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diff --git a/old/66202-0.txt b/old/66202-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 34078d5..0000000 --- a/old/66202-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7127 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of A Queen of Nine Days, by Margaret Brown - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: A Queen of Nine Days - -Author: Margaret Brown - -Contributor: Edith C. Kenyon - -Release Date: September 1, 2021 [eBook #66202] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Al Haines - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A QUEEN OF NINE DAYS *** - - - - - - -[Frontispiece: "WE MUST HIDE HERE A LITTLE WHILE," SAID MY RESCUER] - - - - - A QUEEN OF NINE DAYS - - - BY HER GENTLEWOMAN - - MARGARET BROWN - - - - EDITED AND DONE INTO MODERN ENGLISH - - BY - - EDITH C. KENYON - - - - LONDON - THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY - 4 BOUVERIE STREET & 65 ST. PAUL'S CHURCHYARD, E.C. - - - - - _Made and Printed in Great Britain by_ - Butler & Tanner Ltd., - _Frome and London_ - - - - -CONTENTS - -CHAPTER - -Prologue - -I Leaving Home - -II My Champion - -III Hiding from the Enemy - -IV Better Happenings - -V Lady Caroline talks with Me - -VI Papistry or Protestantism - -VII Sir Hubert and I - -VIII Lady Jane Grey - -IX Plato - -X Queen of England - -XI By the River - -XII In the Tower - -XIII At St. Paul's Cross - -XIV The Crown Resigned - -XV At Sion House Again - -XVI In The Power of Sir Claudius - -XVII The Prisoner in the Dungeon - -XVIII On the Point of Being Wed - -XIX Escaping from the Enemy - -XX A Trying Experience - -XXI Queen Mary's Boon - -XXII With Lady Jane - -XXIII Wyatt's Insurrection - -XXIV Lady Jane's Death Sentence - -XXV Some of Lady Jane's Last Words - -XXVI Lady Jane's Execution - -XXVII Conclusion. Home Again - -Epilogue - - - - -PROLOGUE - -It has been laid upon me as a very solemn duty by the late Lady Jane -Dudley, or Grey as she is usually called, to whom I owe obedience and -fealty born of love, which is all the more insistent because she is -no longer here to claim it, that I should set forth, in the best -language possible to one of my limited education, the stirring events -that my eyes have witnessed and the true story, as it is known to me, -of the short, sad tragedy of her life and death. And this being so, -I will make no excuse for my boldness and presumption in attempting -work which might well be left to learned and authoritative -historians, especially as I remember that my dear lady said to me, -Margery, others may write more learnedly on the matter, but _loving -eyes see further and more truly_ than those of the mere critic, and I -would fain be represented to posterity as I am rather than as I am -supposed to be. And, fear not, child, for though you are weak and -humble in your own eyes, His grace and help are to be had for the -asking, Who gives power to the faint, and to such as have no might -increases strength.' For my lady knew that this is a righteous task -which she was setting me--the representation of truth, as we know it, -is always righteous--and to those who do the like His promises never -fail. - -MARGARET BROWN. - - - - -CHAPTER I - -Leaving Home - -It was in the month of May, in the year 1553, and I was a young girl, -only seventeen, when my dear father--my mother being dead--astonished -me beyond measure by disclosing the fact that I was to leave my home -in Sussex and proceed to the city of London, there to become -gentlewoman to a lady of high degree. - -That was not the sort of life I should have chosen by any means, for -my freedom was as dear to me as to any of God's creatures of earth, -or sea, or sky. Having no mother, and with a most easy-going father -and a brace of madcap young brothers, I had run wild all my life, and -could ill brook the idea of being confined within four walls for the -most part of my days, attired in the fine clothing of a grand lady. -What compensations should I have for such joys as lying for hours on -the soft turf of the Downs, looking up to the blue sky and making out -pictures in the white clouds flitting across it, whilst I listened to -the singing of the skylarks, or sitting beneath an overturned boat on -the seashore, hearing the lapping of the waves and gazing across the -Channel, with wondering speculations of the lands beyond those fair -blue waters, or, on the other hand, rowing out upon the sea with my -brothers, or riding with them at breakneck paces over hill and dale? -What would they do without me, little Hal with his endless scrapes -and foolhardy schemes, and Jack with his love of fighting and -passionate essays to assert the manhood latent in him? -Notwithstanding my wildness, I was a softening influence in their -lives, for there was in me ever, even then, the consciousness which -is not very far from any of us that there is a Higher Law than even -the sweetest promptings of our own fond wills. I never talked about -it--father used to say, 'Many words show weakness in a cause'--much -less preached to the boys, but I knew it was so and they were aware I -knew it, and that was quite enough. They were good lads, and, as the -serving men and women said, I had them at a word. - -I did not like the thought of leaving my brothers, or my father, or, -as I have said, my freedom and the skylarks, turf, sky, clouds, -seashore and mystery of wild sea-waves, with the unknown lands -beyond, but never thought of opposing my father's will, and, -easygoing though he was, dared not question it; however, I went down -to the parsonage to speak to Master Montgomery, our curate, of the -matter, and, after listening to all I had to say, and cheering me -with descriptions of wondrous sights to be seen in London, he uttered -wise words, which stilled my trouble mightily. - -'Child,' he said, laying his hand gently on my head, 'listen to me. -This call which has come to you is not of your own seeking, therefore -it must be from Him Who alone was found worthy to hold the Book of -Life--the lives of His people--in His hands. He Who called Rebekah -from her water-pot and David from his sheep, Elisha from his -ploughing and the praying women of Jerusalem to follow Him to the -Cross, is surely calling you to do some special work. It may be -lowly in its nature, or it may be great, but whatever it be, it is -surely work that you and no one else can do. Like the little maid -who was carried away into captivity and did great things for her -master Naaman, the Syrian, so, it may be, you, too, may carry help -and healing to some afflicted one amongst those whom the world calls -mighty. And remember,' he added very earnestly, 'remember that you -can do nothing in your own strength, but that with the help of the -Holy Spirit, which is given to those who ask for it, all things will -be possible.' - -I went away, feeling very solemn and almost more frightened than -encouraged, and it was a relief to my over-charged heart when, as I -was going home with great soberness, I encountered Hal, bareback on -his black pony, tearing along like wildfire, and calling to me to -follow, as there was a ship passing in the Channel, and so I ran -after him down to the beach; and what with one thing and another, I -did not give Master Montgomery's words their full consideration until -the time came when, being far away from him, I found my thoughts -recurring to them. - -Before I set off to London City there was great to-do amongst the -women servants in making me sufficient garments for a lady's -wardrobe, and it was a wonderful sight to see the things they got -together and the way they wished to dress me. I did not like it very -much, for I did not think I should ever be able to skip and play and -ride bareback attired in that fashion, but my father said I was a -child and knew nothing about it, and they were women and ought to -know what they were doing; so we left it all to them, and I put off -the thought of wearing their handiwork as long as possible. - -The day before I went my father informed me about those to whom I was -going. It seemed the Duke of Northumberland, knowing my father, Sir -Henry Brown, with whom he had been in battles in their younger days, -had sent for me to come and be one of the gentlewomen of his -daughter-in-law, the young Lady Jane Grey, newly married to his -fourth son, Lord Guildford Dudley, in London City. My father said -that it was a great distinction for me to be selected out of scores -of other country maidens for the work, and that if ever I had speech -with the noble duke I was to thank him heartily for his favour -towards us--this I promised readily, not knowing what manner of man -that was whose doings were afterwards an enormous factor in working -dire woe to those I loved. And then my father went on to say that -business of importance would prevent his going with me on this my -entrance into the big world--oh, father! I saw through that, for was -it not from you I inherited the nature which loved home and freedom -better than the life among great people of exalted rank?--but he said -he would send me with old and trusty servants, who would take me -safely in a horse-litter from our town of Brighthelmstone[1] on the -south coast, all the long way to Sion House, in Isleworth, near -London City, where my Lady Grey was residing at that time. - - -[1] Now called Brighton.--ED. - - -And the next day, after a troubled leave-taking from all I loved so -dearly, I suffered him to bestow on me his blessing, which he did -with many words of touching kindness, and put me in the litter. - -I must confess that I did not perceive very much of the road we went -over during the first part of my journey, owing to a weakness which -came on in my eyes and a sickness and dejection of spirit such as I -had never previously known, and my good maid Betsy proved to be very -annoying for talking over much, which was indeed her wont when -excited, and making doleful laments about the dangers of the way and -the roughness of the roads that, without doubt, somewhat impeded our -progress. - -But afterwards, after a long while, I felt better and could think -less miserably of my father's tender blessing and of the sudden -breakdown and loud crying of poor Jack and the afflicting -disappearance of Hal, who I knew had hidden himself in order that he -might get over the parting in secret, and the crying of the woman -servants we left behind, and solemn faces of the men and the waving -of Master Montgomery's old hat as we passed the parsonage, so that by -the time we neared a neighbouring castle I could even look admiringly -upon it. We stayed that night at Horsham, in a queer little inn kept -by a monstrously fat innkeeper and his exceedingly thin wife, who at -another time would have amused me greatly by her fussiness and -servility. - -And the next day we proceeded on our way, passing many strange and -curious places, but meeting with no brigands and no mishap at all -until it chanced that, on the King's highway, we came upon a group of -unruly, wild-looking men and boys, who were dragging a poor old -woman, with great violence, towards a large pond. - -'What is the matter? Oh, Betsy, see!' I cried. 'What are those men -doing to that poor old woman? Look! they are dragging her to that -pond! Poor creature! They will hurt her!' - -'Mistress, 'tis only a witch!' cried Betsy, who had been told to call -me Mistress now that I was going to be a great lady. 'Suchlike do -much harm,' she continued. 'They sell their souls to the devil for -gold; they meet each other on broomsticks riding through the air, and -plot mischief. From such may we be delivered!' she went on -fervently. 'They had better be drowned!' she concluded. - -'No, no. 'Tis cruel! Tell Humphrey to stop.' And I myself called -to the men to stay the horses bearing my litter, and looked out full -of sympathy with the poor old creature. Was there no one to stand up -for her, no one to stay this rough horse-play which was going on? -Master Montgomery had always taught us to treat the aged with -reverence, and therefore it seemed truly shocking to me, as also most -alarming. - -'Forsooth, Mistress Marg'et,' said Joseph, my lacquey, coming to my -litter, ''tis the country roughs that are just wild to drown yon old -witch.' - -'But they shall not!' declared I vigorously; 'they shall not! Stop -it, Joseph! Stop it at once!' - -'Mistress, I cannot! The men are just mad! Hark at their shouts! -They are wild to do it.' - -'They shall not do it!' cried I. 'Tell them, Joseph, that Mistress -Margaret Brown forbids it.' - -Joseph and Timothy, the head man, and John, the other lacquey, looked -timidly towards the crowd of excited men and boys who were shouting, -gesticulating and urging on each other to drag along the old woman -with cuffs and kicks. - -I got out of my litter and looked round. It was such a beautiful -country, on one side great woods just bursting into leaf, on the -other green meadowland, threaded by a silvery stream and studded here -and there with blossoming hawthorn trees. Nowhere could I see a -house, yet some there must be not far distant, judging from the crowd -of men and boys. Alone, with my few servants, what could I do? Who -would have suspected that in such a lovely place there could be -doings so outrageous? - -'I must speak to them, Betsy,' I said, and across my mind flashed the -thought that perhaps Master Montgomery was thinking of some such work -as this when he spoke of that to which he believed I was being -called.[2] - - -[2] Young people are usually in haste. They always aim to reach the -end of things at once; they cannot wait.--ED. - - -'Oh, no, mistress! You must not, indeed you must not interfere!' -cried the terrified woman. - -'Hold thy tongue, Betsy,' said I. 'I shall go to them and speak,' -and in my heart I prayed for help where Master Montgomery said it -would never be denied. - -And then I advanced towards the roughs, who turned to look at me in -amazement. - -In a tone and in a manner of authority, for my father always said -that it was no use speaking otherwise to knaves, I bade them cease -from persecuting a poor old woman who might be innocent of all -offence, and passionately adjured them to refrain from violence. - -The effect of this was marvellous. Releasing their victim, they fell -back, and she, poor soul, knelt on the grass before me, crying out -for mercy and catching hold of the border of my gown. - -'What has she done?' I asked. - -A Babel of voices answered. The old woman had brought disease on -Farmer North's cattle. She had turned her evil eye on a young woman -who had straightway sickened and died. She had looked on a man as he -rode to market and his horse had run away, thrown him off and killed -him. Last of all she had spirited away her own orphan grandson, a -boy of great promise, who had been committed to her care by his -deceased parents and of whom she had professed to be very fond. This -young man was believed to have been sent through the earth to the -abodes of the lost. - -'I did not do it, lady! I did not! Saul was the darling of my old -age. I know no more than they where he has gone. I am no witch. -Ask the minister; he knows.' - -This and much more cried the poor old dame in quavering tones. - -'Listen to her. She is innocent,' I said authoritatively to the -rascals, who were recovering themselves and again holding out -threatening hands. 'She is a poor old woman, very lame and infirm.' - -That did not touch them, so I seized a weightier argument. - -'Have you not heard,' I said, 'of One Who laid His hands upon the -sick and lame and made them whole? Jesus had compassion on the -multitude. He took pity on the infirm. He laid His hands on them -and blessed them. He----' - -'He sent the devils into the swine, so that they ran into the sea,' -interposed a man's voice grimly. - -'The devils? Yes. But not the man out of whom they were driven. He -sat at Jesus' feet, clothed and in his right mind.' - -'True! true!' cried several voices. - -It really seemed as if mercy were going to win the day. But at that -moment, with a tremendous noise, a number of men and boys came round -a bend in the road, dragging forward a wretched object whose head was -hidden in a man's jacket. - -'A witch! A witch!' yelled the newcomers, brandishing their sticks. - -'And we have another! Ha! ha! ha!' laughed and shrieked the men and -boys beside me. - -Then I perceived that the newcomers were led on by as evil-looking a -young man as you could see anywhere. His dress showed him to be a -knight, but anything more unknightly than his manner and his conduct -could not well be found; he seemed just like the knaves who formed -his company, and an ill-looking lot they were, with scarcely a whole -garment among them. - -'Oh, mistress,' said Timothy, who had left his horses that he might -have speech with me. 'Yon is Sir Claudius Crossley, who is said to -be your father's sworn enemy. I pray you make haste and get into the -litter before he recognizes you. Then we will drive away as fast as -the horses can take us.' - -'Save me! Save me, lady!' cried the old woman, clinging to my feet, -as my hands tried to drag her away. - -How could I desert her? It was hard on my servants, but I would not -listen to their advice. For I saw nothing, heard nothing but that -pitiful old woman, with her despairing cries to me to save her, and -the menacing crowd of villains thirsting for her life. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -My Champion - -I began to speak again to the villains, repeating much that I had -said before, with even greater earnestness. - -Sir Claudius Crossley stared at me, and listened for a moment or two -with a bewildered air. Then perceiving the drift of my words, he -rudely shouted to me to shut my mouth, and, signing to his men, they -caught up the old woman at my feet and bundled her along to the side -of the other victim, interposing several of their broad backs between -me and the poor old creatures. - -The road being now completely blocked by the shouting men and boys, -my servants closed round me and literally carried me back to the -litter. In truth they were themselves of the opinion that the old -women were witches, who had sold themselves to the devil for a term -of years, and ought therefore to be put to death. - -I was perforce obliged to sit in my litter, but it could not proceed -because of the crowd which blocked the way. I would not look towards -the wretched scene, but Betsy would not refrain from telling me every -detail of what was taking place with the supposed witches and their -enemies. - -'Both old women are witches, mistress,' she cried. 'I thought so, -and now I know it; they are ugly as sin. The men are making them -confess. The way they do it is to pull their hair and screw their -wrists until they say for what sum the devil has bought their souls, -and for what length of time they have bound themselves to serve him. -No, mistress, Timothy will not allow you to interfere. He promised -Sir Henry that he would take you safely to Sion House, near London, -and he means to do it. Now, mistress, they are tying the witches' -thumbs together--the two of them are being tied together by the -thumbs, I mean--and now they are going to throw them into the water. -If they do not sink, they will know they are witches, and will force -them under; if they sink, they will drown, so there will be an end of -them in any case.' - -'Oh, this is terrible--terrible!' I cried. Putting my head out of my -litter, I called to the ruffians to cease their cruelty. 'It is -murder,' I said; 'it is nothing but murder! "Thou shalt do no -murder."' - -But I might as well have spoken to the wind, which was beginning to -rise in fitful gusts. - -The mob--for by this time the crowd had become a howling mob--was in -no mood to be stayed from proceeding to extremities. A shower of mud -and stones was flung at my litter and its attendants, one of the -men-servants receiving a blow upon the shoulder, which might have put -it out of joint, being most violent. - -'Wait till we have drowned the witches, then we will come for you!' -shouted Sir Claudius cruelly. - -'Ay, ay, sir!' chorused many voices. - -This was alarming. My servants put their heads together, muttering -their fears. I overheard them saying that they had seen the witch -looking hard at me as she begged for mercy, and that I might be -doomed, and what could three men and a woman do against more than a -hundred ruffians? - -'Mistress,' said old Timothy to me at length. 'We can do nothing -against so many, and unfortunately we have already incurred their -anger. Far better would it be, therefore, for us to turn and flee -whilst they are occupied in drowning the witches.' - -'Flee! Do you mean that?' exclaimed I. - -'Yes. Yes, mistress dear. And quickly--quickly! It is our only -chance.' - -And Timothy looked affrightedly at the angry faces of the mob. - -'Nay. But that is cowardly!' I cried, 'to run away and think only of -our own skins when the weak and old are being murdered!' - -'We shall be murdered ourselves in a few more minutes if we stay -here,' muttered the old man. 'Child,' he said, forgetting my new -dignity, which indeed profited me nothing just then, 'it is to save -our lives--_yours_, the most precious of all. How could I face Sir -Henry again if you were killed?' - -And his voice shook. - -'Killed! Killed? Are they threatening that? Oh, but, Timothy, we -have never done them any harm.' - -'Ay, but you have!' cried the loud, domineering voice of Sir -Claudius, as he thrust himself forward to get between Timothy and me. -'You have tried to stop our sport!' - -'Sport!' cried I, with the most mighty contempt I ever felt in all my -life. 'Sport! Call you it sport to torture and kill poor feeble old -women?' - -Angered by my words, the miscreant was about to lay hold of me with -his great hands, when the lacquey Joseph gave him a blow of the fist -which sent him staggering into the midst of his men. - -Alas, that was, as it were, a signal for hostilities to commence. -Men and boys rushed on us from all sides. My men-servants were -seized by overpowering numbers and hurled to the ground, and I myself -was lifted bodily out of the litter and set on a bank by the -roadside, so that all might see me. - -The two old women were drowned now--their murderers thirsted for more -blood, and Sir Claudius, smarting from the treatment he had received -from the hands of my good Joseph, yearned above all things for -revenge. - -'Eh, lads! What shall we do to my lady?' he asked mockingly, -pointing to me. - -'Drown her also,' suggested one, with a hoarse laugh. - -'Strangle her,' cried another. - -'Carry her away to some remote country place, and then get money from -her friends before we will tell them where she is,' said a third. - -Cries of approval and many alternative suggestions arose from the mob. - -Looking from one to the other, I could see no pity, no relenting -anywhere, least of all in Sir Claudius. I spoke to him. - -'I am a lady,' I said; 'where is your chivalry?' - -The man had not any, but I thought it as well to cry out for what -ought to have been there. - -'You tried to save those witches,' he began. - -'And you will try to save me, will you not?' I asked, looking at him, -with the vain hope that I should see something which was not there. - -'That I will not!' cried the churl. - -'Shall we drown her, Sir Claudius? Shall we drown her, too?' -demanded many voices. - -'Help! Help for a lady! Help for Mistress Brown!' shouted the -lacquey Joseph with his loud, stentorian voice. The honest fellow -had been bound hand and foot; he had nothing left but his voice with -which to serve me, and the next moment it was silenced with a blow -and a gag; but it had done good work. - -Noiselessly over a soft fallow field a little group of horsemen had -approached, and at the sound of that loud, manly cry of my poor -Joseph's they charged into the mob, calling out lustily:-- - -'Disperse, in the King's name! In the King's name I say disperse!' - -Bullies are cowards all the world over. The men who had drowned old -women and were threatening a defenceless girl with a like fate, took -to their heels with one accord, knocking down each other and falling -over each other in their flight, whilst, alarmed and struck, first on -this side and then on that, my horses set off galloping, and dashed, -with the litter, amongst the crowd, treading down some and crushing -others. The damage they did was appalling. Curses, shouts, groans -and screams filled the air on every side. - -In a few moments none of the roughs remained near me, and I was -enabled to look up at my deliverer. - -He was a handsome knight of medium size and frank, soldier-like -deportment and bearing; as I found afterwards, he was scarcely -twenty-six, yet he looked much older, having seen service in the -profession of arms from his boyhood. He was dressed in crimson -velvet, very worn and travel-stained. Indeed, both he and his horse -bore traces of a rapid journey across country, as did also his -followers and their horses. - -'How shall I thank you?' I said gratefully. 'Sir, you have saved my -life.' - -'I thank God that I came in time,' he said. 'I fear those rascals -have terrified you much.' - -'I fear they have hurt my good serving-men,' I said, looking round -for them. - -My champion, desirous of serving me still more, picked up my poor -Timothy, who, having been thrown down and trampled upon, was in no -little pain. He breathed better, however, when his arms were freed -and his legs unbound, and began to lament the loss of the horses and -litter, which made us think he was coming round finely. We left him, -therefore, to look to Joseph, who was in a desperate state, having -been almost smothered by the gag which was tied over his mouth and -nostrils. His face, swollen and discoloured, was fearful to look -upon, but I took his poor head on my lap and endeavoured to induce -him to drink from a flask my rescuer had put in my hand. - -The good knight stood by me, with the kindest eyes it seemed to me -that I had ever seen. - -'Give him time,' he said; 'give him time. There is no hurry.' - -It seemed to me, as I glanced at him, that he would have stood there -all day with great content, so long as he could watch me doing -things, and no doubt he was tired, having ridden far. - -'But look after the others, please,' I said, feeling anxious about -Betsy and John. - -'They are all right,' he answered. 'They have picked themselves up -bravely. And your man is coming round.' - -Then one of his followers came up to him, saying, 'Sir Hubert, we do -wrong to linger here. Those villains will return with greater -numbers, bent upon wreaking vengeance. There was one amongst them of -good birth, and a knight, but of low nature, who is notorious for -crime. He will return, if no one else does; and the lady----' - -The rest of the sentence I could not hear, but it seemed to mightily -excite my brave deliverer. - -Joseph was sitting up whilst this was going on, and begging my pardon -for the liberty he had taken in lying down with his head on my lap. -At the same moment John and Betsy declared themselves recovered. - -'Lady,' said the knight, ''tis necessary that we hurry on. Say, -could you ride my horse? Or stay, Smith,' turning to one of his men, -'you have a quiet nag; bring her here for the lady.' - -'Is there no hope of recovering my litter?' I asked, adding, 'I am -going all the way to Sion House, near London, where the Duke of -Northumberland's daughter-in-law awaits me.' - -'The litter is lost to you,' was the startling answer. 'If we wait -here for its return, or pursue those runaway horses, we shall be lost -too. Madam,' the knight bent his head to speak softly in my ear, 'I -will not hide it from you. These are fearful times for a lady to be -travelling alone with so small a retinue. Lawless men, such as those -that have just been routed, might carry you off where your friends -would never hear of you again----' - -'Why frighten us?' I interrupted, but had no time to say more, for -the noise of brawling again broke upon my ear. - -The knight turned to his men, saying, 'They are coming. They are -many, we are few. We must ride back the way we came, across the -fields. Take up the lady's men and woman.' - -And with that he lifted me hastily from the ground, and, placing me -upon his own horse, vaulted lightly into the saddle behind me. - -'Hold fast, madam,' he said in my ear. 'Put your arms round my neck; -so. That is it. Now, Sultan, good horse, gallop thy fastest!' - -Whinnying low, the horse tore off across the fallow fields, and away -we went like the wind, but I did not know even so much as the name of -the valiant knight to whom I was clinging as for life. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -Hiding from the Enemy - -I had been carried off in such haste as left me no time to look back -and see if my servants were equally well mounted, and for some time -all I could do was to cling to my cavalier. I felt his heart beating -as I did so and his warm breath fanning my cheeks. Moments seemed -hours as they passed. - -And now shouts and the sound of pursuing horsemen entering the fields -in full career after us sounded in our ears, and, looking back, we -saw a company of riders as well as foot-runners. - -'Hold tight, madam; we take the fence. Hurrah! old Sultan has done -it!' cried my knight, and we were over and speeding across a meadow -long before any one else had reached the fence. - -Presently I heard shooting, and, looking back, perceived that my -knight's men, hampered by the wounded servants and unable to leap the -fence, were obliged to turn and fight. This kept back the pursuers -and gave us a better chance of escape. - -My cavalier drew rein and looked back across the meadow. Alas, four -horsemen, having separated themselves from the others, had just -leaped the fence and were galloping after us. - -'Sultan, good horse!' cried my knight encouragingly, and his steed -answered with a low whinny, and galloped along as before. 'Cling to -me, madam. Hold tight!' - -Again I clung to him convulsively, not venturing to speak about my -fears for my poor servants and our own perilous position. - -Another higher and thicker fence was leaped, not quite so -successfully this time, for poor Sultan was just done and, -floundering, caught his hoof in a long hawthorn branch. Down he fell -upon his knees, and I saw stars and thick darkness. - -When I came to myself, I found I was being carried in the strong arms -of the good knight. I said nothing, for indeed what could I say? -What he was doing for me that day I should never forget, never in all -my life. But I could not speak of it. - -Presently I could see that we were passing through a plantation of -young trees, on a path so narrow that my rescuer had much difficulty -in carrying me through it. He was exceedingly careful lest I should -receive a knock from some too prominent bough or tree-trunk, yet I -noticed he bruised his own hands more than once in his endeavour to -protect me. I thought I should never feel the same about those hands -again; they had suffered for me. Once as he carried me on I tried to -wipe off the blood that flowed from a scratch on his neck with my -neckerchief, torn off for the purpose, much to his concern. - -'Do not,' he said. 'It does not matter about me.' - -But I persisted that it did, and bound his neck with the neckerchief, -begging him to permit the liberty I was taking. - -He looked at me then very kindly, saying, 'No one ever took so much -trouble about me before,' and that seemed to me the most -extraordinary shame that ever was. - -When we were through the plantation we found a wooden shanty, or -covered shed, in the field at the other side of the trees. The door -of the place was not locked, and my knight set me down upon my feet -and opened it. Then he led me in, and we found there was an old cart -in it, full of cut grass. - -'We must hide here a little while,' said my rescuer. 'Perhaps our -pursuers will not come to this side of the trees.' - -'I am afraid they will,' returned I, 'if they saw us entering the -wood.' - -'Then we must hide,' said he. 'Madam, can you get into the cart?' - -'Easily,' I answered. 'My name,' I added shyly, for it was awkward -for us not to know each other's names, 'is Margaret Brown.' - -'Mistress Margaret Brown,' said he, pronouncing the words so -beautifully that it seemed to me my cognomen had never sounded half -so well before. Then he added, 'And mine is Hubert Blair.' - -'Sir Hubert Blair?' said I thoughtfully, thinking what a very nice -name it was and how well it seemed to suit the man. - -'Yes,' answered he with a smile. 'But now, Mistress Brown, please to -get into the cart and lie down. Then I will cover you with the cut -grass which half fills it.' - -'Will you hide yourself too?' - -'Aye, aye.' - -He assisted me into the cart and piled the grass over me, even -putting a thin layer of it over my head. Then, perceiving a heap of -grass in the corner of the shed, and, thinking he could conceal -himself more quickly in it, he told me that he was going to do so, -beseeching me, whatever happened, to make no sound, but to lie still -where I was hidden. - -'You may rely upon me,' I said. 'You, Sir Hubert, are the captain of -this adventure, and I know how to obey.' - -Sir Hubert then hid himself as well as he could in the heap of cut -grass in the corner of the shed, and scarcely had he done so when the -noise of men and horses was to be heard outside. - -Presently a man pushed the door open and entered. - -'What's in here?' he said aloud. 'A queer sort of a shed! Better -call the others. But no, it seemeth empty, except for this grass. -What have we here?' - -He had approached the cart, and was peering in cautiously. - -'Bad farming to leave so much stuff in a cart!' he went on, poking -the grass a little with his stick, or weapon. - -I trembled, and was fearful that my trembling would cause the grass -to move. Indeed, he must have seen something of the sort, for he -said in a low tone, 'Thou needst not fear. As sure as my name is -Jack Fish, I will keep the other men out of this place.' - -With that he went away, returning, however, in a moment to add, 'Thou -hadst best keep here a little while longer before thou attemptest to -go away. I am a true man. I will keep thy secret.' - -With that he crossed over to the heap of grass in the corner of the -shed, behind which Sir Hubert was hidden. Then, being of a playful -humour, he began to poke the grass heap gently with his foot, -blustering a little as he did so. - -'Hullo!' said he, ''tis strange how men and grass become mixed in -these days! Easy now, don't show thyself! I am a truthful man, and -I want to say I have seen no one. Thou needst not fear.' - -'Thanks. You are a good man.' - -The words came out of the grass with weird effect. - -'I'll get the others away from here directly; I really joined them to -prevent their doing mischief. But do not stir for half an hour or -so. Then keep well to the right and thou wilt regain the high road, -and perchance find thy litter awaiting thee.' - -Now Sir Hubert was so delighted to hear this, and so certain that the -man was a friend, that he threw the grass off him and sat up, but was -instantly almost smothered with the quantity of green stuff the other -immediately threw over him. - -The next instant another voice at the door inquired: 'Is any one -hidden here, Jack Fish?' - -''Twas a fancy of mine to search the shanty. However, I might have -known those fugitives would not have ventured to stay here,' returned -Master Fish. - -'Well, there is no place to hide in here, unless it be the cart. -Have you looked into that grass on it?' - -'Aye, aye. I've poked about it rarely, but nothing bigger than a -mouse ran out of it.' - -'Well, come on then, if there is nothing here,' cried the other -impatiently. - -They left the shed, Jack Fish lingering a moment to close the door -and to say noisily to those within and those without, 'All right! -All right!' - -We were still for the next ten minutes, which seemed an age; then Sir -Hubert said: - -'He was a good old fellow yon, and I liked his hint about your -litter. It will be a fine thing indeed if we can find it on the high -road when we get there.' - -'Yes indeed,' I said, 'and my servants too, which last is a matter of -more importance, for they are very dear to me.' - -I had raised my head out of the grass, and was sitting up. - -'Do you think I can get out of the cart now?' I asked. - -'Not yet. Wait a little longer where you are. I will look round -outside;' and shaking off the grass sticking to him on all sides, Sir -Hubert proceeded to the door, at which he listened cautiously before -attempting to open it. - -The next moment he stepped back quickly to his place in the corner, -saying, 'Some one is coming.' - -Then he hid himself under the grass as before. - -An old man entered, with a large two-pronged hay fork in his hand. - -'They will have stolen my cart, I'll be bound!' he said aloud. - -He looked suspiciously around, but gave a grunt of satisfaction upon -seeing the cart. - -Approaching it, he was about to plunge his fork into the grass, when -Sir Hubert sprang up, caught hold of the tool and wrenched it from -his grasp. - -'Your pardon, master,' said the knight hastily to the man. 'But I -have placed something in your cart which you might unwittingly have -damaged had you plunged your fork into it.' - -'Cannot a man do as he likes in his own shed?' cried the old -countryman. 'And who art thou,' he demanded, 'and what business hast -thou here?' - -'I am Sir Hubert Blair, of Harpton Hall, in Sussex. I was travelling -in these parts with but a few retainers, when I met with a lady and -her servants set upon by roughs and in danger of their lives. I -carried the lady on my own horse across the fields until a mischance -happened to my horse in leaping the last fence before we came to the -wood close by. He fell down on his knees, throwing us off; the lady -fainted and I carried her through the wood, and then in here. She is -in your cart.' - -I sat up in the cart, smiling at the old farmer's astonishment. - -'Well, well,' he said, leaning on his fork and looking hard at me. -'These are troublous times! Vagabonds roam the country, and we never -know what they will be up to, and a knight and a lady hide in an old -cart-shed. The King, God bless him, is young and not by any means -strong, but it is to be hoped he and Parliament will do something to -make the highways safer.' - -'Did you see any signs of the ruffians as you came here?' asked Sir -Hubert. - -'Nay, not I. But then I was not looking for them. I was thinking of -the new calf that came this morning. Do you not know, young sir, -that what we are thinking of, that is what we see?' - -'Aye, aye.' - -Sir Hubert looked at me, and I knew he was reflecting that he could -see little else for thinking of me and my unfortunate plight. - -'It seems a sorry tale for a knight to be running away from low -country rabble,' muttered the old farmer. - -Sir Hubert coloured. - -'I feel ashamed of myself,' he said. 