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Lortque le document ett trop grend pour (tre reproduit en un teul clicht. 11 ett filmi A partir de I'engle aup4riaur geuche, de gauche i droite. et de haut an baa. en prenent le nombre d'imegea ntcaat«!.e. Ltt diagrammet auivantt illuttrant la mithoda. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 •"KWJconr iBoiurioN tbi chait (ANSI ond ISO TEST CHART No. J) mi^M A /APPLIED IM/1GE In, ^S'L 1653 East Main Strnl ^KS Rochattar Na* Yorii 14609 USA ^S (716) «»2 - 0300 - Phon. ^= (;i6) 2«a-5M9-ro, SIR MORTIMER. 1 ""■ ' "^■"^" ""■"'■' SUK CUE,," K JKttirl Mats JotfUBtntt AUTflO* OF "-TO HAV« AMD TO BOtO" "rutoNsu or hops" >tc. THE BOOK SUPPLY COMPANY UMITBD TORONTO, CANADA 19M "-or "<• 'our. by SrS^^S^-^'lnnteHl f J- A. J. AND W. A. J. e-- "... t JUuBtraHauB "'oh, I ENVIED her!' SHE CRIEd" . . Fronlilfuct "sir JOHN THRUST HIMSELF BETWEEN THE two" Fccint f l6 "IT WAS BALDRV'S SHIP, THE LITTLE ITAR" " 5' "'DO YOU PURPOSE, THEN, THAT HE SHALL DIE?' DEMANDED BALDRy" .... " I38 '"l BEG THE SHORTEST SHRIFT THAT YOU MAY give'" " 174 '"DAMARIS, THEV call HIM TRAITOR'" . " IpO "'AH, LOOK NOT SO UPON ME!'" ... " 344 " THE FRIAR PRESENTED A BLANK COUNTE- NANCE TO SIR MORTIMER'S QUERIES " " a6o "'LAD, LAD,' HE WHISPERED, 'WHERE IS THY MASTER?' " " 384 ®tr linrttm^r (UT if we return not from our adventure," ended Sir Morti- mer, " if the sea claims us, and upon his sandy floor, amid his Armida gardens, the silver- singing mermaiden marvel at that wreckage which was once a tall ship and at those bones which once were animate, — if strange islands know our resting-place, sunk for evermore in huge and most unkindly forests, — if, being but pawns in a mighty game, we are lost or changed, happy, however, in that the white hand of our Queen hath touched us, giving thereby conse- cration to our else unworthiness, — if we find no gold, nor take one ship of Spain, nor any city treasure-stored, — if we suffer a myriad sort of sorrows and at the last we perish miserably — " I good to look at. Inbt^iZiT^r^ cup, and he held it high ^iZT, ^ '^*" foUow after)" he crieS " i ^^ *° *^°^ ^^° fail-pebbles c^t^^ watetTho'J'rS t ^deneth. r^cheth God WsthS ^^^^^ I d^rp"'"' ''^ "^^ y«* ^« counted^, a«d John Hawkins and Martin Fiobisher- to al! adventure,, and their deeds in the .ZsJ, I dnrJc to merry England and to the d^y w^n every sea shall bring her tribute.-to e1 ^d" l^e^Aphr«iite.new.;sen.ro.themain, S The tavern of the Triple Tun rang with ac cWtron^and. the windows being se! ^d^ Z cause of the warmth of the June afternoon the Tthr f "^ ""' ''-'''' -^ waylaidSel of them who went busily to and fro, and of th^ pt;dAtttrta"---^*^^°'^-^- Pidyea Atlas to the tavern walls. " Who b<. f»,» oToroTtre;'"'^" ^^-^^^^ ^ --^-^^^- ^^e of these supporters. The latter made no answer; he was a ragged retainer of Melpomene" 9 #tr linrtttnrr and he awaited the cdming forth of Sir Mortimer Feme, a notable encourager of all who would scale Parnassus. But his neighbor, a boy in blue and silver, squatted upon a sunny bench, vouch- safed enlightenment. " Travellers to strange places," quoth he, tak- ing a s raw from his mouth and stretching long arms. " Tall men, swingers in Brazil-beds, par- cel-gilt with the Emperor of Manoa, and play- fellows to the nymphs of Don Juan Ponce de Leon his fountain, — in plain words, my master. Sir Mortimer Feme, Captain of the Cygnet, and his guests to dinner, to wit. Sir John Nevil, Ad- miral of our fleet, with sundry of us captains and gentlemen adventurers to the Indies, and, for seasoning, a handful of my master's poor friends, such as courtiers and great lords and poets." "Thinkest to don thy master's wit with his livery?" snapped the poetaster. " 'Tis a chain for a man, — too heavy for thy wearing." The boy stretched his arms again. " ' Master ' no more than in reason," quoth he. " I also am a gentleman. Heigho! The sun shineth hotter here than in the doldrums!" "Well, go thy ways for a sprightly crack!" .3 the Queen hath ten Tr jT u ^* '""'P sa.1 on he morrow for the Spanish Main ■ ■'I'll bZ '*'*"*'*' ^'°"*'''y»-«d the boy ,." •'""K y°" an emerald hollowed ™,* t reliquanr-if I think on't." °' " Withindoors, in the Triole T,m'. u . where much sherris sack w^ Ll^d?? '"^' tieman with a inn„ t ^ '^"^' « ««n- •naker of songs!" *° ''^ '^""^^ ^"'l ^ Athwart his laughing wonis came from th #tr Mttttimtt all scholars turned so' iers," he said, "all court- iers who stay not at court, all poets who win tall ships at the point of a canzonetta! Did Sir Mortimer Feme make verses — elegies and epi- taphs and such toys — at Fayal in the Azores two years ago?" There followed his speech, heard of all in the room, a moment of amazed silence. Mortimer Feme put his tankard softly down and turned in his seat so that he might more closely observe his fellow adventurer. " For myself, when an Araiada is at my heels, the cares of the moon do not concern me," went on Baldry, with the gravity of an oracle. " Had Nero not fiddled, perhaps Rome had not burned.' "And where got you that information, sir?" asked his host, in a most courtier-like voice. " Oh, in the streets of Rome, a thousand years ^o! 