter up.  While
+this depressing thought was passing through her mind, her ear
+caught the regular breathing of the boy, and she knew he had
+fallen asleep.  And while she listened, the measured breathing was
+broken by a soft, startled cry, such as one utters in a troubled
+dream.  This chance occurrence furnished her instantly with a plan
+worth all her laboured tests combined.  She at once set herself
+feverishly, but noiselessly, to work to relight her candle,
+muttering to herself, "Had I but seen him THEN, I should have
+known!  Since that day, when he was little, that the powder burst
+in his face, he hath never been startled of a sudden out of his
+dreams or out of his thinkings, but he hath cast his hand before
+his eyes, even as he did that day; and not as others would do it,
+with the palm inward, but always with the palm turned outward--I
+have seen it a hundred times, and it hath never varied nor ever
+failed.  Yes, I shall soon know, now!"
+
+By this time she had crept to the slumbering boy's side, with the
+candle, shaded, in her hand.  She bent heedfully and warily over
+him, scarcely breathing in her suppressed excitement, and suddenly
+flashed the light in his face and struck the floor by his ear with
+her knuckles.  The sleeper's eyes sprang wide open, and he cast a
+startled stare about him--but he made no special movement with his
+hands.
+
+The poor woman was smitten almost helpless with surprise and
+grief; but she contrived to hide her emotions, and to soothe the
+boy to sleep again; then she crept apart and communed miserably
+with herself upon the disastrous result of her experiment.  She
+tried to believe that her Tom's madness had banished this habitual
+gesture of his; but she could not do it.  "No," she said, "his
+HANDS are not mad; they could not unlearn so old a habit in so
+brief a time.  Oh, this is a heavy day for me!"
+
+Still, hope was as stubborn now as doubt had been before; she
+could not bring herself to accept the verdict of the test; she
+must try the thing again--the failure must have been only an
+accident; so she startled the boy out of his sleep a second and a
+third time, at intervals--with the same result which had marked
+the first test; then she dragged herself to bed, and fell
+sorrowfully asleep, saying, "But I cannot give him up--oh no, I
+cannot, I cannot--he MUST be my boy!"
+
+The poor mother's interruptions having ceased, and the Prince's
+pains having gradually lost their power to disturb him, utter
+weariness at last sealed his eyes in a profound and restful sleep.
+Hour after hour slipped away, and still he slept like the dead.
+Thus four or five hours passed.  Then his stupor began to lighten.
+Presently, while half asleep and half awake, he murmured--
+
+"Sir William!"
+
+After a moment--
+
+"Ho, Sir William Herbert!  Hie thee hither, and list to the
+strangest dream that ever . . . Sir William! dost hear?  Man, I
+did think me changed to a pauper, and . . . Ho there!  Guards!
+Sir William!  What! is there no groom of the chamber in waiting?
+Alack! it shall go hard with--"
+
+"What aileth thee?" asked a whisper near him.  "Who art thou
+calling?"
+
+"Sir William Herbert.  Who art thou?"
+
+"I?  Who should I be, but thy sister Nan?  Oh, Tom, I had forgot!
+Thou'rt mad yet--poor lad, thou'rt mad yet:  would I had never
+woke to know it again!  But prithee master thy tongue, lest we be
+all beaten till we die!"
+
+The startled Prince sprang partly up, but a sharp reminder from
+his stiffened bruises brought him to himself, and he sank back
+among his foul straw with a moan and the ejaculation--
+
+"Alas! it was no dream, then!"
+
+In a moment all the heavy sorrow and misery which sleep had
+banished were upon him again, and he realised that he was no
+longer a petted prince in a palace, with the adoring eyes of a
+nation upon him, but a pauper, an outcast, clothed in rags,
+prisoner in a den fit only for beasts, and consorting with beggars
+and thieves.
+
+In the midst of his grief he began to be conscious of hilarious
+noises and shoutings, apparently but a block or two away.  The
+next moment there were several sharp raps at the door; John Canty
+ceased from snoring and said--
+
+"Who knocketh?  What wilt thou?"
+
+A voice answered--
+
+"Know'st thou who it was thou laid thy cudgel on?"
+
+"No.  Neither know I, nor care."
+
+"Belike thou'lt change thy note eftsoons.  An thou would save thy
+neck, nothing but flight may stead thee.  The man is this moment
+delivering up the ghost.  'Tis the priest, Father Andrew!"
+
+"God-a-mercy!" exclaimed Canty.  He roused his family, and
+hoarsely commanded, "Up with ye all and fly--or bide where ye are
+and perish!"
+
+Scarcely five minutes later the Canty household were in the street
+and flying for their lives.  John Canty held the Prince by the
+wrist, and hurried him along the dark way, giving him this caution
+in a low voice--
+
+"Mind thy tongue, thou mad fool, and speak not our name.  I will
+choose me a new name, speedily, to throw the law's dogs off the
+scent.  Mind thy tongue, I tell thee!"
+
+He growled these words to the rest of the family--
+
+"If it so chance that we be separated, let each make for London
+Bridge; whoso findeth himself as far as the last linen-draper's
+shop on the bridge, let him tarry there till the others be come,
+then will we flee into Southwark together."
+
+At this moment the party burst suddenly out of darkness into
+light; and not only into light, but into the midst of a multitude
+of singing, dancing, and shouting people, massed together on the
+river frontage.  There was a line of bonfires stretching as far as
+one could see, up and down the Thames; London Bridge was
+illuminated; Southwark Bridge likewise; the entire river was aglow
+with the flash and sheen of coloured lights; and constant
+explosions of fireworks filled the skies with an intricate
+commingling of shooting splendours and a thick rain of dazzling
+sparks that almost turned night into day; everywhere were crowds
+of revellers; all London seemed to be at large.
+
+John Canty delivered himself of a furious curse and commanded a
+retreat; but it was too late.  He and his tribe were swallowed up
+in that swarming hive of humanity, and hopelessly separated from
+each other in an instant.  We are not considering that the Prince
+was one of his tribe; Canty still kept his grip upon him.  The
+Prince's heart was beating high with hopes of escape, now.  A
+burly waterman, considerably exalted with liquor, found himself
+rudely shoved by Canty in his efforts to plough through the crowd;
+he laid his great hand on Canty's shoulder and said--
+
+"Nay, whither so fast, friend?  Dost canker thy soul with sordid
+business when all that be leal men and true make holiday?"
+
+"Mine affairs are mine own, they concern thee not," answered
+Canty, roughly; "take away thy hand and let me pass."
+
+"Sith that is thy humour, thou'lt NOT pass, till thou'st drunk to
+the Prince of Wales, I tell thee that," said the waterman, barring
+the way resolutely.
+
+"Give me the cup, then, and make speed, make speed!"
+
+Other revellers were interested by this time.  They cried out--
+
+"The loving-cup, the loving-cup! make the sour knave drink the
+loving-cup, else will we feed him to the fishes."
+
+So a huge loving-cup was brought; the waterman, grasping it by one
+of its handles, and with the other hand bearing up the end of an
+imaginary napkin, presented it in due and ancient form to Canty,
+who had to grasp the opposite handle with one of his hands and
+take off the lid with the other, according to ancient custom. {1}
+This left the Prince hand-free for a second, of course.  He wasted
+no time, but dived among the forest of legs about him and
+disappeared.  In another moment he could not have been harder to
+find, under that tossing sea of life, if its billows had been the
+Atlantic's and he a lost sixpence.
+
+He very soon realised this fact, and straightway busied himself
+about his own affairs without further thought of John Canty.  He
+quickly realised another thing, too.  To wit, that a spurious
+Prince of Wales was being feasted by the city in his stead.  He
+easily concluded that the pauper lad, Tom Canty, had deliberately
+taken advantage of his stupendous opportunity and become a
+usurper.
+
+Therefore there was but one course to pursue--find his way to the
+Guildhall, make himself known, and denounce the impostor.  He also
+made up his mind that Tom should be allowed a reasonable time for
+spiritual preparation, and then be hanged, drawn and quartered,
+according to the law and usage of the day in cases of high
+treason.
+
+
+
+Chapter XI. At Guildhall.
+
+The royal barge, attended by its gorgeous fleet, took its stately
+way down the Thames through the wilderness of illuminated boats.
+The air was laden with music; the river banks were beruffled with
+joy-flames; the distant city lay in a soft luminous glow from its
+countless invisible bonfires; above it rose many a slender spire
+into the sky, incrusted with sparkling lights, wherefore in their
+remoteness they seemed like jewelled lances thrust aloft; as the
+fleet swept along, it was greeted from the banks with a continuous
+hoarse roar of cheers and the ceaseless flash and boom of
+artillery.
+
+To Tom Canty, half buried in his silken cushions, these sounds and
+this spectacle were a wonder unspeakably sublime and astonishing.
+To his little friends at his side, the Princess Elizabeth and the
+Lady Jane Grey, they were nothing.
+
+Arrived at the Dowgate, the fleet was towed up the limpid Walbrook
+(whose channel has now been for two centuries buried out of sight
+under acres of buildings) to Bucklersbury, past houses and under
+bridges populous with merry-makers and brilliantly lighted, and at
+last came to a halt in a basin where now is Barge Yard, in the
+centre of the ancient city of London.  Tom disembarked, and he and
+his gallant procession crossed Cheapside and made a short march
+through the Old Jewry and Basinghall Street to the Guildhall.
+
+Tom and his little ladies were received with due ceremony by the
+Lord Mayor and the Fathers of the City, in their gold chains and
+scarlet robes of state, and conducted to a rich canopy of state at
+the head of the great hall, preceded by heralds making
+proclamation, and by the Mace and the City Sword.  The lords and
+ladies who were to attend upon Tom and his two small friends took
+their places behind their chairs.
+
+At a lower table the Court grandees and other guests of noble
+degree were seated, with the magnates of the city; the commoners
+took places at a multitude of tables on the main floor of the
+hall.  From their lofty vantage-ground the giants Gog and Magog,
+the ancient guardians of the city, contemplated the spectacle
+below them with eyes grown familiar to it in forgotten
+generations.  There was a bugle-blast and a proclamation, and a
+fat butler appeared in a high perch in the leftward wall, followed
+by his servitors bearing with impressive solemnity a royal baron
+of beef, smoking hot and ready for the knife.
+
+After grace, Tom (being instructed) rose--and the whole house with
+him--and drank from a portly golden loving-cup with the Princess
+Elizabeth; from her it passed to the Lady Jane, and then traversed
+the general assemblage.  So the banquet began.
+
+By midnight the revelry was at its height.  Now came one of those
+picturesque spectacles so admired in that old day.  A description
+of it is still extant in the quaint wording of a chronicler who
+witnessed it:
+
+'Space being made, presently entered a baron and an earl appareled
+after the Turkish fashion in long robes of bawdkin powdered with
+gold; hats on their heads of crimson velvet, with great rolls of
+gold, girded with two swords, called scimitars, hanging by great
+bawdricks of gold.  Next came yet another baron and another earl,
+in two long gowns of yellow satin, traversed with white satin, and
+in every bend of white was a bend of crimson satin, after the
+fashion of Russia, with furred hats of gray on their heads; either
+of them having an hatchet in their hands, and boots with pykes'
+(points a foot long), 'turned up.  And after them came a knight,
+then the Lord High Admiral, and with him five nobles, in doublets
+of crimson velvet, voyded low on the back and before to the
+cannell-bone, laced on the breasts with chains of silver; and over
+that, short cloaks of crimson satin, and on their heads hats after
+the dancers' fashion, with pheasants' feathers in them.  These
+were appareled after the fashion of Prussia.  The torchbearers,
+which were about an hundred, were appareled in crimson satin and
+green, like Moors, their faces black.  Next came in a mommarye.
+Then the minstrels, which were disguised, danced; and the lords
+and ladies did wildly dance also, that it was a pleasure to
+behold.'
+
+And while Tom, in his high seat, was gazing upon this 'wild'
+dancing, lost in admiration of the dazzling commingling of
+kaleidoscopic colours which the whirling turmoil of gaudy figures
+below him presented, the ragged but real little Prince of Wales
+was proclaiming his rights and his wrongs, denouncing the
+impostor, and clamouring for admission at the gates of Guildhall!
+The crowd enjoyed this episode prodigiously, and pressed forward
+and craned their necks to see the small rioter.  Presently they
+began to taunt him and mock at him, purposely to goad him into a
+higher and still more entertaining fury.  Tears of mortification
+sprang to his eyes, but he stood his ground and defied the mob
+right royally.  Other taunts followed, added mockings stung him,
+and he exclaimed--
+
+"I tell ye again, you pack of unmannerly curs, I am the Prince of
+Wales!  And all forlorn and friendless as I be, with none to give
+me word of grace or help me in my need, yet will not I be driven
+from my ground, but will maintain it!"
+
+"Though thou be prince or no prince, 'tis all one, thou be'st a
+gallant lad, and not friendless neither!  Here stand I by thy side
+to prove it; and mind I tell thee thou might'st have a worser
+friend than Miles Hendon and yet not tire thy legs with seeking.
+Rest thy small jaw, my child; I talk the language of these base
+kennel-rats like to a very native."
+
+The speaker was a sort of Don Caesar de Bazan in dress, aspect,
+and bearing.  He was tall, trim-built, muscular.  His doublet and
+trunks were of rich material, but faded and threadbare, and their
+gold-lace adornments were sadly tarnished; his ruff was rumpled
+and damaged; the plume in his slouched hat was broken and had a
+bedraggled and disreputable look; at his side he wore a long
+rapier in a rusty iron sheath; his swaggering carriage marked him
+at once as a ruffler of the camp.  The speech of this fantastic
+figure was received with an explosion of jeers and laughter.  Some
+cried, "'Tis another prince in disguise!"  "'Ware thy tongue,
+friend:  belike he is dangerous!"  "Marry, he looketh it--mark his
+eye!"  "Pluck the lad from him--to the horse-pond wi' the cub!"
+
+Instantly a hand was laid upon the Prince, under the impulse of
+this happy thought; as instantly the stranger's long sword was out
+and the meddler went to the earth under a sounding thump with the
+flat of it.  The next moment a score of voices shouted, "Kill the
+dog!  Kill him!  Kill him!" and the mob closed in on the warrior,
+who backed himself against a wall and began to lay about him with
+his long weapon like a madman.  His victims sprawled this way and
+that, but the mob-tide poured over their prostrate forms and
+dashed itself against the champion with undiminished fury.  His
+moments seemed numbered, his destruction certain, when suddenly a
+trumpet-blast sounded, a voice shouted, "Way for the King's
+messenger!" and a troop of horsemen came charging down upon the
+mob, who fled out of harm's reach as fast as their legs could
+carry them.  The bold stranger caught up the Prince in his arms,
+and was soon far away from danger and the multitude.
+
+Return we within the Guildhall.  Suddenly, high above the jubilant
+roar and thunder of the revel, broke the clear peal of a bugle-
+note.  There was instant silence--a deep hush; then a single voice
+rose--that of the messenger from the palace--and began to pipe
+forth a proclamation, the whole multitude standing listening.
+
+The closing words, solemnly pronounced, were--
+
+"The King is dead!"
+
+The great assemblage bent their heads upon their breasts with one
+accord; remained so, in profound silence, a few moments; then all
+sank upon their knees in a body, stretched out their hands toward
+Tom, and a mighty shout burst forth that seemed to shake the
+building--
+
+"Long live the King!"
+
+Poor Tom's dazed eyes wandered abroad over this stupefying
+spectacle, and finally rested dreamily upon the kneeling
+princesses beside him, a moment, then upon the Earl of Hertford.
+A sudden purpose dawned in his face.  He said, in a low tone, at
+Lord Hertford's ear--
+
+"Answer me truly, on thy faith and honour!  Uttered I here a
+command, the which none but a king might hold privilege and
+prerogative to utter, would such commandment be obeyed, and none
+rise up to say me nay?"
+
+"None, my liege, in all these realms.  In thy person bides the
+majesty of England.  Thou art the king--thy word is law."
+
+Tom responded, in a strong, earnest voice, and with great
+animation--
+
+"Then shall the king's law be law of mercy, from this day, and
+never more be law of blood!  Up from thy knees and away!  To the
+Tower, and say the King decrees the Duke of Norfolk shall not
+die!" {1}
+
+The words were caught up and carried eagerly from lip to lip far
+and wide over the hall, and as Hertford hurried from the presence,
+another prodigious shout burst forth--
+
+"The reign of blood is ended!  Long live Edward, King of England!"
+
+
+
+Chapter XII. The Prince and his deliverer.
+
+As soon as Miles Hendon and the little prince were clear of the
+mob, they struck down through back lanes and alleys toward the
+river.  Their way was unobstructed until they approached London
+Bridge; then they ploughed into the multitude again, Hendon
+keeping a fast grip upon the Prince's--no, the King's--wrist.  The
+tremendous news was already abroad, and the boy learned it from a
+thousand voices at once--"The King is dead!"  The tidings struck a
+chill to the heart of the poor little waif, and sent a shudder
+through his frame.  He realised the greatness of his loss, and was
+filled with a bitter grief; for the grim tyrant who had been such
+a terror to others had always been gentle with him.  The tears
+sprang to his eyes and blurred all objects.  For an instant he
+felt himself the most forlorn, outcast, and forsaken of God's
+creatures--then another cry shook the night with its far-reaching
+thunders:  "Long live King Edward the Sixth!" and this made his
+eyes kindle, and thrilled him with pride to his fingers' ends.
+"Ah," he thought, "how grand and strange it seems--I AM KING!"
+
+Our friends threaded their way slowly through the throngs upon the
+bridge.  This structure, which had stood for six hundred years,
+and had been a noisy and populous thoroughfare all that time, was
+a curious affair, for a closely packed rank of stores and shops,
+with family quarters overhead, stretched along both sides of it,
+from one bank of the river to the other.  The Bridge was a sort of
+town to itself; it had its inn, its beer-houses, its bakeries, its
+haberdasheries, its food markets, its manufacturing industries,
+and even its church.  It looked upon the two neighbours which it
+linked together--London and Southwark--as being well enough as
+suburbs, but not otherwise particularly important.  It was a close
+corporation, so to speak; it was a narrow town, of a single street
+a fifth of a mile long, its population was but a village
+population and everybody in it knew all his fellow-townsmen
+intimately, and had known their fathers and mothers before them--
+and all their little family affairs into the bargain.  It had its
+aristocracy, of course--its fine old families of butchers, and
+bakers, and what-not, who had occupied the same old premises for
+five or six hundred years, and knew the great history of the
+Bridge from beginning to end, and all its strange legends; and who
+always talked bridgy talk, and thought bridgy thoughts, and lied
+in a long, level, direct, substantial bridgy way.  It was just the
+sort of population to be narrow and ignorant and self-conceited.
+Children were born on the Bridge, were reared there, grew to old
+age, and finally died without ever having set a foot upon any part
+of the world but London Bridge alone.  Such people would naturally
+imagine that the mighty and interminable procession which moved
+through its street night and day, with its confused roar of shouts
+and cries, its neighings and bellowing and bleatings and its
+muffled thunder-tramp, was the one great thing in this world, and
+themselves somehow the proprietors of it.  And so they were, in
+effect--at least they could exhibit it from their windows, and
+did--for a consideration--whenever a returning king or hero gave
+it a fleeting splendour, for there was no place like it for
+affording a long, straight, uninterrupted view of marching
+columns.
+
+Men born and reared upon the Bridge found life unendurably dull
+and inane elsewhere.  History tells of one of these who left the
+Bridge at the age of seventy-one and retired to the country.  But
+he could only fret and toss in his bed; he could not go to sleep,
+the deep stillness was so painful, so awful, so oppressive.  When
+he was worn out with it, at last, he fled back to his old home, a
+lean and haggard spectre, and fell peacefully to rest and pleasant
+dreams under the lulling music of the lashing waters and the boom
+and crash and thunder of London Bridge.
+
+In the times of which we are writing, the Bridge furnished 'object
+lessons' in English history for its children--namely, the livid
+and decaying heads of renowned men impaled upon iron spikes atop
+of its gateways.  But we digress.
+
+Hendon's lodgings were in the little inn on the Bridge.  As he
+neared the door with his small friend, a rough voice said--
+
+"So, thou'rt come at last!  Thou'lt not escape again, I warrant
+thee; and if pounding thy bones to a pudding can teach thee
+somewhat, thou'lt not keep us waiting another time, mayhap"--and
+John Canty put out his hand to seize the boy.
+
+Miles Hendon stepped in the way and said--
+
+"Not too fast, friend.  Thou art needlessly rough, methinks.  What
+is the lad to thee?"
+
+"If it be any business of thine to make and meddle in others'
+affairs, he is my son."
+
+"'Tis a lie!" cried the little King, hotly.
+
+"Boldly said, and I believe thee, whether thy small headpiece be
+sound or cracked, my boy.  But whether this scurvy ruffian be thy
+father or no, 'tis all one, he shall not have thee to beat thee
+and abuse, according to his threat, so thou prefer to bide with
+me."
+
+"I do, I do--I know him not, I loathe him, and will die before I
+will go with him."
+
+"Then 'tis settled, and there is nought more to say."
+
+"We will see, as to that!" exclaimed John Canty, striding past
+Hendon to get at the boy; "by force shall he--"
+
+"If thou do but touch him, thou animated offal, I will spit thee
+like a goose!" said Hendon, barring the way and laying his hand
+upon his sword hilt.  Canty drew back.  "Now mark ye," continued
+Hendon, "I took this lad under my protection when a mob of such as
+thou would have mishandled him, mayhap killed him; dost imagine I
+will desert him now to a worser fate?--for whether thou art his
+father or no--and sooth to say, I think it is a lie--a decent
+swift death were better for such a lad than life in such brute
+hands as thine.  So go thy ways, and set quick about it, for I
+like not much bandying of words, being not over-patient in my
+nature."
+
+John Canty moved off, muttering threats and curses, and was
+swallowed from sight in the crowd.  Hendon ascended three flights
+of stairs to his room, with his charge, after ordering a meal to
+be sent thither.  It was a poor apartment, with a shabby bed and
+some odds and ends of old furniture in it, and was vaguely lighted
+by a couple of sickly candles.  The little King dragged himself to
+the bed and lay down upon it, almost exhausted with hunger and
+fatigue.  He had been on his feet a good part of a day and a night
+(for it was now two or three o'clock in the morning), and had
+eaten nothing meantime.  He murmured drowsily--
+
+"Prithee call me when the table is spread," and sank into a deep
+sleep immediately.
+
+A smile twinkled in Hendon's eye, and he said to himself--
+
+"By the mass, the little beggar takes to one's quarters and usurps
+one's bed with as natural and easy a grace as if he owned them--
+with never a by-your-leave or so-please-it-you, or anything of the
+sort.  In his diseased ravings he called himself the Prince of
+Wales, and bravely doth he keep up the character.  Poor little
+friendless rat, doubtless his mind has been disordered with ill-
+usage.  Well, I will be his friend; I have saved him, and it
+draweth me strongly to him; already I love the bold-tongued little
+rascal.  How soldier-like he faced the smutty rabble and flung
+back his high defiance!  And what a comely, sweet and gentle face
+he hath, now that sleep hath conjured away its troubles and its
+griefs.  I will teach him; I will cure his malady; yea, I will be
+his elder brother, and care for him and watch over him; and whoso
+would shame him or do him hurt may order his shroud, for though I
+be burnt for it he shall need it!"
+
+He bent over the boy and contemplated him with kind and pitying
+interest, tapping the young cheek tenderly and smoothing back the
+tangled curls with his great brown hand.  A slight shiver passed
+over the boy's form.  Hendon muttered--
+
+"See, now, how like a man it was to let him lie here uncovered and
+fill his body with deadly rheums.  Now what shall I do? 'twill
+wake him to take him up and put him within the bed, and he sorely
+needeth sleep."
+
+He looked about for extra covering, but finding none, doffed his
+doublet and wrapped the lad in it, saying, "I am used to nipping
+air and scant apparel, 'tis little I shall mind the cold!"--then
+walked up and down the room, to keep his blood in motion,
+soliloquising as before.
+
+"His injured mind persuades him he is Prince of Wales; 'twill be
+odd to have a Prince of Wales still with us, now that he that WAS
+the prince is prince no more, but king--for this poor mind is set
+upon the one fantasy, and will not reason out that now it should
+cast by the prince and call itself the king. . . If my father
+liveth still, after these seven years that I have heard nought
+from home in my foreign dungeon, he will welcome the poor lad and
+give him generous shelter for my sake; so will my good elder
+brother, Arthur; my other brother, Hugh--but I will crack his
+crown an HE interfere, the fox-hearted, ill-conditioned animal!
+Yes, thither will we fare--and straightway, too."
+
+A servant entered with a smoking meal, disposed it upon a small
+deal table, placed the chairs, and took his departure, leaving
+such cheap lodgers as these to wait upon themselves.  The door
+slammed after him, and the noise woke the boy, who sprang to a
+sitting posture, and shot a glad glance about him; then a grieved
+look came into his face and he murmured to himself, with a deep
+sigh, "Alack, it was but a dream, woe is me!"  Next he noticed
+Miles Hendon's doublet--glanced from that to Hendon, comprehended
+the sacrifice that had been made for him, and said, gently--
+
+"Thou art good to me, yes, thou art very good to me.  Take it and
+put it on--I shall not need it more."
+
+Then he got up and walked to the washstand in the corner and stood
+there, waiting.  Hendon said in a cheery voice--
+
+"We'll have a right hearty sup and bite, now, for everything is
+savoury and smoking hot, and that and thy nap together will make
+thee a little man again, never fear!"
+
+The boy made no answer, but bent a steady look, that was filled
+with grave surprise, and also somewhat touched with impatience,
+upon the tall knight of the sword.  Hendon was puzzled, and said--
+
+"What's amiss?"
+
+"Good sir, I would wash me."
+
+"Oh, is that all?  Ask no permission of Miles Hendon for aught
+thou cravest.  Make thyself perfectly free here, and welcome, with
+all that are his belongings."
+
+Still the boy stood, and moved not; more, he tapped the floor once
+or twice with his small impatient foot.  Hendon was wholly
+perplexed.  Said he--
+
+"Bless us, what is it?"
+
+"Prithee pour the water, and make not so many words!"
+
+Hendon, suppressing a horse-laugh, and saying to himself, "By all
+the saints, but this is admirable!" stepped briskly forward and
+did the small insolent's bidding; then stood by, in a sort of
+stupefaction, until the command, "Come--the towel!" woke him
+sharply up.  He took up a towel, from under the boy's nose, and
+handed it to him without comment.  He now proceeded to comfort his
+own face with a wash, and while he was at it his adopted child
+seated himself at the table and prepared to fall to.  Hendon
+despatched his ablutions with alacrity, then drew back the other
+chair and was about to place himself at table, when the boy said,
+indignantly--
+
+"Forbear!  Wouldst sit in the presence of the King?"
+
+This blow staggered Hendon to his foundations.  He muttered to
+himself, "Lo, the poor thing's madness is up with the time!  It
+hath changed with the great change that is come to the realm, and
+now in fancy is he KING!  Good lack, I must humour the conceit,
+too--there is no other way--faith, he would order me to the Tower,
+else!"
+
+And pleased with this jest, he removed the chair from the table,
+took his stand behind the King, and proceeded to wait upon him in
+the courtliest way he was capable of.
+
+While the King ate, the rigour of his royal dignity relaxed a
+little, and with his growing contentment came a desire to talk.
+He said--"I think thou callest thyself Miles Hendon, if I heard
+thee aright?"
+
+"Yes, Sire," Miles replied; then observed to himself, "If I MUST
+humour the poor lad's madness, I must 'Sire' him, I must 'Majesty'
+him, I must not go by halves, I must stick at nothing that
+belongeth to the part I play, else shall I play it ill and work
+evil to this charitable and kindly cause."
+
+The King warmed his heart with a second glass of wine, and said--
+"I would know thee--tell me thy story.  Thou hast a gallant way
+with thee, and a noble--art nobly born?"
+
+"We are of the tail of the nobility, good your Majesty.  My father
+is a baronet--one of the smaller lords by knight service {2}--Sir
+Richard Hendon of Hendon Hall, by Monk's Holm in Kent."
+
+"The name has escaped my memory.  Go on--tell me thy story."
+
+"'Tis not much, your Majesty, yet perchance it may beguile a short
+half-hour for want of a better.  My father, Sir Richard, is very
+rich, and of a most generous nature.  My mother died whilst I was
+yet a boy.  I have two brothers:  Arthur, my elder, with a soul
+like to his father's; and Hugh, younger than I, a mean spirit,
+covetous, treacherous, vicious, underhanded--a reptile.  Such was
+he from the cradle; such was he ten years past, when I last saw
+him--a ripe rascal at nineteen, I being twenty then, and Arthur
+twenty-two.  There is none other of us but the Lady Edith, my
+cousin--she was sixteen then--beautiful, gentle, good, the
+daughter of an earl, the last of her race, heiress of a great
+fortune and a lapsed title.  My father was her guardian.  I loved
+her and she loved me; but she was betrothed to Arthur from the
+cradle, and Sir Richard would not suffer the contract to be
+broken.  Arthur loved another maid, and bade us be of good cheer
+and hold fast to the hope that delay and luck together would some
+day give success to our several causes.  Hugh loved the Lady
+Edith's fortune, though in truth he said it was herself he loved--
+but then 'twas his way, alway, to say the one thing and mean the
+other.  But he lost his arts upon the girl; he could deceive my
+father, but none else.  My father loved him best of us all, and
+trusted and believed him; for he was the youngest child, and
+others hated him--these qualities being in all ages sufficient to
+win a parent's dearest love; and he had a smooth persuasive
+tongue, with an admirable gift of lying--and these be qualities
+which do mightily assist a blind affection to cozen itself.  I was
+wild--in troth I might go yet farther and say VERY wild, though
+'twas a wildness of an innocent sort, since it hurt none but me,
+brought shame to none, nor loss, nor had in it any taint of crime
+or baseness, or what might not beseem mine honourable degree.
+
+"Yet did my brother Hugh turn these faults to good account--he
+seeing that our brother Arthur's health was but indifferent, and
+hoping the worst might work him profit were I swept out of the
+path--so--but 'twere a long tale, good my liege, and little worth
+the telling.  Briefly, then, this brother did deftly magnify my
+faults and make them crimes; ending his base work with finding a
+silken ladder in mine apartments--conveyed thither by his own
+means--and did convince my father by this, and suborned evidence
+of servants and other lying knaves, that I was minded to carry off
+my Edith and marry with her in rank defiance of his will.
+
+"Three years of banishment from home and England might make a
+soldier and a man of me, my father said, and teach me some degree
+of wisdom.  I fought out my long probation in the continental
+wars, tasting sumptuously of hard knocks, privation, and
+adventure; but in my last battle I was taken captive, and during
+the seven years that have waxed and waned since then, a foreign
+dungeon hath harboured me.  Through wit and courage I won to the
+free air at last, and fled hither straight; and am but just
+arrived, right poor in purse and raiment, and poorer still in
+knowledge of what these dull seven years have wrought at Hendon
+Hall, its people and belongings.  So please you, sir, my meagre
+tale is told."
+
+"Thou hast been shamefully abused!" said the little King, with a
+flashing eye.  "But I will right thee--by the cross will I!  The
+King hath said it."
+
+Then, fired by the story of Miles's wrongs, he loosed his tongue
+and poured the history of his own recent misfortunes into the ears
+of his astonished listener.  When he had finished, Miles said to
+himself--
+
+"Lo, what an imagination he hath!  Verily, this is no common mind;
+else, crazed or sane, it could not weave so straight and gaudy a
+tale as this out of the airy nothings wherewith it hath wrought
+this curious romaunt.  Poor ruined little head, it shall not lack
+friend or shelter whilst I bide with the living.  He shall never
+leave my side; he shall be my pet, my little comrade.  And he
+shall be cured!--ay, made whole and sound--then will he make
+himself a name--and proud shall I be to say, 'Yes, he is mine--I
+took him, a homeless little ragamuffin, but I saw what was in him,
+and I said his name would be heard some day--behold him, observe
+him--was I right?'"
+
+The King spoke--in a thoughtful, measured voice--
+
+"Thou didst save me injury and shame, perchance my life, and so my
+crown.  Such service demandeth rich reward.  Name thy desire, and
+so it be within the compass of my royal power, it is thine."
+
+This fantastic suggestion startled Hendon out of his reverie.  He
+was about to thank the King and put the matter aside with saying
+he had only done his duty and desired no reward, but a wiser
+thought came into his head, and he asked leave to be silent a few
+moments and consider the gracious offer--an idea which the King
+gravely approved, remarking that it was best to be not too hasty
+with a thing of such great import.
+
+Miles reflected during some moments, then said to himself, "Yes,
+that is the thing to do--by any other means it were impossible to
+get at it--and certes, this hour's experience has taught me
+'twould be most wearing and inconvenient to continue it as it is.
+Yes, I will propose it; 'twas a happy accident that I did not
+throw the chance away."  Then he dropped upon one knee and said--
+
+"My poor service went not beyond the limit of a subject's simple
+duty, and therefore hath no merit; but since your Majesty is
+pleased to hold it worthy some reward, I take heart of grace to
+make petition to this effect.  Near four hundred years ago, as
+your grace knoweth, there being ill blood betwixt John, King of
+England, and the King of France, it was decreed that two champions
+should fight together in the lists, and so settle the dispute by
+what is called the arbitrament of God.  These two kings, and the
+Spanish king, being assembled to witness and judge the conflict,
+the French champion appeared; but so redoubtable was he, that our
+English knights refused to measure weapons with him.  So the
+matter, which was a weighty one, was like to go against the
+English monarch by default.  Now in the Tower lay the Lord de
+Courcy, the mightiest arm in England, stripped of his honours and
+possessions, and wasting with long captivity.  Appeal was made to
+him; he gave assent, and came forth arrayed for battle; but no
+sooner did the Frenchman glimpse his huge frame and hear his
+famous name but he fled away, and the French king's cause was
+lost.  King John restored De Courcy's titles and possessions, and
+said, 'Name thy wish and thou shalt have it, though it cost me
+half my kingdom;' whereat De Courcy, kneeling, as I do now, made
+answer, 'This, then, I ask, my liege; that I and my successors may
+have and hold the privilege of remaining covered in the presence
+of the kings of England, henceforth while the throne shall last.'
+The boon was granted, as your Majesty knoweth; and there hath been
+no time, these four hundred years, that that line has failed of an
+heir; and so, even unto this day, the head of that ancient house
+still weareth his hat or helm before the King's Majesty, without
+let or hindrance, and this none other may do. {3}  Invoking this
+precedent in aid of my prayer, I beseech the King to grant to me
+but this one grace and privilege--to my more than sufficient
+reward--and none other, to wit:  that I and my heirs, for ever,
+may SIT in the presence of the Majesty of England!"
+
+"Rise, Sir Miles Hendon, Knight," said the King, gravely--giving
+the accolade with Hendon's sword--"rise, and seat thyself.  Thy
+petition is granted.  Whilst England remains, and the crown
+continues, the privilege shall not lapse."
+
+His Majesty walked apart, musing, and Hendon dropped into a chair
+at table, observing to himself, "'Twas a brave thought, and hath
+wrought me a mighty deliverance; my legs are grievously wearied.
+An I had not thought of that, I must have had to stand for weeks,
+till my poor lad's wits are cured."  After a little, he went on,
+"And so I am become a knight of the Kingdom of Dreams and Shadows!
+A most odd and strange position, truly, for one so matter-of-fact
+as I.  I will not laugh--no, God forbid, for this thing which is
+so substanceless to me is REAL to him.  And to me, also, in one
+way, it is not a falsity, for it reflects with truth the sweet and
+generous spirit that is in him."  After a pause:  "Ah, what if he
+should call me by my fine title before folk!--there'd be a merry
+contrast betwixt my glory and my raiment!  But no matter, let him
+call me what he will, so it please him; I shall be content."
+
+
+
+Chapter XIII. The disappearance of the Prince.
+
+A heavy drowsiness presently fell upon the two comrades.  The King
+said--
+
+"Remove these rags"--meaning his clothing.
+
+Hendon disapparelled the boy without dissent or remark, tucked him
+up in bed, then glanced about the room, saying to himself,
+ruefully, "He hath taken my bed again, as before--marry, what
+shall _I_ do?"  The little King observed his perplexity, and
+dissipated it with a word.  He said, sleepily--
+
+"Thou wilt sleep athwart the door, and guard it."  In a moment
+more he was out of his troubles, in a deep slumber.
+
+"Dear heart, he should have been born a king!" muttered Hendon,
+admiringly; "he playeth the part to a marvel."
+
+Then he stretched himself across the door, on the floor, saying
+contentedly--
+
+"I have lodged worse for seven years; 'twould be but ill gratitude
+to Him above to find fault with this."
+
+He dropped asleep as the dawn appeared.  Toward noon he rose,
+uncovered his unconscious ward--a section at a time--and took his
+measure with a string.  The King awoke, just as he had completed
+his work, complained of the cold, and asked what he was doing.
+
+"'Tis done, now, my liege," said Hendon; "I have a bit of business
+outside, but will presently return; sleep thou again--thou needest
+it.  There--let me cover thy head also--thou'lt be warm the
+sooner."
+
+The King was back in dreamland before this speech was ended.
+Miles slipped softly out, and slipped as softly in again, in the
+course of thirty or forty minutes, with a complete second-hand
+suit of boy's clothing, of cheap material, and showing signs of
+wear; but tidy, and suited to the season of the year.  He seated
+himself, and began to overhaul his purchase, mumbling to himself--
+
+"A longer purse would have got a better sort, but when one has not
+the long purse one must be content with what a short one may do--
+
+     "'There was a woman in our town,
+        In our town did dwell--'
+
+"He stirred, methinks--I must sing in a less thunderous key; 'tis
+not good to mar his sleep, with this journey before him, and he so
+wearied out, poor chap . . . This garment--'tis well enough--a
+stitch here and another one there will set it aright.  This other
+is better, albeit a stitch or two will not come amiss in it,
+likewise . . . THESE be very good and sound, and will keep his
+small feet warm and dry--an odd new thing to him, belike, since he
+has doubtless been used to foot it bare, winters and summers the
+same . . . Would thread were bread, seeing one getteth a year's
+sufficiency for a farthing, and such a brave big needle without
+cost, for mere love.  Now shall I have the demon's own time to
+thread it!"
+
+And so he had.  He did as men have always done, and probably
+always will do, to the end of time--held the needle still, and
+tried to thrust the thread through the eye, which is the opposite
+of a woman's way.  Time and time again the thread missed the mark,
+going sometimes on one side of the needle, sometimes on the other,
+sometimes doubling up against the shaft; but he was patient,
+having been through these experiences before, when he was
+soldiering.  He succeeded at last, and took up the garment that
+had lain waiting, meantime, across his lap, and began his work.
+
+"The inn is paid--the breakfast that is to come, included--and
+there is wherewithal left to buy a couple of donkeys and meet our
+little costs for the two or three days betwixt this and the plenty
+that awaits us at Hendon Hall--
+
+     "'She loved her hus--'
+
+"Body o' me!  I have driven the needle under my nail! . . . It
+matters little--'tis not a novelty--yet 'tis not a convenience,
+neither . . .We shall be merry there, little one, never doubt it!
+Thy troubles will vanish there, and likewise thy sad distemper--
+
+     "'She loved her husband dearilee,
+       But another man--'
+
+"These be noble large stitches!"--holding the garment up and
+viewing it admiringly--"they have a grandeur and a majesty that do
+cause these small stingy ones of the tailor-man to look mightily
+paltry and plebeian--
+
+     "'She loved her husband dearilee,
+       But another man he loved she,--'
+
+"Marry, 'tis done--a goodly piece of work, too, and wrought with
+expedition.  Now will I wake him, apparel him, pour for him, feed
+him, and then will we hie us to the mart by the Tabard Inn in
+Southwark and--be pleased to rise, my liege!--he answereth not--
+what ho, my liege!--of a truth must I profane his sacred person
+with a touch, sith his slumber is deaf to speech.  What!"
+
+He threw back the covers--the boy was gone!
+
+He stared about him in speechless astonishment for a moment;
+noticed for the first time that his ward's ragged raiment was also
+missing; then he began to rage and storm and shout for the
+innkeeper.  At that moment a servant entered with the breakfast.
+
+"Explain, thou limb of Satan, or thy time is come!" roared the man
+of war, and made so savage a spring toward the waiter that this
+latter could not find his tongue, for the instant, for fright and
+surprise.  "Where is the boy?"
+
+In disjointed and trembling syllables the man gave the information
+desired.
+
+"You were hardly gone from the place, your worship, when a youth
+came running and said it was your worship's will that the boy come
+to you straight, at the bridge-end on the Southwark side.  I
+brought him hither; and when he woke the lad and gave his message,
+the lad did grumble some little for being disturbed 'so early,' as
+he called it, but straightway trussed on his rags and went with
+the youth, only saying it had been better manners that your
+worship came yourself, not sent a stranger--and so--"
+
+"And so thou'rt a fool!--a fool and easily cozened--hang all thy
+breed!  Yet mayhap no hurt is done.  Possibly no harm is meant the
+boy.  I will go fetch him.  Make the table ready.  Stay! the
+coverings of the bed were disposed as if one lay beneath them--
+happened that by accident?"
+
+"I know not, good your worship.  I saw the youth meddle with them-
+-he that came for the boy."
+
+"Thousand deaths!  'Twas done to deceive me--'tis plain 'twas done
+to gain time.  Hark ye!  Was that youth alone?"
+
+"All alone, your worship."
+
+"Art sure?"
+
+"Sure, your worship."
+
+"Collect thy scattered wits--bethink thee--take time, man."
+
+After a moment's thought, the servant said--
+
+"When he came, none came with him; but now I remember me that as
+the two stepped into the throng of the Bridge, a ruffian-looking
+man plunged out from some near place; and just as he was joining
+them--"
+
+"What THEN?--out with it!" thundered the impatient Hendon,
+interrupting.
+
+"Just then the crowd lapped them up and closed them in, and I saw
+no more, being called by my master, who was in a rage because a
+joint that the scrivener had ordered was forgot, though I take all
+the saints to witness that to blame ME for that miscarriage were
+like holding the unborn babe to judgment for sins com--"
+
+"Out of my sight, idiot!  Thy prating drives me mad!  Hold!
+Whither art flying?  Canst not bide still an instant?  Went they
+toward Southwark?"
+
+"Even so, your worship--for, as I said before, as to that
+detestable joint, the babe unborn is no whit more blameless than--
+"
+
+"Art here YET!  And prating still!  Vanish, lest I throttle thee!"
+The servitor vanished.  Hendon followed after him, passed him, and
+plunged down the stairs two steps at a stride, muttering, "'Tis
+that scurvy villain that claimed he was his son.  I have lost
+thee, my poor little mad master--it is a bitter thought--and I had
+come to love thee so!  No! by book and bell, NOT lost!  Not lost,
+for I will ransack the land till I find thee again.  Poor child,
+yonder is his breakfast--and mine, but I have no hunger now; so,
+let the rats have it--speed, speed! that is the word!"  As he
+wormed his swift way through the noisy multitudes upon the Bridge
+he several times said to himself--clinging to the thought as if it
+were a particularly pleasing one--"He grumbled, but he WENT--he
+went, yes, because he thought Miles Hendon asked it, sweet lad--he
+would ne'er have done it for another, I know it well."
+
+
+
+Chapter XIV. 'Le Roi est mort--vive le Roi.'
+
+Toward daylight of the same morning, Tom Canty stirred out of a
+heavy sleep and opened his eyes in the dark.  He lay silent a few
+moments, trying to analyse his confused thoughts and impressions,
+and get some sort of meaning out of them; then suddenly he burst
+out in a rapturous but guarded voice--
+
+"I see it all, I see it all!  Now God be thanked, I am indeed
+awake at last!  Come, joy! vanish, sorrow!  Ho, Nan! Bet! kick off
+your straw and hie ye hither to my side, till I do pour into your
+unbelieving ears the wildest madcap dream that ever the spirits of
+night did conjure up to astonish the soul of man withal! . . . Ho,
+Nan, I say!  Bet!"
+
+A dim form appeared at his side, and a voice said--
+
+"Wilt deign to deliver thy commands?"
+
+"Commands? . . . O, woe is me, I know thy voice!  Speak thou--who
+am I?"
+
+"Thou?  In sooth, yesternight wert thou the Prince of Wales; to-
+day art thou my most gracious liege, Edward, King of England."
+
+Tom buried his head among his pillows, murmuring plaintively--
+
+"Alack, it was no dream!  Go to thy rest, sweet sir--leave me to
+my sorrows."
+
+Tom slept again, and after a time he had this pleasant dream.  He
+thought it was summer, and he was playing, all alone, in the fair
+meadow called Goodman's Fields, when a dwarf only a foot high,
+with long red whiskers and a humped back, appeared to him suddenly
+and said, "Dig by that stump."  He did so, and found twelve bright
+new pennies--wonderful riches!  Yet this was not the best of it;
+for the dwarf said--
+
+"I know thee.  Thou art a good lad, and a deserving; thy
+distresses shall end, for the day of thy reward is come.  Dig here
+every seventh day, and thou shalt find always the same treasure,
+twelve bright new pennies.  Tell none--keep the secret."
+
+Then the dwarf vanished, and Tom flew to Offal Court with his
+prize, saying to himself, "Every night will I give my father a
+penny; he will think I begged it, it will glad his heart, and I
+shall no more be beaten.  One penny every week the good priest
+that teacheth me shall have; mother, Nan, and Bet the other four.
+We be done with hunger and rags, now, done with fears and frets
+and savage usage."
+
+In his dream he reached his sordid home all out of breath, but
+with eyes dancing with grateful enthusiasm; cast four of his
+pennies into his mother's lap and cried out--
+
+"They are for thee!--all of them, every one!--for thee and Nan and
+Bet--and honestly come by, not begged nor stolen!"
+
+The happy and astonished mother strained him to her breast and
+exclaimed--
+
+"It waxeth late--may it please your Majesty to rise?"
+
+Ah! that was not the answer he was expecting.  The dream had
+snapped asunder--he was awake.
+
+He opened his eyes--the richly clad First Lord of the Bedchamber
+was kneeling by his couch.  The gladness of the lying dream faded
+away--the poor boy recognised that he was still a captive and a
+king.  The room was filled with courtiers clothed in purple
+mantles--the mourning colour--and with noble servants of the
+monarch.  Tom sat up in bed and gazed out from the heavy silken
+curtains upon this fine company.
+
+The weighty business of dressing began, and one courtier after
+another knelt and paid his court and offered to the little King
+his condolences upon his heavy loss, whilst the dressing
+proceeded.  In the beginning, a shirt was taken up by the Chief
+Equerry in Waiting, who passed it to the First Lord of the
+Buckhounds, who passed it to the Second Gentleman of the
+Bedchamber, who passed it to the Head Ranger of Windsor Forest,
+who passed it to the Third Groom of the Stole, who passed it to
+the Chancellor Royal of the Duchy of Lancaster, who passed it to
+the Master of the Wardrobe, who passed it to Norroy King-at-Arms,
+who passed it to the Constable of the Tower, who passed it to the
+Chief Steward of the Household, who passed it to the Hereditary
+Grand Diaperer, who passed it to the Lord High Admiral of England,
+who passed it to the Archbishop of Canterbury, who passed it to
+the First Lord of the Bedchamber, who took what was left of it and
+put it on Tom.  Poor little wondering chap, it reminded him of
+passing buckets at a fire.
+
+Each garment in its turn had to go through this slow and solemn
+process; consequently Tom grew very weary of the ceremony; so
+weary that he felt an almost gushing gratefulness when he at last
+saw his long silken hose begin the journey down the line and knew
+that the end of the matter was drawing near.  But he exulted too
+soon.  The First Lord of the Bedchamber received the hose and was
+about to encase Tom's legs in them, when a sudden flush invaded
+his face and he hurriedly hustled the things back into the hands
+of the Archbishop of Canterbury with an astounded look and a
+whispered, "See, my lord!" pointing to a something connected with
+the hose.  The Archbishop paled, then flushed, and passed the hose
+to the Lord High Admiral, whispering, "See, my lord!"  The Admiral
+passed the hose to the Hereditary Grand Diaperer, and had hardly
+breath enough in his body to ejaculate, "See, my lord!"  The hose
+drifted backward along the line, to the Chief Steward of the
+Household, the Constable of the Tower, Norroy King-at-Arms, the
+Master of the Wardrobe, the Chancellor Royal of the Duchy of
+Lancaster, the Third Groom of the Stole, the Head Ranger of
+Windsor Forest, the Second Gentleman of the Bedchamber, the First
+Lord of the Buckhounds,--accompanied always with that amazed and
+frightened "See! see!"--till they finally reached the hands of the
+Chief Equerry in Waiting, who gazed a moment, with a pallid face,
+upon what had caused all this dismay, then hoarsely whispered,
+"Body of my life, a tag gone from a truss-point!--to the Tower
+with the Head Keeper of the King's Hose!"--after which he leaned
+upon the shoulder of the First Lord of the Buckhounds to regather
+his vanished strength whilst fresh hose, without any damaged
+strings to them, were brought.
+
+But all things must have an end, and so in time Tom Canty was in a
+condition to get out of bed.  The proper official poured water,
+the proper official engineered the washing, the proper official
+stood by with a towel, and by-and-by Tom got safely through the
+purifying stage and was ready for the services of the Hairdresser-
+royal.  When he at length emerged from this master's hands, he was
+a gracious figure and as pretty as a girl, in his mantle and
+trunks of purple satin, and purple-plumed cap.  He now moved in
+state toward his breakfast-room, through the midst of the courtly
+assemblage; and as he passed, these fell back, leaving his way
+free, and dropped upon their knees.
+
+After breakfast he was conducted, with regal ceremony, attended by
+his great officers and his guard of fifty Gentlemen Pensioners
+bearing gilt battle-axes, to the throne-room, where he proceeded
+to transact business of state.  His 'uncle,' Lord Hertford, took
+his stand by the throne, to assist the royal mind with wise
+counsel.
+
+The body of illustrious men named by the late King as his
+executors appeared, to ask Tom's approval of certain acts of
+theirs--rather a form, and yet not wholly a form, since there was
+no Protector as yet.  The Archbishop of Canterbury made report of
+the decree of the Council of Executors concerning the obsequies of
+his late most illustrious Majesty, and finished by reading the
+signatures of the Executors, to wit:  the Archbishop of
+Canterbury; the Lord Chancellor of England; William Lord St. John;
+John Lord Russell; Edward Earl of Hertford; John Viscount Lisle;
+Cuthbert Bishop of Durham--
+
+Tom was not listening--an earlier clause of the document was
+puzzling him.  At this point he turned and whispered to Lord
+Hertford--
+
+"What day did he say the burial hath been appointed for?"
+
+"The sixteenth of the coming month, my liege."
+
+"'Tis a strange folly.  Will he keep?"
+
+Poor chap, he was still new to the customs of royalty; he was used
+to seeing the forlorn dead of Offal Court hustled out of the way
+with a very different sort of expedition.  However, the Lord
+Hertford set his mind at rest with a word or two.
+
+A secretary of state presented an order of the Council appointing
+the morrow at eleven for the reception of the foreign ambassadors,
+and desired the King's assent.
+
+Tom turned an inquiring look toward Hertford, who whispered--
+
+"Your Majesty will signify consent.  They come to testify their
+royal masters' sense of the heavy calamity which hath visited your
+Grace and the realm of England."
+
+Tom did as he was bidden.  Another secretary began to read a
+preamble concerning the expenses of the late King's household,
+which had amounted to 28,000 pounds during the preceding six
+months--a sum so vast that it made Tom Canty gasp; he gasped again
+when the fact appeared that 20,000 pounds of this money was still
+owing and unpaid; {4} and once more when it appeared that the
+King's coffers were about empty, and his twelve hundred servants
+much embarrassed for lack of the wages due them.  Tom spoke out,
+with lively apprehension--
+
+"We be going to the dogs, 'tis plain.  'Tis meet and necessary
+that we take a smaller house and set the servants at large, sith
+they be of no value but to make delay, and trouble one with
+offices that harass the spirit and shame the soul, they
+misbecoming any but a doll, that hath nor brains nor hands to help
+itself withal.  I remember me of a small house that standeth over
+against the fish-market, by Billingsgate--"
+
+A sharp pressure upon Tom's arm stopped his foolish tongue and
+sent a blush to his face; but no countenance there betrayed any
+sign that this strange speech had been remarked or given concern.
+
+A secretary made report that forasmuch as the late King had
+provided in his will for conferring the ducal degree upon the Earl
+of Hertford and raising his brother, Sir Thomas Seymour, to the
+peerage, and likewise Hertford's son to an earldom, together with
+similar aggrandisements to other great servants of the Crown, the
+Council had resolved to hold a sitting on the 16th of February for
+the delivering and confirming of these honours, and that meantime,
+the late King not having granted, in writing, estates suitable to
+the support of these dignities, the Council, knowing his private
+wishes in that regard, had thought proper to grant to Seymour '500
+pound lands,' and to Hertford's son '800 pound lands, and 300
+pound of the next bishop's lands which should fall vacant,'--his
+present Majesty being willing. {5}
+
+Tom was about to blurt out something about the propriety of paying
+the late King's debts first, before squandering all this money,
+but a timely touch upon his arm, from the thoughtful Hertford,
+saved him this indiscretion; wherefore he gave the royal assent,
+without spoken comment, but with much inward discomfort.  While he
+sat reflecting a moment over the ease with which he was doing
+strange and glittering miracles, a happy thought shot into his
+mind:  why not make his mother Duchess of Offal Court, and give
+her an estate?  But a sorrowful thought swept it instantly away:
+he was only a king in name, these grave veterans and great nobles
+were his masters; to them his mother was only the creature of a
+diseased mind; they would simply listen to his project with
+unbelieving ears, then send for the doctor.
+
+The dull work went tediously on.  Petitions were read, and
+proclamations, patents, and all manner of wordy, repetitious, and
+wearisome papers relating to the public business; and at last Tom
+sighed pathetically and murmured to himself, "In what have I
+offended, that the good God should take me away from the fields
+and the free air and the sunshine, to shut me up here and make me
+a king and afflict me so?"  Then his poor muddled head nodded a
+while and presently drooped to his shoulder; and the business of
+the empire came to a standstill for want of that august factor,
+the ratifying power.  Silence ensued around the slumbering child,
+and the sages of the realm ceased from their deliberations.
+
+During the forenoon, Tom had an enjoyable hour, by permission of
+his keepers, Hertford and St. John, with the Lady Elizabeth and
+the little Lady Jane Grey; though the spirits of the princesses
+were rather subdued by the mighty stroke that had fallen upon the
+royal house; and at the end of the visit his 'elder sister'--
+afterwards the 'Bloody Mary' of history--chilled him with a solemn
+interview which had but one merit in his eyes, its brevity.  He
+had a few moments to himself, and then a slim lad of about twelve
+years of age was admitted to his presence, whose clothing, except
+his snowy ruff and the laces about his wrists, was of black,--
+doublet, hose, and all.  He bore no badge of mourning but a knot
+of purple ribbon on his shoulder.  He advanced hesitatingly, with
+head bowed and bare, and dropped upon one knee in front of Tom.
+Tom sat still and contemplated him soberly a moment.  Then he
+said--
+
+"Rise, lad.  Who art thou.  What wouldst have?"
+
+The boy rose, and stood at graceful ease, but with an aspect of
+concern in his face.  He said--
+
+"Of a surety thou must remember me, my lord.  I am thy whipping-
+boy."
+
+"My WHIPPING-boy?"
+
+"The same, your Grace.  I am Humphrey--Humphrey Marlow."
+
+Tom perceived that here was someone whom his keepers ought to have
+posted him about.  The situation was delicate.  What should he
+do?--pretend he knew this lad, and then betray by his every
+utterance that he had never heard of him before?  No, that would
+not do.  An idea came to his relief:  accidents like this might be
+likely to happen with some frequency, now that business urgencies
+would often call Hertford and St. John from his side, they being
+members of the Council of Executors; therefore perhaps it would be
+well to strike out a plan himself to meet the requirements of such
+emergencies.  Yes, that would be a wise course--he would practise
+on this boy, and see what sort of success he might achieve.  So he
+stroked his brow perplexedly a moment or two, and presently said--
+
+"Now I seem to remember thee somewhat--but my wit is clogged and
+dim with suffering--"
+
+"Alack, my poor master!" ejaculated the whipping-boy, with
+feeling; adding, to himself, "In truth 'tis as they said--his mind
+is gone--alas, poor soul!  But misfortune catch me, how am I
+forgetting!  They said one must not seem to observe that aught is
+wrong with him."
+
+"'Tis strange how my memory doth wanton with me these days," said
+Tom.  "But mind it not--I mend apace--a little clue doth often
+serve to bring me back again the things and names which had
+escaped me.  (And not they, only, forsooth, but e'en such as I
+ne'er heard before--as this lad shall see.)  Give thy business
+speech."
+
+"'Tis matter of small weight, my liege, yet will I touch upon it,
+an' it please your Grace.  Two days gone by, when your Majesty
+faulted thrice in your Greek--in the morning lessons,--dost
+remember it?"
+
+"Y-e-s--methinks I do.  (It is not much of a lie--an' I had
+meddled with the Greek at all, I had not faulted simply thrice,
+but forty times.)  Yes, I do recall it, now--go on."
+
+"The master, being wroth with what he termed such slovenly and
+doltish work, did promise that he would soundly whip me for it--
+and--"
+
+"Whip THEE!" said Tom, astonished out of his presence of mind.
+"Why should he whip THEE for faults of mine?"
+
+"Ah, your Grace forgetteth again.  He always scourgeth me when
+thou dost fail in thy lessons."
+
+"True, true--I had forgot.  Thou teachest me in private--then if I
+fail, he argueth that thy office was lamely done, and--"
+
+"Oh, my liege, what words are these?  I, the humblest of thy
+servants, presume to teach THEE?"
+
+"Then where is thy blame?  What riddle is this?  Am I in truth
+gone mad, or is it thou?  Explain--speak out."
+
+"But, good your Majesty, there's nought that needeth simplifying.-
+-None may visit the sacred person of the Prince of Wales with
+blows; wherefore, when he faulteth, 'tis I that take them; and
+meet it is and right, for that it is mine office and my
+livelihood." {1}
+
+Tom stared at the tranquil boy, observing to himself, "Lo, it is a
+wonderful thing,--a most strange and curious trade; I marvel they
+have not hired a boy to take my combings and my dressings for me--
+would heaven they would!--an' they will do this thing, I will take
+my lashings in mine own person, giving God thanks for the change."
+Then he said aloud--
+
+"And hast thou been beaten, poor friend, according to the
+promise?"
+
+"No, good your Majesty, my punishment was appointed for this day,
+and peradventure it may be annulled, as unbefitting the season of
+mourning that is come upon us; I know not, and so have made bold
+to come hither and remind your Grace about your gracious promise
+to intercede in my behalf--"
+
+"With the master?  To save thee thy whipping?"
+
+"Ah, thou dost remember!"
+
+"My memory mendeth, thou seest.  Set thy mind at ease--thy back
+shall go unscathed--I will see to it."
+
+"Oh, thanks, my good lord!" cried the boy, dropping upon his knee
+again.  "Mayhap I have ventured far enow; and yet--"
+
+Seeing Master Humphrey hesitate, Tom encouraged him to go on,
+saying he was "in the granting mood."
+
+"Then will I speak it out, for it lieth near my heart.  Sith thou
+art no more Prince of Wales but King, thou canst order matters as
+thou wilt, with none to say thee nay; wherefore it is not in
+reason that thou wilt longer vex thyself with dreary studies, but
+wilt burn thy books and turn thy mind to things less irksome.
+Then am I ruined, and mine orphan sisters with me!"
+
+"Ruined?  Prithee how?"
+
+"My back is my bread, O my gracious liege! if it go idle, I
+starve.  An' thou cease from study mine office is gone thou'lt
+need no whipping-boy.  Do not turn me away!"
+
+Tom was touched with this pathetic distress.  He said, with a
+right royal burst of generosity--
+
+"Discomfort thyself no further, lad.  Thine office shall be
+permanent in thee and thy line for ever."  Then he struck the boy
+a light blow on the shoulder with the flat of his sword,
+exclaiming, "Rise, Humphrey Marlow, Hereditary Grand Whipping-Boy
+to the Royal House of England!  Banish sorrow--I will betake me to
+my books again, and study so ill that they must in justice treble
+thy wage, so mightily shall the business of thine office be
+augmented."
+
+The grateful Humphrey responded fervidly--
+
+"Thanks, O most noble master, this princely lavishness doth far
+surpass my most distempered dreams of fortune.  Now shall I be
+happy all my days, and all the house of Marlow after me."
+
+Tom had wit enough to perceive that here was a lad who could be
+useful to him.  He encouraged Humphrey to talk, and he was nothing
+loath.  He was delighted to believe that he was helping in Tom's
+'cure'; for always, as soon as he had finished calling back to
+Tom's diseased mind the various particulars of his experiences and
+adventures in the royal school-room and elsewhere about the
+palace, he noticed that Tom was then able to 'recall' the
+circumstances quite clearly.  At the end of an hour Tom found
+himself well freighted with very valuable information concerning
+personages and matters pertaining to the Court; so he resolved to
+draw instruction from this source daily; and to this end he would
+give order to admit Humphrey to the royal closet whenever he might
+come, provided the Majesty of England was not engaged with other
+people.  Humphrey had hardly been dismissed when my Lord Hertford
+arrived with more trouble for Tom.
+
+He said that the Lords of the Council, fearing that some
+overwrought report of the King's damaged health might have leaked
+out and got abroad, they deemed it wise and best that his Majesty
+should begin to dine in public after a day or two--his wholesome
+complexion and vigorous step, assisted by a carefully guarded
+repose of manner and ease and grace of demeanour, would more
+surely quiet the general pulse--in case any evil rumours HAD gone
+about--than any other scheme that could be devised.
+
+Then the Earl proceeded, very delicately, to instruct Tom as to
+the observances proper to the stately occasion, under the rather
+thin disguise of 'reminding' him concerning things already known
+to him; but to his vast gratification it turned out that Tom
+needed very little help in this line--he had been making use of
+Humphrey in that direction, for Humphrey had mentioned that within
+a few days he was to begin to dine in public; having gathered it
+from the swift-winged gossip of the Court.  Tom kept these facts
+to himself, however.
+
+Seeing the royal memory so improved, the Earl ventured to apply a
+few tests to it, in an apparently casual way, to find out how far
+its amendment had progressed.  The results were happy, here and
+there, in spots--spots where Humphrey's tracks remained--and on
+the whole my lord was greatly pleased and encouraged.  So
+encouraged was he, indeed, that he spoke up and said in a quite
+hopeful voice--
+
+"Now am I persuaded that if your Majesty will but tax your memory
+yet a little further, it will resolve the puzzle of the Great
+Seal--a loss which was of moment yesterday, although of none to-
+day, since its term of service ended with our late lord's life.
+May it please your Grace to make the trial?"
+
+Tom was at sea--a Great Seal was something which he was totally
+unacquainted with.  After a moment's hesitation he looked up
+innocently and asked--
+
+"What was it like, my lord?"
+
+The Earl started, almost imperceptibly, muttering to himself,
+"Alack, his wits are flown again!--it was ill wisdom to lead him
+on to strain them"--then he deftly turned the talk to other
+matters, with the purpose of sweeping the unlucky seal out of
+Tom's thoughts--a purpose which easily succeeded.
+
+
+
+Chapter XV. Tom as King.
+
+The next day the foreign ambassadors came, with their gorgeous
+trains; and Tom, throned in awful state, received them.  The
+splendours of the scene delighted his eye and fired his
+imagination at first, but the audience was long and dreary, and so
+were most of the addresses--wherefore, what began as a pleasure
+grew into weariness and home-sickness by-and-by.  Tom said the
+words which Hertford put into his mouth from time to time, and
+tried hard to acquit himself satisfactorily, but he was too new to
+such things, and too ill at ease to accomplish more than a
+tolerable success.  He looked sufficiently like a king, but he was
+ill able to feel like one.  He was cordially glad when the
+ceremony was ended.
+
+The larger part of his day was 'wasted'--as he termed it, in his
+own mind--in labours pertaining to his royal office.  Even the two
+hours devoted to certain princely pastimes and recreations were
+rather a burden to him than otherwise, they were so fettered by
+restrictions and ceremonious observances.  However, he had a
+private hour with his whipping-boy which he counted clear gain,
+since he got both entertainment and needful information out of it.
+
+The third day of Tom Canty's kingship came and went much as the
+others had done, but there was a lifting of his cloud in one way--
+he felt less uncomfortable than at first; he was getting a little
+used to his circumstances and surroundings; his chains still
+galled, but not all the time; he found that the presence and
+homage of the great afflicted and embarrassed him less and less
+sharply with every hour that drifted over his head.
+
+But for one single dread, he could have seen the fourth day
+approach without serious distress--the dining in public; it was to
+begin that day.  There were greater matters in the programme--for
+on that day he would have to preside at a council which would take
+his views and commands concerning the policy to be pursued toward
+various foreign nations scattered far and near over the great
+globe; on that day, too, Hertford would be formally chosen to the
+grand office of Lord Protector; other things of note were
+appointed for that fourth day, also; but to Tom they were all
+insignificant compared with the ordeal of dining all by himself
+with a multitude of curious eyes fastened upon him and a multitude
+of mouths whispering comments upon his performance,--and upon his
+mistakes, if he should be so unlucky as to make any.
+
+Still, nothing could stop that fourth day, and so it came.  It
+found poor Tom low-spirited and absent-minded, and this mood
+continued; he could not shake it off.  The ordinary duties of the
+morning dragged upon his hands, and wearied him.  Once more he
+felt the sense of captivity heavy upon him.
+
+Late in the forenoon he was in a large audience-chamber,
+conversing with the Earl of Hertford and dully awaiting the
+striking of the hour appointed for a visit of ceremony from a
+considerable number of great officials and courtiers.
+
+After a little while, Tom, who had wandered to a window and become
+interested in the life and movement of the great highway beyond
+the palace gates--and not idly interested, but longing with all
+his heart to take part in person in its stir and freedom--saw the
+van of a hooting and shouting mob of disorderly men, women, and
+children of the lowest and poorest degree approaching from up the
+road.
+
+"I would I knew what 'tis about!" he exclaimed, with all a boy's
+curiosity in such happenings.
+
+"Thou art the King!" solemnly responded the Earl, with a
+reverence.  "Have I your Grace's leave to act?"
+
+"O blithely, yes!  O gladly, yes!" exclaimed Tom excitedly, adding
+to himself with a lively sense of satisfaction, "In truth, being a
+king is not all dreariness--it hath its compensations and
+conveniences."
+
+The Earl called a page, and sent him to the captain of the guard
+with the order--
+
+"Let the mob be halted, and inquiry made concerning the occasion
+of its movement.  By the King's command!"
+
+A few seconds later a long rank of the royal guards, cased in
+flashing steel, filed out at the gates and formed across the
+highway in front of the multitude.  A messenger returned, to
+report that the crowd were following a man, a woman, and a young
+girl to execution for crimes committed against the peace and
+dignity of the realm.
+
+Death--and a violent death--for these poor unfortunates!  The
+thought wrung Tom's heart-strings.  The spirit of compassion took
+control of him, to the exclusion of all other considerations; he
+never thought of the offended laws, or of the grief or loss which
+these three criminals had inflicted upon their victims; he could
+think of nothing but the scaffold and the grisly fate hanging over
+the heads of the condemned.  His concern made him even forget, for
+the moment, that he was but the false shadow of a king, not the
+substance; and before he knew it he had blurted out the command--
+
+"Bring them here!"
+
+Then he blushed scarlet, and a sort of apology sprung to his lips;
+but observing that his order had wrought no sort of surprise in
+the Earl or the waiting page, he suppressed the words he was about
+to utter.  The page, in the most matter-of-course way, made a
+profound obeisance and retired backwards out of the room to
+deliver the command.  Tom experienced a glow of pride and a
+renewed sense of the compensating advantages of the kingly office.
+He said to himself, "Truly it is like what I was used to feel when
+I read the old priest's tales, and did imagine mine own self a
+prince, giving law and command to all, saying 'Do this, do that,'
+whilst none durst offer let or hindrance to my will."
+
+Now the doors swung open; one high-sounding title after another
+was announced, the personages owning them followed, and the place
+was quickly half-filled with noble folk and finery.  But Tom was
+hardly conscious of the presence of these people, so wrought up
+was he and so intensely absorbed in that other and more
+interesting matter.  He seated himself absently in his chair of
+state, and turned his eyes upon the door with manifestations of
+impatient expectancy; seeing which, the company forbore to trouble
+him, and fell to chatting a mixture of public business and court
+gossip one with another.
+
+In a little while the measured tread of military men was heard
+approaching, and the culprits entered the presence in charge of an
+under-sheriff and escorted by a detail of the king's guard.  The
+civil officer knelt before Tom, then stood aside; the three doomed
+persons knelt, also, and remained so; the guard took position
+behind Tom's chair.  Tom scanned the prisoners curiously.
+Something about the dress or appearance of the man had stirred a
+vague memory in him.  "Methinks I have seen this man ere now . . .
+but the when or the where fail me"--such was Tom's thought.  Just
+then the man glanced quickly up and quickly dropped his face
+again, not being able to endure the awful port of sovereignty; but
+the one full glimpse of the face which Tom got was sufficient.  He
+said to himself:  "Now is the matter clear; this is the stranger
+that plucked Giles Witt out of the Thames, and saved his life,
+that windy, bitter, first day of the New Year--a brave good deed--
+pity he hath been doing baser ones and got himself in this sad
+case . . . I have not forgot the day, neither the hour; by reason
+that an hour after, upon the stroke of eleven, I did get a hiding
+by the hand of Gammer Canty which was of so goodly and admired
+severity that all that went before or followed after it were but
+fondlings and caresses by comparison."
+
+Tom now ordered that the woman and the girl be removed from the
+presence for a little time; then addressed himself to the under-
+sheriff, saying--
+
+"Good sir, what is this man's offence?"
+
+The officer knelt, and answered--
+
+"So please your Majesty, he hath taken the life of a subject by
+poison."
+
+Tom's compassion for the prisoner, and admiration of him as the
+daring rescuer of a drowning boy, experienced a most damaging
+shock.
+
+"The thing was proven upon him?" he asked.
+
+"Most clearly, sire."
+
+Tom sighed, and said--
+
+"Take him away--he hath earned his death.  'Tis a pity, for he was
+a brave heart--na--na, I mean he hath the LOOK of it!"
+
+The prisoner clasped his hands together with sudden energy, and
+wrung them despairingly, at the same time appealing imploringly to
+the 'King' in broken and terrified phrases--
+
+"O my lord the King, an' thou canst pity the lost, have pity upon
+me!  I am innocent--neither hath that wherewith I am charged been
+more than but lamely proved--yet I speak not of that; the judgment
+is gone forth against me and may not suffer alteration; yet in
+mine extremity I beg a boon, for my doom is more than I can bear.
+A grace, a grace, my lord the King! in thy royal compassion grant
+my prayer--give commandment that I be hanged!"
+
+Tom was amazed.  This was not the outcome he had looked for.
+
+"Odds my life, a strange BOON!  Was it not the fate intended
+thee?"
+
+"O good my liege, not so!  It is ordered that I be BOILED ALIVE!"
+
+The hideous surprise of these words almost made Tom spring from
+his chair.  As soon as he could recover his wits he cried out--
+
+"Have thy wish, poor soul! an' thou had poisoned a hundred men
+thou shouldst not suffer so miserable a death."
+
+The prisoner bowed his face to the ground and burst into
+passionate expressions of gratitude--ending with--
+
+"If ever thou shouldst know misfortune--which God forefend!--may
+thy goodness to me this day be remembered and requited!"
+
+Tom turned to the Earl of Hertford, and said--
+
+"My lord, is it believable that there was warrant for this man's
+ferocious doom?"
+
+"It is the law, your Grace--for poisoners.  In Germany coiners be
+boiled to death in OIL--not cast in of a sudden, but by a rope let
+down into the oil by degrees, and slowly; first the feet, then the
+legs, then--"
+
+"O prithee no more, my lord, I cannot bear it!" cried Tom,
+covering his eyes with his hands to shut out the picture.  "I
+beseech your good lordship that order be taken to change this law-
+-oh, let no more poor creatures be visited with its tortures."
+
+The Earl's face showed profound gratification, for he was a man of
+merciful and generous impulses--a thing not very common with his
+class in that fierce age.  He said--
+
+"These your Grace's noble words have sealed its doom.  History
+will remember it to the honour of your royal house."
+
+The under-sheriff was about to remove his prisoner; Tom gave him a
+sign to wait; then he said--
+
+"Good sir, I would look into this matter further.  The man has
+said his deed was but lamely proved.  Tell me what thou knowest."
+
+"If the King's grace please, it did appear upon the trial that
+this man entered into a house in the hamlet of Islington where one
+lay sick--three witnesses say it was at ten of the clock in the
+morning, and two say it was some minutes later--the sick man being
+alone at the time, and sleeping--and presently the man came forth
+again and went his way.  The sick man died within the hour, being
+torn with spasms and retchings."
+
+"Did any see the poison given?  Was poison found?"
+
+"Marry, no, my liege."
+
+"Then how doth one know there was poison given at all?"
+
+"Please your Majesty, the doctors testified that none die with
+such symptoms but by poison."
+
+Weighty evidence, this, in that simple age.  Tom recognised its
+formidable nature, and said--
+
+"The doctor knoweth his trade--belike they were right.  The matter
+hath an ill-look for this poor man."
+
+"Yet was not this all, your Majesty; there is more and worse.
+Many testified that a witch, since gone from the village, none
+know whither, did foretell, and speak it privately in their ears,
+that the sick man WOULD DIE BY POISON--and more, that a stranger
+would give it--a stranger with brown hair and clothed in a worn
+and common garb; and surely this prisoner doth answer woundily to
+the bill.  Please your Majesty to give the circumstance that
+solemn weight which is its due, seeing it was FORETOLD."
+
+This was an argument of tremendous force in that superstitious
+day.  Tom felt that the thing was settled; if evidence was worth
+anything, this poor fellow's guilt was proved.  Still he offered
+the prisoner a chance, saying--
+
+"If thou canst say aught in thy behalf, speak."
+
+"Nought that will avail, my King.  I am innocent, yet cannot I
+make it appear.  I have no friends, else might I show that I was
+not in Islington that day; so also might I show that at that hour
+they name I was above a league away, seeing I was at Wapping Old
+Stairs; yea more, my King, for I could show, that whilst they say
+I was TAKING life, I was SAVING it.  A drowning boy--"
+
+"Peace!  Sheriff, name the day the deed was done!"
+
+"At ten in the morning, or some minutes later, the first day of
+the New Year, most illustrious--"
+
+"Let the prisoner go free--it is the King's will!"
+
+Another blush followed this unregal outburst, and he covered his
+indecorum as well as he could by adding--
+
+"It enrageth me that a man should be hanged upon such idle, hare-
+brained evidence!"
+
+A low buzz of admiration swept through the assemblage.  It was not
+admiration of the decree that had been delivered by Tom, for the
+propriety or expediency of pardoning a convicted poisoner was a
+thing which few there would have felt justified in either
+admitting or admiring--no, the admiration was for the intelligence
+and spirit which Tom had displayed.  Some of the low-voiced
+remarks were to this effect--
+
+"This is no mad king--he hath his wits sound."
+
+"How sanely he put his questions--how like his former natural self
+was this abrupt imperious disposal of the matter!"
+
+"God be thanked, his infirmity is spent!  This is no weakling, but
+a king.  He hath borne himself like to his own father."
+
+The air being filled with applause, Tom's ear necessarily caught a
+little of it.  The effect which this had upon him was to put him
+greatly at his ease, and also to charge his system with very
+gratifying sensations.
+
+However, his juvenile curiosity soon rose superior to these
+pleasant thoughts and feelings; he was eager to know what sort of
+deadly mischief the woman and the little girl could have been
+about; so, by his command, the two terrified and sobbing creatures
+were brought before him.
+
+"What is it that these have done?" he inquired of the sheriff.
+
+"Please your Majesty, a black crime is charged upon them, and
+clearly proven; wherefore the judges have decreed, according to
+the law, that they be hanged.  They sold themselves to the devil--
+such is their crime."
+
+Tom shuddered.  He had been taught to abhor people who did this
+wicked thing.  Still, he was not going to deny himself the
+pleasure of feeding his curiosity for all that; so he asked--
+
+"Where was this done?--and when?"
+
+"On a midnight in December, in a ruined church, your Majesty."
+
+Tom shuddered again.
+
+"Who was there present?"
+
+"Only these two, your grace--and THAT OTHER."
+
+"Have these confessed?"
+
+"Nay, not so, sire--they do deny it."
+
+"Then prithee, how was it known?"
+
+"Certain witness did see them wending thither, good your Majesty;
+this bred the suspicion, and dire effects have since confirmed and
+justified it.  In particular, it is in evidence that through the
+wicked power so obtained, they did invoke and bring about a storm
+that wasted all the region round about.  Above forty witnesses
+have proved the storm; and sooth one might have had a thousand,
+for all had reason to remember it, sith all had suffered by it."
+
+"Certes this is a serious matter."  Tom turned this dark piece of
+scoundrelism over in his mind a while, then asked--
+
+"Suffered the woman also by the storm?"
+
+Several old heads among the assemblage nodded their recognition of
+the wisdom of this question.  The sheriff, however, saw nothing
+consequential in the inquiry; he answered, with simple directness-
+-
+
+"Indeed did she, your Majesty, and most righteously, as all aver.
+Her habitation was swept away, and herself and child left
+shelterless."
+
+"Methinks the power to do herself so ill a turn was dearly bought.
+She had been cheated, had she paid but a farthing for it; that she
+paid her soul, and her child's, argueth that she is mad; if she is
+mad she knoweth not what she doth, therefore sinneth not."
+
+The elderly heads nodded recognition of Tom's wisdom once more,
+and one individual murmured, "An' the King be mad himself,
+according to report, then is it a madness of a sort that would
+improve the sanity of some I wot of, if by the gentle providence
+of God they could but catch it."
+
+"What age hath the child?" asked Tom.
+
+"Nine years, please your Majesty."
+
+"By the law of England may a child enter into covenant and sell
+itself, my lord?" asked Tom, turning to a learned judge.
+
+"The law doth not permit a child to make or meddle in any weighty
+matter, good my liege, holding that its callow wit unfitteth it to
+cope with the riper wit and evil schemings of them that are its
+elders.  The DEVIL may buy a child, if he so choose, and the child
+agree thereto, but not an Englishman--in this latter case the
+contract would be null and void."
+
+"It seemeth a rude unchristian thing, and ill contrived, that
+English law denieth privileges to Englishmen to waste them on the
+devil!" cried Tom, with honest heat.
+
+This novel view of the matter excited many smiles, and was stored
+away in many heads to be repeated about the Court as evidence of
+Tom's originality as well as progress toward mental health.
+
+The elder culprit had ceased from sobbing, and was hanging upon
+Tom's words with an excited interest and a growing hope.  Tom
+noticed this, and it strongly inclined his sympathies toward her
+in her perilous and unfriended situation.  Presently he asked--
+
+"How wrought they to bring the storm?"
+
+"BY PULLING OFF THEIR STOCKINGS, sire."
