The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1883-03-17

then they will not want to kill you"
"My dearest love, this is all simple talk
ing" said Lord Preston; II have offended
against the law as it is at present estab-
lished, by trying to have King James, my
old master, restored to the throne, and
therefore [ must die. Do you remember
Lucy, took you once to Whitehall to see
King James, and how kindly he spoke to
you?"
90, yes, father! and recollect he laid
his hand upon my head, and said l was
like what his daughter, the Princess of
Orange, was at my age" replied Lady
Lucy, with great animation.
"Well, my child, very shortly after you
saw King James at Whitehall, the Prince
of Orange came over to England, and
drove King James out of his palace and
kingdom, and the people who were dis
pleased with King James on account of
his protesting the Roman Catholic relig-
ion, which they suspected he designed to
re-establish in this country, deposed, and
made the Prince and Princess of Orange,
king and queen in his stead"
"But was it not very wicked of the
Princess of Orange to join her husband to
take her fathers kingdom away from him?
[ am very sorry King James thought me
like her, said Lady Lucy earnestly.
''Hush, hush, my love! you must not
talk so of the Princess of Orange; for,
perhaps, she considered she was doing right
in depriving her father of his dominion,
because it is against the law for the king
of England to be a Catholic. Yet, | con-
fess, did not believe she would have con-
sented to sign the death warrants of so
many of her fathers old servants, on ac-
count of their faithful attachment to him,
said Lord Preston with a sigh.
Il have heard that the Princess of Or
ange is of a merciful disposition" said old
Amy Gradwell, who had been weeping
spectator of the scene between the father
and child; and perhaps she might be in
dnced to spare your life, my lord, if your
pardon were very earnestly entreated of her
by some of your friends
"Alas! my good Amy, I have no one
who will undertake the perilous office of
soliciting the royal grace for an attainted
traitor, lest they should be suspected of
forwarding the cause of King James, said
Lord Preston, mournfully.
"Dear father; let me go to the queen
and entreat for your pardon cried Lady
Lucy, with crimsoned cheek and spark
ling eye. II will so beg and pray her to
spare your life that she VIII not have the
heart to deny me-"
"Simple child!' exclaimed her father !;
''what should you be able to say to the
queen that would be of any avail?"
"God would teach me what to say re-
turned Lady Lucy piously; and he has
also power to touch her heart with pity for
a child's distress, and to open her ear to
my earnest petition
Her father clasped her to his bosom, but
said ''Thou wouldst be afraid of speaking
to the queen, even if thou shouldst be ad-
mitted to her presence, my Lucy"
"Why should l be afraid of speaking to
the queen, father? for even if she should
be angry with me, and answer harshly at
first, l should be thinking too much of
your peril to mind it. Or if she were to
send me to the Tower and cut off my head,
she could only kill my body, you know ;
but would have no power at all to hurt my
soul, which is under the protection of One
who is greater than any king or queen upon
earth"
"You are right, my child, to fear God,
and to have other fear" said her father.
at is He who hath perhaps put it into
your young heart to plead with the queen
for my life, which, if it be His pleasure
that she should, grant shall feel it indeed
happiness for my child to be made the
instrument of my deliverance from the
perils of death which now encompass me !;
but if it should be otherwise, His will be
done. He hath promised to be father
to the fatherless, and he will not forsake
nv good and dutiful child when [ am low
in the dust"
"But how will my Lady Lucy gain ad-
mittance to the queens presence, my
lord?" asked old Amy.
II will write letter to her godmother,
the Lady Clarendon, requesting her to ac-
complish the matter said Lord Preston.
He then wrote few hasty lines to that
lady, which together with his own petition
for the royal mercy, he gave to his little
daughter, telling her she was to go the
next day to Hampton Court, properly at
tended and to obtain sight of Lady
Clarendon, who was there in waiting upon
the queen, and to deliver that letter to her
with her own hand. He then kissed his
child tenderly blessed her and bade her
farewell
Though the little girl wept much at
parting with her father, she left the Tower
with far more composed mind than that
with which she entered it, for she had
formed her resolution, and her young
heart was full of hope. She had silently
committed her cause to God, and she
trusted that He would dispose the event
prosperously for her.
The next morning, before the lark had
ri