'Twas common talk." The Captain of the Star tilted his cup and was grieved tr find it empty. "I have later news," said the other, as smoothly as before. " At Fayal in the Azores—" He was interrupted by Sir John Nevil, who had ris«n from his chair, and beneath whose stare 5 t :j J" tiff' °' ^''^ ^^p«^^»-- ™-t H readier swonl ever dearly aven.^ ^ ° defeat and loss Y(^rnL ^^ ""^ "^y'^ " P'-te-fleet be- hmd you," quoth the mustachioed gentleman "—all my sails shall be cloth of gold," con- tinued wine - flushed one - and - twenty. " The main-deck shall be piled with bars of silver, and in the hold shall be pearls and pieces of gold, doubloons, emeralds as great as filberts — " "At Panama saw I an emerald greater than a pigeon's egg!" cried one who had sailed in the Golden Hind. Sir Mortimer laughed. "Why, our very speech grows rich— as did thine long since, Philip Sidney! And now, Giles Arden, show these stay-at-home gentlemen the stones the Bonaventure brought in the other day from that coast we touched at two years agone. If we miss the plate-fleet, my masters, if we find Car- tagena or Santa Marta too strong for us, there is yet the unconquered land, the Hesperidian gar- den whence came these golden apples! Deliver, good dragon!" He of the mustachios laid side by side upon the board three pieces of glittering rock, whereat every man bent forward. "Marcasite?" said one, doubtfully. "El madre del oro?" suggested another. "White spar," said Arden, authoritatively, 9 *fr Mattlmtt upon the dark woo, ,^d« t. f ^^^^ down f"' of dull yellow^T . tL ! ' *''""" 'us. gentlemen, S^was I LTi°' ''""^ that Kir, Midas bathed hin.::,f r "'"° ""^ riches cmned their ne^kra„rr T ? ""^"^^ wei^ musing and oHtt^? t "^"^ °' ^™* -- fell sifent. an^d ^They ^LTr ^ at the small heap of glistenil^ f^nt Id fr^ few grains of gold Tt,»,, !. *^ *''°* vanguard of a'^leXTIdX" " "^ "^ they saw :i et:^^--- -ci st:^ghtway and the mind grl^ l.^ T,"■^*'°"• ---Mng. s^^ro^ --^- ^^^ rts^rrsr-^rt^-^ mountain ranges with ledges ^f r^allltV" Uce this ore. deep mines with ^ '^""'"^ Pa^-t^ms^andh^u^ene^ToH^^^^^ After a t.me one lifted a piece of the ore, has- lo , *!r MttrUmtt itatingly, as though he made to take up all the Indies, scrutinized it closely weighed it, passed it to his neighbor. It went the round of the company, each man handling it, each with the talisman between his fingers gazing through the bars of this present hour at a pageant and phan- tasmagoria of his own creating. At last it came to the hand of an old merchant, who held it a moment or two, looking steadfastly upon it, then slowly put it down. "Well," said he, "may God send you further- ing winds. Sir Mortimer and Sir John, and make their gaUeons and galliasses, their caravels and carracks, as bowed com before "ou! Those of your company who are to die, may they die cleanly, and those who are to live, live nobly, and may not one of you fall into the hands of the Holy Office." "Amen to that, Master Hudson," quoth Ar- den. "The Holy Office!" cried a Banbury man. "I had a cousin, sirs,— an honest fellow, with whom I had gone bird's-nesting when we were boys together! He was master of a merchant- man—the Red Lion— that by foul treachery was *« „T» r Bit IRnrttmrr kinsmen and friends must say good-by, warmly, with clasping of hands and embracing, even with tears, for it was an age when men did not scorn to show emotion. A thousand perils awaited those who went, nor for those who stayed would time or tide make tarrying. It was most possible that they who parted now would find, this side eternity, no second inn of meeting. From his perch beside the door, the boy in blue and silver watched his master's guests step into the sunlight and go away. A throng had gathered in front of the tavern, for the most part of those within were men of note, and Sir John Nevil's adventure to the Indies had long been general talk. Singly or in Uttle groups the rev- ellers issued from the tavern, and for this or that known figure and favorite the crowd had its com- ment and cheering. At last all were gone save the adventurers themselves, who, having certain final arrangements to make, stayed to hold coun- cil in the Triple Tun's long room. Their conference was not long. Presently came forth Captain Baptist Manwood of the Marigold with his lieutenants, Wynch and Paget, Wd Captain Robert Baldry of the Star. The 13 »tf Mottimtt Save you, sir," said the bov "Tho, - oucl g^ve him five m.nutes of your company " d>d expect a man of my acquaintance a Pauls man with a good rapier to sell " quoth Baldry. .- Boy. is the gentleman a lean Ztt r ■""' ^ ^"^^ "-p'^-y look "St me, sirs, at the stairs'" VVithin the Triple Tun, Sir John Nevil yet sat at table pondering certain maps and I ! JP-d out before him, while MorJe, J tT having re-entered the room after a moment sTb le W ';J^?