Show LIONS WHELP A story of cromwell 9 time BY AMELIA E BARR author of the bow dow of orange ribbon I 1 thou and the other one I 1 the maid of maiden lane etc coper fht 1901 1901 by dodd mead a compan all r eh gh s ved a CHAPTER VII continued cromwell wants only that parlia ment should I 1 row its own mind and declare itself d solved god I 1 inoes nov s I 1 it Is high tin tim ut vane and more with him neild sit while life lasts martha my heart is troubled within me have hane we got rid of one tyrant call ng himself K rg to give cedi ence to a hundred tyrants calling parliament parl Pari amenta it shall not be so As the lord liveth verily it shall not there wa wao a meeting of 0 the coun cil at the vie speaker speakers house the night after israel S affa am s indignant pro test against parliament and crom nell ell sitt ng arnolg thomp self seeking men ni a a scornfully scornful lf angry at tl air deliberations his ills passion for e and social justice burned and in a thunderous speech lit by flashes of blinding wrath I 1 e spoke out of a full and determined heart then he mounted his horse and rode home ward CHAPTER VIII vill upon the threshold it if we believe that life is worth IN ing our bel et ef helps to create that fact for faith is in matters of the spirit all that courage is in practical affairs to jane and cluny this be liet lief was not difficult for limitation always works for happiness and dur ing the ens ung year life kept a ith n the bounds of their mutual probation and of cluny s military duties was full of happy meetings and partings days in which love waited on duty and again days in which love was lord of every hour when they wander ed together in the park like two happy children or it if the weather was unfit sat dreaming in the stately rooms of sandys about the little gray house in Fife shire which was to be their own sweet home so the weeks and months went by and though they were not alike they had that happy similitude which k I 1 I 1 ILL 11 1 Z I 1 wish to see your face no more leaves little to chronicle jane s chief excitements came from her visits to mary cromwell and matilda de wick the affection between jane and matilda had the strong root of habit as well as of inclination they could not be happy if they were long apart jane visited frequently at jevery house and matilda quite as tre fre quentin at sandys ore morning in the spring of 1653 jane was returning from a two das days visit to the the air was so fresh and balmy she went to jev ery cry house resolved to matilda to drive in the park with her As she went up stairs she wondered what mood she would find matilda in for there LI e re was a certain mental pleasure in the uncertainty of her friend s tern tem per she found her lying upon a sofa in her chamber her little feet pret tily shod in satin showing just below her gown her hands clasped above her head her long black hair scatter ed loosely on the pillow she smiled languidly as jane entered and then said sald I 1 have been expecting you jane I 1 aoud not keep the thought of you out of my mind and by that token I 1 knew you were coming pray where have you been or where are you going goings I 1 have been spending two days with the and the morning Is so fair I 1 wondered if you would not drive an hour in the park do you know that arrives from ireland to day 9 he would think the journey well taken if he saw you at the end of it you are a little late with your news jane that is one of your faults colln was here last night he ile spent a couple of hours with me then she smiled so peculiarly jane could not help asking her what Is there in your way of smil ing matilda I 1 am sure it means a story of some kind I 1 shall have to tell you the story for or you could never guess what that smile was made of forst however what did you see and hear at the Crom I 1 heard in a passing manner that prince rupert is off the seas forever that he Is a he french court where ie la Is much made of jane swaffham ham have you no fresh er newsy and she pulled out of her bo boom many sheets of paper tied to gether w ath ah a gold thread I 1 had this yesterday sl a said by the hand of stephan an 1 I 1 may as well tell you to pre are t meet stephen de alel for he vows re te will not leave england again until he has speech NN ith you then he Is forsworn I 1 will not see him it vi nil III be no treason now to aspea to our old servant the amnesty act will cover yoa but I 1 fight not steh n s battles I 1 have hane brough to do to I 1 beep my own share of your frina ship from fraying now I 1 must tell yo i something concerning my self I 1 am going to france france cried jane in amazement yes fiance I 1 have persuaded my uncle that he ought to go there and look after his affairs I 1 have pers lad iad ed my aunt that it Is not safe for my uncle to go without her and aney both know my reason for going with them although we do not name prince rupert V when hen do you ou go matildaa 7 9 to morrow it if stephen be ready and let me tall you jane stephen stephens s readiness depends on yoi that is not so it is I 1 hope you will be definite jane you have kept poor stephen dangling after you ou since you were ten years old what about camlin and yourself 7 9 then matilda laughed and her countenance changed and she said seriously upon my word and honor I 1 was never nearer loving camlin than I 1 was last night yet he was never less deserving of it a good story jane I 1 will not pretend to keep it from you though I 1 would stake my last coin on camlin s silence about the matter he came into my presence as he always does ill at ease and why I 1 know not for a man more handsome in face