"I will stick my knife to the haft in him," said Foster, in a low tone,

which trembled with passion.

"For the love of Heaven, no violence!" said the astrologer. "It cannot

but be looked closely into.--Here, honest Lambourne, wilt thou pledge me

to the health of the noble Earl of Leicester and Master Richard Varney?"

"I will, mine old Albumazar--I will, my trusty vender of ratsbane. I

would kiss thee, mine honest infractor of the Lex Julia (as they said

at Leyden), didst thou not flavour so damnably of sulphur, and such

fiendish apothecary's stuff.--Here goes it, up seyes--to Varney and

Leicester two more noble mounting spirits--and more dark-seeking,

deep-diving, high-flying, malicious, ambitious miscreants--well, I say

no more, but I will whet my dagger on his heart-spone that refuses to

pledge me! And so, my masters--"

Thus speaking, Lambourne exhausted the cup which the astrologer had

handed to him, and which contained not wine, but distilled spirits. He

swore half an oath, dropped the empty cup from his grasp, laid his hand

on his sword without being able to draw it, reeled, and fell without

sense or motion into the arms of the domestic, who dragged him off to

his chamber, and put him to bed.

In the general confusion, Janet regained her lady's chamber unobserved,

trembling like an aspen leaf, but determined to keep secret from the

Countess the dreadful surmises which she could not help entertaining

from the drunken ravings of Lambourne. Her fears, however, though they

assumed no certain shape, kept pace with the advice of the pedlar; and

she confirmed her mistress in her purpose of taking the medicine which

he had recommended, from which it is probable she would otherwise

have dissuaded her. Neither had these intimations escaped the ears

of Wayland, who knew much better how to interpret them. He felt much

compassion at beholding so lovely a creature as the Countess, and whom

he had first seen in the bosom of domestic happiness, exposed to the

machinations of such a gang of villains. His indignation, too, had been

highly excited by hearing the voice of his old master, against whom he

felt, in equal degree, the passions of hatred and fear. He nourished

also a pride in his own art and resources; and, dangerous as the task

was, he that night formed a determination to attain the bottom of the

mystery, and to aid the distressed lady, if it were yet possible. From

some words which Lambourne had dropped among his ravings, Wayland

now, for the first time, felt inclined to doubt that Varney had acted

entirely on his own account in wooing and winning the affections of this

beautiful creature. Fame asserted of this zealous retainer that he

had accommodated his lord in former love intrigues; and it occurred

to Wayland Smith that Leicester himself might be the party chiefly

interested. Her marriage with the Earl he could not suspect; but even

the discovery of such a passing intrigue with a lady of Mistress Amy

Robsart's rank was a secret of the deepest importance to the stability

of the favourite's power over Elizabeth. "If Leicester himself should

hesitate to stifle such a rumour by very strange means," said he to

himself, "he has those about him who would do him that favour without

waiting for his consent. If I would meddle in this business, it must

be in such guise as my old master uses when he compounds his manna of

Satan, and that is with a close mask on my face. So I will quit Giles

Gosling to-morrow, and change my course and place of residence as often

as a hunted fox. I should like to see this little Puritan, too, once

more. She looks both pretty and intelligent to have come of such a

caitiff as Anthony Fire-the-Fagot."




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