Constance Sherwood: An Autobiography of the Sixteenth Century

procession issued from thefront door. "What, what is it?" cried Basil, seizing my hand with aconvulsive grasp; "what do they carry?--not Blessed Mary's image?"

  "Yea," I said, "I see Topcliffe walking in front of them. They willburn it. There, there--they do lift it in the air in mockery. Oh, somepeople do avoid and turn away; now they lay it down and light thefagots." Then I put my hand over his eyes for that he should not see asort of dance which was performed around the fire, mixed with yellsand insulting gestures, and the queen sitting and looking on. Heforced my hand away; and when I said, "Oh, prithee, Basil, stay nothere--come with me," he exclaimed.

  "Let me go, Constance! let me go! Shall I stand aloof when at mine owndoor the Blessed Mother of God is outraged? Am I a Jew or a hereticthat I should endure this sight and not smite this queen of earth,which dareth to insult the Queen of Saints? Yea, if I should betorn to pieces, I will not suffer them to proceed."

  I clung to him affrighted, and cried out, "Basil, you shall not go.Our Blessed Lady forbids it; your passion doth blind you. You willoffend God and lose your soul if you do. Basil, dearest Basil, 'tishuman anger, not godly sorrow only, moves you now." Then he casthimself down with his face on the ground and wept bitterly; which didcomfort me, for his inflamed countenance had been terrible, and thesetears came as a relief.

  Meantime this disgusting scene ended, and the queen withdrew; afterwhich the crowd slowly dispersed, smouldering ashes alone remaining inthe midst of the burnt-up grass. Then Basil rose, folded his arms, andgazed on the scene in silence. At last he said:

  "Constance, this house shall no longer be mine. God knoweth I haveloved it well since my infancy. More dearly still since we forecastedtogether to serve God in it. But this scene would never pass away frommy mind. This outrage hath stained the home of my fathers. Thispeople, whose yells do yet ring in mine ears, can no longer be to meneighbors as heretofore, or this queen my queen. God forgive me if Ido err in this. I do not curse her. No, God defend it! I pray that onher sad deathbed--for surely a sad one it must be--she shall cry formercy and obtain it; but her subject I will not remain. I willcompound my estate for a sum of money, and will go beyond seas, whereGod is served in a Catholic manner and his Holy Mother not dishonored.Wilt thou follow me there, Constance?"

  I leant my head on his shoulder, weeping. "O, Basil," I cried, "I cananswer only in the words of Ruth: 'Whithersoever thou shalt go, I willgo; and where thou shalt dwell, I also will dwell. Thy people shall bemy people, and thy God my God.'"

  He drew my arm in his, and we walked slowly away toward Fakenham.Wishing to prepare his mind for a possible misfortune, I said: "We bea thousand times happier than those which shall possess thy lands."

  "What say you?" he quickly answered; "who shall possess them?"

  "God knoweth," I replied, afraid to speak further.

  "Good heavens!" he exclaimed: "a dreadful thought cometh to me; wherewas Hubert this morning?"

  I remained silent.

  "Speak, speak! O Constance, God defend he was there!"

  His grief and horror were so great I durst not reveal the truth, butmade some kind of evasive answer. To this day methinks he is ignoranton that point.

  The queen and the court departed from Euston soon after two of theclock; not before, as I since heard, the church furniture and bookshad been all destroyed, and a malicious report set about that a pieceof her majesty's plate was missing, as an excuse for to misuse thepoor servants which had showed grief at the destruction carried onbefore their eyes. When notice of their departure reached Banham Hall,whither we had returned, Basil immediately went back to Euston. I muchlamented he should be alone that evening, in the midst of so many sadsights and thoughts as his house now should afford him, littleforecasting the event which, by a greater mishap, surmounted minorsubjects of grief.

  About six of the clock, Sir Francis Walsingham, attended by an esquireand two grooms, arrived at Lady Tregony's seat, and was received byher with the courtesy she was wont to observe with every one. Aftersome brief discoursing with her on indifferent matters, he said hisbusiness was with young Mistress Sherwood, and he desired to see heralone. Thereupon I was fetched to him, and straightway he began tospeak of the queen's good opinion of me, and that her highness hadbeen well contented with my behavior when I had been admittedinto her presence at his house; and that it should well please hermajesty I should marry a faithful subject of her majesty's, whom shehad taken into her favor, and then she would do us both good.

