DEFENDER OF THE FAITH 
 
By the Same Author: 
 
 A Child in the Temple. 
 The Spanish Wine 
 The Wood of the Brambles. 
 At the Rising of the Moon. 
 Father Mathew : His Life and 
 Times. 
 
» ' 1 
 
DEFENDER OF THE 
 FAITH ^ A Romance 
 
 BY 
 
 FRANK MATHEW 
 
 With Three Portraits after Holbein 
 
 
 / 
 
 <^^^^ 
 
 It 
 
 
 
 
 ( 
 
 s^^^Sifa 
 
 P 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 JOHN 
 
 LANE: 
 
 THE 
 
 BODLEY 
 
 HEAD 
 
 
 LONDON 
 
 AND NEW 
 
 YORK 
 
 
 
 
 1899 
 
 
 
 
Copyright, 1899 
 By John Lane 
 
 All rights reserved 
 
Portraits 
 
 Henry VIII Frontispiece 
 
 Cromweli To face page 74 
 
 Anne Bullen ...„,, 154 
 
 ivi4i796 
 
Note 
 
 This book deals with the history of 
 Henry the Eighth as seen by Henry 
 Percy, sixth Earl of Northumberland, 
 who was Wolsey's pupil, Anne Bullen's 
 lover, and the King's friend. All the 
 chief characters — except Lady North- 
 umberland — are drawn from historical 
 models. Many of the words ascribed 
 to them are taken from historical docu- 
 ments : for instance, Wolsev's words 
 are mainly derived from Cavendish's 
 " Life of Wolsey," and Anne Bullen's 
 words in the Tower are based on 
 
Note 
 
 Kingston's *' Memorial." The writer 
 adopts Chapuys' explanation of Anne 
 Bullen's fall. Few of the scenes are 
 historical. Aske was not present when 
 Northumberland arrested the Cardinal. 
 Northumberland died during the Rising 
 of the Pilgrims of Grace. The King 
 was not at the Council on the day of 
 Cromwell's arrest. The writer differs 
 from Froude's opinion that Cromwell 
 was honest in his profession of piety. 
 Other students believe he had no reli- 
 gion. It is known that he had been 
 fervent in his profession of Roman 
 Catholicism when that was convenient. 
 The writer has used the *'State Papers," 
 the " Baga de Secretis," Strype, God- 
 win, Constantyne, the " Cabala," and 
 other authorities. 
 
Contents 
 
 BOOK I 
 
 THE FALL OF THE CROSS Page 
 
 Chapter I i 
 
 Chapter II 23 
 
 BOOK II 
 
 "THE QUEEN OF THE MAY" 
 
 Chapter I 48 
 
 Chapter II 7^ 
 
 Chapter III 100 
 
 Chapter IV 123 
 
 Chapter V « I53 
 
 BOOK III 
 
 PILGRIMS OF GRACE 
 
 Chapter I 185 
 
 Chapter II 215 
 
 Chapter III 249 
 
 Chapter IV 269 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 1 
 
 BOOK I 
 
 The Fall of the Cross 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 Drums muttering in the twilight startled 
 the citizens of York. Northumberland 
 riding slowly at the head of his gentle- 
 men was aware of dim faces at the 
 shadowy windows. As he reached the 
 Cathedral he saw thousands of horsemen 
 ranked about banners. All were turned 
 to him, and so was a man waiting at the 
 foot of the steps. 
 
 " It is dusk/* said Northumberland as 
 he stopped by the door. 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 "Is it nightfall or dawn ? " the man 
 said without stirring. 
 
 " God knows," said Northumberland. 
 , , "My ; lords,'* said the other, lifting 
 his ioicc, " the Earl of Northumberland, 
 b\iv caplaini, is here." 
 
 " Robert Aske," said Northumberland, 
 "your voice is familiar." 
 
 As he held out his hand Aske gripped 
 it, and answered, " I was told you might 
 come." 
 
 " Where do we go ? " 
 
 "To Cawood," 
 
 " Why do we set out with an army ? " 
 
 " To overawe the people," said Aske. 
 
 Northumberland turned his horse's 
 head as a charger was brought up and 
 Aske mounted. Then he rode down 
 the street with Aske on his left. The 
 long muster clattered behind them as 
 
The Fall of the Cross 
 
 they passed through the ramparts and 
 took the road to the South. 
 
 " We go to arrest Cardinal Wolsey ? " 
 Northumberland said when they had 
 ridden some way. 
 
 " You are to arrest him of treason 
 when I lift my right hand." 
 
 "When the King's messenger brought 
 me secret orders to head the force I 
 would find waiting in York and to 
 accompany the man who would answer 
 me as you did, I had a foreboding of 
 mischief. This is Cromwell's work ? " 
 
 " Mistress Anne's, rather. She hates 
 Wolsey because he knelt to the King and 
 implored him to beware of her wiles." 
 
 " What news from London ? " 
 
 "The Pope still refuses to declare the 
 marriage with Queen Catherine void. It 
 is said the King is about to call himself 
 the Head of the Church of England." 
 
 3 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 " And marry Mistress Anne ? " said 
 Northumberland. 
 
 " It is probable." 
 
 " Does she seem happy ? " 
 
 " She spends most of her time laughing 
 and dancing. ' With these dances of 
 hers/ said More to me lately, ^she will 
 spurn off our heads like footballs. Be- 
 fore long her own head will dance the 
 same dance as ours.' " 
 
 " She has risen to a dangerous emi- 
 nence while I kept aloof Now I am 
 married. You know my wife ? " 
 
 "The Lady Magdalen and I were 
 playmates in our childhood," said Aske. 
 
 " Because my marriage offended some 
 one mighty at Court I am given this 
 unwelcome command. Cromwell feared 
 I would hesitate, so he sent those dark 
 orders. Yet Wolsey is fallen. I fancied 
 they would leave him unharmed." 
 
 4 
 
The Fall of the Cross 
 
 " Since his disgrace he has won the 
 love of the people. The clergy meant 
 to install him in the Cathedral next 
 Sunday. While he lives he is danger- 
 ous. Should Mistress Anne sulk or 
 ill news come from abroad, the King 
 bellows, ' Norris, take this ring to the 
 Cardinal, and tell him I love him!'*' 
 
 " Have you seen Norris lately ? " 
 
 " No. He is seldom away from Mis- 
 tress Anne's side." 
 
 " I am sorry to hear it. He is so 
 reckless and boastful." 
 
 "He talks wildly ; but the King is 
 his friend." 
 
 " It is unsafe to cross the King when 
 he loves," said Northumberland. " So 
 the Cardinal learnt. How can they con- 
 vict him of treason ? " 
 
 " With the help of Doctor Augustine." 
 
 " The Italian wizard ? " 
 
 5 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 " Now physician at Court. The King 
 told him to mend the Cardinal's health. 
 ' Whatever disease he may have/ said 
 Augustine, 'if your Majesty desires his 
 death, you may be secure ; I can promise 
 he will not live for three days.' But the 
 King flew in a rage and thumped the table 
 and shouted, ' I had rather lose twenty 
 thousand pounds. You must cure him.' " 
 
 " Augustine is a poisoner, then ? " 
 
 " So it is said. His Majesty has a 
 horror of poison. Else we would all 
 go in terror of that subtle Venetian." 
 
 " Then he is at Cawood now ? " said 
 the Earl. 
 
 " So I think." 
 
 " Are we to keep the Cardinal there ? " 
 
 " I have a task to perform. Then you 
 are to arrest him, and I am to hand him 
 over to Kingston." 
 
 " The Constable of the Tower ! " 
 
 6 
 
The Fall of the Cross 
 
 " You and I are forbidden to speak 
 with Wolsey apart." 
 
 " I thought they distrusted me/' said 
 Northumberland. 
 
 " They doubt me too.*' 
 
 " Then why were you sent P " 
 
 " Because my errand is legal and I 
 am noted as an adherent to Rome." 
 
 " Cromv/ell does credit to his favourite 
 teacher, Machiavelli. How the knave 
 prospers ! When I knew him first he 
 was a money-lender. To repay his 
 assistance I introduced him to Wolsey. 
 The Cardinal was then in his glory. 
 You were at the banquet he gave on 
 Hallowe'en at Westminster ? It was 
 three years ago." 
 
 " I was not there." 
 
 " I forgot. Remote among books in 
 the Temple, you avoided our gaieties. 
 Because to-night is Hallowe'en I was 
 
 7 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 thinking of it as I rode into York. It 
 was worth seeing. The Red Room was 
 ablaze with candles while hundreds of 
 his gentlemen feasted in crimson velvet 
 with shining ladies and the ranks of 
 his yeomen surrounded us in scarlet 
 attire. The Cross-bearer entered fol- 
 lowed by nobles carrying the Great Seal 
 and the Cardinal's Hat on cushions, and 
 the ushers came after, shouting, ^ Make 
 way for my Lord's Grace.' As we 
 bowed that superb prelate sailed in, 
 smelling his orange stuffed with aroma- 
 tical spices. Then came the roll of 
 drums announcing the King. That ham- 
 mering brings it back to me now. The 
 maskers danced in, disguised as strange 
 shepherds in cloth of gold and red satin, 
 attended by the drummers and torch- 
 bearers. Wolsey feigned to believe they 
 were Ambassadors arrived from the East, 
 
 8 
 
The Fall of the Cross 
 
 as if all could not recognise the boister- 
 ous King dwarfing his comrades. How 
 the girls shrieked, simulating astonish- 
 ment, when the King flung his golden 
 mask on the ground ! How jovial he 
 was as he hugged the nearest and threw 
 his big arm about the Cardinal's neck ! 
 Those were light-hearted days." 
 "Yet sour looks were visible ? '* 
 " Ferocious old Norfolk grumbled to 
 me, 'This is feigned mirth. It was never 
 merry in England while we had Cardi- 
 nals among us.' Wolsey heard him, and 
 whispered, ' My lord Duke, of all men in 
 the realm, you have least cause to be 
 offended with Cardinals, since but for me 
 you would have no head on your shoul- 
 ders.' Norfolk shrank as he had not 
 done when the Scots surged on the hill- 
 top at Flodden and swooped in a tor- 
 rent of multitudinous banners." 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 " Yet his words were the rumbling of 
 a storm in the distance." 
 
 " And the Cardinal has gone down in 
 the storm. How still the night is ! I 
 think thunder is coming. Did you hear 
 of the vision in the Magical Mirror ? '* 
 
 " No/* replied Aske. 
 
 " I saw it that night. Wolsey, radiant 
 at Norfolk^s discomfiture, knelt to the 
 King and said, ' Illustrious golden shep- 
 herd of England, a terrible wizard, Augus- 
 tine Ciarpella, arrived from Venice to-day. 
 Would you honour him by testing his 
 craft ? ' 'I never dabble in Black Art,* 
 said the King. ' This is white witch- 
 craft,' said the Cardinal, smiling. 'The 
 wizard says he can show your future 
 Queen's likeness in his Magical Mirror.* 
 ' Perilous skill ! * cried the King, roaring 
 a laugh. ' You should be glad her 
 Majesty is safe at her prayers. Come 
 
 lO 
 
The Fall of the Cross 
 
 with me, Harry,' said he, flinging his 
 left arm round my neck, ' I dare not 
 face the Devil alone/ With that the 
 red tapestry at the back of the Cardinal's 
 dais was lifted and we saw a dim pas- 
 sage. As we went into it the tapestry 
 fell behind us and we stood in the dark. 
 There was a sad whisper of music, and 
 I felt his arm shake. Then a blur of 
 red light glimmered before us. As it 
 spread I could see it float in a glass. I 
 heard him pant as it flushed a vision of a 
 young girl all in white, carrying a bunch 
 of red roses. There she seemed watching 
 him. It was Mistress Anne's likeness." 
 
 " Mistress Anne Bullen ? " said Aske. 
 
 " What are those sparks in the trees ? '* 
 
 " The lights of Cawood." 
 
 " I '11 take my men into the Castle 
 and let the others surround it. Let us 
 pause till they come up." 
 
 II 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 When the Castle was surrounded a 
 trumpet was blown and a torch appeared 
 at a grating. Then the big door was 
 opened by an elderly porter. The Earl 
 ordered his gentlemen to bring in his 
 troopers. Questioning the porter, he 
 found the Cardinal was at supper with 
 a chaplain and Doctor Augustine in a 
 parlour above. So he went up the wind- 
 ing stairs, and Aske followed him. 
 
 The Cardinal was at the top of the 
 stairs. Clad in red, he stood leaning 
 on his tall silver Cross. Light from 
 behind him shone on it, but left his 
 face in a shadow. Seeing them, he 
 started, and then held out his hand. 
 
 " My lord,*' he said softly, " you 
 are most heartily welcome. Though 
 I have often desired to see you here 
 in my house, yet you would have sent 
 me word of your coming if you had 
 
 12 
 
The Fall of the Cross 
 
 loved me as I do you. Then I might 
 have received you according to your 
 honour and mine." 
 
 Northumberland took off his steel 
 cap and knelt and kissed the Cardinal's 
 ring. 
 
 " You too, Master Aske ? " said the 
 Cardinal as Northumberland rose. " So 
 my kind friends remember me in the 
 days of my poverty ? I am sorry it is 
 a Friday. I fear there is no fish in the 
 house. You shall have such cheer as 
 I am able to make you." Then he 
 turned, peering through a loop on his 
 left. 
 
 " My lord," he went on, " I see you 
 recall the precepts I gave when you lived 
 with me in your youth. You cherish 
 your father's old servants. You have 
 a great number with you. Surely you 
 do well and nobly, like a wise gentle- 
 
 13 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 man, for these will be faithful and glad 
 to see you prosper in honour." 
 
 Northumberland hung his head with- 
 out answering. 
 
 " Come with me, my friends," said the 
 Cardinal, leading the way into a small 
 tapestried room lit by a couple of can- 
 dles on a table and by a glimmering 
 fire. A stout little friar with an inquisi- 
 tive face stood by the hearth. 
 
 " There is my supper," said the Car- 
 dinal, smiling ; " roast apples, you see. 
 You and I have been glad at other fare, 
 my good lord. This is my chaplain. 
 Friar Antony Anderton." Leaning the 
 Cross against the smirched tapestry by 
 the head of the table, he took out a 
 handkerchief and pressed it to his fore- 
 head and gazed at it. " The bleeding 
 has stopped," he went on. " It was an 
 ill omen. My lord, your trumpeter 
 
 14 
 
The Fall of the Cross 
 
 frightened us. I was sitting here while 
 Augustine stood on my left, and the 
 Cross was leant there. Starting at the 
 clang, he tripped over the Cross : it 
 fell on me and wounded my forehead. 
 Do you remember the prophecy 
 
 < When the Dun Cow rideth the Bull, 
 Then, priest, beware thy skull ' ? " 
 
 Said Northumberland, " It is an old 
 meaningless rhyme.'* 
 
 "These prophecies are tricks of the 
 Devil and enlighten us tardily. The 
 Dun Cow is in the arms of the Earls 
 of Richmond ; so it stands for the King." 
 
 " Ah," said the Friar, shaking his head, 
 . " the Black Bull is the crest of the 
 Bullens." 
 
 " God help us ! " sighed the Cardinal, 
 sitting at the head of the table. " I sent 
 Augustine to see who was coming ; but 
 
 15 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 he did not return. Be seated, my good 
 lord," he said, pointing to the chair on 
 his right. As the Earl took it he went 
 on : " Let your trunk be brought up. 
 My bedroom shall be yours while you 
 stay with me. Plain though it is, I can 
 give you no better in this ruinous house. 
 There is a good fire in it. You must be 
 chilled by your journey. Indeed, you 
 look pale." 
 
 " More than friendship brings me here," 
 said Northumberland. 
 
 " I shall count you still as a friend 
 even if you have forgotten old love." 
 
 " I come in reluctance." 
 
 " And you. Master Aske ? " 
 
 " I am unwilling also," said Aske. 
 
 " My enemies are skilled in afflicting 
 me," said the Cardinal. "What is your 
 errand ? " 
 
 Said the Earl, "It is private." 
 
 i6 
 
The Fall of the Cross 
 
 " Antony, leave me with my friends," 
 said the Cardinal. Rising as the Friar 
 went out, he said, " What sends you here 
 so late ? " 
 
 Said Aske, " His Majesty made me 
 bring a deed for your signature." 
 
 " Is that all ? " 
 
 Going forward to the Cardinal's left, 
 Aske took out a small box bound in 
 green velvet and barred with silver and 
 gold. Laying it on the table, he opened 
 it. The Cardinal took a parchment out 
 of the box. Then he sighed and flung it 
 down on the table. 
 
 " Tell me v/hat it is," he said softly ; 
 " my eyes are dimmed by old age or 
 weakened by effeminate tears." 
 
 Said Aske, " It is a conveyance." 
 
 " I have signed many recently." 
 
 " It is the King's pleasure to have your 
 house at Westminster." 
 
 2 17 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 " I hold it as Archbishop of York," 
 said the Cardinal, reddening. " You are 
 renowned as a lawyer. Tell me, can I 
 give it away ? " 
 
 " The judges say you can." 
 
 " And you ? " 
 
 " I am not a Judge." 
 
 " What would you do in my place ? " 
 
 " Nor am I a Cardinal." 
 
 " But you are a gentleman, and you 
 would refuse. Ah, well ! you are young ; 
 but I am broken by years. I have spent 
 the best of my time in his Majesty's ser- 
 vice, neither shunning pains nor endeav- 
 ouring anything but only to please him. 
 Is that the offence for which I am de- 
 prived of all my goods in my age? It 
 little becomes the magnanimity of a King 
 to condemn an ancient servant unheard 
 and inflict on him a punishment more 
 horrid than death. What man is so base- 
 
 i8 
 
The Fall of the Cross 
 
 minded that he had not rather perish a 
 thousand times than behold a thousand 
 men who have served him abandoned to 
 want? For many years I have stood next 
 to the King, great in his favour. Must 
 I beg my bread now at the doors ? Well, 
 well ! he that has nothing should be glad 
 of a trifle, be it never so little. How 
 shall I contend with the King ? I ought 
 to be thankful if I am let die in peace. 
 Tell his Majesty I acknowledge my all 
 to be derived from his bounty, and think 
 it good reason that he should revoke his 
 gifts if he has found me unworthy. Why 
 should I speak of all I have when noth- 
 ing is left? It is my privilege to supply 
 him with palaces. Tell him I acknowl- 
 edge my guilt. Heaven knows what it 
 is ! I make short work with you. I 
 confess it beforehand. The combined 
 envy of malignant adversaries may be 
 
 19 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 satisfied so. A weary old man implores 
 pardon for an ignorant crime. How shall 
 I contend with the King ? " Turning to 
 the mantelpiece and taking a pen from an 
 ink-bottle, he sank in his chair. Pausing 
 as he was going to sign, he looked up at 
 Aske. "Say to him, too," he went 
 on, " I would have him remember 
 there is Heaven and Hell." Signing 
 the deed, he flung the pen on the 
 rushes. Leaning back, he appeared sud- 
 denly aged. 
 
 Northumberland's haughty and thin 
 face was sorrowful as he looked at the 
 Cardinal and saw how much he had 
 changed. Then turning to Aske, he saw 
 him stare at the Cross while his cold 
 scholarly face was troubled as if he was 
 irresolute. 
 
 " My lord," said the Cardinal, " when 
 you accompany the King in my house, 
 
 20 
 
The Fall of the Cross 
 
 remember the fate of its original owner. 
 God has justly rewarded me for neglect- 
 ing my due service to Him and wholly 
 applying myself to his Majesty's pleas- 
 ure. Woe is me ! Wretch and sot that 
 I am, who have been ungrateful to the 
 King of kings ! If I had served God as 
 diligently as I have done the King, he 
 would not have given me over in my 
 grey hairs. Is the King well ? " 
 
 " I have been far from Court/* said 
 Northumberland. 
 
 " Well and merry," said Aske, turning 
 and looking down at the Cardinal. 
 
 "I am glad of it," said the Cardinal 
 slowly. " For my part, I know death is 
 at hand. I have been troubled by fever 
 since I took a white medicine given me 
 by Doctor Augustine. This threatens 
 death or a worse evil — insanity. Mo- 
 mentarily I look for the hour when God 
 
 21 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 will deliver my 'sinful soul from its loath- 
 some prison, my body." Pausing, he 
 looked down at the deed. " This is just," 
 he went on. " I taught His Majesty 
 how to plunder the Church. I meant to 
 reform it by annihilating irregular monas- 
 teries ; but I let the King take their 
 goods. I have brought ruin on the 
 Church — God forgive me ! " 
 
 Aske raised his right hand. Northum- 
 berland rose and touched the Cardinal's 
 shoulder. 
 
 " My lord," he said faintly, " I arrest 
 you of Treason." 
 
 22 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 The Cardinal sprang up, staggering 
 against the tapestry and clutching the 
 Cross with his left hand as he looked at 
 Northumberland. The Earl folded his 
 arms, returning the gaze. 
 
 "By what authority?" said the Car- 
 dinal. 
 
 " By the King's,'* said Northumberland. 
 
 " Where is your warrant ? Let me see 
 it." 
 
 " I have none." 
 
 " Then, my lord," said the Cardinal, 
 putting the Cross between them, " I '11 
 not obey your arrest. Between your 
 predecessors and mine there was conten- 
 tion. You said you were not here as my 
 
 23 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 friend. You come as an Earl of North- 
 umberland to conquer an Archbishop of 
 York. But you have come vainly. 
 Yorkshire will rise in arms in my cause. 
 That sword was my gift. Draw it against 
 me. Though Wolsey might bend under 
 a pupil's ingratitude, this Cross is the 
 token that the Archbishop of York defies 
 the Earl of Northumberland." 
 
 The Earl was going to answer ; but 
 stopped himself, turning away. 
 
 " My lord and I are sad instruments 
 of your enemies' triumph," said Aske. 
 "Look out of that window — no, the 
 night is dark ; but if there was a moon 
 you would find the Castle beleaguered. 
 My lord's men are inside ; but others 
 belt it with steel. Four thousand men at 
 least — " 
 
 " Against one ? " said the Cardinal. 
 
 Then he put the Cross back, and sat 
 24 
 
The Fall of the Cross 
 
 down. There was a scuffle outside, and 
 the door was flung open. 
 
 " Go in, or I '11 make you,'* cried a 
 harsh voice. Then Kingston appeared, 
 shoving a corpulent man disguised in a 
 grey cloak and hood. 
 
 " Master Kingston," said the Cardinal, 
 flushing and slapping his thigh, "the 
 Constable of the Tower ! " 
 
 " And Captain of the Guard,'* replied 
 Kingston, kneeling, " and as such the 
 King sends me with your old and trusty 
 servants, the yeomen, to escort you to 
 London in all honour and by such easy 
 journeys as you may choose to com- 
 mand." 
 
 "Soft words. Master Kingston," said 
 the Cardinal, sighing. " I perceive other 
 things than you can imagine ; for experi- 
 ence has taught me. Your comfortable 
 words are but of a purpose to bring me 
 
 25 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 into a fooFs paradise. Who is your 
 prisoner ? " 
 
 Rising, Kingston snatched back the grey- 
 hood and disclosed Augustine's dark face. 
 
 "There is the witness against you," 
 said Aske. 
 
 " You have betrayed me, Augustine ? 
 Then I am doomed," said the Cardinal. 
 
 " Save me, for God's sake ! " cried 
 Augustine, falling down on his knees. 
 
 Said Kingston frigidly, " I caught 
 him endeavouring to escape by the 
 postern." 
 
 " Let him go," said the Cardinal. 
 
 " No," said Northumberland fiercely. 
 " Send him to London. Tie him on a 
 horse, and away with him ! " 
 
 " I hate the sight of a horse," cried 
 Augustine ; " I '11 die of fear." 
 
 "Then tie him under a horse," said 
 
 Northumberland. 
 
 26 
 
The Fall of the Cross 
 
 As Kingston hauled Augustine away 
 the Earl drew himself up. 
 
 "A Northumberland might remember 
 hereditary struggles with an Archbishop 
 of York; but Henry Percy," he said, 
 " is not unmindful of gratitude." 
 
 "Yet you are here, Henry Percy," said 
 the Cardinal, rising. 
 
 " I was summoned mysteriously. 
 Though I obeyed, I did not set out from 
 Wharfe with a scanty following, but 
 with a hundred of my gentlemen and a 
 thousand retainers." 
 
 " A zealous obedience." 
 
 " At York I found an army assembled ! 
 Cromwell foresees everything, and my men 
 were outnumbered. I have filled your 
 house with my followers. I have accom- 
 plished my task; but now I stand at your 
 side. Give the word, and my banner 
 shall be flown on the ramparts. To-night 
 
 27 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 the beacons shall flame. Before morninoc 
 the North shall be in arms at our 
 call." 
 
 " Harry, I wronged you," said the 
 Cardinal, with tears in his eyes. " Here 
 is my hand — no, not to kiss but to grasp. 
 And you. Master Aske ? " he went on. 
 
 Said Aske, " I would die gladly in the 
 cause of the Church." 
 
 " Not in mine ? " 
 
 " Now your cause is the Church's." 
 
 " It was not always so ? " 
 
 Aske was silent. 
 
 " It is true," sighed the Cardinal. 
 " Blinded by a worldly ambition, the 
 shepherd has been false to his flock. — I 
 have a hand for you also. I see a fair 
 vision," he said, looking in front of him, 
 " the Church righted by me, the King 
 constrained to be just, the heretics and 
 the plunderers foiled." Then he hid his 
 
 28 
 
The Fall of the Cross 
 
 face in his hands. Dashing tears from his 
 eyeSj he looked at Northumberland. 
 " It is too late/' he went on. " Merciful 
 God ! It is too late. When the faithful 
 sons of the Church rebel — as I pray they 
 may do if this wickedness thrives — their 
 cause shall not be stained by my guilt. 
 If they rose for me they would endeavour 
 to win me back the power I misused. I 
 can but beseech God to help me. I am 
 subject to Fortune, and I submit myself 
 to it, ready to accept such destiny as God 
 has provided. In a brief time I shall not 
 be subject to Fortune." 
 
 Said Northumberland, " Yet think it 
 over. My men shall guard you to-night. 
 To-morrow you may be willing — " 
 
 " I am resolved.'* 
 
 " Pluck up your heart. The malice of 
 your uncharitable enemies shall not prevail 
 against you when you come to the King." 
 
 29 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 " If I could come to him I would fear 
 no one. There lives no man on earth 
 that shall look on this face and be able to 
 accuse me of falsehood. My foes will 
 prevent my trial, destroying me by some 
 sinister way. My truth would vanquish 
 their surmised accusations. The King is 
 a prince of a royal courage and of a noble 
 heart; but rather than be balked in his 
 appetite he will endanger the loss of half 
 of his realm. I assure you I have often 
 knelt to him for the space of an hour, yet 
 could never dissuade him from a thing he 
 desired. When you are of his Council, 
 my lord, be careful what purpose you put 
 into his head, for he will never abandon it. 
 Above all things, advise him to quell this 
 new pernicious sect of the Lutherans, for 
 if they increase by his negligence he will 
 be driven to draw the sword to subdue 
 them. Remind him how the King of 
 
 30 
 
The Fall of the Cross 
 
 Bohemia thought it a good game to look 
 on while the illiterate heretics massacred 
 the priests in his realm, till his blind mirth 
 ended when those reprobates, strengthened 
 by triumph, took arms against the tem- 
 poral lords, and then he fought vainly 
 and perished miserably by the judgment 
 of God. Bid our King guard against a 
 similar ruin." 
 
 Northumberland answered, " I mean to 
 live retired in my home." 
 
 " God be your guide and send you 
 good luck, even as I would myself. 
 Heed my advice, for now I am an indif- 
 ferent watcher. The sun is still in your 
 eyes ; but I am in the shadow of death. 
 I see how justly I have been used. To 
 avenge an insult, I sent Buckingham to 
 the Block in the Tower. Thus the King 
 learnt his strength. I follow Bucking- 
 ham. Because the Spaniards foiled my 
 
 31 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 wish to be Pope I sought revenge in help- 
 ing the King to humiliate them by divorc- 
 ing Queen Catherine. So I led to the 
 rise of my serpentine continual enemy." 
 
 " You mean Cromwell ? " 
 
 " No, I have forgiven him." 
 
 Said Aske, "He has been praised for 
 his constancy." 
 
 " A wily knave," said the Cardinal. 
 " I remember how Cavendish came on 
 him reading Our Lady's Matins in the 
 great window at Esher and crying over 
 his book. ' Do you weep for the Cardi- 
 nal ? ' said Cavendish. — ' For myself,' 
 said Cromwell, ' I am like to be ruined 
 for serving him. An ill name once 
 gotten will not lightly be put away. 
 Now I am off to the Court, either to 
 make or mar.' " 
 
 " But he defended you in the Com- 
 mons," said Aske. 
 
 32 
 
The Fall of the Cross 
 
 " To please the King. My gracious 
 master would have seemed covetous if 
 he had taken my wealth by force ; so he 
 wished me to surrender it all. Further, 
 my house at Westminster and m.v mo- 
 nastic estates would have been out of his 
 reach if I had gone to the Block. I have 
 chilled my friends by abandoning property 
 that belonged to the Church. There the 
 last of it went : and the King's mercy is 
 over. Cromwell is not to be blamed. I 
 sinned in complying. Troubles and 
 monumental labours have crushed me. 
 A broken heart is too feeble to remember 
 a grudge. I pardon Augustine, though I 
 fear he betrayed my letter appealing for 
 the help of the French. I trusted him 
 foolishly." 
 
 " Trust now in the King," said North- 
 umberland. 
 
 " I did once.' 
 
 3 33 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 " The King is my dearest friend, more 
 like a brother than a sovereign to me 
 since I was a boy." 
 