^^ ^ ^r'"^- tracing the coast- Castit Bv , ^^.\°' ^""'^ P°«*^ t° Golden <.astile. By the window stood Arfen wh,i» S'^eat promise, a smooth, dark f»---^.^' 6ir Matilmtt melancholy beauty, and a pretty taste in dress. In his hands was a gittem which had been hang- ing on the wall above him, and he played upon it, softly, a sweet and plaintive air. In upon the.« four burst Baldry, who, not finding the Paul's man and trader in rapiers, drew himself up sharply. Sir Mortimer came forward and made him a low bow, which he, not to be outdone in courtesy, any more than in weightier matters, returned in his own manner, fierce and arrogant as that of a Spanish con- quistador. "Captain Rooert Baldry, I trusted that you would return," said Feme. "And now, since you are no longer guest of mine, we will resume our talk of Fayal in the Azores. Your gossips lied, sir; and he who, not staying to examine a quarrel, becomes a repeater of lies, may chance upon a summer day, in a tavern such as this, to be called a liar. My cartel, sir!" He flung his glove, which scarce had felt the floor before the other snatched it up. "God's death! you shall be accommodated!" he cried. "Here and now, is't not? and with sword and dagger? Sir, I will spit you like a lark, or like 15 hands, and Sir Jf^u^' ^ "" Medley's two who had bareH fh ■ ''^*'^^^" '^e sword! Caotain n^u ' P"' "P y°ur honor is my Admiral I- ^" •'''*>' "^ *''-'-. haih a xr'r'""'°'^" retired place, and beareth n^^u "'°'' '''''' poop of the A/... Cr% ,."''' '° t'^^ servant, sir-to-mor:;-. '"• "f"''" N-'' your n^-rrtrariS?r'^'''^''""'^-^*'^«Ad- re^' Deatr:/:;\;:rrarr^'^^'^^^^-- Not that common .ofdiers or m! ''' "'"^''• fell out and cudgel each o Lrun'r" "'°" -handler rope nor the othrr^XS; i6 I #lr flarttnrr not that wild gallants, reikieM and broken ad- venturen wLose Iom the next daredevil scamp may supply, choose the eve of sailing for a duello, ir which one or both may be slain; but that strive together my captains, men vowed to noble service, loyal aid, whose names are in all mouths, who go forth upon this adventure not (I trust in God) with an eye single to the gain of the puise, but thinking, rather, to pluck green laurels for themselves, and to bring to the Queen and Eng- land gifts of waning danger, waxing power I What reproach — what evil augury — nay, per- haps, what maiming of our enterprise! Lead- ers and commanders that you are, with your goodly ships, your mariners and soldiers await- ing you, and above us all the lode-star of noblest duty, truest honor — will you thus prefer to the common good your private quarrel? Nay, now, I might say ' you shall not ' ; but, instead, I choose to think you will not!" The speech was of the longest for the Admiral, who was a man of golden silences. His look had been upon Baldiy, but his words were for Mortimer Feme, at whom he looked not at all. "I have been challenged, sir," cried Bald- '7 r »:r Muttimtt ry. roughly. "Draw back? God's wound., not II His antagonist bit his lip until the blood •prang. "The insult was ijross," he said, with haughtmess. "but since I may not deny the tnith of your words, .ohn Nevil. I will reword my cartel. Captain Robert Baldry. I do sol emnly challenge you to meet me with swoni and dagger upon that day which sees our return to tnglandl" "A far day that, perhaps!" cried Baldry But so be it! ru not fail you. Sir Mortimer i'erne. Look that you fail not me!" "Sir!" cried Feme, sharply. The Admiral struck the table a great blow. Gentlemen, no more of this! What! will you m this mood go forth side by side to meet a com- mon foe? Nay, I must have you touch hands!" The Captain of *he Cygnet held out his hand He of the Star first swore, then burst into a great laugh ; finally laid his own upon it "Now we are turtle-doves, Sir John, nothing less! and the Star and the Cygnet may bill and coo from the Thames to Term Finna!" Sud- denly he ceased to laugh, and let fall his hand i8 #tr MatUmtx ."But I have not forgotten," he said, "that at Fayal in the Azores I had a brother slain." He was gone, swinging from the room with scant ceremony, loudly ordering from his path the loiterers at the inn door. They whose com- pany he had quitted were silent for a moment; then said Sir Mortimer, slowly: "I remember now — there was a Thomas Baldry, master of the Speedwell. Well, it was a sorry business that day I If from that muck of blood and horror was bom Detraction — " " The man was mad !" thrust in young Sedley, hotly. " Detraction and you have no acquaint- ance." Feme, with a slighi, laugh, stooped to pick up the fallen gittem. "She kept knighthood and me apart for a year, Henry. 