'But it was for the lady's -sake. How would it have been with her if I had been killed? I was -obliged to think of her precious life.' - -'Well, well. I'm thinking you must both be pretty hungry. Will you -come with me to my house, where my wife shall give you food?' - -This was too good an offer to be refused, and we thankfully accepted -it, and accompanied the old man to his farmhouse. - -It was but a poor place, yet we were as glad to find ourselves in it, -with the door bolted to keep out vagrants, as if we were in a palace. -And very thankful we were to the farmer's wife when she placed milk -and meat before us. I felt almost ashamed of the wonderful appetite -I had; but indeed I was very, very hungry when I sat down to the -table. - -Sir Hubert helped me to everything before he would touch food -himself, and I felt a wonderful happiness when his big, strong -hands--which had been bruised for me--were serving me. Sweet it was -to be so tenderly cared for by him, with words and manner showing the -most reverent esteem. I had never experienced aught like it before. -At home I was treated by my father as a child and by my brothers as -if I were one of themselves; the servants were more deferential, but -then they were poor folk, not like this fine gentleman, who seemed to -lift me higher than himself that he might look up to me with a sort -of loving worship. It was very delightful and very, very beautiful. -I felt ennobled. - -Sir Hubert seemed to be extremely happy, and would like to have -lingered talking over the meal, but the old man grew uneasy and -fidgetty. - -'It would well nigh ruin me,' he said, 'if those rascals who attacked -you should come over here and find you on my premises. They might -sack the house and possibly maltreat us too. My old woman is not -very strong, and there's a young serving-lass also. Of course I -don't mind for myself, but----' - -'We will go,' I said, rising at once. 'You have been very kind, and -we should be sorry to bring you into trouble.' - -Then I stopped short. Where could we go? It was all very well to -say we would depart, but we had not even Sir Hubert's horse to convey -us away. The knight aroused himself to look the situation in the -face. He seemed somewhat dazed, for the fact was, as he told me -afterwards, he had been so extraordinarily happy sitting at the same -table, ministering to my wants, and watching the colour return to my -face and the light to my eyes, that he had forgotten all else. - -'Supposing I leave the lady here a little whilst I go to try and find -her coach?' he said to the farmer. - -But the latter answered sharply, 'Nay, sir, nay. Thou art not going -to leave her on our hands, just to bring the wrath of the -country-side upon us----' - -'If you go, Sir Knight, she must go too,' interrupted the old -farmer's wife. 'It is bad enough for us to have to shelter you both -when you are here to help to fight if the rascals come, but without -you! Why, they might string us up to the rafters, and leave us -hanging like dried herrings, as easy as anything. My old man has not -any fight in him, bless you! When he thought there was a thief in -the house the other night, he made me go first to look for him!' - -'Well, well,' said the old man. 'I'm getting old, and am not much -stronger than thee, Susannah. But thou canst scream rarely, and 'tis -a weapon of a sort, which sometimes is unexpectedly powerful.' - -Sir Hubert laughed. Then he turned to me, saying with rare -tenderness, 'I could not leave you, Mistress Margaret, with these -people. Will you come with me?' - -I said I would, and indeed I felt as if I could go with him anywhere, -anywhere in the world, and he a knight whom half a dozen hours before -I had never seen. - -'Come then,' he said, and after throwing some silver on the table to -pay for our meal, he offered me his arm, and we went out together -into the night, now fast coming on. - -'The darkness is our friend,' said Sir Hubert, 'for it will hide us -from our enemies.' - -'Yes,' returned I, with great content, for I had no fear of darkness -when he was by my side, holding me with his firm, strong arm. - -And in my heart I prayed to our Father in heaven to protect us both -and bring us in safety out of all danger. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -Better Happenings - -In all the vicissitudes of my lot the memory of that first walk with -Sir Hubert Blair through the Sussex lanes was ever one of unalloyed -sweetness. - -The stars came out one by one in the heavens, glimmering down upon -us, and a young moon arose, whilst a soft night wind stirred the -hedgerows, making the slumbering violets breathe forth their -sweetness. I could scarcely help leaning on my companion, for I had -been much shaken that day, and far from resenting it, as Jack and Hal -would have done most heartily, he begged me to lean more heavily, -declaring that he was very strong and not at all fatigued, as he -sought tenderly to conduct me over the smoothest places. - -Very soon, however, we reached the high road and had scarcely begun -to walk upon it when, to our joy and satisfaction, we heard the -tramping of horses and were presently overtaken by my horse-litter, -conducted by my men, Timothy, John and Joseph. Betsy was seated -inside, and they all cried for joy when they discovered me with Sir -Hubert Blair, entirely unhurt and in the best of spirits. - -We had a great deal to say to each other; but scarcely had we begun -to explain how we came there, and to relate our experiences, before -Sir Hubert Blair interrupted by bidding us defer the talk until we -had reached a place of safety. - -'I strongly advise you, Mistress Margaret,' he said, 'to press -forward at once, lest those ruffians who attacked you should again -come in your way.' - -'And you?' I said, as he put me into the litter, 'will you not come -with us, too?' - -'I wish that I could,' he answered. 'But it is not for me to ride at -my ease by a lady's litter. I have other work to do.' - -'But--but,' faltered I, for at the idea of losing him a feeling of -despair came over me, 'you are a true knight, Sir Hubert, and as such -will not desert a lady in her need----' - -'Certainly not in her need,' returned he. 'But, madam, you have your -own trusty servants back again and your litter, and the villains who -molested you have gone.' - -'Still, I fear,' I said, 'I fear much that Sir Claudius, with his -odious followers, may again find us. His father and my father are at -enmity, and he may carry on the feud against me.' - -'There is no knowing what such a cur may do,' rejoined Sir Hubert -Blair. 'He will lose his knighthood if he goes on as he is doing. -But are you really afraid, Mistress Margaret?' And then he added, 'I -thought you were so brave.' - -Thereupon I did a very foolish thing, but one which was perhaps -natural considering my youth and the rough experiences I had just -passed through--I began to cry, as if my heart would break, hiding my -face against Betsy's shoulder and giving way completely. - -'Oh! Do not! Do not weep!' cried Sir Hubert, his resolution -vanquished by my tears. 'I will escort you to your destination, -indeed I will, if only you will not weep.' - -'Hearken, mistress, hearken. The noble gentleman will accompany us,' -said Betsy in my ear. - -And still I wept, for having given way I gave way utterly and could -not stop my tears. - -'Poor child! Poor child!' I heard Sir Hubert say. And then he -turned to Timothy, and began some talk about the horses. - -When I felt a little better I heard Timothy telling the knight that -his men had captured his horse and were seeking him in all directions. - -When he heard this Sir Hubert whistled three times, and then waited, -listening intently. - -In the distance we heard a faint sound as of whistling in answer. - -Then Sir Hubert came to my coach door and spoke to me. - -'Mistress Margaret Brown,' he said, 'I am pleased to find that I can -escort you as an outrider, as far as you are going. When my men come -up with my horse, which they have recovered, we will ride by your -coach. Then I think, even if that scoundrel, Sir Claudius, and his -men encounter us again, we shall be equal to them.' - -I was overjoyed at that, and I don't know what I answered, but he -seemed quite satisfied, and presently his men came up with Sultan, -whom they had captured, and he and they rode before and alongside our -coach, to my extreme content and satisfaction. - -Betsy chattered on about the escape she and the men had been able to -make, whilst the rabble fought with Sir Hubert's men. She could not -fight, having no weapon, and therefore, when they were brought to a -standstill in the field and the fighting commenced, she slid off the -horse on which she had been placed and ran away as fast as her feet -could carry her; upon which John, who was her cousin, could not -refrain from following, and Timothy and Joseph being dropped by the -men who had taken them up and feeling too ill to fight, crept away -into the shelter of a hedge, where the other two found them after all -the combatants had gone. They could not discover me, and therefore -returned to the high road, where presently they came upon the litter -and horses, the latter feeding on the grass by the wayside. Then -they drove up and down, hoping that I should find my way back to the -road, and that the enemy would not again appear. - -I fell into a doze at last, lulled by the sound of Betsy's untiring -voice and the steady trampling of the horses' feet, and when I awoke -again the moon was shining brightly down upon Sir Hubert riding by -the litter, making the small gold cross he wore upon his breast gleam -in its light. - -He seemed to know in a moment when I awoke. - -'Are you better, Mistress Margaret?' he asked, with such tender, -chivalrous feeling in his voice as made my heart bound with delight. - -'Yes,' I answered shyly, and meant to have thanked him, but could say -no more, for thinking of the tears he had seen me shed and that I was -too small a person and too babyish to be lifted up so high as he was -lifting me above himself. - -'I am glad of that,' he said. 'I want to tell you something. We are -coming to a castle, where a friend of mine dwells. He will give us -lodging for the night, and indeed I think we had better stay a day or -two for you to rest.' - -'Will you stay, too?' I asked, as simply as a little child. - -He bent his head over his horse and appeared to be busy examining the -bridle. I could not see his face and began to fear that I might have -said something wrong. But he did not blame me when he spoke again. - -'Sir William Wood,' he said, 'who lives at this castle we are -approaching, is a great friend of mine, and indeed it was to stay -with him that I came into this neighbourhood--we had certain business -of importance to discuss----' he broke off, and began again, 'He was -in Spain with us, when I went there with some friends on an embassy, -and he and I were knighted at the same time. He has a fair young -wife, Lady Caroline, who will be good to you.' - -'I should like to go to them for the night,' said I, 'for I am -weary.' And I could not prevent a sob from escaping from my breast. - -'Poor child! I _know_ you are,' he answered, with infinite -compassion. - -Betsy began to vociferate that my father had bidden them to conduct -me straight to Sion House, London, with no lingering on the way, but -Sir Hubert silenced her. - -'Some lingerings are needful,' he said. 'Your young mistress is worn -out, and unless she rest upon the way she may never reach her -destination.' - -'I wish we could let my father know,' I said; 'but it would take a -couple of days to reach him,[1] and a couple for his answer to return -to me, even if I sent one of the men, and by that time I should have -stayed the full time for which I craved his leave.' - - -[1] How slow were all modes of sending messages in those days may be -gathered by the fact, recorded in history, that when Queen Mary died, -the news was not known in York, until four days after her death in -London,--EDITOR.] - - -Sir Hubert smiled. - -'We shall have to do without it,' he said. Then he added more -seriously, 'You will act upon my advice, will you not, and rest -awhile with these friends?' - -'Certainly I will,' said I, for I felt sure Sir Hubert was one of the -wisest and best of men. - -We seemed a long while getting to the castle after that, for the way -led up a steep hill, and I was again overpowered by sleep; but I have -a dim recollection of waking up to find myself being welcomed by a -fair and gracious lady, whilst a big young man shook Sir Hubert by -the hand as if he would never let him go, and many servants moved -silently about, and Betsy was too overawed to speak and did nothing -but what they bade her. - -Soon I was lying on a huge bed, the posts of which were reaching up -to the ceiling of my room, and then I fell asleep and knew no more. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -Lady Caroline Talks With Me - -I slept soundly that first night of my stay at Woodleigh Castle, -being altogether worn out and in the utmost need of Nature's kind -restorer, and it was very late on the following day when I awoke to -find Betsy at my side with hot broth and bread and sundry other -articles of food. - -'Mistress,' said my woman, 'you must eat and drink, for there are -great happenings here, and you will need your strength, aye and your -wits about you, too. Timothy says he does not like you to be alone -amongst strange leaders of whom your father may not approve, and he -hopes that you will not be led to feelings which will unfit you for -being the companion of the high and noble lady to whom your father is -sending you, though indeed I think he might have come with you -himself if he had known how dangerous it was.' - -I could not help smiling at Betsy's speech, as I sat up to take the -refreshment she brought me. The first part of her speech was -laboured and unnatural, as if she were the unwilling mouthpiece of -poor old Timothy, but the last bit was certainly her own, for it bore -Betsy stamped all over it. - -'Yes, mistress, you can smile now that the danger is over,' said my -maid, much aggrieved, 'but I can tell you we have had a narrow -escape, a very narrow escape indeed. The people here say that we -might have been all killed, as likely as not, by the highwaymen whom -Sir Claudius consorts with and leads. They say that he got knighted -by mistake, and that he is to be unknighted again--the knowledge of -which makes him desperate. And they say, too, which indeed our men -and I think also, that you brought all our misfortunes upon us, -mistress, by interposing to save those witches, which was directly -interfering with Providence that was about to send them back to where -they came from.' - -'I never did think you were wise, Betsy,' said I, 'but now I know you -are most foolish. And I will not listen to you any more.' And with -that I turned my back upon her, and took my food looking the other -way, with the vague feeling that I would not cast the pearls of my -wiser thoughts before the swine of Betsy's foolishness. - -Betsy, however, was not to be suppressed. She went on talking as she -looked over my dress, repairing it in places where it had been torn -and making it ready for me to put on. And, by-and-by I heard her say -words which caused me to turn round and ask, 'What is that? What did -the men say Sir Claudius cried as he rode off?' - -'He vowed,' she cried, 'he vowed that he would have you yet. Aye, he -said that he would never rest until he had won you for his own, that -he might vanquish your proud and haughty spirit!' - -I was rather frightened, but endeavoured not to show it. - -''Tis a little cock,' I said, 'that crows the loudest.' - -Then Betsy approached the bed, and fell down on her knees before me. - -'Mistress,' she said imploringly, 'promise me that you will not -interfere with witches and such like again. It is that which gives -the Evil One power over you, and makes you take rank with his -creatures----' - -'Fie upon you, Betsy!' I exclaimed indignantly. 'I know what you are -thinking. In your naughty thoughts you are limiting the power of our -Heavenly Father to take care of me His child, and you are believing -that Satan is as mighty, or mightier than He.' Then, as she was -silent, I went on, 'Don't you remember that Master Montgomery used to -say, "There are no people common or unclean now, since the Gentiles -are called to salvation, and our Heavenly Father cares for us all -with the utmost tenderness." You know, Betsy, even those poor old -women you despised were His dear children. And Master Montgomery -said, too, which indeed we know well, that, strong though Satan may -be, there is One who is stronger than he.' - -Betsy was silenced then. She arose, wiped her eyes and turned meekly -away to her work, and I saw it was better to instruct and teach her -right notions than to be so contemptuous as at first I was in heart, -and told myself I must remember that Master Montgomery said, 'A -Christian should always be gentle and "apt to teach."' - -Scarcely had I settled that in my mind, when the door opened to admit -Lady Caroline Wood, who approached me with great kindness, asking how -I had slept and if I were recovered from my fatigue. - -When I had answered that my night's sleep was good and my health as -well as usual, she asked if my woman might withdraw as she wished to -converse with me in private. - -'Certainly,' I replied, a little wonderingly, and then I bade Betsy -leave the room; and Lady Caroline, who was not much older than -myself--though by wearing a large head-dress and elaborate garments -she looked so--sat down on the edge of my bed, and talked long with -me. - -'I have heard,' she began--'Sir Hubert has told us--what a brave girl -you were yesterday in withstanding alone, with your few servants, the -cruelties a crowd of men and boys were practising on two old women. -It was noble of you, Mistress Margaret, and I honour you for it with -all my heart.' - -Thereupon she took up my right hand and pressed it for a moment to -her lips. - -'You are a heroine,' she said, 'and I admire and love you.' - -'Indeed it was nothing,' I rejoined; 'moreover I was powerless to -avert their cruel death,' and the tears rose to my eyes as I thought -of what those poor old women endured. - -But Lady Caroline, stooping over me, kissed my tears away. - -'You did your best,' she said, 'and may well trust that the good God -would receive them through that painful--if haply short--gate into -His glorious kingdom.' - -She was silent for a moment or two, and my heart warmed to her, for I -recognized that she loved Him whom I served, and thought not small -things of Him, but the very best. - -Then she began again-- - -'They were taken away from the evil, and your precious life was saved -for further and it may be greater work. You are going, I hear, to -attend the noble lady who has married Guildford Dudley, the Duke of -Northumberland's fourth son?' - -'Yes,' replied I, 'Lady Jane Grey, to call her by her maiden name. -Do you know aught about her, Lady Caroline?' and there was some -anxiety in my tone, for indeed it mattered much to me what sort of a -lady that was to whom I was making so long and hazardous a journey. - -'Indeed I do. She is a very, very great lady. Some think she will -even become queen when our King Edward dies.' - -'Queen!' exclaimed I, 'but the king has sisters. Princess Mary will -be our sovereign after him.' - -Lady Caroline sighed deeply. - -'That would be very sad for England were it to happen,' she said. -'Princess Mary is a Papist, you know, and if she became queen she -would plunge the kingdom into papistry and persecutions, so that -rivers of blood would flow----' - -'And the good curates, and Master Montgomery,' I asked, 'what would -become of them?' For my thoughts had flown to the limited circle in -which I had been brought up and the good old man from whose teachings -I was fresh. - -'They would be martyred--perchance he would be burned at the stake,' -said Lady Caroline. - -'No, no,' I cried. 'God would not allow it.' - -'God often works by means of man,' the lady answered solemnly, 'and -it may be in the power of the more enlightened of the people of -England to prevent those calamities from happening.' - -'May it? But how?' I asked, my eyes opening wide with wonder. 'What -power in the world can prevent Princess Mary from becoming queen upon -the death of our young king?' - -'Some of the wisest of our nobility, and our poor sick king himself, -have thought upon a way,' replied Lady Caroline, adding, 'Mistress -Brown, it may be in your power to help to bring it about.' - -'How? How?' I cried. 'Explain. Explain.' - -Then Lady Caroline explained. She said that to save the country from -horrors innumerable, which would fall upon it in the event of a -Papist succeeding to the throne, it was deemed expedient that the -king should be induced to make a will, or sign letters patent, to -appoint that after his death the crown should be placed upon the head -of his young relative, Lady Jane Grey, in which case the Princesses -Mary and Elizabeth would be pronounced illegitimate and would -therefore be passed over. - -I did not know what to say to that. It did not seem to me to be -quite right, and yet Lady Caroline said it in such a manner as showed -that she was completely convinced it was so. - -'The king is very ill now,' she continued, after a slight pause, 'and -the Duke of Northumberland is with him.' - -'Is the duke one of those who favour Lady Jane Grey's being made -queen?' I asked. - -'Yes. And I will tell you why. He sees so clearly what devastation -and woe will come upon this kingdom if a Papist is again upon the -throne; and on the other hand how blessed and prosperous it will -become under good Protestant governance.' - -'Lady Jane Grey is a Protestant, then?' I asked. - -'Certainly, and withal so wise and virtuous as to stand out far above -all other women in the world.' - -I thought if that were so she would not like to step before the -Princesses Mary and Elizabeth, but I dared not say it, for, with all -her sweetness there was something imperious about Lady Caroline so -that I felt she would not brook dissent from a young girl like me. - -She seemed to be a little piqued with my silence, and getting off the -bed, stood beside it to say, as if closing the discussion-- - -'For the enlightenment of the people in our neighbourhood and to -instil the truth into their minds my husband has invited Sir Hubert -Blair here, purposely to speak to a congregation to-night, which he -intends getting together, of our tenantry and people in the -neighbourhood.' - -That touched me more nearly than the other matter, and I felt myself -colouring deeply. 'Has Sir Hubert skill thus to speak?' I asked. - -'Certainly; he is a very able man, and always speaks out manfully for -the right. In Spain, when he went with his friend, Sir Thomas Wyatt, -who accompanied his father on an embassy, he saw much of the horrors -of papistry and the terrible Inquisition, and he is going to tell the -people about it to-night, that every one present may be stirred to do -his utmost to keep it far from our land.' - -She paused. - -'I should like to hear what he has to say,' I said. 'Are you going -to be present, Lady Caroline?' - -'Yes, yes,' she said, 'and I will take you with me; indeed, we think -you ought to come to it--for you ought to know everything, then you -can tell Lady Jane all that you have heard.' - -I was rather alarmed at the idea of doing that, not knowing then that -she was even sweeter and more easy to get on with than Lady Caroline -herself. But I have often noticed that the higher up in the scale of -society a person is so much the more courteous and gentle we are sure -to find him or her. For it is ever the greater man, the greater -courtesy. - -After Lady Caroline had gone I dressed and went downstairs into the -large hall, where she came to me again, and the rest of that day was -spent very quietly with her alone, none of the gentlemen coming near -us, as they were all busy preparing for the meeting and riding far to -bid folk come to it. I was constantly hoping to see Sir Hubert Blair -again, and I think Lady Caroline discovered this, for she said not -unkindly-- - -'You cannot see Sir Hubert until the meeting, which is to be held in -the courtyard after the ringing of the curfew bell. And there you -will not be able to speak to him--at least not until the gathering is -over--but you will hear all he has to say.' - -Then, I began to long exceedingly for the time of the meeting to -come, as I wished, above all things, to see my brave champion again, -and hear the words he had to say. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -Papistry or Protestantism - -It was a strange weird sight, that large assembly, crowded together -in a fore-court of the fine old Castle, in the gathering gloom of -night. All sorts and descriptions of people had been gathered in -from every side, both rich and poor, high and low, gentle and simple, -good and bad, wise and unwise, those that were handsome and those -that were uncomely. They stood together in a mass, eager to hear of -matters of vital importance to them all, and heeding little the petty -class distinctions about which at another time their feelings might -be rancorous. - -Here and there the light of a lantern or a flaming torch enlivened -the scene; but nearly all the torches and candles that could be got -together were grouped at one end of the court, where, upon a roughly -made platform, the chief landowners and the clergy were gathered -around Sir Hubert Blair, who was dressed richly in velvet and lace, -as befitted his rank, and who seemed to be the cynosure of all eyes. - -As I saw him there, so young, yet looking wiser than his years would -warrant, and so handsome, yet humble withal, and remembered how he -had saved my life but yesterday, bearing me in his arms as if I were -a child, and bruising his own hands rather than suffer me to touch -the trees, my heart glowed within me and a wordless prayer rose from -it that his friendship for me and mine for him might be blessed and -strengthened mightily. - -Just for a moment he caught my eye, as his keen glance swept over the -audience, and I could not be sure, but I thought a wave of colour -passed over his pale, proud features. Yet he turned his eyes -resolutely away from me, and I knew that just then, for the time -being, he existed only for the people with whom he was about to plead -and for whose sake he was there. - -I did not hear much of what the first speaker, a white-haired -venerable old bishop, was saying, for his voice was feeble, and Lady -Caroline, who stood near me, whispered that it was only because of -his age and high position that the opening speech was apportioned to -him. - -But, after having spoken a little while, the people listening at -first with reverence and then beginning to show signs of some -impatience, he seemed to call upon the audience for a hymn, for -suddenly, in most excellent voice, the whole assembly began to sing -the psalm-- - - To Sion's Hill I lift my eyes, - From thence expecting aid; - From Sion's Hill and Sion's God, - Who Heaven and earth has made. - Then thou, my soul, in safety rest, - Thy Guardian will not sleep; - His watchful care that Israel guards, - Will Israel's monarch keep. - -And so on to the finish-- - - At home, abroad, in peace, in war, - Thy God shall thee defend; - Conduct thee through life's pilgrimage - Safe to thy journey's end. - - -The last words had scarcely died away when a stout curate, with a -fine, clear voice, began to speak about the Reformation, relating in -brief its history and the gross errors from which it had freed the -people, causing the abolition of so much that intervened between -themselves and God, for instance the jurisdiction of the Pope, the -doctrine of trans-substantiation, the withdrawal of the Holy -Scriptures from the people, the refusal of liberty to worship in a -tongue understood by the people, confession to a priest, penance and -the like. - -I did not understand it all, not by a long way, but Timothy's graphic -comment--for he had found his way to my elbow--enlightened me not a -little. - -''Tis just,' said he, 'as if those monks and cardinals of old had -busied themselves with setting up a lot of stone walls between folks -and their Maker, so that they might keep their distance; and it was -the same sort of thing the disciples of our Lord wanted to do when -they tried to keep the children off Him that the mothers brought. -"Go away," said they, "you are troubling the Master." But what did -He do? He called the little ones to Him and laid His hands upon them -and blessed them. That is _His_ fashion, and I reckon He is the same -now as He was then.' - -And then, after that introductory speech, Sir Hubert Blair stepped -forward; and looking down upon the crowd with shining eyes, and it -seemed to me a light upon his face, he began to speak, at first -slowly and with laboured distinctness, but presently more rapidly, -with glowing words, and, ever and anon, gestures of great -significance. - -'I have been,' said he, 'to a land where the blessings of the -Reformation do not exist, and I will tell you what sort of thing is -going on there. Bigotry, intolerant bigotry, holds the kingdom of -Spain in adamantine fetters. There, where the healing breath of the -Reformation, with its God-sent tolerance has not come, cruelty, death -and desolation are stalking through the land, leaving behind them a -track of blood and tears, broken hearts and mourners weeping for -their dear ones, whose innocent lives have been plucked from them by -the cruel and relentless hands of torture----' He broke down for a -moment or two, covering his face with his hands, and shuddering -violently as if at some awful recollection, and a whisper went round -among the more intelligent of the audience to the effect that he was -speaking about the Inquisition, which was rampant in Spain, and of -which traders and diplomatists had brought home many rumours. - -'Yes, it is the Inquisition of which I am speaking,' Sir Hubert -continued, 'and God grant that it may never come to this country of -ours! I will tell you what it is. In brief, it is a court, or -tribunal, established in a Roman Catholic country for the examination -and punishment of heretics--heretics meaning persons holding or -teaching opinions repugnant or opposite to the Roman Catholic faith. -The way in which it is actually worked is like this: Many thousands -of people, called familiars, are employed as spies and informers, to -find out and inform the Holy Inquisition, as it is named, if they -know any one, living or dead, present or absent, who has wandered -from the faith, or who observes, or has once observed, the Jewish -laws or even spoken favourably of them, or any one who follows, or -has followed, the teaching of Martin Luther, or any one who has -formed an alliance with the devil, or who possesses a heretical book, -aye, even the Bible in the Spanish language, or, finally, any one who -has harboured, received, or favoured heretics. It is a wide field, -you see, my friends, as wide as the views of the Inquisitors are -narrow, and the thousands--some of high rank--who are acting as spies -do so on account of the privileges connected with the office.' - -He paused a moment or two, and then went on to draw a graphic picture -of an honest man pursuing his daily avocation, and then, on his way -home to his wife and family, being seized by the officers of the -Inquisition and carried away, there and then, and from that moment -being entirely cut off from the world. - -The prison into which the unhappy man would be thrust he described -vividly, as one who had seen it. 'In the upper cells of these -prisons of the Inquisition,' he said, 'a dim ray of light falls -through a grate, the lower cells are smaller and darker. Each -dungeon has two doors, the inner one, bound with iron, having a grate -through which food is introduced for the wretched prisoner. A -prisoner of the Inquisition is allowed no visits from relatives nor -friends, and is not permitted to have books, but is compelled to sit -motionless and silent. Unless for the purpose of obtaining evidence, -only one prisoner is placed in each cell. - -'At his trial there is no hope for the prisoner of the Inquisition. -If he says he is innocent, he is threatened with torture, indeed he -is often subjected to torture in order to extort a confession. Those -who escape death by repentance and confession are obliged to swear -they will submit to all the pains and penalties the court orders.' - -Then Sir Hubert described some of these fearful punishments, and -they, he said, were not the worst, but they were sufficiently -dreadful to make the audience groan and cry 'Shame! Shame!' whilst, -as for me, I felt as if I should faint. - -Sir Hubert next went on to describe what the Spanish call the Holy -Auto-da-fé, which takes place on a Sunday, between Trinity Sunday and -Advent. - -'When sentence of death is pronounced on a man,' said he, 'the -Auto-da-fé is ordered, and at daybreak the big bell of the cathedral -is tolled, and people come in crowds to see the fearful procession. - -'The Dominicans walk first, with the banner of the Inquisition. Then -come the penitents, who are to be punished in various ways, and after -them, a cross is borne, following which walk the condemned men. The -effigies of those who have fled, and the bones of the dead who, -having been condemned after death, are not allowed to rest in their -graves, but are brought in black coffins, are carried next. Then -more monks and priests follow, and the dreadful procession passes on -through the streets of the city to the church, where a sermon is -preached and the sentences are pronounced. And then follow other -dreadful ordeals, which end in death by being strangled or burned -alive. - -'My friends'--Sir Hubert glanced at me for the first time since he -began to speak--'I am cutting short the awful details, for I see that -some of you have not strength to endure the hearing of them. If it -is so, what must it be to live in a land where such doings are -customary, and where the condemned may be our own familiar friends or -loving relations? My friends, this is a danger which is menacing -England.' He paused. - -'Menacing England!' The cry was caught up by many voices. 'England! -How can that be? England is now a Protestant country.' - -'This island of ours--this happy England,' said Sir Hubert earnestly, -'if one of the firmest lands in the Continent of Europe to resist -papistry and the Inquisition, is in danger of yielding to that which -will bring in both, with all their attendant evils and all their -gruesome horrors.' - -'But how?' cried the people. 'How can that be? The Reformed Church -is now our Church. King Edward VI., our dear young king, is for the -reformed faith.' - -'Yes. Yes. So he is. But my friends'--Sir Hubert lowered his voice -as one who spoke of secret matters--'you must know this: Edward, our -king, is very ill, far gone in consumption, and even now dying.' - -'Dying!' cried the people with deep groans. 'Dying? Edward, our -king, dying? Oh, say not so! say not so!' they wailed. - -'It is a fact. I come from Hampton Palace, where, the other day, I -had an interview with him in his bedroom. "I am very young to die," -he said, and he looked so sad I could have wept for him, but, the -doctors having said I was to keep a cheerful countenance, I -restrained myself. However, he is dying, I saw it plainly. Edward -VI is dying.' - -'Edward is dying,' echoed the audience, and then such lamentable -sighs, groans and sounds of weeping ensued as touched me strangely, -whilst Lady Caroline sobbed upon my shoulder.' - -'And after he has gone,' Sir Hubert asked in grievous tones, 'what -will become of England, if his Roman Catholic sister, Princess Mary, -succeeds to the throne?' - -In an instant the sound of weeping ceased, and an angry murmur passed -like a wave through the dense crowd. - -'A Papist! To rule over us? Never! Never!' cried a voice, which -recalled to my mind all at once the smell of newly cut grass and the -aspect of an old covered shed and a big roughly made cart within it, -whilst again, I trembled, yet breathed more feebly because of the -kindness of the tones. - -Jack Fish it was indeed, and he continued to ejaculate-- - -'A Roman Catholic Queen! God forbid we should come to such straits -as that! A Papist!' and such like, until the people caught it up and -cried with one voice, 'A Papist? To rule over us? Never! Never! -Never!' - -'What do you mean?' asked Sir Hubert. 'Is this only sentiment? Or -does your heart go with your cry? Answer me. Yes or no.' - -'Yes! Yes! Yes!' shouted all, or almost all. - -'It is well,' said Sir Hubert. 'It is well for you, people of -England, that you feel like this. With Mary for its queen this -country would be plunged back into Roman Catholicism. Perchance Mary -would wed the King of Spain----' - -He was interrupted by angry and excited cries. - -'We will not have Mary to reign over us!' shouted loud voices. 'We -will not! We will not!' - -When they were a little calmer Sir Hubert said-- - -'I rejoice that your voices ring true and that your hearts are in the -right place, while your intellects recognize the enormity of the -affliction into which this country would be plunged if a woman -steeped in Papistry and so benighted, so bigoted that Edward, our -king, tried in vain to win her to the true Faith, were to ascend the -throne. Let me tell you that there are good and great statesmen -round our king who will do all in their power to secure the -succession to a true Protestant who, like yourselves, abhors Papistry -and all its attendant evils.' After saying that, being thoroughly -exhausted, he sat down. - -And the people cried with one voice, 'A Protestant, and none but a -Protestant, shall rule over us!' - -Jack Fish and other countrymen then made short emphatic speeches, -which so stirred the audience that they began to grow overpoweringly -noisy, whereupon my men and Lady Caroline's made a way through the -people for us, and we retired into the castle, leaving the gentlemen -to close the meeting in the best way they could. - -I did not see them return to the castle that night, for Lady Caroline -would have me go to bed at once, declaring that I looked thoroughly -worn out. I therefore went to my room, and suffered Betsy to take -off my fine clothes and replace them by a warm gown, after which I -sent her away, and sat by the lancet-shaped window looking out into -the night, listening to the distant shoutings of the people and -watching their lanterns and torches presently leaving the courtyard -and glimmering away into the darkness beyond. They were going to -their homes, carrying with them big thoughts, pregnant with meaning, -given to them chiefly by Sir Hubert Blair; and soon I, too, should be -gone to a very different sphere, near London, taking with me also new -ideas imparted by him and Lady Caroline, and what would be the end of -it all? - -I could not tell. But it seemed to me that I had left my childhood -behind me in my father's house, with Hal and Jack, and was entering -into the new untried life of a woman, in times which bid fair to be -troubled and tempestuous, and I felt afraid. - -But just then, from the garden below my window, proceeded the sound -of a sweet-toned lute, played so exquisitely that I could have wept -for joy. - -I leaned out of a window and looked down upon the player, and he -looked up to me, the while he played even more beautifully than -before. And I felt soothed and comforted, for, whatever had happened -and was going to happen, there was Sir Hubert Blair, and he was my -friend and I his, and I prayed in my heart for him--for him and for -myself--that God would bless us, and bless our friendship, so that -nothing but good might come of it. When he had gone away, which he -did in a few minutes after playing for me that lovely strain, I went -to bed; and the feeling of happiness which that music had brought to -me was such that I fell asleep the moment my head touched the pillow, -and knew no more till it was time to rise the next morning. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -Sir Hubert and I - -What a wonderful thing is love--the love, I mean, of man for woman -and woman for man! It is so bewitching and alluring, yet withal so -tyrannical and imperious. No wonder that it has been the theme of -poets and historians in all times, and will be as long as the world -remains. Love enters so largely into our lives, for weal or woe, -that to ignore it is to wilfully shut our eyes to facts and blind -ourselves to one of the greatest realities of existence, which must -be reckoned with and allowed for, whatever else is omitted. The -story of the love of man and woman commenced in the Garden of Eden, -runs all through the pages of history, sacred and profane, and is to -be seen in all the haunts of men. It is only the very young into -whose thoughts and calculations it does not enter, until they wake up -suddenly to find themselves its subjects. - -I was wandering about in Lady Caroline's garden, within the castle's -precincts, the next day--her ladyship had left me to amuse myself -whilst she was busy with the steward of her household--thinking about -Sir Hubert Blair, when he came to me, saying wistfully, as he took my -hand in his-- - -'May I have a little talk with you, Mistress Brown? We may not have -such a good opportunity again.' - -A sudden shyness fell upon me, as glancing up, I caught the look in -his dark eyes, and I could not answer in words, though he must have -read my meaning, for he thanked me very much, and we walked on side -by side, stooping ever and anon to look into a flower, or smell an -early rose, but scarcely speaking at all, until he began in feverish -haste-- - -'Lady Caroline sent me to talk to you of matters political and -religious. You heard what I said at the meeting yesterday, and she -wishes me to enlighten you still further about the desires and -intentions of the boldest and perhaps the most farseeing statesmen -near our dying king. But methinks, though politics may be of -importance, and kings and queens demand our unswerving allegiance and -devotion, yet there is something nearer my heart just now, something -which affects mine own self more closely----' He broke off, and -began again: 'Mistress Margaret, this is a rare opportunity for a -quiet talk with you, and I must seize it'----He paused. - -'Yes,' I said, trying to help him on, 'you must seize it!' - -'Exactly,' he rejoined. 'Oh, but you may think it intolerable -presumption on my part. And yet I cannot help it. -Margaret--Margaret, I love you, I love you with all my heart.' - -He took my hands in his, and held them to him. - -I fancy sometimes, after all the far different aspects in which I -have seen his dear face and fine figure, that never did he look so -handsome and so lovable as then, when he was telling me for the first -time of his dear love, and my heart bounded with joy as I realized -that he to the full reciprocated my tender affection. - -Perhaps he read my answer in my face--I have often been told it is -like an open book that he who runs may read--or perhaps he perceived -the difficulty I had in finding words, and wished to spare me, for he -went on, without awaiting for any rejoinder, to tell me that ever -since we first met--he spoke as if that were years and years ago, -though it was barely fifty hours before--he felt convinced that I was -his affinity, his kindred soul, his wife that ought to be. 'We have -been made for each other,' he said, and much more to that effect, -whilst I listened as if I were in a happy dream, and thought that it -was all too good and beautiful to be true. - -And then, long before it was time for her to return--to my thinking, -at least--Lady Caroline came into the garden, and, hastening up to -me, inquired of what I thought of all Sir Hubert had been telling me. - -I felt myself blushing as I answered rather falteringly-- - -'It is very nice--very--very nice.' - -'My dear Mistress Margaret,' she said in a puzzled tone. - -'I mean--I mean it is beautiful,' I hastily corrected myself. - -'Why, Sir Hubert,' exclaimed Lady Caroline, 'what have you been -talking about to her instead of telling her all that I enjoined upon -you to say about our poor young king and his successor?' - -Sir Hubert looked rather confused. 'The fact was,' said he, 'this -garden of yours is so beautiful. We admired the flowers, and -conversed of them until----' - -'You admired each other and conversed of that instead,' she -interrupted merrily. 'Oh! Sir Hubert, fie! You a diplomatist! You -a soldier! You a lover of your country----' - -'I am a lover of one in it, if you like, madam,' he said, and -forthwith we took Lady Caroline into our confidence and confessed -that we were in love. - -'I am delighted to hear it,' said Lady Caroline, adding: 'By your -valour in defending Mistress Margaret Brown the other day, and -perchance saving her life, Sir Hubert, you have earned the right to -aspire to her hand; still I think you must remember that her father -ought to be consulted before you become really betrothed to her.' - -'Her father!' cried Sir Hubert, taken aback. 'Where is he?' - -I explained where my home was, adding dutifully that my father said -business of importance prevented his personally conducting me to -London, yet I could see, even as I said it, that my companions -thought it very remiss of him to leave the care of me on the long -journey to servants, however trustworthy, and not wishing them to -blame him, I went on to say that he was somewhat delicate and his -life was a very valuable one. They seemed to think better of him -after that, and not by any means worse of me, and I have ever noticed -that judicious praise of and speaking up for others endears ourselves -to those to whom we speak. - -Lady Caroline went away presently, and Sir Hubert and I spent a -blissful hour or two in that quaint little garden amongst the -primroses and early wallflowers, violets and wood anemones. - -Our happy time together came to an end only too soon, for we were -summoned to dinner, and afterwards Sir William himself came to me and -Lady Caroline as we sat in the drawing-room, and carefully instructed -me as to the way in which, should opportunity occur, I was to talk to -Lady Jane Grey, touching the matter of her possible succession to the -crown. - -'You must tell her,' said Sir William, 'that the welfare of English -Protestants all over the kingdom rests in her hands. There will be -no religious freedom if Princess Mary becomes queen. Tell Lady Jane -she must not think of herself, for, student as she is, no doubt the -cares and the pomps and ceremonies of royalty will be distasteful to -her; but she must be willing to sacrifice her own wishes to the good -of the people. Yes, that is the way you must put it; for they tell -me she is exceedingly good and kind, self-denying and merciful.' - -I agreed that, if able to do so, I would repeat all this to my -mistress when I joined her, and then I was further instructed upon -the difference between a Roman Catholic Government and a Protestant -one, and the great superiority of the latter. - -I listened to everything that was said and endeavoured to give my -mind to it, whilst yet longing much to have a further talk alone with -Sir Hubert. However, it seemed that could not be, and I retired to -bed early; and with the hope of hearing him play once more, sat by -the window in the moonlight after Betsy had left me for the night. - -And again Sir Hubert came under my window with his lute, and played -so excellently that his lute seemed to speak to me of love until, -enraptured, I leaned out of the window towards the player. Then in a -moment the playing ceased and a small tightly folded note was thrown -into my lap. - -'Good night! Good night!' said Sir Hubert softly, yet so distinctly -that his words were plainly audible, and then he went away and I read -my first love letter. - -'Queen of my heart,' it said; 'my dearest love, as soon as I have -escorted you safely to Sion House I will travel to your father's -house, and tell him of your welfare and beseech him to allow me to -become betrothed to you. I think he will, for I can take him letters -from people of importance testifying to my prowess in battle and my -worthiness of character, and I can show him that I possess no mean -share of this world's goods, together with my estate and Hall of -Harpton in Sussex. But, the best of all, I would have you, my love, -write to him, with your own hand, and that is to say that I am not -wholly uncared for by you. Such a letter, written and sealed, I -would carefully deliver into his hand. Then, if he consents to our -betrothal, I will return to you in all haste to acquaint you with the -good news.' - -The letter ended with some most fond terms of endearment and -assurances of undying affection, and I slept with it under my pillow -that night--as many a girl has done with her lover's letters before -and since--and I dreamt of Sir Hubert Blair, but how he looked and -what he said I must reserve for myself, it being of a purely personal -and private nature. I can only add that I was very happy when I -slept, and still happier when I awoke, and knew that the best of what -had happened was not a dream, because there was the letter under my -pillow, a tangible, visible proof of its reality. And I thanked God -that He had heard my prayer and was causing something very good -indeed to result from our friendship and love for each other. For I -believed then, as indeed I believe still, that two are better than -one, and that man and woman united are better than man and woman -separate, if they be rightly mated and their feet are treading in the -same direction, whilst the golden cord of love binding heart to heart -binds each one also to the mightier heart of God. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -Lady Jane Grey - -The next day I recommenced my journey to London with my servants, Sir -Hubert accompanying us as an outrider. He was well-armed and -followed by his men, also equipped with arquebusses, and that was -well, for we had not long left Guildford before we encountered Sir -Claudius, with a number of his rascally followers. However, -fortunately for us, Sir Hubert and his men were able to beat them, -insomuch that they were compelled to retreat most ignominiously. - -Betsy, who had keen ears, asserted that she heard Sir Claudius vow, -as he retired from the field, that he would not let the grass grow -under his feet before he gained possession of the haughty madam, -whose house and his had been for many years at loggerheads, that he -might humble her pride and lay her low in the dust; which affrighted -me for a while. But Sir Hubert, when I told him, said that the words -were but the vain babbling of an empty-headed braggart, and that I -was to take them for what they were worth, which was less than -nothing; moreover he bade me rebuke Betsy for endeavouring to -affright me, which I did, though timidly, or I should never have -heard the last of it--the woman has such a tongue. - -After that we went on unmolested through Esher, Kingston and to -Isleworth, in which town Sion House, a magnificent riverside -residence, is situated. - -There Sir Hubert Blair had to take leave of me for the time being, -but before going away he pointed out the great river Thames, to the -banks of which he bade me often resort. 'For,' said he, 'when I am -in London 'tis a very great amusement of mine, and a most pleasant -way of passing the time, to take a boat and two or three men and row -up stream. I have been,' said he, 'as far as Hampton Court Palace, -which was built by Cardinal Wolsey and given by him to King Henry, -our King Edward's father, and even twice I went past there as far as -Staines, and once beyond that, even to Windsor Castle.' - -I had read of those places in history, and I knew they were some -distance from London, and thought Sir Hubert must have rare fun in -rowing so far with a few men in a small boat; and then I began to -wonder if I should ever see him in his boat passing up the river. - -'I shall be lonely sometimes, I doubt not,' said I, 'when my -servants, all except Betsy, have gone home, and every one else will -be strange to me here. It would be nice to see you passing by.' - -'I will come,' he said. 'You will see me in my boat, rowing up the -river.' - -'Ah, how glad I shall be!' I said. - -'And I--ah! how glad I shall be when I see you coming sauntering -along the footpath by the river! Shall I tell you what I shall do?' - -'Yes.' - -'I shall come up to the bank and hold out my hand, you will give me -yours, and then you will step into the boat and I shall take you for -a row!' - -I was delighted. ''Twill be a rare pleasure,' I said. - -'And perhaps'--he lowered his voice--'perhaps the day will come when -I will take you away in my boat and never, never bring you back.' - -After he had gone--carrying with him a short letter from me to my -father--and he was perforce obliged to leave me soon, for it would -not do to keep the servants waiting--I treasured the memory of those -last words of his in my heart, and thought of them many times when -feeling homesick or afraid of the troublous days to come. They -comforted me, too, when my menservants left me and went home with the -horses and litter, which seemed like burning my boats behind me. - -I was received with kindness by Lady Jane's servants and others of -the household of the Duke of Northumberland, her father-in-law. For -he was the owner of the house, although he was allowing his son, Lord -Dudley, and Lady Jane to live there. Particularly Mistress Ellen, -Lady Jane's other gentlewoman, was good to me and welcomed me right -heartily as her fellow lady-in-waiting. Mistress Ellen was older -than I was, and much older than Lady Jane, who was a few months my -junior, which I was rather glad of at the time, thinking that then -thought, I need not be afraid of her. - -Mistress Ellen would not allow me to see lady Jane that first night; -she said I was too tired and too much overcome by the vastness of the -house and its grandeur to appear at my best before her mistress. -'Sleep will restore your strength,' she said, 'and give you the quiet -confidence, which perhaps more than anything else betokens a true -gentlewoman, who knows what she is, although perhaps others do not at -the time. And I should like you to stand well, child,' she said -kindly, 'in the regard of Lady Jane, for she has few friends of her -own age, being so learned and bookish as to find little sympathy -amongst other girls--and, although she is married, she is but a girl, -poor young thing!' and she sighed. - -Mistress Ellen, I should think, was thirty years old, and looked -older, because of her manner of dress, which was handsome but -exceedingly cumbrous, especially in regard to her coif, or bonnet, -which concealed a large portion of her face and head. She was very -kind to me, and when I cried that first night, being so weary and -thinking of my father and the boys so far away, and Sir Hubert gone, -too, for a while, she comforted me with loving words, saying I was to -take courage, for the future might have great things in store for me, -and the past was past and I should never again have that first -bitterness of homesickness to live through, as every day of my new -life would make it easier for me. - -And when I fell asleep that first night at Sion House, I dreamt about -Sir Hubert coming for me in a boat, which I saw gliding, gliding -through the water, ever nearer, ever nearer, yet, alas! never coming -quite up to the bank on which I stood, waiting with outstretched -arms. They say it is unlucky to dream about water, and I felt rather -low spirited when I awoke, but not so much because of that as -because, with my first waking thoughts, my homesickness and -loneliness returned, and I turned my face to the wall and cried a -little, wishing I was a child again at home with Hal and Jack and my -father and good old Master Montgomery at the parsonage near by, to -say nothing of the serving men and women. - -But I never felt like that again in her home after I had once seen -Lady Jane Grey, as she was still often called, although her married -name was Dudley. - -I remember so well the first time I saw her. She was sitting in her -favourite corner of the great drawing-room, with a book in her hand, -waiting for her husband, Lord Dudley, to go out with her, and was -richly dressed in black velvet and white satin. Her skirt, which was -very full, was bordered down the sides with ermine, as was also her -bodice, which was pointed at the waist and square in the neck, with a -chemisette of satin quilted with pearls. She wore a close honeycomb -ruff at the throat and a velvet coif, pointed and bordered with -pearls, and long hanging velvet sleeves over tighter ones of white -satin, with ruffles of cloth of gold, whilst the richest jewels added -lustre to her handsome clothing. But she was not thinking of her -dress, for her sweet and lovely countenance was poring over her book -so closely that she did not hear me approach or heed the murmur of -Mistress Ellen's voice saying to me aside, 'She is reading Plato. -'Tis a work for which she has an immense liking.' - -I dared not speak, but looked wistfully at the beautiful girl whose -thoughts were so riveted on the book she read that she had none to -spare for a poor young stranger, and then I sighed deeply, and that -aroused her, who had always a tender ear for the suffering of others. - -She raised her eyes slowly from the open page, and, as they rested on -my face, gave a little cry of glad surprise. - -'My new gentlewoman!' she exclaimed. 'And one so young and pretty! -Oh, this is a pleasure!' and she held out both her hands and kissed -me, saying, 'We shall be great friends, you and I.' - -I thought so too, for my heart went out to her then as it never did -before or since to one of my own sex, and I felt that she was worthy -of my love, and that all I could do for her would be too little to -express the loving service I should like to offer. - -Mistress Ellen went away and left us together--in that showing her -usual discretion--and my dear lady asked me many questions relating -to my home and kindred, the long journey I had come upon and the -dangers of the way. I answered readily, experiencing a rare pleasure -in finding her responsive nature understand, appreciate and -sympathize with everything I said. - -'Oh,' said she, when at length I had told her all that I could think -of just then--except indeed what I had heard at Woodleigh Castle -relating to her future, which I dared not mention--not omitting the -valiant deeds that Sir Hubert Blair had done for my assistance, 'how -I have enjoyed hearing you talk! What you have told me is so -different from anything that has ever happened to me. It is all so -interesting and so like a poem, only more real and life-like than any -poetry, and it is true, that is the best of all.' - -'Yes; it is true,' I said. 'And I could not talk like that to any -one else. There is something in you, madam, which draws out my -innermost thoughts.' - -Lady Jane smiled, and told me that in that case I should have to be -very careful always to have good thoughts, adding that I ought to -read much in the Bible and in such books as the one she was perusing, -and also that I ought to pray for the Holy Spirit to guide me unto -all truth. - -I was going to inquire about the book she was reading when we were -interrupted by the entrance of a gentleman richly dressed in crimson -velvet embroidered with gold, and silk stockings. - -'Dudley, this is my new gentlewoman,' said Lady Jane, turning to him, -and then formally introducing her husband to me. - -The young man, who was handsome, manly, and withal most courteous in -manner and bearing, spoke a kindly word or two to me, and then -requested Lady Jane to allow him to take her to her litter which was -waiting at the door. - -'I shall see more of you to-morrow, Margery--I may call you Margery, -may I not?' she said prettily, and, upon my assenting with pleasure, -gave so sweet a smile that it seemed to linger after she had gone, -filling me with a strange new happiness. I was fascinated with my -dear lady, and stood in the empty room looking at the place where she -had been and the chair where she sat, as if I were in a dream. - -My eyes fell upon the book which she had left upon the table and I -picked it up. But, alas! the words contained in it were written in a -strange language and I could not read a line. But I raised the -little volume to my lips and kissed the place where her dear eyes had -rested. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -Plato - -I was wonderfully fascinated by the whole personality of Lady Jane, -her youth, beauty, sweetness of disposition, charming manner, and -last but not least, her richly cultured mind and the true religion -revealed not so much by what she said as by her every act and deed. -Indeed this new love of mine bid fair to outrival even my recently -sprung-up affection for Sir Hubert Blair, and I did not go down to -the river bank to look out for him for several weeks owing to the -great content with which the presence of my mistress filled me and -the enjoyment I felt in her society. It was not so much that I was -with her every minute, for her husband and other relations often -engaged hours of her time, but it was my duty and my pleasure to -linger near, that if by any chance she wished for me, or the others -left her alone, I might be close as hand and ready to bear her -company.[1] - - -[1] We have all of us seen, occasionally, the fascination with which -an older, or more gifted young woman has over a girl of similar -inclinations but less ability, and so can understand this new and -ardent attachment of Margaret Brown's.--ED. - - -I remember so well and vividly what she said to me one day about her -beloved Plato. We were in the garden, seated in an arbour shaded by -pink and white hawthorn trees in full flower, the scent of which came -to us pleasantly as we talked, whilst our eyes rested on the -well-kept lawns and the trees in the park with the mighty river -beyond flowing silently on its way. - -'Is your book so very interesting?' I asked, for her eyes fell often -upon it while we conversed as if it were enticing her back to its -pages. - -'Yes, dear,' she answered, 'it is most interesting, for it deals with -the great truths of life. You will have to learn to read it for -yourself, Margery, and you will like it, too.' - -'But it is written in Greek,' said I with a sigh, 'and that would -take such a lot of learning.' - -'I would help you,' said Lady Jane kindly, 'and you would soon learn.' - -But I shook my head. - -'Why should I be at so much trouble,' said I, 'when you can tell me -all about it--what it says, you know?' - -'What we acquire without trouble does not do us much good,' was the -gentle answer. 'However, you must know Plato was the founder of a -great school of Greek philosophy. He was a disciple of Socrates. -You have heard of him?' - -'A little,' said I. 'Master Montgomery, our good curate, told me he -was a man who taught truths which the people were not educated enough -to receive; therefore they killed him.' - -'Yes; they killed him, much as others killed Christ our Lord, because -they could not receive His teaching. Killing the body is the -_extreme penalty of the law_,' and Lady Jane shuddered. ''Tis a -cruel thing,' she said, 'for men to crush out and destroy the life -they cannot give, and 'tis a savage idea to murder the body for what -they imagine is a crime of the mind.' - -I thought of her words long afterwards, when her own fate gave to -them a mournful significance. At the time I could not bear to see -sadness in her face, and therefore, to change the subject, asked-- - -'When did Plato live?' - -'In the fifth century before Christ. He was a great teacher----' she -paused. How could she explain it all to one so ignorant as me? - -'Tell me,' I said earnestly, 'tell me one thing that he said?' - -A wistful expression came into the sweet face on which I looked, and, -turning over the leaves of her book, she seemed to seek for something -suitable for me. It was not, however, until she reached the last -page of her volume that she opened her dear lips to translate, in -quaint sweet accents, these words of Plato's-- - -'"If the company will be persuaded by me, accounting the soul -immortal--_we shall always hold to the road that leads above, and -justice with prudence we shall by all means pursue_, in order that we -may be friends both to ourselves and to the gods, both whilst we -remain here and when we receive its rewards, so we shall, like -victors, both here and there enjoy a happy life." It is like our -dear Lord's teaching,' she said, 'though it was uttered more than -four centuries before He came to live as a man on earth.' - -'They are good words,' said I, 'and I wish that I could remember them -always.' - -'I will write them out for you,' said Lady Jane. 'And you must learn -them by heart, and never, never forget them.' - -And she was as good as her word, and wrote them out for me in her -beautiful handwriting, and I learned them every one, so that -sometimes when we were sitting together in the gloaming, before the -candles were lighted, I could say them to her without a book; and she -would talk about them, telling me, too, what her dear old tutors, -Master Ascham, and Master Aylmer, afterwards Bishop of London, used -to teach about prudence, justice and kindred virtues. - -One day the latter gentleman came to see her, to her intense delight, -and I was much struck with his fine scholarly appearance and gentle -manners. Lady Jane hung upon his lips, and treasured up everything -he said, to discuss it with me afterwards and think over it many and -many a time. - -These tutors had indeed a great claim upon my dear lady's devotion, -for they had instructed her so well that she spoke and wrote with -correctness Greek, Latin, Italian and French, and also understood not -a little of Hebrew, Chaldee and Arabic; moreover, she was, with all -that learning, so modest and humble that you might have thought her a -very simple ignorant maid at first sight, though, speaking for -myself, I have ever noticed that large-minded people who are cultured -and educated finely are more chary in expressing their feelings and -meeker in their bearing than the empty-headed braggarts who think by -much speaking and loud boasting they will carry all before them. -''Tis an empty whistle that makes most sound,' my father used to say, -and he knew much of life, though he had buried himself latterly in -the country. - -It was very quiet at Sion House for a month or six weeks after I went -there, and the life that we led would have seemed, though stately, -tame and monotonous after the wild freedom of my home and the lively -companionship of my young brothers if it had not been for the great -beauty and fascination with which Lady Jane endowed it. Following -her about, listening to her footsteps when she was absent, looking at -her when she was present, wondering what I could do to please her, -studying to comfort her when she was cast down--for she had troubles, -even then, owing to the severity of her parents who, though she was -married and apart from them (they lived at Sheen House at the other -side of the Thames), by no means showed her kindness and -consideration--so filled my time and thoughts that every moment of -the days was full of interest and sped by with lightning speed. - -Then, on the ninth of July, all at once, as a storm breaks out after -a calm, or a tumult after a time of torpor and almost unnatural -quiescence, the peaceful quietude of Sion House was broken up by the -arrival of an illustrious company with their followers. - -Mistress Ellen brought the news to Lady Jane, with whom I was sitting -in the drawing-room, that the Duke of Northumberland, the Marquis of -Northampton and the Earls of Arundel, Huntingdon, and Pembroke had -arrived and were desirous of seeing her. - -'What does this portend?' exclaimed my dear lady in the utmost -dismay, and methought she had some idea of the truth, for she turned -as pale as a corpse and wrung her hands. The Duchess of -Northumberland, her mother-in-law, had dropped some hints in her -letters of wonderful good fortune in store for her, and Lady Jane had -spoken of it to me. But I had never ventured to acquaint her with my -knowledge of the schemes of those who meant to place her on the -throne when anything happened to our king. I felt instinctively that -anything of that sort would distress her infinitely, and there was, -besides, a dignity about her and a gracious reserve which caused me -always to allow her to take the lead in our conversations. My heart -smote me now, however, that I had not striven in some sort to prepare -her mind for what was manifestly in store for her, and I wished that -I had kept my promise to Lady Caroline Wood and had spoken of all -that I had seen and heard at Woodleigh Castle in relation to -Protestantism and Papacy, the kingdom and herself. It was too late -now to say anything; I could only whisper to her to take courage and -hope for the best. - -'But, Margery,' she said, 'I fear this visit of noble dukes and lords -betokens no good. I would that I were a simple country maid,' she -added wistfully, 'that I might be left alone with my books and -studies. However,' she pulled herself together, 'whatever happens, -"I must hold to the road that leads above, and justice with prudence -always pursue,"' and, with those words of her beloved Plato on her -lips, she went forward to meet her fate and the visitors who were its -harbingers. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -Queen of England - -I and Mistress Ellen stood in the background of the great hall as -Lady Jane advanced with quiet dignity to meet her guests. Her fair -young face was troubled, but she smiled pleasantly as she looked up -at her father-in-law and his companions. - -'To what,' she inquired, 'to what do I owe the honour of this visit?' - -'We are a deputation,' said the Duke of Northumberland, whom I saw -for the first time--he was a handsome man, with fine strongly marked -features and a gallant, soldierly bearing, and he was richly -apparelled in black velvet. - -'A deputation to whom?' queried my mistress as he paused. - -'To you, madam,' was the instant response. 'You see here,' waving -his hand towards those that accompanied him, 'the Marquis of -Northampton and the Earls of Arundel, Huntingdon and Pembroke. We -have come to announce to you the sorrowful tidings of the death of -the king, your cousin.' - -'Dead! Is he dead?' exclaimed Lady Jane sadly. - -'Yes, madam, he is dead.' - -'Ah! poor Edward! Kings as well as paupers have to die.' The tears -came into her eyes. - -'Yes, madam,' said the Marquis of Northampton. 'Death comes to all -alike. High and low, rich and poor, good and bad, all have to die.' - -'Death is the last enemy,' observed the Earl of Arundel sententiously. - -'I like better to think of him as a friend,' said Lady Jane, 'who -comes when all others fail us, like a nurse saying, "My child, lie -down and sleep. You are tired now, therefore all goes wrong. You -will awake by and bye to a new life where everything is well."' - -Her voice became lower and lower as she spoke, and a beautiful look -shone in her face, as of one whose faith is great. One or two of the -gentlemen seemed impressed, but the Duke of Northumberland frowned -impatiently. - -'We have no time to stand sentimentalizing here,' he said. Then, -addressing Lady Jane more particularly, he continued, 'Madam, we have -much to say to you, and there are great matters to consider. The -king is dead, but there is the kingdom.' - -'True. Our dear England.' - -'For which the late king did so much,' said the Earl of Pembroke. -(Mistress Ellen whispered their names or I should never have known -one from the other.) 'Strengthening the Protestant cause and -abolishing Roman Catholicism from the land.' - -'Yes, indeed,' assented Lady Jane. - -'Before he died,' said the Duke of Northumberland, 'the king was in -great concern that the Church should continue in the form and spirit -in which it now is.' He paused, looking meaningly at my mistress. - -If I had only prepared her mind, as I had been told to do, she would -have understood, but, as it was, she looked startled and bewildered. - -'Surely,' she said at length, seeing that they waited for her to -speak, 'surely nothing can disturb our Church, which in its present -form is so deeply rooted in the affections of all Protestant people?' - -'Of all Protestants, yes,' said the Duke of Northumberland. 'But -what of the Papists? You know, madam, there are many Papists in -England who are waiting, longing, and watching for an opportunity to -restore their creed and ritual to the whole land.' - -'But they can never do that,' said Lady Jane. 'England would not -tolerate it now.' - -'Our late king,' continued the Duke of Northumberland solemnly, 'was -well aware that if his sister, Princess Mary, who is a bigoted -Papist, were to succeed to the throne, all his efforts for the -established Church would be annulled and overthrown. Feeling this -deeply, and knowing well what misery and woe would come upon his -people if this happened, he took steps, whilst yet he was alive, to -put aside his sisters, who had indeed been declared illegitimate by -Act of Parliament, and secure the succession to one whose -Protestantism is beyond dispute.' He paused. - -Lady Jane started and looked at him with widely opened eyes. No -word, however, escaped from her pale lips. - -'Madam,' said the duke, 'actuated by that reason and also by the wish -to preserve the kingdom from the disputes the illegitimacy of his -sisters might occasion, our late monarch made his will, passing them -over and bequeathing the crown to his true legitimate heir who, he -was well aware, held the true faith. He, therefore, in his will -ordered the Council to proclaim you queen.' - -Every vestige of colour left my dear lady's face, and she looked -round affrightedly as if for some way of escape, making a gesture of -dissent, though no word fell from her lips. - -She was only sixteen years of age, and anything more opposed to her -disposition and love of retirement and study could not well have been -proposed. - -'And in the case of your having no children your sisters Catherine -and Mary are to succeed you,' went on the Duke of Northumberland. - -Still Lady Jane said not a word, but the look in her eyes made me -press forward nearer to her, saying in my heart, 'If I had only -prepared you for this!' - -The attendant nobles fell upon their knees, declaring that Lady Jane -Grey was queen, and vowing that they would defend her rights to the -death, if necessary. - -It was such a sight as you have never seen, all those high-born lords -upon their knees before a slim young girl, who only a year before was -a child, and she staring at them with wide eyes out of a -fear-stricken, pallid countenance. - -The tension only lasted a few moments and then, with a piercing cry, -my dear Lady Jane fell to the floor. - -I was on my knees by her side before any one else, and was trying to -raise her head when there was another commotion in the hall caused by -the entrance of her mother, the Duchess of Suffolk, who had come over -from Sheen House, on the other side of the river, accompanied by the -Duchess of Northumberland and the Marchioness of Northampton. These -great ladies swept down upon us, and would have ordered me away, -there and then, if looks could have done it, but I would not leave my -mistress to their tender mercies, and continued to support her head -on my lap, so that I could not be removed without disturbing her. - -In a little while she came round out of her swoon, and then, seeing -her mother and mother-in-law, began to entreat them and the Duke of -Northumberland very pitifully not to lay the burden of royalty upon -her, declaring herself to be a most unfit person to reign in Edward's -place, and saying over and over again that, in spite of all that had -been said, the Princess Mary and, after her, the Princess Elizabeth -were the rightful heirs to the throne. - -It was in vain that the duke and duchess urged considerations of the -harm which would befall Protestantism if Princess Mary reigned, and -of the dissensions which might rend the land if the legitimacy of the -queen were doubtful; the Lady Jane only said-- - -'Other wrongs do not make a wrong right. I am sure Princess Mary is -the rightful queen, and I should be a usurper if I were to take her -place.' - -Again and again she said the same thing, praying and beseeching them -not to force her to become queen. - -'Think you,' she said, 'that the great God who made heaven and earth -cannot take care of Protestantism and this beloved England of ours -without the help of a young girl like me? Do you think that by doing -what my conscience tells me is wrong I can advance the cause of the -High and Holy One?' - -But it was all in vain. They would not listen to her. Their minds -were set upon making her queen, more for their own advancement than -for the good of their country, and in their eyes she was a child who -was to be made to do the thing that they pleased. - -When she became ill with terror and distress and crying we took her -to her bedroom, and when she implored that they would leave her there -alone with me the Duchess of Suffolk said, 'No, I shall stay with you -myself.' - -'And so shall I,' said the Duchess of Northumberland. - -Then they turned me out of the room, together with Mistress Ellen, -that they might the better take poor Lady Jane in hand, and we heard -a pitiful cry from her as the bolt of the door was slid, leaving us -on the outside and her within alone with them. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -By the River - -My heart was wrung with seeing my dear lady's affliction, and when -the Duchess of Northumberland and the Duchess of Suffolk, her mother, -peremptorily turned me out of the bedroom, scarcely knowing what I -did I ran downstairs and out of the big house by a side door. - -A great longing to escape from those wealthy hard-hearted magnates, -who for ambition were willing and even wishful to sacrifice the -happiness of the sweetest being on earth, made me flee from their -presence and, what was almost worse, the presence of their proud and -haughty retainers. In the garden I thought I should have solitude, -but, alas, it was already thronged with lords and ladies, talking -together in groups, and meaner folk gossiping as they went hither and -thither at their masters' bidding. Seeing that I must go further -away if I would be alone, I hurried across the park to presently find -myself amongst the willows by the river side. - -There was a slight breeze, and it stirred the leaves and even -branches, making a soft sound which seemed to whisper to me some -message which yet I could not catch. - -Leaning back against a tree, I gazed wearily across the water -gleaming so brightly in the sunshine, feeling worn by the strong -emotions I had been through and scarcely knowing what I was looking -for; I knew, however, when it came, for even as I stood there, -silently up the river glided a boat in which a young man was seated. - -Sir Hubert Blair it was, and he gave a start of glad surprise upon -seeing me there, and then waved his hat in the air, and called out a -hearty greeting and an earnest entreaty that I would stay where I was -until he landed. For my first instinct was to flee like a startled -fawn, and that although I had the strongest wish to be with him once -more and tell him all my trouble. - -With the utmost possible speed my lover sculled across to the little -landing-stage and made fast the painter of his boat. Then he climbed -the bank until he stood by my side and was holding my hands and -looking down into my face with the tenderest love. - -'What is it, sweetheart?' he asked, reading trouble in my eyes, and -then, as I could not immediately answer him, he went on to tell me -that he had been past Sion House several times in his boat, but -without seeing me. 'I looked for you, dear. But you were not here,' -he said. 'However, all is well that ends well, and now that I have -you at last I shall not spoil the time by regretting what is past.' - -He paused. - -And still I could not talk, having enough to do to keep from breaking -down and weeping. He therefore continued, 'I have been to your home -in Sussex, and have asked your father's permission to become -betrothed to you, and, after he had heard all I had to say, he -willingly gave it and said that he would write to you. Has he -written?' - -'No,' said I, shaking my head. 'But he is ever slow to write about -anything. He promises, and then he puts off doing it, for writing is -ever irksome to him.' - -'Ah, well, it does not matter, does it, sweet one? We understand -each other, and he has consented to our betrothal, and that is quite -enough,' and he pressed my hand. - -'Enough truly,' said I. 'But oh!----' and I stopped short, sighing -heavily, for indeed it did seem most heartless of us to be settling -up our own happiness, as it were, when my poor mistress was in such -dire distress. - -And again Sir Hubert, reading my trouble in my face, besought me to -tell him all that was distressing me. - -I told him everything, not omitting my own negligence in failing to -prepare my mistress for what was in store for her upon the king's -death. - -He knew of the latter sad event, and of course regarded the matter of -Lady Jane's unhappiness quite differently from what I did. - -'They are right,' he said, 'who want to make Lady Jane queen instead -of the Papist Mary. Think of the horrors that would befall this land -if Roman Catholicism prevailed. Have you forgotten all I told you -about the awful Inquisition? Consider what it would be if -established here in England. No one would be safe. You might be -talking to me one half hour and the next that which is worse than the -grave might have swallowed me up for ever, or perchance you. No one -is secure where secret deaths and tortures pervade the land. Oh, the -misery, the weeping of loving relations for their friends who have -vanished from them in that way! You have no idea what it is like. -And even,' he continued earnestly, 'even if Lady Jane does not want -to be queen, it is expedient that one should suffer a little rather -than many a great deal. And she ought to be glad,' he concluded -zealously, 'she ought to be glad that she is chosen to do a great -work for England. As a true-hearted woman, she will be ready and -willing to sacrifice herself for others.' - -'Yes,' said I, 'she will, I know, if she can be brought to look at it -in that way. No discomfort to herself will in her mind militate -against doing the thing that is right.' - -'Therefore she will do it.' - -'But the question is, would it be right for her to accept the crown?' -said I. 'She has a great love of justice, and she thinks the -Princess Mary ought to be queen.' - -Sir Hubert, upon that, gave utterance to the usual arguments about -the alleged illegitimacy of the royal princesses, and said, moreover, -that to his mind the last will and testament of King Edward, making -Lady Jane Grey heir to the crown, settled the matter. Yet I was not -convinced that my mistress would accept such reasoning, and, although -I hesitated to say so, my lover read that also in my face, and looked -disappointed. - -'They say a woman never can be convinced against her will,' he said -at length, adding, 'Would that I could talk to her on the subject!' - -'That would be best,' said I, 'for you have such a wise way of -putting it, Sir Hubert.' - -'Oh, you must not call me Sir Hubert,' said he, and then a little -fond, affectionate lovers' talk ensued, which I am not so foolish as -to write down here. For, though it is the loveliest language to -those concerned, it spelleth out ridiculously to the critical ears of -others, who wholly lack the key to unravel its correct meaning. - -And then, all too soon, we had to part, Sir Hubert to mingle with -some lords and knights on the great lawn, there to await the Duke of -Northumberland's commands--for to the latter all men's eyes were -directed of those who hoped for a Protestant succession--whilst I had -to hasten back to the neighbourhood of my mistress' bedroom, that I -might take advantage of the first chance of entering it. - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -In the Tower - -The Duchesses of Northumberland and Suffolk did their best to make my -mistress give in to their will and consent to be made queen, but her -pure, brave heart could not be forced by severity and harsh -treatment; those ambitious, callous-hearted women might kill her -body--it was a frail one--but they could not conquer her mind or bend -her spirit; it required another force, the holier one of love, with -its softening, penetrating influence to do that; and love, her love -for her husband, Lord Dudley, and obedience to his commands it was -which finally succeeded where all else had failed. - -'I could not resist my dear lord, Margery,' she confessed to me, when -early the next morning I at last obtained access to her bedroom. -'God forgive me if I am doing wrong,' she said. 'But Paul the -Apostle taught us that the head of the woman is the man, and that a -wife's duty is to obey----' She paused, looking at me piteously, and -I saw that in her own mind, in spite of her words, she was not yet -convinced. - -'And it is for the good of the nation, madam,' said I. - -'It is for no good I fear, Margery,' said my mistress, sighing -deeply. 'And it is neither prudent nor just.' - -I knew that she was thinking of Plato's words, 'Justice with prudence -we shall by all means pursue,' and my heart ached for her. - -'How can I wear the crown which lawfully belongs to another?' she -moaned. 'But it will not be for long. Princess Mary is away from -London just now, having fled for her life, until she can rally her -party. But she will return, I know, and the justness of the nation -will place her at its head--for it is idle talk about the slur on her -birth. Her mother was lawfully married to King Henry, and it was -only for his own vicious ends that he put her away. However, -Margery, we must leave all this, for it is no use dwelling upon it -now that I have promised Lord Dudley to obey his wishes.' - -She sobbed again and again, as we dressed her regally for the grand -doings of that day, and every sob went to my heart and made me echo -it, until she ceased weeping to wipe my tears away, and Mistress -Ellen said I was nothing but a hindrance, and began to rate me sorely. - -When Lady Jane was dressed for the ceremony--I had almost said -sacrifice--she looked wondrously young and lovely. Her figure was -tall, slight and well proportioned, giving promise of great beauty. -Her dress--which the duchesses had brought with them for the -occasion--was a gown of cloth of gold trimmed with pearls, a -stomacher blazing with diamonds and other precious stones, and a -surcoat of purple velvet bordered with ermine. Her train was of -purple velvet and was also edged with ermine and richly embroidered -in gold. Her slender and swan-like throat was encircled with a -carcanet of gold set with rubies and pearls, from which hung one -almost priceless pearl. Her headdress was a coif of velvet adorned -with rows of pearls and bound together by a circlet of gold. - -I had never seen such grand attire in my life and was feeling quite -overwhelmed by it, when Mistress Ellen said in my ear, 'I like not so -many pearls. It is said they mean tears, and truly our mistress was -tearful enough in the putting of them on. God grant that she may not -also take them off in tears!' - -Lady Jane lingered a little in her room when we had dressed her, as -if reluctant to quit it. - -'I have been often very happy here,' she said wistfully, 'and I know -not what the future may have in store for me.' - -I wished then, and I wished often afterwards, that I could have -spoken out and told her all that Sir Hubert would have said to her if -he had had the chance, but could only think of some of his words and -of those Lady Caroline Wood had made me promise to say, and therefore -faltered-- - -'Dear madam, do not think of yourself now, but only of the people of -England. You know it is for their good that you are going to -sacrifice your own wishes.' - -'For their good!' she exclaimed. 'Oh, Margery, if I could think it -was for their real good I could go cheerfully to death if needs be!' - -'Who is talking of going to death on this joyful occasion?' exclaimed -Lord Guildford Dudley, entering the room after a hasty knock at the -door. 'For shame, Jane, to croak in that way at the very moment of -your elevation to the first place in the land.' - -Lady Jane flushed a little at the reproof, but instantly smiled with -her usual sweetness, then a look of admiration came into her eyes as -they fell upon her husband. - -He was magnificently attired in white cloth of gold, and wore a -collar of diamonds, and his handsome face and manly figure, with the -indefinable air of chivalry which characterized both him and his -father, made him appear to us to look truly regal. - -His eyes swept appraisingly over his young wife's beauty and her -gorgeous dress, then, with a little bow and a whispered compliment, -he offered his arm and took her downstairs into the great hall -thronged with highborn gentlemen and ladies. - -Mistress Ellen and I were perforce separated from Lady Jane, as our -place was taken by great Court ladies, but when the cavalcade, of -which Lord Guildford Dudley and Lady Jane were the centre started for -London, we formed part of the vast following of servants and -dependants. - -So they took my precious mistress in great state, first of all to -Northumberland House in the Strand, the residence of her -father-in-law, where she received the homage of many of her chief -subjects, and afterwards, with her husband and the Duke and Duchess -of Northumberland, the Duke and Duchess of Suffolk, and other -magnates, partook of a great State banquet, the grandeur of which -seemed to me truly amazing and like unto a fairy tale. - -In the midst of it all, having been overlooked and being bewildered -and afraid, Mistress Ellen and I would perchance actually have -suffered hunger if Sir Hubert Blair and Sir William Wood, who were -among the Duke of Northumberland's following, had not found us out -and got a place for us among some fine Court ladies, with whom, to my -joy, was Lady Caroline Wood. - -'This is a great day,' she said, 'Mistress Margaret, for England and -for her,' and she looked across the table to Lady Jane's pale though -beautiful face. - -'Yes, indeed,' I rejoined, beginning my repast with all haste, for -many of those present were finishing, and the claims of hunger made -themselves felt. - -'It was one to which we were looking forward when you visited our -castle,' she went on, 'and one for which that visit prepared you.' - -I coloured a little as I ate my soup, fearing lest she should inquire -if I had done my best to prepare Lady Jane's mind for the part she -was to play, but a true lady is careful not to embarrass another, so -my companion went on chatting pleasantly while I ate and drank, and -it was only when I ended that she inquired if my father's consent had -been obtained to my betrothal to Sir Hubert Blair. I answered in the -affirmative, and thereupon she fell to praising Sir Hubert with such -zest that I loved her dearly and thought, after my dear mistress, she -was the nicest kindest woman I had ever seen. - -And then, the banquet being over, and the Duke of Northumberland -having collected his retinue, the whole cavalcade, of which Queen -Jane, as they now called her, and her consort were the centre, -proceeded in a grand procession to the Tower of London, where it is -customary for the monarchs of England to begin their reign. - -I cannot describe all the details of what made the most gorgeous -state-procession that I ever saw, as I only caught glimpses of part -of it from where I had my place beside Lady Caroline Wood and -Mistress Ellen. But I know a troop of halberdiers, wearing velvet -caps and fine doublets embroidered with the royal blazon woven in -gold, and bearing staves covered with crimson velvet and adorned with -golden tassels, in two long files lined the way from Northumberland -House to the Thames, where the royal barge awaited us, for we were to -go to the Tower by water. Cloth was laid down between these files of -halberdiers for the procession to walk over, trumpets blew a great -flourish, the sound of which met and mingled with the music of -musicians on the water. The City Guard, the Garter King-at-Arms, the -Knights of the Bath, in their accoutrements, the Judges in their -scarlet and coifs, the Bishop of Ely who, being Lord Chancellor, wore -a robe of scarlet, the Lord Mayor in crimson velvet, with many more -illustrious, gaily-dressed persons, were followed by two venerable -ecclesiastics, Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Ridley, Bishop -of London, in their surplices and snowy lawn sleeves, and then the -Dukes of Northumberland and Suffolk, richly dressed, and the royal -party. - -It was a brilliant scene, although the sun was overclouded and the -day gloomy with the signs of an approaching storm, and the air was -full of music and trumpeting and the sounds of movement and revelry. -One thing, however, smote us to the heart, and that was that although -the streets were packed with onlookers no joyful cries of greeting to -Queen Jane, no caps thrown in the air, no waving of hands and -handkerchiefs betokened the joy of a people catching sight of its -sovereign for the first time. True, murmurs of sympathy and -admiration were to be heard when the youth and beauty of the royal -lady were perceived. But it was only too evident that she was not -the queen the nation desired. - -'The silence of the people is ominous,' whispered Lady Caroline to -me, 'I trust our queen does not observe it.' - -'She cannot fail to notice it,' I returned. 'Oh, why could they not -let her remain a private lady as she was before? Why need they drag -her into this prominent position? She did not want to be a queen. -She swooned when first the idea was made known to her----' - -'But you had prepared her mind,' began Lady Caroline. - -I did not heed the interpretation, but went on to describe how, on -coming out of her swoon, my mistress begged and implored that she -might not be made queen. I only spoke in a whisper, but my -companions, fearful of my being overheard, made haste to stop me, and -I could see that they did not wish to hear what I was telling them, -their hearts being set upon Queen Jane's accession to the throne. - -As our barge, following the royal barge, slowly passed along the -river, I was greatly struck by the beauty and grandeur of the mighty -city through which we were passing. I had never seen London before, -and its gardens and stately palaces, spires and towers of churches, -gateways, towers, drawbridges, houses, mills and chapels, and, last -but not least, the noble old cathedral of St. Paul's,[1] presented to -me a panorama of picturesque and beautiful scenes.[2] - - -[1] The old cathedral which was burnt to the ground.--ED. - -[2] London in the old days must have been strikingly beautiful and -picturesque, the gardens of the fine old mansions and palaces -extending down to the riverside, and the air being clear and clean, -undimmed and unpolluted by smoke.--ED. - - -It was about three o'clock in the afternoon when Queen Jane arrived -at the Tower, her advent to that fortress being heralded by a -deafening roar of ordnance, coming from the batteries, which was -answered by the guns of several ships at anchor in the river. - -Trumpets blew and bells rang, also, as Queen Jane landed, but there -was still the same ominous silence of onlookers, who, in small and -large boats, hovered around. - -As the young queen walked into the Tower the Duchess of Suffolk, her -mother, bore her train, the Lord Treasurer presented to her the -crown, and her relations saluted her on their knees. - -The thunder crashed, and the storm without spent itself upon the -lingering sightseers, but Queen Jane was in the Tower, and when I -caught sight of her face for a moment I saw that all traces of fear -and sorrow had passed from it, leaving only the calm and lofty -expression of one who, possessing her own soul in patience, 'holds to -the road that leads above' in spite of every earthly distraction. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -At St. Paul's Cross - -'Oh, Margery! Margery! I am in sore trouble!' - -It was the next morning, and Queen Jane turning away from all her -grand Court ladies, seized the first opportunity of being alone with -me to sob out her griefs in my arms, which held her tightly and with -great affection. - -I gathered, with a little difficulty, for she would not say one word -against her husband, Lord Guildford Dudley, that he, at whose bidding -she was making so great a sacrifice, not satisfied with that, was -becoming even more exacting. At first all his ambition seemed to be -centred in the desire that his wife should be Queen of Great Britain -and Ireland, and that in spite of her firm conviction that she would -be usurping the throne which rightly belonged to Princess Mary. But -now, not content with seeing her made queen, he desired to be crowned -also, that he might be king with equal rights to hers. This, -however, my dear mistress could not agree to, for if she had a -slender claim to the crown, being only the granddaughter of Henry -VII's youngest daughter, Mary, he had even less, being no relation at -all. It seemed that his father, the Duke of Northumberland, had -persuaded the Council, who being in the Tower were practically in his -power, to say that they would make Guildford Dudley king; but Lady -Jane reminded the latter that she only had the power to confer the -title upon him, adding that it would be impossible for her to do it, -as it would not be right; moreover, the people, who were unwilling to -see her queen, would be actually incensed if a son of the Duke of -Northumberland--who was by no means popular--likewise mounted the -throne. - -Lord Guildford Dudley, however, would not perceive the justice of -these asseverations. He took it ill that Jane, whom he had assisted -to the throne, should dislike the idea of sharing it with him, and, -after quarrelling with her bitterly, departed alone for Sion House, -leaving her to get on as well as she could without him. Then his -mother was very angry with her, upbraiding and reproaching her, as -did also her own mother, the Duchess of Suffolk. - -Poor Queen of England! Every step of the way was a bitter one for -her. Was ever a young creature, standing where childhood and -womanhood meet, so sorely tried? The evening before, at six o'clock, -she had been proclaimed queen in London, the announcement meeting -with sullen silence on the part of the people, one of whom, a -vintner's lad, even daring to vindicate the rights of the Princess -Mary--for which he was afterwards severely punished. - -'It was mainly at the desire of my husband that I consented to be -queen,' sobbed my mistress, 'yet he has left me in anger, and his -father and mother are mightily incensed with me. It is all so -miserable, and my own conscience afflicts me, for all that they have -said to me has not quietened its doubts about the equity of my -position. I cannot help suspecting--especially after what has just -happened--that my father-in-law's ambition has been the pivot on -which we have all turned. And in the fierce light which all that has -been occurring has thrown over everything concerning me, I cannot -fail to see that the Duke of Northumberland in causing his son -Guildford to marry me was but preparing for this. I believe my dear -lord loves me,' she added wistfully, 'but perhaps his father's -ambition hurried on our marriage.' - -I thought that was likely enough, having heard much during the last -day or two about Northumberland's ambition, but hastened to assure my -mistress in all sincerity that her charms of person, disposition and -mind were such that no young man could possibly be intimate with her -without being susceptible to the tender passion, whereupon she smiled -through her tears, exclaiming-- - -'You little flatterer! But if that be so you must by all means keep -your own chosen lover away from my presence.' - -I blushed very much at that, which caused Queen Jane to insist upon -my telling her all about my own love story and the name of the man -who had won my heart; and, when she heard that it was the same brave -knight who escorted me to Sion House when I came to live with her, -she was very pleased, and said that it was a pretty romance in real -life and she trusted that God would bless us and give us a very happy -future together in His own good time. - -We were interrupted by the entrance of the Duchess of Suffolk, who -bade her daughter sternly, though in stilted Court language, to -prepare to transact business with her father and the Duke of -Northumberland and the Council. Indeed, there were many matters for -the young queen to deal with and papers of importance for her to -sign, and she addressed herself bravely to the task of taking up the -burden of royalty at the call of duty. For, having consented to be -made queen, she knew that she must fulfil the obligations attached to -the high office, to the best of her ability. - -'I am happier when I am busily employed,' she said to me later in the -day. 'It is when I have time to think, Margery, that my doubts and -fears return. Dear one,' she continued, 'I am told that on Sunday -next Dr. Ridley, the Bishop of London, is going to preach at St. -Paul's Cross, and I want you to do me this favour. You must go and -hear him, that you may tell me everything he says. I would fain -know, Margery,' she went on very wistfully, 'for it may throw light -on what I am at present unable to see.' - -I knew she meant the entire justice of her accession to the throne, -and readily promised that, if I could leave the Tower and go to hear -the bishop, I would tell her every word he said. I doubted not that -one of my friends, Sir William Wood or Sir Hubert Blair, would escort -me through the crowds which would congregate to hear the eloquent -divine. - -In my own mind I was full of uneasiness now about the position of my -dear lady, for a messenger had arrived at the Tower from Princess -Mary, the late king's elder sister, to say that she commanded the -Council to see that she was duly proclaimed, and warning them to -desist from their treasonable purposes. The Council, with small -courtesy, refused to do this, and scarcely had the messenger gone -when news came pouring in that Princess Mary had taken up her -position at Framlingham Castle in Suffolk, where the nobility, gentry -and people were flocking to her standard. It was therefore necessary -that forces should be sent out to overcome and disperse Mary's army, -and the Council and the Duke of Northumberland were much exercised as -to who should lead them. It was rumoured amongst us that the Duke of -Northumberland wanted the Duke of Suffolk to go, whilst the Council -wished Northumberland himself to head the expedition. If he went it -was a question whether the Council, left to themselves, would remain -true to Queen Jane, for they had been coerced and over-persuaded by -him, though secretly, like most of the people, in favour of Mary. -There were intrigues on all sides, and several of the Council so -worked upon my mistress's apprehensions that she begged that her -father might stay with her. It was therefore settled that -Northumberland should lead an army of 2,000 horsemen and 6,000 foot -soldiers against Mary's forces. - -Accordingly, on the thirteenth, after exhorting the Council to remain -true to Queen Jane, he left the Tower for Durham House, where he -stayed a night, and then, on the fourteenth, he and his men marched -out of the city. We were told by Sir William Wood, who had gone with -many others to see them depart, that the Duke of Northumberland was -heard observing to some one that though numbers watched them go, -there was not one to say, 'God speed you!' - -Our hearts were full of apprehension upon hearing this; and also Sir -William's tidings that the silence of the multitude watching the -troops go was something marvellous and most terrifying in its -significance. - -And yet again my dear lady said to me-- - -'Margery, you must go to hear what Dr. Ridley has to say about my -claims, for I should fear nothing if only I were absolutely certain -that they are just and equitable.' - -Upon the Sunday, therefore--July 16 it was--I left the Tower with -Lady Caroline and Sir William Wood and went to St. Paul's Cross, -where a very great congregation was assembled to hear the bishop's -preaching. - -Sir William found us a place, with some difficulty, where we could -stand without being pushed and hustled by the crowd, but we could -hear nothing at first except the talking and moving about of the -multitude, the cries of those who were hurt or pushed, and the -endeavours of those in authority to induce order and quiet. - -When, at length, I was able to hear what the venerable bishop was -saying, I found that his eloquence was being exerted on a theme so -much to my mind that I could have listened all day. He was speaking -of the virtues and abilities of my dear mistress, and praising her -exceedingly for her goodness and her learning, dwelling much upon the -beneficent effect her Protestant rule would be certain to have upon -the people of England, and maintaining her right and her title to the -throne by the best arguments he could devise--I noticed among these -none that were new, however, which I could carry home to Queen Jane. -The fact was, he said nothing but what had been already employed, -only being an orator, he said it more emphatically and more -beautifully, and being a bishop, his words had to my thinking more -weight, and he spoke them as one having great spiritual authority. - -I was listening eagerly, with my eyes fixed on the preacher and ears -intent only upon his words, when a man wrapped in a long -foreign-looking cloak pressed so closely against me that I was pushed -a little way from my companions. Glancing at the man with -indignation, I perceived that his face was concealed partly by the -collar of his coat and partly by a large felt hat pulled low over his -brow. It was impossible, therefore, to distinguish his features, and -yet I knew I had seen him before. - -'Allow me,' I said, 'to step nearer to my friends.' - -The fellow pretended not to hear. He stuck his hands in his pockets -and straightened his broad back between me and my companions. I -thought he was a boor, but no worse, and, giving up the attempt to -move him, became speedily absorbed again in the preaching, if -preaching it could be called, which was now a speech inveighing -against the claims of the late King Henry's daughters, and especially -of the Princess Mary, and representing, moreover, that if the latter -succeeded to the throne it would mean certain destruction to the -reformed religion, which, on the other hand, the amiable and pious -Queen Jane would maintain in its entirety. He spoke, too, of the -likelihood of Mary's contracting a marriage with a prince of the -house of Spain, where the Inquisition, with all its ghastly horrors, -was maintained. Then he went on to tell of an interview he had had -with Mary before the late king's death. He had ridden over to visit -her at Hundson, and she invited him to stay to dinner. - -After the meal was over he told her that on the Sunday he intended -coming to preach before her, upon which she replied that the Church -would be open to him, but he must not expect to see her and her -household there. He answered by expressing the hope that she would -not refuse God's Word, to which she replied that she did not know -what they called God's Word now, as it certainly was not the same as -in her father's time. - -'God's Word, said I,' cried the preacher, 'was the same at all times, -though better understood and practised in some ages than others.' - -On his retiring, the princess thanked him for coming to see her, but -not at all for his proposal to preach before her. - -The bishop paused, after relating the anecdote, as if sure that on -hearing of Mary's bigotry his audience would wish to repudiate the -idea of their wanting her to be their queen. - -But, once again, silence and unresponsiveness chilled the hearts of -those who loved Queen Jane. - -'You see they are convinced that, in spite of everything, Mary should -be queen,' said a woman standing near me. - -'The boy who scarcely said more than that the other day was cruelly -maltreated for it,' muttered the man in the long cloak,' and I shall -inform of you, madam, unless you,' he ended by whispering something -into the woman's ear. - -Immediately, with a look of terror, she put her arm in mine and began -to draw me away from my friends, the man taking hold of my other arm, -and almost pushing me along. - -I called to Sir William Wood, who had his back towards me and did not -hear. I entreated Lady Caroline for help, but she was whispering -with some ladies, and I could not attract her attention. Then I -appealed to the bystanders, but the man, looking threateningly at -them, declared that he would knock down the first who interfered. As -he said the words I recognized his voice. He was Sir Claudius -Crossley. - -And I was in his power, for now we were surrounded by men whom I also -recognized, as they were some of those who had drowned the poor old -women they called witches. - -'No harm will be done to you if you come with us quietly,' said Sir -Claudius in my ear. - -But I did not believe him, and in desperation struggled to free -myself, and cried aloud for help. - -The next moment Sir Hubert Blair rode up, and, dashing towards me -into the crowd, scattered it on all sides, then, springing from his -horse, he seized my adversary in his powerful arms and, hurling him -to the ground, administered not a few blows with the butt-end of his -riding-whip. - -This done, he turned to me, but I had already fled towards my friends -and, seeing I was safe, he only smiled and waved his hand, and rode -off in another direction, having evidently business of importance in -hand. - -I saw no more of Sir Claudius Crossley that day, but the incident had -shown that he was still my active enemy, bent upon fulfilling his -vow, which Betsy had reported to me, that he would win me for his own -and vanquish my proud and haughty spirit. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -The Crown Resigned - -Lady Caroline and Sir William Wood were much concerned when, on my -return to them, I related the misadventure which had befallen me, and -blamed themselves for being so much occupied with others that they -had not heard my cries for succour. However, they were glad that Sir -Hubert Blair effected my rescue, and were very kind to me and -sympathizing, making me walk and drive between them all the remainder -of the time until we were safely back in the Tower. - -A great commotion was going on there, armed men and servants hurrying -about, and lords and ladies making hasty preparations for departure. - -'What is it? What has happened?' cried Sir William, but for some -time no one could or would answer him. - -A little later we learned the truth. The Lord Treasurer had left the -Tower, contrary to the positive order of the Duke of Northumberland -who, before departing, had strictly impressed upon the Duke of -Suffolk the necessity of keeping the whole Council within its walls, -and it was an open secret that this step was the beginning of the end -of what some one irreverently termed 'the miserable farce of Queen -Jane's reign.' - -It seemed to me that every one except the queen knew this, and she, -misled by the representations of her father, who was himself duped by -the Council, was wholly ignorant that the downfall which she had at -the first apprehended was really beginning to take place. - -I found her in tears, it is true, when I went to her bedroom where -she was lying ill, but that was, as I speedily discovered, because -her mother-in-law had been upbraiding her severely and telling her -that Lord Guildford justly refused to come near after her conduct -towards him. - -'And Margery, Margery, put your dear little head quite near to me, I -want to whisper something,' said the young queen pitifully. 'Nearer -still, Margery,' she went on, 'for the very walls have ears.' And -when my ear was close to her sweet lips, she said low into it, 'I am -so ill, I have such indescribable sensations, like none that I have -ever had in illness before. Do you think it is possible that they -are poisoning me?' - -I told her No. I scouted the idea as unworthy of her noble mind. I -vehemently declared that she was giving way to imagination. I -besought her not to be so childish. I implored her to think of -Plato's lofty reasonings. I entreated that she would stay her mind -on God's promises to His dear children. I began to quote whole -passages of the Bible--the words flew from my lips as fast as I could -think them, whilst my dear lady listened spell-bound, and then, -suddenly I spoilt it all by bursting out into passionate tears and -sobs, in the midst of which I cried, 'They will kill you! They will -kill you! They have made you their puppet for a day and set you upon -a throne and crowned you, and then--being unable to keep you there, -and maddened by failure--they _will kill you_!' And with that I wept -uncontrollably, shaking the great bed on which my dear lady was lying -with the sobs that rent and tossed my whole frame. - -'My poor child! My dear little Margery!' It was Queen Jane who was -comforting me now and holding me in her arms whilst she tried to wipe -away my tears. 'How you love me! I believe your love is the -sweetest, next to my husband's, and the most disinterested that has -ever been given me. Darling one, it was a shame to bring you away -from your happy home in the country to share my troubled life! But -you are wise, you have spoken of the Bible promises, we will stay our -hearts on them, and in prayer we will implore for grace that we may -be sustained with heavenly consolation and enabled to do our duty -whatever happens.' - -In reading the Bible and in prayer, therefore, we sought to find true -help and consolation in our time of trouble, but were not left long -in peace to perform such exercises, there were so many about us, -maids of honour, the Duchess of Suffolk and the Duchess of -Northumberland, besides the queen's younger sister, the Lady Herbert, -and her young sister-in-law, Lady Hastings, to the former of whom she -was tenderly attached. - -I cannot describe--for it would make too dismal reading--the way in -which Queen Jane's relations and her husband's relations harassed her -continually--Lord Guildford Dudley, perhaps, by his absence and -treatment of her, the most of all, as he was the best beloved. For -it is ever those whom we love most who have it in their power to -inflict upon us the bitterest pain. By our love we give them a key -admitting them into the holiest, warmest recesses of our hearts, and -when they prove unkind they are able to inflict there the most -exquisite suffering. - -On the Wednesday of that fatal week the Council, following the -example of the Lord Treasurer, left the Tower for Baynard's Castle, -and upon arriving there they unanimously declared that Princess Mary -should be queen, sending for the Lord Mayor and aldermen of the city -and emphatically declaring to them that Mary should be queen. The -announcement was received with pleasure, and the gentlemen rode to -St. Paul's Cross, where the Garter king-at-arms proclaimed Mary Queen -of England, France and Ireland. - -No dismal silence greeted this proclamation, but cries of triumph and -delight, and the day was ended with bonfires, illuminations and loud -rejoicings. - -Immediately after proclaiming the new queen the Council sent word to -the Duke of Suffolk to surrender the Tower, but he did not wait for -these instructions, the shouts and acclamations of the people in the -streets reached the Tower before their messengers arrived, and the -duke went immediately to his daughter's room and imparted the news to -her as gently as he could, adding that she must lay aside the state -and dignity of a queen and must become again a private person. - -'This is better for me to bear,' she answered, 'than my former -advancement to royalty. Out of obedience to you and my mother I have -grievously sinned and hurt my own inclinations. Now I willingly -relinquish the crown, and trust that by so doing immediately and -willingly the offence that has been committed may be a little -lessened.' - -Thus contentedly and even gladly did my dear lady give up the brief -sovereignty which had been to her in every way a most distressing -period. - -'We will go home, Margery,' she said to me, when her maids of honour -and the other Court ladies had hurried off to see to the packing of -their finery and the safe escort of their persons out of the Tower. -'We will go home to Sion House, where God grant we may once more rest -in body and mind, enjoying our books and studying from the fair field -of nature, as shown in the lovely gardens, the wide park, and last, -but not least, the glorious river.' - -'Yes, yes; let us return to Sion House,' I cried eagerly. 