 " Ah ! " said the Cardinal, " Sir Thomas 
 More said to me, ' The King is so cour- 
 teous that all believe they are loved by 
 him, as the citizens* wives imagine Our 
 Lady's picture in the church by the 
 Tower smiles on them when they are 
 praying before it. Though he favours 
 me singularly,* said More, ' I have no 
 cause to be proud of it, for if my head 
 would win him a castle in France it would 
 not remain on my shoulders/ Wise 
 words ! Yet the King is kind-hearted. 
 Master Aske," he went on, taking 
 a ring from his left hand, " you are 
 going to London ? Here is his like- 
 ness, painted under a ruby. Henry of 
 England, — Defender of the Faith ! The 
 best lance and rider and archer, and the 
 
 34 
 
The Fall of the Cross 
 
 comeliest man in England, built like a 
 tower ! What tender familiar ways he 
 used to have with me once ! How many- 
 hours I have spent walking to and fro in 
 his room while that strong arm of his 
 was clasping my neck ! How many 
 nights we two have paced the terrace at 
 Windsor, scanning the stars and dreaming 
 of conquest in the cause of the Church ! 
 He was your elder brother, Harry, you 
 said ; but he was my child, the glorious 
 son of my age. Take this ring, sir : he 
 used to send it to me when he needed my 
 help. I need his now. Since my dis- 
 grace he forwarded it to me in a minute 
 of softness. Norris brought it as I was 
 riding through Putney. I knelt in the 
 mud to receive it and sent my poor 
 jester in exchange, for I had no other 
 gift. The kind fool raged, weeping pro- 
 fusely, and would not go till six yeomen 
 
 35 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 carried him off. This will be eloquent. 
 Merciful God ! Why did I never see it 
 before? The ruby is like a smear of 
 blood on his face/' 
 
 " You are too wise to be disheartened 
 by omens/' said Aske, taking the ring. 
 
 " Harry, the night we parted in the 
 Red Room the King saw Mistress Anne 
 BuUen in the Magical Mirror." 
 
 " Prophecies lead to their own fulfil- 
 ment," said Aske. 
 
 " Erasmus jeered at such things," said 
 the Cardinal. " So did More sometimes. 
 Yet I think he believed in them. Witty 
 More, with his merry and sad eyes ! He 
 is Chancellor in my stead ; but I wonder 
 how he will fare in his struggle with Anne 
 Bullen — that night-crow. Daughter of 
 a bad woman — 'Evil crow — evil egg,' 
 says the proverb. You change colour, 
 my lord." 
 
 36 
 
The Fall of the Cross 
 
 Said Northumberland, " I have noth- 
 ing to do with her." 
 
 " It would have been well for you if 
 you had never encountered her." 
 
 " I loved her once ! " 
 
 " That love may be pleasant to remem- 
 ber; but its danger endures. When I 
 saw you to-night I fancied you had borne 
 me a grudge because I parted you from 
 her." 
 
 " You meant it kindly." 
 
 " And it was a kindness." 
 
 " Perhaps." 
 
 " Surely her conduct shows it .? " 
 
 " Many speak ill of Mistress Anne," 
 said Northumberland. " It is not prob- 
 able that I should believe them." 
 
 " I do." 
 
 " You were always unjust to her." 
 
 " I was not deluded by passion." 
 It was a happy illusion." 
 37 
 
 cc 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 " You saw her with the eyes of a boy," 
 said the Cardinal angrily. " When you 
 met, she had spent years in the corrup- 
 tion of Paris. You were a lad, head- 
 strong and credulous and easily fooled.'* 
 
 "We would be wiser not to speak of 
 that lady." 
 
 " Forgive me. My blood boils at the 
 thought of her. My eyes are not indif- 
 ferent yet. Still — am I wrong? My 
 head has been confused by misfortune. 
 I heard you were married." 
 
 " I am." 
 
 " Master Aske, I wish to speak with 
 my lord alone for a minute." 
 
 " The King has forbidden us to see 
 you alone," said Northumberland. 
 
 " That is unfortunate." 
 
 " I can only repeat — " 
 
 " Well, well ! Master Aske is not only 
 of unimpeachable honour, but also a dumb 
 
 38 
 
The Fall of the Cross 
 
 oracle notorious for silence. Briefly, then, 
 the King seeks a divorce from Catherine 
 of Arragon because she was his brother's 
 widow and therefore his marriage with 
 her was void." 
 
 " If the Pope exceeded his powers in 
 granting the dispensation," said Aske. 
 
 " By Canon Law," said the Cardinal, 
 "a betrothal is binding." 
 
 " Till a dispensation is granted," said 
 Aske. 
 
 " Harry, do you see your risk now ? " 
 said the Cardinal. 
 
 "No." 
 
 " Mistress Anne was betrothed to you 
 secretly." 
 
 " What ? " cried Aske. 
 
 " You dissolved that bond," said 
 Northumberland. 
 
 " I stopped the marriage ; but there 
 was no dispensation." 
 
 39 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 " Can this be true ? "^ said Aske sternly, 
 as he looked at Northumberland. 
 
 " My lord Cardinal, you promised — " 
 cried the Earl. 
 
 " To grant one, if needed." 
 
 " Well ? " 
 
 " If I had heard of your coming mar- 
 riage I would have warned you in time. 
 But I had cares of my own." 
 
 " It is invalid ! " said Aske. 
 
 " How could I know ? " cried North- 
 umberland. 
 
 Said the Cardinal, " If you and Mis- 
 tress Anne had been constant I would not 
 have kept you apart when you were old 
 enough to judge the girl fairly ; so I did 
 not offer the dispensation at once. Mean- 
 while the betrothal was an obstacle to her 
 wedding the King." 
 
 Said Aske, " God help the Lady Mag- 
 dalen ! " 
 
The Fall of the Cross 
 
 Said the Earl, " This is nonsense, a 
 tangle of ridiculous priestcraft ! " 
 
 " You speak to a priest, my good 
 lord," said the Cardinal. 
 
 " Are my hopes to be strangled in the 
 net of your canonical laws ? Let priests 
 keep to their books ! " 
 
 " I make allowance." 
 
 "I desire none. By this splitting of 
 hairs you drive men to be heretics. Thus 
 the Pope maddened the King by incom- 
 prehensible laws and dubious bought dis- 
 pensations. If an act is a crime how can a 
 dispensation be good ^ What need of the 
 Pope's costly permission for an innocent 
 act ^ All this trouble began because the 
 French called the dispensation illegal. Did 
 the Pope declare it unquestionable ? No, 
 he wavered and haggled and offered to set 
 the King free if Queen Catherine would 
 only consent. Was it strange that the King 
 
 41 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 wearied of truckling to a crafty Italian ? I 
 would have done the same in his place. So 
 would you, — for you were always a man." 
 
 " I feel for you with all my heart," said 
 the Cardinal. 
 
 " Do you expect me to bring misery and 
 shame on my house ? " 
 
 " It is a question of right and wrong, 
 not of the consequence." 
 
 "And I acted rightly. A boy and a 
 girl were betrothed ; but they parted and 
 believed themselves free. Would she 
 admit the betrothal ? It would ruin her. 
 The King does not know of it." 
 
 " Cromwell does. He was your go- 
 between. You wrote him a letter that 
 would suffice for a proof To curry 
 favour with me he showed it to me, be- 
 traying your secret. No doubt, he already 
 planned to let her marry the King. I 
 remember he brought Augustine from 
 
 42 
 
The Fall of the Cross 
 
 Venice and proposed the employment of 
 the Magical Mirror. Well, I summoned 
 you and forbade you to marry her." 
 
 "And I replied by asking her to wed 
 me at once. It was in the Red Room — 
 not an hour after that vision. Because she 
 refused we quarrelled and she took back 
 her promise. I left London that night." 
 
 " Yon think a deal of Mistress Anne," 
 said Aske. " There is another lady 
 concerned." 
 
 " And she is my wife." 
 
 " So she believes. Blind yourself with 
 ignorant sophistry. But have you no care 
 for the Lady Magdalen's honour? " 
 
 " You speak with strange passion," said 
 Northumberland fiercely. 
 
 " I loved her vainly for years," said 
 Aske. 
 
 " I love her also. For her sake I refuse 
 to let anyone cast a doubt on my marriage." 
 
 43 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 "You must tell her," said the Cardinal. 
 
 " No. She is devout and liable to be 
 governed by priests." 
 
 "Then, Master Aske," said the Cardi- 
 nal sadly, " it is your duty to warn her.'* 
 
 " At your peril ! " said Northumber- 
 land, with his hand on his sword. 
 
 " My lord," said Aske, " honour closes 
 my lips." 
 
 " We have been friends a long time. 
 Before condemning my silence remember 
 I have a daughter." 
 
 " I was unaware of it," the Cardinal 
 said. 
 
 " A small child, but more than the 
 world to me. Shall I make my little 
 Cecily nameless ? " 
 
 " My heart bleeds for you, Harry," said 
 the Cardinal. " But my duty is plain. 
 I am bound to let your wife know." 
 
 "If you dare!" 
 
 44 
 
The Fall of the Cross 
 
 " Time was when the proudest noble 
 in England would not have dared me. 
 Time was when I would have answered 
 you roughly. Now I am infinitely tired. 
 If God leaves me in this world of affliction 
 your wife shall be aware of this secret." 
 
 " Then listen, my lord Cardinal/* cried 
 Northumberland. " I have been eager to 
 draw this sword for the Church. I have 
 been the captain of nobles intent on an 
 immediate revolt. We have a hundred 
 thousand men at our call. I was to be 
 Defender of the Faith in my turn. Here 
 I renounce my long allegiance to Rome. 
 Never again shall I kneel in one of your 
 chapels. All this is your doing — " 
 
 "All mine," the Cardinal whispered. 
 
 " Listen in your turn, Henry Percy," 
 said Aske. " You stand at the parting of 
 the ways. Do you wish our old friend- 
 ship to be forgotten? Would you stain 
 
 45 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 a noble lady, deluding her to live as your 
 concubine ? " 
 
 Northumberland started back and 
 snatched out his sword. Kingston came 
 in. " My lord," he began, and then drew 
 back in astonishment. Northumberland 
 thrust his sword in its sheath. 
 
 " What do you want ? " he cried. 
 
 " I have sent Augustine to London as 
 you commanded," said Kingston, "and I 
 come for your orders." 
 
 " Bid my men mount," said Northum- 
 berland hoarsely. " I am about to ride 
 home." 
 
 " And you, sir ? " said Kingston to 
 Aske. 
 
 " I go to London." 
 
 " And I," said the Cardinal, " I go to 
 rest — if I can. My sleep will soon be 
 quiet. To-morrow, good Master King- 
 ston, we can set out." 
 
 46 
 
The Fall of the Cross 
 
 As Kingston went Northumberland 
 followed, but looked back from the 
 threshold and saw Aske kneel to kiss the 
 Cardinal's ring. 
 
 " God's blessing and mine be with you 
 both," said the Cardinal. 
 
 47 
 
BOOK II 
 
 " The Queen of the May" 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 Northumberland rode home in the 
 dark with his ineffectual muster. As he 
 reached Wharfe the silver tide of the 
 dawn rippled over the black brim of the 
 moors. The high castle was gloomy ; 
 but as he neared it a flood of light gushed 
 on the steps and his servants came hurry- 
 ing to meet him with torches. 
 
 Dismounting, he entered the firelit hall, 
 and went up the stairs to a landing. 
 Knocking at a door on his right, he opened 
 it and looked into the room. There his 
 wife was asleep, clasping his little child to 
 
 48 
 
" The Queen of the May " 
 
 her breast. The torch on the wall of the 
 landing cast a gleam on her face. Steal- 
 ing in, he shut the door softly for fear the 
 light should disturb her. The gruesome 
 November dawn peered through the win- 
 dow. At the side of the bed he crossed 
 his arms and looked down. The girl 
 seemed happy and restful, and her lips 
 were apart : half hidden in her disordered 
 brown hair, his tiny daughter's cheek shone 
 like an apple. So he stood a long time, 
 and then knelt and moved the silken hair 
 reverently and kissed the child's forehead. 
 Little Cecily snuggled closer in those 
 sheltering arms : and his wife smiled in 
 her sleep as if she knew he was there. 
 Bending as if he would have kissed her, 
 he stopped, and then rested his head by 
 hers on the pillow. Without waking she 
 stirred closer to him, sighing contentedly. 
 Rising, he went into the opposite par- 
 4 49 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 lour, and looked out of the front window 
 and saw his troopers beneath. Then he 
 opened the other window and heard the 
 Wharfe battling in the thick of the wood. 
 There that intricate river stormed, hidden 
 between precipitous banks. 
 
 Then he heard his wife mimicking a 
 seller of fruit. "Cherry ripe! Cherry 
 ripe ! Who '11 buy November cherries ? " 
 she called, as she ran in, wearing a blue 
 cloak, and holding up their child to be 
 kissed. 
 
 " Ripe cherries ! " she said, laughing as 
 he stooped to their daughter. 
 
 The child rubbed its eyes, whining 
 peevishly, and then smiled on Northum- 
 berland, putting its chubby arms round 
 his neck. Proffering her lips, she was 
 startled by his look and drew back ; but 
 they were linked by the child. After 
 a pause she rubbed her cheek on his 
 
 50 
 
" The Queen of the May " 
 
 shoulder, as she was accustomed to do. 
 He told himself they would never stand 
 so again. Then he undid the child's 
 clinging hands. 
 
 " It is too early to wake her/' he said. 
 
 " It is early to wake me," said his wife, 
 " Have I been dreaming ? " 
 
 " We have both dreamt," he said, turn- 
 ing away. 
 
 "What have I done? What is the 
 trouble ? It is some mistake, dear," she 
 sobbed. " You were in my room now : 
 I knew it, and woke as you left me — " 
 
 "The Lord Darcy," cried a man, open- 
 ing the door at her back. 
 
 As she turned, Darcy strode in, fully 
 armed. 
 
 "What is this I hear?" he stuttered. 
 " My Lord of Northumberland, tell me 
 this foul talk is untrue ! " 
 
 Northumberland faced him and then 
 SI 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 glanced at his wife. Quivering, she 
 looked at old Darcy. 
 
 " What have you heard ? " she said 
 proudly as if she was accused. 
 
 " Forgive me. Madam," said square 
 sturdy Darcy, as he saluted her : " I am 
 glad you are present. I hear the son of 
 my loved friend is a traitor." 
 
 "Ah !" she said. 
 
 Then she looked up at her husband as 
 he stared at her with questioning eyes. 
 Drawing closer to him, she stood on his 
 left. 
 
 " You were my father's lifelong friend," 
 said Northumberland, "and you are under 
 my roof." 
 
 " For the last time," mumbled Darcy, 
 "if you have betrayed us." 
 
 " If this was not my house I would 
 answer you sword in hand, my Lord 
 Darcy." 
 
 52 
 
" The Queen of the May " 
 
 "The hangman should smash that 
 sword and hack your spurs from your 
 heels/' stammered Darcy, while his sun- 
 burnt grim face was purple and his little 
 eyes flamed. 
 
 Northumberland clutched his hilt and 
 then turned to his wife and said, " I wish 
 to be alone with my guest/' 
 
 " If you are accused this is my place," 
 she said. 
 
 Cecily had been looking on terrified, 
 and now began crying. 
 
 "Hush, dearie, hush!" whispered Lady 
 Northumberland. 
 
 " Before your wife, then, I accuse you 
 of treachery," stuttered Darcy. "You 
 have been our leader — it is time my 
 lady should know it — you have been 
 the chief of the lords confederate in the 
 cause of the Church." 
 
 " I guessed it, I gloried in it," she said. 
 53 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 "We were to save the Queen from 
 dishonour, to right the Cardinal, to force 
 King Henry to abide by the law," said 
 Darcy. " I, who won my spurs under 
 Henry the Seventh and helped Ferdinand 
 to conquer the Moors, humbled myself 
 to follow your banner. Yesterday you 
 were ready to lead us when the Emperor's 
 assistance was sure. There are your 
 men ! " he stammered, pointing. " Have 
 you gathered them in our cause or against 
 US r 
 
 " My troops are not against you nor 
 with you." 
 
 " I am answered," groaned Darcy. 
 " That I should have lived to hear your 
 father's son say it! Even now I can 
 scarcely believe you have arrested the 
 Cardinal." 
 
 " It is impossible ! " she cried. 
 
 " You have done this for the sake of 
 
 54 
 
" The Queen of the May " 
 
 the Concubine?" mumbled Darcy. "You 
 are faithful to her ? When we meet again, 
 it shall be sword in hand." 
 
 As he strode out of the room she drew 
 back. 
 
 " He must be mad," she whispered ; 
 " what can he mean ? What have you to 
 do v/ith — -with that degraded girl ? " 
 
 " That lady is my friend," said North- 
 umberland. 
 
 " I did not think you could speak to 
 me so," she said, wincing and crimsoning. 
 Then she clutched the child so hard that 
 it began crying again. " Hush, baby," 
 she whispered as she carried it out. " You 
 have been awakened too soon ; but you 
 have reason to cry. You are the first 
 Percy to inherit dishonour." 
 
 That day he saw her no more, for she 
 shut herself in her room. On the next 
 
 55 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 evening Friar Anderton came. North- 
 umberland, seeing him doleful and troub- 
 led, thought the Cardinal was fulfilling his 
 threat. The Friar recounted how Wolsey 
 had reached Leicester Abbey at dusk, and 
 had told the monks he had come to leave 
 his bones among them and would die at 
 eight in the morning, and how his words 
 had proved accurate. Then he was over- 
 come by his grief and went to Lady 
 Northumberland. 
 
 That afternoon the Earl met her when 
 dinner was served in the long hall, and 
 found her silent and grave. The Friar 
 sat between them at table and seemed 
 perplexed for a time, but then grew 
 chatty again. At many following meals 
 he divided them, for she made him her 
 chaplain. At other times she would work 
 in her rooms or ramble out-of-doors with 
 her women. So she was not alone with 
 
 S6 
 
" The Queen of the May '' 
 
 her husband. The Friar made no re- 
 mark when the Earl avoided the chapel 
 and ate meat during Advent. Neither 
 did she ; but she spent more time at her 
 prayers. 
 
 Other things tended to embitter North- 
 umberland. The Catholic lords shunned 
 him, and he saw the affection of his 
 people replaced by a reluctant obedience. 
 Of all his men one appeared as loyal as 
 ever ; that was his foster-brother Allan 
 Thorne, his attendant in sports, and his 
 trumpeter when the troops were arrayed. 
 Now his rides on the moors were soli- 
 tary and his way was apart. A tall girl 
 with grey eyes and a still and proud face 
 seemed the ghost of his wife. 
 
 Even little Cecily proved an apple of 
 discord. Because he had wronged her 
 he shrank from her while the Countess 
 sought solitude. The tiny girl seemed to 
 
 57 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 give all her heart to her new playmate, 
 the Friar. Northumberland suffered in 
 losing the variable love of a child. 
 
 Cecily was a joy to the Friar, and the 
 tasks of the household provided him with 
 delighted astonishment. When anything 
 was afoot he would look on with big eyes, 
 like a rustic astounded by the ways of a 
 city, as if he revelled in the unusual wick- 
 edness of seeing the world. An indefati- 
 gable seeker of news, he would gad in the 
 neighbourhood and come back trium- 
 phantly with a budget of gossip. 
 
 So Northumberland learnt how More 
 had resigned the Great Seal, and how the 
 King had been divorced from Queen 
 Catherine by the Archbishop of Canter- 
 bury, and had declared himself Head of 
 the Church of England, and had been 
 secretly married to Mistress Anne Bullen. 
 Then the Friar brought an account of 
 
 58 
 
" The Queen of the May " 
 
 Mistress Anne's coronation, telling how 
 she had proceeded in state on the Thames 
 from Greenwich to the Tower, and how 
 the King had received her there amid the 
 clamour of trumpets and the din of artil- 
 lery, and how she had ridden through 
 London gloriously on a sunny May 
 morning, and had been crowned at West- 
 minster while the people rejoiced. 
 
 These tidings were unwelcome to Friar 
 Anderton. Yet he related them with a 
 garrulous pleasure as if he delighted in 
 picturing such stirring events. Then he 
 began to retail gossip with sighs and much 
 pity for poor fellows deluded by Satan as 
 he told how More and the Bishop of 
 Rochester had been sent to the Tower 
 for refusing to acknowledge the King as 
 the Head of the Church. When he had 
 to say they had been beheaded he wept, 
 and was sad for at least half an hour, till 
 
 59 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 romping with the child, he forgot the 
 errors of men. 
 
 On a bright morning in January the 
 Earl was at breakfast in the chill little par- 
 lour. Lady Northumberland sat opposite 
 him while the Friar between them held 
 forth on the merits of the beef and the beer, 
 for lack of something wiser to say. The 
 child crouched on the hearth, nursing a 
 black kitten named Michael. Cecily was 
 now nearly five, and pretty and dark. 
 While her parents watched her she 
 crooned over the kitten, making beheve 
 it had sore need to be comforted. 
 
 " She cherishes that beast with a kinder 
 passion than a woman can feel," North- 
 umberland said as if he spoke to himself 
 
 Then he heard his wife sigh and saw 
 her gaze at him tenderly. Though her 
 look froze, meeting his, yet his heart 
 softened. A servant knocked and came 
 
 60 
 
" The Queen of the May " 
 
 in with a letter and said it had been 
 brought by a messenger whose haste had 
 seemed frantic. 
 
 Northumberland rose and took the 
 letter uneasily and broke its ribands and 
 glanced at it. Flushing, he looked down 
 at his wife. She had been watching him; 
 but now she rose also and gazed out of 
 the front window with a weary indifference. 
 Then he turned to Cecily. She had been 
 roused from her nursing, and ran to the 
 Friar, saying, " Oh, Father ! what can be 
 the matter with Michael ^ He looks so 
 miserable that I am sure he is sick." 
 
 The Friar fondled her and promised 
 to call a doctor at once and persuaded 
 her not to squeeze the kitten so tight. 
 As she ran back to the hearth, holding 
 the animal in a more cautious embrace, 
 Northumberland read the letter again. 
 Then he pitched it into the fire. 
 
 6i 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 " I am going to London/' he said, 
 looking at his wife, " I may be gone for 
 some time." 
 
 ** Indeed ? " she said without turning. 
 
 For a minute he watched her with a 
 hardening face. Then he stooped, hug- 
 ging the child. 
 
 " You '11 hurt Michael," she said pee- 
 vishly, wriggling out of his arms. " He is 
 dreadfully ill." 
 
 There was a thud of hoofs on the 
 gravel, and Friar Anderton jumped up 
 and trotted to the window, rejoicing in 
 the unexpected excitement. 
 
 " It is Master Aske," he said eagerly. 
 
 The Earl paused irresolute. 
 
 " Father, who is Anne ? " said the child. 
 
 He saw she had rescued the letter from 
 the smouldering logs. 
 
 " ' I need your help — Anne,' " she read 
 shrilly. " Oh ! how well I read, Father ! " 
 
 62 
 
" The Queen of the May " 
 
 she said to the Friar. " Stop him ! " 
 she screamed. The kitten had fled from 
 her clutch, and now escaped from the 
 room as the servant opened the door. 
 
 " Master Robert Aske ! " said the 
 servant. 
 
 As Cecily rushed after the kitten the 
 Friar pursued her, crying, " She will 
 tumble downstairs ! '* 
 
 Lady Northumberland turned. As 
 Aske entered she greeted him with a 
 stately serenity. The Earl looked at him 
 as if they were strangers. 
 
 " My lord, I come with a message from 
 the King," said Aske slowly. 
 
 " What is it, Sir ? " said Northum- 
 berland. 
 
 " He desires you and my lady to attend 
 him in London." 
 
 " As prisoners ? " said Northumber- 
 land, flushing. 
 
 63 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 " As guests/* replied Aske. " Here is 
 his letter." 
 
 As the Earl read it Aske and Lady 
 Northumberland looked at each other. 
 
 " It is long since we roamed by Der- 
 went Water," she whispered. 
 
 Crumpling the letter, Northumberland 
 went out of the parlour. Going to his 
 bedroom, he armed, and summoning 
 Thorne, told him to make ready for 
 travel and fetch a couple of horses. As 
 he went down the stairs he saw his 
 daughter below, brandishing the unfortu- 
 nate kitten while the Friar was attempting 
 to calm her. 
 
 " I have to set out at once," he said to 
 the Friar. " I wish you would beg 
 Master Aske to take a hundred horsemen 
 and guard my lady if she travels to 
 London." 
 
 " And I ? " said the Friar. 
 64 
 
'' The Queen of the May " 
 
 "You must have the kindness to give 
 orders here in our absence." 
 
 " I am to have charge of the Castle/* 
 Friar Anderton said, Hfting his plump 
 hands in delight ; " I am to take care of 
 the child ! " 
 
 Then Allan Thorne rode up to the 
 door with a led horse, and Northumber- 
 land mounted. In the saddle he looked 
 at the parlour window, but saw nobody 
 there. Turning to his child, he saw her 
 making the Friar kiss the kitten's sleek 
 head. So he shook his reins and rode 
 off. 
 
 Reaching London at midday on the 
 seventh of January, he found the side of 
 Throgmorton Street blocked by citizens 
 and heard trumpets approaching. So he 
 halted at the back of the crowd. 
 
 The day had an irresolute brightness. 
 5 65 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 Cheers rang in the distance, and rose and 
 were taken up by his neighbours as the 
 trumpeting grew. The women waved 
 their handkerchiefs gladly, and the men 
 tossed their caps as the trumpeters passed, 
 followed by red ranks of the yeomen. 
 
 Then the King came riding alone: he 
 wore yellow silk and a short mantle of 
 ermine and a round cap of crimson velvet 
 with a flaunting white plume. As he 
 lounged, managing a white horse hung 
 with trappings of cloth-of-gold, he was 
 nodding with a lazy good-humour. On 
 his big horse he towered above his wor- 
 shipping people. Though he was still 
 glowing and fortunate there was a lurking 
 uneasiness in his masterful eyes. 
 
 When the King passed and the crowd 
 scattered and the trumpets grew far the 
 Earl rode to Northumberland House. 
 There he dressed in black and gave 
 
 66 
 
" The Queen of the May " 
 
 orders to have everything prepared for 
 his wife's coming. Then he went to take 
 a boat at the Tower. The river was 
 strong, and many seagulls were over it. 
 More's head was on a spike on the bridge. 
 That ghastly head had been the wisest in 
 England. Those sockets had held grave 
 and sweet eyes : now they glowered at 
 the gulls while the Londoners were cheer- 
 ing the King. 
 
 Northumberland remembered how 
 More had landed on those steps, while 
 the Axe was carried before him with its 
 blade turned to him as a sign of his doom, 
 and how his daughter Margaret waited on 
 her knees for his blessing, but could not 
 quell her grief, and rose breaking through 
 the soldiers, and clung to him, and how 
 on the eve of his death he wrote to her, 
 " I never liked your manner towards me 
 better than when you kissed me last, for 
 
 67 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 I love when daughterly love and dear 
 charity have no leisure to look to worldly 
 courtesy." 
 
 Then he recalled how Mistress Anne 
 had arrived at those steps, seated in her 
 state barge and clad in white tissue with 
 her hair hanging loose, and preceded by 
 fifty boats full of music and banners and 
 a raft covered with fantastical monsters 
 surrounding a gilt dragon that spouted 
 wild-fire, while the trumpets clanged and 
 the cannon crashed on the battlements 
 and the King waited to welcome her. 
 
 Those contrasted scenes haunted him 
 as he was rowed up the river. One 
 moment he would see Mistress Anne, a 
 restless and vain child and a loving trifler 
 with hearts, and the next he would re- 
 member More's pale and firm face, and 
 his knack of holding his right shoulder 
 higher than his other, and his sad little 
 
 6S 
 
" The Queen of the May " 
 
 jokes. So too, when the Abbey loomed 
 dark with the stains of centuries, a differ- 
 ent picture came to his mind's eye, and 
 he saw Windsor Castle dominate the 
 battalions of trees, the warden of the 
 forest. At Westminster he went up 
 the trim path where he and Mistress Anne 
 used to dally in the Cardinal's time. 
 Now the roses were leafless and the yeo- 
 men of the Guard were about and the 
 royal banner was up. The galleries of 
 the Palace were empty. Revisiting the 
 haunts of his boyhood, he went into the 
 Red Room and saw CromwelL 
 
 69 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 A BIG gilt chair stood where the Cardinal's 
 high da'is had been. There Cromwell 
 sat stooping, covering his mouth with his 
 hand. With his neglected brown clothes 
 and his ponderous ruddy face and his 
 untidy black hair overhanging his ears he 
 had the look of a peasant. Hearing 
 Northumberland, he sprang up with an 
 awkward alacrity. Now that his pinched 
 mouth and his frosty eyes were visible, his 
 look was transformed. Then he rubbed 
 his coarse hands like an obsequious trades- 
 man. 
 
 "My kind patron,'' he said gladly in 
 his pleasant and deep voice as he went 
 to the Earl, " you honour me ? " 
 
 70 
 
*' The Queen of the May '' 
 
 "And find you enthroned/' said North- 
 umberland. 
 
 "Not a word of that," replied Crom- 
 well uneasily. " I forgot myself and sat 
 down for a minute. Men's heads have 
 fallen for less. But you will not speak of 
 it. I remember how much I owe to your 
 graciousness." 
 
 " You owe much to your craft." 
 
 " Eh ? The King finds me useful ; 
 but my head is not turned. A beggar in 
 purple forgets himself; but you see my 
 homespun is brown." 
 
 " You are wise." 
 
 "You doubt me," said Cromwell as he 
 straddled and thrust his muscular hands 
 under his belt. "Well, remember my 
 past. Son of a Putney tradesman, driven 
 from home by a stepfather's malice, an 
 innocent prisoner, a wronged fugitive, a 
 vagabond abroad, servant to a foot-soldier, 
 
 7^ 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 a ruffian myself for lack of easier liveli- 
 hood, a beggar at Frescobaldi's threshold 
 in Florence, then his clerk, and a slow 
 winner of comparative wealth, — there is 
 my history in a nutshell, my lord/* 
 " I could continue it." 
 " Eh ? A moneylender willing to help 
 shiftless and thriftless nobles, then the 
 Cardinal's servant, now the King's secre- 
 tary, able to make or mar. Well, how 
 can I have the pleasure of aiding 
 your 
 
 " I did not come here to look for you." 
 " I am sorry for that," said Cromwell. 
 " You look bitter and pale. Troubled ? " 
 " When I ask for your pity — " 
 "We are all changed. Mistress Anne 
 — You frown — • An old sore ? I had 
 hoped it was cured." Northumberland 
 was turning away, but Cromwell went 
 on. " Let us talk for a little." 
 
