第117章 JANE SEYMOUR(12)

Henry had not proceeded far, when a horseman, mounted on a sable steed, emerged from the thicket, and galloped up to him.The wild attire and antlered helm of this personage proclaimed the forest fiend.

"Ah! thou here, demon!" cried the king, his lion nature overmastered by superstitious fear for a moment."What wouldst thou?""You are on the eve of committing a great crime," replied Herne; "and Itold you that at such times I would always appear to you.""To administer justice is not to commit crime," rejoined the king."Anne Boleyn deserves her fate.""Think not to impose on me as you have imposed on Suffolk!" cried Herne, with a derisive laugh."I know your motives better; I know you have no proof of her guilt, and that in your heart of hearts you believe her innocent.But you destroy her because you would wed Jane Seymour! We shall meet again ere long--ho! ho! ho!"And giving the rein to his steed, he disappeared among the trees.

VIII.The Signal Gun.

Anne Boleyn's arraignment took place in the great hall of the White Tower, on the 16th of May, before the Duke of Norfolk, who was created lord high steward for the occasion, and twenty-six peers.The duke had his seat under a canopy of state, and beneath him sat the Earl of Surrey as deputy earl-marshal.

Notwithstanding an eloquent and impassioned defence, Anne was found guilty; and having been required to lay aside her crown and the other insignia of royalty, was condemned to be burned or beheaded at the king's pleasure.

On the following day, she was summoned to the archiepiscopal palace at Lambeth, whither she was privately conveyed; and her marriage with the king was declared by Cranmer to be null and void, and to have always been so.Death by the axe was the doom awarded to her by the king, and the day appointed for the execution was Friday the 19th of May, at the hour of noon.

Leaving the conduct of the fatal ceremony to the Duke of Suffolk, who had orders to have a signal gun fired from the summit of the White Tower, which was to be answered from various points, when all was over, Henry repaired to Windsor Castle on the evening of Thursday.

Before this, he had formally offered his hand to Jane Seymour; and while the unfortunate queen was languishing within the Tower, he was basking in the smiles of his new mistress, and counting the hours till he.could make her his own.On the Tuesday before the execution, Jane Seymour retired to her father's mansion, Wolff Hall, in Wiltshire, where preparations were made for the marriage, which it was arranged should take place there in private on the Saturday.

On arriving at the castle, Henry gave out that he should hunt on the following morning in the great park, and retired to his closet.But he did not long remain there, and putting on the garb of a yeoman of the guard, descended by the narrow flight of steps (already mentioned as occupying the same situation as the existing Hundred Steps) to the town, and proceeded to the Garter, where he found several guests assembled, discussing the affairs of the day, and Bryan Bowntance's strong ale at the same time.Amongst the number were the Duke of Shoreditch, Paddington, Hector Cutbeard, and Kit Coo.At the moment of the king's entrance, they were talking of the approaching execution.

"Oh, the vanity of worldly greatness!" exclaimed Bryan, lifting up his hands."Only seven years ago, last Saint George's Day, this lovely queen first entered the castle with the king, amid pomp and splendour and power, and with a long life--apparently--of happiness before her.And now she is condemned to die.""But if she has played the king false she deserves her doom," replied Shoreditch."I would behead my own wife if she served me the same trick--that is, if I could.""You do right to say 'if you could,' "rejoined Paddington."The beheading of a wife is a royal privilege, and cannot be enjoyed by a subject.""Many, I wonder how the king could prefer Mistress Jane Seymour, for my part !" said Hector Cutbeard."To my thinking she is not to be compared with Queen Anne."She has a lovely blue eye, and a figure as straight as an arrow,"returned Shoreditch."How say you, master?" he added, turning to the king; "what think you of Mistress Jane Seymour?""That she is passably fair, friend," replied Henry.