Part 6 (1/2)
But Harleston nudged ht hear:--”Dost thou observe the King? If he doth live a reatly surprise me; for if the sta”
Then Gloucester and Buckingham came forward and, when his Majesty was seated upon his throne, enquired as to how he did, and kissed his hand, as though they loved him; when, at the same time, I verily believe, one of the been dead
Every one ree in the noble Edward, and hastened forward to enquire as to his health; when, if they did use their eyes, they could see their ansrit in bold letters upon that pale, yet handsome face
His Majesty did not seem to like these enquiries; for he frowned on some which expressed their hope that he was not ill When e to him, however, he s's did not seem to please some of those which had met with a reception less warm; for I observed on the faces of some of these lords and others, sneers and smiles; then would they turn to each other and converse, and look in our direction, and shrug their shoulders, as much as to say:--”It matters not; those upon whom he smiles to-day may be in the Tower to-morrow”
But to this we paid little attention; for it was but natural for them to feel jealous, after their cold reception
When the presentation of the guests had been coh it must have cost him an effort,--spoke in a clear voice, and told theiven, said his Majesty, in honor of his Royal brother, the Duke of Gloucester, and the brave nobles and knights who had assisted hi another jewel to the crown of England, by the acquisition of Berwick Then ca turned to Gloucester and said: ”My brother inforreat extent, in her unlawful and hostile acts against us, by our ancient foe--France Several French noblemen of importance were taken prisoners on the field of Berwick; which is strong evidence against that disturber of the peace of nations, across the Channel
”In a few short athered in this sa our victory over France”
Then, as the King ended this speech, which appeared greatly to exhaust him, we all did break into a roar of applause, which did not stop until his Majesty raised his hand, which did co, and the ham led the Queen to the centre of the room, and started the ball in earnest The scene that followed, re to slide frooes, others do join it in its journey, and soon the whole hillside is one sliding ham had completed a measure, others joined in, and in but a few shortback and forth, first this way, then that, yet ever in harmony, like the waves as they rush upon the shore and then recede, and cohtful time, but ever with a restful variation
Needless to say, I was not long in finding htful partner
However, I was not pleased when I ca to persuade her to give unto him my dance I was close beside him ere he knew it, and then I heard hi, he had left unsaid) ”Methinks, Lady Hazel, thy partner otten thee”
”Thou shouldst not think of matters which do not concern thee, Sir,” I said, quietly, in his ear, as I took Hazel by the hand and led her forth
”And such a trifling ed his shoulders and walked off
Had he struck me a blow upon my cheek he could not have nation, and swore a great oath, to myself, that I would make him eat those words, the first tireatly was I occupied with thinking of the pleasure I would have when h his body that Hazel, at last, had to pull me by the sleeve, in order to attract my attention
”What is the h in a drea from the expression on your face I do hope that my little presence is not so unpleasant as to make thee look like that”
This recalled ized for aiety
When I look back at that night, and see that fairy forh the movements with me, it doth seem, unto els appear innothing more substantial than the air And indeed it was a dream, and one that can never be too oft repeated Ah, that was indeed a happy night; and so o
Hazel had not heard my remark to Catesby, nor--by some happy chance--his insolent retort, which latter had, to reat roo it carried for me Be that as it may, she had not heard; and for this I was thankful; for had she, it should have worried her, and the evening had then been spoiled for both of us; and I would not have had that happen for a kingdoht have the next
”No, Walter,” she replied; ”I have already proh I do not think much of lawyers,” she added
Of course this ain; but I did not say so, to Hazel, for fear she htened All I said was:--”I detest that fellow, and do not like to see thee dance with hireeable to me,” she answered; ”and thou ht”
”Nor any other night,” thought I, ”if I et my sword betwixt his ribs”
When the next set did start, as I had no desire for dancing with any other wo danced with that dainty flower, I strolled into one of the adjoining rooms, and sat myself down in a coht not be disturbed in my meditations, which made my heart to beat the faster the further I let theht in my mind was how and when I had better declare et her pro with h ambitions of love are realized, namely, the altar of Holy Church Just as I had fully ive me a definite answer the first time I should catch her alone (and now I felt certain what that ansould be) Gloucester and Buckingha upon the arether I saw thes to the wall; but they evidently thought that they were the sole occupants of the room; for, the moment they entered, I heard the Prince say in a low tone:--”As we are alone here I may say that which thine ears alone should hear” Then, before I could make a move, and make known my presence (for Heaven truly knows I have never had any desire to play the eavesdropper) he continued: ”His Majesty's time is short; dost thou not see the seal of death upon his brow?”