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"Ha! they talk thus, do they?" cried the king. "I will silence their saucy
prating ere long. Tell all who venture to speak to you on the subject
that I have long suspected the queen of a secret liking for Norris, but
that I determined to conceal my suspicions till I found I had good
warrant for them. That occurred, as you know, some weeks ago.
However, I awaited a pretext for proceeding against them,and it was
furnished by their own imprudence to-day. Convinced that something
would occur, I had made my preparations; nor was I deceived. You may
add, also, that not until my marriage is invalidated, Anne's offspring
illegitimatised, and herself beheaded, shall I consider the foul blot upon
my name removed."

"Has your majesty any further commands? "said Suffolk. "I saw Norris
in his prison before I rode forth to you."

"Let him be taken to the Tower, under a strong escort, at once," said
Henry. "Lord Rochford, I suppose, has already been removed there?"

"He has," replied the duke. "Shall I attend your majesty to your
followers?"

"It is needless," replied the king. "They are waiting for me, close at
hand, at the foot of Datchet Bridge. Fare well, my good brother; look
well to your prisoners. I shall feel more easy when Anne is safely
lodged within the Tower."

So saying he wheeled round, and striking spurs into his steed, dashed
through 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 and antlered helm of this personage proclaimed the forest fiend.

"Ah! thou here, demon!" cried the king, his lion nature overmastered by
superstitious fear for a moment. "What wouldst thou?"

"You are on the eve of committing a great crime," replied Herne; "and I
told you that at such times I would always appear to you."

"To administer justice is not to commit crime," rejoined the king. "Anne
Boleyn 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 no proof of her guilt, and that in your heart of hearts you believe
her innocent. But you destroy her because you would wed Jane
Seymour! We shall 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 White
Tower, on the 16th of May, before the Duke of Norfolk, who was created
lord high steward for the occasion, and twenty-six peers. The duke had
his seat under a canopy of state, and beneath him sat the Earl of Surrey
as deputy earl-marshal.

Notwithstanding an eloquent and impassioned defence, Anne was
found guilty; and having been required to lay aside her crown and the
other insignia of royalty, was condemned to be burned or beheaded at
the king's pleasure.

On the following day, she was summoned to the archiepiscopal palace
at Lambeth, whither she was privately conveyed; and her marriage with
the king was declared by Cranmer to be null and void, and to have
always been so. Death by the axe was the doom awarded to her by the
king, and the day appointed for the execution was Friday the 19th of
May, at the hour of noon.

Leaving the conduct of the fatal ceremony to the Duke of Suffolk, who
had orders to have a signal gun fired from the summit of the White
Tower, which was to be answered from various points, when all was
over, Henry repaired to Windsor Castle on the evening of Thursday.
Before this, he had formally offered his hand to Jane Seymour; and
while the unfortunate queen was languishing within the Tower, he was
basking in the smiles of his new mistress, and counting the hours till
he. could make her his own. On the Tuesday before the execution, Jane
Seymour retired to her father's mansion, Wolff Hall, in Wiltshire, where
preparations were made for the marriage, which it was arranged should
take place there in private on the Saturday.

On arriving at the castle, Henry gave out that he should hunt on the
following morning in the great park, and retired to his closet. But he did
not long remain there, and putting on the garb of a yeoman of the
guard, descended by the narrow flight of steps (already mentioned as
occupying 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 ale at the same time. Amongst the number were the Duke of
Shoreditch, Paddington, Hector Cutbeard, and Kit Coo. At the moment
of the king's entrance, they were talking of the approaching execution.

"Oh, the vanity of worldly greatness!" exclaimed Bryan, lifting up his
hands. "Only seven years ago, last Saint George's Day, this lovely queen
first entered the castle with the king, amid pomp and splendour and
power, and with a long life--apparently--of happiness before her. And
now she is condemned to die."

"But if she has played the king false she deserves her doom," replied
Shoreditch. "I would behead my own wife if she served me the same
trick--that is, if I could."

"You do right to say 'if you could,' "rejoined Paddington. "The beheading
of a wife is a royal privilege, and cannot be enjoyed by a subject."

"Many, I wonder how the king could prefer Mistress Jane Seymour, for
my part !" said Hector Cutbeard. "To my thinking she is not to be
compared with 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 the
king; "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 your royal
master's humour. Jane Seymour is beautiful, no doubt, and so was Anne
Boleyn. Marry! we shall see many fair queens on the throne. The royal
Henry has good taste and good management. He sets his subjects a
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. I
almost 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 as
many wives as he may desire. What say you, friend?" he added, turning
to Henry. "Will you not drink that toast?"