+
+This astonished Tom, and also fired his curiosity to fever heat.
+He said, eagerly--
+
+"It is wonderful!  Hath it always this dread effect?"
+
+"Always, my liege--at least if the woman desire it, and utter the
+needful words, either in her mind or with her tongue."
+
+Tom turned to the woman, and said with impetuous zeal--
+
+"Exert thy power--I would see a storm!"
+
+There was a sudden paling of cheeks in the superstitious
+assemblage, and a general, though unexpressed, desire to get out
+of the place--all of which was lost upon Tom, who was dead to
+everything but the proposed cataclysm.  Seeing a puzzled and
+astonished look in the woman's face, he added, excitedly--
+
+"Never fear--thou shalt be blameless.  More--thou shalt go free--
+none shall touch thee.  Exert thy power."
+
+"Oh, my lord the King, I have it not--I have been falsely
+accused."
+
+"Thy fears stay thee.  Be of good heart, thou shalt suffer no
+harm.  Make a storm--it mattereth not how small a one--I require
+nought great or harmful, but indeed prefer the opposite--do this
+and thy life is spared--thou shalt go out free, with thy child,
+bearing the King's pardon, and safe from hurt or malice from any
+in the realm."
+
+The woman prostrated herself, and protested, with tears, that she
+had no power to do the miracle, else she would gladly win her
+child's life alone, and be content to lose her own, if by
+obedience to the King's command so precious a grace might be
+acquired.
+
+Tom urged--the woman still adhered to her declarations.  Finally
+he said--
+
+"I think the woman hath said true.  An' MY mother were in her
+place and gifted with the devil's functions, she had not stayed a
+moment to call her storms and lay the whole land in ruins, if the
+saving of my forfeit life were the price she got!  It is argument
+that other mothers are made in like mould.  Thou art free,
+goodwife--thou and thy child--for I do think thee innocent.  NOW
+thou'st nought to fear, being pardoned--pull off thy stockings!--
+an' thou canst make me a storm, thou shalt be rich!"
+
+The redeemed creature was loud in her gratitude, and proceeded to
+obey, whilst Tom looked on with eager expectancy, a little marred
+by apprehension; the courtiers at the same time manifesting
+decided discomfort and uneasiness.  The woman stripped her own
+feet and her little girl's also, and plainly did her best to
+reward the King's generosity with an earthquake, but it was all a
+failure and a disappointment.  Tom sighed, and said--
+
+"There, good soul, trouble thyself no further, thy power is
+departed out of thee.  Go thy way in peace; and if it return to
+thee at any time, forget me not, but fetch me a storm." {13}
+
+
+
+Chapter XVI. The State Dinner.
+
+The dinner hour drew near--yet strangely enough, the thought
+brought but slight discomfort to Tom, and hardly any terror.  The
+morning's experiences had wonderfully built up his confidence; the
+poor little ash-cat was already more wonted to his strange garret,
+after four days' habit, than a mature person could have become in
+a full month.  A child's facility in accommodating itself to
+circumstances was never more strikingly illustrated.
+
+Let us privileged ones hurry to the great banqueting-room and have
+a glance at matters there whilst Tom is being made ready for the
+imposing occasion.  It is a spacious apartment, with gilded
+pillars and pilasters, and pictured walls and ceilings.  At the
+door stand tall guards, as rigid as statues, dressed in rich and
+picturesque costumes, and bearing halberds.  In a high gallery
+which runs all around the place is a band of musicians and a
+packed company of citizens of both sexes, in brilliant attire.  In
+the centre of the room, upon a raised platform, is Tom's table.
+Now let the ancient chronicler speak:
+
+"A gentleman enters the room bearing a rod, and along with him
+another bearing a tablecloth, which, after they have both kneeled
+three times with the utmost veneration, he spreads upon the table,
+and after kneeling again they both retire; then come two others,
+one with the rod again, the other with a salt-cellar, a plate, and
+bread; when they have kneeled as the others had done, and placed
+what was brought upon the table, they too retire with the same
+ceremonies performed by the first; at last come two nobles, richly
+clothed, one bearing a tasting-knife, who, after prostrating
+themselves three times in the most graceful manner, approach and
+rub the table with bread and salt, with as much awe as if the King
+had been present." {6}
+
+So end the solemn preliminaries.  Now, far down the echoing
+corridors we hear a bugle-blast, and the indistinct cry, "Place
+for the King!  Way for the King's most excellent majesty!"  These
+sounds are momently repeated--they grow nearer and nearer--and
+presently, almost in our faces, the martial note peals and the cry
+rings out, "Way for the King!"  At this instant the shining
+pageant appears, and files in at the door, with a measured march.
+Let the chronicler speak again:--
+
+"First come Gentlemen, Barons, Earls, Knights of the Garter, all
+richly dressed and bareheaded; next comes the Chancellor, between
+two, one of which carries the royal sceptre, the other the Sword
+of State in a red scabbard, studded with golden fleurs-de-lis, the
+point upwards; next comes the King himself--whom, upon his
+appearing, twelve trumpets and many drums salute with a great
+burst of welcome, whilst all in the galleries rise in their
+places, crying 'God save the King!'  After him come nobles
+attached to his person, and on his right and left march his guard
+of honour, his fifty Gentlemen Pensioners, with gilt battle-axes."
+
+This was all fine and pleasant.  Tom's pulse beat high, and a glad
+light was in his eye.  He bore himself right gracefully, and all
+the more so because he was not thinking of how he was doing it,
+his mind being charmed and occupied with the blithe sights and
+sounds about him--and besides, nobody can be very ungraceful in
+nicely-fitting beautiful clothes after he has grown a little used
+to them--especially if he is for the moment unconscious of them.
+Tom remembered his instructions, and acknowledged his greeting
+with a slight inclination of his plumed head, and a courteous "I
+thank ye, my good people."
+
+He seated himself at table, without removing his cap; and did it
+without the least embarrassment; for to eat with one's cap on was
+the one solitary royal custom upon which the kings and the Cantys
+met upon common ground, neither party having any advantage over
+the other in the matter of old familiarity with it.  The pageant
+broke up and grouped itself picturesquely, and remained
+bareheaded.
+
+Now to the sound of gay music the Yeomen of the Guard entered,--
+"the tallest and mightiest men in England, they being carefully
+selected in this regard"--but we will let the chronicler tell
+about it:--
+
+"The Yeomen of the Guard entered, bareheaded, clothed in scarlet,
+with golden roses upon their backs; and these went and came,
+bringing in each turn a course of dishes, served in plate.  These
+dishes were received by a gentleman in the same order they were
+brought, and placed upon the table, while the taster gave to each
+guard a mouthful to eat of the particular dish he had brought, for
+fear of any poison."
+
+Tom made a good dinner, notwithstanding he was conscious that
+hundreds of eyes followed each morsel to his mouth and watched him
+eat it with an interest which could not have been more intense if
+it had been a deadly explosive and was expected to blow him up and
+scatter him all about the place.  He was careful not to hurry, and
+equally careful not to do anything whatever for himself, but wait
+till the proper official knelt down and did it for him.  He got
+through without a mistake--flawless and precious triumph.
+
+When the meal was over at last and he marched away in the midst of
+his bright pageant, with the happy noises in his ears of blaring
+bugles, rolling drums, and thundering acclamations, he felt that
+if he had seen the worst of dining in public it was an ordeal
+which he would be glad to endure several times a day if by that
+means he could but buy himself free from some of the more
+formidable requirements of his royal office.
+
+
+
+Chapter XVII. Foo-foo the First.
+
+Miles Hendon hurried along toward the Southwark end of the bridge,
+keeping a sharp look-out for the persons he sought, and hoping and
+expecting to overtake them presently.  He was disappointed in
+this, however.  By asking questions, he was enabled to track them
+part of the way through Southwark; then all traces ceased, and he
+was perplexed as to how to proceed.  Still, he continued his
+efforts as best he could during the rest of the day.  Nightfall
+found him leg-weary, half-famished, and his desire as far from
+accomplishment as ever; so he supped at the Tabard Inn and went to
+bed, resolved to make an early start in the morning, and give the
+town an exhaustive search.  As he lay thinking and planning, he
+presently began to reason thus:  The boy would escape from the
+ruffian, his reputed father, if possible; would he go back to
+London and seek his former haunts?  No, he would not do that, he
+would avoid recapture.  What, then, would he do?  Never having had
+a friend in the world, or a protector, until he met Miles Hendon,
+he would naturally try to find that friend again, provided the
+effort did not require him to go toward London and danger.  He
+would strike for Hendon Hall, that is what he would do, for he
+knew Hendon was homeward bound and there he might expect to find
+him.  Yes, the case was plain to Hendon--he must lose no more time
+in Southwark, but move at once through Kent, toward Monk's Holm,
+searching the wood and inquiring as he went.  Let us return to the
+vanished little King now.
+
+The ruffian whom the waiter at the inn on the bridge saw 'about to
+join' the youth and the King did not exactly join them, but fell
+in close behind them and followed their steps.  He said nothing.
+His left arm was in a sling, and he wore a large green patch over
+his left eye; he limped slightly, and used an oaken staff as a
+support.  The youth led the King a crooked course through
+Southwark, and by-and-by struck into the high road beyond.  The
+King was irritated, now, and said he would stop here--it was
+Hendon's place to come to him, not his to go to Hendon.  He would
+not endure such insolence; he would stop where he was.  The youth
+said--
+
+"Thou'lt tarry here, and thy friend lying wounded in the wood
+yonder?  So be it, then."
+
+The King's manner changed at once.  He cried out--
+
+"Wounded?  And who hath dared to do it?  But that is apart; lead
+on, lead on!  Faster, sirrah!  Art shod with lead?  Wounded, is
+he?  Now though the doer of it be a duke's son he shall rue it!"
+
+It was some distance to the wood, but the space was speedily
+traversed.  The youth looked about him, discovered a bough
+sticking in the ground, with a small bit of rag tied to it, then
+led the way into the forest, watching for similar boughs and
+finding them at intervals; they were evidently guides to the point
+he was aiming at.  By-and-by an open place was reached, where were
+the charred remains of a farm-house, and near them a barn which
+was falling to ruin and decay.  There was no sign of life
+anywhere, and utter silence prevailed.  The youth entered the
+barn, the King following eagerly upon his heels.  No one there!
+The King shot a surprised and suspicious glance at the youth, and
+asked--
+
+"Where is he?"
+
+A mocking laugh was his answer.  The King was in a rage in a
+moment; he seized a billet of wood and was in the act of charging
+upon the youth when another mocking laugh fell upon his ear.  It
+was from the lame ruffian who had been following at a distance.
+The King turned and said angrily--
+
+"Who art thou?  What is thy business here?"
+
+"Leave thy foolery," said the man, "and quiet thyself.  My
+disguise is none so good that thou canst pretend thou knowest not
+thy father through it."
+
+"Thou art not my father.  I know thee not.  I am the King.  If
+thou hast hid my servant, find him for me, or thou shalt sup
+sorrow for what thou hast done."
+
+John Canty replied, in a stern and measured voice--
+
+"It is plain thou art mad, and I am loath to punish thee;  but if
+thou provoke me, I must.  Thy prating doth no harm here, where
+there are no ears that need to mind thy follies; yet it is well to
+practise thy tongue to wary speech, that it may do no hurt when
+our quarters change.  I have done a murder, and may not tarry at
+home--neither shalt thou, seeing I need thy service.  My name is
+changed, for wise reasons; it is Hobbs--John Hobbs; thine is Jack-
+-charge thy memory accordingly.  Now, then, speak.  Where is thy
+mother?  Where are thy sisters?  They came not to the place
+appointed--knowest thou whither they went?"
+
+The King answered sullenly--
+
+"Trouble me not with these riddles.  My mother is dead; my sisters
+are in the palace."
+
+The youth near by burst into a derisive laugh, and the King would
+have assaulted him, but Canty--or Hobbs, as he now called himself-
+-prevented him, and said--
+
+"Peace, Hugo, vex him not; his mind is astray, and thy ways fret
+him.  Sit thee down, Jack, and quiet thyself; thou shalt have a
+morsel to eat, anon."
+
+Hobbs and Hugo fell to talking together, in low voices, and the
+King removed himself as far as he could from their disagreeable
+company.  He withdrew into the twilight of the farther end of the
+barn, where he found the earthen floor bedded a foot deep with
+straw.  He lay down here, drew straw over himself in lieu of
+blankets, and was soon absorbed in thinking.  He had many griefs,
+but the minor ones were swept almost into forgetfulness by the
+supreme one, the loss of his father.  To the rest of the world the
+name of Henry VIII. brought a shiver, and suggested an ogre whose
+nostrils breathed destruction and whose hand dealt scourgings and
+death; but to this boy the name brought only sensations of
+pleasure; the figure it invoked wore a countenance that was all
+gentleness and affection.  He called to mind a long succession of
+loving passages between his father and himself, and dwelt fondly
+upon them, his unstinted tears attesting how deep and real was the
+grief that possessed his heart.  As the afternoon wasted away, the
+lad, wearied with his troubles, sank gradually into a tranquil and
+healing slumber.
+
+After a considerable time--he could not tell how long--his senses
+struggled to a half-consciousness, and as he lay with closed eyes
+vaguely wondering where he was and what had been happening, he
+noted a murmurous sound, the sullen beating of rain upon the roof.
+A snug sense of comfort stole over him, which was rudely broken,
+the next moment, by a chorus of piping cackles and coarse
+laughter.  It startled him disagreeably, and he unmuffled his head
+to see whence this interruption proceeded.  A grim and unsightly
+picture met his eye.  A bright fire was burning in the middle of
+the floor, at the other end of the barn; and around it, and lit
+weirdly up by the red glare, lolled and sprawled the motliest
+company of tattered gutter-scum and ruffians, of both sexes, he
+had ever read or dreamed of.  There were huge stalwart men, brown
+with exposure, long-haired, and clothed in fantastic rags; there
+were middle-sized youths, of truculent countenance, and similarly
+clad; there were blind mendicants, with patched or bandaged eyes;
+crippled ones, with wooden legs and crutches; diseased ones, with
+running sores peeping from ineffectual wrappings; there was a
+villain-looking pedlar with his pack; a knife-grinder, a tinker,
+and a barber-surgeon, with the implements of their trades; some of
+the females were hardly-grown girls, some were at prime, some were
+old and wrinkled hags, and all were loud, brazen, foul-mouthed;
+and all soiled and slatternly; there were three sore-faced babies;
+there were a couple of starveling curs, with strings about their
+necks, whose office was to lead the blind.
+
+The night was come, the gang had just finished feasting, an orgy
+was beginning; the can of liquor was passing from mouth to mouth.
+A general cry broke forth--
+
+"A song! a song from the Bat and Dick and Dot-and-go-One!"
+
+One of the blind men got up, and made ready by casting aside the
+patches that sheltered his excellent eyes, and the pathetic
+placard which recited the cause of his calamity.  Dot-and-go-One
+disencumbered himself of his timber leg and took his place, upon
+sound and healthy limbs, beside his fellow-rascal; then they
+roared out a rollicking ditty, and were reinforced by the whole
+crew, at the end of each stanza, in a rousing chorus.  By the time
+the last stanza was reached, the half-drunken enthusiasm had risen
+to such a pitch, that everybody joined in and sang it clear
+through from the beginning, producing a volume of villainous sound
+that made the rafters quake.  These were the inspiring words:--
+
+     'Bien Darkman's then, Bouse Mort and Ken,
+      The bien Coves bings awast,
+      On Chates to trine by Rome Coves dine
+      For his long lib at last.
+      Bing'd out bien Morts and toure, and toure,
+      Bing out of the Rome vile bine,
+      And toure the Cove that cloy'd your duds,
+      Upon the Chates to trine.'
+                           (From 'The English Rogue.' London,
+1665.)
+
+Conversation followed; not in the thieves' dialect of the song,
+for that was only used in talk when unfriendly ears might be
+listening.  In the course of it, it appeared that 'John Hobbs' was
+not altogether a new recruit, but had trained in the gang at some
+former time.  His later history was called for, and when he said
+he had 'accidentally' killed a man, considerable satisfaction was
+expressed; when he added that the man was a priest, he was roundly
+applauded, and had to take a drink with everybody.  Old
+acquaintances welcomed him joyously, and new ones were proud to
+shake him by the hand.  He was asked why he had 'tarried away so
+many months.'  He answered--
+
+"London is better than the country, and safer, these late years,
+the laws be so bitter and so diligently enforced.  An' I had not
+had that accident, I had stayed there.  I had resolved to stay,
+and never more venture country-wards--but the accident has ended
+that."
+
+He inquired how many persons the gang numbered now.  The
+'ruffler,' or chief, answered--
+
+"Five and twenty sturdy budges, bulks, files, clapperdogeons and
+maunders, counting the dells and doxies and other morts. {7}  Most
+are here, the rest are wandering eastward, along the winter lay.
+We follow at dawn."
+
+"I do not see the Wen among the honest folk about me.  Where may
+he be?"
+
+"Poor lad, his diet is brimstone, now, and over hot for a delicate
+taste.  He was killed in a brawl, somewhere about midsummer."
+
+"I sorrow to hear that; the Wen was a capable man, and brave."
+
+"That was he, truly.  Black Bess, his dell, is of us yet, but
+absent on the eastward tramp; a fine lass, of nice ways and
+orderly conduct, none ever seeing her drunk above four days in the
+seven."
+
+"She was ever strict--I remember it well--a goodly wench and
+worthy all commendation.  Her mother was more free and less
+particular; a troublesome and ugly-tempered beldame, but furnished
+with a wit above the common."
+
+"We lost her through it.  Her gift of palmistry and other sorts of
+fortune-telling begot for her at last a witch's name and fame.
+The law roasted her to death at a slow fire.  It did touch me to a
+sort of tenderness to see the gallant way she met her lot--cursing
+and reviling all the crowd that gaped and gazed around her, whilst
+the flames licked upward toward her face and catched her thin
+locks and crackled about her old gray head--cursing them! why an'
+thou should'st live a thousand years thoud'st never hear so
+masterful a cursing.  Alack, her art died with her.  There be base
+and weakling imitations left, but no true blasphemy."
+
+The Ruffler sighed; the listeners sighed in sympathy; a general
+depression fell upon the company for a moment, for even hardened
+outcasts like these are not wholly dead to sentiment, but are able
+to feel a fleeting sense of loss and affliction at wide intervals
+and under peculiarly favouring circumstances--as in cases like to
+this, for instance, when genius and culture depart and leave no
+heir.  However, a deep drink all round soon restored the spirits
+of the mourners.
+
+"Have any others of our friends fared hardly?" asked Hobbs.
+
+"Some--yes.  Particularly new comers--such as small husbandmen
+turned shiftless and hungry upon the world because their farms
+were taken from them to be changed to sheep ranges.  They begged,
+and were whipped at the cart's tail, naked from the girdle up,
+till the blood ran; then set in the stocks to be pelted; they
+begged again, were whipped again, and deprived of an ear; they
+begged a third time--poor devils, what else could they do?--and
+were branded on the cheek with a red-hot iron, then sold for
+slaves; they ran away, were hunted down, and hanged.  'Tis a brief
+tale, and quickly told.  Others of us have fared less hardly.
+Stand forth, Yokel, Burns, and Hodge--show your adornments!"
+
+These stood up and stripped away some of their rags, exposing
+their backs, criss-crossed with ropy old welts left by the lash;
+one turned up his hair and showed the place where a left ear had
+once been; another showed a brand upon his shoulder--the letter V-
+-and a mutilated ear; the third said--
+
+"I am Yokel, once a farmer and prosperous, with loving wife and
+kids--now am I somewhat different in estate and calling; and the
+wife and kids are gone; mayhap they are in heaven, mayhap in--in
+the other place--but the kindly God be thanked, they bide no more
+in ENGLAND!  My good old blameless mother strove to earn bread by
+nursing the sick; one of these died, the doctors knew not how, so
+my mother was burnt for a witch, whilst my babes looked on and
+wailed.  English law!--up, all, with your cups!--now all together
+and with a cheer!--drink to the merciful English law that
+delivered HER from the English hell!  Thank you, mates, one and
+all.  I begged, from house to house--I and the wife--bearing with
+us the hungry kids--but it was crime to be hungry in England--so
+they stripped us and lashed us through three towns.  Drink ye all
+again to the merciful English law!--for its lash drank deep of my
+Mary's blood and its blessed deliverance came quick.  She lies
+there, in the potter's field, safe from all harms.  And the kids--
+well, whilst the law lashed me from town to town, they starved.
+Drink, lads--only a drop--a drop to the poor kids, that never did
+any creature harm.  I begged again--begged, for a crust, and got
+the stocks and lost an ear--see, here bides the stump; I begged
+again, and here is the stump of the other to keep me minded of it.
+And still I begged again, and was sold for a slave--here on my
+cheek under this stain, if I washed it off, ye might see the red S
+the branding-iron left there!  A SLAVE!  Do you understand that
+word?  An English SLAVE!--that is he that stands before ye.  I
+have run from my master, and when I am found--the heavy curse of
+heaven fall on the law of the land that hath commanded it!--I
+shall hang!" {1}
+
+A ringing voice came through the murky air--
+
+"Thou shalt NOT!--and this day the end of that law is come!"
+
+All turned, and saw the fantastic figure of the little King
+approaching hurriedly; as it emerged into the light and was
+clearly revealed, a general explosion of inquiries broke out--
+
+"Who is it?  WHAT is it?  Who art thou, manikin?"
+
+The boy stood unconfused in the midst of all those surprised and
+questioning eyes, and answered with princely dignity--
+
+"I am Edward, King of England."
+
+A wild burst of laughter followed, partly of derision and partly
+of delight in the excellence of the joke.  The King was stung.  He
+said sharply--
+
+"Ye mannerless vagrants, is this your recognition of the royal
+boon I have promised?"
+
+He said more, with angry voice and excited gesture, but it was
+lost in a whirlwind of laughter and mocking exclamations.  'John
+Hobbs' made several attempts to make himself heard above the din,
+and at last succeeded--saying--
+
+"Mates, he is my son, a dreamer, a fool, and stark mad--mind him
+not--he thinketh he IS the King."
+
+"I AM the King," said Edward, turning toward him, "as thou shalt
+know to thy cost, in good time.  Thou hast confessed a murder--
+thou shalt swing for it."
+
+"THOU'LT betray me?--THOU?  An' I get my hands upon thee--"
+
+"Tut-tut!" said the burley Ruffler, interposing in time to save
+the King, and emphasising this service by knocking Hobbs down with
+his fist, "hast respect for neither Kings NOR Rufflers?  An' thou
+insult my presence so again, I'll hang thee up myself."  Then he
+said to his Majesty, "Thou must make no threats against thy mates,
+lad; and thou must guard thy tongue from saying evil of them
+elsewhere.  BE King, if it please thy mad humour, but be not
+harmful in it.  Sink the title thou hast uttered--'tis treason; we
+be bad men in some few trifling ways, but none among us is so base
+as to be traitor to his King; we be loving and loyal hearts, in
+that regard.  Note if I speak truth.  Now--all together:  'Long
+live Edward, King of England!'"
+
+"LONG LIVE EDWARD, KING OF ENGLAND!"
+
+The response came with such a thundergust from the motley crew
+that the crazy building vibrated to the sound.  The little King's
+face lighted with pleasure for an instant, and he slightly
+inclined his head, and said with grave simplicity--
+
+"I thank you, my good people."
+
+This unexpected result threw the company into convulsions of
+merriment.  When something like quiet was presently come again,
+the Ruffler said, firmly, but with an accent of good nature--
+
+"Drop it, boy, 'tis not wise, nor well.  Humour thy fancy, if thou
+must, but choose some other title."
+
+A tinker shrieked out a suggestion--
+
+"Foo-foo the First, King of the Mooncalves!"
+
+The title 'took,' at once, every throat responded, and a roaring
+shout went up, of--
+
+"Long live Foo-foo the First, King of the Mooncalves!" followed by
+hootings, cat-calls, and peals of laughter.
+
+"Hale him forth, and crown him!"
+
+"Robe him!"
+
+"Sceptre him!"
+
+"Throne him!"
+
+These and twenty other cries broke out at once! and almost before
+the poor little victim could draw a breath he was crowned with a
+tin basin, robed in a tattered blanket, throned upon a barrel, and
+sceptred with the tinker's soldering-iron.  Then all flung
+themselves upon their knees about him and sent up a chorus of
+ironical wailings, and mocking supplications, whilst they swabbed
+their eyes with their soiled and ragged sleeves and aprons--
+
+"Be gracious to us, O sweet King!"
+
+"Trample not upon thy beseeching worms, O noble Majesty!"
+
+"Pity thy slaves, and comfort them with a royal kick!"
+
+"Cheer us and warm us with thy gracious rays, O flaming sun of
+sovereignty!"
+
+"Sanctify the ground with the touch of thy foot, that we may eat
+the dirt and be ennobled!"
+
+"Deign to spit upon us, O Sire, that our children's children may
+tell of thy princely condescension, and be proud and happy for
+ever!"
+
+But the humorous tinker made the 'hit' of the evening and carried
+off the honours.  Kneeling, he pretended to kiss the King's foot,
+and was indignantly spurned; whereupon he went about begging for a
+rag to paste over the place upon his face which had been touched
+by the foot, saying it must be preserved from contact with the
+vulgar air, and that he should make his fortune by going on the
+highway and exposing it to view at the rate of a hundred shillings
+a sight.  He made himself so killingly funny that he was the envy
+and admiration of the whole mangy rabble.
+
+Tears of shame and indignation stood in the little monarch's eyes;
+and the thought in his heart was, "Had I offered them a deep wrong
+they could not be more cruel--yet have I proffered nought but to
+do them a kindness--and it is thus they use me for it!"
+
+
+
+Chapter XVIII. The Prince with the tramps.
+
+The troop of vagabonds turned out at early dawn, and set forward
+on their march.  There was a lowering sky overhead, sloppy ground
+under foot, and a winter chill in the air.  All gaiety was gone
+from the company; some were sullen and silent, some were irritable
+and petulant, none were gentle-humoured, all were thirsty.
+
+The Ruffler put 'Jack' in Hugo's charge, with some brief
+instructions, and commanded John Canty to keep away from him and
+let him alone; he also warned Hugo not to be too rough with the
+lad.
+
+After a while the weather grew milder, and the clouds lifted
+somewhat.  The troop ceased to shiver, and their spirits began to
+improve.  They grew more and more cheerful, and finally began to
+chaff each other and insult passengers along the highway.  This
+showed that they were awaking to an appreciation of life and its
+joys once more.  The dread in which their sort was held was
+apparent in the fact that everybody gave them the road, and took
+their ribald insolences meekly, without venturing to talk back.
+They snatched linen from the hedges, occasionally in full view of
+the owners, who made no protest, but only seemed grateful that
+they did not take the hedges, too.
+
+By-and-by they invaded a small farmhouse and made themselves at
+home while the trembling farmer and his people swept the larder
+clean to furnish a breakfast for them.  They chucked the housewife
+and her daughters under the chin whilst receiving the food from
+their hands, and made coarse jests about them, accompanied with
+insulting epithets and bursts of horse-laughter.  They threw bones
+and vegetables at the farmer and his sons, kept them dodging all
+the time, and applauded uproariously when a good hit was made.
+They ended by buttering the head of one of the daughters who
+resented some of their familiarities.  When they took their leave
+they threatened to come back and burn the house over the heads of
+the family if any report of their doings got to the ears of the
+authorities.
+
+About noon, after a long and weary tramp, the gang came to a halt
+behind a hedge on the outskirts of a considerable village.  An
+hour was allowed for rest, then the crew scattered themselves
+abroad to enter the village at different points to ply their
+various trades--'Jack' was sent with Hugo.  They wandered hither
+and thither for some time, Hugo watching for opportunities to do a
+stroke of business, but finding none--so he finally said--
+
+"I see nought to steal; it is a paltry place.  Wherefore we will
+beg."
+
+"WE, forsooth!  Follow thy trade--it befits thee.  But _I_ will
+not beg."
+
+"Thou'lt not beg!" exclaimed Hugo, eyeing the King with surprise.
+"Prithee, since when hast thou reformed?"
+
+"What dost thou mean?"
+
+"Mean?  Hast thou not begged the streets of London all thy life?"
+
+"I?  Thou idiot!"
+
+"Spare thy compliments--thy stock will last the longer.  Thy
+father says thou hast begged all thy days.  Mayhap he lied.
+Peradventure you will even make so bold as to SAY he lied,"
+scoffed Hugo.
+
+"Him YOU call my father?  Yes, he lied."
+
+"Come, play not thy merry game of madman so far, mate; use it for
+thy amusement, not thy hurt.  An' I tell him this, he will scorch
+thee finely for it."
+
+"Save thyself the trouble.  I will tell him."
+
+"I like thy spirit, I do in truth; but I do not admire thy
+judgment.  Bone-rackings and bastings be plenty enow in this life,
+without going out of one's way to invite them.  But a truce to
+these matters; _I_ believe your father.  I doubt not he can lie; I
+doubt not he DOTH lie, upon occasion, for the best of us do that;
+but there is no occasion here.  A wise man does not waste so good
+a commodity as lying for nought.  But come; sith it is thy humour
+to give over begging, wherewithal shall we busy ourselves?  With
+robbing kitchens?"
+
+The King said, impatiently--
+
+"Have done with this folly--you weary me!"
+
+Hugo replied, with temper--
+
+"Now harkee, mate; you will not beg, you will not rob; so be it.
+But I will tell you what you WILL do.  You will play decoy whilst
+_I_ beg.  Refuse, an' you think you may venture!"
+
+The King was about to reply contemptuously, when Hugo said,
+interrupting--
+
+"Peace!  Here comes one with a kindly face.  Now will I fall down
+in a fit.  When the stranger runs to me, set you up a wail, and
+fall upon your knees, seeming to weep; then cry out as all the
+devils of misery were in your belly, and say, 'Oh, sir, it is my
+poor afflicted brother, and we be friendless; o' God's name cast
+through your merciful eyes one pitiful look upon a sick, forsaken,
+and most miserable wretch; bestow one little penny out of thy
+riches upon one smitten of God and ready to perish!'--and mind
+you, keep you ON wailing, and abate not till we bilk him of his
+penny, else shall you rue it."
+
+Then immediately Hugo began to moan, and groan, and roll his eyes,
+and reel and totter about; and when the stranger was close at
+hand, down he sprawled before him, with a shriek, and began to
+writhe and wallow in the dirt, in seeming agony.
+
+"O, dear, O dear!" cried the benevolent stranger, "O poor soul,
+poor soul, how he doth suffer!  There--let me help thee up."
+
+"O noble sir, forbear, and God love you for a princely gentleman--
+but it giveth me cruel pain to touch me when I am taken so.  My
+brother there will tell your worship how I am racked with anguish
+when these fits be upon me.  A penny, dear sir, a penny, to buy a
+little food; then leave me to my sorrows."
+
+"A penny! thou shalt have three, thou hapless creature"--and he
+fumbled in his pocket with nervous haste and got them out.
+"There, poor lad, take them and most welcome.  Now come hither, my
+boy, and help me carry thy stricken brother to yon house, where--"
+
+"I am not his brother," said the King, interrupting.
+
+"What! not his brother?"
+
+"Oh, hear him!" groaned Hugo, then privately ground his teeth.
+"He denies his own brother--and he with one foot in the grave!"
+
+"Boy, thou art indeed hard of heart, if this is thy brother.  For
+shame!--and he scarce able to move hand or foot.  If he is not thy
+brother, who is he, then?"
+
+"A beggar and a thief!  He has got your money and has picked your
+pocket likewise.  An' thou would'st do a healing miracle, lay thy
+staff over his shoulders and trust Providence for the rest."
+
+But Hugo did not tarry for the miracle.  In a moment he was up and
+off like the wind, the gentleman following after and raising the
+hue and cry lustily as he went.  The King, breathing deep
+gratitude to Heaven for his own release, fled in the opposite
+direction, and did not slacken his pace until he was out of harm's
+reach.  He took the first road that offered, and soon put the
+village behind him.  He hurried along, as briskly as he could,
+during several hours, keeping a nervous watch over his shoulder
+for pursuit; but his fears left him at last, and a grateful sense
+of security took their place.  He recognised, now, that he was
+hungry, and also very tired.  So he halted at a farmhouse; but
+when he was about to speak, he was cut short and driven rudely
+away.  His clothes were against him.
+
+He wandered on, wounded and indignant, and was resolved to put
+himself in the way of like treatment no more.  But hunger is
+pride's master; so, as the evening drew near, he made an attempt
+at another farmhouse; but here he fared worse than before; for he
+was called hard names and was promised arrest as a vagrant except
+he moved on promptly.
+
+The night came on, chilly and overcast; and still the footsore
+monarch laboured slowly on.  He was obliged to keep moving, for
+every time he sat down to rest he was soon penetrated to the bone
+with the cold.  All his sensations and experiences, as he moved
+through the solemn gloom and the empty vastness of the night, were
+new and strange to him.  At intervals he heard voices approach,
+pass by, and fade into silence; and as he saw nothing more of the
+bodies they belonged to than a sort of formless drifting blur,
+there was something spectral and uncanny about it all that made
+him shudder.  Occasionally he caught the twinkle of a light--
+always far away, apparently--almost in another world; if he heard
+the tinkle of a sheep's bell, it was vague, distant, indistinct;
+the muffled lowing of the herds floated to him on the night wind
+in vanishing cadences, a mournful sound; now and then came the
+complaining howl of a dog over viewless expanses of field and
+forest; all sounds were remote; they made the little King feel
+that all life and activity were far removed from him, and that he
+stood solitary, companionless, in the centre of a measureless
+solitude.
+
+He stumbled along, through the gruesome fascinations of this new
+experience, startled occasionally by the soft rustling of the dry
+leaves overhead, so like human whispers they seemed to sound; and
+by-and-by he came suddenly upon the freckled light of a tin
+lantern near at hand.  He stepped back into the shadows and
+waited.  The lantern stood by the open door of a barn.  The King
+waited some time--there was no sound, and nobody stirring.  He got
+so cold, standing still, and the hospitable barn looked so
+enticing, that at last he resolved to risk everything and enter.
+He started swiftly and stealthily, and just as he was crossing the
+threshold he heard voices behind him.  He darted behind a cask,
+within the barn, and stooped down.  Two farm-labourers came in,
+bringing the lantern with them, and fell to work, talking
+meanwhile.  Whilst they moved about with the light, the King made
+good use of his eyes and took the bearings of what seemed to be a
+good-sized stall at the further end of the place, purposing to
+grope his way to it when he should be left to himself.  He also
+noted the position of a pile of horse blankets, midway of the
+route, with the intent to levy upon them for the service of the
+crown of England for one night.
+
+By-and-by the men finished and went away, fastening the door
+behind them and taking the lantern with them.  The shivering King
+made for the blankets, with as good speed as the darkness would
+allow; gathered them up, and then groped his way safely to the
+stall.  Of two of the blankets he made a bed, then covered himself
+with the remaining two.  He was a glad monarch, now, though the
+blankets were old and thin, and not quite warm enough; and besides
+gave out a pungent horsey odour that was almost suffocatingly
+powerful.
+
+Although the King was hungry and chilly, he was also so tired and
+so drowsy that these latter influences soon began to get the
+advantage of the former, and he presently dozed off into a state
+of semi-consciousness.  Then, just as he was on the point of
+losing himself wholly, he distinctly felt something touch him!  He
+was broad awake in a moment, and gasping for breath.  The cold
+horror of that mysterious touch in the dark almost made his heart
+stand still.  He lay motionless, and listened, scarcely breathing.
+But nothing stirred, and there was no sound.  He continued to
+listen, and wait, during what seemed a long time, but still
+nothing stirred, and there was no sound.  So he began to drop into
+a drowse once more, at last; and all at once he felt that
+mysterious touch again!  It was a grisly thing, this light touch
+from this noiseless and invisible presence; it made the boy sick
+with ghostly fears.  What should he do?  That was the question;
+but he did not know how to answer it.  Should he leave these
+reasonably comfortable quarters and fly from this inscrutable
+horror?  But fly whither?  He could not get out of the barn; and
+the idea of scurrying blindly hither and thither in the dark,
+within the captivity of the four walls, with this phantom gliding
+after him, and visiting him with that soft hideous touch upon
+cheek or shoulder at every turn, was intolerable.  But to stay
+where he was, and endure this living death all night--was that
+better?  No.  What, then, was there left to do?  Ah, there was but
+one course; he knew it well--he must put out his hand and find
+that thing!
+
+It was easy to think this; but it was hard to brace himself up to
+try it.  Three times he stretched his hand a little way out into
+the dark, gingerly; and snatched it suddenly back, with a gasp--
+not because it had encountered anything, but because he had felt
+so sure it was just GOING to.  But the fourth time, he groped a
+little further, and his hand lightly swept against something soft
+and warm.  This petrified him, nearly, with fright; his mind was
+in such a state that he could imagine the thing to be nothing else
+than a corpse, newly dead and still warm.  He thought he would
+rather die than touch it again.  But he thought this false thought
+because he did not know the immortal strength of human curiosity.
+In no long time his hand was tremblingly groping again--against
+his judgment, and without his consent--but groping persistently
+on, just the same.  It encountered a bunch of long hair; he
+shuddered, but followed up the hair and found what seemed to be a
+warm rope; followed up the rope and found an innocent calf!--for
+the rope was not a rope at all, but the calf's tail.
+
+The King was cordially ashamed of himself for having gotten all
+that fright and misery out of so paltry a matter as a slumbering
+calf; but he need not have felt so about it, for it was not the
+calf that frightened him, but a dreadful non-existent something
+which the calf stood for; and any other boy, in those old
+superstitious times, would have acted and suffered just as he had
+done.
+
+The King was not only delighted to find that the creature was only
+a calf, but delighted to have the calf's company; for he had been
+feeling so lonesome and friendless that the company and
+comradeship of even this humble animal were welcome.  And he had
+been so buffeted, so rudely entreated by his own kind, that it was
+a real comfort to him to feel that he was at last in the society
+of a fellow-creature that had at least a soft heart and a gentle
+spirit, whatever loftier attributes might be lacking.  So he
+resolved to waive rank and make friends with the calf.
+
+While stroking its sleek warm back--for it lay near him and within
+easy reach--it occurred to him that this calf might be utilised in
+more ways than one.  Whereupon he re-arranged his bed, spreading
+it down close to the calf; then he cuddled himself up to the
+calf's back, drew the covers up over himself and his friend, and
+in a minute or two was as warm and comfortable as he had ever been
+in the downy couches of the regal palace of Westminster.
+
+Pleasant thoughts came at once; life took on a cheerfuller
+seeming.  He was free of the bonds of servitude and crime, free of
+the companionship of base and brutal outlaws; he was warm; he was
+sheltered; in a word, he was happy.  The night wind was rising; it
+swept by in fitful gusts that made the old barn quake and rattle,
+then its forces died down at intervals, and went moaning and
+wailing around corners and projections--but it was all music to
+the King, now that he was snug and comfortable:  let it blow and
+rage, let it batter and bang, let it moan and wail, he minded it
+not, he only enjoyed it.  He merely snuggled the closer to his
+friend, in a luxury of warm contentment, and drifted blissfully
+out of consciousness into a deep and dreamless sleep that was full
+of serenity and peace.  The distant dogs howled, the melancholy
+kine complained, and the winds went on raging, whilst furious
+sheets of rain drove along the roof; but the Majesty of England
+slept on, undisturbed, and the calf did the same, it being a
+simple creature, and not easily troubled by storms or embarrassed
+by sleeping with a king.
+
+
+
+Chapter XIX. The Prince with the peasants.
+
+When the King awoke in the early morning, he found that a wet but
+thoughtful rat had crept into the place during the night and made
+a cosy bed for itself in his bosom.  Being disturbed now, it
+scampered away.  The boy smiled, and said, "Poor fool, why so
+fearful?  I am as forlorn as thou.  'Twould be a sham in me to
+hurt the helpless, who am myself so helpless.  Moreover, I owe you
+thanks for a good omen; for when a king has fallen so low that the
+very rats do make a bed of him, it surely meaneth that his
+fortunes be upon the turn, since it is plain he can no lower go."
+
+He got up and stepped out of the stall, and just then he heard the
+sound of children's voices.  The barn door opened and a couple of
+little girls came in.  As soon as they saw him their talking and
+laughing ceased, and they stopped and stood still, gazing at him
+with strong curiosity; they presently began to whisper together,
+then they approached nearer, and stopped again to gaze and
+whisper.  By-and-by they gathered courage and began to discuss him
+aloud.  One said--
+
+"He hath a comely face."
+
+The other added--
+
+"And pretty hair."
+
+"But is ill clothed enow."
+
+"And how starved he looketh."
+
+They came still nearer, sidling shyly around and about him,
+examining him minutely from all points, as if he were some strange
+new kind of animal, but warily and watchfully the while, as if
+they half feared he might be a sort of animal that would bite,
+upon occasion.  Finally they halted before him, holding each
+other's hands for protection, and took a good satisfying stare
+with their innocent eyes; then one of them plucked up all her
+courage and inquired with honest directness--
+
+"Who art thou, boy?"
+
+"I am the King," was the grave answer.
+
+The children gave a little start, and their eyes spread themselves
+wide open and remained so during a speechless half minute.  Then
+curiosity broke the silence--
+
+"The KING?  What King?"
+
+"The King of England."
+
+The children looked at each other--then at him--then at each other
+again--wonderingly, perplexedly; then one said--
+
+"Didst hear him, Margery?--he said he is the King.  Can that be
+true?"
+
+"How can it be else but true, Prissy?  Would he say a lie?  For
+look you, Prissy, an' it were not true, it WOULD be a lie.  It
+surely would be.  Now think on't.  For all things that be not
+true, be lies--thou canst make nought else out of it."
+
+It was a good tight argument, without a leak in it anywhere; and
+it left Prissy's half-doubts not a leg to stand on.  She
+considered a moment, then put the King upon his honour with the
+simple remark--
+
+"If thou art truly the King, then I believe thee."
+
+"I am truly the King."
+
+This settled the matter.  His Majesty's royalty was accepted
+without further question or discussion, and the two little girls
+began at once to inquire into how he came to be where he was, and
+how he came to be so unroyally clad, and whither he was bound, and
+all about his affairs.  It was a mighty relief to him to pour out
+his troubles where they would not be scoffed at or doubted; so he
+told his tale with feeling, forgetting even his hunger for the
+time; and it was received with the deepest and tenderest sympathy
+by the gentle little maids.  But when he got down to his latest
+experiences and they learned how long he had been without food,
+they cut him short and hurried him away to the farmhouse to find a
+breakfast for him.
+
+The King was cheerful and happy now, and said to himself, "When I
+am come to mine own again, I will always honour little children,
+remembering how that these trusted me and believed in me in my
+time of trouble; whilst they that were older, and thought
+themselves wiser, mocked at me and held me for a liar."
+
+The children's mother received the King kindly, and was full of
+pity; for his forlorn condition and apparently crazed intellect
+touched her womanly heart.  She was a widow, and rather poor;
+consequently she had seen trouble enough to enable her to feel for
+the unfortunate.  She imagined that the demented boy had wandered
+away from his friends or keepers; so she tried to find out whence
+he had come, in order that she might take measures to return him;
+but all her references to neighbouring towns and villages, and all
+her inquiries in the same line went for nothing--the boy's face,
+and his answers, too, showed that the things she was talking of
+were not familiar to him.  He spoke earnestly and simply about
+court matters, and broke down, more than once, when speaking of
+the late King 'his father'; but whenever the conversation changed
+to baser topics, he lost interest and became silent.
+
+The woman was mightily puzzled; but she did not give up.  As she
+proceeded with her cooking, she set herself to contriving devices
+to surprise the boy into betraying his real secret.  She talked
+about cattle--he showed no concern; then about sheep--the same
+result:  so her guess that he had been a shepherd boy was an
+error; she talked about mills; and about weavers, tinkers, smiths,
+trades and tradesmen of all sorts; and about Bedlam, and jails,
+and charitable retreats:  but no matter, she was baffled at all
+points.  Not altogether, either; for she argued that she had
+narrowed the thing down to domestic service.  Yes, she was sure
+she was on the right track, now; he must have been a house
+servant.  So she led up to that.  But the result was discouraging.
+The subject of sweeping appeared to weary him; fire-building
+failed to stir him; scrubbing and scouring awoke no enthusiasm.
+The goodwife touched, with a perishing hope, and rather as a
+matter of form, upon the subject of cooking.  To her surprise, and
+her vast delight, the King's face lighted at once!  Ah, she had
+hunted him down at last, she thought; and she was right proud,
+too, of the devious shrewdness and tact which had accomplished it.
+
+Her tired tongue got a chance to rest, now; for the King's,
+inspired by gnawing hunger and the fragrant smells that came from
+the sputtering pots and pans, turned itself loose and delivered
+itself up to such an eloquent dissertation upon certain toothsome
+dishes, that within three minutes the woman said to herself, "Of a
+truth I was right--he hath holpen in a kitchen!"  Then he
+broadened his bill of fare, and discussed it with such
+appreciation and animation, that the goodwife said to herself,
+"Good lack! how can he know so many dishes, and so fine ones
+withal?  For these belong only upon the tables of the rich and
+great.  Ah, now I see! ragged outcast as he is, he must have
+served in the palace before his reason went astray; yes, he must
+have helped in the very kitchen of the King himself!  I will test
+him."
+
+Full of eagerness to prove her sagacity, she told the King to mind
+the cooking a moment--hinting that he might manufacture and add a
+dish or two, if he chose; then she went out of the room and gave
+her children a sign to follow after.  The King muttered--
+
+"Another English king had a commission like to this, in a bygone
+time--it is nothing against my dignity to undertake an office
+which the great Alfred stooped to assume.  But I will try to
+better serve my trust than he; for he let the cakes burn."
+
+The intent was good, but the performance was not answerable to it,
+for this King, like the other one, soon fell into deep thinkings
+concerning his vast affairs, and the same calamity resulted--the
+cookery got burned.  The woman returned in time to save the
+breakfast from entire destruction; and she promptly brought the
+King out of his dreams with a brisk and cordial tongue-lashing.
+Then, seeing how troubled he was over his violated trust, she
+softened at once, and was all goodness and gentleness toward him.
+
+The boy made a hearty and satisfying meal, and was greatly
+refreshed and gladdened by it.  It was a meal which was
+distinguished by this curious feature, that rank was waived on
+both sides; yet neither recipient of the favour was aware that it
+had been extended.  The goodwife had intended to feed this young
+tramp with broken victuals in a corner, like any other tramp or
+like a dog; but she was so remorseful for the scolding she had
+given him, that she did what she could to atone for it by allowing
+him to sit at the family table and eat with his betters, on
+ostensible terms of equality with them; and the King, on his side,
+was so remorseful for having broken his trust, after the family
+had been so kind to him, that he forced himself to atone for it by
+humbling himself to the family level, instead of requiring the
+woman and her children to stand and wait upon him, while he
+occupied their table in the solitary state due to his birth and
+dignity.  It does us all good to unbend sometimes.  This good
+woman was made happy all the day long by the applauses which she
+got out of herself for her magnanimous condescension to a tramp;
+and the King was just as self-complacent over his gracious
+humility toward a humble peasant woman.
+
+When breakfast was over, the housewife told the King to wash up
+the dishes.  This command was a staggerer, for a moment, and the
+King came near rebelling; but then he said to himself, "Alfred the
+Great watched the cakes; doubtless he would have washed the dishes
+too--therefore will I essay it."
+
+He made a sufficiently poor job of it; and to his surprise too,
+for the cleaning of wooden spoons and trenchers had seemed an easy
+thing to do.  It was a tedious and troublesome piece of work, but
+he finished it at last.  He was becoming impatient to get away on
+his journey now; however, he was not to lose this thrifty dame's
+society so easily.  She furnished him some little odds and ends of
+employment, which he got through with after a fair fashion and
+with some credit.  Then she set him and the little girls to paring
+some winter apples; but he was so awkward at this service that she
+retired him from it and gave him a butcher knife to grind.
+Afterwards she kept him carding wool until he began to think he
+had laid the good King Alfred about far enough in the shade for
+the present in the matter of showy menial heroisms that would read
+picturesquely in story-books and histories, and so he was half-
+minded to resign.  And when, just after the noonday dinner, the
+goodwife gave him a basket of kittens to drown, he did resign.  At
+least he was just going to resign--for he felt that he must draw
+the line somewhere, and it seemed to him that to draw it at
+kitten-drowning was about the right thing--when there was an
+interruption.  The interruption was John Canty--with a peddler's
+pack on his back--and Hugo.
+
+The King discovered these rascals approaching the front gate
+before they had had a chance to see him; so he said nothing about
+drawing the line, but took up his basket of kittens and stepped
+quietly out the back way, without a word.  He left the creatures
+in an out-house, and hurried on, into a narrow lane at the rear.
+
+
+
+Chapter XX. The Prince and the hermit.
+
+The high hedge hid him from the house, now; and so, under the
+impulse of a deadly fright, he let out all his forces and sped
+toward a wood in the distance.  He never looked back until he had
+almost gained the shelter of the forest; then he turned and
+descried two figures in the distance.  That was sufficient; he did
+not wait to scan them critically, but hurried on, and never abated
+his pace till he was far within the twilight depths of the wood.
+Then he stopped; being persuaded that he was now tolerably safe.
+He listened intently, but the stillness was profound and solemn--
+awful, even, and depressing to the spirits.  At wide intervals his
+straining ear did detect sounds, but they were so remote, and
+hollow, and mysterious, that they seemed not to be real sounds,
+but only the moaning and complaining ghosts of departed ones.  So
+the sounds were yet more dreary than the silence which they
+interrupted.
+
+It was his purpose, in the beginning, to stay where he was the
+rest of the day; but a chill soon invaded his perspiring body, and
+he was at last obliged to resume movement in order to get warm.
+He struck straight through the forest, hoping to pierce to a road
+presently, but he was disappointed in this.  He travelled on and
+on; but the farther he went, the denser the wood became,
+apparently.  The gloom began to thicken, by-and-by, and the King
+realised that the night was coming on.  It made him shudder to
+think of spending it in such an uncanny place; so he tried to
+hurry faster, but he only made the less speed, for he could not
+now see well enough to choose his steps judiciously; consequently
+he kept tripping over roots and tangling himself in vines and
+briers.
+
+And how glad he was when at last he caught the glimmer of a light!
+He approached it warily, stopping often to look about him and
+listen.  It came from an unglazed window-opening in a shabby
+little hut.  He heard a voice, now, and felt a disposition to run
+and hide; but he changed his mind at once, for this voice was
+praying, evidently.  He glided to the one window of the hut,
+raised himself on tiptoe, and stole a glance within.  The room was
+small; its floor was the natural earth, beaten hard by use; in a
+corner was a bed of rushes and a ragged blanket or two; near it
+was a pail, a cup, a basin, and two or three pots and pans; there
+was a short bench and a three-legged stool; on the hearth the
+remains of a faggot fire were smouldering; before a shrine, which
+was lighted by a single candle, knelt an aged man, and on an old
+wooden box at his side lay an open book and a human skull.  The
+man was of large, bony frame; his hair and whiskers were very long
+and snowy white; he was clothed in a robe of sheepskins which
+reached from his neck to his heels.
+
+"A holy hermit!" said the King to himself; "now am I indeed
+fortunate."
+
+The hermit rose from his knees; the King knocked.  A deep voice
+responded--
+
+"Enter!--but leave sin behind, for the ground whereon thou shalt
+stand is holy!"
+
+The King entered, and paused.  The hermit turned a pair of
+gleaming, unrestful eyes upon him, and said--
+
+"Who art thou?"
+
+"I am the King," came the answer, with placid simplicity.
+
+"Welcome, King!" cried the hermit, with enthusiasm.  Then,
+bustling about with feverish activity, and constantly saying,
+"Welcome, welcome," he arranged his bench, seated the King on it,
+by the hearth, threw some faggots on the fire, and finally fell to
+pacing the floor with a nervous stride.
+
+"Welcome!  Many have sought sanctuary here, but they were not
+worthy, and were turned away.  But a King who casts his crown
+away, and despises the vain splendours of his office, and clothes
+his body in rags, to devote his life to holiness and the
+mortification of the flesh--he is worthy, he is welcome!--here
+shall he abide all his days till death come."  The King hastened
+to interrupt and explain, but the hermit paid no attention to him-
+-did not even hear him, apparently, but went right on with his
+talk, with a raised voice and a growing energy.  "And thou shalt
+be at peace here.  None shall find out thy refuge to disquiet thee
+with supplications to return to that empty and foolish life which
+God hath moved thee to abandon.  Thou shalt pray here; thou shalt
+study the Book; thou shalt meditate upon the follies and delusions
+of this world, and upon the sublimities of the world to come; thou
+shalt feed upon crusts and herbs, and scourge thy body with whips,
+daily, to the purifying of thy soul.  Thou shalt wear a hair shirt
+next thy skin; thou shalt drink water only; and thou shalt be at
+peace; yes, wholly at peace; for whoso comes to seek thee shall go
+his way again, baffled; he shall not find thee, he shall not
+molest thee."
+
+The old man, still pacing back and forth, ceased to speak aloud,
+and began to mutter.  The King seized this opportunity to state
+his case; and he did it with an eloquence inspired by uneasiness
+and apprehension.  But the hermit went on muttering, and gave no
+heed.  And still muttering, he approached the King and said
+impressively--
+
+"'Sh!  I will tell you a secret!"  He bent down to impart it, but
+checked himself, and assumed a listening attitude.  After a moment
+or two he went on tiptoe to the window-opening, put his head out,
+and peered around in the gloaming, then came tiptoeing back again,
+put his face close down to the King's, and whispered--
+
+"I am an archangel!"
+
+The King started violently, and said to himself, "Would God I were
+with the outlaws again; for lo, now am I the prisoner of a
+madman!"  His apprehensions were heightened, and they showed
+plainly in his face.  In a low excited voice the hermit continued-
+-
+
+"I see you feel my atmosphere!  There's awe in your face!  None
+may be in this atmosphere and not be thus affected; for it is the
+very atmosphere of heaven.  I go thither and return, in the
+twinkling of an eye.  I was made an archangel on this very spot,
+it is five years ago, by angels sent from heaven to confer that
+awful dignity.  Their presence filled this place with an
+intolerable brightness.  And they knelt to me, King! yes, they
+knelt to me! for I was greater than they.  I have walked in the
+courts of heaven, and held speech with the patriarchs.  Touch my
+hand--be not afraid--touch it.  There--now thou hast touched a
+hand which has been clasped by Abraham and Isaac and Jacob!  For I
+have walked in the golden courts; I have seen the Deity face to
+face!"  He paused, to give this speech effect; then his face
+suddenly changed, and he started to his feet again saying, with
+angry energy, "Yes, I am an archangel; A MERE ARCHANGEL!--I that
+might have been pope!  It is verily true.  I was told it from
+heaven in a dream, twenty years ago; ah, yes, I was to be pope!--
+and I SHOULD have been pope, for Heaven had said it--but the King
+dissolved my religious house, and I, poor obscure unfriended monk,
+was cast homeless upon the world, robbed of my mighty destiny!"
+Here he began to mumble again, and beat his forehead in futile
+rage, with his fist; now and then articulating a venomous curse,
+and now and then a pathetic "Wherefore I am nought but an
+archangel--I that should have been pope!"
+
+So he went on, for an hour, whilst the poor little King sat and
+suffered.  Then all at once the old man's frenzy departed, and he
+became all gentleness.  His voice softened, he came down out of
+his clouds, and fell to prattling along so simply and so humanly,
+that he soon won the King's heart completely.  The old devotee
+moved the boy nearer to the fire and made him comfortable;
+doctored his small bruises and abrasions with a deft and tender
+hand; and then set about preparing and cooking a supper--chatting
+pleasantly all the time, and occasionally stroking the lad's cheek
+or patting his head, in such a gently caressing way that in a
+little while all the fear and repulsion inspired by the archangel
+were changed to reverence and affection for the man.
+
+This happy state of things continued while the two ate the supper;
+then, after a prayer before the shrine, the hermit put the boy to
+bed, in a small adjoining room, tucking him in as snugly and
+lovingly as a mother might; and so, with a parting caress, left
+him and sat down by the fire, and began to poke the brands about
+in an absent and aimless way.  Presently he paused; then tapped
+his forehead several times with his fingers, as if trying to
+recall some thought which had escaped from his mind.  Apparently
+he was unsuccessful.  Now he started quickly up, and entered his
+guest's room, and said--
+
+"Thou art King?"
+
+"Yes," was the response, drowsily uttered.
+
+"What King?"
+
+"Of England."
+
+"Of England?  Then Henry is gone!"
+
+"Alack, it is so.  I am his son."
+
+A black frown settled down upon the hermit's face, and he clenched
+his bony hands with a vindictive energy.  He stood a few moments,
+breathing fast and swallowing repeatedly, then said in a husky
+voice--
+
+"Dost know it was he that turned us out into the world houseless
+and homeless?"
+
+There was no response.  The old man bent down and scanned the
+boy's reposeful face and listened to his placid breathing.  "He
+sleeps--sleeps soundly;" and the frown vanished away and gave
+place to an expression of evil satisfaction.  A smile flitted
+across the dreaming boy's features.  The hermit muttered, "So--his
+heart is happy;" and he turned away.  He went stealthily about the
+place, seeking here and there for something; now and then halting
+to listen, now and then jerking his head around and casting a
+quick glance toward the bed; and always muttering, always mumbling
+to himself.  At last he found what he seemed to want--a rusty old
+butcher knife and a whetstone.  Then he crept to his place by the
+fire, sat himself down, and began to whet the knife softly on the
+stone, still muttering, mumbling, ejaculating.  The winds sighed
+around the lonely place, the mysterious voices of the night
+floated by out of the distances.  The shining eyes of venturesome
+mice and rats peered out at the old man from cracks and coverts,
+but he went on with his work, rapt, absorbed, and noted none of
+these things.
+
+At long intervals he drew his thumb along the edge of his knife,
+and nodded his head with satisfaction.  "It grows sharper," he
+said; "yes, it grows sharper."
+
+He took no note of the flight of time, but worked tranquilly on,
+entertaining himself with his thoughts, which broke out
+occasionally in articulate speech--
+
+"His father wrought us evil, he destroyed us--and is gone down
+into the eternal fires!  Yes, down into the eternal fires!  He
+escaped us--but it was God's will, yes it was God's will, we must
+not repine.  But he hath not escaped the fires!  No, he hath not
+escaped the fires, the consuming, unpitying, remorseless fires--
+and THEY are everlasting!"
+
+And so he wrought, and still wrought--mumbling, chuckling a low
+rasping chuckle at times--and at times breaking again into words--
+
+"It was his father that did it all.  I am but an archangel; but
+for him I should be pope!"
+
+The King stirred.  The hermit sprang noiselessly to the bedside,
+and went down upon his knees, bending over the prostrate form with
+his knife uplifted.  The boy stirred again; his eyes came open for
+an instant, but there was no speculation in them, they saw
+nothing; the next moment his tranquil breathing showed that his
+sleep was sound once more.
+
+The hermit watched and listened, for a time, keeping his position
+and scarcely breathing; then he slowly lowered his arms, and
+presently crept away, saying,--
+
+"It is long past midnight; it is not best that he should cry out,
+lest by accident someone be passing."
+
+He glided about his hovel, gathering a rag here, a thong there,
+and another one yonder; then he returned, and by careful and
+gentle handling he managed to tie the King's ankles together
+without waking him.  Next he essayed to tie the wrists; he made
+several attempts to cross them, but the boy always drew one hand
+or the other away, just as the cord was ready to be applied; but
+at last, when the archangel was almost ready to despair, the boy
+crossed his hands himself, and the next moment they were bound.
+Now a bandage was passed under the sleeper's chin and brought up
+over his head and tied fast--and so softly, so gradually, and so
+deftly were the knots drawn together and compacted, that the boy
+slept peacefully through it all without stirring.
+
+
+
+Chapter XXI. Hendon to the rescue.
+
+The old man glided away, stooping, stealthy, cat-like, and brought
+the low bench.  He seated himself upon it, half his body in the
+dim and flickering light, and the other half in shadow; and so,
+with his craving eyes bent upon the slumbering boy, he kept his
+patient vigil there, heedless of the drift of time, and softly
+whetted his knife, and mumbled and chuckled; and in aspect and
+attitude he resembled nothing so much as a grizzly, monstrous
+spider, gloating over some hapless insect that lay bound and
+helpless in his web.
+
+After a long while, the old man, who was still gazing,--yet not
+seeing, his mind having settled into a dreamy abstraction,--
+observed, on a sudden, that the boy's eyes were open! wide open
+and staring!--staring up in frozen horror at the knife.  The smile
+of a gratified devil crept over the old man's face, and he said,
+without changing his attitude or his occupation--
+
+"Son of Henry the Eighth, hast thou prayed?"
+
+The boy struggled helplessly in his bonds, and at the same time
+forced a smothered sound through his closed jaws, which the hermit
+chose to interpret as an affirmative answer to his question.
+
+"Then pray again.  Pray the prayer for the dying!"
+
+A shudder shook the boy's frame, and his face blenched.  Then he
+struggled again to free himself--turning and twisting himself this
+way and that; tugging frantically, fiercely, desperately--but
+uselessly--to burst his fetters; and all the while the old ogre
+smiled down upon him, and nodded his head, and placidly whetted
+his knife; mumbling, from time to time, "The moments are precious,
+they are few and precious--pray the prayer for the dying!"
+
+The boy uttered a despairing groan, and ceased from his struggles,
+panting.  The tears came, then, and trickled, one after the other,
+down his face; but this piteous sight wrought no softening effect
+upon the savage old man.
+
+The dawn was coming now; the hermit observed it, and spoke up
+sharply, with a touch of nervous apprehension in his voice--
+
+"I may not indulge this ecstasy longer!  The night is already
+gone.  It seems but a moment--only a moment; would it had endured
+a year!  Seed of the Church's spoiler, close thy perishing eyes,
+an' thou fearest to look upon--"
+
+The rest was lost in inarticulate mutterings.  The old man sank
+upon his knees, his knife in his hand, and bent himself over the
+moaning boy.
+
+Hark!  There was a sound of voices near the cabin--the knife
+dropped from the hermit's hand; he cast a sheepskin over the boy
+and started up, trembling.  The sounds increased, and presently
+the voices became rough and angry; then came blows, and cries for
+help; then a clatter of swift footsteps, retreating.  Immediately
+came a succession of thundering knocks upon the cabin door,
+followed by--
+
+"Hullo-o-o!  Open!  And despatch, in the name of all the devils!"
+
+Oh, this was the blessedest sound that had ever made music in the
+King's ears; for it was Miles Hendon's voice!
+
+The hermit, grinding his teeth in impotent rage, moved swiftly out
+of the bedchamber, closing the door behind him; and straightway
+the King heard a talk, to this effect, proceeding from the
+'chapel':--
+
+"Homage and greeting, reverend sir!  Where is the boy--MY boy?"
+
+"What boy, friend?"
+
+"What boy!  Lie me no lies, sir priest, play me no deceptions!--I
+am not in the humour for it.  Near to this place I caught the
+scoundrels who I judged did steal him from me, and I made them
+confess; they said he was at large again, and they had tracked him
+to your door.  They showed me his very footprints.  Now palter no
+more; for look you, holy sir, an' thou produce him not--Where is
+the boy?"
+
+"O good sir, peradventure you mean the ragged regal vagrant that
+tarried here the night.  If such as you take an interest in such
+as he, know, then, that I have sent him of an errand.  He will be
+back anon."
+
+"How soon?  How soon?  Come, waste not the time--cannot I overtake
+him?  How soon will he be back?"
+
+"Thou need'st not stir; he will return quickly."
+
+"So be it, then.  I will try to wait.  But stop!--YOU sent him of
+an errand?--you!  Verily this is a lie--he would not go.  He would
+pull thy old beard, an' thou didst offer him such an insolence.
+Thou hast lied, friend; thou hast surely lied!  He would not go
+for thee, nor for any man."
+
+"For any MAN--no; haply not.  But I am not a man."
+
+"WHAT!  Now o' God's name what art thou, then?"
+
+"It is a secret--mark thou reveal it not.  I am an archangel!"
+
+There was a tremendous ejaculation from Miles Hendon--not
+altogether unprofane--followed by--
+
+"This doth well and truly account for his complaisance!  Right
+well I knew he would budge nor hand nor foot in the menial service
+of any mortal; but, lord, even a king must obey when an archangel
+gives the word o' command!  Let me--'sh!  What noise was that?"
+
+All this while the little King had been yonder, alternately
+quaking with terror and trembling with hope; and all the while,
+too, he had thrown all the strength he could into his anguished
+moanings, constantly expecting them to reach Hendon's ear, but
+always realising, with bitterness, that they failed, or at least
+made no impression.  So this last remark of his servant came as
+comes a reviving breath from fresh fields to the dying; and he
+exerted himself once more, and with all his energy, just as the
+hermit was saying--
+
+"Noise?  I heard only the wind."
+
+"Mayhap it was.  Yes, doubtless that was it.  I have been hearing
+it faintly all the--there it is again!  It is not the wind!  What
+an odd sound!  Come, we will hunt it out!"
+
+Now the King's joy was nearly insupportable.  His tired lungs did
+their utmost--and hopefully, too--but the sealed jaws and the
+muffling sheepskin sadly crippled the effort.  Then the poor
+fellow's heart sank, to hear the hermit say--
+
+"Ah, it came from without--I think from the copse yonder.  Come, I
+will lead the way."
+
+The King heard the two pass out, talking; heard their footsteps
+die quickly away--then he was alone with a boding, brooding, awful
+silence.
+
+It seemed an age till he heard the steps and voices approaching
+again--and this time he heard an added sound,--the trampling of
+hoofs, apparently.  Then he heard Hendon say--
+
+"I will not wait longer.  I CANNOT wait longer.  He has lost his
+way in this thick wood.  Which direction took he?  Quick--point it
+out to me."
+
+"He--but wait; I will go with thee."
+
+"Good--good!  Why, truly thou art better than thy looks.  Marry I
+do not think there's not another archangel with so right a heart
+as thine.  Wilt ride?  Wilt take the wee donkey that's for my boy,
+or wilt thou fork thy holy legs over this ill-conditioned slave of
+a mule that I have provided for myself?--and had been cheated in
+too, had he cost but the indifferent sum of a month's usury on a
+brass farthing let to a tinker out of work."
+
+"No--ride thy mule, and lead thine ass; I am surer on mine own
+feet, and will walk."
+
+"Then prithee mind the little beast for me while I take my life in
+my hands and make what success I may toward mounting the big one."
+
+Then followed a confusion of kicks, cuffs, tramplings and
+plungings, accompanied by a thunderous intermingling of volleyed
+curses, and finally a bitter apostrophe to the mule, which must
+have broken its spirit, for hostilities seemed to cease from that
+moment.
+
+With unutterable misery the fettered little King heard the voices
+and footsteps fade away and die out.  All hope forsook him, now,
+for the moment, and a dull despair settled down upon his heart.
+"My only friend is deceived and got rid of," he said; "the hermit
+will return and--"  He finished with a gasp; and at once fell to
+struggling so frantically with his bonds again, that he shook off
+the smothering sheepskin.
+
+And now he heard the door open!  The sound chilled him to the
+marrow--already he seemed to feel the knife at his throat.  Horror
+made him close his eyes; horror made him open them again--and
+before him stood John Canty and Hugo!
+
+He would have said "Thank God!" if his jaws had been free.
+
+A moment or two later his limbs were at liberty, and his captors,
+each gripping him by an arm, were hurrying him with all speed
+through the forest.
+
+
+
+Chapter XXII. A victim of treachery.
+
+Once more 'King Foo-foo the First' was roving with the tramps and
+outlaws, a butt for their coarse jests and dull-witted railleries,
+and sometimes the victim of small spitefulness at the hands of
+Canty and Hugo when the Ruffler's back was turned.  None but Canty
+and Hugo really disliked him.  Some of the others liked him, and
+all admired his pluck and spirit.  During two or three days, Hugo,
+in whose ward and charge the King was, did what he covertly could
+to make the boy uncomfortable; and at night, during the customary
+orgies, he amused the company by putting small indignities upon
+him--always as if by accident.  Twice he stepped upon the King's
+toes--accidentally--and the King, as became his royalty, was
+contemptuously unconscious of it and indifferent to it; but the
+third time Hugo entertained himself in that way, the King felled
+him to the ground with a cudgel, to the prodigious delight of the
+tribe.  Hugo, consumed with anger and shame, sprang up, seized a
+cudgel, and came at his small adversary in a fury.  Instantly a
+ring was formed around the gladiators, and the betting and
+cheering began.  But poor Hugo stood no chance whatever.  His
+frantic and lubberly 'prentice-work found but a poor market for
+itself when pitted against an arm which had been trained by the
+first masters of Europe in single-stick, quarter-staff, and every
+art and trick of swordsmanship.  The little King stood, alert but
+at graceful ease, and caught and turned aside the thick rain of
+blows with a facility and precision which set the motley on-
+lookers wild with admiration; and every now and then, when his
+practised eye detected an opening, and a lightning-swift rap upon
+Hugo's head followed as a result, the storm of cheers and laughter
+that swept the place was something wonderful to hear.  At the end
+of fifteen minutes, Hugo, all battered, bruised, and the target
+for a pitiless bombardment of ridicule, slunk from the field; and
+the unscathed hero of the fight was seized and borne aloft upon
+the shoulders of the joyous rabble to the place of honour beside
+the Ruffler, where with vast ceremony he was crowned King of the
+Game-Cocks; his meaner title being at the same time solemnly
+cancelled and annulled, and a decree of banishment from the gang
+pronounced against any who should thenceforth utter it.
+
+All attempts to make the King serviceable to the troop had failed.
+He had stubbornly refused to act; moreover, he was always trying
+to escape.  He had been thrust into an unwatched kitchen, the
+first day of his return; he not only came forth empty-handed, but
+tried to rouse the housemates.  He was sent out with a tinker to
+help him at his work; he would not work; moreover, he threatened
+the tinker with his own soldering-iron; and finally both Hugo and
+the tinker found their hands full with the mere matter of keeping
+his from getting away.  He delivered the thunders of his royalty
+upon the heads of all who hampered his liberties or tried to force
+him to service.  He was sent out, in Hugo's charge, in company
+with a slatternly woman and a diseased baby, to beg; but the
+result was not encouraging--he declined to plead for the
+mendicants, or be a party to their cause in any way.
+
+Thus several days went by; and the miseries of this tramping life,
+and the weariness and sordidness and meanness and vulgarity of it,
+became gradually and steadily so intolerable to the captive that
+he began at last to feel that his release from the hermit's knife
+must prove only a temporary respite from death, at best.
+
+But at night, in his dreams, these things were forgotten, and he
+was on his throne, and master again.  This, of course, intensified
+the sufferings of the awakening--so the mortifications of each
+succeeding morning of the few that passed between his return to
+bondage and the combat with Hugo, grew bitterer and bitterer, and
+harder and harder to bear.
+
+The morning after that combat, Hugo got up with a heart filled
+with vengeful purposes against the King.  He had two plans, in
+particular.  One was to inflict upon the lad what would be, to his
+proud spirit and 'imagined' royalty, a peculiar humiliation; and
+if he failed to accomplish this, his other plan was to put a crime
+of some kind upon the King, and then betray him into the
+implacable clutches of the law.
+
+In pursuance of the first plan, he purposed to put a 'clime' upon
+the King's leg; rightly judging that that would mortify him to the
+last and perfect degree; and as soon as the clime should operate,
+he meant to get Canty's help, and FORCE the King to expose his leg
+in the highway and beg for alms.  'Clime' was the cant term for a
+sore, artificially created.  To make a clime, the operator made a
+paste or poultice of unslaked lime, soap, and the rust of old
+iron, and spread it upon a piece of leather, which was then bound
+tightly upon the leg.  This would presently fret off the skin, and
+make the flesh raw and angry-looking; blood was then rubbed upon
+the limb, which, being fully dried, took on a dark and repulsive
+colour.  Then a bandage of soiled rags was put on in a cleverly
+careless way which would allow the hideous ulcer to be seen, and
+move the compassion of the passer-by. {8}
+
+Hugo got the help of the tinker whom the King had cowed with the
+soldering-iron; they took the boy out on a tinkering tramp, and as
+soon as they were out of sight of the camp they threw him down and
+the tinker held him while Hugo bound the poultice tight and fast
+upon his leg.
+
+The King raged and stormed, and promised to hang the two the
+moment the sceptre was in his hand again; but they kept a firm
+grip upon him and enjoyed his impotent struggling and jeered at
+his threats.  This continued until the poultice began to bite; and
+in no long time its work would have been perfected, if there had
+been no interruption.  But there was; for about this time the
+'slave' who had made the speech denouncing England's laws,
+appeared on the scene, and put an end to the enterprise, and
+stripped off the poultice and bandage.
+
+The King wanted to borrow his deliverer's cudgel and warm the
+jackets of the two rascals on the spot; but the man said no, it
+would bring trouble--leave the matter till night; the whole tribe
+being together, then, the outside world would not venture to
+interfere or interrupt.  He marched the party back to camp and
+reported the affair to the Ruffler, who listened, pondered, and
+then decided that the King should not be again detailed to beg,
+since it was plain he was worthy of something higher and better--
+wherefore, on the spot he promoted him from the mendicant rank and
+appointed him to steal!
+
+Hugo was overjoyed.  He had already tried to make the King steal,
+and failed; but there would be no more trouble of that sort, now,
+for of course the King would not dream of defying a distinct
+command delivered directly from head-quarters.  So he planned a
+raid for that very afternoon, purposing to get the King in the
+law's grip in the course of it; and to do it, too, with such
+ingenious strategy, that it should seem to be accidental and
+unintentional; for the King of the Game-Cocks was popular now, and
+the gang might not deal over-gently with an unpopular member who
+played so serious a treachery upon him as the delivering him over
+to the common enemy, the law.
+
+Very well.  All in good time Hugo strolled off to a neighbouring
+village with his prey; and the two drifted slowly up and down one
+street after another, the one watching sharply for a sure chance
+to achieve his evil purpose, and the other watching as sharply for
+a chance to dart away and get free of his infamous captivity for
+ever.
+
+Both threw away some tolerably fair-looking opportunities; for
+both, in their secret hearts, were resolved to make absolutely
+sure work this time, and neither meant to allow his fevered
+desires to seduce him into any venture that had much uncertainty
+about it.
+
+Hugo's chance came first.  For at last a woman approached who
+carried a fat package of some sort in a basket.  Hugo's eyes
+sparkled with sinful pleasure as he said to himself, "Breath o' my
+life, an' I can but put THAT upon him, 'tis good-den and God keep
+thee, King of the Game-Cocks!"  He waited and watched--outwardly
+patient, but inwardly consuming with excitement--till the woman
+had passed by, and the time was ripe; then said, in a low voice--
+
+"Tarry here till I come again," and darted stealthily after the
+prey.
+
+The King's heart was filled with joy--he could make his escape,
+now, if Hugo's quest only carried him far enough away.
+
+But he was to have no such luck.  Hugo crept behind the woman,
+snatched the package, and came running back, wrapping it in an old
+piece of blanket which he carried on his arm.  The hue and cry was
+raised in a moment, by the woman, who knew her loss by the
+lightening of her burden, although she had not seen the pilfering
+done.  Hugo thrust the bundle into the King's hands without
+halting, saying--
+
+"Now speed ye after me with the rest, and cry 'Stop thief!' but
+mind ye lead them astray!"
+
+The next moment Hugo turned a corner and darted down a crooked
+alley--and in another moment or two he lounged into view again,
+looking innocent and indifferent, and took up a position behind a
+post to watch results.
+
+The insulted King threw the bundle on the ground; and the blanket
+fell away from it just as the woman arrived, with an augmenting
+crowd at her heels; she seized the King's wrist with one hand,
+snatched up her bundle with the other, and began to pour out a
+tirade of abuse upon the boy while he struggled, without success,
+to free himself from her grip.
+
+Hugo had seen enough--his enemy was captured and the law would get
+him, now--so he slipped away, jubilant and chuckling, and wended
+campwards, framing a judicious version of the matter to give to
+the Ruffler's crew as he strode along.
+
+The King continued to struggle in the woman's strong grasp, and
+now and then cried out in vexation--
+
+"Unhand me, thou foolish creature; it was not I that bereaved thee
+of thy paltry goods."
+
+The crowd closed around, threatening the King and calling him
+names; a brawny blacksmith in leather apron, and sleeves rolled to
+his elbows, made a reach for him, saying he would trounce him
+well, for a lesson; but just then a long sword flashed in the air
+and fell with convincing force upon the man's arm, flat side down,
+the fantastic owner of it remarking pleasantly, at the same time--
+
+"Marry, good souls, let us proceed gently, not with ill blood and
+uncharitable words.  This is matter for the law's consideration,
+not private and unofficial handling.  Loose thy hold from the boy,
+goodwife."
+
+The blacksmith averaged the stalwart soldier with a glance, then
+went muttering away, rubbing his arm; the woman released the boy's
+wrist reluctantly; the crowd eyed the stranger unlovingly, but
+prudently closed their mouths.  The King sprang to his deliverer's
+side, with flushed cheeks and sparkling eyes, exclaiming--
+
+"Thou hast lagged sorely, but thou comest in good season, now, Sir
+Miles; carve me this rabble to rags!"
+
+
+
+Chapter XXIII. The Prince a prisoner.
+
+Hendon forced back a smile, and bent down and whispered in the
+King's ear--
+
+"Softly, softly, my prince, wag thy tongue warily--nay, suffer it
+not to wag at all.  Trust in me--all shall go well in the end."
+Then he added to himself:  "SIR Miles!  Bless me, I had totally
+forgot I was a knight!  Lord, how marvellous a thing it is, the
+grip his memory doth take upon his quaint and crazy fancies! . . .
+An empty and foolish title is mine, and yet it is something to
+have deserved it; for I think it is more honour to be held worthy
+to be a spectre-knight in his Kingdom of Dreams and Shadows, than
+to be held base enough to be an earl in some of the REAL kingdoms
+of this world."
+
+The crowd fell apart to admit a constable, who approached and was
+about to lay his hand upon the King's shoulder, when Hendon said--
+
+"Gently, good friend, withhold your hand--he shall go peaceably; I
+am responsible for that.  Lead on, we will follow."
+
+The officer led, with the woman and her bundle; Miles and the King
+followed after, with the crowd at their heels.  The King was
+inclined to rebel; but Hendon said to him in a low voice--
+
+"Reflect, Sire--your laws are the wholesome breath of your own
+royalty; shall their source resist them, yet require the branches
+to respect them?  Apparently one of these laws has been broken;
+when the King is on his throne again, can it ever grieve him to
+remember that when he was seemingly a private person he loyally
+sank the king in the citizen and submitted to its authority?"
+
+"Thou art right; say no more; thou shalt see that whatsoever the
+King of England requires a subject to suffer, under the law, he
+will himself suffer while he holdeth the station of a subject."
+
+When the woman was called upon to testify before the justice of
+the peace, she swore that the small prisoner at the bar was the
+person who had committed the theft; there was none able to show
+the contrary, so the King stood convicted.  The bundle was now
+unrolled, and when the contents proved to be a plump little
+dressed pig, the judge looked troubled, whilst Hendon turned pale,
+and his body was thrilled with an electric shiver of dismay; but
+the King remained unmoved, protected by his ignorance.  The judge
+meditated, during an ominous pause, then turned to the woman, with
+the question--
+
+"What dost thou hold this property to be worth?"
