The Caged Lion

Henry of James, as they stood together at one end of the tilt-yard at Westminster, watchin

should like to

may th

the Lady Esclairm

ve a lon

other view

ho flies into my tent from the hawk? Besides, are

is valid,'

hings is what I should

t I should greatly concern me about keeping an

votion, and to bring a man back to the world is apt to render him not wo

aid James; 'it was only the timidity born of ill

hy fix on that grand Luxemburg wench, who ought to be a Lady Abbess of Fo

ike her to make a man of him; and with her spirit and fervent c

get he

our conse

but you had best take care. You are more like to make your tame lambkin i

le part of the Court were to accompany the campaign, it would be losing sight of all he cared for, if he were left among a set of stranger shavelings at Oxford. Yet he was reluctant to break with the old habits that had hitherto been part of his nature; he felt, after every word of Esclairmonde-nay, after every glance towards her-as though it were a blessed thing to have, like her, chosen the better part; he knew she would approve his resort to the home of piety and learning; he was

had imagined when conning the quaint old English poems that told the Legend of Seynct Katharine; and as he leant m

t is on you

r?' Malcolm o

easing

rror, and reddened crimson. '

oken of the dis

e you to speak of n

ring to look severe, but with laughter in his voice

oughts of-oh, Sir!' and Malcolm covered his face with

ou,' said James, fixin

have! Never, never dreamt I of aught but worshipping

lm broke off, and with a sudden agony wrung his hands together. The Ki

make me vile in my own ey

n heaven, nor a nun in a convent, but a free wo

ly condescended because

ing James. 'Thus spark

James almost laugh at the evidence that on

me, to make me wretched! Even were she for the wor

now, and a year or two of Harry's school of chivalry will send you

use such a hope. What King James deemed possible could never be so incredible, or even sacrilegious, as he deemed it. Restless, ashamed, rent by a thousand conflicting feelings, Malcolm roamed up and down his chamber, writhed, tried to sit and think, then, f

ndations by gentlemen of good family who wanted the easy life of a sort of bachelor squire, and the friaries were recruited by the sort of men who would in modern times be dissenting teachers of the lower stamp. James was persuaded that Malcolm was fit for better things than were usually to be seen in a c

ittle white-visaged cousin; but if he could bring it about she had no objection, she should be very glad that the demoiselle should come down from the height and be like other people; but she would wager the King of Scots her emera

fire, and a dining-table in the midst, and sleeping cells screened off round it, and with a paved terrace walk overhanging the river, where the old people could sit and sun themselves, and be amused by the gay barges and the swans that expatiated there. The bedeswomen, ten in number, had a house arranged like an ordinary nunnery, except that they were not in seclusion, had no grating, and shared the quadrangle with the alms-folk and children. They were gentle and well-nurtured women, chiefly belonging to the city and country families that furnished servants to the queens; and they applied themselves to various offices of charity, going forth into the city to tend the poor, and to teach the women and children. The appointments of alms-folk and admissions to the school were chiefly made at their recommendation; and though a master taught all the book-learning in the busy hive of scholars-eighty in number-one or

into the beautiful hall, with wainscot lining below, surmounted by an arcade containing statues, and above a beautiful carved ceiling. Here a meal was served to them, and the Lady talked with Whittingt

h roses and fruitful with mulberries, apples, and strawberries, and the mansions and churches that were never quite out of sight, though th

ist, and peeped up into her face. 'May I guess thy thoughts

de, with a crystal drop starting in each

there are Béguines enough for their own Netherlands,

re the bedeswomen of St.

oor strangers come that need ghostly tendance as well as bodily. Esclairmonde-Light of the Wor

t; mine own name is wh

thee into the canon of saints. Only pity that I cannot live to hear of Ste.

ith. Little flatterer, it may be well for me that our lives must need

t over there sees me so small and ill-favoured he will none of me, and then I'll thank him so, and pray my father

ed to pout, Esclairmonde drew such a picture of the beneficent influence of the good baronial dame, ruling her castle, bringing up her children and the daughters of her vassals in good and pious nurture, making 'the heart of her husband safely trust in her,' benefiting the poor, and fost

rs. We will strive each to serve our God, in the coif or in the veil, in samite or in serge, and He

nto peals of merriment as she told her of the choice destiny in store for her, to be wedded to the little

nk the Countess in earnest, and merely replied with a smile that at l

r forgive you if you make me lose my emerald carcanet! So the arrow was wi

nde, with agitation; 'at leas

teaching the wild men to say their Aye, and to wear culottes, the little prince i

es himself sought her out, and, within all his own persuasive grace, told her that he was rejoiced to hear from Madame of Hain

her guard, that the Sieur de Glenuskie was a ge

sins; but, lady, I knew not how the task of training the boy would be taken out of my hands by your k

ys before a h

require an earthly hope, nearer home, t

e Glenuskie was destin

scare Malcolm into a cloister, that his sister and his lands may be their prey; and they w

d Esclairmonde, so

and the rudeness of life will try him sorely unless he have some cheer

he find a

The brightness that has done so much for him alread

and therefore these words of li

has been earnest. It rests with

at has long been

ropose; but have you never thought of the blessings you might confer

s, but curses, would foll

the Holy Father at Rome, and, though I will speak no further, I will trust to your considering the matter. You have neve

with Sir Bo?mond of Burgundy,' said Esclairmonde; 'but, as I said, it

when I shall bring him back to you, with the qualities grown which you have awakened. At least,

d subject to the secular life; but if you lead him by false hopes, of which I am the object, I t

ather Malcolm than I! But he is the very stuff that loves to have such a woman to rule him; and if she wed at all, he is the very man for her! I'll not give it up! Love is the way to make a man of him, whether successful or not, and she may change her mind, since she is not yet on the roll of saints. If I

to his lady-love for him, and that she had avowed that it

e vows'-he shrugged his shoulders-'we knew there is a remedy! Meantime, Malcolm,

h and joyously, and handling his sword. Then came t

on carving his own fortune rather than taking yours, and

e, but Mal

n to the lady yours

?' faltered Malcolm, sh

dering whether the lad's almost abject awkwardness and shame would be likely to crea

before the departure, and who knew nothing of his past history. He knew all priests would say the same things, and as he had never made a binding vow, he saw no need of consulting any one on the subject; it would only vex him again, and fill him with doubts. The suspicion that Dr. Bennet was aware of his previous intention made him shrink from him. So the last day had come, and all was farewell. King Henry had persuaded the Queen to seclude herself for one evening from Madame

sent off beforehand, or who saw their attentions paid elsewhere, and who all alike gravitated towards the Demoiselle de Luxemburg for sympathy. He could but hover on the outskirts, conscious that he must cut a ridiculous figure, but unable to detach himself from the neighbourhood of the magnet. As he looke

er she looked towards him; until at last, when the summer evening was closing in, and the last signal was given f

dly; 'nothing has passed betw

I still be remembered

ll who have been my fr

ld-should win honour, ma

others that wish you well. Both you and your sister in her loneliness shall have my best prayers

y attempt to evade him; but at any rate she had spoken with him, and his heart could not but be cheered. What might he not do in the glorious future? As the fo

great possessions would make any such establishment expect a large dower with her as a right, and few abbesses w