MICHEL AND ANGELE

[A Ladder of Swords]

By Gilbert Parker

Volume 1. 

INTRODUCTION

If it does not seem too childish a candour to say so, 'Michel and Angele'always seems to me like some old letter lifted out of an ancient cabinetwith the faint perfume of bygone days upon it. Perhaps that is becausethe story itself had its origin in a true but brief record of some goodHuguenots who fled from France and took refuge in England, to be found, as the book declares, at the Walloon Church, in Southampton. 

The record in the first paragraphs of the first chapter of the bookfascinated my imagination, and I wove round Michel de la Foret and AngeleAubert a soft, bright cloud of romance which would not leave my visionuntil I sat down and wrote out what, in the writing, seemed to me a truehistory. It was as though some telepathy between the days of Elizabethand our own controlled me--self-hypnotism, I suppose; but still, there itwas. The story, in its original form, was first published in 'Harper'sWeekly' under the name of Michel and Angele, but the fear, I think, thatmany people would mispronounce the first word of the title, induced me tochange it when, double in length, it became a volume called 'A Ladder ofSwords'. 

As it originally appeared, I wrote it in the Island of Jersey, out at thelittle Bay of Rozel in a house called La Chaire, a few yards away fromthe bay itself, and having a pretty garden with a seat at its highestpoint, from which, beyond the little bay, the English Channel ran away tothe Atlantic. It was written in complete seclusion. I had no visitors;there was no one near, indeed, except the landlord of the little hotel inthe bay, and his wife. All through the Island, however, were people whomI knew, like the Malet de Carterets, the Lemprieres, and old GeneralPipon, for whom the Jersey of three hundred years ago was as near as theJersey of to-day, so do the Jersiais prize, cultivate, and conserve everyhour of its recorded history. 

As the sea opens out to a vessel making between the promontories to themain, so, while writing this tale which originally was short, the largerscheme of 'The Battle of the Strong' spread out before me, luring me, asthough in the distance were the Fortunate Isles. Eight years after'Michel and Angele' was written and first published in 'Harper's Weekly', I decided to give it the dignity of a full-grown romance. For years Ihad felt that it had the essentials for a larger canvas, and at theearnest solicitation of Messrs. Harper & Brothers I settled to do whathad long been in my mind. The narrative grew as naturally from what itwas to larger stature as anything that had been devised upon a greaterscale at the beginning; and in London town I had the same joy in thecompany of Michel and Angele--and a vastly increased joy in the companyof Lempriere, the hulking, joyous giant--as I had years before in Jerseyitself when the story first stirred in my mind and reached my pen. 

While adverse reviews of the book were few if any, it cannot be said thatthis romance is a companion in popularity with, for instance, 'The Rightof Way'. It had its friends, but it has apparently appealed to smalleraudiences--to those who watch the world go by; who are not searching forthe exposure of life's grim realities; who do not seek the clinic of thesoul's tragedies. There was tragedy here, but there was comedy too;there was also joy and faith, patience and courage. The book, taken byitself, could not make a permanent reputation for any man, but it has itsplace in the scheme of my work, and I would not have it otherwise than itis. 

A NOTE

There will be found a few anachronisms in this tale, but none soimportant as to give a wrong impression of the events of QueenElizabeth's reign. 

MICHEL AND ANGELE

CHAPTER I

If you go to Southampton and search the register of the Walloon Churchthere, you will find that in the summer of 157_, "Madame Vefue de Montgomery with all her family and servants were admitted to the Communion"--"Tous ceux cj furent Recus la a Cene du 157_, comme passans, sans avoir Rendu Raison de la foj, mes sur la tesmognage de Mons. Forest, Ministre de Madame, quj certifia quj ne cognoisoit Rien en tout ceux la po' quoy Il ne leur deust administre la Cene s'il estoit en lieu po' a ferre. "

There is another striking record, which says that in August of the sameyear Demoiselle Angele Claude Aubert, daughter of Monsieur de la HaieAubert, Councillor of the Parliament of Rouen, was married to Michel dela Foret, of the most noble Flemish family of that name. 

When I first saw these records, now grown dim with time, I fell towondering what was the real life-history of these two people. Forthwith, in imagination, I began to make their story piece by piece; and I hadreached a romantic 'denoument' satisfactory to myself and in sympathywith fact, when the Angel of Accident stepped forward with some "humandocuments. " Then I found that my tale, woven back from the two obscurerecords I have given, was the true story of two most unhappy yet mosthappy people. From the note struck in my mind, when my finger touchedthat sorrowful page in the register of the Church of the Refugees atSouthampton, had spread out the whole melody and the very book of thesong. 

One of the later-discovered records was a letter, tear-stained, faded, beautifully written in old French, from Demoiselle Angele Claude Aubertto Michel de la Foret at Anvers in March of the year 157_. The letterlies beside me as I write, and I can scarcely believe that three and aquarter centuries have passed since it was written, and that she whowrote it was but eighteen years old at the time. I translate it intoEnglish, though it is impossible adequately to carry over either theflavour or the idiom of the language:

 Written on this May Day of the year 157_, at the place hight Rozel in the Manor called of the same of Jersey Isle, to Michel de la Foret, at Anvers in Flanders. 

 MICHEL, Thy good letter by safe carriage cometh to my hand, bringing to my heart a lightness it hath not known since that day when I was hastily carried to the port of St. Malo, and thou towards the King his prison. In what great fear have I lived, having no news of thee and fearing all manner of mischance! But our God hath benignly saved thee from death, and me He hath set safely here in this isle of the sea. 

 Thou hast ever been a brave soldier, enduring and not fearing; thou shalt find enow to keep thy blood stirring in these days of trial and peril to us who are so opprobriously called Les Huguenots. If thou wouldst know more of my mind thereupon, come hither. Safety is here, and work for thee--smugglers and pirates do abound on these coasts, and Popish wolves do harry the flock even in this island province of England. Michel, I plead for the cause which thou hast nobly espoused, but--alas! my selfish heart, where thou art lie work and fighting, and the same high cause, and sadly, I confess, it is for mine own happiness that I ask thee to come. I wot well that escape from France hath peril, that the way hither from that point upon yonder coast called Carteret is hazardous, but yet-but yet all ways to happiness are set with hazard. 

 If thou dost come to Carteret thou wilt see two lights turning this- wards: one upon a headland called Tour de Rozel, and one upon the great rock called of the Ecrehos. These will be in line with thy sight by the sands of Hatainville. Near by the Tour de Rozel shall I be watching and awaiting thee. By day and night doth my prayer ascend for thee. 

 The messenger who bears this to thee (a piratical knave with a most kind heart, having, I am told, a wife in every port of France and of England the south, a most heinous sin!) will wait for thy answer, or will bring thee hither, which is still better. He is worthy of trust if thou makest him swear by the little finger of St. Peter. By all other swearings he doth deceive freely. 

 The Lord make thee true, Michel. If thou art faithful to me, I shall know how faithful thou art in all; for thy vows to me were most frequent and pronounced, with a full savour that might warrant short seasoning. Yet, because thou mayst still be given to such dear fantasies of truth as were on thy lips in those dark days wherein thy sword saved my life 'twixt Paris and Rouen, I tell thee now that I do love thee, and shall so love when, as my heart inspires me, the cloud shall fall that will hide us from each other forever. 

 ANGELE. 

 An Afterword:

 I doubt not we shall come to the heights where there is peace, though we climb thereto by a ladder of swords. A. 

Some years before Angele's letter was written, Michel de la Foret hadbecome an officer in the army of Comte Gabriel de Montgomery, and foughtwith him until what time the great chief was besieged in the Castle ofDomfront in Normandy. When the siege grew desperate, Montgomery besoughtthe intrepid young Huguenot soldier to escort Madame de Montgomery toEngland, to be safe from the oppression and misery sure to follow anymishap to this noble leader of the Camisards. 

At the very moment of departure of the refugees from Domfront with theComtesse, Angele's messenger--the "piratical knave with the most kindheart "presented himself, delivered her letter to De la Foret, andproceeded with the party to the coast of Normandy by St. Brieuc. Embarking there in a lugger which Buonespoir the pirate secured for them, they made for England. 

Having come but half-way of the Channel, the lugger was stopped by anEnglish frigate. After much persuasion the captain of the frigate agreedto land Madame de Montgomery upon the island of Jersey, but forced De laForet to return to the coast of France; and Buonespoir elected to returnwith him. 

CHAPTER II

Meanwhile Angele had gone through many phases of alternate hope anddespair. She knew that Montgomery the Camisard was dead, and a rumour, carried by refugees, reached her that De la Foret had been with him tothe end. To this was presently added the word that De la Foret had beenbeheaded. But one day she learned that the Comtesse de Montgomery wassheltered by the Governor, Sir Hugh Pawlett, her kinsman, at Mont OrgueilCastle. Thither she went in fear from her refuge at Rozel, and wasadmitted to the Comtesse. There she learned the joyful truth that De laForet had not been slain, and was in hiding on the coast of Normandy. 

The long waiting was a sore trial, yet laughter was often upon her lipshenceforth. The peasants, the farmers and fishermen of Jersey, at first--as they have ever been--little inclined towards strangers, learned atlast to look for her in the fields and upon the shore, and laughed inresponse, they knew not why, to the quick smiling of her eyes. She evenlearned to speak their unmusical but friendly Norman-Jersey French. There were at least a half-dozen fishermen who, for her, would have goneat night straight to the Witches' Rock in St. Clement's Bay--and this wasbravery unmatched. 

