Cañon City record., 1904-02-04
When Knighthood Was In Flower

rather JOY that we ulo not purchase Jul
heaven too cheaply.
said find 1t easy to live here as
wish and did begin to tell thee how 1t was
when | ran off into telling of how l long
for thee. l will try again. This Louis.
to begin with, Is but the veriest shadow
of a man. of whom thou needst have not
one jealous thought. He Is on bed of
sickness most of the time, OF his own ac-
cord and II, perchance. he be but fairly
well a day or SO do straightway make
him Ill 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 1t been for Louis to
have married human devil than me. for
II maketh very one out of me II mine
eyes but rest upon him. and thou know
est full well what kind of devil make.
Brother Henry knoweth, at any rate. For
all this do grieve. but have no remedy
nor want one. sometimes do almost
compassionate the old king, but cannot
forbear, for he turneth my very blood to
biting gall, and must cen take the conse-
quences of his own folly. Truly Is ne
wild for love of me, this poor old man,
and the more 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 l but insist. sometimes
have a thought to make him try It. he
doeth enough that is senseless and alb
surd, in all conscience, as 1t Ii. AT all OF
this do the courtiers smile and laugh and
put me forward to other pranks-that Is.
all but a Few OF the elders. WIZ shone
their heads but dare do nothing else for
fear of the dauphin. who will soon be
king and who stands first In urging ana
abetting me- So 1t Is easy for me to DO
what i wish, and above all to leave un-
done that which i wish not, for do easily
rule them ali. good Sir Edwin and dear
Jane will testify. | have ball every
night wherein ! do make a deal of amuse-
ment for every one by dancing La Volta
with his majesty until his heels. and his
old head like to fall OF.
Others importune me for those dances,
especially the dauphin. but l laugh and
shake my head and say that l 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.
sss Sir Edwin will tell you 1 dance with
no one else and surely never will.
You remember well, l doubt not. when
thou first didst teach me this new dance.
All. how delightful 1t was. and yet how
at first it did frighten and anger me.
Thou canst not know how my heart beat
during all the time of that first dance.
thought. of surety. 1t would burst. and
then the wild thrill Of frightened ecstasy
that made my blood run like fire! / knew
1t must be wrong. for It was. In truth. too
sweet a thing to be right. And then
grew angry at thee the cause of my
wrongdoing and scolded thee, and repented
1t, usual truly dldst tnou conquer.
not win, me- Then afterward, withal II
SO frightened me. how l lonHed to dance
again, and could in no way stay myself
from asking. At times could Il hardly
wait till evening fell and when upon oc-
casion thou didst not come was 30 angry
l said hated thee. What must thou have
thought of me, SO forward and bold, And
that afternoon, All. think of II every
hour. and and hear II all and live II
DER and o'er, as II sweeter grows with
mo rtnepinR touch Some moments
there are that send their glad ripple down
through lifes stream to the verge OF Tho
grave. and truly blest In one who can
smile u,~u and kiss these memory waves
and draw from thence bliss that never
falls; but thou knowest full well my heart.
and / need not tease thee with Its out
pourings.
There is yet another matter of which
wish to write in very earnestness. Sir
Edwin spoke to me thereof. and what he
said hath given me serious thought !
thank him for his words. of which he
will tell thee in full " thou but importune
him thereto. 1t Is this: The dauphin,
Francis d'Angouleme. hath fallen des-
perately fond of me and Is quite as i'm
Fortunate and almost foolish the
elder lover. This people in this strange
land of France have. in sooth. some curl
GUS notions For an example thereto. no
one thinks to find anything unseeming In
the dauphins conduct by reason of his
having already a wife. and more, that
wife the Princess Claude. daughter to the
king. I laugh at him aSd let him say
what he will, for In truth I am eowerless
to prevent 1t. Words cannot soar even q
rose leaf and will not harm me. Then. by
his help and example am justified In the
eyes of the court in that I treat the
king. which otherwise 1t were impossible
for me to do and live here. So. however
much may loathe them. yet am driven
to tolerate his words, which I turn on
with a laugh. making sure. thou mayest
know. that It come to nothing more than
words. And thus 1t is. however much
wish 1t not. that do use him to help me
treat the king like. and do then use
the poor old king as my buckler against
this dukes too great familiarity. But. my
friend. when the king comes to die. then
shall I have my fears of this young
Francis d'Angouleme. He is desperate
for me- and know not to what length he
might go. The king cannot live long. as
the thread of his life is like rotten fax.
and when he dies thou must come with
out delay. since shall be in deadly peril.
I have a messenger waiting at all hours
ready to send to thee upon a moments
notice. and when he comes waste not q
precious instant. 1t may mean all to thee
and me. l could write and on forever.
but 1t would be only to tell thee 'er and
oer that my heart Is full of thee to over
flowing. 1 thank thee that thou hast
never doubted me. and will see that thou
hast hereafter only good cause for better
faith. MARY, Regina.
"Regina!' That was all. Only n
queen! Surely no one could charge
Brandon with possessing too modest
tastes.
1t was, / think, during the second
week In December that I gave this let
ter to Brandon, and about a fortnight
later there came to him messenger
from Paris, bringing another from
Mary, as follows:
Master Charles Brandon:
Sir and Dear Friend Greeting-I have
but time TO write that the king Is SO Ill he
cannot but die ere morning. Thou know