  I looked in a doubtful manner at Sir Francis, feigning to misapprehendhis meaning, albeit too clear did it appear to me. Seeing I did notspeak, he went on:

  "It is her majesty's gracious desire, Mistress Sherwood, that youshould marry young Rookwood, her newly appointed servant, and fromthis time possessor of Euston House, and all lands appertaining untoit, which have devolved upon him in virtue of his brother's recusancyand his own recent conformity."

  "Sir," I answered, "my troth is plighted to his brother, a good manand an honorable gentleman, up to this time master of Euston and itslands; and whatever shall betide him or his possessions, none but himshall be my husband, if ten thousand queens as great as this oneshould proffer me another."

  "Madam," said Sir Francis, "be not too rash in your pledges. I shouldbe loth to think one so well trained in virtue and loyalty shouldpersist in maintaining a troth-plight with a convicted recusant, anexceeding malignant papist, who is at this moment in the hands of thepursuivants, and by order of her majesty's council committed toNorwich gaol. If he should (which is doubtful) escape such a sentenceas should ordain him to a lasting imprisonment or perpetual banishmentfrom this realm, his poverty must needs constrain him to relinquishall pretensions to your hand: for his brother, a most learned,well-disposed, commendable young gentleman, with such good parts asfit him to aspire to some high advancement in the state and at court,having conformed some days ago to the established religion and givenmany proofs of his zeal and sincerity therein, his brother's estates,as is most just, have devolved on him, and a more worthy and, I mayadd, from long and constant devotion and fervent humble passion longsince entertained for yourself, more desirable candidate for your handcould not easily be found."

  I looked fixedly at Sir Francis, and then said, subduing my voice asmuch as possible, and restraining all gestures:

  "Sir, you have, I ween, a more deep knowledge of men's hearts and amore piercing insight into their thoughts than any other person in theworld. You are wiser than any other statesman, and your wit andsagacity are spoken of all over Christendom. But methinketh, sir,there are two things which, wise and learned as you are, you are yetignorant of, and these are a woman's heart and a Catholic's faith. Iwould as soon wed the meanest clown which yelled this day at BlessedMary's image, as the future possessor of Euston, the apostate HubertRookwood. Now, sir, I pray you, send for the pursuivants, and let mebe committed to gaol for the same crime as my betrothed husband, Godknoweth I will bless you for it."

  "Madam," Sir Francis coldly answered, "the law taketh no heed ofpersons out of their senses. A frantic passion and an immoderatefanaticism have distracted your reason. Time and reflection will, Idoubt not, recall you to better and more comfortable sentiments; inwhich case I pray you to have recourse to my good offices, which shallever be at your service."

  Then bowing, he left me; and when he was gone, and the tumult of mysoul had subsided, I lamented my vehemency, for methought if I hadbeen more cunning in my speech, I could have done Basil some good; butnow it was too late, and verily, if again exposed to the sametemptation, I doubt if I could have dissembled the indignant feelingswhich Sir Francis's advocacy of Hubert's suit worked in me.

  Lady Tregony, pitying my unhappy plight, proposed to travel with me to London, where I was now desirous to return, for there I thoughtsome steps might be taken to procure Basil's release, with more hopeof success than if I tarried in the scene of our late happiness. Shedid me also the good to go with me in the first place to Norwich,where, by means of that same gove
rnor to whom Sir Hammond l'Estrangehad once written in my father's behalf, we obtained for to see Basilfor a few minutes. His brother's apostasy, and the painful suspicionthat it was by his means the secret of Owen's cell at Euston had beenbetrayed, gave him infinite concern; but his own imprisonment andlosses he bore with very great cheerfulness; and we entertainedourselves with the thought of a small cottage beyond seas, whichhenceforward became the theme of such imaginings as lovers must needscherish to keep alive the flame of hope. Two days afterward I reachedLondon, having travelled very fast, and only slept one night on theroad.

  It sometimes happens that certain misfortunes do overtake us which,had we foreseen, we should well-nigh have despaired, and