She wandered east, she wandered west,

She wandered out and in;

And at last into the very swine's stythe

The queen brought forth a son.--Fause Foodrage

The morrow was Sunday, and in the old refectory, in the late

afternoon, a few Huguenots, warned by messages from the farm, met

to profit by one of their scanty secret opportunities for public

worship.

The hum of the prayer, and discourse of the pastor, rose

up through the broken vaulting to Eustacie, still lying on her bed;

for she had been much shaken by the fatigues of the day and alarm

of the night, and bitterly grieved, too, by a message which Nanon

conveyed to her, that poor Martin was in no state to come for her

in the next day; but he and his wife having been seized upon by

Narcisse and his men, and so savagely beaten in order to force from

them a confession of her hiding-place, that both were lying

helpless on their bed; and could only send an entreaty by the

trustworthy fool, that Rotrou would find means of conveying Madame

into Chollet in some cart of hay or corn, in which she could be

taken past the barriers.

But this was not to be. Good Nanon had sacrificed the sermon to

creep up to Eustacie, and when the congregation were dispersing in

the dusk, she stole down the stairs to her husband; and a few

seconds after he was hurrying as fast as detours would allow him

to Blaise's farm. An hour and a half later, Dame Perrine, closely

blindfolded for the last mile, was dragged up the spiral staircase,

and ere the bandage was removed heard Eustacie's voice, with a

certain cheeriness, say, 'Oh! nurse; my son will soon come!'

The full moon gave her light, and the woman durst not have any

other, save from the wood-fire that Nanon had cautiously lighted

and screened. The moonshine was still supreme, when some time

later a certain ominous silence and half-whisper between the two

women at the hearth made Eustacie, with a low cry of terror,

exclaim, 'Nurse, nurse, what means this? Oh! He lives! I know he

lives! Perrine, I command you tell me!'

'Living! Oh, yes, my love, my Lady,' answered Perrine, returning

towards her; 'fair and perfect as the day. Be not disquieted for a

moment.'

'I will--I will disquiet myself,' panted Eustacie, 'unless you tell

me what is amiss.'

'Nothing amiss,' said Nanon, gruffly. 'Madame will give thanks for

this fair gift of a daughter.'

It must be owned the words felt chill. She had never thought of

this! It was as if the being for whom she had dared and suffered

so much, in the trust that he would be Berenger's representative

and avenger, had failed her and disappointed her. No defender, no

paladin, no so to be proud of! Her heart and courage sank down in

her weakness as they had never done before; and, without speaking,

she turned her head away towards the darkness, feeling as if had

been for nothing, and she might as well sink away in her

exhaustion. Mere Perrine was more angry with Nanon than conscious

of her Lady's weakness.




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