suffering. At låst the clock struck the hour for separating. "Farewell!" cried Sir Thomas; 66 we shall meet in heaven.”Yes," mûrmûred Margaret, "forever in heaven, but once more, also, on earth, were it even at the foot of the scaffold !" 66 6. The king was irritated at the bold frankness with which Margaret, on leaving the prison, had declared that he little knew what blood flowed in her veins if he had imagined that the fear of death could have induced her to persuade her father to sully 1 his honor or to renounce his faith. In his anger he gave additional orders regarding the restraints to which the prisoner was to be subjected, and Margaret, in spite of all her efforts, could not again contrive to see him. 3 7. Twice during the two long months of the prosecution,2 she received a bit of folded paper, on which her name and assurances of affection were hastily traced with a piece of charcoal. Each time she welcomed the missive as a precious relic,1 and still repeated, "I shall see him again." ful rumor spreads through the great city. was erected for the learned Fisher, the good Bishop of Rochester; to-day it is the great chancellor, the fearless, upright Sir Thomas More, who is to suffer. But now a mournYesterday a scaffold 8. "Woe !" cried the people, "woe! The blood of the just is a fatal dew, bringing death instead of life, barrenness instead of fertility. Woe! woe!" And above these cries of the people, heaven itself seemed to manifest its wräth. The fury of the elements 5 sustained and accompanied the murmurs and the terrors of the multitude. 9. The crowd increased around the Tower, and in still greater numbers around the scaffold. People easily forget cold and tempest when the justice or the vengeance of man prepares for them the sight of human greatness coming to a premature 6 and bloody end. In the midst of the crowd nobody remarked the pallor and anguish of a beautiful young woman, leaning on her husband's arm, and with her right hand holding on firmly 1 Sǎl'ly, to taint; to tarnish. 2 Pros'e cu'tion, the setting forth of charges against a criminal. 3 Mis'sive, a thing sent, 4 Rěl'ic, a memorial. 5 El'e ments, earth, air, fire, and water, believed by the ancients to be the four principles of all matter. 6 Prē'ma tūre', that which occurs too soon. to an iron chain which, extending from pillar to pillar, surrounded the foot of the Tower, to ward off the pressure of the throng. 10. Always keeping in the front rank, she successfully resisted the tumultuous swaying of the crowd, heaving like a troubled sea. By the emotion of the people, she could tell that the moment was at hand. The prison door opened. Margaret slipped under the iron chain, and forced her way through horses and soldiers till she came to the first rank. 11. In a moment the fatal cart appeared. "My father!" she exclaimed, and tearing asunder the clasp of her cloak, she 1 Ward, to guard against. abandoned it to the hands that tried to keep her back. "Father!" she repeated in a heart-rending voice. Sir Thomas had recognized his belovèd daughter. Standing in the cart, he extended his arms toward her as far as the iron chains would permit. In an instant he was pressing her to his breast. "Margaret!" said he. "My child! Coŭrage! Farewell!" Leaning toward the executioner, "I pray you," said he, "a lock of my hair for my daughter." The executioner, with his sharp poniard1 performed the mournful office. "It is my last gift, Margaret! Farewell!" 12. Then, addressing Roper, who had also succeeded in reaching him, he took his hand, and restoring the hälf-fainting Margaret to his arms-"Take her home," said he, with much effort. Roper obeyed, and lifting his wife in his vigorous arms, he påssed unhindered through the triple hedge of soldiers, and was lost in the crowd. Soon after, loud shouts, followed by the report of a cannon, announced that all was over. SH SECTION V. I. 13. THE SISTERS. HE wrote (dear child!) from London The merry mad-cap Alice, To the novice 5 at St. Luke, "I have just come from the palace, 2. "In your poor secluded cloister, (With its round of dreary penance 1 Poniard (pon'yard), a small dagger. 2 Vig'or oŭs, strong; active. Triple, threefold. 4 Hědge, a boundary; a limit. 5 Novice, one who has entered a convent, but not yet taken the vows. ❝ Se clūd'ed, shut in; retired, What think you of the honor 3. "A countess went before me, And my set of precious pearls, 5. And Geraldine made answer 6. "To-day, my little Alice, I, too, at court2 have been, And held converse with a Queen; Than any earthly queen. 7. "With wreath of whitest roses They crowned thy kneeling nun ; My darling little one, She espoused me to her Son. 1 Au'di ence, an interview between a sovereign and a subject. 2 Court, the household of a king, or his dwelling. 8 Păl'ace, a splendid house, in which an emperor, a king, or other distinguished person resides. Es poused', betrothed; wedded. Relaxed 2 the studious circle; in his turn Played draughts with an old brother from Lucerne: 2. When through the merry band like lightning ran Whose mind on serious issues 4 ever bent, 6 1 Jěs'u it, a member of the Company of Jesus, a religious order founded by St. Ignatius Loyola in the 16th century, and noted for holiness of life and great scholarship. ? Re lǎxed', relieved from attention or effort. 8 called checkers, played with wood- 6 Quoth, said; spoke; used only in the first and third persons in the past tense, and with the nomi * Draughts, a game, sometimes native always following it. |