'Tis a powerful dame, a most subtle and womanish foe, who knoweth not or esteemeth not the rules of chiv- alry. Having yielded to plain Truth, she yet, as to-day, raiseth unawares an arm to strike." He hung the gittem upon its peg, then went across to the Admiral and put both hands upon his shoulders. The smile was yet upon his lips, but his voice had a bitter ring. "John, Jol .. ' «9 s7iiS:jL«rjfe!mj' »lr lnrtf«»r That tall, fanfaronading fellow hath a power to anger me,-not his words alone, but the man h-self We„, ,et him go until the day " comesailrngbacktoEngland! For his words-' ■ He paused and a shadow came over his face Whc knows himself?" he said. "There are t.mes when I look within and doubt my every quahty that men are pleased to give me S sm,es upon me-perhaps He smiles with con- tempt! . . . I would that I had followed, not led, that day at Fayal!" tu™?" ^'^* '"'° ^ "^"S*^- The Admiral tu^ed and stared at him who had spoken with What! stmgs that yet?- he said. - 1 think you "-y have that knowledge of yourself th^yo" were bom to lead, and that knowledge of higher thmgs that shame is of the devil.'but det Ota of aod. How idly do we talk to- "Idly enough," agreed Feme with a quick s.gh. He lifted his hands from the other's shout ders, and with an effort too instantaneous to be apparent shook off his melancholy. Arden took *^J^ ft'r Mnttimtt up ,.is hat and ;ivung his short cloak over his shomdei. "Since we may not fight," he said, "I'll e'en go play. There's a pretty lady hard by who loves me dearly. I'll go tell her tales of the Carib beauties. Master Sedley, you are for the court, I know. Would the gods had sent me such a sister! Do you go to Leicester House, Morti- mer? If not, my fair Discretion hath a mate—" "I," answered Feme, "am also for Green- wich." Arden laughed again. " Her Grace gives you . yet another audience? Or is it that hath come to court that Nonpareil, that radiant Incognita, that be-rhymed Dione at whose real name you keep us guessing ? I thought the violet satin was not for naught!" " In that you speak with truth," said the other, coolly, "for thirty acres of good Devon land went to its procuring. Since you are for the court, Henry Sedley, one wherry may carry the two of us." When the two adventurers and the boy in blue and silver had made half the distance to the pleasant palace where, like a flight of multicol- • ir mattlmtt ored birds, had settled for the moment EHza- beth's migratDry court, the gentlemen became taciturn and fell at length to silent musing, each upon his own affairs. The boy liked it not. for their discourse had been of armor and devices, of war-horses and Spanish swords, and such knight- ly matters as pleased him to the marrow. He himself (Robin-a-dale they called him) meant to be altogether such a one as his master in violet satin. Not a sea-dog simply and terrible fighter like Captain Manwood or Ambrose Wynch. nor a rufHer like Baldry, nor even a high, cold gentle- man like Sir John, who slew Spaniards for the good of God and the Queen, and whose slow words when he was displeased cut like a rope's end. But he would fight and he would sing; he would laugh with his foe and then courteously kill him; he would know how to enter the pres- ence, how to make a great Queen smile and sigh; and then again, amid the thunder and reek of the fight, on decks slippery with blood, he would strain, half naked, with the mariners, he would lead the boarders, he would deal death with a flashing sword and a face that seen through the smoke wreaths was so calm and high!— And 33 9it Mattimtt the Queen might knight him — one day the Queen might knight him. And the people at home, turning in the street, would look and cry, " 'Tis Sir Robert Dale!" as now they cry " Sir Mortimer Feme!" Robin-a-dale drew in his breath and clenched his hands with determination ; then, the key be- ing too high for long sustaining, came down to earth and the contemplation of the bright-running Thames, its shifting banks, and the shipping on its bosom. The river glided between tall houses, and there were voices on the water, sounding from stately barges, swift-plying wherries, ships at anchor, both great and small. Over all played mild simshine, hung pale blue skies. The boy thought of other rivers he had seen and would see again, silent streams gliding through forests of a fearful loveliness, miles of churned foam rushing between black teeth of jagged rock to the sheer, desperate, earth-shaking cataract, liquid highways to the realms of strange dreams! He turned involuntarily and met his master's eye. Between these two, master and boy, knave and knight, there was at times so strange a com- prehension that Robin-a-dale was scarcely 23 #fr 4lortlitt»r startled to find that his thoughts had been read. "Ay, Robin," said Feme, smiling, "other and stranger waters than those of Father Thames' And yet I know not. Life is one, though to-day we ghde through the sunshine to a fair Queen's palace, and to-morrow we strive like fiends from hell or those two sirens. Lust of Gold and Lust o Blood. Therefore, Robin, an you toss your silver brooch into the Thames it may