Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1903-04-10
Con,iuupd from page 3

to her, as she knew she would go to
| him If she could. 1t did not occur to
| her that Brandon knew himself well
enough to be sure he would never 90
to New Spain if he allowed another
grain of temptation to'fall into the bal
ance against him, but would remain in
London TO love hopelessly. to try to
win hopeless cause and end it all by
placing his head upon the block.
1t required all his strength even now
to hold fast his determination to 20 to
New Spain. lie had reached his linn
It. He had fund of that most use
full of all wisdom. knowledge of self,
and knew his limitations, Il little mat
ter concerning which nine men out of
ten go all their lives in blssess ig
norancc.
Mary who was no more given to self
analysis than her pet linnet. did not
appreciate Brandon's potent reasons
and was in a flaming passion when she
received his answer. Rage and humil-
alton completely smothcred for the
time her affection. and she said to her
self over and over again: Il hate the
lowborn wretch. Oh, to think what
have permittedr' 1t seemed only too
clear that she had been too quick to
give, no very comforting thought to Il
proud girl even though Il mistaken one.
AS the days went by and Brandon
did not come Her anger cooled as usual,
and again her heart began to ache, but
her sense of injury grew stronger day
by day and she thought she was be-
yond n doubt the most ill used of wo-
men.
The negotiations for Mary's marriage
with old Louis MI. of France were be-
ginning TO be an open secret about the
court. The Due de Longuevillc, who
had been held by Henry for some time
as sort OF hostage from the French
king, had opened negotiations by in
flaming the Pickering passions of old
Louis with descriptions of Mary's beau
ty. AS there was a prospect of a new
emperor soon and as the imperial bee
had of late been making a most vehe-
ment buZzing in Henry's bonnet, he
encouraged De Longueville and thought
it would be Il good time to purchase
the help of France at the cost of his
Mary of course had not been consulted,
and although she had coaxed her
brother out of other marriage projects
Henry had gone about this as if he
were in earnest, and it was thought
throughout the court that Mary's coax
ings would be all in vain-a fear which
she herself had begun to share, not
withstanding her usual self confidence.
She hated the thought of the mar
riage and dreaded it as she would death
itself. though she said nothing to any
one but Jane and was holding her
forces in reserve for a grand attack.
She was preparing the way by being
very sweet and kind to Henry.
Now, all of this. coming upon the
heels of her trouble with Brandon,
made her most wretched indeed. For
the first time in her life she began to
feel suffering-that great broadener, in
fact maker, of human character.
Above all, there was an alarming
sense Of uncertainty in everything She
could hardly bring herself to believe
that Brandon would really go to New
Spain and that she would actually lose
! him, although she did not want him as
yet-that is, as Il prospective husband.
Flashes of all sorts of wild schemes
had begun to shoot through her anger
and grief when she stared in the face
the prospect of her double separation
from him. her marriage to another and
the countless miles of fathomless sea
that would be between them. She could
hot
tainty. y menacing future is the keen
est of all tortures for any of us to bear
but especially for a girl like Mary.
Death itself is not so terrible as the
fear of it,
Now, about this time there lived over
in Billingsgate Ward, the worst part
of London, Jewish soothsayer named
Grouche. He was also an astrologer
and had of late grown into great fame
as prophet of the future-a fortune
teller.
His fame rested on several remark
able predictions which had been full
filled to the letter, and ! really think
the man had some wonderful powers.
They said he was half jew, half gyp-
sy, and, if there is alchemy in the mix
ing of blood, that combination should
surely produce something peculiar. The
city folk were said to have visited him
in great numbers, and, notwithstand-
ing the priests and bishops all con-
demned him as an imp of Satan and a
follower of witchcraft. many fine peo-
pie, including some court ladies', CON
tinued to 20 there by stealth in order
to take dangerous, inqusitive peep
into the future.
Mary had long wanted to see this
Grouche. at first out of mere curiosity,
but Henry, who was very moral-with
other peoples consclences-would not
think of permitting it. Two ladies, La
dy Chesterfield and Lady Ormond, both
good and virtuous women, had been de-
tected in such a visit and had been dis
graced and expelled from court in the
most cruel manner by order of the