It came to be known along the coast that "Ma'm'selle" was waiting for alover fleeing from the French coast. This gave her fresh interest in theeyes of the serfs and sailors and their women folk, who at first were notinclined towards the Huguenot maiden, partly because she was French, andpartly because she was not a Catholic. But even these, when they sawthat she never talked religiously, that she was fast learning to speaktheir own homely patois, and that in the sickness of their children shewas untiring in her kindness, forgave the austerity of the gloomy-browedold man her father, who spoke to them distantly, or never spoke at all;and her position was secure. Then, upon the other hand, the gentry ofthe manors, seeing the friendship grow between her and the Comtesse deMontgomery at Mont Orgueil Castle, made courteous advances towards herfather, and towards herself through him. 

She could scarce have counted the number of times she climbed the greathill like a fortress at the lift of the little bay of Rozel, and from theNez du Guet scanned the sea for a sail and the sky for fair weather. When her eyes were not thus busy, they were searching the lee of thehillside round for yellow lilies, and the valley below for the campion, the daffodil, and the thousand pretty ferns growing in profusion there. Every night she looked out to see that her signal fire was lit upon theNez du Guet, and she never went to bed without taking one last look overthe sea, in the restless inveterate hope which at once sustained her anddevoured her. 

But the longest waiting must end. It came on the evening of the very daythat the Seigneur of Rozel went to Angele's father and bluntly told himhe was ready to forego all Norman-Jersey prejudice against the French andthe Huguenot religion, and take Angele to wife without penny or estate. 

In reply to the Seigneur, Monsieur Aubert said that he was conscious ofan honour, and referred Monsieur to his daughter, who must answer forherself; but he must tell Monsieur of Rozel that Monsieur's religionwould, in his own sight, be a high bar to the union. To that theSeigneur said that no religion that he had could be a bar to anything atall; and so long as the young lady could manage her household, drive agood bargain with the craftsmen and hucksters, and have the handsomestface and manners in the Channel Islands, he'd ask no more; and she mightpray for him and his salvation without let or hindrance. 

The Seigneur found the young lady in a little retreat among the rocks, called by the natives La Chaire. Here she sat sewing upon some coarselinen for a poor fisherwoman's babe when the Seigneur came near. Sheheard the scrunch of his heels upon the gravel, the clank of his swordupon the rocks, and looked up with a flush, her needle poised; for noneshould know of her presence in this place save her father. When she sawwho was her visitor, she rose. After greeting and compliment, none toofinely put, but more generous than fitted with Jersey parsimony, thegentleman of Rozel came at once to the point. 

"My name is none too bad, " said he--"Raoul Lempriere, of the Lemprieresthat have been here since Rollo ruled in Normandy. My estate is noneworse than any in the whole islands; I have more horses and dogs than anygentleman of my acres; and I am more in favour at court than De Carteretof St. Ouen's. I am the Queen's butler, and I am the first that royalfavour granted to set up three dove-cotes, one by St. Aubin's, one by St. Helier's, and one at Rozel: and--and, " he added, with a lumbering attemptat humour--"and, on my oath, I'll set up another dove-cote with out mysovereign's favour, with your leave alone. By our Lady, I do love thatcolour in yon cheek! Just such a colour had my mother when she snatchedfrom the head of my cousin of Carteret's milk-maid wife the bonnet of alady of quality and bade her get to her heifers. God's beauty! but 'tisa colour of red primroses in thy cheeks and blue campions in thine eyes. Come, I warrant I can deepen that colour"--he bowed low--"Madame ofRozel, if it be not too soon!"

The girl listened to this cheerful and loquacious proposal and courtshipall in one, ending with the premature bestowal of a title, in mingledanger, amusement, disdain, and apprehension. Her heart fluttered, thenstood still, then flew up in her throat, then grew terribly hot and hurther, so that she pressed her hand to her bosom as though that might easeit. By the time he had finished, drawn himself up, and struck his footupon the ground in burly emphasis of his devoted statements, the girl hadsufficiently recovered to answer him composedly, and with a little glintof demure humour in her eyes. She loved another man; she did not care somuch as a spark for this happy, swearing, swashbuckling gentleman; yetshe saw he had meant to do her honour. He had treated her as courteouslyas was in him to do; he chose her out from all the ladies of hisacquaintance to make her an honest offer of his hand--he had said nothingabout his heart; he would, should she marry him, throw her scraps ofgood-humour, bearish tenderness, drink to her health among his fellows, and respect and admire her--even exalt her almost to the rank of a manin his own eyes; and he had the tolerance of the open-hearted and open-handed man. All these things were as much a compliment to her as thoughshe were not a despised Huguenot, an exiled lady of no fortune. Shelooked at him a moment with an almost solemn intensity, so that heshifted his ground uneasily, but at once smiled encouragingly, to relieveher embarrassment at the unexpected honour done her. She had remainedstanding; now, as he made a step towards her, she sank down upon theseat, and waved him back courteously. 

"A moment, Monsieur of Rozel, " she ventured. "Did my father send you tome?"

He inclined his head and smiled again. 

"Did you say to him what you have said to me?" she asked, not quitewithout a touch of malice. 

"I left out about the colour in the cheek, " he answered, with a smirk atwhat he took to be the quickness of his wit. 

"You kept your paint-pot for me, " she replied softly. 

"And the dove-cote, too, " he rejoined, bowing finely, and almost carriedoff his feet by his own brilliance. She became serious at once--soquickly that he was ill prepared for it, and could do little but stareand pluck at the tassel of his sword; for he was embarrassed before thismaiden, who changed as quickly as the currents change under the brow ofthe Couperon Cliff, behind which lay his manor-house of Rozel. 

"I have visited at your manor, Monsieur of Rozel. I have seen the statein which you live, your retainers, your men-at-arms, your farming-folk, and your sailormen. I know how your Queen receives you; how your honouris as stable as your fief. "

He drew himself up again proudly. He could understand this speech. 

"Your horses and your hounds I have seen, " she added, "your men-servantsand your maid-servants, your fields of corn, your orchards, and yourlarder. I have sometimes broken the Commandment and coveted them andenvied you. "

"Break the Commandment again, for the last time, " he cried, delighted andboisterous. "Let us not waste words, lady. Let's kiss and have itover. "

Her eyes flashed. "I coveted them and envied you; but then, I am but avain girl at times, and vanity is easier to me than humbleness. "

"Blood of man, but I cannot understand so various a creature!" he brokein, again puzzled. 

"There is a little chapel in the dell beside your manor, Monsieur. Ifyou will go there, and get upon your knees, and pray till the candles nomore burn, and the Popish images crumble in their places, you will yetnever understand myself or any woman. "

"There's no question of Popish images between us, " he answered, vainlytrying for foothold. "Pray as you please, and I'll see no harm comes tothe Mistress of Rozel. "

He was out of his bearings and impatient. Religion to him was a dullrecreation invented chiefly for women. She became plain enough now. "'Tis no images nor religion that stands between us, " she answered, "though they might well do so. It is that I do not love you, Monsieur ofRozel. "

His face, which had slowly clouded, suddenly cleared. "Love! Love!" Helaughed good-humouredly. "Love comes, I'm told, with marriage. But wecan do well enough without fugling on that pipe. Come, come, dost thinkI'm not a proper man and a gentleman? Dost think I'll not use thee welland 'fend thee, Huguenot though thou art, 'gainst trouble or fret or anyman's persecutions--be he my Lord Bishop, my Lord Chancellor, or King ofFrance, or any other?"

She came a step closer to him, even as though she would lay a hand uponhis arm. "I believe that you would do all that in you lay, " she answeredsteadily. "Yours is a rough wooing, but it is honest--"

"Rough! Rough!" he protested, for he thought he had behaved like someAdonis. Was it not ten years only since he had been at Court!

"Be assured, Monsieur, that I know how to prize the man who speaks afterthe light given him. I know that you are a brave and valorous gentleman. I must thank you most truly and heartily, but, Monsieur, you and yoursare not for me. Seek elsewhere, among your own people, in your ownreligion and language and position, the Mistress of Rozel. "

He was dumfounded. Now he comprehended the plain fact that he had beendeclined. 

"You send me packing!" he blurted out, getting red in the face. 

"Ah, no! Say it is my misfortune that I cannot give myself the greathonour, " she said; in her tone a little disdainful dryness, a littlepity, a little feeling that here was a good friend lost. 

"It's not because of the French soldier that was with Montgomery atDomfront?--I've heard that story. But he's gone to heaven, and 'tis vaincrying for last year's breath, " he added, with proud philosophy. 

"He is not dead. And if he were, " she added, "do you think, Monsieur, that we should find it easier to cross the gulf between us?"

"Tut, tut, that bugbear Love!" he said shortly. "And so you'd lose agood friend for a dead lover? I' faith, I'd befriend thee well if thouwert my wife, Ma'm'selle. "

"It is hard for those who need friends to lose them, " she answered sadly. 

The sorrow of her position crept in upon her and filled her eyes withtears. She turned them to the sea-instinctively towards that point onthe shore where she thought it likely Michel might be; as though bylooking she might find comfort and support in this hard hour. 

Even as she gazed into the soft afternoon light she could see, far over, a little sail standing out towards the Ecrehos. Not once in six monthsmight the coast of France be seen so clearly. One might almost havenoted people walking on the beach. This was no good token, for when thatcoast may be seen with great distinctness a storm follows hard after. The girl knew this; and though she could not know that this was Michel dela Foret's boat, the possibility fixed itself in her mind. She quicklyscanned the horizon. Yes, there in the north-west was gathering a dark-blue haze, hanging like small filmy curtains in the sky. 

The Seigneur of Rozel presently broke the silence so awkward for him. He had seen the tears in her eyes, and though he could not guess thecause, he vaguely thought it might be due to his announcement that shehad lost a friend. He was magnanimous at once, and he meant what he saidand would stand by it through thick and thin. 