come to hand on the other side of the world, swirling towards you in some Arethusa fountain." " I see the ships, master!" cried the boy " Ho the Cygnet, the bonny white Cygnet r They lay in ^ half-moon, with the westering sun s r^g fun upon the windows of their high ^tellated poops. Their great guns gleam^ rnast and spar and rigging made network against he blue; h.gh mair floated bright pennant and the red cross m the white field. To and fro plied smaU boats, while over the water to them in t^ wherry came a pleasant hum of preparation for the morrows sailing. Upon the Cygnet, lying next to the M^e Honour, and a verylble shj' the manners began to sing. »4 Bit MatUvtt "Shall we not row more closely?" cried Sed- ley. " The Cygnet knows not that it is you who Sir Mortimer laughed. "No, no; I come to her arms from the Palace to-night ! Trouble her not now with genuflections and salutings." His eyes dwelt with love upon his ship. "How clearly sounds the singing!" he said. So clearly did it sound over the water that it kept with them when the ships were passed. Robin-a-dale had his fancies, to which at times he gave voice, scarce knowing that he had spoken. " Tis the ship herself that sings," he now began to say to himself in a low voice, over and over again. " 'Tis the ship singing, the ship smging because she goes on a voyage— a long voyage!" " Sirrah!" cried his master, somewhat sharply. "Know you not that the swan sings but upon ona voyage, and that her last? 'Tis not the Cygnet that sings, but upon her sing my mar- iners and soldiers, for that they go forth to victory!" He put his hands behind his head, and with a light in his eyes looked back to the dwin- *4f MtttUmtt dling ships. "Victory!" he repeated beneath his breath. "Such fame, such service, as that earthworm, that same Detraction, shall raise no more her lying head !" He turned to Sedley : " I am glad, Harry, that your lot is cast with mine. For we go forth to victory, lad I" The younger man answered him impetuously, a flush of pride mounting to his smooth, dark cheek. "I doubt it not. Sir Mortimer, nor of my gathering laurels, since I go with you I I cov nt myself most fortunate." He threw back his head and laughed. " I have no lady-love." he said, "and so I will heap the laurels in the Up of my sifter Damans." By now, the tide being with them, they were Hearing Greenwich House. Feme dipped his hand into the water, then, straightening himself, shook from it the sparkling drops, and looked in the face of the youth who was to make with him his maiden voyage. "You could heap laurels in the lap of no sweeter lady," he said, courteously. " I thought you went on yesterday to say farewell to Mistress Damaris Sed'ey." " Why. so I did," said the other, simply. " We 96 •ir Mttxtimat I said farewell with our eyes in the presence, while the Queen talked with my Lord of Leicester; in the antechamber with our hands; in the long gallery with our lips; and when we reached the gardens, and there was none at all to see, we e'en put our arms about each other and wept. It is a right noble wench, my sister, and loves me dearly. And then, while we talked, one of her fellow maids came hurriedly to call her, for her Grace would go a-hawking, and Damaris was in attendance. So I swore I would see her again to-day though 'twere but for a moment." The rowers brought the wherry to the Palace landing. Sir Mortimer, stepping out upon the broad stairs, began to motmt them somewhat slowly, Sedley and Robin-a-dale following him. Half-way up, Sedley, noting the rich suit worn so point-device, and aware of how full in the sun- shine of the Queen's favor stood for the moment his Captain, asked if he were for the presence. Feme shook his head : " Not now. . . . May I know, Henry, where you and your sister meet?" " In the little covert of the park where we said good -by on yesterday." There were surprise «7 •§ • »r Mattlmtt and some question in the youth's upward glance at the man m volet satin, standing a step or two above him. his hand resting upon the stone ba ustrade. a smile in his eyes, but none upon nel.h .f "V"''' ''"'^^ ^'^' --^ steady be- neath the; light mustache. Feme reading the question, gave, after just a moments pause, the answer. "My dear lad," tincT Tt '^ '"■'' '" '"' ''^^ ^^ -°- di - .n t and kmdiy, "to Mistress Damans Sedley I also would say farewell." He laid his hand upon the young man's shoulder. " For I would know, Henry-I would know if through all the days and n>ghts that await us over the brim of to-morrow I may dream of an hour to come when that dear and fair lady shall bid me welcome " His eyes looked into the distance, and the smile had crept to his lips. " It was my meaning to speak to her to-night before I left the Palace but th,s chance oflFerB better. Will you give me precedence, Henry.? let me see and speaJc to your sister alone in that same covert of which you tell me? "But—but—" stammered Sedley. Sir Mortimer laughed. " ' But . . . Dione!' you • ir iinrtimrr would say. 