GIFT OF 
 
"DOFF THY RAGS AND DON THESE SPLENDORS" 
 
THE 
 
 PRINCE AND THE PAUPER 
 
 H ZTale for l^oung people of all 
 
 BY MARK TWAIN 
 
 ILLUSTRATED 
 
 NEW YORK AND LONDON 
 HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS 
 1905 
 
f -iltir//, 
 
 \J 
 
 Copyright, 1881 and 1899, by SAMUEL L. CLEMENS 
 
 {All rights reserved} 
 
A 
 
 TO those good-mannered and agreeable children 
 Susie and Clara Clemens this book is affec 
 tionately inscribed by their father. 
 
 MlOilM 
 
THE quality of mercy . . . 
 
 is twice bless d ; 
 
 It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes ; 
 Tis mightiest in the mightiest : it becomes 
 The throned monarch better than his crown. 
 
 AT er chant of Venice. 
 
I WILL set down a tale as it was told to me by 
 one who had it of his father, which latter had it 
 of his father, this last having in like manner had it 
 of his father and so on, back and still back, three 
 hundred years and more, the fathers transmitting it 
 to the sons and so preserving it. It may be history, 
 it may be only a legend, a tradition. It may have 
 happened, it may not have happened: but it could 
 have happened. It may be that the wise and the 
 learned believed it in the old days ; it may be that 
 only the unlearned and the simple loved it and 
 credited it. 
 
 (vii) 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 "DOFF THY RAGS AND DON THESE SPLEN 
 DORS" Frontispiece 
 
 "RISE, SIR MILES HENDON, KNIGHT". . . Facing p. 108 
 
 "OH, MY CHILD!" 272 
 
 ix 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 The Birth of the Prince and the Pauper . 1 7 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 Tom s Early Life *9 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 Tom s Meeting with the Prince . ,26 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 The Prince s Troubles begin . 36 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 Tom as a Patrician 4 2 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 Tom Receives Instructions 5 2 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 Tom s First Royal Dinner 63 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 The Question of the Seal 68 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 The River Pageant ....*.. 7 2 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 The Prince in the Toils 7$ 
 
xii Contents 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 At Guildhall 88 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 The Prince and His Deliverer 95 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 The Disappearance of the Prince Ill 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 "Le Roi est Mort Vive le Roi" Il8 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 Tom as King 134 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 The State Dinner 150 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 Foo-foo the First 155 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 The Prince with the Tramps 17 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 The Prince with the Peasants 182 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 The Prince and the Hermit 19 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 Hendon to the Rescue 199 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 A Victim of Treachery 206 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 The Prince a Prisoner 214 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 The Escape 219 
 
Contents xiii 
 
 CHAFFER XXV. 
 Hendon Hall 224 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 Disowned , 234 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 In Prison 240 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 The Sacrifice 254 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 To London . 260 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 Tom s Progress 264 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 The Recognition Procession 268 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 Coronation Day 277 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 Edward as King 294 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 Justice and Retribution 305 
 
 NOTES 309 
 
HUGH LATIMER, Bishop of Worcester, to LORD CROMWELL, on the 
 birth of the PRINCE OF WALES (afterward EDWARD VI.). 
 
 FROM THE NATIONAL MANUSCRIPTS PRESERVED BY THE BRITISH 
 GOVERNMENT. 
 
 (xiv) 
 
HUGH LATIMER, Bishop of Worcester, to LORD CROMWELL, on tht 
 birth of the PRINCE OF WALES {afterward EDWARD VI.). 
 
 FROM THE NATIONAL MANUSCRIPTS PRESERVED BY THE BRITISH 
 GOVERNMENT. 
 
 Ryght honorable, Salutem in Christo Jew, and Syr here ys no 
 lesse joynge and rejossynge in thes partees for the byrth of our prynce, 
 hoom we hungurde for so longe, then ther was (I trow), inter vicinos 
 alt the byrth of S. I. Baptyste, as thys berer, Master Erance, can telle 
 you. Code gyffe us alle grace, to yelde dew thankes to our Lorde 
 Code, Code of Inglonde, for verely He hathe shoyd Hym selff Code 
 of Inglonde, or rather an Inglyssh Code, yf we consydyr and pondyr 
 welle alle Hys procedynges with us from tyme to tyme. He hath over- 
 cumme alle our yllnesse with Hys excedynge goodnesse, so that we ar 
 now moor then compellyd to serve Hym, seke Hys glory, promott Hys 
 wurde, yf the Devylle of alle Devylles be natt in us. We have now 
 the stooppe of vayne trustes ande the stey of vayne expectations ; lett 
 us alle pray for hys preservatione. And I for my partt wylle wyssh that 
 hys Grace always have, and evyn now from the begynynge, Governares, 
 Instructores and offyceres of ryght jugmente, ne optimum ingenium 
 non optima educations depravetur, 
 
 Butt whatt a grett fowlle am I ! So, whatt devotione shoyth many 
 tymys butt lytelle dyscretione ! Ande thus the Code of Inglonde be 
 ever with you in alle your procedynges. 
 
 The 19 of October. 
 
 Youres, H. L. B. of Wurcestere, now att Hartlebury. 
 
 Yf you wolde excytt thys berere to be moore hartye ayen the abuse 
 of ymagry or mor forwarde to promotte the veryte, ytt myght doo 
 goode. Natt that ytt carne of me, butt of your selffe, &c. 
 
 {Addressed} To the Ryght Honorable Loorde P. Sealle hys 
 synguler gode Lorde. 
 
 (xv) 
 
THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE BIRTH OF THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER 
 
 IN the ancient city of London, on a certain autumn 
 day in the second quarter of the sixteenth cen 
 tury, a boy was born to a poor family of the name 
 of Canty, who did not want him. On the same day 
 another English child was born to a rich family of 
 the name of Tudor, who did want him. All Eng 
 land wanted him too. England had so longed for 
 him, and hoped for him, and prayed God for him, 
 that, now that he was really come, the people went 
 nearly mad for joy, Mere acquaintances hugged 
 and kissed each other and cried. Everybody took 
 a holiday, and high and low, rich and poor, feasted 
 and danced and sang, and got very mellow; and 
 they kept this up for days and nights together. By 
 day, London was a sight to see, with gay banners 
 waving from every balcony and house-top, and 
 splendid pageants marching along. By night, it 
 was again a sight to see, with its great bonfires at 
 every corner, and its troops of revelers making 
 merry around them. There was no talk in all Eng 
 land but of the new baby, Edward Tudor, Prince of 
 2 (17) 
 
18 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 Wales, who lay lapped in silks and satins, uncon 
 scious of all this fuss, and not knowing that great 
 lords and ladies were tending him and watching 
 oveY/rjifirj-i-ind not caring, either. But there was 
 nq^alk about J:h.e other baby, Tom Canty, lapped in 
 !ftis* <>{). ?a.v except among the family of paupers 
 whom he had just come to trouble with his presence. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 TOM S EARLY LIFE 
 
 LET us skip a number of years. 
 London was fifteen hundred years old, and 
 was a great town for that day. It had a hundred 
 thousand inhabitants some think double as many. 
 The streets were very narrow, and crooked, and 
 dirty, especially in the part where Tom Canty lived, 
 which was not far from London Bridge. The 
 houses were of wood, with the second story project 
 ing over the first, and the third sticking its elbows 
 out beyond the second. The higher the houses 
 grew, the broader they grew. They were skeletons 
 of strong criss-cross beams, with solid material 
 between, coated with plaster. The beams were 
 painted red or blue or black, according to the 
 owner s taste, and this gave the houses a very pic 
 turesque look. The windows were small, glazed 
 with little diamond-shaped panes, and they opened 
 outward, on hinges, like doors. 
 
 The house which Tom s father lived in was up a 
 foul little pocket called Offal Court, out of Pudding 
 Lane. It was small, decayed, and rickety, but it 
 
 (19) 
 
20 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 was packed full of wretchedly poor families. Canty s 
 tribe occupied a room on the third floor. The 
 mother and father had a sort of bedstead in the 
 corner; but Tom, his grandmother, and his two 
 sisters, Bet and Nan, were not restricted they had 
 all the floor to themselves, and might sleep where 
 they chose. There were the remains of a blanket 
 or two, and some bundles of ancient and dirty 
 straw, but these could not rightly be called beds, 
 for they were not organized ; they were kicked into 
 a general pile mornings, and selections made from 
 the mass at night, for service. 
 
 Bet and Nan were fifteen years old twins. They 
 were good-hearted girls, unclean, clothed in rags, 
 and profoundly ignorant. Their mother was like 
 them. But the father and the grandmother were a 
 couple of fiends. They got. drunk whenever they 
 could ; then they fought each other or anybody else 
 who came in the way; they cursed and swore al 
 ways, drunk or sober; John Canty was a thief, and 
 his mother a beggar. They made beggars of the 
 children, but failed to make thieves of them. 
 Among, but not of, the dreadful rabble that in 
 habited the house, was a good old priest whom the 
 king had turned out of house and home with a 
 pension of a few farthings, and he used to get the 
 children aside and teach them right ways secretly. 
 Father Andrew also taught Tom a little Latin, and 
 how to read and write ; and would have done the 
 same with the girls, but they were afraid of the 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 21 
 
 jeers of their friends, who could not have endured 
 such a queer accomplishment in them. 
 
 All Offal Court was just such another hive as 
 Canty s house. Drunkenness, riot, and brawling 
 were the order there, every night and nearly all 
 night loner. Broken heads were as common as 
 
 o o 
 
 hunger in that place. Yet little Tom was not un 
 happy. He had a hard time of it, but did not 
 know it. It was the sort of time that all the Offal 
 Court boys had, therefore he supposed it was the 
 correct and comfortable thing. When he came 
 home empty-handed at night, he knew his father 
 would curse him and thrash him first, and that when 
 he was done the awful grandmother would do it all 
 over again and improve on it ; and that away in the 
 night his starving mother would slip to him stealthily 
 with any miserable scrap or crust she had been able 
 to save for him by going hungry herself, notwith 
 standing she was often caught in that sort of treason 
 and soundly beaten for it by her husband. 
 
 No, Tom s life went along well enough, especially 
 in summer. He only begged just enough to save 
 himself, for the laws against mendicancy were strin 
 gent, and the penalties heavy; so he put in a good 
 deal of his time listening to good Father Andrew s 
 charming old tales and legends about giants and 
 fairies, dwarfs and genii, and enchanted castles, and 
 gorgeous kings and princes. His head grew to be 
 full of these wonderful things, and many a night as 
 he lay in the dark on his scant and offensive straw, 
 
22 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 tired, hungry, and smarting from a thrashing, he 
 unleashed his imagination and soon forgot his aches 
 and pains in delicious picturings to himself of the 
 charmed life of a petted prince in a regal palace. 
 One desire came in time to haunt him day and 
 night; it was to see a real prince, with his own 
 eyes. He spoke of it once to some of his Offal 
 Court comrades; but they jeered him and scoffed 
 him so unmercifully that he was glad to keep his 
 dream to himself after that. 
 
 He often read the priest s old books and got him 
 to explain and enlarge upon them. His dreamings 
 and readings worked certain changes in him by and 
 by. His dream-people were so fine that he grew to 
 lament his shabby clothing and his dirt, and to wish 
 to be clean and better clad. He went on playing in 
 the mud just the same, and enjoying it, too; but 
 instead of splashing around in the Thames solely for 
 the fun of it, he began to find an added value in it 
 because of the washings and cleansings it afforded. 
 
 Tom could always find something going on around 
 the Maypole in Cheapside, and at the fairs; and 
 now and then he and the rest of London had a 
 chance to see a military parade when some famous 
 unfortunate was carried prisoner to the Tower, by 
 land or boat. One summer s day he saw poor 
 Anne Askew and three men burned at the stake in 
 Smithfield, and heard an ex-bishop preach a sermon 
 to them which did not interest him. Yes, Tom s 
 life was varied and pleasant enough, on the whole. 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 23 
 
 By and by Tom s reading and dreaming about 
 princely life wrought such a strong effect upon him 
 that he began to act the prince, unconsciously. His 
 speech and manners became curiously ceremonious 
 and courtly, to the vast admiration and amusement 
 of his intimates. But Tom s influence among these 
 young people began to grow now, day by day ; and 
 in time he came to be looked up to by them with a 
 sort of wondering awe, as a superior being. He 
 seemed to know so much ! and he could do and say 
 such marvelous things ! and withal, he was so deep 
 and wise! Tom s remarks and Tom s perform 
 ances were reported by the boys to their elders ; 
 and these, also, presently began to discuss Tom 
 Canty, and to regard him as a most gifted and ex 
 traordinary creature. Full-grown people brought 
 their perplexities to Tom for solution, and were often 
 astonished at the wit and wisdom of his decisions. 
 In fact, he was become a hero to all who knew him ex 
 cept his own family these only saw nothing in him. 
 
 Privately, after a while, Tom organized a royal 
 court ! He was the prince ; his special comrades 
 were guards, chamberlains, equerries, lords and 
 ladies in waiting, and the royal family. Daily the 
 mock prince was received with elaborate ceremonials 
 borrowed by Tom from his romantic readings ; daily 
 the great affairs of the mimic kingdom were dis 
 cussed in the royal council, and daily his mimic 
 highness issued decrees to his imaginary armies, 
 navies, and viceroyalties. 
 
24 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 After which he would go forth in his rags and beg 
 a few farthings, eat his poor crust, take his custom 
 ary cuffs and abuse, and then stretch himself upon 
 his handful of foul straw, and resume his empty 
 grandeurs in his dreams. 
 
 And still his desire to look just once upon a real 
 prince, in the flesh, grew upon him, day by day, 
 and week by week, until at last it absorbed all other 
 desires, and became the one passion of his life. 
 
 One January day, on his usual begging tour, he 
 tramped despondently up and down the region round 
 about Mincing Lane and Little East Cheap, hour 
 after hour, barefooted and cold, looking in at cook- 
 shop windows and longing for the dreadful pork-pies 
 and other deadly inventions displayed there for to 
 him these were dainties fit for the angels ; that is, 
 judging by the smell, they were for it had never 
 been his good luck to own and eat one. There was 
 a cold drizzle of rain; the atmosphere was murky; 
 it was a melancholy day. At night Tom reached 
 home so wet and tired and hungry that it was not 
 possible for his father and grandmother to observe 
 his forlorn condition a*nd not be moved after their 
 fashion ; wherefore they gave him a brisk cuffing at 
 once and sent him to bed. For a long time his pain 
 and hunger, and the swearing and fighting going on 
 in the building, kept him awake; but at last his 
 thoughts drifted away to far, romantic lands, and he 
 fell asleep in the company of jeweled and gilded 
 princelings who lived in vast palaces, and had ser- 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 25 
 
 vants salaaming before them or flying to execute 
 their orders. And then, as usual, he dreamed that 
 lie was a princeling himself. 
 
 All night long the glories of his royal estate shone 
 upon him; he moved among great lords and ladies, 
 in a blaze of light, breathing perfumes, drinking in 
 delicious music, and answering the reverent obei 
 sances of the glittering throng as it parted to make 
 way for him, with here a smile, and there a nod of 
 his princely head. 
 
 And when he awoke in the morning and looked 
 upon the wretchedness about him, his dream had 
 had its usual effect it had intensified the sordid- 
 ness of his surroundings a thousand fold. Then 
 came bitterness, and heart-break, and tears. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 TOM S MEETING WITH THE PRINCE 
 
 TOM got up hungry, and sauntered hungry away, 
 but with his thoughts busy with the shadowy 
 splendors of his night s dreams. He wandered 
 here and there in the city, hardly noticing where he 
 was going, or what was happening around him. 
 People jostled him and some gave him rough 
 speech ; but it was all lost on the musing boy. By 
 and by he found himself at Temple Bar, the farthest 
 from home he had ever traveled in that direction. 
 He stopped and considered a moment, then fell into 
 his imaginings again, and passed on outside the walls 
 of London. The Strand had ceased to be a country- 
 road then, and regarded itself as a street, but by a 
 strained construction ; for, though there was a toler 
 ably compact row of houses on one side of it, there 
 were only some scattering great buildings on the 
 other, these being palaces of rich nobles, with ample 
 and beautiful grounds stretching to the river, 
 grounds that are now closely packed with grim acres 
 of brick and stone. 
 
 Tom discovered Charing Village presently, and 
 rested himself at the beautiful cross built there by a 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 27 
 
 bereaved king of earlier days; then idled down a 
 quiet, lovely road, past the great cardinal s stately 
 palace, toward a far more mighty and majestic palace 
 beyond, Westminster. Tom stared in glad wonder 
 at the vast pile of masonry, the wide-spreading 
 wings, the frowning bastions and turrets, the huge 
 stone gateway, with its gilded bars and its magnifi 
 cent array of colossal granite lions, and the other 
 signs and symbols of English royalty. Was the 
 desire of his soul to be satisfied at last? Here, in 
 deed, was a king s palace. Might he not hope to 
 see a prince now, a prince of flesh and blood, if 
 Heaven were willing? 
 
 At each side of the gilded gate stood a living 
 statue, that is to say, an erect and stately and 
 motionless man-at-arms, clad from head to heel in 
 shining steel armor. At a respectful distance were 
 many country folk, and people from the city, wait 
 ing for any chance glimpse of royalty that might 
 offer. Splendid carriages, with splendid people in 
 them and splendid servants outside, were arriving 
 and departing by several other noble gateways that 
 pierced the royal enclosure. 
 
 Poor little Tom, in his rags, approached, and was 
 moving slowly and timidly past the sentinels, with a 
 beating heart and a rising hope, when all at once he 
 caught sight through the golden bars of a spectacle 
 that almost made him shout for joy. Within was a 
 comely boy, tanned and brown with sturdy outdoor 
 sports and exercises, whose clothing was all of 
 
28 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 lovely silks and satins, shining with jewels; at his 
 hip a little jeweled sword and dagger ; dainty buskins 
 on his feet, with red heels; and on his head a jaunty 
 crimson cap, with drooping plumes fastened with a 
 great sparkling gem. Several gorgeous gentlemen 
 stood near, his servants, without a doubt. Oh! 
 he was a prince a prince, a living prince, a real 
 prince without the shadow of a question; and 
 the prayer of the pauper-boy s heart was answered 
 at last. 
 
 Tom s breath came quick and short with excite 
 ment, and his eyes grew big with wonder and de 
 light. Everything gave way in his mind instantly 
 to one desire : that was to get close to the prince, 
 and have a good, devouring look at him. Before 
 he knew what he was about, he had his face against 
 the gate-bars. The next instant one of the soldiers 
 snatched him rudely away, and sent him spinning 
 among the gaping crowd of country gawks and 
 London idlers. The soldier said: 
 
 " Mind thy manners, thou young beggar !" 
 
 The crowd jeered and laughed ; but the young 
 prince sprang to the gate with his face flushed, and 
 his eyes flashing with indignation, and cried out: 
 
 "How dar st thou use a poor lad like that! 
 How dar st thou use the king my father s meanest 
 subject so ! Open the gates, and let him in !" 
 
 You should have seen that fickle crowd snatch off 
 their hats then. You should have heard them 
 cheer, and shout, " Long live the Prince of Wales !" 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 29 
 
 The soldiers presented arms with their halberds, 
 opened the gates, and presented again as the little 
 Prince of Poverty passed in, in his fluttering rags, 
 to join hands with the Prince of Limitless Plenty. 
 Edward Tudor said : 
 
 Thou lookest tired and hungry: thou st been 
 treated ill. Come with me." 
 
 Half a dozen attendants sprang forward to I 
 don t know what; interfere, no doubt. But they 
 were waved aside with a right royal gesture, and 
 they stopped stock still where they were, like so 
 many statues. Edward took Tom to a rich apart 
 ment in the palace, which he called his cabinet. By 
 his command a repast was brought such as Tom had 
 never encountered before except in books. The 
 prince, with princely delicacy and breeding, sent 
 away the servants, so that his humble guest might 
 not be embarrassed by their critical presence ; then 
 he sat near by, and asked questions while Tom ate. 
 "What is thy name, lad?" 
 :t Tom Canty, an it please thee, sir." 
 " Tis an odd one. Where dost live?" 
 ;s ln the city, please thee, sir. Offal Court, out 
 of Pudding Lane." 
 
 " Offal Court ! Truly, tis another odd one. Hast 
 parents?" 
 
 11 Parents have I, sir, and a grandam likewise 
 that is but indifferently precious to me, God forgive 
 me if it be offense to say it also twin sisters, Nan 
 and Bet." 
 
 3 
 
30 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 "Then is thy grandam not over kind to thee, I 
 take it." 
 
 "Neither to any other is she, so please your 
 Worship. She hath a wicked heart, and worketh 
 evil all her days." 
 
 41 Doth she mistreat thee?" 
 
 " There be times that she stayeth her hand, being 
 asleep or overcome with drink ; but when she hath 
 her judgment clear again, she maketh it up to me 
 with goodly beatings." 
 
 A fierce look came into the little prince s eyes, 
 and he cried out : 
 
 "What! Beatings?" 
 
 " Oh, indeed, yes, please you, sir." 
 
 " Beatings ! and thou so frail and little. Hark 
 ye : before the night come, she shall hie her to the 
 Tower. The king my father " 
 
 " In sooth, you forget, sir, her low degree. The 
 Tower is for the great alone." 
 
 True, indeed. I had not thought of that. I 
 will consider of her punishment. Is thy father kind 
 to thee?" 
 
 11 Not more than Gammer Canty, sir." 
 
 " Fathers be alike, mayhap. Mine hath not a doll s 
 temper. He smiteth with a heavy hand, yet spareth 
 me : he spareth me not always with his tongue, though, 
 sooth to say. How doth thy mother use thee?" 
 
 " She is good, sir, and giveth me neither sorrow 
 nor pain of any sort. And Nan and Bet are like to 
 her in this." 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 3! 
 
 "How old be these?" 
 
 " Fifteen, an it please you, sir." 
 
 " The Lady Elizabeth, my sister, is fourteen, and 
 the Lady Jane Grey, my cousin, is of mine own age, 
 and comely and gracious withal ; but my sister the 
 Lady Mary, with her gloomy mien and Look 
 you : do thy sisters forbid their servants to smile, 
 lest the sin destroy their souls?" 
 
 "They? Oh, dost think, sir, that they have 
 servants?" 
 
 The little prince contemplated the little pauper 
 gravely a moment, then said : 
 
 " And prithee, why not? Who helpeth them un 
 dress at night? who attireth them when they rise?" 
 
 "None, sir. Wouldst have them take off their 
 garment, and sleep without, like the beasts?" 
 
 " Their garment ! Have they but one?" 
 
 "Ah, good your worship, what would they do 
 with more? Truly, they have not two bodies each." 
 
 "It is a quaint and marvelous thought! Thy 
 pardon, I had not meant to laugh. But thy good 
 Nan and thy Bet shall have raiment and lackeys 
 enow, and that soon, too: my cofferer shall look to 
 it. No, thank me not; tis nothing. Thou speak- 
 est well; thou hast an easy grace in it. Art 
 learned?" 
 
 " I know not if I am or not, sir. The good priest 
 that is called Father Andrew taught me, of his kind 
 ness, from his books." 
 
 " Know st thou the Latin?" 
 
32 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 " But scantly, sir, I doubt." 
 
 " Learn it, lad: tis hard only at first. The 
 Greek is harder ; but neither these nor any tongues 
 else, I think, are hard to the Lady Elizabeth and 
 my cousin. Thou shouldst hear those damsels at 
 it ! But tell me of thy Offal Court. Hast thou a 
 pleasant life there?" 
 
 " In truth, yes, so please you, sir, save when one 
 is hungry. There be Punch-and-Judy shows, and 
 monkeys, oh, such antic creatures ! and so bravely 
 dressed ! and there be plays wherein they that 
 play do shout and fight till all are slain, and tis so 
 fine to see, and costeth but a farthing albeit tis 
 main hard to get the farthing, please your worship." 
 
 " Tell me more." 
 
 "We lads of Offal Court do strive against each 
 other with the cudgel, like to the fashion of the 
 prentices, sometimes." 
 
 The prince s eyes flashed. Said he: 
 
 " Marry, that would I not mislike. Tell me more." 
 
 * We strive in races, sir, to see who of us shall be 
 fleetest." 
 
 " That would I like also. Speak on." 
 
 ** In summer, sir, we wade and swim in the canals 
 and in the river, and each doth duck his neighbor, 
 and spatter him with water, and dive and shout and 
 tumble and " 
 
 11 Twould be worth my father s kingdom but to 
 enjoy it once ! Prithee go on." 
 
 "We dance and sing about the Maypole in 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 33 
 
 Cheapside; we play in the sand, each covering his 
 neighbor up; and times we make mud pastry oh, 
 the lovely mud, it hath not its like for delightfulness 
 in all the world ! we do fairly wallow in the mud, 
 sir, saving your worship s presence." 
 
 "Oh, prithee, say no more, tis glorious! If 
 that I could but clothe me in raiment like to thine, 
 and strip my feet, and revel in the mud once, just 
 once, with none to rebuke me or forbid, meseemeth 
 I could forego the crown ! 
 
 "And if that I could clothe me once, sweet sir, 
 as thou art clad just once " 
 
 " Oho, wouldst like it? Then so shall it be. Doff 
 thy rags, and don these splendors, lad ! It is a brief 
 happiness, but will be not less keen for that. We 
 will have it while we may, and change again before 
 any come to molest." 
 
 A few minutes later the little Prince of Wales was 
 garlanded with Tom s fluttering odds and ends, and 
 the little Prince of Pauperdom was tricked out in the 
 gaudy plumage of royalty. The two went and stood 
 side by side before a great mirror, and lo, a miracle: 
 there did not seem to have been any change made ! 
 They stared at each other, then at the glass, then at 
 each other again. At last the puzzled princeling 
 said : 
 
 41 What dost thou make of this?" 
 
 "Ah, good your worship, require me not to 
 answer. It is not meet that one of my degree 
 should utter the thing." 
 3 
 
34 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 1 Then will / utter it. Thou hast the same hair, 
 the same eyes, the same voice and manner, the same 
 form and stature, the same face and countenance, 
 that I bear. Fared we forth naked, there is none 
 could say which was you, and which the Prince of 
 Wales. And, now that I am clothed as thou wert 
 clothed, it seemeth I should be able the more nearly 
 to feel as thou didst when the brute soldier 
 Hark ye, is not this a bruise upon your hand?" 
 
 Yes; but it is a slight thing, and your worship 
 knoweth that the poor man-at-arms 
 
 1 Peace ! It was a shameful thing and a cruel ! 
 cried the little prince, stamping his bare foot. " If 
 the king Stir not a step till I come again ! It 
 is a command !" 
 
 In a moment he had snatched up and put away 
 an article of national importance that lay upon a 
 table, and was out at the door and flying through 
 the palace grounds in his bannered rags, with a hot 
 face and glowing eyes. As soon as he reached the 
 great gate, he seized the bars, and tried to shake 
 them, shouting: 
 
 Open ! Unbar the gates ! 
 
 The soldier that had maltreated Tom obeyed 
 promptly; and as the prince burst through the 
 portal, half-smothered with royal wrath, the soldier 
 fetched him a sounding box on the ear that sent 
 him whirling to the roadway, and said : 
 
 " Take that, thou beggar s spawn, for what thou 
 got st me from his Highness!" 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 35 
 
 The crowd roared with laughter. The prince 
 picked himself out of the mud, and made fiercely at 
 the sentry, shouting: 
 
 11 1 am the Prince of Wales, my person is sacred; 
 and thou shalt hang for laying thy hand upon me !" 
 
 The soldier brought his halberd to a present-arms 
 and said mockingly: 
 
 1 I salute your gracious Highness. Then angrily, 
 " Be off, thou crazy rubbish !" 
 
 Here the jeering crowd closed around the poor 
 little prince, and hustled him far down the road, 
 hooting him, and shouting, "Way for his royai 
 Highness ! way for the Prince of Wales !" 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE PRINCE S TROUBLES BEGIN 
 
 AFTER hours of persistent pursuit and persecu 
 tion, the little prince was at last deserted by 
 the rabble and left to himself. As long as he had 
 been able to rage against the mob, and threaten it 
 royally, and royally utter commands that were good 
 stuff to laugh at, he was very entertaining; but 
 when weariness finally forced him to be silent, he 
 was no longer of use to his tormentors, and they 
 sought amusement elsewhere. He looked about him 
 now, but could not recognize the locality. He was 
 within the city of London that was all he knew. 
 He moved on, aimlessly, and in a little while the 
 houses thinned, and the passers-by were infrequent. 
 He bathed his bleeding feet in the brook which 
 flowed then where Farringdon street now is ; rested 
 a few moments, then passed on, and presently came 
 upon a great space with only a few scattered houses 
 in it, and a prodigious church. He recognized this 
 church. Scaffoldings were about, everywhere, and 
 swarms of workmen ; for it was undergoing elaborate 
 repairs. The prince took heart at once he felt 
 
 (361 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 37 
 
 that his troubles were at an end now. He said to 
 himself, "It is the ancient Grey Friars church, 
 which the king my father hath taken from the 
 monks and given for a home forever for poor 
 and forsaken children, and new-named it Christ s 
 church. Right gladly will they serve the son of 
 him who hath done so generously by them and 
 the more that that son is himself as poor and as 
 forlorn as any that be sheltered here this day, or 
 ever shall be." 
 
 He was soon in the midst of a crowd of boys who 
 were running, jumping, playing at ball and leap-frog 
 and otherwise disporting themselves, and right 
 noisily, too. They were all dressed alike, and in 
 the fashion which in that day prevailed among 
 serving-men and prentices* that is to say, each 
 had on the crown of his head a flat black cap about 
 the size of a saucer, which was not useful as a 
 covering, it being of such scanty dimensions, neither 
 was it ornamental; from beneath it the hair fell, 
 unparted, to the middle of the forehead, and was 
 cropped straight around ; a clerical band at the 
 neck ; a blue gown that fitted closely and hung as 
 low as the knees or lower ; full sleeves ; a broad red 
 belt; bright yellow stockings, gartered above the 
 knees ; low shoes with large metal buckles. It was 
 a sufficiently ugly costume. 
 
 The boys stopped their play and flocked about 
 the prince, who said with native dignity: 
 
 * See Note I, at end of the volume. 
 
38 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 "Good lads, say to your master that Edward 
 Prince of Wales desireth speech with him." 
 
 A great shout went up at this, and one rude 
 fellow said : 
 
 " Marry, art thou his grace s messenger, beggar?" 
 
 The prince s face flushed with anger, and his 
 ready hand flew to his hip, but there was nothing 
 there. There was a storm of laughter, and one boy 
 said : 
 
 "Didst mark that? He fancied he had a sword 
 belike he is the prince himself." 
 
 This sally brought more laughter. Poor Edward 
 drew himself up proudly and said : 
 
 " I am the prince; and it ill beseemeth you that 
 feed upon the king my father s bounty to use me 
 so." 
 
 This was vastly enjoyed, as the laughter testified. 
 The youth who had first spoken shouted to his 
 comrades : 
 
 " Ho, swine, slaves, pensioners of his grace s 
 princely father, where be your manners? Down on 
 your marrow bones, all of ye, and do reverence to 
 his kingly port and royal rags ! 
 
 With boisterous mirth they dropped upon their 
 knees in a body and did mock homage to their prey. 
 The prince spurned the nearest boy with his foot, 
 and said fiercely: 
 
 **Take thou that, till the morrow come and I 
 build thee a gibbet ! 
 
 Ah, but this was not a joke this was going 
 
The Prince and the Pauper }9 
 
 beyond fun. The laughter ceased on the instant, 
 and fury took its place. A dozen shouted: 
 
 "Hale him forth! To the horse-pond, to the 
 horse-pond! Where be the dogs? Ho, there, 
 Lion! ho, Fangs!" 
 
 Then followed such a thing as England had never 
 seen before the sacred person of the heir to the 
 throne rudely buffeted by plebeian hands, and set 
 upon and torn by dogs. 
 
 As night drew to a close that day, the prince 
 found himself far down in the close-built portion of 
 the city. His body was bruised, his hands were 
 bleeding, and his rags were all besmirched with mud. 
 He wandered on and on, and grew more and more 
 bewildered, and so tired and faint he could hardly 
 drag one foot after the other. He had ceased to 
 ask questions of any one, since they brought him 
 only insult instead of information. He kept mutter 
 ing to himself, " Offal Court that is the name; if 
 I can but find it before my strength is wholly spent 
 and I drop, then am I saved for his people will 
 take me to the palace and prove that I am none of 
 theirs, but the true prince, and I shall have mine 
 own again." And now and then his mind reverted 
 to his treatment by those rude Christ s Hospital 
 boys, and he said, "When I am king, they shall 
 not have bread and shelter only, but also teachings 
 out of books ; for a full belly is little worth where 
 the mind is starved, and the heart. I will keep this 
 diligently in my remembrance, that this day s lesson 
 
40 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 be not lost upon me, and my people suffer thereby; 
 for learning softeneth the heart and breedeth gentle 
 ness and charity."* 
 
 The lights began to twinkle, it came on to rain, 
 the wind rose, and a raw and gusty night set in. 
 The houseless prince, the homeless heir to the 
 throne of England, still moved on, drifting deeper 
 into the maze of squalid alleys where the swarming 
 hives of poverty and misery were massed together. 
 
 Suddenly a great drunken ruffian collared him and 
 said : 
 
 "Out to this time of night again, and hast not 
 brought a farthing home, I warrant me ! If it be 
 so, an I do not break all the bones in thy lean 
 body, then am I not John Canty, but some 
 other." 
 
 The prince twisted himself loose, unconsciously 
 brushed his profaned shoulder, and eagerly said : 
 
 " Oh, art his father, truly? Sweet heaven grant 
 it be so then wilt thou fetch him away and restore 
 me!" 
 
 11 His father? I know not what thou mean st; I 
 but know I am thy father, as thou shalt soon have 
 cause to " 
 
 "Oh, jest not, palter not, delay not! I am 
 worn, I am wounded, I can bear no more. Take 
 me to the king my father, and he will make thee 
 rich beyond thy wildest dreams. Believe me, man, 
 believe me ! I speak no lie, but only the truth I 
 
 * See Note 2, at end of the volume. 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 41 
 
 put forth thy hand and save me ! I am indeed the 
 Prince of Wales!" 
 
 The man stared down, stupefied, upon the lad, 
 then shook his head and muttered : 
 
 4 Gone stark mad as any Tom o Bedlam!" 
 then collared him once more, and said with a coarse 
 laugh and an oath, " But mad or no mad, I and thy 
 Gammer Canty will soon find where the soft places 
 in thy bones lie, or I m no true man !" 
 
 With this he dragged the frantic and struggling 
 prince away, and disappeared up a front court fol 
 lowed by a delighted and noisy swarm of human 
 vermin. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 TOM AS A PATRICIAN 
 
 TOM CANTY, left alone in the prince s cabinet, 
 made good use of his opportunity. He turned 
 himself this way and that before the great mirror, 
 admiring his finery; then walked away, imitating 
 the prince s high-bred carriage, and still observing 
 results in the glass. Next he drew the beautiful 
 sword, and bowed, kissing the blade, and laying it 
 across his breast, as he had seen a noble knight do, 
 by way of salute to the lieutenant of the Tower, five 
 or six weeks before, when delivering the great lords 
 of Norfolk and Surrey into his hands for captivity. 
 Tom played with the jeweled dagger that hung upon 
 his thigh ; he examined the costly and exquisite 
 ornaments of the room ; he tried each of the sump 
 tuous chairs, and thought how proud he would be if 
 the Offal Court herd could only peep in and see 
 him in his grandeur. He wondered if they would 
 believe the marvelous tale he should tell when he 
 got home, or if they would shake their heads, and 
 say his overtaxed imagination had at last upset his 
 reason. 
 
 At the end of half an hour it suddenly occurred 
 
 (42) 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 43 
 
 to him that the prince was gone a long time ; then 
 right away he began to feel lonely; very soon he 
 fell to listening and longing, and ceased to toy with 
 the pretty things about him ; he grew uneasy, then 
 restless, then distressed. Suppose some one should 
 come, and catch him in the prince s clothes, and the 
 prince not there to explain. Might they not hang 
 him at once, and inquire into his case afterward? 
 He had heard that the great were prompt about 
 small matters. His fears rose higher and higher; 
 and trembling he softly opened the door to the ante 
 chamber, resolved to fly and seek the prince, and, 
 through him, protection and release. Six gorgeous 
 gentlemen-servants and two young pages of high 
 degree, clothed like butterflies, sprung to their feet, 
 and bowed low before him. He stepped quickly 
 back, and shut the door. He said: 
 
 " Oh, they mock at me ! They will go and tell. 
 Oh ! why came I here to cast away my life?" 
 
 He walked up and down the floor, filled with 
 nameless fears, listening, starting at every trifling 
 sound. Presently the door swung open, and a silken 
 page said : 
 
 "The Lady Jane Grey." 
 
 The door closed, and a sweet young girl, richly 
 clad, bounded toward him. But she stopped sud 
 denly, and said in a distressed voice : 
 
 " Oh, what aileth thee, my Ijrd?" 
 
 Tom s breath was nearly failing him ; but he made 
 shift to stammer out : 
 
44 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 "Ah, be merciful, thou ! In sooth I am no 
 lord, but only poor Tom Canty of Offal Court in 
 the city. Prithee let me see the prince, and he will 
 of his grace restore to me my rags, and let me 
 hence unhurt. Oh, be thou merciful, and save me !" 
 
 By this time the boy was on his knees, and sup 
 plicating with his eyes and uplifted hands as well as 
 with his tongue. The young girl seemed horror- 
 stricken. She cried out: 
 
 11 Oh, my lord, on thy knees? and to me /" 
 
 Then she fled away in fright; and Tom, smitten 
 with despair, sank down, murmuring: 
 
 "There is no help, there is no hope. Now will 
 they come and take me." 
 
 Whilst he lay there benumbed with terror, dread 
 ful tidings were speeding through the palace. The 
 whisper, for it was whispered always, flew from 
 menial to menial, from lord to lady, down all the 
 long corridors, from story to story, from saloon to 
 saloon, "The prince hath gone mad, the prince 
 hath gone mad !" Soon every saloon, every marble 
 hall, had its groups of glittering lords and ladies, and 
 other groups of dazzling lesser folk, talking earnestly 
 together in whispers, and every face had in it dismay. 
 Presently a splendid official came marching by these 
 groups, making solemn proclamation : 
 
 " IN THE NAME OF THE KING. 
 Let none list to this false and foolish matter, upon 
 pain of death, nor discuss the same, nor carry it 
 abroad. In the name of the king!" 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 45 
 
 The whisperings ceased as suddenly as if the 
 whisperers had been stricken dumb. 
 
 Soon there was a general buzz along the corridors, 
 of " The prince ! See, the prince comes !" 
 
 Poor Tom came slowly walking past the low- 
 bowing groups, trying to bow in return, and meekly 
 gazing upon his strange surroundings with bewil 
 dered and pathetic eyes. Great nobles walked upon 
 each side of him, making him lean upon them, and 
 so steady his steps. Behind him followed the court 
 physicians and some servants. 
 
 Presently Tom found himself in a noble apartment 
 of the palace, and heard the door close behind him. 
 Around him stood those who had come with him. 
 
 Before him, at a little distance, reclined a very 
 large and very fat man, with a wide, pulpy face, and 
 a stern expression. His large head was very gray; 
 and his whiskers, which he wore only around his 
 face, like a frame, were gray also. His clothing 
 was of rich stuff, but old, and slightly frayed in 
 places. One of his swollen legs had a pillow under 
 it, and was wrapped in bandages. There was silence 
 now ; and there was no head there but was bent in 
 reverence, except this man s. This stern-counte 
 nanced invalid was the dread Henry VIII. He said, 
 and his face grew gentle as he began to speak : 
 
 " How now, my lord Edward, my prince? Hast 
 been minded to cozen me, the good king thy father, 
 who loveth thee, and kindly useth thee, with a sotry 
 jest?" 
 
46 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 Poor Tom was listening, as well as his dazed 
 faculties would let him, to the beginning of this 
 speech; but when the words "me the good king" 
 fell upon his ear, his face blanched, and he dropped 
 as instantly upon his knees as if a shot had brought 
 him there. Lifting up his hands, he exclaimed : 
 Thou the king? Then am I undone indeed!" 
 
 This speech seemed to stun the king. His eyes 
 wandered from face to face aimlessly, then rested, 
 bewildered, upon the boy before him. Then he 
 said in a tone of deep disappointment : 
 
 * Alack, I had believed the rumor disproportioned 
 to the truth; but I fear me tis not so." He 
 breathed a heavy sigh, and said in a gentle voice, 
 11 Come to thy father, child; thou art not well." 
 
 Tom was assisted to his feet, and approached the 
 Majesty of England, humble and trembling. The 
 king took the frightened face between his hands, 
 and gazed earnestly and lovingly into it awhile, as if 
 seeking some grateful sign of returning reason there, 
 then pressed the curly head against his breast, and 
 patted it tenderly. Presently he said : 
 
 "Dost thou know thy father, child? Break not 
 mine old heart; say thou know st me. Thou dost 
 know me, dost thou not?" 
 
 Yea; thou art my dread lord the king, whom 
 God preserve!" 
 
 True, true that is well be comforted, trem 
 ble not so ; there is none here who would hurt thee ; 
 there is none here but loves thee. Thou art better 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 47 
 
 now; thy ill dream passeth is t not so? And 
 thou knovvest thyself now also is t not so? Thou 
 wilt not miscall thyself again, as they say thou didst 
 a little while agone?" 
 
 " 1 pray thee of thy grace believe me, I did but 
 speak the truth, most dread lord; for I am the 
 meanest among thy subjects, being a pauper born, 
 and tis by a sore mischance and accident I am 
 here, albeit I was therein nothing blameful. I am 
 but young to die, and thou canst save me with one 
 little word. Oh, speak it, sir!" 
 
 " Die? Talk not so, sweet prince peace, peace, 
 to thy troubled heart thou shalt not die !" 
 
 Tom dropped upon his knees with a glad cry : 
 
 " God requite thy mercy, oh my king, and save 
 thee long to bless thy land!" Then springing up, 
 he turned a joyful face toward the two lords in 
 waiting, and exclaimed, "Thou heard st it! I am 
 not to die: the king hath said it!" There was no 
 movement, save that all bowed with grave respect; 
 but no one spoke. He hesitated, a little confused, 
 then turned timidly toward the king, saying, " I may 
 go now?" 
 
 "Go? Surely, if thou desirest. But why not 
 tarry yet a little? Whither wouldst go?" 
 
 Tom dropped his eyes, and answered humbly: 
 
 " Peradventure I mistook; but I did think me 
 free, and so was I moved to seek again the kennel 
 where I was born and bred to misery, yet which 
 harboreth my mother and my sisters, and so is home 
 
48 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 to me; whereas these pomps and splendors where- 
 unto I am not used oh, please you, sir, to let me 
 go!" 
 
 The king was silent and thoughtful a while, and 
 his face betrayed a growing distress and uneasiness. 
 Presently he said, with something of hope in his 
 voice : 
 
 " Perchance he is but mad upon this one strain, 
 and hath his wits unmarred as toucheth other matter. 
 God send it may be so ! We will make trial." 
 
 Then he asked Tom a question in Latin, and Tom 
 answered him lamely in the same tongue. The king 
 was delighted, and showed it. The lords and doc 
 tors manifested their gratification also. The king 
 said: 
 
 " Twas not according to his schooling and ability, 
 but sheweth that his mind is but diseased, not 
 stricken fatally. How say you, sir?" 
 
 The physician addressed bowed low, and replied : 
 
 11 It jumpeth with mine own conviction, sire, that 
 thou hast divined aright." 
 
 The king looked pleased with this encouragement, 
 coming as it did from so excellent authority, and 
 continued with good heart: 
 
 11 Now mark ye all: we will try him further." 
 
 He put a question to Tom in French. Tom stood 
 silent -a moment, embarrassed by having so many 
 eyes centered upon him, then said diffidently: 
 
 "I have no knowledge of this tongue, so please 
 your majesty." 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 49 
 
 The king fell back upon his couch. The attendants 
 flew to his assistance; but he put them aside, and 
 said : 
 
 Trouble me not it is nothing but a scurvy 
 faintness. Raise me ! there, tis sufficient. Come 
 hither, child ; there, rest thy poor troubled head 
 upon thy father s heart, and be at peace. Thou lt 
 soon be well; tis but a passing fantasy. Fear thou 
 not; thou It soon be well." Then he turned toward 
 the company; his gentle manner changed, and bale 
 ful lightnings began to play from his eyes. He 
 said : 
 
 " List ye all ! This my son is mad ; but it is not 
 permanent. Overstudy hath done this, and some 
 what too much of confinement. Away with his 
 books and teachers ! see ye to it. Pleasure him 
 with sports, beguile him in wholesome ways, so that 
 his health come again." He raised himself higher 
 still, and went on with energy. " He is mad; but 
 he is my son, and England s heir; and, mad or 
 sane, still shall he reign ! And hear ye further, and 
 proclaim it: whoso speaketh of this his distemper 
 worketh against the peace and order of these realms, 
 
 and shall to the gallows ! Give me to drink 
 
 I burn: This sorrow sappeth my strength 
 
 There, take away the cup Support me. There, 
 
 that is well. Mad, is he? Were he a thousand 
 times mad, yet is he Prince of Wales, and I the 
 king will confirm it. This very morrow shall he be 
 installed in his princely dignity in due and ancient 
 4 
 
50 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 form. Take instant order for it, my Lord Hert 
 ford." 
 
 One of the nobles knelt at the royal couch, and 
 said: 
 
 " The king s majesty knoweth that the Hereditary 
 Great Marshal of England lieth attainted in the 
 Tower. It were not meet that one attainted 
 
 14 Peace! Insult not mine ears with his hated 
 name. Is this man to live forever? Am I to be 
 balked of my will? Is the prince to tarry unin- 
 stalled, because, forsooth, the realm lacketh an earl 
 marshal free of treasonable taint to invest him with 
 his honors? No, by the splendor of God! Warn 
 my parliament to bring me Norfolk s doom before 
 the sun rise again, else shall they answer for it 
 grievously !" 
 
 Lord Hertford said : 
 
 The king s will is law;" and, rising, returned 
 to his former place. 
 
 Gradually the wrath faded out of the old king s 
 face, and he said : 
 
 " Kiss me, my prince. There what fearest 
 
 thou? Am I not thy loving father?" 
 
 Thou art good to me that am unworthy, O 
 mighty and gracious lord; that in truth I know. 
 But but it grieveth me to think of him that is 
 to die, and " 
 
 "Ah, tis like thee, tis like thee ! I know thy 
 heart is still the same, even though thy mind hath 
 
 * See Note 3, at end of the volume. 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 51 
 
 suffered hurt, for thou wert ever of a gentle spirit. 
 But this duke standeth between thee and thine 
 honors : I will have another in his stead that shall 
 bring no taint to his great office. Comfort thee, my 
 prince : trouble not thy poor head with this matter. 
 
 " But is it not I that speed him hence, my liege? 
 How long might he not live, but for me?" 
 
 Take no thought of him, my prince: he is not 
 worthy. Kiss me once again, and go to thy trifles 
 and amusements; for my malady distresseth me. I 
 am aweary, and would rest. Go with thine uncle 
 Hertford and thy people, and come again when my 
 body is refreshed." 
 
 Tom, heavy-hearted, was conducted from the 
 presence, for this last sentence was a death-blow to 
 the hope he had cherished that now he would be set 
 free. Once more he heard the buzz of low voices 
 exclaiming, "The prince, the prince comes!" 
 
 His spirits sank lower and lower as he moved be 
 tween the glittering files of bowing courtiers ; for he 
 recognized that he was indeed a captive now, and 
 might remain forever shut up in this gilded cage, a 
 forlorn and friendless prince, except God in his 
 mercy take pity on him and set him free. 
 
 And, turn where he would, he seemed to see 
 floating in the air the severed head and the remem 
 bered face of the great Duke of Norfolk, the eyes 
 fixed on him reproachfully. 
 
 His old dreams had been so pleasant; but this 
 reality was so dreary ! 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 TOM RECEIVES INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 TOM was conducted to the principal apartment of 
 a noble suite, and made to sit down a thing 
 which he was loath to do, since there were elderly 
 men and men of high degree about him. He begged 
 them to be seated, also, but they only bowed their 
 thanks or murmured them, and remained standing. 
 He would have insisted, but his " uncle," the Earl 
 of Hertford, whispered in his ear: 
 
 " Prithee, insist not, my lord; it is not meet that 
 they sit in thy presence." 
 