"Well, well, I'll be thy everlasting friend if not thy husband, " he saidwith ornate generosity. "Cheer thy heart, lady. "

With a sudden impulse she seized his hand and kissed it, and, turning, ran swiftly down the rocks towards her home. 

He stood and looked after her, then, dumfounded, at the hand she hadkissed. 

"Blood of my heart!" he said, and shook his head in utter amazement. 

Then he turned and looked out upon the Channel. He saw the little boatAngele had descried making from France. Glancing at the sky, "What foolscome there!" he said anxiously. 

They were Michel de la Foret and Buonespoir the pirate, in a black-bellied cutter with red sails. 

CHAPTER III

For weeks De la Foret and Buonespoir had lain in hiding at St. Brieuc. At last Buonespoir declared all was ready once again. He had secured forthe Camisard the passport and clothes of a priest who had but just diedat Granville. Once again they made the attempt to reach English soil. 

Standing out from Carteret on the Belle Suzanne, they steered for thelight upon the Marmotier Rocks of the Ecrehos, which Angele had paid afisherman to keep going every night. This light had caused the Frenchand English frigates some uneasiness, and they had patrolled the Channelfrom Cap de la Hague to the Bay of St. Brieuc with a vigilance worthy ofa larger cause. One fine day an English frigate anchored off theEcrehos, and the fisherman was seized. He, poor man, swore that he keptthe light burning to guide his brother fishermen to and fro betweenBoulay Bay and the Ecrehos. The captain of the frigate tried severities;but the fisherman stuck to his tale, and the light burned on as before--a lantern stuck upon a pole. One day, with a telescope, Buonespoir hadseen the exact position of the staff supporting the light, and had mappedout his course accordingly. He would head straight for the beacon andpass between the Marmotier and the Maitre Ile, where is a narrow channelfor a boat drawing only a few feet of water. Unless he made this, hemust run south and skirt the Ecriviere Rock and bank, where the streamssetting over the sandy ridges make a confusing perilous sea to marinersin bad weather. Else, he must sail north between the Ecrehos and theDirouilles, in the channel called Etoc, a tortuous and dangerous passagesave in good weather, and then safe only to the mariner who knows thefloor of that strait like his own hand. De la Foret was wholly in thehands of Buonespoir, for he knew nothing of these waters and coasts; alsohe was a soldier and no sailor. 

They cleared Cape Carteret with a fair wind from the north-east, whichshould carry them safely as the bird flies to the haven of Rozel. Thehigh, pinkish sands of Hatainville were behind them; the treacherousTaillepied Rocks lay to the north, and a sweet sea before. Nothing couldhave seemed fairer and more hopeful. But a few old fishermen on shore atCarteret shook their heads dubiously, and at Port Bail, some miles below, a disabled naval officer, watching through a glass, rasped out, "Criminals or fools!" But he shrugged his shoulders, for if they werecriminals he was sure they would expiate their crimes this night, and ifthey were fools--he had no pity for fools. 

But Buonespoir knew his danger. Truth is, he had chosen this nightbecause they would be safest from pursuit, because no sensible seafaringman, were he King's officer or another, would venture forth upon theimpish Channel, save to court disaster. Pirate, and soldier in priest'sgarb, had frankly taken the chances. 

With a fair wind they might, with all canvas set--mainsail, foresail, jib, and fore-topsail--make Rozel Bay within two hours and a quarter. All seemed well for a brief half-hour. Then, even as the passage betweenthe Marmotier and the Ecrehos opened out, the wind suddenly shifted fromthe north-east to the southwest and a squall came hurrying on them--a fewmoments too soon; for, had they been clear of the Ecrehos, clear of theTaillepieds, Felee Bank, and the Ecriviere, they could have stood outtowards the north in a more open sea. 

Yet there was one thing in their favour: the tide was now running hardfrom the north-west, so fighting for them while the wind was againstthem. Their only safety lay in getting beyond the Ecrehos. If theyattempted to run in to the Marmotier for safety, they would presently beat the mercy of the French. To trust their doubtful fortunes and bear onwas the only way. The tide was running fast. They gave the mainsail tothe wind still more, and bore on towards the passage. At last, as theywere opening on it, the wind suddenly veered full north-east. The sailsflapped, the boat seemed to hover for a moment, and then a wave swept hertowards the rocks. Buonespoir put the helm hard over, she went about, and they close-hauled her as she trembled towards the rocky opening. 

This was the critical instant. A heavy sea was running, the gale wasblowing hard from the north-east, and under the close-hauled sail theBelle Suzanne was lying over dangerously. But the tide, too, was runninghard from the south, fighting the wind; and, at the moment when allseemed terribly uncertain, swept them past the opening and into theswift-running channel, where the indraught sucked them through to themore open water beyond. 

Although the Belle Suzanne was in more open water now, the danger was notover. Ahead lay a treacherous sea, around them roaring winds, and theperilous coast of Jersey beyond all. 

"Do you think we shall land?" quietly asked De la Foret, nodding towardsthe Jersey coast. 

"As many chances 'gainst it as for it, M'sieu', " said Buonespoir, turninghis face to the north, for the wind had veered again to north-east, andhe feared its passing to the north-west, giving them a head-wind and aswooping sea. 

Night came down, but with a clear sky and a bright moon; the wind, however, not abating. The next three hours were spent in tacking, inbeating towards the Jersey coast under seas which almost swamped them. They were standing off about a mile from the island, and could seelighted fires and groups of people upon the shore, when suddenly a galecame out from the southwest, the wind having again shifted. With anoath, Buonespoir put the helm hard over, the Belle Suzanne came aboutquickly, but as the gale struck her, the mast snapped like a pencil, sheheeled over, and the two adventurers were engulfed in the waves. 

A cry of dismay went up from the watchers on the shore. They turned witha half-conscious sympathy towards Angele, for her story was known by all, and in her face they read her mortal fear, though she made no cry, butonly clasped her hands in agony. Her heart told her that yonder Michelde la Foret was fighting for his life. For an instant only she stood, the terror of death in her eyes, then she turned to the excited fishermennear. 

"Men, oh men, " she cried, "will you not save them? Will no one come withme?"

Some shook their heads sullenly, others appeared uncertain, but theirwives and children clung to them, and none stirred. Looking roundhelplessly, Angele saw the tall figure of the Seigneur of Rozel. He hadbeen watching the scene for some time. Now he came quickly to her. 

"Is it the very man?" he asked her, jerking a finger towards thestruggling figures in the sea. 

"Yes, oh yes, " she replied, nodding her head piteously. "God tells myheart it is. "

Her father drew near and interposed. 

"Let us kneel and pray for two dying men, " said he, and straightway kneltupon the sand. 

"By St. Martin, we've better medicine than that, apothecary!" saidLempriere of Rozel loudly, and, turning round, summoned two serving-men. "Launch my strong boat, " he added. "We will pick these gentlemen fromthe brine, or know the end of it all. "

The men hurried gloomily to the long-boat, ran her down to the shore andinto the surf. 

"You are going--you are going to save him, dear Seigneur?" asked thegirl tremulously. 

"To save him--that's to be seen, mistress, " answered Lempriere, andadvanced to the fishermen. By dint of hard words, and as heartyencouragement and promises, he got a half-dozen strong sailors to man theboat. 

A moment after, they were all in. At a motion from the Seigneur, theboat was shot out into the surf, and a cheer from the shore gave heart toDe la Foret and Buonespoir, who were being driven upon the rocks. 

The Jerseymen rowed gallantly; and the Seigneur, to give them heart, promised a shilling, a capon, and a gallon of beer to each, if the rescuewas made. Again and again the two men seemed to sink beneath the sea, and again and again they came to the surface and battled further, torn, battered, and bloody, but not beaten. Cries of "We're coming, gentles, we're coming!" from the Seigneur of Rozel, came ringing through the surfto the dulled ears of the drowning men, and they struggled on. 

There never was a more gallant rescue. Almost at their last gasp the twowere rescued. 

"Mistress Aubert sends you welcome, sir, if you be Michel de la Foret, "said Lempriere of Rozel, and offered the fugitive his horn of liquor ashe lay blown and beaten in the boat. 

"I am he, " De la Foret answered. "I owe you my life, Monsieur, " headded. 

Lempriere laughed. "You owe it to the lady; and I doubt you can properlypay the debt, " he answered, with a toss of the head; for had not the ladyrefused him, the Seigneur of Rozel, six feet six in height, and all elsein proportion, while this gentleman was scarce six feet. 

"We can have no quarrel upon the point, " answered De la Foret, reachingout his hand; "you have at least done tough work for her, and if I cannotpay in gold, I can in kind. It was a generous deed, and it has made afriend for ever of Michel de la Foret. "

"Raoul Lempriere of Rozel they call me, Michel de la Foret, and by Rollothe Duke, but I'll take your word in the way of friendship, as the ladyyonder takes it for riper fruit! Though, faith, 'tis fruit of a shortsummer, to my thinking. "

All this while Buonespoir the pirate, his face covered with blood, hadbeen swearing by the little finger of St. Peter that each Jerseyman thereshould have the half of a keg of rum. He went so far in gratitude as tooffer the price of ten sheep which he had once secretly raided from theSeigneur of Rozel and sold in France; for which he had been seized on hislater return to the island, and had escaped without punishment. 

Hearing, Lempriere of Rozel roared at him in anger: "Durst speak to me!For every fleece you thieved I'll have you flayed with bow-strings ifever I sight your face within my boundaries. "

"Then I'll fetch and carry no more for M'sieu' of Rozel, " saidBuonespoir, in an offended tone, but grinning under his reddish beard. 

"When didst fetch and carry for me, varlet?" Lempriere roared again. 