 72 
 
'' The Queen of the May " 
 
 " What do you want ? " 
 
 " How desolate the old Abbey seems ! 
 No doubt, you resented being chosen to 
 arrest Cardinal Wolsey. You were bene- 
 fited, for now you are free from toothless 
 stuttering Darcy and other risky compan- 
 ions. Mistress Anne chose you. Now 
 there is a change ! I am the Secretary ; 
 but she is the Queen — or the Concubine .? 
 Fluttering in a gleam of the sunlight, she 
 forgets it is winter. When the butterfly 
 is draggled by rain, it shall crawl in the 
 mud, Hable to be crunched under-foot," 
 said Cromwell, stirring his heel. Looking 
 at the Abbey, he went on as if he was 
 thinking aloud, " If she basked in the 
 sun with everything her heart could desire 
 she would be innocuous. We thirst for 
 wine, and the gods lavish it on us as soon 
 as the years have soured it to vinegar. 
 Through many days the Concubine en- 
 
 73 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 tangled the King. Now his strength 
 dies, and his love verges on hate." 
 
 " You speak of a lady." 
 
 "And of our mortal foe," answered 
 Cromwell, turning to him with glittering 
 eyes. '' Though I gave her a crown, I 
 find her arrogance and malice intolerable. 
 Yesterday, standing there, she threatened 
 to take my head off my shoulders. My 
 head is not pretty ; still I would be sorry 
 to lose it. Hers is beautiful — Well ! " 
 
 Northumberland was silent, remember- 
 ing her beautiful face. 
 
 " An unrivalled comedian, a charming 
 girl," Cromwell went on, " full of criminal 
 happiness and innocent gaiety. All gaiety 
 is innocent, as flame must be pure though 
 it rises from the burning of filth. Vanity 
 incarnate ! an irresistible weed ! Have 
 you read that new book ' Pantagruel ' ? 
 As purity would be corruption in Rabe- 
 
 74 
 
" The Queen of the May " 
 
 lais, so any virtue would be a fault in the 
 Concubine. — Wait ! A vulgar gardener 
 is accustomed to call a spade by its name. 
 Can you make a silk purse from a sow's 
 ear ? Rather than share your supercilious 
 refinement, I would prostrate myself in 
 natural dirt, as a hog wallows in the muck 
 of its sty. I '11 feign to respect her. Yet 
 I must warn you the years have shown 
 other merits in that amorous child. Now 
 she hates readily. Often her laughter 
 is an ominous mirth : she may live to 
 find it unfortunate. The King might for- 
 give her heresy, though he is Head of the 
 Church, or her siding with France, though 
 he would prefer to help Spain ; but she 
 welcomes his poems with injudicious 
 hilarity. Mockery stings him while his 
 favourite jests are practical and often un- 
 kind. - — Do you remember how the Bishop 
 of Rochester's cook was accused of poison- 
 
 75 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 ing, and the King had him boiled as an 
 appropriate punishment? — Nothing can 
 madden him as much as a slight to his 
 poetical gifts or his theological learning. 
 The fate of England is altered because he 
 was first meant to be Archbishop of 
 Canterbury. The stone thwarting the 
 trickle guided the river to the ultimate sea." 
 
 "All these dark sayings — " 
 
 " They are dark to you, my good lord? 
 I like you the better. I am so much 
 alone that I am tired of intellectual com- 
 pany. I have been alone all my life." 
 
 "You may remain so, as far as I am 
 concerned." 
 
 " One minute ! Do you wish to know 
 why the King sent for you ? " 
 
 " Why ? " said Northumberland. 
 
 " Merely because I discovered Mistress 
 Anne summoned you. So he invited you 
 and your wife, choosing a more public 
 
 76 
 
" The Queen of the May " 
 
 attendance. Besides, I wanted to see 
 you — " 
 
 The Earl broke in impatiently, "What 
 has become of the letter I wrote you ? " 
 
 " A letter ? " 
 
 " Have you destroyed it ? " 
 
 " If you sent me one I must have kept 
 it." 
 
 " Give it back to me." 
 
 " I shall look for it gladly." 
 
 " I insist." 
 
 " Why trouble about it ? The Cardinal 
 dissolved the betrothal and granted the 
 necessary dispensation, of course." 
 
 " He granted none." 
 
 "Eh?" 
 
 " For your own sake — " 
 
 " My toil is expended for the good of 
 the world. You sneer, my lord. Yet it 
 is true. I am incapable of bragging or 
 cringing. You were impatient when I 
 
 77 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 talked of my history ; but I spoke with a 
 purpose. Remembering how much I 
 have suffered, you may believe I am 
 labouring to right the oppressed. My 
 methods are alien, for I learnt them in 
 Italy. Is Machiavelli's wisdom unfit for 
 commodious and temperate England ? — 
 I have an offer to make. Your marriage 
 is void? You are lucky. Lord! to see 
 how a man will barter his prime for the 
 transitory illusions of love, masking his 
 nature and mincing to please some idiot- 
 ical girl ! The King trades his birth- 
 right for the sport of lascivious children. 
 These meddlesome women ! I am glad I 
 am elderly, out of reach of their prayers 
 and fond fiickerings." 
 
 " Room for the Queen ! " cried an usher. 
 
 Clad in a long mantle of ermine, the 
 Queen came in proudly. Seeing North- 
 
 78 
 
" The Queen of the May '* 
 
 umberlandj she started and blushed hold- 
 ing out her hands to him joyfully. As 
 he grew pale and stepped forward trum- 
 pets began announcing the King. That 
 music divided them, and they were sud- 
 denly still. Then she shunned his eyes 
 and saw Cromwell. Drawing back her 
 left hand, she proffered the other to 
 Northumberland coldly. 
 
 "You are welcome, my good lord," she 
 said carelessly. 
 
 As he knelt kissing her hand she 
 glanced at Cromwell with a flash of defi- 
 ance ; but it left him unmoved. Then 
 as Northumberland rose, her hazel eyes 
 were mocking and sweet. Looking at 
 him, she flung back her mantle, dis- 
 closing a rich purple dress with wide 
 sleeves, and clasped her jewelled fingers 
 demurely. 
 
 " You find me changed ? '* she asked. 
 
 79 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 " Not much, Madam," he answered, 
 wondering what was the difference he felt, 
 for though she appeared no older and her 
 dark hair hung down in her habitual 
 fashion, yet she seemed unfamiliar. 
 
 " What brings you to London ? " she 
 asked quickly. " Why did you abandon 
 us? Do you mean to stay now? Come 
 over here. You have to earn my forgive- 
 ness for this cruel desertion." 
 
 Crossing the room with a languid grace, 
 she took the gilt chair at the top of the 
 table. 
 
 " Now what can you say to heal my 
 broken heart ? " she asked. " Kneel, my 
 loving subject, and justify your barbarous 
 acts. Too stubborn ? " she went on, 
 laughing, as he stood on her left. " How 
 well I remember your lofty ways ! But 
 the Queen gives a command." Then she 
 whispered, " Anne begs it, dear." 
 
 80 
 
" The Queen of the May " 
 
 Northumberland knelt, bowing his head. 
 
 "You used to be ready to kneel, 
 Harry," she whispered, fondling his hair. 
 Though her voice was loving, her eyes 
 were bitter as they dwelt upon Cromwell. 
 
 Said Northumberland, " Let me rise. 
 Madam.'' 
 
 " Call me Anne, and I may, dear," she 
 whispered with her eyes on her enemy. 
 
 " Let me rise, Anne," he whispered. 
 
 " Rise," she said, leaning back. " I 
 can still master you," she went on, smil- 
 ing, and fingering the gold chain on her 
 neck. " Yes, you are welcome. The 
 Queen of England is glad to have her 
 friends at her side. The more the 
 merrier, though I have thousands while 
 my enemies are few and short-lived. They 
 will soon be fewer." With that she began 
 laughing again. 
 
 " Who are they ? " 
 6 8i 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 " You look dangerous. I '11 not ask 
 you to hurt them : they are too insignifi- 
 cant. I snap my fingers at them all," she 
 said merrily, suiting the action to the 
 word. " If 1 wave my hand thus they 
 are gone. Would you believe anyone 
 could be hostile to me ? I '11 tell you the 
 name of my most perilous enemy. He 
 will not vex me much longer ; so you 
 ought to observe him. Bend that proud 
 head of yours — I '11 whisper it, as he 
 Is not far." 
 
 " Madam, the King comes," said Crom- 
 well. 
 
 Turning white, she leapt up, as a gruff 
 voice began singing : 
 
 *'Le temps s'en va, 
 
 Le temps s'en va, ma dame." 
 
 cc 
 
 He must not find you here," she 
 cried, trembling. Then she lifted the 
 
 82 
 
*' The Queen of the May " 
 
 tapestry at her side and gasped, "There 
 is a hidden door. Go out by it, for God's 
 sake." 
 
 "Not I," said Northumberland. 
 
 " For my sake," she whispered. 
 
 " It is necessary," said Cromwell. 
 
 Crossing the room, he went into the 
 passage behind the arras. 
 
 " This way," he went on, " I '11 open 
 the door." 
 
 Northumberland hesitated, and went 
 after him as the King sauntered in, hum- 
 ming, 
 
 ** Le temps s'en va, 
 
 Le temps s'en va, ma dame. 
 
 La! Le temps non, mais nous nous en aliens." 
 
 " Ha ! Anne ! " said the King as he 
 swaggered into the room with his rolling 
 stride. " You were wrong to stop in. It 
 was pleasant out in the sun." 
 
 ^3 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 "I was — I was not very well/' she 
 said, looking at him and trying to see 
 whether he had noticed her arranging the 
 curtain. 
 
 " You never are now," he said fretfully. 
 
 Then as he lolled in the gilt chair he 
 frowned at her, nearly closing his eyes. 
 Meanwhile Cromwell went up the steps 
 in the dark passage, and opening a secret 
 door, passed through it, and shut it again. 
 The Earl found it locked. While he 
 shook it he heard Cromwell retreating. 
 
 " My health does not matter now," 
 said the Queen, shrugging, as she stood 
 on the King's right. " Others are 
 strong." 
 
 " Who ? " the king asked. 
 
 "That white doll, Jane Seymour, — 
 and that saucy babe, Catherine Howard." 
 
 " You are jealous," he said, smiling com- 
 placently. " I am too lazy to wrangle," he 
 
 84 
 
'' The Queen of the May " 
 
 went on, leaning back, shutting his eyes 
 drowsily and stretching his arms. 
 
 At that moment Northumberland lifted 
 the curtain angrily, as if he was entering. 
 With a glance at the King, she clasped 
 her hands, and looked at Northumber- 
 land as if she was begging for life. Ir- 
 resolute, he turned from her eyes ; and 
 then saw the door at the end of the 
 room opening and his wife coming in. 
 Guided by his look, the Queen saw Lady 
 Northumberland draw back on the thresh- 
 old. For some seconds they stood so. 
 Then Lady Northumberland turned and 
 went out. The Earl looked again at 
 the Queen, and drew back and let the 
 tapestry fall. 
 
 With a malicious triumph in her eyes, 
 the Queen said, " I '11 not vex you." 
 
 " You had better not," the King growled 
 with good-humour, as he looked up. 
 
 8S 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 " Your eyes are red, baby/' he went on, 
 as he pulled her on his knee. " You 
 have been crying again." 
 
 " I have been sleepless." 
 
 " Why ? " 
 
 "Thinking of you." 
 
 " How could you be better employed ? " 
 he said, fondling her neck. " I '11 forgive 
 that, — but no tears, mind you! Cath- 
 erine was always in tears. I chose you 
 as a companion in happiness. While I 
 was young I could be merry in spite of 
 a woman's peevishness. Wolsey encour- 
 aged me to make the most of my youth 
 while he bore the burden of state — disin- 
 terested advice ! When I found youth 
 had passed I saw my life ridden by priests 
 and frittered in the rejoicings of fools. 
 It was time to be free, and a King. And 
 I am. A little neck ! " he muttered, 
 
 closing his hand on it. 
 
 86 
 
" The Queen of the May" 
 
 " You choke me/' she gasped. 
 
 Still he throttled her. Then he flung 
 
 her off. 
 
 " There — be warned," he said grimly. 
 Gasping, she rubbed the tears from her 
 
 eyes. 
 
 " No tears," he repeated. 
 
 " Then grow gradually stern," she 
 sobbed, " change to me slowly. When 
 I am accustomed to harshness Til bear 
 it without crying ; but now if you are 
 angry I think my sun is obscured by a 
 momentary cloud, and I weep." 
 
 " I am not angry," he said. " A good 
 girl — a loving child, I am sure. You 
 are sunny again. Laugh, baby. That 
 is right. While you laugh you can do 
 anything with me." 
 
 " Then I shall laugh for ever." 
 
 " I want no other music." 
 
 " Once you liked my singing." 
 87 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 "And I do still. Laugh and sing, 
 and I am wax in your hands." 
 
 "What shall I sing, sweetheart?" 
 
 " None of those doleful songs of yours. 
 Tell me of happiness." 
 
 " Here is one I made for you." 
 
 Then she sang, 
 
 *' There she stood with morning face. 
 Singing in the market-place. 
 Moulded to be Queen of all : 
 Cowslips were her coronal.** 
 
 The King laughed, and joined her at 
 the top of his voice, 
 
 " King Cophetua forsook 
 
 His high throne and royal look : 
 
 * Will you be my Queen,' he said, 
 
 * And no more a beggarmaid ? ' " 
 
 "And I said 'yes,*" she whispered, 
 "golden Cophetua." 
 
 " And King Cophetua was a beggar 
 88 
 
" The Queen of the May " 
 
 for the rest of his days," he said, putting 
 his big arm round her waist. 
 
 " What did he beg ? " said she, smiling. 
 
 " Guess." 
 
 " I do," she said, kissing him. 
 
 " A dainty witch," he said, hugging 
 her. 
 
 " Ah ! that reminds me ! " she sighed 
 as she leant her cheek against his. 
 
 " I might have known you wanted 
 something," he grumbled. " Yet I have 
 changed the cowslip-crown into gold." 
 
 " Fairy-gold changes into cowslips 
 again." 
 
 " Before it does, ask what you like." 
 
 " My King has outdone his girl's ex- 
 travagant dreams." 
 
 " The power to do that is the recom- 
 pense of the cares of a King." 
 
 " I want nothing now but your happi- 
 ness." 
 
 89 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 " Well, I am happy now/' he said, 
 kissing her. 
 
 " But your bliss lacks its crown, an 
 heir," she whispered, "a little son for 
 us both." 
 
 "True," he sighed, letting her go. 
 
 " When you called me a witch," she 
 said, " I remembered how Augustine the 
 Wizard had consulted the stars." 
 
 "Where?" he said anxiously. 
 
 " At Kimbolton." 
 
 " What does he say ? " 
 
 " The Lady Catherine of Arragon's 
 star and mine are opposed." 
 
 " I could have told him that." 
 
 " One of us must die before long. 
 And he discovered I never can have a 
 son while she lives." 
 
 " This is your desire ! " he said 
 savagely. " Her head as a toy ? It 
 was More's last time. You were the 
 
 90 
 
" The Queen of the May " 
 
 cause of that man's death, daughter of 
 Herodias ! " 
 
 " And he was a traitor," she answered. 
 " There is a prophecy — " 
 
 " What is it ? " 
 
 "The Rose Decorate of England shall 
 be slain in his mother's womb." 
 
 " That has been interpreted. I am 
 the Rose Decorate, and the Church is 
 my mother. I am to be killed by the 
 priests. I shall have killed some of them 
 first." 
 
 " Our son would be another Rose Deco- 
 rate. Well, I ought to have known my 
 danger would be nothing to you com- 
 pared with the peril of offending the 
 Spaniards." 
 
 " Ha ! " he said, flushing, " yet I have 
 proved how little I mind them." 
 
 " No," she said, " you flinch from the 
 proof." 
 
 91 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 "You are bold." 
 
 "In your cause. Send Catherine of Ar- 
 ragon and her bastard to the doom they 
 have earned. You have lopped the boughs 
 of rebellion. Lay the axe to its roots. I 
 am utterly shamed when the world scorns 
 you for sparing them. So great a King, 
 and a coward shuddering from the anger 
 of Spain ! " 
 
 " You try my forbearance." 
 
 " Fearlessly. I am not blind enough to 
 think you are merciful for the sake of old 
 service. Have I rendered none? You 
 are as indebted to me as a man can be to 
 a woman. If you are wealthy to-day who 
 made you resolute when you inclined to 
 let the monks fatten on the gold they 
 had wrested from the people by craft? 
 I saved you from an incestuous union. Is 
 this your love for me ? Catherine of 
 Arragon is your Queen, after all. I ? 
 
 92 
 
" The Queen of the May '' 
 
 What am I ? Your plaything, your con- 
 cubine ? " 
 
 "No man dare say it ! *' he cried. 
 
 " All the world does. Your grovelling 
 courtiers whisper it to one another with 
 sneers. Am I a slut from the ditches? 
 Am I less noble than a Princess of Arra- 
 gon ? I have the hot blood of Ormond : 
 I am a daughter of the Howards, your 
 Majesty. Or do you slight me because 
 my beauty is less than that withered 
 treacherous foreigner's ? Yet you used to 
 praise it. Ah ! if she is the fairer, I am the 
 more loving. What did you ever find in 
 her eyes but sanctimonious contempt.^ 
 Look now in mine." 
 
 " Catherine shall bend or break," he 
 cried, striking the table. " I can no 
 longer endure the alarm and trouble she 
 causes." 
 
 As she clung to him, he took her 
 93 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 small face in his hands, and stared into 
 her passionate eyes. 
 
 " I see a King's likeness in these magical 
 mirrors," he said. 
 
 " Because you are peeping out of my 
 heart.'' 
 
 " If only I was sure of it ! " 
 
 " If you could see yourself with my eyes 
 you would not doubt it. If they shine it 
 is because they are flooded by the light of 
 my sun. I am like the ruby ring you 
 have there." 
 
 " A rich jewel." 
 
 " Made valuable by enshrining the 
 King. When I am waking you thrill 
 me : and you master my dreams. Day 
 and night my ears hold your voice as a 
 shell echoes the ocean." 
 
 " A pink elaborate shell," he said, pull- 
 ing her ear, " a hoarse voice to remember." 
 
 " The ocean is gruff," she said, smiling. 
 
 94 
 
'♦ The Queen of the May " 
 
 "Your voice is a soldierly music that should 
 be accompanied by the rumble of drums/* 
 
 " I am a maimed soldier. Cophetua is 
 fallen," he muttered. " I am twice your 
 age, and afflicted with a loathsome and 
 incurable illness. — God help me ! I 
 should be thinking of death." With that 
 he thrust her away. 
 
 " You chose me to share pleasure," she 
 said. " You only wanted me to smile and 
 be sweet when we drifted on the silvery 
 Thames or lingered in gardens where the 
 nightingales sang. My husband, keep me 
 as a companion in suffering." 
 
 " A man suffers and dies alone." 
 
 " Not alone when he is loved by his 
 wife." 
 
 " In a short time this body will rot 
 below the feet of the living. Another will 
 sit here in my stead. You will be happy 
 and laughing in another's embrace." 
 
 95 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 " Do you know me so little ? " she 
 sobbed. 
 
 " No tears ! " he said angrily. " The 
 King can die unwept. Life would be 
 bearable if hearts could be read ; or would 
 that make the world Hell? Did you — 
 how many did you love before meeting 
 
 "You hurt me, dear," she said, cry- 
 ing. 
 
 " I am not blaming you. How could 
 any one see that little face without loving 
 it ? Wherever you go you must be 
 haunted by worship. That soft heart must 
 have been melted in its ignorant youth. 
 Stop crying, baby : I hate to see it. I '11 
 not be angry, dear. I might have blamed 
 you for a premature coldness. Frost is 
 untimely in the days of Spring. God 
 made my sweetheart kind. I am not 
 doubting your honour, nor suggest- 
 
 96 
 
" The Queen of the May " 
 
 ing you were in any way bound — I 
 know you too well — I speak of infantile 
 trifles, the groping in the unknown and 
 desired path of Love natural to the heart 
 of a child." 
 
 Still she cried bitterly, with her face In 
 her hands. 
 
 " I '11 not ask you his name," he said. 
 " You must have known a brief fancy. I 
 tell you I am sure of it, baby. I '11 trust 
 you all the more if you own it." 
 
 " I thought you trusted me fully." 
 
 "So I do, so I do," he said soothingly. 
 "You imagined you loved a fortunate 
 boy? It was all long ago, and he is mar- 
 ried, no doubt, as you are. Still bashful ? 
 Come to your husband, dear. Give him a 
 kiss — that will be your only avowal. 
 We '11 say no more about it." 
 
 As he held out his arms she wavered 
 towards him, and then stopped. 
 7^ 97 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 " I have told you often," she sobbed, 
 " I have loved nobody." 
 
 " Love's tender perjury," he said, smil- 
 ing, as he let his arms drop. 
 
 " You swore the same to me." 
 
 " Did I ? I have sworn it to many." 
 
 " But I believed it," she sobbed. 
 
 " A pretty simpleton." 
 
 Taking heart, seeing his good humour, 
 she whispered, " When I was very young, 
 I fancied I loved — " 
 
 "Hal" he said, frowning. 
 
 "My father and mother," she said, 
 shaking with fear. 
 
 "You play with me, minx," he said, 
 
 smiling. 
 
 " But I never thought I cared for any- 
 one else." 
 
 All this time Northumberland lis- 
 tened against his will in the passage. Now 
 the door at his back was opened, and he 
 
 98 
 
'' The Queen of the May " 
 
 sprang up the steps, expecting to find 
 Cromwell, and so came on his wife. For 
 a minute she looked at him sadly without 
 any reproach. Then he turned, strode 
 down the steps, tore back the arras, and 
 confronted the King. 
 
 99 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 "I SWEAR you are the first I have loved," 
 the Queen was saying as Northumber- 
 land entered. 
 
 " Guards ! " shouted the King, leaping 
 up and clutching his dagger. 
 
 " I trusted you to go," she whispered, 
 shuddering, with her eyes on Northum- 
 berland. 
 
 As the Earl knelt the guards came 
 running in. The King waved his hand, 
 and they huddled out of the room. 
 
 " Ha ! my friend Harry," he said 
 lazily as he sat down, "you came 
 abruptly ; but I know it is because you 
 are eager after long separation." Then 
 he looked at her and smiled tenderly 
 
 lOO 
 
" The Queen of the May " 
 
 with his eyes nearly shut'/ '"What wejre, , , 
 you saying, sweetheart? " h^ ^skedl i;'^ ^ ''» ' •' ''■ 
 
 She turned, clutching a chair. 
 
 " Sit down," he went on. " You are 
 white. It is tiring to act comedies, Anne. 
 — You were in the hidden passage?" he 
 said, throwing his arm round the Earl's 
 neck. " I saw her Majesty arranging the 
 tapestry ; but I believed the secret door 
 would be open. You heard me speak 
 of my sickness ? I do not wish that 
 slight complaint to be known. I spoke 
 of it, since a husband should keep noth- 
 ing from his affectionate companion in 
 suffering. Three may keep counsel if 
 two be away. If I thought my cap knew 
 my counsel I would throw it into the 
 fire. You understand ? Rise. I have 
 missed you," he went on, lounging as 
 Northumberland rose. "Hunting has not 
 been the same without you : and none 
 
 lOI 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 of my Court can draw the bow as you 
 u^ed. I rode^/and shot better than you 
 did; but I like to have rivals." Then 
 he paused, chuckling. " So you have 
 been living in the North with your 
 wife ? — Happy he who never saw a 
 King and whom a King never saw. 
 But should a King be forsaken by his 
 brother in the hour of his need ? " 
 
 " I did not know you had need of 
 me," said Northumberland, with his eyes 
 on the ground. 
 
 " The truth is, I am old, too un- 
 wieldy for dances — a little testy, per- 
 haps. Hunting — I have given that up. 
 Where can I find a hunter that can 
 carry me now ? Archery too — I have 
 hung my bow on the wall. It is too 
 big for you degenerate lads. Now my 
 hand is unsteady. Yet it can still hold 
 a sceptre, a golden toy for my age. 
 
 I02 
 
''The Queen of the May" 
 
 Yes, Harry, you and Norris abandon 
 me to herd with the young. Norris 
 passes his days in dancing and making 
 love — the young reprobate ! Well, I 
 did the same once. Now I sit solitary 
 and envy his naughtiness, and laugh 
 while he frolics on the brink of a 
 precipice." Laughing, he put his hands 
 on his sides. 
 
 Northumberland stood with crossed 
 arms, while the Queen leant on the table. 
 
 "You, Norris, and I," the King went 
 on, "^The Three Harrys' — two of 
 them boys, and the third stubbornly 
 forgetful of Time — what revels we had ! 
 Lord ! what gluttons we were, and how 
 we tossed off the bumpers till the dawn 
 was aghast, and how we reeled back 
 from Northumberland House through 
 the twilit streets, shouting old ballads, 
 making the fat citizens turn on their 
 
 103 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 pillows and say, * There goes hearty 
 King Hal ! ' and how we would mount 
 then and ride under the thick woods of 
 Hampstead in the fresh hours, the de- 
 licious prime of the morning ! I shall 
 never sing again in the streets, hugging 
 your necks. No more a glutton — Pleas- 
 ure is not good for my health — " 
 
 Then an usher opened the door, saying, 
 " Sir Henry Norris craves an audience, 
 your Majesty." 
 
 " I sent him for news of the Lady 
 Catherine,'* said the King as the Queen 
 rose. " Bid him come up. Ha ! you are 
 yourself again, sweetheart. That name is 
 medicinal. Why do you avoid looking 
 at Harry .? Quarrelled ? Here ! " he 
 went on, springing up and gripping her 
 shoulder, " Kiss and be friends ! " 
 
 With that, he thrust her into North- 
 umberland's arms. The Earl shrank, 
 
 104 
 
'* The Queen of the May '* 
 
 and she shuddered, and then proffered 
 her face to him. As he stooped, kissing 
 her forehead, the King said, " Be kind 
 to her when I am gone, Harry." 
 
 Norris, coming in, started angrily as 
 he saw that embrace : his crimson clothes 
 were bespattered. 
 
 " You look hot," said the King to 
 him. " You have ridden hard ^ What 
 news from Kimbolton ? " 
 
 " Grave tidings," said Norris, ap- 
 proaching him and kissing his hand. 
 
 " What are they ? " the Queen asked 
 breathlessly. 
 
 " The Lady Catherine is dead," an- 
 swered Norris. As he rose, turning to 
 her, his reckless young face was haggard, 
 and his eyes were reproachful. 
 
 " At last ! " she cried gladly. 
 
 "Dead!" the King muttered. "Praise 
 be to God ! Now the alliance of Rome 
 
 105 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 and France and Spain will be broken. 
 We are out of danger of war. We '11 
 give the French a lesson, and teach them 
 how to trifle with us. This removes all 
 grounds of difference with the Emperor. 
 — Good ! " 
 
 " How did she die ? " whispered the 
 
 Queen. 
 
 Said Norris, " Of some mysterious 
 disease." 
 
 The King stooped and peered at her. 
 Northumberland also looked at her, and 
 she tossed her head scornfully. 
 
 "She was attended by a doctor ? " she 
 said, as if she defied them. 
 
 " By Augustine," said Norris, turning 
 away. 
 
 " Ha!" said the King. 
 
 " Did she complain ? " she asked, trem- 
 bling and looking down. " Did she — 
 did she write any letter ? " 
 
 io6 
 
'' The Queen of the May '' 
 
 " Here is one for his Majesty," said 
 Norrisj bending his knee. 
 
 The King took the letter and fumbled 
 with its seal, watching the Queen. Then 
 he flung it on the table. 
 
 " She troubled me enough in her life- 
 time," he said, sitting down. " A spiteful 
 and unforgiving woman she was. Many 
 a time has she annoyed me with letters. 
 This is the last. I have a foreboding it 
 would vex me again. Why should I read 
 it? I have done with her. I am free. 
 Here am I in council with those who love 
 me best. Norris, what do you say ? 
 Shall I destroy it unread ? " 
 
 " I would," said Norris. 
 
 " One vote," said the King, with a nod. 
 " And you ? " he went on, as he peered at 
 Northumberland. 
 
 " It may hold her last requests," said 
 the Earl. " I would read it." 
 
 107 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 The Queen glanced at him fiercely ; 
 and he stared at her, wondering. Now he 
 appreciated the change in her looks ; her 
 pretty and demure mouth had become 
 hard and her red lips thicker and her 
 dimpled chin prominent and her bold 
 hazel eyes cynical and haunted by care. 
 
 "And you," said the King. "What 
 would you do ? " 
 
 " This," she answered, snatching the 
 letter and tearing it. " That rebel's con- 
 spiracies are over at last." 
 
 " You are too hasty," he said. " Harry, 
 I have been deprived of your counsel : 
 I '11 not slight it so soon. Take the let- 
 ter and read it out." 
 
 As Northumberland hesitated Norris 
 stretched out his hand ; but the King 
 said, " Leave it to him." 
 
 Northumberland took it irresolutely. 
 
 " Break the seal," said the King. 
 io8 
 
'' The Queen of the May'' 
 
 " Undo the riband — that is right. 
 Unfold the bits. Spread them there. 
 Good ! " 
 
 As Northumberland stooped the Queen 
 leant on the gilt chair, watching him with 
 feverish eyes. 
 
 " ^ The hour of my death now approach- 
 ing/ " he read, " ' I cannot choose but out 
 of the love I bear you advise you of your 
 soul's health, which you ought to prefer 
 before all considerations of the world or 
 flesh whatsoever — ' " 
 
 " True," said the King, nodding. 
 
 "' — for which yet you have cast me 
 into many calamities and yourself into 
 many troubles.' " 
 
 "Very true ! " said the King. 
 
 " ' But I forgive you all and pray God 
 to do so likewise,' " Northumberland read. 
 Then he paused and went on, " ' For the 
 rest I commend to you Mary, our daugh- 
 
 109 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 ter, beseeching you to be a good father to 
 her, as I have always desired.' " 
 
 " Ha ! " said the King, shutting his eyes. 
 