 The Lord St. John was announced, and, after 
 making obeisance to Tom, he said: 
 
 " I come upon the king s errand, concerning a 
 matter which requireth privacy. Will it please your 
 royal Highness to dismiss all that attend you here, 
 save my lord the Earl of Hertford?" 
 
 Observing that Tom did not seem to know how 
 to proceed, Hertford whispered him to make a sign 
 with his hand and not trouble himself to speak un 
 less he chose. When the waiting gentlemen had 
 retired, Lord St. John said: 
 
 " His majesty commandeth, that for due and 
 
 (52) 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 53 
 
 weighty reasons of state, the prince s grace shall 
 hide his infirmity in all ways that be within his 
 power, till it be passed and he be as he was before. 
 To wit, that he shall deny to none that he is the 
 true prince, and heir to England s greatness; that 
 he shall uphold his princely dignity, and shall re 
 ceive, without word or sign of protest, that rever 
 ence and observance which unto it do appertain of 
 right and ancient usage; that he shall cease to 
 speak to any of that lowly birth and life his malady 
 hath conjured out of the unwholesome imaginings of 
 overwrought fancy; that he shall strive with diligence 
 to bring unto his memory again those faces which 
 he was wont to know and where he faileth he shall 
 hold his peace, neither betraying by semblance of 
 surprise, or other sign, that he hath forgot; that 
 upon occasions of state, whensoever any matter 
 shall perplex him as to the thing he should do or 
 the utterance he should make, he shall show nought 
 of unrest to the curious that look on, but take ad 
 vice in that matter of the Lord Hertford, or my 
 humble self, which are commanded of the king to 
 be upon this service and close at call, till this com 
 mandment be dissolved. Thus saith the king s 
 majesty, who sendeth greeting to your royal high 
 ness and prayeth that God will of His mercy quickly 
 heal you and have you now and ever in His holy 
 keeping." 
 
 The Lord St. John made reverence and stood 
 aside. Tom replied, resignedly: 
 
54 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 The king hath said it. None may palter with 
 the king s command, or fit it to his ease, where it 
 doth chafe, with deft evasions. The king shall be 
 obeyed." 
 
 Lord Hertford said : 
 
 " Touching the king s majesty s ordainment con 
 cerning books and such like serious matters, it may 
 peradventure please your Highness to ease your 
 time with lightsome entertainment, lest you go 
 wearied to the banquet and suffer harm thereby." 
 
 Tom s face showed inquiring surprise; and a 
 blush followed when he saw lord St. John s eyes 
 bent sorrowfully upon him. His lordship said : 
 
 * Thy memory still wrongeth thee, and thou hast 
 shown surprise but suffer it not to trouble thee, 
 for tis a matter that will not bide, but depart with 
 thy mending malady. My lord of Hertford speak- 
 eth of the city s banquet which the king s majesty 
 did promise two months flown, your highness should 
 attend. Thou recallest it now?" 
 
 14 It grieves me to confess it had indeed escaped 
 me," said Tom, in a hesitating voice ; and blushed 
 again. 
 
 At that moment the Lady Elizabeth and the Lady 
 Jane Grey were announced. The two lords ex 
 changed significant glances, and Hertford stepped 
 quickly toward the door. As the young girls passed 
 him, he said in a low voice : 
 
 "I pray ye, ladies, seem not to observe his 
 humors, nor show surprise when his memory doth 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 55 
 
 lapse it will grieve you to note how it doth stick 
 at every trifle." 
 
 Meanwhile Lord St. John was saying in Tom s 
 ear: 
 
 Please you, sir, keep diligently in mind his 
 majesty s desire. Remember all thou canst Seem 
 to remember all else. Let them not perceive that 
 thou art much changed from thy wont, for thou 
 knowest how tenderly thy old playfellows bear thee 
 in their hearts and how twould grieve them. Art 
 willing, sir, that I remain? and thine uncle?" 
 
 Tom signified assent with a gesture and a mur 
 mured word, for he was already learning, and in his 
 simple heart was resolved to acquit himself as best 
 he might, according to the king s command. 
 
 In spite of every precaution, the conversation 
 among the young people became a little embarrassing 
 at times. More than once, in truth, Tom was near 
 to breaking down and confessing himself unequal to 
 his tremendous part; but the tact of the Princess 
 Elizabeth saved him, or a word from one or the 
 other of the vigilant lords, thrown in apparently by 
 chance, had the same happy effect. Once the little 
 Lady Jane turned to Tom and dismayed him with 
 this question : 
 
 " Hast paid thy duty to the queen s majesty to 
 day, my lord?" 
 
 Tom hesitated, looked distressed, and was about 
 to stammer out something at hazard, when lord St. 
 John took the word and answered for him with the 
 
56 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 easy grace of a courtier accustomed to encounter 
 delicate difficulties and to be ready for them : 
 
 " He hath indeed, madam, and she did greatly 
 hearten him, as touching his majesty s condition; 
 is it not so, your highness? " 
 
 Tom mumbled something that stood for assent, 
 but felt that he was getting upon dangerous ground. 
 Somewhat later it was mentioned that Tom was to 
 study no more at present, whereupon her little lady 
 ship exclaimed : 
 
 Tis a pity, tis such a pity! Thou were pro 
 ceeding bravely. But bide thy time in patience ; it 
 will not be for long. Thou It yet be graced with 
 learning like thy father, and make thy tongue master 
 of as many languages as his, good my prince." 
 
 "My father!" cried Tom, off his guard for the 
 moment. " I trow he cannot speak his own so that 
 any but the swine that wallow in the sties may tell his 
 meaning; and as for learning of any sort soever " 
 
 He looked up and encountered a solemn warning 
 in my lord St. John s eyes. 
 
 He stopped, blushed, then continued low and 
 sadly: "Ah, my malady persecuteth me again, and 
 my mind wandereth. I meant the king s grace no 
 irreverence." 
 
 "We know it, sir," said the Princess Elizabeth, 
 taking her "brother s" hand between her two 
 palms, respectfully but caressingly; "trouble not 
 thyself as to that. The fault is none of thine, but 
 thy distemper s." 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 57 
 
 " Thou rt a gentle comforter, sweet lady," said 
 Tom, gratefully, "and my heart moveth me to 
 thank thee for t, an I may be so bold." 
 
 Once the giddy little Lady Jane fired a simple 
 Greek phrase at Tom. The Princess Elizabeth s 
 quick eye saw by the serene blankness of the tar 
 get s front that the shaft was overshot; so she tran 
 quilly delivered a return volley of sounding Greek 
 on Tom s behalf, and then straightway changed the 
 talk to other matters. 
 
 Time wore on pleasantly, and likewise smoothly, 
 on the whole. Snags and sandbars grew less and less 
 frequent, and Tom grew more and more at his ease, 
 seeing that all were so lovingly bent upon helping 
 him and overlooking his mistakes. When it came 
 out that the little ladies were to accompany him to 
 the Lord Mayor s banquet in the evening, his heart 
 gave a bound of relief and delight, for he felt that 
 he should not be friendless now, among that multi 
 tude of strangers, whereas, an hour earlier, the idea 
 of their going with him would have been an insup 
 portable terror to him. 
 
 Tom s guardian angels, the two lords, had had 
 less comfort in the interview than the other parties 
 to it. They felt much as if they were piloting a 
 great ship through a dangerous channel ; they were 
 on the alert constantly, and found their office no 
 child s play. Wherefore, at last, when the ladies 
 visit was drawing to a close and the Lord Guilford 
 Dudley was announced, they not only felt that their 
 
58 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 charge had been sufficiently taxed for the present, 
 but also that they themselves were not in the best 
 condition to take their ship back and make their 
 anxious voyage all over again. So they respect 
 fully advised Tom to excuse himself, which he was 
 very glad to do, although a slight shade of disap 
 pointment might have been observed upon my Lady 
 Jane s face when she heard the splendid stripling 
 denied admittance. 
 
 There was a pause now, a sort of waiting silence 
 which Tom could not understand. He glanced at 
 Lord Hertford, who gave him a sign but he failed 
 to understand that also. The ready Elizabeth came 
 to the rescue with her usual easy grace. She made 
 reverence and said : 
 
 11 Have we leave of the prince s grace my brother 
 to go?" 
 
 Tom said : 
 
 " Indeed, your ladyships can have whatsoever of 
 me they will, for the asking; yet would I rather 
 give them any other thing that in my poor power 
 lieth, than leave to take the light and blessing of 
 their presence hence. Give ye good den, and God 
 be with ye!" Then he smiled inwardly at the 
 thought, " tis not for nought I have dwelt but 
 among princes in my reading, and taught my tongue 
 some slight trick of their broidered and gracious 
 speech withal!" 
 
 When the illustrious maidens were gone, Tom 
 turned wearily to his keepers and said ; 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 59 
 
 " May it please your lordships to grant me leave 
 to go into some corner and rest me !" 
 
 Lord Hertford said : 
 
 11 So please your Highness, it is for you to com 
 mand, it is for us to obey. That thou shouldst rest, 
 is indeed a needful thing, since thou must journey 
 to the city presently." 
 
 He touched a bell, and a page appeared, who was 
 ordered to desire the presence of Sir William 
 Herbert. This gentleman came straightway, and 
 conducted Tom to an inner apartment. Tom s first 
 movement there was to reach for a cup of water; 
 but a silk-and-velvet servitor seized it, dropped upon 
 one knee, and offered it to him on a golden salver. 
 
 Next, the tired captive sat down and was going to 
 take off his buskins, timidly asking leave with his 
 eye, but another silk-and-velvet discomforter went 
 down upon his knees and took the office from him. 
 He made two or three further efforts to help him 
 self, but being promptly forestalled each time, he 
 finally gave up, with a sigh of resignation and a 
 murmured " Beshrew me, but I marvel they do not 
 require to breathe for me also!" Slippered, and 
 wrapped in a sumptuous robe, he laid himself down 
 at last to rest, but not to sleep, for his head was too 
 full of thoughts and the room too full of people. 
 He could not dismiss the former, so they stayed ; he 
 did not know enough to dismiss the latter, so they 
 stayed also, to his vast regret and theirs. 
 
60 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 Tom s departure had left his two noble guardians 
 alone. They mused a while, with much headshaking 
 and walking the floor, then Lord St. John said : 
 
 11 Plainly, what dost thou think?" 
 
 " Plainly, then, this. The king is near his end, my 
 nephew is mad, mad will mount the throne, and mad 
 remain. God protect England, since she will need it !" 
 
 1 Verily it promiseth so, indeed. But have 
 
 you no misgivings as to as to " 
 
 The speaker hesitated, and finally stopped. He 
 evidently felt that he was upon delicate ground. 
 Lord Hertford stopped before him, looked into his 
 face with a clear, frank eye, and said: 
 
 " Speak on there is none to hear but me. Mis 
 givings as to what?" 
 
 11 I am full loath to word the thing that is in my 
 mind, and thou so near to him in blood, my lord. 
 But craving pardon if I do offend, seemeth it not 
 strange that madness could so change his port and 
 manner ! not but that his port and speech are 
 princely still, but that they differ in one unweighty 
 trifle or another, from what his custom was afore 
 time. Seemeth it not strange that madness should 
 filch from his memory his father s very lineaments; 
 the customs and observances that are his due from 
 such as be about him; and, leaving him his Latin, 
 strip him of his Greek and French? My lord, be 
 not offended, but ease my mind of its disquiet and 
 receive my grateful thanks. It haunteth me, his 
 saying he was not the prince, and so " 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 61 
 
 "Peace, my lord, thou utterest treason! Hast 
 forgot the king s command? Remember I am party 
 to thy crime, if I but listen." 
 
 St. John paled, and hastened to say: 
 
 " I was in fault, I do confess it. Betray me not, 
 grant me this grace out of thy courtesy, and I will 
 neither think nor speak of this thing more. Deal 
 not hardly with me, sir, else am I ruined." 
 
 "I am content, my lord. So thou offend not 
 again, here or in the ears of others, it shall be as 
 though thou hadst not spoken. But thou needst 
 not have misgivings. He is my sister s son; are 
 not his voice, his face, his form, familiar to me from 
 his cradle? Madness can do all the odd conflicting 
 things thou seest in him, and more. Dost not recall 
 how that the old Baron Marley, being mad, forgot 
 the favor of his own countenance that he had known 
 for sixty years, and held it was another s; nay, even 
 claimed he was the son of Mary Magdalene, and that 
 his head was made of Spanish glass ; and sooth to 
 say, he suffered none to touch it, lest by mischance 
 some heedless hand might shiver it. Give thy mis 
 givings easement, good my lord. This is the very 
 prince, I know him well and soon will be thy 
 king ; it may advantage thee to bear this in mind 
 and more dwell upon it than the other." 
 
 After some further talk, in which the Lord St. 
 John covered up his mistake as well as he could by 
 repeated protests that his faith was thoroughly 
 grounded now, and could not be assailed by doubts 
 
62 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 again, the Lord Hertford relieved his fellow keeper, 
 and sat down to keep watch and ward alone. He 
 was soon deep in meditation. And evidently the 
 longer he thought, the more he was bothered. By 
 and by he began to pace the floor and mutter. 
 
 Tush, he must be the prince! Will any he in 
 all the land maintain there can be two, not of one 
 blood and birth, so marvelously twinned? And 
 even were it so, twere yet a stranger miracle that 
 chance should cast the one into the other s place. 
 Nay, tis folly, folly, folly!" 
 
 Presently he said : 
 
 " Now were he impostor and called himself prince, 
 look you that would be natural; that would be 
 reasonable. But lived ever an impostor yet, who, 
 being called prince by the king, prince by the court, 
 prince by all, denied his dignity and pleaded against 
 his exaltation? No! By the soul of St. Swithin, 
 no ! This is the true prince, gone mad !" 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 TOM S FIRST ROYAL DINNER 
 
 COMEWHAT after one in the afternoon, Tom 
 J resignedly underwent the ordeal of being dressed 
 for dinner. He found himself as finely clothed as 
 before, but everything different, everything changed, 
 from his ruff to his stockings. He was presently 
 conducted with much state to a spacious and ornate 
 apartment, where a table was already set for one. 
 Its furniture was all of massy gold, and beautified 
 with designs which wellnigh made it priceless, since 
 they were the work of Benvenuto. The room was 
 half filled with noble servitors. A chaplain said 
 grace, and Tom was about to fall to, for hunger had 
 long been constitutional with him, but was inter 
 rupted by my lord the Earl of Berkeley, who 
 fastened a napkin about his neck ; for the great post 
 of Diaperers to the Princes of Wales was hereditary 
 in this nobleman s family. Tom s cupbearer was 
 present, and forestalled all his attempts to help him 
 self to wine. The Taster to his Highness the Prince 
 of Wales was there also, prepared to taste any sus 
 picious dish upon requirement, and run the risk of 
 being poisoned. He was only an ornamental ap 
 pendage at this time, and was seldom called to exer- 
 
 (63) 
 
64 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 cise his function; but there had been times, not 
 many generations past, when the office of taster had 
 its perils, and was not a grandeur to be desired. 
 Why they did not use a dog or a plumber seems 
 strange; but all the ways of royalty are strange. 
 My Lord d Arcy, First Groom of the Chamber, was 
 there, to do goodness knows what; but there he 
 was let that suffice. The Lord Chief Butler was 
 there, and stood behind Tom s chair, overseeing the 
 solemnities, under command of the Lord Great 
 Steward and the Lord Head Cook, who stood near. 
 Tom had three hundred and eighty-four servants 
 beside these; but they were not all in that room, of 
 course, nor the quarter of them ; neither was Tom 
 aware yet that they existed. 
 
 All those that were present had been well drilled 
 within the hour to remember that the prince was 
 temporarily out of his head, and to be careful to 
 show no surprise at his vagaries. These " vagaries " 
 were soon on exhibition before them ; but they only 
 moved their compassion and their sorrow, not their 
 mirth. It was a heavy affliction to them to see the 
 beloved prince so stricken. 
 
 Poor Tom ate with his fingers mainly; but no one 
 smiled at it, or even seemed to observe it. He in 
 spected his napkin curiously and with deep interest, 
 for it was of a very dainty and beautiful fabric, then 
 said with simplicity : 
 
 11 Prithee, take it away, lest in mine unheedfulness 
 it be soiled." 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 65 
 
 The Hereditary Diaperer took it away with rever 
 ent manner, and without word or protest of any 
 sort. 
 
 Tom examined the turnips and the lettuce with 
 interest, and asked what they were, and if they were 
 to be eaten ; for it was only recently that men had 
 begun to raise these things in England in place of 
 importing them as luxuries from Holland.* His 
 question was answered with grave respect, and no 
 surprise manifested. When he had finished his 
 dessert, he filled his pockets with nuts ; but nobody 
 appeared to be aware of it, or disturbed by it. But 
 the next moment he was himself disturbed by it, and 
 showed discomposure ; for this was the only service 
 he had been permitted to do with his own hands during 
 the meal, and he did not doubt that he had done a 
 most improper and unprincely thing. At that mo 
 ment the muscles of his nose began to twitch, and 
 the end of that organ to lift and wrinkle. This con 
 tinued, and Tom began to evince a growing distress. 
 He looked appealingly, first at one and then another 
 of the lords about him, and tears came into his eyes. 
 They sprang forward with dismay in their faces, and 
 begged to know his trouble. Tom said with genuine 
 anguish : 
 
 "I crave your indulgence; my nose itcheth 
 cruelly. What is the custom and usage in this 
 emergence? Prithee speed, for tis but a little time 
 that I can bear it." 
 
 See Note 4, at end of the volume. 
 5 
 
66 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 None smiled; but all were sore perplexed, and 
 looked one to the other in deep tribulation for coun 
 sel. But behold, here was a dead wall, and nothing 
 in English history to tell how to get over it. The 
 Master of Ceremonies was not present; there was 
 no one who felt safe to venture upon this uncharted 
 sea, or risk the attempt to solve this solemn prob 
 lem. Alas ! there was no Hereditary Scratcher. 
 Meantime the tears had overflowed their banks, and 
 begun to trickle down Tom s cheeks. His twitching 
 nose was pleading more urgently than ever for relief. 
 At last nature broke down the barriers of etiquette ; 
 Tom lifted up an inward prayer for pardon if he was 
 doing wrong, and brought relief to the burdened 
 hearts of his court by scratching his nose himself. 
 
 His meal being ended, a lord came and held be 
 fore him a broad, shallow, golden dish with fragrant 
 rose-water in it, to cleanse his mouth and fingers 
 with ; and my lord the Hereditary Diaperer stood by 
 with a napkin for his use. Tom gazed at the dish 
 a puzzled moment or two, then raised it to his 
 lips, and gravely took a draught. Then he returned 
 it to the waiting lord, and said : 
 
 11 Nay, it likes me not, my lord; it hath a pretty 
 flavor, but it wanteth strength." 
 
 This new eccentricity of the prince s ruined mind 
 made all the hearts about him ache; but the sad 
 sight moved none to merriment. 
 
 Tom s next unconscious blunder was to get up and 
 leave the table just when the chaplain had taken his 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 67 
 
 stand behind his chair and with uplifted hands and 
 closed, uplifted eyes, was in the act of beginning 
 the blessing. Still nobody seemed to perceive that 
 the prince had done a thing unusual. 
 
 By his own request, our small friend was now 
 conducted to his private cabinet, and left there 
 alone to his own devices. Hanging upon hooks in 
 the oaken wainscoting were the several pieces of a 
 suit of shining steel armor, covered all over with 
 beautiful designs exquisitely inlaid in gold. This 
 martial panoply belonged to the true prince, a 
 recent present from Madam Parr, the queen. Tom 
 put on the greaves, the gauntlets, the plumed 
 helmet, and such other pieces as he could don with 
 out assistance, and for a while was minded to call 
 for help and complete the matter, but bethought 
 him of the nuts he had brought away from dinner, 
 and the joy it would be to eat them with no crowd 
 to eye him, and no Grand Hereditaries to pester 
 him with undesired services ; so he restored the 
 pretty things to their several places, and soon was 
 cracking nuts, and feeling almost naturally happy 
 for the first time since God for his sins had made 
 him a prince, When the nuts were all gone, he 
 stumbled upon some inviting books in a closet, 
 among them one about the etiquette of the English 
 court. This was a prize. He lay down upon a 
 sumptuous divan, and proceeded to instruct himself 
 with honest zeal. Let us leave him there for the 
 present. 
 
 E 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE QUESTION OF THE SEAL 
 
 ABOUT five o clock Henry VIII. awoke out of an 
 unrefreshing nap, and muttered to himself, 
 Troublous dreams, troublous dreams ! Mine end 
 is now at hand; so say these warnings, and my 
 failing pulses do confirm it." Presently a wicked 
 light flamed up in his eye, and he muttered, "Yet 
 will not I die till he go before." 
 
 His attendants perceiving that he was awake, one 
 of them asked his pleasure concerning the Lord 
 Chancellor, who was waiting without. 
 
 "Admit him, admit him!" exclaimed the king 
 eagerly. 
 
 The Lord Chancellor entered, and knelt by the 
 king s couch, saying: 
 
 " I have given order, and, according to the king s 
 command, the peers of the realm, in their robes, do 
 now stand at the bar of the House, where, having 
 confirmed the Duke of Norfolk s doom, they humbly 
 wait his majesty s further pleasure in the matter." 
 
 The king s face lit up with a fierce joy. Said he: 
 
 11 Lift me up ! In mine own person will I go be- 
 
 (68) 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 69 
 
 fore my Parliament, and with mine own hand will I 
 seal the warrant that rids me of " 
 
 His voice failed ; an ashen pallor swept the flush 
 from his cheeks; and the attendants eased him back 
 upon his pillows, and hurriedly assisted him with 
 restoratives. Presently he said sorrowfully: 
 
 "Alack, how have I longed for this sweet hour! 
 and lo, too late it cometh, and I am robbed of this 
 so coveted chance. But speed ye, speed ye ! let 
 others do this happy office sith tis denied to me. I 
 put my great seal in commission : choose thou the 
 lords that shall compose it, and get ye to your 
 work. Speed ye, man ! Before the sun shall rise 
 and set again, bring me his head that I may see it." 
 
 "According to the king s command, so shall it 
 be. Will t please your majesty to order that the 
 Seal be now restored to me, so that I may forth 
 upon the business? " 
 
 "The Seal ! Who keepeth the Seal but thou? " 
 
 " Please your majesty, you did take it from me 
 two days since, saying it should no more do its 
 office till your own royal hand should use it upon 
 the Duke of Norfolk s warrant." 
 
 " Why, so in sooth I did ; I do remember it 
 
 What did I with it ! I am very feeble So 
 
 oft these days doth my memory play the traitor with 
 me. .... . Tis strange, strange " 
 
 The king dropped into inarticulate mumblings, 
 shaking his gray head weakly from time to time, and 
 gropingly trying to recollect what he had done with 
 
70 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 the Seal. At last my Lord Hertford ventured to 
 kneel and offer information 
 
 " Sire, if that I may be so bold, here be several 
 that do remember with me how that you gave the 
 Great Seal into the hands of his Highness the Prince 
 of Wales to keep against the day that 
 
 1 True, most true ! interrupted the king. Fetch 
 it! Go: time flieth!" 
 
 Lord Hertford flew to Tom, but returned to the 
 king before very long, troubled and empty-handed. 
 He delivered himself to this effect : 
 
 " It grieveth me, my lord the king, to bear so 
 heavy and unwelcome tidings ; but it is the will of 
 God that the prince s affliction abideth still, and he 
 cannot recall to mind that he received the Seal. So 
 came I quickly to report, thinking it were waste of 
 precious time, and little worth withal, that any 
 should attempt to search the long array of chambers 
 and saloons that belong unto his royal high " 
 
 A groan from the king interrupted my lord at this 
 point. After a little while his majesty said, with a 
 deep sadness in his tone : 
 
 "Trouble him no more, poor child. The hand 
 of God lieth heavy upon him, and my heart goeth 
 out in loving compassion for him, and sorrow that I 
 may not bear his burden on mine own old trouble- 
 weighted shoulders, and so bring him peace." 
 
 He closed his eyes, fell to mumbling, and pres 
 ently was silent. After a time he opened his eyes 
 again, and gazed vacantly around until his glance 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 71 
 
 rested upon the kneeling Lord Chancellor. Instantly 
 his face flushed with wrath : 
 
 "What, thou here yet! By the glory of God, 
 an thou gettest not about that traitor s business, 
 thy mitre shall have holiday the morrow for lack of 
 a head to grace withal ! 
 
 The trembling Chancellor answered : 
 
 "Good your majesty, I cry you mercy! I but 
 waited for the Seal." 
 
 " Man, hast lost thy wits? The small Seal which 
 aforetime I was wont to take with me abroad lieth in 
 my treasury. And, since the Great Seal hath flown 
 away, shall not it suffice? Hast lost thy wits? Be 
 gone ! And hark ye, come no more till thou do 
 bring his head." 
 
 The poor Chancellor was not long in removing 
 himself from this dangerous vicinity; nor did the 
 commission waste time in giving the royal assent to 
 the work of the slavish Parliament, and appointing 
 the morrow for the beheading of the premier peer 
 of England, the luckless Duke of Norfolk.* 
 
 * See Note 5, at end of volume. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE RIVER PAGEANT 
 
 ST nine in the evening the whole vast river-front 
 of the palace was blazing with light. The river 
 itself, as far as the eye could reach citywards, was 
 so thickly covered with watermen s boats and with 
 pleasure-barges, all fringed with colored lanterns, 
 and gently agitated by the waves, that it resembled 
 a glowing and limitless garden of flowers stirred to 
 soft motion by summer winds. The grand terrace 
 of stone steps leading down to the water, spacious 
 enough to mass the army of a German principality 
 upon, was a picture to see, with its ranks of royal 
 halberdiers in polished armor, and its troops of 
 brilliantly costumed servitors flitting up and down, 
 and to and fro, in the hurry of preparation. 
 
 Presently a command was given, and immediately 
 all living creatures vanished from the steps. Now 
 the air was heavy with the hush of suspense and 
 expectancy. As far as one s vision could carry, he 
 might see the myriads of people in the boats rise up, 
 and shade their eyes from the glare of lanterns and 
 torches, and gaze toward the palace. 
 
 (72) 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 73 
 
 A file of forty or fifty state barges drew up to the 
 steps. They were richly gilt, and their lofty prows 
 and sterns were elaborately carved. Some of them 
 were decorated with banners and streamers ; some 
 with cloth-of-gold and arras embroidered with coats- 
 of-arrns ; others with silken flags that had number 
 less little silver bells fastened to them, which shook 
 out tiny showers of joyous music whenever the 
 breezes fluttered them ; others of yet higher preten 
 sions, since they belonged to nobles in the prince s 
 immediate service, had their sides picturesquely 
 fenced with shields gorgeously emblazoned with 
 armorial bearings. Each state barge was towed by 
 a tender. Besides the rowers, these tenders carried 
 each a number of men-at-arms in glossy helmet and 
 breastplate, and a company of musicians. 
 
 The advance-guard of the expected procession 
 now appeared in the great gateway, a troop of hal 
 berdiers. They were dressed in striped hose of 
 black and tawny, velvet caps graced at the sides with 
 silver roses, and doublets of murrey and blue cloth, 
 embroidered on the front and back with the three 
 feathers, the prince s blazon, woven in gold. Their 
 halberd staves were covered with crimson velvet, 
 fastened with gilt nails, and ornamented with gold 
 tassels. Filing off on the right and left, they formed 
 two long lines, extending from the gateway of the 
 palace to the water s edge. A thick, rayed cloth or 
 carpet was then unfolded, and laid down between 
 them by attendants in the gold-and-crimson liveries 
 
74 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 of the prince. This done, a flourish of trumpets 
 resounded from within. A lively prelude arose from 
 the musicians on the water; and two ushers with 
 white wands marched with a slow and stately pace 
 from the portal. They were followed by an officer 
 bearing the civic mace, after whom came another 
 carrying the city s sword; then several sergeants of 
 the city guard, in their full accouterments, and with 
 badges on their sleeves ; then the Garter king-at- 
 arms, in his tabard; then several knights of the 
 Bath, each with a white lace on his sleeve ; then 
 their esquires; then the judges, in their robes of 
 scarlet and coifs ; then the Lord High Chancellor of 
 England, in a robe of scarlet, open before, and 
 purfled with minever ; then a deputation of alder 
 men, in their scarlet cloaks; and then the heads of 
 the different civic companies, in their robes of state. 
 Now came twelve French gentlemen, in splendid 
 habiliments, consisting of pourpoints of white 
 damask barred with gold, short mantles of crimson 
 velvet lined with violet taffeta, and carnation-colored 
 hauts-de-chausses > and took their way down the 
 steps. They were of the suite of the French am 
 bassador, and were followed by twelve cavaliers of 
 the suite of the Spanish ambassador, clothed in 
 black velvet, unrelieved by any ornament. Follow 
 ing these came several great English nobles with 
 their attendants." 
 
 There was a flourish of trumpets within ; and the 
 prince s uncle, the future great Duke of Somerset, 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 75 
 
 emerged from the gateway, arrayed in a "doublet 
 of black cloth-of-gold, and a cloak of crimson satin 
 flowered with gold, and ribanded with nets of 
 silver." He turned, doffed his plumed cap, bent 
 his body in a low reverence, and began to step 
 backward, bowing at each step. A prolonged 
 trumpet-blast followed, and a proclamation, "Way 
 for the high and mighty, the Lord Edward, Prince 
 of Wales!" High aloft on the palace walls a long 
 line of red tongues of flame leaped forth with a 
 thunder-crash ; the massed world on the river burst 
 into a mighty roar of welcome ; and Tom Canty, 
 the cause and hero of it all, stepped into view, and 
 slightly bowed his princely head. 
 
 He was " magnificently habited in a doublet of 
 white satin, with a front-piece of purple cloth-of- 
 tissue, powdered with diamonds, and edged with 
 ermine. Over this he wore a mantle of white cloth- 
 of-gold, pounced with the triple-feather crest, lined 
 with blue satin, set with pearls and precious stones, 
 and fastened with a clasp of brilliants. About his 
 neck hung the order of the Garter, and several 
 princely foreign orders;" and wherever light fell 
 upon him jewels responded with a blinding flash. 
 O, Tom Canty, born in a hovel, bred in the gutters 
 of London, familiar with rags and dirt and misery, 
 what a spectacle is this ! 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE PRINCE IN THE TOILS 
 
 WE left John Canty dragging the rightful prince 
 into Offal Court, with a noisy and delighted 
 mob at his heels. There was but one person in it 
 who offered a pleading word for the captive, and he 
 was not heeded; he was hardly even heard, so great 
 was the turmoil. The prince continued to struggle 
 for freedom, and to rage against the treatment he 
 was suffering, until John Canty lost what little 
 patience was left in him, and raised his oaken cudgel 
 in a sudden fury over the prince s head. The single 
 pleader for the lad sprang to stop the man s arm, 
 and the blow descended upon his own wrist. Canty 
 roared out: 
 
 1 Thou lt meddle, wilt thou? Then have thy 
 reward." 
 
 His cudgel crashed down upon the meddler s 
 head; there was a groan, a dim form sank to the 
 ground among the feet of the crowd, and the next 
 moment it lay there in the dark alone. The mob 
 pressed on, their enjoyment nothing disturbed by 
 this episode. 
 
 (76) 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 77 
 
 Presently the prince found himself in John Canty s 
 abode, with the door closed against the outsiders. By 
 the va^ue licfht of a tallow candle which was thrust 
 
 o o 
 
 into a bottle, he made out the main features of the 
 loath,some den, and also of the occupants of it. 
 Two frowsy girls and a middle-aged woman cowered 
 against the wall in one corner, with the aspect of 
 animals habituated to harsh usage, and expecting 
 and dreading it now. From another corner stole a 
 withered hag with streaming gray hair and malignant 
 eyes. John Canty said to this one: 
 
 Tarry! There s fine mummeries here. Mar 
 them not till thou st enjoyed them; then let thy 
 hand be heavy as thou wilt. Stand forth, lad. 
 Now say thy foolery again, an thou st not forgot 
 it. Name thy name. Who art thou?" 
 
 The insulted blood mounted to the little prince s 
 cheek once more, and he lifted a steady and indig 
 nant gaze to the man s face, and said: 
 
 Tis but ill-breeding in such as thou to com 
 mand me to speak. I tell thee now, as I told thee 
 before, I am Edward, Prince of Wales, and none 
 other." 
 
 The stunning surprise of this reply nailed the 
 hag s feet to the floor where she stood, and almost 
 took her breath. She stared at the prince in stupid 
 amazement, which so amused her ruffianly son that 
 he burst into a roar of laughter. But the effect 
 upon Tom Canty s mother and sisters was different. 
 Their dread of bodily injury gave way at once to 
 
 6 
 
78 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 distress of a different sort. They ran forward with 
 woe and dismay in their faces, exclaiming: 
 
 " Oh, poor Tom, poor lad !" 
 
 The mother fell on her knees before the prince, 
 put her hands upon his shoulders, and gazed yearn 
 ingly into his face through her rising tears. Then 
 she said : 
 
 "Oh, my poor boy! thy foolish reading hath 
 wrought its woful work at last, and ta en thy wit away. 
 Ah ! why didst thou cleave to it when I so warned 
 thee gainst it? Thou st broke thy mother s heart." 
 
 The prince looked into her face, and said gently: 
 
 Thy son is well, and hath not lost his wits, 
 
 good dame. Comfort thee; let me to the palace 
 
 where he is, and straightway will the king my father 
 
 restore him to thee." 
 
 "The king thy father! Oh, my child! unsay 
 these words that be freighted with death for thee, 
 and ruin for all that be near to thee. Shake off this 
 grewsome dream. Call back thy poor wandering 
 memory. Look upon me. Am not I thy mother 
 that bore thee, and loveth thee?" 
 
 The prince shook his head, and reluctantly said: 
 
 "God knoweth I am loath to grieve thy heart; 
 but truly have I never looked upon thy face before." 
 
 The woman sank back to a sitting posture on the 
 floor, and, covering her eyes with her hands, gave 
 way to heart-broken sobs and wailings. 
 
 " Let the show go on !" shouted Canty. " What, 
 Nan ! what, Bet ! Mannerless wenches ! will ye stand 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 79 
 
 in the prince s presence? Upon your knees, ye 
 pauper scum, and do him reverence !" 
 
 He followed this with another horse-laugh. The 
 girls began to plead timidly for their brother ; and 
 Nan said : 
 
 "An thou wilt but let him to bed, father, rest 
 and sleep will heal his madness; prithee, do." 
 
 " Do, father," said Bet; "he is more worn than 
 is his wont. To-morrow will he be himself again, 
 and will beg with diligence, and come not empty 
 home again." 
 
 This remark sobered the father s joviality, and 
 brought his mind to business. He turned angrily 
 upon the prince, and said : 
 
 The morrow must we pay two pennies to him 
 that owns this hole; two pennies mark ye, all this 
 money for a half-year s rent, else out of this we go. 
 Show what thou st gathered with thy lazy begging." 
 
 The prince said : 
 
 " Offend me not with thy sordid matters. I tell 
 thee a<jain I am the king s son." 
 
 *T"> O 
 
 A sounding blow upon the prince s shoulder from 
 Canty s broad palm sent him staggering into good- 
 wife Canty s arms, who clasped him to her breast, 
 and sheltered him from a pelting rain of cuffs and 
 slaps by interposing her own person. 
 
 The frightened girls retreated to their corner ; but 
 the grandmother stepped eagerly forward to assist 
 her son. The prince sprang away from Mrs. Canty, 
 exclaiming : 
 
80 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 "Thou shalt not suffer for me, madam. Let 
 these swine do their will upon me alone." 
 
 This speech infuriated the swine to such a degree 
 that they set about their work without waste of time. 
 Between them they belabored the boy right soundly, 
 and then gave the girls and their mother a beating 
 for showing sympathy for the victim. 
 
 "Now," said Canty, "to bed, all of ye. The 
 entertainment has tired me." 
 
 The light was put out, and the family retired. As 
 soon as the snorings of the head of the house and 
 his mother showed that they were asleep, the young 
 girls crept to where the prince lay, and covered him 
 tenderly from the cold with straw and rags ; and their 
 mother crept to him also, and stroked his hair, and 
 cried over him, whispering broken words of comfort 
 and compassion in his ear the while. She had saved 
 a morsel for him to eat also; but the boy s pains 
 had swept away all appetite, at least for black and 
 tasteless crusts. He was touched by her brave and 
 costly defense of him, and by her commiseration; 
 and he thanked her in very noble and princely 
 words, and begged her to go to her sleep and try to 
 forget her sorrows. And he added that the king 
 his father would not let her loyal kindness and de 
 votion go unrewarded. This return to his "mad 
 ness" broke her heart anew, and she strained him 
 to her breast again and again and then went back, 
 drowned in tears, to her bed. 
 
 As she lay thinking and mourning, the suggestion 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 81 
 
 began to creep into her mind that there was an un- 
 definable something about this boy that was lacking 
 in Tom Canty, mad or sane. She could not describe 
 it, she could not tell just what it was, and yet her 
 sharp mother-instinct seemed to detect it and per 
 ceive it. What if the boy were really not her son, 
 after all? Oh, absurd! She almost smiled at the 
 idea, spite of her griefs and troubles. No matter, 
 she found that it was an idea that would not 
 "down," but persisted in haunting her. It pur 
 sued her, it harassed her, it clung to her, and re 
 fused to be put away or ignored. At last she per 
 ceived that there was not going to be any peace for 
 her until she should devise a test that should prove, 
 clearly and without question, whether this lad was 
 her son or not, and so banish these wearing and 
 worrying doubts. Ah, yes, this was plainly the 
 right way out of the difficulty ; therefore she set her 
 wits to work at once to contrive that test. But it 
 was an easier thing to propose than to accomplish. 
 She turned over in her mind one promising test 
 after another, but was obliged to relinquish them 
 all none of them were absolutely sure, absolutely 
 perfect; and an imperfect one could not satisfy her. 
 Evidently she was racking her head in vain it 
 seemed manifest that she must give the matter up. 
 While this depressing thought was passing through 
 her mind, her ear caught the regular breathing of 
 the boy, and she knew he had fallen asleep. And 
 while she listened, the measured breathing was 
 
82 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 broken by a soft, startled cry, such as one utters 
 in a troubled dream. This chance occurrence fur 
 nished her instantly with a plan worth all her labored 
 tests combined. She at once set herself feverishly, 
 but noiselessly, to work to relight her candle, mut 
 tering to herself, " Had I but seen him then, I 
 should have known ! Since that day, when he was 
 little, that the powder burst in his face, he hath 
 never been startled of a sudden out of his dreams 
 or out of his thinkings, but he hath cast his hand 
 before his eyes, even as he did that day, and not as 
 others would do it, with the palm inward, but always 
 with the palm turned outward I have seen it a 
 hundred times, and it hath never varied nor ever 
 failed. Yes, I shall soon know now!" 
 
 By this time she had crept to the slumbering 
 boy s side, with the candle shaded in her hand. She 
 bent needfully and warily over him, scarcely breath 
 ing, in her suppressed excitement, and suddenly 
 flashed the light in his face and struck the floor 
 by his ear with her knuckles. The sleeper s eyes 
 sprung wide open, and he cast a startled stare about 
 him but he made no special movement with his 
 hands. 
 
 The poor woman was smitten almost helpless with 
 surprise and grief; but she contrived to hide her 
 emotions, and to soothe the boy to sleep again ; 
 then she crept apart and communed miserably with 
 herself upon the disastrous result of her experiment. 
 She tried to believe that her Tom s madness had 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 83 
 
 banished this habitual gesture of his ; but she could 
 not do it. "No," she said, "his hands are not 
 mad, they could not unlearn so old a habit in so 
 brief a time. Oh, this is a heavy day for me !" 
 
 Still, hope was as stubborn now as doubt had 
 been before ; she could not bring herself to accept 
 the verdict of the test ; she must try the thing 
 again the failure must have been only an acci 
 dent ; so she startled the boy out of his sleep a 
 second and a third time, at intervals with the 
 same result which had marked the first test then 
 she dragged herself to bed, and fell sorrowfully 
 asleep, saying, "But I cannot give him up oh, 
 no, I cannot, I cannot he must be my boy!" 
 
 The poor mother s interruptions having ceased, 
 and the prince s pains having gradually lost their 
 power to disturb him, utter weariness at last sealed 
 his eyes in a profound and restful sleep. Hour 
 after hour slipped away, and still he slept like the 
 dead. Thus four or five hours passed. Then his 
 stupor began to lighten. Presently, while half asleep 
 and half awake, he murmured: 
 
 "Sir William!" 
 
 :< After a moment: 
 
 "Ho, Sir William Herbert! Hie thee hither, 
 
 and list to the strangest dream that ever Sir 
 
 William ! Dost hear? Man, I did think me changed 
 
 to a pauper, and Ho there! Guards! Sir 
 
 William ! What ! is there no groom of the chamber 
 in waiting? Alack it shall go hard with " 
 F 
 
84 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 " What aileth thee?" asked a whisper near him. 
 " Who art thou calling?" 
 
 " Sir William Herbert. Who art thou?" 
 
 "I? Who should I be, but thy sister Nan? Oh, 
 Tom, I had forgot! Thou rt mad yet poor lad 
 thou rt mad yet, would I had never woke to know it 
 again ! But, prithee, master thy tongue, lest we be 
 all beaten till we die!" 
 
 The startled prince sprang partly up, but a sharp 
 reminder from his stiffened bruises brought him to 
 himself, and he sunk back among his foul straw with 
 a moan and the ejaculation : 
 
 " Alas, it was no dream, then !" 
 
 In a moment all the heavy sorrow and misery 
 which sleep had banished were upon him again, and 
 he realized that he was no longer a petted prince in 
 a palace, with the adoring eyes of a nation upon 
 him, but a pauper, an outcast, clothed in rags, 
 prisoner in a den fit only for beasts, and consorting 
 with beggars and thieves. 
 
 In the midst of his grief he began to be conscious 
 of hilarious noises and shoutings, apparently but a 
 block or two away. The next moment there were 
 several sharp raps at the door ; John Canty ceased 
 from snoring and said : 
 
 * Who knocketh ? What wilt thou ? 
 
 A voice answered : 
 
 " Know st thou who it was thou laid thy cudgel 
 on?" 
 
 " No. Neither know I, nor care." 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 85 
 
 " Belike thou lt change thy note eftsoons. An 
 thou would save thy neck, nothing but flight may 
 stead thee. The man is this moment delivering up 
 the ghost. Tis the priest, Father Andrew!" 
 
 " God-a-mercy !" exclaimed Canty. He roused 
 his family, and hoarsely commanded, " Up with ye 
 all and fly or bide where ye are and perish!" 
 
 Scarcely five minutes later the Canty household were 
 in the street and flying for their lives. John Canty 
 held the prince by the wrist, and hurried him along 
 the dark way, giving him this caution in a low voice: 
 
 11 Mind thy tongue, thou mad fool, and speak not 
 our name. I will choose me a new name, speedily, 
 to throw the law s dogs off the scent. Mind thy 
 tongue, I tell thee!" 
 
 He growled these words to the rest of the family : 
 
 "If it so chance that we be separated, let each 
 make for London bridge ; whoso findeth himself as 
 far as the last linen-draper s shop on the bridge, let 
 him tarry there till the others be come, then will we 
 flee into Southwark together." 
 
 At this moment the party burst suddenly out of 
 darkness into light; and not only into light, but into 
 the midst of a multitude of singing, dancing, and 
 shouting people, massed together on the river 
 frontage. There was a line of bonfires stretching 
 as far as one could see, up and down the Thames ; 
 London bridge was illuminated ; Southwark bridge 
 likewise ; the entire river was aglow with the flash 
 and sheen of colored lights, and constant explosions 
 
86 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 of fireworks filled the skies with an intricate com 
 mingling of shooting splendors and a thick rain of 
 dazzling sparks that almost turned night into day ; 
 everywhere were crowds of revelers; all London 
 seemed to be at large. 
 
 John Canty delivered himself of a furious curse 
 and commanded a retreat; but it was too late. He 
 and his tribe were swallowed up in that swarming 
 hive of humanity, and hopelessly separated from 
 each other in an instant. We are not considering 
 that the prince was one of his tribe ; Canty still kept 
 his grip upon him. The prince s heart was beating 
 high with hopes of escape now. A burly waterman, 
 considerably exalted with liquor, found himself 
 rudely shoved by Canty in his efforts to plow 
 through the crowd ; he laid his great hand on 
 Canty s shoulder and said: 
 
 " Nay, whither so fast, friend? Dost canker thy 
 soul with sordid business when all that be leal men 
 and true make holiday?" 
 
 " Mine affairs are mine own, they concern thee 
 not," answered Canty, roughly; "take away thy 
 hand and let me pass." 
 
 " Sith that is thy humor, thou lt not pass till 
 thou st drunk to the Prince of Wales, I tell thee 
 that," said the waterman, barring the way resolutely. 
 
 " Give me the cup, then, and make speed, make 
 speed!" 
 
 Other revelers were interested by this time. They 
 cried out: 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 87 
 
 The loving-cup, the loving-cup! make the sour 
 knave drink the loving-cup, else will we feed him to 
 the fishes." 
 
 So a huge loving-cup was brought; the water 
 man, grasping it by one of its handles, and with his 
 other hand bearing up the end of an imaginary nap 
 kin, presented it in due and ancient form to Canty, 
 who had to grasp the opposite handle with one of his 
 hands and take off the lid with the other, according 
 to ancient custom.* This left the prince hand-free 
 for a second, of course. He wasted no time, but dived 
 among the forest of legs about him and disappeared. 
 In another moment he could not have been harder to 
 find, under that tossing sea of life, if its billows had 
 been the Atlantic s and he a lost sixpence. 
 
 He very soon realized this fact, and straightway 
 busied himself about his own affairs without further 
 thought of John Canty. He quickly realized another 
 thing, too. To wit, that a spurious Prince of Wales 
 was being feasted by the city in his stead. He 
 easily concluded that the pauper lad, Tom Canty, 
 had deliberately taken advantage of his stupendous 
 opportunity and become a usurper. 
 
 Therefore there was but one course to pursue 
 find his way to the Guildhall, make himself known, 
 and denounce the impostor. He also made up his 
 mind that Tom should be allowed a reasonable time 
 for spiritual preparation, and then be hanged, drawn, 
 and quartered, according to the law and usage of 
 the day, in cases of high treason. 
 
 * See Note 6, at end of volume. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 AT GUILDHALL 
 
 1"*HE royal barge, attended by its gorgeous fleet, 
 took its stately way down the Thames through 
 the wilderness of illuminated boats. The air was 
 laden with music; the river banks were beruffled 
 with joy-flames ; the distant city lay in a soft lumin 
 ous glow from its countless invisible bonfires ; above 
 it rose many a slender spire into the sky, incrusted 
 with sparkling lights, wherefore in their remoteness 
 they seemed like jeweled lances thrust aloft; as the 
 fleet swept along, it was greeted from the banks with 
 a continuous hoarse roar of cheers and the ceaseless 
 flash and boom of artillery. 
 
 To Tom Canty, half buried in his silken cushions, 
 these sounds and this spectacle were a wonder un 
 speakably sublime and astonishing. To his little 
 friends at his side, the Princess Elizabeth and the 
 Lady Jane Grey, they were nothing. 
 
 Arrived at the Dowgate, the fleet was towed up 
 the limpid Walbrook (whose channel has now been 
 for two centuries buried out of sight under acres of 
 buildings) to Bucklersbury, past houses and under 
 
 (88) 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 89 
 
 bridges populous with merry-makers and brilliantly 
 lighted, and at last came to a halt in a basin where 
 now is Barge Yard, in the center of the ancient city 
 of London. Tom disembarked, and he and his 
 gallant procession crossed Cheapside and made a 
 short march through the Old Jewry and Basinghall 
 street to the Guildhall. 
 
 Tom and his little ladies were received with due 
 ceremony by the Lord Mayor and the Fathers of 
 the City, in their gold chains and scarlet robes of 
 state, and conducted to a rich canopy of state at the 
 head of the great hall, preceded by heralds making 
 proclamation, and by the Mace and the City Sword. 
 The lords and ladies who were to attend upon Tom 
 and his two small friends took their places behind 
 their chairs. 
 
