"Know then, simple girl," said the King, "that in accepting my proffered affection and protection, you break through no law either of virtue or morality. Those who are born to royalty are deprived of many of the comforts of private life-chiefly that which is, perhaps, the dearest and most precious, the power of choosing their own mates for life. Their formal weddings are guided upon principles of political expedience only, and those to whom they are wedded are frequently, in temper, person, and disposition, the most unlikely to make them happy. Society has commiseration, therefore, towards us, and binds our unwilling and often unhappy wedlocks with chains of a lighter and more easy character than those which fetter other men, whose marriage ties, as more voluntarily a.s.sumed, ought, in proportion, to be more strictly binding. And therefore, ever since the time that old Henry built these walls, priests and prelates, as well as n.o.bles and statesmen, have been accustomed to see a fair Rosamond rule the heart of an affectionate monarch, and console him for the few hours of constraint and state which he must bestow upon some angry and jealous Eleanor. To such a connection the world attaches no blame; they rush to the festival to admire the beauty of the lovely Esther, while the imperious Vashti is left to queen it in solitude; they throng the palace to ask her protection, whose influence is more in the state an hundred times than that of the proud consort; her offspring rank with the n.o.bles of the land, and vindicate by their courage, like the celebrated Longsword, Earl of Salisbury, their descent from royalty and from love. From such connections our richest ranks of n.o.bles are recruited; and the mother lives, in the greatness of her posterity honoured and blest, as she died lamented and wept in the arms of love and friendship."
"Did Rosamond so die, my lord?" said Alice. "Our records say she was poisoned by the injured Queen-poisoned, without time allowed to call to G.o.d for the pardon of her many faults. Did her memory so live? I have heard that, when the Bishop purified the church at G.o.dstowe, her monument was broken open by his orders, and her bones thrown out into unconsecrated ground."
"Those were rude old days, sweet Alice," answered Charles; "queens are not now so jealous, nor bishops so rigorous. And know, besides, that in the lands to which I would lead the loveliest of her s.e.x, other laws obtain, which remove from such ties even the slightest show of scandal. There is a mode of matrimony, which, fulfilling all the rites of the Church, leaves no stain on the conscience; yet investing the bride with none of the privileges peculiar to her husband"s condition, infringes not upon the duties which the King owes to his subjects. So that Alice Lee may, in all respects, become the real and lawful wife of Charles Stewart, except that their private union gives her no t.i.tle to be Queen of England."
"My ambition," said Alice, "will be sufficiently gratified to see Charles king, without aiming to share either his dignity in public, or his wealth and regal luxury in private."
"I understand thee, Alice," said the King, hurt but not displeased. "You ridicule me, being a fugitive, for speaking like a king. It is a habit, I admit, which I have learned, and of which even misfortune cannot cure me. But my case is not so desperate as you may suppose. My friends are still many in these kingdoms; my allies abroad are bound, by regard to their own interest, to espouse my cause. I have hopes given me from Spain, from France, and from other nations; and I have confidence that my father"s blood has not been poured forth in vain, nor is doomed to dry up without due vengeance. My trust is in Him from whom princes derive their t.i.tle, and, think what thou wilt of my present condition, I have perfect confidence that I shall one day sit on the throne of England."
"May G.o.d grant it!" said Alice; "and that he may grant it, n.o.ble Prince, deign to consider-whether you now pursue a conduct likely to conciliate his favour. Think of the course you recommend to a motherless maiden, who has no better defence against your sophistry, than what a sense of morality, together with the natural feeling of female dignity inspires. Whether the death of her father, which would be the consequence of her imprudence;-whether the despair of her brother, whose life has been so often in peril to save that of your Majesty;- whether the dishonour of the roof which has sheltered you, will read well in your annals, or are events likely to propitiate G.o.d, whose controversy with your House has been but too visible, or recover the affections of the people of England, in whose eyes such actions are an abomination, I leave to your own royal mind to consider."
Charles paused, struck with a turn to the conversation which placed his own interests more in collision with the gratification of his present pa.s.sion than he had supposed.
"If your Majesty," said Alice, curtsying deeply, "has no farther commands for my attendance, may I be permitted to withdraw?"