 " ' I must entreat you also to respect my 
 maids, and give them in marriage, which 
 is not much, they being but three; and 
 to all my other servants a year's pay 
 besides their due, lest they should be 
 unprovided. Lastly, 1 make this vow 
 that my eyes desire you above all things. 
 Farewell.' " 
 
 " Is that all ? " said the Queen, draw- 
 ing a breath. 
 
 Without facing her, Northumberland 
 crumpled the torn bits in his hand. 
 
 " Poor Kate ! " said the King. " Those 
 haughty eyes are blind. I wish I had 
 visited her. I did not think she was 
 dying. The Court shall go into mourn- 
 ing," he went on as he stood. " The 
 Lady Catherine shall be buried with the 
 
 no 
 
" The Queen of the May " 
 
 honour befitting a Princess of Arragon. 
 Madam, you are rosy again. That is 
 right. Life is too short to be squandered 
 on avoidable care. Norris, call Crom- 
 well. — Ha ! You grow white, dear ^ — I '11 
 see him apart. I '11 be back soon, per- 
 haps before 1 am wanted. I must send 
 someone to condole with the Emperor. 
 This news will alter the world. Would 
 you like to go to Spain, Norris .? I see 
 you would not. Stop where you are 
 happy and safe. Leave ambition to men 
 unlucky in love. Cromwell and I are 
 elderly, and toil is the pastime of our 
 monotonous days. We are killjoys, 
 and the thought of us banishes the fugi- 
 tive roses from delicate cheeks. That is 
 true ? " he asked, pinching her. 
 
 " You hurt me," she said. 
 
 " I am still able to make a velvety 
 cheek redden," said he. "Comfort her 
 
 m 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 for my cruelty, boys. Swear beauty is 
 eternal. Tell her a fair woman is out of 
 reach of the Law, for the King shall be 
 her footstool." 
 
 So he went out with a lagging step, 
 muttering, " Poor Kate ! How time slips 
 away ! 
 
 * La ! Le temps non, mais nous nous en allons.' ' ' 
 
 Northumberland stooped, and put the 
 letter into the fire. 
 
 As the bits flared, she said breathlessly, 
 " Why — why did you burn it ? " 
 
 " Madam, may I withdraw ? " he said 
 coldly, without meeting her eyes. 
 
 " The King ordered you to stop." 
 
 "You did right," said Norris, touching 
 his shoulder. " If the King had not 
 checked me I would have burnt it 
 unread." 
 
 112 
 
" The Queen of the May " 
 
 " Why ? " said Northumberland, with a 
 look of suspicion. 
 
 As Norris flushed and drew back she 
 said with a laugh, " Because he is my 
 friend. You advised — " 
 
 " I was mistaken.'* 
 
 " You were my friend once," she said 
 slowly, " so I summoned you, thinking I 
 could count on your help. I can find 
 willing assistance.'' 
 
 Then she held her hand out to Norris. 
 As he knelt kissing it she fondled his 
 light curls with her other and looked 
 at Northumberland with a tender re- 
 proach. 
 
 " Time tries all," she said softly. " Yet, 
 
 my lord, I suspect you like me more 
 
 than you think. What do you say ? " 
 
 she asked Norris, taking his arm as he 
 
 rose. " Has my lord forgotten my 
 
 spells ? " 
 
 8 113 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 " That is impossible/' cried Norris 
 adoringly. 
 
 " Flatterer ! " she said with languish- 
 ing eyes. " But honestly ? " 
 
 " Let him speak for himself." 
 
 " I ask you." 
 
 "I can only judge by his acts," said 
 Norris pettishly. 
 
 "Jealous? Foolish boy!" she said, 
 laughing. " Well, I '11 copy you. His 
 acts are as kind as his words used to be 
 once." 
 
 " Those words must have proved an un- 
 desirable kindness," said Norris, frowning. 
 
 " I used to love them," she answered. 
 " I say your acts are tender, my lord, 
 because you skipped something when you 
 were reading that letter. I saw it — " 
 
 " So did the King," said Norris. 
 
 " God forbid ! " she cried, drawing 
 away from him. 
 
 114 
 
" The Queen of the May '' 
 
 " That is/' said Norris as if he re- 
 pented alarming her, " my lord delayed 
 long enough to rouse his suspicion/* 
 " But did he notice ? I was not looking/' 
 " How can anyone tell what the King 
 sees r 
 
 " What a coward you are ! " she said, 
 laughing. " Never frown at me ! I have 
 told you a hundred times he sees 
 nothing." 
 
 " Well, I hope you are right." 
 " From the way you talk, one would 
 fancy we had something to hide. You 
 will disgust my good Lord of Northum- 
 berland, that mirror of loyalty. It is 
 your turn to look angry," she said to the 
 Earl. " Never mind what I say. You 
 know I am mischievous. Jesting apart, 
 I thank you for destroying the letter. I 
 fear the King will resent your burning it. 
 You are not afraid? Take example by 
 
 "S 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 him/' she went on, smiling at Norris. 
 " So a man should stand crossing his 
 arms instead of imagining danger. The 
 King is dull and sleepy and old. You 
 should see how puzzled he looks when 
 my talk is too rapid for his labouring 
 wits. You make him out a grim morose 
 tyrant. Though I am weak, I love peril. 
 If I was a man and as big as you are, I *d 
 blush — " 
 
 "With your Majesty's leave," Norris 
 broke in, " I shall withdraw." 
 
 " With all his dullness the King has 
 foresight. If he had not ordered you 
 both to stay I would be left to myself 
 I '11 not tease you. It is a shame, and 
 frowns make you so ugly. There," 
 she said, drawing a finger across his fore- 
 head caressingly, " now the wrinkles have 
 faded." 
 
 As Norris kissed her hand passion- 
 ii6 
 
" The Queen of the May " 
 
 ately she said to Northumberland, "I 
 am afraid to smooth yours : they look 
 permanent. Your forehead was like a 
 girl's, I remember. Tell me what you 
 passed over. You know how curious I 
 
 am. 
 
 I had rather not," he replied. 
 
 " I insist, — I mean I beg it as a fa- 
 vour," she said, clasping her hands. 
 
 The Earl glanced at Norris. 
 
 " He is in all my secrets," she said, 
 " or thinks he is." 
 
 " Am I wrong ? " said Norris. 
 
 " Well, you are in most," she said 
 soothingly. "A woman loves to have 
 secrets : it makes her feel so important. 
 I may have kept one from you." Then 
 she smiled at Northumberland. 
 
 "You are free to keep them all from 
 me. Madam," said Norris, resentfully. 
 
 " It would be wiser," she said angrily. 
 117 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 " You are too hot-headed to govern your 
 tongue. You '11 ruin me yet. I have 
 heard of your boasts." 
 
 " Who maligns me ? — the musician ? " 
 cried Norris. 
 
 " Perhaps," she said, smiling. " I love 
 him dearly. Poor little Mark ! When I 
 look at his forlorn tender face with those 
 blue babyish eyes and that light fringe of 
 his and listen to his piping and humble 
 voice I am eager to put him in a cradle 
 and rock him. I saw him this morning, 
 and his smile was pathetic and welcome 
 like a sunbeam In snow. Now, Mark 
 Smeton Is a considerate friend : he says 
 It is enough for him to see me go by. I 
 shall never be endangered by him. You 
 know him, my lord ? " 
 
 " I have heard him play for the Car- 
 dinal." 
 
 " You despise him ? I *11 tell you what 
 ii8 
 
" The Queen of the May'* 
 
 you overlooked in the letter. That mis- 
 erable woman accused me of sending 
 someone to poison her ? Doctor Augus- 
 tine, perhaps ? Your eyes own it. Why 
 should I care?" she went on, tossing her 
 head. " Implacable hypocrite! The one 
 thing she desired was revenge ! You 
 meant well ; but you were wrong to sup- 
 press her accusation, believe me. Do 
 you think anyone would attend to such 
 folly ? " 
 
 " I am glad to hear you say that," said 
 Northumberland. " The King trusted 
 me to read it all out. I can tell him 
 about the sentence I skipped." 
 
 " Never ! for God's sake ! " she cried. 
 " I mean — he is so stupid — men are 
 always unjust." 
 
 " As you like." 
 
 "You stare as if you never saw me till 
 now," she said, smiling. 
 
 119 
 
Defender of the F'aith 
 
 " I think I never did." 
 
 " Well, study me at your leisure, and 
 then if a frail woman remains incompre- 
 hensible to her superior, a man — why, 
 judge the best, my good lord. Ah ! 
 judge the best,'* she said, sighing. 
 "That simple rule may be as conducive 
 to justice as your masculine wisdom." 
 Brightening, she went on, turning to 
 Norris, " Will you defend me ? Come, 
 what am I like ? " 
 
 " I '11 swear you are a good woman," 
 said Norris. 
 
 " Well, you ought to know," she said, 
 laughing. " But if I am so good why do you 
 hesitate to go through with your wedding.? 
 Why should dainty Madge grieve ? " 
 I prefer to tarry," said he. 
 Why ? " 
 
 " Because I love one in your house 
 better." 
 
 1 20 
 
 (C 
 
" The Queen of the May" 
 
 "Jealousy makes you bold,'* she said, 
 laughing contemptuously. " You wish 
 my lord to see you are favoured ? You 
 hang back from your marriage because 
 you look for a dead man's shoes. The 
 King has an incurable sickness. If any- 
 thing should happen to him you would 
 expect to have me ? " 
 
 " If I had any such thought," replied 
 Norris, " may my head be cut off! " 
 
 " Your head may be off then," she 
 cried, "for I can destroy you. My 
 lord's presence makes you courageous. 
 I '11 not be contented with a private 
 servility. Never turn away ! Contradict 
 me now if you dare. You look for a 
 dead man's shoes ? " 
 
 There was a loud laugh behind her, 
 and they all started back. 
 
 " A merry jest ! " shouted the King, as 
 he came out of the passage, shoving the 
 
 121 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 tapestry aside with his shoulder. " What 
 if the man had burnt his shoes before 
 dying ? " he said, pulling her ear. 
 
 The Queen tottered towards him. 
 
 " Harry, I had a right to overhear you 
 in turn. Baby, you tremble," he went 
 on, fondling her neck. "You are not 
 frightened by your dull and sick husband ? 
 Ha ! A good jest ! I must share it with 
 Cromwell, since you young people seem 
 unable to relish it. There," he said, 
 pushing her, " off with you ! Run and 
 play, children, and send Cromwell to me." 
 
 Then he sat down and lolled, laughing 
 uproariously. 
 
 122 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 As Northumberland followed the Queen 
 and Norris out of the room he saw Crom- 
 well straddle at a window in the gallery, 
 appearing to watch the passers with a 
 curious benevolence. Cromwell turned, 
 scanning the Queen. Seeing Northum- 
 land, he lifted his eyebrows. 
 
 "The King desires your attendance," 
 said Northumberland harshly. 
 
 " Eh ? I thought he would," replied 
 Cromwell. " I delivered the key of a cer- 
 tain door to your wife. I had locked the 
 door for a little, not out of any ill-will to 
 you, but because I imagined you might 
 profit by hearing — '* 
 
 " Where is she ? " 
 123 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 " I saw her go down the river. These 
 variable, irrational women ! She told me 
 she had come in obedience to the royal 
 command ; but when I showed her in 
 she drew back. Afterwards, when I gave 
 her the key — One moment, my lord," 
 he went on as the Earl was passing. 
 "You have seen how things stand. Do 
 you side with the Concubine or with her 
 antagonist ? " 
 
 " Sir," said Northumberland, " have 
 the goodness to speak of her Majesty 
 with befitting respect." 
 
 " Eh ? " Cromwell said. " I am sorry." 
 
 The Queen and Norris had vanished. 
 
 The Earl went down the wide stairs and 
 
 so through the gardens to the bank of 
 
 the Thames. Because only one boat was 
 
 fastened there, and that had the royal arms 
 
 on it, he was delayed for some minutes 
 
 while another was fetched. 
 
 124 
 
'' The Queen of the May " 
 
 The weather had darkened. As he was 
 rowed down the grey river his mind was 
 still at the Palace. Passing the Temple, 
 he was inclined to get out, as he had often 
 done, and go up the narrow lane to the 
 gate-house. It seemed to him he would 
 find Aske busied with dusty parchments 
 in his room there and they would chat 
 with an affection they had never expressed. 
 It seemed to him Aske would look up 
 from his wide and short deeds, and dis- 
 course on the variance of writing as if 
 nothing else was momentous. 
 
 As the boat left the Temple Garden 
 behind he told himself their friendship was 
 irrecoverable, and then his mind dwelt on 
 Aske's house and he remembered its 
 front decorated with the Cardinal's arms. 
 That set him thinking how Sir Amyas 
 Paulet had lived there and had placed 
 those ornaments for a sign of repentance, 
 
 125 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 because in his youth he had put a friend- 
 less wanderer in the Stocks and long after- 
 wards met his forgotten victim as a Car- 
 dinal desiring revenge. Then he thought 
 how his own life had proved bound by a 
 shackle he had disregarded for years. 
 
 By Blackfriars he heard a voice sum- 
 moning his boatmen to stop. For all 
 answer they rowed harder, and one sug- 
 gested they should make for the shore. 
 " That is the King's boat," said the man. 
 
 Looking back, the Earl saw a boat com- 
 ing with precipitate speed. " Stop," he 
 said, turning. 
 
 As his rowers backed water he looked 
 again at the other boat and saw Sir Richard 
 Rich in the stern. 
 
 Slim and long Rich was wrapped in a 
 big mantle of fur. As his boat came up 
 he saluted Northumberland with an 
 affable sweetness. 
 
 126 
 
" The Queen of the May '' 
 
 *' My kind lord," he said gently, " I 
 arrest you in the name of the King." 
 
 Drawing his sword, Northumberland 
 took hold of its blade and proffered the 
 hilt. 
 
 " I thank you humbly," said Rich, ac- 
 cepting the sword. " I shall not trouble you 
 to step into my boat. I should be grateful 
 if you would bid your men come with me." 
 
 Northumberland nodded to his men, 
 and they pulled, and so the boats sped 
 down stream till they stopped under the 
 dusky arch of a gate. " Traitor's Gate," 
 he said softly. 
 
 Paying his boatmen, he landed on the 
 slippery steps. Rich got out also, and 
 accompanied him up the steep path to the 
 portcullis, and there asked for the Con- 
 stable. Kingston came out, brisk and 
 composed, followed by a peevish starved 
 gaoler. His sharp black-bearded face 
 
 127 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 was inscrutable, and he seemed to take the 
 EarPs coming as a matter of course. 
 
 " Beauchamp — Banqueting-room," he 
 said curtly. 
 
 Northumberland went with the gaoler, 
 and was left in an airy and bright room on 
 the first floor of the Beauchamp Tower 
 by the Green. 
 
 The gaoler never took any notice of 
 him. No offer of money could induce 
 him to give tidings or take a message to 
 anyone. The Earl spent much time at 
 the window. So he saw the garrison 
 drilled daily, and often watched lugu- 
 brious processions when the executioners 
 dragged Catholics off to be hanged and 
 quartered for denying the King's suprem- 
 acy, or carried Lutherans away to be 
 burnt. Frequently he heard music on 
 the neighbouring river and guns fired on 
 
 128 
 
' " The Queen of the May " 
 
 the walls, and then knew the King was 
 passing to Greenwich. All day the mut- 
 ter of traffic surged round the ramparts. 
 
 So time went till one morning there was 
 a rejoicing of bells and the moan of traffic 
 was soft and was mingled with an echo 
 of carols. Because he had kept count of 
 the dates he knew the people v/ere May- 
 ing. It was a bright morning, appro- 
 priate to May Day, and he fancied the 
 girls all in white hurrying to the woods 
 with their lovers to pluck hawthorn and 
 the flowers in the grass. Then he thought 
 of the times when he and the King and 
 Norris had worn golden masks and had 
 danced round the May-pole hand in hand 
 with the girls, heightening the popular 
 revels. 
 
 That morning silver trumpets were 
 clear on the Thames, and he pictured 
 Mistress Anne going by garlanded as the 
 9 129 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 Queen of the May. Because the music 
 was lasting he knew many courtiers accom- 
 panied her to share in her gladness. 
 Then he thought of More's head spiked 
 above her glittering triumph. 
 
 About noon a thunderstorm crashed. 
 As the music did not return, he thought 
 the King had decided to banquet at 
 Greenwich on account of the tempest. 
 The joy-bells were silent, and he heard 
 only the reverberant thunder and the 
 truculent rain. 
 
 Then there was a clashing of steel under 
 the window. Looking out, he saw Norris, 
 bareheaded and handcuffed and surrounded 
 by guards, and in gilt armour as if he came 
 from a tournament. Behind him little 
 Smeton was struggHng like a bird iix a 
 net. Then stamping feet mounted the 
 stairs. 
 
 That afternoon the Earl watched with- 
 130 
 
" The Queen of the May" 
 
 out seeing any one else. Next day he 
 stood at the window, and kept it open 
 because the weather was dark and sultry 
 as if thunder was near. The garrison was 
 under arms on the Green. Soon after 
 midday he heard tramping on the left, and 
 saw yeomen come, four abreast, and then 
 Kingston march, followed by the Queen 
 and a small cluster of ladies. 
 
 The Queen was in yellow, and wore a 
 round bonnet with a heavy white plume : 
 her dark hair hung dishevelled. Tears ran 
 down her cheeks, and she stooped as if 
 she was broken. As she passed the Earl 
 she looked up. Mopping her eyes hastily, 
 she struggled to look careless and proud. 
 Tossing her head, she turned to Kingston 
 and asked, " Is this to be my Palace 
 to-day ? " 
 
 Kingston told the yeomen to halt. 
 
 "No, Madam," said he. " His gracious 
 131 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 Majesty has assigned you the rooms you 
 had formerly." 
 
 " Before my coronation ? " she said. 
 " It is too good for me — Oh, Jesus ! have 
 mercy on me ! I thought prisoners were 
 lodged in discomfort." 
 
 " Most of them are," he said. 
 
 "Poor souls!" she sighed, and then 
 with an air of childish curiosity asked, 
 " Does anyone make the prisoners' 
 beds ? " 
 
 " No, I warrant you," he said, taken 
 aback. 
 
 " I wish I could do it for them. These 
 little hands were not created for toil. 
 Though I cannot make beds, I can make 
 ballads. Well, now, there is none can do 
 it better." 
 
 " Master Wyatt can," he replied. 
 
 " You said true. Wyatt loved me, as 
 many have done, and like others he had 
 
 132 
 
" The Queen of the May " 
 
 cause to regret It. I remember he 
 played at bowls with the King and they 
 disputed a cast, for our gracious Lord 
 will never own he is beaten. 'This is 
 mine/ says Wyatt. ' Well, this is mine,' 
 says the King, pointing, but looking down 
 at his hand. Now he wore a ring he had 
 wrested from me in sport, and he said this 
 to triumph over Wyatt in turn. It has the 
 King's portrait fastened under a ruby." 
 " Madam, we are delaying." 
 " Says Wyatt angrily, ' This is mine, 
 then,' taking out an ivory tablet I had 
 given him; and I assure you the boast 
 came near removing his head. Yet in 
 those days I had much power with the 
 King. I had many a lover then — as 
 you may remember — after my Lord of 
 Northumberland's marriage." 
 
 " I must ask you to come with me. 
 Madam." 
 
 ^33 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 " What need of haste ? I shrink from 
 those walls. There I shall be friendless/' 
 she said, glancing at the ladies behind her. 
 " I think it unkindness in the King to 
 put such about me as I never loved. 
 Lodge me in the Beauchamp Tower, 
 Master Constable. Oh, Lord, help me, 
 as I am guiltless ! I hear say I shall be 
 accused with two men, and I can do no 
 more than deny it unless I open my 
 body," she went on, clutching at the neck 
 of her gown. "'Life would be bearable 
 if hearts could be read,* says the King. 
 Can I show him mine ? Yet much would 
 be bearable if I had a well-wisher near me. 
 
 Let this be my Palace." 
 
 " No," said Kingston ; " Sir Henry 
 
 Norris is there." 
 
 With that she looked up at the higher 
 
 windows, and then stretched out her arms. 
 
 " Oh, Norris," she cried, " have you 
 
 134 
 
'' The Queen of the May " 
 
 accused me ? You are in the Tower with 
 me. You and I shall die together." 
 Covering her face with her hands, she 
 sobbed, " Oh, my mother ! You will 
 die of sorrow ! " Then she looked up, 
 saying, " Master Constable, shall I die 
 without justice ? " 
 
 " The King's poorest subject has jus- 
 tice," said he. 
 
 " I had forgotten it," she said with a 
 laugh. " Sir, I shall detain you no 
 longer." 
 
 Still laughing, she followed him across 
 the Green to her prison. 
 
 That evening as Northumberland 
 watched the dusk thicken till the opposite 
 walls appeared shrouded in misty rain, he 
 heard the lock creak. 
 
 " My lord," said Kingston as he stood 
 on the threshold. 
 
 135 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 " You come at last, sir ? " said North- 
 umberland. " You have shown me small 
 courtesy.'* 
 
 " I am content to do my duty," said 
 Kingston. " All prisoners are equal : it 
 is my task to hold them in the 
 name of the King. Ceremonious obser- 
 vances — " 
 
 " Every man has a right to know the 
 charges against him. Why was I — ** 
 
 "That is no business of mine." 
 
 " I am glad you have come. Tell me 
 what — " 
 
 " I am not employed as a purveyor of 
 news.*' 
 
 " Then why am I honoured ? " 
 
 " Because the King sends for you." 
 
 " At last." 
 
 " The guards are ready," said King- 
 ston, going out of the room. 
 
 Taking his cap and cloak, Northum- 
 136 
 
" The Queen of the May " 
 
 berland followed, and was led to the river. 
 The night was brooding and still. There 
 was no moon, and the river was black, 
 but stabbed by wavy daggers of light 
 beside curtainless windows. The hall and 
 the gallery of the Palace were thronged ; 
 but he went through the courtiers without 
 looking at any. On the threshold of the 
 Red Room his guards handed him over 
 to the others there, and one of these 
 opened the big door and announced him. 
 
 The King was in purple, and sat in the 
 gilt chair while Cromwell stood on his right. 
 Playing at chess, they gazed down without 
 stirring. Down the middle of the long 
 table lights in silver candlesticks gleamed 
 steadily though the windows were open. 
 
 Pausing by the threshold, Northum- 
 berland thought the players were breath- 
 less as if much was at stake. Then the 
 
 137 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 King put out his hand slowly and swayed 
 it and shifted one of the ivory chessmen 
 as if he feared the result. 
 
 " I take the Queen," Cromwell said, 
 thrusting out his hand with a jerk. 
 
 The King dashed the inlaid board and 
 the chessmen from the table and scowled. 
 Cromwell drew himself up and smiled, 
 rubbing his hands. " Your Grace, here is 
 my Lord of Northumberland," said he. 
 
 " Ha ! back again, Harry ? " said the 
 King, lolling and drawing a breath as if 
 he was rid of a weight. "Where have 
 you been ? " 
 
 In your Majesty's prison." 
 It had slipped from my memory." 
 May I ask what was my offence ? " 
 Why did you lock him up ? " said 
 the King, glancing at Cromwell. 
 
 " By your Majesty's orders," replied 
 Cromwell obsequiously. 
 
 13S 
 
 cc 
 cc 
 cc 
 cc 
 
" The Queen of the May '' 
 
 " Harry, it must have been on account 
 of some trifling folly of yours. Boys will 
 be boys. And these troubles — I had a 
 foreboding of the issue of these affairs. I 
 wrote a tragedy on it. Anne laughed at 
 it — devil!" 
 
 " What affairs ? " said Northumberland 
 anxiously. 
 
 "Tell him about it," said the King 
 lazily. " I am sick of it all." 
 
 " My good lord/' said Cromwell as 
 the King watched Northumberland, " our 
 gracious master has met terrible grief 
 One he had raised from obscurity, a ser- 
 pent nursed on his heart — " 
 
 "For God's sake, speak out," said 
 Northumberland. 
 
 " I recoil from narrating such wicked- 
 ness. In short, he has discovered Mis- 
 tress Anne has been false to him." 
 "You lie," said Northumberland. 
 139 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 " We are in the royal presence, my 
 lord, but your heat is excusable." 
 
 " Or easily understood," the King 
 muttered. 
 
 " Nothing would ever make me believe 
 it," said the Earl. 
 
 " But she is prepared to confess — " 
 Cromwell began. 
 
 " It is impossible." 
 
 " Further, her accomplices, Norris and 
 Smeton, admit her guilt and their 
 own." 
 
 " Norris ! " 
 
 " Sir Henry Norris," said Cromwell. 
 "And Smeton — " 
 
 "And is a lady to be dishonoured by 
 the lies of — " 
 
 " A musician ? Well, Norris is an 
 unimpeachable gentleman." 
 
 " You knew nothing of all this ? " said 
 the King. 
 
 140 
 
" The Queen of the May" 
 
 " I saw the Queen to-day," said North- 
 umberland. 
 
 "Ha ! you spoke to her ? '* 
 
 " No, I saw her led through the 
 1 ower. 
 
 " Go on," said the King, glancing at 
 Cromwell. 
 
 " Our noble master is exempt from our 
 frailty," said Cromwell, "and therefore 
 blind to our sins. But his own eyes con- 
 vinced him of her enormity yesterday. 
 At Greenwich she was enthroned as 
 Queen of the May, clad in yellow and 
 wreathed in white roses, with her hair loose 
 according to that immodest custom of 
 hers. His gracious Majesty stood be- 
 hind her while the nobles were tilting. 
 As Norris passed her, she threw him a 
 handkerchief — Alas ! that was a proof." 
 
 " That was only a favour," said North- 
 umberland angrily. 
 
 141 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 "It was a letter. The wretched 
 woman had bribed Augustine to write on 
 it with secret Italian ink, and he, shocked 
 by her wickedness — " 
 
 " Betrayed her ? " 
 
 " Enabled me to forewarn his Majesty ; 
 so her crime was detected. Then his 
 Grace stopped the sports, and she was ar- 
 rested with Norris as the thunder began." 
 
 "Ah, Harry," said the King with a 
 sigh, " how my trusting heart was de- 
 ceived ! Yet I thank God for this 
 unwelcome deliverance. The beauty of 
 my soul has been marred by that in- 
 delicate girl ! By nature I am pro- 
 foundly religious ; but she has led me in 
 error." 
 
 " Power is granted to the Devil at 
 times," said Cromwell sadly. 
 
 " If only my brother Arthur had lived ! 
 I would have been an excellent Pope. 
 
 142 
 
" The Queen of the May " 
 
 Harry, she seduced me by witchcraft; so 
 the marriage is void. You are a witness/' 
 " Not I/* said Northumberland scorn- 
 fully. 
 
 " There/' said the King, pointing over 
 his shoulder solemnly, "you and I saw 
 that vision in the Magical Mirror. Very 
 true ! The Devil has power. Thus she 
 bleared my eyes once. A child of Satan 
 she is — a pernicious Lutheran ! Well, 
 Samson was fooled, and even Solomon. 
 Luther — that heretic! He called me a 
 Thomistical ass ! " 
 
 "Satan is a roaring lion," said Crom- 
 well. 
 
 "Then I shall outroar him," said the 
 King furiously. 
 
 " If anyone can," said Cromwell. 
 "With the strength of Samson and the 
 wisdom of Solomon — " 
 
 "And with my love of virtue," the 
 143 
 

 Defender of the Faith 
 
 King said. " My youth was apparently 
 riotous ; but I yearned to be holy. 
 Harry, when I wake in the mornings I 
 find my hands crossed on my breast : my 
 mother taught me to fold them so when I 
 was a child." 
 
 Saintly in sleep ! " said Cromwell. 
 I wedded her because it was my duty 
 to furnish England with Princes." 
 
 " God has not accepted the sacrifice, 
 but has rewarded your Majesty by dis- 
 entangling you from feminine snares.'* 
 
 " She was lovable once." 
 
 " But her beauty has gone." 
 
 " Very true," said the King. " Of late 
 I have found her wearisome." 
 
 " A shallow and cruel — " 
 
 " She would give me no peace till I sent 
 More to the block. Yet I had honoured 
 him. How she hated the Lady Catherine 
 also ! Cruelty is unpardonable." 
 
 144 
 
" The Queen of the May 
 
 if 
 
 "Thoughtlessly cruel, eh?" said Crom- 
 well as if he spoke to himself; " savour- 
 ing her strength, like dear little children 
 innocently torturing flies." 
 
 " I believed in her innocence long 
 ago. 
 
 " Repose and innocence are imperfect 
 unless they are unconscious," said Crom- 
 well. " Mistress Anne was always playing 
 a part. The world was her mirror. If 
 she spoke alone with a man she imagined 
 spectators : if she was with two her words 
 to one were intended for the ears of the 
 other." 
 
 "You speak as if she was dead," the 
 King muttered. 
 
 " Your Grace," said Northumberland, 
 
 " delusive confessions are easily extorted 
 
 by craft. But even if she has sinned you 
 
 will forgive her ? " 
 
 " She has made me ridiculous." 
 lo 145 
 
well. 
 
 Defender of the Faith 
 
 Forgiveness is injustice," said Crom- 
 
 Said the King, " I may remind you of 
 that." 
 
 " Before any tribunal, human or 
 divine/' replied Cromwell, " I would ask 
 only for justice, — reward if I have earned 
 it, and punishment if it is deserved." 
 
 " I shall remember." 
 
 " But she is so young," said North- 
 umberland. 
 
 "And I am not," said the King. 
 " Now I recall why I sent for you. 
 There is a loophole. — If she was a 
 Queen her crime would be Treason and 
 punishable by death at the Stake. But if 
 she was only — " 
 
 " The Concubine, as everyone called 
 her," said Cromwell. 
 
 " I need not stoop to destroy her. I 
 fear I am too mild. Still, I would prove 
 
 146 
 
" The Queen of the May" 
 
 how little I am touched by her shame. 
 If I took vengeance ordinary fools would 
 believe I had been hurt by her ; but if I 
 toss her to wallow in congenial disgrace 
 I can let the world see my gladness. It 
 was pleasant on the river last night after 
 the storm. V/e had music, and the ladies 
 were blithe. Then I read them my trag- 
 edy. Mistress Catherine Howard wept, 
 and said I was a prophet. A girl of fine 
 intellect - — winsome and spirited ! — 
 Harry, I '11 read you the third act of it 
 when I am at leisure. Now, the other 
 was brainless — " 
 
 " God help her ! she is a crowned 
 Queen," said Northumberland. 
 