"When the Seigneur of Rozel fell from his horse, overslung with sack, thenight of the royal Duke's visit, and the footpads were on him, I carriedhim on my back to the lodge of Rozel Manor. The footpads had scores tosettle with the great Rozel. "

For a moment the Seigneur stared, then roared again, but this time withlaughter. 

"By the devil and Rollo, I have sworn to this hour that there was no manin the isle could have carried me on his shoulders. And I was right, forJersiais you're none, neither by adoption nor grace, but a citizen of thesea. "

He laughed again as a wave swept over them, drenching them, and a suddensquall of wind came out of the north. "There's no better head in theisle than mine for measurement and thinking, and I swore no man undereighteen stone could carry me, and I am twenty-five--I take you to benineteen stone, eh?"

"Nineteen, less two ounces, " grinned Buonespoir. 

"I'll laugh De Carteret of St. Ouen's out of his stockings over this, "answered Lempriere. "Trust me for knowing weights and measures! Lookyou, varlet, thy sins be forgiven thee. I care not about the fleeces, ifthere be no more stealing. St. Ouen's has no head--I said no one man inJersey could have done it--I'm heavier by three stone than any man in theisland. " Thereafter there was little speaking among them, for the dangerwas greater as they neared the shore. The wind and the sea were againstthem; the tide, however, was in their favour. Others besides M. Aubertoffered up prayers for the safe-landing of the rescued and rescuers. Presently an ancient fisherman broke out into a rude sailor's chanty, andevery voice, even those of the two Huguenots, took it up:

 "When the Four Winds, the Wrestlers, strive with the Sun, When the Sun is slain in the dark; When the stars burn out, and the night cries To the blind sea-reapers, and they rise, And the water-ways are stark-- God save us when the reapers reap! When the ships sweep in with the tide to the shore, And the little white boats return no more; When the reapers reap, Lord give Thy sailors sleep, If Thou cast us not upon the shore, To bless Thee evermore: To walk in Thy sight as heretofore Though the way of the Lord be steep! By Thy grace, Show Thy face, Lord of the land and the deep!"

The song stilled at last. It died away in the roar of the surf, in the happy cries of foolish women, and the laughter of men back froma dangerous adventure. As the Seigneur's boat was drawn up the shore, Angele threw herself into the arms of Michel de la Foret, the soldierdressed as a priest. 

Lempriere of Rozel stood abashed before this rich display of feeling. In his hottest youth he could not have made such passionate motions ofaffection. His feelings ran neither high nor broad, but neither did theyrun low and muddy. His nature was a straight level of sensibility--arough stream between high banks of prejudice, topped with the foam ofvanity, now brawling in season, and now going steady and strong to thesea. Angele had come to feel what he was beneath the surface. She felthow unimaginative he was, and how his humour, which was but the horse-play of vanity, helped him little to understand the world or himself. His vanity was ridiculous, his self-importance was against knowledge orwisdom; and Heaven had given him a small brain, a big and noble heart, apedigree back to Rollo, and the absurd pride of a little lord in a littleland. Angele knew all this; but realised also that he had offered herall he was able to offer to any woman. 

She went now and put out both hands to him. "I shall ever pray God'sblessing on the lord of Rozel, " she said, in a low voice. 

"'Twould fit me no better than St. Ouen's sword fits his fingers. I'lltake thine own benison, lady--but on my cheek, not on my hand as this daybefore at four of the clock. " His big voice lowered. "Come, come, thehand thou kissed, it hath been the hand of a friend to thee, as RaoulLempriere of Rozel said he'd be. Thy lips upon his cheek, though it bebut a rough fellow's fancy, and I warrant, come good, come ill, Rozel'sface will never be turned from thee. Pooh, pooh! let yon soldier-priestshut his eyes a minute; this is 'tween me and thee; and what's donebefore the world's without shame. "

He stopped short, his black eyes blazing with honest mirth and kindness, his breath short, having spoken in such haste. 

Her eyes could scarce see him, so full of tears were they; and, standingon tiptoe, she kissed him upon each cheek. 

"'Tis much to get for so little given, " she said, with a quiver in hervoice; "yet this price for friendship would be too high to pay to anysave the Seigneur of Rozel. "

She hastily turned to the men who had rescued Michel and Buonespoir. "If I had riches, riches ye should have, brave men of Jersey, " she said;"but I have naught save love and thanks, and my prayers too, if ye willhave them. "

"'Tis a man's duty to save his fellow an' he can, " cried a gauntfisherman, whose daughter was holding to his lips a bowl of conger-eelsoup. 

"'Twas a good deed to send us forth to save a priest of Holy Church, "cried a weazened boat-builder with a giant's arm, as he buried his facein a cup of sack, and plunged his hand into a fishwife's basket oflimpets. 

"Aye, but what means she by kissing and arm-getting with a priest?"cried a snarling vraic-gatherer. "'Tis some jest upon Holy Church, oryon priest is no better than common men but an idle shame. "

By this time Michel was among them. "Priest I am none, but a soldier, "he said in a loud voice, and told them bluntly the reasons for hisdisguise; then, taking a purse from his pocket, thrust into the hands ofhis rescuers and their families pieces of silver and gave them bravewords of thanks. 

But the Seigneur was not to be outdone in generosity. His vanity ranhigh; he was fain to show Angele what a gorgeous gentleman she had failedto make her own; and he was in ripe good-humour all round. 

"Come, ye shall come, all of ye, to the Manor of Rozel, every man andwoman here. Ye shall be fed, and fuddled too ye shall be an' ye will;for honest drink which sends to honest sleep hurts no man. To my kitchenwith ye all; and you, messieurs"--turning to M. Aubert and De la Fore-"and you, Mademoiselle, come, know how open is the door and full thetable at my Manor of Rozel--St. Ouen's keeps a beggarly board. "

CHAPTER IV

Thus began the friendship of the bragging Seigneur of Rozel for thethree Huguenots, all because he had seen tears in a girl's eyes andmisunderstood them, and because the same girl had kissed him. His pridewas flattered that they should receive protection from him, and theflattery became almost a canonising when De Carteret of St. Ouen'sbrought him to task for harbouring and comforting the despised Huguenots;for when De Carteret railed he was envious. So henceforth Lempriereplayed Lord Protector with still more boisterous unction. His pride knewno bounds when, three days after the rescue, Sir Hugh Pawlett, theGovernor, answering De la Foret's letter requesting permission to visitthe Comtesse de Montgomery, sent him word to fetch De la Foret to MontOrgueil Castle. Clanking and blowing, he was shown into the great hallwith De la Foret, where waited Sir Hugh and the widow of the renownedCamisard. Clanking and purring like an enormous cat, he turned his headaway to the window when De la Foret dropped on his knees and kissed thehand of the Comtesse, whose eyes were full of tears. Clanking andgurgling, he sat to a mighty meal of turbot, eels, lobsters, ormers, capons, boar's head, brawn, and mustard, swan, curlew, and spiced meats. This he washed down with bastard, malmsey, and good ale, topped withalmonds, comfits, perfumed cherries with "ipocras, " then sprinkledhimself with rose-water and dabbled his face and hands in it. Filled tothe turret, he lurched to his feet, and drinking to Sir Hugh's toast, 27

"Her sacred Majesty!" he clanked and roared. "Elizabeth!" as thoughupon the field of battle. He felt the star of De Carteret declining andRozel's glory ascending like a comet. Once set in a course, nothingcould change him. Other men might err, but once right, the Seigneur ofRozel was everlasting. 

Of late he had made the cause of Michel de la Foret and Angele Auberthis own. For this he had been raked upon the coals by De Carteret of St. Ouen's and his following, who taunted him with the saying: "Save a thieffrom hanging and he'll cut your throat. " Not that there was ill feelingagainst De la Foret in person. He had won most hearts by a frank yetstill manner, and his story and love for Angele had touched the womenfolk where their hearts were softest. But the island was not true toitself or its history if it did not divide itself into factions, headedby the Seigneurs, and there had been no ground for good division for fiveyears till De la Foret came. 

Short of actual battle, this new strife was the keenest ever known, for Sir Hugh Pawlett was ranged on the side of the Seigneur of Rozel. Kinsman of the Comtesse de Montgomery, of Queen Elizabeth's ownProtestant religion, and admiring De la Foret, he had given everycountenance to the Camisard refugee. He had even besought the RoyalCourt of Jersey to grant a pardon to Buonespoir the pirate, on conditionthat he should never commit a depredation upon an inhabitant of theisland--this he was to swear to by the little finger of St. Peter. Should he break his word, he was to be banished the island for ten years, under penalty of death if he returned. When the hour had come forBuonespoir to take the oath, he failed to appear; and the next morningthe Seigneur of St. Ouen's discovered that during the night his cellarhad been raided of two kegs of canary, many flagons of muscadella, potsof anchovies and boxes of candied "eringo, " kept solely for the visitwhich the Queen had promised the island. There was no doubt of themisdemeanant, for Buonespoir returned to De Carteret from St. Brieuc thegabardine of one of his retainers, in which he had carried off the stolendelicacies. 

This aggravated the feud between the partisans of St. Ouen's and Rozel, for Lempriere of Rozel had laughed loudly when he heard of the robbery, and said "'Tis like St. Ouen's to hoard for a Queen and glut a pirate. We feed as we get at Rozel, and will feed the Court well too when itcomes, or I'm no butler to Elizabeth. "

But trouble was at hand for Michel and for his protector. The spies ofCatherine de Medici, mother of the King of France, were everywhere. These had sent word that De la Foret was now attached to the meagre suiteof the widow of the great Camisard Montgomery, near the Castle of MontOrgueil. The Medici, having treacherously slain the chief, became madwith desire to slay the lieutenant. She was set to have the man, eitherthrough diplomacy with England, or to end him by assassination throughher spies. Having determined upon his death, with relentless soul shepursued the cause as closely as though this exiled soldier were apowerful enemy at the head of an army in France. 

