Show mt W THE E LIONS LION WHELP W 1 H jr A story of cromwell s time BY AMELIA E BARR BARK author of the bow dow of orange ribbon I 1 thou and the other one the maid of maiden lane etc coper fht 1901 by dodd mead company all r th gh s reserved CHAPTER X continued now indeed you pierce my heart I 1 you at his mercy it Is an intoner able shame it will make me cry out even when hen I 1 sleep I 1 shall die of it you you to be at his mercy at the mercy of that puritan braggart oh I 1 cannot endure it you see that I 1 endure it very corn com mata mats the man behaved as a gentleman and a soldier I 1 have even taken a liking to him I 1 have also paid back his kindness we are quits and as soldiers friends and I 1 can assure you no ones honor suf fared mine least of all but matilda was hard to comfort her last interview with her lover was as saddened and troubled by this dis agreement this then was N as the end of the v sit from which she had expected so much and one sad gray morning in november they reached london matilda said to herself in the first hours of her return that she would not see jane jare but as the day wore on she changed her mind so she wrote and asked her to come and jane answered the request in person at once her admiration for her friend s beautiful gowns and laces and jewels and her interest in Ma matilda tildaN tiow of the circumstances in which they were worn was so genuine that matilda had forgotten her relation to lord neville when the irritating name was mentioned did you see lord neville in paris jane asked no mat ida answered sharply I 1 did not see him he called one day and had a long talk with sir thomas but aunt had a headache and I 1 had more delightful company he pre vented my seeing the queen of bo hernia hemia on my return because he offer ed to attend to my uncle a business at the hague for him and for this inter ference I 1 do not thank lord neville nor I 1 answered jane had he not gone to the hague he might have been in london by this time jane had risen as she said these words and was tying on her bonnet and matilda watched her with a tun curl ous interest I 1 was wondering she said slowly it if you will be glad to marry cluny neville and go away to scotland with him oh yes jane answered her eyes shining her mouth wreathed in smiles her whole being expressing her delight in such an anticipation matilda made no further remark but when jane had closed the door behind her she sat down thoughtfully by the fire and stirring together the red embers sighed rather than said why do people marry and bring up sons and daughters this girl has been loved to the uttermost by her father and mother and brothers and she will gladly leave them all to go off with this young scot she will call it sacrifice tor for loves love a sake I 1 call it pure selfishness yet I 1 am not a whit whiter than she I 1 would have stayed in paris with kupert rupert though my good uncle was in danger I 1 think I 1 will go to my evening service and as she rose for her common prayer she was saying under her breath we have left undone those things which we ought to have done and we have done those things which we ought not to have done and there is no health in us CHAPTER X oliver protesto ov the popular discontent with the rapid and radical reforms of the saints parliament was not confined to the royalists the nation without regard to party was bitterly incense ed and alarmed cromwell was no exception the most conservative of men he also grew angry and restless when he saw paw the reign of the saints beginning in earnest soon the anger outside the parila parlia ment house rose to fury doubtless cromwell had foreseen this crisis certainly a large number of the mem bers were of his a A ay of thinking and en on the twelfth of december col sydenham harn rose and accusing the members of wishing to put a mosaic tode in place of the common law of ara ak england of depreciating a regular ministry for what need of one it all men co ild prophesy 7 and of op posing learning and education he de dared the salvation of the nation lay in resigning the trust committed to them into the hands of the lord gen eral oral cromwell the motion was sec see ended by sir charles wolseley the speaker left the chair and followed by a majority of the members went to whitehall and there and then they wrote out their resignation no serious on was made some thirty of the members remained in the house to protest but col goff entering with a file of musket aers the argument was mas quid ly closed three days after this event a new council of state resolved that his ex cel lency be chosen lord protector ot of the three nations and on the six of december be so installed in westminster hall and you would think that he had been publicly scorned instead of pub holy chosen said israel to his wife he looks miserable he is silent and downcast and tall a much to himself yet he is in his right place and the only man in england who can save us from anarchy martha his excellency and her highness desire your corn coin pany and that of jane to the cere core mony you will go I 1 had better stay at home israel I 1 cannot your Hi highness glaness elizabeth cromwell jane will go and you too martha I 1 wish it I 1 never go aga ast your wishes israel at least not often so it happened th that at on the sixteenth of december mrs swaffham ham and jane were dressing tor for whitehall mrs swaffham ham hain was nervous and irritable nervous because she feared her gown was not as handsome as it ought to be irritable because she felt that a e fail mrs swaffham ham