I"That will I," replied Henry; "but I fancy the king will be content for the
present with Mistress Jane Seymour."

"For the present, no doubt," said Hector Cutbeard; "but the time will
come--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 as he
seems to delight in change of wives, I pray that he may have it to his
heart's content."

"A fair explanation," replied Henry, laughing.

"Let me give a health, my masters!" cried a tall archer, whom no one
had hitherto noticed, rising in one corner of the room. "It is--The
headsman of Calais, and may he do his work featly tomorrow!"

"Hal ha! ha! a good toast! "cried Hector Cutbeard.

"Seize him who has proposed it!" cried the king, rising; "it is Herne the
Hunter!"

"I laugh at your threats here as elsewhere, Harry," cried Herne. "We
shall meet tomorrow."

And flinging the horn cup in the face of the man nearest him, he sprang
through an open window at the back, and disappeared.

Both Cutbeard and Shoreditch were much alarmed lest the freedom of
their expressions should be taken in umbrage by the king; but he
calmed their fears by bestowing a good humoured buffet on the cheek
of the latter of them, and quitting the hostel, returned to the castle by
the same way he had left it.

On the following morning, about ten o'clock, he rode into the great park,
attended by a numerous train. His demeanour was moody and stern,
and a general gloom pervaded the company. Keeping on the western
side of the park, the party crossed Cranbourne chase; but though they
encountered several fine herds of deer, the king gave no orders to
uncouple the hounds.

At last they arrived at that part of the park where Sandpit Gate is now
situated, and pursuing a path bordered by noble trees, a fine buck was
suddenly unharboured, upon which Henry gave orders to the huntsmen
and others to follow him, adding that he. himself should proceed to
Snow Hill, where they would find him an hour hence.

All understood why the king wished to be alone, and for what purpose
he was about to repair to the eminence in question, and therefore,
without a word, the whole company started off in the chase.

Meanwhile, the king rode slowly through the woods, often pausing to
listen to the distant sounds of the hunters, and noticing the shadows on
the greensward as they grew shorter, and proclaimed the approach of
noon. At length he arrived at Snow Hill, and stationed himself beneath
the trees on its summit.

From this point a magnificent view of the castle, towering over its pomp
of woods, now covered with foliage of the most vivid green, was
commanded. The morning was bright and beautiful, the sky cloudless,
and a gentle rain had fallen over night, which had tempered the air and
freshened the leaves and the greensward. The birds were singing
blithely in the trees, and at the foot of the hill crouched a herd of deer.
All was genial and delightful, breathing of tenderness and peace,
calculated to soften the most obdurate heart.

The scene was not without its effect upon Henry; but a fierce tumult
raged within his breast. He fixed his eyes on the Round Tower, which
was distinctly visible, and from which he expected the signal, and then
tried to peer into the far horizon. But he could discern nothing. A cloud
passed over the sun, and cast a momentary gloom over the smiling
landscape. At the same time Henry's fancy was so powerfully excited,
that he fancied he could behold the terrible tragedy enacting at the.
Tower.

"She is now issuing forth into the green in front of Saint Peter's Chapel,"
said Henry to himself. "I can see her as distinctly as if I were there. Ah,
how. beautiful she looks! and how she moves all hearts to pity! Suffolk,
Richmond, Cromwell, and the Lord Mayor are there to meet her. She
takes leave of her weeping attendants--she mounts the steps of the
scaffold firmly - she looks round, and addresses the spectators. How
silent they are, and how clearly and musically her voice sounds! She
blesses me.--I hear It!--I feel it here! Now she disrobes herself, and
prepares for the fatal axe. It is wielded by the skilful executioner of
Calais, and he is now feeling its edge. Now she takes leave of her
dames, and bestows a parting gift on each. Again she kneels. and
prays. She rises. The fatal moment is at hand. Even now she retains her
courage-- she approaches the block, and places her head upon it. The
axe is raised--ha!"

The exclamation was occasioned by a flash of fire from the battlements
of the Round Tower, followed by a volume of smoke, and in another
second the deep boom of a gun was heard.

At the very moment that the flash was seen, a wild figure, mounted on a
coal-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 Henry
sternly, and pointing to the Round Tower. "The bloody deed is done,
and thou art free to wed once more. Away to Wolff Hall, and bring thy
new consort to Windsor Castle!"





THUS ENDS THE SIXTH AND LAST BOOK OF THE CHRONICLE OF
WINDSOR CASTLE

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