Part 373 (1/2)

LEICESTER (having hastily run through the letter).

You know the purport of this letter, sir.

MORTIMER.

Not I.

LEICESTER.

Indeed! She surely hath informed you.

MORTIMER.

Nothing hath she informed me of. She said You would explain this riddle to me--'tis To me a riddle, that the Earl of Leicester, The far-famed favorite of Elizabeth, The open, bitter enemy of Mary, And one of those who spoke her mortal sentence, Should be the man from whom the queen expects Deliverance from her woes; and yet it must be; Your eyes express too plainly what your heart Feels for the hapless lady.

LEICESTER.

Tell me, Sir, First, how it comes that you should take so warm An interest in her fate; and what it was Gained you her confidence?

MORTIMER.

My lord, I can, And in few words, explain this mystery.

I lately have at Rome abjured my creed, And stand in correspondence with the Guises.

A letter from the cardinal archbishop Was my credential with the Queen of Scots.

LEICESTER.

I am acquainted, sir, with your conversion; 'Twas that which waked my confidence towards you.

[Each remnant of distrust be henceforth banished;]

Your hand, sir, pardon me these idle doubts, I cannot use too much precaution here.

Knowing how Walsingham and Burleigh hate me, And, watching me, in secret spread their snares; You might have been their instrument, their creature To lure me to their toils.

MORTIMER.

How poor a part So great a n.o.bleman is forced to play At court! My lord, I pity you.

LEICESTER.

With joy I rest upon the faithful breast of friends.h.i.+p, Where I can ease me of this long constraint.

You seem surprised, sir, that my heart is turned So suddenly towards the captive queen.

In truth, I never hated her; the times Have forced me to be her enemy.

She was, as you well know, my destined bride, Long since, ere she bestowed her hand on Darnley, While yet the beams of glory round her smiled, Coldly I then refused the proffered boon.

Now in confinement, at the gates of death, I claim her at the hazard of my life.

MORTIMER.

True magnanimity, my lord.

LEICESTER.

The state Of circ.u.mstances since that time is changed.

Ambition made me all insensible To youth and beauty. Mary's hand I held Too insignificant for me; I hoped To be the husband of the Queen of England.

MORTIMER.

It is well known she gave you preference Before all others.

LEICESTER.

So, indeed, it seemed.

Now, after ten lost years of tedious courts.h.i.+p And hateful self-constraint--oh, sir, my heart Must ease itself of this long agony.

They call me happy! Did they only know What the chains are, for which they envy me!