The San Francisco call., 1903-01-25


with the thought that full sure it will
not be for long, and that when this te-
dious time hath spent itself, we shall look
back upon it as very soul-school, and
shall rather joy that we did not purchase
our heaven too cheaply.
''I said l find 1t easy to live here as
wish, and did begin to tell thee how 1t
was, when 1 ran off into telling of how
1 long for thee; so ] will try again. This
Louis. to begin with, is but the veriest
shadow of man of whom thou needst
have not one jealous thought. He is on
bed of sickness most of the time of his
own accord, and If, perchance, he be but
fairly we'll a day or so, l do straightway
make him i'll again in one way or another,
and, please God, hope to wear him
out entirely ere long time. Of deed,
brother Henry was right; better had it
been for Louis to have married hu-
man devil than me, for it maketh q very
one out of me If mine eyes but rest upon
him and thou knoweth fun we'll what
kind of a devil 1 make-Brother Henry
knoweth, at any rate. For all this do
l grieve. but have no remedy, nor want
one. 1 sometimes do almost compassion
ate the old King but l cannot forbear,
for he turneth my very blood to biting
gall. and must cen take the consequences
of his own folly. Truly is he wild for
love of me, this poor Old man, and the
more 1 hold him at a distance the more
he fondly dotes. I do verify believe he
would try to stand upon his foolish old
head did I but insist. / sometimes have
a thought to make him try It. He doeth
enough that is senseless and absurd in
all conscience, as 1t is At all this do
the cOurtiers smile and laugh, and put
me forward to other pranks; that is, all
but a few Of the elders. who shake their
heads, but dare do nothing else for fear
of the Dauphin, who will soon be King
and who stands first I'm urging and abet-
ting me. So 1t is easy for me to do what
] wish, and above all to leave undone
that which I wish not, for l do easily
rule them ALL as good Sir Edwin and dear
Jane will verify. 1 have a ball every
night. wherein / do make deal of amuse-
ment for every one by dancing La Volta
with his Majesty until his heels and his
poor old head, too, like to fall off.
Others importune me for those dances
especially the Dauphin, but l laugh and
shake my head and say that 1 will dance
with no one but the King because he
dances so well. This pleases his Majesty
nightly. and maketh an opening for me
to avoid the touch of other men. for
am jealous of myself for thy sake and
save and garner every little touch for
thee Sir Edwin will tell you 1 dance
with no one else and surely never
will You remember well I doubt not,
when thou first did teach me this new
dance. All! how delightful 1t was, and
yet how at first II did frighten and an
ger me. Thou canst not know how my
heart beat during all the time OF that
first dance. I thought, OF surety, 1t
would burst: and then the wild thrill of
frightened ecstasy that made my blood
run like fire! l knew it must be wrong,
for 1t was, in truth, too sweet a thing
to be right. And then / grew angry al
thee as the cause of my wrongdoing and
scolded thee, and repented it, as usual.
Truly didst chou conquer not win me-
Then afterward, withal it so frightened
me, how longed to dance again and
could in no way stay myself from ask
ing. At times could / hardly wait till
evening fell, and when upon occasion thou
hated thee. What must thou have thought
5of me, so forward and boldl And that
AFTERNOON! All, think of ii every hour
and see and hear II all, and live ii Ger
and Ger, as 1t sweeter grows with mem
ory's ripening touch. Some moments there
are that send their glad ripple down
through life's stream to the verge of the
grave, and truly blest is one who can
smile upon and kiss these memory waves,
and draw from thence a bliss that never
fails. But thou knowest full we'll my
heart, and need not tease thee with its
There is yet another matter of which
l wish TO write in very earnestness. Sir
Edwin spoke TO me thereof. and what he
said hath given me serious thought. 1
thank him for his words. of which he
Will tell thee In full If thou but impor-
tune him thereto 1t is this: The Dauphin,
Francis d'Angouleme hath fallen desper-
ately fond of me and is quite as impor-
tunate and almost as foolish the elder
lover. This people. in this strange land
of France, have, In soOth, some curious
notions For an example thereto, no one
thinks to find anything unseeming in the
Dauphin's conduct by reason of his hav-
the Princess Claude, daughter to the King.
! laugh at him and let him say what he
will, for in truth am powerless to pre-
leaf, and will not harm me. Then. by
his help and example / am justified in
the eyes of the court in that l 80 treat
the King, which otherwise 1t were i'm
however much may loathe them, yet am
l driven to tolerate his words, which I
turn off with laugh. making sure, thou
more than words: And thus it is. how
ever much / wish 1t not, that / do use
him to help me treat the King as I like,
and do then use the poor old King as
familiarity. But my friend, when the
King comes to die then will 1 have my
fears Of this young Francis d'Angouleme.
He is desperate for me, and l know not
to what length he might go. The King
cannot live long. as the thread of his
life is like rotten flax, and when he dies
thou must come without delay. since 1
will be in deadly peril. 1 have a mes
senger waiting at all hours ready to send
to thee upon a moments notice, and when
he comes waste not a precious instant;
it may mean all to thee and me. I could
write on and on forever, but II would
be only to tell thee Der and oer that my
heart is full, of thee to overhowing: I
thank thee that thou has never doubted
me, and will see that thou hast hereafter
only good cause for better faith.
MARY. Regina"
sReginaP' That was ell. Only 9 oueenI
Surely no one could charge Brandon with
possessing too modest tastes.
It was, think, during the second week
in December that I gave this letter to
Brandon. and about a fortnight later
rs, bringing another from Mary, as fol-
lows:
Master Charles Brandon-Sir and Dear
Friend, Greeting: have but time to write
that the King is so I'll he cannot but die
ere morning. Thou knowest that which l
last wrote to thee, and In addition thereto
/ would say that, although l have, as
thou likewise knowest. my brothers per-
mission to marry whom I wish, yet as I
have bia oDA consent II IN fer hof