Ivan the Terrible; or, Dark Deeds of Night — page 32: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

IVAN THE The girl started in surprise, and rose from her seat with the air and manner of an injured queen. ‘What, sir stranger?” she said, with a faint but quivering lip. ‘Are my footsteps dogged again? Am I always to be tracked thus from place to place? Rise, sir,” she added, “and leave me, I know you not.” ‘Nav, fair one, I cannot, will not rise from this suppliant posture till you have told me who and what you are, for I deeply, ardently, passionately love you, and thus at your feet I feel supremely happy. Z “Then, sir, if you will not depart Z must,” said the dig- nified and beautiful stranger, with a lofty manner. “No, no,” sighed the king, clutching her hand, ‘‘do not leave me, brightest of all earthly visions ; stay, I beg, I pray you, do not leave me to despair.” “Despair!” said the girl, with a faint smile; “but a moment age you said you were supremely happy.” “Yes, and so I am, while you are here, divinest of crea- tures |” “You would have me stay then, sir,” said the girl, with hesitation ; ‘fer how long, and for what, I pray?” “But a moment only, that I may pour into your ear the story of my love.” ‘You are noble, from your garb,” said the unknown. “T am, fair one, thou judgest right,” said the king, with much hesitation. ‘‘I—I—am a prince.” “<A prince !’’ said the maiden, in surprise, “and what hath a prince to do with one so lowly born as I?” ‘“Nay, speak not so, fairest of creatures; believe me, on my sacred honour, I have seen thee but to love thee, and I would willingly lay my life, fortune and honour at thy feet.” ““Thy intentions, then, if you so love me, sir, are doubtless honourable,” sighed the maiden, again reseating herself on the rustic bench, “Honourable, my angel,” sighed the king, “‘ yea, as honour- able as any maid need wish in one who tenderly, ardently, devotedly loves her.” “If I were to accept your love—” she began. “‘Oh, name it not, heavenly creature ; all, everything, shall be thine, if thou wilt but say that you’ll be mine.” ** And the conditions?” said the girl, in a faint, tremulous voice. “Conditions |!” lightly laughed the king, thinking that he had already made a conquest of the fair young creature before him. “Conditions! Name them, I beg—nay, I command you; anything, everything that you wish shall be thine !” “ Are you married ?” asked the unknown. “Fore Heaven, no, my charmer, I am not married.” “If you love me truly,” then,” the girl began, “‘would you —would you——” “What, oh, what is it your own sweet mouth would say?” sighed the enraptured king. “Would you marry me?” sighed the unknown, and as she spoke her bright eyes shone with redoubled lustre as if she was reading the very thoughts and the inmost soul of him that humbly knelt before her. ““ Marry—marry you?” repeated and stuttered the king. ‘‘Ha, ha!” laughed the maiden, with a light, merry, and musical laugh. ‘Marry me! ha, ha! No, no, gallant sir, thou wouldst not do that.” At the same time she disengaged her hands from his, and ere she fled from the spot, she said aloud, and in triumph, “Marry me! Ob, no, thou never dreamed of that, for, though ye know not me, full well, good sir, Z know thee !” Saying which, the maiden fled from the king’s presence with the quickness and agility of a sprite, but towards the spot where the two old attendants were in anxious waiting. For a moment the king spoke not, for he seemed astonished at the singular boldness and beauty of her who had so sud- denly fled. “Know me!” he repeated, again and again, as if awakening from adream. “It cannot be! Yet, by my life, I will know aught of thee !”’ o saying, the king darted after the fleeing figure of the girl], and soon overtook her, 28 TERRIBLE. Seizing her by the arm, he said, out of breath, “Tf you do know me, fair and beautiful maiden, assure me of that fact by telling me who and what I am?” ‘‘It matters not that I should tell thee that, but this [know —thou art the king!” Saying this, she turned and looked at him, and suffered the cloak to fall from before her face, so that he had, by the © light of one of the oil-lamps that hung in the park, a good view of it. Tt was either a slight action, accidental or otherwise, upon the part of the young and fair unknown, as she put up her hand to dash her dancing ringlets from before her eyes, or it was some sudden puff of the gentle air that was singing through the branches of the trees, but the little light hat she wore fell back from her head, and only hung round her neck by ita strings, so that the king had a good view of the fair creature’s head and face and alabaster-looking neck, and all the dancing, luxuriant curls that reposed upon it. For a moment that vision of beauty bewildered him, and then all was over. The hat was replaced, the cloak was drawn close, and the mysterious girl fled with speed through an avenue of trees and disappeared from the scene with almost supernatural swiftness. | For a moment James was speechless with astonishment. ‘What !” he thought, “in such stirring, dangerous times as these shall a king be thwarted? Shall his person, even in a heavy disguise, be known toa simple, pretty-faced, babbling girl? Who isshe? What is she?” he asked himself again and again. After a time in musing, he said, “Methinks she is aspy! Oh! fool that I was not to have thought of that before. Had I done so, I would have promised anything, everything to have her in my possession but one short hour, and then, perchance, I might glean all the secret plans of my restless enemies and rivals.” As he thought thus he bit his finger nails in chagrin and annoyance. At that moment Lords Tippler and Summers approached the king with many obsequious bows. . ‘‘ Allow us to congratulate your most gracious majesty on your easy conquest of the incomparable young damsel, for truly, as my lord here said to me but now, no one can resist the elegance, grace, and bearing of our most gracious sove- reign, King James of England,” said portly old Summers. ‘You would not mock me, good lords?’’ was the king’s reply. rs Mock you, sire?” said Lord Tippler, puffing, with much show of concern and alarm at the disappointed looks of his royal master. ‘‘Mock you, august sire? Surely, the impu- dent little maid did not thwart or refuse your majesty’s desires ?” “‘She laughed at me in derision,” sighed the king. “Yaughed at you? Oh! horrible!” gasped my Lord Summers, with well-feigned astonishment, “She is a treasonable strumpet, then, to dare thus to do!” fumed Lord Tippler, whose patriotism seemed highly offended. “It strikes me, sire, that these nightly visits of that beau- tiful but mysterious being hath something in them that bodes no good,” said Lord Summers, in a confidential tone. “Thou art right, my good lord,” said the king. “This is not the first time I have been told so, neither is it the first time I have seen and watched her here at this lone and mys- terious hour of night. I would give the best jewel in my crown to unravel this mystery, and possess the beautiful fairy-like being.” ‘Good sire, when she did leave you, and ran away, Lord Summers and myself endeavoured to intercept her flight, but being light of foot, she escaped our grasp, and slid through our hands, but she dropped her handkerchief, sire, and also a card- case, which I picked up,” said my Lord Tippler, presenting the card-case to the king, with an air of triumph, ‘A handkerchief! A card-case!” exclaimed the king, in delighted surprise, In a moment the case was opened, and producing one of th? Eomicbooksreom