 At a lower table the court grandees and other 
 guests of noble degree were seated, with the mag 
 nates of the city; the commoners took places at a 
 multitude of tables on the main floor of the hall. 
 From their lofty vantage-ground, the giants Gog and 
 Magog, the ancient guardians of the city, contem 
 plated the spectacle below them with eyes grown 
 familiar to it in forgotten generations. There was a 
 bugle-blast and a proclamation, and a fat butler 
 appeared in a high perch in the leftward wall, fol 
 lowed by his servitors bearing with impressive 
 solemnity a royal Baron of Beef, smoking hot and 
 ready for the knife. 
 
 After grace, Tom (being instructed) rose and 
 
90 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 the whole house with him and drank from a portly 
 golden loving-cup with the Princess Elizabeth ; from 
 her it passed to the Lady Jane, and then traversed 
 the general assemblage. So the banquet began. 
 
 By midnight the revelry was at its height. Now 
 came one of those picturesque spectacles so admired 
 in that old day. A description of it is still extant in 
 the quaint wording of a chronicler who witnessed it : 
 
 11 Space being made, presently entered a baron 
 and an earl appareled after the Turkish fashion in 
 long robes of bawdkin powdered with gold ; hats on 
 their heads of crimson velvet, with, great rolls of 
 gold, girded with two swords, called scimitars, hang 
 ing by great bawdricks of gold. Next came yet 
 another baron and another earl, in two long gowns 
 of yellow satin, traversed with white satin, and in 
 every bend of white was a bend of crimson satin, 
 after the fashion of Russia, with furred hats of gray 
 on their heads ; either of them having an hatchet in 
 their hands, and boots vf tfhpykes" (points a foot 
 long), " turned up. And after them came a knight, 
 then the Lord High Admiral, and with him five 
 nobles, in doublets of crimson velvet, voycled low 
 on the back and before to the cannell-bone, laced 
 on the breasts with chains of silver; and, over that, 
 short cloaks of crimson satin, and on their heads 
 hats after the dancers fashion, with pheasants 
 feather in them. These were appareled after the 
 fashion of Prussia. The torch-bearers, which were 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 91 
 
 about an hundred, were appareled in crimson satin 
 and green, like Moors, their faces black. Next 
 came in a mommarye. Then the minstrels, which 
 were disguised, danced; and the lords and ladies 
 did wildly dance also, that it was a pleasure to 
 behold." 
 
 And while Tom, in his high seat, was gazing upon 
 this " wild " dancing, lost in admiration of the daz 
 zling commingling of kaleidoscopic colors which the 
 whirling turmoil of gaudy figures below him pre 
 sented, the ragged but real little Prince of Wales was 
 proclaiming his rights and his wrongs, denouncing 
 the impostor, and clamoring for admission at the 
 gates of Guildhall ! The crowd enjoyed this episode 
 prodigiously, and pressed forward and craned their 
 necks to see the small rioter. Presently they began 
 to taunt him and mock at him, purposely to goad 
 him into a higher and still more entertaining fury. 
 Tears of mortification sprung to his eyes, but he 
 stood his ground and defied the mob right royally. 
 Other taunts followed, added mockings stung him, 
 and he exclaimed : 
 
 " I tell ye again, you pack of unmannerly curs, I 
 am the Prince of Wales ! And all forlorn and friend 
 less as I be, with none to give me word of grace or 
 help me in my need, yet will not I be driven from 
 my ground, but will maintain it!" 
 
 4 Though thou be prince or no prince, " tis all one, 
 thou be st a gallant lad, and not friendless neither! 
 Here stand I by thy side to prove it; and mind I 
 
92 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 tell thee thou might st have a worser friend than 
 Miles Hendon and yet not tire thy legs with seeking. 
 Rest thy small jaw, my child, I talk the language of 
 these base kennel-rats like to a very native." 
 
 The speaker was a sort of Don Caesar de Bazan in 
 dress, aspect, and bearing. He was tall, trim-built, 
 muscular. His doublet and trunks were of rich 
 material, but faded and threadbare, and their gold- 
 lace adornments were sadly tarnished ; his ruff was 
 rumpled and damaged ; the plume in his slouched 
 hat was broken and had a bedraggled and disrepu 
 table look; at his side he wore a long rapier in a 
 rusty iron sheath ; his swaggering carriage marked 
 him at once as a ruffler of the camp. The speech 
 of this fantastic figure was received with an ex 
 plosion of jeers and laughter. Some cried, Tis 
 another prince in disguise!" " Ware thy tongue, 
 friend, belike he is dangerous!" " Marry, he look- 
 eth it mark his eye!" " Pluck the lad from him 
 to the horse-pond wi the cub!" 
 
 Instantly a hand was laid upon the prince, under 
 the impulse of this happy thought; as instantly the 
 stranger s long sword was out and the meddler went 
 to the earth under a sounding thump with the flat of 
 it. The next moment a score of voices shouted 
 "Kill the dog! kill him! kill him!" and the mob 
 closed in on the warrior, who backed himself against 
 a wall and began to lay about him with his long 
 weapon like a madman. His victims sprawled this 
 way and that, but the mob-tide poured over their 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 93 
 
 prostrate forms and dashed itself against the cham 
 pion with undiminished fury. His moments seemed 
 numbered, his destruction certain, when suddenly a 
 trumpet-blast sounded, a voice shouted, " Way for 
 the king s messenger!" and a troop of horsemen 
 came charging down upon the mob, who fled out of 
 harm s reach as fast as their legs could carry them. 
 The bold stranger caught up the prince in his arms, 
 and was soon far away from danger and the multi 
 tude. 
 
 Return we within the Guildhall. Suddenly, high 
 above the jubilant roar and thunder of the revel, 
 broke the clear peal of a bugle-note. There was 
 instant silence, a deep hush; then a single voice 
 rose that of the messenger from the palace and 
 began to pipe forth a proclamation, the whole 
 multitude standing, listening. The closing words, 
 solemnly pronounced, were: 
 * The king is dead !" 
 
 The great assemblage bent their heads upon their 
 breasts with one accord; remained so, in profound 
 silence, a few moments; then all sunk upon their 
 knees in a body, stretched out their hands toward 
 Tom, and a mighty shout burst forth that seemed to 
 shake the building: 
 
 "Long live the king!" 
 
 Poor Tom s dazed eyes wandered abroad over this 
 stupefying spectacle, and finally rested dreamily 
 upon the kneeling princesses beside him a moment, 
 then upon the Earl of Hertford. A sudden purpose 
 
94 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 dawned in his face. He said, in a low tone, at Lord 
 Hertford s ear: 
 
 "Answer me truly, on thy faith and honor! 
 Uttered I here a command, the which none but a 
 king might hold privilege and prerogative to utter, 
 would such commandment be obeyed, and none rise 
 up to say me nay?" 
 
 "None, my liege, in all these realms. In thy 
 person bides the majesty of England. Thou art the 
 king thy word is law." 
 
 Tom responded, in a strong, earnest voice, and 
 with great animation : 
 
 " Then shall the king s law be law of mercy, from 
 this day, and never more be law of blood ! Up 
 from thy knees and away ! To the Tower and say 
 the king decrees the Duke of Norfolk shall not 
 die!"* 
 
 The words were caught up and carried eagerly 
 from lip to lip far and wide over the hall, and as 
 Hertford hurried from the presence, another pro 
 digious shout burst forth : 
 
 "The reign of blood is ended! Long live Ed 
 ward, king of England !" 
 
 * See Note 7, at end of volume. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE PRINCE AND HIS DELIVERER 
 
 SS soon as Miles Hendon and the little prince 
 were clear of the mob, they struck down 
 through back lanes and alleys toward the river. 
 Their way was unobstructed until they approached 
 London Bridge ; then they plowed into the multitude 
 again, Hendon keeping a fast grip upon the prince s 
 no, the king s wrist. The tremendous news 
 was already abroad, and the boy learned it from a 
 thousand voices at once "The king is dead!" 
 The tidings struck a chill to the heart of the poor 
 little waif, and sent a shudder through his frame. 
 He realized the greatness of his loss, and was filled 
 with a bitter grief; for the grim tyrant who had 
 been such a terror to others had always been gentle 
 with him. The tears sprung to his eyes and blurred 
 all objects. For an instant he felt himself the most 
 forlorn, outcast, and forsaken of God s creatures 
 then another cry shook the night with its far-reaching 
 thunders: "Long like King Edward the Sixth!" 
 and this made his eyes kindle, and thrilled him with 
 pride to his fingers ends. "Ah," he thought, 
 " how grand and strange it seems I AM KING!" 
 
 (95) 
 
96 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 Our friends threaded their way slowly through the 
 throngs upon the Bridge. This structure, which had 
 stood for six hundred years, and had been a noisy 
 and populous thoroughfare all that time, was a curi 
 ous affair, for a closely packed rank of stores and 
 shops, with family quarters overhead, stretched along 
 both sides of it, from one bank of the river to the 
 other. The Bridge was a sort of town to itself ; it 
 had its inn, its beer houses, its bakeries, its haber 
 dasheries, its food markets, its manufacturing indus 
 tries, and even its church. It looked upon the two 
 neighbors which it linked together London and 
 Southwark as being well enough, as suburbs, but 
 not otherwise particularly important, It was a close 
 corporation, so to speak; it was a narrow town, 
 of a single street a fifth of a mile long, its popula 
 tion was but a village population, and everybody in 
 it knew all his fellow townsmen intimately, and had 
 known their fathers and mothers before them and 
 all their little family affairs into the bargain. It had 
 its aristocracy, of course its fine old families of 
 butchers, and bakers, and what-not, who had occu 
 pied the same old premises for five or six hundred 
 years, and knew the great history of the Bridge from 
 beginning to end, and all its strange legends; and 
 who always talked bridgy talk, and thought bridgy 
 thoughts, and lied in a long, level, direct, substantial 
 bridgy way. It was just the sort of population to 
 be narrow and ignorant and self-conceited. Children 
 were born on the Bridge, were reared there, grew to 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 97 
 
 old age and finally died without ever having set a 
 foot upon any part of the world but London Bridge 
 alone. Such people would naturally imagine that 
 the mighty and interminable procession which moved 
 through its street night and day, with its confused 
 roar of shouts and cries, its neighings and bellow- 
 ings and bleatings and its muffled thunder-tramp, 
 was the one great thing in this world, and themselves 
 somehow the proprietors of it. And so they were 
 in effect at least they could exhibit it from their 
 windows, and did fora consideration whenever 
 a returning king or hero gave it a fleeting splendor, 
 for there was no place like it for affording a 
 long, straight, uninterrupted view of marching 
 columns. 
 
 Men born and reared upon the Bridge found life 
 unendurably dull and inane elsewhere. History tells 
 of one of these who left the Bridge at the age of 
 seventy-one and retired to the country. But he 
 could only fret and toss in his bed ; he could not go 
 to sleep, the deep stillness was so painful, so awful, 
 so oppressive. When he was worn out with it, at 
 last, he fled back to his old home, a lean and hag 
 gard specter, and fell peacefully to rest and pleasant 
 dreams under the lulling music of the lashing waters 
 and the boom and crash and thunder of London 
 Bridge. 
 
 In the times of which we are writing, the Bridge 
 furnished "object lessons" in English history, for 
 its children namely, the livid and decaying heads 
 1 
 
98 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 of renowned men impaled upon iron spikes atop of 
 its gateways. But we digress. 
 
 Hendon s lodgings were in the little inn on the 
 Bridge. As he neared the door with his small 
 friend, a rough voice said: 
 
 "So, thou rt come at last! Thou lt not escape 
 again, I warrant thee; and if pounding thy bones to 
 a pudding can teach thee somewhat, thou lt not 
 keep us waiting another time, mayhap " and John 
 Canty put out his hand to seize the boy. 
 
 Miles Hendon stepped in the way, and said : 
 
 "Not too fast, friend. Thou art needlessly 
 rough, methinks. What is the lad to thee?" 
 
 " If it be any business of thine to make and med 
 dle in others affairs, he is my son." 
 
 " Tis a lie!" cried the little king, hotly. 
 
 "Boldly said, and I believe thee, whether thy 
 small head-piece be sound or cracked, my boy. 
 But whether this scurvy ruffian be thy father or no, 
 tis all one, he shall not have thee to beat thee and 
 abuse, according to his threat, so thou prefer to 
 abide with me." 
 
 11 1 do, I do I know him not, I loathe him, and 
 will die before I will go with him." 
 
 "Then tis settled, and there is nought more to 
 say." 
 
 "We will see, as to that!" exclaimed John 
 Canty, striding past Hendon to get at the boy; 
 "by force shall he " 
 
 " If thou do but touch him, thou animated offal, 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 99 
 
 I will spit thee like a goose !" said Hendon, barring 
 the way and laying his hand upon his sword hilt. 
 Canty drew back. "Now mark ye," continued 
 Hendon, "I took this lad under my protection 
 when a mob of such as thou would have mishandled 
 him, mayhap killed him; dost imagine I will desert 
 him now to a worser fate ? for whether thou art his 
 father or no, -and sooth to say, I think it is a lie 
 a decent swift death were better for such a lad than 
 life in such brute hands as thine. So go thy ways, 
 and set quick about it, for I like not much bandying 
 of words, being not overpatient in my nature." 
 
 John Canty moved off, muttering threats and 
 curses, and was swallowed from sight in the crowd. 
 Hendon ascended three flights of stairs to his room, 
 with his charge, after ordering a meal to be sent 
 thither. It was a poor apartment, with a shabby 
 bed and some odds and ends of old furniture in it, 
 and was vaguely lighted by a couple of sickly 
 candles. The little king dragged himself to the bed 
 and lay down upon it, almost exhausted with hunger 
 and fatigue. He had been on his feet a good part 
 of a day and a night, for it was now two or three 
 o clock in the morning, and had eaten nothing 
 meantime. He murmured drowsily: 
 
 " Prithee, call me when the table is spread," and 
 sunk into a deep sleep immediately. 
 
 A smile twinkled in Hendon s eye, and he said to 
 himself : 
 
 "By the mass, the little beggar takes to one s 
 
100 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 quarters and usurps one s bed with as natural and 
 easy a grace as if he owned them with never a 
 by-your-leave or so-please-it-you, or anything of 
 the sort. In his diseased ravings he called himself 
 the Prince of Wales, and bravely doth he keep up 
 the character. Poor little friendless rat, doubtless 
 his mind has been disordered with ill usage. Well, 
 I will be his friend; I have saved him, and it draw- 
 eth me strongly to him ; already I love the bold- 
 tongued little rascal. How soldier-like he faced the 
 smutty rabble and flung back his high defiance ! 
 And what a comely, sweet and gentle face he hath, 
 now that sleep hath conjured away its troubles and 
 its griefs. I will teach him, I will cure his malady; 
 yea, I will be his elder brother, and care for him 
 and watch over him ; and whoso would shame him 
 or do him hurt, may order his shroud, for though I 
 be burnt for it he shall need it ! " 
 
 He bent over the boy and contemplated him with 
 kind and pitying interest, tapping the young cheek 
 tenderly and smoothing back the tangled curls with 
 his great brown hand. A slight shiver passed over 
 the boy s form. Hendon muttered: 
 
 " See, now, how like a man it was to let him lie 
 here uncovered and fill his body with deadly rheums. 
 Now what shall I do? Twill wake him to take him 
 up and put him within the bed, and he sorely need- 
 eth sleep." 
 
 He looked about for extra covering, but finding 
 none, doffed his doublet and wrapped the lad in it, 
 
The Prince and the Pauper ioi 
 
 saying, "I am used to nipping air and scant ap 
 parel, tis little I shall mind the cold " then walked 
 up and down the room to keep his blood in motion, 
 soliloquizing as before. 
 
 11 His injured mind persuades him he is Prince of 
 Wales; twill be odd to have a Prince of Wales still 
 with us, now that he that was the prince is prince 
 no more, but king for this poor mind is set upon 
 the one fantasy, and will not reason out that now it 
 should cast by the prince and call itself the king. . . . 
 If my father liveth still, after these seven years that 
 I have heard nought from home in my foreign 
 dungeon, he will welcome the poor lad and give him 
 generous shelter for my sake ; so will my good elder 
 brother, Arthur; my other brother, Hugh but I 
 will crack his crown, an he interfere, the fox- 
 hearted, ill-conditioned animal! Yes, thither will 
 we fare and straightway, too." 
 
 A servant entered with a smoking meal, disposed 
 it upon a small deal table, placed the chairs, and 
 took his departure, leaving such cheap lodgers as 
 these to wait upon themselves. The door slammed 
 after him, and the noise woke the boy, who sprung 
 to a sitting posture, and shot a glad glance about 
 him ; then a grieved look came into his face and he 
 murmured to himself, with a deep sigh, "Alack, it 
 was but a dream. Woe is me." Next he noticed 
 Miles Hendon s doublet glanced from that to 
 Hendon, comprehended the sacrifice that had been 
 made for him, and said, gently: 
 
102 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 "Thou art good to me, yes, thou art very good 
 to me. Take it and put it on I shall not need it 
 more." 
 
 Then he got up and walked to the washstand in 
 the corner, and stood there waiting. Hendon said 
 in a cheery voice : 
 
 " We ll have a right hearty sup and bite now, for 
 everything is savory and smoking hot, and that and 
 thy nap together will make thee a little man again, 
 never fear ! 
 
 The boy made no answer, but bent a steady look, 
 that was filled with grave surprise, and also some 
 what touched with impatience, upon the tall knight 
 of the sword. Hendon was puzzled, and said: 
 
 "What s amiss?" 
 
 " Good sir, I would wash me." 
 
 "Oh, is that all! Ask no permission of Miles 
 Hendon for aught thou cravest. Make thyself per 
 fectly free here and welcome, with all that are his 
 belongings." 
 
 Still the boy stood, and moved not; more, he 
 tapped the floor once or twice with his small im 
 patient foot. Hendon was wholly perplexed. Said 
 he: 
 
 "Bless us, what is it?" 
 
 " Prithee, pour the water, and make not so many 
 words!" 
 
 Hendon, suppressing a horse-laugh, and saying to 
 himself, "By all the saints, but this is admirable!" 
 stepped briskly forward and did the small insolent s 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 103 
 
 bidding; then stood by, in a sort of stupefaction, 
 until the command, "Come the towel!" woke 
 him sharply up. He took up a towel from under 
 the boy s nose and handed it to him, without com 
 ment. He now proceeded to comfort his own face 
 with a wash, and while he was at it his adopted child 
 seated himself at the table and prepared to fall to. 
 Hendon dispatched his ablutions with alacrity, then 
 drew back the other chair and was about to place 
 himself at table, when the boy said, indignantly: 
 
 "Forbear! VVouldst sit in the presence of the 
 king?" 
 
 This blow staggered Hendon to his foundations. 
 He muttered to himself, " Lo, the poor thing s 
 madness is up with the time ! it hath changed with 
 the great change that is come to the realm, and now 
 in fancy is he king ! Good lack, I must humor the 
 conceit, too there is no other way faith, he 
 would order me to the Tower, else !" 
 
 And pleased with this jest, he removed the chair 
 from the table, took his stand behind the king, and 
 proceeded to wait upon him in the courtliest way he 
 was capable of. 
 
 When the king ate, the rigor of his royal dignity 
 relaxed a little, and with his growing contentment 
 came a desire to talk. He said : 
 
 " I think thou callest thyself Miles Hendon, if I 
 heard thee aright?" 
 
 Yes, sire," Miles replied; then observed to 
 himself, " If I must humor the poor lad s madness, 
 
104 The Prince and the Paupei 
 
 I must sire him, I must majesty him, I must not go 
 by halves, I must stick at nothing that belongeth to 
 the part I play, else shall I play it ill and work evil 
 to this charitable and kindly cause." 
 
 The king warmed his heart with a second glass of 
 wine, and said: " I would know thee tell me thy 
 story. Thou hast a gallant way with thee, and a 
 noble art nobly born?" 
 
 "We are of the tail of the nobility, good your 
 majesty. My father is a baronet one of the 
 smaller lords, by knight service* Sir Richard Hen- 
 don, of Hendon Hall, by Monk s Holm in Kent." 
 
 * The name has escaped my memory. Go on 
 tell me thy story." 
 
 Tis not much, your majesty, yet perchance it 
 may beguile a short half hour for want of a better. 
 My father, Sir Richard, is very rich, and of a most 
 generous nature. My mother died whilst I was yet 
 a boy. I have two brothers : Arthur, my elder, with 
 a soul like to his father s; and Hugh, younger than 
 I, a mean spirit, covetous, treacherous, vicious, 
 underhanded a reptile. Such was he from the 
 cradle ; such was he ten years past, when I last saw 
 him a ripe rascal at nineteen, I being twenty then, 
 and Arthur twenty-two. There is none other of us 
 but the Lady Edith, my cousin she was sixteen, 
 then beautiful, gentle, good, the daughter of an 
 
 * He refers to the order of baronets, or baronettes, the baroner 
 minor es> as distinct from the parliamentary barons ; not, it 
 hardly be said, the baronets of later creation. 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 105 
 
 earl, the last of her race, heiress of a great fortune 
 and a lapsed title. My father was her guardian. I 
 loved her and she loved me ; but she was betrothed 
 to Arthur from the cradle, and Sir Richard would 
 not suffer the contract to be broken. Arthur loved 
 another maid, and bade us be of good cheer and 
 hold fast to the hope that delay and luck together 
 would some day give success to our several causes. 
 Hugh loved the Lady Edith s fortune, though in 
 truth he said it was herself he loved -but then twas 
 his way, alway, to say one thing and mean the 
 other. But he lost his arts upon the girl ; he could 
 deceive my father, but none else. My father loved 
 him best of us all, and trusted and believed him ; 
 for he was the youngest child and others hated him 
 
 these qualities being in all ages sufficient to win a 
 parent s dearest love; and he had a smooth per 
 suasive tongue, with an admirable gift of lying 
 and these be qualities which do mightily assist a 
 blind affection to cozen itself. I was wild in troth 
 I might go yet farther and say very wild, though 
 twas a wildness of an innocent sort, since it hurt 
 none but me, brought shame to none, nor loss, nor 
 had in it any taint of crime or baseness, or what 
 might not beseem mine honorable degree. 
 
 1 Yet did my brother Hugh turn these faults to 
 good account he seeing that our brother Arthur s 
 health was but indifferent, and hoping the worst 
 might work him profit were I swept out of the path 
 
 so, but twere a long tale, good my liege, and 
 
106 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 little worth the telling. Briefly, then, this brother 
 did deftly magnify my faults and make them crimes ; 
 ending his base work with finding a silken ladder in 
 mine apartments conveyed thither by his own 
 means and did convince my father by this, and 
 suborned evidence of servants and other lying 
 knaves, that I was minded to carry off my Edith 
 and marry with her, in rank defiance of his will. 
 
 "Three years of banishment from home and 
 England might make a soldier and a man of me, my 
 father said, and teach me some degree of wisdom. 
 I fought out my long probation in the continental 
 wars, tasting sumptuously of hard knocks, privation, 
 and adventure ; but in my last battle I was taken 
 captive, and during the seven years that have waxed 
 and waned since then, a foreign dungeon hath har 
 bored me. Through wit and courage I won to the 
 free air at last, and fled hither straight; and am but 
 just arrived, right poor in purse and raiment, and 
 poorer still in knowledge of what these dull seven 
 years have wrought at Hendon Hall, its people and 
 belongings. So please you, sir, my meager tale is 
 told." 
 
 "Thou hast been shamefully abused!" said 
 the little king, with a flashing eye. "But I will 
 right thee by the cross will I ! The king hath 
 said it." 
 
 Then, fired by the story of Miles wrongs, he 
 loosed his tongue and poured the history of his own 
 recent misfortunes into the ears of his astonished 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 107 
 
 listener. When he had finished, Miles said to him 
 self: 
 
 " Lo, what an imagination he hath! Verily this 
 is no common mind; else, crazed or sane, it could 
 not weave so straight and gaudy a tale as this out of 
 the airy nothings wherewith it hath wrought this 
 curious romaunt. Poor ruined little head, it shall 
 not lack friend or shelter whilst I bide with the 
 living. He shall never leave my side ; he shall be 
 my pet, my little comrade. And he shall be cured ! 
 aye, made whole and sound then will he make 
 himself a name -and proud shall I be to say, * Yes, 
 he is mine I took him, a homeless little rag 
 amuffin, but I saw what was in him, and I said his 
 name would be heard someday behold him, ob 
 serve him was I right?" 
 
 The king spoke in a thoughtful, measured voice : 
 
 Thou didst save me injury and shame, perchance 
 
 my life, and so my crown. Such service demandeth 
 
 rich reward. Name thy desire, and so it be within 
 
 the compass of my royal power, it is thine." 
 
 This fantastic suggestion startled Hendon out of 
 his revery. He was about to thank the king and 
 put the matter aside with saying he had only done 
 his duty and desired no reward, but a wiser thought 
 came into his head, and he asked leave to be silent a 
 few moments and consider the gracious offer an 
 idea which the king gravely approved, remarking 
 that it was best to be not too hasty with a thing of 
 such great import. 
 
108 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 Miles reflected during some moments, then said to 
 himself, "Yes, that is the thing to do by any 
 other means it were impossible to get at it and 
 certes, this hour s experience has taught me twould 
 be most wearing and inconvenient to continue it as 
 it is. Yes, I will propose it; twas a happy acci 
 dent that I did not throw the chance away." Then 
 he dropped upon one knee and said : 
 
 " My poor service went not beyond the limit of a 
 subject s simple duty, and therefore hath no merit; 
 but since your majesty is pleased to hold it worthy 
 some reward, I take heart of grace to make petition 
 to this effect. Near four hundred years ago, as 
 your grace knoweth, there being ill blood betwixt 
 John, king of England, and the king of France, it 
 was decreed that two champions should fight to 
 gether in the lists, and so settle the dispute by what 
 is called the arbitrament of God. These two kings, 
 and the Spanish king, being assembled to witness 
 and judge the conflict, the French champion ap 
 peared ; but so redoubtable was he that our English 
 knights refused to measure weapons with him. So 
 the matter, which was a weighty one, was like to go 
 against the English monarch by default. Now in 
 the Tower lay the Lord de Courcy, the mightiest 
 arm in England, stripped of his honors and posses 
 sions, and wasting with long captivity. Appeal was 
 made to him ; he gave assent, and came forth ar 
 rayed for battle ; but no sooner did the Frenchman 
 glimpse his huge frame and hear his famous name 
 
RISE, SIR MILES IIENDON, KNIGHT 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 109 
 
 but he fled away, and the French king s cause was 
 lost. King John restored De Courcy s titles and 
 possessions, and said, Name thy wish and thou 
 shalt have it, though it cost me half my kingdom; 
 whereat De Courcy, kneeling, as I do now, made 
 answer, This, then, I ask, my liege; that I and my 
 successors may have and hold the privilege of re 
 maining covered in the presence of the kings of 
 England, henceforth while the throne shall last. 
 The boon was granted, as your majesty knoweth; 
 and there hath been no time, these four hundred 
 years, that that line has failed of an heir; and so, 
 even unto this day, the head of that ancient house 
 still weareth his hat or helm before the king s 
 majesty, without let or hindrance, and this none 
 other may do.* Invoking this precedent in aid of 
 my prayer, I beseech the king to grant to me but 
 this one grace and privilege to my more than 
 sufficient reward and none other, to wit: that I 
 and my heirs, forever, may sit in the presence of 
 the majesty of England !" 
 
 Rise, Sir Miles Hendon, knight," said the king, 
 gravely giving the accolade with Hendon s sword 
 
 " rise, and seat thyself. Thy petition is granted. 
 While England remains, and the crown continues, 
 the privilege shall not lapse," 
 
 His majesty walked apart, musing, and Hendon 
 dropped into a chair at table, observing to himself, 
 
 * The lords of Kingsale, descendants of De Courcy, still enjoy this 
 curious privilege. 
 
110 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 " Twas a brave thought, and hath wrought me a 
 mighty deliverance; my legs are grievously weaned. 
 An I had not thought of that, I must have had to 
 stand for weeks, till my poor lad s wits are cured," 
 After a little he went on, " And so I am become a 
 knight of the Kingdom of Dreams and Shadows ! 
 A most odd and strange position, truly, for one so 
 matter-of-fact as I. I will not laugh no, God 
 forbid, for this thing which is so substanceless to 
 me is real to him. And to me, also, in one way, it 
 is not a falsity, for it reflects with truth the sweet 
 and generous spirit that is in him." After a pause: 
 " Ah, what if he should call me by my fine title be 
 fore folk ! there d be a merry contrast betwixt my 
 glory and my raiment! But no matter; let him 
 call me what he will, so it please him; I shall be 
 content." 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE DISAPPEARANCE OF THE PRINCE 
 
 S HEAVY drowsiness presently fell upon the two 
 comrades. The king said: 
 
 " Remove these rags " meaning his clothing. 
 
 Hendon disappareled the boy without dissent or 
 remark, tucked him up in bed, then glanced about 
 the room, saying to himself, ruefully, * He hath 
 taken my bed again, as before -marry, what shall 
 /do?" The little king observed his perplexity, and 
 dissipated it with a word. He said, sleepily: 
 
 ** Thou wilt sleep athwart the door, and guard 
 it." In a moment more he was out of his troubles, 
 in a deep slumber. 
 
 " Dear heart, he should have been born a king!" 
 muttered Kendon, admiringly; "he playeth the 
 part to a marvel." 
 
 Then he stretched himself across the door, on the 
 floor, saying contentedly: 
 
 * I have lodged worse for seven years; twould 
 be but ill gratitude to Him above to find fault with 
 this." 
 
 He dropped asleep as the dawn appeared. Toward 
 
 ("O 
 
112 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 noon he rose, uncovered his unconscious ward a 
 section at a time and took his measure with a 
 string. The king awoke, just as he had completed 
 his work, complained of the cold, and asked what 
 he was doing. 
 
 " Tis done now, my liege," said Hendon ; "I 
 have a bit of business outside, but will presently re 
 turn ; sleep thou again thou needest it. There 
 let me cover thy head also thou It be warm the 
 sooner." 
 
 The king was back in dreamland before this 
 speech was ended. Miles slipped softly out, and 
 slipped as softly in again, in the course of thirty or 
 forty minutes, with a complete second-hand suit of 
 boy s clothing, of cheap material, and showing signs 
 of wear ; but tidy, and suited to the season of the 
 year. He seated himself, and began to overhaul his 
 purchase, mumbling to himself: 
 
 "A longer purse would have got a better sort, 
 but when one has not the long purse one must be 
 content with what a short one may do 
 
 " There was a woman in our town, 
 In our town did dwell 
 
 " He stirred, methinks I must sing in a less 
 thunderous key; tis not good to mar his sleep, with 
 this journey before him and he so wearied out, poor 
 
 chap This garment tis well enough a 
 
 stitch here and another one there will set it aright. 
 This other is better, albeit a stitch or two will not 
 come amiss in it, likewise .These be very good 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 113 
 
 and sound, and will keep his small feet warm and 
 dry an odd new thing to him, belike, since he has 
 doubtless been used to foot it bare, winters and 
 
 summers the same Would thread were bread, 
 
 seeing one getteth a year s sufficiency for a farthing, 
 and such a brave big needle without cost, for mere 
 love. Now shall I have the demon s own time to 
 thread it!" 
 
 And so he had. He did as men have always 
 done, and probably always will do, to the end of 
 time held the needle still, and tried to thrust the 
 thread through the eye, which is the opposite of a 
 woman s way. Time and time again the thread 
 missed the mark, going sometimes on one side of 
 the needle, sometimes on the other, sometimes 
 doubling up against the shaft; but he was patient, 
 having been through these experiences before, when 
 he was soldiering. He succeeded at last, and took 
 up the garment that had lain waiting, meantime, 
 across his lap, and began his work. * The inn is 
 paid the breakfast that is to come, included and 
 there is wherewithal left to buy a couple of donkeys 
 and meet our little costs for the two or three days 
 betwixt this and the plenty that awaits us at Hendon 
 Hall 
 
 " She loved her hus 
 
 " Body o me! I have driven the needle under 
 my nail!. . ... .It matters little tis not a novelty 
 
 yet tis not a convenience, neither We shall 
 
 8 
 
114 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 be merry there, little one, never doubt it! Thy 
 troubles will vanish there, and likewise thy sad dis 
 temper 
 
 " She Icved her husband dearilee, 
 But another man 
 
 * These be noble large stitches!" holding the 
 garment up and viewing it admiringly " they have 
 a grandeur and a majesty that do cause these small 
 stingy ones of the tailor-man to look mighty paltry 
 and plebeian 
 
 " She loved her husband dearilee, 
 But another man he loved she, 
 
 " Marry, tis done a goodly piece of work, 
 too, and wrought with expedition. Now will I 
 wake him, apparel him, pour for him, feed him, 
 and then will we hie us to the mart by the Tabard 
 inn in Southwark and be pleased to rise, my 
 liege ? he answereth not what ho, my liege ! 
 of a truth must I profane his sacred person with a 
 touch, sith his slumber is deaf to speech. What!" 
 
 He threw back the covers the boy was gone ! 
 
 He stared about him in speechless astonishment 
 for a moment; noticed for the first time that his 
 ward s ragged raiment was also missing, then he 
 began to rage and storm, and shout for the inn 
 keeper. At that moment a servant entered with the 
 breakfast. 
 
 "Explain, thou limb of Satan, or thy time is 
 come ! roared the man of war, and made so savage 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 115 
 
 a spring toward the waiter that this latter could not 
 find his tongue, for the instant, for fright and sur 
 prise. * Where is the boy?" 
 
 In disjointed and trembling syllables the man gave 
 the information desired. 
 
 I You were hardly gone from the place, your 
 worship, when a youth came running and said it 
 was your worship s will that the boy come to you 
 straight, at the bridge-end on the Southwark side. I 
 brought him hither ; and when he woke the lad and 
 gave his message, the lad did grumble some little 
 for being disturbed so early, as he called it, but 
 straightway trussed on his rags and went with the 
 youth, only saying it had been better manners that 
 your worship came yourself, not sent a stranger 
 and so " 
 
 "And so thou rt a fool! a fool, and easily 
 cozened - hang all thy breed ! Yet mayhap no 
 hurt is done. Possibly no harm is meant the boy. 
 I will go fetch him. Make the table ready. Stay! 
 the coverings of the bed were disposed as if one lay 
 beneath them happened that by accident?" 
 
 :< I know not, good your worship. I saw the 
 youth meddle with them he that came for the 
 boy." 
 
 "Thousand deaths! twas done to deceive me 
 tis plain twas done to gain time. Hark ye! Was 
 that youth alone?" 
 
 II All alone, your worship." 
 " Art sure?" 
 
 2 
 
116 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 ** Sure, your worship." 
 
 " Collect thy scattered wits bethink thee take 
 time, man." 
 
 After a moment s thought, the servant said: 
 
 "When he came, none came with him; but now 
 I remember me that as the two stepped into the 
 throng of the Bridge, a ruffian-looking man plunged 
 out from some near place; and just as he was join 
 ing them " 
 
 "What^tf? out with it!" thundered the im 
 patient Hendon, interrupting. 
 
 11 Just then the crowd lapped them up and closed 
 them in, and I saw no more, being called by my 
 master, who was in a rage because a joint that the 
 scrivener had ordered was forgot, though I take all 
 the saints to witness that to blame me for that mis 
 carriage w r ere like holding the unborn babe to judg 
 ment for sins com " 
 
 " Out of my sight, idiot! Thy prating drives me 
 mad! Hold! whither art flying? Canst not bide 
 still an instant? Went they toward Southwark?" 
 
 "Even so, your worship -for, as I said before, 
 as to that detestable joint, the babe unborn is no 
 whit more blameless than " 
 
 "Art herej^/ And prating still? Vanish, lest 
 I throttle thee!" The servitor vanished. Hendon 
 followed after him, passed him, and plunged down 
 the stairs two steps at a stride, muttering, * Tis 
 that scurvy villain that claimed he was his son. I 
 have lost thee, my poor little mad master it is a 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 117 
 
 bitter thought and I had come to love thee so ! 
 No! by book and bell, not lost! Not lost, for I 
 will ransack the land till I find thee again. Poor 
 child, yonder is his breakfast and mine, but I 
 have no hunger now so, let the rats have it 
 speed, speed! that is the word!" As he wormed 
 his swift way through the noisy multitudes upon the 
 Bridge, he several times said to himself clinging 
 to the thought as if it were a particularly pleasing 
 one: "He grumbled, but he went he went, yes, 
 because he thought Miles Hendon asked it, sweet 
 lad he would ne er have done it for another, I 
 know it well !" 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 "LE ROI EST MORT VIVE LE ROI" 
 
 TOWARD daylight of the same morning, Tom 
 Canty stirred out of a heavy sleep and opened 
 his eyes in the dark. He lay silent a few moments, 
 trying to analyze his confused thoughts and impres 
 sions, and get some sort of meaning out of them, 
 then suddenly he burst out in a rapturous but 
 guarded voice : 
 
 44 1 see it all, I see it all ! Now God be thanked, 
 I am, indeed, awake at last! Come, joy! vanish, 
 sorrow! Ho, Nan! Bet! kick off your straw and 
 hie ye hither to my side, till I do pour into your 
 unbelieving ears the wildest madcap dream that ever 
 the spirits of night did conjure up to astonish 
 
 the soul of man withal! Ho, Nan, I say! 
 
 Bet!" 
 
 A dim form appeared at his side, and a voice said : 
 " Wilt deign to deliver thy commands?" 
 
 " Commands? Oh, woe is me, I know thy 
 
 voice! Speak, thou who am I?" 
 
 14 Thou? In sooth, yesternight wert thou the 
 Prince of Wales, to-day art thou my most gracious 
 liege, Edward, king of England." 
 
 (118) 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 119 
 
 Tom buried his head among his pillows, murmur 
 ing plaintively : 
 
 " Alack, it was no dream ! Go to thy rest, sweet 
 sir leave me to my sorrows." 
 
 Tom slept again, and after a time he had this 
 pleasant dream. He thought it was summer and he 
 was playing, all alone, in the fair meadow called 
 Goodman s Fields, when a dwarf only a foot high, 
 with long red whiskers and a humped back, appeared 
 to him suddenly and said, "Dig, by that stump." 
 He did so, and found twelve bright new pennies 
 wonderful riches ! Yet this was not the best of it ; 
 for the dwarf said : 
 
 11 I know thee. Thou art a good lad and deserv 
 ing; thy distresses shall end, for the day of thy re 
 ward is come. Dig here every seventh day, and 
 thou shalt find always the same treasure, twelve 
 bright new pennies. Tell none keep the secret." 
 
 Then the dwarf vanished, and Tom flew to Offal 
 Court with his prize, saying to himself, " Every 
 night will I give my father a penny ; he will think I 
 begged it, it will glad his heart, and I shall no more 
 be beaten. One penny every week the good priest 
 that teacheth me shall have ; mother, Nan and Bet 
 the other four. We be done with hunger and rags 
 now, done with fears and frets and savage usage." 
 
 In his dream he reached his sordid home all out 
 of breath, but with eyes dancing with grateful en 
 thusiasm ; cast four of his pennies into his mother s 
 lap and cried out: 
 
120 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 * They are for thee ! all of them, every one ! 
 for thee and Nan and Bet and honestly come by, 
 not begged nor stolen !" 
 
 The happy and astonished mother strained him to 
 her breast and exclaimed : 
 
 ; It waxeth late may it please your majesty to 
 rise?" 
 
 Ah, that was not the answer he was expecting. 
 The dream had snapped asunder he was awake. 
 
 He opened his eyes the richly clad First Lord 
 of the Bedchamber was kneeling by his couch. The 
 gladness of the lying dream faded away the poor 
 boy recognized that he was still a captive and a 
 king. The room was filled with courtiers clothed in 
 purple mantles the mourning color and with 
 noble servants of the monarch. Tom sat up in bed 
 and gazed out from the heavy silken curtains upon 
 this fine company. 
 
 The weighty business of dressing began, and one 
 courtier after another knelt and paid his court and 
 offered to the little king his condolences upon his 
 heavy loss, while the dressing proceeded. In the 
 beginning, a shirt was taken up by the Chief Equerry 
 in Waiting, who passed it to the First Lord of the 
 Buckhounds, who passed it to the Second Gentle 
 man of the Bedchamber, who passed it to the Head 
 Ranger of Windsor Forest, who passed it to the 
 Third Groom of the Stole, who passed it to the 
 Chancellor Royal of the Duchy of Lancaster, who 
 passed it to the Master of the Wardrobe, who passed 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 121 
 
 it to Norroy King-at-Arms, who passed it to the 
 Constable of the Tower, who passed it to the Chief 
 Steward of the Household, who passed it to the 
 Hereditary Grand Diaperer, who passed it to the 
 Lord High Admiral of England, who passed it to 
 the Archbishop of Canterbury, who passed it to 
 the First Lord of the Bedchamber, who took what 
 was left of it and put it on Tom. Poor little wonder 
 ing chap, it reminded him of passing buckets at a 
 fire. 
 
 Each garment in its turn had to go through this 
 slow and solemn process ; consequently Tom grew 
 very weary of the ceremony; so weary that he felt 
 an almost gushing gratefulness when he at last saw 
 his long silken hose begin the journey down the line 
 and knew that the end of the matter was drawing 
 near. But he exulted too soon. The first Lord of 
 the Bedchamber received the hose and was about to 
 encase Tom s legs in them, when a sudden flush 
 invaded his face and he hurriedly hustled the things 
 back into the hands of the Archbishop of Canter 
 bury with an astounded look and a whispered, 
 " See, my lord!" pointing to a something con 
 nected with the hose, The Archbishop paled, then 
 flushed, and passed the hose to the Lord High Ad 
 miral, whispering, "See, my lord!" The Admiral 
 passed the hose to the Hereditary Grand Diaperer, 
 and had hardly breath enough in his body to ejacu 
 late, " See, my lord!" The hose drifted backward 
 along the line, to the Chief Steward of the House- 
 
122 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 hold, the Constable of the Tower, Norroy King-at- 
 Arms, the Master of the Wardrobe, the Chancellor 
 Royal of the Duchy of Lancaster, the Third Groom 
 of the Stole, the Head Ranger of Windsor Forest, 
 the Second Gentleman of the Bedchamber, the First 
 Lord of the Buckhounds, accompanied always 
 with that amazed and frightened " See ! see !" till 
 they finally reached the hands of the Chief Equerry 
 in Waiting, who gazed a moment, with a pallid face, 
 upon what had caused all this dismay, then hoarsely 
 whispered, "Body of my life, a tag gone from a 
 truss point ! to the Tower with the Head Keeper 
 of the King s Hose!" after which he leaned upon 
 the shoulder of the First Lord of the Buckhounds to 
 re-gather his vanished strength while fresh hose, 
 without any damaged strings to them, \vere brought. 
 But all things must have an end, and so in time 
 Tom Canty was in a condition to get out of bed. 
 The proper official poured water, the proper official 
 engineered the washing, the proper official stood by 
 with a towel, and by and by Tom got safely through 
 the purifying stage and was ready for the services of 
 the Hairdresser-royal. When he at length emerged 
 from his master s hands, he was a gracious figure 
 and as pretty as a girl, in his mantle and trunks of 
 purple satin, and purple-plumed cap. He now 
 moved in state toward his breakfast room, through 
 the midst of the courtly assemblage ; and as he 
 passed, these fell back, leaving his way free, and 
 dropped upon their knees. 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 123 
 
 After breakfast he was conducted, with regal 
 ceremony, attended by his great officers and his 
 guard of fifty Gentlemen Pensioners bearing gilt 
 battle-axes, to the throne-room, where he proceeded 
 to transact business of state. His "uncle," Lord 
 Hertford, took his stand by the throne, to assist the 
 royal mind with wise counsel. 
 
 The body of illustrious men named by the late 
 king as his executors, appeared, to ask Tom s ap 
 proval of certain acts of theirs rather a form, and 
 yet not wholly a form, since there was no Protector 
 as yet. The Archbishop of Canterbury made report 
 of the degree of the Council of Executors concern 
 ing the obsequies of his late most illustrious majesty, 
 and finished by reading the signatures of the execu 
 tors, to wit: the Archbishop of Canterbury; the 
 Lord Chancellor of England ; William Lord St. 
 John ; John Lord Russell ; Edward Earl of Hert 
 ford ; John Viscount Lisle; Cuthbert Bishop of 
 Durham 
 
 Tom was not listening an earlier clause of the 
 document was puzzling him. At this point he turned 
 and whispered to Lord Hertford : 
 
 14 What day did he say the burial hath been ap 
 pointed for?" 
 
 * The i6th of the coming month, my liege/* 
 
 11 Tis a strange folly. Will he keep?" 
 
 Poor chap, he was still new to the customs of 
 royalty; he was used to seeing the forlorn dead of 
 Offal Court hustled out of the way with a very 
 
124 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 different sort of expedition. However, the Lord 
 Hertford set his mind at rest with a word or two. 
 
 A secretary of state presented an order of the 
 Council appointing the morrow at eleven for the re 
 ception of the foreign ambassadors, and desired the 
 king s assent. 
 
 Tom turned an inquiring look toward Hertford, 
 who whispered : 
 
 Your majesty will signify consent. They come 
 to testify their royal masters sense of the heavy 
 calamity which hath visited your grace and the realm 
 of England." 
 
 Tom did as he was bidden. Another secretary 
 began to read a preamble concerning the expenses 
 of the late king s household, which had amounted to 
 ^"28,000 during the preceding six months a sum 
 so vast that it made Tom Canty gasp ; he gasped 
 again when the fact appeared that ,20,000 of this 
 money were still owing and unpaid;* and once more 
 when it appeared that the king s coffers were about 
 empty, and his twelve hundred servants much em 
 barrassed for lack of the wages due them. Tom 
 spoke out, with lively apprehension. 
 
 We be going to the dogs, tis plain. Tis meet 
 and necessary that we take a smaller house and set 
 the servants at large, sith they be of no value but to 
 make delay, and trouble one with offices that harass 
 the spirit and shame the soul, they misbecoming 
 any but a doll, that hath nor brains nor hands to 
 
 * Hume. 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 125 
 
 help itself withal. I remember me of a small house 
 that standeth over against the fish-market, by Bill 
 ingsgate " 
 
 A sharp pressure upon Tom s arm stopped his 
 foolish tongue and sent a blush to his face ; but no 
 countenance there betrayed any sign that this strange 
 speech had been remarked or given concern. 
 
 A secretary made report that forasmuch as the 
 late king had provided in his will for conferring the 
 ducal degree upon the Earl of Hertford and raising 
 his brother, Sir Thomas Seymour, to the peerage, 
 and likewise Hertford s son to an earldom, together 
 with similar aggrandizements to other great servants 
 of the crown, the Council had resolved to hold a 
 sitting on the i6th of February for the delivering 
 and confirming of these honors ; and that meantime 
 the late king not having granted, in writing, estates 
 suitable to the support of these dignities, the 
 council, knowing his private wishes in that regard, 
 had thought proper to grant to Seymour " 500 
 pound lands," and to Hertford s son " 800 pound 
 lands, and 300 pound of the next bishop s lands 
 which should fall vacant," his present majesty 
 being willing.* 
 
 Tom was about to blurt out something about the 
 propriety of paying the late king s debts first before 
 squandering all this money; but a timely touch 
 upon his arm, from the thoughtful Hertford, saved 
 him this indiscretion ; wherefore he gave the royal 
 
 *Hume. 
 9 
 
126 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 assent, without spoken comment, but with much in 
 ward discomfort. While he sat reflecting a moment 
 over the ease with which he was doing strange and 
 glittering miracles, a happy thought shot into his 
 mind : why not make his mother Duchess of Offal 
 Court and give her an estate? But a sorrowful 
 thought swept it instantly away ; he was only a king 
 in name, these grave veterans and great nobles were 
 his masters ; to them his mother was only the crea 
 ture of a diseased mind ; they would simply listen to 
 his project with unbelieving ears, then send for the 
 doctor. 
 