'Ah, faithless poet, forsworn knight !' you would say. Not so, my friend." He looked far away with shining eyes. "That unknown nymph, that lady whom I praise in verse, whose poet I am, that Dione at whose real name you all do vainly guess- it is thy sister, lad! Nay,— she knows me not for her worshipper, nor do I know that I can win her love. I would try . , ." Sedley's smooth cheek glowed and his eyes shone. He was young; he loved his sister, or- phaned Hke himself and the neglected ward of a decaying house; while to his ardent fancy the man above him, superb in his violet dress, cour- teous and excellent in all that he did, was a very -^almerin or Amadis de Gaul. Now, impetuous- ly, he put his hand upon that other hand touch- ing his shoulder, and drew it to his lips in a caress, of which, being Elizabethans, neither was at all ashamed. In the dark, deeply fringed eyes that he raised to his leader's face there was a boyish and poetic adoration for the sea-captain, the man of war who was yet a courtier and r scholar, the violet knight who was to lead him up the heights which long ago the knight himself had scaled. 39 »ir marHmtt "Damans is a fair maid, and good and learn- ed he sa.d m a whisper, half shy, half eager May you dream as you wish. Sir Mortimer! For the way to the covert-'tis by yonder path that's aU in sunshine." II lENEATH a great oak-tree, I where light and shadow made a "checkered round, Mistress Dam- I aris Sedley sat upon the earth Jin a gown of rose -colored silk. Across her knee, under her clasped hands, lay a light racket, for she had strayed this way from battledore and shuttlecock and the sprightly company of maids of honor and gentlemen pen- sioners engaged thereat. She was a fair lady of a clear pallor, with a red mouth very subtly charming, and dark eyes beneath level brows Her eyes had depths on depths: to one player of battledore and shuttlecock they were merely large brown orbs; another might find in them worlds below worlds, a third, going deeper might, Actaeon-like, surprise the bare soul A curiously wrought net of gold caught her dark hair m its meshes, and pearls were in her ears and around the white column of her throat rising be- 31 y L tween the niff'g gossamer walk cu ^ beyond her round of trees 'oot-tall a proud and tender smile " Fie upon thee for a laggard, Hen.^ |" she be- gan. I warrant thy Captain meets noThis Dione b'ore hrshrrff; "''="• ^^'-^ -^^ -°^ "ciore ner, she left her seat between m» . roots and curtsied low •• Si. u ! °"'' she .»i^ J ^"^ Mortimer Feme " she said, and nsing to her full heicht r..Vw eyes with thnf ^^ "eignt, met his y^ wun that deeper gaze of hers Feme advanced, and bending his knee to th «hort turf, took and kissed her hand " P . sweet lady," he said ■• r . ^^'^^'^ brother, and he h" give " M' '° ^°"' happy chance. Now f 21 ' "'"''' ''""^ -.tow, :::---7^^^^^^^^^^ round therein.''" '''"^ ^^^^^ '>^'» - Will you heart; ^'jkr^°^^^^^'^ ''-"■ 32 ftil Iflrtlinrr they smiled, a moisture as of half-sprung tears "IsitofHenrj-sheastod. "Ah. sir. you have been so good to him I He is very dear to me I would that I could thank you-" As she spoke she moved with him to the green bank, sat down, and clasped her hands about her knees. The man who on the morrow should eave behmd him court and court ways, and all fa.r s.ghts such as this, leaned against the oak and looked down upon her. When, after a little silence, he began to speak, it was like a right courtier of the day. "Fair Mistress Damans." he said, "your brother is my friend, but to-day I would speak of my friend's friend, and that is myself and your servant, lady. To-morrow I go from this garden of the world, this no-other Paradise, this court where Dian reigns, but where Venus comes as a guest, her boy in her hand. Where I go I know not. nor what thread Clotho is spinning. Strange dangers are to be found in strange places and Jove and lightning are not comfortable neighbors. Ulysses took moly in his hand when there came to meet him Circe's gentlemen pen- sioners. and Gyges's ring not only saved him from 33 ' I. *«r mattimtt penX but brought hin, wealth and great honor What s,Uy manner in my ship hath not bought or begged m.thridate or a pinch of achimer^us wherewth to make good his voyage? And shS^ not I, who have much more at stake, procure me an enchantment?" The lady's fringed lids lifted in one swift up- ward glance. "Your valor, sir. should prove yo. surest Cham. But there is the neC a.! "He cannot serve my need, hath not what I want. I want-" He hesitated for a moment; then spoke on with a certain restrained im petuos>ty that became him well: "There is a honey wax which, being glazed about the heart the chantmg of the sirens matter, not; there is hat precrous stone which, as the magnet draw! eh the rron. so ever constraineth Honor, bidding him mount every breach, climb higher higher higher yet- there is that