 " But if my marriage with her was 
 void .? " 
 
 "Induced by witchcraft ? " said North- 
 umberland, bitterly. 
 
 "Otherwise null," said the King, 
 147 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 frowning. " If she had been be- 
 trothed — " 
 
 The Earl glanced at Cromwell. 
 
 " Ha ! you understand ? " said the King. 
 "That is the loophole offering her a chance 
 of escape. Are you aware of an original tie ? '* 
 
 Northumberland looked down. 
 
 "Where is that letter?" the King said, 
 glancing at Cromwell. " Read it out," 
 he went on, as Cromwell produced one 
 from his belt. 
 
 " ' This,' " Cromwell read, " ' shall be 
 to advertise you that Mistress Anne is 
 changed from that she was when we three 
 were last together. Wherefore I pray 
 you do not suffer her in my absence to 
 be married to any other man. Bid her 
 remember her promise, which none can 
 loose but God only.* " 
 
 " This is your writing ? " the King 
 asked, " she was betrothed to you ? ** 
 
 148 
 
" The Queen of the May " 
 
 " In my presence/* said Cromwell. 
 
 Said the King, " No dispensation was 
 granted ? " 
 
 " I have my lord's word for that/* said 
 Cromwell. 
 
 " Silent still ? ** said the King, " and 
 yet a word will deliver her.'* 
 
 Said the Earl, "You have freed Eng- 
 land from casuistical dotards.*' 
 
 " Must I treat you as a damnable 
 heretic ? It is my task to uphold 
 the sacred laws of the Church. I am 
 the Defender of the Faith. I studied 
 Theology with care in my boyhood. 
 Yet the Pope and the Cardinals con- 
 trovert my opinion. So does Luther ! 
 Ignorant sot! He called me — Those 
 miscreants are out of my reach. But 
 you — 
 
 " What should I say ? *' whispered 
 Northumberland, 
 
 149 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 " Merely the truth," said Cromwell. 
 
 " Have I your Majesty's word that my 
 avowal would save her ? " 
 
 " I have said it/' answered the King. 
 " I '11 not stoop to revenge. She is too 
 small to be punished. No ! I '11 not 
 hurt the child." 
 
 " If unfaithfulness was the worst of 
 her crimes/' Cromwell put in. 
 
 " Then T admit she was betrothed to 
 me once." 
 
 " Ha ! " said the King. " This explains 
 things I heard when you were last in 
 this room. And that reminds me 
 why I sent you to prison. I would 
 have sent Norris with you ; but Master 
 Secretary persuaded me to leave him at 
 large. 
 
 " For a time," said Cromwell. 
 
 " Till the proof was complete. Call 
 the Constable of the Tower." 
 
 150 
 
"The Queen of the May'' 
 
 Opening the door, Northumberland 
 saw Kingston and beckoned. Kingston 
 came in, bending his knee. 
 
 " You have brought her ? " the King 
 asked. 
 
 Kingston bowed. 
 
 " And Norris ? " 
 
 " Also," said Kingston. 
 
 " Is she — is she in tears ? '* 
 
 " No, your Grace. She seems happy." 
 
 " Ha ! And this afternoon ? " said the 
 King with a scowl. 
 
 " One hour she seemed determined to 
 die, and the next much contrary to that," 
 replied Kingston. " One minute she 
 wept, and the next she was laughing. 
 Sometimes she seemed to take much joy 
 and pleasure in death. At other times 
 she would offer to own anything if her life 
 would be spared. Often her talk was 
 wild." 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 "Ha! What did she say?" 
 
 " Foolish things. She asked whether 
 anyone made the prisoners' beds, and said 
 there would be no rain till she was out of 
 the Tower, and we would see the greatest 
 punishment that ever came to England if 
 she should be murdered — " 
 
 " Who else is outside ? " 
 
 " The Duke of Norfolk." 
 
 " Bid him enter. Stay — where is 
 Norris ? " 
 
 " At the end of the gallery." 
 
 " Good ! You say she is not in tears ? 
 Send her in." 
 
 152 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 The King signed to Northumberland to 
 come on his left. Leaning back as 
 Norfolk entered, he stared at the table. 
 Neither did he look up when an usher 
 cried, " Room for the Queen." 
 
 The Queen came in, rosy and calm : 
 her yellow dress was no longer disordered, 
 and her dark hair hung smooth. Watch- 
 ing him mockingly, she stopped at the 
 foot of the table, clasping her hands. 
 Old Norfolk stood on her left : his stupid 
 long face was still ; but he kept tugging 
 his beard. Kingston stood on the thresh^ 
 old. All were turned to the King. 
 After a time he glanced at Cromwell, and 
 then looked down again. 
 
 153 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 Said Cromwell, thrusting his hands 
 under his belt, " You wrote begging our 
 gracious master to see you." 
 
 " Alone," she said, smiling. 
 
 " That would be unseemly," said Crom- 
 well ; and she shrugged with a laugh. "In 
 his great mercy he chose to confront you 
 with your partners in crime." 
 
 Glancing round, she smiled at the King. 
 
 " Who are they ? " she said. " Is my 
 kind uncle of Norfolk one ? " 
 
 Northumberland looked at her with a 
 glimmer of hope. Cromwell nodded to 
 Kingston. The Constable turned, and 
 Norris came in handcuffed, with his eyes 
 on the ground. Stopping on her right, 
 he was motionless. 
 
 "One?" she said, smiling; but as she 
 spoke she watched Norris and her bosom 
 was heaving. 
 
 " There is another," said Cromwell. 
 154 
 
/knria.Sollem Q^-aeen. 
 
 \ 
 
 •"^ -^* 
 
 / 
 
 
 '^v 
 
 
 -««f- 
 
 %. 
 
 
 
"The Queen of the May" 
 
 The Queen glanced at Northumberland 
 for the first time ; and he met her eyes 
 sadly. The hope that she would deny 
 everything left him ; and she only seemed 
 brazen. 
 
 " Who ? " said she. 
 
 " Master Smeton," said Cromwell. 
 
 " Where is he ? " 
 
 " The man is sick.'' 
 
 " Tortured ? '* 
 
 " But he has signed a confession." 
 
 " On the rack ? " she said scornfully. 
 " The musician was never in my chamber 
 but once, and that was at Winchester. I 
 ordered him to play while I sang." 
 
 " He owns you inveigled him with 
 money/* said Cromwell. 
 
 " It is my custom to pay musicians," 
 she answered. " I never spoke to him 
 since, but on the Saturday before May- 
 day, and then I saw him standing in the 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 round window in my chamber of presence, 
 and I asked why he was sad, and he 
 answered and said it was no matter, and 
 said I to him, ' You may not look to have 
 me speak to you as I should to a noble- 
 man, because you are an inferior person/ 
 Said he, ' No, no. Madam, a look suffices, 
 and thus farewell/ " 
 
 " The musician is a man of base blood, 
 undeserving of a glance from a lady. You 
 are accused by a gentleman of excellent 
 birth.'^ 
 
 "Is it true?" she said, turning to 
 Norris, growing white and squeezing her 
 hands. 
 
 " I accused you," said Norris, looking 
 at her. 
 
 " Oh, Norris ! " she whispered, shud- 
 dering and blinded by tears. 
 
 " And it was a lie ! " he said, tossing 
 his fetters. 
 
 156 
 
"The Queen of the May" 
 
 " Ha ! you dare ? " cried the King, 
 starting and scowling at him. 
 
 " A gentleman ! yes ! but disgraced. I 
 was deceived into a lying confession. 
 That villain/' Norris said, looking at 
 Cromwell, " promised to save her if I was 
 a witness against her, swore she was 
 doomed by Smeton's evidence and her 
 sole chance of life lay in divorce, and I, 
 tapped by my own folly, yielded. Jeal- 
 ousy led me to hint at favours I had never 
 received. I could tear my tongue out — 
 I am handcuffed — " 
 
 " Norris," the King said, " you were 
 dear to me. Why should I blame you ? 
 Even I have been overcome by her 
 witchcraft. You are a boy, a vain and 
 hot-headed boaster. This shall all be for- 
 gotten. My painfully acquired wisdom 
 was conquered — Lad, I forgive you. 
 We shall be brothers again." 
 
 157 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 " I can never pardon myself," replied 
 Norris. 
 
 " A boy's passions ! " the King said. 
 "Elderly folk — " 
 
 " Forgive me, Madam," said Norris, 
 kneeling. 
 
 She laid her hand on his head. 
 
 " Ha ! you are obstinate to retract your 
 confession ? " said the King, clenching his 
 
 fist. 
 
 Standing up, Norris said, " I had 
 rather undergo a thousand deaths than 
 betray the innocent. I have deserved 
 them all. I lied in accusing her. Dis- 
 graced, I am a gentleman still." 
 
 " Hang him up, then," shouted the King, 
 striking the table. " Hang him up ! " 
 
 " My lord Duke," said Cromwell, as 
 Norris went out, " this must be grievous 
 to you. Do you think the evidence 
 
 doubtful ? " 
 
 158 
 
" The Queen of the May " 
 
 The Queen looked at Norfolk with a 
 despairing appeal. 
 
 " Alas, it is most plain," he answered, 
 with his eyes on the King. " The abom- 
 inable deeds done by my niece bring me 
 into the greatest perplexity that ever poor 
 wretch was in ; for I fear that your Maj- 
 esty, being so traitorously handled by one 
 of my family, may conceive a displeasure 
 in your heart against me." 
 
 As his thick voice stopped, she laughed. 
 
 " Master Cromwell," she said, " you 
 told me my uncle of Norfolk has been 
 long in your power — " 
 
 " Ha ! " said the King, scowling at 
 Norfolk. 
 
 " The Cardinal subdued him by holding 
 proofs of his conspiring with Buckingham. 
 Master Cromwell inherited — " 
 
 " Your Grace will not heed this shame- 
 less girl," Norfolk broke in. 
 
 159 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 " For years, my loving uncle," she 
 said, " I have helped Master Cromwell to 
 keep you in disfavour, because I knew he 
 could count on your assistance at need. 
 I judged you well." 
 
 " Tut, tut, tut ! " said old Norfolk, 
 blinking at her. " Girl, though you never 
 showed natural love — " 
 
 " I showed it too often, according to 
 my enemies," she said, turning to Crom- 
 well. 
 
 " You are not my enemy," he said, 
 " but a criminal." 
 
 " And you the headsman ? " 
 
 " If it was necessary. But our merciful 
 Sovereign longs to give you time to 
 repent." 
 
 Holding her breath, she looked at the 
 King ; but he still shunned her eyes. 
 
 " If you were the Queen and his 
 wife — " Cromwell began. 
 
 1 60 
 
" The Queen of the May " 
 
 " 1 am a crowned Queen of England 
 and a true wedded wife." 
 
 "You are neither. You may have 
 cause to be glad of it." 
 
 " You insult me with impunity though 
 my husband and my subjects are here." 
 
 " Your alleged marriage was null." 
 
 " Because the Lady Catherine lived ? " 
 
 " Because you had been already be- 
 trothed." 
 
 " Who are your witnesses ? " 
 
 " I am one," replied Cromwell. 
 
 " Was your word ever believed ? ". 
 
 " There is the other." 
 
 " You have betrayed me, Harry ? " she 
 said. " Time tries all." 
 
 " Madam, it was for your sake," said 
 Northumberland. 
 
 " You yielded, like Norris ? " 
 
 " I owned the truth." 
 
 " And he ? How do you know when 
 n i6i 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 he was truthful ? There are hours when 
 a gentleman should lie for a lady.'* As 
 she spoke she glanced at the King ; but 
 he did not seem to have heard. " I can 
 still hurt you, Harry," she went on. " The 
 old love is not dead. Ah ! you are the 
 origin of all my afflictions. If you had 
 not deserted me — '* 
 
 " You were the one to change/' said 
 Northumberland, under his breath. 
 
 " Oh, fool, to take a child at her word ! 
 We might have kept happiness if we 
 could have seen one another with old 
 eyes in our youth. We turned our 
 backs on it — Whose was the fault ? I 
 sent you away ; but how could I know 
 your love was extinguishable by a petu- 
 lant answer? Or is it shining still? Here, 
 after that wonderful vision in the Magical 
 Mirror, you were stern to me, claiming 
 the immediate performance of my promise 
 
 162 
 
" The Queen of the May " 
 
 to marry you. And I — well, I was 
 proud and not accustomed to harshness. 
 I have grown used to it since. I wept all 
 that night ; but I was sure you would be 
 kind in the morning. A cold girl your 
 ^ife is — I remember her. You and she 
 are apart. I would have loved you in 
 degradation and shame." Then she 
 turned to the King: he still appeared 
 inattentive ; but his jaw drooped and he 
 seemed aiUng and old. Sighing, she looked 
 at Cromwell, and then shrugged and went 
 on, " Have it all your own way. I have 
 given gold and costly presents to many. 
 I did it to overcome masculine virtue. 
 Repulsive to men, I had to bribe their 
 devotion. I have always been too lavish 
 with kindness. I remember letting my 
 Sovereign take a ring of mine once. Why, 
 he is wearing it now," she said, pointing ; 
 but the King did not stir. "I confess 
 
 163 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 everything. What infamy is a stain to a 
 concubine ? Let me go. I want to live 
 out of England. I ask nothing else." 
 
 " Where do you wish to live ? " replied 
 Cromwell. 
 
 " Not in France — the people are glad, 
 and I was happy in Paris : not in Italy — 
 you have been there ; — but in Flanders, 
 for the Flemish are dull and unconcerned 
 about strangers. I shall pass the time 
 making ballads, merry ones now, for I 
 am too sad to be doleful — songs with 
 the summer in them. So shall girls yet 
 unborn owe sweetness to things bitter to 
 me. I shall make my brief greatness im- 
 mortal by a ballad to be sung to the tune 
 of ' Flying Fame.* My attendants shall 
 be women, all old and beyond risk of 
 corruption." Then she looked at North- 
 umberland. "Parted only by distance, 
 we shall be loving again, and shine to 
 
 164 
 
" The Queen of the May " 
 
 each other like separated stars. Or will 
 you visit me when I am in Flanders ? 
 You are free also. We mr.y be happy 
 yet, as if we had never desecrated the 
 dreams of our youth — We were happy 
 once — do you remember ? I was tempted 
 to show a King might be glad to have 
 the heart you abandoned. The King 
 mastered me : I used to be haunted by 
 his thunderous voice. I have often re- 
 gretted trusting to his passionate vows. 
 You should have seen how he grovelled 
 to me ! I am too weak to be a mate for 
 a lion. A girl tires of a husband always 
 a King. Once he was a slave at my feet. 
 Now I am weary of hankering after ap- 
 proval like a bird hopping for customary 
 crumbs in the winter. I have learnt the 
 value of Fame — the moon's glint on the 
 hillocks of a tempestuous sea. Come 
 with me, Harry. Our path shines in 
 
 165 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 another country, and no remembrance 
 shall darken us when we have forded 
 Love's river of forgetful ness together at 
 last. I never loved the King/' she went 
 on, after a pause. " No need to glance 
 at him : he is made deaf by an incurable 
 sickness. Besides, he is afraid of me. 
 To-night he has not looked at me 
 once." 
 
 The King looked up at her slowly. 
 
 " You can still hear ? " she said, laugh- 
 ing. Then she shrank, turning white. 
 " He said you would spare me," she 
 whispered. 
 
 Said Cromwell, " You would have 
 been spared if unfaithfulness had been 
 your only offence. But you have sur- 
 passed that iniquity. You sent Augus- 
 tine to poison the Lady Catherine." 
 
 " Tou did." 
 
 "You have poisoned the King." 
 i66 
 
" The Queen of the May " 
 
 " God's wounds ! " cried the King, 
 starting and glaring up at him sidelong. 
 
 " His Grace's royal body has suffered 
 harm and danger through you. A min- 
 ute ago you jeered at his illness. You 
 were the cause of it." 
 
 "No, no," she said, laughing, "I am 
 guiltless of that." 
 
 " You put an evil drug in his wine." 
 
 " When ? — " cried the King. " Where 
 are my doctors ^ " 
 
 " It was not deadly, though it has 
 caused your Majesty's sickness," said 
 Cromwell. 
 
 "Ha! you are sure it was not .^ I 
 have been a little feeble of late — " 
 
 Said Cromwell, " Bring Augustine in. 
 Master Constable." 
 
 Clad in a gown of black velvet, the 
 Venetian bustled in solemnly. Though 
 
 167 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 he looked confident, his brown face was 
 haggard, and his beady eyes wavered. 
 
 "Your Grace," the Queen said wildly, 
 " I shall own everything." 
 
 " Good," said the King, watching her. 
 
 " I bought a love-philtre from Augus- 
 tine : he swore it was harmless. I 
 was desperate when I saw your love cease. 
 Your sickness began long before that." 
 
 " Ha ! " he said with a scowl. 
 
 "I know it is slight, — nothing," she 
 stammered. 
 
 " Then I am neither deaf nor dying, 
 you think ? " 
 
 " I did not mean it. I was only try- 
 ing to anger you — to make you speak 
 to me." 
 
 " Be content," he replied. 
 
 " Catherine of Arragon was your 
 enemy." 
 
 " So you said often." 
 1 68 
 
" The Queen of the May " 
 
 " Her life was forfeit.'* 
 
 " And yours ? " 
 
 " I besought you, time and again, to 
 send her to the fate she deserved." 
 
 " Very true." 
 
 " Then one day last autumn I was 
 walking in the garden at Hampton, mis- 
 erable because you had been cold. It 
 was a hazy afternoon, I remember, and 
 a distant wind mourned, and the dead 
 leaves wavered down like birds sinking 
 irresolute when pastime is over. Thank 
 God, it is summer now ! — a lamenting 
 wind would have maddened me. As I was 
 moping, that knave," she went on, point- 
 ing to Cromwell, " came up to me, sham- 
 bling like a ploughman whose feet are 
 habituated to a burden of mud. ' Have 
 you prevailed with his Grace yet ? ' said 
 he. ^ No,' said I. 'Eh?' he answered, 
 ' he is afraid of the Emperor.' " 
 
 169 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 " Ha ! " said the King, glancing at 
 Cromwell. 
 
 The Queen went on breathlessly, 
 " ' Yet,' said he, * the Lady Catherine is 
 but mortal, and her natural death would 
 restore union with Spain. There may be 
 found ways to rid England.' ' I have 
 failed,' said I. Said he, ' It is my turn. 
 I '11 send Augustine to cure her. It is 
 necessary. If the King feigns displeas- 
 ure, I '11 put the blame on Augustine — 
 though I '11 be reluctant, because he was 
 kind to me when I was starving in Venice. 
 Then he will be boiled in accordance with 
 the King's jocular law.' " 
 
 " I will not," cried Augustine ; but at 
 a glance from the King he stopped, frozen 
 by terror. 
 
 " ' I '11 have nothing to do with it,' 
 said I," she went on, " ' It is my turn,' 
 he repeated. Never a word more did 
 
 170 
 
** The Queen of the May 
 
 it 
 
 I hear of it. I thought he had changed 
 his mind, and we quarrelled.'* 
 
 " Why ? " said the King. 
 
 " Because he made love to me." 
 
 The King laughed. " You make him 
 blush," said he, looking at Cromwell. 
 
 " Your Grace will not believe her," 
 said Cromwell. 
 
 " A dainty lover ! " the King said. 
 
 She went on, "Said he, ^ You and 
 I would be heads of an Evangelical 
 League. The King will soon be out of 
 the way. You shall be Regent while the 
 Princess Elizabeth — ' Then I struck 
 him." 
 
 " Right ! " shouted the King. 
 
 " I swear it is false," stammered Crom- 
 well. 
 
 " Till then," she said, " he had been 
 always behind me, urging me to be 
 merciless. Since, he has been in wait 
 
 171 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 to destroy me. The very morning 
 you heard of Catherine's death, I had 
 begged you to save England by judg- 
 ing her. Would I have done that if 
 I had known she was dying ? " 
 
 " Women are full of tricks/* said the 
 King. 
 
 "Your Grace has heard her desperate 
 lies/' Cromwell broke in, "let me tell 
 the truth now." 
 
 '^ If you can." 
 
 " I have a witness," said Cromwell. 
 "Augustine will prove I had no hand 
 m It. 
 
 " Is that true ? " said the King softly, 
 as he smiled at Augustine. 
 I swear it is," he replied. 
 And how," said the King with a 
 shudder — " how was it done ? " 
 
 " I poisoned the wick of the lamp 
 kept burning at night by the Lady 
 
 172 
 
 
" The Queen of the May" 
 
 Catherine's bed," answered Augustine, 
 trembling, and looking at Cromwell. 
 
 " A poisoned lamp," muttered the 
 King, " an allegory of Love. When 
 was tnis : 
 
 " Last October." 
 
 "A slow poison. " 
 
 "But sure," said Augustine. "The 
 Queen told me your Majesty ordered 
 
 It. 
 
 " Ha ! — and Master Secretary knew 
 nothing about it P " 
 
 " Not a word." 
 
 " Did you furnish her with a venomous 
 drug ? " 
 
 " I did not know why she needed it, 
 till your Majesty's illness made me 
 suspect." 
 
 "And you wrote on the handkerchief?" 
 
 "What did I tell you to write?" she 
 broke in. 
 
 173 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 Said Augustine, " I dare not repeat it." 
 
 "Then I can," she said. "These were 
 the words — ' Fly, you are in danger.* " 
 
 Said Cromwell, "Your Majesty has 
 seen different words. They were only 
 too plain when I had heated the hand- 
 kerchief to make the ink legible." 
 
 " What reward shall be yours ? " said the 
 King, smiling at Augustine with tenderness. 
 
 " I leave your Majesty to apportion 
 it to my humble deserts." 
 
 "Good," said the King. "That is 
 easy." Smiling still as his eyes dwindled 
 he went on very slowly, " You shall be 
 boiled." 
 
 " Misericordia ! " screamed Augustine, 
 falling down on his knees. 
 
 The King waved his hand. 
 
 " I will not be boiled ! " shrieked 
 
 Augustine, as the guards dragged him 
 
 away. 
 
 174 
 
'' The Queen of the May 
 
 j> 
 
 The Oueen trembled as she drew 
 herself up. 
 
 "You have done justice," she cried. 
 " Now send his accomplice to a merited 
 doom." 
 
 " I shall," said the King. 
 
 " Look at him," she went on, pointing 
 at Cromwell. "A picture of guilt! That 
 sodden face of his is expressive at last." 
 
 "Your Majesty," stammered Cromwell. 
 
 " I look at the other poisoner now," 
 said the King, watching her. 
 
 " You — you seek to frighten me ! " 
 she gasped, putting her hand up to her 
 forehead. 
 
 " You admitted drugging my wine." 
 
 " A love-philtre, a charm," she cried, 
 
 " Your charms bewitch me no more. 
 All my life has been poisoned by love," 
 said the King, softly. "Is the mischief 
 incurable ? The Lady Catherine accused 
 
 175 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 you. I overheard you thanking my dear- 
 est friend — your disdainful lover — for 
 destroying her letter. I was fooled into 
 prizing the heart his wisdom rejected. 
 Shall I toss it aside for him to value 
 again? Our mock marriage shall be 
 undone by the Archbishop of Canter- 
 bury." 
 
 " I wish your Grace a worthier toy. 
 I am one broken like that ivory queen," 
 she said, pointing to the wreck of the 
 chess. "I shall go to Flanders repent- 
 ant. As I weep in my solitude I shall 
 see you always further removed, as if we 
 were sundered by a river that widens in 
 perpetual rains. My shameful loveliness 
 shall be hidden from all. There I shall 
 be thrust aside Hke the Maypole of 
 St. Andrew's, left desolate since Evil 
 May-day. My palpitating heart will be 
 quiet: your glory will leave it undis- 
 
 176 
 
" The Queen of the May" 
 
 turbed, as the dawn triumphs without 
 rousing the dead. Is that thunder?'* 
 she said, pausing and listening. " No, a 
 regiment passes. You fill London with 
 troops to make the people submissive.? 
 I think England will pity me, for I have 
 done many good deeds. The morose 
 stuttering drums seem muffled as if they 
 throbbed at a burial." 
 
 "After the divorce," said the King, 
 " you shall be tried — " 
 " No ! " 
 
 " Before the House of Lords." 
 " No — no ! They are my enemies ! " 
 " On the charge of being a poisoner." 
 "You kill me!" she sobbed. "Their 
 verdict is sure." 
 
 The King propped his head on his 
 hand and stared at the table. 
 
 " Because your guilt is undoubted," 
 Cromwell put in, as if he thought the 
 " 177 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 King wavered. " Surely they will con- 
 demn you to be burnt or hanged, as 
 may please the King.'* 
 
 " Then I shall please him once again/' 
 she said, laughing. Clasping her hands, 
 she cried feebly, " For God's sake, hear 
 me — my King ! my husband ! — I love 
 you alone ! " 
 
 " To-night," said Cromwell hurriedly, 
 "while you jeered at his Majesty's sick- 
 ness you insulted him by owning your 
 love for a young — " 
 
 "Oh, my King!" she sobbed,"! was 
 frenzied by your sullen contempt. I did 
 not know what I said — " 
 
 " The truth comes out in anger," the 
 King muttered. 
 
 " My heart is yours only." 
 
 " Then I fling it away." 
 
 " See, I speak honestly — I did not 
 love you at first." 
 
 178 
 
" The Queen of the May " 
 
 " Ha ! " he said, looking up. 
 " I married you to be Queen. I 
 despised you for letting me subdue you 
 so easily — " 
 
 " What .? " he cried. 
 " How can a girl know her own heart ? 
 Mine wavered and was never at rest. 
 Now I am a woman. This night has 
 added a score of years to my age. And 
 I worship you." 
 
 " Too late," he said. 
 " My love is born of terror," she cried. 
 "You are a King." 
 
 "A girl tires of a husband always a 
 King," he muttered. 
 
 " But a woman does not. When I 
 said that — " Then she burst into tears. 
 Looking at Kingston, he said, " Let her 
 be taken back to the Tower." 
 
 Shutting his eyes, he leant back. As 
 Kingston came she drew herself up. 
 
 179 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 " My weakness is past," she said. 
 " Never again shall I vex you with irre- 
 pressible tears. When hope is gone, cour- 
 age revives. I am a daughter of the 
 Howards and worthy of my illustrious 
 uncle. If it would please you as 
 much, I had rather be beheaded than 
 hanged or burnt, for I have played at 
 being a monarch. Mine was the short 
 triumph of a Queen of the May. I 
 hear say the executioner is very good ; 
 and I have a little neck," she went 
 on, laughing and clasping her hands 
 round it, — "a tiny neck, Cophetua. 
 Look up ! I am not crying. Shall I 
 cheer you by singing? What song shall 
 I choose? — the rhyme I made while we 
 watched your troops going past as they 
 do yonder ? " 
 
 Then she began singing recklessly, in 
 a quavering voice ; 
 
 i8o 
 
99 
 
 " The Queen of the May 
 
 '* King of the weary land, enthroned on high ! 
 We, slaves of your command, go out to die. 
 Indifferent above, you trifle thus ; 
 The simple things we love are lost to us.*' 
 
 " Not always indifferent," muttered the 
 King. 
 
 " My simple joys," she said, laughing. 
 " I played with love. I am punished. I 
 was eager to love all who seemed friendly. 
 Now I am friendless." 
 
 " No," cried Northumberland. Spring- 
 ing forward, he clasped her hand, 
 kneeling. 
 
 Snatching her hand back, she said, 
 " Keep your kisses for the Lady Mag- 
 dalen, if she will accept them. Be loyal 
 to her, though you were faithless to me. 
 No man shall touch me again till the 
 executioner does." 
 
 " I forgot you, Harry," said the King, 
 looking up as Northumberland rose. 
 
 i8i 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 "The dead man's shoes were to have been 
 your inheritance ? Ha ! When the Pope 
 sent the Bishop of Rochester a Cardinal's 
 hat, I said ' Good ! when it arrives the 
 Bishop can wear it on the stump of his 
 neck.* A merry jest and prophetic ! My 
 shoes pinched me, dear brother : I '11 put 
 you out of reach of such pain. Take him 
 back to the Tower, Master Constable." 
 
 " I go gladly," said Northumberland. 
 "God knows I am weary of life." 
 
 " Why should you hurt him when the 
 worn shoe is destroyed P " she said as she 
 looked at the King. 
 
 " To double assurance," he replied, gaz- 
 ing down. 
 
 " Poor Harry," she said as she took 
 Northumberland's hand, " we must make 
 friends. Shall we go on the river again 
 to-night as we used ? It is dark on the 
 water, and the tide is at full." 
 
 182 
 
*' The Queen of the May '' 
 
 " Anne, forgive me ! " he whispered. 
 
 " I spoke in bitterness, Harry. I did 
 not mean it.'* 
 
 Holding his hand, she turned and 
 smiled at the King. 
 
 " I thank you for all your favours," 
 she said. " You changed the cowslip 
 crown into gold. Discontented with that, 
 you are giving me the crown of a martyr, 
 royal Cophetua. You can do nothing 
 more for me ; but I beg you to cherish 
 our little daughter Elizabeth. Pining for 
 a son, I was cold to her. Elizabeth will 
 never remember motherly love. If I am 
 judged to death according to law I shall 
 say nothing against it. Your poorest 
 subject has justice. I shall accuse none ; 
 but I shall pray God save you and send 
 you long to reign over England. A more 
 gentle or mild Prince never swayed scep- 
 tre. Your bounty and clemency towards 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 me, I am sure, have been especial. If any- 
 one intends an inquisitive survey of my 
 actions I require him to judge the 
 best. Come with me, Harry," she 
 went on, turning away, "the King has 
 united us." 
 
 "Take them apart," the King mut- 
 tered, without hfting his head. 
 
 " Love perishes ; but jealousy thrives," 
 she said. 
 
 On the threshold she paused and 
 looked at the King as if she hoped at 
 the last. Then she turned, shrugging 
 and laughing. The King groaned and 
 stopped his ears. 
 