Thus it was that she wrote to Queen Elizabeth, asking that "this arrantfoe of France, this churl, conspirator, and reviler of the Sacraments, be rendered unto our hands for well-deserved punishment as warning to allsuch evil-doers. " She told Elizabeth of De la Foret's arrival in Jersey, disguised as a priest of the Church of France, and set forth his doingssince landing with the Seigneur of Rozel. Further she went on to say to"our sister of England" that "these dark figures of murder and revolt bea peril to the soft peace of this good realm. "

To this, Elizabeth, who had no knowledge of Michel, who desired peacewith France at this time, who had favours to ask of Catherine, and whoin her own realm had fresh reason to fear conspiracy through the Queen ofthe Scots and others, replied forthwith that "If this De la Foret fallethinto our hands, and if it were found he had in truth conspired againstFrance its throne, had he a million lives, not one should remain. "Having despatched this letter, she straightway sent a messenger to SirHugh Pawlett in Jersey, making quest of De la Foret, and commanding thathe should be sent to her in England at once. 

When the Queen's messenger arrived at Orgueil Castle, Lempriere chancedto be with Sir Hugh Pawlett, and the contents of Elizabeth's letter weremade known to him. 

At the moment Monsieur of Rozel was munching macaroons and washing themdown with canary. The Governor's announcement was such a shock that hechoked and coughed, the crumbs flying in all directions; and another pintof canary must be taken to flush his throat. Thus cleared for action, hestruck out. 

"'Tis St. Ouen's work, " he growled. 

"'Tis the work of the Medici, " said Sir Hugh. "Read, " he added, holdingout the paper. 

Now Lempriere of Rozel had a poor eye for reading. He had wit enough towind about the difficulty. 

"If I see not the Queen's commands, I've no warrant but Sir HughPawlett's words, and I'll to London and ask 'fore her Majesty's face ifshe wrote them, and why. I'll tell my tale and speak my mind, I pledgeyou, sir. "

"You'll offend her Majesty. Her commands are here. " Pawlett tapped theletter with his finger. 

"I'm butler to the Queen, and she will list to me. I'll not smirk andcaper like St. Ouen's; I'll bear me like a man not speaking for himself. I'll speak as Harry her father spoke--straight to the purpose. . . . No, no, no, I'm not to be wheedled, even by a Pawlett, and you shall notask me. If you want Michel de la Foret, come and take him. He is in myhouse. But ye must take him, for come he shall not!"

"You will not oppose the Queen's officers?"

"De la Foret is under my roof. He must be taken. I will give him upto no one; and I'll tell my sovereign these things when I see her in herpalace. "

"I misdoubt you'll play the bear, " said Pawlett, with a dry smile. 

"The Queen's tongue is none so tame. I'll travel by my star, get sweetor sour. "

"Well, well, 'give a man luck, and throw him into the sea, ' is the oldproverb. I'm coming for your friend to-night. "

"I'll be waiting with my fingers on the door, sir, " said Rozel, with agrim vanity and an outrageous pride in himself. 

CHAPTER V

The Seigneur of Rozel found De la Foret at the house of M. Aubert. Hisface was flushed with hard riding, and perhaps the loving attitude ofMichel and Angele deepened it, for at the garden gate the lovers weresaying adieu. 

"You have come for Monsieur de la Foret?" asked Angele anxiously. Herquick look at the Seigneur's face had told her there were things amiss. 

"There's commands from the Queen. They're for the ears of De la Foret, "said the Seigneur. 

"I will hear them too, " said Angele, her colour going, her bearingdetermined. 

The Seigneur looked down at her with boyish appreciation, then said toDe la Foret: "Two Queens make claim for you. The wolfish Catherinewrites to England for her lost Camisard, with much fool's talk about'dark figures, ' and 'conspirators, ' 'churls, ' and foes of 'soft peace';and England takes the bait and sends to Sir Hugh Pawlett yonder. And, inbrief, Monsieur, the Governor is to have you under arrest and send you toEngland. God knows why two Queens make such a pother over a fellow withnaught but a sword and a lass to love him--though, come to think, 'a man's a man if he have but a hose on his head, ' as the proverb runs. "

De la Foret smiled, then looked grave, as he caught sight of Angele'sface. "'Tis arrest, then?" he asked. 

"'Tis come willy nilly, " answered the Seigneur. "And once they've forcedyou from my doors, I'm for England to speak my mind to the Queen. I canmake interest for her presence--I hold court office, " he added withpuffing confidence. 

Angele looked up at him with quick tears, yet with a smile on her lips. 

"You are going to England for Michel's sake?" she said in a low voice. 

"For Michel, or for you, or for mine honour, what matter, so that I go!"he answered, then added: "there must be haste to Rozel, friend, lest theGovernor take Lempriere's guest like a potato-digger in the fields. "

Putting spurs to his horse, he cantered heavily away, not forgetting towave a pompous farewell to Angele. De la Foret was smiling as he turnedto Angele. She looked wonderingly at him, for she had felt that she mustcomfort him, and she looked not for this sudden change in his manner. 

"Is prison-going so blithe, then?" she asked, with a little uneasy laughwhich was half a sob. 

"It will bring things to a head, " he answered. "After danger and busydays, to be merely safe, it is scarce the life for Michel de la Foret. I have my duty to the Comtesse; I have my love for you; but I seem oflittle use by contrast with my past. And yet, and yet, " he added, halfsadly, "how futile has been all our fighting, so far as human eye cansee. "

"Nothing is futile that is right, Michel, " the girl replied. "Thou hastdone as thy soul answered to God's messages: thou hast fought when thoucouldst, and thou hast sheathed thy blade when there was naught else todo. Are not both right?"

He clasped her to his breast; then, holding her from him a little, lookedinto her eyes steadily a moment. "God hath given thee a true heart, andthe true heart hath wisdom, " he answered. 

"You will not seek escape? Nor resist the Governor?" she asked eagerly. 

"Whither should I go? My place is here by you, by the Comtesse deMontgomery. One day it may be I shall return to France, and to ourcause--"

"If it be God's will. "

"If it be God's will. "

"Whatever comes, you will love me, Michel?"

"I will love you, whatever comes. "

"Listen. " She drew his head down. "I am no dragweight to thy life?Thou wouldst not do otherwise if there were no foolish Angele?"

He did not hesitate. "What is best is. I might do otherwise if therewere no Angele in my life to pilot my heart, but that were worse for me. "

"Thou art the best lover in all the world. "

"I hope to make a better husband. To-morrow is carmine-lettered in mycalendar, if thou sayst thou wilt still have me under the sword of theMedici. "

Her hand pressed her heart suddenly. "Under the sword, if it be God'swill, " she answered. Then, with a faint smile: "But no, I will notbelieve the Queen of England will send thee, one of her own Protestantfaith, to the Medici. "

"And thou wilt marry me?"

"When the Queen of England approves thee, " she answered, and buried herface in the hollow of his arm. 

An hour later Sir Hugh Pawlett came to the manor-house of Rozel withtwo-score men-at-arms. The Seigneur himself answered the Governor'sknocking, and showed himself in the doorway, with a dozen halberdiersbehind him. 

"I have come seeking Michel de la Foret, " said the Governor. 

"He is my guest. "

"I have the Queen's command to take him. "

"He is my cherished guest. "

"Must I force my way?"

"Is it the Queen's will that blood be shed?"

"The Queen's commands must be obeyed. "

"The Queen is a miracle of the world, God save her! What is the chargeagainst him?"

"Summon Michel de la Foret, 'gainst whom it lies. "

"He is my guest; ye shall have him only by force. " The Governor turnedto his men. "Force the passage and search the house, " he commanded. 

The company advanced with levelled pikes, but at a motion from theSeigneur his men fell back before them, and, making a lane, disclosedMichel de la Foret at the end of it. Michel had not approved ofLempriere's mummery of defence, but he understood from what good spiritit sprung, and how it flattered the Seigneur's vanity to make show ofresistance. 

The Governor greeted De la Foret with a sour smile, read to him theQueen's writ, and politely begged his company towards Mont OrgueilCastle. 

"I'll fetch other commands from her Majesty, or write me down a pedlar ofSt. Ouen's follies, " the Seigneur said from his doorway, as the Governorand De la Foret bade him good-bye and took the road to the Castle. 

CHAPTER VI

Michel de la Foret was gone, a prisoner. From the dusk of the trees bythe little chapel of Rozel, Angele had watched his exit in charge of theGovernor's men. She had not sought to show her presence: she had seenhim--that was comfort to her heart; and she would not mar the memory ofthat last night's farewell by another before these strangers. She sawwith what quiet Michel bore his arrest, and she said to herself, as thelast halberdier vanished:

"If the Queen do but speak with him, if she but look upon his face andhear his voice, she must needs deal kindly by him. My Michel--ah, it isa face for all men to trust and all women--"

But she sighed and averted her head as though before prying eyes. 

The bell of Rozel Chapel broke gently on the evening air; the sound, softened by the leaves and mellowed by the wood of the great elm-trees, billowed away till it was lost in faint reverberation in the sea beneaththe cliffs of the Couperon, where a little craft was coming to anchor inthe dead water. 