and jane were glad to return home circumstances were going to connol conn ol her behaviour whether she approved or not jane was unable to encourage or cheer her mother she was herself the most unhappy maiden in london that day for eighteen days she had been forced to accept the fact that cluny was at least eighteen days be hind all probable and improbable de lays ays she had not received a line from him since he left paris no one had he had apparently vanished as completely as a stone dropped into mid ocean she had been often at jev ery house and during two of her vis its had managed to see sir thomas and ask it if he had any intelligence from lord neville 9 on her first in he answered her anxiously on his second his reply showed some anger he ile offered voluntarily to take charge of lady jevery s jewels and to collect my money at the hague and unless he was certain of his abil ity to do these things safely he ought not to have sought the charge and with these words there entered into jane a heart a suspicion that hurt her like a sword thrust she found herself saying continually it Is im possible impossible oh my god where Is he hea the ride back to whitehall after the installation of the lord protector was an intoxicating one londoners had at last a ruler who was a su able man they could go to their shops and buy and sell in security oliver protector would see to their rights and their welfare his very appearance was satisfying he was not a young man headstrong and reckless but a protector who had been tried on the battlefield and in the council chamber and never found wanting but be the day glad or sad time runs through it and the shadows ot of evening found the whole city worn out with their own ea emotions notions mrs swaffham ham hain and jane were glad to re turn to the quiet of their home not but what we have had a great day jane said the elder woman but dear me child what a waste of life it is I 1 feel ten years older it would not do to spend one a self this way very often I 1 am tired to death mother may I 1 stay in my room this evening 9 you are fretting jane and fret ting Is b d for 5 ou every way wy why will you do ita how can I 1 help it then mrs sv 1001 ed at her daughter daughters s wl ite face and said you kno know dear where and how to find the comfort you need god help you child and oh how good it was as to the heartsick heart sick girl to be at last alone to be able to weep unwatched and un checked to shut the door of her soul on the world and open it to god to tell him all her doubt and fear and lonely grief this was her consola tion even though no sensible comfort came from it though the heavens seemed tar far off and there was no ray of light no whisper from beyond to encourage hei at nine 0 clock her mother brought her a and toast and she tool them gratefully Is father home she asked yes jane he came in an hour ago with doctor verity have they any word mord of I 1 fear not they would have told me at once I 1 haven t seen much of them there were lots of things un done and badly dore to look after if doctor verity gives you any opportunity port unity will you speak about cluny mother you know I 1 will he ile and others will maybe have time for a word ot of I 1 now now cromwell has got his way there will be only crom croon well to please and surely a whole city full can manage that I 1 don t suppose he has ever thought of cluny being so long over time not he he has had things far closer to him to look after but nowa now he will inquire after the lad doctor verity must to him dear jane do you suppose I 1 don t see how you are suffering 9 I 1 do my girl and I 1 suffer with you but even your father a we are worrying our selves for nothing he says cluny will walk in some day and tell his own story nothing worse than a fit of ague or fever or even a wound from some street pad perhaps a heavy snowstorm or the swamp swampy netherlands under water men cant can t fight the elements or even outwit them dear mother is with you jane don t you doubt that and she stepped forward and clasped the girl to her breast janes jane s supposition that doctor ver ity would be with her father and that their talk would be only of cromwell was correct mrs swaffham ham found the two men smoking at the fireside and their conversation was of the man and the hour I 1 am sorry for oliver cromwell such a load as he be has shouldered shoulder edt can he bear ita said israel through god gods s help yes and ten times over yes he is a great man answered the doctor I 1 think more of measures than ot of men continued israel a very good but something depends on the men just as in a fire something depends on the grate said the doctor oliver will do his work and he will do it well and then go to him who bent him verily I 1 lillieve lie b lieve he will hear the we 7 A done of his master and then the commonwealth will be over the soul of it will have departed can it live afterwards 9 it if I 1 survive the puritan govern ment said israel I 1 will join the pilgrims who have gone over the great seas I 1 will go with you israel but we will not call ourselves pilgrims no indeed no men are less like all grims than they who go not to wan dei dex about but to build homes and cities and found Te republics publics in the land they have been led to they are cit zens not pilgrims at these words mrs swaffham ham who had listened between sleeping and waking roused herself thoroughly israni she said I 1 will not go across seas it is not likely swaffham ham hain Is 1 our very own and we will stay in swaffham ham to be continued |