Chapter VI. Tom receives instructions.

by Mark Twain

　　Tom was conducted to the principal apartment of a noble suite, andmade to sit down--a thing which he was loth to do, since therewere elderly men and men of high degree about him. He begged themto be seated also, but they only bowed their thanks or murmuredthem, and remained standing. He would have insisted, but his'uncle' the Earl of Hertford whispered in his ear--"Prithee, insist not, my lord; it is not meet that they sit in thypresence."The Lord St. John was announced, and after making obeisance toTom, he said--"I come upon the King's errand, concerning a matter whichrequireth privacy. Will it please your royal highness to dismissall that attend you here, save my lord the Earl of Hertford?"Observing that Tom did not seem to know how to proceed, Hertfordwhispered him to make a sign with his hand, and not troublehimself to speak unless he chose. When the waiting gentlemen hadretired, Lord St. John said--"His majesty commandeth, that for due and weighty reasons ofstate, the prince's grace shall hide his infirmity in all waysthat be within his power, till it be passed and he be as he wasbefore. To wit, that he shall deny to none that he is the trueprince, and heir to England's greatness; that he shall uphold hisprincely dignity, and shall receive, without word or sign ofprotest, that reverence and observance which unto it do appertainof right and ancient usage; that he shall cease to speak to any ofthat lowly birth and life his malady hath conjured out of theunwholesome imaginings of o'er-wrought fancy; that he shall strivewith diligence to bring unto his memory again those faces which hewas wont to know--and where he faileth he shall hold his peace,neither betraying by semblance of surprise or other sign that hehath forgot; that upon occasions of state, whensoever any mattershall perplex him as to the thing he should do or the utterance heshould make, he shall show nought of unrest to the curious thatlook on, but take advice in that matter of the Lord Hertford, ormy humble self, which are commanded of the King to be upon thisservice and close at call, till this commandment be dissolved.Thus saith the King's majesty, who sendeth greeting to your royalhighness, and prayeth that God will of His mercy quickly heal youand have you now and ever in His holy keeping."The Lord St. John made reverence and stood aside. Tom repliedresignedly--"The King hath said it. None may palter with the King's command,or fit it to his ease, where it doth chafe, with deft evasions.The King shall be obeyed."Lord Hertford said--"Touching the King's majesty's ordainment concerning books andsuch like serious matters, it may peradventure please yourhighness to ease your time with lightsome entertainment, lest yougo wearied to the banquet and suffer harm thereby."Tom's face showed inquiring surprise; and a blush followed when hesaw Lord St. John's eyes bent sorrowfully upon him. His lordshipsaid--"Thy memory still wrongeth thee, and thou hast shown surprise--butsuffer it not to trouble thee, for 'tis a matter that will notbide, but depart with thy mending malady. My Lord of Hertfordspeaketh of the city's banquet which the King's majesty didpromise, some two months flown, your highness should attend. Thourecallest it now?""It grieves me to confess it had indeed escaped me," said Tom, ina hesitating voice; and blushed again.At this moment the Lady Elizabeth and the Lady Jane Grey wereannounced. The two lords exchanged significant glances, andHertford stepped quickly toward the door. As the young girlspassed him, he said in a low voice--"I pray ye, ladies, seem not to observe his humours, nor showsurprise when his memory doth lapse--it will grieve you to notehow it doth stick at every trifle."Meantime Lord St. John was saying in Tom's ear--"Please you, sir, keep diligently in mind his majesty's desire.Remember all thou canst--seem to remember all else. Let them notperceive that thou art much changed from thy wont, for thouknowest how tenderly thy old play-fellows bear thee in theirhearts and how 'twould grieve them. Art willing, sir, that Iremain?