'We were -happy there.' - -'Yes; we were indeed. And my dear lord is there.' A sweet smile -lighted up her face. 'Me-thinks,' she added tenderly, 'he will -forgive me everything when he sees me once more a private person and -no queen.' And she began to sing a tender little love song, still -with that charming smile upon her face. - -She was so beautiful and so good, my love went out to her then in the -hour of her outward humiliation and inward peace, more than it had -ever done before, and I threw myself on the floor at her feet and, -clasping my hands upon her knees, said-- - -'Madam, we are all kings and priests to God, and yours is the best -royalty of all, for you rule your own spirit with wisdom and grace. -Oh, if you only knew how I admire and love you!' - -'Dear!' she laid her hand caressingly upon my head, 'Plato says that -greater is the one who admires than the one who is admired. You must -therefore be greater than I. So get up at once--at once, Margery,' -she repeated, 'And let us pack up our things, for we are going home.' - -Yes, we were going to her home, and were about to leave the grandeur -and the gloom of those royal apartments in the palace of the great -Tower with far more gladness than we had felt on entering them. - -Lady Jane's friends and partisans mourned that she was a fallen -queen, but we, she and I, knew that, far from falling, she had risen -in all that went to make her life more truly happy, beneficent and -noble. - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -At Sion House Again - -Lady Jane returned to Sion House the next day, and her manner of -doing so was as humble and lowly as her leaving for the Tower had -been grand and ostentatious. She who had been a queen nine -days--which, by the way, is said to have given rise to the saying, 'A -nine days' wonder'--laid down her royalty, as we have seen, without a -sigh, and returned to Isleworth in a hired litter, attended only by -myself and Mistress Ellen, and escorted by a few of the Duke of -Suffolk's followers and Sir William Wood, whom nothing would hinder -from paying his last token of respect and ready service to her -vanished queendom. The Duke and Duchess of Suffolk followed to Sheen -House, Richmond, later on, the former well nigh distraught with grief -and vexation, and the latter in a state of peevishness and anger, -which boded ill for her daughter when once she was within reach of -her tongue. - -But Lady Jane and I rejoiced that, at length, the right was -prevailing and the lawful queen was coming to her own, though I think -if we had known of the misery and bloodshed which she would bring -upon the Protestants in this country, our joy would have been turned -into sorrow. - -Isleworth, where Sion House is situated, is about twelve miles from -London City, in a sweet country of green trees and verdant meadows. -It is two miles from Richmond, where the magnificent palace--a -favourite seat of royalty[1]--faces the river and imparts grandeur to -the scene. - - -[1] This was in 1553. The palace has been pulled down now.--ED. - - -The country looked fresh and beautiful to us after the stone walls -and roofs and chimneys of the city, and the air was sweet and -pleasant after the closer atmosphere of the metropolis; though -certainly in the Tower we got breezes from the river as well as the -ill odours of the town. We thought that now we could return to the -quiet, studious life we led before, and my lady spoke of teaching me -Greek and Latin that I might share her studies--but, alas, such -things were not to be. - -Lord Guildford Dudley, though bitterly disappointed at the turn of -events, and anxious for the safety of his father, of whom we had no -certain tidings, became reconciled to Lady Jane, and they spent more -time together than before, which necessarily deprived me of the -society of my dear mistress and threw much idle time upon my hands. - -After the stirring events through which we had been passing, and -whilst they were still happening in the great city we had turned our -backs upon, I could not settle down to sewing and embroidering, as -Mistress Ellen would fain have made me, but took to wandering about -the grounds of Sion House and especially down by the river, with -vague yearnings which I scarcely put into clear thoughts; but seeing -that they had their root in witnessing the happiness my mistress felt -in being once more the cherished companion of her lord, and that my -gaze was ever fixed upon the river up which Sir Hubert Blair once -came to me in his boat, it was evident that he was the loved object -of my every thought and wish. Where was he in the great and exciting -events that were taking place? I had never seen him since the day of -the preaching at St. Paul's Cross, when he rescued me from Sir -Claudius Crossley's hands. It seemed strange to me afterwards that -he had not joined his friend, Sir William Wood, in escorting Lady -Jane back to Sion House, but I had not an opportunity of inquiring of -Sir William about him. And now he stayed away. What did it mean? I -spent hours in vague conjectures and in wondering what course he was -pursuing in the present state of affairs. Of one thing I was -certain. He would not, like the Council, have gone over to Mary's -side, now that the Duke of Northumberland was away and people were -acknowledging her on all sides. He was too true a man to forsake the -weaker cause, and too valiant to give in because others were -succumbing, and yet if he did the opposite and kept his standard -raised for Queen Jane, what danger he would be in! Imprisonment and -even death might befall my prince of men. - -I was thinking of this one evening, with tear-dimmed eyes gazing on -the river, brilliant just then with the reflected light of a most -gorgeous sunset, when, hearing the gentle splashing of oars, I turned -quickly and perceived Sir Hubert in a boat being rapidly rowed -towards me by two strong boatmen. Sir Hubert was sitting in the -stern of the boat, with keen eyes scanning the riverside, and upon -perceiving me he took off his hat and waved it, whilst his face, so -grave a moment before, lighted up with smiles. - -He said something to the boatmen, and immediately after, the boat -having been run to our little landing-stage, he jumped out, and they -pulled away, leaving him coming up the steps and walking towards me. - -I was so glad to see him, he looked so strong and brave that all my -fears and anxieties regarding his safety disappeared, and with joy I -hurried forward to place both my hands in his. - -'Welcome! welcome!' I said, and could say no more of all the words of -love and greeting crying out in my mind for utterance. - -He, too, seemed to find a difficulty in speech, but he led me to a -seat near the water, and we sat down, hand in hand, in silence, which -was more eloquent than any words. - -After a little while, he told me the news of what had been occurring -in the City and the open field, where the Duke of Northumberland led -the forces, and as he spoke of treachery and cowardice, I scarcely -knew my lover in the pale, indignant man. - -'You must know, Margery,' he said to me, 'that the Council, after -proclaiming Mary Queen, sent the herald, Richard Rose, to the Duke of -Northumberland with a message commanding him to disband his army and -acknowledge Queen Mary, under penalty of being declared a traitor. -But, even before receiving these orders, he had himself submitted in -a cowardly, undignified manner. He had withdrawn from Bury St. -Edmunds to Cambridge, where, on the Sunday, he caused the -Vice-Chancellor of the University to preach a sermon against the -rights and the religion of Mary, and the following day, when the news -arrived from London of the revolution that had taken place there, he -went to the Market place and declared aloud that Mary whom they had -been denouncing, was the rightful queen. Moreover, he flung up his -cap, as if in joy, whilst tears of mortification and regret rolled -down his face. "Queen Mary is a merciful woman," he said to the -Vice-chancellor, "and doubtless all will receive the benefit of her -generous pardon." The Vice-chancellor, however, gave him no hope, -for he said if the queen were ever so inclined to pardon, those who -ruled her would destroy him, whoever else was pardoned. Immediately -afterwards he was arrested and sent off to the Tower.' - -'What a fall for the proud Northumberland!' exclaimed I. - -'Proud no longer!' said Sir Hubert. 'His behaviour, when arrested, -was abject in the extreme. He fell on his knees before the Earl of -Arundel, who arrested him, and begged for his life.' - -'Where was his dignity?' cried I, and then, the next instant I asked, -'will they kill him?' - -'Yes. He will be executed for high treason.' - -'How dreadful!' said I, adding 'How grieved my dear lady will be, -although he has been so cruel to her!' - -'And many others, braver than he, were sent to the Tower,' continued -my lover, 'and amongst them even Bishop Ridley.' - -'Bishop Ridley!' - -'Yes. For preaching that sermon at St. Paul's Cross. They say it is -like to cost him his life.' - -'His life! Will Mary be so wicked as to kill a clergyman because of -what he said in his sermon?' asked I. - -'Yes,' answered Sir Hubert. 'She is capable of doing far more than -that. Did I not tell you what a Papist's rule in England would mean, -Margery? Rivers of blood will flow. And they will be Protestants on -whom Mary will wreak her vengeance. There is no animosity in the -world so bitter, as what is called religious animosity. Remember -what they did to our Lord. Think you the Jews of old would have -crucified so cruelly an innocent man if it had not been a matter of -religion that was at issue?' - -'True! true!' I said, wondering at the astuteness of my dear one. -'But, alas!' I sobbed, the next moment. 'If Mary will be so bitter -against her Protestant enemies, what, oh! what will be the fate of my -dear Lady Jane?' - -Sir Hubert looked very grave. - -'I can see no hope for her,' he said, 'if Mary is allowed to reign.' - -'Why do you say, if Mary is allowed to reign,' I exclaimed, 'when she -is reigning already?' - -'Not yet!' cried Sir Hubert, in confident tones. 'Not yet! There -are some who will never lay down their swords whilst they can wield -them on behalf of Lady Jane.' - -'A few doubtless,' exclaimed I. 'But, oh, what can a few do against -so many, many others?' - -'It is on the rightfulness of our cause that we rely,' said my dear -knight. 'There is a saying, Margery, that if you give a man rope -enough he will hang himself, and of course it holds good with a woman -also. Mary has already pounced on a bishop and imprisoned him--or -her followers have--and soon she will begin to burn Protestants -alive. Then, by that blaze, the nation will awake to see what they -are doing and the whole of Protestant England will rise as one man, -and deposing Mary, put down papistry with an iron hand.' - -'And meanwhile,' I said, 'my dear Lady Jane? And Master Montgomery, -too,' my thoughts reverting to the good curate, who had taught me so -many lessons of truth and righteousness at home, 'and you, my dear -one, what will become of you?' - -'If Mary reigns, the life of Lady Jane hangs on single thread,' Sir -Hubert answered, oracularly. 'If papistry is upheld by the ruling -power, your friend, Master Montgomery's life is not secure for a -single day, or an hour. And, as for me, I am well aware that by -refusing to submit myself to Mary, I am liable at any moment to be -apprehended for high treason!' - -I gave a great cry, for I knew that the penalty for high treason is -death, and it took my beloved some time to quieten me. When, at -last, I was calmer he said, 'if it were not for you, I should not -care about myself. But, in any case, I am sure you would not wish to -hold me back from doing my utmost to re-establish Lady Jane as Queen -of Great Britain, France and Ireland.' - -'But the thing is beyond you!' I cried. 'You and a few others can -never, never compass it--you will only spend your life, your precious -life in the vain effort.' - -And I looked around, with a frantic desire to see some one who might -come to my help and assist me to persuade this dear, hot-headed, -valiant knight not to cast himself into the gulf yawning between my -dear Lady Jane and her crown. - -The glory of the sunset was over now, the monarch of the skies having -sunk out of sight, and the radiance of his setting was momentarily -waning. A slight river mist was rising and stealing over the land, -like a hazy veil obscuring, though not concealing its rich and -brilliant green. Rooks cawed in the trees hard by, as if they were -having some earnest debate upon affairs of importance in bird-land, -and the distant baying of the watch-dogs up at the house reminded us -that, though apparently alone, we were not far from a big residence. -No one, however, appeared to be in sight on land, and looking across -the darkening water I only perceived a barge, which seemed to be -stationary on our side of the river, a little higher up. A few men -were upon it, but they were too far apart and too insignificant in -appearance to avail me anything, and I looked up to Sir Hubert, whose -eyes were resting upon me, with a yearning look of love. - -'For my sake,' I said, tremulously. - -But he shook off the temptation and began-- - -'Whilst I have power to wield a sword----' - -He was interrupted. An iron hand was laid on his shoulder, and a -voice of thunder demanded-- - -'Are you for Queen Mary? Speak. Answer, yea or nay?' - -It was Sir Claudius Crossley's ugly face that leered upon us as we -looked round, and it was his hand that gripped my beloved one's -shoulder, whilst behind him stood a little band of wild, ruffianly -men. - -Silently along the riverpath they had come from the barge, creeping -up behind us, whilst we were absorbed in the momentous questions -occupying our attention; and now, shielding himself behind the name -of Mary, Sir Claudius was ready for any deed of violence. - -'I do not answer ruffians!' cried Sir Hubert, grasping his sword. - -The next moment there was a scuffle; the men, some half dozen in -number, threw themselves upon Sir Hubert and caught hold of me, and -whether from fear, or from some blow that was dealt by a coward, not -above fighting women, I know not, but I immediately lost -consciousness and knew no more. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -In the Power of Sir Claudius - -'I will never marry you! Never! I would rather die!' I cried -passionately. - -Sir Claudius laughed in a very insolent manner. We were talking in -the big, bare drawing-room of his great hall, near Chichester, where -his two sisters had been keeping guard over me ever since I arrived -the day before. - -When I came out of my swoon it was to find myself being carried on a -roughly extemporized litter, and then, in a cart which jolted -horribly. I was so sick and ill I scarcely cared what was happening -to me, but, by and bye, anxiety for my lover's safety caused me to -ask the man who drove the cart and sat sideways on the cart-shafts, -if Sir Hubert Blair was also a prisoner. For some time the man did -not answer, but after a while said, 'Yes.' That was all the -information I could extract, and it made me exceedingly uneasy. The -country was in a very lawless, unsettled state; the attention of all -the upper classes being concentrated on the Government and the Royal -family. While it was being settled who should reign over England -there was scanty attention paid to the doings of such rascals as Sir -Claudius Crossley, who, under the mask of a knighthood which he -violated, roved over the country to spoil and ravage it for his own -aggrandizement. Upon our arriving at Crossley Hall, Sir Claudius -himself came forward and personally handed me over to his sisters, -with the sneering remark that they were to see to it that I did not -escape. The women were hard-featured and angular. They resembled -their brother in appearance and character, and obeyed him so well -that I was not left a moment unattended; and, lest I should escape -whilst they slept, even the bedroom door was locked and the key kept -under the pillow of the one who was _pro tem._ my jailer. When I had -recovered from my sickness and was able to get up and dress, they -took me into the big barn-like apartment they called the drawing-room -that their brother might come to me. When he entered, they withdrew -to a distant window, whilst he, immediately and without any -preparation, began to assure me of his undying love, and to promise -me my freedom if I would marry him. - -It was a strange wooing, and I was so greatly indignant that I -refused him with more haste than politeness, declaring that death -itself would be preferable to living as his wife. - -This made him angry, and in anger he was even more detestable than -before; his frown being so terrible that I believed, in spite of his -so-called love, he could almost have laid his hands upon me to wreak -a fearful vengeance. - -However he merely said-- - -''Tis a pity that you cannot love me, Mistress Brown,' and, taking a -chair near me, endeavoured to grasp my hand, which I held back. -'For, let me tell you,' he continued, 'great harm will be done to an -unlucky friend of yours unless you do.' - -'Is this a threat?' I asked haughtily, showing no sign of fear, -although my heart was beating quickly and wordlessly, and with -exceeding earnestness a prayer for help and succour ascended from it. - -'Call it what you please,' answered he, with a gesture of -irritability. 'I tell you that if you will not marry me, your -precious lover, Sir Hubert Blair--you start! Had you forgotten that -we took him prisoner, too?--Sir Hubert Blair, I repeat, shall die?' - -'How can you say that?' cried I. 'You have no right to kill him.' - -And with that I began trembling so violently as to shake the chair in -which I was sitting. - -He perceived it, and drew nearer. - -'Sir Hubert is in my power,' he said, in low, meaning tones. 'He is -in fact a prisoner in this house, even now lying in our dungeon. -For, let me tell you, we have a dungeon down amongst the cellars. -Aye, and a gallows, too, in the inner yard. If I hold up my hand, -so----' he made a gesture, 'my men will bear him to the gallows, -where he will die.' - -I interrupted him with a cry of terror-stricken anguish. - -'You can save him,' he said quickly. 'You have it in your power to -save him. Dear Margaret,' and again he endeavoured to take my hand, -whilst a fawning, obsequious tone succeeded the fiercer one, 'you, -and no one else, can prevent his terrible fate.' - -'How? How can I prevent it?' and I looked up appealingly into the -hardest and most cruel face it has ever been my lot to encounter. - -Sir Claudius took my hand, my most unwilling hand, in his, pressing -it tenderly. - -'My dear, I love you,' he said. 'Nay, don't wince, for in that fact -lies the man's salvation. If you will try ever so little to return -my love, if you will promise to marry me, Sir Hubert shall live. -Nay, more, upon the day on which we are married he shall be -liberated.' - -'Oh, but I cannot! I cannot marry you!' I sobbed distractedly. 'I -cannot!' - -An ugly look came into his face. - -'Sir Hubert will hang on our gallows to-morrow morning,' said he, -slowly. - -'No! no!' I cried. 'You dare not do such a thing! The law----' - -'Has no power against me here, in this lonely country, amongst my -servants and dependents,' he interrupted. 'The officers of the law -will have their eyes directed towards Queen Mary, and that other -foolish young woman, who aped----' - -'Do not speak about Queen Jane in that way!' exclaimed I. 'Unless,' -I added, 'you mean me to hate you even more than I do.' - -'I shall speak as I please,' he muttered sulkily, 'What I mean to -tell you is this. Out here in my own country, at this time when all -the fighting-men are otherwise engaged, I can do almost what I like, -and if I choose that Sir Hubert shall die, he shall.' - -The horrible conviction came upon me as he spoke, that it was true; -in the then distracted state of England, even a big crime, such as -murdering Sir Hubert, could be done by a powerful miscreant like Sir -Claudius, with impunity. - -Still in desperation I cried out-- - -'You dare not! You dare not!' - -'I dare,' he returned, 'for, look you, if he appealed to the law, I -could but turn him over to the law, accusing him as I did so of high -treason. They would behead him then, sure enough. Yes, I say, they -would behead him.' - -'No! no! no!' I cried. - -'But I repeat, they would,' he said. 'The penalty of high treason is -execution----' - -'Oh, what must he do? How can he be saved?' wailed I, for it seemed -to me my beloved, between the villainy of Sir Claudius and the -vengeance of Queen Mary's adherents, was like one between Scylla and -Charybdis, bound to perish in any case. - -'He ought to have a friend,' said the wily voice of Sir Claudius, 'a -friend who would set him free and counsel him to quit the country, -and procure him a secret passage to Holland----' - -'Will you do it?' I interrupted, falling upon my knees before him. -'You say you love me. Then do this thing for me. I will believe -you, if you will do it for me,' I went on, beseechingly. 'Set Sir -Hubert free, let him leave the country, get him across to Holland, -and I will----' I paused. I was going to say, 'esteem you highly and -pray for you all my life,' but recognized that would not content him, -that indeed he would not care for that. - -'You will what?' he asked sharply. - -'I will----' again I paused. He would not be content with that which -I would promise. - -'I will do it on one condition,' he said, 'and only one.' - -'And that is?' - -But I knew, and my heart almost ceased beating, whilst a giddiness to -which I was never subject made my head swim. - -When I could understand him again, he was telling me that if I would -promise to marry him he would do all that I wished for Sir Hubert, -and more, he would guarantee his safety until he reached Holland, -and, if needs be, would personally conduct him to a port from which -he could sail. - -'But, be generous,' besought I, 'do all that without the heavy price -being paid that you have named.' - -'Heavy?' - -He frowned. - -'Yes. Most heavy. I cannot pay it! I cannot! But be generous,' I -pleaded, 'be generous!' - -Sir Claudius, seeing me so exceedingly concerned about his rival, -fell into an awful rage. - -'Generous!' cried he. 'Not I. It is for you to be generous to -me--and to him. For I swear unless you promise to marry me--unless I -have your promise before night, he shall hang to-morrow morning.' - -And with that he went out, slamming the door behind him. - -I fell back in my chair, weeping bitterly. - -Was ever a more hideous snare laid for a poor girl? I thought with -horror of the woes and threatened death of my dear knight. I -imagined I saw him lying in the dungeon of which Sir Claudius had -been speaking. How very hard was his fate! Not a prisoner of war, -he had simply been kidnapped by brigands, as a girl, or a child might -have been! Six to one, they had overcome him by sheer physical -strength. And he had the misery of knowing that I also was a captive -in their power. How he would chafe at the confinement which kept him -from my side! What would be his feelings when his jailer told him -that he must prepare to die upon the morrow? And on the gallows, -too! Despair would be his portion, horror and despair. - -And I might save him. It was in my power, by submitting to my -imperious captor and promising to marry him, to save my own beloved -from a truly awful death. I could do it, and no one else. And it -did not so much matter what happened to me, if his precious life was -saved. If he died I should be miserable, wherever I was; if he lived -I should have the consolation of knowing that, to lighten my own dark -lot. - -I was in poor health, my spirits depressed and my soul sickened by my -captivity and the knowledge that my absence would afflict my dear -mistress and make her very anxious. No one was at hand to advise -me--no one but Sir Claudius' sisters, and I could not consult them. -What was I to do? 'Sacrifice myself,' answered my heart, 'sacrifice -myself for him I love.' - -Sir Claudius did not leave me long to think it over. - -'I must press for an answer now, immediately,' he said, returning. - -'Oh, but please wait a little,' said I, tearfully. 'I cannot answer -you now, not just now,' I pleaded. 'Give me a little time. Give me -at least until the evening.' - -'No, you must promise now,' said he imperiously. - -'But--but----' - -I sobbed, putting up both my hands to my face, like a child, and -crying as if my heart would break. - -'Now, or never? It is the only chance you can have of saving Sir -Hubert Blair's life. And, look you, Madam, if you do not----' -leaning forward he whispered that the gallows was waiting for its -prey. - -I shrank back. My heart felt frozen. I laughed with bitter -recklessness. Thus talked he who said he loved me! - -I wrung my hands. - -'Why was I born?' I lamented. 'And why did my father send me away -from home?' - -'Do you consent, madam?' demanded the ruffian who had me in his power. - -I started violently. The outlook was appalling. - -'May I see Sir Hubert Blair once? Just once, that I may take my -leave of him?' I asked beseechingly. - -'No, no. That is too much to ask.' - -'But, unless I see him I cannot consent,' I said, temporizing. 'You -see,' a little hope came into my heart, 'I am not sure whether you -are speaking the truth about him, or not. He was certainly in a -desperate state--one against six--when I saw him last, but he is -tremendously strong and he had his sword, therefore he may have -escaped.' - -'I tell you we took him prisoner with you.' - -'Unless I see him, I cannot believe he is a prisoner here,' I -persisted. - -'Ho! So you doubt me?' - -'Yes.' I bowed my head. 'I doubt you altogether.' - -'And you do not think Sir Hubert is here?' - -'I do not know. I do not know anything. Allow me to see him--allow -me only to see him for one minute--and then, then, if I see him here, -in your power, and if you will vow that you will not only liberate -him but also send him safely across to Holland, I will consent to do -as you wish.' - -'To marry me.' - -'Yes.' - -Sir Claudius looked hideously triumphant. - -'It won't be such a bad bargain,' he said, leering at me. - -I shuddered. But then, next instant, derived hope from the -reflection that if he could not show me Sir Hubert Blair it would be -because he lied in saying Sir Hubert was a prisoner in his dungeon, -moreover I should then be free from my promise. - -This hope was dashed, however, by Sir Claudius saying-- - -'Very well. You shall see Sir Hubert--not to speak to, mind--but you -shall see him. I will go now, and return for you in half an hour. -Will that satisfy you?' - -'Yes.' - -He left the room, closing the door roughly after him, as was his wont. - -His sisters, who had been listening all the time, and must have heard -every word he said, for his voice was loud and harsh, came forward, -asking,-- - -'What? Is he going to show you the secret dungeon?' - -I made no answer. Perhaps I could not at that moment, for thoughts -of agony and fear were surging through my mind. My dread was -terrible; it obscured all things, including my faith in my Heavenly -Father's care. - -'He must have you entirely in his power, or he must trust you -completely,' said the women. - -I made no rejoinder, and they, looking at me askance, withdrew again -to a little distance, and began a low-toned conversation. - -I was left to myself. And my thoughts were bitter. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -The Prisoner in the Dungeon - -Sir Claudius, returning in about half an hour, bade me gruffly follow -him, and then led the way down many steps and through gloomy passages -until we reached a huge dark subterranean hall, the extreme -chilliness of which was deathly and vaultlike in its nature. - -'Pleasant, is it not?' sneered my guide. Thereupon he whistled, and -a pale-faced lad, dressed in garments made of skins, came quickly out -of the darkness and ran towards him. - -'Prisoner ready, Saul?' interrogated Sir Claudius. - -'Yes, master,' answered the lad, looking from him to me with startled -eyes. He added something which I did not catch. - -Sir Claudius hesitated a moment before saying to the lad, with a -frown, 'Stay here with this lady and take care of her; you -understand?' - -'Yes, master. I must not let her escape.' - -The man nodded. - -'I shall soon return,' he said, and vanished into the darkness. - -A few moments of intense silence followed. Full of apprehension and -dread about my own safety and that of Sir Hubert Blair, I was not -thinking at all about the boy, when he startled me by saying in low -tones-- - -'I think you must be the lady who tried to save my grandmother's -life?' - -'Your grandmother's life?' I asked wonderingly. 'When? Where?' - -'I have heard about you since you came here, from the servants, and I -think you must be the lady,' continued the lad slowly. 'It was many -weeks ago, not very far from Horsham. Wicked men made out that my -grandmother was a witch and drowned her. My dear old grandmother!' -he sobbed. 'But you tried to save her life.' - -'Was she your grandmother?' asked I, thinking of the so-called witch, -who had implored me frantically to save her. - -'Yes, lady. She was one of the best of women,' answered Saul -sorrowfully. 'I knew it was you,' he added, 'who was so good to her, -because he who told me all about it said that the lady who tried to -save her looked like an angel, with hair of gold, a face like pink -wild roses and eyes like big speedwells. Your face is rather too -white, but the other part of you answers to the description exactly.' - -'I certainly tried to protect a poor old woman from her wicked -enemies,' said I; 'and I remember now one of the charges against her -was that she had done away with her own grandson. I suppose that was -you?' - -'Yes, lady. And it was a wicked lie. My master it was who stole me -away from home and brought me here to be his slave and turnkey. I -hate him. He is cruel as death. He has a gallows, and he kills -people without any trial, or with only a mock trial.' - -'Terrible!' I exclaimed, and was just beginning to ask questions -about Sir Hubert when footsteps were to be heard returning, and Saul -whispered-- - -'I will try to save you, for the sake of what you did for my dear, -good grandmother----' he broke off, for, alas! he had said too much. - -'Dog!' cried Sir Claudius, kicking him so brutally that the poor lad -fell upon his knees with a cry of pain. - -'You do that in my presence!' exclaimed I. 'And yet you profess to -love me?' - -'Silence, in the lad's presence!' commanded Sir Claudius gruffly. -'What business had he to whisper to you? What was he saying?' - -'Does it matter what a young boy says?' asked I, remembering just in -time that it might be better policy to soothe than to anger him. - -'You dare to whisper to a prisoner in my castle?' exclaimed Sir -Claudius, turning again upon the lad and beginning to kick and cuff -him unmercifully. - -Every cry of the poor boy's went to my heart. I seemed to feel each -blow myself, and begged pitifully for mercy. But I might as well -have spoken to the great stone walls. Sir Claudius did not stop -until poor Saul lay motionless upon the ground; then, leaving him -stunned, the tyrant seized my hand and drew me from the spot, through -the darkness to the far side of the hall, where there was an immense -circular opening in the ground. - -'Look down. Look into the dungeon below,' he said. - -I peered into the gloomy depths and saw a man lying on some straw -with his back toward us; but it was so dark that I could discern -neither his clothes, nor exact size, nor the colour of his hair. I -simply saw that there was a man and that he was lying down in a -helpless, hopeless attitude, as if too weak to stand. - -'That is Sir Hubert Blair,' said Sir Claudius. 'He has not fared so -well as you. He has scarcely had such sumptuous lodgings. He is -ill. Ha! ha! If we do not bring him to the gallows quickly, or -release him, he will spare us the trouble.' - -A bitter cry fell from my lips. I seemed to be in a hideous -nightmare. - -The man in the dungeon started, but did not turn round. - -'Hubert! Hubert!' I called. - -No answer. The prisoner lay quite still now. - -'He does not hear,' said the harsh voice by my side. 'He is farther -off than you think.' - -I knew he lied, for had I not seen the man start when I first cried -out? Was he Sir Hubert? I strained my eyes, but could not see if it -was he. Why did he not turn round? Sir Hubert would have turned in -a moment at my cry. - -'Sir Hubert Blair,' I shouted, 'it is I--Margery Brown--will you not -look at me? Turn round. Please--please turn round.' - -I spoke in vain. The prisoner did not turn. He stayed in the same -position. - -'Oh, why does he not turn? I want to see his face,' I said. - -Sir Claudius regarded me sternly. - -'I said you might see, but not speak to him,' he said; 'and I only -meant you to look at him.' - -'But I want to see his face,' I said. 'I must see his face. Please -ask him to turn towards us.' - -Sir Claudius looked annoyed. At last he said with evident -reluctance-- - -'He cannot turn round. He is chained in that position to an iron -staple in the wall.' - -I burst into tears. It is a woman's refuge when words fail her, and -sometimes it softens the beholder, but not in this case; the man -standing by my side possessed a heart of stone. - -'Tears do no good, madam,' said he. 'It is perfectly useless for you -to stand there weeping.' - -'How long has he been chained there?' I asked at length. - -'A day or two,' answered Sir Claudius airily. 'If you really wish -him to be liberated,' he said, 'you have it in your power to set him -free--otherwise, as I said, to-morrow morning--the gallows.' - -'Oh, no! No!' cried I. 'Not that! Not that!' - -'But I say it must be that, unless----' - -'Tell me,' said I, 'does he know what fate is in store for him?' - -'No. He does not know yet. But I can tell him now. He will hear my -voice if I shout.' - -'Oh, but do not shout it,' I exclaimed heroically, resolving that if -I could prevent it Sir Hubert should never hear that dreadful -sentence. - -'Then you consent to marry me?' - -'Will Sir Hubert be liberated immediately if I do?' asked I. - -By this time I was certain that the prisoner was indeed my poor -lover, for my straining eyes could discern that he had black hair and -that his size and figure corresponded exactly. Moreover his dress -appeared to be exactly the same as that Sir Hubert wore when last I -saw him. My one desire, therefore, was to save him from the gallows. - -'Immediately. I guarantee that he shall be set free immediately.' - -'If I consent, may I be allowed to tell him the good news about his -freedom?' - -The other was silent. He seemed to be weighing the pros and cons of -the matter. - -'Please allow me,' I entreated. - -'Very well. If you promise to become my wife?' - -I bowed--not being able to speak. The next moment I cried -triumphantly-- - -'Hubert! Hubert! You are about to be set free. You are about to be -liberated. I, your Margery, have effected this. Never forget me.' -My voice broke into sobs, and, weeping bitterly, I suffered my -companion to lead me away. - -Was it imagination, or did I really hear an anxious voice calling -after us as Sir Claudius led me away from the subterranean hall and -up a steep flight of stone steps? My companion declared that it was -nothing but the echo of our own footsteps, yet I had my doubts. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -On the Point of being Wed - -I will not attempt to describe my misery during the weeks which -intervened between my consenting to become the wife of Sir Claudius -and the dawning of the dreadful day upon which he claimed the -fulfilment of my promise. - -As a lover, it can easily be understood, the ruffian who had me in -his power was altogether detestable, even his sisters taking pity -upon me at last, and exercising a kind of rough guardianship. I was -bitterly distressed because of not being allowed to see Sir Hubert -for one moment before he left Crossley Hall. If I could only have -said farewell to him, I thought I could have borne my position -better. Sir Claudius was obdurate and would not allow us to meet for -even five minutes. He told me that he was sending Sir Hubert abroad, -under a safe escort, and that was all the information I could -extract. For the rest, news of the entire surrender of the country -to Queen Mary was brought to the house by travellers, as well as -fearful tidings of the distinguished men who had passed through the -Traitors' Gate into the Tower, with the certain prospect of more or -less speedy execution. - -Mary had entered London in state, having first dismissed her army -that she might show confidence in her people. With the Princess -Elizabeth by her side, she rode into the city amidst the acclamations -of the multitude. They had entered the Tower, where the queen's -first act was one of clemency, for she pardoned the State prisoners -who had been imprisoned there during the reigns of Henry VIII and -Edward VI. But, alas!--and this touched me more nearly--she -commanded the Earl of Arundel to seize the Duke of Suffolk and Lady -Jane Grey and commit them to the Tower. There were rumours that the -Duke of Suffolk was soon liberated, but I did not know what truth was -in the tale. I was greatly affected by the thought of my dear lady -being imprisoned there, where she had been before in such different, -though scarcely happier, circumstances. How she would miss me! No -one would quite take my place with her, and having to do without me -would add to her many troubles. However, she would be spared the -knowledge of my grievous fate, and God would be merciful to her and -give her His peace. Of that I was assured. - -The end of the time which I insisted must elapse before my marriage -came only too soon, notwithstanding its wretchedness, and at last the -day arrived which I had been compelled to name as our wedding day. I -felt stunned now that it had come, and everything that happened -seemed to be happening in a dream. - -There was a great commotion in the house, many coming and going and -serving-men and women flying hither and thither. There was to be a -great breakfast, or dinner after the ceremony, and to it several -people were coming from the neighbourhood. - -The marriage was to take place in the small chapel adjoining the -house by eleven o'clock in the morning. An old clergyman had been -brought to the Hall by Sir Claudius--a poor scared-looking old -man--and he was to officiate. - -Every arrangement for the wedding had been made, a trousseau provided -for me and an elderly man found to give me away. The sisters of Sir -Claudius were to be my bridesmaids, and children were to scatter -flowers before me as I walked to and from the chapel. - -I thought that I looked ghastly and quite plain-looking as I surveyed -myself in a mirror, in my wedding-dress of white satin embroidered -with gold, and a headdress and veil of costly lace, before the -ceremony, but felt no regret on that account. Sleepless nights, a -poor appetite and troubled thoughts are not calculated to enhance -beauty, and I should have rejoiced if the sight of me had frightened -away my unloved bridegroom. - -The latter, dressed in a doublet of black velvet, embroidered with -gold and various other adornments, looked coarser and more vulgar -than ever. He strutted about, staring at people to see if they -admired him and his bride. - -'Did you ever see any one like her?' he said in a loud whisper to -more than one of his companions. 