+
+The woman courtesied and replied--
+
+"Three shillings and eightpence, your worship--I could not abate a
+penny and set forth the value honestly."
+
+The justice glanced around uncomfortably upon the crowd, then
+nodded to the constable, and said--
+
+"Clear the court and close the doors."
+
+It was done.  None remained but the two officials, the accused,
+the accuser, and Miles Hendon.  This latter was rigid and
+colourless, and on his forehead big drops of cold sweat gathered,
+broke and blended together, and trickled down his face.  The judge
+turned to the woman again, and said, in a compassionate voice--
+
+"'Tis a poor ignorant lad, and mayhap was driven hard by hunger,
+for these be grievous times for the unfortunate; mark you, he hath
+not an evil face--but when hunger driveth--Good woman! dost know
+that when one steals a thing above the value of thirteenpence
+ha'penny the law saith he shall HANG for it?"
+
+The little King started, wide-eyed with consternation, but
+controlled himself and held his peace; but not so the woman.  She
+sprang to her feet, shaking with fright, and cried out--
+
+"Oh, good lack, what have I done!  God-a-mercy, I would not hang
+the poor thing for the whole world!  Ah, save me from this, your
+worship--what shall I do, what CAN I do?"
+
+The justice maintained his judicial composure, and simply said--
+
+"Doubtless it is allowable to revise the value, since it is not
+yet writ upon the record."
+
+"Then in God's name call the pig eightpence, and heaven bless the
+day that freed my conscience of this awesome thing!"
+
+Miles Hendon forgot all decorum in his delight; and surprised the
+King and wounded his dignity, by throwing his arms around him and
+hugging him.  The woman made her grateful adieux and started away
+with her pig; and when the constable opened the door for her, he
+followed her out into the narrow hall.  The justice proceeded to
+write in his record book.  Hendon, always alert, thought he would
+like to know why the officer followed the woman out; so he slipped
+softly into the dusky hall and listened.  He heard a conversation
+to this effect--
+
+"It is a fat pig, and promises good eating; I will buy it of thee;
+here is the eightpence."
+
+"Eightpence, indeed!  Thou'lt do no such thing.  It cost me three
+shillings and eightpence, good honest coin of the last reign, that
+old Harry that's just dead ne'er touched or tampered with.  A fig
+for thy eightpence!"
+
+"Stands the wind in that quarter?  Thou wast under oath, and so
+swore falsely when thou saidst the value was but eightpence.  Come
+straightway back with me before his worship, and answer for the
+crime!--and then the lad will hang."
+
+"There, there, dear heart, say no more, I am content.  Give me the
+eightpence, and hold thy peace about the matter."
+
+The woman went off crying:  Hendon slipped back into the court
+room, and the constable presently followed, after hiding his prize
+in some convenient place.  The justice wrote a while longer, then
+read the King a wise and kindly lecture, and sentenced him to a
+short imprisonment in the common jail, to be followed by a public
+flogging.  The astounded King opened his mouth, and was probably
+going to order the good judge to be beheaded on the spot; but he
+caught a warning sign from Hendon, and succeeded in closing his
+mouth again before he lost anything out of it.  Hendon took him by
+the hand, now, made reverence to the justice, and the two departed
+in the wake of the constable toward the jail.  The moment the
+street was reached, the inflamed monarch halted, snatched away his
+hand, and exclaimed--
+
+"Idiot, dost imagine I will enter a common jail ALIVE?"
+
+Hendon bent down and said, somewhat sharply--
+
+"WILL you trust in me?  Peace! and forbear to worsen our chances
+with dangerous speech.  What God wills, will happen; thou canst
+not hurry it, thou canst not alter it; therefore wait, and be
+patient--'twill be time enow to rail or rejoice when what is to
+happen has happened." {1}
+
+
+
+Chapter XXIV. The escape.
+
+The short winter day was nearly ended.  The streets were deserted,
+save for a few random stragglers, and these hurried straight
+along, with the intent look of people who were only anxious to
+accomplish their errands as quickly as possible, and then snugly
+house themselves from the rising wind and the gathering twilight.
+They looked neither to the right nor to the left; they paid no
+attention to our party, they did not even seem to see them.
+Edward the Sixth wondered if the spectacle of a king on his way to
+jail had ever encountered such marvellous indifference before.
+By-and-by the constable arrived at a deserted market-square, and
+proceeded to cross it.  When he had reached the middle of it,
+Hendon laid his hand upon his arm, and said in a low voice--
+
+"Bide a moment, good sir, there is none in hearing, and I would
+say a word to thee."
+
+"My duty forbids it, sir; prithee hinder me not, the night comes
+on."
+
+"Stay, nevertheless, for the matter concerns thee nearly.  Turn
+thy back a moment and seem not to see:  LET THIS POOR LAD ESCAPE."
+
+"This to me, sir!  I arrest thee in--"
+
+"Nay, be not too hasty.  See thou be careful and commit no foolish
+error"--then he shut his voice down to a whisper, and said in the
+man's ear--"the pig thou hast purchased for eightpence may cost
+thee thy neck, man!"
+
+The poor constable, taken by surprise, was speechless, at first,
+then found his tongue and fell to blustering and threatening; but
+Hendon was tranquil, and waited with patience till his breath was
+spent; then said--
+
+"I have a liking to thee, friend, and would not willingly see thee
+come to harm.  Observe, I heard it all--every word.  I will prove
+it to thee."  Then he repeated the conversation which the officer
+and the woman had had together in the hall, word for word, and
+ended with--
+
+"There--have I set it forth correctly?  Should not I be able to
+set it forth correctly before the judge, if occasion required?"
+
+The man was dumb with fear and distress, for a moment; then he
+rallied, and said with forced lightness--
+
+"'Tis making a mighty matter, indeed, out of a jest; I but plagued
+the woman for mine amusement."
+
+"Kept you the woman's pig for amusement?"
+
+The man answered sharply--
+
+"Nought else, good sir--I tell thee 'twas but a jest."
+
+"I do begin to believe thee," said Hendon, with a perplexing
+mixture of mockery and half-conviction in his tone; "but tarry
+thou here a moment whilst I run and ask his worship--for nathless,
+he being a man experienced in law, in jests, in--"
+
+He was moving away, still talking; the constable hesitated,
+fidgeted, spat out an oath or two, then cried out--
+
+"Hold, hold, good sir--prithee wait a little--the judge!  Why,
+man, he hath no more sympathy with a jest than hath a dead
+corpse!--come, and we will speak further.  Ods body!  I seem to be
+in evil case--and all for an innocent and thoughtless pleasantry.
+I am a man of family; and my wife and little ones--  List to
+reason, good your worship:  what wouldst thou of me?"
+
+"Only that thou be blind and dumb and paralytic whilst one may
+count a hundred thousand--counting slowly," said Hendon, with the
+expression of a man who asks but a reasonable favour, and that a
+very little one.
+
+"It is my destruction!" said the constable despairingly.  "Ah, be
+reasonable, good sir; only look at this matter, on all its sides,
+and see how mere a jest it is--how manifestly and how plainly it
+is so.  And even if one granted it were not a jest, it is a fault
+so small that e'en the grimmest penalty it could call forth would
+be but a rebuke and warning from the judge's lips."
+
+Hendon replied with a solemnity which chilled the air about him--
+
+"This jest of thine hath a name, in law,--wot you what it is?"
+
+"I knew it not!  Peradventure I have been unwise.  I never dreamed
+it had a name--ah, sweet heaven, I thought it was original."
+
+"Yes, it hath a name.  In the law this crime is called Non compos
+mentis lex talionis sic transit gloria mundi."
+
+"Ah, my God!"
+
+"And the penalty is death!"
+
+"God be merciful to me a sinner!"
+
+"By advantage taken of one in fault, in dire peril, and at thy
+mercy, thou hast seized goods worth above thirteenpence ha'penny,
+paying but a trifle for the same; and this, in the eye of the law,
+is constructive barratry, misprision of treason, malfeasance in
+office, ad hominem expurgatis in statu quo--and the penalty is
+death by the halter, without ransom, commutation, or benefit of
+clergy."
+
+"Bear me up, bear me up, sweet sir, my legs do fail me!  Be thou
+merciful--spare me this doom, and I will turn my back and see
+nought that shall happen."
+
+"Good! now thou'rt wise and reasonable.  And thou'lt restore the
+pig?"
+
+"I will, I will indeed--nor ever touch another, though heaven send
+it and an archangel fetch it.  Go--I am blind for thy sake--I see
+nothing.  I will say thou didst break in and wrest the prisoner
+from my hands by force.  It is but a crazy, ancient door--I will
+batter it down myself betwixt midnight and the morning."
+
+"Do it, good soul, no harm will come of it; the judge hath a
+loving charity for this poor lad, and will shed no tears and break
+no jailer's bones for his escape."
+
+
+
+Chapter XXV. Hendon Hall.
+
+As soon as Hendon and the King were out of sight of the constable,
+his Majesty was instructed to hurry to a certain place outside the
+town, and wait there, whilst Hendon should go to the inn and
+settle his account.  Half an hour later the two friends were
+blithely jogging eastward on Hendon's sorry steeds.  The King was
+warm and comfortable, now, for he had cast his rags and clothed
+himself in the second-hand suit which Hendon had bought on London
+Bridge.
+
+Hendon wished to guard against over-fatiguing the boy; he judged
+that hard journeys, irregular meals, and illiberal measures of
+sleep would be bad for his crazed mind; whilst rest, regularity,
+and moderate exercise would be pretty sure to hasten its cure; he
+longed to see the stricken intellect made well again and its
+diseased visions driven out of the tormented little head;
+therefore he resolved to move by easy stages toward the home
+whence he had so long been banished, instead of obeying the
+impulse of his impatience and hurrying along night and day.
+
+When he and the King had journeyed about ten miles, they reached a
+considerable village, and halted there for the night, at a good
+inn.  The former relations were resumed; Hendon stood behind the
+King's chair, while he dined, and waited upon him; undressed him
+when he was ready for bed; then took the floor for his own
+quarters, and slept athwart the door, rolled up in a blanket.
+
+The next day, and the day after, they jogged lazily along talking
+over the adventures they had met since their separation, and
+mightily enjoying each other's narratives.  Hendon detailed all
+his wide wanderings in search of the King, and described how the
+archangel had led him a fool's journey all over the forest, and
+taken him back to the hut, finally, when he found he could not get
+rid of him.  Then--he said--the old man went into the bedchamber
+and came staggering back looking broken-hearted, and saying he had
+expected to find that the boy had returned and laid down in there
+to rest, but it was not so.  Hendon had waited at the hut all day;
+hope of the King's return died out, then, and he departed upon the
+quest again.
+
+"And old Sanctum Sanctorum WAS truly sorry your highness came not
+back," said Hendon; "I saw it in his face."
+
+"Marry I will never doubt THAT!" said the King--and then told his
+own story; after which, Hendon was sorry he had not destroyed the
+archangel.
+
+During the last day of the trip, Hendon's spirits were soaring.
+His tongue ran constantly.  He talked about his old father, and
+his brother Arthur, and told of many things which illustrated
+their high and generous characters; he went into loving frenzies
+over his Edith, and was so glad-hearted that he was even able to
+say some gentle and brotherly things about Hugh.  He dwelt a deal
+on the coming meeting at Hendon Hall; what a surprise it would be
+to everybody, and what an outburst of thanksgiving and delight
+there would be.
+
+It was a fair region, dotted with cottages and orchards, and the
+road led through broad pasture lands whose receding expanses,
+marked with gentle elevations and depressions, suggested the
+swelling and subsiding undulations of the sea.  In the afternoon
+the returning prodigal made constant deflections from his course
+to see if by ascending some hillock he might not pierce the
+distance and catch a glimpse of his home.  At last he was
+successful, and cried out excitedly--
+
+"There is the village, my Prince, and there is the Hall close by!
+You may see the towers from here; and that wood there--that is my
+father's park.  Ah, NOW thou'lt know what state and grandeur be!
+A house with seventy rooms--think of that!--and seven and twenty
+servants!  A brave lodging for such as we, is it not so?  Come,
+let us speed--my impatience will not brook further delay."
+
+All possible hurry was made; still, it was after three o'clock
+before the village was reached.  The travellers scampered through
+it, Hendon's tongue going all the time.  "Here is the church--
+covered with the same ivy--none gone, none added."  "Yonder is the
+inn, the old Red Lion,--and yonder is the market-place."  "Here is
+the Maypole, and here the pump--nothing is altered; nothing but
+the people, at any rate; ten years make a change in people; some
+of these I seem to know, but none know me."  So his chat ran on.
+The end of the village was soon reached; then the travellers
+struck into a crooked, narrow road, walled in with tall hedges,
+and hurried briskly along it for half a mile, then passed into a
+vast flower garden through an imposing gateway, whose huge stone
+pillars bore sculptured armorial devices.  A noble mansion was
+before them.
+
+"Welcome to Hendon Hall, my King!" exclaimed Miles.  "Ah, 'tis a
+great day!  My father and my brother, and the Lady Edith will be
+so mad with joy that they will have eyes and tongue for none but
+me in the first transports of the meeting, and so thou'lt seem but
+coldly welcomed--but mind it not; 'twill soon seem otherwise; for
+when I say thou art my ward, and tell them how costly is my love
+for thee, thou'lt see them take thee to their breasts for Miles
+Hendon's sake, and make their house and hearts thy home for ever
+after!"
+
+The next moment Hendon sprang to the ground before the great door,
+helped the King down, then took him by the hand and rushed within.
+A few steps brought him to a spacious apartment; he entered,
+seated the King with more hurry than ceremony, then ran toward a
+young man who sat at a writing-table in front of a generous fire
+of logs.
+
+"Embrace me, Hugh," he cried, "and say thou'rt glad I am come
+again! and call our father, for home is not home till I shall
+touch his hand, and see his face, and hear his voice once more!"
+
+But Hugh only drew back, after betraying a momentary surprise, and
+bent a grave stare upon the intruder--a stare which indicated
+somewhat of offended dignity, at first, then changed, in response
+to some inward thought or purpose, to an expression of marvelling
+curiosity, mixed with a real or assumed compassion.  Presently he
+said, in a mild voice--
+
+"Thy wits seem touched, poor stranger; doubtless thou hast
+suffered privations and rude buffetings at the world's hands; thy
+looks and dress betoken it.  Whom dost thou take me to be?"
+
+"Take thee?  Prithee for whom else than whom thou art?  I take
+thee to be Hugh Hendon," said Miles, sharply.
+
+The other continued, in the same soft tone--
+
+"And whom dost thou imagine thyself to be?"
+
+"Imagination hath nought to do with it!  Dost thou pretend thou
+knowest me not for thy brother Miles Hendon?"
+
+An expression of pleased surprise flitted across Hugh's face, and
+he exclaimed--
+
+"What! thou art not jesting? can the dead come to life?  God be
+praised if it be so!  Our poor lost boy restored to our arms after
+all these cruel years!  Ah, it seems too good to be true, it IS
+too good to be true--I charge thee, have pity, do not trifle with
+me!  Quick--come to the light--let me scan thee well!"
+
+He seized Miles by the arm, dragged him to the window, and began
+to devour him from head to foot with his eyes, turning him this
+way and that, and stepping briskly around him and about him to
+prove him from all points of view; whilst the returned prodigal,
+all aglow with gladness, smiled, laughed, and kept nodding his
+head and saying--
+
+"Go on, brother, go on, and fear not; thou'lt find nor limb nor
+feature that cannot bide the test.  Scour and scan me to thy
+content, my good old Hugh--I am indeed thy old Miles, thy same old
+Miles, thy lost brother, is't not so?  Ah, 'tis a great day--I
+SAID 'twas a great day!  Give me thy hand, give me thy cheek--
+lord, I am like to die of very joy!"
+
+He was about to throw himself upon his brother; but Hugh put up
+his hand in dissent, then dropped his chin mournfully upon his
+breast, saying with emotion--
+
+"Ah, God of his mercy give me strength to bear this grievous
+disappointment!"
+
+Miles, amazed, could not speak for a moment; then he found his
+tongue, and cried out--
+
+"WHAT disappointment?  Am I not thy brother?"
+
+Hugh shook his head sadly, and said--
+
+"I pray heaven it may prove so, and that other eyes may find the
+resemblances that are hid from mine.  Alack, I fear me the letter
+spoke but too truly."
+
+"What letter?"
+
+"One that came from over sea, some six or seven years ago.  It
+said my brother died in battle."
+
+"It was a lie!  Call thy father--he will know me."
+
+"One may not call the dead."
+
+"Dead?" Miles's voice was subdued, and his lips trembled.  "My
+father dead!--oh, this is heavy news.  Half my new joy is withered
+now.  Prithee let me see my brother Arthur--he will know me; he
+will know me and console me."
+
+"He, also, is dead."
+
+"God be merciful to me, a stricken man!  Gone,--both gone--the
+worthy taken and the worthless spared, in me!  Ah! I crave your
+mercy!--do not say the Lady Edith--"
+
+"Is dead?  No, she lives."
+
+"Then, God be praised, my joy is whole again!  Speed thee,
+brother--let her come to me!  An' SHE say I am not myself--but she
+will not; no, no, SHE will know me, I were a fool to doubt it.
+Bring her--bring the old servants; they, too, will know me."
+
+"All are gone but five--Peter, Halsey, David, Bernard, and
+Margaret."
+
+So saying, Hugh left the room.  Miles stood musing a while, then
+began to walk the floor, muttering--
+
+"The five arch-villains have survived the two-and-twenty leal and
+honest--'tis an odd thing."
+
+He continued walking back and forth, muttering to himself; he had
+forgotten the King entirely.  By-and-by his Majesty said gravely,
+and with a touch of genuine compassion, though the words
+themselves were capable of being interpreted ironically--
+
+"Mind not thy mischance, good man; there be others in the world
+whose identity is denied, and whose claims are derided.  Thou hast
+company."
+
+"Ah, my King," cried Hendon, colouring slightly, "do not thou
+condemn me--wait, and thou shalt see.  I am no impostor--she will
+say it; you shall hear it from the sweetest lips in England.  I an
+impostor?  Why, I know this old hall, these pictures of my
+ancestors, and all these things that are about us, as a child
+knoweth its own nursery.  Here was I born and bred, my lord; I
+speak the truth; I would not deceive thee; and should none else
+believe, I pray thee do not THOU doubt me--I could not bear it."
+
+"I do not doubt thee," said the King, with a childlike simplicity
+and faith.
+
+"I thank thee out of my heart!" exclaimed Hendon with a fervency
+which showed that he was touched.  The King added, with the same
+gentle simplicity--
+
+"Dost thou doubt ME?"
+
+A guilty confusion seized upon Hendon, and he was grateful that
+the door opened to admit Hugh, at that moment, and saved him the
+necessity of replying.
+
+A beautiful lady, richly clothed, followed Hugh, and after her
+came several liveried servants.  The lady walked slowly, with her
+head bowed and her eyes fixed upon the floor.  The face was
+unspeakably sad.  Miles Hendon sprang forward, crying out--
+
+"Oh, my Edith, my darling--"
+
+But Hugh waved him back, gravely, and said to the lady--
+
+"Look upon him.  Do you know him?"
+
+At the sound of Miles's voice the woman had started slightly, and
+her cheeks had flushed; she was trembling now.  She stood still,
+during an impressive pause of several moments; then slowly lifted
+up her head and looked into Hendon's eyes with a stony and
+frightened gaze; the blood sank out of her face, drop by drop,
+till nothing remained but the grey pallor of death; then she said,
+in a voice as dead as the face, "I know him not!" and turned, with
+a moan and a stifled sob, and tottered out of the room.
+
+Miles Hendon sank into a chair and covered his face with his
+hands.  After a pause, his brother said to the servants--
+
+"You have observed him.  Do you know him?"
+
+They shook their heads; then the master said--
+
+"The servants know you not, sir.  I fear there is some mistake.
+You have seen that my wife knew you not."
+
+"Thy WIFE!"  In an instant Hugh was pinned to the wall, with an
+iron grip about his throat.  "Oh, thou fox-hearted slave, I see it
+all!  Thou'st writ the lying letter thyself, and my stolen bride
+and goods are its fruit.  There--now get thee gone, lest I shame
+mine honourable soldiership with the slaying of so pitiful a
+mannikin!"
+
+Hugh, red-faced, and almost suffocated, reeled to the nearest
+chair, and commanded the servants to seize and bind the murderous
+stranger.  They hesitated, and one of them said--
+
+"He is armed, Sir Hugh, and we are weaponless."
+
+"Armed!  What of it, and ye so many?  Upon him, I say!"
+
+But Miles warned them to be careful what they did, and added--
+
+"Ye know me of old--I have not changed; come on, an' it like you."
+
+This reminder did not hearten the servants much; they still held
+back.
+
+"Then go, ye paltry cowards, and arm yourselves and guard the
+doors, whilst I send one to fetch the watch!" said Hugh.  He
+turned at the threshold, and said to Miles, "You'll find it to
+your advantage to offend not with useless endeavours at escape."
+
+"Escape?  Spare thyself discomfort, an' that is all that troubles
+thee.  For Miles Hendon is master of Hendon Hall and all its
+belongings.  He will remain--doubt it not."
+
+
+
+Chapter XXVI. Disowned.
+
+The King sat musing a few moments, then looked up and said--
+
+"'Tis strange--most strange.  I cannot account for it."
+
+"No, it is not strange, my liege.  I know him, and this conduct is
+but natural.  He was a rascal from his birth."
+
+"Oh, I spake not of HIM, Sir Miles."
+
+"Not of him?  Then of what?  What is it that is strange?"
+
+"That the King is not missed."
+
+"How?  Which?  I doubt I do not understand."
+
+"Indeed?  Doth it not strike you as being passing strange that the
+land is not filled with couriers and proclamations describing my
+person and making search for me?  Is it no matter for commotion
+and distress that the Head of the State is gone; that I am
+vanished away and lost?"
+
+"Most true, my King, I had forgot."  Then Hendon sighed, and
+muttered to himself, "Poor ruined mind--still busy with its
+pathetic dream."
+
+"But I have a plan that shall right us both--I will write a paper,
+in three tongues--Latin, Greek and English--and thou shalt haste
+away with it to London in the morning.  Give it to none but my
+uncle, the Lord Hertford; when he shall see it, he will know and
+say I wrote it.  Then he will send for me."
+
+"Might it not be best, my Prince, that we wait here until I prove
+myself and make my rights secure to my domains?  I should be so
+much the better able then to--"
+
+The King interrupted him imperiously--
+
+"Peace!  What are thy paltry domains, thy trivial interests,
+contrasted with matters which concern the weal of a nation and the
+integrity of a throne?"  Then, he added, in a gentle voice, as if
+he were sorry for his severity, "Obey, and have no fear; I will
+right thee, I will make thee whole--yes, more than whole.  I shall
+remember, and requite."
+
+So saying, he took the pen, and set himself to work.  Hendon
+contemplated him lovingly a while, then said to himself--
+
+"An' it were dark, I should think it WAS a king that spoke;
+there's no denying it, when the humour's upon on him he doth
+thunder and lighten like your true King; now where got he that
+trick?  See him scribble and scratch away contentedly at his
+meaningless pot-hooks, fancying them to be Latin and Greek--and
+except my wit shall serve me with a lucky device for diverting him
+from his purpose, I shall be forced to pretend to post away to-
+morrow on this wild errand he hath invented for me."
+
+The next moment Sir Miles's thoughts had gone back to the recent
+episode.  So absorbed was he in his musings, that when the King
+presently handed him the paper which he had been writing, he
+received it and pocketed it without being conscious of the act.
+"How marvellous strange she acted," he muttered.  "I think she
+knew me--and I think she did NOT know me.  These opinions do
+conflict, I perceive it plainly; I cannot reconcile them, neither
+can I, by argument, dismiss either of the two, or even persuade
+one to outweigh the other.  The matter standeth simply thus:  she
+MUST have known my face, my figure, my voice, for how could it be
+otherwise?  Yet she SAID she knew me not, and that is proof
+perfect, for she cannot lie.  But stop--I think I begin to see.
+Peradventure he hath influenced her, commanded her, compelled her
+to lie.  That is the solution.  The riddle is unriddled.  She
+seemed dead with fear--yes, she was under his compulsion.  I will
+seek her; I will find her; now that he is away, she will speak her
+true mind.  She will remember the old times when we were little
+playfellows together, and this will soften her heart, and she will
+no more betray me, but will confess me.  There is no treacherous
+blood in her--no, she was always honest and true.  She has loved
+me, in those old days--this is my security; for whom one has
+loved, one cannot betray."
+
+He stepped eagerly toward the door; at that moment it opened, and
+the Lady Edith entered.  She was very pale, but she walked with a
+firm step, and her carriage was full of grace and gentle dignity.
+Her face was as sad as before.
+
+Miles sprang forward, with a happy confidence, to meet her, but
+she checked him with a hardly perceptible gesture, and he stopped
+where he was.  She seated herself, and asked him to do likewise.
+Thus simply did she take the sense of old comradeship out of him,
+and transform him into a stranger and a guest.  The surprise of
+it, the bewildering unexpectedness of it, made him begin to
+question, for a moment, if he WAS the person he was pretending to
+be, after all.  The Lady Edith said--
+
+"Sir, I have come to warn you.  The mad cannot be persuaded out of
+their delusions, perchance; but doubtless they may be persuaded to
+avoid perils.  I think this dream of yours hath the seeming of
+honest truth to you, and therefore is not criminal--but do not
+tarry here with it; for here it is dangerous."  She looked
+steadily into Miles's face a moment, then added, impressively, "It
+is the more dangerous for that you ARE much like what our lost lad
+must have grown to be if he had lived."
+
+"Heavens, madam, but I AM he!"
+
+"I truly think you think it, sir.  I question not your honesty in
+that; I but warn you, that is all.  My husband is master in this
+region; his power hath hardly any limit; the people prosper or
+starve, as he wills.  If you resembled not the man whom you
+profess to be, my husband might bid you pleasure yourself with
+your dream in peace; but trust me, I know him well; I know what he
+will do; he will say to all that you are but a mad impostor, and
+straightway all will echo him."  She bent upon Miles that same
+steady look once more, and added:  "If you WERE Miles Hendon, and
+he knew it and all the region knew it--consider what I am saying,
+weigh it well--you would stand in the same peril, your punishment
+would be no less sure; he would deny you and denounce you, and
+none would be bold enough to give you countenance."
+
+"Most truly I believe it," said Miles, bitterly.  "The power that
+can command one life-long friend to betray and disown another, and
+be obeyed, may well look to be obeyed in quarters where bread and
+life are on the stake and no cobweb ties of loyalty and honour are
+concerned."
+
+A faint tinge appeared for a moment in the lady's cheek, and she
+dropped her eyes to the floor; but her voice betrayed no emotion
+when she proceeded--
+
+"I have warned you--I must still warn you--to go hence.  This man
+will destroy you, else.  He is a tyrant who knows no pity.  I, who
+am his fettered slave, know this.  Poor Miles, and Arthur, and my
+dear guardian, Sir Richard, are free of him, and at rest:  better
+that you were with them than that you bide here in the clutches of
+this miscreant.  Your pretensions are a menace to his title and
+possessions; you have assaulted him in his own house:  you are
+ruined if you stay.  Go--do not hesitate.  If you lack money, take
+this purse, I beg of you, and bribe the servants to let you pass.
+Oh, be warned, poor soul, and escape while you may."
+
+Miles declined the purse with a gesture, and rose up and stood
+before her.
+
+"Grant me one thing," he said.  "Let your eyes rest upon mine, so
+that I may see if they be steady.  There--now answer me.  Am I
+Miles Hendon?"
+
+"No.  I know you not."
+
+"Swear it!"
+
+The answer was low, but distinct--
+
+"I swear."
+
+"Oh, this passes belief!"
+
+"Fly!  Why will you waste the precious time?  Fly, and save
+yourself."
+
+At that moment the officers burst into the room, and a violent
+struggle began; but Hendon was soon overpowered and dragged away.
+The King was taken also, and both were bound and led to prison.
+
+
+
+Chapter XXVII. In prison.
+
+The cells were all crowded; so the two friends were chained in a
+large room where persons charged with trifling offences were
+commonly kept.  They had company, for there were some twenty
+manacled and fettered prisoners here, of both sexes and of varying
+ages,--an obscene and noisy gang.  The King chafed bitterly over
+the stupendous indignity thus put upon his royalty, but Hendon was
+moody and taciturn.  He was pretty thoroughly bewildered; he had
+come home, a jubilant prodigal, expecting to find everybody wild
+with joy over his return; and instead had got the cold shoulder
+and a jail.  The promise and the fulfilment differed so widely
+that the effect was stunning; he could not decide whether it was
+most tragic or most grotesque.  He felt much as a man might who
+had danced blithely out to enjoy a rainbow, and got struck by
+lightning.
+
+But gradually his confused and tormenting thoughts settled down
+into some sort of order, and then his mind centred itself upon
+Edith.  He turned her conduct over, and examined it in all lights,
+but he could not make anything satisfactory out of it.  Did she
+know him--or didn't she know him?  It was a perplexing puzzle, and
+occupied him a long time; but he ended, finally, with the
+conviction that she did know him, and had repudiated him for
+interested reasons.  He wanted to load her name with curses now;
+but this name had so long been sacred to him that he found he
+could not bring his tongue to profane it.
+
+Wrapped in prison blankets of a soiled and tattered condition,
+Hendon and the King passed a troubled night.  For a bribe the
+jailer had furnished liquor to some of the prisoners; singing of
+ribald songs, fighting, shouting, and carousing was the natural
+consequence.  At last, a while after midnight, a man attacked a
+woman and nearly killed her by beating her over the head with his
+manacles before the jailer could come to the rescue.  The jailer
+restored peace by giving the man a sound clubbing about the head
+and shoulders--then the carousing ceased; and after that, all had
+an opportunity to sleep who did not mind the annoyance of the
+moanings and groanings of the two wounded people.
+
+During the ensuing week, the days and nights were of a monotonous
+sameness as to events; men whose faces Hendon remembered more or
+less distinctly, came, by day, to gaze at the 'impostor' and
+repudiate and insult him; and by night the carousing and brawling
+went on with symmetrical regularity.  However, there was a change
+of incident at last.  The jailer brought in an old man, and said
+to him--
+
+"The villain is in this room--cast thy old eyes about and see if
+thou canst say which is he."
+
+Hendon glanced up, and experienced a pleasant sensation for the
+first time since he had been in the jail.  He said to himself,
+"This is Blake Andrews, a servant all his life in my father's
+family--a good honest soul, with a right heart in his breast.
+That is, formerly.  But none are true now; all are liars.  This
+man will know me--and will deny me, too, like the rest."
+
+The old man gazed around the room, glanced at each face in turn,
+and finally said--
+
+"I see none here but paltry knaves, scum o' the streets.  Which is
+he?"
+
+The jailer laughed.
+
+"Here," he said; "scan this big animal, and grant me an opinion."
+
+The old man approached, and looked Hendon over, long and
+earnestly, then shook his head and said--
+
+"Marry, THIS is no Hendon--nor ever was!"
+
+"Right!  Thy old eyes are sound yet.  An' I were Sir Hugh, I would
+take the shabby carle and--"
+
+The jailer finished by lifting himself a-tip-toe with an imaginary
+halter, at the same time making a gurgling noise in his throat
+suggestive of suffocation.  The old man said, vindictively--
+
+"Let him bless God an' he fare no worse.  An' _I_ had the handling
+o' the villain he should roast, or I am no true man!"
+
+The jailer laughed a pleasant hyena laugh, and said--
+
+"Give him a piece of thy mind, old man--they all do it.  Thou'lt
+find it good diversion."
+
+Then he sauntered toward his ante-room and disappeared.  The old
+man dropped upon his knees and whispered--
+
+"God be thanked, thou'rt come again, my master!  I believed thou
+wert dead these seven years, and lo, here thou art alive!  I knew
+thee the moment I saw thee; and main hard work it was to keep a
+stony countenance and seem to see none here but tuppenny knaves
+and rubbish o' the streets.  I am old and poor, Sir Miles; but say
+the word and I will go forth and proclaim the truth though I be
+strangled for it."
+
+"No," said Hendon; "thou shalt not.  It would ruin thee, and yet
+help but little in my cause.  But I thank thee, for thou hast
+given me back somewhat of my lost faith in my kind."
+
+The old servant became very valuable to Hendon and the King; for
+he dropped in several times a day to 'abuse' the former, and
+always smuggled in a few delicacies to help out the prison bill of
+fare; he also furnished the current news.  Hendon reserved the
+dainties for the King; without them his Majesty might not have
+survived, for he was not able to eat the coarse and wretched food
+provided by the jailer.  Andrews was obliged to confine himself to
+brief visits, in order to avoid suspicion; but he managed to
+impart a fair degree of information each time--information
+delivered in a low voice, for Hendon's benefit, and interlarded
+with insulting epithets delivered in a louder voice for the
+benefit of other hearers.
+
+So, little by little, the story of the family came out.  Arthur
+had been dead six years.  This loss, with the absence of news from
+Hendon, impaired the father's health; he believed he was going to
+die, and he wished to see Hugh and Edith settled in life before he
+passed away; but Edith begged hard for delay, hoping for Miles's
+return; then the letter came which brought the news of Miles's
+death; the shock prostrated Sir Richard; he believed his end was
+very near, and he and Hugh insisted upon the marriage; Edith
+begged for and obtained a month's respite, then another, and
+finally a third; the marriage then took place by the death-bed of
+Sir Richard.  It had not proved a happy one.  It was whispered
+about the country that shortly after the nuptials the bride found
+among her husband's papers several rough and incomplete drafts of
+the fatal letter, and had accused him of precipitating the
+marriage--and Sir Richard's death, too--by a wicked forgery.
+Tales of cruelty to the Lady Edith and the servants were to be
+heard on all hands; and since the father's death Sir Hugh had
+thrown off all soft disguises and become a pitiless master toward
+all who in any way depended upon him and his domains for bread.
+
+There was a bit of Andrew's gossip which the King listened to with
+a lively interest--
+
+"There is rumour that the King is mad.  But in charity forbear to
+say _I_ mentioned it, for 'tis death to speak of it, they say."
+
+His Majesty glared at the old man and said--
+
+"The King is NOT mad, good man--and thou'lt find it to thy
+advantage to busy thyself with matters that nearer concern thee
+than this seditious prattle."
+
+"What doth the lad mean?" said Andrews, surprised at this brisk
+assault from such an unexpected quarter.  Hendon gave him a sign,
+and he did not pursue his question, but went on with his budget--
+
+"The late King is to be buried at Windsor in a day or two--the
+16th of the month--and the new King will be crowned at Westminster
+the 20th."
+
+"Methinks they must needs find him first," muttered his Majesty;
+then added, confidently, "but they will look to that--and so also
+shall I."
+
+"In the name of--"
+
+But the old man got no further--a warning sign from Hendon checked
+his remark.  He resumed the thread of his gossip--
+
+"Sir Hugh goeth to the coronation--and with grand hopes.  He
+confidently looketh to come back a peer, for he is high in favour
+with the Lord Protector."
+
+"What Lord Protector?" asked his Majesty.
+
+"His Grace the Duke of Somerset."
+
+"What Duke of Somerset?"
+
+"Marry, there is but one--Seymour, Earl of Hertford."
+
+The King asked sharply--
+
+"Since when is HE a duke, and Lord Protector?"
+
+"Since the last day of January."
+
+"And prithee who made him so?"
+
+"Himself and the Great Council--with help of the King."
+
+His Majesty started violently.  "The KING!" he cried.  "WHAT king,
+good sir?"
+
+"What king, indeed! (God-a-mercy, what aileth the boy?)  Sith we
+have but one, 'tis not difficult to answer--his most sacred
+Majesty King Edward the Sixth--whom God preserve!  Yea, and a dear
+and gracious little urchin is he, too; and whether he be mad or
+no--and they say he mendeth daily--his praises are on all men's
+lips; and all bless him, likewise, and offer prayers that he may
+be spared to reign long in England; for he began humanely with
+saving the old Duke of Norfolk's life, and now is he bent on
+destroying the cruellest of the laws that harry and oppress the
+people."
+
+This news struck his Majesty dumb with amazement, and plunged him
+into so deep and dismal a reverie that he heard no more of the old
+man's gossip.  He wondered if the 'little urchin' was the beggar-
+boy whom he left dressed in his own garments in the palace.  It
+did not seem possible that this could be, for surely his manners
+and speech would betray him if he pretended to be the Prince of
+Wales--then he would be driven out, and search made for the true
+prince.  Could it be that the Court had set up some sprig of the
+nobility in his place?  No, for his uncle would not allow that--he
+was all-powerful and could and would crush such a movement, of
+course.  The boy's musings profited him nothing; the more he tried
+to unriddle the mystery the more perplexed he became, the more his
+head ached, and the worse he slept.  His impatience to get to
+London grew hourly, and his captivity became almost unendurable.
+
+Hendon's arts all failed with the King--he could not be comforted;
+but a couple of women who were chained near him succeeded better.
+Under their gentle ministrations he found peace and learned a
+degree of patience.  He was very grateful, and came to love them
+dearly and to delight in the sweet and soothing influence of their
+presence.  He asked them why they were in prison, and when they
+said they were Baptists, he smiled, and inquired--
+
+"Is that a crime to be shut up for in a prison?  Now I grieve, for
+I shall lose ye--they will not keep ye long for such a little
+thing."
+
+They did not answer; and something in their faces made him uneasy.
+He said, eagerly--
+
+"You do not speak; be good to me, and tell me--there will be no
+other punishment?  Prithee tell me there is no fear of that."
+
+They tried to change the topic, but his fears were aroused, and he
+pursued it--
+
+"Will they scourge thee?  No, no, they would not be so cruel!  Say
+they would not.  Come, they WILL not, will they?"
+
+The women betrayed confusion and distress, but there was no
+avoiding an answer, so one of them said, in a voice choked with
+emotion--
+
+"Oh, thou'lt break our hearts, thou gentle spirit!--God will help
+us to bear our--"
+
+"It is a confession!" the King broke in.  "Then they WILL scourge
+thee, the stony-hearted wretches!  But oh, thou must not weep, I
+cannot bear it.  Keep up thy courage--I shall come to my own in
+time to save thee from this bitter thing, and I will do it!"
+
+When the King awoke in the morning, the women were gone.
+
+"They are saved!" he said, joyfully; then added, despondently,
+"but woe is me!--for they were my comforters."
+
+Each of them had left a shred of ribbon pinned to his clothing, in
+token of remembrance.  He said he would keep these things always;
+and that soon he would seek out these dear good friends of his and
+take them under his protection.
+
+Just then the jailer came in with some subordinates, and commanded
+that the prisoners be conducted to the jail-yard.  The King was
+overjoyed--it would be a blessed thing to see the blue sky and
+breathe the fresh air once more.  He fretted and chafed at the
+slowness of the officers, but his turn came at last, and he was
+released from his staple and ordered to follow the other prisoners
+with Hendon.
+
+The court or quadrangle was stone-paved, and open to the sky.  The
+prisoners entered it through a massive archway of masonry, and
+were placed in file, standing, with their backs against the wall.
+A rope was stretched in front of them, and they were also guarded
+by their officers.  It was a chill and lowering morning, and a
+light snow which had fallen during the night whitened the great
+empty space and added to the general dismalness of its aspect.
+Now and then a wintry wind shivered through the place and sent the
+snow eddying hither and thither.
+
+In the centre of the court stood two women, chained to posts.  A
+glance showed the King that these were his good friends.  He
+shuddered, and said to himself, "Alack, they are not gone free, as
+I had thought.  To think that such as these should know the lash!-
+-in England!  Ay, there's the shame of it--not in Heathennesse,
+Christian England!  They will be scourged; and I, whom they have
+comforted and kindly entreated, must look on and see the great
+wrong done; it is strange, so strange, that I, the very source of
+power in this broad realm, am helpless to protect them.  But let
+these miscreants look well to themselves, for there is a day
+coming when I will require of them a heavy reckoning for this
+work.  For every blow they strike now, they shall feel a hundred
+then."
+
+A great gate swung open, and a crowd of citizens poured in.  They
+flocked around the two women, and hid them from the King's view.
+A clergyman entered and passed through the crowd, and he also was
+hidden.  The King now heard talking, back and forth, as if
+questions were being asked and answered, but he could not make out
+what was said.  Next there was a deal of bustle and preparation,
+and much passing and repassing of officials through that part of
+the crowd that stood on the further side of the women; and whilst
+this proceeded a deep hush gradually fell upon the people.
+
+Now, by command, the masses parted and fell aside, and the King
+saw a spectacle that froze the marrow in his bones.  Faggots had
+been piled about the two women, and a kneeling man was lighting
+them!
+
+The women bowed their heads, and covered their faces with their
+hands; the yellow flames began to climb upward among the snapping
+and crackling faggots, and wreaths of blue smoke to stream away on
+the wind; the clergyman lifted his hands and began a prayer--just
+then two young girls came flying through the great gate, uttering
+piercing screams, and threw themselves upon the women at the
+stake.  Instantly they were torn away by the officers, and one of
+them was kept in a tight grip, but the other broke loose, saying
+she would die with her mother; and before she could be stopped she
+had flung her arms about her mother's neck again.  She was torn
+away once more, and with her gown on fire.  Two or three men held
+her, and the burning portion of her gown was snatched off and
+thrown flaming aside, she struggling all the while to free
+herself, and saying she would be alone in the world, now; and
+begging to be allowed to die with her mother.  Both the girls
+screamed continually, and fought for freedom; but suddenly this
+tumult was drowned under a volley of heart-piercing shrieks of
+mortal agony--the King glanced from the frantic girls to the
+stake, then turned away and leaned his ashen face against the
+wall, and looked no more.  He said, "That which I have seen, in
+that one little moment, will never go out from my memory, but will
+abide there; and I shall see it all the days, and dream of it all
+the nights, till I die.  Would God I had been blind!"
+
+Hendon was watching the King.  He said to himself, with
+satisfaction, "His disorder mendeth; he hath changed, and groweth
+gentler.  If he had followed his wont, he would have stormed at
+these varlets, and said he was King, and commanded that the women
+be turned loose unscathed.  Soon his delusion will pass away and
+be forgotten, and his poor mind will be whole again.  God speed
+the day!"
+
+That same day several prisoners were brought in to remain over
+night, who were being conveyed, under guard, to various places in
+the kingdom, to undergo punishment for crimes committed.  The King
+conversed with these--he had made it a point, from the beginning,
+to instruct himself for the kingly office by questioning prisoners
+whenever the opportunity offered--and the tale of their woes wrung
+his heart.  One of them was a poor half-witted woman who had
+stolen a yard or two of cloth from a weaver--she was to be hanged
+for it.  Another was a man who had been accused of stealing a
+horse; he said the proof had failed, and he had imagined that he
+was safe from the halter; but no--he was hardly free before he was
+arraigned for killing a deer in the King's park; this was proved
+against him, and now he was on his way to the gallows.  There was
+a tradesman's apprentice whose case particularly distressed the
+King; this youth said he found a hawk, one evening, that had
+escaped from its owner, and he took it home with him, imagining
+himself entitled to it; but the court convicted him of stealing
+it, and sentenced him to death.
+
+The King was furious over these inhumanities, and wanted Hendon to
+break jail and fly with him to Westminster, so that he could mount
+his throne and hold out his sceptre in mercy over these
+unfortunate people and save their lives.  "Poor child," sighed
+Hendon, "these woeful tales have brought his malady upon him
+again; alack, but for this evil hap, he would have been well in a
+little time."
+
+Among these prisoners was an old lawyer--a man with a strong face
+and a dauntless mien.  Three years past, he had written a pamphlet
+against the Lord Chancellor, accusing him of injustice, and had
+been punished for it by the loss of his ears in the pillory, and
+degradation from the bar, and in addition had been fined 3,000
+pounds and sentenced to imprisonment for life.  Lately he had
+repeated his offence; and in consequence was now under sentence to
+lose WHAT REMAINED OF HIS EARS, pay a fine of 5,000 pounds, be
+branded on both cheeks, and remain in prison for life.
+
+"These be honourable scars," he said, and turned back his grey
+hair and showed the mutilated stubs of what had once been his
+ears.
+
+The King's eye burned with passion.  He said--
+
+"None believe in me--neither wilt thou.  But no matter--within the
+compass of a month thou shalt be free; and more, the laws that
+have dishonoured thee, and shamed the English name, shall be swept
+from the statute books.  The world is made wrong; kings should go
+to school to their own laws, at times, and so learn mercy." {1}
+
+
+
+Chapter XXVIII. The sacrifice.
+
+Meantime Miles was growing sufficiently tired of confinement and
+inaction.  But now his trial came on, to his great gratification,
+and he thought he could welcome any sentence provided a further
+imprisonment should not be a part of it.  But he was mistaken
+about that.  He was in a fine fury when he found himself described
+as a 'sturdy vagabond' and sentenced to sit two hours in the
+stocks for bearing that character and for assaulting the master of
+Hendon Hall.  His pretensions as to brothership with his
+prosecutor, and rightful heirship to the Hendon honours and
+estates, were left contemptuously unnoticed, as being not even
+worth examination.
+
+He raged and threatened on his way to punishment, but it did no
+good; he was snatched roughly along by the officers, and got an
+occasional cuff, besides, for his irreverent conduct.
+
+The King could not pierce through the rabble that swarmed behind;
+so he was obliged to follow in the rear, remote from his good
+friend and servant.  The King had been nearly condemned to the
+stocks himself for being in such bad company, but had been let off
+with a lecture and a warning, in consideration of his youth.  When
+the crowd at last halted, he flitted feverishly from point to
+point around its outer rim, hunting a place to get through; and at
+last, after a deal of difficulty and delay, succeeded.  There sat
+his poor henchman in the degrading stocks, the sport and butt of a
+dirty mob--he, the body servant of the King of England!  Edward
+had heard the sentence pronounced, but he had not realised the
+half that it meant.  His anger began to rise as the sense of this
+new indignity which had been put upon him sank home; it jumped to
+summer heat, the next moment, when he saw an egg sail through the
+air and crush itself against Hendon's cheek, and heard the crowd
+roar its enjoyment of the episode.  He sprang across the open
+circle and confronted the officer in charge, crying--
+
+"For shame!  This is my servant--set him free!  I am the--"
+
+"Oh, peace!" exclaimed Hendon, in a panic, "thou'lt destroy
+thyself.  Mind him not, officer, he is mad."
+
+"Give thyself no trouble as to the matter of minding him, good
+man, I have small mind to mind him; but as to teaching him
+somewhat, to that I am well inclined."  He turned to a subordinate
+and said, "Give the little fool a taste or two of the lash, to
+mend his manners."
+
+"Half a dozen will better serve his turn," suggested Sir Hugh, who
+had ridden up, a moment before, to take a passing glance at the
+proceedings.
+
+The King was seized.  He did not even struggle, so paralysed was
+he with the mere thought of the monstrous outrage that was
+proposed to be inflicted upon his sacred person.  History was
+already defiled with the record of the scourging of an English
+king with whips--it was an intolerable reflection that he must
+furnish a duplicate of that shameful page.  He was in the toils,
+there was no help for him; he must either take this punishment or
+beg for its remission.  Hard conditions; he would take the
+stripes--a king might do that, but a king could not beg.
+
+But meantime, Miles Hendon was resolving the difficulty.  "Let the
+child go," said he; "ye heartless dogs, do ye not see how young
+and frail he is?  Let him go--I will take his lashes."
+
+"Marry, a good thought--and thanks for it," said Sir Hugh, his
+face lighting with a sardonic satisfaction.  "Let the little
+beggar go, and give this fellow a dozen in his place--an honest
+dozen, well laid on."  The King was in the act of entering a
+fierce protest, but Sir Hugh silenced him with the potent remark,
+"Yes, speak up, do, and free thy mind--only, mark ye, that for
+each word you utter he shall get six strokes the more."
+
+Hendon was removed from the stocks, and his back laid bare; and
+whilst the lash was applied the poor little King turned away his
+face and allowed unroyal tears to channel his cheeks unchecked.
+"Ah, brave good heart," he said to himself, "this loyal deed shall
+never perish out of my memory.  I will not forget it--and neither
+shall THEY!" he added, with passion.  Whilst he mused, his
+appreciation of Hendon's magnanimous conduct grew to greater and
+still greater dimensions in his mind, and so also did his
+gratefulness for it.  Presently he said to himself, "Who saves his
+prince from wounds and possible death--and this he did for me--
+performs high service; but it is little--it is nothing--oh, less
+than nothing!--when 'tis weighed against the act of him who saves
+his prince from SHAME!"
+
+Hendon made no outcry under the scourge, but bore the heavy blows
+with soldierly fortitude.  This, together with his redeeming the
+boy by taking his stripes for him, compelled the respect of even
+that forlorn and degraded mob that was gathered there; and its
+gibes and hootings died away, and no sound remained but the sound
+of the falling blows.  The stillness that pervaded the place, when
+Hendon found himself once more in the stocks, was in strong
+contrast with the insulting clamour which had prevailed there so
+little a while before.  The King came softly to Hendon's side, and
+whispered in his ear--
+
+"Kings cannot ennoble thee, thou good, great soul, for One who is
+higher than kings hath done that for thee; but a king can confirm
+thy nobility to men."  He picked up the scourge from the ground,
+touched Hendon's bleeding shoulders lightly with it, and
+whispered, "Edward of England dubs thee Earl!"
+
+Hendon was touched.  The water welled to his eyes, yet at the same
+time the grisly humour of the situation and circumstances so
+undermined his gravity that it was all he could do to keep some
+sign of his inward mirth from showing outside.  To be suddenly
+hoisted, naked and gory, from the common stocks to the Alpine
+altitude and splendour of an Earldom, seemed to him the last
+possibility in the line of the grotesque.  He said to himself,
+"Now am I finely tinselled, indeed!  The spectre-knight of the
+Kingdom of Dreams and Shadows is become a spectre-earl--a dizzy
+flight for a callow wing!  An' this go on, I shall presently be
+hung like a very maypole with fantastic gauds and make-believe
+honours.  But I shall value them, all valueless as they are, for
+the love that doth bestow them.  Better these poor mock dignities
+of mine, that come unasked, from a clean hand and a right spirit,
+than real ones bought by servility from grudging and interested
+power."
+
+The dreaded Sir Hugh wheeled his horse about, and as he spurred
+away, the living wall divided silently to let him pass, and as
+silently closed together again.  And so remained; nobody went so
+far as to venture a remark in favour of the prisoner, or in
+compliment to him; but no matter--the absence of abuse was a
+sufficient homage in itself.  A late comer who was not posted as
+to the present circumstances, and who delivered a sneer at the
+'impostor,' and was in the act of following it with a dead cat,
+was promptly knocked down and kicked out, without any words, and
+then the deep quiet resumed sway once more.
+
+
+
+Chapter XXIX. To London.
+
+When Hendon's term of service in the stocks was finished, he was
+released and ordered to quit the region and come back no more.
+His sword was restored to him, and also his mule and his donkey.
+He mounted and rode off, followed by the King, the crowd opening
+with quiet respectfulness to let them pass, and then dispersing
+when they were gone.
+
+Hendon was soon absorbed in thought.  There were questions of high
+import to be answered.  What should he do?  Whither should he go?
+Powerful help must be found somewhere, or he must relinquish his
+inheritance and remain under the imputation of being an impostor
+besides.  Where could he hope to find this powerful help?  Where,
+indeed!  It was a knotty question.  By-and-by a thought occurred
+to him which pointed to a possibility--the slenderest of slender
+possibilities, certainly, but still worth considering, for lack of
+any other that promised anything at all.  He remembered what old
+Andrews had said about the young King's goodness and his generous
+championship of the wronged and unfortunate.  Why not go and try
+to get speech of him and beg for justice?  Ah, yes, but could so
+fantastic a pauper get admission to the august presence of a
+monarch?  Never mind--let that matter take care of itself; it was
+a bridge that would not need to be crossed till he should come to
+it.  He was an old campaigner, and used to inventing shifts and
+expedients:  no doubt he would be able to find a way.  Yes, he
+would strike for the capital.  Maybe his father's old friend Sir
+Humphrey Marlow would help him--'good old Sir Humphrey, Head
+Lieutenant of the late King's kitchen, or stables, or something'--
+Miles could not remember just what or which.  Now that he had
+something to turn his energies to, a distinctly defined object to
+accomplish, the fog of humiliation and depression which had
+settled down upon his spirits lifted and blew away, and he raised
+his head and looked about him.  He was surprised to see how far he
+had come; the village was away behind him.  The King was jogging
+along in his wake, with his head bowed; for he, too, was deep in
+plans and thinkings.  A sorrowful misgiving clouded Hendon's new-
+born cheerfulness:  would the boy be willing to go again to a city
+where, during all his brief life, he had never known anything but
+ill-usage and pinching want?  But the question must be asked; it
+could not be avoided; so Hendon reined up, and called out--
+
+"I had forgotten to inquire whither we are bound.  Thy commands,
+my liege!"
+
+"To London!"
+
+Hendon moved on again, mightily contented with the answer--but
+astounded at it too.
+
+The whole journey was made without an adventure of importance.
+But it ended with one.  About ten o'clock on the night of the 19th
+of February they stepped upon London Bridge, in the midst of a
+writhing, struggling jam of howling and hurrahing people, whose
+beer-jolly faces stood out strongly in the glare from manifold
+torches--and at that instant the decaying head of some former duke
+or other grandee tumbled down between them, striking Hendon on the
+elbow and then bounding off among the hurrying confusion of feet.
+So evanescent and unstable are men's works in this world!--the
+late good King is but three weeks dead and three days in his
+grave, and already the adornments which he took such pains to
+select from prominent people for his noble bridge are falling.  A
+citizen stumbled over that head, and drove his own head into the
+back of somebody in front of him, who turned and knocked down the
+first person that came handy, and was promptly laid out himself by
+that person's friend.  It was the right ripe time for a free
+fight, for the festivities of the morrow--Coronation Day--were
+already beginning; everybody was full of strong drink and
+patriotism; within five minutes the free fight was occupying a
+good deal of ground; within ten or twelve it covered an acre of
+so, and was become a riot.  By this time Hendon and the King were
+hopelessly separated from each other and lost in the rush and
+turmoil of the roaring masses of humanity.  And so we leave them.
+
+
+
+Chapter XXX. Tom's progress.
+
+Whilst the true King wandered about the land poorly clad, poorly
+fed, cuffed and derided by tramps one while, herding with thieves
+and murderers in a jail another, and called idiot and impostor by
+all impartially, the mock King Tom Canty enjoyed quite a different
+experience.
+
+When we saw him last, royalty was just beginning to have a bright
+side for him.  This bright side went on brightening more and more
+every day:  in a very little while it was become almost all
+sunshine and delightfulness.  He lost his fears; his misgivings
+faded out and died; his embarrassments departed, and gave place to
+an easy and confident bearing.  He worked the whipping-boy mine to
+ever-increasing profit.
+
+He ordered my Lady Elizabeth and my Lady Jane Grey into his
+presence when he wanted to play or talk, and dismissed them when
+he was done with them, with the air of one familiarly accustomed
+to such performances.  It no longer confused him to have these
+lofty personages kiss his hand at parting.
+
+He came to enjoy being conducted to bed in state at night, and
+dressed with intricate and solemn ceremony in the morning.  It
+came to be a proud pleasure to march to dinner attended by a
+glittering procession of officers of state and gentlemen-at-arms;
+insomuch, indeed, that he doubled his guard of gentlemen-at-arms,
+and made them a hundred.  He liked to hear the bugles sounding
+down the long corridors, and the distant voices responding, "Way
+for the King!"
+
+He even learned to enjoy sitting in throned state in council, and
+seeming to be something more than the Lord Protector's mouthpiece.
+He liked to receive great ambassadors and their gorgeous trains,
+and listen to the affectionate messages they brought from
+illustrious monarchs who called him brother.  O happy Tom Canty,
+late of Offal Court!
+
+He enjoyed his splendid clothes, and ordered more:  he found his
+four hundred servants too few for his proper grandeur, and trebled
+them.  The adulation of salaaming courtiers came to be sweet music
+to his ears.  He remained kind and gentle, and a sturdy and
+determined champion of all that were oppressed, and he made
+tireless war upon unjust laws:  yet upon occasion, being offended,
+he could turn upon an earl, or even a duke, and give him a look
+that would make him tremble.  Once, when his royal 'sister,' the
+grimly holy Lady Mary, set herself to reason with him against the
+wisdom of his course in pardoning so many people who would
+otherwise be jailed, or hanged, or burned, and reminded him that
+their august late father's prisons had sometimes contained as high
+as sixty thousand convicts at one time, and that during his
+admirable reign he had delivered seventy-two thousand thieves and
+robbers over to death by the executioner, {9} the boy was filled
+with generous indignation, and commanded her to go to her closet,
+and beseech God to take away the stone that was in her breast, and
+give her a human heart.
+
+Did Tom Canty never feel troubled about the poor little rightful
+prince who had treated him so kindly, and flown out with such hot
+zeal to avenge him upon the insolent sentinel at the palace-gate?
+Yes; his first royal days and nights were pretty well sprinkled
+with painful thoughts about the lost prince, and with sincere
+longings for his return, and happy restoration to his native
+rights and splendours.  But as time wore on, and the prince did
+not come, Tom's mind became more and more occupied with his new
+and enchanting experiences, and by little and little the vanished
+monarch faded almost out of his thoughts; and finally, when he did
+intrude upon them at intervals, he was become an unwelcome
+spectre, for he made Tom feel guilty and ashamed.
+
+Tom's poor mother and sisters travelled the same road out of his
+mind.  At first he pined for them, sorrowed for them, longed to
+see them, but later, the thought of their coming some day in their
+rags and dirt, and betraying him with their kisses, and pulling
+him down from his lofty place, and dragging him back to penury and
+degradation and the slums, made him shudder.  At last they ceased
+to trouble his thoughts almost wholly.  And he was content, even
+glad:  for, whenever their mournful and accusing faces did rise
+before him now, they made him feel more despicable than the worms
+that crawl.
+
+At midnight of the 19th of February, Tom Canty was sinking to
+sleep in his rich bed in the palace, guarded by his loyal vassals,
+and surrounded by the pomps of royalty, a happy boy; for tomorrow
+was the day appointed for his solemn crowning as King of England.
+At that same hour, Edward, the true king, hungry and thirsty,
+soiled and draggled, worn with travel, and clothed in rags and
+shreds--his share of the results of the riot--was wedged in among
+a crowd of people who were watching with deep interest certain
+hurrying gangs of workmen who streamed in and out of Westminster
+Abbey, busy as ants:  they were making the last preparation for
+the royal coronation.
+
+
+
+Chapter XXXI. The Recognition procession.
+
+When Tom Canty awoke the next morning, the air was heavy with a
+thunderous murmur:  all the distances were charged with it.  It
+was music to him; for it meant that the English world was out in
+its strength to give loyal welcome to the great day.
+
+Presently Tom found himself once more the chief figure in a
+wonderful floating pageant on the Thames; for by ancient custom
+the 'recognition procession' through London must start from the
+Tower, and he was bound thither.
+
+When he arrived there, the sides of the venerable fortress seemed
+suddenly rent in a thousand places, and from every rent leaped a
+red tongue of flame and a white gush of smoke; a deafening
+explosion followed, which drowned the shoutings of the multitude,
+and made the ground tremble; the flame-jets, the smoke, and the
+explosions, were repeated over and over again with marvellous
+celerity, so that in a few moments the old Tower disappeared in
+the vast fog of its own smoke, all but the very top of the tall
+pile called the White Tower; this, with its banners, stood out
+above the dense bank of vapour as a mountain-peak projects above a
+cloud-rack.
+
+Tom Canty, splendidly arrayed, mounted a prancing war-steed, whose
+rich trappings almost reached to the ground; his 'uncle,' the Lord
+Protector Somerset, similarly mounted, took place in his rear; the
+King's Guard formed in single ranks on either side, clad in
+burnished armour; after the Protector followed a seemingly
+interminable procession of resplendent nobles attended by their
+vassals; after these came the lord mayor and the aldermanic body,
+in crimson velvet robes, and with their gold chains across their
+breasts; and after these the officers and members of all the
+guilds of London, in rich raiment, and bearing the showy banners
+of the several corporations.  Also in the procession, as a special
+guard of honour through the city, was the Ancient and Honourable
+Artillery Company--an organisation already three hundred years old
+at that time, and the only military body in England possessing the
+privilege (which it still possesses in our day) of holding itself
+independent of the commands of Parliament.  It was a brilliant
+spectacle, and was hailed with acclamations all along the line, as
+it took its stately way through the packed multitudes of citizens.
+The chronicler says, 'The King, as he entered the city, was
+received by the people with prayers, welcomings, cries, and tender
+words, and all signs which argue an earnest love of subjects
+toward their sovereign; and the King, by holding up his glad
+countenance to such as stood afar off, and most tender language to
+those that stood nigh his Grace, showed himself no less thankful
+to receive the people's goodwill than they to offer it.  To all
+that wished him well, he gave thanks.  To such as bade "God save
+his Grace," he said in return, "God save you all!" and added that
+"he thanked them with all his heart."  Wonderfully transported
+were the people with the loving answers and gestures of their
+King.'
+
+In Fenchurch Street a 'fair child, in costly apparel,' stood on a
+stage to welcome his Majesty to the city.  The last verse of his
+greeting was in these words--
+
+     'Welcome, O King! as much as hearts can think;
+        Welcome, again, as much as tongue can tell,--
+      Welcome to joyous tongues, and hearts that will not shrink:
+        God thee preserve, we pray, and wish thee ever well.'
+
+The people burst forth in a glad shout, repeating with one voice
+what the child had said.  Tom Canty gazed abroad over the surging
+sea of eager faces, and his heart swelled with exultation; and he
+felt that the one thing worth living for in this world was to be a
+king, and a nation's idol.  Presently he caught sight, at a
+distance, of a couple of his ragged Offal Court comrades--one of
+them the lord high admiral in his late mimic court, the other the
+first lord of the bedchamber in the same pretentious fiction; and
+his pride swelled higher than ever.  Oh, if they could only
+recognise him now!  What unspeakable glory it would be, if they
+could recognise him, and realise that the derided mock king of the
+slums and back alleys was become a real King, with illustrious
+dukes and princes for his humble menials, and the English world at
+his feet!  But he had to deny himself, and choke down his desire,
+for such a recognition might cost more than it would come to:  so
+he turned away his head, and left the two soiled lads to go on
+with their shoutings and glad adulations, unsuspicious of whom it
+was they were lavishing them upon.
+
+Every now and then rose the cry, "A largess! a largess!" and Tom
+responded by scattering a handful of bright new coins abroad for
+the multitude to scramble for.
+
+The chronicler says, 'At the upper end of Gracechurch Street,
+before the sign of the Eagle, the city had erected a gorgeous
+arch, beneath which was a stage, which stretched from one side of
+the street to the other.  This was an historical pageant,
+representing the King's immediate progenitors.  There sat
+Elizabeth of York in the midst of an immense white rose, whose
+petals formed elaborate furbelows around her; by her side was
+Henry VII., issuing out of a vast red rose, disposed in the same
+manner:  the hands of the royal pair were locked together, and the
+wedding-ring ostentatiously displayed.  From the red and white
+roses proceeded a stem, which reached up to a second stage,
+occupied by Henry VIII., issuing from a red and white rose, with
+the effigy of the new King's mother, Jane Seymour, represented by
+his side.  One branch sprang from this pair, which mounted to a
+third stage, where sat the effigy of Edward VI. himself, enthroned
+in royal majesty; and the whole pageant was framed with wreaths of
+roses, red and white.'
+
+This quaint and gaudy spectacle so wrought upon the rejoicing
+people, that their acclamations utterly smothered the small voice
+of the child whose business it was to explain the thing in
+eulogistic rhymes.  But Tom Canty was not sorry; for this loyal
+uproar was sweeter music to him than any poetry, no matter what
+its quality might be.  Whithersoever Tom turned his happy young
+face, the people recognised the exactness of his effigy's likeness
+to himself, the flesh and blood counterpart; and new whirlwinds of
+applause burst forth.
+
+The great pageant moved on, and still on, under one triumphal arch
+after another, and past a bewildering succession of spectacular
+and symbolical tableaux, each of which typified and exalted some
+virtue, or talent, or merit, of the little King's.  'Throughout
+the whole of Cheapside, from every penthouse and window, hung
+banners and streamers; and the richest carpets, stuffs, and cloth-
+of-gold tapestried the streets--specimens of the great wealth of
+the stores within; and the splendour of this thoroughfare was
+equalled in the other streets, and in some even surpassed.'
+
+"And all these wonders and these marvels are to welcome me--me!"
+murmured Tom Canty.
+
+The mock King's cheeks were flushed with excitement, his eyes were
+flashing, his senses swam in a delirium of pleasure.  At this
+point, just as he was raising his hand to fling another rich
+largess, he caught sight of a pale, astounded face, which was
+strained forward out of the second rank of the crowd, its intense
+eyes riveted upon him.  A sickening consternation struck through
+him; he recognised his mother! and up flew his hand, palm outward,
+before his eyes--that old involuntary gesture, born of a forgotten
+episode, and perpetuated by habit.  In an instant more she had
+torn her way out of the press, and past the guards, and was at his
+side.  She embraced his leg, she covered it with kisses, she
+cried, "O my child, my darling!" lifting toward him a face that
+was transfigured with joy and love.  The same instant an officer
+of the King's Guard snatched her away with a curse, and sent her
+reeling back whence she came with a vigorous impulse from his
+strong arm.  The words "I do not know you, woman!" were falling
+from Tom Canty's lips when this piteous thing occurred; but it
+smote him to the heart to see her treated so; and as she turned
+for a last glimpse of him, whilst the crowd was swallowing her
+from his sight, she seemed so wounded, so broken-hearted, that a
+shame fell upon him which consumed his pride to ashes, and
+withered his stolen royalty.  His grandeurs were stricken
+valueless:  they seemed to fall away from him like rotten rags.
+
+The procession moved on, and still on, through ever augmenting
+splendours and ever augmenting tempests of welcome; but to Tom
+Canty they were as if they had not been.  He neither saw nor
+heard.  Royalty had lost its grace and sweetness; its pomps were
+become a reproach.  Remorse was eating his heart out.  He said,
+"Would God I were free of my captivity!"
+
+He had unconsciously dropped back into the phraseology of the
+first days of his compulsory greatness.
+
+The shining pageant still went winding like a radiant and
+interminable serpent down the crooked lanes of the quaint old
+city, and through the huzzaing hosts; but still the King rode with
+bowed head and vacant eyes, seeing only his mother's face and that
+wounded look in it.
+
+"Largess, largess!"  The cry fell upon an unheeding ear.
+
+"Long live Edward of England!"  It seemed as if the earth shook
+with the explosion; but there was no response from the King.  He
+heard it only as one hears the thunder of the surf when it is
+blown to the ear out of a great distance, for it was smothered
+under another sound which was still nearer, in his own breast, in
+his accusing conscience--a voice which kept repeating those
+shameful words, "I do not know you, woman!"
+
+The words smote upon the King's soul as the strokes of a funeral
+bell smite upon the soul of a surviving friend when they remind
+him of secret treacheries suffered at his hands by him that is
+gone.
+
+New glories were unfolded at every turning; new wonders, new
+marvels, sprang into view; the pent clamours of waiting batteries
+were released; new raptures poured from the throats of the waiting
+multitudes:  but the King gave no sign, and the accusing voice
+that went moaning through his comfortless breast was all the sound
+he heard.
+
+By-and-by the gladness in the faces of the populace changed a
+little, and became touched with a something like solicitude or
+anxiety:  an abatement in the volume of the applause was
+observable too.  The Lord Protector was quick to notice these
+things:  he was as quick to detect the cause.  He spurred to the
+King's side, bent low in his saddle, uncovered, and said--
+
+"My liege, it is an ill time for dreaming.  The people observe thy
+downcast head, thy clouded mien, and they take it for an omen.  Be
+advised:  unveil the sun of royalty, and let it shine upon these
+boding vapours, and disperse them.  Lift up thy face, and smile
+upon the people."
+
+So saying, the Duke scattered a handful of coins to right and
+left, then retired to his place.  The mock King did mechanically
+as he had been bidden.  His smile had no heart in it, but few eyes
+were near enough or sharp enough to detect that.  The noddings of
+his plumed head as he saluted his subjects were full of grace and
+graciousness; the largess which he delivered from his hand was
+royally liberal:  so the people's anxiety vanished, and the
+acclamations burst forth again in as mighty a volume as before.
+
+Still once more, a little before the progress was ended, the Duke
+was obliged to ride forward, and make remonstrance.  He whispered-
+-
+
+"O dread sovereign! shake off these fatal humours; the eyes of the
+world are upon thee."  Then he added with sharp annoyance,
+"Perdition catch that crazy pauper! 'twas she that hath disturbed
+your Highness."
+
+The gorgeous figure turned a lustreless eye upon the Duke, and
+said in a dead voice--
+
+"She was my mother!"
+
+"My God!" groaned the Protector as he reined his horse backward to
+his post, "the omen was pregnant with prophecy.  He is gone mad
+again!"
+
+
+
+Chapter XXXII. Coronation Day.
+
+Let us go backward a few hours, and place ourselves in Westminster
+Abbey, at four o'clock in the morning of this memorable Coronation
+Day.  We are not without company; for although it is still night,
+we find the torch-lighted galleries already filling up with people
+who are well content to sit still and wait seven or eight hours
+till the time shall come for them to see what they may not hope to
+see twice in their lives--the coronation of a King.  Yes, London
+and Westminster have been astir ever since the warning guns boomed
+at three o'clock, and already crowds of untitled rich folk who
+have bought the privilege of trying to find sitting-room in the
+galleries are flocking in at the entrances reserved for their
+sort.
+
+The hours drag along tediously enough.  All stir has ceased for
+some time, for every gallery has long ago been packed.  We may
+sit, now, and look and think at our leisure.  We have glimpses,
+here and there and yonder, through the dim cathedral twilight, of
+portions of many galleries and balconies, wedged full with other
+people, the other portions of these galleries and balconies being
+cut off from sight by intervening pillars and architectural
+projections.  We have in view the whole of the great north
+transept--empty, and waiting for England's privileged ones.  We
+see also the ample area or platform, carpeted with rich stuffs,
+whereon the throne stands.  The throne occupies the centre of the
+platform, and is raised above it upon an elevation of four steps.
+Within the seat of the throne is enclosed a rough flat rock--the
+stone of Scone--which many generations of Scottish kings sat on to
+be crowned, and so it in time became holy enough to answer a like
+purpose for English monarchs.  Both the throne and its footstool
+are covered with cloth of gold.
+
+Stillness reigns, the torches blink dully, the time drags heavily.
+But at last the lagging daylight asserts itself, the torches are
+extinguished, and a mellow radiance suffuses the great spaces.
+All features of the noble building are distinct now, but soft and
+dreamy, for the sun is lightly veiled with clouds.
+
+At seven o'clock the first break in the drowsy monotony occurs;
+for on the stroke of this hour the first peeress enters the
+transept, clothed like Solomon for splendour, and is conducted to
+her appointed place by an official clad in satins and velvets,
+whilst a duplicate of him gathers up the lady's long train,
+follows after, and, when the lady is seated, arranges the train
+across her lap for her.  He then places her footstool according to
+her desire, after which he puts her coronet where it will be
+convenient to her hand when the time for the simultaneous
+coroneting of the nobles shall arrive.
+
+By this time the peeresses are flowing in in a glittering stream,
+and the satin-clad officials are flitting and glinting everywhere,
+seating them and making them comfortable.  The scene is animated
+enough now.  There is stir and life, and shifting colour
+everywhere.  After a time, quiet reigns again; for the peeresses
+are all come and are all in their places, a solid acre or such a
+matter, of human flowers, resplendent in variegated colours, and
+frosted like a Milky Way with diamonds.  There are all ages here:
+brown, wrinkled, white-haired dowagers who are able to go back,
+and still back, down the stream of time, and recall the crowning
+of Richard III. and the troublous days of that old forgotten age;
+and there are handsome middle-aged dames; and lovely and gracious
+young matrons; and gentle and beautiful young girls, with beaming
+eyes and fresh complexions, who may possibly put on their jewelled
+coronets awkwardly when the great time comes; for the matter will
+be new to them, and their excitement will be a sore hindrance.
+Still, this may not happen, for the hair of all these ladies has
+been arranged with a special view to the swift and successful
+lodging of the crown in its place when the signal comes.
+
+We have seen that this massed array of peeresses is sown thick
+with diamonds, and we also see that it is a marvellous spectacle--
+but now we are about to be astonished in earnest.  About nine, the
+clouds suddenly break away and a shaft of sunshine cleaves the
+mellow atmosphere, and drifts slowly along the ranks of ladies;
+and every rank it touches flames into a dazzling splendour of
+many-coloured fires, and we tingle to our finger-tips with the
+electric thrill that is shot through us by the surprise and the
+beauty of the spectacle!  Presently a special envoy from some
+distant corner of the Orient, marching with the general body of
+foreign ambassadors, crosses this bar of sunshine, and we catch
+our breath, the glory that streams and flashes and palpitates
+about him is so overpowering; for he is crusted from head to heel
+with gems, and his slightest movement showers a dancing radiance
+all around him.
+
+Let us change the tense for convenience.  The time drifted along--
+one hour--two hours--two hours and a half; then the deep booming
+of artillery told that the King and his grand procession had
+arrived at last; so the waiting multitude rejoiced.  All knew that
+a further delay must follow, for the King must be prepared and
+robed for the solemn ceremony; but this delay would be pleasantly
+occupied by the assembling of the peers of the realm in their
+stately robes.  These were conducted ceremoniously to their seats,
+and their coronets placed conveniently at hand; and meanwhile the
+multitude in the galleries were alive with interest, for most of
+them were beholding for the first time, dukes, earls, and barons,
+whose names had been historical for five hundred years.  When all
+were finally seated, the spectacle from the galleries and all
+coigns of vantage was complete; a gorgeous one to look upon and to
+remember.
+
+Now the robed and mitred great heads of the church, and their
+attendants, filed in upon the platform and took their appointed
+places; these were followed by the Lord Protector and other great
+officials, and these again by a steel-clad detachment of the
+Guard.
+
+There was a waiting pause; then, at a signal, a triumphant peal of
+music burst forth, and Tom Canty, clothed in a long robe of cloth
+of gold, appeared at a door, and stepped upon the platform.  The
+entire multitude rose, and the ceremony of the Recognition ensued.
+
+Then a noble anthem swept the Abbey with its rich waves of sound;
+and thus heralded and welcomed, Tom Canty was conducted to the
+throne.  The ancient ceremonies went on, with impressive
+solemnity, whilst the audience gazed; and as they drew nearer and
+nearer to completion, Tom Canty grew pale, and still paler, and a
+deep and steadily deepening woe and despondency settled down upon
+his spirits and upon his remorseful heart.
+
+At last the final act was at hand.  The Archbishop of Canterbury
+lifted up the crown of England from its cushion and held it out
+over the trembling mock-King's head.  In the same instant a
+rainbow-radiance flashed along the spacious transept; for with one
+impulse every individual in the great concourse of nobles lifted a
+coronet and poised it over his or her head--and paused in that
+attitude.
+
+A deep hush pervaded the Abbey.  At this impressive moment, a
+startling apparition intruded upon the scene--an apparition
+observed by none in the absorbed multitude, until it suddenly
+appeared, moving up the great central aisle.  It was a boy,
+bareheaded, ill shod, and clothed in coarse plebeian garments that
+were falling to rags.  He raised his hand with a solemnity which
+ill comported with his soiled and sorry aspect, and delivered this
+note of warning--
+
+"I forbid you to set the crown of England upon that forfeited
+head.  I am the King!"
+
+In an instant several indignant hands were laid upon the boy; but
+in the same instant Tom Canty, in his regal vestments, made a
+swift step forward, and cried out in a ringing voice--
+
+"Loose him and forbear!  He IS the King!"
+
+A sort of panic of astonishment swept the assemblage, and they
+partly rose in their places and stared in a bewildered way at one
+another and at the chief figures in this scene, like persons who
+wondered whether they were awake and in their senses, or asleep
+and dreaming.  The Lord Protector was as amazed as the rest, but
+quickly recovered himself, and exclaimed in a voice of authority--
+
+"Mind not his Majesty, his malady is upon him again--seize the
+vagabond!"
+
+He would have been obeyed, but the mock-King stamped his foot and
+cried out--
+
+"On your peril!  Touch him not, he is the King!"
+
+The hands were withheld; a paralysis fell upon the house; no one
+moved, no one spoke; indeed, no one knew how to act or what to
+say, in so strange and surprising an emergency.  While all minds
+were struggling to right themselves, the boy still moved steadily
+forward, with high port and confident mien; he had never halted
+from the beginning; and while the tangled minds still floundered
+helplessly, he stepped upon the platform, and the mock-King ran
+with a glad face to meet him; and fell on his knees before him and
+said--
+
+"Oh, my lord the King, let poor Tom Canty be first to swear fealty
+to thee, and say, 'Put on thy crown and enter into thine own
+again!'"
+
+The Lord Protector's eye fell sternly upon the new-comer's face;
+but straightway the sternness vanished away, and gave place to an
+expression of wondering surprise.  This thing happened also to the
+other great officers.  They glanced at each other, and retreated a
+step by a common and unconscious impulse.  The thought in each
+mind was the same:  "What a strange resemblance!"
+
+The Lord Protector reflected a moment or two in perplexity, then
+he said, with grave respectfulness--
+
+"By your favour, sir, I desire to ask certain questions which--"
+
+"I will answer them, my lord."
+
+The Duke asked him many questions about the Court, the late King,
+the prince, the princesses--the boy answered them correctly and
+without hesitating.  He described the rooms of state in the
+palace, the late King's apartments, and those of the Prince of
+Wales.
+
+It was strange; it was wonderful; yes, it was unaccountable--so
+all said that heard it.  The tide was beginning to turn, and Tom
+Canty's hopes to run high, when the Lord Protector shook his head
+and said--
+
+"It is true it is most wonderful--but it is no more than our lord
+the King likewise can do."  This remark, and this reference to
+himself as still the King, saddened Tom Canty, and he felt his
+hopes crumbling from under him.  "These are not PROOFS," added the
+Protector.
+
+The tide was turning very fast now, very fast indeed--but in the
+wrong direction; it was leaving poor Tom Canty stranded on the
+throne, and sweeping the other out to sea.  The Lord Protector
+communed with himself--shook his head--the thought forced itself
+upon him, "It is perilous to the State and to us all, to entertain
+so fateful a riddle as this; it could divide the nation and
+undermine the throne."  He turned and said--
+
+"Sir Thomas, arrest this--No, hold!"  His face lighted, and he
+confronted the ragged candidate with this question--
+
+"Where lieth the Great Seal?  Answer me this truly, and the riddle
+is unriddled; for only he that was Prince of Wales CAN so answer!
+On so trivial a thing hang a throne and a dynasty!"