fragrant lelf which 5 >s fed wrth tears, and often sighing worn, yet i worn mspireth valor more heroical than thai 7t Achrlles! Such a charm I seek, sweet lady " Mistress Damans Sedley. a favorite of the 34 »tf Mattimtt Countess of Pembroke, and a court lady of some months' standing, could parley euphuism with the best, and yet to-day it seemed to her that plain English might better serve the turn. How- ever: "Good gentleman," she answered, sedately. " I think that few are the bees that gather so dainty a wax, but if they be flown to Hymettus, then to ifymettus might one follow them; also that precious stone may be found, though, alack! often enough a man is so poor a lapidary that, seeing only the covering of circumstances, he misses the true sapphire! and for that fragrant leaf, I have heard of it in my day—" "It is called truelove," he said. Damans kept to the card: "My marvel, sir, is to hear you speak as though you had not the charm you seem to seek. One blossom of the tree Alpina is worth all store of roses; one ruby outvalueth many pearls; he who hath akeady the word of magic needeth to buy no Venus's image ; and Sir Mortimer Feme, secure in Dione's love, saileth, methinks, in crystal seas, with slight danger from storm and wreck." "Secure in Dione's love I" repeated Feme. 35 *tr Mattlmtt "Ah, lady, your shaft has gone wide. I have sailed, and sailed, and sailed-ay, and in crystal seas-and have «cin blooms fairer than the tree Alpina, and have been in the land of emeralds and where pearls do grow, and yet have never gathered the fragrant leaf, that leaf of true and mutual love. It should grow with the laurel and blend with the bay-ay, and be not missing from the cypress wreath ! But as yet I have it not- as yet I have it not." Damaris gazed upon him with brown, incredu- lous eyes, and when she spoke her words came somewhat breathlessly, having quite outgone the courtly affectation of similes run mad. "What mean you, sir? Not the love of As- trophel for Stella is better known than that of Cleon for Dione ! And. lo ! now your own lines- Master Dyer showed them to me but the other day copied into his book of songs: 'Nor in my watery wanderings am I crossed; Where haven's wanted, there I haven find Nor eer for me is star of guidance lost— '" Her voice breaking a little. Feme made nearer approach to the green bank where she rested 36 '1 I #ir Mortimer "Do you learn by heart my verses, lady?" he asked. "Ay," she answered, "I did ever love sweet poetry." Her voice thrilled, and she gazed past him at the blue heaven showing between the oak leaves. " If prayer with every breath availeth," she said, " no doubt your Dione will bring your safe return." "Of whom do I write, calling her Dione?" She shook her head. " I know not. None of us at court knows. Master Dyer saith— but surely that one is not worthy—" She ceased to speak, nor knew there had been in her tone both pain and wistfulness. Presently she laughed out, with the facile gayety that one in her posi- tion must needs be practised in. " Ah, sir, tell mehername! Is she of the court?" He nodded, " Yes." Damans clapped her hands. "What lovely hypocrite have we among us? What Lady Pure Innocence, wondering with the rest of the world? —and all the while Cleon's latest sonnet hot against her heart! Is she tall, sir, or short?" 'Of your height." The lady shrugged. " Oh, I like not your half- 37 *»r Mttttlmtt way people! And her hair -but halt! We know her hair is dark: ■Ah, darkness loved beyond all light I' Her eyes — " He bent his head, moving yet nearer to her Her eyes— her eyes are wonderful ! Where got you your eyes, Dione— Dione?" Crimsoning deeply, Damaris started up the racket escaping her clasp, and her hands going out m a gesture of dismay and anger. " Sir — S"-." she stammered, "since you make a mcick of me. I will begone. No, sir; let me p-,s! Ah. . . . how unworthy of you!" Feme had caught her by the wrists. "No no! Dear lady, to whom I am weUnigh a stranger-sweetheart with whom I have talked scarce thrice in all my life-my Dione. to whom my heart is as a crystal, to whom 1 have written all thmgs! I must speak now, now before I go this voyage ! Think you it is in me to vex with saucy words, to make a mock of any gentle lady?" ■' I know not what to think," she answered, in a strange voice. " I am too dull to underetand " 38 Bit IHnrtim»r " Think that I tell you God's truth!" he cried. " Understand that — " He checked himself, see- ing how pale she was and how flutteringly came her breath; then, trained as she herself to in- stantly draw an airy veil between true feeling and the exigency of the moment, he became once more the simple courtier. " You read the songs that I make, sweet lady," he lid, " and now will you listen while I tell you a story, a novelle f So I may make you to understand." As he spoke he motioned to the mossy bank which she had quitted. She raised her troubled eyes to his ; then, with her scarlet