manner as can be thought of, advanced to payher the same homage, she did withdraw it hastily and moved on. I caneven now, at this distance of time, call to mind the look of thatsweet lady's face as she rose to follow her majesty, who leant on mylord's arm with a show of singular favor, addressing herself to him ina mild, playful, and obliging manner. How the young countess's cheekdid glow with a burning blush, as if doubting if she had offended inthe manner of her behavior, or had anyways merited the repulse she hadmet with! How she stood for one moment irresolute, seeking to catch mylord's eye, so as to be directed by him; and failing to do so, with apretty smile, but with what I, who loved her, fancied to be aquivering lip, addressed herself to the ladies of the queen, andconducted them through the cloisters to the garden, whither herhighness and my lord had gone.
In a brief time Mistress Milicent came to fetch us to a window whichlooked on the square, where a great open tent was set for a collation,and seats all round it for the concert which was to follow. As we wentalong, I took occasion to ask of her the name of a waiting-gentleman,who ordered about the servants with no small alacrity, and met hermajesty with many bows and quirks and a long compliment in verse.
"Tis Mr. Churchyard," she said; "a retainer of his grace's, and a poetwithal."
"Not a _grave_ one, I hope," said Polly.
"Nay," answered the simple gentlewoman, "but one well versed inpageants and tournaments and suchlike devices, as well as in writingof verses and epigrams very fine and witty. Her majesty doth sometimessend for him when any pageant is on hand."
"Ah, then, I doubt not," quoth Polly, "he doth take himself to be nomean personage in the state, and so behaves accordingly."
Pretty Milicent left us to seek for Mistress Bess, whom she had chargeof that day; and now our eyes were so intent on watching the spectaclebefore us that even Polly for a while was silent. The queen did sit attable with a store of noblemen waiting on her; and a more goodly sightand a rarer one is not to be seen than a store of men famed for somuch bravery and wit and arts of state, that none have been found tosurpass them in any age, who be so loyal to a queen and so reverent toa woman as these to this lady, who doth wear the crown of so great akingdom, so that all the world doth hold it in respect, and her handsought by so many great princes. But all this time I could notperceive that she so much as once did look toward my Lady Surrey, orspoke one single word to her or to my Lady Lumley, or little Bess, andtook very scanty notice also of my Lady Berkeley, his grace's sister,who was a lady of so great and haughty a stomach, and of speech soeloquent and ready, that I have heard the queen did say, that albeitLady Berkeley bent her knee when she made obeisance to her, she couldvery well see she bent not her will to love or serve her, and that sheliked not such as have a man's heart in a woman's body. 'Tis said thatparity breedeth not affection, or affinity respect, of which sayingthis opinion of the queen's should seem a notable example. But to seemy Lady Surrey so treated in her own husband's father's house workedin me such effects of choler, mingled with sadness, that I couldscarce restrain my tears. Methought there was a greater nobleness anda more true queenly greatness in her meek and withal dignifiedendurance of these slights who was the subject, than in the sovereignwho did so insult one who least of all did deserve it. What the queendid, others took pattern from; and neither my Lord Burleigh, nor myLord Leicester, or Sir Christopher Hatton, or young Lord Essex (albeitmy lord's own friend ), or little Sir John Harrington, her majesty'sgodson, did so much as speak one civil word or show her the leastattention; but she did bear herself with so much sweetness, and,though I knew her heart was full almost to bursting, kept up so bravean appearance that none should see it except such as had their ownhearts wounded through hers, that some were present that day who sincehave told me that, for promise of future distinction and true nobilityof aspect and behavior, they had not in their whole lives known one tobe compared with the young Countess of Surrey.