At first the sound of the bell soothed her, softening the thought of thedanger to Michel. She moved with it towards the sea, the tones of hergrief chiming with it. Presently, as she went, a priest in cassock androbes and stole crossed the path in front of her, an acolyte before himswinging a censer, his voice chanting Latin verses from the service forthe sick, in his hands the sacred elements of the sacrament for thedying. The priest was fat and heavy, his voice was lazy, his eyesexpressionless, and his robes were dirty. The plaintive, peacefulsense which the sound of the vesper bell had thrown over Angele's sadreflections passed away, and the thought smote her that, were it not forsuch as this black-toothed priest, Michel would not now be on his way toEngland, a prisoner. To her this vesper bell was the symbol of tyrannyand hate. It was fighting, it was martyrdom, it was exile, it was theMedici. All that she had borne, all that her father had borne, thethought of the home lost, the mother dead before her time, the nameruined, the heritage dispossessed, the red war of the Camisards, therivulets of blood in the streets of Paris and of her loved Rouen, smoteupon her mind, and drove her to her knees in the forest glade, her handsupon her ears to shut out the sound of the bell. It came upon her thatthe bell had said "Peace! Peace!" to her mind when there should be nopeace; that it had said "Be patient!" when she should be up and doing;that it had whispered "Stay!" when she should tread the path her lovertrod, her feet following in his footsteps as his feet had trod in hers. 

She pressed her hands tight upon her ears and prayed with a passion anda fervour she had never known before. A revelation seemed to come uponher, and, for the first time, she was a Huguenot to the core. Hithertoshe had suffered for her religion because it was her mother's brokenlife, her father's faith, and because they had suffered, and her loverhad suffered. Her mind had been convinced, her loyalty had beenunwavering, her words for the great cause had measured well with herdeeds. But new senses were suddenly born in her, new eyes were givento her mind, new powers for endurance to her soul. She saw now as themartyrs of Meaux had seen; a passionate faith descended on her as it haddescended on them; no longer only patient, she was fain for action. Tears rained from her eyes. Her heart burst itself in entreaty andconfession. 

"Thy light shall be my light, and Thy will my will, O Lord, " she cried atthe last. "Teach me Thy way, create a right spirit within me. Give meboldness without rashness, and hope without vain thinking. Bear up myarms, O Lord, and save me when falling. A poor Samaritan am I. Give methe water that shall be a well of water springing up to everlasting life, that I thirst not in the fever of doing. Give me the manna of life toeat that I faint not nor cry out in plague, pestilence, or famine. Giveme Thy grace, O God, as Thou hast given it to Michel de la Foret, andguide my feet as I follow him in life and in death, for Christ's sake. Amen. "

As she rose from her knees she heard the evening gun from the castle ofMont Orgueil, whither Michel was being borne by the Queen's men. Thevesper bell had stopped. Through the wood came the salt savour of thesea on the cool sunset air. She threw back her head and walked swiftlytowards it, her heart beating hard, her eyes shining with the light ofpurpose, her step elastic with the vigour of youth and health. Aquarter-hour's walking brought her to the cliff of the Couperon. 

As she gazed out over the sea, however, a voice in the bay below caughther ear. She looked down. On the deck of the little craft which hadentered the harbour when the vesper bell was ringing stood a man whowaved a hand up towards her, then gave a peculiar call. She stared withamazement: it was Buonespoir the pirate. What did this mean? Had Godsent this man to her, by his presence to suggest what she should do inthis crisis in her life? For even as she ran down the shore towards him, it came to her mind that Buonespoir should take her in his craft toEngland. 

What to do in England? Who could tell? She only knew that a voicecalled her to England, to follow the footsteps of Michel de la Foret, whoeven this night would be setting forth in the Governor's brigantine forLondon. 

Buonespoir met her upon the shore, grinning like a boy. 

"God save you, lady!" he said. 

"What brings you hither, friend?" she asked. 

If he had said that a voice had called him hither as one called her toEngland, it had not sounded strange; for she was not thinking that thiswas one who superstitiously swore by the little finger of St. Peter, butonly that he was the man who had brought her Michel from France, who hadbeen a faithful friend to her and to her father. 

"What brings me hither?" Buonespoir laughed low in his chest. "Even tofetch to the Seigneur of Rozel, a friend of mine by every token ofremembrance, a dozen flagons of golden muscadella. "

To Angele no suggestion flashed that these flagons of muscadella hadcome from the cellar of the Seigneur of St. Ouen's, where they had beenreserved for a certain royal visit. Nothing was in her mind save the onethought-that she must follow Michel. 

"Will you take me to England?" she asked, putting a hand quickly on hisarm. 

He had been laughing hard, picturing to himself what Lempriere of Rozelwould say when he sniffed the flagon of St. Ouen's best wine, and for aninstant he did not take in the question; but he stared at her now as thelaugh slowly subsided through notes of abstraction and her words workedtheir way into his brain. 

"Will you take me, Buonespoir?" she urged. "Take you--?" he questioned. 

"To England. "

"And myself to Tyburn?"

"Nay, to the Queen. "

"'Tis the same thing. Head of Abel! Elizabeth hath heard of me. TheSeigneur of St. Ouen's and others have writ me down a pirate to her. Shewould not pardon the muscadella, " he added, with another laugh, lookingdown where the flagons lay. 

"She must pardon more than that, " exclaimed Angele, and hastily she toldhim of what had happened to Michel de la Foret, and why she would go. 

"Thy father, then?" he asked, scowling hard in his attempt to think itout. 

"He must go with me--I will seek him now. "

"It must be at once, i' faith, for how long, think you, can I stay hereunharmed? I was sighted off St. Ouen's shore a few hours agone. "

"To-night?" she asked. 

"By twelve, when we shall have the moon and the tide, " he answered. "But hold!" he hastily added. "What, think you, could you and yourfather do alone in England? And with me it were worse than alone. Thesebe dark times, when strangers have spies at their heels, and alltravellers are suspect. "

"We will trust in God, " she answered. 

"Have you money?" he questioned--"for London, not for me, " he addedhastily. 

"Enough, " she replied. 

"The trust with the money is a weighty matter, " he added; "but theysuffice not. You must have 'fending. "

"There is no one, " she answered sadly, "no one save--"

"Save the Seigneur of Rozel!" Buonespoir finished the sentence. "Good. You to your father, and I to the Seigneur. If you can fetch your fatherby your pot-of-honey tongue, I'll fetch the great Lempriere withmuscadella. Is't a bargain?"

"In which I gain all, " she answered, and again touched his arm with herfinger-tips. 

"You shall be aboard here at ten, and I will join you on the stroke oftwelve, " he said, and gave a low whistle. 

At the signal three men sprang up like magic out of the bowels of theboat beneath them, and scurried over the side; three as ripe knaves asever cheated stocks and gallows, but simple knaves, unlike their master. Two of them had served with Francis Drake in that good ship of his lyingeven now not far from Elizabeth's palace at Greenwich. The third was arogue who had been banished from Jersey for a habitual drunkenness whichonly attacked him on land--at sea he was sacredly sober. His name wasJean Nicolle. The names of the other two were Herve Robin and Rouge leRiche, but their master called them by other names. 

"Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, " said Buonespoir in ceremony, and waveda hand of homage between them and Angele. "Kiss dirt, and know whereduty lies. The lady's word on my ship is law till we anchor at theQueen's Stairs at Greenwich. So, Heaven help you, Shadrach, Meshach, andAbednego!" said Buonespoir. 

A wave of humour passed over Angele's grave face, for a stranger quartetnever sailed high seas together: one blind of an eye, one game of a leg, one bald as a bottle and bereft of two front teeth; but Buonespoir wassound of wind and limb, his small face with the big eyes lost in themasses of his red hair, and a body like Hercules. It flashed throughAngele's mind even as she answered the gurgling salutations of thetriumvirate that they had been got together for no gentle summer sailingin the Channel. Her conscience smote her that she should use suchchurls; but she gave it comfort by the thought that while serving herthey could do naught worse; and her cause was good. Yet they presentedso bizarre an aspect, their ugliness was so varied and particular, thatshe almost laughed. Buonespoir understood her thoughts, for with a lookof mocking innocence in his great blue eyes he waved a hand again towardsthe graceless trio, and said, "For deep-sea fishing. " Then he solemnlywinked at the three. 

A moment later Angele was speeding along the shore towards her home onthe farther hillside up the little glen; and within an hour Buonespoirrolled from the dusk of the trees by the manor-house of Rozel and knockedat the door. He carried on his head, as a fishwife carries a tray oformers, a basket full of flagons of muscadella; and he did not lower thebasket when he was shown into the room where the Seigneur of Rozel wassitting before a trencher of spiced veal and a great pot of ale. Lempriere roared a hearty greeting to the pirate, for he was in a sourhumour because of the taking off of Michel de la Foret; and of all menthis pirate-fellow, who had quips and cranks, and had played tricks onhis cousin of St. Ouen's, was most welcome. 

"What's that on your teacup of a head?" he roared again as Buonespoirgrinned pleasure at the greeting. "Muscadella, " said Buonespoir, andlowered the basket to the table. 

Lempriere seized a flagon, drew it forth, looked closely at it, thenburst into laughter, and spluttered: "St. Ouen's muscadella, by the handof Rufus!"

Seizing Buonespoir by the shoulders, he forced him down upon a bench atthe table, and pushed the trencher of spiced meat against his chest. "Eat, my noble lord of the sea and master of the cellar, " he gurgled out, and, tipping the flagon of muscadella, took a long draught. "God-a-mercy--but it has saved my life, " he gasped in satisfaction as he layback in his great chair, and put his feet on the bench whereon Buonespoirsat. 

They raised their flagons and toasted each other, and Lempriere burstforth into song, in the refrain of which Buonespoir joined boisterously:

 "King Rufus he did hunt the deer, With a hey ho, come and kiss me, Dolly! It was the spring-time of the year, Hey ho, Dolly shut her eyes! King Rufus was a bully boy, He hunted all the day for joy, Sweet Dolly she was ever coy: And who would e'er be wise That looked in Dolly's eyes?