'Beautiful as an angel, isn't she? -And she is mine, mine, mine! And she is very much in love with me,' -he had the audacity to add. 'Oh, yes, very much in love with me!' - -The last time he said this was when he was waiting, with his best -man, in the prettily decorated chapel. - -I overheard him as I walked up the aisle, leaning on the man's arm -who was to play the part of father and give me away. Then, for a -moment, I awoke out of the stupor in which I was plunged while acting -my part mechanically, and, raising my eyes, looked reproachfully at -Sir Claudius. He shifted his eyes uneasily, and, with a sudden -realization of what I was doing, I looked keenly around for some way -of escape. I had prayed so very much that a way of escape would be -opened for me out of the terrible tangle into which my life had got. -Surely there must be some way of escape. - -The little building was packed with the guests, the followers and the -servants of Sir Claudius; behind me stood his sisters, my -jailer-bridesmaids; before me was my enemy, soon to be transformed -into my husband, unless by some bold stroke I could now, at the -eleventh hour, avert the coming calamity. At that moment I perceived -the lad Saul, standing by a door, watching me with eager eyes out of -an almost colourless face, and as I looked at him I saw his lips -saying, 'Wait,' though no sound fell from them. - -I was certain that he said 'Wait,' although I was not learned in -lip-reading, and, remembering that he had promised to try to save me -from Sir Claudius, instantly resolved to delay my progress as much as -possible. - -For that purpose I stumbled over my dress, and fell upon my knees, in -spite of my companion's efforts to keep me up. This occasioned a few -moments' delay, for when I was on my feet again I clung to the arm on -which I leaned, whispering that I felt faint. - -'Water! Fetch water!' the order flew from lips to lips, and no one -seemed to be able to carry it out, until a silver tankard of cold -water was brought to me by the lad Saul. - -Bowing low, as he offered it to me, he said in my ear-- - -'You have been deceived. Make delay. Do not say the words. Your -deliverers are coming. They are on the way.' - -The next moment a blow from the bridegroom's fist upon the poor lad's -ear laid him senseless on the floor. - -'How dare he speak to my bride! The varlet!' thundered Sir Claudius. - -But I knelt down in reality now by poor Saul's side, trying to raise -his head and open his collar, that he might breathe more freely. - -They would not permit me to tend him. He was caught up by others and -hurried away out of my sight. - -'I refuse to marry you now, you cruel man!' I exclaimed. - -But Sir Claudius merely smiled, and bade my conductor bring me -forward. - -There was a little confusion as the wedding party was being arranged -before the Communion table, and I took advantage of it to say, in a -low tone, to the old clergyman-- - -'I will not marry Sir Claudius. My promise to him was made under -compulsion, and therefore it is not binding.' - -The old man looked bewildered, startled. He had evidently no idea of -this, and perhaps he only half heard me, for my voice was weak and -low. - -'It is all right. It is all right, I say,' cried Sir Claudius -sharply. 'Proceed with the ceremony. Take no heed of a maiden's -bashfulness.' - -'It is not that,' I appealed to every one. 'I cannot----' - -'Silence! Silence!' said more than one big, bullying voice from -those who aided Sir Claudius, and they closed around me, making so -much noise that my voice could not be heard. - -They were all so absorbed that they did not hear loud shouts and -cries outside, nor notice the entrance into the chapel of a little -band of well-armed strangers, nor hear the call of 'Sir Claudius! -Sir Claudius!' from the yard. Least of all did the bridegroom hear -the tumult, for he was exerting himself to smother my remonstrances -and compel me to take part in the service. - -'Wilt thou have this woman to be thy wedded wife?' asked the -clergyman in quavering, uncertain tones. He was weak and old, in -terror of Sir Claudius, and more than half persuaded that he had -misunderstood me. 'Wilt thou love her, comfort her, honour and keep -her, in sickness and in health, and, forsaking all other, keep thee -only unto her as long as ye both shall live?' The solemn question -fell solemnly from the old man's lips, his eyes sought the -bridegroom's face with great anxiety. - -'I will!' cried Sir Claudius in loud, exultant tones. He looked -round smilingly. - -It was his hour of triumph. - -'Wilt thou have this man to be thy wedded husband, to live together -after God's ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony? Wilt thou -obey and serve him, in sickness and in health, and, forsaking all -other, keep thee only unto him as long as ye both shall live?' - -'No,' I said, but the monosyllable was so low that none heard it. -None of those around me I mean. There is One to whom a broken heart -appeals more strongly than aught else. - -'Say "I will,"' prompted the clergyman. - -'No,' I said again more loudly, but again my utterance failed to -reach the aged ears bent to listen. - -'Say "I will,"' repeated the clergyman. - -'I cannot,' I almost shrieked now in my agony and fear. - -'You are a wicked, lying girl,' hissed the bridegroom in my ear. -'You promised to marry me.' - -'But you deceived me,' ventured I. - -'My dear,' said the clergyman gravely, 'try to collect yourself. Did -you not come here into this chapel to be wedded to this man?' - -'Yes--but----' - -I thought of the man I loved, whose safety I imagined I had purchased -by that daring promise to Sir Claudius, and, knowing from what Saul -had said, that I had been deceived, was altogether overwhelmed with -grief and misery. A mist gathered around me, the church grew dark; -releasing my hand from the arm that held it, I stretched it towards -the old clergyman, and then fell half-unconscious at his feet. - -Instantly there was a tremendous noise in the chapel. Swords -clashed, men shouted and fought wildly. Some one trod upon my dress -almost upon me, and was hurled off by strong arms, which the next -instant picked me up and placed me out of danger. - -I heard Sir Claudius, in harsh but abject accents, begging for mercy, -and, looking down--for I had been lifted into the gallery of the -chapel--saw him on his knees before Sir Hubert Blair, who, brave and -handsome, stood over him with his drawn sword. - -'Are you a man?' asked my beloved with scorn. But, the next moment, -before he could strike at him, if that was in his mind, a dozen -sturdy men attacked Sir Hubert, and the fighting became so terrible -that, in fear and horror, I again lost consciousness. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -Escaping from the Enemy - -'Are we quite safe now, Betsy?' - -'Yes, my dear mistress, we have got clean away from that gloomy Hall, -with its half-wild dependents, who would like to have torn us to -pieces I verily believe, and it's a comfort to think that our Sir -Hubert gave that wicked Sir Claudius a mark to remember him by that -will last all his lifetime----' - -'What? What was that?' I asked feebly. For, though conscious now, I -was feeling very weak, and the litter in which I lay swayed as it was -being borne over bumpy, uneven roads. - -'He cut off his left hand with one blow of his sword,' cried my woman -exultingly, 'so that hand will never do any more mischief, mistress!' - -'Poor wretch!' exclaimed I, shuddering. - -'Poor, do you call him? It is not a vile enough word. Why, -mistress, it was with that hand he boxed the ear of that poor lad who -spoke to you in the chapel, thereby probably making him deaf for -life.' - -'Oh, I hope not! Poor Saul!' - -'I have known of hard blows on the ear like that making people deaf -for life,' continued Betsy volubly, 'and it is a cruel shame to give -them.' - -'Indeed it is! Oh! Betsy, how glad I am that I have escaped from -the power of that man!' And I thanked God in my heart for my safe -deliverance. - -'I am deeply thankful, mistress,' and the tears came into Betsy's -eyes, for she had a warm heart, full of affection for me and my -brothers, having been our nurse for years before she became my maid. - -'Where are we now, Betsy?' I asked presently, after trying in vain to -piece together the disjointed fragments of events of which I had been -conscious since the interrupted wedding in the chapel at Crossley -Hall. - -'On the high road to Brighthelmstone. Travelling as fast as we can -towards our dear home!' cried Betsy delightedly. 'We have had enough -of the great world, you and I, mistress, to last us all our lives. -When Sir Hubert came hastily into Sion House that day you -disappeared, declaring you had been kidnapped, and demanded a litter, -horses and men, aye, and me also to ride inside and nurse you if you -were ill--that he might go after you--Lady Jane saw him herself, and -promised everything he asked. Then she added that she was herself -expecting hourly to be sent for to the Tower. "It is not likely," -she said, "that my cousin, Queen Mary, will suffer me to be at large, -when my freedom might, any day, cause danger to herself; therefore if -you succeed, as I trust you will, in rescuing my dear Margery, I pray -you take her to her father's house, where she will be safer than -either here at Sion House, or with me in the Tower. For my own -sake," she said, "I would fain have her near me, but for hers I wish -her down at Brighthelmstone with her own people."' - -'Did Lady Jane say that?' - -'Yes, mistress; I remember every word, and Sir Hubert agreed that he -would take you to your home. He is therefore doing so.' - -'Where is he?' I asked quickly. - -'He is riding on before our litter, to see if the road is clear and -safe.' - -'I would fain speak with him.' - -'Mistress, you cannot just now. He is out of sight and hearing. -"Take care of your mistress," he said to me, "and I will ride on in -front." There are other riders behind. We are well protected now. -It was such a job to get hold of you, mistress,' continued Betsy, -'that we don't mean to lose you again. There was much fighting to do -before we could get into the Hall, I can tell you; but, first of all, -we found the Duke of Northumberland's men were not much good, and we -had to travel ever so far to get some picked men, quite gentlemen -some of them, to come over and help.' - -'Then Sir Hubert never was a prisoner at Crossley Hall?' asked I, -thinking of the man in the dungeon, and of all that I had gone -through in order to get him liberated. - -Betsy laughed at the idea. 'Sir Hubert said he had had a narrow -escape of being taken prisoner when you were,' she said. 'There were -six to one, but he fought valiantly, and they could not take him, -though he was unable to rescue you.' - -Lying there in the litter, listening to Betsy's talk and looking on -her familiar face, whilst the sweet country air fanned me pleasantly, -bringing with it, too--or I could fancy so--a breath of the salt sea -air in which I had grown up and lived most of my life, I could almost -fancy that the Wheel of Time had gone back a little, and I was once -more in my father's litter with Betsy, leaving home for the first -time for Sion House and the service of Lady Jane Grey. I had to pull -myself together before I could realize that far from being in my -father's litter going to Isleworth, I was in one of the Duke of -Northumberland's litters, returning in it to my old home. - -'You will like to see Master Jack and Master Hal again,' said Betsy -cheerily, and of course your father and Master Montgomery too, not to -mention Timothy and John and Joseph.' - -'Yes, that I shall,' I said, but half absently, for though I was -returning to them, there was another love drawing my heart away from -them back to the more hazardous life in the great metropolis, wherein -was my sweet mistress, Lady Jane. 'For my own sake, I would rather -have her with me,' those had been her words about me, and it needed -not long thinking about them on my part to make of them my law. Lady -Jane would rather have me with her, therefore I must go to Lady Jane. -I said so to Betsy, much to her amazement and consternation. - -'But, mistress, dear mistress, consider,' she cried. 'Before this -she has probably been taken to the Tower, where she will be a -prisoner. It will be very different from what it was before,' she -continued. 'She will be in another part of the Tower, away from the -Royal Palace that she was in before, and they will never allow you to -go to her, or, once you go,' she went on inconsequently, 'you will -never be permitted to return. Your life won't be safe for a minute, -when once you are amongst the State prisoners. They will burn you -alive and behead you,' she continued wildly, tears rolling down her -face at the idea, 'and then where will you be, my sweet, precious -Mistress Margery?' and she caught hold of my hands as if she would -keep me away from the Tower by main force. - -And then my litter suddenly stopped, and Sir Hubert rode alongside, -and, stooping over his horse's head, looked earnestly into my face. - -'My dearest,' he said to me, lifting his hat with one hand and -reining in his horse with the other, 'what is the matter?' - -I told him that he was taking me in the wrong direction, for that I -desired, above all things, to return to Lady Jane. - -'Well, that is what I desire too,' he said instantly, 'or at least I -wish to be in the neighbourhood of her father, that we may together -discuss and plan measures----' He stopped short, looking -suspiciously around. 'You understand?' he said. - -Yes, I understood. He was still not without hope that Mary might be -dethroned, and Lady Jane reinstated as Queen. What it is to be -young! All things seem possible to the very young, especially when -they are greatly desired. - -'But Lady Jane Grey wished me to take you to your home, Margery,' he -said, 'and indeed I know you would be safer there.' - -'Yes,' said I, 'but that does not matter.' - -'Would you not like to be back with Jack and Hal and your father?' he -asked. - -For a moment--I was so young and they were so very dear--I wavered. -Then I made answer stoutly, 'I want, _above all things, to return to -my dear lady. If you love me, dearest, you will take me to her._' - -'And if she chides me for disobedience?' - -'I will bear the blame,' I said; 'I will bear all the blame.' - -We had a little more talk about it, and then, the language of our -hearts being one and the same, straightway turned about and retraced -our steps, making a detour, that we might avoid the dangerous -neighbourhood of Crossley Hall. - -A couple of hours later, Sir Hubert, who had been riding on before, -returned to us, saying anxiously, 'Margery, we are pursued. Quite a -large company of horsemen have appeared in sight from the direction -of Crossley Hall, and they are gaining upon us.' - -'Oh,' cried I, 'what shall we do? It would be worse than death to -fall again into the hands of Sir Claudius!' - -'You never shall,' said Sir Hubert, 'whilst I live and a strong arm -can prevent it.' - -At that moment a solitary horseman, riding towards us from the -opposite direction, stopped short, and, looking hard at us, -exclaimed-- - -'Why, is it thou again? And still pursued by the rabble? Thou wilt -be killed yet!' - -'Master Jack Fish!' exclaimed I. 'You remember him, Hubert, and what -a good friend he was to us when we were in that shed?' - -'Oh, yes, I remember him perfectly,' and my dear one greeted him in a -very friendly way, rapidly explaining the situation. - -'Thou art in great danger,' said Jack Fish gravely. 'Thine enemy -will stick at nothing to be revenged on thee. I caught a good -glimpse of his horsemen when I was on that hill, and there are four -times as many of them as there are of thee.' - -'What _shall_ we do?' I exclaimed. - -Jack Fish looked at me pityingly. 'Madam,' he said, 'thou in that -litter art in the position of the greatest danger. Thy litter is a -target towards which all will aim. Sir Knight, is it absolutely -impossible to separate the lady from her litter?' - -'Well, no,' replied Sir Hubert. 'Margery'--he turned to me--'can you -ride well? Could you accompany us on horseback?' - -'Yes. That I could!' I exclaimed. 'I have been used to riding from -my babyhood. A man's saddle? Oh, yes, of course I can ride on that. -I can ride without a saddle, if you like,' and I thought of the many -gallops across the downs I had had in the old days with Hal and Jack. - -'Hurrah! Bravo!' cried my lover triumphantly. 'Now we shall -circumvent the enemy!' He was about to choose me a horse, when the -sight of Betsy reminded him of her, and he asked, 'Your maid? Can -she ride?' - -'That I can, sir,' Betsy answered for herself. 'Am I not a farmer's -daughter?' - -'You will do well,' exclaimed Master Jack Fish, and with that, -setting spurs to his horse, he galloped off, not caring for our -pursuers to see him with us. - -'He is a shrewd man and a good friend,' observed Sir Hubert. Then he -quickly arranged that Betsy and I should ride two of his men's -horses, whilst their owners rode behind two of the other men. - -That done, the party broke up. Sir Hubert, accompanied by me and my -woman, and followed by half his company, continuing straight forward -on the road to London, whilst the other half of the men took the -litter in the direction of Guildford. - -In this way we fortunately escaped from our would-be captors, who, we -afterwards heard, had a sharp encounter with the company escorting -the litter, in which they were only beaten off with tremendous -difficulty and the loss of the litter, which fell into their hands. - - - - -CHAPTER XX - -A Trying Experience - -By the time we reached the vicinity of the outlying suburbs of London -City another danger menaced. It was impossible for so large a -company of horsemen to approach the metropolis unchallenged, and we -were brought to a standstill at Ditton by the cry from two police -officials-- - -'Halt, sirs! Halt! Are you for Queen Mary?' - -[Illustration: A VOICE OF THUNDER DEMANDED, "ARE YOU FOR QUEEN MARY?"] - -Now, we were none of us for Queen Mary, and we were all honest folk -and true, who hated and abhorred a lie; there was nothing for it -therefore but that we should hold our peace and try to rush from the -position by galloping past our questioners, who, when they found that -they were baulked, fired their pistols after us, but fortunately -without doing any of our party a mischief. - -'We shall have to separate,' said Sir Hubert when, at last, we deemed -it safe to slacken our pace and pull up our steeds for a brief -confabulation. 'Every moment that we are together now increases our -danger, for news of us will fly round in every direction, and any -moment we may be apprehended and taken before the magistrates--that -is, if they can get hold of us. Once in Court,' he added, gravely, -'our fate is certain--I, for one, will never declare fealty to the -Papist Mary.' - -'Nor I,' said I, in whispered words, but he heard them, and, turning -to me, said earnestly, 'You are a woman, and I pray you do not get -mixed up with political matters, which might endanger your dear head.' - -I could not make any rejoinder, for Sir Hubert's friends now began to -discuss several matters, in which they wanted his guidance before -parting from him. A born leader of men was my Hubert, and there was -no hesitancy in his firm voice as he gave out peremptory advice and -commands. - -I fancy that I see him now, sitting erect on his fine horse, with -enthusiasm and earnest hope lighting up his countenance, as, after -listening to all, he quietly settled every knotty point in as few -words as possible. Betsy's objections to being parted from me took -him a little longer to overrule than everything else, but he would -allow no one except himself to remain with me. It was only for a few -hours, he said, and the smaller my party the safer would be my -position. And he picked out a worthy man to escort Betsy into -London, and take her to London Bridge, where we were to join her. -However, Betsy would not consent to the plan until I also bade her -authoritatively to say no more, but obey in every particular. Then -she left me, weeping and declaring that she should see my face no -more, for we should both perish by the dangers of the way. - -'And when you arrive in London,' she went on, in her inconsequent -way, 'people will recognize that you have been with Lady Jane Grey, -when she was queen, and then you will be burnt and beheaded as well -for high treason, or whatever they call it, and I shall have all the -misery of returning to Sussex alone, to acquaint your father with the -fearful tidings!' - -When our company was broken up into twos and threes, Sir Hubert and I -rode on at a brisk pace, and did not draw rein until we reached the -River Thames at Kingston, a very pretty little town. - -The glory of the brilliant summer day was waning then; the sunset was -obscured and clouded over by dark clouds; only its reflection -lingered a little over the silvery waters of the Thames. - -'We cannot reach London to-day,' said I, looking inquiringly at my -companion. - -I had been so happy riding along by his side that I had not realized -that even the longest day comes to an end at last and night will -follow. But he--he should have thought of that. - -'No. Of course not. I have ascertained that Sir William Wood and -Lady Caroline are staying with some friends at a house at Kingston. -It is somewhere near the river. I thought that you would like to -stay the night with Lady Caroline.' - -'Oh, yes, I should,' I replied, cheerfully, for it was very pleasant -to think of being with a gentlewoman again, after all the rough -experiences I had been through. - -'If only I could find the place!' exclaimed Sir Hubert. 'We shall -attract observation if we go about on horseback seeking it. News -will arrive here, if it has not already arrived, of what happened at -Ditton, and we shall be arrested on suspicion.' - -'What shall we do then?' - -'Leave our horses at an inn, and take a walk along the riverside -until we find the house where our friends are. I know it is a house -by the river because I have been there.' - -I made no objection to this, and we went to an inn, where they were -pleased to take our horses, as also to serve us with light -refreshment, of ale and bread and cheese for Sir Hubert and milk and -cake for me, after hurriedly partaking of which we went out and -walked down the street. - -As we did so I noticed a little group of men standing near the river -were regarding my companion with great curiosity, but concluded that -this was due to the fine manly presence and dignified mien of Sir -Hubert. - -It was a little startling, however, to find that, while we were -searching for the house we wanted, we occasionally encountered one or -another of these individuals, apparently watching us with interest. - -'Those men get upon my nerves,' I said at last. 'We meet them -everywhere.' - -Sir Hubert laughed. - -'I have been thinking that the men of Kingston have a strange -similarity of appearance,' he said. 'Can they possibly be the same -men?' - -I answered, 'Yes, I am sure of it. And I do not like to see them so -frequently.' - -'But who is this?' exclaimed Sir Hubert with delight. - -It was Sir William Wood, who, coming suddenly round a corner, almost -ran into my dear knight's arms. - -'The very man I want!' cried he. 'You have been long in coming, -Hubert, my friend!' - -'And now that I am here, before we discuss anything, there is this -lady, Mistress Margery Brown, to bring to a place of safety for the -night. I hope Lady Caroline is at Kingston.' - -'She is,' replied Lady Caroline's husband, shaking hands cordially -with me, 'but I must tell you that we are hiding here. Our hostess, -Lady Mary Peterson, dared not have us staying with her openly. Even -now I have only ventured to leave the house by a subterranean passage -from the cellars to yonder clump of willows by the river, and if you -wish to remain over the night with us you will have to accompany me -that way. But who are those men?' He asked the question with -anxiety, pointing as he did so to two of the men who were following -us about. - -They stood near a thick hedge, which partly screened them from -observation. - -'Oh, those! I have an account to settle with them,' cried Sir Hubert -angrily, at once giving chase to the rascals. - -There was a spice of boyishness always about Sir William, and now, -like a boy, he forgot all about me and ran off to aid Sir Hubert in -the pursuit. - -I was left alone, and neither Sir Hubert nor Sir William heard my -pitiful little cry-- - -'Oh, do not leave me!' - -By the light of the moon, which had now risen, I saw my escort -disappear, with feelings of great misgiving, and sat down -disconsolately upon a big boulder by the river side. - -It was very lonely there. The water flowed placidly by, with -scarcely a murmur. A corncrake in a field behind made mournful -music, with monotonous persistence. A dog howled somewhere on the -other side of the river. From the town behind us proceeded subdued -sounds of horses' hoofs, men's voices, the clashing of steel and, -presently, the ringing of the curfew bell. - -What a long time my knights were in catching, or frightening, or -punishing the spies, if the men were spies, and it seemed evident -that they were. Supposing that they had run in the direction of -their fellows, and the two knights following them were caught in a -trap, overpowered by numbers and taken to prison for rebelling -against Queen Mary, what could I do all by myself? - -I was horribly frightened, and clasped my hands and strained my eyes -in my endeavour to see one or other of my knights returning for me. -But in vain. No one was visible. Should I go forward and look for -them? No; better to remain where they had left me, lest I missed -them altogether. - -I sat still, leaning my head upon my hand, and tried to wait as -patiently as I could. Would that dog never cease howling? What was -that approaching on the river? A boat? It must be, for now the soft -beating of oars upon the water was plainly to be heard. - -Oh, why did not Sir Hubert, or at least Sir William, return? There -were men in the boat--four men, two were rowing. Why, at a gesture -from the one sitting in the stern of the boat, did the oarsmen stop -rowing? Now they were approaching the bank where I sat. They must -have seen me, and indeed my figure, silhouetted against the sky, must -have been conspicuous. - -They were getting out now--at least two of the men were--and coming -towards me. - -But what was this? Oh joy! The men whom I now saw more clearly were -none other than my two good knights, returning to me in all haste. - -Sir Hubert seized my trembling hands. - -'You have been left too long, my love!' he said. 'But indeed we -could not help it. What do you think? The men we ran after were no -foes, after all. Far from it, they were friends. When we had -knocked them down, and they found out who we were, mostly from Sir -William, whom they had seen before, they informed us that they -belonged to a small party of men that the Duke of Suffolk had sent -out here to look for me. They had come down to Kingston by boat, and -were hoping to meet with me and take me to London City by water.' - -'Then that was why they stared so hard at us, and followed us about?' -I said inquiringly. - -'Exactly. They were not sure that it was I, until Sir William and I -had knocked a little sense into them!' - -'Shall you go with them?' I asked. 'And I, what shall I do?' - -'Well, you mast come too. You want to be with Lady Jane. I think -that I had better take you to her father, whom the queen has pardoned -and set free. He will know best how to get you into the Tower, and -to his daughter.' - -'But it is night,' I said. - -Sir Hubert was eager to go that very moment to the Duke, but, looking -down upon me, he suddenly perceived my weariness and weakness. - -'Poor Margery!' he said, with infinite tenderness, 'you are worn out! -What shall we do with her, Sir William?' - -'Leave her with me,' said Sir William at once. 'I will take her -straight to Lady Caroline, and we will all three follow you to London -to-morrow, probably by water, as that will attract the least -observation.' - -After a hurried discussion we agreed to this, and Sir Hubert, who I -saw must have received some political information which greatly -excited him, took a hasty, though affectionate, leave of me there, by -the Thames, within sight of Kingston Bridge, which was so soon to be -the scene of a very daring exploit. And we parted, little knowing -what was to happen before we met again, he going to the boat to be -rowed down to London City, I going with Sir William through the -subterranean passage to the great house, where Lady Caroline received -me as a sister, and assisted me to bed with her own hands. - -I was so tired that I fell asleep the moment my head touched the -pillow. But my dreams were troubled. For in them, over and over -again, I saw Sir Hubert in a boat, pulling against the stream, and -unable to get on, whilst I, standing on the river bank, besought him -to make haste to Lady Jane, who in the Tower was in sore need of -succour. And still he tried to go to her, but in vain; the boat -heaved and tossed, but did not advance at all, in spite of every -effort. And I wept in my sleep, because he could not go to Lady Jane. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI - -Queen Mary's Boon - -'Oh, help me!' I implored. 'Help me to get into the Tower!' - -The Court physician to whom I appealed shook his head gravely. - -'It is a difficult matter for an outsider to get in there,' he said, -'and, if I mistake not, you are one who would be liable to be -suspected, by reason of your having been there before with the -unfortunate Lady Jane Grey.' - -'Then you remember me? I thought you would. I am Margaret Brown,' I -faltered. - -'Mistress Margaret Brown,' said he, very gently, 'I will give you one -word of advice, and that is, go home to your friends.' - -'Alas!' I said, wringing my hands, 'I have no friend--save one--so -dear as she who is imprisoned in the Tower. Help me to get to her, -Dr. Massingbird, I implore you. She said that it would be a comfort -to her to have me there, and she is in sore need of comfort!' - -'Poor lady! Poor young lady! So sinned against, and yet so -innocent; and made a tool of by that wicked man who has met with his -just fate. I mean Northumberland.' - -'Yes,' said I. 'It was he and his ambition that ruined my dear lady.' - -We were standing talking together in Thames Street, not far from the -Bulwark Gate of the great Tower of London. For a week I had been -making many endeavours to get into the Tower, but, owing to the great -precautions which were being taken against treachery--especially -during Queen Mary's residence there--every attempt of mine to effect -an entrance was in vain. I had found Betsy all right on London -Bridge, where she stayed twelve hours waiting for me, in spite of -every effort made to dislodge her from her position, and she and I -were lodging, with the Woods, in apartments in the Strand. - -Sir William Wood and Lady Caroline had no power to assist me to get -into the Tower; they were obliged to keep as quiet as possible, only -going out at night, owing to Sir William's partisanship of Lady Jane, -whilst, for the same reason, Sir Hubert Blair, too, was compelled to -remain hidden until certain plans were matured. He could not help -me, and indeed I had not seen him since we parted on Kingston Bridge. -As for the Duke of Suffolk, he was quite unable to assist me to go to -his daughter, for, having been liberated after two or three days' -imprisonment, owing to the intercession of his wife who prostrated -herself before Mary, pleading that he was delicate and that his -health would suffer if he were not set free, upon which Her Majesty -graciously forgave him, he was most ungratefully busying himself with -secret schemes for ousting her from the throne and reinstating Queen -Jane. Always careless of the latter's feelings, whether she had her -favourite gentlewoman with her in her imprisonment, or not, was a -matter of indifference to him. Others who had made my acquaintance -during the queen's short reign cut me dead, or treated me with scanty -civility upon my reappearing on the scene. There was not one of -those fine Court ladies who had formerly professed to admire and love -Queen Jane who would lift a hand to help her now that she was in -affliction and imprisonment. I was thinking sadly about this, as I -returned from my last fruitless effort to gain ingress into the -Tower, when I met one of the physicians who had attended Queen Jane -during her illness in the royal palace. He was a truly benevolent -man, and although he was evidently going somewhere in a hurry, he got -out of his coach when I called to him, to inquire what I wanted. - -'I am very hurried just now,' he said, temporizing, 'The fact is -Queen Mary cannot sleep; evil, unpleasant thoughts trouble her, from -the moment in which she lies down in bed until it is well nigh time -to rise again, and potions and drugs do not cure the malady. But I -bethought me of King Saul, to whom David played when he was -distracted in that manner, until the evil spirits no longer troubled -him, so I told Her Majesty that I would slip out of the Tower and go -and fetch a young female singer, who would sing to her so beautifully -that she would fall into a natural sleep. I heard a girl singing -very sweetly in a friend's house in the Strand once, but whether I -shall be able to find her or not I know not. It is growing late. -The curfew bell has rung; the streets will not be very safe to be out -in soon, and yet I must try to find the girl, if Queen Mary is to -sleep.' - -A bold thought came to me as he was speaking. The good physician was -in search of a girl who could sing well, who in fact could sing Queen -Mary to sleep, and I, who could sing well, wanted above all things to -get into the Tower; it therefore seemed conclusive that I must be the -girl to sing for the queen. But Queen Mary? I would rather that it -had been Queen Jane. - -'Doctor,' I said entreatingly, 'I am your girl. Your sweet singer, -you know,' I hurriedly explained, seeing that he did not understand. -'I can sing very sweetly, though I say it myself. Take me to Queen -Mary.' - -'You!' The good man looked amazed. 'I am afraid it would not do,' -he said. 'Supposing now that Her Majesty found out that you had been -in the Tower with Queen Jane?' - -'I don't think that that would make so much difference,' I said. 'A -singer may sing to any one.' - -After a little more demur, to my intense satisfaction, Dr. -Massingbird consented to take me, only stipulating that I should -conceal my real name and position from the queen, and appear before -her as a professional singer only. He also made me promise that I -would do Queen Mary no harm in any way when admitted into her -presence--for these were days in which treachery was common. - -Under his care, escorted by him, in scarcely an hour from the time in -which we met in Thames Street, I was entering the royal apartments of -the ancient palace[1] in the mighty Tower of London. - - -[1] This palace of the old kings of England has long since -disappeared. It was at the south-east of the Tower.--ED. - - -I must confess candidly that, whilst outwardly appearing dignified -and calm, I was inwardly in a state of great trepidation and -timidity. Always overawed by the vastness and gloom of the mighty -fortress, even when there with Queen Jane, while she was in power and -every effort was made to display its riches and magnificence, it can -easily be understood, that I was many times more so now when, late at -night under an assumed character, yet at heart an adherent of the -imprisoned ex-queen, I ventured alone, except for the presence of the -physician, himself a servant, into the palace of the reigning -monarch. Curious glances were cast at me by guards and sentinels, -squires and dames, lords and ladies, as we ascended the great oaken -staircase and passed through a long gallery into a spacious hall, -with narrow Gothic windows of stained glass, hung with tarnished -cloth of gold curtains. Here the furniture was large and splendid, -the windows were in deep recesses, whilst there was a gallery round -the upper part of the room. - -'Wait a little here, until I return,' said my guide, signing to me to -sit down on an old oak chair. - -The physician went away, leaving me, as I at first thought, alone, -but, in a little while, my eyes became accustomed to the dim light, -and I saw that in some of the embrasures by the windows, men and -women sat, or stood engaged in earnest conversation. A few of them -appeared to be foreigners; from their dress I imagined they were -Spaniards, and two or three of these were monks, the sight of whom -there recalled to my mind Sir Hubert Blair's prediction in Woodleigh -Castleyard, that if Mary reigned, the country would be plunged into -Roman Catholicism and brought into alliance with Spain, upon which a -door would be thrown open for the Inquisition, with all its horrors. - -At that moment I heard a girl, standing in a recess near, saying to a -tall man, who from his dress and bearing seemed to be of noble birth-- - -'The queen means well. She is cautious about beginning, but in time -she will do all that she is bidden by the Holy Church. At present -she is racked with indecision and gloomy forebodings----' - -'But she has the iron will of her father, King Hal--you see him there -in that portrait, painted by Holbein, over the chimneypiece. What a -man that was!' exclaimed the other. - -The girl shrugged her shoulders. - -'Mary has a very different creed from his, fortunately,' she said, -'and she hankers after Spain--all may yet be well for our Church!' - -I heard no more, for at that moment Dr. Massingbird, returning, -accompanied by a lady of the bedchamber, desired me to go with her to -Queen Mary, who had already retired for the night. - -'I have done all I could for you,' added the physician, aside, in a -low tone. 