 184 
 
BOOK III 
 
 Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 As the door was shut by a guard the 
 Queen broke down and cried bitterly with 
 her face in her hands. While she stumbled 
 along the gallery, Northumberland fol- 
 lowed her, but was checked at the top of 
 the stairs for some minutes, and then led 
 to the river and taken back to the Tower. 
 There he was put in a Beauchamp cell lit 
 by a barred hole in the roof 
 
 So he fretted without news of the 
 world till a dark evening in autumn. 
 Then while a fog seemed to make his 
 prison remote from London he heard 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 a clatter of keys, and Rich came in, 
 wrapped in his luxurious mantle. 
 
 " I come from my Lord Cromwell/' 
 said Rich as he bowed. 
 
 " Then go back," said the Earl without 
 rising. " I have no dealings with him." 
 
 " You are unjust to him, my dear 
 lord." 
 
 " I guess your errand," said Northum- 
 berland scornfully. " You were sent 
 here to trap Sir Thomas More by 
 feigned sympathy. When he was judged 
 you accused him of denying the King's 
 supremacy of the Church at that meeting. 
 More called you a liar ; but your evidence 
 doomed him. Imagine I have said all 
 you want." 
 
 "You are ungenerous to me, too," 
 said Rich. " I bring freedom." 
 
 " On what terms ? " said Northumber- 
 land, rising. 
 
 i86 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 " You are to go back to Wharfe." 
 
 " Where is Lady Northumberland ? " 
 
 "There." 
 
 " Where Is the King ? " 
 
 "At Windsor; but It is said he will 
 ride to crush the rebels of Lincoln." 
 
 " Is Lincoln in arms ? " 
 
 " The clergy and the ignorant rustics 
 and a half-hearted throng of the gentle- 
 men are briefly allied against their 
 different grievances. Sixty thousand are 
 in arms in the Fens." 
 
 " And Yorkshire ? " 
 
 " Is quiet," said Rich, " but the King 
 has need of friends in the North." 
 
 " So repents keeping them imprisoned 
 unjustly ? " 
 
 " My Lord Privy Seal — perhaps you 
 are unaware my Lord Cromwell has been 
 advanced to that post ? — has chosen this 
 time for proving his belief in your 
 
 187 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 loyalty. I wish I could persuade you 
 he is truly your friend. And his kind- 
 ness is valuable. See how he protected 
 Augustine — " 
 
 " That villain was spared ? " 
 
 " He escaped from the Tower. I 
 suspect my Lord Privy Seal delivered 
 him and keeps him in hiding ; for he is 
 the kindest of men, though we may con- 
 sider him unscrupulous in matters of 
 State. Because he looks on such things 
 as a student, he is not hampered by ten- 
 derness. You or I might have spared 
 Mistress Anne." 
 
 " Was she killed ? '' said Northumber- 
 land. 
 
 " The poor soul was beheaded out 
 there on the nineteenth of May. I was 
 on the scaffold with my Lord Cromwell 
 and saw her die merrily. With her last 
 breath she praised the King's justice and 
 
 i88 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 peculiar clemency. The next morning 
 he wedded Mistress Jane Seymour/' 
 
 " God forgive him ! " 
 
 " Some hoped he would have married 
 Mistress Catherine Howard. You know 
 her, my lord ? " 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "A dear friend of mine." 
 
 "When can I go?" 
 
 "As soon as you like," said Rich, 
 bowing. "Your people at Northumber- 
 land House have been forewarned of your 
 coming, and your sword has been sent 
 there. One of your men — your foster- 
 brother, I think — is waiting outside. 
 With your permission, my kind lord, I 
 shall leave you." 
 
 Bowing low, he withdrew. 
 
 Then Allan Thorne came in stolidly. 
 The sight of that sunburnt round face of 
 
 189 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 his with the colourless eyebrows and the 
 steady blue eyes made the Earl think of 
 lost happiness. Walking to Northumber- 
 land House, he armed and took horse and 
 then rode Northward with Thorne. 
 
 Reaching Lincoln, he found the Cathe- 
 dral garrisoned for the King, while the 
 troops huddled beneath it. The citizens 
 looked dark and morose, and kept away 
 from the soldiers. From an innkeeper 
 he learnt how the rebels had quarrelled 
 and had abandoned the city that morning 
 at daybreak and had gone to their homes. 
 
 Sending Thorne to prepare Lady 
 Northumberland, he travelled with a 
 slackening speed. The moors were sil- 
 vered by rain, and a wind stole by with 
 little footsteps. It was a black midnight 
 when he mounted the hill sheer beside 
 Dead Man's Ford. Nearing the top, he 
 saw a pile in front of him like a small 
 
 190 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 haystackj and then a horseman beside it, 
 blocking the narrow path. Then he 
 heard Aske's voice, " Who goes there ? " 
 
 "Answer, if you are a friend," said 
 Aske, after a pause. " No stranger 
 passes to-night." 
 
 " We were not always strangers," said 
 Northumberland softly. 
 
 " Harry ! " cried Aske. Then he said, 
 " You here, my Lord of Northumberland ? " 
 
 " Let me by." 
 
 " As a friend ? " 
 
 " You broke our friendship." 
 
 " As a rebel ? " 
 
 "As the King's loyal servant." 
 
 " Return then to Cromwell and your 
 chosen alHes." 
 
 " I mean to pass," said Northumber- 
 land, drawing his sword. 
 
 " And I am here to prevent it." 
 
 " My sword is out." 
 191 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 " And mine/* 
 
 The Earl charged, and the blades 
 clashed sparkling, and he felt a blow 
 on his side, as Aske's horse went down. 
 Springing from his saddle, he stood on 
 guard. " Are you hurt, Rob ? " said he, 
 as the horse floundered up. 
 
 Sheathing his sword, he took out his 
 flint, and struck it, and saw Aske lying 
 prone. " If only I had a light ! " he said. 
 Groping, he felt the heap on his left and 
 found it was brushwood. Then he knelt 
 and set the brushwood on fire. As the 
 pile crackled under clambering flames, 
 Aske got up, staggering, with his hand 
 on his forehead. 
 
 " Are you wounded ? " said the Earl. 
 
 " I was stunned by the fall," said Aske, 
 as if he was dazed. Then he stared at the 
 light. " Who Ht it ? " he went on. 
 
 " I did, to see how you were hurt." 
 192 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 An alarm bell began to clash in the valley, 
 and was answered by others on the north- 
 ern moors. The Earl saw a fire aloft in 
 the distance. Then he watched others 
 leap as if the hills spouted flame. 
 
 " God's ways are unfathomable," said 
 Aske. " You have summoned the Cath- 
 olics to rise, after all." 
 
 Folding his arms, Northumberland 
 looked at Aske without speaking. 
 
 "Harry," said Aske, "God has re- 
 called you. You have been driven out of 
 His path by irresistible trouble. Mis- 
 tress Anne is gone now. May she rest in 
 peace ! Nothing need part you from your 
 wife. I was waiting for a message from 
 Lincoln. If the news had been favour- 
 able I would have lit the beacon at four. 
 I am only a follower of the Catholic lords. 
 You are our loved leader again.'* 
 13 193 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 Northumberland gazed at the beacons : 
 they seemed to him torches uplifted 
 by invisible giants. Rough villages in 
 the clefts of the moors and old solitary 
 castles and fishers' huts by the sea and 
 monasteries hidden in woods were being 
 thrilled by that shining. In numerous 
 homes it was the signal for parting. Wo- 
 men were crying as they buckled on the 
 men's armour. Thousands were risking 
 everything for a desperate hope. Then 
 he pictured his wife watching the beacons 
 with their child in her arms at the win- 
 dow of the parlour at Wharfe. Was she 
 thinking how they would have called to 
 him in the time when she loved him? 
 Was the Friar with her? he wondered. 
 Then he thought of the Cardinal, and 
 remembered the grasp of his soft and 
 feverish hand as the old man saw a 
 vision. 
 
 194 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 " It is too late," he said, echoing the 
 Cardinal's words. 
 
 Sighing heavily, Aske stooped for his 
 sword. Northumberland reeled, suddenly- 
 dizzy, and then clapped his left hand to 
 his side, remembering the blow he had 
 felt. Finding his hand wet, he looked at 
 it and saw it was bloody. Wiping it on 
 the inside of his cloak as Aske rose, he 
 said faintly, " Will you let me pass now ? '* 
 
 " You go to Wharfe ? I '11 accompany 
 you. I wish to see Friar Anderton." 
 
 So they led their horses down the 
 steep path. Mounting, they splashed 
 through Dead Man's Ford while a flush 
 scurried on the tremulous river. Then 
 they rode up the naked moor on the left. 
 On its crest a huge beacon towered as if 
 it was scorching the sky. As the roar of 
 that great bonfire grew faint behind them, 
 they heard a psalm. 
 
 195 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 Going round the edge of the moor, 
 they met a procession. First came armed 
 horsemen with torches and banners, and 
 then an old priest in gilt vestments rode 
 carrying a tall silver cross, and behind him 
 were many monks, riding two abreast, with 
 swords dangling beside their rosaries, 
 followed by other troopers and by archers 
 on foot. 
 
 Northumberland screened his face with 
 his cloak, and drew rein by the roadside. 
 Aske copied him, as the procession ap- 
 proached chanting " Exsurget Deus." 
 
 Seeing them, the first horseman 
 paused, and then the others stopped also. 
 
 " Friends or foes ? ** said the horse- 
 man. 
 
 "Who are you ?" replied Aske. 
 Pilgrims of Grace,** was the answer. 
 
 " Who is your leader ? " 
 
 " Robert Aske.*' 
 
 196 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 Startled, Aske let his cloak fall, and so 
 the man recognised him. " The Cap- 
 tain ! " he cried, and his shout was repeated 
 down the array. 
 
 " My son,'' said the old pnest, riding 
 forward, " we have come at your bid- 
 ding. Take this. You are the one to 
 lift the Cardinal's cross." 
 
 " My bidding ? " said Aske. 
 
 " Your proclamation has been posted 
 to-night on the market-cross and the 
 church. Your messengers are scouring 
 the hills." 
 
 " Mine ? " said Aske, as if he was won- 
 dering. Then he lifted his voice. " Go 
 forward in God's name. I shall be with 
 you to-morrow." 
 
 With a renewed acclaim the proces- 
 sion wound beside the edge of the moor. 
 So Aske and Northumberland went into 
 the village of High-thorpe, screening 
 
 197 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 their faces. There they found the women 
 and children and feeble elders agog as 
 if it was market-day. The first they met 
 was an old shepherd, tottering as he leant 
 on his crook, laughing extremely. " There 
 is a madman in the cage on the Green," 
 he cried, " and his language is hideous." 
 
 As Aske paused by the market-cross, 
 stooping to read a notice stuck on its 
 shaft, Northumberland looked over the 
 bystanders and saw a man in the cage. 
 The prisoner was muffling his face in his 
 hood, and cowered back in the corner. 
 There was something familiar in his dan- 
 gerous crouch. 
 
 " The hand of God again," said Aske 
 slowly. " I never issued that summons. 
 Yet there it calls the country to rise, and 
 it is signed with my name." 
 
 " Find out who the prisoner is," said 
 
 the Earl. 
 
 198 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 "What has he done ? " said Aske to a 
 young woman beside him. 
 
 "We caught him prowling to-night," 
 she said, tittering. " Some were going to 
 hang him as a spy ; and then he was so 
 savage that we saw he was mad." 
 
 " Who are you, knave ? " said Aske as 
 he looked down at the prisoner. 
 
 " One you know well," the man mut- 
 tered as if he spoke through clenched 
 teeth. 
 
 The Earl turned away and let his cloak 
 fall. 
 
 " Hold my name secret if you value 
 your life. Master Aske," the man said, 
 springing forward. 
 
 " The Captain," cried some of the by- 
 standers. " A Percy ! a Percy ! my Lord 
 of Northumberland and the Captain are 
 with us ! God save our noble leaders ! " 
 
 " Stand back, good people," said Aske, 
 199 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 dropping his cloak. The crowd drew 
 aloof and gaped at them reverently. 
 
 " I set small value on your chance of 
 life, my Lord Cromwell," he went on 
 softly as he stooped to the cage. 
 
 " I am in your hands/' replied Crom- 
 well. " You will find it worth your while 
 to assist me." 
 
 " I would be the last to lift a finger 
 to help you," said Aske. " I have but 
 to name you and your shrift will be 
 short." 
 
 " Then, my Lord of Northumberland, 
 I appeal to your loyalty." 
 
 *' What brings you here ? " said Aske 
 slowly. 
 
 " I was bound for Wharfe," answered 
 Cromwell. " I left my men, and came 
 here to see for myself how the villagers were 
 receiving the summons. I was surprised 
 by the muster.*' 
 
 200 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 " I '11 not shed your blood," said Aske 
 scornfully. 
 
 " Then you '11 free me ? " 
 
 " By no means." 
 
 " If you leave me here, some of the 
 gathering rebels will recognise me to- 
 morrow." 
 
 " So I hope." 
 
 " I '11 spare him," said Northumber- 
 land, turning. 
 
 " Why ? " said Aske. 
 
 " Because he is my enemy." 
 
 " Do as you think best." 
 
 Then the Earl ordered the rustics to 
 set the prisoner free, and rode on. 
 
 When he came to the Wharfe with 
 Aske in the small hours of the night he 
 thought the voice of the river was full of 
 frenzied despair. There was a dull pain 
 in his side, and he felt his clothes stick- 
 
 20I 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 ing clotted. In his heart there was a 
 similar ache. Unmanned by weakness, 
 he felt as if he was small again, riding 
 home on his pony, wondering at the rage 
 of the Wharfe and the misery of the 
 wind in the trees. Now the woods were 
 unstirred ; but a far clamour of bells 
 haunted him like a storm overhead. 
 
 Going round to the front of the Castle, 
 he saw torches flock up the long avenue. 
 The wide door was ajar, and the steps 
 and gravel were shining. The clattering 
 hoofs summoned his men. Getting out 
 of the saddle, he almost fell, and he found 
 it hard to go up the steps. As he crossed 
 the threshold the Friar welcomed him and 
 said the child was asleep. " Poor darling ! " 
 he said, " she could not keep her eyes open. 
 I was afraid she would take cold." 
 
 "It is good to be home," said North- 
 umberland faintly. 
 
 202 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 With that he looked at the stairs ; but 
 he was afraid to go up them for fear his 
 plight should be evident. So he turned 
 to the left and went into the dining-hall. 
 Sinking into the high chair at the head 
 of the table, he whispered, " Bring me 
 some wine ! " 
 
 Dizzy and swooning, he leant back, 
 shutting his eyes. When he opened 
 them, he saw a goblet, and took it with 
 an irresolute grasp. As he drained it 
 there was shouting outside, ^' A Percy ! 
 a Percy ! God save the Earl of North- 
 umberland." 
 
 Then he looked to the right, and saw 
 Aske stand by the window, and heard 
 cheers for the Captain. Staring in front 
 of him, he watched the high doorway. 
 It seemed to him his wife must come 
 lovingly. The trouble that sundered 
 them was far from his mind. Then his 
 
 203 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 heart rose and there were tears in his eyes ; 
 for she came just as he hoped. Clad 
 in grey riding-clothes, she stood on the 
 threshold, and held a big banner in her left 
 hand while her other was stretched to him. 
 
 " Now welcome home," she said, " and 
 never so welcome." 
 
 The words chimed in his heart as the 
 bells had done at his wedding. Checked 
 by his stillness, she winced as if she 
 was frightened. Then she came forward 
 slowly with a confident pride. 
 
 " My lord," she said softly as she 
 paused on his left, " here is your banner." 
 
 Looking away from her eyes reluc- 
 tantly, he glanced at it, and instead of the 
 White Lion saw a cross and such emblems 
 as he had seen on the standards of a 
 religious procession. " Where ? " he asked 
 himself. Then he recalled seeing such a 
 banner that night. 
 
 204 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 " It is not mine," he said faintly. 
 
 " It is the banner of the Five Wounds," 
 she said, " the standard of the Pilgrims of 
 Grace. It is all my work, dear. See, I 
 am wearing the badge of the Five 
 Wounds, for I shall go at your side. 
 Lady Bulmer and other women intend to 
 share the lot of their husbands ; so I shall 
 have feminine company while you are in 
 battles. I have burnished your armour 
 apd set it out in your room. We shall 
 never more be parted again. I knew God 
 would answer my prayers. Blessed be 
 His name for ever ! " 
 
 Still he looked up at her while his sick 
 heart thirsted for the love in her eyes. 
 
 " You are so pale, my husband. I 
 have been ill also ; but you have cured 
 me to-night," she went on. " Hear how 
 your people worship you ! All over the 
 North the runners hasten to tell how you 
 
 20^. 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 joined the Pilgrims at High-thorpe. I 
 cried for gladness when they brought me 
 the news ; but I would not meet you with 
 tears. Why are you silent ? " she whis- 
 pered, shrinking away. 
 
 " It is not true," he said hoarsely. 
 
 As his eyes grew dim he thought she 
 was far. Outside the cheering redoubled, 
 "Esperance Percy! The Earl shall be 
 our King ! " 
 
 Bowing her head, she clutched the back 
 of his chair. 
 
 " It may yet be true," said Aske, com- 
 ing forward. 
 
 Starting, she looked up at him, saying, 
 " I did not see you." 
 
 Then in ran the Friar, carrying little 
 Cecily reverently. " I have brought her," 
 he cried. " Poor baby 1 She is still half 
 
 asleep." 
 
 206 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 Northumberland did not move to 
 receive her. Cecily cringed as if she was 
 alarmed by a stranger. The Friar looked 
 from one to another as if he was dismayed 
 but taking a puzzled delight in this incom- 
 prehensible world. 
 
 "And you .^ " said Lady Northumber- 
 land to Aske. "Are you the Captain, or 
 is that also a lie ? " 
 
 " For lack of a better leader," he said, 
 " I am the Captain." 
 
 " Then I have one to trust," she said, 
 and proffered the banner. 
 
 Aske leant across the table and took It. 
 
 " It is not mine yet," he said. " Harry ! 
 for the last time I appeal to you." 
 
 " My mind is made up," said North- 
 umberland as if he spoke in his sleep. 
 
 " Yet think again," said Aske. " Since 
 Mistress Anne is dead now, your marriage 
 to her ladyship can be repeated, and — " 
 
 207 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 "What do you mean ? *' she whispered. 
 
 " Though my lord was betrothed to 
 Mistress Anne — " said Aske. 
 
 "Betrothed to that vile woman — mar- 
 riage repeated — " she said faintly. " You 
 mean — my marriage was — this is mad- 
 ness!" Turning, she clasped the child to 
 her heart. " Speak ! " she said feverishly 
 to Northumberland. "You sit like a 
 stone. Tell him — tell him he raves." 
 Gazing at him, she drew herself up, and 
 then thrust the child back to the Friar; 
 but as he was taking it she hugged it 
 again. Kissing it, she looked up at Aske 
 slowly. "And you knew this?" she 
 said. 
 
 " Since before the Cardinal died." 
 
 " The one I trusted ! " 
 
 Turning, she gave the child to the Friar. 
 
 " Did you ? " she said as he took 
 
 it. 
 
 208 
 
PiWims of Grace 
 
 " God forgive me ! I did," said he. 
 
 "All this long time ! " she said. 
 
 "I could not bring myself to tell you. 
 You and my lord were living apart. I 
 put it off." 
 
 There was a throbbing of drums and 
 then the shout of a trumpet. 
 
 " A Darcy ! " the mob roared by the 
 window. 
 
 Then in strode Lord Darcy, armed from 
 head to foot, wearing the badge of the 
 Five Wounds on his breast. 
 
 " Harry, I wronged you ! " he cried, 
 holding out his arms as he came. " My 
 friend's son — my own boy ! " 
 
 Then he stopped and looked at the 
 Countess. Behind him the rebels rushed 
 in, shouting, " Esperance Percy ! " 
 
 Northumberland sprang up, crying, 
 " Back ! This house shall not be dishon- 
 oured by rebels." 
 
 14 209 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 There was a minute's silence, then 
 shouting " Down with the Traitor Earl ! 
 Strike off his head ! " 
 
 As old Darcy drew his sword frantically 
 and the rebels surged forward Northum- 
 berland reeled. 
 
 " I can die but once," he said. '' It 
 will rid me of my pain. I am alone 
 against the world. God knows I wish 
 myself out of it ! '' 
 
 " I am with you, my lord," said Allan 
 Thorne, striding forward. 
 
 Northumberland staggered and held out 
 his arms with bitter tears in his eyes. 
 
 " My brother," he whispered, and fell 
 prone on the rushes. 
 
 " Oh ! poor child ! " sobbed his wife, 
 kneeUng beside him. 
 
 As she lifted his head, cherishing it, he 
 opened his eyes and gazed at her with 
 incredulous happiness. Rising, she let him 
 
 2IO 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 go, and he sank fainting again. As Thorne 
 stooped the Friar said, " He is wounded ! 
 My lady, there is blood on your gown ! " 
 
 As she looked at the stain Aske cried, 
 " Wounded ! I must have done it ! " 
 
 " You ? " she said, shrinking. 
 
 Thorne glared at him as if he would 
 have flung himself on him, and carrying 
 the Earl, broke through the crowd. 
 
 Northumberland came to himself lying 
 on the bed in his room. At first he did 
 not know where he was. Remembrance 
 came back like the miserable dream of a 
 fever. A man stood by his side: it was 
 himself, he thought — how could this be? 
 That was his black armour, there was the 
 White Lion embroidered over the breast- 
 plate. The man's face was hidden, for 
 the vizor was down. 
 
 "What — who are you?" said the Earl 
 softly with a tremble of awe. 
 
 211 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 " Your loving servant," answered 
 Thome's voice. 
 
 " Those are my arms." 
 
 " The rebels went out," said Thorne, 
 " but they are raging beneath, threatening 
 to kill you when their leaders depart." 
 
 " Let them do it." 
 
 " Not while I live. I shall confront 
 them. They will take me for you. 
 This is your armour ; but I wear my own 
 sword. I have one blow to strike. Then 
 I shall break them. It is the only hope." 
 
 " I forbid it," said Northumberland, 
 attempting to rise. 
 
 " For the first time I disobey you, my 
 lord." 
 
 As Thorne went the Earl struggled to 
 rise, feeling chained. Staggering to the 
 window and pulling it ajar, he leant out. 
 "I — I am Northumberland ! " he cried ; 
 but his voice whispered unheard. 
 
 212 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 Aske was on his horse by the door, 
 lifting the banner of the Five Wounds, 
 while Darcy was in the saddle beyond 
 him. Behind them a multitude swarmed 
 with banners and torches. A grey rider- 
 less horse was held at the other side of 
 the door. Lady Northumberland was on 
 the steps, holding the child. The Friar 
 stood at her back. As Darcy and Aske 
 bowed to her there were cries in the mob, 
 " The Earl comes ! A Percy ! " 
 
 Then Northumberland saw his foster- 
 brother on the top of the steps. Again 
 that shiver came over him as if he 
 looked at himself Lady Northumber- 
 land turned to Thorne, crying, " My 
 husband ! " Thorne drew his sword and 
 sprang down and lifting it high, struck 
 at Aske ; but his blow was impeded by 
 the staff of the banner. Aske reeled 
 away, clutching the end of the cut staff 
 
 213 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 while the banner was falling. The rebels 
 rushed, and Thorne charged them, hack- 
 ing to right and left, and reached the 
 planks on the Wharfe. Then he stag- 
 gered and flung up his hands and fell 
 headlong into the river. The rebels pur- 
 suing him stopped. One cried, " The 
 Traitor Earl drowns ! " 
 
 Northumberland looked back at his 
 wife and saw her stand like a statue and 
 then thrust the child into Friar Ander- 
 ton's arms. Picking up the banner, she 
 mounted and rode away beside Aske. 
 
 214 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 Northumberland stood clutching the 
 window and then crossed the room 
 bhndly and reeled down the dark stairs. 
 The hall was forsaken. Going out by 
 the postern, he staggered through the 
 trees till he halted where the Wharfe 
 shouted in the pit of the rocks. Hidden 
 in the black gulf at his feet, it rushed 
 clamouring as if it exulted. A hope of 
 saving his foster-brother died as he lis- 
 tened : no man could escape from that 
 tumultuous river. 
 
 Torches were jumping in the night of 
 the wood, and he fled from them, trip- 
 ping over briars and stones. The torrent 
 dismayed him as if he writhed in its grip ; 
 
 215 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 but it mastered him, and he kept on its 
 brim. No cry for help mingled with its 
 passionate voice. Coming at last to a 
 narrow bridge, he went on it and leaning 
 on ivy, stared down, taking breath. 
 White flashes sprang underneath : one 
 was the plume of a helmet, he thought, 
 and another a glimpse of his armorial 
 Lion. Then he knew they were foam. 
 The wild river called to him, offering him 
 sleep after pain ; but he broke from its 
 spell and made for the North. When 
 that grim chant of the Wharfe waned his 
 heart rose. The Earl of Northumberland 
 was gone in the dark. No more a lord, 
 but a nameless man out of the fetters of 
 life, he was alone. 
 
 From time to time he looked back, 
 instinctively afraid of pursuit. Often a 
 breeze wafted a far discord of bells ; but 
 they concerned him no longer. Night 
 
 216 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 made the country peaceful till dawn came 
 back with banners. Topping a black 
 eastern hill, they were distinct against the 
 glimmer of morning. Now he was indif- 
 ferent to their tidings of battle. 
 
 It seemed to him he wandered many 
 miles, with clogged feet and dim eyes and 
 a resting heart, before the strength of his 
 fever gave out and he sank upon a pillow 
 of moss. When he came to himself his 
 head was on a billet of wood and he was 
 lying on a mat made of rushes. Looking 
 up, he saw rafters with smoke drifting 
 about them like incense in the roof of a 
 church. Gazing round stupidly, he saw 
 he was in a bare little hut. On his left a 
 shaggy brown dog crouched, watching 
 him soberly. On his right a pot hissed 
 on a fire. Another bed with a shep- 
 herd's crook and some wooden platters 
 
 217 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 and mugs thrown on it completed the 
 furniture. 
 
 Sitting up and rubbing his eyes, he 
 found he was bearded. As the dog leapt 
 up, wagging its tail, and ran out of the 
 hovel, he went to the threshold. The 
 first thing he saw was a rabbit seated de- 
 murely, washing its mild face in the rain. 
 Then he saw uplands ghostly in a quiver- 
 ing shower. On those autumnal moors 
 silence was absolute. 
 
 So he stood drinking the lofty air for a 
 
 time. Then he heard barks and a piped 
 
 ballad approaching. Somebody shrilled 
 
 "The Hunting of the Cheviot" in the 
 
 mists on the right. 
 
 *«The Percy out of Northumberland, 
 And a vow to God made he 
 That he would hunt in the mountains.*' 
 
 Thus the voice whined, and then a 
 tattered old shepherd came slowly, with 
 
 218 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 the dog at his heels. This was a feeble 
 scarecrow with a face like a goat's ; and 
 he was shining with happiness. Seeing 
 Northumberland, he grinned and nodded, 
 and hurrying his difficult steps, lifted his 
 voice, — 
 
 ** * They were twenty hundred spearmen good, 
 Withouten any fail : 
 They were born along by the water of Tweed 
 In the bounds of Teviotdale.' 
 
 " A merry world ! " he said. " So you 
 have found reason at last ? The things 
 you have been saying ! — oh, good lord ! 
 I did laugh." 
 
 " How did I come here? " said North- 
 umberland, flushing. 
 
 " On my cart. The Bishop found you 
 with your nose in the moss ; and I near 
 broke my spine in lifting you up.'* 
 
 " What Bishop ? " 
 
 " Dear, dear," said the shepherd, " I 
 219 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 thought the whole country knew my dog 
 was named Bishop because he has to look 
 after a flock. It is but one of my jests. 
 No doubt you are a stranger. Good dog ! 
 Watch him trying to laugh. I had been 
 down to High-thorpe." 
 
 " Ah ! " said Northumberland, remem- 
 bering where he had seen the shepherd 
 before. 
 
 " You wonder ? " the old fellow went 
 on. " Yes, I am a traveller. Twice 
 every year I go away to the market. The 
 things I have seen ! That very night 
 there was a lunatical knave — good lord ! 
 my ribs were sore with my mirth. What 
 a night that was ! Never did I encounter 
 so many marvels, and yet I have gone 
 travelling — as every one knows — twice 
 every year. That night I saw the Traitor 
 Earl with these eyes." 
 
 "Indeed?" 
 
 220 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 " Not that I saw his face — no ! thank 
 Heaven ! for they say it was frightful, as 
 was but natural since he was possessed by 
 the Devil. I happen to know that as a 
 fact. There he was riding with his cloak 
 held up thus and his eyes glowering above 
 it like embers. The Devil was staring 
 out of his head. To think of it ! I used 
 to be so eager to look at him : he owned 
 all these moors away for hundreds of 
 miles. Till then I had missed him : it 
 used to make me so wild I could have 
 eaten my hands. Yet I saw him before 
 the Devil carried him off.'' 
 
 " Did you see that too ? " 
 
 " I heard of it from black William, a 
 pedlar, yet a trustworthy man. Surely 
 you know him? Where do you live? 
 Says William, meeting me as I was com- 
 ing along before the Bishop found you, — 
 says he, ' Satan has the Traitor Earl — 
 
 221 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 swooped on him as he was crossing the 
 bridge by the Castle — I saw it.' ^ Thanks 
 be to God,' says I. ' So say all of us,' 
 replies he. ' Tell me more,' I shouted ; 
 but he was gone. Black William is a man 
 of his word. So am I. True Barnabas 
 Sykes, they call me : you must have heard 
 of me often. Old Barnabas, some call me 
 of late. I '11 scrape the moss from their 
 tombstones yet when I go marketing twice 
 every year." 
 
 " Then I have to thank you for saving 
 me. 
 
 " Could I leave you to die alone on the 
 moor ? I nearly did when I found you 
 were as heavy as lead. I am not as strong 
 as I was, but I am good for many a 
 winter." 
 