"Stay yet a little, strange and impracticable girl," said the King; "and answer me but one question:-Is it the lowness of my present fortunes that makes my suit contemptible?"
"I have nothing to conceal, my liege," she said, "and my answer shall be as plain and direct as the question you have asked. If I could have been moved to an act of ignominious, insane, and ungrateful folly, it could only arise from my being blinded by that pa.s.sion, which I believe is pleaded as an excuse for folly and for crime much more often than it has a real existence. I must, in short, have been in love, as it is called-and that might have been-with my equal, but surely never with my sovereign, whether such only in t.i.tle, or in possession of his kingdom."
"Yet loyalty was ever the pride, almost the ruling pa.s.sion, of your family, Alice," said the King.
"And could I reconcile that loyalty," said Alice, "with indulging my sovereign, by permitting him to prosecute a suit dishonourable to himself as to me? Ought I, as a faithful subject, to join him in a folly, which might throw yet another stumbling-block in the path to his restoration, and could only serve to diminish his security, even if he were seated upon his throne?"
"At this rate," said Charles, discontentedly, "I had better have retained my character of the page, than a.s.sumed that of a sovereign, which it seems is still more irreconcilable with my wishes."
"My candour shall go still farther," said Alice. "I could have felt as little for Louis Kerneguy as for the heir of Britain; for such love as I have to bestow, (and it is not such as I read of in romance, or hear poured forth in song,) has been already conferred on another object. This gives your Majesty pain-I am sorry for it-but the wholesomest medicines are often bitter."
"Yes," answered the King, with some asperity, "and physicians are reasonable enough to expect their patients to swallow them, as if they were honeycomb. It is true, then, that whispered tale of the cousin Colonel, and the daughter of the loyal Lee has set her heart upon a rebellious fanatic?"
"My love was given ere I knew what these words fanatic and rebel meant. I recalled it not, for I am satisfied, that amidst the great distractions which divide the kingdom, the person to whom you allude has chosen his part, erroneously, perhaps, but conscientiously-he, therefore, has still the highest place in my affection and esteem. More he cannot have, and will not ask, until some happy turn shall reconcile these public differences, and my father be once more reconciled to him. Devoutly do I pray that such an event may occur by your Majesty"s speedy and unanimous restoration!"
"You have found out a reason," said the King, pettishly, "to make me detest the thought of such a change-nor have you, Alice, any sincere interest to pray for it. On the contrary, do you not see that your lover, walking side by side with Cromwell, may, or rather must, share his power? nay, if Lambert does not antic.i.p.ate him, he may trip up Oliver"s heels, and reign in his stead. And think you not he will find means to overcome the pride of the loyal Lees, and achieve an union, for which things are better prepared than that which Cromwell is said to meditate betwixt one of his brats and the no less loyal heir of Fauconberg?"
"Your Majesty," said Alice, "has found a way at length to avenge yourself-if what I have said deserves vengeance."
"I could point out a yet shorter road to your union," said Charles, without minding her distress, or perhaps enjoying the pleasure of retaliation. "Suppose that you sent your Colonel word that there was one Charles Stewart here, who had come to disturb the Saints in their peaceful government, which they had acquired by prayer and preaching, pike and gun,-and suppose he had the art to bring down a half-score of troopers, quite enough, as times go, to decide the fate of this heir of royalty-think you not the possession of such a prize as this might obtain from the Rumpers, or from Cromwell, such a reward as might overcome your father"s objections to a roundhead"s alliance, and place the fair Alice and her cousin Colonel in full possession of their wishes?"
"My liege," said Alice, her cheeks glowing, and her eyes sparkling-for she too had her share of the hereditary temperament of her family,- "this pa.s.ses my patience. I have heard, without expressing anger, the most ignominious persuasions addressed to myself, and I have vindicated myself for refusing to be the paramour of a fugitive Prince, as if I had been excusing myself from accepting a share of an actual crown. But do you think I can hear all who are dear to me slandered without emotion or reply? I will not, sir; and were you seated with all the terrors of your father"s Star-chamber around you, you should hear me defend the absent and the innocent. Of my father I will say nothing, but that if he is now without wealth-without state, almost without a sheltering home and needful food-it is because he spent all in the service of the King. He needed not to commit any act of treachery or villany to obtain wealth- he had an ample competence in his own possessions. For Markham Everard- he knows no such thing as selfishness-he would not, for broad England, had she the treasures of Peru in her bosom, and a paradise on her surface, do a deed that would disgrace his own name, or injure the feelings of another-Kings, my liege, may take a lesson from him. My liege, for the present I take my leave."