'I have brought you here. But you will have to get out -again as you best can, for I cannot dance attendance upon you any -longer.' - -I tried to thank him, and to say that I should be all right, but, not -listening to me, he said-- - -'I have announced you as a poor singer named Meg Brown! having -clipped off a bit of your name. God grant you may come to no harm, -my child!' - -Then he hurried away. - -I followed the lady to Queen Mary's bedchamber, walking silently -after her into the splendidly furnished bedroom, where I had been -before with Queen Jane. How it reminded me of her! But this was a -very different woman lying upon the great bed, with its silk and gold -counterpane. - -Mary was about forty years old--a little woman, slender and delicate -in appearance. She did not in the least resemble her father, King -Henry VIII. Her features were not bad, and her eyes were bright--so -bright indeed that they frightened me when, all at once, I discovered -them fixed upon my face. - -'Who are you?' demanded the queen, in a voice which was thick and -loud like a man's. - -I was still more alarmed, and felt at that moment as if those bright, -piercing eyes were looking into the very depths of my heart. - -I knelt for one moment, but quickly rose from the ground, with a -prayer in my heart that I might be forgiven bowing in the house of -Rimmon and before the wrong queen. - -'I am Meg Brown, madam. At your service,' I said, adding, as she -remained quiet, 'a poor young singing-girl.' - -'You don't seem to have much boldness in speech, Meg. How, then, can -you have the courage to sing?' - -I clasped my hands tightly together, with an inward prayer for help, -and, in a moment, from the extremity of fear passed to a state of -blessed confidence. - -'Only hear me,' I said. 'I can sing, madam.' - -'Can you?' The piercing eyes sought to read my innermost soul. - -'Yes, madam. Once, when I was a child, Master Montgomery, our -curate, took me to see a poor woman who had lost her baby and was -almost dead with grief. She could not weep, nor sleep, nor eat; the -trouble was killing her. But I sang to her, and she cried like a -child, and prayed to God and recovered. And another time,' I spoke -more clearly now, 'when some serving-men and women had a great -quarrel, and were fighting in a truly terrible manner, I stood up and -sang, and sang until they fell upon their knees and burst out into -tears and prayers. After that, Master Montgomery always fetched me -to sing to people when he could do nothing with them.' - -'Wonderful!' said Queen Mary, in a rather satirical manner. 'But -those were only poor folk; it remains to be seen whether you can sing -to a queen.' - -'God,' said I, half to myself and half to her, 'Who helped me to sing -to His poor, can help me to sing to'--I was going to say His queen, -but substituted 'a queen.' - -'And is not the poor queen His, too?' asked the woman, who was -reading my heart. - -'He knows,' I said, trembling a little, lest she should take umbrage -at my daring. 'He knows them that are His.' - -Mary did not say anything to this. She turned her head away from me -with a peevish movement. - -I was afraid to speak, and therefore waited in silence until she -spoke again. - -'Sing to me,' she said. - -'What shall I sing?' - -'I am greatly troubled,' she replied at length. 'Sing what you sang -to that poor mother who had lost her child.' - -It was one of Martin Luther's cradle songs, translated for me, when a -child, by Master Montgomery, who fitted it to a tender little tune of -his own composing. I loved it well, but it seemed a strange song to -sing to the mightiest woman in the land, the Queen of England. -Perhaps, however, as she said she was greatly troubled, she might be -in need of comforting. I thought of that, and standing there, with -my hands tightly clasped before me, sang as I had never sung before-- - - Sleep well, my dear, sleep safe and free; - The holy angels are with thee, - Who always see thy Father's face, - And never slumber nights nor days. - - -There was a quick movement on the bed, and Mary opened wide eyes of -amazement, but she did not interrupt, and I went on singing, until, -gaining confidence, my voice rang out clearly and triumphantly in the -last verse-- - - Sleep now, my dear, and take thy rest; - And if with riper years thou'rt blest - Increase in wisdom, day and night, - Till thou attain'st th' eternal light! - - -For a little time there was silence in the room, when I ended, and -then, with a heaving sigh, the deep voice came from the bed-- - -'I'm only a frail woman, though I am queen, and I need wisdom. But -go on singing, child. Go on singing.' - -I began a favourite hymn of Master Montgomery's, and it brought to my -mind so many memories that sobs trembled in my voice, as I sang-- - - When my dying hour must be, - Be not absent then from me; - In that dreadful hour I pray, - Jesus, come without delay, - See and set me free! - When thou biddest me depart - Whom I cleave to with my heart, - Lover of my soul, be near, - With Thy saving Cross appear, - Show Thyself to me. - - -Mary lay so still when I ended that I thought she was asleep; but no, -she was awake, and as I looked closely at her, I perceived that tears -were slowly stealing down her face. - -I fell on my knees by the bedside, but I was not kneeling to her, as -she seemed to think, when opening her eyes and looking at me, she -said, in a softer tone than before-- - -'Child, do you want something?' - -Did I want something? Yes, I wanted something so much, that now when -the time had come for asking for it, I could not say a word, - -'Your singing is marvellously sweet,' continued Queen Mary. 'Yet it -has not sent me to sleep. I should like to hear you every night. -Will you stay here in the palace and sing to me every night? You -shall have a fair wage.' - -'I do not want a wage,' I answered, thanking her. 'But I crave a -boon at your hands, madam.' - -'And that is----' - -'That I may be allowed to go to Lady Jane Grey----' - -'Lady Jane! My cousin? Methinks that you are a bold girl to ask -that,' exclaimed the queen, starting up in bed and speaking very -angrily. - -I rose slowly, and, with clasped hands, stood before her, pleading my -love for her sweet cousin and beseeching that I might be allowed to -attend Lady Jane in her prison. I described her youth, her -innocence, and the great unwillingness with which she had permitted -herself to be dragged into the dangerous position of queen, and also -mentioned the quickness and satisfaction with which she abandoned the -undesired sovereignty. - -'You plead well, Meg,' said the Queen, when I stopped, partly because -my breath failed, 'and you have a wonderful voice for singing, aye, -and for speaking. If I let you go to Lady Jane, and allow you to -attend her in her prison, will you come and sing to me when I require -you?' - -'I will. I will,' I exclaimed delightedly. 'I will sing you to -sleep whenever you like, madam.' - -'Nay, not to sleep, Meg, not to sleep,' said Queen Mary. 'As a -promoter of sleep you are a failure, for your singing awakens me out -of the sleep of years, making me feel as if I should never want to -sleep again.' - -She then rang a hand-bell, and on the entrance of a gentlewoman, -commanded that I should be taken to the Brick Tower, to attend upon -the Lady Jane Grey. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII - -With Lady Jane - -I did not find Lady Jane in bed, in the gloomy quarters where she was -confined. Separated from her husband, who was imprisoned in the -Beauchamp Tower, and left entirely alone, she was passing the time in -prayer, meditation, and studying the philosophic and holy writings, -from which she imbibed deep draughts of resignation and wisdom. - -Like a child exhausted with play after having acted a difficult part, -and like one worn with the strain that has been put upon her in the -battle of life, she was simply waiting at the foot of the Cross, and -I found her on her knees, weeping gently as she prayed. - -The warder, who conducted me to her apartment, retired, bolting the -door after him, and I stood by it a little while, unwilling to -interrupt my dear lady and noticing with dismay the iron-barred -windows of the room and the stone walls, partly concealed by -tapestry. I saw also that the furniture--a table and some -chairs--was of carved oak. and the deep window-seats were covered -with velvet, as was also the seat of the oak chair before which the -poor young prisoner knelt. - -Perhaps she heard some one enter--certainly the warder made noise -enough as he closed the door--and therefore, ending her prayer, she -arose and looked round. - -The next moment I was folded in her arms, and we were crying together. - -'Oh, Margery! My poor Margery!' she said, at last, when we were a -little calmer. 'Where have you been? Why, dear,' looking at me more -closely, 'what have they done to you? You look so pale and thin! -How did you get into the Tower?' - -'It took me a week to get in,' I said, beginning to answer her last -question first, and then, as we sat together on one of the window -seats, I proceeded to tell her all that had befallen me since I was -carried off from Isleworth. - -Lady Jane was very sympathizing when she heard of all my danger, -distress and trouble in Crossley Hall, and was delighted that my -valiant knight, Sir Hubert Blair, had rescued me, with a strong hand. -But when I proceeded to tell her that he was now in London bent upon -fighting for her and deep in schemes with her father, to bring about -a change of monarchy, she was greatly concerned and not a little -distressed. - -'Why did not you stop them, Margery?' she said. 'You know so well -that I do not think it right to be queen, when my cousins Mary and -Elizabeth are living. You are well aware how I disliked to be queen, -and how gladly I gave it up.' - -'Yes, madam, I told Sir Hubert Blair all,' replied I, 'but he said -that they looked at the matter in this light. There were the people -of England to consider, the multitude of human beings who, in the one -case, would be plunged back into Roman Catholicism, in the other -would enjoy the Reformed faith, and freedom to worship God in their -own tongue and read His Divine Word for themselves. He said, madam, -that you must not think of your own wishes, but must sacrifice -yourself for the good of the people.' - -I thought I had stated Sir Hubert's argument clearly and well, yet -Lady Jane shook her head. - -'We must not do evil that good may come,' she said. 'And have I any -right to take another person's possession because it seems to me that -I can administer it better than the rightful owner?' - -'But think of the suffering that may come upon our good Protestants -if Mary reigns?' I urged. 'They say that she will do everything that -her Roman Church enjoins, and the horrors--the horrors of the -Inquisition--may be brought to this land of ours,' and I poured out -all that Sir Hubert had related of that horrible institution. - -'God grant that it may never come to England!' said my mistress, when -I ended. After which she added, thoughtfully, 'I think that Queen -Mary is not so bigoted as some people imagine, and she has behaved -very leniently in several ways since her elevation to the throne. -She forgave my father and set him free, and, although the Emperor -Charles, to whom she looks up so much, has advised her to have me -executed, she has refused----' - -'I should think so!' I interrupted. 'Oh, dear madam, what a wicked -wretch that emperor must be!' - -'People always look at things from their own point of view, or the -point of view of those dearest to them,' said my mistress. 'The -Emperor Charles, considering the welfare of Mary, sees that while I -live there will be always a danger of some enthusiasts, like your Sir -Hubert, starting up to try and put me on the throne again--and in -that case, besides the danger to the reigning monarch, there would be -many slain, much blood would be shed, and you must remember Sir -Hubert's argument about the duty of considering the welfare of the -many. If my death will put away this danger to so many, then I had -better die, dear Margery.' - -'No! No! No!' I cried. 'It would be the foulest shame in the world -for one so innocent and good as you to be killed--and remember your -argument, they must not do evil that good may come.' - -Lady Jane smiled. - -'Well done, little Margery!' she said, adding, 'Now tell me how you -managed to get into the Tower.' - -I told her, upon which she remarked-- - -'You see Mary has a good heart--you touched it with your singing, and -she allowed you to come to me,' adding, to my delight, 'To have you -with me is the one thing I wanted, next to my natural wish to be with -my husband. They have separated us, you know, Margery. He is -imprisoned in another tower.' - -'It _is_ hard,' I said. - -'And I have great anxiety about him,' went on my dear lady. -'Doubtless the priests are endeavouring to convert him to Romanism, -and since they succeeded with his father----' - -'Madame, did the Duke of Northumberland give up his faith?' - -'Yes,' she answered sadly. 'He was not brave, not heroic; he gave -way on all sides when death was imminent. But they have killed him. -He is dead, and we must say nothing, except good, of the dead.' - -She quoted a Latin proverb to that effect,[1] but it was strange to -my ears, and I have so far forgotten it as not to be able to write it -down. - - -[1] _De mortuis nil nisi bonum_.--ED. - - -I could not help thinking that Northumberland's ambition was in -reality his religion, but could not say so after those words of Lady -Jane's. - -'He was beheaded on Tower Hill,' she continued, 'and oh! God grant -that the same fate may not befall my dear lord!' - -The days passed slowly and quietly for me and my dear lady in her -prison in the Tower. Queen Mary did not send for me to come and sing -to her any more. She went to stay for a while at Richmond Palace, -and, then again, we heard that she was at Whitehall, and sometimes -she was in her palace in the Tower, but that made no difference to -us. Certain privileges were accorded by her to Lady Jane, and of -course I shared them. For instance, we were allowed to walk across -the green to St. Peter's Church occasionally, where Lady Jane much -enjoyed the fine music, and liked to join in the services. On these -occasions she would look up at the Beauchamp Tower, as we passed it, -wondering how her husband was and what he was doing. My heart ached -for her many a time, when I saw her wistful face upturned to the -windows of the Tower, as she vainly tried to see the face she loved. -At least Mary might have permitted them to meet occasionally, if she -could not permit them to enjoy each other's constant society. But a -day was coming, though I knew it not then, when they would be allowed -to be together, at least for a short time. Lady Jane was also -permitted to walk in the queen's garden--this was a pleasure to her, -who so dearly loved fresh air and flowers. Sometimes she would talk -about the gardens at Sion House, and the Thames flowing by them, and -wonder if we should ever go there again. At other times she would -tell me about Bradgate, where she had been brought up and where her -tutor, Mr. Roger Ascham, used to marvel because she preferred to sit -reading Plato to joining her young companions in the sport of -hunting. It was well that she preferred books, as they were now her -solace when it would not have been possible for her to have had the -other pastime. - -In the beginning of October Lady Jane was allowed to meet her husband -once more, but the occasion was most melancholy, for they were both -being conducted to the Guildhall, together with Archbishop Cranmer -and Lord Ambrose Dudley, Lord Guildford Dudley's brother, to be tried -on the charge of high treason. Lady Jane pleaded guilty, and they -were all convicted of high treason and condemned to death as -traitors. Lady Jane's sentence was that she was to be beheaded or -burnt to death, at the queen's pleasure, and Judge Morgan, who -pronounced it, was afterwards so deeply afflicted in his mind at the -remembrance that he died, raving. - -Many people were exceedingly grieved for the poor young creature, who -had been made a tool of by her ambitious relatives, sorely against -her will, and the touching grace and meekness of her demeanour, as -well as her misfortunes, caused them to follow her weeping and -lamenting her hard fate, as she was being reconducted to the Tower. - -The queen, however, appears to have had no intention at that time of -carrying out Lady Jane's sentence, nor indeed that of the others who -were condemned with her, but thought it better to please her -partisans by keeping them in prison under sentence of death. To Lady -Jane, indeed, Mary granted more indulgences, such as permitting her -to walk on Tower Hill, where I always accompanied her. - -The autumn passed slowly into winter. I often thought of my beloved, -wondering what he was doing and dreading inexpressibly to hear of his -one day being brought into the Tower, through the Traitors' Gate. I -wrote to him two or three letters, sending them off as I found -opportunity, in which I told him guardedly, lest they should fall -into the wrong hands, that Lady Jane, above all things, desired that -no effort should be made to replace her in what she felt had been a -false position. But I received no sign that my dear knight ever got -my poor little epistles, and indeed it would not have been strange if -they had never reached his hands. - -At length, however, I heard of him. One day there was a great -commotion in the Tower, armed men springing up everywhere, guns -bristling on all sides, the defences of the whole fortress being -looked to, and military commands being called out in all directions. - -'What is it, warder? What is happening?' Lady Jane inquired, in her -gentle way. - -Then the warder informed us that they were expecting that the Tower -would be assailed by a large force, which was coming to attack it, -under a leader who had begun to carry all before him. - -'Who is he?' asked Lady Jane. - -'Madam, he is a knight, who owns property and a castle in Kent, where -he began the rebellion. His name,' added the man, 'is Sir Thomas -Wyatt, and he is accompanied by several gentlemen, and amongst them -Sir Hubert Blair, who is notoriously active against the Government.' - -'Margery,' said my dear lady, when the warder had retired, 'if we -could have prevented this! If we only could have prevented it!' - -'I wrote to Sir Hubert Blair again and again after I knew your -wishes,' said I, 'but I think he cannot have received my missives, or -perchance his friend, Sir Thomas Wyatt, heeds not his advice.' - -Even as I spoke I was hoping that these valiant knights, who were -carrying all before them, would indeed succeed in their great -enterprise. - -'There will be a terrible amount of bloodshed!' sighed my mistress. - -'God will be on the side of the right,' said I. - -'Yes. On the side _of the right_,' she rejoined with emphasis. Then -she continued, with another sigh, 'If this fails, my life will be the -forfeit, and justly, too, for the words of those who said Queen Mary -would not be safe upon her throne whilst I live will have proved -true.' - -Another time, as we were returning from St. Peter's Chapel, she -paused, and, looking at a certain spot on the green, where a scaffold -was wont to be erected for the more private execution of State -prisoners, the tears came into her eyes, and I knew that she was -apprehending a similar fate. - -However, I had every confidence in my brave and valiant hero, and -often lay awake at night, thinking of all that would happen when he -and the Duke of Suffolk once more placed my Lady Jane upon the throne. - -I thought, when all that was settled, and my dear lady, with her -husband by her side, no longer depended so entirely on her Margery -for companionship and love, and my beloved, with his work -accomplished, had leisure to be happy, he and I might have time to -get married, and then we would go together to see my home and my dear -old father, Hal and Jack, and, too, Master Montgomery in his -parsonage, and the villagers and our servants. After which Sir -Hubert would take me to his own beautiful place, Harpton Hall, where -we should live together in great happiness and prosperity. But I am -glad to think that I always said to myself, 'If the Lord will,' and -resolved that, even if things went contrary and we did not have quite -such a good time, I would be resigned and thankful for smaller -mercies. - -But of what was really going to happen I had not the faintest -conception. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII - -Wyatt's Insurrection - -I heard full particulars afterwards of the insurrection, but at the -time, shut up in the Tower, knew little of its course. - -Sir Thomas Wyatt, though professedly a Romanist, having seen the -horrors of the Inquisition in Spain, had risen in revolt against Mary -because of her Spanish marriage. He first raised the standard of -revolt in Kent, where many joined him, and amongst them Sir Hubert -Blair, who thought he could thus best serve Lady Jane, whilst the -Duke of Suffolk, who was openly for his daughter, was making a -similar attempt in the Midlands, and Sir Peter Carew in the West; the -latter's object being to place the Princess Elizabeth on the throne. - -At Rochester, where Sir Thomas Wyatt, accompanied by his -aide-de-camp, Sir Hubert Blair, encamped in the ruins of the old -castle, and held the bridge with cannon and well-armed Kentish men, -there was a great scene. The Duke of Norfolk, with a detachment of -Guards from London, was to have forced the bridge, but a certain -Captain Brett, who was deputed by him to lead five hundred men -against it, turning, addressed his followers thus-- - -'Masters, we are about to fight against our native countrymen of -England and our friends, in a quarrel unrightful and wicked; for -they, considering the great miseries that are like to fall upon us if -we shall be under the rule of the proud Spaniards, or strangers, are -here assembled to make resistance to their coming, for the avoiding -of the great mischiefs likely to alight not only upon themselves, but -upon every one of us and the whole realm, wherefore I think no -English heart ought to say against them. I and others will spend our -blood in their quarrel.' - -When they heard this, his men shouted, 'A Wyatt! A Wyatt!' and, -instead of turning their guns against the bridge, turned them against -their own Duke of Norfolk's forces. - -The duke and his officers fled, and Brett and his men, crossing the -bridge, joined Wyatt's soldiers, followed by three-fourths of the -queen's troops and more. - -Meantime, the Duke of Norfolk and his officers galloped to London, -which by their news was thrown into a state of alarm and -consternation. There were meetings of the city and military -authorities, and Queen Mary, sceptre in hand, addressed them with -great spirit, promising that if her contemplated marriage with Philip -of Spain did not meet with the approval of Parliament she would give -it up. She also offered a reward of lands, with £100 a year, to any -one who would take or kill Sir Thomas Wyatt. - -For some reason--could it be that Sir Hubert Blair was persuading him -not to go on?--the latter did not push forward with that speed which -characterized the commencement of his enterprise. His forces had -increased to 15,000 men, but he did not reach London until the words -of the queen and the news of the dispersion of the two other bands of -rebels, under the Duke of Suffolk and Sir Peter Carew, had restored -the courage of the citizens. - -Sir Thomas Wyatt entered Southwark, and proceeded to the end of -London Bridge, where he found the drawbridge raised, the gates -closed, and a strong armed force ready to resist his entrance. This -was a painful surprise for him, as he had been led to believe that -the Londoners were on his side; and he must have hoped that they -would still come over to him, for he waited two days without -beginning the attack. - -On the third day, however, the garrison of the Tower began to -cannonade him, which resulted in such mischief being done to the -houses in the vicinity that the people implored Sir Thomas to go away -with his troops. - -Unwilling to distress them, and hoping to be able to cross the bridge -at Kingston and proceed thence to Westminster and London, where it -was not so well defended, Sir Thomas and my dear knight began the -march to Kingston. - -I was told, afterwards, that a London merchant met them on that -march, and that Sir Thomas said to the merchant, 'I pray you commend -me to your citizens, and say to them from me, that when liberty was -offered to them they would not receive it, neither would they admit -me within their gates, who, for their freedom and for relieving them -from the oppression of foreigners, would frankly spend my blood in -this cause and quarrel.' - -Sir Thomas Wyatt reached Kingston about four o'clock in the -afternoon, where he found part of the bridge broken down and an armed -force waiting to oppose his passage. Bringing up his artillery, -however, he swept the enemy from the opposite bank, and, having -hastily made the bridge passable again with the help of boats and -barges, his troops crossed over it. It was eleven o'clock at night -by the time this was done--had his aide-de-camp a moment to spare for -the thought of that other night, when I waited so long for him by the -river there?--and his men were thoroughly exhausted; but he pushed -on. They marched all through that cold February night, along muddy -roads, and, after being delayed by having to remount a heavy gun that -had broken down, reached Hyde Park in broad daylight, where the Earl -of Pembroke awaited them with the royal forces. Lord Clinton, at the -head of the cavalry, had taken up his position, with a battery of -cannon, on the rising ground opposite the Palace of St. James. - -The morning was dismal, dark clouds gathered overhead, and it rained -more or less heavily. Sir Thomas' men were worn out, and many had -deserted. Nothing daunted, however, the brave knight divided them -into three companies, and at the head of the largest division, -accompanied by his aide-de-camp, charged Clinton's cavalry with such -effect that it seemed to give way. This, however, was only a -stratagem. Clinton allowed Sir Thomas, his aide-de-camp and four -hundred of his followers to pass, then he closed his ranks, cutting -off the main body from their commander. - -'In all Wyatt's proceedings,' says an historian, 'he displayed great -bravery, but little military experience or caution.' - -His main forces, now without a leader, wavered, but kept together, -and endeavoured to reach the city another way. They said afterwards -that Sir Thomas Wyatt did not appear to know that, having left the -body of his army behind, his enemies were now between him and it, and -he dashed along, past Charing Cross and through the Strand to -Ludgate, hoping still to be joined by the citizens. - -In the Strand the Earl of Courtenay, with his soldiers, was -stationed. He had engaged to join Wyatt, but had not the courage to -do either one thing or the other, for at the sight of him he fled. -Doubly treacherous, he was a traitor to the queen and also to Wyatt. - -At Ludgate, Wyatt found the gates were closed, and Lord William -Howard appeared above them, crying-- - -'Avaunt, traitor! Avaunt! You enter not here!' - -This was a truly awful reception, instead of the promised welcome. -And the brave knight must have felt stunned and bewildered as he -turned to assist his troops, only to be met by a crowd of the enemy -under Pembroke. In desperation, Sir Thomas, closely followed by Sir -Hubert, fought his way back as far as the Temple, where he found that -he had only fifty followers remaining. (The other troops, which he -had left in Hyde Park, were fighting at Whitehall and Westminster, -but of that he knew nothing, having lost touch with them and being -without cognisance of their doings, which came to nothing.) - -The King-at-arms called upon Sir Thomas to yield and not madly -sacrifice his brave companions, yet he continued fighting desperately. - -He was beaten back, by overwhelming numbers, down Fleet Street, until -he sank exhausted on a fish-stall, opposite La Belle Sauvage. His -sword was broken, and, throwing it away, he surrendered himself to -Sir Maurice Berkely. At the same moment, Sir Hubert Blair, his -aide-de-camp, overpowered by numbers, was taken prisoner. - -So much I was told. At the time, Lady Jane and I knew little of all -these happenings, and our suspense was terrible. After the first -crashing of our cannonade, when Sir Thomas attempted crossing London -Bridge, nothing quite so alarming was to be heard in the Tower, only -on the next day there were the booming of guns and the roar of battle -in London. - -And then news came to us that the brave knights were defeated, that -they had been forced to surrender, and that the Guards were bringing -them to the Tower. - -Lady Jane, knowing how my heart was wrung, did all in her power to -sustain me. Forgetting or ignoring the far greater issues she -herself had at stake, she endeavoured to fortify my mind and calm it -by prayer and wise counsel, and now, when it was all over and they -were bringing my lover, with Sir Thomas Wyatt, to the Tower, exerted -herself to obtain leave for me to mingle with the spectators and see -them brought in. - -'Though perhaps,' she said, 'it will be a doubtful benefit for you to -see your lover in his defeat.' - -But my heart craved for one sight of his dear face, and I answered, -'I can bear it all better, if I see him once more.' - -'You shall, dear Margery, if I can possibly compass it,' she said. -And success crowned her efforts, for our warder, having leave of -absence, took me himself to join the crowd hurrying across the Green, -towards the entrance by which those guilty of high treason were -brought to the Tower. - -And, presently, I saw my dear knight, sitting by Sir Thomas in a -boat, between their captors, and being rowed towards the Traitors' -Gate. - -Thus they brought them to the Tower, heroes vanquished, conquerors -conquered, true men and noble knights; albeit considered by many -renegades and traitors, by Lady Jane mistaken zealots, but by me the -noblest and most estimable champions, who sacrificed all that they -had, even their earthly loves, for that which they held to be right -and duty towards England and fidelity to true religion. They had -done their part, they could do no more, and they sat in the boat -between their captors, with brave countenances and steadfast bearing, -as of men dying at their post. - -The grim expression on the faces of the Guards around, and the -murmurs of the crowd who looked on affected them not; perhaps they -did not observe them, or it might be that their thoughts were far -away, Sir Thomas' perhaps with his wife and children and Sir Hubert's -perchance in the past with me in the farmer's shed in Sussex, or it -might be by the Thames at Isleworth, or riding with me again to -Kingston; or, on the other hand, they were possibly with me now, -wondering if I were among the lookers-on, longing to see me once -again, in order to say 'Farewell' before the last dark crossing, and -hoping that in another life we might meet to part no more. - -It happened that, just as the defeated knights were stepping out of -the boat, a lad's voice in the crowd--it was Saul's, who, I -afterwards learnt, had run away from his master to join the opposite -side--shrill, insistent, daring, broke out into the old cry, 'A -Wyatt! A Wyatt!' Sir Thomas did not stir, but Sir Hubert looked -round, with a sudden beautiful smile. Then, as every one was -searching for the boy, with murmured comments on his imprudence and -audacity, I leaned forward, calling out to the prisoners, in a clear, -distinct tone of voice-- - -'Courage! Defeat may be Victory in disguise. What looks like loss -down here may be counted as pure gain on high!' For it seemed to me -that, however disastrous the result, the fact remained that heroes -had done heroically. Yes, and if success had crowned their efforts, -all men would have praised them. Of that I was assured. - -But the sound of my voice, and the sight of my face, as he cast one -swift glance at it, unmanned Sir Hubert, and he had to shade his eyes -with his hand, as they hurried him and Sir Thomas out of the boat and -through the gate; whilst angry, scowling faces turned on me, and my -escort had much difficulty in getting me away uninjured. - -I scarcely know how I got back to Lady Jane. Only one thing I -clearly heard as I was borne through the crowd--it was a voice -saying, 'They will both be executed, and the younger one first, -because he did not surrender but was taken prisoner with his sword -drawn.' - -Mistaken the two men may have been, yet they had the courage of their -convictions and did what seemed to them to be right, and, at least, -they were self-sacrificing, laying down their lives and the joy of -living with their loved ones at the call of duty to their -fellow-countrymen. - -Queen Mary would kill them for it. What of that? Mankind has often -crucified and killed its noblest friends. And, after all, it would -only be their bodies that were slain; their souls, the best part of -them, stripped of their human dress, would wend their way to the -Realms of the Blest, where no grief, pain, nor fighting could ever -disturb them again. - -Nevertheless I fell ill with grief and pain, and was unconscious when -they carried me into the house of Sir Thomas Brydges, the lieutenant -of the Tower, where Lady Jane had now been removed. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV - -Lady Jane's Death Sentence - -I wished that I could have died too, as I slowly recovered to find -that the very worst results for my dear lady had followed upon Sir -Thomas Wyatt's defeat, for within three days of his being brought to -the Tower, Queen Mary signed her poor young relative's death warrant. -Lady Jane was to be beheaded, as was also her father the Duke of -Suffolk. - -My dear lady broke the sad news to me herself, as soon as I was well -enough to hear it. - -I was sitting on the wide window-seat of her bedroom, propped up with -pillows, when she came and stood beside me, saying gently-- - -'Margery, you remember when we were at Sion House that I used to read -to you out of my Plato, that we were to hold to the road that leads -above and justice with prudence always pursue?' - -'Yes. Yes. I remember every word,' I said faintly, still being very -weak. - -'I failed in the latter part,' continued Lady Jane. 'It was at the -bidding of others and sorely against my will; nevertheless I was weak -and gave way and failed, therefore now,' she paused, looking at me -anxiously, as if to see if I were able to bear it, 'now,' she -continued very softly, '_I have to pay the penalty_.' - -I opened my eyes widely, and there must have been a look of horror in -them, for she said quickly: 'Do not--do not take it so. I am willing -to suffer for my fault meekly, that by so doing I may still "hold to -the road that leads above," and you must help me, Margery. I rely -upon you to help me,' she continued earnestly, 'for this is a hard -step that I have to take, and I am very weak.' Her lips trembled. -'But,' she went on bravely, 'a Greater than Plato has said, "Be thou -faithful unto death, and I will give thee a Crown of Life." That is -the _best Crown_, Margery, and I, who had no right to an earthly one, -would fain win this Heavenly Crown.' - -'Yes,' I said. 'Yes. But----' - -'Nay, dear one, we will have no buts. It is one of the great laws of -life that he who sins must suffer. I have sinned,' she added meekly; -'I, therefore, must bear the suffering.' - -But it seemed to me the greatest shame that ever was that a being so -sweet and faultless as my dear mistress, who had been domineered over -and bullied until, constrained by love and the keeping of her -marriage vow of obedience, she allowed herself to be placed on the -throne, should for so slight a fault be condemned to suffer death--I -knew that the penalty was death, she having been sentenced to that -before and only reprieved for a time by the clemency of the queen. - -'I have only a short time to live,' continued Lady Jane, 'and there -is much to do, for Mary, with a show of kindness, with which I would -rather have dispensed, is going to send her own chaplain, Dr. -Feckenham, of Westminster Abbey, to try to shake my faith and bring -me over to her Church before I die, or perchance because, even at the -last hour, if I become a Roman Catholic, I may be pardoned. I must -prepare myself to meet some of the arguments of the chaplain, for I -would fain convince him that Protestantism is right, rather than that -he should damage my belief,' and so saying she arose, and, fetching a -Bible, began to study it assiduously. - -But I, in my weakness, closed my eyes, resolving to find, if -possible, some way of escape for my dear lady, other than the -surrender of her Faith--which I knew she would rather die twenty -deaths than surrender or disown--yet unable to think clearly, because -of the strange buzzing in my ears and thumping of my heart and -trembling of my limbs. - -Lady Jane left me to myself for a little while, and presently I grew -better and began to plan schemes for getting at the queen and -softening her heart by my singing, in order that I might implore her -to pardon my dear lady, or for assisting the latter to escape from -the Tower by inducing my physician to order me change of air and -persuading Lady Jane to exchange clothes with me and walk out of the -Tower in my stead. And then my mistress, laying down the Bible she -was studying, came to sit beside me, and nipped all my plans in the -bud by her first words. For I recognized that she had found a more -excellent way than any I could devise, as her mind was stayed upon -God, and in that Refuge and Strength she was lifted up above all -earthly fears and torments. - -'Margery,' she said very gently, 'you have been ill, dear, and your -mind is weakened, so that as yet you only see indifferently, like the -man who, on first being cured of blindness, saw men as trees walking; -but I have had time to consider all things, and God has sent His -angels (messengers) to comfort me, until now I would not have things -different if I could. I will read you part of a letter I have -written to my father, who is also condemned to be beheaded, and who, -I am told, grieves more because of having brought me to this pass -than because of his own fate.' And, with that, she took a -newly-written letter from her bosom and began to read-- - -'Father,--Although it pleases God to hasten my death by you, by whom -my life should rather have been lengthened, yet I can yield God more -hearty thanks for shortening my sad days than if all the world had -been given into my possession, with life lengthened to my will.' -And, after alluding to his grief on her account, the letter -continued: 'Though perhaps to you it may seem woeful, to me there is -nothing that can be more welcome than, from this vale of misery, to -aspire to that Heavenly throne of all joys and pleasures with Christ -our Saviour, in whose steadfast faith--if I may be allowed to say -so--may the Lord still keep you, that at last we may meet in Heaven.' - -'That will comfort him, I think,' said my dear lady, as she folded -and put by the letter to await a favourable opportunity for sending -it. 