 "King Rufus he did have his day, With a hey ho, come and kiss me, Dolly! So get ye forth where dun deer play-- Hey ho, Dolly comes again! The greenwood is the place for me, For that is where the dun deer be, 'Tis where my Dolly comes to me: And who would stay at home, That might with Dolly roam? Sing hey ho, come and kiss me, Dolly!"

Lempriere, perspiring with the exertion, mopped his forehead, then lapsedinto a plaintive mood. 

"I've had naught but trouble of late, " he wheezed. "Trouble, trouble, trouble, like gnats on a filly's flank!" and in spluttering words, twicebracketed in muscadella, he told of Michel de la Foret's arrest, and ofhis purpose to go to England if he could get a boat to take him. 

"'Tis that same business brings me here, " said Buonespoir, and forthwithtold of his meeting with Angele and what was then agreed upon. 

"You to go to England!" cried Lempriere amazed. "They want you forTyburn there. "

"They want me for the gallows here, " said Buonespoir. Rolling a piece ofspiced meat in his hand, he stuffed it into his mouth and chewed till thegrease came out of his eyes, and took eagerly from a servant a flagon ofmalmsey and a dish of ormers. 

"Hush, chew thy tongue a minute!" said the Seigneur, suddenly startingand laying a finger beside his nose. "Hush!" he said again, and lookedinto the flicker of the candle by him with half-shut eyes. 

"May I have no rushes for a bed, and die like a rat in a moat, if I don'tget thy pardon too of the Queen, and bring thee back to Jersey, a thornin the side of De Carteret for ever! He'll look upon thee assoilzied bythe Queen, spitting fire in his rage, and no canary or muscadella in hiscellar. "

It came not to the mind of either that this expedition would be made atcost to themselves. They had not heard of Don Quixote, and their giftswere not imitative. They were of a day when men held their lives aslightly as many men hold their honour now; when championship was as thebreath of life to men's nostrils, and to adventure for what was worthhaving or doing in life the only road of reputation. 

Buonespoir was as much a champion in his way as Lempriere of Rozel. They were of like kidney, though so far apart in rank. Had Lemprierebeen born as low and as poor as Buonespoir, he would have been a piratetoo, no doubt; and had Buonespoir been born as high as the Seigneur, hewould have carried himself with the same rough sense of honour, with asripe a vanity; have been as naive, as sincere, as true to the real heartof man untaught in the dissimulation of modesty or reserve. When theyshook hands across the trencher of spiced veal, it was as man shakes handwith man, not man with master. 

They were about to start upon their journey when there came a knocking atthe door. On its being opened the bald and toothless Abednego stumbledin with the word that immediately after Angele and her father came aboardthe Honeyflower some fifty halberdiers suddenly appeared upon theCouperon. They had at once set sail, and got away even before thesailors had reached the shore. As they had rounded the point, where theywere hid from view, Abednego dropped overboard and swam ashore on therising tide, making his way to the manor to warn Buonespoir. On his wayhither, stealing through the trees, he had passed a half-score ofhalberdiers making for the manor, and he had seen others going towardsthe shore. 

Buonespoir looked to the priming of his pistols, and buckling his belttightly about him, turned to the Seigneur and said: "I will take mychances with Abednego. Where does she lie--the Honeyflower, Abednego?"

"Off the point called Verclut, " answered the little man, who hadtravelled with Francis Drake. 

"Good; we will make a run for it, flying dot-and-carry-one as we go. "

While they had been speaking the Seigneur had been thinking; and now, even as several figures appeared at a little distance in the trees, making towards the manor, he said, with a loud laugh:

"No. 'Tis the way of a fool to put his head between the door and thejamb. 'Tis but a hundred yards to safety. Follow me--to the sea--Abednego last. This way, bullies!"

Without a word all three left the house and walked on in the orderindicated, as De Carteret's halberdiers ran forward threatening. 

"Stand!" shouted the sergeant of the halberdiers. "Stand, or we fire!"

But the three walked straight on unheeding. When the sergeant of themen-at-arms recognised the Seigneur, he ordered down the blunderbusses. 

"We come for Buonespoir the pirate, " said the sergeant. 

"Whose warrant?" said the Seigneur, fronting the halberdiers, Buonespoirand Abednego behind him. "The Seigneur of St. Ouen's, " was the reply. 

"My compliments to the Seigneur of St. Ouen's, and tell him thatBuonespoir is my guest, " he bellowed, and strode on, the halberdiersfollowing. Suddenly the Seigneur swerved towards the chapel andquickened his footsteps, the others but a step behind. The sergeant ofthe halberdiers was in a quandary. He longed to shoot, but dared not, and while he was making up his mind what to do, the Seigneur had reachedthe chapel door. Opening it, he quickly pushed Buonespoir and Abednegoinside, whispering to them, then slammed the door and put his backagainst it. 

There was another moment's hesitation on the sergeant's part, then a doorat the other end of the chapel was heard to open and shut, and theSeigneur laughed loudly. The halberdiers ran round the chapel. Therestood Buonespoir and Abednego in a narrow roadway, motionless andunconcerned. The halberdiers rushed forward. 

"Perquage! Perquage! Perquage!" shouted Buonespoir, and the brightmoonlight showed him grinning. For an instant there was deadlystillness, in which the approaching footsteps of the Seigneur soundedloud. 

"Perquage!" Buonespoir repeated. 

"Perquage! Fall back!" said the Seigneur, and waved off the pikes ofthe halberdiers. "He has sanctuary to the sea. "

This narrow road in which the pirates stood was the last of three in theIsle of Jersey running from churches to the sea, in which a criminal wassafe from arrest by virtue of an old statute. The other perquages hadbeen taken away; but this one of Rozel remained, a concession made byHenry VIII to the father of this Raoul Lempriere. The privilege had beenused but once in the present Seigneur's day, because the criminal must beput upon the road from the chapel by the Seigneur himself, and he hadused his privilege modestly. 

No man in Jersey but knew the sacredness of this perquage, though it wasten years since it had been used; and no man, not even the Governorhimself, dare lift his hand to one upon that road. 

So it was that Buonespoir and Abednego, two fugitives from justice, walked quietly to the sea down the perquage, halberdiers, balked of theirprey, prowling on their steps and cursing the Seigneur of Rozel for hisgift of sanctuary: for the Seigneur of St. Ouen's and the Royal Court hadpromised each halberdier three shillings and all the ale he could drinkat a sitting, if Buonespoir was brought in alive or dead. 

In peace and safety the three boarded the Honeyflower off the pointcalled Verclut, and set sail for England, just seven hours after Michelde la Foret had gone his way upon the Channel, a prisoner. 

CHAPTER VII

A fortnight later, of a Sunday morning, the Lord Chamberlain of Englandwas disturbed out of his usual equanimity. As he was treading the rushesin the presence-chamber of the Royal Palace at Greenwich, his eye busy ininspection--for the Queen would soon pass on her way to chapel--his headnodding right and left to archbishop, bishop, councillors of state, courtiers, and officers of the crown, he heard a rude noise at the doorleading into the ante-chapel, where the Queen received petitions from thepeople. Hurrying thither in shocked anxiety, he found a curled gentlemanof the guard, resplendent in red velvet and gold chains, in peevishargument with a boisterous Seigneur of a bronzed good-humoured face, whourged his entrance to the presence-chamber. 

The Lord Chamberlain swept down upon the pair like a flamingo with wingsoutspread. "God's death, what means this turmoil? Her Majesty comeshither!" he cried, and scowled upon the intruder, who now stepped back alittle, treading on the toes of a huge sailor with a small head and bushyred hair and beard. 

"Because her Majesty comes I come also, " the Seigneur interposed grandly. 

"What is your name and quality?"

"Yours first, and I shall know how to answer. "

"I am the Lord Chamberlain of England. "

"And I, my lord, am Lempriere, Seigneur of Rozel--and butler to theQueen. "

"Where is Rozel?" asked my Lord Chamberlain. 

The face of the Seigneur suddenly flushed, his mouth swelled, and thenburst. 

"Where is Rozel!" he cried in a voice of rage. "Where is Rozel! Haveyou heard of Hugh Pawlett, " he asked, with a huge contempt--" of GovernorHugh Pawlett?" The Lord Chamberlain nodded. "Then ask his Excellencywhen next you see him, Where is Rozel? But take good counsel and keepyour ignorance from the Queen, " he added. "She has no love for stupids. ""You say you are butler to the Queen? Whence came your commission?"said the Lord Chamberlain, smiling now; for Lempriere's words and wayswere of some simple world where odd folk lived, and his boyish vanitydisarmed anger. 

"By royal warrant and heritage. And of all of the Jersey Isle, I onlymay have dove-totes, which is the everlasting thorn in the side of DeCarteret of St. Ouen's. Now will you let me in, my lord?" he said, allin a breath. 

At a stir behind him the Lord Chamberlain turned, and with a horrifiedexclamation hurried away, for the procession from the Queen's apartmentshad already entered the presence-chamber: gentlemen, barons, earls, knights of the garter, in brave attire, with bare heads and sumptuouscalves. The Lord Chamberlain had scarce got to his place when theChancellor, bearing the seals in a red silk purse, entered, flanked bytwo gorgeous folk with the royal sceptre and the sword of state in a redscabbard, all flourished with fleur-de-lis. Moving in and out among themall was the Queen's fool, who jested and shook his bells under the nosesof the highest. 