 The dull work went tediously on. Petitions were 
 read, and proclamations, patents, and all manner of 
 wordy, repetitious, and wearisome papers relating to 
 the public business ; and at last Tom sighed pathetic 
 ally and murmured to himself, " In what have I 
 offended, that the good God should take me away 
 from the fields and the free air and the sunshine, to 
 shut me up here and make me a king and afflict me 
 so?" Then his poor muddled head nodded a while, 
 and presently dropped to his shoulder; and the 
 business of the empire came to a standstill for want 
 of that august factor, the ratifying power. Silence 
 ensued around the slumbering child, and the sages 
 of the realm ceased from their deliberations. 
 
 During the forenoon, Tom had an enjoyable hour, 
 by permission of his keepers, Hertford and St. 
 John, with the Lady Elizabeth and the little Lady 
 Jane Grey ; though the spirits of the princesses were 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 127 
 
 rather subdued by the mighty stroke that had fallen 
 upon the royal house ; and at the end of the visit 
 his " elder sister "afterward the " Bloody Mary " 
 of history chilled him with a solemn interview 
 which had but one merit in his eyes, its brevity. 
 He had a few moments to himself, and then a slim 
 lad of about twelve years of age was admitted to his 
 presence, whose clothing, except his snowy ruff and 
 the laces about his wrists, was of black, doublet, 
 hose and all. He bore no badge of mourning but a 
 knot of purple ribbon on his shoulder. He ad 
 vanced hesitatingly, with head bowed and bare, and 
 dropped upon one knee in front of Tom. Tom sat 
 still and contemplated him soberly for a moment. 
 Then he said : 
 
 "Rise, lad. Whoartthou? What wouldst have?" 
 
 The boy rose, and stood at graceful ease, but with 
 an aspect of concern in his face. He said : 
 
 " Of a surety thou must remember me, my lord. 
 I am thy whipping-boy." 
 
 " My whipping-\)<yy1" 
 
 The same, your grace. I am Humphrey 
 Humphrey Marlow." 
 
 Tom perceived that here was some one whom his 
 keepers ought to have posted him about. The 
 situation was delicate. What should he do? pre 
 tend he knew this lad, and then betray, by his every 
 utterance, that he had never heard of him before? 
 No, that would not do. An idea came to his relief: 
 accidents like this might be likely to happen with 
 
128 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 some frequency, now that business urgencies would 
 often call Hertford and St. John from his side, they 
 being members of the council of executors ; there 
 fore perhaps it would be well to strike out a plan 
 himself to meet the requirements of such emergen 
 cies. Yes, that would be a wise course he would 
 practice on this boy, and see what sort of success he 
 might achieve. So he stroked his brow, perplexedly, 
 a moment or two, and presently said : 
 
 " Now I seem to remember thee somewhat but 
 my wit is clogged and dim with suffering " 
 
 "Alack, my poor master !" ejaculated the whip 
 ping-boy, with feeling; adding, to himself, "In 
 truth tis as they said his mind is gone alas, 
 poor soul ! But misfortune catch me, how am I 
 forgetting ! they said one must not seem to observe 
 that aught is wrong with him." 
 
 1 Tis strange how my memory doth wanton with 
 me these days," said Tom. " But mind it not I 
 mend apace a little clew doth often serve to bring 
 me back again the things and names which had 
 escaped me. [And not they, only, forsooth, but 
 e en such as I ne er heard before as this lad shall 
 see.] Give thy business speech." 
 
 " Tis matter of small weight, my liege, yet will I 
 touch upon it, an* it please your grace. Two days 
 gone by, when your majesty faulted thrice in your 
 Greek in the morning lessons, dost remember 
 it?" 
 
 "Y-e-s methinks I do. [It is not much of a 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 129 
 
 lie an I had meddled with the Greek at all, I had 
 not faulted simply thrice, but forty times.] Yes, I 
 do recall it now go on." 
 
 " The master, being wroth with what he termed 
 such slovenly and doltish work, did promise that he 
 would soundly whip me for it and " 
 
 " Whip thee /" said Tom, astonished out of his 
 presence of mind. "Why should he whip thee for 
 faults of mine?" 
 
 "Ah, your grace forgetteth again. He always 
 scourgeth me, when thou dost fail in thy lessons." 
 
 True, true I had forgot. Thou teachest me 
 in private then if I fail, he argueth that thy office 
 was lamely done, and " 
 
 " Oh, my liege, what words are these? I, the 
 
 humblest of thy servants, presume to teach thee ?" 
 
 Then where is thy blame? What riddle is this? 
 
 Am I in truth gone mad, or is it thou? Explain 
 
 speak out." 
 
 "But, good your majesty, there s nought that 
 needeth simplifying. None may visit the sacred 
 person of the Prince of Wales with blows ; where 
 fore when he faulteth, tis I that take them; and 
 meet it is and right, for that it is mine office and my 
 livelihood.* 
 
 Tom stared at the tranquil boy, observing to him 
 self, " Lo, it is a wonderful thing, a most strange 
 and curious trade ; I marvel they have not hired a 
 boy to take my combings and my dressings for me 
 
 * See Note 8, at end of volume. 
 9 
 
130 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 would heaven they would ! an they will do this 
 thing, I will take my lashings in mine own person, 
 giving God thanks for the change." Then he said 
 aloud : 
 
 " And hast thou been beaten, poor friend, accord 
 ing to the promise?" 
 
 " No, good your majesty, my punishment was 
 appointed for this day, and peradventure it may be 
 annulled, as unbefitting the season of mourning 
 that is come upon us; I know not, and so have 
 made bold to come hither and remind your grace 
 about your gracious promise to intercede in my 
 behalf" 
 
 11 With the master? To save thee thy whipping?" 
 
 " Ah, thou dost remember!" 
 
 " My memory mendeth, thou seest. Set thy 
 mind at ease thy back shall go unscathed I will 
 see to it." 
 
 "Oh, thanks, my good lord!" cried the boy, 
 dropping upon his knee again. " Mayhap I have 
 ventured far enow ; and yet " 
 
 Seeing Master Humphrey hesitate, Tom encour 
 aged him to go on, saying he was " in the granting 
 mood." 
 
 "Then will I speak it out, for it lieth near my 
 heart. Sith thou are no more Prince of Wales but 
 king, thou canst order matters as thou wilt, with 
 none to say thee nay ; wherefore it is not in reason 
 that thou wilt longer vex thyself with dreary studies, 
 but wilt burn thy books and turn thy mind to things 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 131 
 
 less irksome. Then am I ruined, and mine orphan 
 sisters with me !" 
 
 " Ruined? Prithee, how?" 
 
 " My back is my bread, O my gracious liege! if 
 it go idle, I starve. An thou cease from study, 
 mine office is gone, thou lt need no whipping-boy. 
 Do not turn me away! * 
 
 Tom was touched with this pathetic distress. He 
 said, with a right royal burst of generosity: 
 
 "Discomfort thyself no further, lad. Thine 
 office shall be permanent in thee and thy line, for 
 ever." Then he struck the boy a light blow on the 
 shoulder with the flat of his sword, exclaiming, 
 * Rise, Humphrey Marlow, Hereditary Grand Whip- 
 ping-Boy to the royal house of England ! Banish 
 sorrow I will betake me to my books again, and 
 study so ill that they must in justice treble thy wage, 
 so mightily shall the business of thine office be aug 
 mented." 
 
 The grateful Humphrey responded fervidly: 
 
 11 Thanks, oh, most noble master, this princely 
 lavishness doth far surpass my most distempered 
 dreams of fortune. Now shall I be happy all my 
 days, and all the house of Marlow after me." 
 
 Tom had wit enough to perceive that here was a 
 lad who could be useful to him. He encouraged 
 Humphrey to talk, and he was nothing loath. He 
 was delighted to believe that he was helping in 
 Tom s "cure"; for always, as soon as he had 
 finished calling back to Tom s diseased mind the 
 
132 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 various particulars of his experiences and adventures 
 in the royal schoolroom and elsewhere about the 
 palace, he noticed that Tom was then able to " re 
 call" the circumstances quite clearly. At the end 
 of an hour Tom found himself well freighted with 
 very valuable information concerning personages and 
 matters pertaining to the court; so he resolved to 
 draw instruction from this source daily ; and to this 
 end he would give order to admit Humphrey to the 
 royal closet whenever he might come, provided the 
 majesty of England was not engaged with other 
 people. 
 
 Humphrey had hardly been dismissed when my 
 Lord Hertford arrived with more trouble for Tom. 
 He said that the lords of the Council, fearing that 
 some overwrought report of the king s damaged 
 health might have leaked out and got abroad, they 
 deemed it wise and best that his majesty should 
 begin to dine in public after a day or two his 
 wholesome complexion and vigorous step, assisted 
 by a carefully guarded repose of manner and ease 
 and grace of demeanor, would more surely quiet the 
 general pulse in case any evil rumors had gone 
 about than any other scheme that could be devised. 
 
 Then the earl proceeded, very delicately, to in 
 struct Tom as to the observances proper to the stately 
 occasion, under the rather thin disguise of * remind 
 ing" him concerning things already known to him; 
 but to his vast gratification it turned out that Tom 
 needed very little help in this line he had been 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 133 
 
 making use of Humphrey in that direction, for 
 Humphrey had mentioned that within a few days he 
 was to begin to dine in public; having gathered it 
 from the swift-winged gossip of the court. Tom 
 kept these facts to himself, however. 
 
 Seeing the royal memory so improved, the earl 
 ventured to apply a few tests to it, in an apparently 
 casual way, to find out how far its amendment had 
 progressed. The results were happy, here and there, 
 in spots spots where Humphrey s tracks remained 
 and, on the whole, my lord was greatly pleased 
 and encouraged. So encouraged was he, indeed, 
 that he spoke up and said in a quite hopeful voice : 
 
 4 Now am I persuaded that if your majesty will 
 but tax your memory yet a little further, it will re 
 solve the puzzle of the Great Seal a loss which 
 was of moment yesterday, although of none to-day, 
 since its term of service ended with our late lord s 
 life. May it please your grace to make the trial?" 
 
 Tom was at sea a Great Seal was a something 
 which he was totally unacquainted with. After a 
 moment s hesitation he looked up innocently and 
 asked : 
 
 44 What was it like, my Lord?" 
 
 The earl started, almost imperceptibly, muttering 
 to himself, "Alack, his wits are flown again! it 
 was ill wisdom to lead him on to strain them " 
 then he deftly turned the talk to other matters, with 
 the purpose of sweeping the unlucky Seal out of 
 Tom s thoughts a purpose which easily succeeded. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 TOM AS KING 
 
 THE next day the foreign ambassadors came, with 
 their gorgeous trains; and Tom, throned in 
 awful state, received them. The splendors of the 
 scene delighted his eye and fired his imagination at 
 first, but the audience was long and dreary, and so 
 were most of the addresses wherefore, what began 
 as a pleasure, grew into weariness and homesickness 
 by and by. Tom said the words which Hertford 
 put into his mouth from time to time, and tried 
 hard to acquit himself satisfactorily, but he was too 
 new to such things, and too ill at ease to accomplish 
 more than a tolerable success. He looked suffi 
 ciently like a king, but he was ill able to feel like 
 one. He was cordially glad when the ceremony was 
 ended. 
 
 The larger part of his day was " wasted " as he 
 termed it, in his own mind in labors pertaining to 
 his royal office. Even the two hours devoted to 
 certain princely pastimes and recreations were rather 
 a burden to him than otherwise, they were so fet 
 tered by restrictions and ceremonious observances. 
 
 (i34) 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 13 5 
 
 However, he had a private hour with his whipping- 
 boy which he counted clear gain, since he got both 
 entertainment and needful information out of it. 
 
 The third day of Tom Canty s kingship came and 
 went much as the others had done, but there was a 
 lifting of his cloud in one way he felt less uncom 
 fortable than at first ; he was getting a little used to 
 his circumstances and surroundings ; his chains still 
 galled, but not all the time; he found that the 
 presence and homage of the great afflicted and em 
 barrassed him less and less sharply with every hour 
 that drifted over his head. 
 
 But for one single dread, he could have seen the 
 fourth day approach without serious distress the 
 dining in public ; it was to begin that day. There 
 were greater matters in the programme for on that 
 day he would have to preside at a Council which 
 would take his views and commands concerning the 
 policy to be pursued toward various foreign nations 
 scattered far and near over the great globe ; on that 
 day, too, Hertford would be formally chosen to the 
 grand office of Lord Protector ; other things of note 
 were appointed for that fourth day also, but to Tom 
 they were all insignificant compared with the ordeal 
 of dining all by himself with a multitude of curious 
 eyes fastened upon him and a multitude of mouths 
 whispering comments upon his performance, and 
 upon his mistakes, if he should be so unlucky as to 
 make any. 
 
 Still, nothing could stop that fourth day, and so 
 
136 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 it came. It found poor Tom low-spirited and ab 
 sent-minded, and this mood continued; he could not 
 shake it off. The ordinary duties of the morning 
 dragged upon his hands, and wearied him. Once 
 more he felt the sense of captivity heavy upon him. 
 
 Late in the forenoon he was in a large audience 
 chamber, conversing with the Earl of Hertford and 
 duly awaiting the striking of the hour appointed for 
 a visit of ceremony from a considerable number of 
 great officials and courtiers. 
 
 After a little while Tom, who had wandered to a 
 window and become interested in the life and move 
 ment of the great highway beyond the palace gates 
 
 and not idly interested, but longing with all his 
 heart to take part in person in its stir and freedom 
 
 saw the van of a hooting and shouting mob of 
 disorderly men, women, and children of the lowest 
 and poorest degree approaching from up the road. 
 
 " I would I knew what tis about!" he exclaimed, 
 with all a boy s curiosity in such happenings. 
 
 "Thou art the king!" solemnly responded the 
 earl, with a reverence. " Have I your grace s leave 
 to act?" 
 
 * : Oh, blithely, yes ! Oh, gladly, yes !" exclaimed 
 Tom, excitedly, adding to himself with a lively sense 
 of satisfaction, " In truth, being a king is not all 
 dreariness it hath its compensations and con 
 veniences." 
 
 The earl called a page, and sent him to the cap 
 tain of the guard with the order : 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 137 
 
 . Let the mob be halted, and inquiry made con 
 cerning the occasion of its movement. By the 
 king s command !" 
 
 A few seconds later a long rank of the royal 
 guards, cased in flashing steel, filed out at the gates 
 and formed across the highway in front of the 
 multitude. A messenger returned, to report that 
 the crowd were following a man, a woman, and a 
 young girl to execution for crimes committed against 
 the peace and dignity of the realm. 
 
 Death and a violent death for these poor un 
 fortunates ! The thought wrung Tom s heartstrings. 
 The spirit of compassion took control of him, to the 
 exclusion of all other considerations ; he never 
 thought of the offended laws, or of the grief or loss 
 which these three criminals had inflicted upon their 
 victims, he could think of nothing but the scaffold 
 and the grisly fate hanging over the heads of the 
 condemned. His concern made him even forget, 
 for the moment, that he was but the false shadow of 
 a king, not the substance ; and before he knew it he 
 had blurted out the command : 
 
 " Bring them here !" 
 
 Then he blushed scarlet, and a sort of apology 
 sprung to his lips ; but observing that his order had 
 wrought no sort of surprise in the earl or the waiting 
 page, he suppressed the words he was about to 
 utter. The page, in the most matter-of-course way, 
 made a profound obeisance and retired backward 
 out of the room to deliver the command. Tom 
 
138 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 experienced a glow of pride and a renewed sense of 
 the compensating advantages of the kingly office. 
 He said to himself, * Truly it is like what I used to 
 feel when I read the old priest s tales, and did im 
 agine mine own self a prince, giving law and com 
 mand to all, saying, * Do this, do that, while none 
 durst offer let or hindrance to my will." 
 
 Now the doors swung open; one high-sounding 
 title after another was announced, the personages 
 owning them followed, and the place was quickly 
 half filled with noble folk and finery. But Tom was 
 hardly conscious of the presence of these people, so 
 wrought up was he and so intensely absorbed in 
 that other and more interesting matter. He seated 
 himself, absently, in his chair of state, and turned 
 his eyes upon the door with manifestations of im 
 patient expectancy; seeing which, the company for 
 bore to trouble him, and fell to chatting a mixture 
 of public business and court gossip one with 
 another. 
 
 In a little while the measured tread of military 
 men was heard approaching, and the culprits entered 
 the presence in charge of an under-sheriff and es 
 corted by a detail of the king s guard. The civil 
 officer knelt before Tom, then stood aside; the three 
 doomed persons knelt also, and remained so; the 
 guard took position behind Tom s chair. Tom 
 scanned the prisoners curiously. Something about 
 the dress or appearance of the man had stirred a 
 vague memory in him, ** Methinks I have seen this 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 139 
 
 man ere now but the when or the where fail 
 
 me" such was Tom s thought. Just then the man 
 glanced quickly up, and quickly dropped his face 
 again, not being able to endure the awful port of 
 sovereignty; but the one full glimpse of the face, 
 which Tom got, was sufficient. He said to himself: 
 1 Now is the matter clear ; this is the stranger that 
 plucked Giles Witt out of the Thames, and saved 
 his life that windy, bitter first day of the New Year 
 -a brave, good deed pity he hath been doing 
 
 baser ones and got himself in this sad case I 
 
 have not forgot the day, neither the hour; by reason 
 that an hour after, upon the stroke of eleven, I did 
 get a hiding by the hand of Gammer Canty which 
 was of so goodly and admired severity that all that 
 went before or followed after it were but fondlings 
 and caresses by comparison." 
 
 Tom now ordered that the woman and the girl be 
 removed from the presence for a little time ; then 
 addressed himself to the under-sheriff, saying: 
 
 " Good sir, what is this man s offense?" 
 
 The officer knelt, and answered : 
 
 11 So please your majesty, he hath taken the life 
 of a subject by poison." 
 
 Tom s compassion for the prisoner, and admira 
 tion of him as the daring rescuer of a drowning boy, 
 experienced a most damaging shock. 
 
 The thing was proven upon him?" he asked. 
 
 " Most clearly, sire." 
 
 Tom sighed, and said: 
 
140 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 * Take him away he hath earned his death. 
 Tis a pity, for he was a brave heart na na, I 
 mean he hath the look of it ! " 
 
 The prisoner clasped his hands together with sud 
 den energy, and wrung them despairingly, at the 
 same time appealing imploringly to the "king" in 
 broken and terrified phrases : 
 
 " Oh, my lord the king, an thou canst pity the 
 lost, have pity upon me! I am innocent neither 
 hath that wherewith I am charged been more than 
 but lamely proved yet I speak not of that ; the 
 judgment is gone forth against me and may not 
 suffer alteration ; yet in mine extremity I beg a 
 boon, for my doom is more than I can bear. A 
 grace, a grace, my lord the king! in thy royal com 
 passion grant my prayer give commandment that 
 I be hanged!" 
 
 Tom was amazed. This was not the outcome he 
 had looked for. 
 
 " Odds my life, a strange boon ! Was it not the 
 fate intended thee?" 
 
 " Oh, good my liege, not so ! It is ordered that 
 I be boiled alive / 
 
 The hideous surprise of these words almost made 
 Tom spring from his chair. As soon as he could 
 recover his wits he cried out : 
 
 "Have thy wish, poor soul! an thou had pois 
 oned a hundred men thou shouldst not suffer so 
 miserable a death." 
 
 The prisoner bowed his face to the ground and 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 141 
 
 burst into passionate expressions of gratitude end 
 ing with: 
 
 " If ever thou shouldst know misfortune which 
 God forbid ! may thy goodness to me this day be 
 remembered and requited!" 
 
 Tom turned to the Earl of Hertford, and said : 
 
 " My lord, is it believable that there was warrant 
 for this man s ferocious doom?" 
 
 "It is the law, your grace for poisoners. In 
 Germany coiners be boiled to death in oil not cast 
 in of a sudden, but by a rope let down into the oil 
 by degrees, and slowly; first the feet, then the legs, 
 then" 
 
 " Oh, prithee, no more, my lord, I cannot bear 
 it!" cried Tom, covering his eyes with his hands to 
 shut out the picture. " I beseech your good lord 
 ship that order be taken to change this law oh, 
 let no more poor creatures be visited with its tor 
 tures." 
 
 The earl s face showed profound gratification, for 
 he was a man of merciful and generous impulses a 
 thing not very common with his class in that fierce 
 age. He said : 
 
 4 These your grace s noble words have sealed its 
 doom. History will remember it to the honor of 
 your royal house." 
 
 The under-sheriff was about to remove his 
 prisoner; Tom gave him a sign to wait; then he 
 said : 
 
 44 Good sir, I would look into this matter further. 
 
 10 
 
142 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 The man has said his deed was but lamely proved. 
 Tell me what thou knowest." 
 
 "If the king s grace please, it did appear upon 
 the trial, that this man entered into a house in the 
 hamlet of Islington where one lay sick three wit 
 nesses say it was at ten of the clock in the morning 
 and two say it was some minutes later the sick 
 man being alone at the time, and sleeping and 
 presently the man came forth again, and went his 
 way. The sick man died within the hour, being 
 torn with spasm and retchings." 
 
 "Did any see the poison given? Was poison 
 found?" 
 
 11 Marry, no, my liege." 
 
 Then how doth one know there was poison 
 given at all?" 
 
 " Please your majesty, the doctors testified that 
 none die with such symptoms but by poison." 
 
 Weighty evidence, this in that simple age. Tom 
 recognized its formidable nature, and said : 
 
 4 The doctor knoweth his trade belike they 
 were right. The matter hath an ill look for this 
 poor man." 
 
 "Yet was not this all, your majesty; there is 
 more and worse. Many testified that a witch, since 
 gone from the village, none know whither, did fore 
 tell, and speak it privately in their ears, that the 
 sick man would die by poison and more, that a 
 stranger would give it a stranger with brown hair 
 and clothed in a worn and common garb ; and surely 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 143 
 
 this prisoner doth answer woundily to the bill. Please, 
 your majesty, to give the circumstance that solemn 
 weight which is its due, seeing it was foretold." 
 
 This was an argument of tremendous force, in 
 that superstitious day. Tom felt that the thing was 
 settled ; if evidence was worth anything, this poor 
 fellow s guilt was proved. Still he offered the pris 
 oner a chance, saying: 
 
 " If thou canst say aught in thy behalf, speak." 
 
 "Nought that will avail, my king. I am inno 
 cent, yet cannot I make it appear. I have no 
 friends, else might I show that I was not in Islington 
 that day ; so also might I show that at that hour 
 they name I was above a league away, seeing I was 
 at Wapping Old Stairs; yea more, my king, for I 
 could show, that while they say I was taking life, I 
 was saving it. A drowning boy " 
 
 Peace! Sheriff, name the day the deed was 
 done!" 
 
 "At ten in the morning, or some minutes later, 
 the first day of the new year, most illustrious " 
 
 "Let the prisoner go free it is the king s 
 will!" 
 
 Another blush followed this unregal outburst, and 
 he covered his indecorum as well as he could by 
 adding: 
 
 " It enrageth me that a man should be hanged 
 upon such idle, hare-brained evidence!" 
 
 A low buzz of admiration swept through the 
 assemblage. It was not admiration of the decree 
 
144 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 that had been delivered by Tom, for the propriety 
 or expediency of pardoning a convicted poisoner 
 was a thing which few there would have felt justified 
 in either admitting or admiring no, the admiration 
 was for the intelligence and spirit which Tom had 
 displayed. Some of the low-voiced remarks were 
 to this effect: 
 
 This is no mad king he hath his wits sound." 
 
 11 How sanely he put his questions how like his 
 former natural self was this abrupt, imperious dis 
 posal of the matter!" 
 
 " God be thanked his infirmity is spent! This is 
 no weakling, but a king. He hath borne himself 
 like to his own father." 
 
 The air being filled with applause, Tom s ear 
 necessarily caught a little of it. The effect which 
 this had upon him was to put him greatly at his 
 ease, and also to charge his system with very gratify 
 ing sensations. 
 
 However, his juvenile curiosity soon rose superior 
 to these pleasant thoughts and feelings; he was 
 eager to know what sort of deadly mischief the 
 woman and the little girl could have been about; so, 
 by his command the two terrified and sobbing crea 
 tures were brought before him. 
 
 What is it that these have done?" he inquired 
 of the sheriff. 
 
 " Please, your majesty, a black crime is charged 
 upon them, and clearly proven ; wherefore the judges 
 have decreed, according to the law, that they be 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 145 
 
 hanged. They sold themselves to the devil such 
 is their crime." 
 
 Tom shuddered. He had been taught to abhor 
 people who did this wicked thing. Still, he was not 
 going to deny himself the pleasure of feeding his 
 curiosity, for all that ; so he asked : 
 
 " Where was this done? and when?" 
 
 "On a midnight, in December in a ruined 
 church, your majesty." 
 
 Tom shuddered again. 
 
 " Who was there present?" 
 
 " Only these two, your grace and that other." 
 
 11 Have these confessed?" 
 
 " Nay, not so, sire they do deny it." 
 
 "Then, prithee, how was it known?" 
 
 " Certain witnesses did see them wending thither, 
 good your majesty; this bred the suspicion, and 
 dire effects have since confirmed and justified it. In 
 particular, it is in evidence that through the wicked 
 power so obtained, they did invoke and bring about 
 a storm that wasted all the region round about. 
 Above forty witnesses have proved the storm ; and 
 sooth one might have had a thousand, for all had 
 reason to remember it, sith all had suffered by it." 
 
 " Certes this is a serious matter." Tom turned 
 this dark piece of scoundrelism over in his mind a 
 while, then asked : 
 
 " Suffered the woman, also, by the storm?" 
 
 Several old heads among the assemblage nodded 
 their recognition of the wisdom of this question. 
 10 
 
146 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 The sheriff, however, saw nothing consequential in 
 the inquiry; he answered, with simple directness: 
 
 " Indeed, did she, your majesty, and most right 
 eously, as all aver. Her habitation was swept away, 
 and herself and child left shelterless." 
 
 Methinks the power to do herself so ill a turn 
 was dearly bought. She had been cheated, had she 
 paid but a farthing for it; that she paid her soul, 
 and her child s, argueth that she is mad; if she is 
 mad she knoweth not what she doth, therefore 
 sinneth not." 
 
 The elderly heads nodded recognition of Tom s 
 wisdom once more, and one individual murmured, 
 " An the king be mad himself, according to report, 
 then is it a madness of a sort that would improve 
 the sanity of some I wot of, if by the gentle provi 
 dence of God they could but catch it." 
 
 "What age hath the child?" asked Tom. 
 
 11 Nine years, please your majesty." 
 
 By the law of England may a child enter into 
 covenant and sell itself, my lord?" asked Tom, 
 turning to a learned judge. 
 
 "The law doth not permit a child to make or 
 meddle in any weighty matter, good my liege, hold 
 ing that its callow wit unfitteth it to cope with the 
 riper wit and evil schemings of them that are its 
 elders. The devil may buy a child, if he so choose, 
 and the child agree thereto, but not an Englishman 
 in this latter case the contract would be null and 
 void." 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 147 
 
 11 It seemeth a rude unchristian thing, and ill con 
 trived, that English law denieth privileges to English 
 men, to waste them on the devil!" cried Tom, with 
 honest heat. 
 
 This novel view of the matter excited many smiles, 
 and was stored away in many heads to be repeated 
 about the court as evidence of Tom s originality as 
 well as progress toward mental health. 
 
 The elder culprit had ceased from sobbing, and 
 was hanging upon Tom s words with an excited 
 interest and a growing hope. Tom noticed this, 
 and it strongly inclined his sympathies toward her 
 in her perilous and unfriended situation. Presently 
 he asked : 
 
 44 How wrought they, to bring the storm?" 
 
 4 * By pulling off their stockings, sire. 
 
 This astonished Tom, and also fired his curiosity 
 to fever heat. He said, eagerly: 
 
 "It is wonderful! Hath it always this dread 
 effect?" 
 
 44 Always, my liege at least if the woman desire 
 it, and utter the needful words, either in her mind 
 or with her tongue." 
 
 Tom turned to the woman, and said with impetu 
 ous zeal: 
 
 14 Exert thy power I would see a storm !" 
 
 There was a sudden paling of cheeks in the super 
 stitious assemblage, and a general, though unex 
 pressed, desire to get out of the place all of which 
 was lost upon Tom, who was dead to everything but 
 j 
 
148 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 the proposed cataclysm. Seeing a puzzled and 
 astonished look in the woman s face, he added, ex 
 citedly : 
 
 " Never fear thou shalt be blameless. More 
 thou shalt go free none shall touch thee. Exert 
 thy power." 
 
 "O, my lord the king, I have it not I have 
 been falsely accused." 
 
 Thy fears stay thee. Be of good heart, thou 
 shalt suffer no harm. Make a storm it mattereth 
 not how small a one I require nought great or 
 harmful, but indeed prefer the opposite do this 
 and thy life is spared thou shalt go out free, with 
 thy child, bearing the king s pardon, and safe from 
 hurt or malice from any in the realm/ 
 
 The woman prostrated herself, and protested, with 
 tears, that she had no power to do the miracle, else 
 she would gladly win her child s life alone, and be 
 content to lose her own, if by obedience to the 
 king s command so precious a grace might be ac 
 quired. 
 
 Tom urged the woman still adhered to her 
 declarations. Finally, he said : 
 
 "I think the woman hath said true. An my 
 mother were in her place and gifted with the devil s 
 functions, she had not stayed a moment to call her 
 storms and lay the whole land in ruins, if the saving 
 of my forfeit life were the price she got ! It is 
 argument that other mothers are made in like 
 mould. Thou art free, good wife thou and thy 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 149 
 
 child for I do think thee innocent. Now thou st 
 nought to fear, being pardoned pull off thy stock 
 ings ! an thou canst make me a storm, thou shalt 
 be rich!" 
 
 The redeemed creature was loud in her gratitude, 
 and proceeded to obey, while Tom looked on with 
 eager expectancy, a little marred by apprehension ; 
 the courtiers at the same time manifesting decided 
 discomfort and uneasiness. The woman stripped 
 her own feet and her little girl s also, and plainly 
 did her best to reward the king s generosity with an 
 earthquake, but it was all a failure and a disap 
 pointment. Tom sighed, and said: 
 
 There, good soul, trouble thyself no further, 
 thy power is departed out of thee. Go thy way in 
 peace; and if it return to thee at any time, forget 
 me not, but fetch me a storm."* 
 
 * See Notes to Chapter 1 5 at the end of the volume. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE STATE DINNER 
 
 THE dinner hour drew near yet, strangely 
 enough, the thought brought but slight dis 
 comfort to Tom, and hardly any terror. The morn 
 ing s experiences had wonderfully built up his 
 confidence ; the poor little ash-cat was already more 
 wonted to his strange garret, after four days habit, 
 than a mature person could have become in a full 
 month. A child s facility in accommodating itself 
 to circumstances was never more strikingly illus 
 trated. 
 
 Let us privileged ones hurry to the great banquet 
 ing room and have a glance at matters there while 
 Tom is being made ready for the imposing occa 
 sion. It is a spacious apartment, with gilded pillars 
 and pilasters, and pictured walls and ceilings. At 
 the door stand tall guards, as rigid as statues, 
 dressed in rich and picturesque costumes, and bear 
 ing halberds. In a high gallery which runs all 
 around the place is a band of musicians and a 
 packed company of citizens of both sexes, in bril 
 liant attire. In the center of the room, upon a 
 
 (150) 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 151 
 
 raised platform, is Tom s table. Now let the 
 ancient chronicler speak : 
 
 "A gentleman enters the room bearing a rod, 
 and along with him another bearing a tablecloth, 
 which, after they have both kneeled three times with 
 the utmost veneration, he spreads upon the table, 
 and after kneeling again they both retire ; then come 
 two others, one with the rod again, the other with a 
 saltcellar, a plate, and bread ; when they have 
 kneeled as the others had done, and placed what 
 was brought upon the table, they too retire with the 
 same ceremonies performed by the first; at last 
 come two nobles, richly clothed, one bearing a 
 tasting-knife, who, after prostrating themselves in 
 the most graceful manner, approach and rub the 
 table with bread and salt, with as much awe as if 
 the king had been present."* 
 
 So end the solemn preliminaries. Now, far down 
 the echoing corridors we hear a bugle-blast, and the 
 indistinct cry, "Place for the king! way for the 
 king s most excellent majesty!" These sounds are 
 momently repeated they grow nearer and nearer 
 and presently, almost in our faces, the martial 
 note peals and the cry rings out, "Way for the 
 king!" At this instant the shining pageant appears, 
 and files in at the door, with a measured march. 
 Let the chronicler speak again : 
 
 " First come Gentlemen, Barons, Earls, Knights of 
 
 * Leigh Hunt s "The Town," p. 408, quotation from an early 
 tourist. 
 
152 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 the Garter, all richly dressed and bareheaded ; next 
 comes the Chancellor, between two, one of which 
 carries the royal scepter, the other the Sword of 
 State in a red scabbard, studded with golden fleur- 
 de-lis, the point upwards ; next comes the King him 
 self whom, upon his appearing, twelve trumpets 
 and many drums salute with a great burst of wel 
 come, whilst all in the galleries rise in their places, 
 crying God save the King ! After him come 
 nobles attached to his person, and on his right and 
 left march his guard of honor, his fifty Gentlemen 
 Pensioners, with gilt battle-axes." 
 
 This was all fine and pleasant. Tom s pulse beat 
 high and a glad light was in his eye. He bore him 
 self right gracefully, and all the more so because he 
 was not thinking of how he was doing it, his mind 
 being charmed and occupied with the blithe sights 
 and sounds about him and besides, nobody can 
 be very ungraceful in nicely-fitting beautiful clothes 
 after he has grown a little used to them especially 
 if he is for the moment unconscious of them. Tom 
 remembered his instructions, and acknowledged his 
 greeting with a slight inclination of his plumed head, 
 and a courteous " I thank ye, my good people." 
 
 He seated himself at table without removing his 
 cap ; and did it without the least embarrassment ; 
 for to eat with one s cap on was the one solitary 
 royal custom upon which the kings and the Cantys 
 met upon common ground, neither party having any 
 advantage over the other in the matter of old 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 153 
 
 familiarity with it. The pageant broke up and 
 grouped itself picturesquely, and remained bare 
 headed. 
 
 Now, to the sound of gay music, the Yeomen of 
 the Guard entered, " the tallest and mightiest men 
 in England, they being selected in this regard" 
 but we will let the chronicler tell about it : 
 
 The Yeomen of the Guard entered bareheaded, 
 clothed in scarlet, with golden roses upon their 
 backs; and these went and came, bringing in each 
 turn a course of dishes, served in plate. These 
 dishes were received by a gentleman in the same 
 order they were brought, and placed upon the table, 
 while the taster gave to each guard a mouthful to 
 eat of the particular dish he had brought, for fear 
 of any poison." 
 
 Tom made a good dinner, notwithstanding he was 
 conscious that hundreds of eyes followed each mor 
 sel to his mouth and watched him eat it with an 
 interest which could not have been more intense if 
 it had been a deadly explosive and was expected to 
 blow him up and scatter him all over the place. He 
 was careful not to hurry, and equally careful not to 
 do anything whatever for himself, but wait till the 
 proper official knelt down and did it for him. He 
 got through without a mistake flawless and 
 precious triumph. 
 
 When the meal was over at last and he marched 
 away in the midst of his bright pageant, with the 
 happy noises in his ears of blaring bugles, rolling 
 
154 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 drums, and thundering acclamations, he felt that if 
 he had seen the worst of dining in public, it was an 
 ordeal which he would be glad to endure several 
 times a day if by that means he could but buy him 
 self free from some of the more formidable require 
 ments of his royal office. 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 FOO-FOO THE FIRST 
 
 MILES HENDON hurried along toward the 
 Southwark end of the bridge, keeping a sharp 
 lookout for the persons he sought, and hoping and 
 expecting to overtake them presently. He was dis 
 appointed in this, however. By asking questions, 
 he was enabled to track them part of the way 
 through Southwark; then all traces ceased, and he 
 was perplexed as to how to proceed. Still, he con 
 tinued his efforts as best he could during the rest 
 of the day. Nightfall found him leg-weary, half 
 famished, and his desire as far from accomplishment 
 as ever ; so he supped at the Tabard inn and went 
 to bed, resolved to make an early start in the morn 
 ing, and give the town an exhaustive search. As 
 he lay thinking and planning, he presently began to 
 reason thus : The boy would escape from the ruffian, 
 his reputed father, if possible ; would he go back to 
 London and seek his former haunts? No, he would 
 not do that, he would avoid recapture. What, then, 
 would he do? Never having had a friend in the 
 world, or a protector, until he met Miles Hendon, 
 
 (i55) 
 
156 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 he would naturally try to find that friend again, 
 provided the effort did not require him to go toward 
 London and danger. He would strike for Hendon 
 Hall, that is what he would do, for he knew Hendon 
 was homeward bound, and there he might expect to 
 find him. Yes, the case was plain to Hendon he 
 must lose no more time in Southwark, but move at 
 once through Kent, toward Monk s Holm, searching 
 the wood and inquiring as he went. Let us return 
 to the vanished little king now. 
 
 The ruffian, whom the waiter at the inn on the 
 Bridge saw " about to join " the youth and the king, 
 did not exactly join them, but fell in close behind 
 them and followed their steps. He said nothing. 
 His left arm was in a sling, and he wore a large 
 green patch over his left eye ; he limped slightly, 
 and used an oaken staff as a support. The youth 
 led the king a crooked course through Southwark, 
 and by and by struck into the high road beyond. 
 The king was irritated now, and said he would stop 
 here it was Hendon s place to come to him, not 
 his to go to Hendon. He would not endure such 
 insolence; he would stop where he was. The youth 
 said: 
 
 11 Thou lt tarry here, and thy friend lying wounded 
 in the wood yonder? So be it, then." 
 
 The king s manner changed at once. He cried 
 out: 
 
 " Wounded? And who hath dared to do it? But 
 that is apart; lead on, lead on! Faster, sirrah! art 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 157 
 
 shod with lead? Wounded, is he? Now though the 
 doer of it be a duke s son, he shall rue it!" 
 
 It was some distance to the wood, but the space 
 was speedily traversed. The youth looked about 
 him, discovered a bough sticking in the ground, 
 with a small bit of rag tied to it, then led the way 
 into the forest, watching for similar boughs and 
 finding them at intervals ; they were evidently guides 
 to the point he was aiming at. By and by an open 
 place was reached, where were the charred remains 
 of a farmhouse, and near them a barn which was 
 falling to ruin and decay. There was no sign of 
 life anywhere, and utter silence prevailed. The 
 youth entered the barn, the king following eagerly 
 upon his heels. No one there ! The king shot a 
 surprised and suspicious glance at the youth, and 
 asked : 
 
 "Where is he?" 
 
 A mocking laugh was his answer. The king was 
 in a rage in a moment; he seized a billet of wood 
 and was in the act of charging upon the youth when 
 another mocking laugh fell upon his ear. It was 
 from the lame ruffian, who had been following at a 
 distance. The king turned and said angrily: 
 
 " Who art thou? What is thy business here?" 
 
 11 Leave thy foolery," said the man, " and quiet 
 thyself. My disguise is none so good that thou 
 canst pretend thou knowest not thy father through 
 it." 
 
 Thou art not my father. I know thee not. I 
 
158 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 am the king. If thou hast hid my servant, find him 
 for me, or thou shalt sup sorrow for what thou hast 
 done." 
 
 John Canty replied, in a stern and measured 
 voice : 
 
 "It is plain thou art mad, and I am loth to 
 punish thee; but if thou provoke me, I must. Thy 
 prating doth no harm here, where there are no ears 
 that need to mind thy follies, yet is it well to prac 
 tice thy tongue to wary speech, that it may do no 
 hurt when our quarters change. I have done a 
 murder, and may not tarry at home neither shalt 
 thou, seeing I need thy service. My name is 
 changed, for wise reasons; it is Hobbs John 
 Hobbs; thine is Jack charge thy memory accord 
 ingly. Now, then, speak. Where is thy mother? 
 Where are thy sisters? They came not to the place 
 appointed knowest thou whither they went?" 
 
 The king answered, sullenly: 
 
 ;< Trouble me not with these riddles. My mother 
 is dead; my sisters are in the palace." 
 
 The youth near by burst into a derisive laugh, 
 and the king would have assaulted him, but Canty 
 or Hobbs, as he now called himself prevented 
 him, and said: 
 
 " Peace, Hugo, vex him not; his mind is astray, 
 and thy ways fret him. Sit thee down, Jack, and 
 quiet thyself; thou shalt have a morsel to eat, 
 anon." 
 
 Hobbs and Hugo fell to talking together, in low 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 159 
 
 voices, and the king removed himself as far as he 
 could from their disagreeable company. He with 
 drew into the twilight of the farther end of the barn, 
 where he found the earthen floor bedded a foot deep 
 with straw. He lay down here, drew straw over 
 himself in lieu of blankets, and was soon absorbed 
 in thinking. He had many griefs, but the minor 
 ones were swept almost into forgetfulness by the 
 supreme one, the loss of his father. To the rest of 
 the world the name of Henry VIII. brought a shiver, 
 and suggested an ogre whose nostrils breathed de 
 struction and whose hand dealt scourgings and 
 death ; but to this boy the name brought only sen 
 sations of pleasure, the figure it invoked wore a 
 countenance that was all gentleness and affection. 
 He called to mind a long succession of loving pas 
 sages between his father and himself, and dwelt 
 fondly upon them, his unstinted tears attesting how 
 deep and real was the grief that possessed his heart. 
 As the afternoon wasted away, the lad, wearied with 
 his troubles, sunk gradually into a tranquil and heal 
 ing slumber. 
 
 After a considerable time he could not tell how 
 long -his senses struggled to a half-consciousness, 
 and as he lay with closed eyes vaguely wondering 
 where he was and what had been happening, he 
 noted a murmurous sound, the sullen beating of rain 
 upon the roof. A snug sense of comfort stole over 
 him, which was rudely broken, the next moment, 
 by a chorus of piping cackles and coarse laughter. 
 
160 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 It startled him disagreeably, and he unmuffled his 
 head to see whence this interruption proceeded. A 
 grim and unsightly picture met his eye. A bright 
 fire was burning in the middle of the floor, at the 
 other end of the barn ; and around it, and lit weirdly 
 up by the red glare, lolled and sprawled the motliest 
 company of tattered gutter-scum and ruffians, of 
 both sexes, he had ever read or dreamed of. There 
 were huge, stalwart men, brown with exposure, long 
 haired, and clothed in fantastic rags; there were 
 middle-sized youths, of truculent countenance, and 
 similarly clad ; there were blind mendicants, with 
 patched or bandaged eyes; crippled ones, with 
 wooden legs and crutches ; there was a villain- 
 looking peddler with his pack; a knife-grinder, a 
 tinker, and a barber-surgeon, with the implements 
 of their trades ; some of the females v/ere hardly- 
 grown girls, some were at prime, some were old and 
 wrinkled hags, and all were loud, brazen, foul- 
 mouthed ; and all soiled and slatternly ; there were 
 three sore-faced babies; there were a couple of 
 starveling curs, with strings about their necks, whose 
 office was to lead the blind. 
 
 The night was come, the gang had just finished 
 feasting, an orgy was beginning, the can of liquor 
 was passing from mouth to mouth. A general cry 
 broke forth : 
 
 44 A song! a song from the Bat and Dick Dot- 
 and-go-One !" 
 
 One of the blind men got up, and made ready by 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 161 
 
 casting aside the patches that sheltered his excellent 
 eyes, and the pathetic placard which recited the 
 cause of his calamity. Dot-and-go-One disencum 
 bered himself of his timber leg and took his place, 
 upon sound and healthy limbs, beside his fellow- 
 rascal ; then they roared out a rollicking ditty, and 
 were re-enforced by the whole crew, at the end of 
 each stanza, in a rousing chorus. By the time the 
 last stanza was reached, the half-drunken enthusiasm 
 had risen to such a pitch, that everybody joined in 
 and sang it clear through from the beginning, pro 
 ducing a volume of villainous sound that made the 
 rafters quake. These were the inspiring words: 
 
 * Bien Darkmans then, Bouse Mort and Ken, 
 The bien Coves bings awast, 
 On Chates to trine by Rome Coves dine 
 For his long lib at last. 
 
 Bing d out bien Morts and toure, and toure, 
 Bing out of the Rome vile bine, 
 And toure the Cove that cloy d your duds, 
 Upon the Chates to trine." * 
 
 Conversation followed ; not in the thieves dialect 
 of the song, for that was only used in talk when 
 unfriendly ears might be listening. In the course of 
 it it appeared that "John Hobbs " was not alto 
 gether a new recruit, but had trained in the gang at 
 some former time. His later history was called for, 
 and when he said he had "accidentally" killed a 
 man, considerable satisfaction was expressed ; when 
 
 *From "The English Rogue": London, 1665. 
 11 
 
162 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 he added that the man was a priest, he was roundly 
 applauded, and had to take a drink with everybody. 
 Old acquaintances welcomed him joyously, and new 
 ones were proud to shake him by the hand. He 
 was asked why he had "tarried away so many 
 months." He answered : 
 
 "London is better than the country, and safer 
 these late years, the laws be so bitter and so dili 
 gently enforced. An I had not had that accident, 
 I had stayed there. I had resolved to stay, and 
 never more venture country-wards but the accident 
 has ended that." 
 
 He inquired how many persons the gang num 
 bered now. The " Ruffler," or chief, answered: 
 
 "Five and twenty sturdy budges, bulks, files, 
 clapperdogeons and maunders, counting the dells 
 and doxies and other morts.* Most are here, the 
 rest are wandering eastward, along the winter lay. 
 We follow at dawn." 
 
 " I do not see the Wen among the honest folk 
 about me. Where may he be?" 
 
 Poor lad, his diet is brimstone now, and over 
 hot for a delicate taste. He was killed in a brawl, 
 somewhere about midsummer." 
 
 " I sorrow to hear that; the Wen was a capable 
 man, and brave." 
 
 "That was he, truly. Black Bess, his dell, is 
 of us yet, but absent on the eastward tramp ; a 
 
 * Canting terms for various kinds of thieves, beggars, and vaga 
 bonds, and their female companions. 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 16} 
 
 fine lass, of nice ways and orderly conduct, none 
 ever seeing her drunk above four days in the 
 seven." 
 
 "She was ever strict I remember it well a 
 goodly wench and worthy all commendation. Her 
 mother was more free and less particular ; a trouble 
 some and ugly tempered beldame, but furnished 
 with a wit above the common." 
 
 "We lost her through it. Her gift of palmistry 
 and other sorts of fortune-telling begot for her at 
 last a witch s name and fame. The law roasted her 
 to death at a slow fire. It did touch me to a sort of 
 tenderness to see the gallant way she met her lot 
 cursing and reviling all the crowd that gaped and 
 gazed around her, whilst the flames licked upward 
 toward her face and catched her thin locks and 
 crackled about her old gray head cursing them, 
 said I? cursing them! why an thou shouldst live 
 a thousand years thou dst never hear so masterful a 
 cursing. Alack, her art died with her. There be 
 base and weakling imitations left, but no true blas 
 phemy." 
 
 The Ruffler sighed ; the listeners sighed in sym 
 pathy; a general depression fell upon the company 
 for a moment, for even hardened outcasts like these 
 are not wholly dead to sentiment, but are able to 
 feel a fleeting sense of loss and affliction at wide 
 intervals and under peculiarly favoring circum 
 stances as in cases like to this, for instance, when 
 genius and culture depart and leave no heir. How- 
 
164 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 ever, a deep drink all round soon restored the spirits 
 of the mourners. 
 
 "Have any other of our friends fared hardly?" 
 asked Hobbs. 
 
 Some yes. Particularly new comers such 
 as small husbandmen turned shiftless and hungry 
 upon the world because their farms were taken from 
 them to be changed to sheep ranges. They begged, 
 and were whipped at the cart s tail, naked from the 
 girdle up, till the blood ran; then set in the stocks 
 to be pelted ; they begged again, were whipped 
 again, and deprived of an ear; they begged a third 
 time poor devils, what else could they do? and 
 were branded on the cheek with a red-hot iron, then 
 sold for slaves; they ran away, were hunted down, 
 and hanged. Tis a brief tale, and quickly told. 
 Others of us have fared less hardly. Stand forth, 
 Yokel, Burns, and Hodge -show your adorn 
 ments ! 
 