 " To repay your kindness — " 
 
 " The wound was ugly, and your fever 
 was horrible. You repaid me at once, 
 
 222 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 for you were enlivening company. 
 ' Gentle Magdalen/ says you, ^ beautiful 
 Magdalen.' How I did laugh ! ^ Sweet- 
 heart/ says you, kissing my hand — this 
 very hand," said the shepherd, looking at 
 his stained fingers. " No one ever kissed 
 it before. ^ Rob will make you happy,' 
 says you ; ' you should have married him. 
 Now I am dead, you will forget me, lovC;, 
 and all will be well. Delicate Magdalen,' 
 says you, ^ oh sweet Magdalen.' Then 
 you would turn over, and cry, ^It is too 
 late. Merciful God ! It is too late.' 
 Then you would begin calling me Anne. 
 ' Be true to me, dear : and then no one 
 shall come between us,' says you, ' not the 
 proud Cardinal — no, nor the King. God 
 save the King ! ' you would shout, waking 
 the Bishop. Lord, how he barked, the 
 time you wanted to murder me ! ' It is 
 all your work, miscreant,' you cried, grip- 
 
 223 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 ping my throat. ' Rob is my friend,' says 
 you, ' a noble gentleman. The King is 
 my brother. — Let me hold your yielding 
 chill little hand once again, for the last 
 time, for a minute, my wife, Magdalen.' " 
 " No more of that," said Northumber- 
 land. 
 
 " As you like it, your Highness." 
 " Why do you address me so ? " 
 " The King's brother is a prince," said 
 the shepherd. " You know I must have 
 my jest. Merry Barnabas, the girls used 
 to call me. Old Barnabas, that little fool 
 said — she does not know any better." 
 " I have but little gold." 
 " I know you have a fortune. Seven 
 gold pieces ! When did I see so many ? 
 I put them under your mat." 
 " If you will accept them — " 
 " Lie down and rest. I hoped the 
 
 fever was gone." 
 
 224 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 " I think it is. They are yours, and I 
 shall trespass no longer — " 
 
 " You are unforgiving," the shepherd 
 said peevishly. " I did not mean to 
 offend." 
 
 " On the contrary, I am most grateful." 
 
 " Come in, then. The Bishop is 
 hungry. Hark how the pot sings on the 
 fire." 
 
 So a long association began. With 
 rough food and the incurious society of 
 sheep and the blithe prattle of their owner, 
 the days were swift to Northumberland. 
 Dawn summoned him to foster the sheep. 
 It was a dangerous task often, for the 
 winter was hard, and the drifts blocked the 
 hut, choking the wattled folds. Spring 
 brought the need of midwifery for the 
 ewes in their trouble. When his clothes 
 were worn out he borrowed a ragged 
 smock from the shepherd. Then his 
 IS 225 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 only link with the past was the gold-hilted 
 sword propped in a corner. That congenial 
 air ripened his manhood. Days em- 
 ployed in protection softened him, and he 
 was unconsciously moulded by the moors 
 as they seemed happily supine in bright 
 weather or proud in resistance when the 
 winter was frantic. 
 
 Health made him restless ; and he 
 would long to be powerful, as if some tall 
 ship sunk on its first adventure should 
 strain under insignificant keels. Then 
 peace made him quiet. The pride of his 
 youth had been broken, and he looked 
 up at life as the dead might study it from 
 under the scenes. Memory showed him 
 many dear once but not much to him now ; 
 for they had loved a man who was gone. 
 Two were dear to him still, — a silent girl 
 with grey eyes, and a glad child ; for his 
 love of them was stronger than Death. 
 
 226 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 Often he would imagine his wife seated by 
 the fire in their home while the glow 
 fondled her silken hair as he used. Then 
 he would feel Death and Sorrow were the 
 shadowy things of a fireside dream. 
 
 Now he had done with anxiety, and his 
 heart found repose in the comfortable be- 
 lief of his fathers. To his chastened eyes 
 the world had an unusual loveliness. In 
 a hollow a waterfall seemed propping a 
 wood. During still hours he watched it 
 with an aching delight. At such times 
 he was haunted by one of Mistress 
 Anne's songs. 
 
 "Somewhere in silent hills, a nook of trees 
 Forgets this land of ills and little ease : 
 My wanderings are blind, and full of care ; 
 And yet my heart shall find its country there." 
 
 The shepherd journeyed to market in the 
 Spring and got news. So the Earl learnt 
 how Aske had lifted the silver cross and 
 
 227 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 the banner of the Five Wounds on the 
 steps of York Cathedral, and had con- 
 fronted the royal levies on the banks of 
 the Don, and how a miraculous rain had 
 flooded the river and had divided the 
 armies till the King had been able to 
 gather forces, and how the rebels had 
 separated, weakened by discord and en- 
 chanted by promises. Further he learnt 
 how Sir Francis Bigod had lifted the ban- 
 ner of the Five Wounds again, in spite of 
 the original leaders, and how Norfolk had 
 shattered the irresolute muster. 
 
 That autumn the shepherd fetched 
 sorrowful tidings. So the Earl learnt how 
 most of the original leaders had been 
 arrested in spite of the promised pardons, 
 and how the King had shouted, " Put an 
 end to them all ! Knit up the tragedy ! " 
 and how Lady Bulmer had been burnt 
 and Darcy beheaded and Aske hanged 
 
 228 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 In York while Lady Northumberland 
 was untouched in her home. 
 
 The old man recited these things 
 merrily, contrasting the folly of great 
 persons and the wisdom of sheep. Thus 
 the Earl had a tardy knowledge of the 
 affairs he had left. The death of Oueen 
 Jane in childbirth and the King's growing 
 sickness and Cromwell's war with the 
 nobles were little to him while his wife 
 and daughter were free. 
 
 The shepherd sprained his ankle one 
 Spring and was compelled to postpone 
 his travels. Coming back from them 
 gladly, he said he had gone out of his 
 way to look at the spot where the Devil 
 had swooped down on the Earl. 
 
 "Never did I enjoy myself sol" said 
 he. " I thought of you also, for I was 
 sure you would like to hear the Castle 
 
 229 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 described. A mountainous building it is. 
 There I saw a round little Friar." 
 
 " You spoke to him ? " said Northum- 
 berland, eagerly. 
 
 " ' A fine day,' says he, bobbing his 
 head out of a window. ' It was raining 
 early,' says I. ' That was but the pride 
 of the morning,' says he." 
 
 " Did he say nothing else ? " 
 
 " I am telling you all. ' What news ? * 
 says he. So I — " 
 
 " We can talk of that after. I want to 
 hear what he said." 
 
 " How can I tell you if you keep 
 interrupting ? I did laugh ! — Says he, 
 'You are lucky to see so much of the 
 world.' ' It is my own doing,' says I, 
 ' I am an adventurous voyager.' ' Ah ! ' 
 says he, dolefully, ' but I am in prison.' " 
 
 " What ? " said Northumberland, start- 
 ing. 
 
 230 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 " ^ In prison,' says he — his very words, 
 I assure you. ' What have you done ? ' 
 says I. 'Nothing,' says he. — He is 
 locked up for being mad, I thought. — 
 Says he, ' What are you laughing at ? ' 
 Says I to him, ' I was thinking of a 
 man I saw in the cage — lord ! such vile 
 language ! ' ' I am caged, too,' says he. 
 'What are you grinning at now?' 'I 
 was thinking of a man that was fevered 
 and kept calling me Magdalen,' says I. 
 ' Who was he ? ' says he, jumping. ' I 
 found him wounded over there, on the 
 night the Devil went off with the Traitor 
 Earl,' says I. 'And his name?' says 
 he frantically. 'Well, he answers to 
 Joseph,' says I, 'for I christened him so, 
 when he would not tell me — ' 'What is 
 he like?' he screams. 'Tall and dark,' 
 says I, ' silent as a frog, and thin as a 
 crook, but companionable. This very 
 
 231 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 hand he kissed — would you believe it ? — 
 calling me his beautiful wife Magdalen/ 
 ^ Oh, God be praised ! * shrieked the 
 Friar. I laughed till I was hardly able 
 to stand/* 
 
 " What did he say then ? " 
 
 " ' Where is he now ? ' says he. ' At 
 my house/ says I. ^ Where is that?' 
 says he. Says I, ' Every one knows it 
 — a matter of twenty miles away on the 
 moors.' ' When are you going back ? ' 
 says he. ' Please God, I '11 sleep there 
 to-night/ says I. * Stop a minute,' says 
 he, and rushes away." 
 
 " And then ? " said Northumberland 
 breathlessly. 
 
 " ' For God's sake, I implore you to 
 give him that,' says he, throwing some- 
 thing out of the window." 
 
 " What was it ? " 
 
 " What do you think ? Guess ! The 
 232 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 poor fellow seemed to think it was gold. 
 ' I '11 do it/ say I, picking it up, but 
 meaning to drop it as soon as I was out 
 of his sight. Mad as a hare he was, so — " 
 
 "But — " 
 
 " I tell you it was only a scrap of paper 
 folded up in a ball. I did laugh ! He 
 fancied it was a diamond." 
 
 "Then you have lost it? " 
 
 " I meant to fling it away. Did I ? 
 I pocketed it to please him, I know. 
 Ridiculous wretch ! Wait," said the 
 shepherd, feeling his pocket, " I do be- 
 lieve I forgot to throw it away. No — 
 it is not there. — I suppose — Here the 
 thing is." 
 
 Northumberland snatched the paper 
 and opened it. A few words were 
 scrawled on it, " Lady Northumberland 
 is in the Tower, under sentence to be 
 burnt for High Treason." 
 
 233 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 The shepherd went on, " ' Tell your 
 friend I '11 wait at this window,' says the 
 lunatic." 
 
 " Which window ? " said Northumber- 
 land faintly. 
 
 " The one at the end of the Castle, near 
 the bridge where the Devil — '' 
 
 " I know it." 
 
 " I do believe he will wait." 
 
 Northumberland took his sword from 
 the corner and belted it under his smock. 
 Savagely bearded and clad as a shepherd, 
 he was wholly disguised. 
 
 " Friend," said he softly, " I cannot 
 thank you enough. If I live you'll see 
 me again." 
 
 " You are not going ? " 
 
 " At once." 
 
 " You are bewitched," cried the shep- 
 herd, crossing himself " Why did I 
 venture to that horrible place ? The 
 
 234 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 Friar was the Devil. I know it 1 How 
 his eyes glittered ! " 
 
 " Good-bye," said Northumberland, 
 taking his crook and gripping his host's 
 shrivelled hand. 
 
 " Joseph," the shepherd cried, " pray 
 to be released from the spell. You will be 
 torn limb from Umb, Joseph ! " 
 
 "Good-bye again," said Northumber- 
 land, going out of the hut. 
 
 "Your wealth?" 
 
 " Keep the few pieces if I never come 
 
 back.'* 
 
 "I'll spend them in masses for your 
 soul then; but it will be useless. You 
 will be carried off; and the Devil will 
 not take you to Purgatory. Kneel and 
 try to pray, Joseph ! " 
 
 As Northumberland went over the 
 moor the old man cried peevishly, 
 " Never say I left you unwarned. If you 
 
 235 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 choose to go to the Devil it is nothing to 
 me." To prove how little he minded, he 
 began singing shrilly, 
 
 "A Scottish knight hoved on the bent, 
 A watch I dare well say ; 
 So was he ware on the noble Percy 
 In the dawning of the day.'* 
 
 Then Northumberland heard the feeble 
 voice break. When he looked back the 
 shepherd was crying. 
 
 In the early shine of the next morning 
 he saw the crowns of his towers. Because 
 there had been rain in the night they 
 shimmered and the woods had a fairy 
 tint and were sparkling. Then he heard 
 the fierce river. 
 
 As he crossed the wet bridge, he saw 
 the Friar peep out of the window and 
 look from him sadly, as if he hungered for 
 some one. 
 
 236 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 " You have forgotten me ? " he said 
 under the window. 
 
 With a cry of joy Friar Anderton 
 peered, and then said sorrowfully, " You 
 — like this ! — oh, my dear lord ! How 
 you have suffered ! " 
 
 " Never more than now." 
 
 " But your coming will save her." 
 
 " What can I do against Cromwell ? " 
 
 " You can destroy him." 
 
 " I," said Northumberland, looking 
 down at his smock. 
 
 " You, a bareheaded tattered shepherd, 
 and I, an imprisoned Friar, shall conquer 
 him. Deposuit potentes ! — Glory to 
 God ! " 
 
 " Penniless — a voluntary outlaw — " 
 
 " I have gold," said the Friar, showing 
 a bag. " My dear lady gave me all this 
 to spend in charity, when she was arrested ; 
 but I — " 
 
 237 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 " That is of no use/' 
 
 " It will furnish you with clothes and a 
 horse/* 
 
 " It will enable me to reach London 
 more quickly. I can but share her 
 fate." 
 
 " But you had no part in the Rising.'* 
 
 " My life threatens Cromwell. Yet if 
 I could discover Augustine — " 
 
 " He is dead." 
 
 " Then so is my last hope." 
 
 " No, for he died here." 
 
 " Under my roof? " 
 
 " Under CromwelFs," said the Friar. 
 " Your property has been granted to 
 him." 
 
 " He is welcome to it." 
 
 " It was given to him when your wife 
 was condemned." 
 
 " When was that ? " 
 
 " A fortnight ago." 
 238 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 "When — " 
 
 " She was to suffer on the tenth." 
 
 " What day is this ? " 
 
 " Sunday the fourth." 
 
 " What month ? " 
 
 " June." 
 
 " The month we were married : it shall 
 see us united." 
 
 " In this world. The light of God has 
 dispelled the cloud of misunderstanding 
 that severed you. From the bewildered 
 twilight of youth you pass to the sober 
 noon, she softened by grief and made 
 wiser by solitude, and you no longer a 
 jealous lover but a husband rejoicing in a 
 quieter and trustful affection." 
 
 Northumberland looked down with a 
 sigh. 
 
 " Your wife loves you with all her 
 heart," said the Friar. "The stranger 
 welcomed in sorrow was not misled by the 
 
 239 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 cold and weary face that belied her pas- 
 sionate tenderness. Wolsey sent me to 
 part you ; but I found you divided. I 
 believed you had told her of the betrothal 
 yourself. Daily I saw the trouble pass 
 beyond cure as custom made it familiar. 
 When Robert Aske spoke of it — My dear 
 lord, forgive me if I meddle with things 
 hallowed from strangers. You may — I 
 sometimes feared you thought she loved 
 Aske. As I hope to be saved, there was 
 but a friendship between them. Cold and 
 tender comrades — '* 
 
 " That is all past." 
 
 " Not only her confessor, but her com- 
 panion, I know how she clung to a hope. 
 When she heard your foster-brother had 
 vanished she was certain he had died 
 in your armour. Remembering how 
 strong he had been, she recalled your 
 exhaustion. Above all, she was sure 
 
 240 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 you would not have tried to kill Aske. 
 'That should have opened my eyes/ said 
 she, ' though it embittered me then.' " 
 
 " Was Thome's body found ? " 
 
 " Shattered and beyond recognition." 
 
 "A loving friend." 
 
 " So was Aske's servant : he flung him- 
 self on his bed, saying, ' My master, my 
 master ! They will draw him, and hang 
 him, and quarter him ; ' and thus he died 
 of sorrow." 
 
 " God be with Robert Aske ! " 
 
 " Your wife's heart was breaking when 
 she doubted your love. When the truth 
 was made evident she would have given 
 her life to see you again. Long after I 
 abandoned my hope of your coming 
 she kept hers and found joy in that inde- 
 structible dream." 
 
 " And my child ? " 
 
 "The Duke of Norfolk adopted her. 
 i6 241 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 This shall restore her to you," said the 
 Friar as he held out a paper. 
 
 " What is it ? " 
 
 " Cromweirs death-warrant." 
 
 "What — " 
 
 " Erasmus said Englishmen live now as 
 if a scorpion was under every stone, for 
 they are in terror of Cromwell. Yet 
 this — " 
 
 " What is it ? " repeated Northumber- 
 land. 
 
 " Come closer, my lord. Can you 
 hear me ? It is Augustine's confes- 
 sion." 
 
 " Then I may deliver her — How did 
 you — 
 
 " Miserable Augustine repented. All 
 this time Cromwell kept him hidden in 
 Surrey. Cromwell is encompassed by 
 foes : even the King loathes him, they 
 say, and will buffet him and call him a 
 
 242 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 knave. Yet when he has been well pom- 
 melled and knocked about the head by 
 the King he will come out with as merry 
 a countenance as if he ruled all the roast. 
 Now he was afraid to keep Augustine 
 near London." 
 
 " Well ? " 
 
 " Augustine was taken ill here, and 
 believed he had been poisoned since 
 Cromwell dared not shelter him longer. 
 In the throes of death, he shrieked 
 for a priest till his gaolers were moved. 
 Poor wretches ! Some beauty remains 
 in those defiled mirrors of God. So 
 they let me visit him, thinking it would 
 never be known. I could not absolve 
 him till he made some amends. He 
 wrote this, avowing he had poisoned 
 Queen Catherine by Cromwell's orders, 
 and had falsely accused Mistress Anne, 
 and had sold her a harmless love-philtre, 
 
 243 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 and had deceived her by writing incrim- 
 inating words on the handkerchief.'* 
 
 " I was sure of it.'* 
 
 " Many suspected it : and here is the 
 proof. Yet I feared it was worthless, for 
 how could I have it sent to the King ? " 
 
 " Where is he ? " 
 
 " At Westminster." 
 
 " I lived in that house.'* 
 
 " Then you can reach him ? ' How 
 can I contend with the King ? ' the poor 
 Cardinal used to say, " said the Friar, as 
 he thrust the paper into the bag. 
 Throwing the bag down, he went on, 
 " Now Cromwell will find the uselessness 
 of contending with God." 
 
 Crossing the bridge, Northumberland 
 took the road to the South. Keeping 
 aloof from High-thorpe, he waded 
 through Dead Man's Ford and arrived 
 
 244 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 in Lincoln by night. There he was 
 shaved, and he purchased a black suit and 
 a horse. No one seemed to remember 
 him. As he took the London road in 
 the morning when the gate was opened he 
 felt he had no place in the world. Old 
 companions of his were intent on their 
 particular cares. Perhaps one or two of 
 them thought of him sometimes with a 
 moment's regret because he might have 
 been useful or pleasurable if he had lived. 
 Trapped in the nets of the world, why- 
 should they squander thought on a man 
 incapable of hindrance or aid ? 
 
 After his time on the moors the 
 meadows seemed haunts of a continual 
 summer. Fear was over those quiet 
 places ; and the passers were silent, 
 shunning him with timorous looks. 
 When he drew rein on the hill-top by 
 Enfield and saw the ramparts and steeples 
 
 245 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 of London and the prominent Tower he 
 shivered. Instead of that rich city he 
 saw robust Cromwell control England 
 with implacable eyes. 
 
 Till then he had planned to seek the 
 King instantly ; but he altered his mind. 
 Even if Cromwell fell would the King 
 spare Lady Northumberland ? Once he 
 would have longed to avenge Mistress 
 Anne; but he was quieted now. In- 
 fected by the popular fear, he determined 
 to bid for Cromwell's assistance. 
 
 Riding into London, he saw yeomen 
 in grey marbled liveries by Northumber- 
 land House. When he asked them 
 whether the Lord Privy Seal was at home, 
 they replied their master had gone to hear 
 the Archbishop of Canterbury preach in 
 the Abbey. So he passed out of the 
 City by Ludgate, and went along Fleet 
 Street to Charing Cross, and left his 
 
 246 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 horse at an inn, and walked to West- 
 minster. 
 
 The royal standard was up, and troops 
 lined the thoroughfare in front of the 
 Palace. Between them, labourers were 
 planting a post. Heavy chains dangled 
 from the top of it, clattering. Could that 
 be the stake ? he thought. Then he 
 reminded himself women were executed 
 at Smithfield. Besides, that day was only 
 the sixth of June — or had the Friar been 
 wrong ? 
 
 " Cherry ripe ! Cherry ripe ! " called a 
 silver voice at his back. 
 
 A rosy golden-haired little girl in white 
 stood tendering a basket of fruit. 
 
 " Cherry ripe,'* she cried again, and 
 then shrank from him. 
 
 Said he, " What day of the month is it ? " 
 
 "The sixth of June," she said pertly 
 as if she tried to be brave. 
 
 247 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 "And when — when is Lady North- 
 umberland to be — to be killed ? " 
 
 " Next Saturday, sir/' she said, beam- 
 ing and regaining her courage. " Father 
 is going to take me to see it." 
 
 "What are those men doing there?" 
 
 "You ought to ask them, not me. It 
 looks as if they were going to burn 
 somebody. Oh ! I hope they are. I 
 never saw — Oh, kind sir, will you lift 
 me up if they do ? But I must sell my 
 basketful first, or father will beat me." 
 
 With that, she ran up the street, calling, 
 " Ripe cherries ! Cherry ripe ! " 
 
 Then he looked at the Palace, and saw 
 the King at a window. " Then he is in 
 the Red Room ? Small hope of mercy 
 from him," said he to himself, as the King 
 scowled at the work. So he went down 
 to the Abbey. 
 
 248 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 Westminster Abbey was thronged, and 
 the preacher's voice sounded faint in the 
 shadows. Cromwell leant on a pillar as 
 if he listened with reverence. Wearing 
 his homespun and a short cloak with a 
 heavy collar of fur, he stood in a space. 
 Light streaming through the Rose win- 
 dow reddened him. Because his eyes 
 were cast down he seemed mild. Hear- 
 ing the Earl's step, he uplifted them. 
 Still keeping his hands thrust in his 
 belt, he glanced at the others. 
 
 " Come," he said, and plodded apart. 
 
 As he turned into a nook the Earl 
 followed him. The preacher's far voice 
 came to them in a meaningless whisper. 
 
 249 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 Said Cromwell, " I was thinking of 
 you. 
 
 The Earl looked about him, recognis- 
 ing the chapel. 
 
 " Your father is there under your feet," 
 Cromwell went on. " We are among the 
 tombs of the Percies. I thought you had 
 found a nameless grave in the North." 
 
 " I did," said Northumberland. 
 
 " But the grave gives up its dead ? I 
 am glad of it. Where were you lurking ? " 
 
 "In the moors." 
 
 " I thought the tale of your death 
 doubtful ; so I let your wife live. When 
 her danger did not bring you — " 
 
 " I heard of it a couple of days ago." 
 
 " Too soon. If you had delayed you 
 would have come to life free. A man 
 fighting the world should not be ham- 
 pered by guarding a perishable flower." 
 
 " I want to live in peace." 
 250 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 "A wish marvellous on the lips of a 
 Percy. Here your kinsmen are quiet. 
 Your father is peaceful, being dead.'* 
 
 " I come to insist upon your freeing 
 my wife." 
 
 " There is fight in you still." 
 
 " I can force you — " 
 
 " Many have tried." 
 
 " I have a weapon." 
 
 "That sword? — Wolsey's gift. What 
 became of the Cardinal ? " 
 
 " I have another." 
 
 " Eh ? One more alarming ? The 
 great Marquis of Exeter stabbed me 
 at a Council : his dagger broke on my 
 hidden breastplate, and I put him to 
 sleep. Did you see Augustine ? " 
 
 " No." 
 
 "Then your weapon is blunt. I was 
 never afraid. Yet the remembrance of 
 two annoyed me with a trifling uneasi- 
 
 251. 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 ness. I liked them both, as it happened. 
 You and my old friend Augustine — " 
 
 " I am proud of your liking, and the 
 more when you couple me with that 
 infamous poisoner/* 
 
 " His trade was to use medicines for 
 the fever of life. Yet his nature was 
 tender : I have seen him cherish his 
 family with animal love. I wish I could 
 have let him return to Venice ; but his 
 knowledge was dangerous. It was all I 
 could do to keep him safe from the 
 King. I shall not profit by his witch- 
 craft again. Do you remember that 
 pleasant device of mine, the Magical 
 Mirror ? 1 had put a sheet of glass in 
 front of the hidden door ; and there was 
 the Concubine, dim on the steps, while 
 behind her I watched you and his 
 Majesty gaping dumfoundered — Well, 
 you and Augustine might have vexed 
 
 252 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 me together ; but you earned his dis- 
 like, — you sent him to London fastened 
 under a horse. Now he is gone. You 
 did not meet him ? " 
 
 " Friar Anderton did." 
 
 "Eh? Anderton ? Oh, yes ! a garru- 
 lous simpleton — I locked him up be- 
 cause he was a friend of your wife's. 
 How could they meet ? They were con- 
 fined to their rooms." 
 
 " Augustine begged for a priest." 
 
 "When he was dying? The guards 
 gave way ? At every step I am thwarted 
 by the ineradicable superstitions of 
 fools! Have you seen Friar Anderton? 
 How?" 
 
 " I was under his window." 
 
 " Where were the sentries ? " 
 
 " In front of the Castle. The window 
 was high." 
 
 " I thought you liked him." 
 253 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 " I do." 
 
 "Yet now you sentente him to be 
 hanged from that window." 
 
 " Unless you go to the Block." 
 
 " Eh ? Augustine signed a confession? 
 You have it .? " 
 
 "Perhaps." 
 
 " I wish to know." 
 
 " So I thought," said Northumberland. 
 
 "Well, I admit your weapon is keen. 
 What do you want ? " 
 
 " My wife's freedom." 
 
 " She was a rebel." 
 
 "You overlooked it till you needed my 
 wealth." 
 
 " I overlook nothing," said Cromwell. 
 " When the lapse of time made your dis- 
 appearance seem permanent — " 
 
 "You seized my estate." 
 
 "There was no son to inherit. Wealth 
 has advantages." 
 
 254 
 
Pilo^rims of Grace 
 
 " You can keep most of mine. . Give 
 me back Wharfe/* 
 
 " You endeavour to bribe me ? For 
 your sake I tampered with justice and 
 postponed her deserts. Now she must 
 die. It is necessary." 
 
 Northumberland was going away ; but 
 Cromwell said quickly, " A minute ! We 
 may yet come to terms. You saved me 
 on the night of the first Rising of the 
 Pilgrims of Grace." 
 
 " I regret it." 
 
 " I had gone to the North secretly, 
 to discover how matters stood, since I 
 never trust a subordinate. Finding the 
 rebellion inevitable, I maimed it by 
 choosing Aske as a leader. Those 
 addresses purporting to be signed by 
 him were written by me." 
 
 "Aske disowned them." 
 
 " Yet when he was hailed as the leader 
 255 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 he accepted the post. So I furnished 
 the rebels with a captain inexperienced 
 in war and law-abiding and scrupulous 
 and reluctantly obeyed by the nobles. 
 I was on my way to your house ; but 
 the premature beacons — " 
 
 " What has this to do — ? " 
 
 " The Cardinal and th^ Concubine and 
 Darcy and Aske rest as little children 
 sleep. Here am I still toiling apart. 
 The muddy gardener digs while the 
 lovers gather the roses.'' 
 
 " Not a gardener, but a grave-digger." 
 
 " Seeds are planted in graves. Weed- 
 ing England, I have not spared crowned 
 thistles. If I lived for myself I would 
 share the happy discontent of my bees, 
 and cultivate whimsical pansies and that 
 singular vegetable, the rhubarb, dis- 
 covered in Barbary by Andreas Boorde. 
 I think if I planted it — I have been too 
 
 256 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 given to solitude. Falls teach a child to 
 stand ; but our blunders enrich us with 
 desirable wisdom when it is vain. I once 
 sought a helper, the Concubine." 
 
 "You murdered that unfortunate lady." 
 
 " The wine of love changes into vine- 
 gar often. Mated with her, I would have 
 set the world free. We are all linked 
 together. Women mould us in darkness, 
 from the womb to the tomb." 
 
 " If you cannot speak to the pur- 
 pose — " 
 
 "When a man is feeble his mould is 
 
 effeminate and his stains are enduring. 
 
 You and I remember the King a castle 
 
 of flesh, a lord of strenuous brutes. 
 
 Misery and sickness have levelled him 
 
 with the vilest of women. Now he is 
 
 conscious of defilement and brimminp- 
 
 with a hate of himself that overflows 
 
 against all, and a womanish cruelty is his 
 17 257 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 predominant passion. The Rose Deco- 
 rate of England is festering. What is 
 the gardener's task ^ " 
 
 " The King is my master.'* 
 
 " And mine, I am afraid. Brainsick 
 women subdue me. If I could prolong 
 his suffering for a couple of years, I could 
 resist his authority. Daily I grow richer, 
 and stronger in the love of the people. 
 As the months pass I thin the ranks of 
 the nobles. Never so much in love with 
 the world, freed from the trammels of 
 selfish longings and only striving to make 
 humanity fortunate, — must I yield now? 
 Sunset sees rosy windows. When one 
 hope perishes another deludes us, like a 
 toy dangled out of reach of a baby. If 
 we did not hope to be free, we would be 
 reconciled to chains and abandon frus- 
 trate toil. If I could have two little 
 
 years ! The King turns on me, because 
 
 258 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 I found him a hideous wife, Anne of 
 Cleves." 
 
 " Is he married ? '* 
 
 " Not at the moment. The day after 
 her arrival he wanted to behead her for 
 treason." 
 
 " What was her crime ? " 
 
 " Presuming to marry him without 
 changing her looks. Because she was a 
 German he had to wed her by proxy. 
 How could I guess her portrait was 
 flattering ? '* 
 
 " But I cannot believe — " said the Earl. 
 
 " The alleged treason was the possible 
 fact that she had been betrothed to an- 
 other. The old story again ! Well, she 
 saved her neck by consenting to an 
 immediate divorce. Now he has soft 
 eyes for that imp, Catherine Howard." 
 
 " Poor girl I I remember her." 
 The child plots with Norfolk and 
 259 
 
 <c 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 Rich. Because I can prove she was be- 
 trothed she has resolved to destroy me. 
 My surest revenge is to let her marry the 
 King. When he tires of her she goes 
 to the block. If I sought now to 
 cross his whim I would fail, but after 
 the wedding. — If she can compass my 
 death I shall bequeath the proof to a 
 friend. I have toiled night and day and 
 denied myself everything. The fruit of my 
 labour is a tragical comedy of varying love." 
 