"Alice, Alice-stay!" exclaimed the King. "She is gone.-This must be virtue-real, disinterested, overawing virtue-or there is no such thing on earth. Yet Wilmot and Villiers will not believe a word of it, but add the tale to the other wonders of Woodstock. "Tis a rare wench! and I profess, to use the Colonel"s obtestation, that I know not whether to forgive and be friends with her, or study a dire revenge. If it were not for that accursed cousin-that puritan Colonel-I could forgive every thing else to so n.o.ble a wench. But a roundheaded rebel preferred to me-the preference avowed to my face, and justified with the a.s.sertion, that a king might take a lesson from him-it is gall and wormwood. If the old man had not come up this morning as he did, the King should have taken or given a lesson, and a severe one. It was a mad rencontre to venture upon with my rank and responsibility-and yet this wench has made me so angry with her, and so envious of him, that if an opportunity offered, I should scarce be able to forbear him.-Ha! whom have we here?"
The interjection at the conclusion of this royal soliloquy, was occasioned by the unexpected entrance of another personage of the drama.
CHAPTER THE TWENTY-SEVENTH.
Benedict. Shall I speak a word in your ear?
Claudio. G.o.d bless me from a challenge.
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING.
As Charles was about to leave the apartment, he was prevented by the appearance of Wildrake, who entered with an unusual degree of swagger in his gait, and of fantastic importance on his brow. "I crave your pardon, fair sir," he said; "but, as they say in my country, when doors are open dogs enter. I have knocked and called in the hall to no purpose; so, knowing the way to this parlour, sir,-for I am a light partisan, and the road I once travel I never forget,-I ventured to present myself unannounced."
"Sir Henry Lee is abroad, sir, I believe, in the Chase," said Charles, coldly, for the appearance of this somewhat vulgar debauchee was not agreeable to him at the moment, "and Master Albert Lee has left the Lodge for two or three days."
"I am aware of it, sir," said Wildrake; "but I have no business at present with either."
"And with whom is your business?" said Charles; "that is, if I may be permitted to ask-since I think it cannot in possibility be with me."
"Pardon me in turn, sir," answered the cavalier; "in no possibility can it be imparted to any other but yourself, if you be, as I think you are, though in something better habit, Master Louis Girnigo, the Scottish gentleman who waits upon Master Albert Lee."
"I am all you are like to find for him," answered Charles.
"In truth," said the cavalier, "I do perceive a difference, but rest, and better clothing, will do much; and I am glad of it, since I would be sorry to have brought a message, such as I am charged with, to a tatterdemalion."
"Let us get to the business, sir, if you please," said the King-"you have a message for me, you say?"
"True, sir," replied Wildrake; "I am the friend of Colonel Markham Everard, sir, a tall man, and a worthy person in the field, although I could wish him a better cause-A message I have to you, it is certain, in a slight note, which I take the liberty of presenting with the usual formalities." So saying, he drew his sword, put the billet he mentioned upon the point, and making a profound bow, presented it to Charles.
The disguised Monarch accepted of it, with a grave return of the salute, and said, as he was about to open the letter, "I am not, I presume, to expect friendly contents in an epistle presented in so hostile a manner?"
"A-hem, sir," replied the amba.s.sador, clearing his voice, while he arranged a suitable answer, in which the mild strain of diplomacy might be properly maintained; "not utterly hostile, I suppose, sir, is the invitation, though it be such as must be construed in the commencement rather bellicose and pugnacious. I trust, sir, we shall find that a few thrusts will make a handsome conclusion of the business; and so, as my old master used to say, Pax mascitur ex bello. For my own poor share, I am truly glad to have been graced by my friend, Markham Everard, in this matter-the rather as I feared the puritan principles with which he is imbued, (I will confess the truth to you, worthy sir,) might have rendered him unwilling, from certain scruples, to have taken the gentlemanlike and honourable mode of righting himself in such a case as the present. And as I render a friend"s duty to my friend, so I humbly hope, Master Louis Girnigo, that I do no injustice to you, in preparing the way for the proposed meeting, where, give me leave to say, I trust, that if no fatal accident occur, we shall be all better friends when the skirmish is over than we were before it began."