It was an event of which the Seigneur of Rozel told to his dying day:that he entered the presence-chamber of the Royal Palace of Greenwich atthe same instant as the Queen--"Rozel at one end, Elizabeth at the other, and all the world at gaze, " he was wont to say with loud guffaws. Butwhat he spoke of afterwards with preposterous ease and pride was neitherpride nor ease at the moment; for the Queen's eyes fell on him as heshoved past the gentlemen who kept the door. For an instant she stoodstill, regarding him intently, then turned quickly to the LordChamberlain in inquiry, and with sharp reproof too in her look. The LordChamberlain fell on his knee and with low uncertain voice explained theincident. 

Elizabeth again cast her eyes towards Lempriere, and the Court, followingher example, scrutinised the Seigneur in varied styles of insolence orcuriosity. Lempriere drew himself up with a slashing attempt atcomposure, but ended by flaming from head to foot, his face shining likea cock's comb, the perspiration standing out like beads upon hisforehead, his eyes gone blind with confusion. That was but for a moment, however, and then, Elizabeth's look being slowly withdrawn from him, acurious smile came to her lips, and she said to the Lord Chamberlain:"Let the gentleman remain. "

The Queen's fool tripped forward and tapped the Lord Chamberlain on theshoulder. "Let the gentleman remain, gossip, and see you that remaininghe goeth not like a fly with his feet in the porridge. " With a flippantstep before the Seigneur, he shook his bells at him. "Thou shalt stay, Nuncio, and staying speak the truth. So doing you shall be as noted as acomet with three tails. You shall prove that man was made in God'simage. So lift thy head and sneeze--sneezing is the fashion here; butsee that thou sneeze not thy head off as they do in Tartary. 'Tis worthremembrance. "

Rozel's self-importance and pride had returned. The blood came backto his heart, and he threw out his chest grandly; he even turned toBuonespoir, whose great figure might be seen beyond the door, and winkedat him. For a moment he had time to note the doings of the Queen and hercourtiers with wide-eyed curiosity. He saw the Earl of Leicester, exquisite, haughty, gallant, fall upon his knee, and Elizabeth slowlypull off her glove and with a none too gracious look give him her handto kiss, the only favour of the kind granted that day. He saw Cecil, herMinister, introduce a foreign noble, who presented his letters. He heardthe Queen speak in a half-dozen different languages, to people of variouslands, and he was smitten with amazement. 

But as Elizabeth came slowly down the hall, her white silk gown frontedwith great pearls flashing back the light, a marchioness bearing thetrain, the crown on her head glittering as she turned from right to left, her wonderful collar of jewels sparkling on her uncovered bosom, suddenlythe mantle of black, silver-shotted silk upon her shoulders became toLempriere's heated senses a judge's robe, and Elizabeth the august judgeof the world. His eyes blinded again, for it was as if she was bearingdown upon him. Certainly she was looking at him now, scarce heeding thecourtiers who fell to their knees on either side as she came on. The reddoublets of the fifty Gentlemen Pensioners--all men of noble familiesproud to do this humble yet distinguished service--with battle-axes, oneither side of her, seemed to Lempriere on the instant like an army withbanners threatening him. From the ante-chapel behind him came the cry ofthe faithful subjects who, as the gentleman-at-arms fell back from thedoorway, had but just caught a glimpse of her Majesty--"Long liveElizabeth!"

It seemed to Lempriere that the Gentlemen Pensioners must beat him downas they passed, yet he stood riveted to the spot; and indeed it was truethat he was almost in the path of her Majesty. He was aware that twogentlemen touched him on the shoulder and bade him retire; but the Queenmotioned to them to desist. So, with the eyes of the whole court on himagain, and Elizabeth's calm curious gaze fixed, as it were, on hisforehead, he stood still till the flaming Gentlemen Pensioners werewithin a few feet of him, and the battle-axes were almost over his head. 

The great braggart was no better now than a wisp of grass in the wind, and it was more than homage that bent him to his knees as the Queenlooked him full in the eyes. There was a moment's absolute silence, andthen she said, with cold condescension:

"By what privilege do you seek our presence?"

"I am Raoul Lempriere, Seigneur of Rozel, your high Majesty, " said thechoking voice of the Jerseyman. The Queen raised her eyebrows. "The manseems French. You come from France?"

Lempriere flushed to his hair--the Queen did not know him, then! "FromJersey Isle, your sacred Majesty. "

"Jersey Isle is dear to us. And what is your warrant here?"

"I am butler to your Majesty, by your gracious Majesty's patent, and Ialone may have dove-cotes in the isle; and I only may have the perquage-on your Majesty's patent. It is not even held by De Carteret of St. Ouen's. "

The Queen smiled as she had not smiled since she entered the presence-chamber. "God preserve us, " she said--"that I should not have recognisedyou! It is, of course, our faithful Lempriere of Rozel. "

The blood came back to the Seigneur's heart, but he did not dare look upyet, and he did not see that Elizabeth was in rare mirth at his words;and though she had no ken or memory of him, she read his nature and wasmindful to humour him. Beckoning Leicester to her side, she said a fewwords in an undertone, to which he replied with a smile more sour thansweet. 

"Rise, Monsieur of Rozel, " she said. 

The Seigneur stood up, and met her gaze faintly. "And so, proudSeigneur, you must needs flout e'en our Lord Chamberlain, in the name ofour butler with three dove-cotes and the perquage. In sooth thy officemust not be set at naught lightly--not when it is flanked by theperquage. By my father's doublet, but that frieze jerkin is well cut;it suits thy figure well--I would that my Lord Leicester here had such atailor. But this perquage--I doubt not there are those here at Court whoare most ignorant of its force and moment. My Lord Chamberlain, my LordLeicester, Cecil here--confusion sits in their faces. The perquage, which my father's patent approved, has served us well, I doubt not, is acomfort to our realm and a dignity befitting the wearer of that friezejerkin. Speak to their better understanding, Monsieur of Rozel. "

"Speak, Nuncio, and you shall have comforts, and be given in marriage, multiple or singular, even as I, " said the fool, and touched him on thebreast with his bells. 

Lempriere had recovered his heart, and now was set full sail in thecourse he had charted for himself in Jersey. In large words and largermanner he explained most innocently the sacred privilege of perquage. "And how often have you used the right, friend?" asked Elizabeth. 

"But once in ten years, your noble Majesty. " "When last?"

"But yesterday a week, your universal Majesty. " Elizabeth raised hereyebrows. "Who was the criminal, what the occasion?"

"The criminal was one Buonespoir, the occasion our coming hither to waitupon the Queen of England and our Lady of Normandy, for such is yourwell-born Majesty to your loyal Jersiais. " And thereupon he plunged intoan impeachment of De Carteret of St. Ouen's, and stumbled through a bluntbroken story of the wrongs and the sorrows of Michel and Angele and thedoings of Buonespoir in their behalf. 

Elizabeth frowned and interrupted him. "I have heard of this Buonespoir, Monsieur, through others than the Seigneur of St. Ouen's. He is anunlikely squire of dames. There's a hill in my kingdom has long bidedhis coming. Where waits the rascal now?"

"In the ante-chapel, your Majesty. "

"By the rood!" said Elizabeth in sudden amazement. "In my ante-chapel, forsooth!"

She looked beyond the doorway and saw the great red-topped figure ofBuonespoir, his good-natured, fearless fare, his shock of hair, his clearblue eye--he was not thirty feet away. 

"He comes to crave pardon for his rank offences, your benignant Majesty, "said Lempriere. 

The humour of the thing rushed upon the Queen. Never before were twosuch naive folk at court. There was not a hair of duplicity in the headsof the two, and she judged them well in her mind. 

"I will see you stand together--you and your henchman, " she said toRozel, and moved on to the antechapel, the Court following. Standingstill just inside the doorway, she motioned Buonespoir to come near. Thepirate, unconfused, undismayed, with his wide blue asking eyes, cameforward and dropped upon his knees. Elizabeth motioned Lempriere tostand a little apart. 

Thereupon she set a few questions to Buonespoir, whose replies, truthfully given, showed that he had no real estimate of his crimes, andwas indifferent to what might be their penalties. He had no moral senseon the one hand, on the other, no fear. 

Suddenly she turned to Lempriere again. "You came, then, to speak forthis Michel de la Foret, the exile--?"

"And for the demoiselle Angele Aubert, who loves him, your Majesty. "

"I sent for this gentleman exile a fortnight ago--" She turned towardsLeicester inquiringly. 

"I have the papers here, your Majesty, " said Leicester, and gave a packetover. 

"And where have you De la Foret?" said Elizabeth. "In durance, yourMajesty. "

"When came he hither?"

"Three days gone, " answered Leicester, a little gloomily, for there wasacerbity in Elizabeth's voice. Elizabeth seemed about to speak, thendropped her eyes upon the papers, and glanced hastily at their contents. 

"You will have this Michel de la Foret brought to my presence as fast ashorse can bring him, my Lord, " she said to Leicester. "This rascal ofthe sea--Buonespoir--you will have safe bestowed till I recall hisexistence again, " she said to a captain of men-at-arms; "and you, Monsieur of Rozel, since you are my butler, will get you to my dining-room, and do your duty--the office is not all perquisites, " she addedsmoothly. She was about to move on, when a thought seemed to strike her, and she added, "This Mademoiselle and her father whom you brought hither-where are they?"

"They are even within the palace grounds, your imperial Majesty, "answered Lempriere. 

"You will summon them when I bid you, " she said to the Seigneur; "and youshall see that they have comforts and housing as befits their station, "she added to the Lord Chamberlain. 

So did Elizabeth, out of a whimsical humour, set the highest in the landto attend upon unknown, unconsidered exiles. 

ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:

Boldness without rashness, and hope without vain thinkingNothing is futile that is rightReligion to him was a dull recreation invented chiefly for women