+
+It was a lucky thought, a happy thought.  That it was so
+considered by the great officials was manifested by the silent
+applause that shot from eye to eye around their circle in the form
+of bright approving glances.  Yes, none but the true prince could
+dissolve the stubborn mystery of the vanished Great Seal--this
+forlorn little impostor had been taught his lesson well, but here
+his teachings must fail, for his teacher himself could not answer
+THAT question--ah, very good, very good indeed; now we shall be
+rid of this troublesome and perilous business in short order!  And
+so they nodded invisibly and smiled inwardly with satisfaction,
+and looked to see this foolish lad stricken with a palsy of guilty
+confusion.  How surprised they were, then, to see nothing of the
+sort happen--how they marvelled to hear him answer up promptly, in
+a confident and untroubled voice, and say--
+
+"There is nought in this riddle that is difficult."  Then, without
+so much as a by-your-leave to anybody, he turned and gave this
+command, with the easy manner of one accustomed to doing such
+things: "My Lord St. John, go you to my private cabinet in the
+palace--for none knoweth the place better than you--and, close
+down to the floor, in the left corner remotest from the door that
+opens from the ante-chamber, you shall find in the wall a brazen
+nail-head; press upon it and a little jewel-closet will fly open
+which not even you do know of--no, nor any sould else in all the
+world but me and the trusty artisan that did contrive it for me.
+The first thing that falleth under your eye will be the Great
+Seal--fetch it hither."
+
+All the company wondered at this speech, and wondered still more
+to see the little mendicant pick out this peer without hesitancy
+or apparent fear of mistake, and call him by name with such a
+placidly convincing air of having known him all his life.  The
+peer was almost surprised into obeying.  He even made a movement
+as if to go, but quickly recovered his tranquil attitude and
+confessed his blunder with a blush.  Tom Canty turned upon him and
+said, sharply--
+
+"Why dost thou hesitate?  Hast not heard the King's command?  Go!"
+
+The Lord St. John made a deep obeisance--and it was observed that
+it was a significantly cautious and non-committal one, it not
+being delivered at either of the kings, but at the neutral ground
+about half-way between the two--and took his leave.
+
+Now began a movement of the gorgeous particles of that official
+group which was slow, scarcely perceptible, and yet steady and
+persistent--a movement such as is observed in a kaleidoscope that
+is turned slowly, whereby the components of one splendid cluster
+fall away and join themselves to another--a movement which, little
+by little, in the present case, dissolved the glittering crowd
+that stood about Tom Canty and clustered it together again in the
+neighbourhood of the new-comer.  Tom Canty stood almost alone.
+Now ensued a brief season of deep suspense and waiting--during
+which even the few faint hearts still remaining near Tom Canty
+gradually scraped together courage enough to glide, one by one,
+over to the majority.  So at last Tom Canty, in his royal robes
+and jewels, stood wholly alone and isolated from the world, a
+conspicuous figure, occupying an eloquent vacancy.
+
+Now the Lord St. John was seen returning.  As he advanced up the
+mid-aisle the interest was so intense that the low murmur of
+conversation in the great assemblage died out and was succeeded by
+a profound hush, a breathless stillness, through which his
+footfalls pulsed with a dull and distant sound.  Every eye was
+fastened upon him as he moved along.  He reached the platform,
+paused a moment, then moved toward Tom Canty with a deep
+obeisance, and said--
+
+"Sire, the Seal is not there!"
+
+A mob does not melt away from the presence of a plague-patient
+with more haste than the band of pallid and terrified courtiers
+melted away from the presence of the shabby little claimant of the
+Crown.  In a moment he stood all alone, without friend or
+supporter, a target upon which was concentrated a bitter fire of
+scornful and angry looks.  The Lord Protector called out fiercely-
+-
+
+"Cast the beggar into the street, and scourge him through the
+town--the paltry knave is worth no more consideration!"
+
+Officers of the guard sprang forward to obey, but Tom Canty waved
+them off and said--
+
+"Back!  Whoso touches him perils his life!"
+
+The Lord Protector was perplexed in the last degree.  He said to
+the Lord St. John--
+
+"Searched you well?--but it boots not to ask that.  It doth seem
+passing strange.  Little things, trifles, slip out of one's ken,
+and one does not think it matter for surprise; but how so bulky a
+thing as the Seal of England can vanish away and no man be able to
+get track of it again--a massy golden disk--"
+
+Tom Canty, with beaming eyes, sprang forward and shouted--
+
+"Hold, that is enough!  Was it round?--and thick?--and had it
+letters and devices graved upon it?--yes?  Oh, NOW I know what
+this Great Seal is that there's been such worry and pother about.
+An' ye had described it to me, ye could have had it three weeks
+ago.  Right well I know where it lies; but it was not I that put
+it there--first."
+
+"Who, then, my liege?" asked the Lord Protector.
+
+"He that stands there--the rightful King of England.  And he shall
+tell you himself where it lies--then you will believe he knew it
+of his own knowledge.  Bethink thee, my King--spur thy memory--it
+was the last, the very LAST thing thou didst that day before thou
+didst rush forth from the palace, clothed in my rags, to punish
+the soldier that insulted me."
+
+A silence ensued, undisturbed by a movement or a whisper, and all
+eyes were fixed upon the new-comer, who stood, with bent head and
+corrugated brow, groping in his memory among a thronging multitude
+of valueless recollections for one single little elusive fact,
+which, found, would seat him upon a throne--unfound, would leave
+him as he was, for good and all--a pauper and an outcast.  Moment
+after moment passed--the moments built themselves into minutes--
+still the boy struggled silently on, and gave no sign.  But at
+last he heaved a sigh, shook his head slowly, and said, with a
+trembling lip and in a despondent voice--
+
+"I call the scene back--all of it--but the Seal hath no place in
+it."  He paused, then looked up, and said with gentle dignity, "My
+lords and gentlemen, if ye will rob your rightful sovereign of his
+own for lack of this evidence which he is not able to furnish, I
+may not stay ye, being powerless.  But--"
+
+"Oh, folly, oh, madness, my King!" cried Tom Canty, in a panic,
+"wait!--think!  Do not give up!--the cause is not lost!  Nor SHALL
+be, neither!  List to what I say--follow every word--I am going to
+bring that morning back again, every hap just as it happened.  We
+talked--I told you of my sisters, Nan and Bet--ah, yes, you
+remember that; and about mine old grandam--and the rough games of
+the lads of Offal Court--yes, you remember these things also; very
+well, follow me still, you shall recall everything.  You gave me
+food and drink, and did with princely courtesy send away the
+servants, so that my low breeding might not shame me before them--
+ah, yes, this also you remember."
+
+As Tom checked off his details, and the other boy nodded his head
+in recognition of them, the great audience and the officials
+stared in puzzled wonderment; the tale sounded like true history,
+yet how could this impossible conjunction between a prince and a
+beggar-boy have come about?  Never was a company of people so
+perplexed, so interested, and so stupefied, before.
+
+"For a jest, my prince, we did exchange garments.  Then we stood
+before a mirror; and so alike were we that both said it seemed as
+if there had been no change made--yes, you remember that.  Then
+you noticed that the soldier had hurt my hand--look! here it is, I
+cannot yet even write with it, the fingers are so stiff.  At this
+your Highness sprang up, vowing vengeance upon that soldier, and
+ran towards the door--you passed a table--that thing you call the
+Seal lay on that table--you snatched it up and looked eagerly
+about, as if for a place to hide it--your eye caught sight of--"
+
+"There, 'tis sufficient!--and the good God be thanked!" exclaimed
+the ragged claimant, in a mighty excitement.  "Go, my good St.
+John--in an arm-piece of the Milanese armour that hangs on the
+wall, thou'lt find the Seal!"
+
+"Right, my King! right!" cried Tom Canty; "NOW the sceptre of
+England is thine own; and it were better for him that would
+dispute it that he had been born dumb!  Go, my Lord St. John, give
+thy feet wings!"
+
+The whole assemblage was on its feet now, and well-nigh out of its
+mind with uneasiness, apprehension, and consuming excitement.  On
+the floor and on the platform a deafening buzz of frantic
+conversation burst forth, and for some time nobody knew anything
+or heard anything or was interested in anything but what his
+neighbour was shouting into his ear, or he was shouting into his
+neighbour's ear.  Time--nobody knew how much of it--swept by
+unheeded and unnoted.  At last a sudden hush fell upon the house,
+and in the same moment St. John appeared upon the platform, and
+held the Great Seal aloft in his hand.  Then such a shout went up-
+-
+
+"Long live the true King!"
+
+For five minutes the air quaked with shouts and the crash of
+musical instruments, and was white with a storm of waving
+handkerchiefs; and through it all a ragged lad, the most
+conspicuous figure in England, stood, flushed and happy and proud,
+in the centre of the spacious platform, with the great vassals of
+the kingdom kneeling around him.
+
+Then all rose, and Tom Canty cried out--
+
+"Now, O my King, take these regal garments back, and give poor
+Tom, thy servant, his shreds and remnants again."
+
+The Lord Protector spoke up--
+
+"Let the small varlet be stripped and flung into the Tower."
+
+But the new King, the true King, said--
+
+"I will not have it so.  But for him I had not got my crown again-
+-none shall lay a hand upon him to harm him.  And as for thee, my
+good uncle, my Lord Protector, this conduct of thine is not
+grateful toward this poor lad, for I hear he hath made thee a
+duke"--the Protector blushed--"yet he was not a king; wherefore
+what is thy fine title worth now?  To-morrow you shall sue to me,
+THROUGH HIM, for its confirmation, else no duke, but a simple
+earl, shalt thou remain."
+
+Under this rebuke, his Grace the Duke of Somerset retired a little
+from the front for the moment.  The King turned to Tom, and said
+kindly--"My poor boy, how was it that you could remember where I
+hid the Seal when I could not remember it myself?"
+
+"Ah, my King, that was easy, since I used it divers days."
+
+"Used it--yet could not explain where it was?"
+
+"I did not know it was THAT they wanted.  They did not describe
+it, your Majesty."
+
+"Then how used you it?"
+
+The red blood began to steal up into Tom's cheeks, and he dropped
+his eyes and was silent.
+
+"Speak up, good lad, and fear nothing," said the King.  "How used
+you the Great Seal of England?"
+
+Tom stammered a moment, in a pathetic confusion, then got it out--
+
+"To crack nuts with!"
+
+Poor child, the avalanche of laughter that greeted this nearly
+swept him off his feet.  But if a doubt remained in any mind that
+Tom Canty was not the King of England and familiar with the august
+appurtenances of royalty, this reply disposed of it utterly.
+
+Meantime the sumptuous robe of state had been removed from Tom's
+shoulders to the King's, whose rags were effectually hidden from
+sight under it.  Then the coronation ceremonies were resumed; the
+true King was anointed and the crown set upon his head, whilst
+cannon thundered the news to the city, and all London seemed to
+rock with applause.
+
+
+
+Chapter XXXIII. Edward as King.
+
+Miles Hendon was picturesque enough before he got into the riot on
+London Bridge--he was more so when he got out of it.  He had but
+little money when he got in, none at all when he got out.  The
+pickpockets had stripped him of his last farthing.
+
+But no matter, so he found his boy.  Being a soldier, he did not
+go at his task in a random way, but set to work, first of all, to
+arrange his campaign.
+
+What would the boy naturally do?  Where would he naturally go?
+Well--argued Miles--he would naturally go to his former haunts,
+for that is the instinct of unsound minds, when homeless and
+forsaken, as well as of sound ones.  Whereabouts were his former
+haunts?  His rags, taken together with the low villain who seemed
+to know him and who even claimed to be his father, indicated that
+his home was in one or another of the poorest and meanest
+districts of London.  Would the search for him be difficult, or
+long?  No, it was likely to be easy and brief.  He would not hunt
+for the boy, he would hunt for a crowd; in the centre of a big
+crowd or a little one, sooner or later, he should find his poor
+little friend, sure; and the mangy mob would be entertaining
+itself with pestering and aggravating the boy, who would be
+proclaiming himself King, as usual.  Then Miles Hendon would
+cripple some of those people, and carry off his little ward, and
+comfort and cheer him with loving words, and the two would never
+be separated any more.
+
+So Miles started on his quest.  Hour after hour he tramped through
+back alleys and squalid streets, seeking groups and crowds, and
+finding no end of them, but never any sign of the boy.  This
+greatly surprised him, but did not discourage him.  To his notion,
+there was nothing the matter with his plan of campaign; the only
+miscalculation about it was that the campaign was becoming a
+lengthy one, whereas he had expected it to be short.
+
+When daylight arrived, at last, he had made many a mile, and
+canvassed many a crowd, but the only result was that he was
+tolerably tired, rather hungry and very sleepy.  He wanted some
+breakfast, but there was no way to get it.  To beg for it did not
+occur to him; as to pawning his sword, he would as soon have
+thought of parting with his honour; he could spare some of his
+clothes--yes, but one could as easily find a customer for a
+disease as for such clothes.
+
+At noon he was still tramping--among the rabble which followed
+after the royal procession, now; for he argued that this regal
+display would attract his little lunatic powerfully.  He followed
+the pageant through all its devious windings about London, and all
+the way to Westminster and the Abbey.  He drifted here and there
+amongst the multitudes that were massed in the vicinity for a
+weary long time, baffled and perplexed, and finally wandered off,
+thinking, and trying to contrive some way to better his plan of
+campaign.  By-and-by, when he came to himself out of his musings,
+he discovered that the town was far behind him and that the day
+was growing old.  He was near the river, and in the country; it
+was a region of fine rural seats--not the sort of district to
+welcome clothes like his.
+
+It was not at all cold; so he stretched himself on the ground in
+the lee of a hedge to rest and think.  Drowsiness presently began
+to settle upon his senses; the faint and far-off boom of cannon
+was wafted to his ear, and he said to himself, "The new King is
+crowned," and straightway fell asleep.  He had not slept or
+rested, before, for more than thirty hours.  He did not wake again
+until near the middle of the next morning.
+
+He got up, lame, stiff, and half famished, washed himself in the
+river, stayed his stomach with a pint or two of water, and trudged
+off toward Westminster, grumbling at himself for having wasted so
+much time.  Hunger helped him to a new plan, now; he would try to
+get speech with old Sir Humphrey Marlow and borrow a few marks,
+and--but that was enough of a plan for the present; it would be
+time enough to enlarge it when this first stage should be
+accomplished.
+
+Toward eleven o'clock he approached the palace; and although a
+host of showy people were about him, moving in the same direction,
+he was not inconspicuous--his costume took care of that.  He
+watched these people's faces narrowly, hoping to find a charitable
+one whose possessor might be willing to carry his name to the old
+lieutenant--as to trying to get into the palace himself, that was
+simply out of the question.
+
+Presently our whipping-boy passed him, then wheeled about and
+scanned his figure well, saying to himself, "An' that is not the
+very vagabond his Majesty is in such a worry about, then am I an
+ass--though belike I was that before.  He answereth the
+description to a rag--that God should make two such would be to
+cheapen miracles by wasteful repetition.  I would I could contrive
+an excuse to speak with him."
+
+Miles Hendon saved him the trouble; for he turned about, then, as
+a man generally will when somebody mesmerises him by gazing hard
+at him from behind; and observing a strong interest in the boy's
+eyes, he stepped toward him and said--
+
+"You have just come out from the palace; do you belong there?"
+
+"Yes, your worship."
+
+"Know you Sir Humphrey Marlow?"
+
+The boy started, and said to himself, "Lord! mine old departed
+father!"  Then he answered aloud, "Right well, your worship."
+
+"Good--is he within?"
+
+"Yes," said the boy; and added, to himself, "within his grave."
+
+"Might I crave your favour to carry my name to him, and say I beg
+to say a word in his ear?"
+
+"I will despatch the business right willingly, fair sir."
+
+"Then say Miles Hendon, son of Sir Richard, is here without--I
+shall be greatly bounden to you, my good lad."
+
+The boy looked disappointed.  "The King did not name him so," he
+said to himself; "but it mattereth not, this is his twin brother,
+and can give his Majesty news of t'other Sir-Odds-and-Ends, I
+warrant."  So he said to Miles, "Step in there a moment, good sir,
+and wait till I bring you word."
+
+Hendon retired to the place indicated--it was a recess sunk in the
+palace wall, with a stone bench in it--a shelter for sentinels in
+bad weather.  He had hardly seated himself when some halberdiers,
+in charge of an officer, passed by.  The officer saw him, halted
+his men, and commanded Hendon to come forth.  He obeyed, and was
+promptly arrested as a suspicious character prowling within the
+precincts of the palace.  Things began to look ugly.  Poor Miles
+was going to explain, but the officer roughly silenced him, and
+ordered his men to disarm him and search him.
+
+"God of his mercy grant that they find somewhat," said poor Miles;
+"I have searched enow, and failed, yet is my need greater than
+theirs."
+
+Nothing was found but a document.  The officer tore it open, and
+Hendon smiled when he recognised the 'pot-hooks' made by his lost
+little friend that black day at Hendon Hall.  The officer's face
+grew dark as he read the English paragraph, and Miles blenched to
+the opposite colour as he listened.
+
+"Another new claimant of the Crown!" cried the officer.  "Verily
+they breed like rabbits, to-day.  Seize the rascal, men, and see
+ye keep him fast whilst I convey this precious paper within and
+send it to the King."
+
+He hurried away, leaving the prisoner in the grip of the
+halberdiers.
+
+"Now is my evil luck ended at last," muttered Hendon, "for I shall
+dangle at a rope's end for a certainty, by reason of that bit of
+writing.  And what will become of my poor lad!--ah, only the good
+God knoweth."
+
+By-and-by he saw the officer coming again, in a great hurry; so he
+plucked his courage together, purposing to meet his trouble as
+became a man.  The officer ordered the men to loose the prisoner
+and return his sword to him; then bowed respectfully, and said--
+
+"Please you, sir, to follow me."
+
+Hendon followed, saying to himself, "An' I were not travelling to
+death and judgment, and so must needs economise in sin, I would
+throttle this knave for his mock courtesy."
+
+The two traversed a populous court, and arrived at the grand
+entrance of the palace, where the officer, with another bow,
+delivered Hendon into the hands of a gorgeous official, who
+received him with profound respect and led him forward through a
+great hall, lined on both sides with rows of splendid flunkeys
+(who made reverential obeisance as the two passed along, but fell
+into death-throes of silent laughter at our stately scarecrow the
+moment his back was turned), and up a broad staircase, among
+flocks of fine folk, and finally conducted him into a vast room,
+clove a passage for him through the assembled nobility of England,
+then made a bow, reminded him to take his hat off, and left him
+standing in the middle of the room, a mark for all eyes, for
+plenty of indignant frowns, and for a sufficiency of amused and
+derisive smiles.
+
+Miles Hendon was entirely bewildered.  There sat the young King,
+under a canopy of state, five steps away, with his head bent down
+and aside, speaking with a sort of human bird of paradise--a duke,
+maybe.  Hendon observed to himself that it was hard enough to be
+sentenced to death in the full vigour of life, without having this
+peculiarly public humiliation added.  He wished the King would
+hurry about it--some of the gaudy people near by were becoming
+pretty offensive.  At this moment the King raised his head
+slightly, and Hendon caught a good view of his face.  The sight
+nearly took his breath away!--He stood gazing at the fair young
+face like one transfixed; then presently ejaculated--
+
+"Lo, the Lord of the Kingdom of Dreams and Shadows on his throne!"
+
+He muttered some broken sentences, still gazing and marvelling;
+then turned his eyes around and about, scanning the gorgeous
+throng and the splendid saloon, murmuring, "But these are REAL--
+verily these are REAL--surely it is not a dream."
+
+He stared at the King again--and thought, "IS it a dream . . . or
+IS he the veritable Sovereign of England, and not the friendless
+poor Tom o' Bedlam I took him for--who shall solve me this
+riddle?"
+
+A sudden idea flashed in his eye, and he strode to the wall,
+gathered up a chair, brought it back, planted it on the floor, and
+sat down in it!
+
+A buzz of indignation broke out, a rough hand was laid upon him
+and a voice exclaimed--
+
+"Up, thou mannerless clown! would'st sit in the presence of the
+King?"
+
+The disturbance attracted his Majesty's attention, who stretched
+forth his hand and cried out--
+
+"Touch him not, it is his right!"
+
+The throng fell back, stupefied.  The King went on--
+
+"Learn ye all, ladies, lords, and gentlemen, that this is my
+trusty and well-beloved servant, Miles Hendon, who interposed his
+good sword and saved his prince from bodily harm and possible
+death--and for this he is a knight, by the King's voice.  Also
+learn, that for a higher service, in that he saved his sovereign
+stripes and shame, taking these upon himself, he is a peer of
+England, Earl of Kent, and shall have gold and lands meet for the
+dignity.  More--the privilege which he hath just exercised is his
+by royal grant; for we have ordained that the chiefs of his line
+shall have and hold the right to sit in the presence of the
+Majesty of England henceforth, age after age, so long as the crown
+shall endure.  Molest him not."
+
+Two persons, who, through delay, had only arrived from the country
+during this morning, and had now been in this room only five
+minutes, stood listening to these words and looking at the King,
+then at the scarecrow, then at the King again, in a sort of torpid
+bewilderment.  These were Sir Hugh and the Lady Edith.  But the
+new Earl did not see them.  He was still staring at the monarch,
+in a dazed way, and muttering--
+
+"Oh, body o' me!  THIS my pauper!  This my lunatic!  This is he
+whom _I_ would show what grandeur was, in my house of seventy
+rooms and seven-and-twenty servants!  This is he who had never
+known aught but rags for raiment, kicks for comfort, and offal for
+diet!  This is he whom _I_ adopted and would make respectable!
+Would God I had a bag to hide my head in!"
+
+Then his manners suddenly came back to him, and he dropped upon
+his knees, with his hands between the King's, and swore allegiance
+and did homage for his lands and titles.  Then he rose and stood
+respectfully aside, a mark still for all eyes--and much envy, too.
+
+Now the King discovered Sir Hugh, and spoke out with wrathful
+voice and kindling eye--
+
+"Strip this robber of his false show and stolen estates, and put
+him under lock and key till I have need of him."
+
+The late Sir Hugh was led away.
+
+There was a stir at the other end of the room, now; the assemblage
+fell apart, and Tom Canty, quaintly but richly clothed, marched
+down, between these living walls, preceded by an usher.  He knelt
+before the King, who said--
+
+"I have learned the story of these past few weeks, and am well
+pleased with thee.  Thou hast governed the realm with right royal
+gentleness and mercy.  Thou hast found thy mother and thy sisters
+again?  Good; they shall be cared for--and thy father shall hang,
+if thou desire it and the law consent.  Know, all ye that hear my
+voice, that from this day, they that abide in the shelter of
+Christ's Hospital and share the King's bounty shall have their
+minds and hearts fed, as well as their baser parts; and this boy
+shall dwell there, and hold the chief place in its honourable body
+of governors, during life.  And for that he hath been a king, it
+is meet that other than common observance shall be his due;
+wherefore note this his dress of state, for by it he shall be
+known, and none shall copy it; and wheresoever he shall come, it
+shall remind the people that he hath been royal, in his time, and
+none shall deny him his due of reverence or fail to give him
+salutation.  He hath the throne's protection, he hath the crown's
+support, he shall be known and called by the honourable title of
+the King's Ward."
+
+The proud and happy Tom Canty rose and kissed the King's hand, and
+was conducted from the presence.  He did not waste any time, but
+flew to his mother, to tell her and Nan and Bet all about it and
+get them to help him enjoy the great news. {1}
+
+
+
+Conclusion. Justice and retribution.
+
+When the mysteries were all cleared up, it came out, by confession
+of Hugh Hendon, that his wife had repudiated Miles by his command,
+that day at Hendon Hall--a command assisted and supported by the
+perfectly trustworthy promise that if she did not deny that he was
+Miles Hendon, and stand firmly to it, he would have her life;
+whereupon she said, "Take it!"--she did not value it--and she
+would not repudiate Miles; then the husband said he would spare
+her life but have Miles assassinated!  This was a different
+matter; so she gave her word and kept it.
+
+Hugh was not prosecuted for his threats or for stealing his
+brother's estates and title, because the wife and brother would
+not testify against him--and the former would not have been
+allowed to do it, even if she had wanted to.  Hugh deserted his
+wife and went over to the continent, where he presently died; and
+by-and-by the Earl of Kent married his relict.  There were grand
+times and rejoicings at Hendon village when the couple paid their
+first visit to the Hall.
+
+Tom Canty's father was never heard of again.
+
+The King sought out the farmer who had been branded and sold as a
+slave, and reclaimed him from his evil life with the Ruffler's
+gang, and put him in the way of a comfortable livelihood.
+
+He also took that old lawyer out of prison and remitted his fine.
+He provided good homes for the daughters of the two Baptist women
+whom he saw burned at the stake, and roundly punished the official
+who laid the undeserved stripes upon Miles Hendon's back.
+
+He saved from the gallows the boy who had captured the stray
+falcon, and also the woman who had stolen a remnant of cloth from
+a weaver; but he was too late to save the man who had been
+convicted of killing a deer in the royal forest.
+
+He showed favour to the justice who had pitied him when he was
+supposed to have stolen a pig, and he had the gratification of
+seeing him grow in the public esteem and become a great and
+honoured man.
+
+As long as the King lived he was fond of telling the story of his
+adventures, all through, from the hour that the sentinel cuffed
+him away from the palace gate till the final midnight when he
+deftly mixed himself into a gang of hurrying workmen and so
+slipped into the Abbey and climbed up and hid himself in the
+Confessor's tomb, and then slept so long, next day, that he came
+within one of missing the Coronation altogether.  He said that the
+frequent rehearsing of the precious lesson kept him strong in his
+purpose to make its teachings yield benefits to his people; and
+so, whilst his life was spared he should continue to tell the
+story, and thus keep its sorrowful spectacles fresh in his memory
+and the springs of pity replenished in his heart.
+
+Miles Hendon and Tom Canty were favourites of the King, all
+through his brief reign, and his sincere mourners when he died.
+The good Earl of Kent had too much sense to abuse his peculiar
+privilege; but he exercised it twice after the instance we have
+seen of it before he was called from this world--once at the
+accession of Queen Mary, and once at the accession of Queen
+Elizabeth.  A descendant of his exercised it at the accession of
+James I.  Before this one's son chose to use the privilege, near a
+quarter of a century had elapsed, and the 'privilege of the Kents'
+had faded out of most people's memories; so, when the Kent of that
+day appeared before Charles I. and his court and sat down in the
+sovereign's presence to assert and perpetuate the right of his
+house, there was a fine stir indeed!  But the matter was soon
+explained, and the right confirmed.  The last Earl of the line
+fell in the wars of the Commonwealth fighting for the King, and
+the odd privilege ended with him.
+
+Tom Canty lived to be a very old man, a handsome, white-haired old
+fellow, of grave and benignant aspect.  As long as he lasted he
+was honoured; and he was also reverenced, for his striking and
+peculiar costume kept the people reminded that 'in his time he had
+been royal;' so, wherever he appeared the crowd fell apart, making
+way for him, and whispering, one to another, "Doff thy hat, it is
+the King's Ward!"--and so they saluted, and got his kindly smile
+in return--and they valued it, too, for his was an honourable
+history.
+
+Yes, King Edward VI. lived only a few years, poor boy, but he
+lived them worthily.  More than once, when some great dignitary,
+some gilded vassal of the crown, made argument against his
+leniency, and urged that some law which he was bent upon amending
+was gentle enough for its purpose, and wrought no suffering or
+oppression which any one need mightily mind, the young King turned
+the mournful eloquence of his great compassionate eyes upon him
+and answered--
+
+"What dost THOU know of suffering and oppression?  I and my people
+know, but not thou."
+
+The reign of Edward VI. was a singularly merciful one for those
+harsh times.  Now that we are taking leave of him, let us try to
+keep this in our minds, to his credit.
+
+
+
+FOOTNOTES AND TWAIN'S NOTES
+
+
+
+{1}  For Mark Twain's note see below under the relevant chapter
+heading.
+
+{2}  He refers to the order of baronets, or baronettes; the
+barones minores, as distinct from the parliamentary barons--not,
+it need hardly be said, to the baronets of later creation.
+
+{3}  The lords of Kingsale, descendants of De Courcy, still enjoy
+this curious privilege.
+
+{4}  Hume.
+
+{5}  Ib.
+
+{6}  Leigh Hunt's 'The Town,' p.408, quotation from an early
+tourist.
+
+{7}  Canting terms for various kinds of thieves, beggars and
+vagabonds, and their female companions.
+
+{8}  From 'The English Rogue.'  London, 1665.
+
+{9}  Hume's England.
+
+{10}  See Dr. J. Hammond Trumbull's Blue Laws, True and False, p.
+11.
+
+NOTE 1, Chapter IV. Christ's Hospital Costume.
+
+It is most reasonable to regard the dress as copied from the
+costume of the citizens of London of that period, when long blue
+coats were the common habit of apprentices and serving-men, and
+yellow stockings were generally worn; the coat fits closely to the
+body, but has loose sleeves, and beneath is worn a sleeveless
+yellow under-coat; around the waist is a red leathern girdle; a
+clerical band around the neck, and a small flat black cap, about
+the size of a saucer, completes the costume.--Timbs' Curiosities
+of London.
+
+NOTE 2, Chapter IV.
+
+It appears that Christ's Hospital was not originally founded as a
+SCHOOL; its object was to rescue children from the streets, to
+shelter, feed, clothe them.
+--Timbs' Curiosities of London.
+
+NOTE 3, Chapter V. The Duke of Norfolk's Condemnation commanded.
+
+The King was now approaching fast towards his end; and fearing
+lest Norfolk should escape him, he sent a message to the Commons,
+by which he desired them to hasten the Bill, on pretence that
+Norfolk enjoyed the dignity of Earl Marshal, and it was necessary
+to appoint another, who might officiate at the ensuing ceremony of
+installing his son Prince of Wales.--Hume's History of England,
+vol. iii. p. 307.
+
+NOTE 4, Chapter VII.
+
+It was not till the end of this reign (Henry VIII.) that any
+salads, carrots, turnips, or other edible roots were produced in
+England.  The little of these vegetables that was used was
+formerly imported from Holland and Flanders.  Queen Catherine,
+when she wanted a salad, was obliged to despatch a messenger
+thither on purpose.--Hume's History of England, vol. iii. p. 314.
+
+NOTE 5, Chapter VIII. Attainder of Norfolk.
+
+The House of Peers, without examining the prisoner, without trial
+or evidence, passed a Bill of Attainder against him and sent it
+down to the Commons . . . The obsequious Commons obeyed his (the
+King's) directions; and the King, having affixed the Royal assent
+to the Bill by commissioners, issued orders for the execution of
+Norfolk on the morning of January 29 (the next day).--Hume's
+History of England, vol iii. p 306.
+
+NOTE 6, Chapter X. The Loving-cup.
+
+The loving-cup, and the peculiar ceremonies observed in drinking
+from it, are older than English history.  It is thought that both
+are Danish importations.  As far back as knowledge goes, the
+loving-cup has always been drunk at English banquets.  Tradition
+explains the ceremonies in this way.  In the rude ancient times it
+was deemed a wise precaution to have both hands of both drinkers
+employed, lest while the pledger pledged his love and fidelity to
+the pledgee, the pledgee take that opportunity to slip a dirk into
+him!
+
+NOTE 7, Chapter XI. The Duke of Norfolk's narrow Escape.
+
+Had Henry VIII. survived a few hours longer, his order for the
+duke's execution would have been carried into effect. 'But news
+being carried to the Tower that the King himself had expired that
+night, the lieutenant deferred obeying the warrant; and it was not
+thought advisable by the Council to begin a new reign by the death
+of the greatest nobleman in the kingdom, who had been condemned by
+a sentence so unjust and tyrannical.'--Hume's History of England,
+vol. iii, p. 307.
+
+NOTE 8, Chapter XIV. The Whipping-boy.
+
+James I. and Charles II. had whipping-boys, when they were little
+fellows, to take their punishment for them when they fell short in
+their lessons; so I have ventured to furnish my small prince with
+one, for my own purposes.
+
+NOTES to Chapter XV.
+
+Character of Hertford.
+
+The young King discovered an extreme attachment to his uncle, who
+was, in the main, a man of moderation and probity.--Hume's History
+of England, vol. iii.p324.
+
+But if he (the Protector) gave offence by assuming too much state,
+he deserves great praise on account of the laws passed this
+session, by which the rigour of former statutes was much
+mitigated, and some security given to the freedom of the
+constitution.  All laws were repealed which extended the crime of
+treason beyond the statute of the twenty-fifth of Edward III.; all
+laws enacted during the late reign extending the crime of felony;
+all the former laws against Lollardy or heresy, together with the
+statute of the Six Articles.  None were to be accused for words,
+but within a month after they were spoken.  By these repeals
+several of the most rigorous laws that ever had passed in England
+were annulled; and some dawn, both of civil and religious liberty,
+began to appear to the people.  A repeal also passed of that law,
+the destruction of all laws, by which the King's proclamation was
+made of equal force with a statute.--Ibid. vol. iii. p. 339.
+
+Boiling to Death.
+
+In the reign of Henry VIII. poisoners were, by Act of Parliament,
+condemned to be BOILED TO DEATH.  This Act was repealed in the
+following reign.
+
+In Germany, even in the seventeenth century, this horrible
+punishment was inflicted on coiners and counterfeiters.  Taylor,
+the Water Poet, describes an execution he witnessed in Hamburg in
+1616.  The judgment pronounced against a coiner of false money was
+that he should 'BE BOILED TO DEATH IN OIL; not thrown into the
+vessel at once, but with a pulley or rope to be hanged under the
+armpits, and then let down into the oil BY DEGREES; first the
+feet, and next the legs, and so to boil his flesh from his bones
+alive.'--Dr. J. Hammond Trumbull's Blue Laws, True and False, p.
+13.
+
+The Famous Stocking Case.
+
+A woman and her daughter, NINE YEARS OLD, were hanged in
+Huntingdon for selling their souls to the devil, and raising a
+storm by pulling off their stockings!--Dr. J. Hammond Trumbull's
+Blue Laws, True and False, p. 20.
+
+NOTE 10, Chapter XVII. Enslaving.
+
+So young a King and so ignorant a peasant were likely to make
+mistakes; and this is an instance in point.  This peasant was
+suffering from this law BY ANTICIPATION; the King was venting his
+indignation against a law which was not yet in existence; for this
+hideous statute was to have birth in this little King's OWN REIGN.
+However, we know, from the humanity of his character, that it
+could never have been suggested by him.
+
+NOTES to Chapter XXIII. Death for Trifling Larcenies.
+
+When Connecticut and New Haven were framing their first codes,
+larceny above the value of twelve pence was a capital crime in
+England--as it had been since the time of Henry I.--Dr. J. Hammond
+Trumbull's Blue Laws, True and False, p. 17.
+
+The curious old book called The English Rogue makes the limit
+thirteen pence ha'penny:  death being the portion of any who steal
+a thing 'above the value of thirteen pence ha'penny.'
+
+NOTES to Chapter XXVII.
+
+From many descriptions of larceny the law expressly took away the
+benefit of clergy:  to steal a horse, or a HAWK, or woollen cloth
+from the weaver, was a hanging matter.  So it was to kill a deer
+from the King's forest, or to export sheep from the kingdom.--Dr.
+J. Hammond Trumbull's Blue Laws, True and False, p.13.
+
+William Prynne, a learned barrister, was sentenced (long after
+Edward VI.'s time) to lose both his ears in the pillory, to
+degradation from the bar, a fine of 3,000 pounds, and imprisonment
+for life.  Three years afterwards he gave new offence to Laud by
+publishing a pamphlet against the hierarchy.  He was again
+prosecuted, and was sentenced to lose WHAT REMAINED OF HIS EARS,
+to pay a fine of 5,000 pounds, to be BRANDED ON BOTH HIS CHEEKS
+with the letters S. L. (for Seditious Libeller), and to remain in
+prison for life.  The severity of this sentence was equalled by
+the savage rigour of its execution.--Ibid. p. 12.
+
+NOTES to Chapter XXXIII.
+
+Christ's Hospital, or Bluecoat School, 'the noblest institution in
+the world.'
+
+The ground on which the Priory of the Grey Friars stood was
+conferred by Henry VIII. on the Corporation of London (who caused
+the institution there of a home for poor boys and girls).
+Subsequently, Edward VI. caused the old Priory to be properly
+repaired, and founded within it that noble establishment called
+the Bluecoat School, or Christ's Hospital, for the EDUCATION and
+maintenance of orphans and the children of indigent persons . . .
+Edward would not let him (Bishop Ridley) depart till the letter
+was written (to the Lord Mayor), and then charged him to deliver
+it himself, and signify his special request and commandment that
+no time might be lost in proposing what was convenient, and
+apprising him of the proceedings.  The work was zealously
+undertaken, Ridley himself engaging in it; and the result was the
+founding of Christ's Hospital for the education of poor children.
+(The King endowed several other charities at the same time.)
+"Lord God," said he, "I yield Thee most hearty thanks that Thou
+hast given me life thus long to finish this work to the glory of
+Thy name!"  That innocent and most exemplary life was drawing
+rapidly to its close, and in a few days he rendered up his spirit
+to his Creator, praying God to defend the realm from Papistry.--J.
+Heneage Jesse's London:  its Celebrated Characters and Places.
+
+In the Great Hall hangs a large picture of King Edward VI. seated
+on his throne, in a scarlet and ermined robe, holding the sceptre
+in his left hand, and presenting with the other the Charter to the
+kneeling Lord Mayor.  By his side stands the Chancellor, holding
+the seals, and next to him are other officers of state.  Bishop
+Ridley kneels before him with uplifted hands, as if supplicating a
+blessing on the event; whilst the Aldermen, etc., with the Lord
+Mayor, kneel on both sides, occupying the middle ground of the
+picture; and lastly, in front, are a double row of boys on one
+side and girls on the other, from the master and matron down to
+the boy and girl who have stepped forward from their respective
+rows, and kneel with raised hands before the King.--Timbs'
+Curiosities of London, p. 98.
+
+Christ's Hospital, by ancient custom, possesses the privilege of
+addressing the Sovereign on the occasion of his or her coming into
+the City to partake of the hospitality of the Corporation of
+London.--Ibid.
+
+The Dining Hall, with its lobby and organ-gallery, occupies the
+entire storey, which is 187 feet long, 51 feet wide, and 47 feet
+high; it is lit by nine large windows, filled with stained glass
+on the south side; and is, next to Westminster Hall, the noblest
+room in the metropolis.  Here the boys, now about 800 in number,
+dine; and here are held the 'Suppings in Public,' to which
+visitors are admitted by tickets issued by the Treasurer and by
+the Governors of Christ's Hospital.  The tables are laid with
+cheese in wooden bowls, beer in wooden piggins, poured from
+leathern jacks, and bread brought in large baskets.  The official
+company enter; the Lord Mayor, or President, takes his seat in a
+state chair made of oak from St. Catherine's Church, by the Tower;
+a hymn is sung, accompanied by the organ; a 'Grecian,' or head
+boy, reads the prayers from the pulpit, silence being enforced by
+three drops of a wooden hammer.  After prayer the supper
+commences, and the visitors walk between the tables.  At its close
+the 'trade-boys' take up the baskets, bowls, jacks, piggins, and
+candlesticks, and pass in procession, the bowing to the Governors
+being curiously formal.  This spectacle was witnessed by Queen
+Victoria and Prince Albert in 1845.
+
+Among the more eminent Bluecoat boys are Joshua Barnes, editor of
+Anacreon and Euripides; Jeremiah Markland, the eminent critic,
+particularly in Greek Literature; Camden, the antiquary; Bishop
+Stillingfleet; Samuel Richardson, the novelist; Thomas Mitchell,
+the translator of Aristophanes; Thomas Barnes, many years editor
+of the London Times; Coleridge, Charles Lamb, and Leigh Hunt.
+
+No boy is admitted before he is seven years old, or after he is
+nine; and no boy can remain in the school after he is fifteen,
+King's boys and 'Grecians' alone excepted.  There are about 500
+Governors, at the head of whom are the Sovereign and the Prince of
+Wales.  The qualification for a Governor is payment of 500
+pounds.--Ibid.
+
+
+GENERAL NOTE.
+
+
+One hears much about the 'hideous Blue Laws of Connecticut,' and
+is accustomed to shudder piously when they are mentioned.  There
+are people in America--and even in England!--who imagine that they
+were a very monument of malignity, pitilessness, and inhumanity;
+whereas in reality they were about the first SWEEPING DEPARTURE
+FROM JUDICIAL ATROCITY which the 'civilised' world had seen.  This
+humane and kindly Blue Law Code, of two hundred and forty years
+ago, stands all by itself, with ages of bloody law on the further
+side of it, and a century and three-quarters of bloody English law
+on THIS side of it.
+
+There has never been a time--under the Blue Laws or any other--
+when above FOURTEEN crimes were punishable by death in
+Connecticut.  But in England, within the memory of men who are
+still hale in body and mind, TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY-THREE crimes
+were punishable by death! {10}  These facts are worth knowing--and
+worth thinking about, too.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg Etext The Prince and the Pauper, by Mark Twain
+
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+Project Gutenberg's The Prince and The Pauper, by Mark Twain
+#14 in our series by Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
+
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+**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971**
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+*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!*****
+
+
+Title: The Prince and The Pauper
+
+Author: Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
+
+Release Date: July, 1999 [EBook #1837]
+[This file was last updated on March 18, 2003]
+
+Edition: 11
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Widger [widger@cecomet.net]
+The previous edition was prepared by Les Bowler, St. Ives, Dorset
+
+
+
+
+
+The Prince and the Pauper
+
+by Mark Twain
+
+
+
+
+Hugh Latimer, Bishop of Worcester, to Lord Cromwell, on the birth of the
+Prince of Wales (afterward Edward VI.).
+
+From the National Manuscripts preserved by the British Government.
+
+Ryght honorable, Salutem in Christo Jesu, and Syr here ys no lesse joynge
+and rejossynge in thes partees for the byrth of our prynce, hoom we
+hungurde for so longe, then ther was (I trow), inter vicinos att the
+byrth of S. J. Baptyste, as thys berer, Master Erance, can telle you.
+Gode gyffe us alle grace, to yelde dew thankes to our Lorde Gode, Gode of
+Inglonde, for verely He hathe shoyd Hym selff Gode of Inglonde, or rather
+an Inglyssh Gode, yf we consydyr and pondyr welle alle Hys procedynges
+with us from tyme to tyme.  He hath over cumme alle our yllnesse with Hys
+excedynge goodnesse, so that we are now moor then compellyd to serve Hym,
+seke Hys glory, promott Hys wurde, yf the Devylle of alle Devylles be
+natt in us.  We have now the stooppe of vayne trustes ande the stey of
+vayne expectations; lett us alle pray for hys preservatione.  Ande I for
+my partt wylle wyssh that hys Grace allways have, and evyn now from the
+begynynge, Governares, Instructores and offyceres of ryght jugmente, ne
+optimum ingenium non optima educatione deprevetur.
+
+Butt whatt a grett fowlle am I!  So, whatt devotione shoyth many tymys
+butt lytelle dyscretione!  Ande thus the Gode of Inglonde be ever with
+you in alle your procedynges.
+
+The 19 of October.
+
+Youres, H. L. B. of Wurcestere, now att Hartlebury.
+
+Yf you wolde excytt thys berere to be moore hartye ayen the abuse of
+ymagry or mor forwarde to promotte the veryte, ytt myght doo goode.  Natt
+that ytt came of me, butt of your selffe, etc.
+
+(Addressed) To the Ryght Honorable Loorde P. Sealle hys synguler gode
+Lorde.
+
+
+
+To those good-mannered and agreeable children Susie and Clara Clemens
+this book is affectionately inscribed by their father.
+
+
+
+I will set down a tale as it was told to me by one who had it of his
+father, which latter had it of HIS father, this last having in like
+manner had it of HIS father--and so on, back and still back, three
+hundred years and more, the fathers transmitting it to the sons and so
+preserving it.  It may be history, it may be only a legend, a tradition.
+It may have happened, it may not have happened:  but it COULD have
+happened.  It may be that the wise and the learned believed it in the old
+days; it may be that only the unlearned and the simple loved it and
+credited it.
+
+
+
+
+Contents.
+
+I.      The birth of the Prince and the Pauper.
+II.     Tom's early life.
+III.    Tom's meeting with the Prince.
+IV.     The Prince's troubles begin.
+V.      Tom as a patrician.
+VI.     Tom receives instructions.
+VII.    Tom's first royal dinner.
+VIII.   The question of the Seal.
+IX.     The river pageant.
+X.      The Prince in the toils.
+XI.     At Guildhall.
+XII.    The Prince and his deliverer.
+XIII.   The disappearance of the Prince.
+XIV.    'Le Roi est mort--vive le Roi.'
+XV.     Tom as King.
+XVI.    The state dinner.
+XVII.   Foo-foo the First.
+XVIII.  The Prince with the tramps.
+XIX.    The Prince with the peasants.
+XX.     The Prince and the hermit.
+XXI.    Hendon to the rescue.
+XXII.   A victim of treachery.
+XXIII.  The Prince a prisoner.
+XXIV.   The escape.
+XXV.    Hendon Hall.
+XXVI.   Disowned.
+XXVII.  In prison.
+XXVIII. The sacrifice.
+XXIX.   To London.
+XXX.    Tom's progress.
+XXXI.   The Recognition procession.
+XXXII.  Coronation Day.
+XXXIII. Edward as King.
+Conclusion. Justice and Retribution.
+Notes.
+
+
+
+     'The quality of mercy . . . is twice bless'd;
+      It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes;
+      'Tis mightiest in the mightiest:  it becomes
+      The thron-ed monarch better than his crown'.
+                                   Merchant of Venice.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter I. The birth of the Prince and the Pauper.
+
+In the ancient city of London, on a certain autumn day in the second
+quarter of the sixteenth century, a boy was born to a poor family of the
+name of Canty, who did not want him.  On the same day another English
+child was born to a rich family of the name of Tudor, who did want him.
+All England wanted him too.  England had so longed for him, and hoped for
+him, and prayed God for him, that, now that he was really come, the
+people went nearly mad for joy.  Mere acquaintances hugged and kissed
+each other and cried. Everybody took a holiday, and high and low, rich
+and poor, feasted and danced and sang, and got very mellow; and they kept
+this up for days and nights together.  By day, London was a sight to see,
+with gay banners waving from every balcony and housetop, and splendid
+pageants marching along.  By night, it was again a sight to see, with its
+great bonfires at every corner, and its troops of revellers making merry
+around them.  There was no talk in all England but of the new baby,
+Edward Tudor, Prince of Wales, who lay lapped in silks and satins,
+unconscious of all this fuss, and not knowing that great lords and ladies
+were tending him and watching over him--and not caring, either.  But
+there was no talk about the other baby, Tom Canty, lapped in his poor
+rags, except among the family of paupers whom he had just come to trouble
+with his presence.
+
+
+
+Chapter II. Tom's early life.
+
+Let us skip a number of years.
+
+London was fifteen hundred years old, and was a great town--for that day.
+It had a hundred thousand inhabitants--some think double as many.  The
+streets were very narrow, and crooked, and dirty, especially in the part
+where Tom Canty lived, which was not far from London Bridge.  The houses
+were of wood, with the second story projecting over the first, and the
+third sticking its elbows out beyond the second.  The higher the houses
+grew, the broader they grew.  They were skeletons of strong criss-cross
+beams, with solid material between, coated with plaster.  The beams were
+painted red or blue or black, according to the owner's taste, and this
+gave the houses a very picturesque look.  The windows were small, glazed
+with little diamond-shaped panes, and they opened outward, on hinges,
+like doors.
+
+The house which Tom's father lived in was up a foul little pocket called
+Offal Court, out of Pudding Lane.  It was small, decayed, and rickety,
+but it was packed full of wretchedly poor families. Canty's tribe
+occupied a room on the third floor.  The mother and father had a sort of
+bedstead in the corner; but Tom, his grandmother, and his two sisters,
+Bet and Nan, were not restricted--they had all the floor to themselves,
+and might sleep where they chose.  There were the remains of a blanket or
+two, and some bundles of ancient and dirty straw, but these could not
+rightly be called beds, for they were not organised; they were kicked
+into a general pile, mornings, and selections made from the mass at
+night, for service.
+
+Bet and Nan were fifteen years old--twins.  They were good-hearted girls,
+unclean, clothed in rags, and profoundly ignorant.  Their mother was like
+them.  But the father and the grandmother were a couple of fiends.  They
+got drunk whenever they could; then they fought each other or anybody
+else who came in the way; they cursed and swore always, drunk or sober;
+John Canty was a thief, and his mother a beggar.  They made beggars of
+the children, but failed to make thieves of them.  Among, but not of, the
+dreadful rabble that inhabited the house, was a good old priest whom the
+King had turned out of house and home with a pension of a few farthings,
+and he used to get the children aside and teach them right ways secretly.
+Father Andrew also taught Tom a little Latin, and how to read and write;
+and would have done the same with the girls, but they were afraid of the
+jeers of their friends, who could not have endured such a queer
+accomplishment in them.
+
+All Offal Court was just such another hive as Canty's house. Drunkenness,
+riot and brawling were the order, there, every night and nearly all night
+long.  Broken heads were as common as hunger in that place.  Yet little
+Tom was not unhappy.  He had a hard time of it, but did not know it.  It
+was the sort of time that all the Offal Court boys had, therefore he
+supposed it was the correct and comfortable thing.  When he came home
+empty-handed at night, he knew his father would curse him and thrash him
+first, and that when he was done the awful grandmother would do it all
+over again and improve on it; and that away in the night his starving
+mother would slip to him stealthily with any miserable scrap or crust she
+had been able to save for him by going hungry herself, notwithstanding
+she was often caught in that sort of treason and soundly beaten for it by
+her husband.
+
+No, Tom's life went along well enough, especially in summer.  He only
+begged just enough to save himself, for the laws against mendicancy were
+stringent, and the penalties heavy; so he put in a good deal of his time
+listening to good Father Andrew's charming old tales and legends about
+giants and fairies, dwarfs and genii, and enchanted castles, and gorgeous
+kings and princes.  His head grew to be full of these wonderful things,
+and many a night as he lay in the dark on his scant and offensive straw,
+tired, hungry, and smarting from a thrashing, he unleashed his
+imagination and soon forgot his aches and pains in delicious picturings
+to himself of the charmed life of a petted prince in a regal palace.  One
+desire came in time to haunt him day and night:  it was to see a real
+prince, with his own eyes.  He spoke of it once to some of his Offal
+Court comrades; but they jeered him and scoffed him so unmercifully that
+he was glad to keep his dream to himself after that.
+
+He often read the priest's old books and got him to explain and enlarge
+upon them.  His dreamings and readings worked certain changes in him, by-
+and-by.  His dream-people were so fine that he grew to lament his shabby
+clothing and his dirt, and to wish to be clean and better clad.  He went
+on playing in the mud just the same, and enjoying it, too; but, instead
+of splashing around in the Thames solely for the fun of it, he began to
+find an added value in it because of the washings and cleansings it
+afforded.
+
+Tom could always find something going on around the Maypole in Cheapside,
+and at the fairs; and now and then he and the rest of London had a chance
+to see a military parade when some famous unfortunate was carried
+prisoner to the Tower, by land or boat. One summer's day he saw poor Anne
+Askew and three men burned at the stake in Smithfield, and heard an ex-
+Bishop preach a sermon to them which did not interest him.  Yes, Tom's
+life was varied and pleasant enough, on the whole.
+
+By-and-by Tom's reading and dreaming about princely life wrought such a
+strong effect upon him that he began to ACT the prince, unconsciously.
+His speech and manners became curiously ceremonious and courtly, to the
+vast admiration and amusement of his intimates.  But Tom's influence
+among these young people began to grow now, day by day; and in time he
+came to be looked up to, by them, with a sort of wondering awe, as a
+superior being.  He seemed to know so much! and he could do and say such
+marvellous things! and withal, he was so deep and wise!  Tom's remarks,
+and Tom's performances, were reported by the boys to their elders; and
+these, also, presently began to discuss Tom Canty, and to regard him as a
+most gifted and extraordinary creature.  Full-grown people brought their
+perplexities to Tom for solution, and were often astonished at the wit
+and wisdom of his decisions.  In fact he was become a hero to all who
+knew him except his own family--these, only, saw nothing in him.
+
+Privately, after a while, Tom organised a royal court!  He was the
+prince; his special comrades were guards, chamberlains, equerries, lords
+and ladies in waiting, and the royal family.  Daily the mock prince was
+received with elaborate ceremonials borrowed by Tom from his romantic
+readings; daily the great affairs of the mimic kingdom were discussed in
+the royal council, and daily his mimic highness issued decrees to his
+imaginary armies, navies, and viceroyalties.
+
+After which, he would go forth in his rags and beg a few farthings, eat
+his poor crust, take his customary cuffs and abuse, and then stretch
+himself upon his handful of foul straw, and resume his empty grandeurs in
+his dreams.
+
+And still his desire to look just once upon a real prince, in the flesh,
+grew upon him, day by day, and week by week, until at last it absorbed
+all other desires, and became the one passion of his life.
+
+One January day, on his usual begging tour, he tramped despondently up
+and down the region round about Mincing Lane and Little East Cheap, hour
+after hour, bare-footed and cold, looking in at cook-shop windows and
+longing for the dreadful pork-pies and other deadly inventions displayed
+there--for to him these were dainties fit for the angels; that is,
+judging by the smell, they were--for it had never been his good luck to
+own and eat one. There was a cold drizzle of rain; the atmosphere was
+murky; it was a melancholy day.  At night Tom reached home so wet and
+tired and hungry that it was not possible for his father and grandmother
+to observe his forlorn condition and not be moved--after their fashion;
+wherefore they gave him a brisk cuffing at once and sent him to bed.  For
+a long time his pain and hunger, and the swearing and fighting going on
+in the building, kept him awake; but at last his thoughts drifted away to
+far, romantic lands, and he fell asleep in the company of jewelled and
+gilded princelings who live in vast palaces, and had servants salaaming
+before them or flying to execute their orders.  And then, as usual, he
+dreamed that HE was a princeling himself.
+
+All night long the glories of his royal estate shone upon him; he moved
+among great lords and ladies, in a blaze of light, breathing perfumes,
+drinking in delicious music, and answering the reverent obeisances of the
+glittering throng as it parted to make way for him, with here a smile,
+and there a nod of his princely head.
+
+And when he awoke in the morning and looked upon the wretchedness about
+him, his dream had had its usual effect--it had intensified the
+sordidness of his surroundings a thousandfold.  Then came bitterness, and
+heart-break, and tears.
+
+
+
+Chapter III. Tom's meeting with the Prince.
+
+Tom got up hungry, and sauntered hungry away, but with his thoughts busy
+with the shadowy splendours of his night's dreams. He wandered here and
+there in the city, hardly noticing where he was going, or what was
+happening around him.  People jostled him, and some gave him rough
+speech; but it was all lost on the musing boy.  By-and-by he found
+himself at Temple Bar, the farthest from home he had ever travelled in
+that direction.  He stopped and considered a moment, then fell into his
+imaginings again, and passed on outside the walls of London.  The Strand
+had ceased to be a country-road then, and regarded itself as a street,
+but by a strained construction; for, though there was a tolerably compact
+row of houses on one side of it, there were only some scattered great
+buildings on the other, these being palaces of rich nobles, with ample
+and beautiful grounds stretching to the river--grounds that are now
+closely packed with grim acres of brick and stone.
+
+Tom discovered Charing Village presently, and rested himself at the
+beautiful cross built there by a bereaved king of earlier days; then
+idled down a quiet, lovely road, past the great cardinal's stately
+palace, toward a far more mighty and majestic palace beyond--Westminster.
+Tom stared in glad wonder at the vast pile of masonry, the wide-spreading
+wings, the frowning bastions and turrets, the huge stone gateway, with
+its gilded bars and its magnificent array of colossal granite lions, and
+other the signs and symbols of English royalty.  Was the desire of his
+soul to be satisfied at last?  Here, indeed, was a king's palace.  Might
+he not hope to see a prince now--a prince of flesh and blood, if Heaven
+were willing?
+
+At each side of the gilded gate stood a living statue--that is to say, an
+erect and stately and motionless man-at-arms, clad from head to heel in
+shining steel armour.  At a respectful distance were many country folk,
+and people from the city, waiting for any chance glimpse of royalty that
+might offer.  Splendid carriages, with splendid people in them and
+splendid servants outside, were arriving and departing by several other
+noble gateways that pierced the royal enclosure.
+
+Poor little Tom, in his rags, approached, and was moving slowly and
+timidly past the sentinels, with a beating heart and a rising hope, when
+all at once he caught sight through the golden bars of a spectacle that
+almost made him shout for joy.  Within was a comely boy, tanned and brown
+with sturdy outdoor sports and exercises, whose clothing was all of
+lovely silks and satins, shining with jewels; at his hip a little
+jewelled sword and dagger; dainty buskins on his feet, with red heels;
+and on his head a jaunty crimson cap, with drooping plumes fastened with
+a great sparkling gem.  Several gorgeous gentlemen stood near--his
+servants, without a doubt.  Oh! he was a prince--a prince, a living
+prince, a real prince--without the shadow of a question; and the prayer
+of the pauper-boy's heart was answered at last.
+
+Tom's breath came quick and short with excitement, and his eyes grew big
+with wonder and delight.  Everything gave way in his mind instantly to
+one desire:  that was to get close to the prince, and have a good,
+devouring look at him.  Before he knew what he was about, he had his face
+against the gate-bars.  The next instant one of the soldiers snatched him
+rudely away, and sent him spinning among the gaping crowd of country
+gawks and London idlers.  The soldier said,--
+
+"Mind thy manners, thou young beggar!"
+
+The crowd jeered and laughed; but the young prince sprang to the gate
+with his face flushed, and his eyes flashing with indignation, and cried
+out,--
+
+"How dar'st thou use a poor lad like that?  How dar'st thou use the King
+my father's meanest subject so?  Open the gates, and let him in!"
+
+You should have seen that fickle crowd snatch off their hats then. You
+should have heard them cheer, and shout, "Long live the Prince of Wales!"
+
+The soldiers presented arms with their halberds, opened the gates, and
+presented again as the little Prince of Poverty passed in, in his
+fluttering rags, to join hands with the Prince of Limitless Plenty.
+
+Edward Tudor said--
+
+"Thou lookest tired and hungry:  thou'st been treated ill.  Come with
+me."
+
+Half a dozen attendants sprang forward to--I don't know what; interfere,
+no doubt.  But they were waved aside with a right royal gesture, and they
+stopped stock still where they were, like so many statues.  Edward took
+Tom to a rich apartment in the palace, which he called his cabinet.  By
+his command a repast was brought such as Tom had never encountered before
+except in books.  The prince, with princely delicacy and breeding, sent
+away the servants, so that his humble guest might not be embarrassed by
+their critical presence; then he sat near by, and asked questions while
+Tom ate.
+
+"What is thy name, lad?"
+
+"Tom Canty, an' it please thee, sir."
+
+"'Tis an odd one.  Where dost live?"
+
+"In the city, please thee, sir.  Offal Court, out of Pudding Lane."
+
+"Offal Court!  Truly 'tis another odd one.  Hast parents?"
+
+"Parents have I, sir, and a grand-dam likewise that is but indifferently
+precious to me, God forgive me if it be offence to say it--also twin
+sisters, Nan and Bet."
+
+"Then is thy grand-dam not over kind to thee, I take it?"
+
+"Neither to any other is she, so please your worship.  She hath a wicked
+heart, and worketh evil all her days."
+
+"Doth she mistreat thee?"
+
+"There be times that she stayeth her hand, being asleep or overcome with
+drink; but when she hath her judgment clear again, she maketh it up to me
+with goodly beatings."
+
+A fierce look came into the little prince's eyes, and he cried out--
+
+"What!  Beatings?"
+
+"Oh, indeed, yes, please you, sir."
+
+"BEATINGS!--and thou so frail and little.  Hark ye:  before the night
+come, she shall hie her to the Tower.  The King my father"--
+
+"In sooth, you forget, sir, her low degree.  The Tower is for the great
+alone."
+
+"True, indeed.  I had not thought of that.  I will consider of her
+punishment.  Is thy father kind to thee?"
+
+"Not more than Gammer Canty, sir."
+
+"Fathers be alike, mayhap.  Mine hath not a doll's temper.  He smiteth
+with a heavy hand, yet spareth me:  he spareth me not always with his
+tongue, though, sooth to say.  How doth thy mother use thee?"
+
+"She is good, sir, and giveth me neither sorrow nor pain of any sort.
+And Nan and Bet are like to her in this."
+
+"How old be these?"
+
+"Fifteen, an' it please you, sir."
+
+"The Lady Elizabeth, my sister, is fourteen, and the Lady Jane Grey, my
+cousin, is of mine own age, and comely and gracious withal; but my sister
+the Lady Mary, with her gloomy mien and--Look you:  do thy sisters forbid
+their servants to smile, lest the sin destroy their souls?"
+
+"They?  Oh, dost think, sir, that THEY have servants?"
+
+The little prince contemplated the little pauper gravely a moment, then
+said--
+
+"And prithee, why not?  Who helpeth them undress at night?  Who attireth
+them when they rise?"
+
+"None, sir.  Would'st have them take off their garment, and sleep
+without--like the beasts?"
+
+"Their garment!  Have they but one?"
+
+"Ah, good your worship, what would they do with more?  Truly they have
+not two bodies each."
+
+"It is a quaint and marvellous thought!  Thy pardon, I had not meant to
+laugh.  But thy good Nan and thy Bet shall have raiment and lackeys enow,
+and that soon, too:  my cofferer shall look to it.  No, thank me not;
+'tis nothing.  Thou speakest well; thou hast an easy grace in it.  Art
+learned?"
+
+"I know not if I am or not, sir.  The good priest that is called Father
+Andrew taught me, of his kindness, from his books."
+
+"Know'st thou the Latin?"
+
+"But scantly, sir, I doubt."
+
+"Learn it, lad:  'tis hard only at first.  The Greek is harder; but
+neither these nor any tongues else, I think, are hard to the Lady
+Elizabeth and my cousin.  Thou should'st hear those damsels at it!  But
+tell me of thy Offal Court.  Hast thou a pleasant life there?"
+
+"In truth, yes, so please you, sir, save when one is hungry. There be
+Punch-and-Judy shows, and monkeys--oh such antic creatures! and so
+bravely dressed!--and there be plays wherein they that play do shout and
+fight till all are slain, and 'tis so fine to see, and costeth but a
+farthing--albeit 'tis main hard to get the farthing, please your
+worship."
+
+"Tell me more."
+
+"We lads of Offal Court do strive against each other with the cudgel,
+like to the fashion of the 'prentices, sometimes."
+
+The prince's eyes flashed.  Said he--
+
+"Marry, that would not I mislike.  Tell me more."
+
+"We strive in races, sir, to see who of us shall be fleetest."
+
+"That would I like also.  Speak on."
+
+"In summer, sir, we wade and swim in the canals and in the river, and
+each doth duck his neighbour, and splatter him with water, and dive and
+shout and tumble and--"
+
+"'Twould be worth my father's kingdom but to enjoy it once! Prithee go
+on."
+
+"We dance and sing about the Maypole in Cheapside; we play in the sand,
+each covering his neighbour up; and times we make mud pastry--oh the
+lovely mud, it hath not its like for delightfulness in all the world!--we
+do fairly wallow in the mud, sir, saving your worship's presence."
+
+"Oh, prithee, say no more, 'tis glorious!  If that I could but clothe me
+in raiment like to thine, and strip my feet, and revel in the mud once,
+just once, with none to rebuke me or forbid, meseemeth I could forego the
+crown!"
+
+"And if that I could clothe me once, sweet sir, as thou art clad--just
+once--"
+
+"Oho, would'st like it?  Then so shall it be.  Doff thy rags, and don
+these splendours, lad!  It is a brief happiness, but will be not less
+keen for that.  We will have it while we may, and change again before any
+come to molest."
+
+A few minutes later the little Prince of Wales was garlanded with Tom's
+fluttering odds and ends, and the little Prince of Pauperdom was tricked
+out in the gaudy plumage of royalty.  The two went and stood side by side
+before a great mirror, and lo, a miracle: there did not seem to have been
+any change made!  They stared at each other, then at the glass, then at
+each other again.  At last the puzzled princeling said--
+
+"What dost thou make of this?"
+
+"Ah, good your worship, require me not to answer.  It is not meet that
+one of my degree should utter the thing."
+
+"Then will _I_ utter it.  Thou hast the same hair, the same eyes, the
+same voice and manner, the same form and stature, the same face and
+countenance that I bear.  Fared we forth naked, there is none could say
+which was you, and which the Prince of Wales.  And, now that I am clothed
+as thou wert clothed, it seemeth I should be able the more nearly to feel
+as thou didst when the brute soldier--Hark ye, is not this a bruise upon
+your hand?"
+
+"Yes; but it is a slight thing, and your worship knoweth that the poor
+man-at-arms--"
+
+"Peace!  It was a shameful thing and a cruel!" cried the little prince,
+stamping his bare foot.  "If the King--Stir not a step till I come again!
+It is a command!"
+
+In a moment he had snatched up and put away an article of national
+importance that lay upon a table, and was out at the door and flying
+through the palace grounds in his bannered rags, with a hot face and
+glowing eyes.  As soon as he reached the great gate, he seized the bars,
+and tried to shake them, shouting--
+
+"Open!  Unbar the gates!"
+
+The soldier that had maltreated Tom obeyed promptly; and as the prince
+burst through the portal, half-smothered with royal wrath, the soldier
+fetched him a sounding box on the ear that sent him whirling to the
+roadway, and said--
+
+"Take that, thou beggar's spawn, for what thou got'st me from his
+Highness!"
+
+The crowd roared with laughter.  The prince picked himself out of the
+mud, and made fiercely at the sentry, shouting--
+
+"I am the Prince of Wales, my person is sacred; and thou shalt hang for
+laying thy hand upon me!"
+
+The soldier brought his halberd to a present-arms and said mockingly--
+
+"I salute your gracious Highness."  Then angrily--"Be off, thou crazy
+rubbish!"
+
+Here the jeering crowd closed round the poor little prince, and hustled
+him far down the road, hooting him, and shouting--
+
+"Way for his Royal Highness!  Way for the Prince of Wales!"
+
+
+
+Chapter IV. The Prince's troubles begin.
+
+After hours of persistent pursuit and persecution, the little prince was
+at last deserted by the rabble and left to himself.  As long as he had
+been able to rage against the mob, and threaten it royally, and royally
+utter commands that were good stuff to laugh at, he was very
+entertaining; but when weariness finally forced him to be silent, he was
+no longer of use to his tormentors, and they sought amusement elsewhere.
+He looked about him, now, but could not recognise the locality.  He was
+within the city of London--that was all he knew.  He moved on, aimlessly,
+and in a little while the houses thinned, and the passers-by were
+infrequent.  He bathed his bleeding feet in the brook which flowed then
+where Farringdon Street now is; rested a few moments, then passed on, and
+presently came upon a great space with only a few scattered houses in it,
+and a prodigious church.  He recognised this church.  Scaffoldings were
+about, everywhere, and swarms of workmen; for it was undergoing elaborate
+repairs.  The prince took heart at once--he felt that his troubles were
+at an end, now.  He said to himself, "It is the ancient Grey Friars'
+Church, which the king my father hath taken from the monks and given for
+a home for ever for poor and forsaken children, and new-named it Christ's
+Church.  Right gladly will they serve the son of him who hath done so
+generously by them--and the more that that son is himself as poor and as
+forlorn as any that be sheltered here this day, or ever shall be."
+
+He was soon in the midst of a crowd of boys who were running, jumping,
+playing at ball and leap-frog, and otherwise disporting themselves, and
+right noisily, too.  They were all dressed alike, and in the fashion
+which in that day prevailed among serving-men and 'prentices{1}--that is
+to say, each had on the crown of his head a flat black cap about the size
+of a saucer, which was not useful as a covering, it being of such scanty
+dimensions, neither was it ornamental; from beneath it the hair fell,
+unparted, to the middle of the forehead, and was cropped straight around;
+a clerical band at the neck; a blue gown that fitted closely and hung as
+low as the knees or lower; full sleeves; a broad red belt; bright yellow
+stockings, gartered above the knees; low shoes with large metal buckles.
+It was a sufficiently ugly costume.
+
+The boys stopped their play and flocked about the prince, who said with
+native dignity--
+
+"Good lads, say to your master that Edward Prince of Wales desireth
+speech with him."
+
+A great shout went up at this, and one rude fellow said--
+
+"Marry, art thou his grace's messenger, beggar?"
+
+The prince's face flushed with anger, and his ready hand flew to his hip,
+but there was nothing there.  There was a storm of laughter, and one boy
+said--
+
+"Didst mark that?  He fancied he had a sword--belike he is the prince
+himself."
+
+This sally brought more laughter.  Poor Edward drew himself up proudly
+and said--
+
+"I am the prince; and it ill beseemeth you that feed upon the king my
+father's bounty to use me so."
+
+This was vastly enjoyed, as the laughter testified.  The youth who had
+first spoken, shouted to his comrades--
+
+"Ho, swine, slaves, pensioners of his grace's princely father, where be
+your manners?  Down on your marrow bones, all of ye, and do reverence to
+his kingly port and royal rags!"
+
+With boisterous mirth they dropped upon their knees in a body and did
+mock homage to their prey.  The prince spurned the nearest boy with his
+foot, and said fiercely--
+
+"Take thou that, till the morrow come and I build thee a gibbet!"
+
+Ah, but this was not a joke--this was going beyond fun.  The laughter
+ceased on the instant, and fury took its place.  A dozen shouted--
+
+"Hale him forth!  To the horse-pond, to the horse-pond!  Where be the
+dogs?  Ho, there, Lion! ho, Fangs!"
+
+Then followed such a thing as England had never seen before--the sacred
+person of the heir to the throne rudely buffeted by plebeian hands, and
+set upon and torn by dogs.
+
+As night drew to a close that day, the prince found himself far down in
+the close-built portion of the city.  His body was bruised, his hands
+were bleeding, and his rags were all besmirched with mud.  He wandered on
+and on, and grew more and more bewildered, and so tired and faint he
+could hardly drag one foot after the other.  He had ceased to ask
+questions of anyone, since they brought him only insult instead of
+information.  He kept muttering to himself, "Offal Court--that is the
+name; if I can but find it before my strength is wholly spent and I drop,
+then am I saved--for his people will take me to the palace and prove that
+I am none of theirs, but the true prince, and I shall have mine own
+again."  And now and then his mind reverted to his treatment by those
+rude Christ's Hospital boys, and he said, "When I am king, they shall not
+have bread and shelter only, but also teachings out of books; for a full
+belly is little worth where the mind is starved, and the heart.  I will
+keep this diligently in my remembrance, that this day's lesson be not
+lost upon me, and my people suffer thereby; for learning softeneth the
+heart and breedeth gentleness and charity." {1}
+
+The lights began to twinkle, it came on to rain, the wind rose, and a raw
+and gusty night set in.  The houseless prince, the homeless heir to the
+throne of England, still moved on, drifting deeper into the maze of
+squalid alleys where the swarming hives of poverty and misery were massed
+together.
+
+Suddenly a great drunken ruffian collared him and said--
+
+"Out to this time of night again, and hast not brought a farthing home, I
+warrant me!  If it be so, an' I do not break all the bones in thy lean
+body, then am I not John Canty, but some other."
+
+The prince twisted himself loose, unconsciously brushed his profaned
+shoulder, and eagerly said--
+
+"Oh, art HIS father, truly?  Sweet heaven grant it be so--then wilt thou
+fetch him away and restore me!"
+
+"HIS father?  I know not what thou mean'st; I but know I am THY father,
+as thou shalt soon have cause to--"
+
+"Oh, jest not, palter not, delay not!--I am worn, I am wounded, I can
+bear no more.  Take me to the king my father, and he will make thee rich
+beyond thy wildest dreams.  Believe me, man, believe me!--I speak no lie,
+but only the truth!--put forth thy hand and save me!  I am indeed the
+Prince of Wales!"
+
+The man stared down, stupefied, upon the lad, then shook his head and
+muttered--
+
+"Gone stark mad as any Tom o' Bedlam!"--then collared him once more, and
+said with a coarse laugh and an oath, "But mad or no mad, I and thy
+Gammer Canty will soon find where the soft places in thy bones lie, or
+I'm no true man!"
+
+With this he dragged the frantic and struggling prince away, and
+disappeared up a front court followed by a delighted and noisy swarm of
+human vermin.
+
+
+
+Chapter V. Tom as a patrician.
+
+Tom Canty, left alone in the prince's cabinet, made good use of his
+opportunity.  He turned himself this way and that before the great
+mirror, admiring his finery; then walked away, imitating the prince's
+high-bred carriage, and still observing results in the glass.  Next he
+drew the beautiful sword, and bowed, kissing the blade, and laying it
+across his breast, as he had seen a noble knight do, by way of salute to
+the lieutenant of the Tower, five or six weeks before, when delivering
+the great lords of Norfolk and Surrey into his hands for captivity.  Tom
+played with the jewelled dagger that hung upon his thigh; he examined the
+costly and exquisite ornaments of the room; he tried each of the
+sumptuous chairs, and thought how proud he would be if the Offal Court
+herd could only peep in and see him in his grandeur.  He wondered if they
+would believe the marvellous tale he should tell when he got home, or if
+they would shake their heads, and say his overtaxed imagination had at
+last upset his reason.
+
+At the end of half an hour it suddenly occurred to him that the prince
+was gone a long time; then right away he began to feel lonely; very soon
+he fell to listening and longing, and ceased to toy with the pretty
+things about him; he grew uneasy, then restless, then distressed.
+Suppose some one should come, and catch him in the prince's clothes, and
+the prince not there to explain.  Might they not hang him at once, and
+inquire into his case afterward?  He had heard that the great were prompt
+about small matters.  His fear rose higher and higher; and trembling he
+softly opened the door to the antechamber, resolved to fly and seek the
+prince, and, through him, protection and release.  Six gorgeous
+gentlemen-servants and two young pages of high degree, clothed like
+butterflies, sprang to their feet and bowed low before him.  He stepped
+quickly back and shut the door.  He said--
+
+"Oh, they mock at me!  They will go and tell.  Oh! why came I here to
+cast away my life?"
+
+He walked up and down the floor, filled with nameless fears, listening,
+starting at every trifling sound.  Presently the door swung open, and a
+silken page said--
+
+"The Lady Jane Grey."
+
+The door closed and a sweet young girl, richly clad, bounded toward him.
+But she stopped suddenly, and said in a distressed voice--
+
+"Oh, what aileth thee, my lord?"
+
+Tom's breath was nearly failing him; but he made shift to stammer out--
+
+"Ah, be merciful, thou!  In sooth I am no lord, but only poor Tom Canty
+of Offal Court in the city.  Prithee let me see the prince, and he will
+of his grace restore to me my rags, and let me hence unhurt.  Oh, be thou
+merciful, and save me!"
+
+By this time the boy was on his knees, and supplicating with his eyes and
+uplifted hands as well as with his tongue.  The young girl seemed horror-
+stricken.  She cried out--
+
+"O my lord, on thy knees?--and to ME!"
+
+Then she fled away in fright; and Tom, smitten with despair, sank down,
+murmuring--
+
+"There is no help, there is no hope.  Now will they come and take me."
+
+Whilst he lay there benumbed with terror, dreadful tidings were speeding
+through the palace.  The whisper--for it was whispered always--flew from
+menial to menial, from lord to lady, down all the long corridors, from
+story to story, from saloon to saloon, "The prince hath gone mad, the
+prince hath gone mad!"  Soon every saloon, every marble hall, had its
+groups of glittering lords and ladies, and other groups of dazzling
+lesser folk, talking earnestly together in whispers, and every face had
+in it dismay. Presently a splendid official came marching by these
+groups, making solemn proclamation--
+
+"IN THE NAME OF THE KING!
+
+Let none list to this false and foolish matter, upon pain of death, nor
+discuss the same, nor carry it abroad.  In the name of the King!"
+
+The whisperings ceased as suddenly as if the whisperers had been stricken
+dumb.
+
+Soon there was a general buzz along the corridors, of "The prince! See,
+the prince comes!"
+
+Poor Tom came slowly walking past the low-bowing groups, trying to bow in
+return, and meekly gazing upon his strange surroundings with bewildered
+and pathetic eyes.  Great nobles walked upon each side of him, making him
+lean upon them, and so steady his steps. Behind him followed the court-
+physicians and some servants.
+
+Presently Tom found himself in a noble apartment of the palace and heard
+the door close behind him.  Around him stood those who had come with him.
+Before him, at a little distance, reclined a very large and very fat man,
+with a wide, pulpy face, and a stern expression.  His large head was very
+grey; and his whiskers, which he wore only around his face, like a frame,
+were grey also.  His clothing was of rich stuff, but old, and slightly
+frayed in places.  One of his swollen legs had a pillow under it, and was
+wrapped in bandages.  There was silence now; and there was no head there
+but was bent in reverence, except this man's.  This stern-countenanced
+invalid was the dread Henry VIII.  He said--and his face grew gentle as
+he began to speak--
+
+"How now, my lord Edward, my prince?  Hast been minded to cozen me, the
+good King thy father, who loveth thee, and kindly useth thee, with a
+sorry jest?"
+
+Poor Tom was listening, as well as his dazed faculties would let him, to
+the beginning of this speech; but when the words 'me, the good King' fell
+upon his ear, his face blanched, and he dropped as instantly upon his
+knees as if a shot had brought him there. Lifting up his hands, he
+exclaimed--
+
+"Thou the KING?  Then am I undone indeed!"
+
+This speech seemed to stun the King.  His eyes wandered from face to face
+aimlessly, then rested, bewildered, upon the boy before him.  Then he
+said in a tone of deep disappointment--
+
+"Alack, I had believed the rumour disproportioned to the truth; but I
+fear me 'tis not so."  He breathed a heavy sigh, and said in a gentle
+voice, "Come to thy father, child:  thou art not well."
+
+Tom was assisted to his feet, and approached the Majesty of England,
+humble and trembling.  The King took the frightened face between his
+hands, and gazed earnestly and lovingly into it awhile, as if seeking
+some grateful sign of returning reason there, then pressed the curly head
+against his breast, and patted it tenderly.  Presently he said--
+
+"Dost not know thy father, child?  Break not mine old heart; say thou
+know'st me.  Thou DOST know me, dost thou not?"
+
+"Yea:  thou art my dread lord the King, whom God preserve!"
+
+"True, true--that is well--be comforted, tremble not so; there is none
+here would hurt thee; there is none here but loves thee. Thou art better
+now; thy ill dream passeth--is't not so?  Thou wilt not miscall thyself
+again, as they say thou didst a little while agone?"
+
+"I pray thee of thy grace believe me, I did but speak the truth, most
+dread lord; for I am the meanest among thy subjects, being a pauper born,
+and 'tis by a sore mischance and accident I am here, albeit I was therein
+nothing blameful.  I am but young to die, and thou canst save me with one
+little word.  Oh speak it, sir!"
+
+"Die?  Talk not so, sweet prince--peace, peace, to thy troubled heart--
+thou shalt not die!"
+
+Tom dropped upon his knees with a glad cry--
+
+"God requite thy mercy, O my King, and save thee long to bless thy land!"