"I should suppose so, sir, in any case," said Charles, looking at the letter; "worse than mortal enemies we can scarce be, and it is that footing upon which this billet places us."
"You say true, sir," said Wildrake; "it is, sir, a cartel, introducing to a single combat, for the pacific object of restoring a perfect good understanding betwixt the survivors-in case that fortunately that word can be used in the plural after the event of the meeting."
"In short, we only fight, I suppose," replied the King, "that we may come to a perfectly good and amicable understanding?"
"You are right again, sir; and I thank you for the clearness of your apprehension," said Wildrake.-"Ah, sir, it is easy to do with a person of honour and of intellect in such a case as this. And I beseech you, sir, as a personal kindness to myself, that, as the morning is like to be frosty, and myself am in some sort rheumatic-as war will leave its scars behind, sir,-I say, I will entreat of you to bring with you some gentleman of honour, who will not disdain to take part in what is going forward-a sort of pot-luck, sir-with a poor old soldier like myself- that we may take no harm by standing unoccupied during such cold weather."
"I understand, sir," replied Charles; "if this matter goes forward, be a.s.sured I will endeavour to provide you with a suitable opponent."
"I shall remain greatly indebted to you, sir," said Wildrake; "and I am by no means curious about the quality of my antagonist. It is true I write myself esquire and gentleman, and should account myself especially honoured by crossing my sword with that of Sir Henry or Master Albert Lee; but, should that not be convenient, I will not refuse to present my poor person in opposition to any gentleman who has served the King,- which I always hold as a sort of letters of n.o.bility in itself, and, therefore, would on no account decline the duello with such a person."
"The King is much obliged to you, sir," said Charles, "for the honour you do his faithful subjects."
"O, sir, I am scrupulous on that point-very scrupulous.-When there is a roundhead in question, I consult the Herald"s books, to see that he is ent.i.tled to bear arms, as is Master Markham Everard, without which, I promise you, I had borne none of his cartel. But a cavalier is with me a gentleman, of course-Be his birth ever so low, his loyalty has enn.o.bled his condition."
"It is well, sir," said the King. "This paper requests me to meet Master Everard at six to-morrow morning, at the tree called the King"s Oak-I object neither to place nor time. He proffers the sword, at which, he says, we possess some equality-I do not decline the weapon; for company, two gentlemen-I shall endeavour to procure myself an a.s.sociate, and a suitable partner for you, sir, if you incline to join in the dance."
"I kiss your hand, sir, and rest yours, under a sense of obligation," answered the envoy.
"I thank you, sir," continued the King; "I will therefore be ready at place and time, and suitably furnished; and I will either give your friend such satisfaction with my sword as he requires, or will render him such cause for not doing so as he will be contented with."
"You will excuse me, sir," said Wildrake, "if my mind is too dull, under the circ.u.mstances, to conceive any alternative that can remain betwixt two men of honour in such a case, excepting-sa-sa-." He threw himself into a fencing position, and made a pa.s.s with his sheathed rapier, but not directed towards the person of the King, whom he addressed.
"Excuse me, sir," said Charles, "if I do not trouble your intellects with the consideration of a case which may not occur.-But, for example, I may plead urgent employment on the part of the public." This he spoke in a low and mysterious tone of voice, which Wildrake appeared perfectly to comprehend; for he laid his forefinger on his nose with what he meant for a very intelligent and apprehensive nod.
"Sir," said he, "if you be engaged in any affair for the King, my friend shall have every reasonable degree of patience-Nay, I will fight him myself in your stead, merely to stay his stomach, rather than you should be interrupted.-And, sir, if you can find room in your enterprise for a poor gentleman that has followed Lunsford and Goring, you have but to name day, time, and place of rendezvous; for truly, sir, I am tired of the scald hat, cropped hair, and undertaker"s cloak, with which my friend has bedizened me, and would willingly ruffle it out once more in the King"s cause, when whether I be banged or hanged, I care not."