--and thine uncle?"Tom signified assent with a gesture and a murmured word, for hewas already learning, and in his simple heart was resolved toacquit himself as best he might, according to the King's command.In spite of every precaution, the conversation among the youngpeople became a little embarrassing at times. More than once, intruth, Tom was near to breaking down and confessing himselfunequal to his tremendous part; but the tact of the PrincessElizabeth saved him, or a word from one or the other of thevigilant lords, thrown in apparently by chance, had the same happyeffect. Once the little Lady Jane turned to Tom and dismayed himwith this question,--"Hast paid thy duty to the Queen's majesty to-day, my lord?"Tom hesitated, looked distressed, and was about to stammer outsomething at hazard, when Lord St. John took the word and answeredfor him with the easy grace of a courtier accustomed to encounterdelicate difficulties and to be ready for them--"He hath indeed, madam, and she did greatly hearten him, astouching his majesty's condition; is it not so, your highness?"Tom mumbled something that stood for assent, but felt that he wasgetting upon dangerous ground. Somewhat later it was mentionedthat Tom was to study no more at present, whereupon her littleladyship exclaimed--"'Tis a pity, 'tis a pity! Thou wert proceeding bravely. Butbide thy time in patience: it will not be for long. Thou'lt yetbe graced with learning like thy father, and make thy tonguemaster of as many languages as his, good my prince.""My father!" cried Tom, off his guard for the moment. "I trow hecannot speak his own so that any but the swine that kennel in thestyes may tell his meaning; and as for learning of any sortsoever--"He looked up and encountered a solemn warning in my Lord St.John's eyes.He stopped, blushed, then continued low and sadly: "Ah, my maladypersecuteth me again, and my mind wandereth. I meant the King'sgrace no irreverence.""We know it, sir," said the Princess Elizabeth, taking her'brother's' hand between her two palms, respectfully butcaressingly; "trouble not thyself as to that. The fault is noneof thine, but thy distemper's.""Thou'rt a gentle comforter, sweet lady," said Tom, gratefully,"and my heart moveth me to thank thee for't, an' I may be sobold."Once the giddy little Lady Jane fired a simple Greek phrase atTom. The Princess Elizabeth's quick eye saw by the sereneblankness of the target's front that the shaft was overshot; soshe tranquilly delivered a return volley of sounding Greek onTom's behalf, and then straightway changed the talk to othermatters.Time wore on pleasantly, and likewise smoothly, on the whole.Snags and sandbars grew less and less frequent, and Tom grew moreand more at his ease, seeing that all were so lovingly bent uponhelping him and overlooking his mistakes. When it came out thatthe little ladies were to accompany him to the Lord Mayor'sbanquet in the evening, his heart gave a bound of relief anddelight, for he felt that he should not be friendless, now, amongthat multitude of strangers; whereas, an hour earlier, the idea oftheir going with him would have been an insupportable terror tohim.Tom's guardian angels, the two lords, had had less comfort in theinterview than the other parties to it. They felt much as if theywere piloting a great ship through a dangerous channel; they wereon the alert constantly, and found their office no child's play.Wherefore, at last, when the ladies' visit was drawing to a closeand the Lord Guilford Dudley was announced, they not only feltthat their charge had been sufficiently taxed for the present, butalso that they themselves were not in the best condition to taketheir ship back and make their anxious voyage all over again. Sothey respectfully advised Tom to excuse himself, which he was veryglad to do, although a slight shade of disappointment might havebeen observed upon my Lady Jane's face when she heard the splendidstripling denied admittance.There was a pause now, a sort of waiting silence which Tom couldnot understand. He glanced at Lord Hertford, who gave him a sign--but he failed to understand that also. The ready Elizabeth cameto the rescue with her usual easy grace. She made reverence andsaid--"Have we leave of the prince's grace my brother to go?"Tom said--"Indeed your ladyships can have whatsoever of me they will, forthe asking; yet would I rather give them any other thing that inmy poor power lieth, than leave to take the light and blessing oftheir presence hence. Give ye good den, and God be with ye!"Then he smiled inwardly at the thought, "'Tis not for nought Ihave dwelt but among princes in my reading, and taught my tonguesome slight trick of their broidered and gracious speech withal!"When the illustrious maidens were gone, Tom turned wearily to hiskeepers and said--"May it please your lordships to grant me leave to go into somecorner and rest me?"Lord Hertford said--"So please your highness, it is for you to command, it is for usto obey. That thou should'st rest is indeed a needful thing,since thou must journey to the city presently."He touched a bell, and a page appeared, who was ordered to desirethe presence of Sir