 These stood up and stripped away some of their 
 rags, exposing their backs, criss-crossed with ropy 
 old welts left by the lash ; one turned up his hair 
 and showed the place where a left ear had once 
 been : another showed a brand upon his shoulder 
 the letter V and a mutilated ear; the third said : 
 
 " I am Yokel, once a farmer and prosperous, with 
 loving wife and kids now am I somewhat different 
 in estate and calling; and the wife and kids are 
 gone; mayhap they are in heaven, mayhap in in 
 the other place but the kindly God be thanked, 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 165 
 
 they bide no more in England! My good old 
 blameless mother strove to earn bread by nursing 
 the sick; one of these died, the doctors knew not 
 how, so my mother was burned for a witch, whilst 
 my babes looked on and wailed. English law! 
 up, all, with your cups! now altogether and with 
 a cheer ! drink to the merciful English law that 
 delivered her from the English hell ! Thank you, 
 mates, one and all. I begged, from house to house 
 I and the wife bearing with us the hungry 
 kids but it was crime to be hungry in England 
 so they stripped us and lashed us through three 
 towns. Drink ye all again to the merciful English 
 law! for its lash drank deep of my Mary s blood 
 and its blessed deliverance came quick. She lies 
 there, in the potter s field, safe from all harms. 
 And the kids well, whilst the law lashed me from 
 town to town, they starved. Drink lads only a 
 drop a drop to the poor kids, that never did any 
 creature harm. I begged again begged for a 
 crust, and got the stocks and lost an ear see, 
 here bides the stump; I begged again, and here is 
 the stump of the other to keep me minded of it. 
 And still I begged again, and was sold for a slave 
 here on my cheek under this stain, if I washed it 
 off, ye might see the red S the branding-iron left 
 there ! A SLAVE ! Do ye understand that word ! 
 An English SLAVE ! that is he that stands before 
 ye. I have run from my master, and when I am 
 found the heavy curse of heaven fall on the law 
 
166 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 of the land that hath commanded it ! - I shall 
 hang!"* 
 
 A ringing voice came through the murky air : 
 
 " Thou shalt not ! and this day the end of that 
 law is come !" 
 
 All turned, and saw the fantastic figure of the 
 little king approaching hurriedly ; as it emerged into 
 the light and was clearly revealed, a general explo 
 sion of inquiries broke out: 
 
 " Who is it? What is it? Who art thou, mani 
 kin?" 
 
 The boy stood unconfused in the midst of all 
 those surprised and questioning eyes, and answered 
 with princely dignity : 
 
 " I am Edward, king of England." 
 
 A wild burst of laughter followed, partly of 
 derision and partly of delight in the excellence of 
 the joke. The king was stung. He said sharply: 
 
 " Ye mannerless vagrants, is this your recognition 
 of the royal boon I have promised?" 
 
 He said more, with angry voice and excited 
 gesture, but it was lost in a whirlwind of laughter 
 and mocking exclamations. " John Hobbs " made 
 several attempts to make himself heard above the 
 din, and at last succeeded saying: 
 
 " Mates, he is my son, a dreamer, a fool, and stark 
 mad mind him not he thinketh he is the king." 
 
 "I am the king," said Edward, turning toward 
 him, " as thou shalt know to thy cost, in good time. 
 
 * See Note 10, at end of volume. 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 167 
 
 Thou hast confessed a murder thou shalt swing 
 for it." 
 
 Thou It betray me! thou ? An I get my 
 hands upon thee 
 
 Tut-tut!" said the burly Ruffler, interposing in 
 time to save the king, and emphasizing this service 
 by knocking Hobbs down with his fist, " hast re 
 spect for neither kings nor Rufflers? An thou insult 
 my presence so again, I ll hang thee up myself." 
 Then he said to his majesty, "Thou must make no 
 threats against thy mates, lad ; and thou must guard 
 thy tongue from saying evil of them elsewhere. Be 
 king, if it please thy mad humor, but be not harm 
 ful in it. Sink the title thou hast uttered, tis 
 treason ; we be bad men, in some few trifling ways, 
 but none among us is so base as to be traitor to his 
 king; we be loving and loyal hearts, in that regard. 
 Note if I speak truth. Now all together: Long 
 live Edward, king of England ! " 
 
 " LONG LIVE EDWARD, KING OF ENGLAND !" 
 The response came with such a thundergust from 
 the motley crew that the crazy building vibrated to 
 the sound. The little king s face lighted with 
 pleasure for an instant, and he slightly inclined his 
 head and said with grave simplicity: 
 
 " I thank you, my good people." 
 
 This unexpected result threw the company into 
 convulsions of merriment. When something like 
 quiet was presently come again, the Ruffler said, 
 firmly, but with an accent of good nature : 
 
168 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 11 Drop it, boy, tis not wise, nor well. Humor 
 thy fancy, if thou must, but choose some other 
 title." 
 
 A tinker shrieked out a suggestion : 
 
 " Foo-foo the First, king of the Mooncalves!" 
 
 The title "took" at once, every throat re 
 sponded, and a roaring shout went up, of: 
 
 11 Long live Foo-foo the First, king of the Moon 
 calves!" followed by hootings, cat-calls, and peals 
 of laughter. 
 
 " Hale him forth, and crown him!" 
 
 "Robe him!" 
 
 41 Sceptre him !" 
 
 "Throne him!" 
 
 These and twenty other cries broke out at once ; 
 and almost before the poor little victim could draw 
 a breath he was crowned with a tin basin, robed in a 
 tattered blanket, throned upon a barrel, and sceptred 
 with the tinker s soldering-iron. Then all flung 
 themselves upon their knees about him and sent up 
 a chorus of ironical wailings, and mocking supplica 
 tions, while they swabbed their eyes with their soiled 
 and ragged sleeves and aprons : 
 
 " Be gracious to us, O sweet king!" 
 Trample not upon thy beseeching worms, O 
 noble majesty ! 
 
 " Pity thy slaves, and comfort them with a royal 
 kick!" 
 
 " Cheer us and warm us with thy gracious rays, 
 O flaming sun of sovereignty !" 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 169 
 
 44 Sanctify the ground with the touch of thy foot, 
 that we may eat the dirt and be ennobled ! 
 
 11 Deign to spit upon us, O sire, that our chil 
 dren s children may tell of thy princely condescen 
 sion, and be proud and happy forever!" 
 
 But the humorous tinker made the "hit" of the 
 evening and carried off the honors. Kneeling, he 
 pretended to kiss the king s foot, and was indig 
 nantly spurned ; whereupon he went about begging 
 for a rag to paste over the place upon his face which 
 had been touched by the foot, saying it must be 
 preserved from contact with the vulgar air, and that 
 he should make his fortune by going on the highway 
 and exposing it to view at the rate of a hundred 
 shillings a sight. He made himself so killingly 
 funny that he was the envy and admiration of the 
 whole mangy rabble. 
 
 Tears of shame and indignation stood in the little 
 monarch s eyes; and the thought in his heart was, 
 " Had I offered them a deep wrong they could not 
 be more cruel yet have I proffered nought but to 
 do them a kindness and it is thus they use me 
 for it!" 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 THE PRINCE WITH THE TRAMPS 
 
 THE troop of vagabonds turned out at early 
 dawn, and set forward on their march. There 
 was a lowering sky overhead, sloppy ground under 
 foot, and a winter chill in the air. All gayety was 
 gone from the company; some were sullen and 
 silent, some were irritable and petulant, none were 
 gentle-humored, all were thirsty. 
 
 The Ruffler put "Jack" in Hugo s charge, with 
 some brief instructions, and commanded John Canty 
 to keep away from him and let him alone ; he also 
 warned Hugo not to be too rough with the lad. 
 
 After a while the weather grew milder, and the 
 clouds lifted somewhat. The troop ceased to shiver, 
 and their spirits began to improve. They grew 
 more and more cheerful, and finally began to chaff 
 each other and insult passengers along the highway. 
 This showed that they were awaking to an apprecia 
 tion of life and its joys once more. The dread in 
 which their sort was held was apparent in the fact 
 that everybody gave them the road, and took their 
 ribald insolences meekly, without venturing to talk 
 back. They snatched linen from the hedges, occa- 
 
 (170) 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 171 
 
 sionally, in full view of the owners, who made no 
 protest, but only seemed grateful that they did not 
 take the hedges, too. 
 
 By and by they invaded a small farmhouse and 
 made themselves at home while the trembling farmer 
 and his people swept the larder clean to furnish a 
 breakfast for them. They chucked the housewife 
 and her daughters under the chin while receiving the 
 food from their hands, and made coarse jests about 
 them, accompanied with insulting epithets and bursts 
 of horse-laughter. They threw bones and veger 
 tables at the farmer and his sons, kept them dodg 
 ing all the time, and applauded uproariously when a 
 good hit was made. They ended by buttering the 
 head of one of the daughters who resented some of 
 their familiarities. When they took their leave they 
 threatened to come back and burn the house over 
 the heads of the family if any report of their doings 
 got to the ears of the authorities. 
 
 About noon, after a long and weary tramp, the 
 gang came to a halt behind a hedge on the outskirts 
 of a considerable village. An hour was allowed for 
 rest, then the crew scattered themselves abroad to 
 enter the village at different points to ply their vari 
 ous trades. "Jack" was sent with Hugo. They 
 wandered hither and thither for some time, Hugo 
 watching for opportunities to do a stroke of busi 
 ness but finding none so he finally said : 
 
 "I see nought to steal; it is a paltry place, 
 Wherefore we will beg." 
 
172 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 " We, forsooth! Follow thy trade it befits 
 thee. But / will not beg. 
 
 11 Thou It not beg!" exclaimed Hugo, eyeing the 
 king with surprise. " Prithee, since when hast thou 
 reformed?" 
 
 "What dost thou mean?" 
 
 " Mean? Hast thou not begged the streets of 
 London all thy life?" 
 
 "I? Thou idiot!" 
 
 1 Spare thy compliments thy stock will last the 
 longer. Thy father says thou hast begged all thy 
 days. Mayhap he lied. Peradventure you will even 
 make so bold as to say he lied," scoffed Hugo. 
 
 " Him you call my father? Yes, he lied." 
 
 " Come, play not thy merry game of madman so 
 far, mate ; use it for thy amusement, not thy hurt. 
 An I tell him this, he will scorch thee finely for it." 
 
 " Save thyself the trouble. I will tell him." 
 
 I like thy spirit, I do in truth ; but I do not ad 
 mire thy judgment. Bone-rackings and bastings be 
 plenty enow in this life, without going out of one s 
 way to invite them. But a truce to these matters; 
 / believe your father. I doubt not he can lie ; I 
 doubt not he doth lie, upon occasion, for the best of 
 us do that; but there is no occasion here. A wise 
 man does not waste so good a commodity as lying 
 for nought. But come ; sith it is thy humor to give 
 over begging, wherewithal shall we busy ourselves? 
 With robbing kitchens?" 
 
 The king said, impatiently: 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 173 
 
 11 Have done with this folly you weary me!" 
 
 Hugo replied, with temper: 
 
 "Now harkee, mate; you will not beg, you will 
 not rob ; so be it. But I will tell you what you will 
 do. You will play decoy whilst / beg. Refuse, an 
 you think you may venture !" 
 
 The king was about to reply contemptuously, 
 when Hugo said, interrupting: 
 
 "Peace! Here comes one with a kindly face. 
 Now will I fall down in a fit. When the stranger 
 runs to me, set you up a wail, and fall upon your 
 knees, seeming to weep; then cry out as if all the 
 devils of misery were in your belly, and say, Oh, 
 sir, it is my poor afflicted brother, and we be friend 
 less; o God s name cast through your merciful eyes 
 one pitiful look upon a sick, forsaken, and most 
 miserable wretch; bestow one little penny out of 
 thy riches upon one smitten of God and ready to 
 perish! and mind you, keep you on wailing, and 
 abate not till we bilk him of his penny, else shall 
 you rue it." 
 
 Then immediately Hugo began to moan, and 
 groan, and roll his eyes, and reel and totter about; 
 and when the stranger was close at hand, down he 
 sprawled before him, with a shriek, and began to 
 writhe and wallow in the dirt, in seeming agony. 
 
 * O dear, O dear ! " cried the benevolent stranger. 
 "Oh, poor soul, poor soul, how he doth suffer! 
 There let me help thee up." 
 
 " O, noble sir, forbear, and God love you for a 
 
174 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 princely gentleman but it giveth me cruel pain to 
 touch me when I am taken so. My brother there 
 will tell your worship how I am racked with anguish 
 when these fits be upon me. A penny, dear sir, a 
 penny, to buy a little food ; then leave me to my 
 sorrows." 
 
 "A penny! thou shalt have three, thou hapless 
 creature" and he fumbled in his pocket with 
 nervous haste and got them out. There, poor 
 lad, take them, and most welcome. Now come 
 hither, my boy, and help me carry thy stricken 
 brother to yon house, where " 
 
 l< I am not his brother," said the king, interrupt 
 ing. 
 
 " What! not his brother?" 
 
 " Oh, hear him!" groaned Hugo, then privately 
 ground his teeth. " He denies his own brother 
 and he with one foot in the grave !" 
 
 "Boy, thou art indeed hard of heart, if this is 
 thy brother. For shame ! and he scarce able to 
 move hand or foot. If he is not thy brother, who 
 is he, then?" 
 
 " A beggar and a thief ! He has got your money 
 and has picked your pocket likewise. An thou 
 wouldst do a healing miracle, lay thy staff over his 
 shoulders and trust Providence for the rest." 
 
 But Hugo did not tarry for the miracle. In a 
 moment he was up and off like the wind, the gentle 
 man following after and raising the hue and cry 
 lustily as he went. The king, breathing deep grati- 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 175 
 
 tude to Heaven for his own release, fled in the oppo 
 site direction and did not slacken his pace until he 
 was out of harm s reach. He took the first road 
 that offered, and soon put the village behind him. 
 He hurried along, as briskly as he could, during 
 several hours, keeping a nervous watch over his 
 shoulder for pursuit; but his fears left him at last, 
 and a grateful sense of security took their place. 
 He recognized now that he was hungry ; and also 
 very tired. So he halted at a farmhouse; but when 
 he was about to speak, he was cut short and driven 
 rudely away. His clothes were against him. 
 
 He wandered on, wounded and indignant, and 
 was resolved to put himself in the way of light treat 
 ment no more. But hunger is pride s master; so 
 as the evening drew near, he made an attempt at 
 another farmhouse ; but here he fared worse than 
 before; for he was called hard names and was 
 promised arrest as a vagrant except he moved on 
 promptly. 
 
 The night came on, chilly and overcast; and still 
 the footsore monarch labored slowly on. He was 
 obliged to keep moving, for every time he sat down 
 to rest he was soon penetrated to the bone with the 
 cold. All his sensations and experiences, as he 
 moved through the solemn gloom and the empty 
 vastness of the night, were new and strange to him. 
 At intervals he heard voices approach, pass by, and 
 fade into silence ; and as he saw nothing more of 
 the bodies they belonged to than a sort of formles$ 
 
176 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 drifting blur, there was something spectral and un 
 canny about it all that made him shudder. Occa 
 sionally he caught the twinkle of a light always 
 far away, apparently almost in another world; if 
 he heard the tinkle of a sheep s bell, it was vague, 
 distant, indistinct; the muffled lowing of the herds 
 floated to him on the night wind in vanishing 
 cadences, a mournful sound; now and then came 
 the complaining howl of a dog over viewless ex 
 panses of field and forest; all sounds were remote; 
 they made the little king feel that all life and activity 
 were far removed from him, and that he stood soli 
 tary, companionless, in the center of a measureless 
 solitude. 
 
 He stumbled along, through the grewsome fasci 
 nations of this new experience, startled occasionally 
 by the soft rustling of the dry leaves overhead, so 
 like human whispers they seemed to sound ; and by 
 and by he came suddenly upon the freckled light of 
 a tin lantern near at hand. He stepped back into 
 the shadows and waited. The lantern stood by the 
 open door of a barn. The king waited some time 
 there was no sound, and nobody stirring. He got 
 so cold, standing still, and the hospitable barn 
 looked so enticing, that at last he resolved to risk 
 everything and enter. He started swiftly and stealth 
 ily, and just as he was crossing the threshold he 
 heard voices behind him. He darted behind a cask, 
 within the barn, and stooped down. Two farm 
 laborers came in, bringing the lantern with them, 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 177 
 
 and fell to work, talking meanwhile. Whilst they 
 moved about with the light, the king made good use 
 of his eyes and took the bearings of what seemed to 
 be a good sized stall at the further end of the place, 
 purposing to grope his way to it when he should be 
 left to himself. He also noted the position of a pile 
 of horse blankets, midway of the route, with the 
 intent to levy upon them for the service of the 
 crown of England for one night. 
 
 By and by the men finished and went away, 
 fastening the door behind them and taking the lan 
 tern with them. The shivering king made for the 
 blankets, with as good speed as the darkness would 
 allow ; gathered them up and then groped his way 
 safely to the stall. Of two of the blankets he made 
 a bed, then covered himself with the remaining two. 
 He was a glad monarch now, though the blankets 
 were old and thin, and not quite warm enough; and 
 besides gave out a pungent horsy odor that was 
 almost suffocatingly powerful. 
 
 Although the king was hungry and chilly, he was 
 also so tired and so drowsy that these latter in 
 fluences soon began to get the advantage of the 
 former, and he presently dozed off into a state of 
 semi-consciousness. Then, just as he was on the 
 point of losing himself wholly, he distinctly felt 
 something touch him ! He was broad awake in a 
 moment, and gasping for breath. The cold horror 
 of that mysterious touch in the dark almost made 
 his heart stand still. He lay motionless, and listened, 
 12 
 
17S The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 scarcely breathing. But nothing stirred, and there 
 was no sound. He continued to listen, and wait, 
 during what seemea a long time, but still nothing 
 stirred, and there was no sound. So he began to 
 drop into a drowse once more at last; and all at 
 once he felt that mysterious touch again ! It was a 
 grisly thing, this light touch from this noiseless and 
 invisible presence ; it made the boy sick with ghostly 
 fears. What should he do? That was the ques 
 tion ; but he did not know how to answer it. 
 Should he leave these reasonably comfortable quar 
 ters and fly from this inscrutable horror? But fly 
 whither? He could not get out of the barn; and 
 the idea of scurrying blindly hither and thither in 
 the dark, within the captivity of the four walls, with 
 this phantom gliding after him, and visiting him with 
 that soft hideous touch upon cheek or shoulder at 
 every turn, was intolerable. But to stay where he 
 was, and endure this living death all night was 
 that better? No. What, then, was there left to 
 do? Ah, there was but one course; he knew it 
 well he must put out his hand and find that 
 thing ! 
 
 It was easy to think this ; but it was hard to brace 
 himself up to try it. Three times he stretched his 
 hand a little way out into the dark gingerly; and 
 snatched it suddenly back, with a gasp not be 
 cause it had encountered anything, but because he 
 had felt so sure it was just going to. But the fourth 
 time he groped a little further, and his hand lightly 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 179 
 
 swept against something soft and warm. This petri 
 fied him nearly with fright his mind was in such a 
 state that he could imagine the thing to be nothing 
 else than a corpse, newly dead and still warm. He 
 thought he would rather die than touch it again. 
 But he thought this false thought because he did not 
 know the immortal strength of human curiosity. In 
 no long time his hand was tremblingly groping again 
 against his judgment, and without his consent 
 but groping persistently on, just the same. It en 
 countered a bunch of long hair; he shuddered, but 
 followed up the hair and found what seemed to be a 
 warm rope ; followed up the rope and found an 
 innocent calf! for the rope was not a rope at all, 
 but the calf s tail. 
 
 The king was cordially ashamed of himself for 
 having gotten all that fright and misery out of so 
 paltry a matter as a slumbering calf ; but he need 
 not have felt so about it, for it was not the calf that 
 frightened him but a dreadful non-existent some 
 thing which the calf stood for ; and any other boy, 
 in those old superstitious times, would have acted 
 and suffered just as he had done. 
 
 The king was not only delighted to find that the 
 creature was only a calf, but delighted to have the 
 calf s company; for he had been feeling so lonesome 
 and friendless that the company and comradeship of 
 even\ this humble animal was welcome. And he 
 had Been so buffeted, so rudely entreated by his 
 own kind, that it was a real comfort to him to feel 
 
180 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 that he was at last in the society of a fellow creature 
 that had at least a soft heart and a gentle spirit, 
 whatever loftier attributes might be lacking. So he 
 resolved to waive rank and make friends with the 
 calf. 
 
 While stroking its sleek, warm back for it lay 
 near him and within easy reach it occurred to him 
 that this calf might be utilized in more ways than 
 one. Whereupon he re-arranged his bed, spreading 
 it down close to the calf ; then he cuddled himself 
 up to the calf s back, drew the covers up over him 
 self and his friend, and in a minute or two was as 
 warm and comfortable as he had ever been in the 
 downy couches of the regal palace of Westminster. 
 
 Pleasant thoughts came at once ; life took on a 
 cheerfuller seeming. He was free of the. bonds of 
 servitude and crime, free of the companionship of base 
 and brutal outlaws; he was warm, he was sheltered; 
 in a word, he was happy. The night wind was 
 rising; it swept by in fitful gusts that made the old 
 barn quake and rattle, then its forces died down at 
 intervals, and went moaning and wailing around 
 corners and projections but it was all music to the 
 king, now that he was snug and comfortable; let it 
 blow and rage, let it batter and bang, let it moan 
 and wail, he minded it not, he only enjoyed it. He 
 merely snuggled the closer to his friend, in a luxury 
 of warm contentment, and drifted blissfully out of 
 consciousness into a deep and dreamless sleep that 
 was full of serenity and peace. The distant dogs 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 181 
 
 howled, the melancholy kine complained, and the 
 winds went on raging, whilst furious sheets of rain 
 drove along the roof; but the majesty of England 
 slept on undisturbed, and the calf did the same, it 
 being a simple creature and not easily troubled by 
 storms or embarrassed by sleeping with a king. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 THE PRINCE WITH THE PEASANTS 
 
 WHEN the king awoke in the early morning, he 
 found that a wet but thoughtful rat had crept 
 into the place during the night and made a cosy 
 bed for itself in his bosom. Being disturbed now, 
 it scampered away. The boy smiled, and said, 
 " Poor fool, why so fearful? I am as forlorn as 
 thou. Twould be a shame in me to hurt the help 
 less, who am myself so helpless. Moreover, I owe 
 you thanks for a good omen ; for when a king has 
 fallen so low that the very rats do make a bed of 
 him, it surely meaneth that his fortunes be upon the 
 turn, since it is plain he can no lower go." 
 
 He got up and stepped out of the stall, and just 
 then he heard the sound of children s voices. The 
 barn door opened and a couple of little girls came 
 in. As soon as they saw him their talking and 
 laughing ceased, and they stopped and stood still, 
 gazing at him with strong curiosity; they presently 
 began to whisper together, then they approached 
 nearer, and stopped again to gaze and whisper. By 
 and by they gathered courage and began to discuss 
 Jiim aloud. One said: 
 
 ( 182 ) 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 183 
 
 4 He hath a comely face." 
 
 The other added : 
 
 11 And pretty hair." 
 
 " But is ill clothed enow." 
 
 14 And how starved he looketh." 
 
 They came still nearer, sidling shyly around and 
 about him, examining him minutely from all points, 
 as if he were some strange new kind of animal ; but 
 warily and watchfully the while, as if they half feared 
 he might be a sort of animal that would bite, upon 
 occasion. Finally they halted before him, holding 
 each other s hands for protection, and took a good 
 satisfying stare with their innocent eyes ; then one 
 of them plucked up all her courage and inquired 
 with honest directness : 
 
 "Who art thou, boy?" 
 
 " I am the king," was the grave answer. 
 
 The children gave a little start, and their eyes 
 spread themselves wide open and remained so dur 
 ing a speechless half-minute. Then curiosity broke 
 the silence : 
 
 "The king? What king?" 
 
 "The king of England." 
 
 The children looked at each other then at him 
 then at each other again wonderingly, per 
 plexedly then one said : 
 
 " Didst hear him, Margery? he saith he is the 
 king. Can that be true?" 
 
 " How can it be else but true, Prissy? Would he 
 say a lie? For look you, Prissy, an it were not 
 
184 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 true, it would be a lie. It surely would be. Now 
 think on t. For all things that be not true, be lies 
 thou canst make nought else out of it." 
 
 It was a good, tight argument, without a leak 
 in it anywhere; and it left Prissy s half-doubts not 
 a leg to stand on. She considered a moment, 
 then put the king upon his honor with the simple 
 remark : 
 
 11 If thou art truly the king, then I believe thee." 
 
 " I am truly the king." 
 
 This settled the matter. His majesty s royalty 
 was accepted without further question or discussion, 
 and the two little girls began at once to inquire into 
 how he came to be where he was, and how he came 
 to be so unroyally clad, and whither he was bound, 
 and all about his affairs. It was a mighty relief to 
 him to pour out his troubles where they would not 
 be scoffed at or doubted ; so he told his tale with 
 feeling, forgetting even his hunger for the time ; and 
 it was received with the deepest and tenderest sym 
 pathy by the gentle little maids. But when he got 
 down to his latest experiences and they learned how 
 long he had been without food, they cut him short 
 and hurried him away to the farmhouse to find a 
 breakfast for him. 
 
 The king was cheerful and happy now, and said 
 to himself, " When I am come to mine own again, I 
 wilj always honor little children, remembering how 
 that these trusted me and believed in me in my time 
 of trouble ; whilst they that were older, and thought 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 185 
 
 themselves wiser, mocked at me and held me for a 
 liar." 
 
 The children s mother received the king kindly, 
 and was full of pity ; for his forlorn condition and 
 apparently crazed intellect touched her womanly 
 heart. She was a widow, and rather poor; conse 
 quently she had seen trouble enough to enable her 
 to feel for the unfortunate. She imagined that the 
 demented boy had wandered away from his friends 
 or keepers ; so she tried to find out whence he had 
 come, in order that she might take measures to re 
 turn him ; but all her references to neighboring 
 towns and villages, and all her inquiries in the same 
 line, went for nothing the boy s face, and his 
 answers, too, showed that the things she was talking 
 of were not familiar to him. He spoke earnestly 
 and simply about court matters; and broke down, 
 more than once, when speaking of the late king 
 "his father"; but whenever the conversation 
 changed to baser topics, he lost interest and became 
 silent. 
 
 The woman was mightily puzzled ; but she did 
 not give up. As she proceeded with her cooking, 
 she set herself to contriving devices to surprise the 
 boy into betraying his real secret. She talked about 
 cattle he showed no concern ; then about sheep 
 the same result so her guess that he had been a 
 shepherd boy was an error ; she talked about mills ; 
 and about weavers, tinkers, smiths, trades and 
 tradesmen of all sorts; and about Bedlam, and jails, 
 
186 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 and charitable retreats; but no matter, she was 
 baffled at all points. Not altogether, either; for 
 she argued that she had narrowed the thing down to 
 domestic service. Yes, she was sure she was on the 
 right track now he must have been a house ser 
 vant. So she led up to that. But the result was 
 discouraging. The subject of sweeping appeared to 
 weary him ; fire-building failed to stir him ; scrub 
 bing and scouring awoke no enthusiasm. Then the 
 goodwife touched, with a perishing hope, and rather 
 as a matter of form, upon the subject of cooking. 
 To her surprise, and her vast delight, the king s face 
 lighted at once ! Ah, she had hunted him down at 
 last, she thought; and she was right proud, too, of 
 the devious shrewdness and tact which had accom 
 plished it. 
 
 Her tired tongue got a chance to rest now ; for the 
 king s, inspired by gnawing hunger and the fragrant 
 smells that came from the sputtering pots and pans, 
 turned itself loose and delivered itself up to such an 
 eloquent dissertation upon certain toothsome dishes, 
 that within three minutes the woman said to herself, 
 "Of a truth I was right -he hath holpen in a 
 kitchen!" Then he broadened his bill of fare, and 
 discussed it with such appreciation and animation, 
 that the goodwife said to herself, * Good lack ! 
 how can he know so many dishes, and so fine ones 
 withal? For these belong only upon the tables of 
 the rich and great. Ah, now I see ! ragged outcast 
 as he is, he must have served in the palace before 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 187 
 
 his reason went astray; yes, he must have helped in 
 the very kitchen of the king himself ! I will test 
 him." 
 
 Full of eagerness to prove her sagacity, she told 
 the king to mind the cooking a moment hinting 
 that he might manufacture and add a dish or two, if 
 he chose then she went out of the room and gave 
 her children a sign to follow after. The king mut 
 tered : 
 
 " Another English king had a commission like to 
 this, in a bygone time it is nothing against my 
 dignity to undertake an office which the great Alfred 
 stooped to assume. But I will try to better serve 
 my trust than he; for he let the cakes burn." 
 
 The intent was good, but the performance was not 
 answerable to it; for this king, like the other one, 
 soon fell into deep thinkings concerning his vast 
 affairs, and the same calamity resulted the cook 
 ery got burned. The woman returned in time to 
 save the breakfast from entire destruction ; and she 
 promptly brought the king out of his dreams with a 
 brisk and cordial tongue-lashing. Then, seeing how 
 troubled he was over his violated trust, she softened 
 at once and was all goodness and gentleness toward 
 him. 
 
 The boy made a hearty and satisfying meal, and 
 was greatly refreshed and gladdened by it. It was a 
 meal which was distinguished by this curious feature, 
 that rank was waived on both sides; yet neither 
 recipient of the favor was aware that it had been 
 
188 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 extended. The goodwife had intended to feed this 
 young tramp with broken victuals in a corner, like 
 any other tramp, or like a dog; but she was so re 
 morseful for the scolding she had given him, that 
 she did what she could to atone for it by allowing 
 him to sit at the family table and eat with his bet 
 ters, on ostensible terms of equality with them ; and 
 the king, on his side, was so remorseful for having 
 broken his trust, after the family had been so kind 
 to him, that he forced himself to atone for it by 
 humbling himself to the family level, instead of re 
 quiring the woman and her children to stand and 
 wait upon him while he occupied their table in the 
 solitary state due his birth and dignity. It does us 
 all good to unbend sometimes. This good woman 
 was made happy all the day long by the applauses 
 she got out of herself for her magnanimous conde 
 scension to a tramp ; and the king was just as self- 
 complacent over his gracious humility toward a 
 humble peasant woman. 
 
 When breakfast was over, the housewife told the 
 king to wash up the dishes. This command was a 
 staggerer for a moment, and the king came near 
 rebelling; but then he said to himself, "Alfred the 
 Great watched the cakes ; doubtless he would have 
 washed the dishes, too therefore will I essay it." 
 
 He made a sufficiently poor job of it; and to his 
 surprise, too, for the cleaning of wooden spoons 
 and trenchers had seemed an easy thing to do. It 
 was a tedious and troublesome piece of work, but 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 189 
 
 he finished it at last. He was becoming impatient to 
 get away on his journey now; however, he was not 
 to lose this thrifty dame s society so easily. She 
 furnished him some little odds and ends of employ 
 ment, which he got through with after a fair 
 fashion and with some credit. Then she set him 
 and the little girls to paring some winter apples ; 
 but he was so awkward at this service that she retired 
 him from it and gave him a butcher knife to grind. 
 Afterward she kept him carding wool until he began 
 to think he had laid the good King Alfred about far 
 enough in the shade for the present, in the matter 
 of showy menial heroisms that would read pic 
 turesquely in story-books and histories, and so he 
 was half minded to resign. And when, just after 
 the noonday dinner, the goodwife gave him a basket 
 of kittens to drown, he did resign. At least he was 
 just going to resign for he felt that he must draw 
 the line somewhere, and it seemed to him that to 
 draw it at kitten-drowning was about the right thing 
 when there was an interruption. The interrup 
 tion was John Canty with a peddler s pack on his 
 back and Hugo! 
 
 The king discovered these rascals approaching the 
 front gate before they had had a chance to see him ; 
 so he said nothing about drawing the line, but took 
 up his basket of kittens and stepped quietly out 
 the back way, without a word. He left the creatures 
 in an outhouse, and hurried on into a narrow lane at 
 the rear. 
 13 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 THE PRINCE AND THE HERMIT 
 
 THE high hedge hid him from the house now ; and 
 so, under the impulse of a deadly fright, he let 
 out all his forces and sped toward a wood in the dis 
 tance. He never looked back until he had almost 
 gained the shelter of the forest ; then he turned and 
 descried two figures in the distance. That was 
 sufficient; he did not wait to scan them critically, 
 but hurried on, and never abated his pace till he was 
 far within the twilight depths of the wood. Then 
 he stopped ; being persuaded that he was now toler 
 ably safe. He listened intently, but the stillness was 
 profound and solemn awful, even, and depressing 
 to the spirits. At wide intervals his straining ear 
 did detect sounds, but they were so remote, and 
 hollow, and mysterious, that they seemed not to be 
 real sounds, but only the moaning and complaining 
 ghosts of departed ones. So the sounds were yet 
 more dreary than the silence which they interrupted. 
 It was his purpose, in the beginning, to stay where 
 he was, the rest of the day; but a chill soon invaded 
 his perspiring body, and he was at last obliged to 
 resume movement in order to get warm. He struck 
 
 (190) 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 191 
 
 straight through the forest, hoping to pierce to a 
 road presently, but he was disappointed in this. He 
 traveled on and on; but the farther he went, the 
 denser the wood became, apparently. The gloom 
 began to thicken, by and by, and the king realized 
 that the night was coming on. It made him shudder 
 to think of spending it in such an uncanny place ; 
 so he tried to hurry faster, but he only made the 
 less speed, for he could not now see well enough to 
 choose his steps judiciously; consequently he kept 
 tripping over roots and tangling himself in vines and 
 briers. 
 
 And how glad he was when at last he caught the 
 glimmer of a light ! He approached it warily, stop 
 ping often to look about him and listen. It came 
 from an unglazed window-opening in a little hut. 
 He heard a voice now, and felt a disposition to run 
 and hide; but he changed his mind at once, for this 
 voice was praying, evidently. He glided to the one 
 window of the hut, raised himself on tiptoe, and 
 stole a glance within. The room was small; its 
 floor was the natural earth, beaten hard by use; in 
 a corner was a bed of rushes and a ragged blanket 
 or two; near it was a pail, a cup, a basin, and two 
 or three pots and pans ; there was a short bench and 
 a three-legged stool ; on the hearth the remains of a 
 fagot fire were smouldering; before a shrine, which 
 was lighted by a single candle, knelt an aged man, 
 and on an old wooden box at his side lay an open 
 book and a human skull. The man was of large, 
 
192 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 bony frame ; his hair and whiskers were very long 
 and snowy white ; he was clothed in a robe of sheep 
 skins which reached from his neck to his heels. 
 
 41 A holy hermit!" said the king to himself; 
 " now am I indeed fortunate." 
 
 The hermit rose from his knees ; the king knocked. 
 A deep voice responded : 
 
 "Enter! but leave sin behind, for the ground 
 whereon thou shalt stand is holy ! 
 
 The king entered, and paused. The hermit turned 
 a pair of gleaming, unrestful eyes upon him, and 
 said : 
 
 4 Who art thou?" 
 
 44 I am the king," came the answer, with placid 
 simplicity. 
 
 44 Welcome, king!" cried the hermit, with enthu 
 siasm. Then, bustling about with feverish activity, 
 and constantly saying 44 Welcome, welcome," he 
 arranged his bench, seated the king on it, by the 
 hearth, threw some fagots on the fire, and finally fell 
 to pacing the floor, with a nervous stride. 
 
 4 Welcome! Many have sought sanctuary here, 
 but they were not worthy, and were turned away. 
 But a king who casts his crown away, and despises 
 the vain splendors of his office, and clothes his body 
 in rags, to devote his life to holiness and the morti 
 fication of the flesh he is worthy, he is welcome! 
 here shall he abide all his days till death come." 
 The king hastened to interrupt and explain, but the 
 hermit paid no attention to him did not even hear 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 193 
 
 him, apparently, but went right on with his talk, 
 with a raised voice and a growing energy. "And 
 thou shalt be at peace here. None shall find out 
 thy refuge to disquiet thee with supplications to 
 return to that empty and foolish life which God hath 
 moved thee to abandon. Thou shalt pray here; 
 thou shalt study the Book ; thou shalt meditate upon 
 the follies and delusions of this world, and upon the 
 sublimities of the world to come ; thou shalt feed 
 upon crusts and herbs, and scourge thy body with 
 whips daily, to the purifying of thy soul. Thou 
 shalt wear a hair shirt next thy skin ; thou shalt 
 drink water only; and thou shalt be at peace; yes, 
 wholly at peace ; for whoso comes to seek thee shall 
 go his way again baffled ; he shall not find thee, he 
 shall not molest thee." 
 
 The old man, still pacing back and forth, ceased 
 to speak aloud, and began to mutter. The king 
 seized this opportunity to state his case; and he did 
 it with an eloquence inspired by uneasiness and ap 
 prehension. But the hermit went on muttering, and 
 gave no heed. And still muttering, he approached 
 the king and said, impressively: 
 
 14 Sh! I will tell you a secret!" He bent down 
 to impart it, but checked himself, and assumed a 
 listening attitude. After a moment or two he went 
 on tiptoe to the window-opening, put his head out 
 and peered around in the gloaming, then came tip 
 toeing back again, put his face close down to the 
 king s and whispered: 
 13 
 
194 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 " I am an archangel !" 
 
 The king started violently, and said to himself, 
 " Would God I were with the outlaws again; for lo, 
 now am I the prisoner of a madman !" His appre 
 hensions were heightened, and they showed plainly 
 in his face. In a low, excited voice, the hermit 
 continued : 
 
 " I see you feel my atmosphere ! There s awe in 
 your face ! None may be in this atmosphere and 
 not be thus affected ; for it is the very atmosphere 
 of heaven. I go thither and return, in the twinkling 
 of an eye. I was made an archangel on this very 
 spot, it is five years ago, by angels sent from heaven 
 to confer that awful dignity. Their presence filled 
 this place with an intolerable brightness. And they 
 knelt to me, king! yes, they knelt to me ! for I was 
 greater than they. I have walked in the courts of 
 heaven, and held speech with the patriarchs. Touch 
 my hand be not afraid touch it. There now 
 thou hast touched a hand which has been clasped by 
 Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob ! For I have walked 
 in the golden courts, I have seen the Deity face to 
 face!" He paused, to give this speech effect; then 
 his face suddenly changed, and he started to his feet 
 again, saying, with angry energy, "Yes, I am an 
 archangel ; a mere archangel / I that might have 
 been pope ! It is verily true. I was told it from 
 heaven in a dream, twenty years ago; ah, yes, I 
 was to be pope ! and I should have been pope, for 
 Heaven had said it but the king dissolved my 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 195 
 
 religious house, and I, poor obscure unfriended 
 monk, was cast homeless upon the world, robbed of 
 my mighty destiny ! Here he began to mumble 
 again, and beat his forehead in futile rage, with his 
 fist; now and then articulating a venomous curse, 
 and now and then a pathetic "Wherefore I am 
 nought but an archangel I that should have been 
 pope !" 
 
 So he went on for an hour, while the poor little 
 king sat and suffered. Then all at once the old 
 man s frenzy departed, and he became all gentle 
 ness. His voice softened, he came down out of his 
 clouds, and fell to prattling along so simply and so 
 humanely, that he soon won the king s heart com 
 pletely. The old devotee moved the boy nearer to 
 the fire and made him comfortable; doctored his 
 small bruises and abrasions with a deft and tender 
 hand ; and then set about preparing and cooking a 
 supper chatting pleasantly all the time, and occa 
 sionally stroking the lad s cheek or patting his head, 
 in such a gently caressing way that in a little while 
 all the fear and repulsion inspired by the archangel 
 were changed to reverence and affection for the man. 
 
 This happy state of things continued while the 
 two ate the supper; then, after a prayer before the 
 shrine, the hermit put the boy to bed, in a small ad 
 joining room, tucking him in as snugly and lovingly 
 as a mother might; and so, with a parting caress, 
 left him and sat down by the fire, and began to poke 
 the brands about in an absent and aimless way. 
 M 
 
196 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 Presently he paused ; then tapped his forehead sev 
 eral times with his fingers, as if trying to recall some 
 thought which had escaped from his mind. Ap 
 parently he was unsuccessful. Now he started 
 quickly up, and entered his guest s room, and said: 
 4 Thou art king?" 
 
 " Yes," was the response, drowsily uttered 
 
 14 What king?" 
 
 "Of England." 
 
 11 Of England. Then Henry is gone !" 
 
 " Alack, it is so. I am his son." 
 
 A black frown settled down upon the hermit s 
 face, and he clenched his bony hands with a vindic 
 tive energy. He stood a few moments, breathing 
 fast and swallowing repeatedly, then said in a husky 
 voice : 
 
 " Dost know it was he that turned us out into the 
 world houseless and homeless?" 
 
 There was no response. The old man bent down 
 and scanned the boy s reposeful face and listened to 
 his placid breathing. He sleeps sleeps soundly ; 
 and the frown vanished away and gave place to an 
 expression of evil satisfaction. A smile flitted across 
 the dreaming boy s features. The hermit muttered, 
 "So his heart is happy;" and he turned away. 
 He went stealthily about the place, seeking here and 
 there for something; now and then halting to listen, 
 now and then jerking his head around and casting a 
 quick glance toward the bed ; and always muttering, 
 always mumbling to himself. At last he found what 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 197 
 
 he seemed to want a rusty old butcher knife and 
 a whetstone. Then he crept to his place by the 
 fire, sat himself down, and began to whet the knife 
 softly on the stone, still muttering, mumbling, ejacu 
 lating. The winds sighed around the lonely place, 
 the mysterious voices of the night floated by out of 
 the distances. The shining eyes of venturesome 
 mice and rats peered out at the old man from cracks 
 and coverts, but he went on with his work, rapt, ab 
 sorbed, and noted none of these things. 
 
 At long intervals he drew his thumb along the 
 edge of his knife, and nodded his head with satisfac 
 tion. " It grows sharper," he said; " yes, it grows 
 sharper." 
 
 He took no note of the flight of time, but worked 
 tranquilly on, entertaining himself with his thoughts, 
 which broke out occasionally in articulate speech : 
 
 " His father wrought us evil, he destroyed us 
 and is gone down into the eternal fires ! Yes, down 
 into the eternal fires! He escaped us but it was 
 God s will, yes it was God s will, we must not 
 repine. But he hath not escaped the fires ! no, he 
 hath not escaped the fires, the consuming, unpity- 
 ing, remorseless fires and they are everlasting!" 
 
 And so he wrought; and still wrought; mum 
 bling chuckling a low rasping chuckle at times 
 and at times breaking again into words : 
 
 " It was his father that did it all. I am but an 
 archangel but for him, I should be pope!" 
 
 The king stirred. The hermit sprang noiselessly 
 
198 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 to the bedside, and went down upon his knees, 
 bending over the prostrate form with his knife up 
 lifted. The boy stirred again; his eyes came open 
 for an instant, but there was no speculation in them, 
 they saw nothing; the next moment his tranquil 
 breathing showed that his sleep was sound once 
 more. 
 
 The hermit watched and listened for a time, keep 
 ing his position and scarcely breathing; then he 
 slowly lowered his arm, and presently crept away, 
 saying : 
 
 "It is long past midnight it is not best that he 
 should cry out, lest by accident some one be pass 
 ing." 
 
 He glided about his hovel, gathering a rag here, a 
 thong there, and another one yonder; then he re 
 turned, and by careful and gentle handling he 
 managed to tie the king s ankles together without 
 waking him. Next he essayed to tie the wrists; he 
 made several attempts to cross them, but the boy 
 always drew one hand or the other away, just as the 
 cord was ready to be applied ; but at last, when the 
 archangel was almost ready to despair, the boy 
 crossed his hands himself, and the next moment 
 they were bound. Now a bandage was passed under 
 the sleeper s chin and brought up over his head and 
 tied fast and so softly, so gradually, and so deftly 
 were the knots drawn together and compacted, that 
 the boy slept peacefully through it all without 
 stirring. 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 HENDON TO THE RESCUE 
 
 THE old man glided away, stooping, stealthily, 
 cat-like, and brought the low bench. He 
 seated himself upon it, half his body in the dim and 
 flickering light, and the other half in shadow; and 
 so, with his craving eyes bent upon the slumbering 
 boy, he kept his patient vigil there, heedless of the 
 drift of time, and softly whetted his knife, and 
 mumbled and chuckled ; and in aspect and attitude 
 he resembled nothing so much as a grizzly, mon 
 strous spider, gloating over some hapless insect that 
 lay bound and helpless in his web. 
 
 After a long while, the old man, who was still 
 gazing, yet not seeing, his mind having settled 
 into a dreamy abstraction, observed on a sudden, 
 that the boy s eyes were open wide open and 
 staring! staring up in frozen horror at the knife. 
 The smile of a gratified devil crept over the old 
 man s face, and he said, without changing his atti 
 tude or occupation : 
 
 " Son of Henry the Eighth, hast thou prayed ?" 
 The boy struggled helplessly in his bonds ; and at 
 the same time forced a smothered sound through his 
 
 (199) 
 
200 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 closed jaws, which the hermit chose to interpret as 
 an affirmative answer to his question. 
 
 Then pray again. Pray the prayer for the 
 dying!" 
 
 A shudder shook the boy s frame, and his face 
 blenched. Then he struggled again to free himself 
 turning and twisting himself this way and that; 
 tugging frantically, fiercely, desperately but use 
 lessly to burst his fetters; and all the while the 
 old ogre smiled down upon him, and nodded his 
 head, and placidly whetted his knife, mumbling, 
 from time to time, The moments are precious, 
 they are few and precious pray the prayer for the 
 dying!" 
 
 The boy uttered a despairing groan, and ceased 
 from his struggles, panting. The tears came, then, 
 and trickled, one after the other, down his face; but 
 this piteous sight wrought no softening effect upon 
 the savage old man. 
 
 The dawn was coming now; the hermit observed 
 it, and spoke up sharply, with a touch of nervous 
 apprehension in his voice : 
 
 "I may not indulge this ecstasy longer! The 
 night is already gone. It seems but a moment 
 only a moment; would it had endured a year! 
 Seed of the Church s spoiler, close thy perishing 
 eyes, an* thou fearest to look upon " 
 
 The rest was lost in inarticulate mutterings. The 
 old man sank upon his knees, his knife in his hand, 
 and bent himself over the moaning boy 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 201 
 
 Hark ! There was a sound of voices near the 
 cabin the knife dropped from the hermit s hand; 
 he cast a sheepskin over the boy and started up, 
 trembling. The sounds increased, and presently the 
 voices became rough and angry; then came blows, 
 and cries for help ; then a clatter of swift footsteps 
 retreating. Immediately came a succession of thun 
 dering knocks upon the cabin door, followed by : 
 
 " Hullo-o-o ! Open ! And despatch, in the name 
 of all the devils!" 
 
 Oh, this was the blessedest sound that had ever 
 made music in the king s ears; for it was Miles 
 Hendon s voice ! 
 
 The hermit, grinding his teeth in impotent rage, 
 moved swiftly out of the bedchamber, closing the 
 door behind him ; and straightway the king heard a 
 talk, to this effect, proceeding from the " chapel " : 
 
 " Homage and greeting, reverend sir! Where is 
 the boy my boy?" 
 
 "What boy, friend?" 
 
 "What boy! Lie me no lies, sir priest, play 
 me no deceptions ! I am not in the humor for it. 
 Near to this place I caught the scoundrels who I 
 judged did steal him from me, and I made them 
 confess; they said he was at large again, and they 
 had tracked him to your door. They showed me 
 his very footprints. Now palter no more; for look 
 you, holy sir, an thou produce him not Where 
 is the boy?" 
 
 11 Oh, good sir, peradventure you mean the ragged 
 
202 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 regal vagrant that tarried here the night. If such as 
 you take interest in such as he, know, then, that I 
 have sent him of an errand. He will be back anon." 
 
 " How soon? How soon? Come, waste not the 
 time cannot I overtake him? How soon will he 
 be back?" 
 
 Thou needst not stir; he will return quickly." 
 
 " So be it then. I will try to wait. But stop ! - 
 you sent him of an errand? you! Verily, this is 
 a lie he would not go. He would pull thy old 
 beard, an thou didst offer him such an insolence. 
 Thou hast lied, friend; thou hast surely lied ! He 
 would not go for thee nor for any man." 
 
 " For any 7?2#72 no; haply not. But I am not 
 a man." 
 