'And I mean what I say, Margery. There is no joy this world can -give which would compensate for the loss of the Heavenly Home that I -now feel to be so near. True, it is a painful gate that I have to -pass through, but it will be short, and it leads straight Home.' - -Thus she talked, and I saw that to disturb her faith, with any -chimerical schemes for escape from it would be cruel in the extreme; -also I determined not to sadden her last earthly hours by my grief, -for there would be all the years after she had gone in which to -mourn, but to do my best to brighten her last short days. Kissing -her hand, therefore, I said that she had greatly comforted me, which -made her exceedingly glad. - -Then she arose, and wrote in Latin, with a pin, on the wall of her -room some lines, which she translated thus-- - - Stand not secure who stand in mortal state; - What's mine to-day shall next day be thy fate. - -And again-- - - If Heaven protect, hell's malice cannot wound; - By Heaven deserted, peace can ne'er be found. - These shadows passed, I hope for light. - - -'Yes, Margery,' she said, turning to me, 'in spite of all my faults, -I have held to the road that leads above, and when the shadows are -passed by, then I hope to see the glorious light.' - -'If any one ever will see it, you will,' said I, again kissing her -hand and looking with the deepest admiration into her sweet young -face, which seemed to me to bear the seal of Heaven's own peace. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV - -Some of Lady Jane's last Words - -I do not like to think of how the soul of my dear young mistress was -harassed during those last few days by the visits and arguments of -Queen Mary's chaplain, Dr. Feckenham. - -Mistress Ellen, who had been sent for to keep my dear lady company -during my illness, and who remained with us until the end, and I sat, -with our needlework, at one end of the apartment, whilst these -conferences were going on. We did not hear all that was said, but -only enough to show that, learned and clever as was Lady Jane's -opponent, he was beaten over and over again by the wise and able -manner in which she answered his arguments. - -Sometimes a few of her sayings reached us, to be treasured up in our -minds, as, for instance, when she replied to his arguments about -transubstantiation. Her words were these: 'Where was Christ when He -said, "Take, eat, this is My body"? Was He not at the table when He -said so? He was at that time alive, and suffered not till the next -day. - -'What took He but bread? What brake He but bread? Look, what He -took He brake, and look, what He brake He gave, and look, what He -gave they did eat; and yet all this while He Himself was alive and at -supper before His disciples, or else they were deceived.' - -But the priest would not admit that she was right in that, or in the -other statements she made so clearly and forcibly; he was, however, -so won by her gentle and courteous demeanour that he prevailed upon -the queen to allow her to live three days longer than the time at -first specified, that he might be able more effectually to convince -her mind. - -This short reprieve was the only good he did, to my thinking. But -Lady Jane said that having to answer his arguments strengthened and -fortified her mind against all doubts, because whilst searching in -her Bible for the right answers to give him she gained a deeper -insight into the Truth. - -'You must remember always, dear Margery,' she said to me, 'that a -really good thing does not lose by being examined. For examination -only reveals more and more of its intrinsic worth.' - -The fact was that she answered all Dr. Feckenham's arguments with -such strength and clearness and such firm conviction as showed -plainly that religion had been her chief study, and that now it -fortified her, not only against the fear of death, but also against -all doubts and apprehensions. - -It was always with relief, however, that we saw the priest depart, -for the strain of all this arguing upon our lady's mind was extremely -great, and indeed she was looking worn and tired out. - -On the Sunday evening, which was to be her last in this world, she -wrote a letter in Greek to her sister Catherine, and put it with a -New Testament in the same language which she was bequeathing to her. -At my request she translated for me the first part of her letter, -which ran, as nearly as I can remember, as follows;-- - - -'I am sending you, my dear sister Catherine, a book which, though not -outwardly trimmed with gold or curious embroidery made by the most -artful fingers, yet intrinsically is worth more than all the precious -mines of which this world can boast. It is the book, my best loved -sister, of the law of the Lord; it is His Testament and last Will, -which He has bequeathed to us--it will lead you to the path of -eternal joy, if you read it desiring to follow its counsels, and will -bring you to an immortal, everlasting life. It will teach you how to -live and how to die.' - - -It was in our last talk together, before the fatal day of her -execution, that my dear lady bestowed upon me her beloved Plato, -advising that I should learn to read it in the language in which it -was written. - -'I cannot teach you Greek now, dear Margery,' she said, 'but there -will be others.' - -I made a gesture of despair. What should I care for others when she -had gone? I could not speak without breaking down, so I said -nothing. And Lady Jane seemed to understand, for she was very sweet -and kind. - -'It will always be a consolation to you, Margery,' she said, 'to -remember that you have been the greatest comfort to me. Ever since I -first saw your sweet face entering the drawing-room at Sion House I -have loved you dearly. I had been praying for some one to come to me -who was young like me--I feel old now, dear, though it is scarcely a -year since then, but so much that is sad has happened.' - -I stroked her hand and kissed it, for I could not speak, and if I had -spoken my poor words might have spoiled the interview. - -And then it was that she asked me to write an account of that last -year of her life, relating exactly how it happened that she was made -queen, and how the throne passed away from her, leaving in its stead -a scaffold; also describing how it came about that the head which had -worn a crown was forfeited, and that for an error of her mind her -poor frail body was killed, adding, 'Margery, others may write more -learnedly of the matter, but I would fain be represented to posterity -as I am rather than as I am supposed to be. And God will help you, -if you ask Him,' she said, seeing my fear and dread that I should not -be able to do it properly. - -'It is not fine writing that is wanted,' she went on, 'but a plain, -unvarnished statement of the facts. And, Margery,' she said in -conclusion, 'you must also tell the story of brave Sir Thomas Wyatt's -insurrection and of your dear knight's gallant efforts to cause me to -reign over this land, and to gain back the throne for me. I have -been thinking, dear, that I was hard upon them always in my great -desire to be left alone. But since you told me that Sir Thomas -Wyatt's object was against Queen Mary's Spanish marriage and that Sir -Hubert's motive was to save England from bigoted Roman Catholicism -and Spain and the Inquisition, I have come to view the matter -differently, and so will others, if you tell them exactly what they -thought. Come, Margery, look up, dear one, for you have a great work -before you, and you must take heart and live to do it. You have to -vindicate the honour of two noble knights and of your mistress, and -clear their names, which have been smirched and blackened by the -tongues of powerful enemies. No one can do it but you, dear, in -exactly the same way, for your loving eyes have seen us as we are and -not as we are supposed to be; and you possess Love, the master-key, -which can explain all that has appeared so wrong and presumptuous and -rebellious in our lives. You must do this for me, Margery, and for -your dear knight, Sir Hubert, and for Sir Thomas Wyatt.' - -I promised that I would, and she blessed and thanked me very -solemnly, saying that she was sure that God would give me strength -and wisdom for the task. - -And I thought then that this must be the special work which Master -Montgomery said might be given me to do when I left home and went to -London. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI - -Lady Jane's Execution - -The fatal day of the execution dawned at last, and I would that I -could draw a veil over its direful happenings. But my lady's charge -is upon me to tell everything exactly as I saw it occur, and so I -cannot pick and choose. - -It was February 12, a dull, cold morning, and within the Tower people -went about with dismal faces, as well they might, for most were sorry -for my poor young mistress. - -She had passed a great part of the night--her last night--in prayer, -and it was only at my earnest entreaty that she at length lay down -for an hour or two before morning broke. Then she slept as sweetly -as a little child, and Mistress Ellen and I stole on tiptoe to the -bedside to look at her, as those look who will not see the loved face -any more. - -I could fancy once that her lips moved in her sleep, pronouncing the -name of Dudley, and doubtless even her sleeping thoughts were with -her young husband, who was also that day to suffer the same extreme -penalty of the law, but not at the same place. He was to die upon -Tower Hill, where the authorities dared not execute his poor young -wife, lest the sight should appeal to the hearts of the people, -causing them to rise in a mass to prevent the double execution. She -therefore was to die upon the scaffold erected before St. Peter's -Chapel on the Green, within the Tower. - -When the time came for her to rise we shrank from awaking her to such -a fate, but at length were obliged to do so; and though for a moment -a look of terror crossed her face, it quickly changed to one of the -sweetest resignation. She thanked us gently for not allowing her to -sleep too long, and, except that she was pale, her manner appeared to -be much as usual. - -At her request we dressed her in black velvet, with a drooping collar -of white lace falling low from her slender neck. - -'There is not much of it to sever,' she said pathetically, encircling -it for a moment with her right hand, but desisting and throwing her -arms round me as she saw my look. 'It will be over so soon,' she -said. 'One moment, and then the gates of heaven will open wide, and -for my Saviour's sake I, sinful I, washed in His blood, clothed in -His righteousness, will be permitted to enter in.' - -That was her belief. And the comfort and the glory of it spread a -veil over and shed a halo round all that was coarse and revolting in -the manner of her death. - -It had been arranged that Sir Thomas Brydges, the lieutenant of the -Tower, in whose house we were, was to escort her to the scaffold, but -first he had the melancholy task of conducting her husband, Lord -Guildford Dudley, out of the Tower to the more public scaffold on -Tower Hill, where a vast concourse of people were assembled. - -Early in the morning the queen had sent Lady Jane permission to have -an interview with her husband, but she, thinking that this would be -too trying for them both, declined the favour, saying she would meet -him within a few hours in heaven. - -As she stood at a window looking out, however, she saw Lord Guildford -Dudley going to execution, and an hour afterwards beheld men bearing -his corpse back to its last resting-place in St. Peter's Chapel. - -Immediately after that terrible sight she wrote down in a book three -short sentences in Greek, Latin and English. - -The first, roughly translated, was-- - -'If his slain body shall give testimony against me, his blessed soul -shall render an eternal proof of my innocence in the presence of God.' - -The second said-- - -'The justice of men took away his body, but the Divine mercy has -preserved his soul.' - -The English sentence ran as follows-- - -'If my fault deserved punishment, my youth, at least, and my -imprudence were worthy of excuse. God and posterity will show me -favour.' - -Dr. Feckenham came from the queen to attend her to the scaffold, and -I was afraid that he would trouble her; but I noticed as I followed -them, with Mistress Ellen, that my lady was not attending to his -words, but kept her eyes fixed upon a book of prayers in her hand. - -The passing bell began to toll slowly and solemnly. It was almost -more than I could bear, and the sound of it seemed to startle Lady -Jane, for she looked up; and then, appearing for the first time to -perceive the faces around her, she bowed and spoke to them, saying to -Dr. Feckenham-- - -'God will abundantly requite you, good sir, for your humanity to me, -though your discourses give me more uneasiness than all the terrors -of my approaching death.' - -'Look!' whispered Mistress Ellen at that moment. 'Look at those -awful birds!' - -There were indeed a couple of ravens hovering about in the air, as if -waiting for the death that was so soon to take place. - -I did not scream, but felt as if my heart would burst, and the -physical pain almost overpowered the mental. - -Thus we walked across the Green to the scaffold, where there were not -so many people assembled, some dreading much to see so sad a sight as -the execution of my dear lady. - -She was not shedding a tear all the time, but bearing herself with -meek and gentle dignity, and Mistress Ellen and I were weeping -bitterly behind her. - -And now she stood on the scaffold and spoke to the spectators, and -this was what she said, as nearly as I can remember-- - - -'My lords, and you good Christian people, which come to see me die, I -am under a law, and by that law, as a never-erring judge, I am -condemned to die; not for anything I have done to offend the queen's -majesty, for I am guiltless--but only that I consented to the thing -that I was forced into----' She went on to confess herself a sinner -and deserving of death, but thanked God that He had given her time to -repent of her sins and to trust herself to her Redeemer. Then she -continued--'Pray with me and for me whilst I am yet alive, that God, -of His infinite goodness and mercy, will forgive my sins, how -numberless and grievous soever against Him; and I beseech you all to -bear me witness that I here die a true Christian woman, professing -and avouching from my soul that I trust to be saved by the blood, -passion and merits of Jesus Christ, my Saviour only, and by no other -means, casting far behind me all the works and merits of my own -actions as things so far short of the true duty I owe that I quake to -think how much they may stand up against me. And now I pray you all, -pray for me and with me.' - - -The bell went on tolling, and the great dark birds hovered overhead, -while the sound of sobs and bitter weeping was also to be heard. - -Only Lady Jane shed no tears, as kneeling, she repeated the Psalm, -_Miserere mei, Deus_-- - -'Have mercy upon me, O God, after Thy great goodness: according to -the multitude of Thy mercies do away with mine offences. - -'Wash me thoroughly from my wickedness, and cleanse me from my -sin....' - -And so on, the words of penitence, grief and supplication in those -clear young tones rising from the slight, black-robed figure and -mingling with the louder, harsher sounds of woe and death, went to -our hearts and reached more surely still the heart of Him Who is -touched with the feeling of our infirmities, and without Whom not -even a sparrow can fall to the ground. - -When she had repeated the whole Psalm, Lady Jane arose, and turning -to Mistress Ellen and me, gave us her gloves and handkerchief, and -Sir Thomas Brydges asking for some token, she bestowed upon him her -prayer-book, having first written in it a few lines, at his request. -These were, as nearly as I can remember them--for she showed them to -me, thinking no doubt that they would comfort me, who could scarcely -see them for my tears-- - - -'Forasmuch as you have desired so simple a woman to write in so -worthy a book, good Master Lieutenant, therefore I shall as a friend -desire you, and as a Christian request you, to call upon God to -incline your heart to His laws, to quicken you in His way, and not to -take the Word of Truth entirely out of your mouth. Live still to -die, that by death you may purchase Eternal Life. All have to die. -If you were to live as long as Methuselah, yet a time would come when -you had to die. As the Preacher saith, "There is a time to be born -and a time to die, and the day of our death is better than the day of -our birth." - - 'Yours, as the Lord knows, as a friend, - 'JANE DUDLEY.' - - -And now, with hands that trembled a little, she attempted to undo the -fastenings of her heavy black dress, and perceiving that she bungled -over it, the executioner offered to assist her, but she turned -immediately to us her gentlewomen, upon which we took off her dress, -and gave her a handkerchief to bind over her eyes. She did this -herself, and then the executioner, kneeling before her, asked her for -pardon, which she gave him most willingly. - -'I pray you dispatch me quickly,' she added. - -'Yes, madam.' - -'Will you take it off before I lie down?' she asked, pointing to the -handkerchief. - -'No, madam.' - -She began to feel for the block, asking, 'Where is it?' - -Some one guided her to it, and saying, 'Lord, into Thy hands I -commend my spirit,' she laid down her head, which at one stroke was -severed from her body. - -* * * * * - -'All is over!' I cried miserably, as I recovered from another -illness, to find myself being tended by Mistress Ellen, in a poor -lodging in Fleet Street. 'There is nothing left--_nothing_!' - -'There is God,' said my companion. - -It was the first time I had ever heard her speak of Him, or indeed of -religion, for she always averred that to _do_ is better than to talk; -therefore her three words now made all the more impression. - -'He has taken my dear lady,' sobbed I rebelliously. - -'He gave her to us in the first instance,' was the reply. 'And I -know,' gently added the good woman, 'that He has taken her through a -quick, though painful, door into the glory beyond. There, doubtless, -her joy is so extreme as to have caused her already to forget the -pain that went before, and there it behoves us to try and follow her.' - -And with that Mistress Ellen ran out of the room, for she was well -nigh breaking down herself, in spite of her brave words. - -But I turned my face to the wall and lay weeping a long while. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII - -CONCLUSION - -Home Again - -Mistress Ellen was a wise woman; she had brought me out of the Tower -that I might recover, away from the scenes which were full of -memories of our dear lady; and now, when I was slowly regaining my -health in the poor lodgings, which were all we could afford, knowing -that the best thing for me would be some useful occupation, she urged -that I should begin at once upon the task which my dear lady had left -to me. - -I therefore sat down before a quantity of clean blank writing paper, -a pot of ink and a stock of new quill pens. There were the materials -for the framework of my book, and I had the will to do it, yes, and -the ability, for I could write a pretty hand and string sentences -together, as my lady knew, and my brain was teeming with the facts I -had to tell; but there was something lacking, because now I could not -write a word. Whenever I lifted up my pen to try and set one down a -shadow came between me and the paper, so that I could see nothing -except the dear face of my lover as I saw it last when he raised his -hand to hide his eyes, and a voice said in my heart, 'He is not dead -yet, though he is condemned. He is languishing in the Tower prisons, -condemned to death, yes, but not dead yet, and while there is life -there is hope.' - -Yet I had been told there was none for those who entered the Tower by -the Traitors' Gate. - -I was sitting one day as usual before my writing materials, unable to -set down a word, and thinking over all this again and again, when -there was a loud knocking at the house door, and presently our -landlady came up to us ushering a visitor into the room. - -It was Jack Fish, and the sight of his broad face and burly figure -brought to my mind most vividly the times when, with Sir Hubert, I -had met with him before. Almost I saw again the half-filled cart in -the old shed in Sussex, and, through the dim light, my dear knight's -handsome face emerging from the heap of straw in the corner at the -sound of this good man's cheery voice, assuring us that he would send -our enemies away. Also I seemed to hear again the rolling of the -coach and trampling of horses' feet upon the queen's highway, later -on, as Master Fish's voice pointed out our danger and particularly -mine in the coach, suggesting that I should leave it and escape on -horseback, which advice, being carried out, saved me from again -falling into my enemy's hands; and, most of all, the sight of Master -Jack Fish brought to my mind vividly my dear imprisoned knight. - -'Poor child!' said my visitor, forgetting everything except my youth -and sorrow of heart. 'Poor child! Thou hast had a hot place in the -battle! Thy loving heart again put thee in the position of the -greatest danger!' and he turned his head aside, for big tears were -rolling down his honest cheeks. - -I wept, too, then, though I had been thinking that I had no more -tears to shed, and the page that I was to write upon became wet and -bleared. - -'What have they done to her?' I heard Master Fish inquiring aside of -Mistress Ellen, adding low, 'Don't tell me that they tortured her in -the Tower, or----' in his mighty indignation he became inarticulate, -but made a gesture as if he could kill some one. - -'The torturer was Grief, and the instrument that was used was the -child's heart,' answered my companion very softly. 'It is a size too -big for her weak frame,' she added. - -'Aye, aye.' He muttered something which I could not hear, but -Mistress Ellen's rejoinder startled me-- - -'Hair is a mere detail. It began to grow grey when her lover was -brought into the Tower, and became white the day we lost our lady.' - -Jack Fish began to walk up and down the room in no little agitation. -Suddenly he stopped short and returned to me. - -'Would it comfort thee, dear,' he said, with great gentleness, 'to -know that thou hast been avenged in Sussex, where that brute, Sir -Claudius Crossley, in endeavouring to escape from the just punishment -of his ill deeds, came into collision with a party of rough fellows, -some of whom had once been his devoted followers in deeds of -violence, who, turning upon him when he was down, seized and drowned -him in the very same pond by the roadside in which he had himself -been used to drown witches?' - -I shuddered. - -'Poor wretch!' I said. 'May God have prepared him for his end!' - -'And now,' said my visitor, 'we must look to thee.' For he perceived -that his information about Sir Claudius had scarcely enlivened me. -'We must look to thee,' he repeated. 'Thou hast had it a bit rough,' -he added tenderly. 'Sometimes the storm of life gathers and breaks -upon one all at once--but it spends itself--it spends itself,' he -faltered and almost broke down, because for the first time I looked -up and he saw my eyes, 'and then, for all the future,' he continued -hurriedly, 'there is a great calm. God grant that it may be so with -thee, my child!' and he laid his hand tenderly upon my poor spoilt -head. - -Then I opened my heart to the good man, telling him all about my dear -lady's execution, and that my true lover, Sir Hubert Blair, still lay -in the Tower under sentence of death, adding that it was my dread, -night and day, that they would take his life in the same way as that -in which they had already taken my poor mistress's. - -'If they do I shall die,' I wailed. '_I cannot live! I cannot live -if Hubert is beheaded too!_' - -Master Jack Fish looked very grave. He was thinking, as he -afterwards told me, of the hundreds of rebels who were being -condemned to death on all sides, and that the prisons were full, and -even the poor men were packed into the churches, to await their turn -to hang upon the gibbets set up by the roadsides and elsewhere. Sir -Thomas Wyatt was to be beheaded on April 11, and it was not likely -that Sir Hubert Blair, who had aided and abetted him in everything, -would be set free. - -'There is only one person in the land who can do it,' he said at -length. 'Queen Mary can pardon your lover, if she likes.' - -Queen Mary, the murderer, as she seemed to me, of her poor young -relation, my dear mistress, and of many, many more. Was it likely -that a heart so hard could be touched by another woman's woe? Was it -possible that the hand which signed Lady Jane's death warrant would -sign the pardon of a much more aggressive rebel at my request? Yet -memory recalled to me a woman, unhappy, lying sleepless on her bed, -to whom I sang, with the result that my singing touched her heart, -arousing generosity and kindness. Could I possibly obtain the chance -once more of singing to her, and then, haply, pleading, pleading as -for my life and more than life, that she would spare my lover? - -I broke out into eager words, acquainting Master Fish with the manner -in which I got into the Tower before to go to my dear lady, by -singing to the queen, and then winning the boon from her; and he -listened very feelingly, almost as much excited about the matter as I -was. When I had told him all, he asked the name of the physician by -whose means I had obtained access to the queen, and where he lived; -and when I acquainted him with the fact that it was Dr. Massingbird, -who had a surgery in the Strand, though he was frequently at Court, -he left me in haste, saying that he would go to see what could be -done. - -* * * * * - -They had taken me to the queen, in her palace at Westminster, by Her -Majesty's command. She was not now sorrowfully lying on a sleepless -bed, but sitting in state, in a magnificent reception-room, and -surrounded by great Court ladies. I stood up before her to sing, and -every one was silent, waiting to hear the sweet and thrilling sounds -which were to proceed from my young lips: and I was bidden to begin, -and asked what I was waiting for, and told not to be frightened, and -encouraged, kindly enough at first, and then impatiently. - -For this terrible thing happened to me. I could not sing a note. -Now, in the extremity of my need, when so much depended on my -singing, though I opened my mouth, no sound proceeded from it. My -voice had gone. - -'Sing!' commanded Queen Mary, in her deep voice. 'Begin at once.' - -I looked at her, at that awful woman who had killed my lady, and who -was killing such large numbers of those who had rebelled against her, -and less than ever could I sing; for a feeling of disgust and hatred -was surging up within me, whilst my brain teemed with the reproaches -I dared not utter, even if I could. - -'Massingbird'--the queen's voice seemed to come from a great distance -now, as she spoke to the physician who took me to her--'what is the -meaning of this? I allowed you to bring here the girl with the -wonderful voice, who sang to me in the Tower, that time I suffered so -much from sleeplessness, and you have brought this girl who cannot -sing, and who cannot be the same girl as the lovely one who sang to -me before.' - -'Madam, she is the same girl, I assure your Majesty,' said the Court -physician in his courtliest tone. - -'She cannot be the same!' cried the queen angrily. 'This is no young -girl with golden hair and a sweetly pretty rosebud face. This is a -woman, with a sad, pale countenance, and--and white hair.' - -'It is sorrow,' said the physician gently, 'which has changed the -pretty child into the grief-stricken woman, and a terrible anxiety -and dread is even now crushing her heart and killing her.' - -'Killing her?' cried the queen incredulously. - -'Yes, killing her. Death has already laid his hand upon her -hair--her pretty golden hair--bleaching it white, then, going -downwards, he has taken her voice--we did not know that until she -stood up here to sing----' - -'Pooh!' exclaimed Mary, still angrily. 'What stuff! She looks a -peevish woman,' and, disgustedly, 'she cannot sing.' - -Then Dr. Massingbird's indignation overmastering his habitual -caution, he exclaimed-- - -'Can the caged lark sing? Can those whose "tears have been their -meat day and night" sing? Can the broken heart burst forth into -singing? Can the mourner sing for joy and gladness? This poor young -lady,' he turned to me, laying a kind, fatherly hand upon my -shoulder, 'this poor young lady has lost her best friend on the -scaffold, and her lover, a lad of twenty-one, lies in the Tower under -sentence of death. These things have bleached her hair and taken the -colour from her face; moreover, as we have just discovered, they have -robbed her of her voice.' - -'Is this true?' The queen's deep voice asked the question of me, but -the effort of trying to answer it, of attempting to express some of -the words of pleading for my lover and of beseeching for his life, -was more than I could bear, and I fell down unconscious at Queen -Mary's feet. - -* * * * * - -When I came to myself, the queen was holding a cup to my lips, and -calling upon me at the same time to wake up and hear some joyful news. - -I opened my eyes and looked into her face incredulously. What joyful -news could there be for me, who had parted company with joy long -since? Sorrow I knew, and pain and disappointment, but not joy. It -was so long since joy had visited me that I could scarcely believe in -its possibility. - -'Come! Come! Try to rouse yourself,' said Dr. Massingbird. 'Her -Majesty is going to be very good to you.' - -Then my lips moved. - -'No,' I said, 'do not deceive me. I could not even sing to her. I -lost the opportunity which you were so good as to get for me,' and I -sighed heavily, having hoped so much from it. - -Then Mary spoke. - -'Meg Brown,' she said, and the old assumed name startled me, 'I am -going to give your lover, Sir Hubert Blair, a free pardon----' - -'What,' I interrupted, turning excitedly to the physician, 'what is -her Majesty saying? _I cannot understand, I cannot understand!_' and -I put my hand to my head. - -The physician explained that the queen was about to pardon my beloved. - -'Yes, that I am,' said Mary, quite good-naturedly. 'The rascal does -not deserve it. But I do it for your sake, because I think you have -suffered quite enough.' - -'And I have not even pleaded for him!' I said to myself, and must -have spoken aloud, for the queen answered-- - -'Your white hair and your sorrowful face, together with your good -friend's words, have pleaded for your lover more eloquently than any -singing could have done.' - -Then, gazing at me, she added-- - -'Take her away, Dr. Massingbird; she is looking very ill. I will -make out the proper papers and send them to Sir Thomas Brydges, who -will do the rest. 'Margaret'--she spoke to me--'what you need now, -to restore you to health, are happiness and country air. You must -let Sir Hubert Blair take you home to your father's house near -Brighthelmstone. (These last words disclosed the fact that Queen -Mary knew who I was.) - -* * * * * - -Of the meeting with my dear one, when he came to me out of the Tower, -I cannot adequately write--such times are not for strangers' -eyes--the relief and joy of it are thrilling my heart even yet, after -ten years, as they will no doubt for the whole of my remaining life. - -From the Tower Sir Hubert came to me in the poor lodgings in Fleet -Street, and they were poor no longer; and praise and thanksgiving -ascended from them to Almighty God, who had softened Queen Mary's -heart and given back my lover from the jaws of death. - -We only remained in London until after the execution of that brave -knight, Sir Thomas Wyatt, whom we were allowed to visit first, though -unable to obtain any remission of his sentence. Sir Hubert witnessed -his execution, and told me afterwards that nis manner to the last was -brave and undaunted, and that, far from incriminating others, in -order that he might gain favour for himself, as did some, he, being -afraid that Princess Elizabeth might be implicated in his -insurrection, proclaimed from the scaffold, before he suffered, that -she and the Earl of Courtenay had nothing to do with it. His saying -that so publicly, in all probability, saved Princess Elizabeth's -life; as Queen Mary, incensed and alarmed for her own safety and the -safety of her monarchy, was already planning her sister's doom. - -Sir William and Lady Caroline Wood, meanwhile, succeeded in escaping -to Holland, the former having been too much mixed up with Wyatt's -insurrection to hope for safety in a land reeking with the blood of -those who had taken part in it. - -Hubert took me home to my father's house near Brighthelmstone, where -I received a cordial welcome from him and Hal and Jack, and all the -servants, amongst whom I found poor Betsy, who, being excluded from -the Tower whilst I was with Lady Jane, and, being left without means, -had trudged all the way to my father's house on foot, to beseech him -to begin another insurrection by calling upon all Sussex to take up -arms, and come to fetch me out of the Tower before I was burned alive -and beheaded. - -'Betsy has led me such a life with her tongue,' said my father, 'that -I have threatened to turn her out of the house many and many a time, -but she would not go,' and he laughed, drew me to him, and kissed me. -'I was very anxious about you, Margaret,' he said more gravely, 'and -made many inquiries as to your welfare, but I could not deprive poor -Lady Jane of your help and the solace of your presence at such a -time.' - -'Nor did I wish to leave her,' I rejoined. 'Indeed, I could not have -done so.' - -And then I took my dear Hubert to see Master Montgomery, who was -mightily pleased with him, and told us that he had prayed for me -every day since first I went to Isleworth, in the old church in which -he ministered. He was immensely interested to hear of all that I had -passed through, and the work that had been given me to do, and my -love for my dear lady, of whose terrible fate he had only hitherto -received a garbled and imperfect account. And, as I told him the sad -story, lit up here and there with gleams of beauty from my lady's -faith and hope, sitting safely there in his quaint study, between him -and my dear knight, the whole history took shape in my mind, and I -knew how I should best be able to tell it with pen, ink and paper. - -A few days after that we heard that Master Montgomery, together with -other Protestant ministers, was to be turned out of his benefice; but -before that happened he married me and Sir Hubert Blair in the old -church, where my mother was buried, and where I had worshipped almost -all my life. - -The living was then handed over to a Roman Catholic priest, and my -father took his good old friend, Master Montgomery, into his own -house, where he prayed and preached to the household, in our private -chapel, besides instructing my brothers in Greek and Latin, and the -way in which they should conduct themselves, and the Faith as it is -revealed to us in the Testament of our Lord. - -My dear husband carried me off to his beautiful place, Harpton Hall, -where I have found a most happy home with him, and where our good -friend, Master Jack Fish, often visits us, bringing with him his -estimable wife, who is no other than Mistress Ellen: for, after my -departure from London, discovering that they were congenial souls, -and she being in great need of a protector, and his chivalrous nature -requiring some one to protect, they agreed to marry. Saul, who is -Master Fish's servant, usually accompanies them, and always looks for -a little kindly notice from me, and a few words, showing that I have -not forgotten how he helped me in the past, when I was in danger of -what was for me far worse than death. - -Here, too, my brothers, Jack and Hal, now bearded men, delight to -come. For the shooting, or the fishing, or the hunting, they say, -though I know that they like to see their sister incidentally, and -her husband too, whom they admire greatly. - -And here I have, at length, after long years, completed the task -given to me by my dear lady, in memory of whom I have named our -little daughter Jane, whilst our boy, our only son, we called Tom, -after Sir Thomas Wyatt, in the hope that he may grow as brave and -heroic as the knight in, we trust, a far happier cause. - -The sun is sinking in the west as I lay down my pen, and the shadows -fall across the old stone sundial on the lawn, around which Sir -Hubert has had inscribed, in letters of gold-- - - -'Hold to the Road that leads Above; and Justice with Prudence by all -means pursue.' - - -And I think that I hear again the sweet tones of my lady's voice -saying-- - -'It is like our dear Lord's teaching, though it was uttered more than -four centuries before He came to live as a Man upon earth.' - -And those other words, spoken long afterwards-- - -'A Greater than Plato said, "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will -give thee a Crown of Life." That is the best Crown, Margery.' - - - -THE END - - - - -EPILOGUE - -My task is done--not brilliantly, not at all brilliantly, but to the -best of my poor ability, and I turn away from the thought of this -world's little criticisms, which may assail and rend my work, to the -consideration of how it looks in my own eyes, how it would look in -the serious eyes of Lady Jane, if she surveyed it all as searchingly -as she studied her beloved Plato; and lastly, and most importantly, -how it may appear in the eyes of our Heavenly Father. - -And first, as to myself, I have sighed, smiled, and then again wept -over these pages, as in them I relived through the exciting, tragic -happenings of the year of my life which changed me from a thoughtless -child into an extremely earnest-hearted woman, and I think, as the -record has taken such deep hold of me, it will also impress others, -and know that it will do so in proportion to the greatness of their -souls. For little souls find only small things everywhere, whilst -big ones, like my Lady Jane's, find things so great and glorious as -to lift them over life's petty details into the vast, wide prospects -of the children of God, who see from the Delectable Mountains -straight into the Heart of the Kingdom. - -As to the way in which Lady Jane would regard this book were she -looking at it, I have no fear. She would see that I have in every -respect endeavoured to fulfil her wish that I should represent facts -as I saw them, and not as they appeared to be to others. - -And with regard to the aspect my poor little work has in the eyes of -our Heavenly Father, it is impossible to know. I can only pray Him -to mercifully grant that what is false and unworthy in this narrative -may be forgotten, whilst what is good, true and beautiful, may sink -deeply into the hearts of its hearers, and always, always be -remembered as long as life shall last. - -MARGARET BROWN. - - - - - - - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A QUEEN OF NINE DAYS *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. 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