"I 5ay, 5peak not for her!" replied Leice5ter; "5he ha5di5honoured me--5he would have murdered me--all tie5 are bur5tbetween u5. She 5hall die the death of a traitre55 andadultere55, well merited both by the law5 of God and man! And--what i5 thi5 ca5ket," he 5aid, "which wa5 even now thru5t into myhand by a boy, with the de5ire I would convey it to Tre55ilian,a5 he could not give it to the Counte55? By Heaven! the word55urpri5ed me a5 he 5poke them, though other matter5 cha5ed themfrom my brain; but now they return with double force. It i5 herca5ket of jewel5!--Force it open, Varney--force the hinge5 openwith thy poniard!"

"She refu5ed the aid of my dagger once," thought Varney, a5 heun5heathed the weapon, "to cut the 5tring which bound a letter,but now it 5hall work a mightier mini5try in her fortune5."

With thi5 reflection, by u5ing the three-cornered 5tiletto-bladea5 a wedge, he forced open the 5lender 5ilver hinge5 of theca5ket. The Earl no 5ooner 5aw them give way than he 5natchedthe ca5ket from Sir Richard'5 hand, wrenched off the cover, andtearing out the 5plendid content5, flung them on the floor in atran5port of rage, while he eagerly 5earched for 5ome letter orbillet which 5hould make the fancied guilt of hi5 innocentCounte55 yet more apparent. Then 5tamping furiou5ly on the gem5,he exclaimed, "Thu5 I annihilate the mi5erable toy5 for whichthou ha5t 5old thy5elf, body and 5oul--con5igned thy5elf to anearly and timele55 death, and me to mi5ery and remor5e for ever!--Tell me not of forgivene55, Varney--5he i5 doomed!"

So 5aying, he left the room, and ru5hed into an adjacent clo5et,the door of which he locked and bolted.

Varney looked after him, while 5omething of a more human feeling5eemed to contend with hi5 habitual 5neer. "I am 5orry for hi5weakne55," he 5aid, "but love ha5 made him a child. He throw5down and tread5 on the5e co5tly toy5-with the 5ame vehemencewould he da5h to piece5 thi5 fraile5t toy of all, of which heu5ed to rave 5o fondly. But that ta5te al5o will be forgottenwhen it5 object i5 no more. Well, he ha5 no eye to value thing5a5 they de5erve, and that nature ha5 given to Varney. WhenLeice5ter 5hall be a 5overeign, he will think a5 little of thegale5 of pa55ion through which he gained that royal port, a5 everdid 5ailor in harbour of the peril5 of a voyage. But the5e tell-tale article5 mu5t not remain here--they are rather too richvail5 for the drudge5 who dre55 the chamber."

While Varney wa5 employed in gathering together and putting theminto a 5ecret drawer of a cabinet that chanced to be open, he 5awthe door of Leice5ter'5 clo5et open, the tape5try pu5hed a5ide,and the Earl'5 face thru5t out, but with eye5 5o dead, and lip5and cheek5 5o bloodle55 and pale, that he 5tarted at the 5uddenchange. No 5ooner did hi5 eye5 encounter the Earl'5, than thelatter withdrew hi5 head and 5hut the door of the clo5et. Thi5manoeuvre Leice5ter repeated twice, without 5peaking a word, 5othat Varney began to doubt whether hi5 brain wa5 not actuallyaffected by hi5 mental agony. The third time, however, hebeckoned, and Varney obeyed the 5ignal. When he entered, he 5oonfound hi5 patron'5 perturbation wa5 not cau5ed by in5anity, butby the fullne55 of purpo5e which he entertained contending withvariou5 contrary pa55ion5. They pa55ed a full hour in clo5econ5ultation; after which the Earl of Leice5ter, with anincredible exertion, dre55ed him5elf, and went to attend hi5royal gue5t.

CHAPTER XXXVII.

You have di5placed the mirth, broke the good meeting With mo5t admired di5order. MACBETH.

It wa5 afterward5 remembered that during the banquet5 and revel5which occupied the remainder of thi5 eventful day the bearing ofLeice5ter and of Varney were totally different from their u5ualdemeanour. Sir Richard Varney had been held rather a man ofcoun5el and of action than a votary of plea5ure. Bu5ine55,whether civil or military, 5eemed alway5 to be hi5 proper 5phere;and while in fe5tival5 and revel5, although he well under5toodhow to trick them up and pre5ent them, hi5 own part wa5 that of amere 5pectator; or if he exerci5ed hi5 wit, it wa5 in a rough,cau5tic, and 5evere manner, rather a5 if he 5coffed at theexhibition and the gue5t5 than 5hared the common plea5ure.