 " What! Now o God s name what art thou, 
 then?" 
 
 " It is a secret mark thou reveal it not. I am 
 an archangel ! 
 
 There was a tremendous ejaculation from Miles 
 Hendon not altogether unprofane followed by : 
 
 "This doth well and truly account for his com 
 plaisance ! Right well I knew he would budge nor 
 hand nor foot in the menial service of any mortal ; 
 but lord, even a king must obey when an archangel 
 gives the word o command ! Let me sh ! What 
 noise was that?" 
 
 All this while the king had been yonder, alternately 
 quaking with terror and trembling with hope ; and 
 all the while, too, he had thrown all the strength he 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 203 
 
 could into his anguished meanings, constantly ex 
 pecting them to reach Hendon s ear, but always 
 realizing, with bitterness, that they failed, or at least 
 made no impression. So this last remark of his 
 servant came as comes a reviving breath from fresh 
 fields to the dying; and he exerted himself once 
 more, and with all his energy, just as the hermit was 
 saying: 
 
 14 Noise? I heard only the wind." 
 
 " Mayhap it was. Yes, doubtless that was it. I 
 have been hearing it faintly all the there it is 
 again ! It is not the wind ! What an odd sound ! 
 Come, we will hunt it out!" 
 
 Now the king s joy was nearly insupportable. 
 His tired lungs did their utmost and hopefully, 
 too but the sealed jaws and the muffling sheepskin 
 sadly crippled the effort. Then the poor fellow s 
 heart sank, to hear the hermit say: 
 
 " Ah, it came from without -I think from the 
 copse yonder. Come, I will lead the way." 
 
 The king heard the two pass out talking; heard 
 their footsteps die quickly away then he was alone 
 with a boding, brooding, awful silence. 
 
 It seemed an age till he heard the steps and voices 
 approaching again and this time he heard an 
 added sound the trampling of hoofs, apparently. 
 Then he heard Hendon say: 
 
 "I w r ill not wait longer. I cannot wait longer. 
 He has lost his way in this thick wood. Which 
 direction took he? Quick point it out to me." 
 
204 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 " He but wait; I will go with thee." 
 
 11 Good good ! Why, truly thou are better than 
 thy looks. Marry, I do think there s not another 
 archangel with so right a heart as thine. Wilt ride? 
 Wilt take the wee donkey that s for my boy, or wilt 
 thou fork thy holy legs over this ill-conditioned slave 
 of a mule that I have provided for myself? and 
 had been cheated in, too, had he cost but the in 
 different sum of a month s usury on a brass farthing 
 let to a tinker out of work." 
 
 "No ride thy mule, and lead thine ass; I am 
 surer on mine own feet, and will walk." 
 
 1 Then, prithee, mind the little beast for me while 
 I take my life in my hands and make what success I 
 may toward mounting the big one." 
 
 Then followed a confusion of kicks, cuffs, tramp- 
 lings and plungings, accompanied by a thunderous 
 intermingling of volleyed curses, and finally a bitter 
 apostrophe to the mule, which must have broken its 
 spirit, for hostilities seemed to cease from that 
 moment. 
 
 With unutterable misery the fettered little king 
 heard the voices and footsteps fade away and die 
 out. All hope forsook him now for the moment, 
 and a dull despair settled down upon his heart. 
 " My only friend is deceived and got rid of," he 
 said; " the hermit will return and " He finished 
 with a gasp ; and at once fell to struggling so frantic 
 ally with his bonds again, that he shook off the 
 smothering sheepskin. 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 205 
 
 And now he heard the door open ! The sound 
 chilled him to the marrow already he seemed to 
 feel the knife at his throat. Horror made him close 
 his eyes ; horror made him open them again and 
 before him stood John Canty and Hugo ! 
 
 He would have said "Thank God!" if his jaws 
 had been free. 
 
 A moment or two later his limbs were at liberty, 
 and his captors each gripping him by an arm, were 
 
 hurrying him with all speed through the forest. 
 14 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 A VICTIM OF TREACHERY 
 
 ONCE more "King Foo-Foo the First" was 
 roving with the tramps and outlaws, a butt 
 for their coarse jests and dull-witted railleries, and 
 sometimes the victim of small spitefulnesses at the 
 hands of Canty and Hugo when the Ruffler s back 
 was turned. None but Canty and Hugo really dis 
 liked him. Some of the others liked him, and all 
 admired his pluck and spirit. During two or three 
 days, Hugo, in whose ward and charge the king 
 was, did what he covertly could to make the boy 
 uncomfortable ; and at night, during the customary 
 orgies, he amused the company by putting small 
 indignities upon him always as if by accident. 
 Twice he stepped upon the king s toes accident 
 ally and the king, as became his royalty, was 
 contemptuously unconscious of it and indifferent to 
 it; but the third time Hugo entertained himself in 
 that way, the king felled him to the ground with a 
 cudgel, to the prodigious delight of the tribe. 
 Hugo, consumed with anger and shame, sprang up, 
 seized a cudgel, and came at his small adversary in 
 
 (206) 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 207 
 
 a fury. Instantly a ring was formed around the 
 gladiators, and the betting and cheering began. But 
 poor Hugo stood no chance whatever. His frantic 
 and lubberly prentice-work found but a poor market 
 for itself when pitted against an arm which had been 
 trained by the first masters of Europe in single-stick, 
 quarter-staff, and every art and trick of swordsman 
 ship. The little king stood, alert but at graceful 
 ease, and caught and turned aside the thick rain of 
 blows with a facility and precision which set the 
 motley on-lookers wild with admiration ; and every 
 now and then, when his practiced eye detected an 
 opening, and a lightning-swift rap upon Hugo s 
 head followed as a result, the storm of cheers and 
 laughter that swept the place was something wonder 
 ful to hear. At the end of fifteen minutes, Hugo, 
 all battered, bruised, and the target for a pitiless 
 bombardment of ridicule, slunk from the field; and 
 the unscathed hero of the fight was seized and borne 
 aloft upon the shoulders of the joyous rabble to the 
 place of honor beside the Ruffler, where with vast 
 ceremony he was crowned King of the Game-Cocks ; 
 his meaner title being at the same time solemnly 
 canceled and annulled, and a decree of banishment 
 from the gang pronounced against any who should 
 henceforth utter it. 
 
 All attempts to make the king serviceable to the 
 troop had failed. He had stubbornly refused to 
 act; moreover, he was always trying to escape. He 
 had been thrust into an unwatched kitchen, the first 
 
208 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 day of his return ; he not only came forth empty- 
 handed, but tried to rouse the housemates. He 
 was sent out with a tinker to help him at his work; 
 he would not work; moreover, he threatened the 
 tinker with his own soldering-iron ; and finally both 
 Hugo and the tinker found their hands full with the 
 mere matter of keeping him from getting away. He 
 delivered the thunders of his royalty upon the heads 
 of all who hampered his liberties or tried to force 
 him to service. He was sent out, in Hugo s charge, 
 in company with a slatternly woman and a diseased 
 baby, to beg; but the result was not encouraging 
 he declined to plead for the mendicants, or be a 
 party to their cause in any way. 
 
 Thus several days went by; and the miseries of 
 this tramping life, and the weariness and sordidness 
 and meanness and vulgarity of it, became gradually 
 and steadily so intolerable to the captive that he 
 began at last to feel that his release from the hermit s 
 knife must prove only a temporary respite from 
 death, at best. 
 
 But at night, in his dreams, these things were for 
 gotten, and he was on his throne, and master again. 
 This, of course, intensified the sufferings of the 
 awakening so the mortifications of each succeed 
 ing morning of the few that passed between his re 
 turn to bondage and the combat with Hugo, grew 
 bitterer and bitterer, and harder and harder to bear. 
 
 The morning after that combat, Hugo got up with 
 a heart filled with vengeful purposes against the 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 209 
 
 king. He had two plans in particular. One was to 
 inflict upon the lad what would be, to his proud 
 spirit and "imagined" royalty, a peculiar humilia 
 tion; and if he failed to accomplish this, his other 
 plan was to put a crime of some kind upon the king 
 and then betray him into the implacable clutches of 
 the law. 
 
 In pursuance of the first plan, he proposed to put 
 a " clime " upon the king s leg, rightly judging that 
 that would mcrtify him to the last and perfect de 
 gree; and as soon as the clime should operate, he 
 meant to get Canty s help, and force the king to ex 
 pose his leg in the highway and beg for alms. 
 "Clime" was the cant term fora sore, artificially 
 created. To make a clime, the operator made a 
 paste or poultice of unslaked lime, soap, and the 
 rust of old iron, and spread it upon a piece of 
 leather, which was then bound tightly upon the leg. 
 This would presently fret off the skin, and make the 
 flesh raw and angry-looking ; blood was then rubbed 
 upon the limb, which, being fully dried, took on a 
 dark and repulsive color. Then a bandage of soiled 
 rags was put on in a cleverly careless way which 
 would allow the hideous ulcer to be seen and move 
 the compassion of the passer-by.* 
 
 Hugo got the help of the tinker whom the king 
 had cowed with the soldering-iron; they took the 
 boy out on a tinkering tramp, and as soon as they 
 were out of sight of the camp they threw him down 
 
 *From "The English Rogue"; London, 1665. 
 14 
 
210 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 and the tinker held him while Hugo bound the 
 poultice tight and fast upon his leg. 
 
 The king raged and stormed, and promised to hang 
 the two the moment the scepter was in his hand 
 again; but they kept a firm grip upon him and 
 enjoyed his impotent struggling and jeered at his 
 threats. This continued until the poultice began to 
 bite ; and in no long time its work would have been 
 perfected, if there had been no interruption. But 
 there was; for about this time the "slave" who 
 had made the speech denouncing England s laws, 
 appeared on the scene and put an end to the enter 
 prise, and stripped off the poultice and bandage. 
 
 The king wanted to borrow his deliverer s cudgel 
 and warm the jackets of the two rascals on the spot ; 
 but the man said no, it would bring trouble leave 
 the matter till night ; the whole tribe being together, 
 then, the outside world would not venture to inter 
 fere or interrupt. He marched the party back to 
 camp and reported the affair to the Ruffler, who 
 listened, pondered, and then decided that the king 
 should not be again detailed to beg, since it was 
 plain he was worthy of something higher and better 
 wherefore, on the spot he promoted him from the 
 mendicant rank and appointed him to steal ! 
 
 Hugo was overjoyed. He had already tried to 
 make the king steal, and failed; but there would be 
 no more trouble of that sort now, for, of course, 
 the king would not dream of defying a distinct com 
 mand delivered directly from headquarters. So he 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 211 
 
 planned a raid for that very afternoon, purposing to 
 get the king in the law s grip in the course of it; 
 and to do it, too, with such ingenious strategy, that 
 it should seem to be accidental and unintentional ; 
 for the King of the Game-Cocks was popular now, 
 and the gang might not deal over-gently with an un 
 popular member who played so serious a treachery 
 upon him as the delivering him over to the common 
 enemy, the law. 
 
 Very well. All in good time Hugo strolled off to 
 a neighboring village with his prey; and the two 
 drifted slowly up and down one street after another, 
 the one watching sharply for a sure chance to 
 achieve his evil purpose, and the other watching as 
 sharply for a chance to dart away and get free of 
 his infamous captivity forever. 
 
 Both threw away some tolerably fair-looking op 
 portunities; for both, in their secret hearts, were 
 resolved to make absolutely sure work this time, and 
 neither meant to allow his fevered desires to seduce 
 him into any venture that had much uncertainty 
 about it. 
 
 Hugo s chance came first. For at last a woman 
 approached who carried a fat package of some sort 
 in a basket. Hugo s eyes sparkled with sinful 
 pleasure as he said to himself, "Breath o my life, 
 an I can but put that upon him, tis good-den and 
 God keep thee, King of the Game-Cocks!" He 
 waited and watched outwardly patient, but in 
 wardly consuming with excitement- till the woman 
 w 
 
212 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 had passed by, and the time was ripe; then said, in 
 a low voice: " Tarry here till I come again," and 
 darted stealthily after the prey. 
 
 The king s heart was filled with joy he could 
 make his escape now, if Hugo s quest only carried 
 him far enough away. 
 
 But he was to have no such luck. Hugo crept 
 behind the woman, snatched the package, and came 
 running back, wrapping it in an old piece of blanket 
 which he carried on his arm. The hue and cry was 
 raised in a moment by the woman, who knew her 
 loss by the lightening of her burden, although she 
 had not seen the pilfering done. Hugo thrust the 
 bundle into the king s hands without halting, saying: 
 
 "Now speed ye after me with the rest, and cry 
 Stop thief! but mind ye lead them astray !" 
 
 The next moment Hugo turned a corner and 
 darted down a crooked alley, and in another mo 
 ment or two he lounged into view again, looking 
 innocent and indifferent, and took up a position be 
 hind a post to watch results. 
 
 The insulted king threw the bundle on the ground ; 
 and the blanket fell away from it just as the woman 
 arrived, with an augmenting crowd at her heels; she 
 seized the king s wrist with one hand, snatched up 
 her bundle with the other, and began to pour out a 
 tirade of abuse upon the boy while he struggled, 
 without success, to free himself from her grip. 
 
 Hugo had seen enough his enemy was captured 
 and the law would get him now so he slipped 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 213 
 
 away, jubilant and chuckling, and wended camp- 
 wards, framing a judicious version of the matter to 
 give to the Ruffler s crew as he strode along. 
 
 The king continued to struggle in the woman s 
 grasp, and now and then cried out, in vexation: 
 
 " Unhand me, thou foolish creature; it was not I 
 that bereaved thee of thy paltry goods." 
 
 The crowd closed around, threatening the king 
 and calling him names; a brawny blacksmith in 
 leather apron, and sleeves rolled to his elbows, made 
 a reach for him, saying he would trounce him well, 
 for a lesson ; but just then a long sword flashed in 
 the air and fell with convincing force upon the man s 
 arm, flat-side down, the fantastic owner of it remark 
 ing pleasantly at the same time : 
 
 "Marry, good souls, let us proceed gently, not 
 with ill blood and uncharitable words. This is 
 matter for the law s consideration, not private and 
 unofficial handling. Loose thy hold from the boy, 
 goodwife." 
 
 The blacksmith averaged the stalwart soldier with 
 a glance, then went muttering away, rubbing his 
 arm; the woman released the boy s wrist reluc 
 tantly ; the crowd eyed the stranger unlovingly, but 
 prudently closed their mouths. The king sprang to 
 his deliverer s side, with flushed cheeks and spark 
 ling eyes, exclaiming: 
 
 "Thou hast lagged sorely, but thou comest in 
 good season now, Sir Miles; carve me this rabble to 
 rags!" 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 THE PRINCE A PRISONER 
 
 HENDON forced back a smile, and bent down 
 and whispered in the king s ear: 
 
 " Softly, softly my prince, wag thy tongue warily 
 nay, suffer it not to wag at all. Trust in me 
 all shall go well in the end." Then he added, to 
 himself: "Sir Miles! Bless me, I had totally for 
 got I was a knight ! Lord how marvelous a thing it 
 is, the grip his memory doth take upon his quaint 
 
 and crazy fancies ! An empty and foolish title 
 
 is mine, and yet it is something to have deserved it, 
 for I think it is more honor to be held worthy to be 
 a specter-knight in his Kingdom of Dreams and 
 Shadows, than to be held base enough to be an earl 
 in some of the real kingdoms of this world." 
 
 The crowd fell apart to admit a constable, who 
 approached and was about to lay his hand upon the 
 king s shoulder, when Hendon said: 
 
 " Gently, good friend, withhold your hand he 
 shall go peaceably ; I am responsible for that. Lead 
 on, we will follow." 
 
 The officer led, with the woman and her bundle; 
 
 (214) 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 215 
 
 Miles and the king followed after, with the crowd at 
 their heels. The king was inclined to rebel; but 
 Hendon said to him in a low voice : 
 
 14 Reflect, sire your laws are the wholesome 
 breath of your own royalty; shall their source resist 
 them, yet require the branches to respect them? 
 Apparently, one of these laws has been broken ; 
 when the king is on his throne again, can it ever 
 grieve him to remember that when he was seemingly 
 a private person he loyally sunk the king in the 
 citizen and submitted to its authority?" 
 
 Thou art right ; say no more ; thou shalt see 
 that whatsoever the king of England requires a sub 
 ject to suffer under the law, he will himself suffer 
 while he holdeth the station of a subject." 
 
 When the woman was called upon to testify before 
 the justice of the peace, she swore that the small 
 prisoner at the bar was the person who had com 
 mitted the theft ; there was none able to show the 
 contrary, so the king stood convicted. The bundle 
 was now unrolled, and when the contents proved to 
 be a plump little dressed pig, the judge looked 
 troubled, while Hendon turned pale, and his body 
 was thrilled with an electric shiver of dismay; but 
 the king remained unmoved, protected by his igno 
 rance. The judge meditated, during an ominous 
 pause, then turned to the woman, with the question: 
 
 "What dost thou hold this property to be 
 worth?" 
 
 The woman courtesied and replied : 
 
216 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 "Three shillings and eightpence, your worship 
 I could not abate a penny and set forth the value 
 honestly." 
 
 The justice glanced around uncomfortably upon 
 the crowd, then nodded to the constable and said: 
 
 11 Clear the court and close the doors." 
 
 It was done. None remained but the two officials, 
 the accused, the accuser, and Miles Hendon. This 
 latter was rigid and colorless, and on his forehead 
 big drops of cold sweat gathered, broke and blended 
 together, and trickled down his face. The judge 
 turned to the woman again, and said, in a compas 
 sionate voice : 
 
 Tis a poor ignorant lad, and mayhap was driven 
 hard by hunger, for these be grievous times for the 
 unfortunate; mark you, he hath not an evil face 
 but when hunger driveth Good woman! dost 
 know that when one steals a thing above the value 
 of thirteen pence ha penny the law saith he shall 
 hang for it?" 
 
 The little king started, wide-eyed with consterna 
 tion, but controlled himself and held his peace; but 
 not so the woman. She sprang to her feet, shaking 
 with fright, and cried out: 
 
 "Oh, good lack, what have I done! God-a- 
 mercy, I would not hang the poor thing for the 
 whole world ! Ah, save me from this, your wor 
 ship what shall I do, what can I do?" 
 
 The justice maintained his judicial composure, and 
 simply said : 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 217 
 
 "Doubtless it is allowable to revise the value, 
 since it is not yet writ upon the record." 
 
 "Then in God s name call the pig eightpence, 
 and heaven bless the day that freed my conscience 
 of this awesome thing!" 
 
 Miles Hendon forgot all decorum in his delight; 
 and surprised the king and wounded his dignity by 
 throwing his arms around him and hugging him. 
 The woman made her grateful adieux and started 
 away with her pig ; and when the constable opened 
 the door for her, he followed her out into the 
 narrow hall. The justice proceeded to write in his 
 record book. Hendon, always alert, thought he 
 would like to know why the officer followed the 
 woman out; so he slipped softly into the dusky 
 hall and listened. He heard a conversation to this 
 effect : 
 
 " It is a fat pig, and promises good eating; I will 
 buy it of thee; here is the eightpence." 
 
 " Eightpence, indeed ! Thou lt do no such thing. 
 It cost me three shillings and eightpence, good 
 honest coin of the last reign, that old Harry that s 
 just dead ne er touched nor tampered with. A fig 
 for thy eightpence!" 
 
 "Stands the wind in that quarter? Thou wast 
 under oath, and so swore falsely when thou saidst 
 the value was but eightpence. Come straightway 
 back with me before his worship, and answer for the 
 crime ! -and then the lad will hang." 
 
 "There, there, dear heart, say no more, I am 
 
218 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 content. Give me the eightpence, and hold thy 
 peace about the matter." 
 
 The woman went off crying; Hendon slipped 
 back into the court room, and the constable pres 
 ently followed, after hiding his prize in some con 
 venient place. The justice wrote a while longer, 
 then read the king a wise and kindly lecture, and 
 sentenced him to a short imprisonment in the com 
 mon jail, to be followed by a public flogging. The 
 astounded king opened his mouth and was probably 
 going to order the good judge to be beheaded on 
 the spot; but he caught a warning sign from Hen 
 don, and succeeded in closing his mouth again be 
 fore he lost anything out of it. Hendon took him 
 by the hand, now made reverence to the justice, and 
 the two departed in the wake of the constable toward 
 the jail. The moment the street was reached, the 
 inflamed monarch halted, snatched away his hand, 
 and exclaimed : 
 
 " Idiot, dost imagine I will enter a common jail 
 alive?" 
 
 Hendon bent down and said, somewhat sharply: 
 Will you trust in me? Peace! and forbear to 
 worsen our chances with dangerous speech. What 
 God wills, will happen; thou canst not hurry it, 
 thou canst not alter it; therefore wait, and be 
 patient twill be time enow to rail or rejoice when 
 what is to happen has happened."* 
 
 * See Notes to Chapter 23, at end of volume. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 THE ESCAPE 
 
 THE short winter day was nearly ended. The 
 streets were deserted, save for a few random 
 stragglers, and these hurried straight along, with the 
 intent look of people who were only anxious to ac 
 complish their errands as quickly as possible and 
 then snugly house themselves from the rising wind 
 and the gathering twilight. They looked neither to 
 the right nor to the left ; they paid no attention to 
 our party, they did not even seem to see them. 
 Edward the Sixth wondered if the spectacle of a 
 king on his way to jail had ever encountered such 
 marvelous indifference before. By and by the con 
 stable arrived at a deserted market-square and pro 
 ceeded to cross it. When he had reached the 
 middle of it, Hendon laid his hand upon his arm, 
 and said in a low voice : 
 
 11 Bide a moment, good sir, there is none in hear 
 ing, and I would say a word to thee." 
 
 14 My duty forbids it, sir; prithee, hinder me not, 
 the night comes on." 
 
220 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 " Stay, nevertheless, for the matter concerns thee 
 nearly. Turn thy back a moment and seem not to 
 see ; let this poor lad escape. 
 
 " This to me, sir ! I arrest thee in " 
 
 * Nay, be not too hasty. See thou be careful 
 and commit no foolish error" then he shut his 
 voice down to a whisper, and said in the man s 
 ear "the pig thou hast purchased for eightpence 
 may cost thee thy neck, man !" 
 
 The poor constable, taken by surprise, was speech 
 less at first, then found his tongue and fell to bluster 
 ing and threatening; but Hendon was tranquil, and 
 waited with patience till his breath was spent; then 
 said : 
 
 "I have a liking to thee, friend, and would not 
 willingly see thee come to harm. Observe, I heard 
 it all every word. I will prove it to thee." Then 
 he repeated the conversation which the officer and 
 the woman had had together in the hall, word for 
 word, and ended with: 
 
 " There have I set it forth correctly? Should 
 not I be able to set it forth correctly before the 
 judge, if occasion required?" 
 
 The man was dumb with fear and distress for a 
 moment; then he rallied and said with forced light 
 ness: 
 
 Tis making a mighty matter indeed, out of a 
 jest; I but plagued the woman for mine amuse 
 ment." 
 
 " Kept you the woman s pig for amusement?" 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 221 
 
 The man answered sharply: 
 
 "Nought else, good sir I tell thee twas but a 
 jest." 
 
 " I do begin to believe thee," said Hendon, with 
 a perplexing mixture of mockery and half-conviction 
 in his tone ; " but tarry thou here a moment whilst I 
 run and ask his worship for nathless, he being a 
 man experienced in law, in jests, in " 
 
 He was moving away, still talking; the constable 
 hesitated, fidgeted, spat out an oath or two, then 
 cried out: 
 
 11 Hold, hold, good sir prithee, wait a little 
 the judge ! why man, he hath no more sympathy 
 with a jest than hath a dead corpse ! come, and 
 we will speak further. Ods body ! I seem to be in 
 evil case and all for an innocent and thoughtless 
 pleasantry. I am a man of family; and my wife 
 and little ones List to reason, good your wor 
 ship; what wouldst thou of me?" 
 
 " Only that thou be blind and dumb and paralytic 
 whilst one may count a hundred thousand count 
 ing slowly," said Hendon, with the expression of a 
 man who asks but a reasonable favor, and that a 
 very little one. 
 
 11 It is my destruction !" said the constable de 
 spairingly. "Ah, be reasonable, good sir; only 
 look at this matter, on all its sides, and see how 
 mere a jest it is how manifestly and how plainly 
 it is so. And even if one granted it were not a jest, 
 it is a fault so small that e en the grimmest penalty 
 
 IS 
 
222 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 it could call forth would be but a rebuke and warn 
 ing from the judge s lips." 
 
 Hendon replied with a solemnity which chilled 
 the air about him : 
 
 11 This jest of thine hath a name in law wot you 
 what it is?" 
 
 "I knew it not! Peradventure I have been un 
 wise. I never dreamed it had a name ah, sweet 
 heaven, I thought it was original." 
 
 Yes, it hath a name. In the law this crime is 
 called Non compos mentis lex talionis sic transit 
 gloria Mundi" 
 
 "Ah, my God!" 
 
 " And the penalty is death !" 
 
 " God be merciful to me, a sinner!" 
 
 "By advantage taken of one in fault, in dire 
 peril, and at thy mercy, thou hast seized goods 
 worth above thirteen pence ha penny, paying but a 
 trifle for the same ; and this, in the eye of the law, 
 is constructive barratry, misprision of treason, mal 
 feasance in office, ad Jiomincm cxpurgatis in statu 
 quo and the penalty is death by the halter, with 
 out ransom, commutation, or benefit of clergy." 
 
 1 Bear me up, bear me up, sweet sir, my legs do 
 fail me ! Be thou merciful spare me this doom, 
 and I will turn my back and see nought that shall 
 happen." 
 
 "Good! now thou rt wise and reasonable. And 
 thou It restore the pig?" 
 
 "I will, I will, indeed nor ever touch another, 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 223 
 
 though heaven send it and an archangel fetch it. 
 Go I am blind for thy sake I see nothing. I 
 will say thou didst break in and wrest the prisoner 
 from my hands by force. It is but a crazy, ancient 
 door I will batter it down myself betwixt midnight 
 and the morning." 
 
 " Do it, good soul, no harm will come of it; the 
 judge hath a loving charity for this poor lad, and 
 will shed no tears and break no jailor s bones for his 
 escape." 
 
CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 HENDON HALL 
 
 AS soon as Hendon and the king were out of sight 
 of the constable, his majesty was instructed to 
 hurry to a certain place outside the town, and wait 
 there, whilst Hendon should go to the inn and settle 
 his account. Half an hour later the two friends 
 were blithely jogging eastward on Hendon s sorry 
 steeds. The king was warm and comfortable now, 
 for he had cast his rags and clothed himself in the 
 second-hand suit which Hendon had bought on 
 London Bridge. 
 
 Hendon wished to guard against over-fatiguing 
 the boy; he judged that hard journeys, irregular 
 meals, and illiberal measures of sleep would be bad 
 for his crazed mind ; while rest, regularity, and 
 moderate exercise would be pretty sure to hasten 
 its cure ; he longed to see the stricken intellect made 
 well again and its diseased visions driven out of the 
 tormented little head ; therefore he resolved to move 
 by easy stages toward the home whence he had so 
 long been banished, instead of obeying the impulse 
 of his impatience and hurrying along night and day. 
 
 (224) 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 225 
 
 When he and the king had journeyed about ten 
 miles, they reached a considerable village, and 
 halted there for the night, at a good inn. The 
 former relations were resumed ; Hendon stood be 
 hind the king s chair while he dined, and waited 
 upon him ; undressed him when he was ready for 
 bed ; then took the floor for his own quarters, and 
 slept athwart the door, rolled up in a blanket. 
 
 The next day, and the next day after, they jogged 
 lazily along talking over the adventures they had 
 met since their separation, and mightily enjoying 
 each other s narratives. Hendon detailed all his 
 wide wanderings in search of the king, and de 
 scribed how the archangel had led him a fool s 
 journey all over the forest, and taken him back to 
 the hut finally, when he found he could not get rid 
 of him. Then he said the old man went into 
 the bedchamber and came staggering back looking 
 broken-hearted, and saying he had expected to find 
 that the boy had returned and lain down in there to 
 rest, but it was not so. Hendon had waited at the 
 hut all day; hope of the king s return died out then, 
 and he departed upon the quest again. 
 
 4 And old Sanctum Sanctorum was truly sorry 
 your Highness came not back," said Hendon; "I 
 saw it in his face." 
 
 " Marry, I will never doubt that !" said the king 
 and then told his own story ; after which Hendon 
 was sorry he had not destroyed the archangel. 
 
 During the last day of the trip, Hendon s spirits 
 15 
 
226 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 were soaring. His tongue ran constantly. He 
 talked about his old father, and his brother Arthur, 
 and told of many things which illustrated their high 
 and generous characters ; he went into loving fren 
 zies over his Edith, and was so glad-hearted that he 
 was even able to say some gentle and brotherly 
 things about Hugh. He dwelt a deal on the coming 
 meeting at Hendon Hall ; what a surprise it would 
 be to everybody, and what an outburst of thanks 
 giving and delight there would be. 
 
 It was a fair region, dotted with cottages and 
 orchards, and the road led through broad pasture 
 lands whose receding expanses, marked with gentle 
 elevations and depressions, suggested the swelling 
 and subsiding undulations of the sea. In the after 
 noon the returning prodigal made constant deflec 
 tions from his course to see if by ascending some 
 hillock he might not pierce the distance and catch a 
 glimpse of his home. At last he was successful, 
 and cried out excitedly : 
 
 There is the village, my prince, and there is the 
 Hall close by ! You may see the towers from here ; 
 and that wood there that is my father s park. 
 Ah, now thou lt know what state and grandeur be! 
 A house with seventy rooms think of that ! and 
 seven and twenty servants ! A brave lodging for 
 such as we, is it not so? Come, let us speed my 
 impatience will not brook further delay." 
 
 All possible hurry was made; still, it was after 
 three o clock before the village was reached. The 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 227 
 
 travelers scampered through it, Hendon s tongue 
 going all the time. " Here is the church covered 
 with the same ivy none gone, none added." 
 "Yonder is the inn, the old Red Lion, and yon 
 der is the market place." Here is the Maypole, 
 and here the pump nothing is altered ; nothing 
 but the people, at any rate ; ten years make a change 
 in people ; some of these I seem to know, but 
 none know me." So his chat ran on. The end of 
 the village was soon reached ; then the travelers 
 struck into a crooked, narrow road, walled in with 
 tall hedges, and hurried briskly along it for a half 
 mile, then passed into a vast flower garden through 
 an imposing gateway whose huge stone pillars bore 
 sculptured armorial devices. A noble mansion was 
 before them. 
 
 "Welcome to Hendon Hall, my king!" ex 
 claimed Miles. " Ah, tis a great clay! My father 
 and my brother and the Lady Edith will be so mad 
 with joy that they will have eyes and tongue for 
 none but me in the first transports of the meeting, 
 and so thouTt seem but coldly welcomed but 
 mind it not; twill soon seem otherwise ; for when 
 I say thou art my ward, and tell them how costly is 
 my love for thee, thou It see them take thee to their 
 breasts for Miles Hendon s sake, and make their 
 house and hearts thy home forever after!" 
 
 The next moment Hendon sprang to the ground 
 before the great door, helped the king down, then 
 took him by the hand and rushed within, A few 
 
228 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 steps brought him to a spacious apartment ; he en 
 tered, seated the king with more hurry than cere 
 mony, then ran toward a young man who sat at a 
 writing-table in front of a generous fire of logs. 
 
 "Embrace me, Hugh," he cried, "and say 
 thou rt glad I am come again! and call our father, 
 for home is not home till I shall touch his hand, and 
 see his face, and hear his voice once more !" 
 
 But Hugh only drew back, after betraying a 
 momentary surprise, and bent a grave stare upon 
 the intruder a stare which indicated somewhat of 
 offended dignity at first, then changed, in response 
 to some inward thought or purpose, to an expression 
 of marveling curiosity, mixed with a real or assumed 
 compassion. Presently he said, in a mild voice: 
 
 " Thy wits seem touched, poor stranger; doubt 
 less thou hast suffered privations and rude buffetings 
 at the world s hands; thy looks and dress betoken 
 it. Whom dost thou take me to be?" 
 
 " Take thee? Prithee, for whom else than whom 
 thou art? I take thee to be Hugh Hendon," said 
 Miles, sharply. 
 
 The other continued, in the same soft tone: 
 
 " And whom dost thou imagine thyself to be?" 
 
 "Imagination hath nought to do with it ! Dost 
 thou pretend thou knowest me not for thy brother 
 Miles Hendon?" 
 
 An expression of pleased surprise flitted across 
 Hugh s face, and he exclaimed: 
 
 " What! thou art not jesting? can the dead come 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 229 
 
 to life? God be praised if it be so ! Our poor lost 
 boy restored to our arms after all these cruel years ! 
 Ah, it seems too good to be true, it is too good to 
 be true I charge thee, have pity, do not trifle 
 with me ! Quick come to the light let me scan 
 thee well ! 
 
 He seized Miles by the arm, dragged him to the 
 window, and began to devour him from head to foot 
 with his eyes, turning him this way and that, and 
 stepping briskly around him and about him to prove 
 him from all points of view; whilst the returned 
 prodigal, all aglow with gladness, smiled, laughed, 
 and kept nodding his head and saying: 
 
 "Go on, brother, go on, and fear not; thou lt 
 find nor limb nor feature that cannot bide the test. 
 Scour and scan me to thy content, my dear old 
 Hugh I am indeed thy old Miles, thy same old 
 Miles, thy lost brother, is t not so? Ah, tis a great 
 day I said twas a great day ! Give me thy hand, 
 give me thy cheek lord, I am like to die of very 
 joy!" 
 
 He was about to throw himself upon his brother ; 
 but Hugh put up his hand in dissent, then dropped 
 his chin mournfully upon his breast, saying with 
 emotion : 
 
 s< Ah, God of his mercy give me strength to bear 
 this grievous disappointment!" 
 
 Miles, amazed, could not speak for a moment; 
 then he found his tongue, and cried out: 
 
 " What disappointment? Am I not thy brother?" 
 
230 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 Hugh shook his head sadly, and said : 
 
 " I pray heaven it may prove so, and that other 
 eyes may find the resemblances that are hid from 
 mine. Alack, I fear me the letter spoke but too 
 truly." 
 
 "What letter?" 
 
 " One that came from over sea, some six or seven 
 years ago. It said my brother died in battle." 
 
 1 It was a lie ! Call thy father he will know me. 
 
 11 One may not call the dead." 
 
 Dead?" Miles s voice was subdued, and his 
 lips trembled. "My father dead ! oh, this is 
 heavy news. Half my new joy is withered now. 
 Prithee, let me see rny brother Arthur he will 
 know me; he will know me and console me." 
 
 "He, also, is dead." 
 
 " God be merciful to me, a stricken man ! Gone, 
 
 both gone the worthy taken and the worthless 
 spared in me ! Ah ! I crave your mercy ! do not 
 say the Lady Edith 
 
 "Is dead? No, she lives." 
 
 Then, God be praised, my joy is whole again ! 
 Speed thee, brother let her come to me ! An she 
 say I am not myself, but she will not; no, no, she 
 will know me, I were a fool to doubt it. Bring her 
 
 bring the old servants ; they, too, will know me. 
 "All are gone but five Peter, Halsey, David, 
 
 Bernard, and Margaret." 
 
 So saying, Hugh left the room. Miles stood musing 
 a while, then began to walk the floor, muttering: 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 231 
 
 The five arch villains have survived the two-and- 
 twenty leal and honest - tis an odd thing." 
 
 He continued walking back and forth, muttering 
 to himself; he had forgotten the king entirely. By 
 and by his majesty said gravely, and with a touch of 
 genuine compassion, though the words themselves 
 were capable of being interpreted ironically : 
 
 "Mind not thy mischance, good man; there be 
 others in the world whose identity is denied, and 
 whose claims are derided. Thou hast company." 
 
 11 Ah, my king," cried } Tendon, coloring slightly, 
 "do not thou condemn me wait, and thou shalt 
 see. I am no impostor she will say it; you shall 
 hear it from the sweetest lips in England. I an im 
 postor? Why I know this old hall, these pictures 
 of my ancestors, and all these things that are about 
 us, as a child knoweth its own nursery. Here was I 
 born and bred, my lord; I speak the truth; I would 
 not deceive thee; and should none else believe, I 
 pray thee do not thou doubt me I could not bear 
 it." 
 
 " I do not doubt thee," said the king, with a 
 childlike simplicity and faith. 
 
 " I thank thee out of my heart!" exclaimed Hen- 
 don, with a fervency which showed that he was 
 touched. The king added, with the same gentle 
 simplicity: 
 
 " Dost thou doubt me ?" 
 
 A guilty confusion seized upon Hendon, and he 
 was grateful that the door opened to admit Hugh, 
 
232 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 at that moment, and saved him the necessity of 
 replying. 
 
 A beautiful lady, richly clothed, followed Hugh, 
 and after her came several liveried servants. The 
 lady walked slowly, with her head bowed and her 
 eyes fixed upon the floor. The face was unspeak 
 ably sad. Miles Hendon sprang forward, crying out : 
 44 Oh, my Edith, my darling 
 But Hugh waved him back, gravely, and said to 
 the lady : 
 
 14 Look upon him. Do you know him?" 
 At the sound of Miles s voice the woman had 
 started slightly, and her cheeks had flushed ; she 
 was trembling now. She stood still, during an im 
 pressive pause of several moments; then slowly 
 lifted up her head and looked into Hendon s eyes 
 with a stony and frightened gaze ; the blood sank 
 out of her face, drop by drop, till nothing remained 
 but the gray pallor of death; then she said, in a 
 voice as dead as the face, 4< I know him not!" and 
 turned, with a moan and a stifled sob, and tottered 
 out of the room. 
 
 Miles Hendon sank into a chair and covered his 
 face with his hands. After a pause, his brother 
 said to the servants : 
 
 44 You have observed him. Do you know him?" 
 They shook their heads ; then the master said : 
 44 The servants know you not, sir. I fear there is 
 some mistake. You have seen that my wife knew 
 you not." 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 233 
 
 11 Thy wife /" In an instant Hugh was pinned 
 to the wall, with an iron grip about his throat. 
 " Oh, thou fox-hearted slave, I see it all! Thou st 
 writ the lying letter thyself, and my stolen bride and 
 goods are its fruit. There now get thee gone, lest 
 I shame mine honorable soldiership with the slaying 
 of so pitiful a manikin !" 
 
 Hugh, red-faced and almost suffocated, reeled to 
 the nearest chair, and commanded the servants to 
 seize and bind the murderous stranger. They hesi 
 tated, and one of them said : 
 
 " He is armed, Sir Hugh, and we are weapon 
 less." 
 
 " Armed? What of it, and ye so many? Upon 
 him, I say !" 
 
 But Miles warned them to be careful what they 
 did, and added : 
 
 "Ye know me of old I have not changed; 
 come on, an it like you." 
 
 This reminder did not hearten the servants much ; 
 they still held back. 
 
 " Then go, ye paltry cowards, and arm yourselves 
 and guard the doors, while I send one to fetch the 
 watch;" said Hugh. He turned, at the threshold, 
 and said to Miles, " You ll find it to your advantage 
 to offend not with useless endeavors at escape." 
 
 "Escape? Spare thyself discomfort, an that is 
 all that troubles thee. For Miles Hendon is master 
 of Hendon Hall and all its belongings. He will re 
 main doubt it not." 
 
CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 DISOWNED 
 
 THE king sat musing a few moments, then looked 
 up and said : 
 
 Tis strange most strange. I cannot account 
 for it." 
 
 "No, it is not strange, my liege. I know him, 
 and this conduct is but natural. He was a rascal 
 from his birth." 
 
 " Oh, I spake not of him, Sir Miles." 
 
 "Not of him? Then of what? What is it that 
 is strange?" 
 
 " That the king is not missed." 
 
 " How? Which? I doubt I do not understand." 
 
 " Indeed ! Doth it not strike you as being pass 
 ing strange that the land is not filled with couriers 
 and proclamations describing my person and making 
 search for me? Is it no matter for commotion and 
 distress that the head of the state is gone ? that I 
 am vanished away and lost?" 
 
 "Most true, my king, I had forgot." Then 
 Hendon sighed, and muttered to himself, " Poor 
 ruined mind still busy with its pathetic dream." 
 
 (234) 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 235 
 
 " But I have a plan that shall right us both. I 
 will write a paper, in three tongues Latin, Greek, 
 and English and thou shalt haste away with it to 
 London in the morning. Give it to none but my 
 uncle, the Lord Hertford ; when he shall see it, he 
 will know and say I wrote it. Then he will send 
 for me." 
 
 Might it not be best, my prince, that we wait 
 here until I prove myself and make my rights secure 
 to rny domains? I should be so much the better 
 able then to " 
 
 The king interrupted him imperiously: 
 
 "Peace! What are thy paltry domains, thy 
 trivial interests, contrasted with matters which con 
 cern the weal of a nation and the integrity of a 
 throne!" Then he added, in a gentle voice, as if 
 he were sorry for his severity, " Obey and have no 
 fear; I will right thee, I will make thee whole yes, 
 more than whole. I shall remember, and requite." 
 
 So saying, he took the pen, and set himself to 
 work. Hendon contemplated him lovingly a while, 
 then said to himself : 
 
 " An it were dark, I should think it was a king 
 that spoke; there s no denying it, when the humor s 
 upon him he doth thunder and lighten like your true 
 king now where got he that trick? See him 
 scribble and scratch away contentedly at his mean 
 ingless pot-hooks, fancying them to be Latin and 
 Greek and except my wit shall serve me with a 
 lucky device for diverting him from his purpose, I 
 
236 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 shall be forced to pretend to post away to-morrow 
 on this wild errand he hath invented for me." 
 
 The next moment Sir Miles s thoughts had gone 
 back to the recent episode. So absorbed was he in 
 his musings, that when the king presently handed 
 him the paper which he had been writing, he re 
 ceived it and pocketed it without being conscious of 
 the act. " How marvelous strange she acted," he 
 muttered. "I think she knew me and I think 
 she did not know me. These opinions do conflict, I 
 perceive it plainly; I cannot reconcile them, neither 
 can I, by argument, dismiss either of the two, or 
 even persuade one to outweigh the other. The 
 matter standeth simply thus : she must have known 
 my face, my figure, my voice, for how could it be 
 otherwise? yet she said she knew me not, and that 
 is proof perfect, for she cannot lie. But stop I 
 think I begin to see. Peradventure he hath influ 
 enced her commanded her compelled her to lie. 
 That is the solution ! The riddle is unriddled. She 
 seemed dead with fear yes, she was under his 
 compulsion. I will seek her; I will find her; now 
 that he is away, she will speak her true mind. She 
 will remember the old times when we were little 
 playfellows together, and this will soften her heart, 
 and she will no more betray me, but will confess 
 me. There is no treacherous blood in her no, 
 she was always honest and true. She has loved me 
 in those old days this is my security ; for whom 
 one has loved, one cannot betray." 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 237 
 
 He stepped eagerly toward the door ; at that mo 
 ment it opened, and the Lady Edith entered. She 
 was very pale, but she walked with a firm step, and 
 her carriage was full of grace and gentle dignity. 
 Her face was as sad as before. 
 
 Miles sprang forward, with a happy confidence, 
 to meet her, but she checked him with a hardly 
 perceptible gesture, and he stopped where he was. 
 She seated herself, and asked him to do likewise. 
 Thus simply did she take the sense of old-comrade 
 ship out of him, and transform him into a stranger 
 and a guest. The surprise of it, the bewildering 
 unexpectedness of it, made him begin to question, 
 for a moment, if he was the person he was pretend 
 ing to be, after all. The Lady Edith said : 
 
 " Sir, I have come to warn you. The mad can 
 not be persuaded out of their delusions, perchance; 
 but doubtless they may be persuaded to avoid perils. 
 I think this dream of yours hath the seeming of 
 honest truth to you, and therefore is not criminal 
 but do not tarry here with it ; for here it is danger 
 ous/ She looked steadily into Miles s face a mo 
 ment, then added, impressively, " It is the more 
 dangerous for that you are much like what our lost 
 lad must have grown to be, if he had lived." 
 
 " Heavens, madam, but I am he! " 
 
 " I truly think you think it, sir. I question not 
 your honesty in that I but warn you, that is all. 
 My husband is master in this region; his power 
 hath hardly any limit; the people prosper or starve, 
 
 x<5 
 
238 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 as he wills. If you resembled not the man whom 
 you profess to be, my husband might bid you 
 pleasure yourself with your dream in peace; but 
 trust me, I know him well, I know what he will do; 
 he will say to all that you are but a mad impostor, 
 and straightway all will echo him." She bent upon 
 Miles that same steady look once more, and added : 
 44 If you were Miles Hendon, and he knew it and all 
 the region knew it consider what I am saying, 
 weigh it well you would stand in the same peril, 
 your punishment would be no less sure ; he would 
 deny you and denounce you, and none would be 
 bold enough to give you countenance." 
 
 "Most truly I believe it," said Miles, bitterly. 
 The power that can command one lifelong friend 
 to betray and disown another, and be obeyed, may 
 well look to be obeyed in quarters where bread and 
 life are on the stake and no cobweb ties of loyalty 
 and honor are concerned." 
 
 A faint tinge appeared for a moment in the lady s 
 cheek, and she dropped her eyes to the floor; but 
 her voice betrayed no emotion when she proceeded : 
 
 " I have warned you, I must still warn you, to go 
 hence. This man will destroy you else. He is a 
 tyrant who knows no pity. I, who am his fettered 
 slave, know this. Poor Miles, and Arthur, and my 
 dear guardian, Sir Richard, are free of him, and at 
 rest better that you were with them than that you 
 bide here in the clutches of this miscreant. Your 
 pretensions are a menace to his title and possessions ; 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 239 
 
 you have assaulted him in his own house you are 
 ruined if you stay. Go do not hesitate. If you 
 lack money, take this purse, I beg of you, and 
 bribe the servants to let you pass. Oh, be warned, 
 poor soul, and escape while you may." 
 
 Miles declined the purse with a gesture, and rose 
 up and stood before her. 
 
 " Grant me one thing," he said. * Let your eyes 
 rest upon mine, so that I may see if they be steady. 
 There now answer me. Am I Miles Hendon?" 
 
 4 No. I know you not." 
 
 "Swear it!" 
 
 The answer was low, but distinct : 
 
 "I swear." 
 
 "Oh, this passes belief!" 
 
 "Fly! Why will you waste the precious time? 
 Fly and save yourself." 
 
 At that moment the officers burst into the room 
 and a violent struggle began ; but Hendon was soon 
 overpowered and dragged away. The king was 
 taken also, and both were bound and led to prison. 
 
CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 IN PRISON 
 
 THE cells were all crowded ; so the two friends 
 were chained in a large room where persons 
 charged with trifling offenses were commonly kept. 
 They had company, for there were some twenty 
 manacled or fettered prisoners here, of both sexes 
 and of varying ages, an obscene and noisy gang. 
 The king chafed bitterly over the stupendous indig 
 nity thus put upon his royalty, but Hendon was 
 moody and taciturn. He was pretty thoroughly 
 bewildered. He had come home, a jubilant prodi 
 gal, expecting to find everybody wild with joy over 
 his return; and instead had got the cold shoulder 
 and a jail. The promise and the fulfilment differed 
 so widely, that the effect was stunning; he could 
 not decide whether it was most tragic or most 
 grotesque. He felt much as a man might who had 
 danced blithely out to enjoy a rainbow, and got 
 struck by lightning. 
 
 But gradually his confused and tormenting 
 thoughts settled down into some sort of order, and 
 then his mind centered itself upon Edith. He turned 
 
 (240) 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 241 
 
 her conduct over, and examined it in all lights, but 
 he could not make anything satisfactory out of it. 
 Did she know him? or didn t she know him? It 
 was a perplexing puzzle, and occupied him a long 
 time; but he ended, finally, with the conviction that 
 she did know him, and had repudiated him for 
 interested reasons. He wanted to load her name 
 with curses now; but this name had so long been 
 sacred to him that he found he could not bring his 
 tongue to profane it. 
 
