"I am not afraid of men's misconstruction," he said, in answer to

Leicester's remark, "since there is not--(permit me to undo the

collar)--a man within the Castle who does not expect very soon to see

persons of a rank far superior to that which, by your goodness, I now

hold, rendering the duties of the bedchamber to you, and accounting it

an honour."

"It might, indeed, so have been"--said the Earl, with an involuntary

sigh; and then presently added, "My gown, Varney; I will look out on the

night. Is not the moon near to the full?"

"I think so, my lord, according to the calendar," answered Varney.

There was an abutting window, which opened on a small projecting balcony

of stone, battlemented as is usual in Gothic castles. The Earl undid the

lattice, and stepped out into the open air. The station he had chosen

commanded an extensive view of the lake and woodlands beyond, where the

bright moonlight rested on the clear blue waters and the distant masses

of oak and elm trees. The moon rode high in the heavens, attended by

thousands and thousands of inferior luminaries. All seemed already to

be hushed in the nether world, excepting occasionally the voice of the

watch (for the yeomen of the guard performed that duty wherever the

Queen was present in person) and the distant baying of the hounds,

disturbed by the preparations amongst the grooms and prickers for a

magnificent hunt, which was to be the amusement of the next day.

Leicester looked out on the blue arch of heaven, with gestures and a

countenance expressive of anxious exultation, while Varney, who remained

within the darkened apartment, could (himself unnoticed), with a

secret satisfaction, see his patron stretch his hands with earnest

gesticulation towards the heavenly bodies.

"Ye distant orbs of living fire," so ran the muttered invocation of the

ambitious Earl, "ye are silent while you wheel your mystic rounds; but

Wisdom has given to you a voice. Tell me, then, to what end is my high

course destined? Shall the greatness to which I have aspired be bright,

pre-eminent, and stable as your own; or am I but doomed to draw a brief

and glittering train along the nightly darkness, and then to sink down

to earth, like the base refuse of those artificial fires with which men

emulate your rays?"

He looked on the heavens in profound silence for a minute or two longer,

and then again stepped into the apartment, where Varney seemed to have

been engaged in putting the Earl's jewels into a casket.




readonlinefreebook.com Copyright 2016 - 2024