 " Why should she wish — " 
 
 "A guttering candle is still deadly to 
 moths. What would she not give to 
 possess the jewelled crown for a week 
 among her envious rivals? No doubt, 
 she is confident her sway will be lasting. 
 The King is great in disaster, — miserably 
 removed above all. Children huddle 
 under the oaks : who shall give shelter to 
 the kings of the forest? Tainted by 
 
 260 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 hereditary rottenness, he writhes eaten by 
 ulcers, the fruit of his congenital vices. 
 Crazed by thwarted passion, and miserly, 
 and raging alone — the most unhappy of 
 kings ! " 
 
 " God pity him ! But he was never a 
 miser/* 
 
 " Lavishness brought him the humilia- 
 tion of poverty. Now his bitter pleasures 
 are cruelty and gathering riches. Wolsey 
 pampered him with the goods of the 
 Church. I won power by betraying the 
 secret of the Cardinal's wealth. In turn 
 I provided the King with all the gold of 
 the monasteries.'' 
 
 *' And you must answer for it." 
 
 " I am ready to answer for every act of 
 my Hfe. 'The Hammer of the Monks' 
 they have called me. If a monk was a 
 saint I delivered him from the tempta- 
 tions of riches ; if he was a sinner I disen- 
 
 261 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 tangled him from the need of hypocrisy ; 
 if he was, like most of us, neither evil nor 
 good I loosed him from unnatural vows. 
 How the rejoicing Gods mock unprofit- 
 able attempts to be virtuous ! " 
 
 "The Gods? You are a heathen now? 
 I have heard you croak hymns to Our 
 Lady.'' 
 
 " Seeking myself under my many 
 masks, I found God. The Word is the 
 Life. Now I see God in everything, life 
 in stones, birth in corruption. Worship- 
 pers kneel to themselves. Yet the vulgar 
 need threats of damnation. For their 
 sake I assume convenient religions." 
 
 " You have persecuted — " 
 
 "Tilling is killing. A spade must 
 bring disaster to worms. The clod and 
 the worm are as divine as the gardener. 
 What is more splendid than a thistle in 
 bloom ? Yet — " 
 
 262 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 " I think you talk to detain me/* 
 " Eh ? The King craves for gold, and 
 so I begged your estate." 
 
 '* Then why did he grant it to you ? " 
 " As he preferred to induce Wolsey to 
 surrender his hoards, so he covets mine 
 as a compulsory gift. There is always 
 a risk that he may incline to take my 
 head with my purse. Well ! Yonder 
 is the fatal and huge wreck of a King. 
 Here am I loved by the people because 
 I make ninepins of redoubtable nobles, 
 and especially honoured by the Luther- 
 ans since I am their shield and saintly 
 Latimer's friend. There my enemies 
 listen to the Archbishop of Canterbury. 
 ^ Can the blind lead the blind ? do they 
 not both then fall into the ditch ? ' — that 
 was his text, and it made me deaf to his 
 sermon. Should any man strive to lead 
 the rest in the dark and govern the in- 
 
 263 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 tangible images of a Magical Mirror ? 
 I begin to be aware of my blindness. 
 Still I had rather lead than obey. Prince 
 Edward is a puling and sickly child, and 
 the King's daughters are declared illegiti- 
 mate. After the King some man will 
 govern as Protector : if I did, it would 
 provoke civil war; but the gentlemen 
 will submit to a noble. Some great lord 
 will be master. Who ? Perhaps the 
 Earl of Northumberland ? " 
 
 " I have no such ambition.'* 
 
 " I want an ally — " 
 
 "Then — " 
 
 " This purpose has been long in my 
 head. The Concubine sundered us, and 
 then came the Rising. It is good fishing 
 in troubled waters ; and I chose that 
 occasion for offering you half of my 
 power. I could not see you in prison 
 without Kingston's knowledge, and so 
 
 264 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 I meant to find you at Wharfe. This 
 is an appropriate place for that desired 
 understanding. Here soldiers and priests 
 and rebels and sovereigns rest from their 
 foolery. ' This is the final concord,' as 
 lawyers write at the beginnings of deeds. 
 I offer to deliver your wife and make you 
 Protector. I proffer the Crown. The 
 King is dying. The Prince cannot live 
 long ; if he does there may be found ways — 
 Your fathers rivalled the imperious Plan- 
 tagenets. Would they have shrunk from 
 replacing a degenerate Tudor?" 
 
 " Your offer is an insult — " 
 
 "You had a drawback, for you looked 
 down on the people. Hiding among 
 them, you must have learnt the value 
 of men unthwarted by schooling^, sturdy 
 folk rou^hlv made of the soil of whole- 
 some England. I am one of them, and 
 it is my pride — " 
 
 265 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 " You an Englishman ? Soaked in 
 Italian venom ! — " 
 
 " Foreign influence liberates England. 
 What is the King but a fantastical Welsh- 
 man ? — I have found Machiavelli too 
 subtle for these moderate brains. Placid 
 England abhors difficult wisdom. I '11 take 
 no hurried denial. Think it over at leisure.*' 
 
 " Once and for all, I refuse," said 
 Northumberland. " I have humbled 
 myself for the sake of my wife ; but she 
 would not wish me to rescue her at the 
 price of dishonour. I can but appeal to 
 the King. If he is merciless — as I 
 fear — I can die with her." 
 
 " I am not angry, my lord. My blood 
 is common and sluggish. I am sorry you 
 are dooming yourself. I cannot aflFord to 
 let you live as my enemy. You may think 
 better of it. Linger till the sermon is over." 
 
 As Northumberland turned out of the 
 266 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 chapel, Cromwell went on, " I might as 
 well appeal to your fathers : they will not 
 throb, though you toss the banner of the 
 White Lion or shout ' Esperance Percy.' " 
 
 Northumberland passed through the 
 congregation again, and as he went out 
 looked back and saw Cromwell had not 
 returned to the pillar. Hastening, he 
 found a mob had assembled by the post 
 in the street, and saw Rich and Mistress 
 Catherine Howard on the steps of the 
 Palace. Rich seemed older and anxious ; 
 but the girl was as pretty and plump as 
 ever, and her daring blue eyes twinkled 
 with mischief as she stood in white, toy- 
 ing with a bunch of red roses. 
 
 The yeomen on guard refused to let 
 the Earl pass, and so he called out to 
 Rich. After staring incredulously Rich 
 ran down and made the sentries stand back. 
 
 267 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 " I have to see the King at once," 
 said the Earl. 
 
 " I fear it is impossible/' Rich answered 
 sweetly. " My honoured friend, the 
 Lord Privy Seal, has put guards before 
 the Red Room, and allows no one - — " 
 
 " I think I can enter it in spite of the 
 guards." 
 
 " I wish I could." 
 
 " Come with me," said the Earl. 
 
 Bowing to Mistress Catherine, he went 
 up the back stairs. 
 
 " Can there be a hidden door ? " said 
 Rich eagerly. 
 
 " Here it is, and unlocked." 
 
 " My kind lord, I hope your business 
 will prosper," said Rich. " I must go 
 back to our fair friend. Mistress Howard." 
 
 Northumberland went down the dark 
 steps, and lifted the tapestry. 
 
 i 
 
 268 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 Clad in yellow, the King hobbled at 
 the other side of the room, dragging his 
 ulcerated leg. Northumberland shrank 
 as if he looked on a leper. Then pity 
 mingled with that involuntary shudder of 
 hate. Tears came to his eyes as he re- 
 membered his comrade. 
 
 The King paused by the window, 
 and then drew himself up as there was 
 cheering outside. Nodding affably, he 
 hummed gruffly, 
 
 ** Le temps s'en va, 
 
 Le temps s'en va, ma dame. 
 La ! Le temps non, mais nous nous en aliens." 
 
 Turning his back to the window, he 
 bowed his head, shutting his eyes, and 
 
 269 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 thrusting out his clenched hands. Then 
 he looked up. Reeling back, he opened 
 his hands wide, and then crossed himself 
 while his lips quivered as if he muttered 
 a prayer. The people began cheering 
 again as he looked at Northumberland 
 sidelong. 
 
 " Did Anne send you to warn me ? " 
 he whispered. 
 
 " I came to implore mercy," said North- 
 umberland, kneeling. 
 
 " They told me you were dead," cried 
 the King, facing him. 
 
 " I was in hiding." 
 
 " God*s wounds ! you would have been 
 wiser to stay so ! " cried the King, in a 
 rasping voice. " Do you think me dying, 
 since you — " 
 
 " I could not reach you otherwise. 
 
 Cromwell has forbidden the yeomen to 
 
 let anyone pass." 
 
 270 
 
cc 
 cc 
 
 Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 " Give orders here ? Rise." 
 
 Said Northumberland sadly, as he rose, 
 " I have heard you are ailing." 
 
 " It is nothing. I '11 be well soon. 
 My heart is sick, Harry. Why did you 
 hide ? All shrink from me now." 
 I hid from myself. " 
 Poor boy ! " said the King, crossing 
 the room with his old swagger, yet winc- 
 ing as if he mastered his pain. 
 
 "You are altered," he went on, laying 
 his hands heavilv on Northumberland's 
 shoulders. " Yes, you had troubles. I 
 have a royal portion : I would mind noth- 
 ing if I could only be well." Sighing, 
 he took the gilt chair. " My sickness 
 is trifling. The doctors say they can 
 cure me. Ignorant liars ! Another voice 
 whispers, ^ You are dying!' It will 
 never be still. It wakes me at night. 
 It is soft; but it echoes above shout- 
 
 271 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 ing and trumpets. When you saw me 
 last I was the proudest King in the 
 world. Now I am sick and shunned 
 and a laughing-stock ! Well, what do 
 you ask ? It shall be granted, for the 
 sake of old brotherhood." 
 
 " Your Grace, I beg for a life,'' said 
 Northumberland, kneeling. 
 
 " Some criminaFs," said the King, 
 lazily. " He shall be pardoned. I have 
 sent sinners enough before me to Judg- 
 ment." 
 
 " A woman's life." 
 
 "Ha! I remember," said the King, 
 shutting his eyes. Peering up under his 
 heavy and red eyelids, he went on very 
 slowly, " I wait to see your wife burn." 
 
 "Oh God! the doom was not for to- 
 day ! " 
 
 " I hurried it. I was afraid I might 
 die. As I am unabk to go to Smith field, 
 
 272 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 the Stake has been put where I can watch 
 it. There are not many pleasures sweet 
 to the King." 
 
 " Have mercy ! " Northumberland cried, 
 clasping his hands. 
 
 " I loved a woman once, and sent 
 her to death. I shall not spare another. 
 You see me tortured, wrecked in body 
 and soul. Even in this world women 
 have damned me. I speak from my 
 heart, Harry, for we used to be 
 friends." 
 
 " For the sake of that kindness ! " 
 
 " Poor lad ! " said the King, putting 
 his arm round Northumberland's -neck. 
 " You might have moved me once. The 
 icy clutch of Death freezes my heart. " 
 Drawing his arm back, he went on, 
 " Rise ! she shall suffer." •. 
 
 "For God's sake!" 
 
 " Cromwell proved — Where is that 
 
 i8 273 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 knave ? Awaiting him, I left that door 
 open. Even he begins to avoid me. 
 Stand up^ I say." 
 
 " Then I rise to impeach him.'' 
 
 " A forlorn hope." 
 
 " I can make his infamy evident.'* 
 
 " What need of that ? The dog is 
 true to his master." 
 
 " Most false to you." 
 
 " Ha ! Make your words good." 
 
 " I accuse him of murder." 
 
 " He and I have killed many." 
 
 ** You have crushed rebels ; but he 
 poisoned a Queen." 
 
 " What Queen ^ " the King said with 
 a shudder. 
 
 " Queen Catherine." 
 
 " The Lady Catherine of Arragon was 
 my bitterest foe." 
 
 " And he sent a-nother Queen to the 
 Block." 
 
 274 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 " That was my doing." 
 
 " But his charges were false." 
 
 " I loved you and Norris and Anne. 
 You are here. Never speak of those 
 others if you value your life." 
 
 " I value it no longer." 
 
 " Anne ! — poor sinful child ! I wish 
 I could hear her laughing again, — 
 even at my tragedies. Many things 
 were dear to her — warmth and light, 
 luxury and flattering whispers. The 
 grave is black and cold. You loved 
 her, and then I hated you for it. 
 Still we may be united by a common 
 regret." 
 
 " I can prove she was guiltless of 
 poisoning — " 
 
 " Then no torture, would suffice for 
 your punishment." 
 
 "Work your will on me, but first I 
 shall speak. Ther€ was a time when 
 
 2 75 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 your meanest subject could appeal to your 
 justice. I, no mean subject — " 
 
 " That time is over." 
 
 " Here is dead Augustine's confession." 
 
 " Give it to me," said the King, hold- 
 ing out his hand feebly. Taking the con- 
 fession, he tore it, and threw the scraps 
 away as if they were poisoned. "Thus 
 she tore Catherine's letter," he went on 
 while his small mouth and his bulging 
 cheeks quivered and his eyes became 
 dim. 
 
 There was a step in the passage behind 
 him, and he turned painfully with a smile 
 on his lips. " Here he comes," he said 
 softly. 
 
 Then Rich lifted the arras. The King 
 started, and Rich fell on his knees. 
 
 "Your Grace, pardon me for coming 
 unbidden," said Rich, trembhng. " It is 
 
 a matter of life and death." 
 
 276 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 "You may find it so. What is your 
 errand ? " 
 
 " I come to accuse my Lord Privy 
 Seal — '* 
 
 " It never rains but it pours/* the 
 King growled, leaning back. " What mis- 
 led you to come here unannounced ? '* 
 
 "He has forbidden — *' 
 
 " Ha ! So I heard. All this time, he 
 said the courtiers were shunning me." 
 
 " Because he kept them aloof," said 
 Northumberland. 
 
 " Good ! " said the King sleepily. 
 "What are the charges?" 
 
 Said Rich, " My Lord Cromwell has 
 taken bribes from your enemies — " 
 
 " So do all that can." 
 
 "And using such malicious words as 
 were abominable to hear, said he would 
 fight sword in hand — " 
 
 " Spade in hand, you mean." 
 277 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 " — if your Grace varied in religious 
 opinions, and said he trusted to bring 
 matters to such a frame that your Majesty 
 could no longer resist him if he should 
 live for a year or two/* 
 
 " But he may not live a year." 
 
 " Further, he has befriended the 
 heretics." 
 
 "Ha!" 
 
 " And has disseminated erroneous books 
 denying the doctrine of the Real Presence." 
 
 " Prove that," cried the King, " and he 
 shall go to the Tower." 
 
 " Here are the depositions." 
 
 " Numerous. Rise. Put them there. 
 I shall read them. You know their 
 truth ? " 
 
 " Surely," said Rich. 
 
 "Is the fox cauffht at last ? Who are the 
 
 o 
 
 witnesses to the words you have quoted ? " 
 " The Duke of Norfolk." 
 278 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 " An enemy." 
 
 " And I am another/* 
 
 " A friend." 
 
 " While he was loyal," said Rich. 
 
 " Ha ! Cromwell said you have been 
 much with Mistress Catherine lately. 
 The child avenges her cousin. Cromwell 
 brought More to the block with the help 
 of those ears. You can still hear all you 
 want ? You are enviable." With that he 
 glanced at Northumberland. " Who is 
 the worst enemy ? — a treacherous friend," 
 he muttered, stooping over the papers. 
 First, he stared at them heavily, as if he 
 was blind ; then beginning to read, he 
 flushed, scowling, and kept turning them 
 over. " A heretic ! " he grumbled — " a 
 pestilent and damnable heretic ! Summon 
 the Council ! " he cried furiously as he 
 hammered the table. 
 
 As Rich hurried out, the King looked 
 279 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 at Northumberland. "You have not 
 called for justice in vain," he said. " This 
 base-born adventurer has ruled me too 
 long. Pick up those scraps, and cast 
 them out of the window." 
 
 As the Earl gathered the fragments 
 of Augustine's confession and crossed the 
 room the King leant on the table and 
 propped his eyes on his hands. " Vice- 
 gerent of the Head of the Church," he mut- 
 tered, " and a heretic. ' God's Vicegerent,' 
 they called him the other day at the 
 Council. Did they put him in my place? 
 Or did they hail me as God ? If they 
 were right, I would doom myself; but I 
 think I would let Anne have her way. 
 What are they doing out there ? " he 
 went on, looking up. 
 
 " Piling the fagots round the Stake," 
 said the Earl, flinging the scraps out of 
 the window. "- Let-me go now." 
 
 250 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 "To your wife? It is not time yet. 
 I shall deal with her afterwards." 
 
 There was great cheering outside. 
 
 "They love you," said the King, with a 
 scowl. 
 
 Said the Earl, " Cromwell approaches, 
 trudging with unusual haste." 
 
 " How does he look ? " 
 
 " Ruddy and prosperous. The people 
 surround him: he is shaking their hands." 
 
 "The Cardinal rode through them, 
 smelling his aromatical orange to overcome 
 their poisonous breath. Cromwell felled 
 Wolsey. In his turn, he is betrayed by 
 a friend. So the Fates weave their web : 
 they have entangled me also. Like 
 CEdipus, I found myself ignorantly guilty 
 of incest. Like Philoctetes, I am forsaken 
 to agony." 
 
 " Now he smiles no more/' said North- 
 umberland. 
 
 281 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 " Has somebody warned him ? " 
 
 " He saw me." 
 
 " A death's head at the window. Why- 
 has the cheering stopped ? '* 
 
 " Because he is aghast.'* 
 
 " Rats leave a sinking ship." 
 
 " Now he turns, — he retreats." 
 
 " Stop him ! " cried the King. " Call 
 out to them to arrest him. They will not 
 hear you. Summon — " 
 
 " No need. Rich hastens out, calls to 
 him. Cromwell turns back uneasily." 
 
 « Well ? " 
 
 " Rich runs to him, — bows, full of 
 sweetness and reverence." 
 
 " A pleasant knave," said the King, 
 chuckling. " I shall make him Lord 
 Chancellor. — Ha! They are shouting." 
 
 " Louder than ever, and tossing their 
 caps in the air. Cromwell comes smil- 
 ing." 
 
 282 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 " He shall never be cheered again," said 
 the King. 
 
 "Stand here," he went on. "Arrest 
 him, when I lift my right hand. Say- 
 nothing till I give you the signal." 
 
 Then an usher announced Norfolk. 
 The King sat erect, squaring his shoulders 
 and spreading his right hand on the table 
 while his left clutched his dagger. Nor- 
 folk and five other lords came in, clad 
 sumptuously, bending their knees. Seeing 
 Northumberland on the King's right, they 
 exchanged wondering glances. Then they 
 paused by the table, with their eyes on the 
 King; but he kept his on the documents. 
 
 " Room for my Lord Privy Seal," cried 
 the usher. 
 
 Cromwell tramped in, followed by Rich. 
 The King looked up gladly, with his 
 kindliest smile. 
 
 283 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 " Ha ! my trusty servant," he said, " my 
 loving Vicegerent." 
 
 As he held out his left hand Cromwell 
 knelt, kissing it. Norfolk glanced at Rich 
 with alarm. Rich turned white and 
 looked back as if he thought of escaping. 
 
 " My only friend," said the King, 
 hugging Cromwell's thick neck, " take 
 your accustomed seat." 
 
 Brushing against Northumberland as if 
 he did not observe him, Cromwell sat 
 down clumsily, and stared at the others 
 with a humorous malice. 
 
 " What could I do without your assist- 
 ance ? " the King muttered, scowling at 
 his bloated right hand. " Henry of 
 England is feeble and surrounded by 
 traitors. Be seated, my lords." 
 
 So they took their seats, watching him. 
 Cromwell flung back his cloak, disclosing 
 the jewel of the George, and shot a glance 
 
 284 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 at the papers, and then thrust his hands 
 in his belt comfortably, and studied the 
 King. On his right Norfolk sat rigid. 
 
 " I am merciful, my lords," said the 
 King, clenching his fist. 
 
 " All the world knows it, your Grace," 
 said Norfolk, tugging his beard. 
 
 " I must be, since this hand has grown 
 weak. I am long-suffering and forgetful 
 of injuries. Calumny has not turned me 
 aside. Mordear opprobriis falsis, — shall 
 I change colour though I am bitten by 
 unmerited blame ? I am above the scope 
 of liars. Yet if my friend is calumniated 
 I may be harsh. My Lord Privy Seal has 
 been insulted by slanderers. I should be 
 loth to believe one of my Council had 
 taken part with his enemies. Does any 
 one dare accuse him now to his face ? " 
 
 Rich opened his mouth as if he was go- 
 ing to speak, and then looked at Norfolk. 
 
 285 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 The Earl stood with arms folded as he 
 watched the King's hand. Cromwell 
 glanced up at him, and then paled ; for 
 he saw Mistress Catherine Howard lifting 
 the tapestry. 
 
 " No one ? " said the King, looking 
 up. 
 
 " I dare," cried Mistress Catherine, 
 stepping into the room. As the King 
 started and scowled at her she stood on 
 his left fearlessly and pointed at Crom- 
 well. 
 
 " I denounce him as a heretic and a 
 rebel," she said. 
 
 " What brings you here ? " cried the 
 King, lifting his hand as if he was going 
 to strike her. 
 
 " My Lord Privy Seal, I arrest you of 
 Treason," said Northumberland, grip- 
 ping Cromwell's left arm. 
 
 As Cromwell and the rest of the Council 
 
 286 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 sprang to their feet the King muttered, 
 " I gave the signal. — Out of the mouths 
 of children." 
 
 " What does this mean, your Grace ? " 
 stammered Cromwell. 
 
 The King peered at him, smiling. 
 
 " Is this the reward of all my service ? " 
 gasped Cromwell. 
 
 The King nodded. 
 
 " On your conscience, I ask you am I 
 a traitor ? " cried Cromwell. " I may 
 have offended, but never with my will. 
 Those that meddle with many matters 
 cannot answer for them all. Such faults 
 as I may have committed are deserving of 
 pardon." 
 
 " Such pardon as you have granted to 
 others," cried Norfolk fiercely, snatching 
 the George from Cromwell's neck. " Your 
 Grace, let him be judged by his own laws. 
 He has twisted idle words into Treason. 
 
 287 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 Let the measure he has dealt to the 
 innocent be meted to him ! " 
 
 Said the King, smiHng at Cromwell, 
 " Forgiveness is injustice. You shall be 
 judged by your own law of Attainder." 
 
 " I claim a trial/' said Cromwell. 
 
 " I have not used that law ; but now 
 I give you its benefit. You shall be 
 doomed without a chance to defend your- 
 self Then it shall be repealed, for this 
 hand is strong enough to govern without 
 It. 
 
 " Then," said Cromwell as if he was 
 choking, " make quick work, without 
 leaving me to languish in prison.'* 
 
 " I grant your last request," said the 
 King. Waving his hand, he went on : 
 " To the Tower with him ! My Lords, 
 you are dismissed." 
 
 Cromwell lurched out of the room, 
 
 staggering as if he was drunk. The rest 
 
 2S8 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 of the Council knelt, and hurried after 
 him gladly. 
 
 "What is to be done with this pup- 
 pet ? " the King growled as he rose. 
 
 " What the King chooses," said Mis- 
 tress Catherine, smiling up at him 
 roguishly. 
 
 " A saucy miscreant," he muttered, lay- 
 ing his left hand on her shoulder. 
 
 " A worshipping slave," she said 
 softly. 
 
 " Does she worship the sick man or 
 the King? " 
 
 "Both," she said with tears in her 
 eyes. 
 
 " No tears ! " he said. " What shall I 
 call you? Not Catherine. Catherine 
 of Arragon was an honourable and vir- 
 tuous wife." 
 
 "You doubt me ? " she sobbed. 
 19 289 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 " I am too old to bandy compliments, 
 child. So this was your work ? You 
 hate Cromwell ? '* 
 
 " With good cause," she said, flushing. 
 
 " A bold infant." 
 
 " Howards are not cowards," said she. 
 
 " Very true," he said grimly. " Anne 
 was courageous. But they may dare too 
 much." 
 
 " I fear nothing," said she. 
 
 " You brave me ? " he said furiously, 
 clutching her. 
 
 " Because I love you," she whispered. 
 
 " I wish I believed it." 
 
 " You hurt me," she said wincing. 
 
 " A delicate baby," he said, drawing her 
 to him. 
 
 " If I was a craven, would I tremble 
 when I can hide in your heart ? " 
 
 " You will be safe if you can enter that 
 refuge. God help you, if you fail ! " 
 
 290 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 " Am I far from it now ? " she whis- 
 pered, leaning her little head on his 
 breast. 
 
 " Once upon a time," he said slowly, 
 " a lion lay wounded to death, and all the 
 world kept from his reach till a mouse 
 frolicked under his paw. I think he 
 loved that tiny mouse for a minute. Then 
 his maimed paw sank." 
 
 " Give me the minute's love," she 
 sobbed. " Crush me, then, oh, my 
 King ! " 
 
 " Come closer to my heart. Use drugs 
 to make me love you ; employ witch- 
 craft," he muttered, putting his other arm 
 about her and hugging her. " I am weary 
 of hating." 
 
 Drums rolled in the distance. North- 
 umberland had been looking on sadly. 
 Starting, he went to the window. The King 
 thrust the girl away, and she tottered. 
 
 291 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 " The soldiers,'* said the Earl, as the 
 drums were louder and a trumpet was 
 blown. 
 
 " Women ! foul apes ! " the King mut- 
 tered. " Quick ! " he whispered, almost 
 shutting his eyes. " Run to the door, 
 child, lock it, bring me the key — *' 
 
 As she obeyed him and he put the key 
 in his breast, the hammering grew. 
 
 " They bring her to die ! '' groaned 
 Northumberland. 
 
 Running back, he knelt to the King. 
 
 " Take my life, but spare hers," he 
 cried. 
 
 " Why should I hurt you ? " said the 
 King, tenderly. " You liked me once. 
 You loved Anne. That was natural. It 
 was unfortunate that your acquaintance 
 with her should have begun her destruc- 
 tion. Now you have convinced me that 
 I destroyed her unjustly. I did not read 
 
 292 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 the confession, yet I believed it. That 
 knowledge will make my remaining time 
 trebly delicious. You have many claims 
 to my gratitude/' 
 
 Northumberland bowed his head. 
 
 "Here is my ring. I stole it from 
 Anne in days when we were happy to- 
 gether. Run, dearest friend. Take this 
 to Kingston as a token that you come in 
 my name." 
 
 " Your Grace ! " said Northumberland, 
 looking up wildly. 
 
 " Tell him I spare your wife. Go back 
 to the North and the joys of innocent love." 
 
 " God reward you for this," sobbed the 
 Earl, kissing the King s hand with uncon- 
 trollable tears. 
 
 Seizing the ring, he ran across to the 
 door. The King watched him and smiled. 
 
 "The door is locked!" cried North- 
 umberland as he shook it in vain. 
 
 293 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 The King put his hands on his hips, 
 and threw his head back and laughed. 
 
 "Guards! Open the door!" shouted 
 Northumberland. 
 
 " Oh, this is horrible ! " sobbed Mis- 
 tress Catherine, shuddering away from 
 the King. 
 
 " I have not laughed so for ages," he 
 gasped. " I have the key, Harry." 
 
 "This is your revenge," the Earl 
 whispered. 
 
 " Shout from the window ! If they hear 
 you they will think you are mad. Try this 
 favourite hidden door if you can pass me." 
 
 Northumberland strode back to the 
 King. " You were my friend," he said, 
 gripping his hilt. 
 
 "And I hate you all the more," the 
 King muttered. 
 
 " But you are my King," cried the 
 Earl, tossing his hands up in despair. 
 
 294 
 
Pilgrims of Grace 
 
 " And I crush you," the King shouted, 
 stamping. Then he writhed hideously, 
 and lifted his foot. " Forget all that/* 
 he cried. " We are men, face to face. 
 You are strong, loving ; I — as you 
 see. You have a sword. Strike ! I '11 
 thank you for it." 
 
 " I '11 not raise my hand against you." 
 
 " Loathsome coward ! " 
 
 " But I v/ill," cried Mistress Catherine. 
 
 Springing between them, she snatched 
 Northumberland's sword. " I '11 strike 
 unless you give me the key," she sobbed, 
 lifting it up. 
 
 " Rebellious mite ! " said the King. 
 
 "A mere woman — an ape ! " she 
 sobbed. 
 
 " A pretty one." 
 
 With her left hand she snatched the 
 key from his breast. "Take it," she 
 said, giving it to Northumberland. " Set 
 
 295 
 
Defender of the Faith 
 
 your wife free. Stop him if you dare," 
 she went on, pointing the shaking sword 
 at the King. 
 
 Laughing loud, he glanced at Northum- 
 berland. " Off with you, Harry ! *' he 
 said. " Save your wife. Never let me see 
 you again." 
 
 As she dropped the sword, he held 
 out his arms to her. 
 
 " Come closer to my heart," said the 
 King. 
 
 296 
 
SOME PRESS OPINIONS^ 
 
 A CHILD IN THE TEMPLE. 
 
 Mr. Frank Mathew has shown himself the possessor of a rare 
 and subtle individuality. He has caught the Celtic spirit : and in 
 his work there is always the evasive, enchanting savor, the sugges- 
 tion of childlike simplicity mingled with a wisdom that has brooded 
 for ages, which leads one' to think at once of that inexplicable gift 
 called genius. — Charles G. D. Roberts, zjz the Illustrated 
 American. 
 
 THE WOOD OF THE BRAMBLES. 
 
 The book displays the vivid descriptive power and rugged 
 strength of a high-pitched and intensely dramatic imagination. — 
 The Times. 
 
 One of the quaintest and most delightful of books. — 
 AthencEum . 
 
 A work which should place the author in the position of the 
 Irish novelist of the day. — Whitehall Review. 
 
 A book which is predestined to fame. It is unfair to class Mr. 
 Mathew as the Kipling or the Barrie of Ireland : his individuality 
 is all his own. — Vanity Fair. 
 
 This book carries the rare stamp of a temperament. Mr. 
 Mathew brings you a whole world. — the quaint, pathetic, and yet 
 noble and gallant world of Ireland in the last century. — Richard 
 LE Gallienne, in Idler. 
 
 ^^ ^ 
 
 AT THE RISING OF THE MOON. 
 
 For literary capital, Mr. Frank :\Iathew has a good deal of 
 mother-wit, with much quiet humour, and a particularly intimate 
 knowledge of his country. Nothing Irish seems alien to him. 
 All the stories are marked by grace and moderation of style. — 
 Bookman. 
 
 Ireland has found her Kipling. The ver\' heart of Ireland beats 
 in the stories, and every figure abounds with character. — Boston 
 Herald. 
 
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