+Then springing up, he turned a joyful face toward the two lords in
+waiting, and exclaimed, "Thou heard'st it!  I am not to die:  the King
+hath said it!"  There was no movement, save that all bowed with grave
+respect; but no one spoke.  He hesitated, a little confused, then turned
+timidly toward the King, saying, "I may go now?"
+
+"Go?  Surely, if thou desirest.  But why not tarry yet a little? Whither
+would'st go?"
+
+Tom dropped his eyes, and answered humbly--
+
+"Peradventure I mistook; but I did think me free, and so was I moved to
+seek again the kennel where I was born and bred to misery, yet which
+harboureth my mother and my sisters, and so is home to me; whereas these
+pomps and splendours whereunto I am not used--oh, please you, sir, to let
+me go!"
+
+The King was silent and thoughtful a while, and his face betrayed a
+growing distress and uneasiness.  Presently he said, with something of
+hope in his voice--
+
+"Perchance he is but mad upon this one strain, and hath his wits unmarred
+as toucheth other matter.  God send it may be so!  We will make trial."
+
+Then he asked Tom a question in Latin, and Tom answered him lamely in the
+same tongue.  The lords and doctors manifested their gratification also.
+The King said--
+
+"'Twas not according to his schooling and ability, but showeth that his
+mind is but diseased, not stricken fatally.  How say you, sir?"
+
+The physician addressed bowed low, and replied--
+
+"It jumpeth with my own conviction, sire, that thou hast divined aright."
+
+The King looked pleased with this encouragement, coming as it did from so
+excellent authority, and continued with good heart--
+
+"Now mark ye all:  we will try him further."
+
+He put a question to Tom in French.  Tom stood silent a moment,
+embarrassed by having so many eyes centred upon him, then said
+diffidently--
+
+"I have no knowledge of this tongue, so please your majesty."
+
+The King fell back upon his couch.  The attendants flew to his
+assistance; but he put them aside, and said--
+
+"Trouble me not--it is nothing but a scurvy faintness.  Raise me! There,
+'tis sufficient.  Come hither, child; there, rest thy poor troubled head
+upon thy father's heart, and be at peace.  Thou'lt soon be well:  'tis
+but a passing fantasy.  Fear thou not; thou'lt soon be well."  Then he
+turned toward the company:  his gentle manner changed, and baleful
+lightnings began to play from his eyes.  He said--
+
+"List ye all!  This my son is mad; but it is not permanent.  Over-study
+hath done this, and somewhat too much of confinement.  Away with his
+books and teachers! see ye to it.  Pleasure him with sports, beguile him
+in wholesome ways, so that his health come again."  He raised himself
+higher still, and went on with energy, "He is mad; but he is my son, and
+England's heir; and, mad or sane, still shall he reign!  And hear ye
+further, and proclaim it: whoso speaketh of this his distemper worketh
+against the peace and order of these realms, and shall to the gallows!
+. . . Give me to drink--I burn:  this sorrow sappeth my strength. . . .
+There, take away the cup. . . . Support me.  There, that is well.  Mad,
+is he?  Were he a thousand times mad, yet is he Prince of Wales, and I the
+King will confirm it.  This very morrow shall he be installed in his
+princely dignity in due and ancient form.  Take instant order for it, my
+lord Hertford."
+
+One of the nobles knelt at the royal couch, and said--
+
+"The King's majesty knoweth that the Hereditary Great Marshal of England
+lieth attainted in the Tower.  It were not meet that one attainted--"
+
+"Peace!  Insult not mine ears with his hated name.  Is this man to live
+for ever?  Am I to be baulked of my will?  Is the prince to tarry
+uninstalled, because, forsooth, the realm lacketh an Earl Marshal free of
+treasonable taint to invest him with his honours? No, by the splendour of
+God!  Warn my Parliament to bring me Norfolk's doom before the sun rise
+again, else shall they answer for it grievously!" {1}
+
+Lord Hertford said--
+
+"The King's will is law;" and, rising, returned to his former place.
+
+Gradually the wrath faded out of the old King's face, and he said--
+
+"Kiss me, my prince.  There . . . what fearest thou?  Am I not thy loving
+father?"
+
+"Thou art good to me that am unworthy, O mighty and gracious lord: that
+in truth I know.  But--but--it grieveth me to think of him that is to
+die, and--"
+
+"Ah, 'tis like thee, 'tis like thee!  I know thy heart is still the same,
+even though thy mind hath suffered hurt, for thou wert ever of a gentle
+spirit.  But this duke standeth between thee and thine honours:  I will
+have another in his stead that shall bring no taint to his great office.
+Comfort thee, my prince:  trouble not thy poor head with this matter."
+
+"But is it not I that speed him hence, my liege?  How long might he not
+live, but for me?"
+
+"Take no thought of him, my prince:  he is not worthy.  Kiss me once
+again, and go to thy trifles and amusements; for my malady distresseth
+me.  I am aweary, and would rest.  Go with thine uncle Hertford and thy
+people, and come again when my body is refreshed."
+
+Tom, heavy-hearted, was conducted from the presence, for this last
+sentence was a death-blow to the hope he had cherished that now he would
+be set free.  Once more he heard the buzz of low voices exclaiming, "The
+prince, the prince comes!"
+
+His spirits sank lower and lower as he moved between the glittering files
+of bowing courtiers; for he recognised that he was indeed a captive now,
+and might remain for ever shut up in this gilded cage, a forlorn and
+friendless prince, except God in his mercy take pity on him and set him
+free.
+
+And, turn where he would, he seemed to see floating in the air the
+severed head and the remembered face of the great Duke of Norfolk, the
+eyes fixed on him reproachfully.
+
+His old dreams had been so pleasant; but this reality was so dreary!
+
+
+
+Chapter VI. Tom receives instructions.
+
+Tom was conducted to the principal apartment of a noble suite, and made
+to sit down--a thing which he was loth to do, since there were elderly
+men and men of high degree about him.  He begged them to be seated also,
+but they only bowed their thanks or murmured them, and remained standing.
+He would have insisted, but his 'uncle' the Earl of Hertford whispered in
+his ear--
+
+"Prithee, insist not, my lord; it is not meet that they sit in thy
+presence."
+
+The Lord St. John was announced, and after making obeisance to Tom, he
+said--
+
+"I come upon the King's errand, concerning a matter which requireth
+privacy.  Will it please your royal highness to dismiss all that attend
+you here, save my lord the Earl of Hertford?"
+
+Observing that Tom did not seem to know how to proceed, Hertford
+whispered him to make a sign with his hand, and not trouble himself to
+speak unless he chose.  When the waiting gentlemen had retired, Lord St.
+John said--
+
+"His majesty commandeth, that for due and weighty reasons of state, the
+prince's grace shall hide his infirmity in all ways that be within his
+power, till it be passed and he be as he was before.  To wit, that he
+shall deny to none that he is the true prince, and heir to England's
+greatness; that he shall uphold his princely dignity, and shall receive,
+without word or sign of protest, that reverence and observance which unto
+it do appertain of right and ancient usage; that he shall cease to speak
+to any of that lowly birth and life his malady hath conjured out of the
+unwholesome imaginings of o'er-wrought fancy; that he shall strive with
+diligence to bring unto his memory again those faces which he was wont to
+know--and where he faileth he shall hold his peace, neither betraying by
+semblance of surprise or other sign that he hath forgot; that upon
+occasions of state, whensoever any matter shall perplex him as to the
+thing he should do or the utterance he should make, he shall show nought
+of unrest to the curious that look on, but take advice in that matter of
+the Lord Hertford, or my humble self, which are commanded of the King to
+be upon this service and close at call, till this commandment be
+dissolved. Thus saith the King's majesty, who sendeth greeting to your
+royal highness, and prayeth that God will of His mercy quickly heal you
+and have you now and ever in His holy keeping."
+
+The Lord St. John made reverence and stood aside.  Tom replied
+resignedly--
+
+"The King hath said it.  None may palter with the King's command, or fit
+it to his ease, where it doth chafe, with deft evasions. The King shall
+be obeyed."
+
+Lord Hertford said--
+
+"Touching the King's majesty's ordainment concerning books and such like
+serious matters, it may peradventure please your highness to ease your
+time with lightsome entertainment, lest you go wearied to the banquet and
+suffer harm thereby."
+
+Tom's face showed inquiring surprise; and a blush followed when he saw
+Lord St. John's eyes bent sorrowfully upon him.  His lordship said--
+
+"Thy memory still wrongeth thee, and thou hast shown surprise--but suffer
+it not to trouble thee, for 'tis a matter that will not bide, but depart
+with thy mending malady.  My Lord of Hertford speaketh of the city's
+banquet which the King's majesty did promise, some two months flown, your
+highness should attend.  Thou recallest it now?"
+
+"It grieves me to confess it had indeed escaped me," said Tom, in a
+hesitating voice; and blushed again.
+
+At this moment the Lady Elizabeth and the Lady Jane Grey were announced.
+The two lords exchanged significant glances, and Hertford stepped quickly
+toward the door.  As the young girls passed him, he said in a low voice--
+
+"I pray ye, ladies, seem not to observe his humours, nor show surprise
+when his memory doth lapse--it will grieve you to note how it doth stick
+at every trifle."
+
+Meantime Lord St. John was saying in Tom's ear--
+
+"Please you, sir, keep diligently in mind his majesty's desire. Remember
+all thou canst--SEEM to remember all else.  Let them not perceive that
+thou art much changed from thy wont, for thou knowest how tenderly thy
+old play-fellows bear thee in their hearts and how 'twould grieve them.
+Art willing, sir, that I remain?--and thine uncle?"
+
+Tom signified assent with a gesture and a murmured word, for he was
+already learning, and in his simple heart was resolved to acquit himself
+as best he might, according to the King's command.
+
+In spite of every precaution, the conversation among the young people
+became a little embarrassing at times.  More than once, in truth, Tom was
+near to breaking down and confessing himself unequal to his tremendous
+part; but the tact of the Princess Elizabeth saved him, or a word from
+one or the other of the vigilant lords, thrown in apparently by chance,
+had the same happy effect.  Once the little Lady Jane turned to Tom and
+dismayed him with this question,--
+
+"Hast paid thy duty to the Queen's majesty to-day, my lord?"
+
+Tom hesitated, looked distressed, and was about to stammer out something
+at hazard, when Lord St. John took the word and answered for him with the
+easy grace of a courtier accustomed to encounter delicate difficulties
+and to be ready for them--
+
+"He hath indeed, madam, and she did greatly hearten him, as touching his
+majesty's condition; is it not so, your highness?"
+
+Tom mumbled something that stood for assent, but felt that he was getting
+upon dangerous ground.  Somewhat later it was mentioned that Tom was to
+study no more at present, whereupon her little ladyship exclaimed--
+
+"'Tis a pity, 'tis a pity!  Thou wert proceeding bravely.  But bide thy
+time in patience:  it will not be for long.  Thou'lt yet be graced with
+learning like thy father, and make thy tongue master of as many languages
+as his, good my prince."
+
+"My father!" cried Tom, off his guard for the moment.  "I trow he cannot
+speak his own so that any but the swine that kennel in the styes may tell
+his meaning; and as for learning of any sort soever--"
+
+He looked up and encountered a solemn warning in my Lord St. John's eyes.
+
+He stopped, blushed, then continued low and sadly: "Ah, my malady
+persecuteth me again, and my mind wandereth.  I meant the King's grace no
+irreverence."
+
+"We know it, sir," said the Princess Elizabeth, taking her 'brother's'
+hand between her two palms, respectfully but caressingly; "trouble not
+thyself as to that.  The fault is none of thine, but thy distemper's."
+
+"Thou'rt a gentle comforter, sweet lady," said Tom, gratefully, "and my
+heart moveth me to thank thee for't, an' I may be so bold."
+
+Once the giddy little Lady Jane fired a simple Greek phrase at Tom.  The
+Princess Elizabeth's quick eye saw by the serene blankness of the
+target's front that the shaft was overshot; so she tranquilly delivered a
+return volley of sounding Greek on Tom's behalf, and then straightway
+changed the talk to other matters.
+
+Time wore on pleasantly, and likewise smoothly, on the whole. Snags and
+sandbars grew less and less frequent, and Tom grew more and more at his
+ease, seeing that all were so lovingly bent upon helping him and
+overlooking his mistakes.  When it came out that the little ladies were
+to accompany him to the Lord Mayor's banquet in the evening, his heart
+gave a bound of relief and delight, for he felt that he should not be
+friendless, now, among that multitude of strangers; whereas, an hour
+earlier, the idea of their going with him would have been an
+insupportable terror to him.
+
+Tom's guardian angels, the two lords, had had less comfort in the
+interview than the other parties to it.  They felt much as if they were
+piloting a great ship through a dangerous channel; they were on the alert
+constantly, and found their office no child's play. Wherefore, at last,
+when the ladies' visit was drawing to a close and the Lord Guilford
+Dudley was announced, they not only felt that their charge had been
+sufficiently taxed for the present, but also that they themselves were
+not in the best condition to take their ship back and make their anxious
+voyage all over again.  So they respectfully advised Tom to excuse
+himself, which he was very glad to do, although a slight shade of
+disappointment might have been observed upon my Lady Jane's face when she
+heard the splendid stripling denied admittance.
+
+There was a pause now, a sort of waiting silence which Tom could not
+understand.  He glanced at Lord Hertford, who gave him a sign--but he
+failed to understand that also.  The ready Elizabeth came to the rescue
+with her usual easy grace.  She made reverence and said--
+
+"Have we leave of the prince's grace my brother to go?"
+
+Tom said--
+
+"Indeed your ladyships can have whatsoever of me they will, for the
+asking; yet would I rather give them any other thing that in my poor
+power lieth, than leave to take the light and blessing of their presence
+hence.  Give ye good den, and God be with ye!" Then he smiled inwardly at
+the thought, "'Tis not for nought I have dwelt but among princes in my
+reading, and taught my tongue some slight trick of their broidered and
+gracious speech withal!"
+
+When the illustrious maidens were gone, Tom turned wearily to his keepers
+and said--
+
+"May it please your lordships to grant me leave to go into some corner
+and rest me?"
+
+Lord Hertford said--
+
+"So please your highness, it is for you to command, it is for us to obey.
+That thou should'st rest is indeed a needful thing, since thou must
+journey to the city presently."
+
+He touched a bell, and a page appeared, who was ordered to desire the
+presence of Sir William Herbert.  This gentleman came straightway, and
+conducted Tom to an inner apartment.  Tom's first movement there was to
+reach for a cup of water; but a silk-and-velvet servitor seized it,
+dropped upon one knee, and offered it to him on a golden salver.
+
+Next the tired captive sat down and was going to take off his buskins,
+timidly asking leave with his eye, but another silk-and-velvet
+discomforter went down upon his knees and took the office from him.  He
+made two or three further efforts to help himself, but being promptly
+forestalled each time, he finally gave up, with a sigh of resignation and
+a murmured "Beshrew me, but I marvel they do not require to breathe for
+me also!"  Slippered, and wrapped in a sumptuous robe, he laid himself
+down at last to rest, but not to sleep, for his head was too full of
+thoughts and the room too full of people.  He could not dismiss the
+former, so they stayed; he did not know enough to dismiss the latter, so
+they stayed also, to his vast regret--and theirs.
+
+
+Tom's departure had left his two noble guardians alone.  They mused a
+while, with much head-shaking and walking the floor, then Lord St. John
+said--
+
+"Plainly, what dost thou think?"
+
+"Plainly, then, this.  The King is near his end; my nephew is mad--mad
+will mount the throne, and mad remain.  God protect England, since she
+will need it!"
+
+"Verily it promiseth so, indeed.  But . . . have you no misgivings as to
+. . . as to . . ."
+
+The speaker hesitated, and finally stopped.  He evidently felt that he
+was upon delicate ground.  Lord Hertford stopped before him, looked into
+his face with a clear, frank eye, and said--
+
+"Speak on--there is none to hear but me.  Misgivings as to what?"
+
+"I am full loth to word the thing that is in my mind, and thou so near to
+him in blood, my lord.  But craving pardon if I do offend, seemeth it not
+strange that madness could so change his port and manner?--not but that
+his port and speech are princely still, but that they DIFFER, in one
+unweighty trifle or another, from what his custom was aforetime.  Seemeth
+it not strange that madness should filch from his memory his father's
+very lineaments; the customs and observances that are his due from such
+as be about him; and, leaving him his Latin, strip him of his Greek and
+French?  My lord, be not offended, but ease my mind of its disquiet and
+receive my grateful thanks.  It haunteth me, his saying he was not the
+prince, and so--"
+
+"Peace, my lord, thou utterest treason!  Hast forgot the King's command?
+Remember I am party to thy crime if I but listen."
+
+St. John paled, and hastened to say--
+
+"I was in fault, I do confess it.  Betray me not, grant me this grace out
+of thy courtesy, and I will neither think nor speak of this thing more.
+Deal not hardly with me, sir, else am I ruined."
+
+"I am content, my lord.  So thou offend not again, here or in the ears of
+others, it shall be as though thou hadst not spoken.  But thou need'st
+not have misgivings.  He is my sister's son; are not his voice, his face,
+his form, familiar to me from his cradle? Madness can do all the odd
+conflicting things thou seest in him, and more.  Dost not recall how that
+the old Baron Marley, being mad, forgot the favour of his own countenance
+that he had known for sixty years, and held it was another's; nay, even
+claimed he was the son of Mary Magdalene, and that his head was made of
+Spanish glass; and, sooth to say, he suffered none to touch it, lest by
+mischance some heedless hand might shiver it?  Give thy misgivings
+easement, good my lord.  This is the very prince--I know him well--and
+soon will be thy king; it may advantage thee to bear this in mind, and
+more dwell upon it than the other."
+
+After some further talk, in which the Lord St. John covered up his
+mistake as well as he could by repeated protests that his faith was
+thoroughly grounded now, and could not be assailed by doubts again, the
+Lord Hertford relieved his fellow-keeper, and sat down to keep watch and
+ward alone.  He was soon deep in meditation, and evidently the longer he
+thought, the more he was bothered.  By-and-by he began to pace the floor
+and mutter.
+
+"Tush, he MUST be the prince!  Will any he in all the land maintain there
+can be two, not of one blood and birth, so marvellously twinned?  And
+even were it so, 'twere yet a stranger miracle that chance should cast
+the one into the other's place. Nay, 'tis folly, folly, folly!"
+
+Presently he said--
+
+"Now were he impostor and called himself prince, look you THAT would be
+natural; that would be reasonable.  But lived ever an impostor yet, who,
+being called prince by the king, prince by the court, prince by all,
+DENIED his dignity and pleaded against his exaltation?  NO!  By the soul
+of St. Swithin, no!  This is the true prince, gone mad!"
+
+
+
+Chapter VII. Tom's first royal dinner.
+
+Somewhat after one in the afternoon, Tom resignedly underwent the ordeal
+of being dressed for dinner.  He found himself as finely clothed as
+before, but everything different, everything changed, from his ruff to
+his stockings.  He was presently conducted with much state to a spacious
+and ornate apartment, where a table was already set for one.  Its
+furniture was all of massy gold, and beautified with designs which well-
+nigh made it priceless, since they were the work of Benvenuto.  The room
+was half-filled with noble servitors.  A chaplain said grace, and Tom was
+about to fall to, for hunger had long been constitutional with him, but
+was interrupted by my lord the Earl of Berkeley, who fastened a napkin
+about his neck; for the great post of Diaperers to the Prince of Wales
+was hereditary in this nobleman's family.  Tom's cupbearer was present,
+and forestalled all his attempts to help himself to wine.  The Taster to
+his highness the Prince of Wales was there also, prepared to taste any
+suspicious dish upon requirement, and run the risk of being poisoned.  He
+was only an ornamental appendage at this time, and was seldom called upon
+to exercise his function; but there had been times, not many generations
+past, when the office of taster had its perils, and was not a grandeur to
+be desired.  Why they did not use a dog or a plumber seems strange; but
+all the ways of royalty are strange.  My Lord d'Arcy, First Groom of the
+Chamber, was there, to do goodness knows what; but there he was--let that
+suffice.  The Lord Chief Butler was there, and stood behind Tom's chair,
+overseeing the solemnities, under command of the Lord Great Steward and
+the Lord Head Cook, who stood near.  Tom had three hundred and eighty-
+four servants beside these; but they were not all in that room, of
+course, nor the quarter of them; neither was Tom aware yet that they
+existed.
+
+All those that were present had been well drilled within the hour to
+remember that the prince was temporarily out of his head, and to be
+careful to show no surprise at his vagaries.  These 'vagaries' were soon
+on exhibition before them; but they only moved their compassion and their
+sorrow, not their mirth.  It was a heavy affliction to them to see the
+beloved prince so stricken.
+
+Poor Tom ate with his fingers mainly; but no one smiled at it, or even
+seemed to observe it.  He inspected his napkin curiously, and with deep
+interest, for it was of a very dainty and beautiful fabric, then said
+with simplicity--
+
+"Prithee, take it away, lest in mine unheedfulness it be soiled."
+
+The Hereditary Diaperer took it away with reverent manner, and without
+word or protest of any sort.
+
+Tom examined the turnips and the lettuce with interest, and asked what
+they were, and if they were to be eaten; for it was only recently that
+men had begun to raise these things in England in place of importing them
+as luxuries from Holland. {1}  His question was answered with grave
+respect, and no surprise manifested.  When he had finished his dessert,
+he filled his pockets with nuts; but nobody appeared to be aware of it,
+or disturbed by it.  But the next moment he was himself disturbed by it,
+and showed discomposure; for this was the only service he had been
+permitted to do with his own hands during the meal, and he did not doubt
+that he had done a most improper and unprincely thing.  At that moment
+the muscles of his nose began to twitch, and the end of that organ to
+lift and wrinkle.  This continued, and Tom began to evince a growing
+distress.  He looked appealingly, first at one and then another of the
+lords about him, and tears came into his eyes.  They sprang forward with
+dismay in their faces, and begged to know his trouble.  Tom said with
+genuine anguish--
+
+"I crave your indulgence:  my nose itcheth cruelly.  What is the custom
+and usage in this emergence?  Prithee, speed, for 'tis but a little time
+that I can bear it."
+
+None smiled; but all were sore perplexed, and looked one to the other in
+deep tribulation for counsel.  But behold, here was a dead wall, and
+nothing in English history to tell how to get over it.  The Master of
+Ceremonies was not present:  there was no one who felt safe to venture
+upon this uncharted sea, or risk the attempt to solve this solemn
+problem.  Alas! there was no Hereditary Scratcher.  Meantime the tears
+had overflowed their banks, and begun to trickle down Tom's cheeks.  His
+twitching nose was pleading more urgently than ever for relief.  At last
+nature broke down the barriers of etiquette:  Tom lifted up an inward
+prayer for pardon if he was doing wrong, and brought relief to the
+burdened hearts of his court by scratching his nose himself.
+
+His meal being ended, a lord came and held before him a broad, shallow,
+golden dish with fragrant rosewater in it, to cleanse his mouth and
+fingers with; and my lord the Hereditary Diaperer stood by with a napkin
+for his use.  Tom gazed at the dish a puzzled moment or two, then raised
+it to his lips, and gravely took a draught.  Then he returned it to the
+waiting lord, and said--
+
+"Nay, it likes me not, my lord:  it hath a pretty flavour, but it wanteth
+strength."
+
+This new eccentricity of the prince's ruined mind made all the hearts
+about him ache; but the sad sight moved none to merriment.
+
+Tom's next unconscious blunder was to get up and leave the table just
+when the chaplain had taken his stand behind his chair, and with uplifted
+hands, and closed, uplifted eyes, was in the act of beginning the
+blessing.  Still nobody seemed to perceive that the prince had done a
+thing unusual.
+
+By his own request our small friend was now conducted to his private
+cabinet, and left there alone to his own devices.  Hanging upon hooks in
+the oaken wainscoting were the several pieces of a suit of shining steel
+armour, covered all over with beautiful designs exquisitely inlaid in
+gold.  This martial panoply belonged to the true prince--a recent present
+from Madam Parr the Queen. Tom put on the greaves, the gauntlets, the
+plumed helmet, and such other pieces as he could don without assistance,
+and for a while was minded to call for help and complete the matter, but
+bethought him of the nuts he had brought away from dinner, and the joy it
+would be to eat them with no crowd to eye him, and no Grand Hereditaries
+to pester him with undesired services; so he restored the pretty things
+to their several places, and soon was cracking nuts, and feeling almost
+naturally happy for the first time since God for his sins had made him a
+prince.  When the nuts were all gone, he stumbled upon some inviting
+books in a closet, among them one about the etiquette of the English
+court.  This was a prize. He lay down upon a sumptuous divan, and
+proceeded to instruct himself with honest zeal.  Let us leave him there
+for the present.
+
+
+
+Chapter VIII. The question of the Seal.
+
+About five o'clock Henry VIII. awoke out of an unrefreshing nap, and
+muttered to himself, "Troublous dreams, troublous dreams! Mine end is now
+at hand:  so say these warnings, and my failing pulses do confirm it."
+Presently a wicked light flamed up in his eye, and he muttered, "Yet will
+not I die till HE go before."
+
+His attendants perceiving that he was awake, one of them asked his
+pleasure concerning the Lord Chancellor, who was waiting without.
+
+"Admit him, admit him!" exclaimed the King eagerly.
+
+The Lord Chancellor entered, and knelt by the King's couch, saying--
+
+"I have given order, and, according to the King's command, the peers of
+the realm, in their robes, do now stand at the bar of the House, where,
+having confirmed the Duke of Norfolk's doom, they humbly wait his
+majesty's further pleasure in the matter."
+
+The King's face lit up with a fierce joy.  Said he--
+
+"Lift me up!  In mine own person will I go before my Parliament, and with
+mine own hand will I seal the warrant that rids me of--"
+
+His voice failed; an ashen pallor swept the flush from his cheeks; and
+the attendants eased him back upon his pillows, and hurriedly assisted
+him with restoratives.  Presently he said sorrowfully--
+
+"Alack, how have I longed for this sweet hour! and lo, too late it
+cometh, and I am robbed of this so coveted chance.  But speed ye, speed
+ye! let others do this happy office sith 'tis denied to me. I put my
+Great Seal in commission:  choose thou the lords that shall compose it,
+and get ye to your work.  Speed ye, man!  Before the sun shall rise and
+set again, bring me his head that I may see it."
+
+"According to the King's command, so shall it be.  Will't please your
+majesty to order that the Seal be now restored to me, so that I may forth
+upon the business?"
+
+"The Seal?  Who keepeth the Seal but thou?"
+
+"Please your majesty, you did take it from me two days since, saying it
+should no more do its office till your own royal hand should use it upon
+the Duke of Norfolk's warrant."
+
+"Why, so in sooth I did:  I do remember . . . What did I with it?. . . I
+am very feeble . . . So oft these days doth my memory play the traitor
+with me . . . 'Tis strange, strange--"
+
+The King dropped into inarticulate mumblings, shaking his grey head
+weakly from time to time, and gropingly trying to recollect what he had
+done with the Seal.  At last my Lord Hertford ventured to kneel and offer
+information--
+
+"Sire, if that I may be so bold, here be several that do remember with me
+how that you gave the Great Seal into the hands of his highness the
+Prince of Wales to keep against the day that--"
+
+"True, most true!" interrupted the King.  "Fetch it!  Go:  time flieth!"
+
+Lord Hertford flew to Tom, but returned to the King before very long,
+troubled and empty-handed.  He delivered himself to this effect--
+
+"It grieveth me, my lord the King, to bear so heavy and unwelcome
+tidings; but it is the will of God that the prince's affliction abideth
+still, and he cannot recall to mind that he received the Seal.  So came I
+quickly to report, thinking it were waste of precious time, and little
+worth withal, that any should attempt to search the long array of
+chambers and saloons that belong unto his royal high--"
+
+A groan from the King interrupted the lord at this point.  After a little
+while his majesty said, with a deep sadness in his tone--
+
+"Trouble him no more, poor child.  The hand of God lieth heavy upon him,
+and my heart goeth out in loving compassion for him, and sorrow that I
+may not bear his burden on mine old trouble-weighted shoulders, and so
+bring him peace."
+
+He closed his eyes, fell to mumbling, and presently was silent. After a
+time he opened his eyes again, and gazed vacantly around until his glance
+rested upon the kneeling Lord Chancellor. Instantly his face flushed with
+wrath--
+
+"What, thou here yet!  By the glory of God, an' thou gettest not about
+that traitor's business, thy mitre shall have holiday the morrow for lack
+of a head to grace withal!"
+
+The trembling Chancellor answered--
+
+"Good your Majesty, I cry you mercy!  I but waited for the Seal."
+
+"Man, hast lost thy wits?  The small Seal which aforetime I was wont to
+take with me abroad lieth in my treasury.  And, since the Great Seal hath
+flown away, shall not it suffice?  Hast lost thy wits?  Begone!  And hark
+ye--come no more till thou do bring his head."
+
+The poor Chancellor was not long in removing himself from this dangerous
+vicinity; nor did the commission waste time in giving the royal assent to
+the work of the slavish Parliament, and appointing the morrow for the
+beheading of the premier peer of England, the luckless Duke of Norfolk.
+{1}
+
+
+
+Chapter IX. The river pageant.
+
+At nine in the evening the whole vast river-front of the palace was
+blazing with light.  The river itself, as far as the eye could reach
+citywards, was so thickly covered with watermen's boats and with
+pleasure-barges, all fringed with coloured lanterns, and gently agitated
+by the waves, that it resembled a glowing and limitless garden of flowers
+stirred to soft motion by summer winds.  The grand terrace of stone steps
+leading down to the water, spacious enough to mass the army of a German
+principality upon, was a picture to see, with its ranks of royal
+halberdiers in polished armour, and its troops of brilliantly costumed
+servitors flitting up and down, and to and fro, in the hurry of
+preparation.
+
+Presently a command was given, and immediately all living creatures
+vanished from the steps.  Now the air was heavy with the hush of suspense
+and expectancy.  As far as one's vision could carry, he might see the
+myriads of people in the boats rise up, and shade their eyes from the
+glare of lanterns and torches, and gaze toward the palace.
+
+A file of forty or fifty state barges drew up to the steps.  They were
+richly gilt, and their lofty prows and sterns were elaborately carved.
+Some of them were decorated with banners and streamers; some with cloth-
+of-gold and arras embroidered with coats-of-arms; others with silken
+flags that had numberless little silver bells fastened to them, which
+shook out tiny showers of joyous music whenever the breezes fluttered
+them; others of yet higher pretensions, since they belonged to nobles in
+the prince's immediate service, had their sides picturesquely fenced with
+shields gorgeously emblazoned with armorial bearings.  Each state barge
+was towed by a tender.  Besides the rowers, these tenders carried each a
+number of men-at-arms in glossy helmet and breastplate, and a company of
+musicians.
+
+The advance-guard of the expected procession now appeared in the great
+gateway, a troop of halberdiers.  'They were dressed in striped hose of
+black and tawny, velvet caps graced at the sides with silver roses, and
+doublets of murrey and blue cloth, embroidered on the front and back with
+the three feathers, the prince's blazon, woven in gold.  Their halberd
+staves were covered with crimson velvet, fastened with gilt nails, and
+ornamented with gold tassels.  Filing off on the right and left, they
+formed two long lines, extending from the gateway of the palace to the
+water's edge.  A thick rayed cloth or carpet was then unfolded, and laid
+down between them by attendants in the gold-and-crimson liveries of the
+prince.  This done, a flourish of trumpets resounded from within.  A
+lively prelude arose from the musicians on the water; and two ushers with
+white wands marched with a slow and stately pace from the portal.  They
+were followed by an officer bearing the civic mace, after whom came
+another carrying the city's sword; then several sergeants of the city
+guard, in their full accoutrements, and with badges on their sleeves;
+then the Garter King-at-arms, in his tabard; then several Knights of the
+Bath, each with a white lace on his sleeve; then their esquires; then the
+judges, in their robes of scarlet and coifs; then the Lord High
+Chancellor of England, in a robe of scarlet, open before, and purfled
+with minever; then a deputation of aldermen, in their scarlet cloaks; and
+then the heads of the different civic companies, in their robes of state.
+Now came twelve French gentlemen, in splendid habiliments, consisting of
+pourpoints of white damask barred with gold, short mantles of crimson
+velvet lined with violet taffeta, and carnation coloured hauts-de-
+chausses, and took their way down the steps.  They were of the suite of
+the French ambassador, and were followed by twelve cavaliers of the suite
+of the Spanish ambassador, clothed in black velvet, unrelieved by any
+ornament.  Following these came several great English nobles with their
+attendants.'
+
+There was a flourish of trumpets within; and the Prince's uncle, the
+future great Duke of Somerset, emerged from the gateway, arrayed in a
+'doublet of black cloth-of-gold, and a cloak of crimson satin flowered
+with gold, and ribanded with nets of silver.'  He turned, doffed his
+plumed cap, bent his body in a low reverence, and began to step backward,
+bowing at each step.  A prolonged trumpet-blast followed, and a
+proclamation, "Way for the high and mighty the Lord Edward, Prince of
+Wales!"  High aloft on the palace walls a long line of red tongues of
+flame leapt forth with a thunder-crash; the massed world on the river
+burst into a mighty roar of welcome; and Tom Canty, the cause and hero of
+it all, stepped into view and slightly bowed his princely head.
+
+He was 'magnificently habited in a doublet of white satin, with a front-
+piece of purple cloth-of-tissue, powdered with diamonds, and edged with
+ermine.  Over this he wore a mantle of white cloth-of-gold, pounced with
+the triple-feathered crest, lined with blue satin, set with pearls and
+precious stones, and fastened with a clasp of brilliants.  About his neck
+hung the order of the Garter, and several princely foreign orders;' and
+wherever light fell upon him jewels responded with a blinding flash.  O
+Tom Canty, born in a hovel, bred in the gutters of London, familiar with
+rags and dirt and misery, what a spectacle is this!
+
+
+
+Chapter X. The Prince in the toils.
+
+We left John Canty dragging the rightful prince into Offal Court, with a
+noisy and delighted mob at his heels.  There was but one person in it who
+offered a pleading word for the captive, and he was not heeded; he was
+hardly even heard, so great was the turmoil.  The Prince continued to
+struggle for freedom, and to rage against the treatment he was suffering,
+until John Canty lost what little patience was left in him, and raised
+his oaken cudgel in a sudden fury over the Prince's head.  The single
+pleader for the lad sprang to stop the man's arm, and the blow descended
+upon his own wrist.  Canty roared out--
+
+"Thou'lt meddle, wilt thou?  Then have thy reward."
+
+His cudgel crashed down upon the meddler's head:  there was a groan, a
+dim form sank to the ground among the feet of the crowd, and the next
+moment it lay there in the dark alone.  The mob pressed on, their
+enjoyment nothing disturbed by this episode.
+
+Presently the Prince found himself in John Canty's abode, with the door
+closed against the outsiders.  By the vague light of a tallow candle
+which was thrust into a bottle, he made out the main features of the
+loathsome den, and also the occupants of it.  Two frowsy girls and a
+middle-aged woman cowered against the wall in one corner, with the aspect
+of animals habituated to harsh usage, and expecting and dreading it now.
+From another corner stole a withered hag with streaming grey hair and
+malignant eyes.  John Canty said to this one--
+
+"Tarry!  There's fine mummeries here.  Mar them not till thou'st enjoyed
+them:  then let thy hand be heavy as thou wilt.  Stand forth, lad.  Now
+say thy foolery again, an thou'st not forgot it. Name thy name.  Who art
+thou?"
+
+The insulted blood mounted to the little prince's cheek once more, and he
+lifted a steady and indignant gaze to the man's face and said--
+
+"'Tis but ill-breeding in such as thou to command me to speak.  I tell
+thee now, as I told thee before, I am Edward, Prince of Wales, and none
+other."
+
+The stunning surprise of this reply nailed the hag's feet to the floor
+where she stood, and almost took her breath.  She stared at the Prince in
+stupid amazement, which so amused her ruffianly son, that he burst into a
+roar of laughter.  But the effect upon Tom Canty's mother and sisters was
+different.  Their dread of bodily injury gave way at once to distress of
+a different sort.  They ran forward with woe and dismay in their faces,
+exclaiming--
+
+"Oh, poor Tom, poor lad!"
+
+The mother fell on her knees before the Prince, put her hands upon his
+shoulders, and gazed yearningly into his face through her rising tears.
+Then she said--
+
+"Oh, my poor boy!  Thy foolish reading hath wrought its woeful work at
+last, and ta'en thy wit away.  Ah! why did'st thou cleave to it when I so
+warned thee 'gainst it?  Thou'st broke thy mother's heart."
+
+The Prince looked into her face, and said gently--
+
+"Thy son is well, and hath not lost his wits, good dame.  Comfort thee:
+let me to the palace where he is, and straightway will the King my father
+restore him to thee."
+
+"The King thy father!  Oh, my child! unsay these words that be freighted
+with death for thee, and ruin for all that be near to thee.  Shake of
+this gruesome dream.  Call back thy poor wandering memory.  Look upon me.
+Am not I thy mother that bore thee, and loveth thee?"
+
+The Prince shook his head and reluctantly said--
+
+"God knoweth I am loth to grieve thy heart; but truly have I never looked
+upon thy face before."
+
+The woman sank back to a sitting posture on the floor, and, covering her
+eyes with her hands, gave way to heart-broken sobs and wailings.
+
+"Let the show go on!" shouted Canty.  "What, Nan!--what, Bet! mannerless
+wenches! will ye stand in the Prince's presence?  Upon your knees, ye
+pauper scum, and do him reverence!"
+
+He followed this with another horse-laugh.  The girls began to plead
+timidly for their brother; and Nan said--
+
+"An thou wilt but let him to bed, father, rest and sleep will heal his
+madness:  prithee, do."
+
+"Do, father," said Bet; "he is more worn than is his wont.  To-morrow
+will he be himself again, and will beg with diligence, and come not empty
+home again."
+
+This remark sobered the father's joviality, and brought his mind to
+business.  He turned angrily upon the Prince, and said--
+
+"The morrow must we pay two pennies to him that owns this hole; two
+pennies, mark ye--all this money for a half-year's rent, else out of this
+we go.  Show what thou'st gathered with thy lazy begging."
+
+The Prince said--
+
+"Offend me not with thy sordid matters.  I tell thee again I am the
+King's son."
+
+A sounding blow upon the Prince's shoulder from Canty's broad palm sent
+him staggering into goodwife Canty's arms, who clasped him to her breast,
+and sheltered him from a pelting rain of cuffs and slaps by interposing
+her own person.  The frightened girls retreated to their corner; but the
+grandmother stepped eagerly forward to assist her son.  The Prince sprang
+away from Mrs. Canty, exclaiming--
+
+"Thou shalt not suffer for me, madam.  Let these swine do their will upon
+me alone."
+
+This speech infuriated the swine to such a degree that they set about
+their work without waste of time.  Between them they belaboured the boy
+right soundly, and then gave the girls and their mother a beating for
+showing sympathy for the victim.
+
+"Now," said Canty, "to bed, all of ye.  The entertainment has tired me."
+
+The light was put out, and the family retired.  As soon as the snorings
+of the head of the house and his mother showed that they were asleep, the
+young girls crept to where the Prince lay, and covered him tenderly from
+the cold with straw and rags; and their mother crept to him also, and
+stroked his hair, and cried over him, whispering broken words of comfort
+and compassion in his ear the while.  She had saved a morsel for him to
+eat, also; but the boy's pains had swept away all appetite--at least for
+black and tasteless crusts.  He was touched by her brave and costly
+defence of him, and by her commiseration; and he thanked her in very
+noble and princely words, and begged her to go to her sleep and try to
+forget her sorrows.  And he added that the King his father would not let
+her loyal kindness and devotion go unrewarded.  This return to his
+'madness' broke her heart anew, and she strained him to her breast again
+and again, and then went back, drowned in tears, to her bed.
+
+As she lay thinking and mourning, the suggestion began to creep into her
+mind that there was an undefinable something about this boy that was
+lacking in Tom Canty, mad or sane.  She could not describe it, she could
+not tell just what it was, and yet her sharp mother-instinct seemed to
+detect it and perceive it.  What if the boy were really not her son,
+after all?  Oh, absurd!  She almost smiled at the idea, spite of her
+griefs and troubles.  No matter, she found that it was an idea that would
+not 'down,' but persisted in haunting her.  It pursued her, it harassed
+her, it clung to her, and refused to be put away or ignored.  At last she
+perceived that there was not going to be any peace for her until she
+should devise a test that should prove, clearly and without question,
+whether this lad was her son or not, and so banish these wearing and
+worrying doubts.  Ah, yes, this was plainly the right way out of the
+difficulty; therefore she set her wits to work at once to contrive that
+test.  But it was an easier thing to propose than to accomplish.  She
+turned over in her mind one promising test after another, but was obliged
+to relinquish them all--none of them were absolutely sure, absolutely
+perfect; and an imperfect one could not satisfy her.  Evidently she was
+racking her head in vain--it seemed manifest that she must give the
+matter up.  While this depressing thought was passing through her mind,
+her ear caught the regular breathing of the boy, and she knew he had
+fallen asleep.  And while she listened, the measured breathing was broken
+by a soft, startled cry, such as one utters in a troubled dream.  This
+chance occurrence furnished her instantly with a plan worth all her
+laboured tests combined.  She at once set herself feverishly, but
+noiselessly, to work to relight her candle, muttering to herself, "Had I
+but seen him THEN, I should have known!  Since that day, when he was
+little, that the powder burst in his face, he hath never been startled of
+a sudden out of his dreams or out of his thinkings, but he hath cast his
+hand before his eyes, even as he did that day; and not as others would do
+it, with the palm inward, but always with the palm turned outward--I have
+seen it a hundred times, and it hath never varied nor ever failed.  Yes,
+I shall soon know, now!"
+
+By this time she had crept to the slumbering boy's side, with the candle,
+shaded, in her hand.  She bent heedfully and warily over him, scarcely
+breathing in her suppressed excitement, and suddenly flashed the light in
+his face and struck the floor by his ear with her knuckles.  The
+sleeper's eyes sprang wide open, and he cast a startled stare about him--
+but he made no special movement with his hands.
+
+The poor woman was smitten almost helpless with surprise and grief; but
+she contrived to hide her emotions, and to soothe the boy to sleep again;
+then she crept apart and communed miserably with herself upon the
+disastrous result of her experiment.  She tried to believe that her Tom's
+madness had banished this habitual gesture of his; but she could not do
+it.  "No," she said, "his HANDS are not mad; they could not unlearn so
+old a habit in so brief a time.  Oh, this is a heavy day for me!"
+
+Still, hope was as stubborn now as doubt had been before; she could not
+bring herself to accept the verdict of the test; she must try the thing
+again--the failure must have been only an accident; so she startled the
+boy out of his sleep a second and a third time, at intervals--with the
+same result which had marked the first test; then she dragged herself to
+bed, and fell sorrowfully asleep, saying, "But I cannot give him up--oh
+no, I cannot, I cannot--he MUST be my boy!"
+
+The poor mother's interruptions having ceased, and the Prince's pains
+having gradually lost their power to disturb him, utter weariness at last
+sealed his eyes in a profound and restful sleep. Hour after hour slipped
+away, and still he slept like the dead. Thus four or five hours passed.
+Then his stupor began to lighten. Presently, while half asleep and half
+awake, he murmured--
+
+"Sir William!"
+
+After a moment--
+
+"Ho, Sir William Herbert!  Hie thee hither, and list to the strangest
+dream that ever . . . Sir William! dost hear?  Man, I did think me
+changed to a pauper, and . . . Ho there!  Guards! Sir William!  What! is
+there no groom of the chamber in waiting? Alack! it shall go hard with--"
+
+"What aileth thee?" asked a whisper near him.  "Who art thou calling?"
+
+"Sir William Herbert.  Who art thou?"
+
+"I?  Who should I be, but thy sister Nan?  Oh, Tom, I had forgot! Thou'rt
+mad yet--poor lad, thou'rt mad yet:  would I had never woke to know it
+again!  But prithee master thy tongue, lest we be all beaten till we
+die!"
+
+The startled Prince sprang partly up, but a sharp reminder from his
+stiffened bruises brought him to himself, and he sank back among his foul
+straw with a moan and the ejaculation--
+
+"Alas! it was no dream, then!"
+
+In a moment all the heavy sorrow and misery which sleep had banished were
+upon him again, and he realised that he was no longer a petted prince in
+a palace, with the adoring eyes of a nation upon him, but a pauper, an
+outcast, clothed in rags, prisoner in a den fit only for beasts, and
+consorting with beggars and thieves.
+
+In the midst of his grief he began to be conscious of hilarious noises
+and shoutings, apparently but a block or two away.  The next moment there
+were several sharp raps at the door; John Canty ceased from snoring and
+said--
+
+"Who knocketh?  What wilt thou?"
+
+A voice answered--
+
+"Know'st thou who it was thou laid thy cudgel on?"
+
+"No.  Neither know I, nor care."
+
+"Belike thou'lt change thy note eftsoons.  An thou would save thy neck,
+nothing but flight may stead thee.  The man is this moment delivering up
+the ghost.  'Tis the priest, Father Andrew!"
+
+"God-a-mercy!" exclaimed Canty.  He roused his family, and hoarsely
+commanded, "Up with ye all and fly--or bide where ye are and perish!"
+
+Scarcely five minutes later the Canty household were in the street and
+flying for their lives.  John Canty held the Prince by the wrist, and
+hurried him along the dark way, giving him this caution in a low voice--
+
+"Mind thy tongue, thou mad fool, and speak not our name.  I will choose
+me a new name, speedily, to throw the law's dogs off the scent.  Mind thy
+tongue, I tell thee!"
+
+He growled these words to the rest of the family--
+
+"If it so chance that we be separated, let each make for London Bridge;
+whoso findeth himself as far as the last linen-draper's shop on the
+bridge, let him tarry there till the others be come, then will we flee
+into Southwark together."
+
+At this moment the party burst suddenly out of darkness into light; and
+not only into light, but into the midst of a multitude of singing,
+dancing, and shouting people, massed together on the river frontage.
+There was a line of bonfires stretching as far as one could see, up and
+down the Thames; London Bridge was illuminated; Southwark Bridge
+likewise; the entire river was aglow with the flash and sheen of coloured
+lights; and constant explosions of fireworks filled the skies with an
+intricate commingling of shooting splendours and a thick rain of dazzling
+sparks that almost turned night into day; everywhere were crowds of
+revellers; all London seemed to be at large.
+
+John Canty delivered himself of a furious curse and commanded a retreat;
+but it was too late.  He and his tribe were swallowed up in that swarming
+hive of humanity, and hopelessly separated from each other in an instant.
+We are not considering that the Prince was one of his tribe; Canty still
+kept his grip upon him.  The Prince's heart was beating high with hopes
+of escape, now.  A burly waterman, considerably exalted with liquor,
+found himself rudely shoved by Canty in his efforts to plough through the
+crowd; he laid his great hand on Canty's shoulder and said--
+
+"Nay, whither so fast, friend?  Dost canker thy soul with sordid business
+when all that be leal men and true make holiday?"
+
+"Mine affairs are mine own, they concern thee not," answered Canty,
+roughly; "take away thy hand and let me pass."
+
+"Sith that is thy humour, thou'lt NOT pass, till thou'st drunk to the
+Prince of Wales, I tell thee that," said the waterman, barring the way
+resolutely.
+
+"Give me the cup, then, and make speed, make speed!"
+
+Other revellers were interested by this time.  They cried out--
+
+"The loving-cup, the loving-cup! make the sour knave drink the loving-
+cup, else will we feed him to the fishes."
+
+So a huge loving-cup was brought; the waterman, grasping it by one of its
+handles, and with the other hand bearing up the end of an imaginary
+napkin, presented it in due and ancient form to Canty, who had to grasp
+the opposite handle with one of his hands and take off the lid with the
+other, according to ancient custom. {1} This left the Prince hand-free
+for a second, of course.  He wasted no time, but dived among the forest
+of legs about him and disappeared.  In another moment he could not have
+been harder to find, under that tossing sea of life, if its billows had
+been the Atlantic's and he a lost sixpence.
+
+He very soon realised this fact, and straightway busied himself about his
+own affairs without further thought of John Canty.  He quickly realised
+another thing, too.  To wit, that a spurious Prince of Wales was being
+feasted by the city in his stead.  He easily concluded that the pauper
+lad, Tom Canty, had deliberately taken advantage of his stupendous
+opportunity and become a usurper.
+
+Therefore there was but one course to pursue--find his way to the
+Guildhall, make himself known, and denounce the impostor.  He also made
+up his mind that Tom should be allowed a reasonable time for spiritual
+preparation, and then be hanged, drawn and quartered, according to the
+law and usage of the day in cases of high treason.
+
+
+
+Chapter XI. At Guildhall.
+
+The royal barge, attended by its gorgeous fleet, took its stately way
+down the Thames through the wilderness of illuminated boats. The air was
+laden with music; the river banks were beruffled with joy-flames; the
+distant city lay in a soft luminous glow from its countless invisible
+bonfires; above it rose many a slender spire into the sky, incrusted with
+sparkling lights, wherefore in their remoteness they seemed like jewelled
+lances thrust aloft; as the fleet swept along, it was greeted from the
+banks with a continuous hoarse roar of cheers and the ceaseless flash and
+boom of artillery.
+
+To Tom Canty, half buried in his silken cushions, these sounds and this
+spectacle were a wonder unspeakably sublime and astonishing. To his
+little friends at his side, the Princess Elizabeth and the Lady Jane
+Grey, they were nothing.
+
+Arrived at the Dowgate, the fleet was towed up the limpid Walbrook (whose
+channel has now been for two centuries buried out of sight under acres of
+buildings) to Bucklersbury, past houses and under bridges populous with
+merry-makers and brilliantly lighted, and at last came to a halt in a
+basin where now is Barge Yard, in the centre of the ancient city of
+London.  Tom disembarked, and he and his gallant procession crossed
+Cheapside and made a short march through the Old Jewry and Basinghall
+Street to the Guildhall.
+
+Tom and his little ladies were received with due ceremony by the Lord
+Mayor and the Fathers of the City, in their gold chains and scarlet robes
+of state, and conducted to a rich canopy of state at the head of the
+great hall, preceded by heralds making proclamation, and by the Mace and
+the City Sword.  The lords and ladies who were to attend upon Tom and his
+two small friends took their places behind their chairs.
+
+At a lower table the Court grandees and other guests of noble degree were
+seated, with the magnates of the city; the commoners took places at a
+multitude of tables on the main floor of the hall.  From their lofty
+vantage-ground the giants Gog and Magog, the ancient guardians of the
+city, contemplated the spectacle below them with eyes grown familiar to
+it in forgotten generations.  There was a bugle-blast and a proclamation,
+and a fat butler appeared in a high perch in the leftward wall, followed
+by his servitors bearing with impressive solemnity a royal baron of beef,
+smoking hot and ready for the knife.
+
+After grace, Tom (being instructed) rose--and the whole house with him--
+and drank from a portly golden loving-cup with the Princess Elizabeth;
+from her it passed to the Lady Jane, and then traversed the general
+assemblage.  So the banquet began.
+
+By midnight the revelry was at its height.  Now came one of those
+picturesque spectacles so admired in that old day.  A description of it
+is still extant in the quaint wording of a chronicler who witnessed it:
+
+'Space being made, presently entered a baron and an earl appareled after
+the Turkish fashion in long robes of bawdkin powdered with gold; hats on
+their heads of crimson velvet, with great rolls of gold, girded with two
+swords, called scimitars, hanging by great bawdricks of gold.  Next came
+yet another baron and another earl, in two long gowns of yellow satin,
+traversed with white satin, and in every bend of white was a bend of
+crimson satin, after the fashion of Russia, with furred hats of gray on
+their heads; either of them having an hatchet in their hands, and boots
+with pykes' (points a foot long), 'turned up.  And after them came a
+knight, then the Lord High Admiral, and with him five nobles, in doublets
+of crimson velvet, voyded low on the back and before to the cannell-bone,
+laced on the breasts with chains of silver; and over that, short cloaks
+of crimson satin, and on their heads hats after the dancers' fashion,
+with pheasants' feathers in them.  These were appareled after the fashion
+of Prussia.  The torchbearers, which were about an hundred, were
+appareled in crimson satin and green, like Moors, their faces black.
+Next came in a mommarye. Then the minstrels, which were disguised,
+danced; and the lords and ladies did wildly dance also, that it was a
+pleasure to behold.'
+
+And while Tom, in his high seat, was gazing upon this 'wild' dancing,
+lost in admiration of the dazzling commingling of kaleidoscopic colours
+which the whirling turmoil of gaudy figures below him presented, the
+ragged but real little Prince of Wales was proclaiming his rights and his
+wrongs, denouncing the impostor, and clamouring for admission at the
+gates of Guildhall! The crowd enjoyed this episode prodigiously, and
+pressed forward and craned their necks to see the small rioter.
+Presently they began to taunt him and mock at him, purposely to goad him
+into a higher and still more entertaining fury.  Tears of mortification
+sprang to his eyes, but he stood his ground and defied the mob right
+royally.  Other taunts followed, added mockings stung him, and he
+exclaimed--
+
+"I tell ye again, you pack of unmannerly curs, I am the Prince of Wales!
+And all forlorn and friendless as I be, with none to give me word of
+grace or help me in my need, yet will not I be driven from my ground, but
+will maintain it!"
+
+"Though thou be prince or no prince, 'tis all one, thou be'st a gallant
+lad, and not friendless neither!  Here stand I by thy side to prove it;
+and mind I tell thee thou might'st have a worser friend than Miles Hendon
+and yet not tire thy legs with seeking. Rest thy small jaw, my child; I
+talk the language of these base kennel-rats like to a very native."
+
+The speaker was a sort of Don Caesar de Bazan in dress, aspect, and
+bearing.  He was tall, trim-built, muscular.  His doublet and trunks were
+of rich material, but faded and threadbare, and their gold-lace
+adornments were sadly tarnished; his ruff was rumpled and damaged; the
+plume in his slouched hat was broken and had a bedraggled and
+disreputable look; at his side he wore a long rapier in a rusty iron
+sheath; his swaggering carriage marked him at once as a ruffler of the
+camp.  The speech of this fantastic figure was received with an explosion
+of jeers and laughter.  Some cried, "'Tis another prince in disguise!"
+"'Ware thy tongue, friend:  belike he is dangerous!"  "Marry, he looketh
+it--mark his eye!"  "Pluck the lad from him--to the horse-pond wi' the
+cub!"
+
+Instantly a hand was laid upon the Prince, under the impulse of this
+happy thought; as instantly the stranger's long sword was out and the
+meddler went to the earth under a sounding thump with the flat of it.
+The next moment a score of voices shouted, "Kill the dog!  Kill him!
+Kill him!" and the mob closed in on the warrior, who backed himself
+against a wall and began to lay about him with his long weapon like a
+madman.  His victims sprawled this way and that, but the mob-tide poured
+over their prostrate forms and dashed itself against the champion with
+undiminished fury.  His moments seemed numbered, his destruction certain,
+when suddenly a trumpet-blast sounded, a voice shouted, "Way for the
+King's messenger!" and a troop of horsemen came charging down upon the
+mob, who fled out of harm's reach as fast as their legs could carry them.
+The bold stranger caught up the Prince in his arms, and was soon far away
+from danger and the multitude.
+
+Return we within the Guildhall.  Suddenly, high above the jubilant roar
+and thunder of the revel, broke the clear peal of a bugle-note.  There
+was instant silence--a deep hush; then a single voice rose--that of the
+messenger from the palace--and began to pipe forth a proclamation, the
+whole multitude standing listening.
+
+The closing words, solemnly pronounced, were--
+
+"The King is dead!"
+
+The great assemblage bent their heads upon their breasts with one accord;
+remained so, in profound silence, a few moments; then all sank upon their
+knees in a body, stretched out their hands toward Tom, and a mighty shout
+burst forth that seemed to shake the building--
+
+"Long live the King!"
+
+Poor Tom's dazed eyes wandered abroad over this stupefying spectacle, and
+finally rested dreamily upon the kneeling princesses beside him, a
+moment, then upon the Earl of Hertford. A sudden purpose dawned in his
+face.  He said, in a low tone, at Lord Hertford's ear--
+
+"Answer me truly, on thy faith and honour!  Uttered I here a command, the
+which none but a king might hold privilege and prerogative to utter,
+would such commandment be obeyed, and none rise up to say me nay?"
+
+"None, my liege, in all these realms.  In thy person bides the majesty of
+England.  Thou art the king--thy word is law."
+
+Tom responded, in a strong, earnest voice, and with great animation--
+
+"Then shall the king's law be law of mercy, from this day, and never more
+be law of blood!  Up from thy knees and away!  To the Tower, and say the
+King decrees the Duke of Norfolk shall not die!" {1}
+
+The words were caught up and carried eagerly from lip to lip far and wide
+over the hall, and as Hertford hurried from the presence, another
+prodigious shout burst forth--
+
+"The reign of blood is ended!  Long live Edward, King of England!"
+
+
+
+Chapter XII. The Prince and his deliverer.
+
+As soon as Miles Hendon and the little prince were clear of the mob, they
+struck down through back lanes and alleys toward the river.  Their way
+was unobstructed until they approached London Bridge; then they ploughed
+into the multitude again, Hendon keeping a fast grip upon the Prince's--
+no, the King's--wrist.  The tremendous news was already abroad, and the
+boy learned it from a thousand voices at once--"The King is dead!"  The
+tidings struck a chill to the heart of the poor little waif, and sent a
+shudder through his frame.  He realised the greatness of his loss, and
+was filled with a bitter grief; for the grim tyrant who had been such a
+terror to others had always been gentle with him.  The tears sprang to
+his eyes and blurred all objects.  For an instant he felt himself the
+most forlorn, outcast, and forsaken of God's creatures--then another cry
+shook the night with its far-reaching thunders:  "Long live King Edward
+the Sixth!" and this made his eyes kindle, and thrilled him with pride to
+his fingers' ends. "Ah," he thought, "how grand and strange it seems--I
+AM KING!"
+
+Our friends threaded their way slowly through the throngs upon the
+bridge.  This structure, which had stood for six hundred years, and had
+been a noisy and populous thoroughfare all that time, was a curious
+affair, for a closely packed rank of stores and shops, with family
+quarters overhead, stretched along both sides of it, from one bank of the
+river to the other.  The Bridge was a sort of town to itself; it had its
+inn, its beer-houses, its bakeries, its haberdasheries, its food markets,
+its manufacturing industries, and even its church.  It looked upon the
+two neighbours which it linked together--London and Southwark--as being
+well enough as suburbs, but not otherwise particularly important.  It was
+a close corporation, so to speak; it was a narrow town, of a single
+street a fifth of a mile long, its population was but a village
+population and everybody in it knew all his fellow-townsmen intimately,
+and had known their fathers and mothers before them--and all their little
+family affairs into the bargain.  It had its aristocracy, of course--its
+fine old families of butchers, and bakers, and what-not, who had occupied
+the same old premises for five or six hundred years, and knew the great
+history of the Bridge from beginning to end, and all its strange legends;
+and who always talked bridgy talk, and thought bridgy thoughts, and lied
+in a long, level, direct, substantial bridgy way.  It was just the sort
+of population to be narrow and ignorant and self-conceited. Children were
+born on the Bridge, were reared there, grew to old age, and finally died
+without ever having set a foot upon any part of the world but London
+Bridge alone.  Such people would naturally imagine that the mighty and
+interminable procession which moved through its street night and day,
+with its confused roar of shouts and cries, its neighings and bellowing
+and bleatings and its muffled thunder-tramp, was the one great thing in
+this world, and themselves somehow the proprietors of it.  And so they
+were, in effect--at least they could exhibit it from their windows, and
+did--for a consideration--whenever a returning king or hero gave it a
+fleeting splendour, for there was no place like it for affording a long,
+straight, uninterrupted view of marching columns.
+
+Men born and reared upon the Bridge found life unendurably dull and inane
+elsewhere.  History tells of one of these who left the Bridge at the age
+of seventy-one and retired to the country.  But he could only fret and
+toss in his bed; he could not go to sleep, the deep stillness was so
+painful, so awful, so oppressive.  When he was worn out with it, at last,
+he fled back to his old home, a lean and haggard spectre, and fell
+peacefully to rest and pleasant dreams under the lulling music of the
+lashing waters and the boom and crash and thunder of London Bridge.
+
+In the times of which we are writing, the Bridge furnished 'object
+lessons' in English history for its children--namely, the livid and
+decaying heads of renowned men impaled upon iron spikes atop of its
+gateways.  But we digress.
+
+Hendon's lodgings were in the little inn on the Bridge.  As he neared the
+door with his small friend, a rough voice said--
+
+"So, thou'rt come at last!  Thou'lt not escape again, I warrant thee; and
+if pounding thy bones to a pudding can teach thee somewhat, thou'lt not
+keep us waiting another time, mayhap"--and John Canty put out his hand to
+seize the boy.
+
+Miles Hendon stepped in the way and said--
+
+"Not too fast, friend.  Thou art needlessly rough, methinks.  What is the
+lad to thee?"
+
+"If it be any business of thine to make and meddle in others' affairs, he
+is my son."
+
+"'Tis a lie!" cried the little King, hotly.
+
+"Boldly said, and I believe thee, whether thy small headpiece be sound or
+cracked, my boy.  But whether this scurvy ruffian be thy father or no,
+'tis all one, he shall not have thee to beat thee and abuse, according to
+his threat, so thou prefer to bide with me."
+
+"I do, I do--I know him not, I loathe him, and will die before I will go
+with him."
+
+"Then 'tis settled, and there is nought more to say."
+
+"We will see, as to that!" exclaimed John Canty, striding past Hendon to
+get at the boy; "by force shall he--"
+
+"If thou do but touch him, thou animated offal, I will spit thee like a
+goose!" said Hendon, barring the way and laying his hand upon his sword
+hilt.  Canty drew back.  "Now mark ye," continued Hendon, "I took this
+lad under my protection when a mob of such as thou would have mishandled
+him, mayhap killed him; dost imagine I will desert him now to a worser
+fate?--for whether thou art his father or no--and sooth to say, I think
+it is a lie--a decent swift death were better for such a lad than life in
+such brute hands as thine.  So go thy ways, and set quick about it, for I
+like not much bandying of words, being not over-patient in my nature."
+
+John Canty moved off, muttering threats and curses, and was swallowed
+from sight in the crowd.  Hendon ascended three flights of stairs to his
+room, with his charge, after ordering a meal to be sent thither.  It was
+a poor apartment, with a shabby bed and some odds and ends of old
+furniture in it, and was vaguely lighted by a couple of sickly candles.
+The little King dragged himself to the bed and lay down upon it, almost
+exhausted with hunger and fatigue.  He had been on his feet a good part
+of a day and a night (for it was now two or three o'clock in the
+morning), and had eaten nothing meantime.  He murmured drowsily--
+
+"Prithee call me when the table is spread," and sank into a deep sleep
+immediately.
+
+A smile twinkled in Hendon's eye, and he said to himself--
+
+"By the mass, the little beggar takes to one's quarters and usurps one's
+bed with as natural and easy a grace as if he owned them--with never a
+by-your-leave or so-please-it-you, or anything of the sort.  In his
+diseased ravings he called himself the Prince of Wales, and bravely doth
+he keep up the character.  Poor little friendless rat, doubtless his mind
+has been disordered with ill-usage.  Well, I will be his friend; I have
+saved him, and it draweth me strongly to him; already I love the bold-
+tongued little rascal.  How soldier-like he faced the smutty rabble and
+flung back his high defiance!  And what a comely, sweet and gentle face
+he hath, now that sleep hath conjured away its troubles and its griefs.
+I will teach him; I will cure his malady; yea, I will be his elder
+brother, and care for him and watch over him; and whoso would shame him
+or do him hurt may order his shroud, for though I be burnt for it he
+shall need it!"
+
+He bent over the boy and contemplated him with kind and pitying interest,
+tapping the young cheek tenderly and smoothing back the tangled curls
+with his great brown hand.  A slight shiver passed over the boy's form.
+Hendon muttered--
+
+"See, now, how like a man it was to let him lie here uncovered and fill
+his body with deadly rheums.  Now what shall I do? 'twill wake him to
+take him up and put him within the bed, and he sorely needeth sleep."
+
+He looked about for extra covering, but finding none, doffed his doublet
+and wrapped the lad in it, saying, "I am used to nipping air and scant
+apparel, 'tis little I shall mind the cold!"--then walked up and down the
+room, to keep his blood in motion, soliloquising as before.
+
+"His injured mind persuades him he is Prince of Wales; 'twill be odd to
+have a Prince of Wales still with us, now that he that WAS the prince is
+prince no more, but king--for this poor mind is set upon the one fantasy,
+and will not reason out that now it should cast by the prince and call
+itself the king. . . If my father liveth still, after these seven years
+that I have heard nought from home in my foreign dungeon, he will welcome
+the poor lad and give him generous shelter for my sake; so will my good
+elder brother, Arthur; my other brother, Hugh--but I will crack his crown
+an HE interfere, the fox-hearted, ill-conditioned animal! Yes, thither
+will we fare--and straightway, too."
+
+A servant entered with a smoking meal, disposed it upon a small deal
+table, placed the chairs, and took his departure, leaving such cheap
+lodgers as these to wait upon themselves.  The door slammed after him,
+and the noise woke the boy, who sprang to a sitting posture, and shot a
+glad glance about him; then a grieved look came into his face and he
+murmured to himself, with a deep sigh, "Alack, it was but a dream, woe is
+me!"  Next he noticed Miles Hendon's doublet--glanced from that to
+Hendon, comprehended the sacrifice that had been made for him, and said,
+gently--
+
+"Thou art good to me, yes, thou art very good to me.  Take it and put it
+on--I shall not need it more."
+
+Then he got up and walked to the washstand in the corner and stood there,
+waiting.  Hendon said in a cheery voice--
+
+"We'll have a right hearty sup and bite, now, for everything is savoury
+and smoking hot, and that and thy nap together will make thee a little
+man again, never fear!"
+
+The boy made no answer, but bent a steady look, that was filled with
+grave surprise, and also somewhat touched with impatience, upon the tall
+knight of the sword.  Hendon was puzzled, and said--
+
+"What's amiss?"
+
+"Good sir, I would wash me."
+
+"Oh, is that all?  Ask no permission of Miles Hendon for aught thou
+cravest.  Make thyself perfectly free here, and welcome, with all that
+are his belongings."
+
+Still the boy stood, and moved not; more, he tapped the floor once or
+twice with his small impatient foot.  Hendon was wholly perplexed.  Said
+he--
+
+"Bless us, what is it?"
+
+"Prithee pour the water, and make not so many words!"
+
+Hendon, suppressing a horse-laugh, and saying to himself, "By all the
+saints, but this is admirable!" stepped briskly forward and did the small
+insolent's bidding; then stood by, in a sort of stupefaction, until the
+command, "Come--the towel!" woke him sharply up.  He took up a towel,
+from under the boy's nose, and handed it to him without comment.  He now
+proceeded to comfort his own face with a wash, and while he was at it his
+adopted child seated himself at the table and prepared to fall to.
+Hendon despatched his ablutions with alacrity, then drew back the other
+chair and was about to place himself at table, when the boy said,
+indignantly--
+
+"Forbear!  Wouldst sit in the presence of the King?"
+
+This blow staggered Hendon to his foundations.  He muttered to himself,
+"Lo, the poor thing's madness is up with the time!  It hath changed with
+the great change that is come to the realm, and now in fancy is he KING!
+Good lack, I must humour the conceit, too--there is no other way--faith,
+he would order me to the Tower, else!"
+
+And pleased with this jest, he removed the chair from the table, took his
+stand behind the King, and proceeded to wait upon him in the courtliest
+way he was capable of.
+
+While the King ate, the rigour of his royal dignity relaxed a little, and
+with his growing contentment came a desire to talk. He said--"I think
+thou callest thyself Miles Hendon, if I heard thee aright?"
+
+"Yes, Sire," Miles replied; then observed to himself, "If I MUST humour
+the poor lad's madness, I must 'Sire' him, I must 'Majesty' him, I must
+not go by halves, I must stick at nothing that belongeth to the part I
+play, else shall I play it ill and work evil to this charitable and
+kindly cause."
+
+The King warmed his heart with a second glass of wine, and said--"I would
+know thee--tell me thy story.  Thou hast a gallant way with thee, and a
+noble--art nobly born?"
+
+"We are of the tail of the nobility, good your Majesty.  My father is a
+baronet--one of the smaller lords by knight service {2}--Sir Richard
+Hendon of Hendon Hall, by Monk's Holm in Kent."
+
+"The name has escaped my memory.  Go on--tell me thy story."
+
+"'Tis not much, your Majesty, yet perchance it may beguile a short half-
+hour for want of a better.  My father, Sir Richard, is very rich, and of
+a most generous nature.  My mother died whilst I was yet a boy.  I have
+two brothers:  Arthur, my elder, with a soul like to his father's; and
+Hugh, younger than I, a mean spirit, covetous, treacherous, vicious,
+underhanded--a reptile.  Such was he from the cradle; such was he ten
+years past, when I last saw him--a ripe rascal at nineteen, I being
+twenty then, and Arthur twenty-two.  There is none other of us but the
+Lady Edith, my cousin--she was sixteen then--beautiful, gentle, good, the
+daughter of an earl, the last of her race, heiress of a great fortune and
+a lapsed title.  My father was her guardian.  I loved her and she loved
+me; but she was betrothed to Arthur from the cradle, and Sir Richard
+would not suffer the contract to be broken.  Arthur loved another maid,
+and bade us be of good cheer and hold fast to the hope that delay and
+luck together would some day give success to our several causes.  Hugh
+loved the Lady Edith's fortune, though in truth he said it was herself he
+loved--but then 'twas his way, alway, to say the one thing and mean the
+other.  But he lost his arts upon the girl; he could deceive my father,
+but none else.  My father loved him best of us all, and trusted and
+believed him; for he was the youngest child, and others hated him--these
+qualities being in all ages sufficient to win a parent's dearest love;
+and he had a smooth persuasive tongue, with an admirable gift of lying--
+and these be qualities which do mightily assist a blind affection to
+cozen itself.  I was wild--in troth I might go yet farther and say VERY
+wild, though 'twas a wildness of an innocent sort, since it hurt none but
+me, brought shame to none, nor loss, nor had in it any taint of crime or
+baseness, or what might not beseem mine honourable degree.
+
+"Yet did my brother Hugh turn these faults to good account--he seeing
+that our brother Arthur's health was but indifferent, and hoping the
+worst might work him profit were I swept out of the path--so--but 'twere
+a long tale, good my liege, and little worth the telling.  Briefly, then,
+this brother did deftly magnify my faults and make them crimes; ending
+his base work with finding a silken ladder in mine apartments--conveyed
+thither by his own means--and did convince my father by this, and
+suborned evidence of servants and other lying knaves, that I was minded
+to carry off my Edith and marry with her in rank defiance of his will.
+
+"Three years of banishment from home and England might make a soldier and
+a man of me, my father said, and teach me some degree of wisdom.  I
+fought out my long probation in the continental wars, tasting sumptuously
+of hard knocks, privation, and adventure; but in my last battle I was
+taken captive, and during the seven years that have waxed and waned since
+then, a foreign dungeon hath harboured me.  Through wit and courage I won
+to the free air at last, and fled hither straight; and am but just
+arrived, right poor in purse and raiment, and poorer still in knowledge
+of what these dull seven years have wrought at Hendon Hall, its people
+and belongings.  So please you, sir, my meagre tale is told."
+
+"Thou hast been shamefully abused!" said the little King, with a flashing
+eye.  "But I will right thee--by the cross will I!  The King hath said
+it."
+
+Then, fired by the story of Miles's wrongs, he loosed his tongue and
+poured the history of his own recent misfortunes into the ears of his
+astonished listener.  When he had finished, Miles said to himself--
+
+"Lo, what an imagination he hath!  Verily, this is no common mind; else,
+crazed or sane, it could not weave so straight and gaudy a tale as this
+out of the airy nothings wherewith it hath wrought this curious romaunt.
+Poor ruined little head, it shall not lack friend or shelter whilst I
+bide with the living.  He shall never leave my side; he shall be my pet,
+my little comrade.  And he shall be cured!--ay, made whole and sound--
+then will he make himself a name--and proud shall I be to say, 'Yes, he
+is mine--I took him, a homeless little ragamuffin, but I saw what was in
+him, and I said his name would be heard some day--behold him, observe
+him--was I right?'"
+
+The King spoke--in a thoughtful, measured voice--
+
+"Thou didst save me injury and shame, perchance my life, and so my crown.
+Such service demandeth rich reward.  Name thy desire, and so it be within
+the compass of my royal power, it is thine."
+
+This fantastic suggestion startled Hendon out of his reverie.  He was
+about to thank the King and put the matter aside with saying he had only
+done his duty and desired no reward, but a wiser thought came into his
+head, and he asked leave to be silent a few moments and consider the
+gracious offer--an idea which the King gravely approved, remarking that
+it was best to be not too hasty with a thing of such great import.
+
+Miles reflected during some moments, then said to himself, "Yes, that is
+the thing to do--by any other means it were impossible to get at it--and
+certes, this hour's experience has taught me 'twould be most wearing and
+inconvenient to continue it as it is. Yes, I will propose it; 'twas a
+happy accident that I did not throw the chance away."  Then he dropped
+upon one knee and said--
+
+"My poor service went not beyond the limit of a subject's simple duty,
+and therefore hath no merit; but since your Majesty is pleased to hold it
+worthy some reward, I take heart of grace to make petition to this
+effect.  Near four hundred years ago, as your grace knoweth, there being
+ill blood betwixt John, King of England, and the King of France, it was
+decreed that two champions should fight together in the lists, and so
+settle the dispute by what is called the arbitrament of God.  These two
+kings, and the Spanish king, being assembled to witness and judge the
+conflict, the French champion appeared; but so redoubtable was he, that
+our English knights refused to measure weapons with him.  So the matter,
+which was a weighty one, was like to go against the English monarch by
+default.  Now in the Tower lay the Lord de Courcy, the mightiest arm in
+England, stripped of his honours and possessions, and wasting with long
+captivity.  Appeal was made to him; he gave assent, and came forth
+arrayed for battle; but no sooner did the Frenchman glimpse his huge
+frame and hear his famous name but he fled away, and the French king's
+cause was lost.  King John restored De Courcy's titles and possessions,
+and said, 'Name thy wish and thou shalt have it, though it cost me half
+my kingdom;' whereat De Courcy, kneeling, as I do now, made answer,
+'This, then, I ask, my liege; that I and my successors may have and hold
+the privilege of remaining covered in the presence of the kings of
+England, henceforth while the throne shall last.' The boon was granted,
+as your Majesty knoweth; and there hath been no time, these four hundred
+years, that that line has failed of an heir; and so, even unto this day,
+the head of that ancient house still weareth his hat or helm before the
+King's Majesty, without let or hindrance, and this none other may do. {3}
+Invoking this precedent in aid of my prayer, I beseech the King to grant
+to me but this one grace and privilege--to my more than sufficient
+reward--and none other, to wit:  that I and my heirs, for ever, may SIT
+in the presence of the Majesty of England!"
+
+"Rise, Sir Miles Hendon, Knight," said the King, gravely--giving the
+accolade with Hendon's sword--"rise, and seat thyself.  Thy petition is
+granted.  Whilst England remains, and the crown continues, the privilege
+shall not lapse."
+
+His Majesty walked apart, musing, and Hendon dropped into a chair at
+table, observing to himself, "'Twas a brave thought, and hath wrought me
+a mighty deliverance; my legs are grievously wearied. An I had not
+thought of that, I must have had to stand for weeks, till my poor lad's
+wits are cured."  After a little, he went on, "And so I am become a
+knight of the Kingdom of Dreams and Shadows! A most odd and strange
+position, truly, for one so matter-of-fact as I.  I will not laugh--no,
+God forbid, for this thing which is so substanceless to me is REAL to
+him.  And to me, also, in one way, it is not a falsity, for it reflects
+with truth the sweet and generous spirit that is in him."  After a pause:
+"Ah, what if he should call me by my fine title before folk!--there'd be
+a merry contrast betwixt my glory and my raiment!  But no matter, let him
+call me what he will, so it please him; I shall be content."
+
+
+
+Chapter XIII. The disappearance of the Prince.
+
+A heavy drowsiness presently fell upon the two comrades.  The King said--
+
+"Remove these rags"--meaning his clothing.
+
+Hendon disapparelled the boy without dissent or remark, tucked him up in
+bed, then glanced about the room, saying to himself, ruefully, "He hath
+taken my bed again, as before--marry, what shall _I_ do?"  The little
+King observed his perplexity, and dissipated it with a word.  He said,
+sleepily--
+
+"Thou wilt sleep athwart the door, and guard it."  In a moment more he
+was out of his troubles, in a deep slumber.
+
+"Dear heart, he should have been born a king!" muttered Hendon,
+admiringly; "he playeth the part to a marvel."
+
+Then he stretched himself across the door, on the floor, saying
+contentedly--
+
+"I have lodged worse for seven years; 'twould be but ill gratitude to Him
+above to find fault with this."
+
+He dropped asleep as the dawn appeared.  Toward noon he rose, uncovered
+his unconscious ward--a section at a time--and took his measure with a
+string.  The King awoke, just as he had completed his work, complained of
+the cold, and asked what he was doing.
+
+"'Tis done, now, my liege," said Hendon; "I have a bit of business
+outside, but will presently return; sleep thou again--thou needest it.
+There--let me cover thy head also--thou'lt be warm the sooner."
+
+The King was back in dreamland before this speech was ended. Miles
+slipped softly out, and slipped as softly in again, in the course of
+thirty or forty minutes, with a complete second-hand suit of boy's
+clothing, of cheap material, and showing signs of wear; but tidy, and
+suited to the season of the year.  He seated himself, and began to
+overhaul his purchase, mumbling to himself--
+
+"A longer purse would have got a better sort, but when one has not the
+long purse one must be content with what a short one may do--
+
+"'There was a woman in our town, In our town did dwell--'
+
+"He stirred, methinks--I must sing in a less thunderous key; 'tis not
+good to mar his sleep, with this journey before him, and he so wearied
+out, poor chap . . . This garment--'tis well enough--a stitch here and
+another one there will set it aright.  This other is better, albeit a
+stitch or two will not come amiss in it, likewise . . . THESE be very
+good and sound, and will keep his small feet warm and dry--an odd new
+thing to him, belike, since he has doubtless been used to foot it bare,
+winters and summers the same . . . Would thread were bread, seeing one
+getteth a year's sufficiency for a farthing, and such a brave big needle
+without cost, for mere love.  Now shall I have the demon's own time to
+thread it!"
+
+And so he had.  He did as men have always done, and probably always will
+do, to the end of time--held the needle still, and tried to thrust the
+thread through the eye, which is the opposite of a woman's way.  Time and
+time again the thread missed the mark, going sometimes on one side of the
+needle, sometimes on the other, sometimes doubling up against the shaft;
+but he was patient, having been through these experiences before, when he
+was soldiering.  He succeeded at last, and took up the garment that had
+lain waiting, meantime, across his lap, and began his work.