lip between her teeth, she took her seat again. For a minute there was silenc, ' ■ the httle grove, broken only by the distant voices of the players whose com- pany she had forsworn; then Feme began his story: " In a fair gras,-.y plain, not many leagues re- moved from the hill Parnassus, a shepherd named Cleon sat upon a stone, piping to himself while he watched his sheep, and now and then singing aloud, so that the other shepaerds and dwellers of the plain, and travellers through it, paused to hear his song. He sang not often, and often 39 *lr MtttUmit he laid his pipe aside, for he had much to think of, having been upon the other side of the moun- tarn, and having seen cities and camps and courts,-for indeed he was not always shephe«l And now. because his thoughts left the plain to hover over the place where danger is. to visit strange coasts and Ultima Thule, to strain ever towards those islands of the blest where goes the man who has endured to the end, his notes when he sang or when he played became warlike re- solved, speaking of death and fame and sien, things, or of things of public weal. . But all the time the shepherd was a lonely man he- <^use his spirit was too busy to find eas^ for iteelf and because, though he had helped other shepherds m the building of their cottages his own heart had no hearthstone where he might warm himself and be content. Sometimes as he lay alone upon the bare earth, counting the stars, he caught the gleam from such a home ckar shmmg over the plain, and he told himself that when he had numbered all the stai^ like sheep in a fold, then would he tum and give his heart rest beside some lower light. . So he kept on with his Phrygian melodies, and they 40 i>lr MtttUmtt brought him friends and enemies; but no lover hastening over the plain stayed to listen, and the shepherd was sorry for that, because he thought that the others, though they heard, did not fully understand." The narrator paused. The maid of honor's hands were idle in her lap; with level gaze she sat in a dream. " Yet some there be who might have understood," she said, and scarce knew that she had spoken. " Now Cleon had a friend whom he loved, the shepherd Astrophel, who sang more sweetly than any in all that plain, and Astrophel would oft urge Cleon to his dwelling, which was a fair one, with shady groves, sunny lawns, and springing fountains." "Ah, sweet Sidney, dear Penshurst!" breathed the lady, soitly. "Now upon a day— indeed, 'tis Uttle more than a year ago— Cleon, returning to the plain from a far journey, found Astrophel, who, taking no denial, would have him to those sunny lawns and springing fountains. There was dust upon the spirit of the shepherd Cleon: that had hap- pened which had left in his mouth the taste of 41 I i^ir Martimtt Dead Sea fruit ; almost was he ready to break his pipe across, and to sit still forever, covering his face. But Astrophel, knowing in himself how he would have felt in his dearest part that wound which his friend had received, was skilled to heal, and with wise counsel and honeyed words at last won Cleon to visit him." "A year and more ago," said Damaris, dream- ily. " On such a day as this, Cleon and Astrophel came to the latter's home, where, since Astrophel was as a magnet-stone to draw unto him the noblest of his kind, they found a goodly gather- ing of the chiefest of the dwellers in the plain. Nor were lacking young shepherdesses, nymphs, and ladies as virtuous as they were fair, for As- trophel's sister was such an one as Astrophel's sister should be." " Most dear, most sweet Countess," murmured Damaris. "Cleon and Astrophel were made welcome by this goodly company, after which all addressed themselves to those sports of that country for which the day had been devised. But though he made merry with the rest, nor was in any- 42 #tr Hartiinrr thing behind them, Cleon's heart was yet heavy within him. . . . Aurora, fast flying, turned a rosy cheek, then the night hid her path with his spangled mantle, and all this company of shep- herdish folk left the gray lawns for Astrophel's house, that was lit with clear wax and smelled sweet of roses. And after a while, when there had been comfit talk and sipping of sweet wine, one sang, and another followed, while the com- pany listened, for they were of those who have ears to hear. Colin sang of Rosalind; Damon, of Myra ; Astrophel, of Stella ; Cleon, of — none of these things. ' Sing of love !' they cried, and he sang of friendship ; ' Of the love of a woman !' and he sang to the honor of a man." " But in that contest he won the Countess's pearl," said the maid of honor, her chin in her hands; " I knew (dear lady!) what, being woman, was her inmost thought, and in my heart I did applaud her choice." The man bent his eyes upon her for a moment, then went on with his story, but somewhat slowly. " When it had thus ended the day, that goodly company betook itself to rest. But Cleon tossed 43 #