as I satbetween them, seemed to buzz in mine ear without any meaning; and yetI must needs have heard them, for to this day I remember what theytalked of;--that Polly said, "Have you seen the ingenious poesy whichthe queen's saucy godson, the merry wit Harrington, left behind hercushion on Wednesday, and now 'tis in every one's hands?"
"Not in mine," quoth Mr. Roper; "so, if your memory doth serve you,Lady Ingoldsby, will you rehearse it?" which she did as follows; andalbeit I only did hear those lines that once, they still remainin my mind:
"For ever dear, for ever dreaded prince, You read a verse of mine a little since, And so pronounced each word and every letter, Your gracious reading graced my verse the better; Sith then your highness doth by gift exceeding Make what you read the better for your reading, Let my poor muse your pains thus far importune, Like as you read my verse--so read my fortune!"
"Tis an artful and witty petition," Mr. Roper observed; "but I havebeen told her majesty mislikes the poet's satirical writings, andchiefly the metamorphosis of Ajax."
"She signified," Polly answered, "some outward displeasure at it, butRobert Markham affirms she likes well the marrow of the book, and isminded to take the author to her favor, but sweareth she believes hewill make epigrams on her and all her court. Howsoever, I do allow sheconceived much disquiet on being told he had aimed a shaft atLeicester. By the way, but you, cousin Constance, should best know thetruth thereon" (this she said turning to me), "'tis said that LordArundel is exceeding sick again, and like to die very soon. Indeed hisphysicians are of opinion, so report speaketh, that he will not lastmany days now, for as often as he hath rallied before."
"Yesterday," I said, "when I saw Lady Surrey, he was no worse thanusual."
"Oh, have you heard," Polly cried, running from one theme to another,as was her wont, "that Leicester is about to marry Lettice Knollys, myLady Essex?"
"'Tis impossible," Basil exclaimed, who was now listening to herspeeches, for Kate had finished her discourse touching her Johnny'sdisease in his stomach. The cause thereof, she said, both herselfthought, and all in Mr. Benham's house did judge to have been, thetaking in the morning a confection of barley sodden with water andsugar, and made exceeding thick with bread. This breakfast lost himboth his dinner and supper, and surely the better half of his sleep;but God be thanked, she hoped now the worst was past, and that thedear urchin would shortly be as merry and well-disposed as afore heleft London. Basil said he hoped so too; and in a pause which ensued,he heard Polly speak of Lord Leicester's intended marriage, whichseemed to move him to some sort of indignation, the cause of which Ionly learnt many years later; for that when Lady Douglas Howard'scause came before the Star-Chamber, in his present majesty's reign, hetold me he had been privy, through information received in France, ofher secret marriage with that lord.
"'Tis not impossible," Polly retorted, "by the same token that the newfavorite, young Robert Devereux, maketh no concealment of it, andcalleth my Lord Leicester his father elect. But I pray you, what isimpossible in these days? Oh, I think they are the most whimsical,entertaining days which the world hath ever known; and the merriest,if people have a will to make them so."
"Oh, Polly," I cried, unable to restrain myself, "I pray God you maynever find cause to change your mind thereon."