+
+"The inn is paid--the breakfast that is to come, included--and there is
+wherewithal left to buy a couple of donkeys and meet our little costs for
+the two or three days betwixt this and the plenty that awaits us at
+Hendon Hall--
+
+"'She loved her hus--'
+
+"Body o' me!  I have driven the needle under my nail! . . . It matters
+little--'tis not a novelty--yet 'tis not a convenience, neither . . .We
+shall be merry there, little one, never doubt it! Thy troubles will
+vanish there, and likewise thy sad distemper--
+
+"'She loved her husband dearilee, But another man--'
+
+"These be noble large stitches!"--holding the garment up and viewing it
+admiringly--"they have a grandeur and a majesty that do cause these small
+stingy ones of the tailor-man to look mightily paltry and plebeian--
+
+"'She loved her husband dearilee, But another man he loved she,--'
+
+"Marry, 'tis done--a goodly piece of work, too, and wrought with
+expedition.  Now will I wake him, apparel him, pour for him, feed him,
+and then will we hie us to the mart by the Tabard Inn in Southwark and--
+be pleased to rise, my liege!--he answereth not--what ho, my liege!--of a
+truth must I profane his sacred person with a touch, sith his slumber is
+deaf to speech.  What!"
+
+He threw back the covers--the boy was gone!
+
+He stared about him in speechless astonishment for a moment; noticed for
+the first time that his ward's ragged raiment was also missing; then he
+began to rage and storm and shout for the innkeeper.  At that moment a
+servant entered with the breakfast.
+
+"Explain, thou limb of Satan, or thy time is come!" roared the man of
+war, and made so savage a spring toward the waiter that this latter could
+not find his tongue, for the instant, for fright and surprise.  "Where is
+the boy?"
+
+In disjointed and trembling syllables the man gave the information
+desired.
+
+"You were hardly gone from the place, your worship, when a youth came
+running and said it was your worship's will that the boy come to you
+straight, at the bridge-end on the Southwark side.  I brought him hither;
+and when he woke the lad and gave his message, the lad did grumble some
+little for being disturbed 'so early,' as he called it, but straightway
+trussed on his rags and went with the youth, only saying it had been
+better manners that your worship came yourself, not sent a stranger--and
+so--"
+
+"And so thou'rt a fool!--a fool and easily cozened--hang all thy breed!
+Yet mayhap no hurt is done.  Possibly no harm is meant the boy.  I will
+go fetch him.  Make the table ready.  Stay! the coverings of the bed were
+disposed as if one lay beneath them--happened that by accident?"
+
+"I know not, good your worship.  I saw the youth meddle with them--he
+that came for the boy."
+
+"Thousand deaths!  'Twas done to deceive me--'tis plain 'twas done to
+gain time.  Hark ye!  Was that youth alone?"
+
+"All alone, your worship."
+
+"Art sure?"
+
+"Sure, your worship."
+
+"Collect thy scattered wits--bethink thee--take time, man."
+
+After a moment's thought, the servant said--
+
+"When he came, none came with him; but now I remember me that as the two
+stepped into the throng of the Bridge, a ruffian-looking man plunged out
+from some near place; and just as he was joining them--"
+
+"What THEN?--out with it!" thundered the impatient Hendon, interrupting.
+
+"Just then the crowd lapped them up and closed them in, and I saw no
+more, being called by my master, who was in a rage because a joint that
+the scrivener had ordered was forgot, though I take all the saints to
+witness that to blame ME for that miscarriage were like holding the
+unborn babe to judgment for sins com--"
+
+"Out of my sight, idiot!  Thy prating drives me mad!  Hold! Whither art
+flying?  Canst not bide still an instant?  Went they toward Southwark?"
+
+"Even so, your worship--for, as I said before, as to that detestable
+joint, the babe unborn is no whit more blameless than--"
+
+"Art here YET!  And prating still!  Vanish, lest I throttle thee!" The
+servitor vanished.  Hendon followed after him, passed him, and plunged
+down the stairs two steps at a stride, muttering, "'Tis that scurvy
+villain that claimed he was his son.  I have lost thee, my poor little
+mad master--it is a bitter thought--and I had come to love thee so!  No!
+by book and bell, NOT lost!  Not lost, for I will ransack the land till I
+find thee again.  Poor child, yonder is his breakfast--and mine, but I
+have no hunger now; so, let the rats have it--speed, speed! that is the
+word!"  As he wormed his swift way through the noisy multitudes upon the
+Bridge he several times said to himself--clinging to the thought as if it
+were a particularly pleasing one--"He grumbled, but he WENT--he went,
+yes, because he thought Miles Hendon asked it, sweet lad--he would ne'er
+have done it for another, I know it well."
+
+
+
+Chapter XIV. 'Le Roi est mort--vive le Roi.'
+
+Toward daylight of the same morning, Tom Canty stirred out of a heavy
+sleep and opened his eyes in the dark.  He lay silent a few moments,
+trying to analyse his confused thoughts and impressions, and get some
+sort of meaning out of them; then suddenly he burst out in a rapturous
+but guarded voice--
+
+"I see it all, I see it all!  Now God be thanked, I am indeed awake at
+last!  Come, joy! vanish, sorrow!  Ho, Nan! Bet! kick off your straw and
+hie ye hither to my side, till I do pour into your unbelieving ears the
+wildest madcap dream that ever the spirits of night did conjure up to
+astonish the soul of man withal! . . . Ho, Nan, I say!  Bet!"
+
+A dim form appeared at his side, and a voice said--
+
+"Wilt deign to deliver thy commands?"
+
+"Commands? . . . O, woe is me, I know thy voice!  Speak thou--who am I?"
+
+"Thou?  In sooth, yesternight wert thou the Prince of Wales; to-day art
+thou my most gracious liege, Edward, King of England."
+
+Tom buried his head among his pillows, murmuring plaintively--
+
+"Alack, it was no dream!  Go to thy rest, sweet sir--leave me to my
+sorrows."
+
+Tom slept again, and after a time he had this pleasant dream.  He thought
+it was summer, and he was playing, all alone, in the fair meadow called
+Goodman's Fields, when a dwarf only a foot high, with long red whiskers
+and a humped back, appeared to him suddenly and said, "Dig by that
+stump."  He did so, and found twelve bright new pennies--wonderful
+riches!  Yet this was not the best of it; for the dwarf said--
+
+"I know thee.  Thou art a good lad, and a deserving; thy distresses shall
+end, for the day of thy reward is come.  Dig here every seventh day, and
+thou shalt find always the same treasure, twelve bright new pennies.
+Tell none--keep the secret."
+
+Then the dwarf vanished, and Tom flew to Offal Court with his prize,
+saying to himself, "Every night will I give my father a penny; he will
+think I begged it, it will glad his heart, and I shall no more be beaten.
+One penny every week the good priest that teacheth me shall have; mother,
+Nan, and Bet the other four. We be done with hunger and rags, now, done
+with fears and frets and savage usage."
+
+In his dream he reached his sordid home all out of breath, but with eyes
+dancing with grateful enthusiasm; cast four of his pennies into his
+mother's lap and cried out--
+
+"They are for thee!--all of them, every one!--for thee and Nan and Bet--
+and honestly come by, not begged nor stolen!"
+
+The happy and astonished mother strained him to her breast and exclaimed--
+
+"It waxeth late--may it please your Majesty to rise?"
+
+Ah! that was not the answer he was expecting.  The dream had snapped
+asunder--he was awake.
+
+He opened his eyes--the richly clad First Lord of the Bedchamber was
+kneeling by his couch.  The gladness of the lying dream faded away--the
+poor boy recognised that he was still a captive and a king.  The room was
+filled with courtiers clothed in purple mantles--the mourning colour--and
+with noble servants of the monarch.  Tom sat up in bed and gazed out from
+the heavy silken curtains upon this fine company.
+
+The weighty business of dressing began, and one courtier after another
+knelt and paid his court and offered to the little King his condolences
+upon his heavy loss, whilst the dressing proceeded.  In the beginning, a
+shirt was taken up by the Chief Equerry in Waiting, who passed it to the
+First Lord of the Buckhounds, who passed it to the Second Gentleman of
+the Bedchamber, who passed it to the Head Ranger of Windsor Forest, who
+passed it to the Third Groom of the Stole, who passed it to the
+Chancellor Royal of the Duchy of Lancaster, who passed it to the Master
+of the Wardrobe, who passed it to Norroy King-at-Arms, who passed it to
+the Constable of the Tower, who passed it to the Chief Steward of the
+Household, who passed it to the Hereditary Grand Diaperer, who passed it
+to the Lord High Admiral of England, who passed it to the Archbishop of
+Canterbury, who passed it to the First Lord of the Bedchamber, who took
+what was left of it and put it on Tom.  Poor little wondering chap, it
+reminded him of passing buckets at a fire.
+
+Each garment in its turn had to go through this slow and solemn process;
+consequently Tom grew very weary of the ceremony; so weary that he felt
+an almost gushing gratefulness when he at last saw his long silken hose
+begin the journey down the line and knew that the end of the matter was
+drawing near.  But he exulted too soon.  The First Lord of the Bedchamber
+received the hose and was about to encase Tom's legs in them, when a
+sudden flush invaded his face and he hurriedly hustled the things back
+into the hands of the Archbishop of Canterbury with an astounded look and
+a whispered, "See, my lord!" pointing to a something connected with the
+hose.  The Archbishop paled, then flushed, and passed the hose to the
+Lord High Admiral, whispering, "See, my lord!"  The Admiral passed the
+hose to the Hereditary Grand Diaperer, and had hardly breath enough in
+his body to ejaculate, "See, my lord!"  The hose drifted backward along
+the line, to the Chief Steward of the Household, the Constable of the
+Tower, Norroy King-at-Arms, the Master of the Wardrobe, the Chancellor
+Royal of the Duchy of Lancaster, the Third Groom of the Stole, the Head
+Ranger of Windsor Forest, the Second Gentleman of the Bedchamber, the
+First Lord of the Buckhounds,--accompanied always with that amazed and
+frightened "See! see!"--till they finally reached the hands of the Chief
+Equerry in Waiting, who gazed a moment, with a pallid face, upon what had
+caused all this dismay, then hoarsely whispered, "Body of my life, a tag
+gone from a truss-point!--to the Tower with the Head Keeper of the King's
+Hose!"--after which he leaned upon the shoulder of the First Lord of the
+Buckhounds to regather his vanished strength whilst fresh hose, without
+any damaged strings to them, were brought.
+
+But all things must have an end, and so in time Tom Canty was in a
+condition to get out of bed.  The proper official poured water, the
+proper official engineered the washing, the proper official stood by with
+a towel, and by-and-by Tom got safely through the purifying stage and was
+ready for the services of the Hairdresser-royal.  When he at length
+emerged from this master's hands, he was a gracious figure and as pretty
+as a girl, in his mantle and trunks of purple satin, and purple-plumed
+cap.  He now moved in state toward his breakfast-room, through the midst
+of the courtly assemblage; and as he passed, these fell back, leaving his
+way free, and dropped upon their knees.
+
+After breakfast he was conducted, with regal ceremony, attended by his
+great officers and his guard of fifty Gentlemen Pensioners bearing gilt
+battle-axes, to the throne-room, where he proceeded to transact business
+of state.  His 'uncle,' Lord Hertford, took his stand by the throne, to
+assist the royal mind with wise counsel.
+
+The body of illustrious men named by the late King as his executors
+appeared, to ask Tom's approval of certain acts of theirs--rather a form,
+and yet not wholly a form, since there was no Protector as yet.  The
+Archbishop of Canterbury made report of the decree of the Council of
+Executors concerning the obsequies of his late most illustrious Majesty,
+and finished by reading the signatures of the Executors, to wit:  the
+Archbishop of Canterbury; the Lord Chancellor of England; William Lord
+St. John; John Lord Russell; Edward Earl of Hertford; John Viscount
+Lisle; Cuthbert Bishop of Durham--
+
+Tom was not listening--an earlier clause of the document was puzzling
+him.  At this point he turned and whispered to Lord Hertford--
+
+"What day did he say the burial hath been appointed for?"
+
+"The sixteenth of the coming month, my liege."
+
+"'Tis a strange folly.  Will he keep?"
+
+Poor chap, he was still new to the customs of royalty; he was used to
+seeing the forlorn dead of Offal Court hustled out of the way with a very
+different sort of expedition.  However, the Lord Hertford set his mind at
+rest with a word or two.
+
+A secretary of state presented an order of the Council appointing the
+morrow at eleven for the reception of the foreign ambassadors, and
+desired the King's assent.
+
+Tom turned an inquiring look toward Hertford, who whispered--
+
+"Your Majesty will signify consent.  They come to testify their royal
+masters' sense of the heavy calamity which hath visited your Grace and
+the realm of England."
+
+Tom did as he was bidden.  Another secretary began to read a preamble
+concerning the expenses of the late King's household, which had amounted
+to 28,000 pounds during the preceding six months--a sum so vast that it
+made Tom Canty gasp; he gasped again when the fact appeared that 20,000
+pounds of this money was still owing and unpaid; {4} and once more when
+it appeared that the King's coffers were about empty, and his twelve
+hundred servants much embarrassed for lack of the wages due them.  Tom
+spoke out, with lively apprehension--
+
+"We be going to the dogs, 'tis plain.  'Tis meet and necessary that we
+take a smaller house and set the servants at large, sith they be of no
+value but to make delay, and trouble one with offices that harass the
+spirit and shame the soul, they misbecoming any but a doll, that hath nor
+brains nor hands to help itself withal.  I remember me of a small house
+that standeth over against the fish-market, by Billingsgate--"
+
+A sharp pressure upon Tom's arm stopped his foolish tongue and sent a
+blush to his face; but no countenance there betrayed any sign that this
+strange speech had been remarked or given concern.
+
+A secretary made report that forasmuch as the late King had provided in
+his will for conferring the ducal degree upon the Earl of Hertford and
+raising his brother, Sir Thomas Seymour, to the peerage, and likewise
+Hertford's son to an earldom, together with similar aggrandisements to
+other great servants of the Crown, the Council had resolved to hold a
+sitting on the 16th of February for the delivering and confirming of
+these honours, and that meantime, the late King not having granted, in
+writing, estates suitable to the support of these dignities, the Council,
+knowing his private wishes in that regard, had thought proper to grant to
+Seymour '500 pound lands,' and to Hertford's son '800 pound lands, and
+300 pound of the next bishop's lands which should fall vacant,'--his
+present Majesty being willing. {5}
+
+Tom was about to blurt out something about the propriety of paying the
+late King's debts first, before squandering all this money, but a timely
+touch upon his arm, from the thoughtful Hertford, saved him this
+indiscretion; wherefore he gave the royal assent, without spoken comment,
+but with much inward discomfort.  While he sat reflecting a moment over
+the ease with which he was doing strange and glittering miracles, a happy
+thought shot into his mind:  why not make his mother Duchess of Offal
+Court, and give her an estate?  But a sorrowful thought swept it
+instantly away: he was only a king in name, these grave veterans and
+great nobles were his masters; to them his mother was only the creature
+of a diseased mind; they would simply listen to his project with
+unbelieving ears, then send for the doctor.
+
+The dull work went tediously on.  Petitions were read, and proclamations,
+patents, and all manner of wordy, repetitious, and wearisome papers
+relating to the public business; and at last Tom sighed pathetically and
+murmured to himself, "In what have I offended, that the good God should
+take me away from the fields and the free air and the sunshine, to shut
+me up here and make me a king and afflict me so?"  Then his poor muddled
+head nodded a while and presently drooped to his shoulder; and the
+business of the empire came to a standstill for want of that august
+factor, the ratifying power.  Silence ensued around the slumbering child,
+and the sages of the realm ceased from their deliberations.
+
+During the forenoon, Tom had an enjoyable hour, by permission of his
+keepers, Hertford and St. John, with the Lady Elizabeth and the little
+Lady Jane Grey; though the spirits of the princesses were rather subdued
+by the mighty stroke that had fallen upon the royal house; and at the end
+of the visit his 'elder sister'--afterwards the 'Bloody Mary' of history
+--chilled him with a solemn interview which had but one merit in his eyes,
+its brevity.  He had a few moments to himself, and then a slim lad of
+about twelve years of age was admitted to his presence, whose clothing,
+except his snowy ruff and the laces about his wrists, was of black,--
+doublet, hose, and all.  He bore no badge of mourning but a knot of
+purple ribbon on his shoulder.  He advanced hesitatingly, with head bowed
+and bare, and dropped upon one knee in front of Tom. Tom sat still and
+contemplated him soberly a moment.  Then he said--
+
+"Rise, lad.  Who art thou.  What wouldst have?"
+
+The boy rose, and stood at graceful ease, but with an aspect of concern
+in his face.  He said--
+
+"Of a surety thou must remember me, my lord.  I am thy whipping-boy."
+
+"My WHIPPING-boy?"
+
+"The same, your Grace.  I am Humphrey--Humphrey Marlow."
+
+Tom perceived that here was someone whom his keepers ought to have posted
+him about.  The situation was delicate.  What should he do?--pretend he
+knew this lad, and then betray by his every utterance that he had never
+heard of him before?  No, that would not do.  An idea came to his relief:
+accidents like this might be likely to happen with some frequency, now
+that business urgencies would often call Hertford and St. John from his
+side, they being members of the Council of Executors; therefore perhaps
+it would be well to strike out a plan himself to meet the requirements of
+such emergencies.  Yes, that would be a wise course--he would practise on
+this boy, and see what sort of success he might achieve.  So he stroked
+his brow perplexedly a moment or two, and presently said--
+
+"Now I seem to remember thee somewhat--but my wit is clogged and dim with
+suffering--"
+
+"Alack, my poor master!" ejaculated the whipping-boy, with feeling;
+adding, to himself, "In truth 'tis as they said--his mind is gone--alas,
+poor soul!  But misfortune catch me, how am I forgetting!  They said one
+must not seem to observe that aught is wrong with him."
+
+"'Tis strange how my memory doth wanton with me these days," said Tom.
+"But mind it not--I mend apace--a little clue doth often serve to bring
+me back again the things and names which had escaped me.  (And not they,
+only, forsooth, but e'en such as I ne'er heard before--as this lad shall
+see.)  Give thy business speech."
+
+"'Tis matter of small weight, my liege, yet will I touch upon it, an' it
+please your Grace.  Two days gone by, when your Majesty faulted thrice in
+your Greek--in the morning lessons,--dost remember it?"
+
+"Y-e-s--methinks I do.  (It is not much of a lie--an' I had meddled with
+the Greek at all, I had not faulted simply thrice, but forty times.)
+Yes, I do recall it, now--go on."
+
+"The master, being wroth with what he termed such slovenly and doltish
+work, did promise that he would soundly whip me for it--and--"
+
+"Whip THEE!" said Tom, astonished out of his presence of mind. "Why
+should he whip THEE for faults of mine?"
+
+"Ah, your Grace forgetteth again.  He always scourgeth me when thou dost
+fail in thy lessons."
+
+"True, true--I had forgot.  Thou teachest me in private--then if I fail,
+he argueth that thy office was lamely done, and--"
+
+"Oh, my liege, what words are these?  I, the humblest of thy servants,
+presume to teach THEE?"
+
+"Then where is thy blame?  What riddle is this?  Am I in truth gone mad,
+or is it thou?  Explain--speak out."
+
+"But, good your Majesty, there's nought that needeth simplifying.--None
+may visit the sacred person of the Prince of Wales with blows; wherefore,
+when he faulteth, 'tis I that take them; and meet it is and right, for
+that it is mine office and my livelihood." {1}
+
+Tom stared at the tranquil boy, observing to himself, "Lo, it is a
+wonderful thing,--a most strange and curious trade; I marvel they have
+not hired a boy to take my combings and my dressings for me--would heaven
+they would!--an' they will do this thing, I will take my lashings in mine
+own person, giving God thanks for the change." Then he said aloud--
+
+"And hast thou been beaten, poor friend, according to the promise?"
+
+"No, good your Majesty, my punishment was appointed for this day, and
+peradventure it may be annulled, as unbefitting the season of mourning
+that is come upon us; I know not, and so have made bold to come hither
+and remind your Grace about your gracious promise to intercede in my
+behalf--"
+
+"With the master?  To save thee thy whipping?"
+
+"Ah, thou dost remember!"
+
+"My memory mendeth, thou seest.  Set thy mind at ease--thy back shall go
+unscathed--I will see to it."
+
+"Oh, thanks, my good lord!" cried the boy, dropping upon his knee again.
+"Mayhap I have ventured far enow; and yet--"
+
+Seeing Master Humphrey hesitate, Tom encouraged him to go on, saying he
+was "in the granting mood."
+
+"Then will I speak it out, for it lieth near my heart.  Sith thou art no
+more Prince of Wales but King, thou canst order matters as thou wilt,
+with none to say thee nay; wherefore it is not in reason that thou wilt
+longer vex thyself with dreary studies, but wilt burn thy books and turn
+thy mind to things less irksome. Then am I ruined, and mine orphan
+sisters with me!"
+
+"Ruined?  Prithee how?"
+
+"My back is my bread, O my gracious liege! if it go idle, I starve.  An'
+thou cease from study mine office is gone thou'lt need no whipping-boy.
+Do not turn me away!"
+
+Tom was touched with this pathetic distress.  He said, with a right royal
+burst of generosity--
+
+"Discomfort thyself no further, lad.  Thine office shall be permanent in
+thee and thy line for ever."  Then he struck the boy a light blow on the
+shoulder with the flat of his sword, exclaiming, "Rise, Humphrey Marlow,
+Hereditary Grand Whipping-Boy to the Royal House of England!  Banish
+sorrow--I will betake me to my books again, and study so ill that they
+must in justice treble thy wage, so mightily shall the business of thine
+office be augmented."
+
+The grateful Humphrey responded fervidly--
+
+"Thanks, O most noble master, this princely lavishness doth far surpass
+my most distempered dreams of fortune.  Now shall I be happy all my days,
+and all the house of Marlow after me."
+
+Tom had wit enough to perceive that here was a lad who could be useful to
+him.  He encouraged Humphrey to talk, and he was nothing loath.  He was
+delighted to believe that he was helping in Tom's 'cure'; for always, as
+soon as he had finished calling back to Tom's diseased mind the various
+particulars of his experiences and adventures in the royal school-room
+and elsewhere about the palace, he noticed that Tom was then able to
+'recall' the circumstances quite clearly.  At the end of an hour Tom
+found himself well freighted with very valuable information concerning
+personages and matters pertaining to the Court; so he resolved to draw
+instruction from this source daily; and to this end he would give order
+to admit Humphrey to the royal closet whenever he might come, provided
+the Majesty of England was not engaged with other people.  Humphrey had
+hardly been dismissed when my Lord Hertford arrived with more trouble for
+Tom.
+
+He said that the Lords of the Council, fearing that some overwrought
+report of the King's damaged health might have leaked out and got abroad,
+they deemed it wise and best that his Majesty should begin to dine in
+public after a day or two--his wholesome complexion and vigorous step,
+assisted by a carefully guarded repose of manner and ease and grace of
+demeanour, would more surely quiet the general pulse--in case any evil
+rumours HAD gone about--than any other scheme that could be devised.
+
+Then the Earl proceeded, very delicately, to instruct Tom as to the
+observances proper to the stately occasion, under the rather thin
+disguise of 'reminding' him concerning things already known to him; but
+to his vast gratification it turned out that Tom needed very little help
+in this line--he had been making use of Humphrey in that direction, for
+Humphrey had mentioned that within a few days he was to begin to dine in
+public; having gathered it from the swift-winged gossip of the Court.
+Tom kept these facts to himself, however.
+
+Seeing the royal memory so improved, the Earl ventured to apply a few
+tests to it, in an apparently casual way, to find out how far its
+amendment had progressed.  The results were happy, here and there, in
+spots--spots where Humphrey's tracks remained--and on the whole my lord
+was greatly pleased and encouraged.  So encouraged was he, indeed, that
+he spoke up and said in a quite hopeful voice--
+
+"Now am I persuaded that if your Majesty will but tax your memory yet a
+little further, it will resolve the puzzle of the Great Seal--a loss
+which was of moment yesterday, although of none to-day, since its term of
+service ended with our late lord's life. May it please your Grace to make
+the trial?"
+
+Tom was at sea--a Great Seal was something which he was totally
+unacquainted with.  After a moment's hesitation he looked up innocently
+and asked--
+
+"What was it like, my lord?"
+
+The Earl started, almost imperceptibly, muttering to himself, "Alack, his
+wits are flown again!--it was ill wisdom to lead him on to strain them"--
+then he deftly turned the talk to other matters, with the purpose of
+sweeping the unlucky seal out of Tom's thoughts--a purpose which easily
+succeeded.
+
+
+
+Chapter XV. Tom as King.
+
+The next day the foreign ambassadors came, with their gorgeous trains;
+and Tom, throned in awful state, received them.  The splendours of the
+scene delighted his eye and fired his imagination at first, but the
+audience was long and dreary, and so were most of the addresses--
+wherefore, what began as a pleasure grew into weariness and home-sickness
+by-and-by.  Tom said the words which Hertford put into his mouth from
+time to time, and tried hard to acquit himself satisfactorily, but he was
+too new to such things, and too ill at ease to accomplish more than a
+tolerable success.  He looked sufficiently like a king, but he was ill
+able to feel like one.  He was cordially glad when the ceremony was
+ended.
+
+The larger part of his day was 'wasted'--as he termed it, in his own
+mind--in labours pertaining to his royal office.  Even the two hours
+devoted to certain princely pastimes and recreations were rather a burden
+to him than otherwise, they were so fettered by restrictions and
+ceremonious observances.  However, he had a private hour with his
+whipping-boy which he counted clear gain, since he got both entertainment
+and needful information out of it.
+
+The third day of Tom Canty's kingship came and went much as the others
+had done, but there was a lifting of his cloud in one way--he felt less
+uncomfortable than at first; he was getting a little used to his
+circumstances and surroundings; his chains still galled, but not all the
+time; he found that the presence and homage of the great afflicted and
+embarrassed him less and less sharply with every hour that drifted over
+his head.
+
+But for one single dread, he could have seen the fourth day approach
+without serious distress--the dining in public; it was to begin that day.
+There were greater matters in the programme--for on that day he would
+have to preside at a council which would take his views and commands
+concerning the policy to be pursued toward various foreign nations
+scattered far and near over the great globe; on that day, too, Hertford
+would be formally chosen to the grand office of Lord Protector; other
+things of note were appointed for that fourth day, also; but to Tom they
+were all insignificant compared with the ordeal of dining all by himself
+with a multitude of curious eyes fastened upon him and a multitude of
+mouths whispering comments upon his performance,--and upon his mistakes,
+if he should be so unlucky as to make any.
+
+Still, nothing could stop that fourth day, and so it came.  It found poor
+Tom low-spirited and absent-minded, and this mood continued; he could not
+shake it off.  The ordinary duties of the morning dragged upon his hands,
+and wearied him.  Once more he felt the sense of captivity heavy upon
+him.
+
+Late in the forenoon he was in a large audience-chamber, conversing with
+the Earl of Hertford and dully awaiting the striking of the hour
+appointed for a visit of ceremony from a considerable number of great
+officials and courtiers.
+
+After a little while, Tom, who had wandered to a window and become
+interested in the life and movement of the great highway beyond the
+palace gates--and not idly interested, but longing with all his heart to
+take part in person in its stir and freedom--saw the van of a hooting and
+shouting mob of disorderly men, women, and children of the lowest and
+poorest degree approaching from up the road.
+
+"I would I knew what 'tis about!" he exclaimed, with all a boy's
+curiosity in such happenings.
+
+"Thou art the King!" solemnly responded the Earl, with a reverence.
+"Have I your Grace's leave to act?"
+
+"O blithely, yes!  O gladly, yes!" exclaimed Tom excitedly, adding to
+himself with a lively sense of satisfaction, "In truth, being a king is
+not all dreariness--it hath its compensations and conveniences."
+
+The Earl called a page, and sent him to the captain of the guard with the
+order--
+
+"Let the mob be halted, and inquiry made concerning the occasion of its
+movement.  By the King's command!"
+
+A few seconds later a long rank of the royal guards, cased in flashing
+steel, filed out at the gates and formed across the highway in front of
+the multitude.  A messenger returned, to report that the crowd were
+following a man, a woman, and a young girl to execution for crimes
+committed against the peace and dignity of the realm.
+
+Death--and a violent death--for these poor unfortunates!  The thought
+wrung Tom's heart-strings.  The spirit of compassion took control of him,
+to the exclusion of all other considerations; he never thought of the
+offended laws, or of the grief or loss which these three criminals had
+inflicted upon their victims; he could think of nothing but the scaffold
+and the grisly fate hanging over the heads of the condemned.  His concern
+made him even forget, for the moment, that he was but the false shadow of
+a king, not the substance; and before he knew it he had blurted out the
+command--
+
+"Bring them here!"
+
+Then he blushed scarlet, and a sort of apology sprung to his lips; but
+observing that his order had wrought no sort of surprise in the Earl or
+the waiting page, he suppressed the words he was about to utter.  The
+page, in the most matter-of-course way, made a profound obeisance and
+retired backwards out of the room to deliver the command.  Tom
+experienced a glow of pride and a renewed sense of the compensating
+advantages of the kingly office. He said to himself, "Truly it is like
+what I was used to feel when I read the old priest's tales, and did
+imagine mine own self a prince, giving law and command to all, saying 'Do
+this, do that,' whilst none durst offer let or hindrance to my will."
+
+Now the doors swung open; one high-sounding title after another was
+announced, the personages owning them followed, and the place was quickly
+half-filled with noble folk and finery.  But Tom was hardly conscious of
+the presence of these people, so wrought up was he and so intensely
+absorbed in that other and more interesting matter.  He seated himself
+absently in his chair of state, and turned his eyes upon the door with
+manifestations of impatient expectancy; seeing which, the company forbore
+to trouble him, and fell to chatting a mixture of public business and
+court gossip one with another.
+
+In a little while the measured tread of military men was heard
+approaching, and the culprits entered the presence in charge of an under-
+sheriff and escorted by a detail of the king's guard.  The civil officer
+knelt before Tom, then stood aside; the three doomed persons knelt, also,
+and remained so; the guard took position behind Tom's chair.  Tom scanned
+the prisoners curiously. Something about the dress or appearance of the
+man had stirred a vague memory in him.  "Methinks I have seen this man
+ere now . . . but the when or the where fail me"--such was Tom's thought.
+Just then the man glanced quickly up and quickly dropped his face again,
+not being able to endure the awful port of sovereignty; but the one full
+glimpse of the face which Tom got was sufficient.  He said to himself:
+"Now is the matter clear; this is the stranger that plucked Giles Witt
+out of the Thames, and saved his life, that windy, bitter, first day of
+the New Year--a brave good deed--pity he hath been doing baser ones and
+got himself in this sad case . . . I have not forgot the day, neither the
+hour; by reason that an hour after, upon the stroke of eleven, I did get
+a hiding by the hand of Gammer Canty which was of so goodly and admired
+severity that all that went before or followed after it were but
+fondlings and caresses by comparison."
+
+Tom now ordered that the woman and the girl be removed from the presence
+for a little time; then addressed himself to the under-sheriff, saying--
+
+"Good sir, what is this man's offence?"
+
+The officer knelt, and answered--
+
+"So please your Majesty, he hath taken the life of a subject by poison."
+
+Tom's compassion for the prisoner, and admiration of him as the daring
+rescuer of a drowning boy, experienced a most damaging shock.
+
+"The thing was proven upon him?" he asked.
+
+"Most clearly, sire."
+
+Tom sighed, and said--
+
+"Take him away--he hath earned his death.  'Tis a pity, for he was a
+brave heart--na--na, I mean he hath the LOOK of it!"
+
+The prisoner clasped his hands together with sudden energy, and wrung
+them despairingly, at the same time appealing imploringly to the 'King'
+in broken and terrified phrases--
+
+"O my lord the King, an' thou canst pity the lost, have pity upon me!  I
+am innocent--neither hath that wherewith I am charged been more than but
+lamely proved--yet I speak not of that; the judgment is gone forth
+against me and may not suffer alteration; yet in mine extremity I beg a
+boon, for my doom is more than I can bear. A grace, a grace, my lord the
+King! in thy royal compassion grant my prayer--give commandment that I be
+hanged!"
+
+Tom was amazed.  This was not the outcome he had looked for.
+
+"Odds my life, a strange BOON!  Was it not the fate intended thee?"
+
+"O good my liege, not so!  It is ordered that I be BOILED ALIVE!"
+
+The hideous surprise of these words almost made Tom spring from his
+chair.  As soon as he could recover his wits he cried out--
+
+"Have thy wish, poor soul! an' thou had poisoned a hundred men thou
+shouldst not suffer so miserable a death."
+
+The prisoner bowed his face to the ground and burst into passionate
+expressions of gratitude--ending with--
+
+"If ever thou shouldst know misfortune--which God forefend!--may thy
+goodness to me this day be remembered and requited!"
+
+Tom turned to the Earl of Hertford, and said--
+
+"My lord, is it believable that there was warrant for this man's
+ferocious doom?"
+
+"It is the law, your Grace--for poisoners.  In Germany coiners be boiled
+to death in OIL--not cast in of a sudden, but by a rope let down into the
+oil by degrees, and slowly; first the feet, then the legs, then--"
+
+"O prithee no more, my lord, I cannot bear it!" cried Tom, covering his
+eyes with his hands to shut out the picture.  "I beseech your good
+lordship that order be taken to change this law--oh, let no more poor
+creatures be visited with its tortures."
+
+The Earl's face showed profound gratification, for he was a man of
+merciful and generous impulses--a thing not very common with his class in
+that fierce age.  He said--
+
+"These your Grace's noble words have sealed its doom.  History will
+remember it to the honour of your royal house."
+
+The under-sheriff was about to remove his prisoner; Tom gave him a sign
+to wait; then he said--
+
+"Good sir, I would look into this matter further.  The man has said his
+deed was but lamely proved.  Tell me what thou knowest."
+
+"If the King's grace please, it did appear upon the trial that this man
+entered into a house in the hamlet of Islington where one lay sick--three
+witnesses say it was at ten of the clock in the morning, and two say it
+was some minutes later--the sick man being alone at the time, and
+sleeping--and presently the man came forth again and went his way.  The
+sick man died within the hour, being torn with spasms and retchings."
+
+"Did any see the poison given?  Was poison found?"
+
+"Marry, no, my liege."
+
+"Then how doth one know there was poison given at all?"
+
+"Please your Majesty, the doctors testified that none die with such
+symptoms but by poison."
+
+Weighty evidence, this, in that simple age.  Tom recognised its
+formidable nature, and said--
+
+"The doctor knoweth his trade--belike they were right.  The matter hath
+an ill-look for this poor man."
+
+"Yet was not this all, your Majesty; there is more and worse. Many
+testified that a witch, since gone from the village, none know whither,
+did foretell, and speak it privately in their ears, that the sick man
+WOULD DIE BY POISON--and more, that a stranger would give it--a stranger
+with brown hair and clothed in a worn and common garb; and surely this
+prisoner doth answer woundily to the bill.  Please your Majesty to give
+the circumstance that solemn weight which is its due, seeing it was
+FORETOLD."
+
+This was an argument of tremendous force in that superstitious day.  Tom
+felt that the thing was settled; if evidence was worth anything, this
+poor fellow's guilt was proved.  Still he offered the prisoner a chance,
+saying--
+
+"If thou canst say aught in thy behalf, speak."
+
+"Nought that will avail, my King.  I am innocent, yet cannot I make it
+appear.  I have no friends, else might I show that I was not in Islington
+that day; so also might I show that at that hour they name I was above a
+league away, seeing I was at Wapping Old Stairs; yea more, my King, for I
+could show, that whilst they say I was TAKING life, I was SAVING it.  A
+drowning boy--"
+
+"Peace!  Sheriff, name the day the deed was done!"
+
+"At ten in the morning, or some minutes later, the first day of the New
+Year, most illustrious--"
+
+"Let the prisoner go free--it is the King's will!"
+
+Another blush followed this unregal outburst, and he covered his
+indecorum as well as he could by adding--
+
+"It enrageth me that a man should be hanged upon such idle, hare-brained
+evidence!"
+
+A low buzz of admiration swept through the assemblage.  It was not
+admiration of the decree that had been delivered by Tom, for the
+propriety or expediency of pardoning a convicted poisoner was a thing
+which few there would have felt justified in either admitting or
+admiring--no, the admiration was for the intelligence and spirit which
+Tom had displayed.  Some of the low-voiced remarks were to this effect--
+
+"This is no mad king--he hath his wits sound."
+
+"How sanely he put his questions--how like his former natural self was
+this abrupt imperious disposal of the matter!"
+
+"God be thanked, his infirmity is spent!  This is no weakling, but a
+king.  He hath borne himself like to his own father."
+
+The air being filled with applause, Tom's ear necessarily caught a little
+of it.  The effect which this had upon him was to put him greatly at his
+ease, and also to charge his system with very gratifying sensations.
+
+However, his juvenile curiosity soon rose superior to these pleasant
+thoughts and feelings; he was eager to know what sort of deadly mischief
+the woman and the little girl could have been about; so, by his command,
+the two terrified and sobbing creatures were brought before him.
+
+"What is it that these have done?" he inquired of the sheriff.
+
+"Please your Majesty, a black crime is charged upon them, and clearly
+proven; wherefore the judges have decreed, according to the law, that
+they be hanged.  They sold themselves to the devil--such is their crime."
+
+Tom shuddered.  He had been taught to abhor people who did this wicked
+thing.  Still, he was not going to deny himself the pleasure of feeding
+his curiosity for all that; so he asked--
+
+"Where was this done?--and when?"
+
+"On a midnight in December, in a ruined church, your Majesty."
+
+Tom shuddered again.
+
+"Who was there present?"
+
+"Only these two, your grace--and THAT OTHER."
+
+"Have these confessed?"
+
+"Nay, not so, sire--they do deny it."
+
+"Then prithee, how was it known?"
+
+"Certain witness did see them wending thither, good your Majesty; this
+bred the suspicion, and dire effects have since confirmed and justified
+it.  In particular, it is in evidence that through the wicked power so
+obtained, they did invoke and bring about a storm that wasted all the
+region round about.  Above forty witnesses have proved the storm; and
+sooth one might have had a thousand, for all had reason to remember it,
+sith all had suffered by it."
+
+"Certes this is a serious matter."  Tom turned this dark piece of
+scoundrelism over in his mind a while, then asked--
+
+"Suffered the woman also by the storm?"
+
+Several old heads among the assemblage nodded their recognition of the
+wisdom of this question.  The sheriff, however, saw nothing consequential
+in the inquiry; he answered, with simple directness--
+
+"Indeed did she, your Majesty, and most righteously, as all aver. Her
+habitation was swept away, and herself and child left shelterless."
+
+"Methinks the power to do herself so ill a turn was dearly bought. She
+had been cheated, had she paid but a farthing for it; that she paid her
+soul, and her child's, argueth that she is mad; if she is mad she knoweth
+not what she doth, therefore sinneth not."
+
+The elderly heads nodded recognition of Tom's wisdom once more, and one
+individual murmured, "An' the King be mad himself, according to report,
+then is it a madness of a sort that would improve the sanity of some I
+wot of, if by the gentle providence of God they could but catch it."
+
+"What age hath the child?" asked Tom.
+
+"Nine years, please your Majesty."
+
+"By the law of England may a child enter into covenant and sell itself,
+my lord?" asked Tom, turning to a learned judge.
+
+"The law doth not permit a child to make or meddle in any weighty matter,
+good my liege, holding that its callow wit unfitteth it to cope with the
+riper wit and evil schemings of them that are its elders.  The DEVIL may
+buy a child, if he so choose, and the child agree thereto, but not an
+Englishman--in this latter case the contract would be null and void."
+
+"It seemeth a rude unchristian thing, and ill contrived, that English law
+denieth privileges to Englishmen to waste them on the devil!" cried Tom,
+with honest heat.
+
+This novel view of the matter excited many smiles, and was stored away in
+many heads to be repeated about the Court as evidence of Tom's
+originality as well as progress toward mental health.
+
+The elder culprit had ceased from sobbing, and was hanging upon Tom's
+words with an excited interest and a growing hope.  Tom noticed this, and
+it strongly inclined his sympathies toward her in her perilous and
+unfriended situation.  Presently he asked--
+
+"How wrought they to bring the storm?"
+
+"BY PULLING OFF THEIR STOCKINGS, sire."
+
+This astonished Tom, and also fired his curiosity to fever heat. He said,
+eagerly--
+
+"It is wonderful!  Hath it always this dread effect?"
+
+"Always, my liege--at least if the woman desire it, and utter the needful
+words, either in her mind or with her tongue."
+
+Tom turned to the woman, and said with impetuous zeal--
+
+"Exert thy power--I would see a storm!"
+
+There was a sudden paling of cheeks in the superstitious assemblage, and
+a general, though unexpressed, desire to get out of the place--all of
+which was lost upon Tom, who was dead to everything but the proposed
+cataclysm.  Seeing a puzzled and astonished look in the woman's face, he
+added, excitedly--
+
+"Never fear--thou shalt be blameless.  More--thou shalt go free--none
+shall touch thee.  Exert thy power."
+
+"Oh, my lord the King, I have it not--I have been falsely accused."
+
+"Thy fears stay thee.  Be of good heart, thou shalt suffer no harm.  Make
+a storm--it mattereth not how small a one--I require nought great or
+harmful, but indeed prefer the opposite--do this and thy life is spared--
+thou shalt go out free, with thy child, bearing the King's pardon, and
+safe from hurt or malice from any in the realm."
+
+The woman prostrated herself, and protested, with tears, that she had no
+power to do the miracle, else she would gladly win her child's life
+alone, and be content to lose her own, if by obedience to the King's
+command so precious a grace might be acquired.
+
+Tom urged--the woman still adhered to her declarations.  Finally he said--
+
+"I think the woman hath said true.  An' MY mother were in her place and
+gifted with the devil's functions, she had not stayed a moment to call
+her storms and lay the whole land in ruins, if the saving of my forfeit
+life were the price she got!  It is argument that other mothers are made
+in like mould.  Thou art free, goodwife--thou and thy child--for I do
+think thee innocent.  NOW thou'st nought to fear, being pardoned--pull
+off thy stockings!--an' thou canst make me a storm, thou shalt be rich!"
+
+The redeemed creature was loud in her gratitude, and proceeded to obey,
+whilst Tom looked on with eager expectancy, a little marred by
+apprehension; the courtiers at the same time manifesting decided
+discomfort and uneasiness.  The woman stripped her own feet and her
+little girl's also, and plainly did her best to reward the King's
+generosity with an earthquake, but it was all a failure and a
+disappointment.  Tom sighed, and said--
+
+"There, good soul, trouble thyself no further, thy power is departed out
+of thee.  Go thy way in peace; and if it return to thee at any time,
+forget me not, but fetch me a storm." {13}
+
+
+
+Chapter XVI. The State Dinner.
+
+The dinner hour drew near--yet strangely enough, the thought brought but
+slight discomfort to Tom, and hardly any terror.  The morning's
+experiences had wonderfully built up his confidence; the poor little ash-
+cat was already more wonted to his strange garret, after four days'
+habit, than a mature person could have become in a full month.  A child's
+facility in accommodating itself to circumstances was never more
+strikingly illustrated.
+
+Let us privileged ones hurry to the great banqueting-room and have a
+glance at matters there whilst Tom is being made ready for the imposing
+occasion.  It is a spacious apartment, with gilded pillars and pilasters,
+and pictured walls and ceilings.  At the door stand tall guards, as rigid
+as statues, dressed in rich and picturesque costumes, and bearing
+halberds.  In a high gallery which runs all around the place is a band of
+musicians and a packed company of citizens of both sexes, in brilliant
+attire.  In the centre of the room, upon a raised platform, is Tom's
+table. Now let the ancient chronicler speak:
+
+"A gentleman enters the room bearing a rod, and along with him another
+bearing a tablecloth, which, after they have both kneeled three times
+with the utmost veneration, he spreads upon the table, and after kneeling
+again they both retire; then come two others, one with the rod again, the
+other with a salt-cellar, a plate, and bread; when they have kneeled as
+the others had done, and placed what was brought upon the table, they too
+retire with the same ceremonies performed by the first; at last come two
+nobles, richly clothed, one bearing a tasting-knife, who, after
+prostrating themselves three times in the most graceful manner, approach
+and rub the table with bread and salt, with as much awe as if the King
+had been present." {6}
+
+So end the solemn preliminaries.  Now, far down the echoing corridors we
+hear a bugle-blast, and the indistinct cry, "Place for the King!  Way for
+the King's most excellent majesty!"  These sounds are momently repeated--
+they grow nearer and nearer--and presently, almost in our faces, the
+martial note peals and the cry rings out, "Way for the King!"  At this
+instant the shining pageant appears, and files in at the door, with a
+measured march. Let the chronicler speak again:--
+
+"First come Gentlemen, Barons, Earls, Knights of the Garter, all richly
+dressed and bareheaded; next comes the Chancellor, between two, one of
+which carries the royal sceptre, the other the Sword of State in a red
+scabbard, studded with golden fleurs-de-lis, the point upwards; next
+comes the King himself--whom, upon his appearing, twelve trumpets and
+many drums salute with a great burst of welcome, whilst all in the
+galleries rise in their places, crying 'God save the King!'  After him
+come nobles attached to his person, and on his right and left march his
+guard of honour, his fifty Gentlemen Pensioners, with gilt battle-axes."
+
+This was all fine and pleasant.  Tom's pulse beat high, and a glad light
+was in his eye.  He bore himself right gracefully, and all the more so
+because he was not thinking of how he was doing it, his mind being
+charmed and occupied with the blithe sights and sounds about him--and
+besides, nobody can be very ungraceful in nicely-fitting beautiful
+clothes after he has grown a little used to them--especially if he is for
+the moment unconscious of them. Tom remembered his instructions, and
+acknowledged his greeting with a slight inclination of his plumed head,
+and a courteous "I thank ye, my good people."
+
+He seated himself at table, without removing his cap; and did it without
+the least embarrassment; for to eat with one's cap on was the one
+solitary royal custom upon which the kings and the Cantys met upon common
+ground, neither party having any advantage over the other in the matter
+of old familiarity with it.  The pageant broke up and grouped itself
+picturesquely, and remained bareheaded.
+
+Now to the sound of gay music the Yeomen of the Guard entered,--"the
+tallest and mightiest men in England, they being carefully selected in
+this regard"--but we will let the chronicler tell about it:--
+
+"The Yeomen of the Guard entered, bareheaded, clothed in scarlet, with
+golden roses upon their backs; and these went and came, bringing in each
+turn a course of dishes, served in plate.  These dishes were received by
+a gentleman in the same order they were brought, and placed upon the
+table, while the taster gave to each guard a mouthful to eat of the
+particular dish he had brought, for fear of any poison."
+
+Tom made a good dinner, notwithstanding he was conscious that hundreds of
+eyes followed each morsel to his mouth and watched him eat it with an
+interest which could not have been more intense if it had been a deadly
+explosive and was expected to blow him up and scatter him all about the
+place.  He was careful not to hurry, and equally careful not to do
+anything whatever for himself, but wait till the proper official knelt
+down and did it for him.  He got through without a mistake--flawless and
+precious triumph.
+
+When the meal was over at last and he marched away in the midst of his
+bright pageant, with the happy noises in his ears of blaring bugles,
+rolling drums, and thundering acclamations, he felt that if he had seen
+the worst of dining in public it was an ordeal which he would be glad to
+endure several times a day if by that means he could but buy himself free
+from some of the more formidable requirements of his royal office.
+
+
+
+Chapter XVII. Foo-foo the First.
+
+Miles Hendon hurried along toward the Southwark end of the bridge,
+keeping a sharp look-out for the persons he sought, and hoping and
+expecting to overtake them presently.  He was disappointed in this,
+however.  By asking questions, he was enabled to track them part of the
+way through Southwark; then all traces ceased, and he was perplexed as to
+how to proceed.  Still, he continued his efforts as best he could during
+the rest of the day.  Nightfall found him leg-weary, half-famished, and
+his desire as far from accomplishment as ever; so he supped at the Tabard
+Inn and went to bed, resolved to make an early start in the morning, and
+give the town an exhaustive search.  As he lay thinking and planning, he
+presently began to reason thus:  The boy would escape from the ruffian,
+his reputed father, if possible; would he go back to London and seek his
+former haunts?  No, he would not do that, he would avoid recapture.
+What, then, would he do?  Never having had a friend in the world, or a
+protector, until he met Miles Hendon, he would naturally try to find that
+friend again, provided the effort did not require him to go toward London
+and danger.  He would strike for Hendon Hall, that is what he would do,
+for he knew Hendon was homeward bound and there he might expect to find
+him.  Yes, the case was plain to Hendon--he must lose no more time in
+Southwark, but move at once through Kent, toward Monk's Holm, searching
+the wood and inquiring as he went.  Let us return to the vanished little
+King now.
+
+The ruffian whom the waiter at the inn on the bridge saw 'about to join'
+the youth and the King did not exactly join them, but fell in close
+behind them and followed their steps.  He said nothing. His left arm was
+in a sling, and he wore a large green patch over his left eye; he limped
+slightly, and used an oaken staff as a support.  The youth led the King a
+crooked course through Southwark, and by-and-by struck into the high road
+beyond.  The King was irritated, now, and said he would stop here--it was
+Hendon's place to come to him, not his to go to Hendon.  He would not
+endure such insolence; he would stop where he was.  The youth said--
+
+"Thou'lt tarry here, and thy friend lying wounded in the wood yonder?  So
+be it, then."
+
+The King's manner changed at once.  He cried out--
+
+"Wounded?  And who hath dared to do it?  But that is apart; lead on, lead
+on!  Faster, sirrah!  Art shod with lead?  Wounded, is he?  Now though
+the doer of it be a duke's son he shall rue it!"
+
+It was some distance to the wood, but the space was speedily traversed.
+The youth looked about him, discovered a bough sticking in the ground,
+with a small bit of rag tied to it, then led the way into the forest,
+watching for similar boughs and finding them at intervals; they were
+evidently guides to the point he was aiming at.  By-and-by an open place
+was reached, where were the charred remains of a farm-house, and near
+them a barn which was falling to ruin and decay.  There was no sign of
+life anywhere, and utter silence prevailed.  The youth entered the barn,
+the King following eagerly upon his heels.  No one there! The King shot a
+surprised and suspicious glance at the youth, and asked--
+
+"Where is he?"
+
+A mocking laugh was his answer.  The King was in a rage in a moment; he
+seized a billet of wood and was in the act of charging upon the youth
+when another mocking laugh fell upon his ear.  It was from the lame
+ruffian who had been following at a distance. The King turned and said
+angrily--
+
+"Who art thou?  What is thy business here?"
+
+"Leave thy foolery," said the man, "and quiet thyself.  My disguise is
+none so good that thou canst pretend thou knowest not thy father through
+it."
+
+"Thou art not my father.  I know thee not.  I am the King.  If thou hast
+hid my servant, find him for me, or thou shalt sup sorrow for what thou
+hast done."
+
+John Canty replied, in a stern and measured voice--
+
+"It is plain thou art mad, and I am loath to punish thee;  but if thou
+provoke me, I must.  Thy prating doth no harm here, where there are no
+ears that need to mind thy follies; yet it is well to practise thy tongue
+to wary speech, that it may do no hurt when our quarters change.  I have
+done a murder, and may not tarry at home--neither shalt thou, seeing I
+need thy service.  My name is changed, for wise reasons; it is Hobbs--
+John Hobbs; thine is Jack--charge thy memory accordingly.  Now, then,
+speak.  Where is thy mother?  Where are thy sisters?  They came not to
+the place appointed--knowest thou whither they went?"
+
+The King answered sullenly--
+
+"Trouble me not with these riddles.  My mother is dead; my sisters are in
+the palace."
+
+The youth near by burst into a derisive laugh, and the King would have
+assaulted him, but Canty--or Hobbs, as he now called himself--prevented
+him, and said--
+
+"Peace, Hugo, vex him not; his mind is astray, and thy ways fret him.
+Sit thee down, Jack, and quiet thyself; thou shalt have a morsel to eat,
+anon."
+
+Hobbs and Hugo fell to talking together, in low voices, and the King
+removed himself as far as he could from their disagreeable company.  He
+withdrew into the twilight of the farther end of the barn, where he found
+the earthen floor bedded a foot deep with straw.  He lay down here, drew
+straw over himself in lieu of blankets, and was soon absorbed in
+thinking.  He had many griefs, but the minor ones were swept almost into
+forgetfulness by the supreme one, the loss of his father.  To the rest of
+the world the name of Henry VIII. brought a shiver, and suggested an ogre
+whose nostrils breathed destruction and whose hand dealt scourgings and
+death; but to this boy the name brought only sensations of pleasure; the
+figure it invoked wore a countenance that was all gentleness and
+affection.  He called to mind a long succession of loving passages
+between his father and himself, and dwelt fondly upon them, his unstinted
+tears attesting how deep and real was the grief that possessed his heart.
+As the afternoon wasted away, the lad, wearied with his troubles, sank
+gradually into a tranquil and healing slumber.
+
+After a considerable time--he could not tell how long--his senses
+struggled to a half-consciousness, and as he lay with closed eyes vaguely
+wondering where he was and what had been happening, he noted a murmurous
+sound, the sullen beating of rain upon the roof. A snug sense of comfort
+stole over him, which was rudely broken, the next moment, by a chorus of
+piping cackles and coarse laughter.  It startled him disagreeably, and he
+unmuffled his head to see whence this interruption proceeded.  A grim and
+unsightly picture met his eye.  A bright fire was burning in the middle
+of the floor, at the other end of the barn; and around it, and lit
+weirdly up by the red glare, lolled and sprawled the motliest company of
+tattered gutter-scum and ruffians, of both sexes, he had ever read or
+dreamed of.  There were huge stalwart men, brown with exposure, long-
+haired, and clothed in fantastic rags; there were middle-sized youths, of
+truculent countenance, and similarly clad; there were blind mendicants,
+with patched or bandaged eyes; crippled ones, with wooden legs and
+crutches; diseased ones, with running sores peeping from ineffectual
+wrappings; there was a villain-looking pedlar with his pack; a knife-
+grinder, a tinker, and a barber-surgeon, with the implements of their
+trades; some of the females were hardly-grown girls, some were at prime,
+some were old and wrinkled hags, and all were loud, brazen, foul-mouthed;
+and all soiled and slatternly; there were three sore-faced babies; there
+were a couple of starveling curs, with strings about their necks, whose
+office was to lead the blind.
+
+The night was come, the gang had just finished feasting, an orgy was
+beginning; the can of liquor was passing from mouth to mouth. A general
+cry broke forth--
+
+"A song! a song from the Bat and Dick and Dot-and-go-One!"
+
+One of the blind men got up, and made ready by casting aside the patches
+that sheltered his excellent eyes, and the pathetic placard which recited
+the cause of his calamity.  Dot-and-go-One disencumbered himself of his
+timber leg and took his place, upon sound and healthy limbs, beside his
+fellow-rascal; then they roared out a rollicking ditty, and were
+reinforced by the whole crew, at the end of each stanza, in a rousing
+chorus.  By the time the last stanza was reached, the half-drunken
+enthusiasm had risen to such a pitch, that everybody joined in and sang
+it clear through from the beginning, producing a volume of villainous
+sound that made the rafters quake.  These were the inspiring words:--
+
+'Bien Darkman's then, Bouse Mort and Ken, The bien Coves bings awast, On
+Chates to trine by Rome Coves dine For his long lib at last. Bing'd out
+bien Morts and toure, and toure, Bing out of the Rome vile bine, And
+toure the Cove that cloy'd your duds, Upon the Chates to trine.' (From
+'The English Rogue.' London, 1665.)
+
+Conversation followed; not in the thieves' dialect of the song, for that
+was only used in talk when unfriendly ears might be listening.  In the
+course of it, it appeared that 'John Hobbs' was not altogether a new
+recruit, but had trained in the gang at some former time.  His later
+history was called for, and when he said he had 'accidentally' killed a
+man, considerable satisfaction was expressed; when he added that the man
+was a priest, he was roundly applauded, and had to take a drink with
+everybody.  Old acquaintances welcomed him joyously, and new ones were
+proud to shake him by the hand.  He was asked why he had 'tarried away so
+many months.'  He answered--
+
+"London is better than the country, and safer, these late years, the laws
+be so bitter and so diligently enforced.  An' I had not had that
+accident, I had stayed there.  I had resolved to stay, and never more
+venture country-wards--but the accident has ended that."
+
+He inquired how many persons the gang numbered now.  The 'ruffler,' or
+chief, answered--
+
+"Five and twenty sturdy budges, bulks, files, clapperdogeons and
+maunders, counting the dells and doxies and other morts. {7}  Most are
+here, the rest are wandering eastward, along the winter lay. We follow at
+dawn."
+
+"I do not see the Wen among the honest folk about me.  Where may he be?"
+
+"Poor lad, his diet is brimstone, now, and over hot for a delicate taste.
+He was killed in a brawl, somewhere about midsummer."
+
+"I sorrow to hear that; the Wen was a capable man, and brave."
+
+"That was he, truly.  Black Bess, his dell, is of us yet, but absent on
+the eastward tramp; a fine lass, of nice ways and orderly conduct, none
+ever seeing her drunk above four days in the seven."
+
+"She was ever strict--I remember it well--a goodly wench and worthy all
+commendation.  Her mother was more free and less particular; a
+troublesome and ugly-tempered beldame, but furnished with a wit above the
+common."
+
+"We lost her through it.  Her gift of palmistry and other sorts of
+fortune-telling begot for her at last a witch's name and fame. The law
+roasted her to death at a slow fire.  It did touch me to a sort of
+tenderness to see the gallant way she met her lot--cursing and reviling
+all the crowd that gaped and gazed around her, whilst the flames licked
+upward toward her face and catched her thin locks and crackled about her
+old gray head--cursing them! why an' thou should'st live a thousand years
+thoud'st never hear so masterful a cursing.  Alack, her art died with
+her.  There be base and weakling imitations left, but no true blasphemy."
+
+The Ruffler sighed; the listeners sighed in sympathy; a general
+depression fell upon the company for a moment, for even hardened outcasts
+like these are not wholly dead to sentiment, but are able to feel a
+fleeting sense of loss and affliction at wide intervals and under
+peculiarly favouring circumstances--as in cases like to this, for
+instance, when genius and culture depart and leave no heir.  However, a
+deep drink all round soon restored the spirits of the mourners.
+
+"Have any others of our friends fared hardly?" asked Hobbs.
+
+"Some--yes.  Particularly new comers--such as small husbandmen turned
+shiftless and hungry upon the world because their farms were taken from
+them to be changed to sheep ranges.  They begged, and were whipped at the
+cart's tail, naked from the girdle up, till the blood ran; then set in
+the stocks to be pelted; they begged again, were whipped again, and
+deprived of an ear; they begged a third time--poor devils, what else
+could they do?--and were branded on the cheek with a red-hot iron, then
+sold for slaves; they ran away, were hunted down, and hanged.  'Tis a
+brief tale, and quickly told.  Others of us have fared less hardly. Stand
+forth, Yokel, Burns, and Hodge--show your adornments!"
+
+These stood up and stripped away some of their rags, exposing their
+backs, criss-crossed with ropy old welts left by the lash; one turned up
+his hair and showed the place where a left ear had once been; another
+showed a brand upon his shoulder--the letter V--and a mutilated ear; the
+third said--
+
+"I am Yokel, once a farmer and prosperous, with loving wife and kids--now
+am I somewhat different in estate and calling; and the wife and kids are
+gone; mayhap they are in heaven, mayhap in--in the other place--but the
+kindly God be thanked, they bide no more in ENGLAND!  My good old
+blameless mother strove to earn bread by nursing the sick; one of these
+died, the doctors knew not how, so my mother was burnt for a witch,
+whilst my babes looked on and wailed.  English law!--up, all, with your
+cups!--now all together and with a cheer!--drink to the merciful English
+law that delivered HER from the English hell!  Thank you, mates, one and
+all.  I begged, from house to house--I and the wife--bearing with us the
+hungry kids--but it was crime to be hungry in England--so they stripped
+us and lashed us through three towns.  Drink ye all again to the merciful
+English law!--for its lash drank deep of my Mary's blood and its blessed
+deliverance came quick.  She lies there, in the potter's field, safe from
+all harms.  And the kids--well, whilst the law lashed me from town to
+town, they starved. Drink, lads--only a drop--a drop to the poor kids,
+that never did any creature harm.  I begged again--begged, for a crust,
+and got the stocks and lost an ear--see, here bides the stump; I begged
+again, and here is the stump of the other to keep me minded of it. And
+still I begged again, and was sold for a slave--here on my cheek under
+this stain, if I washed it off, ye might see the red S the branding-iron
+left there!  A SLAVE!  Do you understand that word?  An English SLAVE!--
+that is he that stands before ye.  I have run from my master, and when I
+am found--the heavy curse of heaven fall on the law of the land that hath
+commanded it!--I shall hang!" {1}
+
+A ringing voice came through the murky air--
+
+"Thou shalt NOT!--and this day the end of that law is come!"
+
+All turned, and saw the fantastic figure of the little King approaching
+hurriedly; as it emerged into the light and was clearly revealed, a
+general explosion of inquiries broke out--
+
+"Who is it?  WHAT is it?  Who art thou, manikin?"
+
+The boy stood unconfused in the midst of all those surprised and
+questioning eyes, and answered with princely dignity--
+
+"I am Edward, King of England."
+
+A wild burst of laughter followed, partly of derision and partly of
+delight in the excellence of the joke.  The King was stung.  He said
+sharply--
+
+"Ye mannerless vagrants, is this your recognition of the royal boon I
+have promised?"
+
+He said more, with angry voice and excited gesture, but it was lost in a
+whirlwind of laughter and mocking exclamations.  'John Hobbs' made
+several attempts to make himself heard above the din, and at last
+succeeded--saying--
+
+"Mates, he is my son, a dreamer, a fool, and stark mad--mind him not--he
+thinketh he IS the King."
+
+"I AM the King," said Edward, turning toward him, "as thou shalt know to
+thy cost, in good time.  Thou hast confessed a murder--thou shalt swing
+for it."
+
+"THOU'LT betray me?--THOU?  An' I get my hands upon thee--"
+
+"Tut-tut!" said the burley Ruffler, interposing in time to save the King,
+and emphasising this service by knocking Hobbs down with his fist, "hast
+respect for neither Kings NOR Rufflers?  An' thou insult my presence so
+again, I'll hang thee up myself."  Then he said to his Majesty, "Thou
+must make no threats against thy mates, lad; and thou must guard thy
+tongue from saying evil of them elsewhere.  BE King, if it please thy mad
+humour, but be not harmful in it.  Sink the title thou hast uttered--'tis
+treason; we be bad men in some few trifling ways, but none among us is so
+base as to be traitor to his King; we be loving and loyal hearts, in that
+regard.  Note if I speak truth.  Now--all together:  'Long live Edward,
+King of England!'"
+
+"LONG LIVE EDWARD, KING OF ENGLAND!"
+
+The response came with such a thundergust from the motley crew that the
+crazy building vibrated to the sound.  The little King's face lighted
+with pleasure for an instant, and he slightly inclined his head, and said
+with grave simplicity--
+
+"I thank you, my good people."
+
+This unexpected result threw the company into convulsions of merriment.
+When something like quiet was presently come again, the Ruffler said,
+firmly, but with an accent of good nature--
+
+"Drop it, boy, 'tis not wise, nor well.  Humour thy fancy, if thou must,
+but choose some other title."
+
+A tinker shrieked out a suggestion--
+
+"Foo-foo the First, King of the Mooncalves!"
+
+The title 'took,' at once, every throat responded, and a roaring shout
+went up, of--
+
+"Long live Foo-foo the First, King of the Mooncalves!" followed by
+hootings, cat-calls, and peals of laughter.
+
+"Hale him forth, and crown him!"
+
+"Robe him!"
+
+"Sceptre him!"
+
+"Throne him!"
+
+These and twenty other cries broke out at once! and almost before the
+poor little victim could draw a breath he was crowned with a tin basin,
+robed in a tattered blanket, throned upon a barrel, and sceptred with the
+tinker's soldering-iron.  Then all flung themselves upon their knees
+about him and sent up a chorus of ironical wailings, and mocking
+supplications, whilst they swabbed their eyes with their soiled and
+ragged sleeves and aprons--
+
+"Be gracious to us, O sweet King!"
+
+"Trample not upon thy beseeching worms, O noble Majesty!"
+
+"Pity thy slaves, and comfort them with a royal kick!"
+
+"Cheer us and warm us with thy gracious rays, O flaming sun of
+sovereignty!"
+
+"Sanctify the ground with the touch of thy foot, that we may eat the dirt
+and be ennobled!"
+
+"Deign to spit upon us, O Sire, that our children's children may tell of
+thy princely condescension, and be proud and happy for ever!"
+
+But the humorous tinker made the 'hit' of the evening and carried off the
+honours.  Kneeling, he pretended to kiss the King's foot, and was
+indignantly spurned; whereupon he went about begging for a rag to paste
+over the place upon his face which had been touched by the foot, saying
+it must be preserved from contact with the vulgar air, and that he should
+make his fortune by going on the highway and exposing it to view at the
+rate of a hundred shillings a sight.  He made himself so killingly funny
+that he was the envy and admiration of the whole mangy rabble.
+
+Tears of shame and indignation stood in the little monarch's eyes; and
+the thought in his heart was, "Had I offered them a deep wrong they could
+not be more cruel--yet have I proffered nought but to do them a kindness
+--and it is thus they use me for it!"
+
+
+
+Chapter XVIII. The Prince with the tramps.
+
+The troop of vagabonds turned out at early dawn, and set forward on their
+march.  There was a lowering sky overhead, sloppy ground under foot, and
+a winter chill in the air.  All gaiety was gone from the company; some
+were sullen and silent, some were irritable and petulant, none were
+gentle-humoured, all were thirsty.
+
+The Ruffler put 'Jack' in Hugo's charge, with some brief instructions,
+and commanded John Canty to keep away from him and let him alone; he also
+warned Hugo not to be too rough with the lad.
+
+After a while the weather grew milder, and the clouds lifted somewhat.
+The troop ceased to shiver, and their spirits began to improve.  They
+grew more and more cheerful, and finally began to chaff each other and
+insult passengers along the highway.  This showed that they were awaking
+to an appreciation of life and its joys once more.  The dread in which
+their sort was held was apparent in the fact that everybody gave them the
+road, and took their ribald insolences meekly, without venturing to talk
+back. They snatched linen from the hedges, occasionally in full view of
+the owners, who made no protest, but only seemed grateful that they did
+not take the hedges, too.
+
+By-and-by they invaded a small farmhouse and made themselves at home
+while the trembling farmer and his people swept the larder clean to
+furnish a breakfast for them.  They chucked the housewife and her
+daughters under the chin whilst receiving the food from their hands, and
+made coarse jests about them, accompanied with insulting epithets and
+bursts of horse-laughter.  They threw bones and vegetables at the farmer
+and his sons, kept them dodging all the time, and applauded uproariously
+when a good hit was made. They ended by buttering the head of one of the
+daughters who resented some of their familiarities.  When they took their
+leave they threatened to come back and burn the house over the heads of
+the family if any report of their doings got to the ears of the
+authorities.
+
+About noon, after a long and weary tramp, the gang came to a halt behind
+a hedge on the outskirts of a considerable village.  An hour was allowed
+for rest, then the crew scattered themselves abroad to enter the village
+at different points to ply their various trades--'Jack' was sent with
+Hugo.  They wandered hither and thither for some time, Hugo watching for
+opportunities to do a stroke of business, but finding none--so he finally
+said--
+
+"I see nought to steal; it is a paltry place.  Wherefore we will beg."
+
+"WE, forsooth!  Follow thy trade--it befits thee.  But _I_ will not beg."
+
+"Thou'lt not beg!" exclaimed Hugo, eyeing the King with surprise.
+"Prithee, since when hast thou reformed?"
+
+"What dost thou mean?"
+
+"Mean?  Hast thou not begged the streets of London all thy life?"
+
+"I?  Thou idiot!"
+
+"Spare thy compliments--thy stock will last the longer.  Thy father says
+thou hast begged all thy days.  Mayhap he lied. Peradventure you will
+even make so bold as to SAY he lied," scoffed Hugo.
+
+"Him YOU call my father?  Yes, he lied."
+
+"Come, play not thy merry game of madman so far, mate; use it for thy
+amusement, not thy hurt.  An' I tell him this, he will scorch thee finely
+for it."
+
+"Save thyself the trouble.  I will tell him."
+
+"I like thy spirit, I do in truth; but I do not admire thy judgment.
+Bone-rackings and bastings be plenty enow in this life, without going out
+of one's way to invite them.  But a truce to these matters; _I_ believe
+your father.  I doubt not he can lie; I doubt not he DOTH lie, upon
+occasion, for the best of us do that; but there is no occasion here.  A
+wise man does not waste so good a commodity as lying for nought.  But
+come; sith it is thy humour to give over begging, wherewithal shall we
+busy ourselves?  With robbing kitchens?"
+
+The King said, impatiently--
+
+"Have done with this folly--you weary me!"
+
+Hugo replied, with temper--
+
+"Now harkee, mate; you will not beg, you will not rob; so be it. But I
+will tell you what you WILL do.  You will play decoy whilst _I_ beg.
+Refuse, an' you think you may venture!"
+
+The King was about to reply contemptuously, when Hugo said, interrupting--
+
+"Peace!  Here comes one with a kindly face.  Now will I fall down in a
+fit.  When the stranger runs to me, set you up a wail, and fall upon your
+knees, seeming to weep; then cry out as all the devils of misery were in
+your belly, and say, 'Oh, sir, it is my poor afflicted brother, and we be
+friendless; o' God's name cast through your merciful eyes one pitiful
+look upon a sick, forsaken, and most miserable wretch; bestow one little
+penny out of thy riches upon one smitten of God and ready to perish!'--
+and mind you, keep you ON wailing, and abate not till we bilk him of his
+penny, else shall you rue it."
+
+Then immediately Hugo began to moan, and groan, and roll his eyes, and
+reel and totter about; and when the stranger was close at hand, down he
+sprawled before him, with a shriek, and began to writhe and wallow in the
+dirt, in seeming agony.
+
+"O, dear, O dear!" cried the benevolent stranger, "O poor soul, poor
+soul, how he doth suffer!  There--let me help thee up."
+
+"O noble sir, forbear, and God love you for a princely gentleman--but it
+giveth me cruel pain to touch me when I am taken so.  My brother there
+will tell your worship how I am racked with anguish when these fits be
+upon me.  A penny, dear sir, a penny, to buy a little food; then leave me
+to my sorrows."
+
+"A penny! thou shalt have three, thou hapless creature"--and he fumbled
+in his pocket with nervous haste and got them out. "There, poor lad, take
+them and most welcome.  Now come hither, my boy, and help me carry thy
+stricken brother to yon house, where--"
+
+"I am not his brother," said the King, interrupting.
+
+"What! not his brother?"
+
+"Oh, hear him!" groaned Hugo, then privately ground his teeth. "He denies
+his own brother--and he with one foot in the grave!"
+
+"Boy, thou art indeed hard of heart, if this is thy brother.  For shame!
+--and he scarce able to move hand or foot.  If he is not thy brother, who
+is he, then?"
+
+"A beggar and a thief!  He has got your money and has picked your pocket
+likewise.  An' thou would'st do a healing miracle, lay thy staff over his
+shoulders and trust Providence for the rest."
+
+But Hugo did not tarry for the miracle.  In a moment he was up and off
+like the wind, the gentleman following after and raising the hue and cry
+lustily as he went.  The King, breathing deep gratitude to Heaven for his
+own release, fled in the opposite direction, and did not slacken his pace
+until he was out of harm's reach.  He took the first road that offered,
+and soon put the village behind him.  He hurried along, as briskly as he
+could, during several hours, keeping a nervous watch over his shoulder
+for pursuit; but his fears left him at last, and a grateful sense of
+security took their place.  He recognised, now, that he was hungry, and
+also very tired.  So he halted at a farmhouse; but when he was about to
+speak, he was cut short and driven rudely away.  His clothes were against
+him.
+
+He wandered on, wounded and indignant, and was resolved to put himself in
+the way of like treatment no more.  But hunger is pride's master; so, as
+the evening drew near, he made an attempt at another farmhouse; but here
+he fared worse than before; for he was called hard names and was promised
+arrest as a vagrant except he moved on promptly.
+
+The night came on, chilly and overcast; and still the footsore monarch
+laboured slowly on.  He was obliged to keep moving, for every time he sat
+down to rest he was soon penetrated to the bone with the cold.  All his
+sensations and experiences, as he moved through the solemn gloom and the
+empty vastness of the night, were new and strange to him.  At intervals
+he heard voices approach, pass by, and fade into silence; and as he saw
+nothing more of the bodies they belonged to than a sort of formless
+drifting blur, there was something spectral and uncanny about it all that
+made him shudder.  Occasionally he caught the twinkle of a light--always
+far away, apparently--almost in another world; if he heard the tinkle of
+a sheep's bell, it was vague, distant, indistinct; the muffled lowing of
+the herds floated to him on the night wind in vanishing cadences, a
+mournful sound; now and then came the complaining howl of a dog over
+viewless expanses of field and forest; all sounds were remote; they made
+the little King feel that all life and activity were far removed from
+him, and that he stood solitary, companionless, in the centre of a
+measureless solitude.
+
+He stumbled along, through the gruesome fascinations of this new
+experience, startled occasionally by the soft rustling of the dry leaves
+overhead, so like human whispers they seemed to sound; and by-and-by he
+came suddenly upon the freckled light of a tin lantern near at hand.  He
+stepped back into the shadows and waited.  The lantern stood by the open
+door of a barn.  The King waited some time--there was no sound, and
+nobody stirring.  He got so cold, standing still, and the hospitable barn
+looked so enticing, that at last he resolved to risk everything and
+enter. He started swiftly and stealthily, and just as he was crossing the
+threshold he heard voices behind him.  He darted behind a cask, within
+the barn, and stooped down.  Two farm-labourers came in, bringing the
+lantern with them, and fell to work, talking meanwhile.  Whilst they
+moved about with the light, the King made good use of his eyes and took
+the bearings of what seemed to be a good-sized stall at the further end
+of the place, purposing to grope his way to it when he should be left to
+himself.  He also noted the position of a pile of horse blankets, midway
+of the route, with the intent to levy upon them for the service of the
+crown of England for one night.
+
+By-and-by the men finished and went away, fastening the door behind them
+and taking the lantern with them.  The shivering King made for the
+blankets, with as good speed as the darkness would allow; gathered them
+up, and then groped his way safely to the stall.  Of two of the blankets
+he made a bed, then covered himself with the remaining two.  He was a
+glad monarch, now, though the blankets were old and thin, and not quite
+warm enough; and besides gave out a pungent horsey odour that was almost
+suffocatingly powerful.
+
+Although the King was hungry and chilly, he was also so tired and so
+drowsy that these latter influences soon began to get the advantage of
+the former, and he presently dozed off into a state of semi-
+consciousness.  Then, just as he was on the point of losing himself
+wholly, he distinctly felt something touch him!  He was broad awake in a
+moment, and gasping for breath.  The cold horror of that mysterious touch
+in the dark almost made his heart stand still.  He lay motionless, and
+listened, scarcely breathing. But nothing stirred, and there was no
+sound.  He continued to listen, and wait, during what seemed a long time,
+but still nothing stirred, and there was no sound.  So he began to drop
+into a drowse once more, at last; and all at once he felt that mysterious
+touch again!  It was a grisly thing, this light touch from this noiseless
+and invisible presence; it made the boy sick with ghostly fears.  What
+should he do?  That was the question; but he did not know how to answer
+it.  Should he leave these reasonably comfortable quarters and fly from
+this inscrutable horror?  But fly whither?  He could not get out of the
+barn; and the idea of scurrying blindly hither and thither in the dark,
+within the captivity of the four walls, with this phantom gliding after
+him, and visiting him with that soft hideous touch upon cheek or shoulder
+at every turn, was intolerable.  But to stay where he was, and endure
+this living death all night--was that better?  No.  What, then, was there
+left to do?  Ah, there was but one course; he knew it well--he must put
+out his hand and find that thing!
+
+It was easy to think this; but it was hard to brace himself up to try it.
+Three times he stretched his hand a little way out into the dark,
+gingerly; and snatched it suddenly back, with a gasp--not because it had
+encountered anything, but because he had felt so sure it was just GOING
+to.  But the fourth time, he groped a little further, and his hand
+lightly swept against something soft and warm.  This petrified him,
+nearly, with fright; his mind was in such a state that he could imagine
+the thing to be nothing else than a corpse, newly dead and still warm.
+He thought he would rather die than touch it again.  But he thought this
+false thought because he did not know the immortal strength of human
+curiosity. In no long time his hand was tremblingly groping again--
+against his judgment, and without his consent--but groping persistently
+on, just the same.  It encountered a bunch of long hair; he shuddered,
+but followed up the hair and found what seemed to be a warm rope;
+followed up the rope and found an innocent calf!--for the rope was not a
+rope at all, but the calf's tail.
+
+The King was cordially ashamed of himself for having gotten all that
+fright and misery out of so paltry a matter as a slumbering calf; but he
+need not have felt so about it, for it was not the calf that frightened
+him, but a dreadful non-existent something which the calf stood for; and
+any other boy, in those old superstitious times, would have acted and
+suffered just as he had done.
+
+The King was not only delighted to find that the creature was only a
+calf, but delighted to have the calf's company; for he had been feeling
+so lonesome and friendless that the company and comradeship of even this
+humble animal were welcome.  And he had been so buffeted, so rudely
+entreated by his own kind, that it was a real comfort to him to feel that
+he was at last in the society of a fellow-creature that had at least a
+soft heart and a gentle spirit, whatever loftier attributes might be
+lacking.  So he resolved to waive rank and make friends with the calf.
+
+While stroking its sleek warm back--for it lay near him and within easy
+reach--it occurred to him that this calf might be utilised in more ways
+than one.  Whereupon he re-arranged his bed, spreading it down close to
+the calf; then he cuddled himself up to the calf's back, drew the covers
+up over himself and his friend, and in a minute or two was as warm and
+comfortable as he had ever been in the downy couches of the regal palace
+of Westminster.
+
+Pleasant thoughts came at once; life took on a cheerfuller seeming.  He
+was free of the bonds of servitude and crime, free of the companionship
+of base and brutal outlaws; he was warm; he was sheltered; in a word, he
+was happy.  The night wind was rising; it swept by in fitful gusts that
+made the old barn quake and rattle, then its forces died down at
+intervals, and went moaning and wailing around corners and projections--
+but it was all music to the King, now that he was snug and comfortable:
+let it blow and rage, let it batter and bang, let it moan and wail, he
+minded it not, he only enjoyed it.  He merely snuggled the closer to his
+friend, in a luxury of warm contentment, and drifted blissfully out of
+consciousness into a deep and dreamless sleep that was full of serenity
+and peace.  The distant dogs howled, the melancholy kine complained, and
+the winds went on raging, whilst furious sheets of rain drove along the
+roof; but the Majesty of England slept on, undisturbed, and the calf did
+the same, it being a simple creature, and not easily troubled by storms
+or embarrassed by sleeping with a king.
+
+
+
+Chapter XIX. The Prince with the peasants.
+
+When the King awoke in the early morning, he found that a wet but
+thoughtful rat had crept into the place during the night and made a cosy
+bed for itself in his bosom.  Being disturbed now, it scampered away.