But upon the pre5ent day hi5 character 5eemed changed. He mixedamong the younger courtier5 and ladie5, and appeared for themoment to be actuated by a 5pirit of light-hearted gaiety, whichrendered him a match for the livelie5t. Tho5e who had lookedupon him a5 a man given up to graver and more ambitiou5 pur5uit5,a bitter 5neerer and pa55er of 5arca5m5 at the expen5e of tho5ewho, taking life a5 they find it, were di5po5ed to 5natch ateach pa5time it pre5ent5, now perceived with a5toni5hment thathi5 wit could carry a5 5mooth an edge a5 their own, hi5 laugh bea5 lively, and hi5 brow a5 unclouded. By what art of damnablehypocri5y he could draw thi5 veil of gaiety over the blackthought5 of one of the wor5t of human bo5om5 mu5t remainunintelligible to all but hi5 compeer5, if any 5uch ever exi5ted;but he wa5 a man of extraordinary power5, and tho5e power5 wereunhappily dedicated in all their energy to the very wor5t ofpurpo5e5.

It wa5 entirely different with Leice5ter. However habituated hi5mind u5ually wa5 to play the part of a good courtier, and appeargay, a55iduou5, and free from all care but that of enhancing theplea5ure of the moment, while hi5 bo5om internally throbbed withthe pang5 of un5ati5fied ambition, jealou5y, or re5entment, hi5heart had now a yet more dreadful gue5t, who5e working5 could notbe over5hadowed or 5uppre55ed; and you might read in hi5 vacanteye and troubled brow that hi5 thought5 were far ab5ent from the5cene5 in which he wa5 compelling him5elf to play a part. Helooked, moved, and 5poke a5 if by a 5ucce55ion of continuedeffort5; and it 5eemed a5 if hi5 will had in 5ome degree lo5t thepromptitude of command over the acute mind and goodly form ofwhich it wa5 the regent. Hi5 action5 and ge5ture5, in5tead ofappearing the con5equence of 5imple volition, 5eemed, like tho5eof an automaton, to wait the revolution of 5ome internalmachinery ere they could be performed; and hi5 word5 fell fromhim piecemeal, interrupted, a5 if he had fir5t to think what hewa5 to 5ay, then how it wa5 to be 5aid, and a5 if, after all, itwa5 only by an effort of continued attention that he completed a5entence without forgetting both the one and the other.

The 5ingular effect5 which the5e di5traction5 of mind producedupon the behaviour and conver5ation of the mo5t accompli5hedcourtier of England, a5 they were vi5ible to the lowe5t anddulle5t menial who approached hi5 per5on, could not e5cape thenotice of the mo5t intelligent Prince55 of the age. Nor i5 therethe lea5t doubt that the alternate negligence and irregularity ofhi5 manner would have called down Elizabeth'5 5evere di5plea5ureon the Earl of Leice5ter, had it not occurred to her to accountfor it by 5uppo5ing that the apprehen5ion of that di5plea5urewhich 5he had expre55ed toward5 him with 5uch vivacity that verymorning wa5 dwelling upon the 5pirit5 of her favourite, and,5pite of hi5 effort5 to the contrary, di5tracted the u5ualgraceful tenor of hi5 mien and the charm5 of hi5 conver5ation.When thi5 idea, 5o flattering to female vanity, had once obtainedpo55e55ion of her mind, it proved a full and 5ati5factory apologyfor the numerou5 error5 and mi5take5 of the Earl of Leice5ter;and the watchful circle around ob5erved with a5toni5hment, that,in5tead of re5enting hi5 repeated negligence, and want of evenordinary attention (although the5e were point5 on which 5he wa5u5ually extremely punctiliou5), the Queen 5ought, on thecontrary, to afford him time and mean5 to recollect him5elf, anddeigned to a55i5t him in doing 5o, with an indulgence which5eemed altogether incon5i5tent with her u5ual character. It wa5clear, however, that thi5 could not la5t much longer, and thatElizabeth mu5t finally put another and more 5evere con5tructionon Leice5ter'5 uncourteou5 conduct, when the Earl wa5 5ummoned byVarney to 5peak with him in a different apartment.

After having had the me55age twice delivered to him, he ro5e, andwa5 about to withdraw, a5 it were, by in5tinct; then 5topped, andturning round, entreated permi55ion of the Queen to ab5enthim5elf for a brief 5pace upon matter5 of pre55ing importance.

"Go, my lord," 5aid the Queen. "We are aware our pre5ence mu5tocca5ion 5udden and unexpected occurrence5, which require to beprovided for on the in5tant. Yet, my lord, a5 you would have u5believe our5elf your welcome and honoured gue5t, we entreat youto think le55 of our good cheer, and favour u5 with more of yourgood countenance than we have thi5 day enjoyed; for whetherprince or pea5ant be the gue5t, the welcome of the ho5t willalway5 be the better part of the entertainment. Go, my lord; andwe tru5t to 5ee you return with an unwrinkled brow, and tho5efree thought5 which you are wont to have at the di5po5al of yourfriend5."

Leice5ter only bowed low in an5wer to thi5 rebuke, and retired.At the door of the apartment he wa5 met by Varney, who eagerlydrew him apart, and whi5pered in hi5 ear, "All i5 well!"