Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1903-05-01

told MIN 1t mad been arranged the |
night before as desired | had come |
to Windsor because it was more quiet |
and my heart was full. 1t is quite a |
distance from London, and | thought |
it might afford a better opportunity to |
to see-I thought, perhaps Master
Brandon might come-might want to
to-see Jane and me. In fact, wrote |,
him before l left Greenwich that I |
should be here. Then | heard he had /
gone to New Spain Now you see how
all my troubles have come upon me at
once, and this the greatest of them,
because 1t is my fault | can ask no
forgiveness from any one, for l cannot
forgive myself"
She then inquired about Brandon's
health and spirits, and | left out no
distressing detail, you may be sure,
During my recital she sat with down
cast eyes and tear stained face playing
with the ribbons of her hat.
When l was ready to go, she said,
"Please say to Master Brandon should
like-to-see-him if he cares to come,
if only that 1 may tell him how it hap
pened."
81 greatly fear, in fact, know he
will not come" said l. "The cruelest
blow of all, worse even than the dun
geon or the sentence of death, was
your failure to save him. He trusted
you so implicitly. At the time of his
arrest be refused to allow me to tell
the king, saying he knew you would
see to it-that you were pure gold"
"Ah, did he say that?" she asked, as
q sad little smile lighted her face.
His faith was so entirely without
doubt that his recoil from you is cor
respondingly great. He goes to New
Spain as soon as his health is recovered
sufficiently for him to travel"
This sent the last fleck of color from
her face, and with the words almost
choking her throat, "Then tell him
what l have said to you and perhaps
he will not feel So
Il cannot do that either, Lady Mary.
When mentioned your name the other
day, he said he would curse me if l ev-
er spoke it again in his hearing"
Us it so bad as that?" Then, medita-
lively: "And at his trial he did not tell
compromise me, who had served him
so i'll, even to save his own life? Noble,
noblew And her lips went together as
she rose to her feet. No tears now;
nothing but glowing, determined wo-
manhood.
"Then | will 20 to him wherever he
may be He shall forgive me, no mat
ter what my fault"
Soon after this we were on our way
to London at brisk gallop.
We were all very silent. but at one
time Mary spoke up from the midst Of
reverie: During the moment when l
thought Master Brandon had been exc
cuted-when you said it was too late
1t seemed that was born again and all
made over; that I was changed in the
very texture Of my nature by the
shock, as they say the grain of the iron
cannon is sometimes changed by too
violent an explosion" And this proved
to be true in some respects.
We rode on rapidly and did not stop
in London except to give the horses
drink.
After crossing the bridge Mary said,
half to Jane and half to herself, Il will
never marry the French kng-never"
/ Mary was but a girl pitted against
| body of brutal men, two of them rulers
of the two greatest nations on earth
/ rather heavy odds for one woman.
| We rode down to Greenwich and en-
/ tered the palace without exciting COM
ment, as the princess was in the habit
of coming and going at will.
/ The king and queen and most of the
! courtiers were in London at Bridewell
House and Baynard's castle, where
/ Henry was vigorously pushing the
! loan of 100000 crowns for Mary's dow
er, the only business of state in which
at that time he took any active inter
est Subsequently, as you know, he be
came interested in the divorce laws
and the various methods whereby a
man, especially king. might rid him
self of Il distasteful wife, and after he
saw the truth in Anne Boleyns eyes he
adopted a combined policy of church
and state craft that has brought .us. a
Continued on Page 4.