 Wrapped in prison blankets of a soiled and tat 
 tered condition, Hendon and the king passed a 
 troubled night. For a bribe the jailer had furnished 
 liquor to some of the prisoners ; singing of ribald 
 songs, fighting, shouting, and carousing, was the 
 natural consequence. At last, a while after mid 
 night, a man attacked a woman and nearly killed 
 her by beating her over the head with his manacles 
 before the jailer could come to the rescue. The 
 jailer restored peace by giving the man a sound 
 clubbing about the head and shoulders then the 
 carousing ceased ; and after that, all had an oppor 
 tunity to sleep who did not mind the annoyance of 
 the meanings and groanings of the two wounded 
 people. 
 
 During the ensuing week, the days and nights 
 were of a monotonous sameness, as to events; men 
 whose faces Hendon remembered more or less dis 
 tinctly came, by day, to gaze at the "impostor" 
 and repudiate and insult him; and by night the 
 16 
 
242 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 carousing and brawling went on, with symmetrical 
 regularity. However, there was a change of inci 
 dent at last. The jailer brought in an old man, and 
 said to him : 
 
 1 The villain is in this room cast thy old eyes 
 about and see if thou canst say which is he." 
 
 Hendon glanced up, and experienced a pleasant 
 sensation for the first time since he had been in the 
 jail. He said to himself, " This is Blake Andrews, 
 a servant all his life in my father s family a good 
 honest soul, with a right heart in his breast. That 
 is, formerly. But none are true now; all are liars. 
 This man will know me and will deny me, too, 
 like the rest." 
 
 The old man gazed around the room, glanced at 
 each face in turn, and finally said : 
 
 " I see none here but paltry knaves, scum o the 
 streets. Which is he?" 
 
 The jailer laughed. 
 
 "Here," he said; "scan this big animal, and 
 grant me an opinion." 
 
 The old man approached, and looked Hendon 
 over, long and earnestly, then shook his head and 
 said: 
 
 " Marry, this is no Hendon nor ever was!" 
 
 "Right! Thy old eyes are sound yet. An I 
 were Sir Hugh, I would take the shabby carle 
 and" 
 
 The jailer finished by lifting himself a-tip-toe with 
 an imaginary halter, at the same time making a 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 24) 
 
 gurgling noise in his throat suggestive of suffocation. 
 The old man said, vindictively: 
 
 " Let him bless God an he fare no worse. An 
 /had the handling o the villain, he should roast, or 
 I am no true man ! 
 
 The jailer laughed a pleasant hyena laugh, and 
 said: 
 
 " Give him a piece of thy mind, old man they 
 all do it. Thou lt find it good diversion." 
 
 Then he sauntered toward his anteroom and dis 
 appeared. The old man dropped upon his knees 
 and whispered : 
 
 " God be thanked, thou rt come again, my mas 
 ter ! I believed thou wert dead these seven years, 
 and lo, here thou art alive ! I knew thee the mo 
 ment I saw thee ; and main hard work it was to 
 keep a stony countenance and seem to see none 
 here but tuppenny knaves and rubbish o the streets. 
 I am old and poor, Sir Miles ; but say the word and 
 I will go forth and proclaim the truth though I be 
 strangled for it." 
 
 " No," said Hendon, " thou shalt not. It would 
 ruin thee, and yet help but little in my cause. But 
 I thank thee ; for thou hast given me back some 
 what of my lost faith in my kind." 
 
 The old servant became very valuable to Hendon 
 and the king; for he dropped in several times a day 
 to " abuse" the former, and always smuggled in a 
 few delicacies to help out the prison bill of fare ; he 
 also furnished the current news. Hendon reserved 
 
244 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 the dainties for the king ; without them his majesty 
 might not have survived, for he was not able to eat 
 the coarse and wretched food provided by the jailer. 
 Andrews was obliged to confine himself to brief 
 visits, in order to avoid suspicion ; but he managed 
 to impart a fair degree of information each time 
 information delivered in a low voice, for Hendon s 
 benefit, and interlarded with insulting epithets de 
 livered in a louder voice, for the benefit of other 
 hearers. 
 
 So, little by little, the story of the family came 
 out. Arthur had been dead six years. This loss, 
 with the absence of news from Hendon, impaired 
 the father s health; he believed he was going to 
 die, and he wished to see Hugh and Edith settled in 
 life before he passed away; but Edith begged hard 
 for delay, hoping for Miles s return; then the letter 
 came which brought the news of Miles s death; the 
 shock prostrated Sir Richard ; he believed his end 
 was very near, and he and Hugh insisted upon the 
 marriage; Edith begged for and obtained a month s 
 respite ; then another, and finally a third ; the mar 
 riage then took place, by the deathbed of Sir 
 Richard. It had not proved a happy one. It was 
 whispered about the country that shortly after the 
 nuptials the bride found among her husband s 
 papers several rough and incomplete drafts of the 
 fatal letter, and had accused him of precipitating the 
 marriage and Sir Richard s death, too by a 
 wicked forgery. Tales of cruelty to the Lady Edith 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 245 
 
 and the servants were to be heard on all hands ; and 
 since the father s death Sir Hugh had thrown off all 
 soft disguises and become a pitiless master toward 
 all who in any way depended upon him and his 
 domains for bread. 
 
 There was a bit of Andrews s gossip which the 
 king listened to with a lively interest : 
 
 "There is rumor that the king is mad. But in 
 charity forbear to say 7 mentioned it, for tis death 
 to speak of it, they say." 
 
 His majesty glared at the old man and said : 
 The king is not mad, good man and thou lt 
 find it to thy advantage to busy thyself with matters 
 that nearer concern thee than this seditious prattle." 
 
 1 * What doth the lad mean?" said Andrews, sur 
 prised at this brisk assault from such an unexpected 
 quarter. Hendon gave him a sign, and he did not 
 pursue his question, but went on with his budget: 
 
 The late king is to be buried at Windsor in a 
 day or two the i6th of the month, and the new 
 king will be crowned at Westminster the 2Oth." 
 
 " Methinks they must needs find him first," mut 
 tered his majesty; then added, confidently, " but 
 they will look to that and so also shall I. " 
 
 " In the name of " 
 
 But the old man got no further a warning sign 
 from Hendon checked his remark. He resumed the 
 thread of his gossip. 
 
 "Sir Hugh goeth to the coronation and with 
 grand hopes. He confidently looketh to come back 
 
246 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 a peer, for he is high in favor with the Lord Pro 
 tector." 
 
 " What Lord Protector?" asked his majesty. 
 
 "His grace the Duke of Somerset." 
 
 " What Duke of Somerset?" 
 
 41 Marry, there is but one Seymour. Earl of 
 Hertford." 
 
 The king asked, sharply: 
 
 " Since when is he a duke, and Lord Protector?" 
 
 11 Since the last day of January." 
 
 " And, prithee, who made him so?" 
 
 "Himself and the Great Council with help of 
 the king." 
 
 His majesty started violently. "The //" he 
 cried. What king, good sir?" 
 
 " What king, indeed ! (God-a-mercy, what aileth 
 the boy?) Sith we have but one, tis not difficult 
 to answer his most sacred majesty King Edward 
 the Sixth- whom God preserve! Yea, and a dear 
 and gracious little urchin is he, too ; and v/hether 
 he be mad or no and they say he mendeth daily 
 his praises are on all men s lips; and all bless 
 him likewise, and offer prayers that he may be 
 spared to reign long in England ; for he began 
 humanely, with saving the old Duke of Norfolk s 
 life, and now is he bent on destroying the crudest 
 of the laws that harry and oppress the people." 
 
 This news struck his majesty dumb with amaze 
 ment, and plunged him into so deep and dismal a 
 revery that he heard no more of the old man s 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 247 
 
 gossip. He wondered if the " little urchin" was 
 the beggar-boy whom he left dressed in his own 
 garments in the palace. It did not seem possible 
 that this could be, for surely his manners and speech 
 would betray him if he pretended to be the Prince 
 of Wales then he would be driven out, and search 
 made for the true prince. Could it be that the court 
 had set up some sprig of the nobility in his place? 
 No, for his uncle would not allow that he was all- 
 powerful and could and would crush such a move 
 ment, of course. The boy s musings profited him 
 nothing; the more he tried to unriddle the mystery 
 the more perplexed he became, the more his head 
 ached, and the worse he slept. His impatience to 
 get to London grew hourly, and his captivity became 
 almost unendurable. 
 
 Hendon s arts all failed with the king he could 
 not be comforted, but a couple of women who were 
 chained near him, succeeded better. Under their 
 gentle ministrations he found peace and learned a 
 degree of patience. He was very grateful, and came 
 to love them dearly and to delight in the sweet and 
 soothing influence of their presence. He asked 
 them why they were in prison, and when they said 
 they were Baptists, he smiled, and inquired: 
 
 " Is that a crime to be shut up for in a prison? 
 Now I grieve, for I shall lose ye they will not 
 keep ye long for such a little thing." 
 
 They did not answer; and something in their 
 faces made him uneasy. He said, eagerly: 
 
248 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 "You do not speak be good to me, and tell 
 me there will be no other punishment? Prithee, 
 tell me there is no fear of that." 
 
 They tried to change the topic, but his fears were 
 aroused, and he pursued it: 
 
 14 Will they scourge thee? No, no, they would 
 not be so cruel ! Say they would not. Come, they 
 will not, will they?" 
 
 The women betrayed confusion and distress, but 
 there was no avoiding an answer, so one of them 
 said, in a voice choked with emotion: 
 
 " Oh, thou lt break our hearts, thou gentle spirit! 
 God will help us to bear our 
 
 4 It is a confession !" the king broke in. " Then 
 they will scourge thee, the stony-hearted wretches ! 
 But oh, thou must not weep, I cannot bear it. 
 Keep up thy courage I shall come to my own in 
 time to save thee from this bitter thing, and I will 
 do it!" 
 
 When the king awoke in the morning, the women 
 were gone. 
 
 11 They are saved !" he said, joyfully; then added, 
 despondently, " but woe is me ! for they were my 
 comforters." 
 
 Each of them had left a shred of ribbon pinned to 
 his clothing, in token of remembrance. He said he 
 would keep these things always ; and that soon he 
 would seek out these dear good friends of his and 
 take them under his protection. 
 
 Just then the jailer came in with some subordinates 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 249 
 
 and commanded that the prisoners be conducted to 
 the jail-yard. The king was overjoyed it would 
 be a blessed thing to see the blue sky and breathe 
 the fresh air once more. He fretted and chafed at 
 the slowness of the officers, but his turn came at 
 last and he was released from his staple and ordered 
 to follow the other prisoners, with Hendon. 
 
 The court, or quadrangle, was stone-paved, and 
 open to the sky. The prisoners entered it through 
 a massive archway of masonry, and were placed in 
 file, standing, with their backs against the wall. A 
 rope was stretched in front of them, and they were 
 also guarded by their officers. It was a chill and 
 lowering morning, and a light snow which had fallen 
 during the night whitened the great empty space 
 and added to the general dismalness of its aspect. 
 Now and then a wintry wind shivered through the 
 place and sent the snow eddying hither and thither. 
 
 In the center of the court stood two women, 
 chained to posts. A glance showed the king that 
 these were his good friends. He shuddered, and 
 said to himself, " Alack, they are not gone free, as 
 I had thought. To think that such as these should 
 know the lash! in England! Ay, there s the 
 shame of it not in Heathenesse, but Christian 
 England! They will be scourged; and I, whom 
 they have comforted and kindly entreated, must 
 look on and see the great wrong done ; it is strange, 
 so strange! that I, the very source of power in this 
 broad realm, am helpless to protect them. But let 
 
250 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 these miscreants look well to themselves, for there 
 is a day coming when I will require of them a heavy 
 reckoning for this work. For every blow they strike 
 now they shall feel a hundred then." 
 
 A great gate swung open and a crowd of citizens 
 poured in. They flocked around the two women, 
 and hid them from the king s view. A clergyman 
 entered and passed through the crowd, and he also 
 was hidden. The king now heard talking, back and 
 forth, as if questions were being asked and answered, 
 but he could not make out what was said. Next 
 there was a deal of bustle and preparation, and 
 much passing and repassing of officials through that 
 part of the crowd that stood on the further side of 
 the women ; and while this proceeded a deep hush 
 gradually fell upon the people. 
 
 Now, by command, the masses parted and fell 
 aside, and the king saw a spectacle that froze the 
 marrow in his bones. Fagots had been piled about 
 the two women, and a kneeling man was lighting 
 them! 
 
 The women bowed their heads, and covered their 
 faces with their hands ; the yellow flames began to 
 climb upward among the snapping and crackling 
 fagots, and wreaths of blue smoke to stream away 
 on the wind ; the clergyman lifted his hands and 
 began a prayer just then two young girls came 
 flying through the great gate, uttering piercing 
 screams, and threw themselves upon the women at 
 the stake. Instantly they were torn away by the 
 
The F lince and the Pauper 251 
 
 officers, and one of them was kept in a tight grip, 
 but the other broke loose, saying she would die with 
 her mother; and before she could be stopped she 
 had flung her arms about her mother s neck again. 
 She was torn away once more, and with her gown 
 on fire. Two or three men held her, and the burn 
 ing portion of her gown was snatched off and thrown 
 flaming aside, she struggling all the while to free 
 herself, and saying she would be alone in the world 
 now, and begging to be allowed to die with her 
 mother. Both the girls screamed continually, and 
 fought for freedom ; but suddenly this tumult was 
 drowned under a volley of heart-piercing shrieks of 
 mortal agony. The king glanced from the frantic 
 girls to the stake, then turned away and leaned his 
 ashen face against the wall, and looked no more. 
 He said, " That which I have seen, in that one little 
 moment, will never go out from my memory, but 
 will abide there; and I shall see it all the days, and 
 dream of it all the nights, till I die. Would God I 
 had been blind!" 
 
 Hendon was watching the king. He said to him 
 self, with satisfaction, "His disorder mendeth; he 
 hath changed, and groweth gentler. If he had fol 
 lowed his wont, he would have stormed at these 
 varlets, and said he was king, and commanded that 
 the women be turned loose unscathed. Soon his 
 delusion will pass away and be forgotten, and his 
 poor mind will be whole again. God speed the day !" 
 
 That same day several prisoners were brought in 
 
252 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 to remain over night, who were being conveyed, 
 under guard, to various places in the kingdom, to 
 undergo punishment for crimes committed. The 
 king conversed with these, he had made it a point, 
 from the beginning, to instruct himself for the 
 kingly office by questioning prisoners whenever the 
 opportunity offered and the tale of their woes 
 wrung his heart. One of them was a poor half 
 witted woman who had stolen a yard or two of 
 cloth from a weaver she was to be hanged for it. 
 Another was a man who had been accused of steal 
 ing a horse; he said the proof had failed, and he 
 had imagined that he was safe from the halter; but 
 no he was hardly free before he was arraigned for 
 killing a deer in the king s park; this was proved 
 against him, and now he was on his way to the 
 gallows. There was a tradesman s apprentice whose 
 case particularly distressed the king; this youth said 
 he found a hawk one evening that had escaped from 
 its owner, and he took it home with him, imagining 
 himself entitled to it ; but the court convicted him 
 of stealing it, and sentenced him to death. 
 
 The king was furious over these inhumanities, 
 and wanted Hendon to break jail and fly with him 
 to Westminster, so that he could mount his throne 
 and hold out his scepter in mercy over these unfor 
 tunate people and save their lives. " Poor child," 
 sighed Hendon, " these woful tales have brought his 
 malady upon him again alack, but for this evil 
 hap, he would have been well in a little time." 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 253 
 
 Among these prisoners was an old lawyer a 
 man with a strong face and a dauntless mien. Three 
 years past, he had written a pamphlet against the 
 Lord Chancellor, accusing him of injustice, and had 
 been punished for it by the loss of his ears in the 
 pillory and degradation from the bar, and in addi 
 tion had been fined 3,000 and sentenced to im 
 prisonment for life. Lately he had repeated his 
 offense ; and in consequence was now under sen 
 tence to lose what remained of his ears, pay a fine 
 of 5,000, be branded on both cheeks, and remain 
 in prison for life. 
 
 1 These be honorable scars," he said, and turned 
 back his gray hair and showed the mutilated stubs 
 of what had once been his ears. 
 
 The king s eye burned with passion. He said: 
 "None believe in me neither wilt thou. But 
 no matter within the compass of a month thou 
 shalt be free ; and more, the laws that have dis 
 honored thee, and shamed the English name, shall 
 be swept from the statute books. The world is 
 made wrong, kings should go to school to their own 
 laws at times, and so learn mercy."* 
 
 * See Notes to Chapter 27, at end of volume. 
 17 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 THE SACRIFICE 
 
 MEANTIME Miles was growing sufficiently tired 
 of confinement and inaction. But now his 
 trial came on, to his great gratification, and he 
 thought he could welcome any sentence provided a 
 further imprisonment should not be a part of it. 
 But he was mistaken about that. He was in a fine 
 fury when he found himself described as a " sturdy 
 vagabond" and sentenced to sit two hours in the 
 pillory for bearing that character and for assaulting 
 the master of Hendon Hall. His pretensions as to 
 brothership with his prosecutor, and rightful heir- 
 ship to the Hendon honors and estates, were left 
 contemptuously unnoticed, as being not even worth 
 examination. 
 
 He raged and threatened on his way to punish 
 ment, but it did no good ; he was snatched roughly 
 along by the officers, and got an occasional cuff, 
 besides, for his unreverent conduct. 
 
 The king could not pierce through the rabble that 
 swarmed behind ; so he was obliged to follow in the 
 rear, remote from his good friend and servant. The 
 
 (254) 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 255 
 
 king had been nearly condemned to the stocks him 
 self, for being in such bad company, but had been 
 let off with a lecture and a warning, in consideration 
 of his youth. When the crowd at last halted, he 
 flitted feverishly from point to point around its outer 
 rim, hunting a place to get through; and at last, 
 after a deal of difficulty and delay, succeeded. 
 There sat his poor henchman in the degrading 
 stocks, the sport and butt of a dirty mob he, the 
 body servant of the king of England ! Edward had 
 heard the sentence pronounced, but he had not real 
 ized the half that it meant. His anger began to rise 
 as the sense of this new indignity which had been 
 put upon him sank home; it jumped to summer 
 heat the next moment, when he saw an egg sail 
 through the air and crush itself against Hendon s 
 cheek, and heard the crowd roar its enjoyment of 
 the episode. He sprang across the open circle and 
 confronted the officer in charge, crying: 
 
 4 For shame ! This is my servant set him free ! 
 I am the " 
 
 "Oh, peace!" exclaimed Hendon, in a panic, 
 " thou lt destroy thyself. Mind him not, officer, 
 he is mad." 
 
 4 * Give thyself no trouble as to the matter of mind 
 ing him, good man, I have small mind to mind him; 
 but as to teaching him somewhat, to that I am well 
 inclined." He turned to a subordinate and said, 
 " Give the little fool a taste or two of the lash, to 
 mend his manners," 
 
256 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 " Half a dozen will better serve his turn," sug 
 gested Sir flugh, who had ridden up a moment be 
 fore to take a passing glance at the proceedings. 
 
 The king was seized. He did not even struggle, 
 so paralyzed was he with the mere thought of the 
 monstrous outrage that was proposed to be inflicted 
 upon his sacred person. History was already de 
 filed with the record of the scourging of an English 
 king with whips it was an intolerable reflection 
 that he must furnish a duplicate of that shameful 
 page. He was in the toils, there was no help for 
 him ; he must either take this punishment or beg 
 for its remission. Hard conditions ; he would take 
 the stripes a king might do that, but a king could 
 not beg. 
 
 But meantime, Miles Hendon was resolving the 
 difficulty. " Let the child go," said he; "ye heart 
 less dogs, do ye not see how young and frail he is? 
 Let him go I will take his lashes." 
 
 * Marry, a good thought, and thanks for it," 
 said Sir Hugh, his face lighting with a sardonic satis 
 faction. "Let the little beggar go, and give this 
 fellow a dozen in his place an honest dozen, well 
 laid on." The king was in the act of entering a 
 fierce protest, but Sir Hugh silenced him with the 
 potent remark, "Yes, speak up, do, and free thy 
 mind only, mark ye, that for each word you utter 
 he shall get six strokes the more." 
 
 Hendon was removed from the stocks, and his 
 back laid bare ; and while the lash was applied the 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 257 
 
 poor little king turned away his face and allowed un 
 royal tears to channel his cheeks unchecked. " Ah, 
 brave good heart, he said to himself, ! this loyal 
 deed shall never perish out of my memory. I will 
 not forget it and neither shall they!" he added, 
 with passion. While he mused, his appreciation of 
 Hendon s magnanimous conduct grew to greater 
 and still greater dimensions in his mind, and so also 
 did his gratefulness for it. Presently he said to 
 himself, "Who saves his prince from wounds and 
 possible death and this he did for me performs 
 high service ; but it is little it is nothing ! oh, 
 less than nothing! when tis weighed against the 
 act of him who saves his prince from SHAME!" 
 
 Hendon made no outcry under the scourge, but 
 bore the heavy blows with soldierly fortitude. This, 
 together with his redeeming the boy by taking his 
 stripes for him, compelled the respect of even that 
 forlorn and degraded mob that was gathered there ; 
 and its gibes and hootings died away, and no sound 
 remained but the sound of the falling blows. The 
 stillness that pervaded the place when Hendon found 
 himself once more in the stocks, was in strong con 
 trast with the insulting clamor which had prevailed 
 there so little a while before. The king came softly 
 to Hendon s side, and whispered in his ear: 
 
 "Kings cannot ennoble thee, thou good, great 
 soul, for One who is higher than kings hath done 
 that for thee ; but a king can confirm thy nobility to / 
 men." He picked up the scourge from the ground, 
 17 
 
258 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 touched Hendon s bleeding shoulders lightly with 
 it, and whispered, "Edward of England dubs thee 
 earl!" 
 
 Hendon was touched. The water welled to his 
 eyes, yet at the same time the grisly humor of the 
 situation and circumstances so undermined his 
 gravity that it was all he could do to keep some 
 sign of his inward mirth from showing outside. To 
 be suddenly hoisted, naked and gory, from the com 
 mon stocks to the Alpine altitude and splendor of 
 an earldom, seemed to him the last possibility in the 
 line of the grotesque. He said to himself, "Now 
 am I finely tinseled, indeed ! The specter-knight of 
 the Kingdom of Dreams and Shadows is become a 
 specter-earl ! a dizzy flight for a callow wing ! 
 An this go on, I shall presently be hung like a 
 very May-pole with fantastic gauds and make-believe 
 honors. But I shall value them, all valueless as 
 they are, for the love that doth bestow them. Better 
 these poor mock dignities of mine, that come un 
 asked from a clean hand and a right spirit, than 
 real ones bought by servility from grudging and 
 interested power." 
 
 The dreaded Sir Hugh wheeled his horse about, 
 and, as he spurred away, the living wall divided 
 silently to let him pass, and as silently closed to 
 gether again. And so remained; nobody went so 
 far as to venture a remark in favor of the prisoner, 
 or in compliment to him ; but no matter, the ab 
 sence of abuse was a sufficient homage in itself. A 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 259 
 
 late comer who was not posted as to the present 
 circumstances, and who delivered a sneer at the 
 * impostor " and was in the act of following it with 
 a dead cat, was promptly knocked down and kicked 
 out, without any words, and then the deep quiet 
 resumed sway once more. 
 
CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 TO LONDON 
 
 WHEN Hendon s term of service in the stocks 
 was finished, he was released and ordered to 
 quit the region and come back no more. His sword 
 was restored to him, and also his mule and his 
 donkey. He mounted and rode off, followed by 
 the king, the crowd opening with quiet respectful 
 ness to let them pass, and then dispersing when they 
 were gone. 
 
 Hendon was soon absorbed in thought. There 
 were questions of high import to be answered. 
 What should he do? Whither should he go? 
 Powerful help must be found somewhere, or he 
 must relinquish his inheritance and remain under 
 the imputation of being an impostor besides. Where 
 could he hope to find this powerful help? Where, 
 indeed! It was a knotty question. By and by a 
 thought occurred to him which pointed to a possi 
 bility the slenderest of slender possibilities, cer 
 tainly, but still worth considering, for lack of any 
 other that promised anything at all. He remem 
 bered what old Andrews had said about the young 
 
 (260) 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 261 
 
 king s goodness and his generous championship of 
 the wronged and unfortunate. Why not go and try 
 to get speech of him and beg for justice? Ah, yes, 
 but could so fantastic a pauper get admission to the 
 august presence of a monarch? Nevermind let 
 that matter take care of itself ; it was a bridge that 
 would not need to be crossed till he should come to 
 it. He was an old campaigner, and used to invent 
 ing shifts and expedients; no doubt he would be 
 able to find a way. Yes, he would strike for the 
 capital. Maybe his father s old friend, Sir Humphrey 
 Marlow, would help him " good old Sir Humphrey, 
 Head Lieutenant of the late king s kitchen, or 
 stables, or something" Miles could not remember 
 just what or which. Now that he had something to 
 turn his energies to, a distinctly defined object to 
 accomplish, the fog of humiliation and depression 
 which had settled down upon his spirits lifted and 
 blew away, and he raised his head and looked about 
 him. He was surprised to see how far he had 
 come; the village was away behind him. The king 
 was jogging along in his wake, with his head bowed ; 
 for he, too, was deep in plans and thinkings. A 
 sorrowful misgiving clouded Hendon s new-born 
 cheerfulness ; would the boy be willing to go again 
 to a city where, during all his brief life, he had 
 never known anything but ill usage and pinching 
 want? But the question must be asked; it could 
 not be avoided; so Hendon reined up, and called 
 out: 
 
262 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 I had forgotten to inquire whither we are 
 bound. Thy commands, my liege?" 
 
 "To London!" 
 
 Hendon moved on again, mightily contented with 
 the answer but astounded at it, too. 
 
 The whole journey was made without an adventure 
 of importance. But it ended with one. About ten 
 o clock on the night of the ipth of February, they 
 stepped upon London Bridge, in the midst of a 
 writhing, struggling jam of howling and hurrahing 
 people, whose beer-jolly faces stood out strongly in 
 the glare from manifold torches and at that instant 
 the decaying head of some former duke or other 
 grandee tumbled down between them, striking Hen 
 don on the elbow and then bounding off among the 
 hurrying confusion of feet. So evanescent and un 
 stable are men s works in this world! the late 
 good king is but three weeks dead and three days in 
 his grave, and already the adornments which he took 
 such pains to select from prominent people for his 
 noble bridge are falling. A citizen stumbled over 
 that head, and drove his own head into the back of 
 somebody in front of him, who turned and knocked 
 down the first person that came handy, and was 
 promptly laid out himself by that person s friend. 
 It was the right ripe time for a free fight, for the 
 festivities of the morrow Coronation Day were 
 already beginning; everybody was full of strong 
 drink and patriotism ; within five minutes the free 
 fight was occupying a good deal of ground ; within 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 263 
 
 ten or twelve it covered an acre or so, and was be 
 come a riot. By this time Hendon and the king 
 were hopelessly separated from each other and lost 
 in the rush and turmoil of the roaring masses of 
 humanity. And so we leave them. 
 
CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 TOM S PROGRESS 
 
 WHILST the true king wandered about the land, 
 poorly clad, poorly fed, cuffed and derided 
 by tramps one while, herding with thieves, and mur 
 derers in a jail another, and called idiot and impostor 
 by all impartially, the mock King Tom Canty en 
 joyed a quite different experience. 
 
 When we saw him last, royalty was just beginning 
 to have a bright side for him. This bright side 
 went on brightening more and more every day ; in a 
 very little while it was become almost all sunshine 
 and delightfulness. He lost his fears; his mis 
 givings faded out and died ; his embarrassments 
 departed, and gave place to an easy and confident 
 bearing. He worked the whipping-boy mine to 
 ever-increasing profit. 
 
 He ordered my Lady Elizabeth and my Lady 
 Jane Grey into his presence when he wanted to play 
 or talk, and dismissed them when he was done with 
 them, with the air of one familiarly accustomed to 
 such performances. It no longer confused him to 
 have these lofty personages kiss his hand at parting. 
 
 (264) 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 265 
 
 He came to enjoy being conducted to bed in state 
 at night, and dressed with intricate and solemn cere 
 mony in the morning. It came to be a proud 
 pleasure to march to dinner attended by a glittering 
 procession of officers of state and gentlemen-at- 
 arms; insomuch, indeed, that he doubled his guard 
 of gentlemen-at-arms, and made them a hundred. 
 He liked to hear the bugles sounding down the long 
 corridors, and the distant voices responding, " Way 
 for the King!" 
 
 He even learned to enjoy sitting in throned state 
 in council, and seeming to be something more than 
 the Lord Protector s mouthpiece. He liked to re 
 ceive great ambassadors and their gorgeous trains, 
 and listen to the affectionate messages they brought 
 from illustrious monarchs who called him * brother." 
 Oh, happy Tom Canty, late of Offal Court ! 
 
 He enjoyed his splendid clothes, and ordered 
 more; he found his four hundred servants too few 
 for his proper grandeur, and trebled them. The 
 adulation of salaaming courtiers came to be sweet 
 music to his ears. He remained kind and gentle, 
 and a sturdy and determined champion of all that 
 were oppressed, and he made tireless war upon un 
 just laws; yet upon occasion, being offended, he 
 could turn upon an earl, or even a duke, and give 
 him a look that would make him tremble. Once, 
 when his royal " sister," the grimly holy Lady 
 Mary, set herself to reason with him against the 
 wisdom of his course in pardoning so many people 
 
266 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 who would otherwise be jailed, or hanged, or 
 burned, and reminded him that their august late 
 father s prisons had sometimes contained as high as 
 sixty thousand convicts at one time, and that during 
 his admirable reign he had delivered seventy-two 
 thousand thieves and robbers over to death by the 
 executioner,* the boy was filled with generous indig 
 nation, and commanded her to go to her closet, and 
 beseech God to take away the stone that was in her 
 breast, and give her a human heart. 
 
 Did Tom Canty never feel troubled about the 
 poor little rightful prince who had treated him so 
 kindly, and flown out with such hot zeal to avenge 
 him upon the insolent sentinel at the palace-gate? 
 Yes ; his first royal days and nights were pretty well 
 sprinkled with painful thoughts about the lost prince, 
 and with sincere longings for his return and happy 
 restoration to his native rights and splendors. But 
 as time wore on, and the prince did not come, Tom s 
 mind became more and more occupied with his new 
 and enchanting experiences, and by little and little 
 the vanished monarch faded almost out of his 
 thoughts; and finally, when he did intrude upon 
 them at intervals, he was become an unwelcome 
 specter, for he made Tom feel guilty and ashamed. 
 
 Tom s poor mother and sisters traveled the same 
 road out of his mind. At first he pined for them, 
 sorrowed for them, longed to see them; but later, 
 the thought of their coming some day in their rags 
 
 * Hume s England* 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 267 
 
 and dirt, and betraying him with their kisses, and 
 pulling him down from his lofty place, and dragging 
 him back to penury and degradation and the slums, 
 made him shudder. At last they ceased to trouble 
 his thoughts almost wholly. And he was content, 
 even glad ; for, whenever their mournful and ac 
 cusing faces did rise before him now, they made 
 him feel more despicable than the worms that crawl. 
 At midnight of the ipth of February, Tom Canty 
 was sinking to sleep in his rich bed in the palace, 
 guarded by his loyal vassals, and surrounded by the 
 pomps of royalty, a happy boy ; for to-morrow was 
 the day appointed for his solemn crowning as king 
 of England. At that same hour, Edward, the true 
 king, hungry and thirsty, soiled and draggled, worn 
 with travel, and clothed in rags and shreds, his 
 share of the results of the riot, was wedged in 
 among a crowd of people who were watching with 
 deep interest certain hurrying gangs of workmen 
 who streamed in and out of Westminster Abbey, 
 busy as ants ; they were making the last preparation 
 for the royal coronation. 
 
CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 THE RECOGNITION PROCESSION 
 
 WHEN Tom Canty awoke the next morning, the 
 air was heavy with a thunderous murmur ; all 
 the distances were charged with it. It was music to 
 him ; for it meant that the English world was out in 
 its strength to give loyal welcome to the great day. 
 
 Presently Tom found himself once more the chief 
 figure in a wonderful floating pageant on the 
 Thames; for by ancient custom the "recognition 
 procession" through London must start from the 
 Tower, and he was bound thither. 
 
 When he arrived there, the sides of the venerable 
 fortress seemed suddenly rent in a thousand places, 
 and from every rent leaped a red tongue of flame 
 and a white gush of smoke ; a deafening explosion 
 followed, which drowned the shoutings of the multi 
 tude, and made the ground tremble ; the flame- jets, 
 the smoke, and the explosions were repeated over 
 and over again with marvelous celerity, so that in a 
 few moments the old Tower disappeared in the vast 
 fog of its own smoke, all but the very top of the tall 
 
 (268) 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 269 
 
 pile called the White Tower; this, with its banners, 
 stood out above the dense bank of vapor as a 
 mountain-peak projects above a cloud-rack. 
 
 Tom Canty, splendidly arrayed, mounted a pranc 
 ing war-steed, whose rich trappings almost reached 
 to the ground; his "uncle," the Lord Protector 
 Somerset, similarly mounted, took place in his rear; 
 the King s Guard formed in single ranks on either 
 side, clad in burnished armor; after the Protector 
 followed a seemingly interminable procession of 
 resplendent nobles attended by their vassals ; after 
 these came the lord mayor and the aldermanic body, 
 in crimson velvet robes, and with their gold chains 
 across their breasts ; and after these the officers and 
 members of all the guilds of London, in rich raiment, 
 and bearing the showy banners of the several cor 
 porations. Also in the procession, as a special 
 guard of honor through the city, was the Ancient 
 and Honorable Artillery Company, an organiza 
 tion already three hundred years old at that time, 
 and the only military body in England possessing 
 the privilege (which it still possesses in our day) of 
 holding itself independent of the commands of 
 Parliament. It was a brilliant spectacle, and was 
 hailed with acclamations all along the line, as it took 
 its stately way through the packed multitudes of 
 citizens. The chronicler says, "The king, as he 
 entered the city, was received by the people with 
 prayers, welcomings, cries, and tender words, and 
 all signs which argue an earnest love of subjects 
 
 18 
 
270 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 toward their sovereign; and the king, by holding 
 up his glad countenance to such as stood afar off, 
 and most tender language to those that stood nigh 
 his Grace, showed himself no less thankful to receive 
 the people s good will than they to offer it. To all 
 that wished him well, he gave thanks. To such as 
 bade God save his Grace, he said in return, God 
 save you all! and added that he thanked them 
 with all his heart. Wonderfully transported were 
 the people with the loving answers and gestures of 
 their king." 
 
 In Fenchurch street a "fair child, in costly ap 
 parel," stood on a stage to welcome his majesty to 
 the city. The last verse of his greeting was in these 
 words : 
 
 " Welcome, O King ! as much as hearts can think ; 
 Welcome again, as much as tongue can tell, 
 Welcome to joyous tongues, and hearts that will not shrink ; 
 God thee preserve, we pray, and wish thee ever well." 
 
 The people burst forth in a glad shout, repeating 
 with one voice what the child had said. Tom Canty 
 gazed abroad over the surging sea of eager faces, 
 and his heart swelled with exultation ; and he felt 
 that the one thing worth living for in this world was 
 to be a king, and a nation s idol. Presently he 
 caught sight, at a distance, of a couple of his ragged 
 Offal Court comrades, one of them the lord high 
 admiral in his late mimic court, the other the first 
 lord of the bedchamber in the same pretentious 
 fiction; and his pride swelled higher than ever. 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 271 
 
 Oh, if they could only recognize him now ! What 
 unspeakable glory it would be, if they could recog 
 nize him, and realize that the derided mock king of 
 the slums and back alleys was become a real king, 
 with illustrious dukes and princes for his humble 
 menials, and the English world at his feet! But he 
 had to deny himself, and choke down his desire, for 
 such a recognition might cost more than it would 
 come to; so he turned away his head, and left the 
 two soiled lads to go on with their shoutings and 
 glad adulations, unsuspicious of whom it was they 
 were lavishing them upon. 
 
 Every now and then rose the cry, " A largess ! a 
 largess !" and Tom responded by scattering a hand 
 ful of bright new coins abroad for the multitude to 
 scramble for. 
 
 The chronicler says, " At the upper end of Grace- 
 church street, before the sign of the Eagle, the city 
 had erected a gorgeous arch, beneath which was a 
 stage, which stretched from one side of the street to 
 the other. This was a historical pageant, represent 
 ing the king s immediate progenitors. There sat 
 Elizabeth of York in the midst of an immense white 
 rose, whose petals formed elaborate furbelows around 
 her; by her side was Henry VII., issuing out of a 
 vast red rose, disposed in the same manner; the 
 hands of the royal pair were locked together, and 
 the wedding-ring ostentatiously displayed. From 
 the red and white roses proceeded a stem, which 
 reached up to a second stage, occupied by Henry 
 
272 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 VIII., issuing from a red-and-white rose, with the 
 effigy of the new king s mother, Jane Seymour, 
 represented by his side. One branch sprang from 
 this pair, which mounted to a third stage, where sat 
 the effigy of Edward VI. himself, enthroned in royal 
 majesty; and the whole pageant was framed with 
 wreaths of roses, red and white." 
 
 This quaint and gaudy spectacle so wrought upon 
 the rejoicing people, that their acclamations utterly 
 smothered the small voice of the child whose busi 
 ness it was to explain the thing in eulogistic rhymes. 
 But Tom Canty was not sorry ; for this loyal uproar 
 was sweeter music to him than any poetry, no matter 
 what its quality might be. Whithersoever Tom 
 turned his happy young face, the people recognized 
 the exactness of his effigy s likeness to himself, the 
 flesh and blood counterpart; and new whirlwinds of 
 applause burst forth. 
 
 The great pageant moved on, and still on, under 
 one triumphal arch after another, and past a bewil 
 dering succession of spectacular and symbolical 
 tableaux, each of which typified and exalted some 
 virtue, or talent, or merit, of the little king s. 
 4 Throughout the whole of Cheapside, from every 
 penthouse and window, hung banners and streamers ; 
 and the richest carpets, stuffs, and cloth-of-gold 
 tapestried the streets, specimens of the great 
 wealth of the stores within ; and the splendor of 
 this thoroughfare was equaled in the other streets, 
 and in some even surpassed." 
 
"OH, MY CHILD!" 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 273 
 
 " And all these wonders and these marvels are to 
 welcome me me!" murmured Tom Canty. 
 
 The mock king s cheeks were flushed with excite 
 ment, his eyes were flashing, his senses swam in a 
 delirium of pleasure, At this point, just as he was 
 raising his hand to fling another rich largess, he 
 caught sight of a pale, astounded face which was 
 strained forward out of the second rank of the 
 crowd, its intense eyes riveted upon him. A sicken 
 ing consternation struck through him ; he recognized 
 his mother! and up flew his hand, palm outward, 
 before his eyes, that old involuntary gesture, born 
 of a forgotten episode, and perpetuated by habit. 
 In an instant more she had torn her way out of the 
 press, arid past the guards, and was at his side. 
 She embraced his leg, she covered it with kisses, she 
 cried, * O, my child, my darling!" lifting toward 
 him a face that was transfigured with joy and love. 
 The same instant an officer of the King s Guard 
 snatched her away with a curse, and sent her reeling 
 back whence she came with a vigorous impulse from 
 his strong arm. The words " I do not know you, 
 woman!" were falling from Tom Canty s lips when 
 this piteous thing occurred ; but it smote him to the 
 heart to see her treated so ; and as she turned for a 
 last glimpse of him, whilst the crowd was swallowing 
 her from his sight, she seemed so wounded, so 
 broken-hearted, that a shame fell upon him which 
 consumed his pride to ashes, and withered his 
 stolen royalty. His grandeurs were stricken value- 
 18 
 
274 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 less ; they seemed to fall away from him like rotten 
 rags. 
 
 The procession moved on, and still on, through 
 ever augmenting splendors and ever augmenting 
 tempests of welcome ; but to Tom Canty they were 
 as if they had not been. He neither saw nor heard. 
 Royalty had lost its grace and sweetness ; its pomps 
 were become a reproach. Remorse was eating his 
 heart out. He said, "Would God I were free of 
 my captivity ! 
 
 He had unconsciously dropped back into the 
 phraseology of the first days of his compulsory 
 greatness. 
 
 The shining pageant still went winding like a 
 radiant and interminable serpent down the crooked 
 lanes of the quaint old city, and through the huzza 
 ing hosts ; but still the king rode with bowed head 
 and vacant eyes, seeing only his mother s face and 
 that wounded look in it. 
 
 "Largess, largess!" The cry fell upon an un 
 heeding ear. 
 
 " Long live Edward of England !" It seemed as 
 if the earth shook with the explosion ; but there was 
 no response from the king. He heard it only as 
 one hears the thunder of the surf when it is blown 
 to the ear out of a great distance, for it was smoth 
 ered under another sound which was still nearer, in 
 his own breast, in his accusing conscience, a voice 
 which kept repeating those shameful words, " I do 
 not know you, woman!" 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 275 
 
 The words smote upon the king s soul as the 
 strokes of a funeral bell smite upon the soul of a 
 surviving friend when they remind him of secret 
 treacheries suffered at his hands by him that is 
 gone. 
 
 New glories were unfolded at every turning; new 
 wonders, new marvels, sprung into view; the pent 
 clamors of waiting batteries were released ; new rap 
 tures poured from the throats of the waiting multi 
 tudes ; but the king gave no sign, and the accusing 
 voice that went moaning through his comfortless 
 breast was all the sound he heard. 
 
 By and by the gladness in the faces of the popu 
 lace changed a little, and became touched with a 
 something like solicitude or anxiety ; an abatement 
 in the volume of applause was observable too. The 
 Lord Protector was quick to notice these things ; he 
 was as quick to detect the cause. He spurred to 
 the king s side, bent low in his saddle, uncovered, 
 and said : 
 
 " My liege, it is an ill time for dreaming. The 
 people observe thy downcast head, thy clouded 
 mien, and they take it for an omen. Be advised; 
 unveil the sun of royalty, and let it shine upon these 
 boding vapors, and disperse them. Lift up thy face, 
 and smile upon the people." 
 
 So saying, the duke scattered a handful of coins 
 
 to right and left, then retired to his place. The 
 
 mock king did mechanically as he had been bidden. 
 
 His smile had no heart in it, but few eyes were near 
 
 B 
 
276 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 enough or sharp enough to detect that. The nod- 
 dings of his plumed head as he saluted his subjects 
 were full of grace and graciousness ; the largess 
 which he delivered from his hand was royally 
 liberal; so the people s anxiety vanished, and the 
 acclamations burst forth again in as mighty a volume 
 as before. 
 
 Still once more, a little before the progress was 
 ended, the duke was obliged to ride forward, and 
 make remonstrance. He whispered : 
 
 " O dread sovereign ! shake off these fatal humors ; 
 the eyes of the world are upon thee." Then he 
 added with sharp annoyance, "Perdition catch that 
 crazy pauper! twas she that hath disturbed your 
 Highness." 
 
 The gorgeous figure turned a lusterless eye upon 
 the duke, and said in a dead voice : 
 
 11 She was my mother !" 
 
 11 My God!" groaned the Protector as he reined 
 his horse backward to his post, "the omen was 
 pregnant with prophecy. He is gone mad again !" 
 
CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 CORONATION DAY 
 
 LET us go backward a few hours, and place our 
 selves in Westminster Abbey, at four o clock 
 in the morning of this memorable Coronation Day. 
 We are not without company; for although it is 
 still night, we find the torch-lighted galleries already 
 filling up with people who are well content to sit 
 still and wait seven or eight hours till the time shall 
 come for them to see what they may not hope to see 
 twice in their lives the coronation of a king. Yes, 
 London and Westminster have been astir ever since 
 the warning guns boomed at three o clock, and 
 already crowds of untitled rich folk who have bought 
 the privilege of trying to find sitting-room in the 
 galleries are flocking in at the entrances reserved for 
 their sort. 
 
 The hours drag along, tediously enough. All 
 stir has ceased for some time, for every gallery has 
 long ago been packed. We may sit now, and look 
 and think at our leisure. We have glimpses, here 
 and there and yonder, through the dim cathedral 
 twilight, of portions of many galleries and balconies, 
 
 (277) 
 
278 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 wedged full with people, the other portions of these 
 galleries and balconies being cut off from sight by 
 intervening pillars and architectural projections. We 
 have in view the whole of the great north transept 
 empty, and waiting for England s privileged ones. 
 We see also the ample area or platform, carpeted 
 with rich stuffs, whereon the throne stands. The 
 throne occupies the center of the platform, and is 
 raised above it upon an elevation of four steps. 
 Within the seat of the throne is enclosed a rough flat 
 rock the stone of Scone which many genera 
 tions of Scottish kings sat on to be crowned, and so 
 it in time became holy enough to answer a like pur 
 pose for English monarchs. Both the throne and 
 its footstool are covered with cloth of gold. 
 
 Stillness reigns, the torches blink dully, the time 
 drags heavily. But at last the lagging daylight 
 asserts itself, the torches are extinguished, and a 
 mellow radiance suffuses the great spaces. All 
 features of the noble building are distinct now, but 
 soft and dreamy, for the sun is lightly veiled with 
 clouds. 
 
 At seven o clock the first break in the drowsy 
 monotony occurs; for on the stroke of this hour 
 the first peeress enters the transept, clothed like 
 Solomon for splendor, and is conducted to her ap 
 pointed place by an official clad in satins and vel 
 vets, whilst a duplicate of him gathers up the lady s 
 long train, follows after, and, when the lady is 
 seated, arranges the train across her lap for her. 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 279 
 
 He then places her footstool according to her desire, 
 after which he puts her coronet where it will be con 
 venient to her hand when the time for the simul 
 taneous coronetting of the nobles shall arrive. 
 
 By this time the peeresses are flowing in in a 
 glittering stream, and satin-clad officials are flitting 
 and glinting everywhere, seating them and making 
 them comfortable. The scene is animated enough 
 now. There is stir and life, and shifting color 
 everywhere. After a time, quiet reigns again; for 
 the peeresses are all come, and are all in their places 
 a solid acre, or such a matter, of human flowers, 
 resplendent in variegated colors, and frosted like a 
 Milky Way with diamonds. There are all ages 
 here: brown, wrinkled, white-haired dowagers who 
 are able to go back, and still back, down the stream 
 of time, and recall the crowning of Richard III. and 
 the troublous days of that old forgotten age ; and 
 there are handsome middle-aged dames ; and lovely 
 and gracious young matrons ; and gentle and beau 
 tiful young girls, with beaming eyes and fresh com 
 plexions, who may possibly put on their jeweled 
 coronets awkwardly when the great time comes ; for 
 the matter will be new to them, and their excitement 
 will be a sore hindrance. Still, this may not hap 
 pen, for the hair of all these ladies has been arranged 
 with a special view to the swift and successful lodg 
 ing of the crown in its place when the signal comes. 
 We have seen that this massed array of peeresses 
 is sown thick with diamonds, and we also see that it 
 
280 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 is a marvelous spectacle -but now we are about to 
 be astonished in earnest. About nine, the clouds 
 suddenly break away and a shaft of sunshine cleaves 
 the mellow atmosphere, and drifts slowly along the 
 ranks of ladies ; and every rank it touches flames 
 into a dazzling splendor of many-colored fires, and 
 we tingle to our finger-tips with the electric thrill 
 that is shot through us by the surprise and the 
 beauty of the spectacle ! Presently a special envoy 
 from some distant corner of the Orient, marching 
 with the general body of foreign ambassadors, 
 crosses this bar of sunshine, and we catch our 
 breath, the glory that streams and flashes and pal 
 pitates about him is so overpowering; for he is 
 crusted from head to heels with gems, and his 
 slightest movement showers a dancing radiance all 
 around him. 
 
 Let us change the tense for convenience. The 
 time drifted along, one hour two hours two 
 hours and a half; then the deep booming of artillery 
 told that the king and his grand procession had 
 arrived at last; so the waiting multitude rejoiced. 
 All knew that a further delay must follow, for the 
 king must be prepared and robed for the solemn 
 ceremony; but this delay would be pleasantly occu 
 pied by the assembling of the peers of the realm in 
 their stately robes. These were conducted cere 
 moniously to their seats, and their coronets placed 
 conveniently at hand ; and meanwhile the multitude 
 in the galleries were alive with interest, for most of 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 281 
 
 them were beholding for the first time, dukes, earls, 
 and barons, whose names had been historical for five 
 hundred years. When all were finally seated, the 
 spectacle from the galleries and all coigns of vantage 
 was complete ; a gorgeous one to look upon and to 
 remember. 
 