and flexure figure it would not be easy to find in england but he has bad manners jane confess it be he blushes and stumbles over things and lets his kerchief fall an and d when he tries to be a gallant makes anjool of himself 1 it ou are talking of my brother ma tilba and you are making him lous a thing camlin is not and never was walt wait a bit jane I 1 was as kind to him and he told me about his life in ireland and he spoke so well and 1001 ed so proper tuat teat I 1 could not help hel p but show lim how he pleased me then he went beyond his usual man ma I 1 ner and in leaving tried to give me a bow and a leg in perfect court fash ion and he made a sl silly lly appearance and for the life of me I 1 could not help a sm ie le not a nice smile jane in deed a nery ery scornful smile and he caught me at t it and what do you think he did dida I 1 dare say he told you plainly that you were behaving badly my dear jane he turned back he walked straight to me and boxed my ears for a s ily child that did not know the difference between bet Neen a man ma n and a coxcomb I 1 swear to you that I 1 was struck dumb and he had taken himself out of the room in a pass on ere I 1 could find a word to throw after him then I 1 got up and went to a mirror and looked at my ears and they were scarlet and my cheel a matched them and fo for a moment I 1 was in a towering rage I 1 sat down I 1 cried I 1 laughed I 1 was amazed I 1 was after a little while ashamed and finally I 1 came to a reasonable temper and acknowledged I 1 had been served exactly right for I 1 had no business to put my wicked little tongue in my cheek because bee etise a brave gentleman could not crook his leg like a dancing master are you laughing jane well I 1 must laugh too I 1 shall laugh many a time nhep I 1 think of camlin s two big hands over my ears had he kissed me afterward I 1 would have tor given him I 1 think I 1 cannot help laughing a little ma tilda but I 1 assure you camlin Is s if fering from that discipline tar far more than you are I 1 am not suffering at all this morning I 1 admire him there is not another man in the world who would have presumed to box the lady ma v tuda tilda de wick s ears accordingly I 1 ain MI love with his courage and self respect S hect I 1 shall lat laich h and cy cry as long as I 1 live and remember camlin ham it was too bad of camlin but very ill e him he has boxed my ears more than once aou ou are his sister that Is differ ent I 1 will never speak to him again there let the matter drop I 1 wish now you would either tal e stephen or send him off forever I 1 am in a hurry to be gone and sir thomas also go aid send rend stephen with a yes or no to me I 1 am become in d ferent which since you ou are so much so many letters were promised on both ides sides and jane was glad to notice the eagerness and hope in her friend friends s no 0 o ce cc and manner whatever her voids might assert it was evident he looked forward to a great joy and as long as she was with matilda jane let this oame ame spirit animate her her ride home however N was as set to a more anxious key she was a little angry also why should stephen de do wick intrude his love upon herp twice already she hal had plainly told him that hia hh suit was hopeless and he did not feel grateful for an at af lection that would not recognize its limits and was determined to force itself beyond them she entered sandys with the spring all about her ler fair face rosy with he fresh wind and her eyes full of the sunshine and stephen were ere sitting by the fireside talking of irish hounds and of ot a new bit for res the horses which camlin had in vented when jane entered ca camlin and stephen both r se to meet her cym lin was kind with the condescension of a brother I 1 he e spoke to her as he fes spoke to creatures weaker than him self and kissed her with the air of a king kissing a subject he loved to honor then he made an excuse to the stables and gave stephen his opportunity port unity the young man had kept his eye fixed on the beautiful face and slender form of the girl he loved he went ent to her and clasped her bands hands and said bald with a passionate eagerness jane dearest I 1 have come again to ask ou on to marry me say one good kind word when you were not as high as my heart you did promise to be my wife I 1 vow you did stephen I 1 knew not then what in marriage arriage meant you were as a brother to me I 1 love you yet as I 1 loved you then I 1 cannot be your wife I 1 am already plighted to lord neville you shall never marry him I 1 forbid it I 1 will hunt him to the gates of death it is sinful to say such things let my sins alone I 1 am not in the humor cumor to be sorry for them I 1 say again you shall not marry that drelly scot he is not what you call him tar far from it I 1 call things by their right names I 1 call a scot a scot and a scoundrel a scoundrel he threw her hands far from him and strode up and down the room desperate and full of wrath you shall marry no man but myself before earth and heaven you shall if god wills I 1 shall marry lord seville neville oh jane I 1 shall go to total ruin I 1 if you do not marry me shall I 1 marry a man who Is not lord of himself 9 I 1 will not you have made me your enemy what follows is your own fault a poor love that turns to hatred and you can do no more than you are let do you will see soul truth oh ten thousand pities you will not love me it is nowise po possible stephen he flung himself into a chair laid his arms upon the table and buried his face in them go away then he sobbed I 1 wish to see your face no more for your sake I 1 will hate all women forever to be c |