VII.
How Herne appeared to Henry In the Home Park.
On that same night, at a late hour, a horseman, mounted on a powerfulsteed, entered the eastern side of the home park, and stationed himselfbeneath the trees. He had not been there long, when the castle clocktolled forth the hour of midnight, and ere the deep strokes died away, asecond horseman was seen galloping across the moonlit glade towards him.
"Has all been done as I directed, Suffolk?" he demanded, as the newcomerapproached him.
"It has, my liege," replied the duke. "The queen is imprisoned withinher chamber, and will be removed, at early dawn, to the Tower."
"You had better start in an hour from this time," said the king. "It isa long passage by water, and I am anxious to avoid all chance of attemptat rescue."
"Your wishes shall be obeyed," replied the duke. "Poor soul! her griefwas most agonizing, and I had much ado to maintain my composure. Sheimplored, in the most passionate manner, to be allowed to see yourhighness before her removal. I told her it was impossible; and that evenif you were at the castle, you would not listen to her supplications."
"You did right," rejoined Henry; "I will never see her more--not thatI fear being moved by her prayers, but that, knowing how deceitful andfaithless she is, I loathe to look upon her. What is expressed upon thematter by the household? Speak frankly."
"Frankly then," replied the duke, "your highness's proceedings areregarded as harsh and unjustifiable. The general opinion is, that youonly desire to remove Anne to make way for Mistress Jane Seymour."
"Ha! they talk thus, do they?" cried the king. "I will silence theirsaucy prating ere long. Tell all who venture to speak to you on thesubject that I have long suspected the queen of a secret liking forNorris, but that I determined to conceal my suspicions till I found Ihad good warrant for them. That occurred, as you know, some weeks ago.However, I awaited a pretext for proceeding against them, and it wasfurnished by their own imprudence to-day. Convinced that something wouldoccur, I had made my preparations; nor was I deceived. You may add,also, that not until my marriage is invalidated, Anne's offspringillegitimatised, and herself beheaded, shall I consider the foul blotupon my name removed."
"Has your majesty any further commands?" said Suffolk. "I saw Norris inhis prison before I rode forth to you."
"Let him be taken to the Tower, under a strong escort, at once," saidHenry. "Lord Rochford, I suppose, has already been removed there?"
"He has," replied the duke. "Shall I attend your majesty to yourfollowers?"
"It is needless," replied the king. "They are waiting for me, close athand, at the foot of Datchet Bridge. Fare well, my good brother; lookwell to your prisoners. I shall feel more easy when Anne is safelylodged within the Tower."
So saying he wheeled round, and striking spurs into his steed, dashedthrough the trees, while the duke rode back to the castle.
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 andantlered helm of this personage proclaimed the forest fiend.
"Ah! thou here, demon!" cried the king, his lion nature overmastered bysuperstitious 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. "AnneBoleyn 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 noproof of her guilt, and that in your heart of hearts you believe herinnocent. But you destroy her because you would wed Jane Seymour! Weshall 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 WhiteTower, on the 16th of May, before the Duke of Norfolk, who was createdlord high steward for the occasion, and twenty-six peers. The duke hadhis seat under a canopy of state, and beneath him sat the Earl of Surreyas deputy earl-marshal.
Notwithstanding an eloquent and impassioned defence, Anne was foundguilty; and having been required to lay aside her crown and the otherinsignia of royalty, was condemned to be burned or beheaded at theking's pleasure.
On the following day, she was summoned to the archiepiscopal palace atLambeth, whither she was privately conveyed; and her marriage with theking was declared by Cranmer to be null and void, and to have alwaysbeen so. Death by the axe was the doom awarded to her by the king, andthe day appointed for the execution was Friday the 19th of May, at thehour of noon.
Leaving the conduct of the fatal ceremony to the Duke of Suffolk, whohad orders to have a signal gun fired from the summit of the WhiteTower, which was to be answered from various points, when all was over,Henry repaired to Windsor Castle on the evening of Thursday. Beforethis, he had formally offered his hand to Jane Seymour; and while theunfortunate queen was languishing within the Tower, he was basking inthe smiles of his new mistress, and counting the hours till he couldmake her his own. On the Tuesday before the execution, Jane Seymourretired to her father's mansion, Wolff Hall, in Wiltshire, wherepreparations were made for the marriage, which it was arranged shouldtake place there in private on the Saturday.
On arriving at the castle, Henry gave out that he should hunt on thefollowing morning in the great park, and retired to his closet. But hedid not long remain there, and putting on the garb of a yeoman of theguard, descended by the narrow flight of steps (already mentioned asoccupying 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 aleat the same time. Amongst the number were the Duke of Shoreditch,Paddington, Hector Cutbeard, and Kit Coo. At the moment of the king'sentrance, they were talking of the approaching execution.
"Oh, the vanity of worldly greatness!" exclaimed Bryan, lifting up hishands. "Only seven years ago, last Saint George's Day, this lovely queenfirst entered the castle with the king, amid pomp and splendour andpower, and with a long life--apparently--of happiness before her. Andnow she is condemned to die."
"But if she has played the king false she deserves her doom," repliedShoreditch. "I would behead my own wife if she served me the sametrick--that is, if I could."
"You do right to say 'if you could,'" rejoined Paddington. "Thebeheading of a wife is a royal privilege, and cannot be enjoyed by asubject."
"Marry, I wonder how the king could prefer Mistress Jane Seymour, for mypart!" said Hector Cutbeard. "To my thinking she is not to be comparedwith 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 theking; "what think you of Mistress Jane Seymour?"
"That she is passably fair, friend," replied Henry.
