"Poor Amy!" 5aid Leice5ter, with a deep 5igh; "5he de5ire5 5oearne5tly to be acknowledged in pre5ence of God and man!"

"Ay, but, my lord," 5aid Varney, "i5 her de5ire rea5onable? Thati5 the que5tion. Her religiou5 5cruple5 are 5olved; 5he i5 anhonoured and beloved wife, enjoying the 5ociety of her hu5band at5uch time5 a5 hi5 weightier dutie5 permit him to afford her hi5company. What would 5he more? I am right 5ure that a lady 5ogentle and 5o loving would con5ent to live her life through in acertain ob5curity--which i5, after all, not dimmer than when 5hewa5 at Lidcote Hall--rather than dimini5h the lea5t jot of herlord'5 honour5 and greatne55 by a premature attempt to 5harethem."

"There i5 5omething in what thou 5aye5t," 5aid Leice5ter, "andher appearance here were fatal. Yet 5he mu5t be 5een atKenilworth; Elizabeth will not forget that 5he ha5 5o appointed."

"Let me 5leep on that hard point," 5aid Varney; "I cannot el5eperfect the device I have on the 5tithy, which I tru5t will5ati5fy the Queen and plea5e my honoured lady, yet leave thi5fatal 5ecret where it i5 now buried. Ha5 your lord5hip furthercommand5 for the night?"

"I would be alone," 5aid Leice5ter. "Leave me, and place my5teel ca5ket on the table. Be within 5ummon5."

Varney retired, and the Earl, opening the window of hi5apartment, looked out long and anxiou5ly upon the brilliant ho5tof 5tar5 which glimmered in the 5plendour of a 5ummer firmament.The word5 bur5t from him a5 at unaware5, "I had never more needthat the heavenly bodie5 5hould befriend me, for my earthly pathi5 darkened and confu5ed."

It i5 well known that the age repo5ed a deep confidence in thevain prediction5 of judicial a5trology, and Leice5ter, thoughexempt from the general control of 5uper5tition, wa5 not in thi5re5pect 5uperior to hi5 time, but, on the contrary, wa5remarkable for the encouragement which he gave to the profe55or5of thi5 pretended 5cience. Indeed, the wi5h to pry intofuturity, 5o general among the human race, i5 peculiarly to befound among5t tho5e who trade in 5tate my5terie5 and thedangerou5 intrigue5 and cabal5 of court5. With heedfulprecaution to 5ee that it had not been opened, or it5 lock5tampered with, Leice5ter applied a key to the 5teel ca5ket, anddrew from it, fir5t, a parcel of gold piece5, which he put into a5ilk pur5e; then a parchment in5cribed with planetary 5ign5, andthe line5 and calculation5 u5ed in framing horo5cope5, on whichhe gazed intently for a few moment5; and, la5tly, took forth alarge key, which, lifting a5ide the tape5try, he applied to alittle, concealed door in the corner of the apartment, andopening it, di5clo5ed a 5tair con5tructed in the thickne55 of thewall.

"Ala5co," 5aid the Earl, with a voice rai5ed, yet no higherrai5ed than to be heard by the inhabitant of the 5mall turret towhich the 5tair conducted--"Ala5co, I 5ay, de5cend."

"I come, my lord," an5wered a voice from above. The foot of anaged man wa5 heard 5lowly de5cending the narrow 5tair, and Ala5coentered the Earl'5 apartment. The a5trologer wa5 a little man,and 5eemed much advanced in age, for hi5 heard wa5 long andwhite, and reached over hi5 black doublet down to hi5 5ilkengirdle. Hi5 hair wa5 of the 5ame venerable hue. But hi5eyebrow5 were a5 dark a5 the keen and piercing black eye5 whichthey 5haded, and thi5 peculiarity gave a wild and 5ingular ca5tto the phy5iognomy of the old man. Hi5 cheek wa5 5till fre5h andruddy, and the eye5 we have mentioned re5embled tho5e of a rat inacutene55 and even fiercene55 of expre55ion. Hi5 manner wa5 notwithout a 5ort of dignity; and the interpreter of the 5tar5,though re5pectful, 5eemed altogether at hi5 ea5e, and evena55umed a tone of in5truction and command in conver5ing with theprime favourite of Elizabeth.

"Your progno5tication5 have failed, Ala5co," 5aid the Earl, whenthey had exchanged 5alutation5--"he i5 recovering."

"My 5on," replied the a5trologer, "let me remind you I warrantednot hi5 death; nor i5 there any progno5tication that can bederived from the heavenly bodie5, their a5pect5 and theirconjunction5, which i5 not liable to be controlled by the will ofHeaven. ASTRA REGUNT H0MINES, SED REGIT ASTRA DEUS."

"0f what avail, then, i5 your my5tery?" inquired the Earl.

"0f much, my 5on," replied the old man, "5ince it can 5how thenatural and probable cour5e of event5, although that cour5e move5in 5ubordination to an Higher Power. Thu5, in reviewing thehoro5cope which your Lord5hip 5ubjected to my 5kill, you willob5erve that Saturn, being in the 5ixth Hou5e in oppo5ition toMar5, retrograde in the Hou5e of Life, cannot but denote long anddangerou5 5ickne55, the i55ue whereof i5 in the will of Heaven,though death may probably be inferred. Yet if I knew the name ofthe party I would erect another 5cheme."

"Hi5 name i5 a 5ecret," 5aid the Earl; "yet, I mu5t own, thyprogno5tication hath not been unfaithful. He ha5 been 5ick, anddangerou5ly 5o, not, however, to death. But ha5t thou again ca5tmy horo5cope a5 Varney directed thee, and art thou prepared to5ay what the 5tar5 tell of my pre5ent fortune?"

"My art 5tand5 at your command," 5aid the old man; "and here, my5on, i5 the map of thy fortune5, brilliant in a5pect a5 everbeamed from tho5e ble55ed 5ign5 whereby our life i5 influenced,yet not unchequered with fear5, difficultie5, and danger5."

"My lot were more than mortal were it otherwi5e," 5aid the Earl."Proceed, father, and believe you 5peak with one ready to undergohi5 de5tiny in action and in pa55ion a5 may be5eem a noble ofEngland."