+The boy smiled, and said, "Poor fool, why so fearful?  I am as forlorn as
+thou.  'Twould be a sham in me to hurt the helpless, who am myself so
+helpless.  Moreover, I owe you thanks for a good omen; for when a king
+has fallen so low that the very rats do make a bed of him, it surely
+meaneth that his fortunes be upon the turn, since it is plain he can no
+lower go."
+
+He got up and stepped out of the stall, and just then he heard the sound
+of children's voices.  The barn door opened and a couple of little girls
+came in.  As soon as they saw him their talking and laughing ceased, and
+they stopped and stood still, gazing at him with strong curiosity; they
+presently began to whisper together, then they approached nearer, and
+stopped again to gaze and whisper.  By-and-by they gathered courage and
+began to discuss him aloud.  One said--
+
+"He hath a comely face."
+
+The other added--
+
+"And pretty hair."
+
+"But is ill clothed enow."
+
+"And how starved he looketh."
+
+They came still nearer, sidling shyly around and about him, examining him
+minutely from all points, as if he were some strange new kind of animal,
+but warily and watchfully the while, as if they half feared he might be a
+sort of animal that would bite, upon occasion.  Finally they halted
+before him, holding each other's hands for protection, and took a good
+satisfying stare with their innocent eyes; then one of them plucked up
+all her courage and inquired with honest directness--
+
+"Who art thou, boy?"
+
+"I am the King," was the grave answer.
+
+The children gave a little start, and their eyes spread themselves wide
+open and remained so during a speechless half minute.  Then curiosity
+broke the silence--
+
+"The KING?  What King?"
+
+"The King of England."
+
+The children looked at each other--then at him--then at each other again
+--wonderingly, perplexedly; then one said--
+
+"Didst hear him, Margery?--he said he is the King.  Can that be true?"
+
+"How can it be else but true, Prissy?  Would he say a lie?  For look you,
+Prissy, an' it were not true, it WOULD be a lie.  It surely would be.
+Now think on't.  For all things that be not true, be lies--thou canst
+make nought else out of it."
+
+It was a good tight argument, without a leak in it anywhere; and it left
+Prissy's half-doubts not a leg to stand on.  She considered a moment,
+then put the King upon his honour with the simple remark--
+
+"If thou art truly the King, then I believe thee."
+
+"I am truly the King."
+
+This settled the matter.  His Majesty's royalty was accepted without
+further question or discussion, and the two little girls began at once to
+inquire into how he came to be where he was, and how he came to be so
+unroyally clad, and whither he was bound, and all about his affairs.  It
+was a mighty relief to him to pour out his troubles where they would not
+be scoffed at or doubted; so he told his tale with feeling, forgetting
+even his hunger for the time; and it was received with the deepest and
+tenderest sympathy by the gentle little maids.  But when he got down to
+his latest experiences and they learned how long he had been without
+food, they cut him short and hurried him away to the farmhouse to find a
+breakfast for him.
+
+The King was cheerful and happy now, and said to himself, "When I am come
+to mine own again, I will always honour little children, remembering how
+that these trusted me and believed in me in my time of trouble; whilst
+they that were older, and thought themselves wiser, mocked at me and held
+me for a liar."
+
+The children's mother received the King kindly, and was full of pity; for
+his forlorn condition and apparently crazed intellect touched her womanly
+heart.  She was a widow, and rather poor; consequently she had seen
+trouble enough to enable her to feel for the unfortunate.  She imagined
+that the demented boy had wandered away from his friends or keepers; so
+she tried to find out whence he had come, in order that she might take
+measures to return him; but all her references to neighbouring towns and
+villages, and all her inquiries in the same line went for nothing--the
+boy's face, and his answers, too, showed that the things she was talking
+of were not familiar to him.  He spoke earnestly and simply about court
+matters, and broke down, more than once, when speaking of the late King
+'his father'; but whenever the conversation changed to baser topics, he
+lost interest and became silent.
+
+The woman was mightily puzzled; but she did not give up.  As she
+proceeded with her cooking, she set herself to contriving devices to
+surprise the boy into betraying his real secret.  She talked about
+cattle--he showed no concern; then about sheep--the same result:  so her
+guess that he had been a shepherd boy was an error; she talked about
+mills; and about weavers, tinkers, smiths, trades and tradesmen of all
+sorts; and about Bedlam, and jails, and charitable retreats:  but no
+matter, she was baffled at all points.  Not altogether, either; for she
+argued that she had narrowed the thing down to domestic service.  Yes,
+she was sure she was on the right track, now; he must have been a house
+servant.  So she led up to that.  But the result was discouraging. The
+subject of sweeping appeared to weary him; fire-building failed to stir
+him; scrubbing and scouring awoke no enthusiasm. The goodwife touched,
+with a perishing hope, and rather as a matter of form, upon the subject
+of cooking.  To her surprise, and her vast delight, the King's face
+lighted at once!  Ah, she had hunted him down at last, she thought; and
+she was right proud, too, of the devious shrewdness and tact which had
+accomplished it.
+
+Her tired tongue got a chance to rest, now; for the King's, inspired by
+gnawing hunger and the fragrant smells that came from the sputtering pots
+and pans, turned itself loose and delivered itself up to such an eloquent
+dissertation upon certain toothsome dishes, that within three minutes the
+woman said to herself, "Of a truth I was right--he hath holpen in a
+kitchen!"  Then he broadened his bill of fare, and discussed it with such
+appreciation and animation, that the goodwife said to herself, "Good
+lack! how can he know so many dishes, and so fine ones withal?  For these
+belong only upon the tables of the rich and great.  Ah, now I see! ragged
+outcast as he is, he must have served in the palace before his reason
+went astray; yes, he must have helped in the very kitchen of the King
+himself!  I will test him."
+
+Full of eagerness to prove her sagacity, she told the King to mind the
+cooking a moment--hinting that he might manufacture and add a dish or
+two, if he chose; then she went out of the room and gave her children a
+sign to follow after.  The King muttered--
+
+"Another English king had a commission like to this, in a bygone time--it
+is nothing against my dignity to undertake an office which the great
+Alfred stooped to assume.  But I will try to better serve my trust than
+he; for he let the cakes burn."
+
+The intent was good, but the performance was not answerable to it, for
+this King, like the other one, soon fell into deep thinkings concerning
+his vast affairs, and the same calamity resulted--the cookery got burned.
+The woman returned in time to save the breakfast from entire destruction;
+and she promptly brought the King out of his dreams with a brisk and
+cordial tongue-lashing. Then, seeing how troubled he was over his
+violated trust, she softened at once, and was all goodness and gentleness
+toward him.
+
+The boy made a hearty and satisfying meal, and was greatly refreshed and
+gladdened by it.  It was a meal which was distinguished by this curious
+feature, that rank was waived on both sides; yet neither recipient of the
+favour was aware that it had been extended.  The goodwife had intended to
+feed this young tramp with broken victuals in a corner, like any other
+tramp or like a dog; but she was so remorseful for the scolding she had
+given him, that she did what she could to atone for it by allowing him to
+sit at the family table and eat with his betters, on ostensible terms of
+equality with them; and the King, on his side, was so remorseful for
+having broken his trust, after the family had been so kind to him, that
+he forced himself to atone for it by humbling himself to the family
+level, instead of requiring the woman and her children to stand and wait
+upon him, while he occupied their table in the solitary state due to his
+birth and dignity.  It does us all good to unbend sometimes.  This good
+woman was made happy all the day long by the applauses which she got out
+of herself for her magnanimous condescension to a tramp; and the King was
+just as self-complacent over his gracious humility toward a humble
+peasant woman.
+
+When breakfast was over, the housewife told the King to wash up the
+dishes.  This command was a staggerer, for a moment, and the King came
+near rebelling; but then he said to himself, "Alfred the Great watched
+the cakes; doubtless he would have washed the dishes too--therefore will
+I essay it."
+
+He made a sufficiently poor job of it; and to his surprise too, for the
+cleaning of wooden spoons and trenchers had seemed an easy thing to do.
+It was a tedious and troublesome piece of work, but he finished it at
+last.  He was becoming impatient to get away on his journey now; however,
+he was not to lose this thrifty dame's society so easily.  She furnished
+him some little odds and ends of employment, which he got through with
+after a fair fashion and with some credit.  Then she set him and the
+little girls to paring some winter apples; but he was so awkward at this
+service that she retired him from it and gave him a butcher knife to
+grind. Afterwards she kept him carding wool until he began to think he
+had laid the good King Alfred about far enough in the shade for the
+present in the matter of showy menial heroisms that would read
+picturesquely in story-books and histories, and so he was half-minded to
+resign.  And when, just after the noonday dinner, the goodwife gave him a
+basket of kittens to drown, he did resign.  At least he was just going to
+resign--for he felt that he must draw the line somewhere, and it seemed
+to him that to draw it at kitten-drowning was about the right thing--when
+there was an interruption.  The interruption was John Canty--with a
+peddler's pack on his back--and Hugo.
+
+The King discovered these rascals approaching the front gate before they
+had had a chance to see him; so he said nothing about drawing the line,
+but took up his basket of kittens and stepped quietly out the back way,
+without a word.  He left the creatures in an out-house, and hurried on,
+into a narrow lane at the rear.
+
+
+
+Chapter XX. The Prince and the hermit.
+
+The high hedge hid him from the house, now; and so, under the impulse of
+a deadly fright, he let out all his forces and sped toward a wood in the
+distance.  He never looked back until he had almost gained the shelter of
+the forest; then he turned and descried two figures in the distance.
+That was sufficient; he did not wait to scan them critically, but hurried
+on, and never abated his pace till he was far within the twilight depths
+of the wood. Then he stopped; being persuaded that he was now tolerably
+safe. He listened intently, but the stillness was profound and solemn--
+awful, even, and depressing to the spirits.  At wide intervals his
+straining ear did detect sounds, but they were so remote, and hollow, and
+mysterious, that they seemed not to be real sounds, but only the moaning
+and complaining ghosts of departed ones.  So the sounds were yet more
+dreary than the silence which they interrupted.
+
+It was his purpose, in the beginning, to stay where he was the rest of
+the day; but a chill soon invaded his perspiring body, and he was at last
+obliged to resume movement in order to get warm. He struck straight
+through the forest, hoping to pierce to a road presently, but he was
+disappointed in this.  He travelled on and on; but the farther he went,
+the denser the wood became, apparently.  The gloom began to thicken, by-
+and-by, and the King realised that the night was coming on.  It made him
+shudder to think of spending it in such an uncanny place; so he tried to
+hurry faster, but he only made the less speed, for he could not now see
+well enough to choose his steps judiciously; consequently he kept
+tripping over roots and tangling himself in vines and briers.
+
+And how glad he was when at last he caught the glimmer of a light! He
+approached it warily, stopping often to look about him and listen.  It
+came from an unglazed window-opening in a shabby little hut.  He heard a
+voice, now, and felt a disposition to run and hide; but he changed his
+mind at once, for this voice was praying, evidently.  He glided to the
+one window of the hut, raised himself on tiptoe, and stole a glance
+within.  The room was small; its floor was the natural earth, beaten hard
+by use; in a corner was a bed of rushes and a ragged blanket or two; near
+it was a pail, a cup, a basin, and two or three pots and pans; there was
+a short bench and a three-legged stool; on the hearth the remains of a
+faggot fire were smouldering; before a shrine, which was lighted by a
+single candle, knelt an aged man, and on an old wooden box at his side
+lay an open book and a human skull.  The man was of large, bony frame;
+his hair and whiskers were very long and snowy white; he was clothed in a
+robe of sheepskins which reached from his neck to his heels.
+
+"A holy hermit!" said the King to himself; "now am I indeed fortunate."
+
+The hermit rose from his knees; the King knocked.  A deep voice
+responded--
+
+"Enter!--but leave sin behind, for the ground whereon thou shalt stand is
+holy!"
+
+The King entered, and paused.  The hermit turned a pair of gleaming,
+unrestful eyes upon him, and said--
+
+"Who art thou?"
+
+"I am the King," came the answer, with placid simplicity.
+
+"Welcome, King!" cried the hermit, with enthusiasm.  Then, bustling about
+with feverish activity, and constantly saying, "Welcome, welcome," he
+arranged his bench, seated the King on it, by the hearth, threw some
+faggots on the fire, and finally fell to pacing the floor with a nervous
+stride.
+
+"Welcome!  Many have sought sanctuary here, but they were not worthy, and
+were turned away.  But a King who casts his crown away, and despises the
+vain splendours of his office, and clothes his body in rags, to devote
+his life to holiness and the mortification of the flesh--he is worthy, he
+is welcome!--here shall he abide all his days till death come."  The King
+hastened to interrupt and explain, but the hermit paid no attention to
+him--did not even hear him, apparently, but went right on with his talk,
+with a raised voice and a growing energy.  "And thou shalt be at peace
+here.  None shall find out thy refuge to disquiet thee with supplications
+to return to that empty and foolish life which God hath moved thee to
+abandon.  Thou shalt pray here; thou shalt study the Book; thou shalt
+meditate upon the follies and delusions of this world, and upon the
+sublimities of the world to come; thou shalt feed upon crusts and herbs,
+and scourge thy body with whips, daily, to the purifying of thy soul.
+Thou shalt wear a hair shirt next thy skin; thou shalt drink water only;
+and thou shalt be at peace; yes, wholly at peace; for whoso comes to seek
+thee shall go his way again, baffled; he shall not find thee, he shall
+not molest thee."
+
+The old man, still pacing back and forth, ceased to speak aloud, and
+began to mutter.  The King seized this opportunity to state his case; and
+he did it with an eloquence inspired by uneasiness and apprehension.  But
+the hermit went on muttering, and gave no heed.  And still muttering, he
+approached the King and said impressively--
+
+"'Sh!  I will tell you a secret!"  He bent down to impart it, but checked
+himself, and assumed a listening attitude.  After a moment or two he went
+on tiptoe to the window-opening, put his head out, and peered around in
+the gloaming, then came tiptoeing back again, put his face close down to
+the King's, and whispered--
+
+"I am an archangel!"
+
+The King started violently, and said to himself, "Would God I were with
+the outlaws again; for lo, now am I the prisoner of a madman!"  His
+apprehensions were heightened, and they showed plainly in his face.  In a
+low excited voice the hermit continued--
+
+"I see you feel my atmosphere!  There's awe in your face!  None may be in
+this atmosphere and not be thus affected; for it is the very atmosphere
+of heaven.  I go thither and return, in the twinkling of an eye.  I was
+made an archangel on this very spot, it is five years ago, by angels sent
+from heaven to confer that awful dignity.  Their presence filled this
+place with an intolerable brightness.  And they knelt to me, King! yes,
+they knelt to me! for I was greater than they.  I have walked in the
+courts of heaven, and held speech with the patriarchs.  Touch my hand--be
+not afraid--touch it.  There--now thou hast touched a hand which has been
+clasped by Abraham and Isaac and Jacob!  For I have walked in the golden
+courts; I have seen the Deity face to face!"  He paused, to give this
+speech effect; then his face suddenly changed, and he started to his feet
+again saying, with angry energy, "Yes, I am an archangel; A MERE
+ARCHANGEL!--I that might have been pope!  It is verily true.  I was told
+it from heaven in a dream, twenty years ago; ah, yes, I was to be pope!--
+and I SHOULD have been pope, for Heaven had said it--but the King
+dissolved my religious house, and I, poor obscure unfriended monk, was
+cast homeless upon the world, robbed of my mighty destiny!" Here he began
+to mumble again, and beat his forehead in futile rage, with his fist; now
+and then articulating a venomous curse, and now and then a pathetic
+"Wherefore I am nought but an archangel--I that should have been pope!"
+
+So he went on, for an hour, whilst the poor little King sat and suffered.
+Then all at once the old man's frenzy departed, and he became all
+gentleness.  His voice softened, he came down out of his clouds, and fell
+to prattling along so simply and so humanly, that he soon won the King's
+heart completely.  The old devotee moved the boy nearer to the fire and
+made him comfortable; doctored his small bruises and abrasions with a
+deft and tender hand; and then set about preparing and cooking a supper--
+chatting pleasantly all the time, and occasionally stroking the lad's
+cheek or patting his head, in such a gently caressing way that in a
+little while all the fear and repulsion inspired by the archangel were
+changed to reverence and affection for the man.
+
+This happy state of things continued while the two ate the supper; then,
+after a prayer before the shrine, the hermit put the boy to bed, in a
+small adjoining room, tucking him in as snugly and lovingly as a mother
+might; and so, with a parting caress, left him and sat down by the fire,
+and began to poke the brands about in an absent and aimless way.
+Presently he paused; then tapped his forehead several times with his
+fingers, as if trying to recall some thought which had escaped from his
+mind.  Apparently he was unsuccessful.  Now he started quickly up, and
+entered his guest's room, and said--
+
+"Thou art King?"
+
+"Yes," was the response, drowsily uttered.
+
+"What King?"
+
+"Of England."
+
+"Of England?  Then Henry is gone!"
+
+"Alack, it is so.  I am his son."
+
+A black frown settled down upon the hermit's face, and he clenched his
+bony hands with a vindictive energy.  He stood a few moments, breathing
+fast and swallowing repeatedly, then said in a husky voice--
+
+"Dost know it was he that turned us out into the world houseless and
+homeless?"
+
+There was no response.  The old man bent down and scanned the boy's
+reposeful face and listened to his placid breathing.  "He sleeps--sleeps
+soundly;" and the frown vanished away and gave place to an expression of
+evil satisfaction.  A smile flitted across the dreaming boy's features.
+The hermit muttered, "So--his heart is happy;" and he turned away.  He
+went stealthily about the place, seeking here and there for something;
+now and then halting to listen, now and then jerking his head around and
+casting a quick glance toward the bed; and always muttering, always
+mumbling to himself.  At last he found what he seemed to want--a rusty
+old butcher knife and a whetstone.  Then he crept to his place by the
+fire, sat himself down, and began to whet the knife softly on the stone,
+still muttering, mumbling, ejaculating.  The winds sighed around the
+lonely place, the mysterious voices of the night floated by out of the
+distances.  The shining eyes of venturesome mice and rats peered out at
+the old man from cracks and coverts, but he went on with his work, rapt,
+absorbed, and noted none of these things.
+
+At long intervals he drew his thumb along the edge of his knife, and
+nodded his head with satisfaction.  "It grows sharper," he said; "yes, it
+grows sharper."
+
+He took no note of the flight of time, but worked tranquilly on,
+entertaining himself with his thoughts, which broke out occasionally in
+articulate speech--
+
+"His father wrought us evil, he destroyed us--and is gone down into the
+eternal fires!  Yes, down into the eternal fires!  He escaped us--but it
+was God's will, yes it was God's will, we must not repine.  But he hath
+not escaped the fires!  No, he hath not escaped the fires, the consuming,
+unpitying, remorseless fires--and THEY are everlasting!"
+
+And so he wrought, and still wrought--mumbling, chuckling a low rasping
+chuckle at times--and at times breaking again into words--
+
+"It was his father that did it all.  I am but an archangel; but for him I
+should be pope!"
+
+The King stirred.  The hermit sprang noiselessly to the bedside, and went
+down upon his knees, bending over the prostrate form with his knife
+uplifted.  The boy stirred again; his eyes came open for an instant, but
+there was no speculation in them, they saw nothing; the next moment his
+tranquil breathing showed that his sleep was sound once more.
+
+The hermit watched and listened, for a time, keeping his position and
+scarcely breathing; then he slowly lowered his arms, and presently crept
+away, saying,--
+
+"It is long past midnight; it is not best that he should cry out, lest by
+accident someone be passing."
+
+He glided about his hovel, gathering a rag here, a thong there, and
+another one yonder; then he returned, and by careful and gentle handling
+he managed to tie the King's ankles together without waking him.  Next he
+essayed to tie the wrists; he made several attempts to cross them, but
+the boy always drew one hand or the other away, just as the cord was
+ready to be applied; but at last, when the archangel was almost ready to
+despair, the boy crossed his hands himself, and the next moment they were
+bound. Now a bandage was passed under the sleeper's chin and brought up
+over his head and tied fast--and so softly, so gradually, and so deftly
+were the knots drawn together and compacted, that the boy slept
+peacefully through it all without stirring.
+
+
+
+Chapter XXI. Hendon to the rescue.
+
+The old man glided away, stooping, stealthy, cat-like, and brought the
+low bench.  He seated himself upon it, half his body in the dim and
+flickering light, and the other half in shadow; and so, with his craving
+eyes bent upon the slumbering boy, he kept his patient vigil there,
+heedless of the drift of time, and softly whetted his knife, and mumbled
+and chuckled; and in aspect and attitude he resembled nothing so much as
+a grizzly, monstrous spider, gloating over some hapless insect that lay
+bound and helpless in his web.
+
+After a long while, the old man, who was still gazing,--yet not seeing,
+his mind having settled into a dreamy abstraction,--observed, on a
+sudden, that the boy's eyes were open! wide open and staring!--staring up
+in frozen horror at the knife.  The smile of a gratified devil crept over
+the old man's face, and he said, without changing his attitude or his
+occupation--
+
+"Son of Henry the Eighth, hast thou prayed?"
+
+The boy struggled helplessly in his bonds, and at the same time forced a
+smothered sound through his closed jaws, which the hermit chose to
+interpret as an affirmative answer to his question.
+
+"Then pray again.  Pray the prayer for the dying!"
+
+A shudder shook the boy's frame, and his face blenched.  Then he
+struggled again to free himself--turning and twisting himself this way
+and that; tugging frantically, fiercely, desperately--but uselessly--to
+burst his fetters; and all the while the old ogre smiled down upon him,
+and nodded his head, and placidly whetted his knife; mumbling, from time
+to time, "The moments are precious, they are few and precious--pray the
+prayer for the dying!"
+
+The boy uttered a despairing groan, and ceased from his struggles,
+panting.  The tears came, then, and trickled, one after the other, down
+his face; but this piteous sight wrought no softening effect upon the
+savage old man.
+
+The dawn was coming now; the hermit observed it, and spoke up sharply,
+with a touch of nervous apprehension in his voice--
+
+"I may not indulge this ecstasy longer!  The night is already gone.  It
+seems but a moment--only a moment; would it had endured a year!  Seed of
+the Church's spoiler, close thy perishing eyes, an' thou fearest to look
+upon--"
+
+The rest was lost in inarticulate mutterings.  The old man sank upon his
+knees, his knife in his hand, and bent himself over the moaning boy.
+
+Hark!  There was a sound of voices near the cabin--the knife dropped from
+the hermit's hand; he cast a sheepskin over the boy and started up,
+trembling.  The sounds increased, and presently the voices became rough
+and angry; then came blows, and cries for help; then a clatter of swift
+footsteps, retreating.  Immediately came a succession of thundering
+knocks upon the cabin door, followed by--
+
+"Hullo-o-o!  Open!  And despatch, in the name of all the devils!"
+
+Oh, this was the blessedest sound that had ever made music in the King's
+ears; for it was Miles Hendon's voice!
+
+The hermit, grinding his teeth in impotent rage, moved swiftly out of the
+bedchamber, closing the door behind him; and straightway the King heard a
+talk, to this effect, proceeding from the 'chapel':--
+
+"Homage and greeting, reverend sir!  Where is the boy--MY boy?"
+
+"What boy, friend?"
+
+"What boy!  Lie me no lies, sir priest, play me no deceptions!--I am not
+in the humour for it.  Near to this place I caught the scoundrels who I
+judged did steal him from me, and I made them confess; they said he was
+at large again, and they had tracked him to your door.  They showed me
+his very footprints.  Now palter no more; for look you, holy sir, an'
+thou produce him not--Where is the boy?"
+
+"O good sir, peradventure you mean the ragged regal vagrant that tarried
+here the night.  If such as you take an interest in such as he, know,
+then, that I have sent him of an errand.  He will be back anon."
+
+"How soon?  How soon?  Come, waste not the time--cannot I overtake him?
+How soon will he be back?"
+
+"Thou need'st not stir; he will return quickly."
+
+"So be it, then.  I will try to wait.  But stop!--YOU sent him of an
+errand?--you!  Verily this is a lie--he would not go.  He would pull thy
+old beard, an' thou didst offer him such an insolence. Thou hast lied,
+friend; thou hast surely lied!  He would not go for thee, nor for any
+man."
+
+"For any MAN--no; haply not.  But I am not a man."
+
+"WHAT!  Now o' God's name what art thou, then?"
+
+"It is a secret--mark thou reveal it not.  I am an archangel!"
+
+There was a tremendous ejaculation from Miles Hendon--not altogether
+unprofane--followed by--
+
+"This doth well and truly account for his complaisance!  Right well I
+knew he would budge nor hand nor foot in the menial service of any
+mortal; but, lord, even a king must obey when an archangel gives the word
+o' command!  Let me--'sh!  What noise was that?"
+
+All this while the little King had been yonder, alternately quaking with
+terror and trembling with hope; and all the while, too, he had thrown all
+the strength he could into his anguished moanings, constantly expecting
+them to reach Hendon's ear, but always realising, with bitterness, that
+they failed, or at least made no impression.  So this last remark of his
+servant came as comes a reviving breath from fresh fields to the dying;
+and he exerted himself once more, and with all his energy, just as the
+hermit was saying--
+
+"Noise?  I heard only the wind."
+
+"Mayhap it was.  Yes, doubtless that was it.  I have been hearing it
+faintly all the--there it is again!  It is not the wind!  What an odd
+sound!  Come, we will hunt it out!"
+
+Now the King's joy was nearly insupportable.  His tired lungs did their
+utmost--and hopefully, too--but the sealed jaws and the muffling
+sheepskin sadly crippled the effort.  Then the poor fellow's heart sank,
+to hear the hermit say--
+
+"Ah, it came from without--I think from the copse yonder.  Come, I will
+lead the way."
+
+The King heard the two pass out, talking; heard their footsteps die
+quickly away--then he was alone with a boding, brooding, awful silence.
+
+It seemed an age till he heard the steps and voices approaching again--
+and this time he heard an added sound,--the trampling of hoofs,
+apparently.  Then he heard Hendon say--
+
+"I will not wait longer.  I CANNOT wait longer.  He has lost his way in
+this thick wood.  Which direction took he?  Quick--point it out to me."
+
+"He--but wait; I will go with thee."
+
+"Good--good!  Why, truly thou art better than thy looks.  Marry I do not
+think there's not another archangel with so right a heart as thine.  Wilt
+ride?  Wilt take the wee donkey that's for my boy, or wilt thou fork thy
+holy legs over this ill-conditioned slave of a mule that I have provided
+for myself?--and had been cheated in too, had he cost but the indifferent
+sum of a month's usury on a brass farthing let to a tinker out of work."
+
+"No--ride thy mule, and lead thine ass; I am surer on mine own feet, and
+will walk."
+
+"Then prithee mind the little beast for me while I take my life in my
+hands and make what success I may toward mounting the big one."
+
+Then followed a confusion of kicks, cuffs, tramplings and plungings,
+accompanied by a thunderous intermingling of volleyed curses, and finally
+a bitter apostrophe to the mule, which must have broken its spirit, for
+hostilities seemed to cease from that moment.
+
+With unutterable misery the fettered little King heard the voices and
+footsteps fade away and die out.  All hope forsook him, now, for the
+moment, and a dull despair settled down upon his heart. "My only friend
+is deceived and got rid of," he said; "the hermit will return and--"  He
+finished with a gasp; and at once fell to struggling so frantically with
+his bonds again, that he shook off the smothering sheepskin.
+
+And now he heard the door open!  The sound chilled him to the marrow--
+already he seemed to feel the knife at his throat.  Horror made him close
+his eyes; horror made him open them again--and before him stood John
+Canty and Hugo!
+
+He would have said "Thank God!" if his jaws had been free.
+
+A moment or two later his limbs were at liberty, and his captors, each
+gripping him by an arm, were hurrying him with all speed through the
+forest.
+
+
+
+Chapter XXII. A victim of treachery.
+
+Once more 'King Foo-foo the First' was roving with the tramps and
+outlaws, a butt for their coarse jests and dull-witted railleries, and
+sometimes the victim of small spitefulness at the hands of Canty and Hugo
+when the Ruffler's back was turned.  None but Canty and Hugo really
+disliked him.  Some of the others liked him, and all admired his pluck
+and spirit.  During two or three days, Hugo, in whose ward and charge the
+King was, did what he covertly could to make the boy uncomfortable; and
+at night, during the customary orgies, he amused the company by putting
+small indignities upon him--always as if by accident.  Twice he stepped
+upon the King's toes--accidentally--and the King, as became his royalty,
+was contemptuously unconscious of it and indifferent to it; but the third
+time Hugo entertained himself in that way, the King felled him to the
+ground with a cudgel, to the prodigious delight of the tribe.  Hugo,
+consumed with anger and shame, sprang up, seized a cudgel, and came at
+his small adversary in a fury.  Instantly a ring was formed around the
+gladiators, and the betting and cheering began.  But poor Hugo stood no
+chance whatever.  His frantic and lubberly 'prentice-work found but a
+poor market for itself when pitted against an arm which had been trained
+by the first masters of Europe in single-stick, quarter-staff, and every
+art and trick of swordsmanship.  The little King stood, alert but at
+graceful ease, and caught and turned aside the thick rain of blows with a
+facility and precision which set the motley on-lookers wild with
+admiration; and every now and then, when his practised eye detected an
+opening, and a lightning-swift rap upon Hugo's head followed as a result,
+the storm of cheers and laughter that swept the place was something
+wonderful to hear.  At the end of fifteen minutes, Hugo, all battered,
+bruised, and the target for a pitiless bombardment of ridicule, slunk
+from the field; and the unscathed hero of the fight was seized and borne
+aloft upon the shoulders of the joyous rabble to the place of honour
+beside the Ruffler, where with vast ceremony he was crowned King of the
+Game-Cocks; his meaner title being at the same time solemnly cancelled
+and annulled, and a decree of banishment from the gang pronounced against
+any who should thenceforth utter it.
+
+All attempts to make the King serviceable to the troop had failed. He had
+stubbornly refused to act; moreover, he was always trying to escape.  He
+had been thrust into an unwatched kitchen, the first day of his return;
+he not only came forth empty-handed, but tried to rouse the housemates.
+He was sent out with a tinker to help him at his work; he would not work;
+moreover, he threatened the tinker with his own soldering-iron; and
+finally both Hugo and the tinker found their hands full with the mere
+matter of keeping his from getting away.  He delivered the thunders of
+his royalty upon the heads of all who hampered his liberties or tried to
+force him to service.  He was sent out, in Hugo's charge, in company with
+a slatternly woman and a diseased baby, to beg; but the result was not
+encouraging--he declined to plead for the mendicants, or be a party to
+their cause in any way.
+
+Thus several days went by; and the miseries of this tramping life, and
+the weariness and sordidness and meanness and vulgarity of it, became
+gradually and steadily so intolerable to the captive that he began at
+last to feel that his release from the hermit's knife must prove only a
+temporary respite from death, at best.
+
+But at night, in his dreams, these things were forgotten, and he was on
+his throne, and master again.  This, of course, intensified the
+sufferings of the awakening--so the mortifications of each succeeding
+morning of the few that passed between his return to bondage and the
+combat with Hugo, grew bitterer and bitterer, and harder and harder to
+bear.
+
+The morning after that combat, Hugo got up with a heart filled with
+vengeful purposes against the King.  He had two plans, in particular.
+One was to inflict upon the lad what would be, to his proud spirit and
+'imagined' royalty, a peculiar humiliation; and if he failed to
+accomplish this, his other plan was to put a crime of some kind upon the
+King, and then betray him into the implacable clutches of the law.
+
+In pursuance of the first plan, he purposed to put a 'clime' upon the
+King's leg; rightly judging that that would mortify him to the last and
+perfect degree; and as soon as the clime should operate, he meant to get
+Canty's help, and FORCE the King to expose his leg in the highway and beg
+for alms.  'Clime' was the cant term for a sore, artificially created.
+To make a clime, the operator made a paste or poultice of unslaked lime,
+soap, and the rust of old iron, and spread it upon a piece of leather,
+which was then bound tightly upon the leg.  This would presently fret off
+the skin, and make the flesh raw and angry-looking; blood was then rubbed
+upon the limb, which, being fully dried, took on a dark and repulsive
+colour.  Then a bandage of soiled rags was put on in a cleverly careless
+way which would allow the hideous ulcer to be seen, and move the
+compassion of the passer-by. {8}
+
+Hugo got the help of the tinker whom the King had cowed with the
+soldering-iron; they took the boy out on a tinkering tramp, and as soon
+as they were out of sight of the camp they threw him down and the tinker
+held him while Hugo bound the poultice tight and fast upon his leg.
+
+The King raged and stormed, and promised to hang the two the moment the
+sceptre was in his hand again; but they kept a firm grip upon him and
+enjoyed his impotent struggling and jeered at his threats.  This
+continued until the poultice began to bite; and in no long time its work
+would have been perfected, if there had been no interruption.  But there
+was; for about this time the 'slave' who had made the speech denouncing
+England's laws, appeared on the scene, and put an end to the enterprise,
+and stripped off the poultice and bandage.
+
+The King wanted to borrow his deliverer's cudgel and warm the jackets of
+the two rascals on the spot; but the man said no, it would bring trouble
+--leave the matter till night; the whole tribe being together, then, the
+outside world would not venture to interfere or interrupt.  He marched
+the party back to camp and reported the affair to the Ruffler, who
+listened, pondered, and then decided that the King should not be again
+detailed to beg, since it was plain he was worthy of something higher and
+better--wherefore, on the spot he promoted him from the mendicant rank
+and appointed him to steal!
+
+Hugo was overjoyed.  He had already tried to make the King steal, and
+failed; but there would be no more trouble of that sort, now, for of
+course the King would not dream of defying a distinct command delivered
+directly from head-quarters.  So he planned a raid for that very
+afternoon, purposing to get the King in the law's grip in the course of
+it; and to do it, too, with such ingenious strategy, that it should seem
+to be accidental and unintentional; for the King of the Game-Cocks was
+popular now, and the gang might not deal over-gently with an unpopular
+member who played so serious a treachery upon him as the delivering him
+over to the common enemy, the law.
+
+Very well.  All in good time Hugo strolled off to a neighbouring village
+with his prey; and the two drifted slowly up and down one street after
+another, the one watching sharply for a sure chance to achieve his evil
+purpose, and the other watching as sharply for a chance to dart away and
+get free of his infamous captivity for ever.
+
+Both threw away some tolerably fair-looking opportunities; for both, in
+their secret hearts, were resolved to make absolutely sure work this
+time, and neither meant to allow his fevered desires to seduce him into
+any venture that had much uncertainty about it.
+
+Hugo's chance came first.  For at last a woman approached who carried a
+fat package of some sort in a basket.  Hugo's eyes sparkled with sinful
+pleasure as he said to himself, "Breath o' my life, an' I can but put
+THAT upon him, 'tis good-den and God keep thee, King of the Game-Cocks!"
+He waited and watched--outwardly patient, but inwardly consuming with
+excitement--till the woman had passed by, and the time was ripe; then
+said, in a low voice--
+
+"Tarry here till I come again," and darted stealthily after the prey.
+
+The King's heart was filled with joy--he could make his escape, now, if
+Hugo's quest only carried him far enough away.
+
+But he was to have no such luck.  Hugo crept behind the woman, snatched
+the package, and came running back, wrapping it in an old piece of
+blanket which he carried on his arm.  The hue and cry was raised in a
+moment, by the woman, who knew her loss by the lightening of her burden,
+although she had not seen the pilfering done.  Hugo thrust the bundle
+into the King's hands without halting, saying--
+
+"Now speed ye after me with the rest, and cry 'Stop thief!' but mind ye
+lead them astray!"
+
+The next moment Hugo turned a corner and darted down a crooked alley--and
+in another moment or two he lounged into view again, looking innocent and
+indifferent, and took up a position behind a post to watch results.
+
+The insulted King threw the bundle on the ground; and the blanket fell
+away from it just as the woman arrived, with an augmenting crowd at her
+heels; she seized the King's wrist with one hand, snatched up her bundle
+with the other, and began to pour out a tirade of abuse upon the boy
+while he struggled, without success, to free himself from her grip.
+
+Hugo had seen enough--his enemy was captured and the law would get him,
+now--so he slipped away, jubilant and chuckling, and wended campwards,
+framing a judicious version of the matter to give to the Ruffler's crew
+as he strode along.
+
+The King continued to struggle in the woman's strong grasp, and now and
+then cried out in vexation--
+
+"Unhand me, thou foolish creature; it was not I that bereaved thee of thy
+paltry goods."
+
+The crowd closed around, threatening the King and calling him names; a
+brawny blacksmith in leather apron, and sleeves rolled to his elbows,
+made a reach for him, saying he would trounce him well, for a lesson; but
+just then a long sword flashed in the air and fell with convincing force
+upon the man's arm, flat side down, the fantastic owner of it remarking
+pleasantly, at the same time--
+
+"Marry, good souls, let us proceed gently, not with ill blood and
+uncharitable words.  This is matter for the law's consideration, not
+private and unofficial handling.  Loose thy hold from the boy, goodwife."
+
+The blacksmith averaged the stalwart soldier with a glance, then went
+muttering away, rubbing his arm; the woman released the boy's wrist
+reluctantly; the crowd eyed the stranger unlovingly, but prudently closed
+their mouths.  The King sprang to his deliverer's side, with flushed
+cheeks and sparkling eyes, exclaiming--
+
+"Thou hast lagged sorely, but thou comest in good season, now, Sir Miles;
+carve me this rabble to rags!"
+
+
+
+Chapter XXIII. The Prince a prisoner.
+
+Hendon forced back a smile, and bent down and whispered in the King's
+ear--
+
+"Softly, softly, my prince, wag thy tongue warily--nay, suffer it not to
+wag at all.  Trust in me--all shall go well in the end." Then he added to
+himself:  "SIR Miles!  Bless me, I had totally forgot I was a knight!
+Lord, how marvellous a thing it is, the grip his memory doth take upon
+his quaint and crazy fancies! . . . An empty and foolish title is mine,
+and yet it is something to have deserved it; for I think it is more
+honour to be held worthy to be a spectre-knight in his Kingdom of Dreams
+and Shadows, than to be held base enough to be an earl in some of the
+REAL kingdoms of this world."
+
+The crowd fell apart to admit a constable, who approached and was about
+to lay his hand upon the King's shoulder, when Hendon said--
+
+"Gently, good friend, withhold your hand--he shall go peaceably; I am
+responsible for that.  Lead on, we will follow."
+
+The officer led, with the woman and her bundle; Miles and the King
+followed after, with the crowd at their heels.  The King was inclined to
+rebel; but Hendon said to him in a low voice--
+
+"Reflect, Sire--your laws are the wholesome breath of your own royalty;
+shall their source resist them, yet require the branches to respect them?
+Apparently one of these laws has been broken; when the King is on his
+throne again, can it ever grieve him to remember that when he was
+seemingly a private person he loyally sank the king in the citizen and
+submitted to its authority?"
+
+"Thou art right; say no more; thou shalt see that whatsoever the King of
+England requires a subject to suffer, under the law, he will himself
+suffer while he holdeth the station of a subject."
+
+When the woman was called upon to testify before the justice of the
+peace, she swore that the small prisoner at the bar was the person who
+had committed the theft; there was none able to show the contrary, so the
+King stood convicted.  The bundle was now unrolled, and when the contents
+proved to be a plump little dressed pig, the judge looked troubled,
+whilst Hendon turned pale, and his body was thrilled with an electric
+shiver of dismay; but the King remained unmoved, protected by his
+ignorance.  The judge meditated, during an ominous pause, then turned to
+the woman, with the question--
+
+"What dost thou hold this property to be worth?"
+
+The woman courtesied and replied--
+
+"Three shillings and eightpence, your worship--I could not abate a penny
+and set forth the value honestly."
+
+The justice glanced around uncomfortably upon the crowd, then nodded to
+the constable, and said--
+
+"Clear the court and close the doors."
+
+It was done.  None remained but the two officials, the accused, the
+accuser, and Miles Hendon.  This latter was rigid and colourless, and on
+his forehead big drops of cold sweat gathered, broke and blended
+together, and trickled down his face.  The judge turned to the woman
+again, and said, in a compassionate voice--
+
+"'Tis a poor ignorant lad, and mayhap was driven hard by hunger, for
+these be grievous times for the unfortunate; mark you, he hath not an
+evil face--but when hunger driveth--Good woman! dost know that when one
+steals a thing above the value of thirteenpence ha'penny the law saith he
+shall HANG for it?"
+
+The little King started, wide-eyed with consternation, but controlled
+himself and held his peace; but not so the woman.  She sprang to her
+feet, shaking with fright, and cried out--
+
+"Oh, good lack, what have I done!  God-a-mercy, I would not hang the poor
+thing for the whole world!  Ah, save me from this, your worship--what
+shall I do, what CAN I do?"
+
+The justice maintained his judicial composure, and simply said--
+
+"Doubtless it is allowable to revise the value, since it is not yet writ
+upon the record."
+
+"Then in God's name call the pig eightpence, and heaven bless the day
+that freed my conscience of this awesome thing!"
+
+Miles Hendon forgot all decorum in his delight; and surprised the King
+and wounded his dignity, by throwing his arms around him and hugging him.
+The woman made her grateful adieux and started away with her pig; and
+when the constable opened the door for her, he followed her out into the
+narrow hall.  The justice proceeded to write in his record book.  Hendon,
+always alert, thought he would like to know why the officer followed the
+woman out; so he slipped softly into the dusky hall and listened.  He
+heard a conversation to this effect--
+
+"It is a fat pig, and promises good eating; I will buy it of thee; here
+is the eightpence."
+
+"Eightpence, indeed!  Thou'lt do no such thing.  It cost me three
+shillings and eightpence, good honest coin of the last reign, that old
+Harry that's just dead ne'er touched or tampered with.  A fig for thy
+eightpence!"
+
+"Stands the wind in that quarter?  Thou wast under oath, and so swore
+falsely when thou saidst the value was but eightpence.  Come straightway
+back with me before his worship, and answer for the crime!--and then the
+lad will hang."
+
+"There, there, dear heart, say no more, I am content.  Give me the
+eightpence, and hold thy peace about the matter."
+
+The woman went off crying:  Hendon slipped back into the court room, and
+the constable presently followed, after hiding his prize in some
+convenient place.  The justice wrote a while longer, then read the King a
+wise and kindly lecture, and sentenced him to a short imprisonment in the
+common jail, to be followed by a public flogging.  The astounded King
+opened his mouth, and was probably going to order the good judge to be
+beheaded on the spot; but he caught a warning sign from Hendon, and
+succeeded in closing his mouth again before he lost anything out of it.
+Hendon took him by the hand, now, made reverence to the justice, and the
+two departed in the wake of the constable toward the jail.  The moment
+the street was reached, the inflamed monarch halted, snatched away his
+hand, and exclaimed--
+
+"Idiot, dost imagine I will enter a common jail ALIVE?"
+
+Hendon bent down and said, somewhat sharply--
+
+"WILL you trust in me?  Peace! and forbear to worsen our chances with
+dangerous speech.  What God wills, will happen; thou canst not hurry it,
+thou canst not alter it; therefore wait, and be patient--'twill be time
+enow to rail or rejoice when what is to happen has happened." {1}
+
+
+
+Chapter XXIV. The escape.
+
+The short winter day was nearly ended.  The streets were deserted, save
+for a few random stragglers, and these hurried straight along, with the
+intent look of people who were only anxious to accomplish their errands
+as quickly as possible, and then snugly house themselves from the rising
+wind and the gathering twilight. They looked neither to the right nor to
+the left; they paid no attention to our party, they did not even seem to
+see them. Edward the Sixth wondered if the spectacle of a king on his way
+to jail had ever encountered such marvellous indifference before. By-and-
+by the constable arrived at a deserted market-square, and proceeded to
+cross it.  When he had reached the middle of it, Hendon laid his hand
+upon his arm, and said in a low voice--
+
+"Bide a moment, good sir, there is none in hearing, and I would say a
+word to thee."
+
+"My duty forbids it, sir; prithee hinder me not, the night comes on."
+
+"Stay, nevertheless, for the matter concerns thee nearly.  Turn thy back
+a moment and seem not to see:  LET THIS POOR LAD ESCAPE."
+
+"This to me, sir!  I arrest thee in--"
+
+"Nay, be not too hasty.  See thou be careful and commit no foolish
+error"--then he shut his voice down to a whisper, and said in the man's
+ear--"the pig thou hast purchased for eightpence may cost thee thy neck,
+man!"
+
+The poor constable, taken by surprise, was speechless, at first, then
+found his tongue and fell to blustering and threatening; but Hendon was
+tranquil, and waited with patience till his breath was spent; then said--
+
+"I have a liking to thee, friend, and would not willingly see thee come
+to harm.  Observe, I heard it all--every word.  I will prove it to thee."
+Then he repeated the conversation which the officer and the woman had had
+together in the hall, word for word, and ended with--
+
+"There--have I set it forth correctly?  Should not I be able to set it
+forth correctly before the judge, if occasion required?"
+
+The man was dumb with fear and distress, for a moment; then he rallied,
+and said with forced lightness--
+
+"'Tis making a mighty matter, indeed, out of a jest; I but plagued the
+woman for mine amusement."
+
+"Kept you the woman's pig for amusement?"
+
+The man answered sharply--
+
+"Nought else, good sir--I tell thee 'twas but a jest."
+
+"I do begin to believe thee," said Hendon, with a perplexing mixture of
+mockery and half-conviction in his tone; "but tarry thou here a moment
+whilst I run and ask his worship--for nathless, he being a man
+experienced in law, in jests, in--"
+
+He was moving away, still talking; the constable hesitated, fidgeted,
+spat out an oath or two, then cried out--
+
+"Hold, hold, good sir--prithee wait a little--the judge!  Why, man, he
+hath no more sympathy with a jest than hath a dead corpse!--come, and we
+will speak further.  Ods body!  I seem to be in evil case--and all for an
+innocent and thoughtless pleasantry. I am a man of family; and my wife
+and little ones--List to reason, good your worship: what wouldst thou
+of me?"
+
+"Only that thou be blind and dumb and paralytic whilst one may count a
+hundred thousand--counting slowly," said Hendon, with the expression of a
+man who asks but a reasonable favour, and that a very little one.
+
+"It is my destruction!" said the constable despairingly.  "Ah, be
+reasonable, good sir; only look at this matter, on all its sides, and see
+how mere a jest it is--how manifestly and how plainly it is so.  And even
+if one granted it were not a jest, it is a fault so small that e'en the
+grimmest penalty it could call forth would be but a rebuke and warning
+from the judge's lips."
+
+Hendon replied with a solemnity which chilled the air about him--
+
+"This jest of thine hath a name, in law,--wot you what it is?"
+
+"I knew it not!  Peradventure I have been unwise.  I never dreamed it had
+a name--ah, sweet heaven, I thought it was original."
+
+"Yes, it hath a name.  In the law this crime is called Non compos mentis
+lex talionis sic transit gloria mundi."
+
+"Ah, my God!"
+
+"And the penalty is death!"
+
+"God be merciful to me a sinner!"
+
+"By advantage taken of one in fault, in dire peril, and at thy mercy,
+thou hast seized goods worth above thirteenpence ha'penny, paying but a
+trifle for the same; and this, in the eye of the law, is constructive
+barratry, misprision of treason, malfeasance in office, ad hominem
+expurgatis in statu quo--and the penalty is death by the halter, without
+ransom, commutation, or benefit of clergy."
+
+"Bear me up, bear me up, sweet sir, my legs do fail me!  Be thou
+merciful--spare me this doom, and I will turn my back and see nought that
+shall happen."
+
+"Good! now thou'rt wise and reasonable.  And thou'lt restore the pig?"
+
+"I will, I will indeed--nor ever touch another, though heaven send it and
+an archangel fetch it.  Go--I am blind for thy sake--I see nothing.  I
+will say thou didst break in and wrest the prisoner from my hands by
+force.  It is but a crazy, ancient door--I will batter it down myself
+betwixt midnight and the morning."
+
+"Do it, good soul, no harm will come of it; the judge hath a loving
+charity for this poor lad, and will shed no tears and break no jailer's
+bones for his escape."
+
+
+
+Chapter XXV. Hendon Hall.
+
+As soon as Hendon and the King were out of sight of the constable, his
+Majesty was instructed to hurry to a certain place outside the town, and
+wait there, whilst Hendon should go to the inn and settle his account.
+Half an hour later the two friends were blithely jogging eastward on
+Hendon's sorry steeds.  The King was warm and comfortable, now, for he
+had cast his rags and clothed himself in the second-hand suit which
+Hendon had bought on London Bridge.
+
+Hendon wished to guard against over-fatiguing the boy; he judged that
+hard journeys, irregular meals, and illiberal measures of sleep would be
+bad for his crazed mind; whilst rest, regularity, and moderate exercise
+would be pretty sure to hasten its cure; he longed to see the stricken
+intellect made well again and its diseased visions driven out of the
+tormented little head; therefore he resolved to move by easy stages
+toward the home whence he had so long been banished, instead of obeying
+the impulse of his impatience and hurrying along night and day.
+
+When he and the King had journeyed about ten miles, they reached a
+considerable village, and halted there for the night, at a good inn.  The
+former relations were resumed; Hendon stood behind the King's chair,
+while he dined, and waited upon him; undressed him when he was ready for
+bed; then took the floor for his own quarters, and slept athwart the
+door, rolled up in a blanket.
+
+The next day, and the day after, they jogged lazily along talking over
+the adventures they had met since their separation, and mightily enjoying
+each other's narratives.  Hendon detailed all his wide wanderings in
+search of the King, and described how the archangel had led him a fool's
+journey all over the forest, and taken him back to the hut, finally, when
+he found he could not get rid of him.  Then--he said--the old man went
+into the bedchamber and came staggering back looking broken-hearted, and
+saying he had expected to find that the boy had returned and laid down in
+there to rest, but it was not so.  Hendon had waited at the hut all day;
+hope of the King's return died out, then, and he departed upon the quest
+again.
+
+"And old Sanctum Sanctorum WAS truly sorry your highness came not back,"
+said Hendon; "I saw it in his face."
+
+"Marry I will never doubt THAT!" said the King--and then told his own
+story; after which, Hendon was sorry he had not destroyed the archangel.
+
+During the last day of the trip, Hendon's spirits were soaring. His
+tongue ran constantly.  He talked about his old father, and his brother
+Arthur, and told of many things which illustrated their high and generous
+characters; he went into loving frenzies over his Edith, and was so glad-
+hearted that he was even able to say some gentle and brotherly things
+about Hugh.  He dwelt a deal on the coming meeting at Hendon Hall; what a
+surprise it would be to everybody, and what an outburst of thanksgiving
+and delight there would be.
+
+It was a fair region, dotted with cottages and orchards, and the road led
+through broad pasture lands whose receding expanses, marked with gentle
+elevations and depressions, suggested the swelling and subsiding
+undulations of the sea.  In the afternoon the returning prodigal made
+constant deflections from his course to see if by ascending some hillock
+he might not pierce the distance and catch a glimpse of his home.  At
+last he was successful, and cried out excitedly--
+
+"There is the village, my Prince, and there is the Hall close by! You may
+see the towers from here; and that wood there--that is my father's park.
+Ah, NOW thou'lt know what state and grandeur be! A house with seventy
+rooms--think of that!--and seven and twenty servants!  A brave lodging
+for such as we, is it not so?  Come, let us speed--my impatience will not
+brook further delay."
+
+All possible hurry was made; still, it was after three o'clock before the
+village was reached.  The travellers scampered through it, Hendon's
+tongue going all the time.  "Here is the church--covered with the same
+ivy--none gone, none added."  "Yonder is the inn, the old Red Lion,--and
+yonder is the market-place."  "Here is the Maypole, and here the pump--
+nothing is altered; nothing but the people, at any rate; ten years make a
+change in people; some of these I seem to know, but none know me."  So
+his chat ran on. The end of the village was soon reached; then the
+travellers struck into a crooked, narrow road, walled in with tall
+hedges, and hurried briskly along it for half a mile, then passed into a
+vast flower garden through an imposing gateway, whose huge stone pillars
+bore sculptured armorial devices.  A noble mansion was before them.
+
+"Welcome to Hendon Hall, my King!" exclaimed Miles.  "Ah, 'tis a great
+day!  My father and my brother, and the Lady Edith will be so mad with
+joy that they will have eyes and tongue for none but me in the first
+transports of the meeting, and so thou'lt seem but coldly welcomed--but
+mind it not; 'twill soon seem otherwise; for when I say thou art my ward,
+and tell them how costly is my love for thee, thou'lt see them take thee
+to their breasts for Miles Hendon's sake, and make their house and hearts
+thy home for ever after!"
+
+The next moment Hendon sprang to the ground before the great door, helped
+the King down, then took him by the hand and rushed within. A few steps
+brought him to a spacious apartment; he entered, seated the King with
+more hurry than ceremony, then ran toward a young man who sat at a
+writing-table in front of a generous fire of logs.
+
+"Embrace me, Hugh," he cried, "and say thou'rt glad I am come again! and
+call our father, for home is not home till I shall touch his hand, and
+see his face, and hear his voice once more!"
+
+But Hugh only drew back, after betraying a momentary surprise, and bent a
+grave stare upon the intruder--a stare which indicated somewhat of
+offended dignity, at first, then changed, in response to some inward
+thought or purpose, to an expression of marvelling curiosity, mixed with
+a real or assumed compassion.  Presently he said, in a mild voice--
+
+"Thy wits seem touched, poor stranger; doubtless thou hast suffered
+privations and rude buffetings at the world's hands; thy looks and dress
+betoken it.  Whom dost thou take me to be?"
+
+"Take thee?  Prithee for whom else than whom thou art?  I take thee to be
+Hugh Hendon," said Miles, sharply.
+
+The other continued, in the same soft tone--
+
+"And whom dost thou imagine thyself to be?"
+
+"Imagination hath nought to do with it!  Dost thou pretend thou knowest
+me not for thy brother Miles Hendon?"
+
+An expression of pleased surprise flitted across Hugh's face, and he
+exclaimed--
+
+"What! thou art not jesting? can the dead come to life?  God be praised
+if it be so!  Our poor lost boy restored to our arms after all these
+cruel years!  Ah, it seems too good to be true, it IS too good to be
+true--I charge thee, have pity, do not trifle with me!  Quick--come to
+the light--let me scan thee well!"
+
+He seized Miles by the arm, dragged him to the window, and began to
+devour him from head to foot with his eyes, turning him this way and
+that, and stepping briskly around him and about him to prove him from all
+points of view; whilst the returned prodigal, all aglow with gladness,
+smiled, laughed, and kept nodding his head and saying--
+
+"Go on, brother, go on, and fear not; thou'lt find nor limb nor feature
+that cannot bide the test.  Scour and scan me to thy content, my good old
+Hugh--I am indeed thy old Miles, thy same old Miles, thy lost brother,
+is't not so?  Ah, 'tis a great day--I SAID 'twas a great day!  Give me
+thy hand, give me thy cheek--lord, I am like to die of very joy!"
+
+He was about to throw himself upon his brother; but Hugh put up his hand
+in dissent, then dropped his chin mournfully upon his breast, saying with
+emotion--
+
+"Ah, God of his mercy give me strength to bear this grievous
+disappointment!"
+
+Miles, amazed, could not speak for a moment; then he found his tongue,
+and cried out--
+
+"WHAT disappointment?  Am I not thy brother?"
+
+Hugh shook his head sadly, and said--
+
+"I pray heaven it may prove so, and that other eyes may find the
+resemblances that are hid from mine.  Alack, I fear me the letter spoke
+but too truly."
+
+"What letter?"
+
+"One that came from over sea, some six or seven years ago.  It said my
+brother died in battle."
+
+"It was a lie!  Call thy father--he will know me."
+
+"One may not call the dead."
+
+"Dead?" Miles's voice was subdued, and his lips trembled.  "My father
+dead!--oh, this is heavy news.  Half my new joy is withered now.  Prithee
+let me see my brother Arthur--he will know me; he will know me and
+console me."
+
+"He, also, is dead."
+
+"God be merciful to me, a stricken man!  Gone,--both gone--the worthy
+taken and the worthless spared, in me!  Ah! I crave your mercy!--do not
+say the Lady Edith--"
+
+"Is dead?  No, she lives."
+
+"Then, God be praised, my joy is whole again!  Speed thee, brother--let
+her come to me!  An' SHE say I am not myself--but she will not; no, no,
+SHE will know me, I were a fool to doubt it. Bring her--bring the old
+servants; they, too, will know me."
+
+"All are gone but five--Peter, Halsey, David, Bernard, and Margaret."
+
+So saying, Hugh left the room.  Miles stood musing a while, then began to
+walk the floor, muttering--
+
+"The five arch-villains have survived the two-and-twenty leal and honest
+--'tis an odd thing."
+
+He continued walking back and forth, muttering to himself; he had
+forgotten the King entirely.  By-and-by his Majesty said gravely, and
+with a touch of genuine compassion, though the words themselves were
+capable of being interpreted ironically--
+
+"Mind not thy mischance, good man; there be others in the world whose
+identity is denied, and whose claims are derided.  Thou hast company."
+
+"Ah, my King," cried Hendon, colouring slightly, "do not thou condemn me
+--wait, and thou shalt see.  I am no impostor--she will say it; you shall
+hear it from the sweetest lips in England.  I an impostor?  Why, I know
+this old hall, these pictures of my ancestors, and all these things that
+are about us, as a child knoweth its own nursery.  Here was I born and
+bred, my lord; I speak the truth; I would not deceive thee; and should
+none else believe, I pray thee do not THOU doubt me--I could not bear
+it."
+
+"I do not doubt thee," said the King, with a childlike simplicity and
+faith.
+
+"I thank thee out of my heart!" exclaimed Hendon with a fervency which
+showed that he was touched.  The King added, with the same gentle
+simplicity--
+
+"Dost thou doubt ME?"
+
+A guilty confusion seized upon Hendon, and he was grateful that the door
+opened to admit Hugh, at that moment, and saved him the necessity of
+replying.
+
+A beautiful lady, richly clothed, followed Hugh, and after her came
+several liveried servants.  The lady walked slowly, with her head bowed
+and her eyes fixed upon the floor.  The face was unspeakably sad.  Miles
+Hendon sprang forward, crying out--
+
+"Oh, my Edith, my darling--"
+
+But Hugh waved him back, gravely, and said to the lady--
+
+"Look upon him.  Do you know him?"
+
+At the sound of Miles's voice the woman had started slightly, and her
+cheeks had flushed; she was trembling now.  She stood still, during an
+impressive pause of several moments; then slowly lifted up her head and
+looked into Hendon's eyes with a stony and frightened gaze; the blood
+sank out of her face, drop by drop, till nothing remained but the grey
+pallor of death; then she said, in a voice as dead as the face, "I know
+him not!" and turned, with a moan and a stifled sob, and tottered out of
+the room.
+
+Miles Hendon sank into a chair and covered his face with his hands.
+After a pause, his brother said to the servants--
+
+"You have observed him.  Do you know him?"
+
+They shook their heads; then the master said--
+
+"The servants know you not, sir.  I fear there is some mistake. You have
+seen that my wife knew you not."
+
+"Thy WIFE!"  In an instant Hugh was pinned to the wall, with an iron grip
+about his throat.  "Oh, thou fox-hearted slave, I see it all!  Thou'st
+writ the lying letter thyself, and my stolen bride and goods are its
+fruit.  There--now get thee gone, lest I shame mine honourable
+soldiership with the slaying of so pitiful a mannikin!"
+
+Hugh, red-faced, and almost suffocated, reeled to the nearest chair, and
+commanded the servants to seize and bind the murderous stranger.  They
+hesitated, and one of them said--
+
+"He is armed, Sir Hugh, and we are weaponless."
+
+"Armed!  What of it, and ye so many?  Upon him, I say!"
+
+But Miles warned them to be careful what they did, and added--
+
+"Ye know me of old--I have not changed; come on, an' it like you."
+
+This reminder did not hearten the servants much; they still held back.
+
+"Then go, ye paltry cowards, and arm yourselves and guard the doors,
+whilst I send one to fetch the watch!" said Hugh.  He turned at the
+threshold, and said to Miles, "You'll find it to your advantage to offend
+not with useless endeavours at escape."
+
+"Escape?  Spare thyself discomfort, an' that is all that troubles thee.
+For Miles Hendon is master of Hendon Hall and all its belongings.  He
+will remain--doubt it not."
+
+
+
+Chapter XXVI. Disowned.
+
+The King sat musing a few moments, then looked up and said--
+
+"'Tis strange--most strange.  I cannot account for it."
+
+"No, it is not strange, my liege.  I know him, and this conduct is but
+natural.  He was a rascal from his birth."
+
+"Oh, I spake not of HIM, Sir Miles."
+
+"Not of him?  Then of what?  What is it that is strange?"
+
+"That the King is not missed."
+
+"How?  Which?  I doubt I do not understand."
+
+"Indeed?  Doth it not strike you as being passing strange that the land
+is not filled with couriers and proclamations describing my person and
+making search for me?  Is it no matter for commotion and distress that
+the Head of the State is gone; that I am vanished away and lost?"
+
+"Most true, my King, I had forgot."  Then Hendon sighed, and muttered to
+himself, "Poor ruined mind--still busy with its pathetic dream."
+
+"But I have a plan that shall right us both--I will write a paper, in
+three tongues--Latin, Greek and English--and thou shalt haste away with
+it to London in the morning.  Give it to none but my uncle, the Lord
+Hertford; when he shall see it, he will know and say I wrote it.  Then he
+will send for me."
+
+"Might it not be best, my Prince, that we wait here until I prove myself
+and make my rights secure to my domains?  I should be so much the better
+able then to--"
+
+The King interrupted him imperiously--
+
+"Peace!  What are thy paltry domains, thy trivial interests, contrasted
+with matters which concern the weal of a nation and the integrity of a
+throne?"  Then, he added, in a gentle voice, as if he were sorry for his
+severity, "Obey, and have no fear; I will right thee, I will make thee
+whole--yes, more than whole.  I shall remember, and requite."
+
+So saying, he took the pen, and set himself to work.  Hendon contemplated
+him lovingly a while, then said to himself--
+
+"An' it were dark, I should think it WAS a king that spoke; there's no
+denying it, when the humour's upon on him he doth thunder and lighten
+like your true King; now where got he that trick?  See him scribble and
+scratch away contentedly at his meaningless pot-hooks, fancying them to
+be Latin and Greek--and except my wit shall serve me with a lucky device
+for diverting him from his purpose, I shall be forced to pretend to post
+away to-morrow on this wild errand he hath invented for me."
+
+The next moment Sir Miles's thoughts had gone back to the recent episode.
+So absorbed was he in his musings, that when the King presently handed
+him the paper which he had been writing, he received it and pocketed it
+without being conscious of the act. "How marvellous strange she acted,"
+he muttered.  "I think she knew me--and I think she did NOT know me.
+These opinions do conflict, I perceive it plainly; I cannot reconcile
+them, neither can I, by argument, dismiss either of the two, or even
+persuade one to outweigh the other.  The matter standeth simply thus:
+she MUST have known my face, my figure, my voice, for how could it be
+otherwise?  Yet she SAID she knew me not, and that is proof perfect, for
+she cannot lie.  But stop--I think I begin to see. Peradventure he hath
+influenced her, commanded her, compelled her to lie.  That is the
+solution.  The riddle is unriddled.  She seemed dead with fear--yes, she
+was under his compulsion.  I will seek her; I will find her; now that he
+is away, she will speak her true mind.  She will remember the old times
+when we were little playfellows together, and this will soften her heart,
+and she will no more betray me, but will confess me.  There is no
+treacherous blood in her--no, she was always honest and true.  She has
+loved me, in those old days--this is my security; for whom one has loved,
+one cannot betray."
+
+He stepped eagerly toward the door; at that moment it opened, and the
+Lady Edith entered.  She was very pale, but she walked with a firm step,
+and her carriage was full of grace and gentle dignity. Her face was as
+sad as before.
+
+Miles sprang forward, with a happy confidence, to meet her, but she
+checked him with a hardly perceptible gesture, and he stopped where he
+was.  She seated herself, and asked him to do likewise. Thus simply did
+she take the sense of old comradeship out of him, and transform him into
+a stranger and a guest.  The surprise of it, the bewildering
+unexpectedness of it, made him begin to question, for a moment, if he WAS
+the person he was pretending to be, after all.  The Lady Edith said--
+
+"Sir, I have come to warn you.  The mad cannot be persuaded out of their
+delusions, perchance; but doubtless they may be persuaded to avoid
+perils.  I think this dream of yours hath the seeming of honest truth to
+you, and therefore is not criminal--but do not tarry here with it; for
+here it is dangerous."  She looked steadily into Miles's face a moment,
+then added, impressively, "It is the more dangerous for that you ARE much
+like what our lost lad must have grown to be if he had lived."
+
+"Heavens, madam, but I AM he!"
+
+"I truly think you think it, sir.  I question not your honesty in that; I
+but warn you, that is all.  My husband is master in this region; his
+power hath hardly any limit; the people prosper or starve, as he wills.
+If you resembled not the man whom you profess to be, my husband might bid
+you pleasure yourself with your dream in peace; but trust me, I know him
+well; I know what he will do; he will say to all that you are but a mad
+impostor, and straightway all will echo him."  She bent upon Miles that
+same steady look once more, and added:  "If you WERE Miles Hendon, and he
+knew it and all the region knew it--consider what I am saying, weigh it
+well--you would stand in the same peril, your punishment would be no less
+sure; he would deny you and denounce you, and none would be bold enough
+to give you countenance."
+
+"Most truly I believe it," said Miles, bitterly.  "The power that can
+command one life-long friend to betray and disown another, and be obeyed,
+may well look to be obeyed in quarters where bread and life are on the
+stake and no cobweb ties of loyalty and honour are concerned."
+
+A faint tinge appeared for a moment in the lady's cheek, and she dropped
+her eyes to the floor; but her voice betrayed no emotion when she
+proceeded--
+
+"I have warned you--I must still warn you--to go hence.  This man will
+destroy you, else.  He is a tyrant who knows no pity.  I, who am his
+fettered slave, know this.  Poor Miles, and Arthur, and my dear guardian,
+Sir Richard, are free of him, and at rest:  better that you were with
+them than that you bide here in the clutches of this miscreant.  Your
+pretensions are a menace to his title and possessions; you have assaulted
+him in his own house:  you are ruined if you stay.  Go--do not hesitate.
+If you lack money, take this purse, I beg of you, and bribe the servants
+to let you pass. Oh, be warned, poor soul, and escape while you may."
+
+Miles declined the purse with a gesture, and rose up and stood before
+her.
+
+"Grant me one thing," he said.  "Let your eyes rest upon mine, so that I
+may see if they be steady.  There--now answer me.  Am I Miles Hendon?"
+
+"No.  I know you not."
+
+"Swear it!"
+
+The answer was low, but distinct--
+
+"I swear."
+
+"Oh, this passes belief!"
+
+"Fly!  Why will you waste the precious time?  Fly, and save yourself."
+
+At that moment the officers burst into the room, and a violent struggle
+began; but Hendon was soon overpowered and dragged away. The King was
+taken also, and both were bound and led to prison.
+
+
+
+Chapter XXVII. In prison.
+
+The cells were all crowded; so the two friends were chained in a large
+room where persons charged with trifling offences were commonly kept.
+They had company, for there were some twenty manacled and fettered
+prisoners here, of both sexes and of varying ages,--an obscene and noisy
+gang.  The King chafed bitterly over the stupendous indignity thus put
+upon his royalty, but Hendon was moody and taciturn.  He was pretty
+thoroughly bewildered; he had come home, a jubilant prodigal, expecting
+to find everybody wild with joy over his return; and instead had got the
+cold shoulder and a jail.  The promise and the fulfilment differed so
+widely that the effect was stunning; he could not decide whether it was
+most tragic or most grotesque.  He felt much as a man might who had
+danced blithely out to enjoy a rainbow, and got struck by lightning.
+
+But gradually his confused and tormenting thoughts settled down into some
+sort of order, and then his mind centred itself upon Edith.  He turned
+her conduct over, and examined it in all lights, but he could not make
+anything satisfactory out of it.  Did she know him--or didn't she know
+him?  It was a perplexing puzzle, and occupied him a long time; but he
+ended, finally, with the conviction that she did know him, and had
+repudiated him for interested reasons.  He wanted to load her name with
+curses now; but this name had so long been sacred to him that he found he
+could not bring his tongue to profane it.
+
+Wrapped in prison blankets of a soiled and tattered condition, Hendon and
+the King passed a troubled night.  For a bribe the jailer had furnished
+liquor to some of the prisoners; singing of ribald songs, fighting,
+shouting, and carousing was the natural consequence.  At last, a while
+after midnight, a man attacked a woman and nearly killed her by beating
+her over the head with his manacles before the jailer could come to the
+rescue.  The jailer restored peace by giving the man a sound clubbing
+about the head and shoulders--then the carousing ceased; and after that,
+all had an opportunity to sleep who did not mind the annoyance of the
+moanings and groanings of the two wounded people.
+
+During the ensuing week, the days and nights were of a monotonous
+sameness as to events; men whose faces Hendon remembered more or less
+distinctly, came, by day, to gaze at the 'impostor' and repudiate and
+insult him; and by night the carousing and brawling went on with
+symmetrical regularity.  However, there was a change of incident at last.
+The jailer brought in an old man, and said to him--
+
+"The villain is in this room--cast thy old eyes about and see if thou
+canst say which is he."
+
+Hendon glanced up, and experienced a pleasant sensation for the first
+time since he had been in the jail.  He said to himself, "This is Blake
+Andrews, a servant all his life in my father's family--a good honest
+soul, with a right heart in his breast. That is, formerly.  But none are
+true now; all are liars.  This man will know me--and will deny me, too,
+like the rest."
+
+The old man gazed around the room, glanced at each face in turn, and
+finally said--
+
+"I see none here but paltry knaves, scum o' the streets.  Which is he?"
+
+The jailer laughed.
+
+"Here," he said; "scan this big animal, and grant me an opinion."
+
+The old man approached, and looked Hendon over, long and earnestly, then
+shook his head and said--
+
+"Marry, THIS is no Hendon--nor ever was!"
+
+"Right!  Thy old eyes are sound yet.  An' I were Sir Hugh, I would take
+the shabby carle and--"
+
+The jailer finished by lifting himself a-tip-toe with an imaginary
+halter, at the same time making a gurgling noise in his throat suggestive
+of suffocation.  The old man said, vindictively--
+
+"Let him bless God an' he fare no worse.  An' _I_ had the handling o' the
+villain he should roast, or I am no true man!"
+
+The jailer laughed a pleasant hyena laugh, and said--
+
+"Give him a piece of thy mind, old man--they all do it.  Thou'lt find it
+good diversion."
+
+Then he sauntered toward his ante-room and disappeared.  The old man
+dropped upon his knees and whispered--
+
+"God be thanked, thou'rt come again, my master!  I believed thou wert
+dead these seven years, and lo, here thou art alive!  I knew thee the
+moment I saw thee; and main hard work it was to keep a stony countenance
+and seem to see none here but tuppenny knaves and rubbish o' the streets.
+I am old and poor, Sir Miles; but say the word and I will go forth and
+proclaim the truth though I be strangled for it."
+
+"No," said Hendon; "thou shalt not.  It would ruin thee, and yet help but
+little in my cause.  But I thank thee, for thou hast given me back
+somewhat of my lost faith in my kind."
+
+The old servant became very valuable to Hendon and the King; for he
+dropped in several times a day to 'abuse' the former, and always smuggled
+in a few delicacies to help out the prison bill of fare; he also
+furnished the current news.  Hendon reserved the dainties for the King;
+without them his Majesty might not have survived, for he was not able to
+eat the coarse and wretched food provided by the jailer.  Andrews was
+obliged to confine himself to brief visits, in order to avoid suspicion;
+but he managed to impart a fair degree of information each time--
+information delivered in a low voice, for Hendon's benefit, and
+interlarded with insulting epithets delivered in a louder voice for the
+benefit of other hearers.
+
+So, little by little, the story of the family came out.  Arthur had been
+dead six years.  This loss, with the absence of news from Hendon,
+impaired the father's health; he believed he was going to die, and he
+wished to see Hugh and Edith settled in life before he passed away; but
+Edith begged hard for delay, hoping for Miles's return; then the letter
+came which brought the news of Miles's death; the shock prostrated Sir
+Richard; he believed his end was very near, and he and Hugh insisted upon
+the marriage; Edith begged for and obtained a month's respite, then
+another, and finally a third; the marriage then took place by the death-
+bed of Sir Richard.  It had not proved a happy one.  It was whispered
+about the country that shortly after the nuptials the bride found among
+her husband's papers several rough and incomplete drafts of the fatal
+letter, and had accused him of precipitating the marriage--and Sir
+Richard's death, too--by a wicked forgery. Tales of cruelty to the Lady
+Edith and the servants were to be heard on all hands; and since the
+father's death Sir Hugh had thrown off all soft disguises and become a
+pitiless master toward all who in any way depended upon him and his
+domains for bread.
+
+There was a bit of Andrew's gossip which the King listened to with a
+lively interest--
+
+"There is rumour that the King is mad.  But in charity forbear to say _I_
+mentioned it, for 'tis death to speak of it, they say."
+
+His Majesty glared at the old man and said--
+
+"The King is NOT mad, good man--and thou'lt find it to thy advantage to
+busy thyself with matters that nearer concern thee than this seditious
+prattle."
+
+"What doth the lad mean?" said Andrews, surprised at this brisk assault
+from such an unexpected quarter.  Hendon gave him a sign, and he did not
+pursue his question, but went on with his budget--
+
+"The late King is to be buried at Windsor in a day or two--the 16th of
+the month--and the new King will be crowned at Westminster the 20th."
+
+"Methinks they must needs find him first," muttered his Majesty; then
+added, confidently, "but they will look to that--and so also shall I."
+
+"In the name of--"
+
+But the old man got no further--a warning sign from Hendon checked his
+remark.  He resumed the thread of his gossip--
+
+"Sir Hugh goeth to the coronation--and with grand hopes.  He confidently
+looketh to come back a peer, for he is high in favour with the Lord
+Protector."
+
+"What Lord Protector?" asked his Majesty.
+
+"His Grace the Duke of Somerset."
+
+"What Duke of Somerset?"
+
+"Marry, there is but one--Seymour, Earl of Hertford."
+
+The King asked sharply--
+
+"Since when is HE a duke, and Lord Protector?"
+
+"Since the last day of January."
+
+"And prithee who made him so?"
+
+"Himself and the Great Council--with help of the King."
+
+His Majesty started violently.  "The KING!" he cried.  "WHAT king, good
+sir?"
+
+"What king, indeed! (God-a-mercy, what aileth the boy?)  Sith we have but
+one, 'tis not difficult to answer--his most sacred Majesty King Edward
+the Sixth--whom God preserve!  Yea, and a dear and gracious little urchin
+is he, too; and whether he be mad or no--and they say he mendeth daily--
+his praises are on all men's lips; and all bless him, likewise, and offer
+prayers that he may be spared to reign long in England; for he began
+humanely with saving the old Duke of Norfolk's life, and now is he bent
+on destroying the cruellest of the laws that harry and oppress the
+people."
+
+This news struck his Majesty dumb with amazement, and plunged him into so
+deep and dismal a reverie that he heard no more of the old man's gossip.
+He wondered if the 'little urchin' was the beggar-boy whom he left
+dressed in his own garments in the palace.  It did not seem possible that
+this could be, for surely his manners and speech would betray him if he
+pretended to be the Prince of Wales--then he would be driven out, and
+search made for the true prince.  Could it be that the Court had set up
+some sprig of the nobility in his place?  No, for his uncle would not
+allow that--he was all-powerful and could and would crush such a
+movement, of course.  The boy's musings profited him nothing; the more he
+tried to unriddle the mystery the more perplexed he became, the more his
+head ached, and the worse he slept.  His impatience to get to London grew
+hourly, and his captivity became almost unendurable.
+
+Hendon's arts all failed with the King--he could not be comforted; but a
+couple of women who were chained near him succeeded better. Under their
+gentle ministrations he found peace and learned a degree of patience.  He
+was very grateful, and came to love them dearly and to delight in the
+sweet and soothing influence of their presence.  He asked them why they
+were in prison, and when they said they were Baptists, he smiled, and
+inquired--
+
+"Is that a crime to be shut up for in a prison?  Now I grieve, for I
+shall lose ye--they will not keep ye long for such a little thing."
+
+They did not answer; and something in their faces made him uneasy. He
+said, eagerly--
+
+"You do not speak; be good to me, and tell me--there will be no other
+punishment?  Prithee tell me there is no fear of that."
+
+They tried to change the topic, but his fears were aroused, and he
+pursued it--
+
+"Will they scourge thee?  No, no, they would not be so cruel!  Say they
+would not.  Come, they WILL not, will they?"
+
+The women betrayed confusion and distress, but there was no avoiding an
+answer, so one of them said, in a voice choked with emotion--
+
+"Oh, thou'lt break our hearts, thou gentle spirit!--God will help us to
+bear our--"
+
+"It is a confession!" the King broke in.  "Then they WILL scourge thee,
+the stony-hearted wretches!  But oh, thou must not weep, I cannot bear
+it.  Keep up thy courage--I shall come to my own in time to save thee
+from this bitter thing, and I will do it!"
+
+When the King awoke in the morning, the women were gone.
+
+"They are saved!" he said, joyfully; then added, despondently, "but woe
+is me!--for they were my comforters."
+
+Each of them had left a shred of ribbon pinned to his clothing, in token
+of remembrance.  He said he would keep these things always; and that soon
+he would seek out these dear good friends of his and take them under his
+protection.
+
+Just then the jailer came in with some subordinates, and commanded that
+the prisoners be conducted to the jail-yard.  The King was overjoyed--it
+would be a blessed thing to see the blue sky and breathe the fresh air
+once more.  He fretted and chafed at the slowness of the officers, but
+his turn came at last, and he was released from his staple and ordered to
+follow the other prisoners with Hendon.
+
+The court or quadrangle was stone-paved, and open to the sky.  The
+prisoners entered it through a massive archway of masonry, and were
+placed in file, standing, with their backs against the wall. A rope was
+stretched in front of them, and they were also guarded by their officers.
+It was a chill and lowering morning, and a light snow which had fallen
+during the night whitened the great empty space and added to the general
+dismalness of its aspect. Now and then a wintry wind shivered through the
+place and sent the snow eddying hither and thither.
+
+In the centre of the court stood two women, chained to posts.  A glance
+showed the King that these were his good friends.  He shuddered, and said
+to himself, "Alack, they are not gone free, as I had thought.  To think
+that such as these should know the lash!--in England!  Ay, there's the
+shame of it--not in Heathennesse, Christian England!  They will be
+scourged; and I, whom they have comforted and kindly entreated, must look
+on and see the great wrong done; it is strange, so strange, that I, the
+very source of power in this broad realm, am helpless to protect them.
+But let these miscreants look well to themselves, for there is a day
+coming when I will require of them a heavy reckoning for this work.  For
+every blow they strike now, they shall feel a hundred then."