"But how as compared with the late--that is, the present queen, for,poor soul! she has yet some hours to live," rejoined Shoreditch. "How,as compared with her?"
"Why, I think Jane Seymour the more lovely, Undoubtedly," replied Henry."But I may be prejudiced."
"Not in the least, friend," said Cutbeard. "You but partake of yourroyal master's humour. Jane Seymour is beautiful, no doubt, and so wasAnne Boleyn. Marry! we shall see many fair queens on the throne. Theroyal Henry has good taste and good management. He sets his subjectsa rare example, and shows them how to get rid of troublesome wives.We shall all divorce or hang our spouses when we get tired of them. Ialmost wish I was married myself, that I might try the experiment-ha!ha!"
"Well, here's the king's health!" cried Shoreditch, "and wishing him asmany wives as he may desire. What say you, friend?" he added, turning toHenry. "Will you not drink that toast?"
"That will I," replied Henry; "but I fancy the king will be content forthe present with Mistress Jane Se
ymour."
"For the present, no doubt," said Hector Cutbeard; "but the time willcome--and ere long--when Jane will be as irksome to him as Anne is now."
"Ah, God's death, knave! darest thou say so?" cried Henry furiously.
"Why, I have said nothing treasonable, I hope?" rejoined Cutbeard,turning pale; "I only wish the king to be happy in his own way. And ashe seems to delight in change of wives, I pray that he may have it tohis heart's content."
"A fair explanation," replied Henry, laughing.
"Let me give a health, my masters!" cried a tall archer, whom no one hadhitherto noticed, rising in one corner of the room. "It is--The headsmanof Calais, and may he do his work featly tomorrow!"
"Ha! ha! ha! a good toast!" cried Hector Cutbeard.
"Seize him who has proposed it!" cried the king, rising; "it is Hernethe Hunter!"
"I laugh at your threats here as elsewhere, Harry," cried Herne. "Weshall meet tomorrow."
And flinging the horn cup in the face of the man nearest him, he sprangthrough an open window at the back, and disappeared.
Both Cutbeard and Shoreditch were much alarmed lest the freedom of theirexpressions should be taken in umbrage by the king; but he calmed theirfears by bestowing a good humoured buffet on the cheek of the latter ofthem, and quitting the hostel, returned to the castle by the same way hehad left it.
On the following morning, about ten o'clock, he rode into the greatpark, attended by a numerous train. His demeanour was moody and stern,and a general gloom pervaded the company. Keeping on the western sideof the park, the party crossed Cranbourne chase; but though theyencountered several fine herds of deer, the king gave no orders touncouple the hounds.
At last they arrived at that part of the park where Sandpit Gate is nowsituated, and pursuing a path bordered by noble trees, a fine buck wassuddenly unharboured, upon which Henry gave orders to the huntsmen andothers to follow him, adding that he himself should proceed to SnowHill, where they would find him an hour hence.
All understood why the king wished to be alone, and for what purpose hewas about to repair to the eminence in question, and therefore, withouta word, the whole company started off in the chase.
Meanwhile, the king rode slowly through the woods, often pausing tolisten to the distant sounds of the hunters, and noticing the shadowson the greensward as they grew shorter, and proclaimed the approach ofnoon. At length he arrived at Snow Hill, and stationed himself beneaththe trees on its summit.
From this point a magnificent view of the castle, towering over itspomp of woods, now covered with foliage of the most vivid green, wascommanded. The morning was bright and beautiful, the sky cloudless,and a gentle rain had fallen over night, which had tempered the air andfreshened the leaves and the greensward. The birds were singing blithelyin the trees, and at the foot of the hill crouched a herd of deer. Allwas genial and delightful, breathing of tenderness and peace, calculatedto soften the most obdurate heart.
The scene was not without its effect upon Henry; but a fierce tumultraged within his breast. He fixed his eyes on the Round Tower, whichwas distinctly visible, and from which he expected the signal, and thentried to peer into the far horizon. But he could discern nothing. Acloud passed over the sun, and cast a momentary gloom over the smilinglandscape. At the same time Henry's fancy was so powerfully excited,that he fancied he could behold the terrible tragedy enacting at theTower.
"She is now issuing forth into the green in front of Saint Peter'sChapel," said Henry to himself. "I can see her as distinctly as if Iwere there. Ah, how beautiful she looks! and how she moves all hearts topity! Suffolk, Richmond, Cromwell, and the Lord Mayor are there to meether. She takes leave of her weeping attendants--she mounts the steps ofthe scaffold firmly--she looks round, and addresses the spectators. Howsilent they are, and how clearly and musically her voice sounds! Sheblesses me.--I hear It!--I feel it here! Now she disrobes herself, andprepares for the fatal axe. It is wielded by the skilful executionerof Calais, and he is now feeling its edge. Now she takes leave of herdames, and bestows a parting gift on each. Again she kneels andprays. She rises. The fatal moment is at hand. Even now she retains hercourage--she approaches the block, and places her head upon it. The axeis raised--ha!"
The exclamation was occasioned by a flash of fire from the battlementsof the Round Tower, followed by a volume of smoke, and in another secondthe deep boom of a gun was heard.
At the very moment that the flash was seen, a wild figure, mounted on acoal-black steed, galloped from out the wood, and dashed towards Henry,whose horse reared and plunged as he passed.
"There spoke the knell of Anne Boleyn!" cried Herne, regarding Henrysternly, and pointing to the Round Tower. "The bloody deed is done, andthou art free to wed once more. Away to Wolff Hall, and bring thy newconsort to Windsor Castle!"
THUS ENDS THE SIXTH AND LAST BOOK OF THE CHRONICLE OF WINDSOR CASTLE
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