William Herbert. This gentleman camestraightway, and conducted Tom to an inner apartment. Tom's firstmovement there was to reach for a cup of water; but a silk-and-velvet servitor seized it, dropped upon one knee, and offered itto him on a golden salver.Next the tired captive sat down and was going to take off hisbuskins, timidly asking leave with his eye, but another silk-and-velvet discomforter went down upon his knees and took the officefrom him. He made two or three further efforts to help himself,but being promptly forestalled each time, he finally gave up, witha sigh of resignation and a murmured "Beshrew me, but I marvelthey do not require to breathe for me also!" Slippered, andwrapped in a sumptuous robe, he laid himself down at last to rest,but not to sleep, for his head was too full of thoughts and theroom too full of people. He could not dismiss the former, so theystayed; he did not know enough to dismiss the latter, so theystayed also, to his vast regret--and theirs.Tom's departure had left his two noble guardians alone. Theymused a while, with much head-shaking and walking the floor, thenLord St. John said--"Plainly, what dost thou think?""Plainly, then, this. The King is near his end; my nephew is mad--mad will mount the throne, and mad remain. God protect England,since she will need it!""Verily it promiseth so, indeed. But . . . have you no misgivingsas to . . . as to . . ."The speaker hesitated, and finally stopped. He evidently feltthat he was upon delicate ground. Lord Hertford stopped beforehim, looked into his face with a clear, frank eye, and said--"Speak on--there is none to hear but me. Misgivings as to what?""I am full loth to word the thing that is in my mind, and thou sonear to him in blood, my lord. But craving pardon if I do offend,seemeth it not strange that madness could so change his port andmanner?--not but that his port and speech are princely still, butthat they differ, in one unweighty trifle or another, from whathis custom was aforetime. Seemeth it not strange that madnessshould filch from his memory his father's very lineaments; thecustoms and observances that are his due from such as be abouthim; and, leaving him his Latin, strip him of his Greek andFrench? My lord, be not offended, but ease my mind of itsdisquiet and receive my grateful thanks. It haunteth me, hissaying he was not the prince, and so--""Peace, my lord, thou utterest treason! Hast forgot the King'scommand? Remember I am party to thy crime if I but listen."St. John paled, and hastened to say--"I was in fault, I do confess it. Betray me not, grant me thisgrace out of thy courtesy, and I will neither think nor speak ofthis thing more. Deal not hardly with me, sir, else am I ruined.""I am content, my lord. So thou offend not again, here or in theears of others, it shall be as though thou hadst not spoken. Butthou need'st not have misgivings. He is my sister's son; are nothis voice, his face, his form, familiar to me from his cradle?Madness can do all the odd conflicting things thou seest in him,and more. Dost not recall how that the old Baron Marley, beingmad, forgot the favour of his own countenance that he had knownfor sixty years, and held it was another's; nay, even claimed hewas the son of Mary Magdalene, and that his head was made ofSpanish glass; and, sooth to say, he suffered none to touch it,lest by mischance some heedless hand might shiver it? Give thymisgivings easement, good my lord. This is the very prince--Iknow him well--and soon will be thy king; it may advantage thee tobear this in mind, and more dwell upon it than the other."After some further talk, in which the Lord St. John covered up hismistake as well as he could by repeated protests that his faithwas thoroughly grounded now, and could not be assailed by doubtsagain, the Lord Hertford relieved his fellow-keeper, and sat downto keep watch and ward alone. He was soon deep in meditation, andevidently the longer he thought, the more he was bothered. By-and-by he began to pace the floor and mutter."Tush, he must be the prince! Will any he in all the landmaintain there can be two, not of one blood and birth, somarvellously twinned? And even were it so, 'twere yet a strangermiracle that chance should cast the one into the other's place.Nay, 'tis folly, folly, folly!"Presently he said--"Now were he impostor and called himself prince, look you thatwould be natural; that would be reasonable. But lived ever animpostor yet, who, being called prince by the king, prince by thecourt, prince by all, denied his dignity and pleaded against hisexaltation? No! By the soul of St. Swithin, no! This is thetrue prince, gone mad!"