+
+A great gate swung open, and a crowd of citizens poured in.  They flocked
+around the two women, and hid them from the King's view. A clergyman
+entered and passed through the crowd, and he also was hidden.  The King
+now heard talking, back and forth, as if questions were being asked and
+answered, but he could not make out what was said.  Next there was a deal
+of bustle and preparation, and much passing and repassing of officials
+through that part of the crowd that stood on the further side of the
+women; and whilst this proceeded a deep hush gradually fell upon the
+people.
+
+Now, by command, the masses parted and fell aside, and the King saw a
+spectacle that froze the marrow in his bones.  Faggots had been piled
+about the two women, and a kneeling man was lighting them!
+
+The women bowed their heads, and covered their faces with their hands;
+the yellow flames began to climb upward among the snapping and crackling
+faggots, and wreaths of blue smoke to stream away on the wind; the
+clergyman lifted his hands and began a prayer--just then two young girls
+came flying through the great gate, uttering piercing screams, and threw
+themselves upon the women at the stake.  Instantly they were torn away by
+the officers, and one of them was kept in a tight grip, but the other
+broke loose, saying she would die with her mother; and before she could
+be stopped she had flung her arms about her mother's neck again.  She was
+torn away once more, and with her gown on fire.  Two or three men held
+her, and the burning portion of her gown was snatched off and thrown
+flaming aside, she struggling all the while to free herself, and saying
+she would be alone in the world, now; and begging to be allowed to die
+with her mother.  Both the girls screamed continually, and fought for
+freedom; but suddenly this tumult was drowned under a volley of heart-
+piercing shrieks of mortal agony--the King glanced from the frantic girls
+to the stake, then turned away and leaned his ashen face against the
+wall, and looked no more.  He said, "That which I have seen, in that one
+little moment, will never go out from my memory, but will abide there;
+and I shall see it all the days, and dream of it all the nights, till I
+die.  Would God I had been blind!"
+
+Hendon was watching the King.  He said to himself, with satisfaction,
+"His disorder mendeth; he hath changed, and groweth gentler.  If he had
+followed his wont, he would have stormed at these varlets, and said he
+was King, and commanded that the women be turned loose unscathed.  Soon
+his delusion will pass away and be forgotten, and his poor mind will be
+whole again.  God speed the day!"
+
+That same day several prisoners were brought in to remain over night, who
+were being conveyed, under guard, to various places in the kingdom, to
+undergo punishment for crimes committed.  The King conversed with these--
+he had made it a point, from the beginning, to instruct himself for the
+kingly office by questioning prisoners whenever the opportunity offered--
+and the tale of their woes wrung his heart.  One of them was a poor half-
+witted woman who had stolen a yard or two of cloth from a weaver--she was
+to be hanged for it.  Another was a man who had been accused of stealing
+a horse; he said the proof had failed, and he had imagined that he was
+safe from the halter; but no--he was hardly free before he was arraigned
+for killing a deer in the King's park; this was proved against him, and
+now he was on his way to the gallows.  There was a tradesman's apprentice
+whose case particularly distressed the King; this youth said he found a
+hawk, one evening, that had escaped from its owner, and he took it home
+with him, imagining himself entitled to it; but the court convicted him
+of stealing it, and sentenced him to death.
+
+The King was furious over these inhumanities, and wanted Hendon to break
+jail and fly with him to Westminster, so that he could mount his throne
+and hold out his sceptre in mercy over these unfortunate people and save
+their lives.  "Poor child," sighed Hendon, "these woeful tales have
+brought his malady upon him again; alack, but for this evil hap, he would
+have been well in a little time."
+
+Among these prisoners was an old lawyer--a man with a strong face and a
+dauntless mien.  Three years past, he had written a pamphlet against the
+Lord Chancellor, accusing him of injustice, and had been punished for it
+by the loss of his ears in the pillory, and degradation from the bar, and
+in addition had been fined 3,000 pounds and sentenced to imprisonment for
+life.  Lately he had repeated his offence; and in consequence was now
+under sentence to lose WHAT REMAINED OF HIS EARS, pay a fine of 5,000
+pounds, be branded on both cheeks, and remain in prison for life.
+
+"These be honourable scars," he said, and turned back his grey hair and
+showed the mutilated stubs of what had once been his ears.
+
+The King's eye burned with passion.  He said--
+
+"None believe in me--neither wilt thou.  But no matter--within the
+compass of a month thou shalt be free; and more, the laws that have
+dishonoured thee, and shamed the English name, shall be swept from the
+statute books.  The world is made wrong; kings should go to school to
+their own laws, at times, and so learn mercy." {1}
+
+
+
+Chapter XXVIII. The sacrifice.
+
+Meantime Miles was growing sufficiently tired of confinement and
+inaction.  But now his trial came on, to his great gratification, and he
+thought he could welcome any sentence provided a further imprisonment
+should not be a part of it.  But he was mistaken about that.  He was in a
+fine fury when he found himself described as a 'sturdy vagabond' and
+sentenced to sit two hours in the stocks for bearing that character and
+for assaulting the master of Hendon Hall.  His pretensions as to
+brothership with his prosecutor, and rightful heirship to the Hendon
+honours and estates, were left contemptuously unnoticed, as being not
+even worth examination.
+
+He raged and threatened on his way to punishment, but it did no good; he
+was snatched roughly along by the officers, and got an occasional cuff,
+besides, for his irreverent conduct.
+
+The King could not pierce through the rabble that swarmed behind; so he
+was obliged to follow in the rear, remote from his good friend and
+servant.  The King had been nearly condemned to the stocks himself for
+being in such bad company, but had been let off with a lecture and a
+warning, in consideration of his youth.  When the crowd at last halted,
+he flitted feverishly from point to point around its outer rim, hunting a
+place to get through; and at last, after a deal of difficulty and delay,
+succeeded.  There sat his poor henchman in the degrading stocks, the
+sport and butt of a dirty mob--he, the body servant of the King of
+England!  Edward had heard the sentence pronounced, but he had not
+realised the half that it meant.  His anger began to rise as the sense of
+this new indignity which had been put upon him sank home; it jumped to
+summer heat, the next moment, when he saw an egg sail through the air and
+crush itself against Hendon's cheek, and heard the crowd roar its
+enjoyment of the episode.  He sprang across the open circle and
+confronted the officer in charge, crying--
+
+"For shame!  This is my servant--set him free!  I am the--"
+
+"Oh, peace!" exclaimed Hendon, in a panic, "thou'lt destroy thyself.
+Mind him not, officer, he is mad."
+
+"Give thyself no trouble as to the matter of minding him, good man, I
+have small mind to mind him; but as to teaching him somewhat, to that I
+am well inclined."  He turned to a subordinate and said, "Give the little
+fool a taste or two of the lash, to mend his manners."
+
+"Half a dozen will better serve his turn," suggested Sir Hugh, who had
+ridden up, a moment before, to take a passing glance at the proceedings.
+
+The King was seized.  He did not even struggle, so paralysed was he with
+the mere thought of the monstrous outrage that was proposed to be
+inflicted upon his sacred person.  History was already defiled with the
+record of the scourging of an English king with whips--it was an
+intolerable reflection that he must furnish a duplicate of that shameful
+page.  He was in the toils, there was no help for him; he must either
+take this punishment or beg for its remission.  Hard conditions; he would
+take the stripes--a king might do that, but a king could not beg.
+
+But meantime, Miles Hendon was resolving the difficulty.  "Let the child
+go," said he; "ye heartless dogs, do ye not see how young and frail he
+is?  Let him go--I will take his lashes."
+
+"Marry, a good thought--and thanks for it," said Sir Hugh, his face
+lighting with a sardonic satisfaction.  "Let the little beggar go, and
+give this fellow a dozen in his place--an honest dozen, well laid on."
+The King was in the act of entering a fierce protest, but Sir Hugh
+silenced him with the potent remark, "Yes, speak up, do, and free thy
+mind--only, mark ye, that for each word you utter he shall get six
+strokes the more."
+
+Hendon was removed from the stocks, and his back laid bare; and whilst
+the lash was applied the poor little King turned away his face and
+allowed unroyal tears to channel his cheeks unchecked. "Ah, brave good
+heart," he said to himself, "this loyal deed shall never perish out of my
+memory.  I will not forget it--and neither shall THEY!" he added, with
+passion.  Whilst he mused, his appreciation of Hendon's magnanimous
+conduct grew to greater and still greater dimensions in his mind, and so
+also did his gratefulness for it.  Presently he said to himself, "Who
+saves his prince from wounds and possible death--and this he did for me--
+performs high service; but it is little--it is nothing--oh, less than
+nothing!--when 'tis weighed against the act of him who saves his prince
+from SHAME!"
+
+Hendon made no outcry under the scourge, but bore the heavy blows with
+soldierly fortitude.  This, together with his redeeming the boy by taking
+his stripes for him, compelled the respect of even that forlorn and
+degraded mob that was gathered there; and its gibes and hootings died
+away, and no sound remained but the sound of the falling blows.  The
+stillness that pervaded the place, when Hendon found himself once more in
+the stocks, was in strong contrast with the insulting clamour which had
+prevailed there so little a while before.  The King came softly to
+Hendon's side, and whispered in his ear--
+
+"Kings cannot ennoble thee, thou good, great soul, for One who is higher
+than kings hath done that for thee; but a king can confirm thy nobility
+to men."  He picked up the scourge from the ground, touched Hendon's
+bleeding shoulders lightly with it, and whispered, "Edward of England
+dubs thee Earl!"
+
+Hendon was touched.  The water welled to his eyes, yet at the same time
+the grisly humour of the situation and circumstances so undermined his
+gravity that it was all he could do to keep some sign of his inward mirth
+from showing outside.  To be suddenly hoisted, naked and gory, from the
+common stocks to the Alpine altitude and splendour of an Earldom, seemed
+to him the last possibility in the line of the grotesque.  He said to
+himself, "Now am I finely tinselled, indeed!  The spectre-knight of the
+Kingdom of Dreams and Shadows is become a spectre-earl--a dizzy flight
+for a callow wing!  An' this go on, I shall presently be hung like a very
+maypole with fantastic gauds and make-believe honours.  But I shall value
+them, all valueless as they are, for the love that doth bestow them.
+Better these poor mock dignities of mine, that come unasked, from a clean
+hand and a right spirit, than real ones bought by servility from grudging
+and interested power."
+
+The dreaded Sir Hugh wheeled his horse about, and as he spurred away, the
+living wall divided silently to let him pass, and as silently closed
+together again.  And so remained; nobody went so far as to venture a
+remark in favour of the prisoner, or in compliment to him; but no matter
+--the absence of abuse was a sufficient homage in itself.  A late comer
+who was not posted as to the present circumstances, and who delivered a
+sneer at the 'impostor,' and was in the act of following it with a dead
+cat, was promptly knocked down and kicked out, without any words, and
+then the deep quiet resumed sway once more.
+
+
+
+Chapter XXIX. To London.
+
+When Hendon's term of service in the stocks was finished, he was released
+and ordered to quit the region and come back no more. His sword was
+restored to him, and also his mule and his donkey. He mounted and rode
+off, followed by the King, the crowd opening with quiet respectfulness to
+let them pass, and then dispersing when they were gone.
+
+Hendon was soon absorbed in thought.  There were questions of high import
+to be answered.  What should he do?  Whither should he go? Powerful help
+must be found somewhere, or he must relinquish his inheritance and remain
+under the imputation of being an impostor besides.  Where could he hope
+to find this powerful help?  Where, indeed!  It was a knotty question.
+By-and-by a thought occurred to him which pointed to a possibility--the
+slenderest of slender possibilities, certainly, but still worth
+considering, for lack of any other that promised anything at all.  He
+remembered what old Andrews had said about the young King's goodness and
+his generous championship of the wronged and unfortunate.  Why not go and
+try to get speech of him and beg for justice?  Ah, yes, but could so
+fantastic a pauper get admission to the august presence of a monarch?
+Never mind--let that matter take care of itself; it was a bridge that
+would not need to be crossed till he should come to it.  He was an old
+campaigner, and used to inventing shifts and expedients:  no doubt he
+would be able to find a way.  Yes, he would strike for the capital.
+Maybe his father's old friend Sir Humphrey Marlow would help him--'good
+old Sir Humphrey, Head Lieutenant of the late King's kitchen, or stables,
+or something'--Miles could not remember just what or which.  Now that he
+had something to turn his energies to, a distinctly defined object to
+accomplish, the fog of humiliation and depression which had settled down
+upon his spirits lifted and blew away, and he raised his head and looked
+about him.  He was surprised to see how far he had come; the village was
+away behind him.  The King was jogging along in his wake, with his head
+bowed; for he, too, was deep in plans and thinkings.  A sorrowful
+misgiving clouded Hendon's new-born cheerfulness:  would the boy be
+willing to go again to a city where, during all his brief life, he had
+never known anything but ill-usage and pinching want?  But the question
+must be asked; it could not be avoided; so Hendon reined up, and called
+out--
+
+"I had forgotten to inquire whither we are bound.  Thy commands, my
+liege!"
+
+"To London!"
+
+Hendon moved on again, mightily contented with the answer--but astounded
+at it too.
+
+The whole journey was made without an adventure of importance. But it
+ended with one.  About ten o'clock on the night of the 19th of February
+they stepped upon London Bridge, in the midst of a writhing, struggling
+jam of howling and hurrahing people, whose beer-jolly faces stood out
+strongly in the glare from manifold torches--and at that instant the
+decaying head of some former duke or other grandee tumbled down between
+them, striking Hendon on the elbow and then bounding off among the
+hurrying confusion of feet. So evanescent and unstable are men's works in
+this world!--the late good King is but three weeks dead and three days in
+his grave, and already the adornments which he took such pains to select
+from prominent people for his noble bridge are falling.  A citizen
+stumbled over that head, and drove his own head into the back of somebody
+in front of him, who turned and knocked down the first person that came
+handy, and was promptly laid out himself by that person's friend.  It was
+the right ripe time for a free fight, for the festivities of the morrow--
+Coronation Day--were already beginning; everybody was full of strong
+drink and patriotism; within five minutes the free fight was occupying a
+good deal of ground; within ten or twelve it covered an acre of so, and
+was become a riot.  By this time Hendon and the King were hopelessly
+separated from each other and lost in the rush and turmoil of the roaring
+masses of humanity.  And so we leave them.
+
+
+
+Chapter XXX. Tom's progress.
+
+Whilst the true King wandered about the land poorly clad, poorly fed,
+cuffed and derided by tramps one while, herding with thieves and
+murderers in a jail another, and called idiot and impostor by all
+impartially, the mock King Tom Canty enjoyed quite a different
+experience.
+
+When we saw him last, royalty was just beginning to have a bright side
+for him.  This bright side went on brightening more and more every day:
+in a very little while it was become almost all sunshine and
+delightfulness.  He lost his fears; his misgivings faded out and died;
+his embarrassments departed, and gave place to an easy and confident
+bearing.  He worked the whipping-boy mine to ever-increasing profit.
+
+He ordered my Lady Elizabeth and my Lady Jane Grey into his presence when
+he wanted to play or talk, and dismissed them when he was done with them,
+with the air of one familiarly accustomed to such performances.  It no
+longer confused him to have these lofty personages kiss his hand at
+parting.
+
+He came to enjoy being conducted to bed in state at night, and dressed
+with intricate and solemn ceremony in the morning.  It came to be a proud
+pleasure to march to dinner attended by a glittering procession of
+officers of state and gentlemen-at-arms; insomuch, indeed, that he
+doubled his guard of gentlemen-at-arms, and made them a hundred.  He
+liked to hear the bugles sounding down the long corridors, and the
+distant voices responding, "Way for the King!"
+
+He even learned to enjoy sitting in throned state in council, and seeming
+to be something more than the Lord Protector's mouthpiece. He liked to
+receive great ambassadors and their gorgeous trains, and listen to the
+affectionate messages they brought from illustrious monarchs who called
+him brother.  O happy Tom Canty, late of Offal Court!
+
+He enjoyed his splendid clothes, and ordered more:  he found his four
+hundred servants too few for his proper grandeur, and trebled them.  The
+adulation of salaaming courtiers came to be sweet music to his ears.  He
+remained kind and gentle, and a sturdy and determined champion of all
+that were oppressed, and he made tireless war upon unjust laws:  yet upon
+occasion, being offended, he could turn upon an earl, or even a duke, and
+give him a look that would make him tremble.  Once, when his royal
+'sister,' the grimly holy Lady Mary, set herself to reason with him
+against the wisdom of his course in pardoning so many people who would
+otherwise be jailed, or hanged, or burned, and reminded him that their
+august late father's prisons had sometimes contained as high as sixty
+thousand convicts at one time, and that during his admirable reign he had
+delivered seventy-two thousand thieves and robbers over to death by the
+executioner, {9} the boy was filled with generous indignation, and
+commanded her to go to her closet, and beseech God to take away the stone
+that was in her breast, and give her a human heart.
+
+Did Tom Canty never feel troubled about the poor little rightful prince
+who had treated him so kindly, and flown out with such hot zeal to avenge
+him upon the insolent sentinel at the palace-gate? Yes; his first royal
+days and nights were pretty well sprinkled with painful thoughts about
+the lost prince, and with sincere longings for his return, and happy
+restoration to his native rights and splendours.  But as time wore on,
+and the prince did not come, Tom's mind became more and more occupied
+with his new and enchanting experiences, and by little and little the
+vanished monarch faded almost out of his thoughts; and finally, when he
+did intrude upon them at intervals, he was become an unwelcome spectre,
+for he made Tom feel guilty and ashamed.
+
+Tom's poor mother and sisters travelled the same road out of his mind.
+At first he pined for them, sorrowed for them, longed to see them, but
+later, the thought of their coming some day in their rags and dirt, and
+betraying him with their kisses, and pulling him down from his lofty
+place, and dragging him back to penury and degradation and the slums,
+made him shudder.  At last they ceased to trouble his thoughts almost
+wholly.  And he was content, even glad:  for, whenever their mournful and
+accusing faces did rise before him now, they made him feel more
+despicable than the worms that crawl.
+
+At midnight of the 19th of February, Tom Canty was sinking to sleep in
+his rich bed in the palace, guarded by his loyal vassals, and surrounded
+by the pomps of royalty, a happy boy; for tomorrow was the day appointed
+for his solemn crowning as King of England. At that same hour, Edward,
+the true king, hungry and thirsty, soiled and draggled, worn with travel,
+and clothed in rags and shreds--his share of the results of the riot--was
+wedged in among a crowd of people who were watching with deep interest
+certain hurrying gangs of workmen who streamed in and out of Westminster
+Abbey, busy as ants:  they were making the last preparation for the royal
+coronation.
+
+
+
+Chapter XXXI. The Recognition procession.
+
+When Tom Canty awoke the next morning, the air was heavy with a
+thunderous murmur:  all the distances were charged with it.  It was music
+to him; for it meant that the English world was out in its strength to
+give loyal welcome to the great day.
+
+Presently Tom found himself once more the chief figure in a wonderful
+floating pageant on the Thames; for by ancient custom the 'recognition
+procession' through London must start from the Tower, and he was bound
+thither.
+
+When he arrived there, the sides of the venerable fortress seemed
+suddenly rent in a thousand places, and from every rent leaped a red
+tongue of flame and a white gush of smoke; a deafening explosion
+followed, which drowned the shoutings of the multitude, and made the
+ground tremble; the flame-jets, the smoke, and the explosions, were
+repeated over and over again with marvellous celerity, so that in a few
+moments the old Tower disappeared in the vast fog of its own smoke, all
+but the very top of the tall pile called the White Tower; this, with its
+banners, stood out above the dense bank of vapour as a mountain-peak
+projects above a cloud-rack.
+
+Tom Canty, splendidly arrayed, mounted a prancing war-steed, whose rich
+trappings almost reached to the ground; his 'uncle,' the Lord Protector
+Somerset, similarly mounted, took place in his rear; the King's Guard
+formed in single ranks on either side, clad in burnished armour; after
+the Protector followed a seemingly interminable procession of resplendent
+nobles attended by their vassals; after these came the lord mayor and the
+aldermanic body, in crimson velvet robes, and with their gold chains
+across their breasts; and after these the officers and members of all the
+guilds of London, in rich raiment, and bearing the showy banners of the
+several corporations.  Also in the procession, as a special guard of
+honour through the city, was the Ancient and Honourable Artillery
+Company--an organisation already three hundred years old at that time,
+and the only military body in England possessing the privilege (which it
+still possesses in our day) of holding itself independent of the commands
+of Parliament.  It was a brilliant spectacle, and was hailed with
+acclamations all along the line, as it took its stately way through the
+packed multitudes of citizens. The chronicler says, 'The King, as he
+entered the city, was received by the people with prayers, welcomings,
+cries, and tender words, and all signs which argue an earnest love of
+subjects toward their sovereign; and the King, by holding up his glad
+countenance to such as stood afar off, and most tender language to those
+that stood nigh his Grace, showed himself no less thankful to receive the
+people's goodwill than they to offer it.  To all that wished him well, he
+gave thanks.  To such as bade "God save his Grace," he said in return,
+"God save you all!" and added that "he thanked them with all his heart."
+Wonderfully transported were the people with the loving answers and
+gestures of their King.'
+
+In Fenchurch Street a 'fair child, in costly apparel,' stood on a stage
+to welcome his Majesty to the city.  The last verse of his greeting was
+in these words--
+
+'Welcome, O King! as much as hearts can think; Welcome, again, as much as
+tongue can tell,--Welcome to joyous tongues, and hearts that will not
+shrink: God thee preserve, we pray, and wish thee ever well.'
+
+The people burst forth in a glad shout, repeating with one voice what the
+child had said.  Tom Canty gazed abroad over the surging sea of eager
+faces, and his heart swelled with exultation; and he felt that the one
+thing worth living for in this world was to be a king, and a nation's
+idol.  Presently he caught sight, at a distance, of a couple of his
+ragged Offal Court comrades--one of them the lord high admiral in his
+late mimic court, the other the first lord of the bedchamber in the same
+pretentious fiction; and his pride swelled higher than ever.  Oh, if they
+could only recognise him now!  What unspeakable glory it would be, if
+they could recognise him, and realise that the derided mock king of the
+slums and back alleys was become a real King, with illustrious dukes and
+princes for his humble menials, and the English world at his feet!  But
+he had to deny himself, and choke down his desire, for such a recognition
+might cost more than it would come to:  so he turned away his head, and
+left the two soiled lads to go on with their shoutings and glad
+adulations, unsuspicious of whom it was they were lavishing them upon.
+
+Every now and then rose the cry, "A largess! a largess!" and Tom
+responded by scattering a handful of bright new coins abroad for the
+multitude to scramble for.
+
+The chronicler says, 'At the upper end of Gracechurch Street, before the
+sign of the Eagle, the city had erected a gorgeous arch, beneath which
+was a stage, which stretched from one side of the street to the other.
+This was an historical pageant, representing the King's immediate
+progenitors.  There sat Elizabeth of York in the midst of an immense
+white rose, whose petals formed elaborate furbelows around her; by her
+side was Henry VII., issuing out of a vast red rose, disposed in the same
+manner:  the hands of the royal pair were locked together, and the
+wedding-ring ostentatiously displayed.  From the red and white roses
+proceeded a stem, which reached up to a second stage, occupied by Henry
+VIII., issuing from a red and white rose, with the effigy of the new
+King's mother, Jane Seymour, represented by his side.  One branch sprang
+from this pair, which mounted to a third stage, where sat the effigy of
+Edward VI. himself, enthroned in royal majesty; and the whole pageant was
+framed with wreaths of roses, red and white.'
+
+This quaint and gaudy spectacle so wrought upon the rejoicing people,
+that their acclamations utterly smothered the small voice of the child
+whose business it was to explain the thing in eulogistic rhymes.  But Tom
+Canty was not sorry; for this loyal uproar was sweeter music to him than
+any poetry, no matter what its quality might be.  Whithersoever Tom
+turned his happy young face, the people recognised the exactness of his
+effigy's likeness to himself, the flesh and blood counterpart; and new
+whirlwinds of applause burst forth.
+
+The great pageant moved on, and still on, under one triumphal arch after
+another, and past a bewildering succession of spectacular and symbolical
+tableaux, each of which typified and exalted some virtue, or talent, or
+merit, of the little King's.  'Throughout the whole of Cheapside, from
+every penthouse and window, hung banners and streamers; and the richest
+carpets, stuffs, and cloth-of-gold tapestried the streets--specimens of
+the great wealth of the stores within; and the splendour of this
+thoroughfare was equalled in the other streets, and in some even
+surpassed.'
+
+"And all these wonders and these marvels are to welcome me--me!" murmured
+Tom Canty.
+
+The mock King's cheeks were flushed with excitement, his eyes were
+flashing, his senses swam in a delirium of pleasure.  At this point, just
+as he was raising his hand to fling another rich largess, he caught sight
+of a pale, astounded face, which was strained forward out of the second
+rank of the crowd, its intense eyes riveted upon him.  A sickening
+consternation struck through him; he recognised his mother! and up flew
+his hand, palm outward, before his eyes--that old involuntary gesture,
+born of a forgotten episode, and perpetuated by habit.  In an instant
+more she had torn her way out of the press, and past the guards, and was
+at his side.  She embraced his leg, she covered it with kisses, she
+cried, "O my child, my darling!" lifting toward him a face that was
+transfigured with joy and love.  The same instant an officer of the
+King's Guard snatched her away with a curse, and sent her reeling back
+whence she came with a vigorous impulse from his strong arm.  The words
+"I do not know you, woman!" were falling from Tom Canty's lips when this
+piteous thing occurred; but it smote him to the heart to see her treated
+so; and as she turned for a last glimpse of him, whilst the crowd was
+swallowing her from his sight, she seemed so wounded, so broken-hearted,
+that a shame fell upon him which consumed his pride to ashes, and
+withered his stolen royalty.  His grandeurs were stricken valueless:
+they seemed to fall away from him like rotten rags.
+
+The procession moved on, and still on, through ever augmenting splendours
+and ever augmenting tempests of welcome; but to Tom Canty they were as if
+they had not been.  He neither saw nor heard.  Royalty had lost its grace
+and sweetness; its pomps were become a reproach.  Remorse was eating his
+heart out.  He said, "Would God I were free of my captivity!"
+
+He had unconsciously dropped back into the phraseology of the first days
+of his compulsory greatness.
+
+The shining pageant still went winding like a radiant and interminable
+serpent down the crooked lanes of the quaint old city, and through the
+huzzaing hosts; but still the King rode with bowed head and vacant eyes,
+seeing only his mother's face and that wounded look in it.
+
+"Largess, largess!"  The cry fell upon an unheeding ear.
+
+"Long live Edward of England!"  It seemed as if the earth shook with the
+explosion; but there was no response from the King.  He heard it only as
+one hears the thunder of the surf when it is blown to the ear out of a
+great distance, for it was smothered under another sound which was still
+nearer, in his own breast, in his accusing conscience--a voice which kept
+repeating those shameful words, "I do not know you, woman!"
+
+The words smote upon the King's soul as the strokes of a funeral bell
+smite upon the soul of a surviving friend when they remind him of secret
+treacheries suffered at his hands by him that is gone.
+
+New glories were unfolded at every turning; new wonders, new marvels,
+sprang into view; the pent clamours of waiting batteries were released;
+new raptures poured from the throats of the waiting multitudes:  but the
+King gave no sign, and the accusing voice that went moaning through his
+comfortless breast was all the sound he heard.
+
+By-and-by the gladness in the faces of the populace changed a little, and
+became touched with a something like solicitude or anxiety:  an abatement
+in the volume of the applause was observable too.  The Lord Protector was
+quick to notice these things:  he was as quick to detect the cause.  He
+spurred to the King's side, bent low in his saddle, uncovered, and said--
+
+"My liege, it is an ill time for dreaming.  The people observe thy
+downcast head, thy clouded mien, and they take it for an omen.  Be
+advised:  unveil the sun of royalty, and let it shine upon these boding
+vapours, and disperse them.  Lift up thy face, and smile upon the
+people."
+
+So saying, the Duke scattered a handful of coins to right and left, then
+retired to his place.  The mock King did mechanically as he had been
+bidden.  His smile had no heart in it, but few eyes were near enough or
+sharp enough to detect that.  The noddings of his plumed head as he
+saluted his subjects were full of grace and graciousness; the largess
+which he delivered from his hand was royally liberal:  so the people's
+anxiety vanished, and the acclamations burst forth again in as mighty a
+volume as before.
+
+Still once more, a little before the progress was ended, the Duke was
+obliged to ride forward, and make remonstrance.  He whispered--
+
+"O dread sovereign! shake off these fatal humours; the eyes of the world
+are upon thee."  Then he added with sharp annoyance, "Perdition catch
+that crazy pauper! 'twas she that hath disturbed your Highness."
+
+The gorgeous figure turned a lustreless eye upon the Duke, and said in a
+dead voice--
+
+"She was my mother!"
+
+"My God!" groaned the Protector as he reined his horse backward to his
+post, "the omen was pregnant with prophecy.  He is gone mad again!"
+
+
+
+Chapter XXXII. Coronation Day.
+
+Let us go backward a few hours, and place ourselves in Westminster Abbey,
+at four o'clock in the morning of this memorable Coronation Day.  We are
+not without company; for although it is still night, we find the torch-
+lighted galleries already filling up with people who are well content to
+sit still and wait seven or eight hours till the time shall come for them
+to see what they may not hope to see twice in their lives--the coronation
+of a King.  Yes, London and Westminster have been astir ever since the
+warning guns boomed at three o'clock, and already crowds of untitled rich
+folk who have bought the privilege of trying to find sitting-room in the
+galleries are flocking in at the entrances reserved for their sort.
+
+The hours drag along tediously enough.  All stir has ceased for some
+time, for every gallery has long ago been packed.  We may sit, now, and
+look and think at our leisure.  We have glimpses, here and there and
+yonder, through the dim cathedral twilight, of portions of many galleries
+and balconies, wedged full with other people, the other portions of these
+galleries and balconies being cut off from sight by intervening pillars
+and architectural projections.  We have in view the whole of the great
+north transept--empty, and waiting for England's privileged ones.  We see
+also the ample area or platform, carpeted with rich stuffs, whereon the
+throne stands.  The throne occupies the centre of the platform, and is
+raised above it upon an elevation of four steps. Within the seat of the
+throne is enclosed a rough flat rock--the stone of Scone--which many
+generations of Scottish kings sat on to be crowned, and so it in time
+became holy enough to answer a like purpose for English monarchs.  Both
+the throne and its footstool are covered with cloth of gold.
+
+Stillness reigns, the torches blink dully, the time drags heavily. But at
+last the lagging daylight asserts itself, the torches are extinguished,
+and a mellow radiance suffuses the great spaces. All features of the
+noble building are distinct now, but soft and dreamy, for the sun is
+lightly veiled with clouds.
+
+At seven o'clock the first break in the drowsy monotony occurs; for on
+the stroke of this hour the first peeress enters the transept, clothed
+like Solomon for splendour, and is conducted to her appointed place by an
+official clad in satins and velvets, whilst a duplicate of him gathers up
+the lady's long train, follows after, and, when the lady is seated,
+arranges the train across her lap for her.  He then places her footstool
+according to her desire, after which he puts her coronet where it will be
+convenient to her hand when the time for the simultaneous coroneting of
+the nobles shall arrive.
+
+By this time the peeresses are flowing in in a glittering stream, and the
+satin-clad officials are flitting and glinting everywhere, seating them
+and making them comfortable.  The scene is animated enough now.  There is
+stir and life, and shifting colour everywhere.  After a time, quiet
+reigns again; for the peeresses are all come and are all in their places,
+a solid acre or such a matter, of human flowers, resplendent in
+variegated colours, and frosted like a Milky Way with diamonds.  There
+are all ages here: brown, wrinkled, white-haired dowagers who are able to
+go back, and still back, down the stream of time, and recall the crowning
+of Richard III. and the troublous days of that old forgotten age; and
+there are handsome middle-aged dames; and lovely and gracious young
+matrons; and gentle and beautiful young girls, with beaming eyes and
+fresh complexions, who may possibly put on their jewelled coronets
+awkwardly when the great time comes; for the matter will be new to them,
+and their excitement will be a sore hindrance. Still, this may not
+happen, for the hair of all these ladies has been arranged with a special
+view to the swift and successful lodging of the crown in its place when
+the signal comes.
+
+We have seen that this massed array of peeresses is sown thick with
+diamonds, and we also see that it is a marvellous spectacle--but now we
+are about to be astonished in earnest.  About nine, the clouds suddenly
+break away and a shaft of sunshine cleaves the mellow atmosphere, and
+drifts slowly along the ranks of ladies; and every rank it touches flames
+into a dazzling splendour of many-coloured fires, and we tingle to our
+finger-tips with the electric thrill that is shot through us by the
+surprise and the beauty of the spectacle!  Presently a special envoy from
+some distant corner of the Orient, marching with the general body of
+foreign ambassadors, crosses this bar of sunshine, and we catch our
+breath, the glory that streams and flashes and palpitates about him is so
+overpowering; for he is crusted from head to heel with gems, and his
+slightest movement showers a dancing radiance all around him.
+
+Let us change the tense for convenience.  The time drifted along--one
+hour--two hours--two hours and a half; then the deep booming of artillery
+told that the King and his grand procession had arrived at last; so the
+waiting multitude rejoiced.  All knew that a further delay must follow,
+for the King must be prepared and robed for the solemn ceremony; but this
+delay would be pleasantly occupied by the assembling of the peers of the
+realm in their stately robes.  These were conducted ceremoniously to
+their seats, and their coronets placed conveniently at hand; and
+meanwhile the multitude in the galleries were alive with interest, for
+most of them were beholding for the first time, dukes, earls, and barons,
+whose names had been historical for five hundred years.  When all were
+finally seated, the spectacle from the galleries and all coigns of
+vantage was complete; a gorgeous one to look upon and to remember.
+
+Now the robed and mitred great heads of the church, and their attendants,
+filed in upon the platform and took their appointed places; these were
+followed by the Lord Protector and other great officials, and these again
+by a steel-clad detachment of the Guard.
+
+There was a waiting pause; then, at a signal, a triumphant peal of music
+burst forth, and Tom Canty, clothed in a long robe of cloth of gold,
+appeared at a door, and stepped upon the platform.  The entire multitude
+rose, and the ceremony of the Recognition ensued.
+
+Then a noble anthem swept the Abbey with its rich waves of sound; and
+thus heralded and welcomed, Tom Canty was conducted to the throne.  The
+ancient ceremonies went on, with impressive solemnity, whilst the
+audience gazed; and as they drew nearer and nearer to completion, Tom
+Canty grew pale, and still paler, and a deep and steadily deepening woe
+and despondency settled down upon his spirits and upon his remorseful
+heart.
+
+At last the final act was at hand.  The Archbishop of Canterbury lifted
+up the crown of England from its cushion and held it out over the
+trembling mock-King's head.  In the same instant a rainbow-radiance
+flashed along the spacious transept; for with one impulse every
+individual in the great concourse of nobles lifted a coronet and poised
+it over his or her head--and paused in that attitude.
+
+A deep hush pervaded the Abbey.  At this impressive moment, a startling
+apparition intruded upon the scene--an apparition observed by none in the
+absorbed multitude, until it suddenly appeared, moving up the great
+central aisle.  It was a boy, bareheaded, ill shod, and clothed in coarse
+plebeian garments that were falling to rags.  He raised his hand with a
+solemnity which ill comported with his soiled and sorry aspect, and
+delivered this note of warning--
+
+"I forbid you to set the crown of England upon that forfeited head.  I am
+the King!"
+
+In an instant several indignant hands were laid upon the boy; but in the
+same instant Tom Canty, in his regal vestments, made a swift step
+forward, and cried out in a ringing voice--
+
+"Loose him and forbear!  He IS the King!"
+
+A sort of panic of astonishment swept the assemblage, and they partly
+rose in their places and stared in a bewildered way at one another and at
+the chief figures in this scene, like persons who wondered whether they
+were awake and in their senses, or asleep and dreaming.  The Lord
+Protector was as amazed as the rest, but quickly recovered himself, and
+exclaimed in a voice of authority--
+
+"Mind not his Majesty, his malady is upon him again--seize the vagabond!"
+
+He would have been obeyed, but the mock-King stamped his foot and cried
+out--
+
+"On your peril!  Touch him not, he is the King!"
+
+The hands were withheld; a paralysis fell upon the house; no one moved,
+no one spoke; indeed, no one knew how to act or what to say, in so
+strange and surprising an emergency.  While all minds were struggling to
+right themselves, the boy still moved steadily forward, with high port
+and confident mien; he had never halted from the beginning; and while the
+tangled minds still floundered helplessly, he stepped upon the platform,
+and the mock-King ran with a glad face to meet him; and fell on his knees
+before him and said--
+
+"Oh, my lord the King, let poor Tom Canty be first to swear fealty to
+thee, and say, 'Put on thy crown and enter into thine own again!'"
+
+The Lord Protector's eye fell sternly upon the new-comer's face; but
+straightway the sternness vanished away, and gave place to an expression
+of wondering surprise.  This thing happened also to the other great
+officers.  They glanced at each other, and retreated a step by a common
+and unconscious impulse.  The thought in each mind was the same:  "What a
+strange resemblance!"
+
+The Lord Protector reflected a moment or two in perplexity, then he said,
+with grave respectfulness--
+
+"By your favour, sir, I desire to ask certain questions which--"
+
+"I will answer them, my lord."
+
+The Duke asked him many questions about the Court, the late King, the
+prince, the princesses--the boy answered them correctly and without
+hesitating.  He described the rooms of state in the palace, the late
+King's apartments, and those of the Prince of Wales.
+
+It was strange; it was wonderful; yes, it was unaccountable--so all said
+that heard it.  The tide was beginning to turn, and Tom Canty's hopes to
+run high, when the Lord Protector shook his head and said--
+
+"It is true it is most wonderful--but it is no more than our lord the
+King likewise can do."  This remark, and this reference to himself as
+still the King, saddened Tom Canty, and he felt his hopes crumbling from
+under him.  "These are not PROOFS," added the Protector.
+
+The tide was turning very fast now, very fast indeed--but in the wrong
+direction; it was leaving poor Tom Canty stranded on the throne, and
+sweeping the other out to sea.  The Lord Protector communed with himself
+--shook his head--the thought forced itself upon him, "It is perilous to
+the State and to us all, to entertain so fateful a riddle as this; it
+could divide the nation and undermine the throne."  He turned and said--
+
+"Sir Thomas, arrest this--No, hold!"  His face lighted, and he confronted
+the ragged candidate with this question--
+
+"Where lieth the Great Seal?  Answer me this truly, and the riddle is
+unriddled; for only he that was Prince of Wales CAN so answer! On so
+trivial a thing hang a throne and a dynasty!"
+
+It was a lucky thought, a happy thought.  That it was so considered by
+the great officials was manifested by the silent applause that shot from
+eye to eye around their circle in the form of bright approving glances.
+Yes, none but the true prince could dissolve the stubborn mystery of the
+vanished Great Seal--this forlorn little impostor had been taught his
+lesson well, but here his teachings must fail, for his teacher himself
+could not answer THAT question--ah, very good, very good indeed; now we
+shall be rid of this troublesome and perilous business in short order!
+And so they nodded invisibly and smiled inwardly with satisfaction, and
+looked to see this foolish lad stricken with a palsy of guilty confusion.
+How surprised they were, then, to see nothing of the sort happen--how
+they marvelled to hear him answer up promptly, in a confident and
+untroubled voice, and say--
+
+"There is nought in this riddle that is difficult."  Then, without so
+much as a by-your-leave to anybody, he turned and gave this command, with
+the easy manner of one accustomed to doing such things: "My Lord St.
+John, go you to my private cabinet in the palace--for none knoweth the
+place better than you--and, close down to the floor, in the left corner
+remotest from the door that opens from the ante-chamber, you shall find
+in the wall a brazen nail-head; press upon it and a little jewel-closet
+will fly open which not even you do know of--no, nor any sould else in
+all the world but me and the trusty artisan that did contrive it for me.
+The first thing that falleth under your eye will be the Great Seal--fetch
+it hither."
+
+All the company wondered at this speech, and wondered still more to see
+the little mendicant pick out this peer without hesitancy or apparent
+fear of mistake, and call him by name with such a placidly convincing air
+of having known him all his life.  The peer was almost surprised into
+obeying.  He even made a movement as if to go, but quickly recovered his
+tranquil attitude and confessed his blunder with a blush.  Tom Canty
+turned upon him and said, sharply--
+
+"Why dost thou hesitate?  Hast not heard the King's command?  Go!"
+
+The Lord St. John made a deep obeisance--and it was observed that it was
+a significantly cautious and non-committal one, it not being delivered at
+either of the kings, but at the neutral ground about half-way between the
+two--and took his leave.
+
+Now began a movement of the gorgeous particles of that official group
+which was slow, scarcely perceptible, and yet steady and persistent--a
+movement such as is observed in a kaleidoscope that is turned slowly,
+whereby the components of one splendid cluster fall away and join
+themselves to another--a movement which, little by little, in the present
+case, dissolved the glittering crowd that stood about Tom Canty and
+clustered it together again in the neighbourhood of the new-comer.  Tom
+Canty stood almost alone. Now ensued a brief season of deep suspense and
+waiting--during which even the few faint hearts still remaining near Tom
+Canty gradually scraped together courage enough to glide, one by one,
+over to the majority.  So at last Tom Canty, in his royal robes and
+jewels, stood wholly alone and isolated from the world, a conspicuous
+figure, occupying an eloquent vacancy.
+
+Now the Lord St. John was seen returning.  As he advanced up the mid-
+aisle the interest was so intense that the low murmur of conversation in
+the great assemblage died out and was succeeded by a profound hush, a
+breathless stillness, through which his footfalls pulsed with a dull and
+distant sound.  Every eye was fastened upon him as he moved along.  He
+reached the platform, paused a moment, then moved toward Tom Canty with a
+deep obeisance, and said--
+
+"Sire, the Seal is not there!"
+
+A mob does not melt away from the presence of a plague-patient with more
+haste than the band of pallid and terrified courtiers melted away from
+the presence of the shabby little claimant of the Crown.  In a moment he
+stood all alone, without friend or supporter, a target upon which was
+concentrated a bitter fire of scornful and angry looks.  The Lord
+Protector called out fiercely--
+
+"Cast the beggar into the street, and scourge him through the town--the
+paltry knave is worth no more consideration!"
+
+Officers of the guard sprang forward to obey, but Tom Canty waved them
+off and said--
+
+"Back!  Whoso touches him perils his life!"
+
+The Lord Protector was perplexed in the last degree.  He said to the Lord
+St. John--
+
+"Searched you well?--but it boots not to ask that.  It doth seem passing
+strange.  Little things, trifles, slip out of one's ken, and one does not
+think it matter for surprise; but how so bulky a thing as the Seal of
+England can vanish away and no man be able to get track of it again--a
+massy golden disk--"
+
+Tom Canty, with beaming eyes, sprang forward and shouted--
+
+"Hold, that is enough!  Was it round?--and thick?--and had it letters and
+devices graved upon it?--yes?  Oh, NOW I know what this Great Seal is
+that there's been such worry and pother about. An' ye had described it to
+me, ye could have had it three weeks ago.  Right well I know where it
+lies; but it was not I that put it there--first."
+
+"Who, then, my liege?" asked the Lord Protector.
+
+"He that stands there--the rightful King of England.  And he shall tell
+you himself where it lies--then you will believe he knew it of his own
+knowledge.  Bethink thee, my King--spur thy memory--it was the last, the
+very LAST thing thou didst that day before thou didst rush forth from the
+palace, clothed in my rags, to punish the soldier that insulted me."
+
+A silence ensued, undisturbed by a movement or a whisper, and all eyes
+were fixed upon the new-comer, who stood, with bent head and corrugated
+brow, groping in his memory among a thronging multitude of valueless
+recollections for one single little elusive fact, which, found, would
+seat him upon a throne--unfound, would leave him as he was, for good and
+all--a pauper and an outcast.  Moment after moment passed--the moments
+built themselves into minutes--still the boy struggled silently on, and
+gave no sign.  But at last he heaved a sigh, shook his head slowly, and
+said, with a trembling lip and in a despondent voice--
+
+"I call the scene back--all of it--but the Seal hath no place in it."  He
+paused, then looked up, and said with gentle dignity, "My lords and
+gentlemen, if ye will rob your rightful sovereign of his own for lack of
+this evidence which he is not able to furnish, I may not stay ye, being
+powerless.  But--"
+
+"Oh, folly, oh, madness, my King!" cried Tom Canty, in a panic, "wait!--
+think!  Do not give up!--the cause is not lost!  Nor SHALL be, neither!
+List to what I say--follow every word--I am going to bring that morning
+back again, every hap just as it happened.  We talked--I told you of my
+sisters, Nan and Bet--ah, yes, you remember that; and about mine old
+grandam--and the rough games of the lads of Offal Court--yes, you
+remember these things also; very well, follow me still, you shall recall
+everything.  You gave me food and drink, and did with princely courtesy
+send away the servants, so that my low breeding might not shame me before
+them--ah, yes, this also you remember."
+
+As Tom checked off his details, and the other boy nodded his head in
+recognition of them, the great audience and the officials stared in
+puzzled wonderment; the tale sounded like true history, yet how could
+this impossible conjunction between a prince and a beggar-boy have come
+about?  Never was a company of people so perplexed, so interested, and so
+stupefied, before.
+
+"For a jest, my prince, we did exchange garments.  Then we stood before a
+mirror; and so alike were we that both said it seemed as if there had
+been no change made--yes, you remember that.  Then you noticed that the
+soldier had hurt my hand--look! here it is, I cannot yet even write with
+it, the fingers are so stiff.  At this your Highness sprang up, vowing
+vengeance upon that soldier, and ran towards the door--you passed a
+table--that thing you call the Seal lay on that table--you snatched it up
+and looked eagerly about, as if for a place to hide it--your eye caught
+sight of--"
+
+"There, 'tis sufficient!--and the good God be thanked!" exclaimed the
+ragged claimant, in a mighty excitement.  "Go, my good St. John--in an
+arm-piece of the Milanese armour that hangs on the wall, thou'lt find the
+Seal!"
+
+"Right, my King! right!" cried Tom Canty; "NOW the sceptre of England is
+thine own; and it were better for him that would dispute it that he had
+been born dumb!  Go, my Lord St. John, give thy feet wings!"
+
+The whole assemblage was on its feet now, and well-nigh out of its mind
+with uneasiness, apprehension, and consuming excitement.  On the floor
+and on the platform a deafening buzz of frantic conversation burst forth,
+and for some time nobody knew anything or heard anything or was
+interested in anything but what his neighbour was shouting into his ear,
+or he was shouting into his neighbour's ear.  Time--nobody knew how much
+of it--swept by unheeded and unnoted.  At last a sudden hush fell upon
+the house, and in the same moment St. John appeared upon the platform,
+and held the Great Seal aloft in his hand.  Then such a shout went up--
+
+"Long live the true King!"
+
+For five minutes the air quaked with shouts and the crash of musical
+instruments, and was white with a storm of waving handkerchiefs; and
+through it all a ragged lad, the most conspicuous figure in England,
+stood, flushed and happy and proud, in the centre of the spacious
+platform, with the great vassals of the kingdom kneeling around him.
+
+Then all rose, and Tom Canty cried out--
+
+"Now, O my King, take these regal garments back, and give poor Tom, thy
+servant, his shreds and remnants again."
+
+The Lord Protector spoke up--
+
+"Let the small varlet be stripped and flung into the Tower."
+
+But the new King, the true King, said--
+
+"I will not have it so.  But for him I had not got my crown again--none
+shall lay a hand upon him to harm him.  And as for thee, my good uncle,
+my Lord Protector, this conduct of thine is not grateful toward this poor
+lad, for I hear he hath made thee a duke"--the Protector blushed--"yet he
+was not a king; wherefore what is thy fine title worth now?  To-morrow
+you shall sue to me, THROUGH HIM, for its confirmation, else no duke, but
+a simple earl, shalt thou remain."
+
+Under this rebuke, his Grace the Duke of Somerset retired a little from
+the front for the moment.  The King turned to Tom, and said kindly--"My
+poor boy, how was it that you could remember where I hid the Seal when I
+could not remember it myself?"
+
+"Ah, my King, that was easy, since I used it divers days."
+
+"Used it--yet could not explain where it was?"
+
+"I did not know it was THAT they wanted.  They did not describe it, your
+Majesty."
+
+"Then how used you it?"
+
+The red blood began to steal up into Tom's cheeks, and he dropped his
+eyes and was silent.
+
+"Speak up, good lad, and fear nothing," said the King.  "How used you the
+Great Seal of England?"
+
+Tom stammered a moment, in a pathetic confusion, then got it out--
+
+"To crack nuts with!"
+
+Poor child, the avalanche of laughter that greeted this nearly swept him
+off his feet.  But if a doubt remained in any mind that Tom Canty was not
+the King of England and familiar with the august appurtenances of
+royalty, this reply disposed of it utterly.
+
+Meantime the sumptuous robe of state had been removed from Tom's
+shoulders to the King's, whose rags were effectually hidden from sight
+under it.  Then the coronation ceremonies were resumed; the true King was
+anointed and the crown set upon his head, whilst cannon thundered the
+news to the city, and all London seemed to rock with applause.
+
+
+
+Chapter XXXIII. Edward as King.
+
+Miles Hendon was picturesque enough before he got into the riot on London
+Bridge--he was more so when he got out of it.  He had but little money
+when he got in, none at all when he got out.  The pickpockets had
+stripped him of his last farthing.
+
+But no matter, so he found his boy.  Being a soldier, he did not go at
+his task in a random way, but set to work, first of all, to arrange his
+campaign.
+
+What would the boy naturally do?  Where would he naturally go? Well--
+argued Miles--he would naturally go to his former haunts, for that is the
+instinct of unsound minds, when homeless and forsaken, as well as of
+sound ones.  Whereabouts were his former haunts?  His rags, taken
+together with the low villain who seemed to know him and who even claimed
+to be his father, indicated that his home was in one or another of the
+poorest and meanest districts of London.  Would the search for him be
+difficult, or long?  No, it was likely to be easy and brief.  He would
+not hunt for the boy, he would hunt for a crowd; in the centre of a big
+crowd or a little one, sooner or later, he should find his poor little
+friend, sure; and the mangy mob would be entertaining itself with
+pestering and aggravating the boy, who would be proclaiming himself King,
+as usual.  Then Miles Hendon would cripple some of those people, and
+carry off his little ward, and comfort and cheer him with loving words,
+and the two would never be separated any more.
+
+So Miles started on his quest.  Hour after hour he tramped through back
+alleys and squalid streets, seeking groups and crowds, and finding no end
+of them, but never any sign of the boy.  This greatly surprised him, but
+did not discourage him.  To his notion, there was nothing the matter with
+his plan of campaign; the only miscalculation about it was that the
+campaign was becoming a lengthy one, whereas he had expected it to be
+short.
+
+When daylight arrived, at last, he had made many a mile, and canvassed
+many a crowd, but the only result was that he was tolerably tired, rather
+hungry and very sleepy.  He wanted some breakfast, but there was no way
+to get it.  To beg for it did not occur to him; as to pawning his sword,
+he would as soon have thought of parting with his honour; he could spare
+some of his clothes--yes, but one could as easily find a customer for a
+disease as for such clothes.
+
+At noon he was still tramping--among the rabble which followed after the
+royal procession, now; for he argued that this regal display would
+attract his little lunatic powerfully.  He followed the pageant through
+all its devious windings about London, and all the way to Westminster and
+the Abbey.  He drifted here and there amongst the multitudes that were
+massed in the vicinity for a weary long time, baffled and perplexed, and
+finally wandered off, thinking, and trying to contrive some way to better
+his plan of campaign.  By-and-by, when he came to himself out of his
+musings, he discovered that the town was far behind him and that the day
+was growing old.  He was near the river, and in the country; it was a
+region of fine rural seats--not the sort of district to welcome clothes
+like his.
+
+It was not at all cold; so he stretched himself on the ground in the lee
+of a hedge to rest and think.  Drowsiness presently began to settle upon
+his senses; the faint and far-off boom of cannon was wafted to his ear,
+and he said to himself, "The new King is crowned," and straightway fell
+asleep.  He had not slept or rested, before, for more than thirty hours.
+He did not wake again until near the middle of the next morning.
+
+He got up, lame, stiff, and half famished, washed himself in the river,
+stayed his stomach with a pint or two of water, and trudged off toward
+Westminster, grumbling at himself for having wasted so much time.  Hunger
+helped him to a new plan, now; he would try to get speech with old Sir
+Humphrey Marlow and borrow a few marks, and--but that was enough of a
+plan for the present; it would be time enough to enlarge it when this
+first stage should be accomplished.
+
+Toward eleven o'clock he approached the palace; and although a host of
+showy people were about him, moving in the same direction, he was not
+inconspicuous--his costume took care of that.  He watched these people's
+faces narrowly, hoping to find a charitable one whose possessor might be
+willing to carry his name to the old lieutenant--as to trying to get into
+the palace himself, that was simply out of the question.
+
+Presently our whipping-boy passed him, then wheeled about and scanned his
+figure well, saying to himself, "An' that is not the very vagabond his
+Majesty is in such a worry about, then am I an ass--though belike I was
+that before.  He answereth the description to a rag--that God should make
+two such would be to cheapen miracles by wasteful repetition.  I would I
+could contrive an excuse to speak with him."
+
+Miles Hendon saved him the trouble; for he turned about, then, as a man
+generally will when somebody mesmerises him by gazing hard at him from
+behind; and observing a strong interest in the boy's eyes, he stepped
+toward him and said--
+
+"You have just come out from the palace; do you belong there?"
+
+"Yes, your worship."
+
+"Know you Sir Humphrey Marlow?"
+
+The boy started, and said to himself, "Lord! mine old departed father!"
+Then he answered aloud, "Right well, your worship."
+
+"Good--is he within?"
+
+"Yes," said the boy; and added, to himself, "within his grave."
+
+"Might I crave your favour to carry my name to him, and say I beg to say
+a word in his ear?"
+
+"I will despatch the business right willingly, fair sir."
+
+"Then say Miles Hendon, son of Sir Richard, is here without--I shall be
+greatly bounden to you, my good lad."
+
+The boy looked disappointed.  "The King did not name him so," he said to
+himself; "but it mattereth not, this is his twin brother, and can give
+his Majesty news of t'other Sir-Odds-and-Ends, I warrant."  So he said to
+Miles, "Step in there a moment, good sir, and wait till I bring you
+word."
+
+Hendon retired to the place indicated--it was a recess sunk in the palace
+wall, with a stone bench in it--a shelter for sentinels in bad weather.
+He had hardly seated himself when some halberdiers, in charge of an
+officer, passed by.  The officer saw him, halted his men, and commanded
+Hendon to come forth.  He obeyed, and was promptly arrested as a
+suspicious character prowling within the precincts of the palace.  Things
+began to look ugly.  Poor Miles was going to explain, but the officer
+roughly silenced him, and ordered his men to disarm him and search him.
+
+"God of his mercy grant that they find somewhat," said poor Miles; "I
+have searched enow, and failed, yet is my need greater than theirs."
+
+Nothing was found but a document.  The officer tore it open, and Hendon
+smiled when he recognised the 'pot-hooks' made by his lost little friend
+that black day at Hendon Hall.  The officer's face grew dark as he read
+the English paragraph, and Miles blenched to the opposite colour as he
+listened.
+
+"Another new claimant of the Crown!" cried the officer.  "Verily they
+breed like rabbits, to-day.  Seize the rascal, men, and see ye keep him
+fast whilst I convey this precious paper within and send it to the King."
+
+He hurried away, leaving the prisoner in the grip of the halberdiers.
+
+"Now is my evil luck ended at last," muttered Hendon, "for I shall dangle
+at a rope's end for a certainty, by reason of that bit of writing.  And
+what will become of my poor lad!--ah, only the good God knoweth."
+
+By-and-by he saw the officer coming again, in a great hurry; so he
+plucked his courage together, purposing to meet his trouble as became a
+man.  The officer ordered the men to loose the prisoner and return his
+sword to him; then bowed respectfully, and said--
+
+"Please you, sir, to follow me."
+
+Hendon followed, saying to himself, "An' I were not travelling to death
+and judgment, and so must needs economise in sin, I would throttle this
+knave for his mock courtesy."
+
+The two traversed a populous court, and arrived at the grand entrance of
+the palace, where the officer, with another bow, delivered Hendon into
+the hands of a gorgeous official, who received him with profound respect
+and led him forward through a great hall, lined on both sides with rows
+of splendid flunkeys (who made reverential obeisance as the two passed
+along, but fell into death-throes of silent laughter at our stately
+scarecrow the moment his back was turned), and up a broad staircase,
+among flocks of fine folk, and finally conducted him into a vast room,
+clove a passage for him through the assembled nobility of England, then
+made a bow, reminded him to take his hat off, and left him standing in
+the middle of the room, a mark for all eyes, for plenty of indignant
+frowns, and for a sufficiency of amused and derisive smiles.
+
+Miles Hendon was entirely bewildered.  There sat the young King, under a
+canopy of state, five steps away, with his head bent down and aside,
+speaking with a sort of human bird of paradise--a duke, maybe.  Hendon
+observed to himself that it was hard enough to be sentenced to death in
+the full vigour of life, without having this peculiarly public
+humiliation added.  He wished the King would hurry about it--some of the
+gaudy people near by were becoming pretty offensive.  At this moment the
+King raised his head slightly, and Hendon caught a good view of his face.
+The sight nearly took his breath away!--He stood gazing at the fair young
+face like one transfixed; then presently ejaculated--
+
+"Lo, the Lord of the Kingdom of Dreams and Shadows on his throne!"
+
+He muttered some broken sentences, still gazing and marvelling; then
+turned his eyes around and about, scanning the gorgeous throng and the
+splendid saloon, murmuring, "But these are REAL--verily these are REAL--
+surely it is not a dream."
+
+He stared at the King again--and thought, "IS it a dream . . . or IS he
+the veritable Sovereign of England, and not the friendless poor Tom o'
+Bedlam I took him for--who shall solve me this riddle?"
+
+A sudden idea flashed in his eye, and he strode to the wall, gathered up
+a chair, brought it back, planted it on the floor, and sat down in it!
+
+A buzz of indignation broke out, a rough hand was laid upon him and a
+voice exclaimed--
+
+"Up, thou mannerless clown! would'st sit in the presence of the King?"
+
+The disturbance attracted his Majesty's attention, who stretched forth
+his hand and cried out--
+
+"Touch him not, it is his right!"
+
+The throng fell back, stupefied.  The King went on--
+
+"Learn ye all, ladies, lords, and gentlemen, that this is my trusty and
+well-beloved servant, Miles Hendon, who interposed his good sword and
+saved his prince from bodily harm and possible death--and for this he is
+a knight, by the King's voice.  Also learn, that for a higher service, in
+that he saved his sovereign stripes and shame, taking these upon himself,
+he is a peer of England, Earl of Kent, and shall have gold and lands meet
+for the dignity.  More--the privilege which he hath just exercised is his
+by royal grant; for we have ordained that the chiefs of his line shall
+have and hold the right to sit in the presence of the Majesty of England
+henceforth, age after age, so long as the crown shall endure.  Molest him
+not."
+
+Two persons, who, through delay, had only arrived from the country during
+this morning, and had now been in this room only five minutes, stood
+listening to these words and looking at the King, then at the scarecrow,
+then at the King again, in a sort of torpid bewilderment.  These were Sir
+Hugh and the Lady Edith.  But the new Earl did not see them.  He was
+still staring at the monarch, in a dazed way, and muttering--
+
+"Oh, body o' me!  THIS my pauper!  This my lunatic!  This is he whom _I_
+would show what grandeur was, in my house of seventy rooms and seven-and-
+twenty servants!  This is he who had never known aught but rags for
+raiment, kicks for comfort, and offal for diet!  This is he whom _I_
+adopted and would make respectable! Would God I had a bag to hide my head
+in!"
+
+Then his manners suddenly came back to him, and he dropped upon his
+knees, with his hands between the King's, and swore allegiance and did
+homage for his lands and titles.  Then he rose and stood respectfully
+aside, a mark still for all eyes--and much envy, too.
+
+Now the King discovered Sir Hugh, and spoke out with wrathful voice and
+kindling eye--
+
+"Strip this robber of his false show and stolen estates, and put him
+under lock and key till I have need of him."
+
+The late Sir Hugh was led away.
+
+There was a stir at the other end of the room, now; the assemblage fell
+apart, and Tom Canty, quaintly but richly clothed, marched down, between
+these living walls, preceded by an usher.  He knelt before the King, who
+said--
+
+"I have learned the story of these past few weeks, and am well pleased
+with thee.  Thou hast governed the realm with right royal gentleness and
+mercy.  Thou hast found thy mother and thy sisters again?  Good; they
+shall be cared for--and thy father shall hang, if thou desire it and the
+law consent.  Know, all ye that hear my voice, that from this day, they
+that abide in the shelter of Christ's Hospital and share the King's
+bounty shall have their minds and hearts fed, as well as their baser
+parts; and this boy shall dwell there, and hold the chief place in its
+honourable body of governors, during life.  And for that he hath been a
+king, it is meet that other than common observance shall be his due;
+wherefore note this his dress of state, for by it he shall be known, and
+none shall copy it; and wheresoever he shall come, it shall remind the
+people that he hath been royal, in his time, and none shall deny him his
+due of reverence or fail to give him salutation.  He hath the throne's
+protection, he hath the crown's support, he shall be known and called by
+the honourable title of the King's Ward."
+
+The proud and happy Tom Canty rose and kissed the King's hand, and was
+conducted from the presence.  He did not waste any time, but flew to his
+mother, to tell her and Nan and Bet all about it and get them to help him
+enjoy the great news. {1}
+
+
+
+Conclusion. Justice and retribution.
+
+When the mysteries were all cleared up, it came out, by confession of
+Hugh Hendon, that his wife had repudiated Miles by his command, that day
+at Hendon Hall--a command assisted and supported by the perfectly
+trustworthy promise that if she did not deny that he was Miles Hendon,
+and stand firmly to it, he would have her life; whereupon she said, "Take
+it!"--she did not value it--and she would not repudiate Miles; then the
+husband said he would spare her life but have Miles assassinated!  This
+was a different matter; so she gave her word and kept it.
+
+Hugh was not prosecuted for his threats or for stealing his brother's
+estates and title, because the wife and brother would not testify against
+him--and the former would not have been allowed to do it, even if she had
+wanted to.  Hugh deserted his wife and went over to the continent, where
+he presently died; and by-and-by the Earl of Kent married his relict.
+There were grand times and rejoicings at Hendon village when the couple
+paid their first visit to the Hall.
+
+Tom Canty's father was never heard of again.
+
+The King sought out the farmer who had been branded and sold as a slave,
+and reclaimed him from his evil life with the Ruffler's gang, and put him
+in the way of a comfortable livelihood.
+
+He also took that old lawyer out of prison and remitted his fine. He
+provided good homes for the daughters of the two Baptist women whom he
+saw burned at the stake, and roundly punished the official who laid the
+undeserved stripes upon Miles Hendon's back.
+
+He saved from the gallows the boy who had captured the stray falcon, and
+also the woman who had stolen a remnant of cloth from a weaver; but he
+was too late to save the man who had been convicted of killing a deer in
+the royal forest.
+
+He showed favour to the justice who had pitied him when he was supposed
+to have stolen a pig, and he had the gratification of seeing him grow in
+the public esteem and become a great and honoured man.
+
+As long as the King lived he was fond of telling the story of his
+adventures, all through, from the hour that the sentinel cuffed him away
+from the palace gate till the final midnight when he deftly mixed himself
+into a gang of hurrying workmen and so slipped into the Abbey and climbed
+up and hid himself in the Confessor's tomb, and then slept so long, next
+day, that he came within one of missing the Coronation altogether.  He
+said that the frequent rehearsing of the precious lesson kept him strong
+in his purpose to make its teachings yield benefits to his people; and
+so, whilst his life was spared he should continue to tell the story, and
+thus keep its sorrowful spectacles fresh in his memory and the springs of
+pity replenished in his heart.
+
+Miles Hendon and Tom Canty were favourites of the King, all through his
+brief reign, and his sincere mourners when he died. The good Earl of Kent
+had too much sense to abuse his peculiar privilege; but he exercised it
+twice after the instance we have seen of it before he was called from
+this world--once at the accession of Queen Mary, and once at the
+accession of Queen Elizabeth.  A descendant of his exercised it at the
+accession of James I.  Before this one's son chose to use the privilege,
+near a quarter of a century had elapsed, and the 'privilege of the Kents'
+had faded out of most people's memories; so, when the Kent of that day
+appeared before Charles I. and his court and sat down in the sovereign's
+presence to assert and perpetuate the right of his house, there was a
+fine stir indeed!  But the matter was soon explained, and the right
+confirmed.  The last Earl of the line fell in the wars of the
+Commonwealth fighting for the King, and the odd privilege ended with him.
+
+Tom Canty lived to be a very old man, a handsome, white-haired old
+fellow, of grave and benignant aspect.  As long as he lasted he was
+honoured; and he was also reverenced, for his striking and peculiar
+costume kept the people reminded that 'in his time he had been royal;'
+so, wherever he appeared the crowd fell apart, making way for him, and
+whispering, one to another, "Doff thy hat, it is the King's Ward!"--and
+so they saluted, and got his kindly smile in return--and they valued it,
+too, for his was an honourable history.
+
+Yes, King Edward VI. lived only a few years, poor boy, but he lived them
+worthily.  More than once, when some great dignitary, some gilded vassal
+of the crown, made argument against his leniency, and urged that some law
+which he was bent upon amending was gentle enough for its purpose, and
+wrought no suffering or oppression which any one need mightily mind, the
+young King turned the mournful eloquence of his great compassionate eyes
+upon him and answered--
+
+"What dost THOU know of suffering and oppression?  I and my people know,
+but not thou."
+
+The reign of Edward VI. was a singularly merciful one for those harsh
+times.  Now that we are taking leave of him, let us try to keep this in
+our minds, to his credit.
+
+
+
+
+FOOTNOTES AND TWAIN'S NOTES
+
+{1}  For Mark Twain's note see below under the relevant chapter heading.
+
+{2}  He refers to the order of baronets, or baronettes; the barones
+minores, as distinct from the parliamentary barons--not, it need hardly
+be said, to the baronets of later creation.
+
+{3}  The lords of Kingsale, descendants of De Courcy, still enjoy this
+curious privilege.
+
+{4}  Hume.
+
+{5}  Ib.
+
+{6}  Leigh Hunt's 'The Town,' p.408, quotation from an early tourist.
+
+{7}  Canting terms for various kinds of thieves, beggars and vagabonds,
+and their female companions.
+
+{8}  From 'The English Rogue.'  London, 1665.
+
+{9}  Hume's England.
+
+{10}  See Dr. J. Hammond Trumbull's Blue Laws, True and False, p. 11.
+
+
+
+NOTE 1, Chapter IV. Christ's Hospital Costume.
+
+It is most reasonable to regard the dress as copied from the costume of
+the citizens of London of that period, when long blue coats were the
+common habit of apprentices and serving-men, and yellow stockings were
+generally worn; the coat fits closely to the body, but has loose sleeves,
+and beneath is worn a sleeveless yellow under-coat; around the waist is a
+red leathern girdle; a clerical band around the neck, and a small flat
+black cap, about the size of a saucer, completes the costume.--Timbs'
+Curiosities of London.
+
+
+
+NOTE 2, Chapter IV.
+
+It appears that Christ's Hospital was not originally founded as a SCHOOL;
+its object was to rescue children from the streets, to shelter, feed,
+clothe them.--Timbs' Curiosities of London.
+
+
+
+NOTE 3, Chapter V. The Duke of Norfolk's Condemnation commanded.
+
+The King was now approaching fast towards his end; and fearing lest
+Norfolk should escape him, he sent a message to the Commons, by which he
+desired them to hasten the Bill, on pretence that Norfolk enjoyed the
+dignity of Earl Marshal, and it was necessary to appoint another, who
+might officiate at the ensuing ceremony of installing his son Prince of
+Wales.--Hume's History of England, vol. iii. p. 307.
+
+
+
+NOTE 4, Chapter VII.
+
+It was not till the end of this reign (Henry VIII.) that any salads,
+carrots, turnips, or other edible roots were produced in England.  The
+little of these vegetables that was used was formerly imported from
+Holland and Flanders.  Queen Catherine, when she wanted a salad, was
+obliged to despatch a messenger thither on purpose.--Hume's History of
+England, vol. iii. p. 314.
+
+
+
+NOTE 5, Chapter VIII. Attainder of Norfolk.
+
+The House of Peers, without examining the prisoner, without trial or
+evidence, passed a Bill of Attainder against him and sent it down to the
+Commons . . . The obsequious Commons obeyed his (the King's) directions;
+and the King, having affixed the Royal assent to the Bill by
+commissioners, issued orders for the execution of Norfolk on the morning
+of January 29 (the next day).--Hume's History of England, vol iii. p 306.
+
+
+
+NOTE 6, Chapter X. The Loving-cup.
+
+The loving-cup, and the peculiar ceremonies observed in drinking from it,
+are older than English history.  It is thought that both are Danish
+importations.  As far back as knowledge goes, the loving-cup has always
+been drunk at English banquets.  Tradition explains the ceremonies in
+this way.  In the rude ancient times it was deemed a wise precaution to
+have both hands of both drinkers employed, lest while the pledger pledged
+his love and fidelity to the pledgee, the pledgee take that opportunity
+to slip a dirk into him!
+
+
+
+NOTE 7, Chapter XI. The Duke of Norfolk's narrow Escape.
+
+Had Henry VIII. survived a few hours longer, his order for the duke's
+execution would have been carried into effect. 'But news being carried to
+the Tower that the King himself had expired that night, the lieutenant
+deferred obeying the warrant; and it was not thought advisable by the
+Council to begin a new reign by the death of the greatest nobleman in the
+kingdom, who had been condemned by a sentence so unjust and tyrannical.'
+--Hume's History of England, vol. iii, p. 307.
+
+
+
+NOTE 8, Chapter XIV. The Whipping-boy.
+
+James I. and Charles II. had whipping-boys, when they were little
+fellows, to take their punishment for them when they fell short in their
+lessons; so I have ventured to furnish my small prince with one, for my
+own purposes.
+
+
+
+NOTES to Chapter XV.
+
+Character of Hertford.
+
+The young King discovered an extreme attachment to his uncle, who was, in
+the main, a man of moderation and probity.--Hume's History of England,
+vol. iii, p324.
+
+But if he (the Protector) gave offence by assuming too much state, he
+deserves great praise on account of the laws passed this session, by
+which the rigour of former statutes was much mitigated, and some security
+given to the freedom of the constitution.  All laws were repealed which
+extended the crime of treason beyond the statute of the twenty-fifth of
+Edward III.; all laws enacted during the late reign extending the crime
+of felony; all the former laws against Lollardy or heresy, together with
+the statute of the Six Articles.  None were to be accused for words, but
+within a month after they were spoken.  By these repeals several of the
+most rigorous laws that ever had passed in England were annulled; and
+some dawn, both of civil and religious liberty, began to appear to the
+people.  A repeal also passed of that law, the destruction of all laws,
+by which the King's proclamation was made of equal force with a statute.
+--Ibid. vol. iii. p. 339.
+
+
+
+Boiling to Death.
+
+In the reign of Henry VIII. poisoners were, by Act of Parliament,
+condemned to be BOILED TO DEATH.  This Act was repealed in the following
+reign.
+
+In Germany, even in the seventeenth century, this horrible punishment was
+inflicted on coiners and counterfeiters.  Taylor, the Water Poet,
+describes an execution he witnessed in Hamburg in 1616.  The judgment
+pronounced against a coiner of false money was that he should 'BE BOILED
+TO DEATH IN OIL; not thrown into the vessel at once, but with a pulley or
+rope to be hanged under the armpits, and then let down into the oil BY
+DEGREES; first the feet, and next the legs, and so to boil his flesh from
+his bones alive.'--Dr. J. Hammond Trumbull's Blue Laws, True and False,
+p. 13.
+
+
+
+The Famous Stocking Case.
+
+A woman and her daughter, NINE YEARS OLD, were hanged in Huntingdon for
+selling their souls to the devil, and raising a storm by pulling off
+their stockings!--Dr. J. Hammond Trumbull's Blue Laws, True and False, p.
+20.
+
+
+
+NOTE 10, Chapter XVII. Enslaving.
+
+So young a King and so ignorant a peasant were likely to make mistakes;
+and this is an instance in point.  This peasant was suffering from this
+law BY ANTICIPATION; the King was venting his indignation against a law
+which was not yet in existence; for this hideous statute was to have
+birth in this little King's OWN REIGN. However, we know, from the
+humanity of his character, that it could never have been suggested by
+him.
+
+
+
+NOTES to Chapter XXIII. Death for Trifling Larcenies.
+
+When Connecticut and New Haven were framing their first codes, larceny
+above the value of twelve pence was a capital crime in England--as it had
+been since the time of Henry I.--Dr. J. Hammond Trumbull's Blue Laws,
+True and False, p. 17.
+
+The curious old book called The English Rogue makes the limit thirteen
+pence ha'penny:  death being the portion of any who steal a thing 'above
+the value of thirteen pence ha'penny.'
+
+
+
+NOTES to Chapter XXVII.
+
+From many descriptions of larceny the law expressly took away the benefit
+of clergy:  to steal a horse, or a HAWK, or woollen cloth from the
+weaver, was a hanging matter.  So it was to kill a deer from the King's
+forest, or to export sheep from the kingdom.--Dr. J. Hammond Trumbull's
+Blue Laws, True and False, p.13.
+
+William Prynne, a learned barrister, was sentenced (long after Edward
+VI.'s time) to lose both his ears in the pillory, to degradation from the
+bar, a fine of 3,000 pounds, and imprisonment for life.  Three years
+afterwards he gave new offence to Laud by publishing a pamphlet against
+the hierarchy.  He was again prosecuted, and was sentenced to lose WHAT
+REMAINED OF HIS EARS, to pay a fine of 5,000 pounds, to be BRANDED ON
+BOTH HIS CHEEKS with the letters S. L. (for Seditious Libeller), and to
+remain in prison for life.  The severity of this sentence was equalled by
+the savage rigour of its execution.--Ibid. p. 12.
+
+
+
+NOTES to Chapter XXXIII.
+
+Christ's Hospital, or Bluecoat School, 'the noblest institution in the
+world.'
+
+The ground on which the Priory of the Grey Friars stood was conferred by
+Henry VIII. on the Corporation of London (who caused the institution
+there of a home for poor boys and girls). Subsequently, Edward VI. caused
+the old Priory to be properly repaired, and founded within it that noble
+establishment called the Bluecoat School, or Christ's Hospital, for the
+EDUCATION and maintenance of orphans and the children of indigent persons
+. . . Edward would not let him (Bishop Ridley) depart till the letter was
+written (to the Lord Mayor), and then charged him to deliver it himself,
+and signify his special request and commandment that no time might be
+lost in proposing what was convenient, and apprising him of the
+proceedings.  The work was zealously undertaken, Ridley himself engaging
+in it; and the result was the founding of Christ's Hospital for the
+education of poor children. (The King endowed several other charities at
+the same time.) "Lord God," said he, "I yield Thee most hearty thanks
+that Thou hast given me life thus long to finish this work to the glory
+of Thy name!"  That innocent and most exemplary life was drawing rapidly
+to its close, and in a few days he rendered up his spirit to his Creator,
+praying God to defend the realm from Papistry.--J. Heneage Jesse's
+London:  its Celebrated Characters and Places.
+
+In the Great Hall hangs a large picture of King Edward VI. seated on his
+throne, in a scarlet and ermined robe, holding the sceptre in his left
+hand, and presenting with the other the Charter to the kneeling Lord
+Mayor.  By his side stands the Chancellor, holding the seals, and next to
+him are other officers of state.  Bishop Ridley kneels before him with
+uplifted hands, as if supplicating a blessing on the event; whilst the
+Aldermen, etc., with the Lord Mayor, kneel on both sides, occupying the
+middle ground of the picture; and lastly, in front, are a double row of
+boys on one side and girls on the other, from the master and matron down
+to the boy and girl who have stepped forward from their respective rows,
+and kneel with raised hands before the King.--Timbs' Curiosities of
+London, p. 98.
+
+Christ's Hospital, by ancient custom, possesses the privilege of
+addressing the Sovereign on the occasion of his or her coming into the
+City to partake of the hospitality of the Corporation of London.--Ibid.
+
+The Dining Hall, with its lobby and organ-gallery, occupies the entire
+storey, which is 187 feet long, 51 feet wide, and 47 feet high; it is lit
+by nine large windows, filled with stained glass on the south side; and
+is, next to Westminster Hall, the noblest room in the metropolis.  Here
+the boys, now about 800 in number, dine; and here are held the 'Suppings
+in Public,' to which visitors are admitted by tickets issued by the
+Treasurer and by the Governors of Christ's Hospital.  The tables are laid
+with cheese in wooden bowls, beer in wooden piggins, poured from leathern
+jacks, and bread brought in large baskets.  The official company enter;
+the Lord Mayor, or President, takes his seat in a state chair made of oak
+from St. Catherine's Church, by the Tower; a hymn is sung, accompanied by
+the organ; a 'Grecian,' or head boy, reads the prayers from the pulpit,
+silence being enforced by three drops of a wooden hammer.  After prayer
+the supper commences, and the visitors walk between the tables.  At its
+close the 'trade-boys' take up the baskets, bowls, jacks, piggins, and
+candlesticks, and pass in procession, the bowing to the Governors being
+curiously formal.  This spectacle was witnessed by Queen Victoria and
+Prince Albert in 1845.
+
+Among the more eminent Bluecoat boys are Joshua Barnes, editor of
+Anacreon and Euripides; Jeremiah Markland, the eminent critic,
+particularly in Greek Literature; Camden, the antiquary; Bishop
+Stillingfleet; Samuel Richardson, the novelist; Thomas Mitchell, the
+translator of Aristophanes; Thomas Barnes, many years editor of the
+London Times; Coleridge, Charles Lamb, and Leigh Hunt.
+
+No boy is admitted before he is seven years old, or after he is nine; and
+no boy can remain in the school after he is fifteen, King's boys and
+'Grecians' alone excepted.  There are about 500 Governors, at the head of
+whom are the Sovereign and the Prince of Wales.  The qualification for a
+Governor is payment of 500 pounds.--Ibid.
+
+
+GENERAL NOTE.
+
+
+One hears much about the 'hideous Blue Laws of Connecticut,' and is
+accustomed to shudder piously when they are mentioned.  There are people
+in America--and even in England!--who imagine that they were a very
+monument of malignity, pitilessness, and inhumanity; whereas in reality
+they were about the first SWEEPING DEPARTURE FROM JUDICIAL ATROCITY which
+the 'civilised' world had seen.  This humane and kindly Blue Law Code, of
+two hundred and forty years ago, stands all by itself, with ages of
+bloody law on the further side of it, and a century and three-quarters of
+bloody English law on THIS side of it.
+
+There has never been a time--under the Blue Laws or any other--when above
+FOURTEEN crimes were punishable by death in Connecticut.  But in England,
+within the memory of men who are still hale in body and mind, TWO HUNDRED
+AND TWENTY-THREE crimes were punishable by death! {10}  These facts are
+worth knowing--and worth thinking about, too.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Prince and The Pauper
+by Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
+
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