augmented.”
The grateful Humphrey responded fervidly–
“Thanks, O most noble master, this princely lavishness doth far
surpass my most distempered dreams of fortune. Now shall I be
happy all my days, and all the house of Marlow after me.”
Tom had wit enough to perceive that here was a lad who could be
useful to him. He encouraged Humphrey to talk, and he was nothing
loath. He was delighted to believe that he was helping in Tom’s
‘cure’; for always, as soon as he had finished calling back to
Tom’s diseased mind the various particulars of his experiences and
adventures in the royal school-room and elsewhere about the
palace, he noticed that Tom was then able to ‘recall’ the
circumstances quite clearly. At the end of an hour Tom found
himself well freighted with very valuable information concerning
personages and matters pertaining to the Court; so he resolved to
draw instruction from this source daily; and to this end he would
give order to admit Humphrey to the royal closet whenever he might
come, provided the Majesty of England was not engaged with other
people. Humphrey had hardly been dismissed when my Lord Hertford
arrived with more trouble for Tom.
He said that the Lords of the Council, fearing that some
overwrought report of the King’s damaged health might have leaked
out and got abroad, they deemed it wise and best that his Majesty
should begin to dine in public after a day or two–his wholesome
complexion and vigorous step, assisted by a carefully guarded
repose of manner and ease and grace of demeanour, would more
surely quiet the general pulse–in case any evil rumours HAD gone
about–than any other scheme that could be devised.
Then the Earl proceeded, very delicately, to instruct Tom as to
the observances proper to the stately occasion, under the rather
thin disguise of ‘reminding’ him concerning things already known
to him; but to his vast gratification it turned out that Tom
needed very little help in this line–he had been making use of
Humphrey in that direction, for Humphrey had mentioned that within
a few days he was to begin to dine in public; having gathered it
from the swift-winged gossip of the Court. Tom kept these facts
to himself, however.
Seeing the royal memory so improved, the Earl ventured to apply a
few tests to it, in an apparently casual way, to find out how far
its amendment had progressed. The results were happy, here and
there, in spots–spots where Humphrey’s tracks remained–and on
the whole my lord was greatly pleased and encouraged. So
encouraged was he, indeed, that he spoke up and said in a quite
hopeful voice–
“Now am I persuaded that if your Majesty will but tax your memory
yet a little further, it will resolve the puzzle of the Great
Seal–a loss which was of moment yesterday, although of none to-
day, since its term of service ended with our late lord’s life.
May it please your Grace to make the trial?”
Tom was at sea–a Great Seal was something which he was totally
unacquainted with. After a moment’s hesitation he looked up
innocently and asked–
“What was it like, my lord?”
The Earl started, almost imperceptibly, muttering to himself,
“Alack, his wits are flown again!–it was ill wisdom to lead him
on to strain them”–then he deftly turned the talk to other
matters, with the purpose of sweeping the unlucky seal out of
Tom’s thoughts–a purpose which easily succeeded.
Chapter XV. Tom as King.
The next day the foreign ambassadors came, with their gorgeous
trains; and Tom, throned in awful state, received them. The
splendours of the scene delighted his eye and fired his
imagination at first, but the audience was long and dreary, and so
were most of the addresses–wherefore, what began as a pleasure
grew into weariness and home-sickness by-and-by. Tom said the
words which Hertford put into his mouth from time to time, and
tried hard to acquit himself satisfactorily, but he was too new to
such things, and too ill at ease to accomplish more than a
tolerable success. He looked sufficiently like a king, but he was
ill able to feel like one. He was cordially glad when the