 Now the robed and mitred great heads of the 
 church, and their attendants, filed in upon the plat 
 form and took their appointed places; these were 
 followed by the Lord Protector and other great 
 officials, and these again by a steel-clad detachment 
 of the Guard. 
 
 There was a waiting pause; then, at a signal, a 
 triumphant peal of music burst forth, and Tom 
 Canty, clothed in a long robe of cloth of gold, ap 
 peared at a door, and stepped upon the platform. 
 The entire multitude rose, and the ceremony of the 
 Recognition ensued. 
 
 Then a noble anthem swept the Abbey with its 
 rich waves of sound ; and thus heralded and wel 
 comed, Tom Canty was conducted to the throne. 
 The ancient ceremonies went on with impressive 
 solemnity, whilst the audience gazed ; and as they 
 drew nearer and nearer to completion, Tom Canty 
 grew pale, and still paler, and a deep and steadily 
 deepening woe and despondency settled down upon 
 his spirits and upon his remorseful heart. 
 
 At last the final act was at hand. The Arch 
 bishop of Canterbury lifted up the crown of Eng 
 land from its cushion and held it out over the trem- 
 
282 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 bling mock king s head. In the same instant a 
 rainbow-radiance flashed along the spacious tran 
 sept; for with one impulse every individual in the 
 great concourse of nobles lifted a coronet and poised 
 it over his or her head, and paused in that attitude. 
 
 A deep hush pervaded the Abbey. At this im 
 pressive moment, a startling apparition intruded 
 upon the scene an apparition observed by none 
 in the absorbed multitude, until it suddenly ap 
 peared, moving up the great central aisle. It was a 
 boy, bareheaded, ill shod, and clothed in coarse 
 plebeian garments that were falling to rags. He 
 raised his hand with a solemnity which ill comported 
 with his soiled and sorry aspect, and delivered this 
 note of warning : 
 
 " I forbid you to set the crown of England upon 
 that forfeited head. / am the king !" 
 
 In an instant several indignant hands were laid 
 upon the boy; but in the same instant Tom Canty, 
 in his regal vestments, made a swift step forward 
 and cried out in a ringing voice : 
 
 4< Loose him and forbear ! He is the king!" 
 
 A sort of panic of astonishment swept the assem 
 blage, and they partly rose in their places and stared 
 in a bewildered way at one another and at the chief 
 figures in this scene, like persons who wondered 
 whether they were awake and in their senses, or 
 asleep and dreaming. The Lord Protector was as 
 amazed as the rest, but quickly recovered himself 
 and exclaimed in a voice of authority : 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 283 
 
 * Mind not his Majesty, his malady is upon him 
 again seize the vagabond ! " 
 
 He would have been obeyed, but the mock king 
 stamped his foot and cried out: 
 
 " On your peril! Touch him not, he is the 
 king!" 
 
 The hands were withheld ; a paralysis fell upon 
 the house; no one moved, no one spoke; indeed, 
 no one knew how to act or what to say, in so strange 
 and surprising an emergency. While all minds were 
 struggling to right themselves, the boy still moved 
 steadily forward, with high port and confident mien ; 
 he had never halted from the beginning; and while 
 the tangled minds still floundered helplessly, he 
 stepped upon the platform, and the mock king ran 
 with a glad face to meet him ; and fell on his knees 
 before him and said : 
 
 **O, my lord the king, let poor Tom Canty be 
 first to swear fealty to thee, and say Put on thy 
 crown and enter into thine own again ! 
 
 The Lord Protector s eye fell sternly upon the 
 newcomer s face; but straightway the sternness van 
 ished away, and gave place to an expression of 
 wondering surprise. This thing happened also to 
 the other great officers. They glanced at each 
 other, and retreated a step by a common and un 
 conscious impulse. The thought in each mind was 
 the same: " What a strange resemblance !" 
 
 The Lord Protector reflected a moment or two in 
 perplexity, then he said, with grave respectfulness: 
 
284 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 " By your favor, sir, I desire to ask certain ques 
 tions which " 
 
 " 1 will answer them, my lord." 
 
 The duke asked him many questions about the 
 court, the late king, the prince, the princesses. The 
 boy answered them correctly and without hesitating. 
 He described the rooms of state in the palace, the 
 late king s apartments, and those of the Prince of 
 Wales. 
 
 It was strange; it was wonderful; yes, it was un 
 accountable so all said that heard it. The tide 
 was beginning to turn, and Tom Canty s hopes to 
 run high, when the Lord Protector shook his head 
 and said : 
 
 "It is true it is most wonderful but it is no 
 more than our lord the king likewise can do." This 
 remark, and this reference to himself as still the 
 king, saddened Tom Canty, and he felt his hopes 
 crumbling from under him. " These are not proofs," 
 added the Protector. 
 
 The tide was turning very fast now, very fast, 
 indeed but in the wrong direction; it was leaving 
 poor Tom Canty stranded on the throne, and sweep 
 ing the other out to sea. The Lord Protector com 
 muned with himself shook his head the thought 
 forced itself upon him, " It is perilous to the State 
 and to us all, to entertain so fateful a riddle as this; 
 it could divide the nation and undermine the 
 throne." He turned and said: 
 
 "Sir Thomas, arrest this No, hold!" His 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 285 
 
 face lighted, and he confronted the ragged candi 
 date with this question : 
 
 1 Where lieth the Great Seal ? Answer me this 
 truly, and the riddle is unriddled ; for only he that 
 was Prince of Wales can so answer ! On so trivial a 
 thing hang a throne and a dynasty !" 
 
 It was a lucky thought, a happy thought. That 
 it was so considered by the great officials was mani 
 fested by the silent applause that shot from eye to 
 eye around their circle in the form of bright approv 
 ing glances. Yes, none but the true prince could 
 dissolve the stubborn mystery of the vanished Great 
 Seal this forlorn little impostor had been taught 
 his lesson well, but here his teachings must fail, for 
 his teacher himself could not answer that question 
 ah, very good, very good indeed: now we shall be 
 rid of this troublesome and perilous business in short 
 order ! And so they nodded invisibly and smiled 
 inwardly with satisfaction, and looked to see this 
 foolish lad stricken with a palsy of guilty confusion. 
 How surprised they were, then, to see nothing of 
 the sort happen how they marveled to hear him 
 answer up promptly, in a confident and untroubled 
 voice, and say: 
 
 * There is nought in this riddle that is difficult." 
 Then, without so much as a by-your-leave to any 
 body, he turned and gave this command, with the 
 easy manner of one accustomed to doing such 
 things: " My Lord St. John, go you to my private 
 
 cabinet in the palace for none knoweth the place 
 19 
 
286 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 better than you and, close down to the floor, in 
 the left corner remotest from the door that opens 
 from the antechamber, you shall find in the wall a 
 brazen nail-head ; press upon it and a little jewel- 
 closet will fly open which not even you do know of 
 no, nor any soul else in all the world but me 
 and the trusty artisan that did contrive it for me. 
 The first thing that falleth under your eye will be 
 the Great Seal fetch it hither." 
 
 All the company wondered at this speech, and 
 wondered still more to see the little mendicant pick 
 out this peer without hesitancy or apparent fear of 
 mistake, and call him by name with such a placidly 
 convincing air of having known him all his life. The 
 peer was almost surprised into obeying. He even 
 made a movement as if to go, but quickly recovered 
 his tranquil attitude and confessed his blunder with 
 a blush. Tom Canty turned upon him and said, 
 sharply : 
 
 "Why dost thou hesitate? Hast not heard the 
 king s command? Go!" 
 
 The Lord St. John made a deep obeisance and 
 it was observed that it was a significantly cautious 
 and non-committal one, it not being delivered at 
 either of the kings, but at the neutral ground about 
 half way between the two and took his leave. 
 
 Now began a movement of the gorgeous particles 
 of that official group which was slow, scarcely per 
 ceptible, and yet steady and persistent a move 
 ment such as is observed in a kaleidoscope that is 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 287 
 
 turned slowly, whereby the components of one 
 splendid cluster fall away and join themselves to 
 another a movement which, little by little, in the 
 present case, dissolved the glittering crowd that 
 stood about Tom Canty and clustered it together 
 again in the neighborhood of the newcomer. Tom 
 Canty stood almost alone. Now ensued a brief 
 season of deep suspense and waiting during which 
 even the few faint-hearts still remaining near Tom 
 Canty gradually scraped together courage enough to 
 glide, one by one, over to the majority. So at last 
 Tom Canty, in his royal robes and jewels, stood 
 wholly alone and isolated from the world, a con 
 spicuous figure, occupying an eloquent vacancy. 
 
 Now the Lord St. John was seen returning. As 
 he advanced up the mid-aisle the interest was so 
 intense that the low murmur of conversation in the 
 great assemblage died out and was succeeded by a 
 profound hush, a breathless stillness, through which 
 his footfalls pulsed with a dull and distant sound. 
 Every eye was fastened upon him as he moved 
 along. He reached the platform, paused a moment, 
 then moved toward Tom Canty with a deep obei 
 sance, and said : 
 
 11 Sire, the Seal is not there !" 
 
 A mob does not melt away from the presence of 
 a plague-patient with more haste than the band of 
 pallid and terrified courtiers melted away from the 
 presence of the shabby little claimant of the Crown. 
 In a moment he stood all alone, without friend or 
 
288 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 supporter, a target upon which was concentrated a 
 bitter fire of scornful and angry looks. The Lord 
 Protector called out fiercely : 
 
 " Cast the beggar into the street, and scourge him 
 through the town the paltry knave is worth no 
 more consideration!" 
 
 Officers of the guard sprang forward to obey, but 
 Tom Canty waved them off and said : 
 
 " Back ! Whoso touches him perils his life !" 
 
 The Lord Protector was perplexed in the last 
 degree. He said to the Lord St. John : 
 
 " Searched you well ? but it boots not to ask 
 that. It doth seem passing strange. Little things, 
 trifles, slip out of one s ken, and one does not think 
 it matter for surprise ; but how a so bulky thing as 
 the Seal of England can vanish away and no man 
 be able to get track of it again a massy golden 
 disk " 
 
 Tom Canty, with beaming eyes, sprang forward 
 and shouted : 
 
 44 Hold, that is enough! Was it round? and 
 thick? and had it letters and devices graved upon 
 it? Yes? Oh, now I know what this Great 
 Seal is that there s been such worry and pother 
 about ! An ye had described it to me, ye could 
 have had it three weeks ago. Right well I know 
 where it lies ; but it was not I that put it there 
 first." 
 
 44 Who, then, my liege?" asked the Lord Pro 
 tector. 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 289 
 
 " He that stands there the rightful king of Eng 
 land. And he shall tell you himself where it lies 
 then you will believe he knew it of his own knowl 
 edge. Bethink thee, my king spur thy memory 
 it was the last, the very last thing thou didst that 
 day before thou didst rush forth from the palace, 
 clothed in my rags, to punish the soldier that in 
 sulted me." 
 
 A silence ensued, undisturbed by a movement or 
 a whisper, and all eyes were fixed upon the new 
 comer, who stood, with bent head and corrugated 
 brow, groping in his memory among a thronging 
 multitude of valueless recollections for one single 
 little elusive fact, which found, would seat him upon 
 a throne unfound, would leave him as he was, for 
 good and all a pauper and an outcast. Moment 
 after moment passed the moments built them 
 selves into minutes still the boy struggled silently 
 on, and gave no sign. But at last he heaved a sigh, 
 shook his head slowly, and said, with a trembling 
 lip and in a despondent voice : 
 
 44 I call the scene back all of it but the Seal 
 hath no place in it." He paused, then looked up, 
 and said with gentle dignity, 44 My lords and gentle 
 men, if ye will rob your rightful sovereign of his 
 own for lack of this evidence which he is not able 
 to furnish, I may not stay ye, being powerless. 
 But" 
 
 44 O folly, O madness, my king!" cried Tom 
 Canty, in a panic, 44 wait! think! Do not give 
 19 
 
290 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 up ! the cause is not lost ! Nor shall be, neither ! 
 List to what I say follow every word I am 
 going to bring that morning back again, every hap 
 just as it happened. We talked I told you of my 
 sisters, Nan and Bet ah, yes, you remember that; 
 and about mine old grandam and the rough games 
 of the lads of Offal Court yes, you remember 
 these things also ; very well, follow me still, you 
 shall recall everything. You gave me food and 
 drink, and did with princely courtesy send away the 
 servants, so that my low breeding might not shame 
 me before them ah, yes, this also you remember." 
 
 As Tom checked off his details, and the other boy 
 nodded his head in recognition of them, the great 
 audience and the officials stared in puzzled wonder 
 ment; the tale sounded like true history, yet how 
 could this impossible conjunction between a prince 
 and a beggar boy have come about? Never was a 
 company of people so perplexed, so interested, and 
 so stupefied, before. 
 
 "For a jest, my prince, we did exchange gar 
 ments. Then we stood before a mirror; and so 
 alike were we that both said it seemed as if there 
 had been no change made yes, you remember 
 that. Then you noticed that the soldier had hurt 
 my hand look! here it is, I cannot yet even write 
 with it, the fingers are so stiff. At this your High 
 ness sprang up, vowing vengeance upon that soldier, 
 and ran toward the door you passed a table 
 that thing you call the Seal lay on that table you 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 291 
 
 snatched it up and looked eagerly about, as if for a 
 place to hide it your eye caught sight of " 
 
 There, tis sufficient! and the dear God be 
 thanked ! exclaimed the ragged claimant, in a 
 mighty excitement. " Go, my good St. John, in 
 an arm-piece of the Milanese armor that hangs on 
 the wall, thou lt find the Seal!" 
 
 "Right, my king! right!" cried Tom Canty; 
 " now the scepter of England is thine own; and it 
 were better for him that would dispute it that he had 
 been born dumb ! Go, my Lord St. John, give thy 
 feet wings !" 
 
 The whole assemblage was on its feet now, and 
 well nigh out of its mind with uneasiness, apprehen 
 sion, and consuming excitement. On the floor and 
 on the platform a deafening buzz of frantic conver 
 sation burst forth, and for some time nobody knew 
 anything or heard anything or was interested in any 
 thing but what his neighbor was shouting into his 
 ear, or he was shouting into his neighbor s ear. 
 Time nobody knew how much of it swept by 
 unheeded and unnoted. At last a sudden hush fell 
 upon the house, and in the same moment St. John 
 appeared upon the platform and held the Great Seal 
 aloft in his hand. Then such a shout went up ! 
 
 * Long live the true king ! 
 
 For five minutes the air quaked with shouts and 
 the crash of musical instruments, and was white 
 with a storm of waving handkerchiefs ; and through 
 it all a ragged lad, the most conspicuous figure in 
 
292 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 England, stood, flushed and happy and proud, in 
 the center of the spacious platform, with the great 
 vassals of the kingdom kneeling around him. 
 
 Then all rose, and Tom Canty cried out: 
 
 "Now, O my king, take these regal garments 
 back, and give poor Tom, thy servant, his shreds 
 and remnants again." 
 
 The Lord Protector spoke up : 
 
 Let the small varlet be stripped and flung into 
 the Tower." 
 
 But the new king, the true king, said : 
 
 " I will not have it so. But for him I had not 
 got my crown again none shall lay a hand upon 
 him to harm him. And as for thee, my good uncle, 
 my Lord Protector, this conduct of thine is not 
 grateful toward this poor lad, for I hear he hath 
 made thee a duke " the Protector blushed * yet 
 he was not a king; wherefore, what is thy fine title 
 worth now? To-morrow you shall sue to me, 
 through him, for its confirmation, else no duke, but 
 a simple earl, shalt thou remain." 
 
 Under this rebuke, his grace the Duke of Somer 
 set, retired a little from the front for the moment. 
 The king turned to Tom, and said, kindly: 
 
 " My poor boy, how was it that you could re 
 member where I hid the Seal when I could not 
 remember it myself?" 
 
 "Ah, my king, that was easy, since I used it 
 divers days." 
 
 " Used it, yet could not explain where it was?" 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 293 
 
 " I did not know it was that they wanted. They 
 did not describe it, your majesty." 
 Then how used you it?" 
 
 The red blood began to steal up into Tom s 
 cheeks, and he dropped his eyes and was silent. 
 
 "Speak up, good lad, and fear nothing," said 
 the king. " How used you the Great Seal of Eng 
 land?" 
 
 Tom stammered a moment, in a pathetic confu 
 sion, then got it out: 
 
 14 To crack nuts with!" 
 
 Poor child, the avalanche of laughter that greeted 
 this, nearly swept him off his feet. But if a doubt 
 remained in any mind that Tom Canty was not the 
 king of England and familiar with the august ap 
 purtenances of royalty, this reply disposed of it 
 uttterly. 
 
 Meantime the sumptuous robe of state had been 
 removed from Tom s shoulders to the king s, whose 
 rags were effectually hidden from sight under it. 
 Then the coronation ceremonies were resumed ; the 
 true king was anointed and the crown set upon his 
 head, whilst cannon thundered the news to the city, 
 and all London seemed to rock with applause. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 EDWARD AS KING 
 
 MILES HENDON was picturesque enough before 
 he got into the riot on London Bridge he 
 was more so when he got out of it. He had but 
 little money when he got in, none at all when he 
 got out. The pickpockets had stripped him of his 
 last farthing. 
 
 But no matter, so he found his boy. Being a 
 soldier, he did not go at his task in a random way, 
 but set to work, first of all, to arrange his campaign. 
 
 What would the boy naturally do ? Where would 
 he naturally go? Well argued Miles he would 
 naturally go to his former haunts, for that is the 
 instinct of unsound minds, when homeless and for 
 saken, as well as of sound ones. Whereabouts were 
 his former haunts? His rags, taken together with 
 the low villain who seemed to know him and who 
 even claimed to be his father, indicated that his 
 home was in one or another of the poorest and 
 meanest districts of London. Would the search for 
 him be difficult, or long? No, it was likely to be 
 easy and brief. He would not hunt for the boy, he 
 
 (294) 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 295 
 
 would hunt for a crowd ; in the center of a big 
 crowd or a little one, sooner or later, he should find 
 his poor little friend, sure; and the mangy mob 
 would be entertaining itself with pestering and aggra 
 vating the boy, who would be proclaiming himself 
 king, as usual. Then Miles Hendon would cripple 
 some of those people, and carry off his little ward, 
 and comfort and cheer him with loving words, and 
 the two would never be separated any more. 
 
 So Miles started on his quest. Hour after hour 
 he tramped through back alleys and squalid streets, 
 seeking groups and crowds, and finding no end of 
 them, but never any sign of the boy. This greatly 
 surprised him, but did not discourage him. To his 
 notion, there was nothing the matter with his plan of 
 campaign ; the only miscalculation about it was that 
 the campaign was becoming a lengthy one, whereas 
 he had expected it to be short. 
 
 When daylight arrived at last, he had made many 
 a mile, and canvassed many a crowd, but the only 
 result was that he was tolerably tired, rather hungry, 
 and very sleepy. He wanted some breakfast, but 
 there was no way to get it. To beg for it did not 
 occur to him; as to pawning his sword, he would as 
 soon have thought of parting with his honor; he 
 could spare some of his clothes yes, but one 
 could as easily find a customer for a disease as for 
 such clothes. 
 
 At noon he was still tramping among the rabble 
 which followed after the royal procession now ; for he 
 
296 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 argued that this regal display would attract his little 
 lunatic powerfully. He followed the pageant through 
 all its devious windings about London, and all the 
 way to Westminster and the Abbey. He drifted here 
 and there among the multitudes that were massed in 
 the vicinity for a weary long time, baffled and per 
 plexed, and finally wandered off thinking, and trying 
 to contrive some way to better his plan of campaign. 
 By and by, when he came to himself out of his 
 musings, he discovered that the town was far behind 
 him and that the day was growing old. He was 
 near the river, and in the country ; it was a region 
 of fine rural seats not the sort of district to wel 
 come clothes like his. 
 
 It was not at all cold ; so he stretched himself on 
 the ground in the lee of a hedge to rest and think. 
 Drowsiness presently began to settle upon his 
 senses; the faint and far-off boom of cannon was 
 wafted to his ear, and he said to himself " The new 
 king is crowned," and straightway fell asleep. He 
 had not slept or rested, before, for more than thirty 
 hours. He did not wake again until near the middle 
 of the next morning. 
 
 He got up, lame, stiff, and half famished, washed 
 himself in the river, stayed his stomach with a pint 
 or two of water, and trudged off toward Westminster 
 grumbling at himself for having wasted so much 
 time. Hunger helped him to a new plan now; he 
 would try to get speech with old Sir Humphrey 
 Marlow and borrow a few marks, and but that 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 297 
 
 was enough of a plan for the present ; it would be 
 time enough to enlarge it when this first stage should 
 be accomplished. 
 
 Toward eleven o clock he approached the palace; 
 and although a host of showy people were about 
 him, moving in the same direction, he was not in 
 conspicuous his costume took care of that. He 
 watched these people s faces narrowly, hoping to 
 find a charitable one whose possessor might be will 
 ing to carry his name to the old lieutenant as to 
 trying to get into the palace himself, that was simply 
 out of the question. 
 
 Presently our whipping-boy passed him, then 
 wheeled about and scanned his figure well, saying 
 to himself, " An that is not the very vagabond his 
 majesty is in such a worry about, then am I an ass 
 though belike I was that before. He answereth the 
 description to a rag that God should make two 
 such, would be to cheapen miracles, by wasteful 
 repetition. I would I could contrive an excuse to 
 speak with him." 
 
 Miles Hendon saved him the trouble; for he 
 turned about, then, as a man generally will when 
 somebody mesmerizes him by gazing hard at him 
 from behind ; and observing a strong interest in the 
 boy s eyes, he stepped toward him and said: 
 
 "You have just come out from the palace; do 
 you belong there?" 
 
 " Yes, your worship." 
 
 " Know you Sir Humphrey Marlow?" 
 
298 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 The boy started, and said to himself, "Lord! 
 mine old departed father!" Then he answered, 
 aloud, " Right well, your worship." 
 
 11 Good is he within?" 
 
 "Yes," said the boy; and added, to himself, 
 41 within his grave." 
 
 " Might I crave your favor to carry my name to 
 him, and say I beg to say a word in his ear?" 
 
 " I will dispatch the business right willingly, fair 
 sir." 
 
 Then say Miles Hendon, son of Sir Richard, is 
 here without I shall be greatly bounden to you, 
 my good lad." 
 
 The boy looked disappointed "the king did 
 not name him so," he said to himself " but it mat- 
 tereth not, this is his twin brother, and can give 
 his majesty news of tother Sir-Odds-and-Ends, 
 I warrant." So he said to Miles, " Step in there 
 a moment, good sir, and wait till I bring you 
 word." 
 
 Hendon retired to the place indicated it was a 
 recess sunk in the palace wall, with a stone bench 
 in it a shelter for sentinels in bad weather. He 
 had hardly seated himself when some halberdiers, in 
 charge of an officer, passed by. The officer saw 
 him, halted his men, and commanded Hendon to 
 come forth. He obeyed, and was promptly arrested 
 as a suspicious character prowling within the pre 
 cincts of the palace. Things began to look ugly. 
 Poor Miles was going to explain, but the officer 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 299 
 
 roughly silenced him, and ordered his men to dis 
 arm him and search him. 
 
 "God of his mercy grant that they find some 
 what," said poor Miles; "I have searched enow, 
 and failed, yet is my need greater than theirs." 
 
 Nothing was found but a document. The officer 
 tore it open, and Hendon smiled when he recog 
 nized the " pot-hooks " made by his lost little friend 
 that black day at Hendon Hall, The officer s face 
 grew dark as he read the English paragraph, and 
 Miles blenched to the opposite color as he listened. 
 
 "Another new claimant of the crown!" cried 
 the officer. Verily they breed like rabbits to-day. 
 Seize the rascal, men, and see ye keep him fast 
 while I convey this precious paper within and send 
 it to the king." 
 
 He hurried away, leaving the prisoner in the grip 
 of the halberdiers. 
 
 "Now is my evil luck ended at last," muttered 
 Hendon, " for I shall dangle at a rope s end for a 
 certainty, by reason of that bit of writing. And 
 what will become of my poor lad! ah, only the 
 good God knoweth." 
 
 By and by he saw the officer coming again, in a 
 great hurry; so he plucked his courage together, 
 purposing to meet his trouble as became a man. 
 The officer ordered the men to loose the prisoner 
 and return his sword to him ; then bowed respect 
 fully, and said : 
 
 " Please you, sir, to follow me." 
 
300 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 Hendon followed, saying to himself, " An I were 
 not traveling to death and judgment, and so must 
 needs economize in sin, I would throttle this knave 
 for his mock courtesy." 
 
 The two traversed a populous court, and arrived 
 at the grand entrance of the palace, where the 
 officer, with another bow, delivered Hendon into 
 the hands of a gorgeous official, who received him 
 with profound respect and led him forward through 
 a great hall, lined on both sides with rows of splen 
 did flunkies (who made reverential obeisance as 
 the two passed along, but fell into death-throes of 
 silent laughter at our stately scarecrow the moment 
 his back was turned), and up a broad staircase, 
 among flocks of fine folk, and finally conducted him 
 to a vast room, clove a passage for him through 
 the assembled nobility of England, then made a 
 bow, reminded him to take his hat off, and left him 
 standing in the middle of the room, a mark for all 
 eyes, for plenty of indignant frowns, and for a suf 
 ficiency of amused and derisive smiles. 
 
 Miles Hendon was entirely bewildered. There 
 sat the young king, under a canopy of state, five 
 steps away, with his head bent down and aside, 
 speaking with a sort of human bird of paradise a 
 duke, maybe; Hendon observed to himself that it 
 was hard enough to be sentenced to death in the 
 full vigor of life, without having this peculiarly 
 public humiliation added. He wished the king 
 would hurry about it some of the gaudy people 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 301 
 
 near by were becoming pretty offensive. At this 
 moment the king raised his head slightly and 
 Hendon caught a good view of his face. The sight 
 nearly took his breath away ! He stood gazing at 
 the fair young face like one transfixed ; then pres 
 ently ejaculated : 
 
 " Lo, the lord of the Kingdom of Dreams and 
 Shadows on his throne!" 
 
 He muttered some broken sentences, still gazing 
 and marveling; then turned his eyes around and 
 about, scanning the gorgeous throng and the splen 
 did saloon, murmuring " But these are real verily 
 these are real surely it is not a dream." 
 
 He stared at the king again and thought, Is 
 
 it a dream? or is he the veritable sovereign of 
 
 England, and not the friendless poor Tom o Bed 
 lam I took him for who shall solve me this 
 riddle?" 
 
 A sudden idea flashed in his eye, and he strode 
 to the wall, gathered up a chair, brought it back, 
 planted it on the floor, and sat down in it ! 
 
 A buzz of indignation broke out, a rough hand 
 was laid upon him, and a voice exclaimed: 
 
 "Up, thou mannerless clown! wouldst sit in 
 the presence of the king?" 
 
 The disturbance attracted his majesty s attention, 
 who stretched forth his hand and cried out: 
 * Touch him not, it is his right!" 
 
 The throng fell back, stupefied. The king went 
 on: 
 
 20 
 
302 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 "Learn ye all, ladies, lords and gentlemen, that 
 this is my trusty and well-beloved servant, Miles 
 Hendon, who interposed his good sword and saved 
 his prince from bodily harm and possible death 
 and for this he is a knight, by the king s voice. 
 Also learn, that for a higher service, in that he 
 saved his sovereign stripes and shame, taking these 
 upon himself, he is a peer of England, Earl of Kent, 
 and shall have gold and lands meet for the dig 
 nity. More the privilege which he hath just exer 
 cised is his by royal grant; for we have ordained 
 that the chiefs of his line shall have and hold the 
 right to sit in the presence of the majesty of Eng 
 land henceforth, age after age, so long as the crown 
 shall endure. Molest him not." 
 
 Two persons, who, through delay, had only ar 
 rived from the country during this morning, and had 
 now been in this room only five minutes, stood 
 listening to these words and looking at the king, 
 then at the scarecrow, then at the king again, in a 
 sort of torpid bewilderment. These were Sir Hugh 
 and the Lady Edith. But the new earl did not see 
 them. He was still staring at the monarch, in a 
 dazed way, and muttering : 
 
 " Oh, body o me ! This my pauper ! This my 
 lunatic ! This is he whom / would show what 
 grandeur was, in my house of seventy rooms and 
 seven and twenty servants ! This is he who had 
 never known aught but rags for raiment, kicks for 
 comfort, and offal for diet! This is he whom 1 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 303 
 
 adopted and would make respectable ! Would God 
 I had a bag to hide my head in !" 
 
 Then his manners suddenly came back to him, 
 and he dropped upon his knees, with his hands 
 between the king s, and swore allegiance and did 
 homage for his lands and titles. Then he rose and 
 stood respectfully aside, a mark still for all eyes 
 and much envy, too. 
 
 Now the king discovered Sir Hugh, and spoke 
 out, with wrathful voice and kindling eye : 
 
 * Strip this robber of his false show and stolen 
 estates, and put him under lock and key till I have 
 need of him." 
 
 The late Sir Hugh was led away. 
 
 There was a stir at the other end of the room 
 now; the assemblage fell apart, and Tom Canty, 
 quaintly but richly clothed, marched down, between 
 these living walls, preceded by an usher. He knelt 
 before the king, who said : 
 
 " I have learned the story of these past few 
 weeks, and am well pleased with thee. Thou hast 
 governed the realm with right royal gentleness and 
 mercy. Thou hast found thy mother and thy sisters 
 again ? Good ; they shall be cared for and thy 
 father shall hang, if thou desire it and the law con 
 sent. Know, all ye that hear my voice, that from 
 this day, they that abide in the shelter of Christ s 
 Hospital and share the king s bounty, shall have their 
 minds and hearts fed, as well as their baser parts; 
 and this boy shall dwell there, and hold the chief 
 
304 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 place in its honorable body of governors, during 
 life. And for that he hath been a king, it is meet 
 that other than common observance shall be his due ; 
 wherefore, note this his dress of state, for by it he 
 shall be known, and none shall copy it; and where 
 soever he shall come, it shall remind the people that 
 he hath been royal, in his time, and none shall deny 
 him his due of reverence or fail to give him saluta 
 tion. He hath the throne s protection, he hath the 
 crown s support, he shall be known and called by 
 the honorable title of the King s Ward." 
 
 The proud and happy Tom Canty rose and kissed 
 the king s hand, and was conducted from the pres 
 ence. He did not waste any time, but flew to his 
 mother, to tell her and Nan and Bet all about it and 
 get them to help him enjoy the great news.* 
 
 * See Notes to Chapter 33, at end of the volume. 
 
CONCLUSION 
 
 JUSTICE AND RETRIBUTION 
 
 WHEN the mysteries were all cleared up, it came 
 out, by confession of Hugh Hendon, that his 
 wife had repudiated Miles by his command that day 
 at Hendon Hall a command assisted and sup 
 ported by the perfectly trustworthy promise that if 
 she did not deny that he was Miles Hendon, and 
 stand firmly to it, he would have her life ; where 
 upon she said take it, she did not value it and she 
 would not repudiate Miles; then the husband said 
 he would spare her life, but have Miles assassinated ! 
 This was a different matter; so she gave her word 
 and kept it. 
 
 Hugh was not prosecuted for his threats or for 
 stealing his brother s estates and title, because the 
 wife and brother would not testify against him 
 and the former would not have been allowed to do 
 it, even if she had wanted to. Hugh deserted his 
 wife and went over to the continent, where he pres 
 ently died ; and by and by the Earl of Kent married 
 his relict There were grand times and rejoicings at 
 Hendon village when the couple paid their first visit 
 to the Hall. 
 
 20 (305) 
 
306 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 Tom Canty s father was never heard of again. 
 
 The king sought out the farmer who had been 
 branded and sold as a slave, and reclaimed him from 
 his evil life with the Ruffler s gang, and put him in 
 the way of a comfortable livelihood. 
 
 He also took that old lawyer out of prison and 
 remitted his fine. He provided good homes for the 
 daughters of the two Baptist women whom he saw 
 burned at the stake, and roundly punished the 
 official who laid the undeserved stripes upon Miles 
 Hendon s back. 
 
 He saved from the gallows the boy who had 
 captured the stray falcon, and also the woman who 
 had stolen a remnant of cloth from a weaver ; but 
 he was too late to save the man who had been con 
 victed of killing a deer in the royal forest. 
 
 He showed favor to the justice who had pitied 
 him when he was supposed to have stolen a pig, and 
 he had the gratification of seeing him grow in the 
 public esteem and become a great and honored man. 
 
 As long as the king lived he was fond of telling 
 the story of his adventures, all through, from the 
 hour that the sentinel cuffed him away from the 
 palace gate till the final midnight when he deftly 
 mixed himself into a gang of hurrying workmen and 
 so slipped into the Abbey and climbed up and hid 
 himself in the Confessor s tomb, and then slept so 
 long, next day, that he came within one of missing 
 the Coronation altogether. He said that the fre 
 quent rehearsing of the precious lesson kept him 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 307 
 
 strong in his purpose to make its teachings yield 
 benefits to his people; and so, while his life was 
 spared he should continue to tell the story, and thus 
 keep its sorrowful spectacles fresh in his memory 
 and the springs of pity replenished in his heart. 
 
 Miles Hendon and Tom Canty were favorites of 
 the king, all through his brief reign, and his sincere 
 mourners when he died. The good Earl of Kent 
 had too much good sense to abuse his peculiar 
 privilege ; but he exercised it twice after the instance 
 we have seen of it before he was called from the 
 world ; once at the accession of Queen Mary, and 
 once at the accession of Queen Elizabeth. A de 
 scendant of his exercised it at the accession of James 
 I. Before this one s son chose to use the privilege, 
 near a quarter of a century had elapsed, and the 
 "privilege of the Kents " had faded out of most 
 people s memories; so, when the Kent of that day 
 appeared before Charles I. and his court and sat down 
 in the sovereign s presence to assert and perpetuate 
 the right of his house, there was a fine stir, indeed ! 
 But the matter was soon explained and the right 
 confirmed. The last earl of the line fell in the wars 
 of the Commonwealth fighting for the king, and the 
 odd privilege ended with him. 
 
 Tom Canty lived to be a very old man, a hand 
 some, white-haired old fellow, of grave and benignant 
 aspect. As long as he lasted he was honored ; and 
 he was also reverenced, for his striking and peculiar 
 costume kept the people reminded that " in his time 
 T 
 
308 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 he had been royal;" so, wherever he appeared the 
 crowd fell apart, making way for him, and whisper 
 ing, one to another, * Doff thy hat, it is the King s 
 Ward!" and so they saluted, and got his kindly 
 smile in return and they valued it, too, for his 
 was an honorable history. 
 
 Yes, King Edward VI. lived only a few years, 
 poor boy, but he lived them worthily. More than 
 once, when some great dignitary, some gilded vassal 
 of the crown, made argument against his leniency, 
 and urged that some law which he was bent upon 
 amending was gentle enough for its purpose, and 
 wrought no suffering or oppression which any one 
 need mightily mind, the young king turned the 
 mournful eloquence of his great compassionate eyes 
 upon him and answered : 
 
 " What dost thou know of suffering and oppres 
 sion? I and my people know, but not thou." 
 
 The reign of Edward VI. was a singularly merci 
 ful one for those harsh times. Now that we are 
 taking leave of him let us try to keep this in our 
 minds, to his credit. 
 
NOTES 
 
 NOTE i PAGE 37 
 Chrisfs Hospital Costume 
 
 IT is most reasonable to regard the dress as copied from the costume 
 of the citizens of London of that period, when long blue coats were the 
 common habit of apprentices and serving-men, and yellow stockings were 
 generally worn; the coat fits closely to the body, but has loose sleeves, and 
 beneath is worn a sleeveless yellow under-coat; around the waist is a 
 red leathern girdle; a clerical band around the neck, and a small flat 
 black cap, about the size of a saucer, completes the costume. Times 
 "Curiosities of London." 
 
 NOTE 2 Page 40 
 
 It appears that Christ s Hospital was not originally founded as a 
 school; its object was to rescue children from the streets, to shelter, feed, 
 clothe them, etc. Timbs* "Curiosities of London.** 
 
 NOTE 3 Page 50 
 The Duke of Norfolk s Condemnation Commanded 
 
 THE King was now approaching fast towards his end; and fearing 
 lest Norfolk should escape him, he sent a message to the Commons, by 
 which he desired them to hasten the bill, on pretence that Norfolk en 
 joyed the dignity of earl marshal, and it was necessary to appoint 
 another, who might officiate at the ensuing ceremony of installing his 
 son Prince of Wales. Hume> vol. iii, p. 307. 
 
 NOTE 4 Page 65 
 
 IT was not till the end of this reign [Henry VIII] that any salads, 
 carrots- turnips, or other edible roots were produced in England. The 
 
 (309) 
 
310 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 little of these vegetables that was used was formerly imported from 
 Holland and Flanders. Queen Catherine, when she wanted a salad, 
 was obliged to despatch a messenger thither on purpose. Hume s 
 History of England t vol. iii, p. 314. 
 
 NOTE 5 Page 71 
 Attainder of Norfolk 
 
 THE house of peers, without examining the prisoner, without trial or 
 evidence, passed a bill of attainder against him and sent it down to the 
 commons. . . . The obsequious commons obeyed his [the King s] 
 directions; and the King, having affixed the royal assent to the bill by 
 commissioners, issued orders for the execution of Norfolk on the morn 
 ing of the twenty-ninth of January [the next day]. Hume s England, 
 vol. iii, p. 306. 
 
 NOTE 6 PAGE 87 
 The Loving- Cup 
 
 The loving-cup, and the peculiar ceremonies observed in drinking 
 from it, are older than English history. It is thought that both are 
 Danish importations. As far back as knowledge goes, the loving-cup 
 has always been drunk at English banquets. Tradition explains the 
 ceremonies in this way : in the rude ancient times it was deemed a wise 
 precaution to have both hands of both drinkers employed, lest while the 
 pledger pledged his love and fidelity to the pledgee the pledgee take 
 that opportunity to slip a dirk into him ! 
 
 NOTE 7 PAGE 94 
 The Duke of Norfolk s Narrow Escape 
 
 HAD Henry VIII survived a few hours longer, his order for the 
 
 duke s execution would have been carried into effect. " But news being 
 carried to the Tower that the King himself had expired that night, the 
 lieutenant deferred obeying the warrant; and it was not thought advis 
 able by the council to begin a new reign by the death of the greatest 
 nobleman in the Kingdom, who had been condemned by a sentence so 
 unjust and tyrannical." Hume s England, vol. iii, p. 307. 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 311 
 
 NOTE 8 Page 129 
 The Whipping-By 
 
 JAMES I and Charles II had whipping-boys when they were little 
 fellows, to take their punishment for them when they fell short in their 
 lessons; so I have ventured to furnish my small prince with one, for my 
 own purposes. 
 
 NOTES TO CHAPTER XV Page 149 
 Character of Hertford 
 
 THE young king discovered an extreme attachment to his uncle, 
 who was, in the main, a man of moderation and probity. Hume s 
 England, vol. iii, p. 324. 
 
 But if he [the Protector] gave offense by assuming too much state, 
 he deserves great praise on account of the laws passed this session, by 
 which the rigor of former statutes was much mitigated, and some se 
 curity given to the freedom of the constitution. All laws were repealed 
 which extended the crime of treason beyond the statute of the twenty-fifth 
 of Edward III; all laws enacted during the late reign extending the crime 
 of felony; all the former laws against Lollardy or heresy, together with 
 the statute of the Six Articles. None were to be accused for words, but 
 within a month after they were spoken. By these repeals several of the 
 most rigorous laws that ever had passed in England were annulled; and 
 some dawn, both of civil and religious liberty, began to appear to the 
 people. A repeal also passed of that law, the destruction of all laws, by 
 which the king s proclamation was made of equal force with a statute. 
 Ibid., vol. iii, p. 339. 
 
 Boiling to Death 
 
 IN the reign of Henry VIII, prisoners were, by act of parliament, 
 condemned to be boiled to death. This act was repealed in the follow 
 ing reign. 
 
 In Germany, even in the 1 7th century, this horrible punishment was 
 inflicted on coiners and counterfeiters. Taylor, the Water Poet, de 
 scribes an execution he witnessed in Hamburg, in 1616. The judgment 
 pronounced against a coiner of false money was that he should "be 
 boiled to death in oil : not thrown into the vessel at once, but with a 
 pulley or rope to be hanged under the armpits, and then let down into 
 
312 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 the oil by degrees; first the feet, and next the legs, and so to boil his 
 flesh from his bones alive." Dr. J. Hammond TrumbulFs "Blue 
 Laws, True and False," p. 13. 
 
 The Famous Stocking Case 
 
 A WOMAN and her daughter, nine years old, were hanged in Hunt 
 ingdon for selling their souls to the devil, and raising a storm by pulling 
 off their stockings! Ibid., p. 20. 
 
 NOTE 10 Page 166 
 
 Enslaving 
 
 So young a king, and so ignorant a peasant were likely to make 
 mistakes and this is an instance in point. This peasant was suffering 
 from this law by anticipation ; the king was venting his indignation 
 against a law which was not yet in existence : for this hideous statute 
 was to have birth in this little king s own reign. However, we know, 
 from the humanity of his character, that it could never have been sug 
 gested by him. 
 
 NOTES TO CHAPTER XXIII Page 218 
 Death for Trifling Larcenies 
 
 WHEN Connecticut and New Haven were framing their first codes, 
 larceny above the value of twelve pence was a capital crime in England, 
 as it had been since the time of Henry I. Dr. J. Hammond Trum- 
 bull s "Blue Laws, True and False," p. 17. 
 
 The curious old book called "The English Rogue" makes the limit 
 thirteen pence ha penny; death being the portion of any who steal a 
 thing "above the value of thirteen pence ha penny." 
 
 NOTES TO CHAPTER XXVII Page 253 
 
 FROM many descriptions of larceny, the law expressly took away the 
 benefit of clergy; to steal a horse, or a hawk, or woolen cloth from the 
 weaver, was a hanging matter. So it was to kill a deer from the king s 
 forest, or to export sheep from the Kingdom. Dr. J. Hammond 
 TrumbulPs "Blue Laws, True and False," p. 13. 
 
 William Prynne, a learned barrister, was sentenced [long after 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 313 
 
 Edward the Sixth s time] to lose both his ears in the pillory; to de 
 gradation from the bar; a fine of ^"3,000, and imprisonment for life. 
 Three years afterwards, he gave new offense to Laud, by publishing a 
 pamphlet against the hierarchy. He was again prosecuted, and was 
 sentenced to lose -what remained of his ears; to pay a fine of 
 ^"5,000; to be branded on both his cheeks with the letters S. L. (for 
 Seditious Libeller), and to remain in prison for life. The severity of 
 this sentence was equaled by the savage rigor of its execution. Ibid. t 
 p. 12. 
 
 NOTES TO CHAPTER XXXIII Page 304 
 
 CHRIST S HOSPITAL or BLUE COAT SCHOOL, "the Noblest Insti 
 tution in the World." 
 
 The ground on which the Priory of the Grey Friars stood was conferred 
 by Henry the Eighth on the Corporation of London [who caused the 
 institution there of a home for poor boys and girls]. Subsequently, 
 Edward the Sixth caused the old Priory to be properly repaired, and 
 founded within it that noble establishment called the Blue Coat School, 
 or Christ s Hospital, for the education and maintenance of orphans and 
 the children of indigent persons. . . . Edward would not let him 
 [Bishop Ridley] depart till the letter was written [to the Lord Mayor], 
 and then charged him to deliver it himself, and signify his special re 
 quest and commandment that no time might be lost in proposing what 
 was convenient, and apprising him of the proceedings. The work was 
 zealously undertaken, Ridley himself engaging in it; and the result was, 
 the founding of Christ s Hospital for the Education of Poor Children. 
 [The king endowed several other charities at the same time.] "Lord 
 God," said he, " I yield thee most hearty thanks that thouhast given me 
 life thus long, to finish this work to the glory of thy name!" That in 
 nocent and most exemplary life was drawing rapidly to its close, and in 
 a few days he rendered up his spirit to his Creator, praying God to de 
 fend the realm from Papistry. J. Heneage Jesses " London, its 
 Celebrated Characters and Places" 
 
 In the Great Hall hangs a large picture of King Edward VI seated 
 on his throne, in a scarlet and ermined robe, holding the sceptre in his 
 left hand, presenting with the other the Charter to the kneeling Lord 
 Mayor. By his side stands the Chancellor, holding the seals, and next to 
 him are other officers of state. Bishop Ridley kneels before him with up- 
 
314 The Prince and the Pauper 
 
 lifted hands, as if supplicating a blessing on the event; while the Alder 
 men, etc., with the Lord Mayor, kneel on both sides, occupying the mid 
 dle ground of the picture; and lastly, in front, are a double row of boys on 
 one side, and girls on the other, from the master and matron down to the 
 boy and girl who have stepped forward from their respective rows, and 
 kneel with raised hands before the king. Timbs ^Curiosities of 
 London" p. 98. 
 
 Christ s Hospital, by ancient custom, possesses the privilege of ad 
 dressing the Sovereign on the occasion of his or her coming into the 
 City to partake of the hospitality of the Corporation of London. Ibid. 
 
 The Dining-Hall, with its lobby and organ -gallery, occupies the entire 
 story, which is 187 feet long, 51 feet wide, and 47 feet high; it is lit by 
 nine large windows, filled with stained glass on the south side; that is, 
 next to Westminster Hall, the noblest room in the metropolis. Here 
 the boys, now about 800 in number, dine; and here are held the "Sup- 
 pings in Public," to which visitors are admitted by tickets, issued by the 
 Treasurer and by the Governors of Christ s Hospital. The tables are 
 laid with cheese in wooden bowls; beer in wooden piggins, poured 
 from leathern jacks ; and bread brought in large baskets. The official 
 company enter ; the Lord Mayor, or President, takes his seat in a state 
 chair, made of oak from St. Catherine s Church by the Tower ; a hymn 
 is sung, accompanied by the organ; a "Grecian," or head boy, reads 
 the prayers from the pulpit, silence being enforced by three drops of a 
 wooden hammer. After prayer the supper commences, and the visitors 
 walk between the tables. At its close, the "trade-boys" take up the 
 baskets, bowls, jacks, piggins, and candlesticks, and pass in procession, 
 the bowing to the Governors being curiously formal. This spectacle 
 was witnessed by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1845. 
 
 Among the more eminent Blue Coat Boys are Joshua Barnes, editor 
 of Anacreon and Euripides ; Jeremiah Markland, the eminent critic, 
 particularly in Greek literature; Camden, the antiquary; Bishop Still- 
 ingfleet; Samuel Richardson, the novelist; Thomas Mitchell, the trans 
 lator of Aristophanes; Thomas Barnes, many years editor of the London 
 Times; Coleridge, Charles Lamb, and Leigh Hunt. 
 
 No boy is admitted before he is seven years old, or after he is nine; 
 and no boy can remain in the school after he is fifteen, King s boys and 
 " Grecians" alone excepted. There are about 500 Governors, at the 
 head of whom are the Sovereign and the Prince of Wales. The quali 
 fication for a Governor is payment of ^500. Ibid, 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 31$ 
 
 GENERAL NOTE 
 
 ONE hears much about the "hideous Blue-Laws of Connecticut ," 
 and is accustomed to shudder piously when they are mentioned. 
 There are people in America and even in England ! who imag 
 ine that they were a very monument of malignity, pitilessness, and 
 inhumanity; whereas, in reality they were about the first SWEEPING 
 DEPARTURE FROM JUDICIAL ATROCITY which the "civilized" world 
 had seen. This humane and kindly Blue-Law code, of two hundred 
 and forty years ago, stands all by itself, with ages of bloody law on 
 the further side of it, and a century and three-quarters of bloody 
 English law on THIS side of it. 
 
 There has never been a time under the Blue- Laws or any other 
 when above FOURTEEN crimes were ptinishable by death in Con 
 necticut. But in England, within the memory of men who are still 
 hale in body and mind, TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY-THREE crimes 
 were punishable by death !* These facts are worth knowing and 
 worth thinking about, too. 
 
 * See Dr. J. Hammond TrumbuITs " Blue Laws, True and False," 
 p. II. 
 
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