"Yea, amen to that prayer," quoth she; "I'll promise you, my gravelittle coz, that I have no mind to be sad till I grow old--and therebe yet some years to come before that shall befall me. When MistressHelen Ingoldsby shall reach to the height of my shoulder, then,methinks, I may begin to take heed unto my ways. What think you thelittle wench said to me yesterday? 'What times is it we do conform to,mother? dinner-times or bed-times?'" "She should have been answered,'The devil's times,'" Basil muttered; and Kate told Polly she shouldbe ashamed to speak in her father's house of the conformity shepractised when others were suffering for their religion. And,methought, albeit I had scarcely endured the jesting which hadpreceded it, I could less bear any talk of religion, least-ways ofthat kind, just then. But, in sooth, the constraint I suffered almostoverpassed my strength. There appeared no hope of their going, andthey fell into an eager discourse concerning the bear-baiting they hadbeen to see in Berkshire, and a great sort of ban-dogs, which had beentied in an outer court, let loose on thirteen bears that were baitedin the inner; and my dear Basil, who doth delight in all kinds ofsports, listened eagerly to the description they gave of thisdiversion. Oh, how I counted the minutes! what a pressure weighted myheart! how the sound of their voices pained mine ears! how long anhour seemed! and yet too short for my desires, for I feared the timemust soon come when Basil should go, and lamented that theseunthinking women's tarrying should rob me of all possibility to talkwith him alone. Howsoever, when Mr. Roper rose to depart, I followedhim into the hall and waited near the door for Basil, who was biddingfarewell to Kate and Polly. I heard him beseech them to do him so muchfavor as not to mention they had seen him; for that he had notinformed Sir Henry Stafford of his coming over from France, which ifhe heard of it otherwise than from himself, it should peradventureoffend him. They laughed, and promised to be as silent as gravesthereon; and Polly said he had learnt French fashions she perceived,and taken lessons in wooing from mounseer; but she hoped his stealthyvisit should in the end prove more conformable to his desires thanmounseer's had done. At last they let him go; and Mr. Roper, who hadwaited for him, wrung his hand, and the manner of his doing it made myeyes overflow. I turned my face away, but Basil caught both my handsin his and said, "Be of good cheer, sweetheart. I have not wordswherewith to express how much I love thee, but God knoweth it is verydearly."
"O Basil! mine own dear Basil," I murmured, laying my forehead on hiscoat-sleeve, and could not then utter another word. Ere I lifted itagain, the hall-door opened, and who, I pray you, should I then see(with more affright, I confess, than was reasonable) but Hubert? Myvoice shook as he said to Basil, whose back was turned from the door,"Here is your brother."
"Ah, Hubert!" he exclaimed; "I be glad to see thee!" and held out hishand to him with a frank smile, which the other took, but in the doingof it a deadly paleness spread over his face.
"I have no leisure to tarry so much as one minute," Basil said; "butthis sweet lady will tell thee what weighty reasons I have forpresently remaining concealed; and so farewell, my dear love, andfarewell, my good brother. Be, I pray you, my bedes-woman this night,Constance; and you too, Hubert,--if you do yet say your prayers like agood Christian, which I pray God you do,--mind you say an ave for mebefore you sleep."
When the door closed on him I sunk down on a chair, and hid my facewith my hands.
"You have not told him anything?" Hubert whispered; and I, "God helpyou, Hubert! he hath come to London for this very matter, and hathalready, I fear, albeit not in any way that shall advantage my father,yet in seeking to assist him, run himself into danger of death, orleastways banishment."
As I said this mine eyes raised themselves toward him; and I wouldthey had not, for I saw in his visage an expression I have tried thesemany years to forget, but which sometimes even now comes back to mepainfully.
"I told you so," he answered. "He hath an invariable aptness to misshis aim, and to hurt himself by the shafts he looseth. What plan hathhe now formed, and what shall come of it?"
But, somewhat recovered from my surprise, I bethought myself itshould not be prudent, albeit I grieved to think so, to let him knowwhat sort of enterprise it was Basil had in hand; so I did evade hisquestion, which indeed he did not show himself very careful to haveanswered. He said he was yet dealing with Sir Francis Walsingham, andhad hopes of success touching my father's liberation, and so prayed menot to yield to despondency; but it would take time to bring mattersto a successful issue, and patience was greatly needed, and likewiseprudence toward that end. He requested me very urgently to take noother steps for the present in his behalf, which might ruin all. Andabove all things not to suffer Basil to come forward in it, for thathe had made himself obnoxious to Sir Francis by speec
hes which he hadused, and which some one had reported to him, touching Lady Ridley'scompliance with his (Sir Francis's) request that she should have aminister in her house for to read Protestant prayers to her household,albeit herself, being bedridden, did not attend; and if he should nowstir in this matter, all hope would be at an end. So he left me, and Ireturned to the parlor, and Kate and Polly declared my behavior tothem not to be over and above civil; but they supposed when folks werein love, they had a warrant to treat their friends as they pleased.Then finding me very dull and heavy, I ween, they bethought themselvesat the last of going to visit their
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