Polly did point out to us the aforesaid noblemen and gentlemen, andalso Dr. Cheney, the bishop of Gloucester, who had accompanied hermajesty, and M. de la Motte, the French ambassador, whom she did seemgreatly to favor; but none that day so much as my Lord Surrey, on whomshe let fall many gracious smiles, and used playful fashions with him,such as nipping him once or twice on the forehead, and shaking herfan, as if to reprove him for his answers to her questions, whichnevertheless, if her countenance might be judged of, did greatlycontent her; albeit I once observed her to frown (and methought, then,what a terror doth lie in a sovereign's frown) and speak sharply tohim; at the which a high color came into his cheek, and rose up evento his temples, which her majesty perceiving, she did again use thesame blandishments as before; and when the collation was ended, andthe concert began, which had been provided for her grace'sentertainment, she would have him sit at her feet, and gave him somany tokens of good-will, that I heard Sir Ralph Ingoldby, who wasstanding behind me, say to another gentleman:
"If that young nobleman's father is like to be shorter by the head,his father's son is like to have his own raised higher than ever hisfather's was, so he doth keep clear of papistry and overmuch fondnessfor his wife, which be the two things her majesty doth most abhorin her courtiers."
My heart moving me to curiosity, I could not forbear to ask:
"I pray you, sir, wherefore doth not her majesty like her courtiers tolove their wives?"
At the which question he laughed, and said:
"By reason, Mistress Constance, that when they be in that case they dobecome stayers at home, and wait not on her majesty with a likediligence as when they are unmarried, or leastways love not theirladies. The Bible saith a man cannot serve God and mammon. Now hergrace doth opine men cannot serve the queen and their wives also."
"Then," I warmly cried, "I hope my Lord Surrey shall never serve thequeen!"
"I' faith, say it not so loud, young Mistress Papist," said Sir Ralph,laughing, "or we shall have you committed for high treason. Some arein the Tower, I warrant you, for no worse offence than the uttering ofsuch like rash words. How should you fancy to have your pretty earsbored with a rougher instrument than Master Anselm's the jeweller?"
And so he; but Polly, who methinks was not well pleased that he shouldnotice mine ears, which were little and well-shaped, whereas hers weresomewhat larger than did accord with her small face, did stop hisfurther speech with me by asking him if he were an enemy to papists;for if so, she would have naught to say to him, and he might become acourtier to the queen, or any one else's husband, for anything she didcare, yea, if she were to lose her ears for it.
And he answered, he did very much love some papists, albeit he hatedpapistry when it proved not conformable to reason and the laws of thecountry.
And so they fell to whispering and suchlike discourses as lovers holdtogether; and I, being seated betwixt this enamored gentleman and thewall on the other side, had no one then to talk with. But if my tongueand mine ears also, save for the music below, were idle, not so mineeyes; for they did stray from one point to another of the fairspectacle which the garden did then present, now resting on the queenand those near unto her, and anon on my Lady Surrey, who sat on acouch to the left of her majesty's raised canopy, together with LadySouthwell, Lady Arundell (Sir Robert's wife), and other ladies of thequeen, and on one side of her the bishop of Gloucester, whom, byreason of his assiduous talking with her, I took more special note ofthan I should otherwise have done; albeit he was a man which didattract the eye, even at the first sight, by a most amiable suavity ofcountenance, and a sweet and dignified behavior both in speech andaction such as I have seldom observed greater in any one. His mannerswere free and unconstrained; and only to look at him converse, it waseasy to perceive he had a most ready wit tempered with benevolence. Heseemed vastly taken with my Lady Surrey; and either had not noticedhow others kept aloof from her, or was rather moved thereby to showher civility; for they soon did fall into such eager, and in some sortfamiliar, discourse, as it should seem to run on some subject of likeinterest to both. Her color wen
t and came as the conversationadvanced; and when she spoke, he listened with such grave suavity,and, when she stayed her speech, answered in so obliging a manner, andseemed so loth to break off, that I could not but admire how twopersons, hitherto strangers to each other, and of such various agesand standing, should be so companionable on a first acquaintanceship.
When the queen rose to depart, in the same order in which she came,every one kneeling as she passed, I did keenly watch to see whatvisage she would show to my Lady Surrey, whom she did indeed this timesalute; but in no gracious manner, as one who looks without looking,notices without heeding, and in tendering of thanks thankethnot. As my lord walked by her majesty's side through the cloisters tothe door, he suddenly dropped on one knee, and drawing a