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Meantime Miles was growing sufficiently tired of confinement and inaction. But nowⒶalteration in the MS his trial came on, to his great gratification, and he thought he could welcome any sentence provided a further imprisonment should not be a part of it. But he was mistaken about that. He was in a fine fury when he found himself described as a “sturdy vagabond” andⒶalteration in the MS sentenced to sit two hours in the pillory for bearing that character and for assaulting the master of Hendon Hall. His pretensions as to brothership with his prosecutor, and rightful heirshipⒶalteration in the MS to the Hendon honorsⒶhistorical collation Ⓐemendation and estates, were left contemptuously unnoticed, as being not even worth examination.

He raged and threatened,Ⓐalteration in the MS on his way to punishment, but it did no good; he was snatched roughly along, by the officers, and got an occasional cuff, besides, for his unreverentⒶhistorical collation conduct.

The king could not pierce through the rabbleⒶalteration in the MS that swarmedⒶalteration in the MS behind; so he was obliged to follow in the rear, remote from his good friend and servant. The king had been nearly condemned to the stocks, himself, for being in such had company, but had been let off with a lecture and a warning, in consideration of his youth. When the crowd at last halted, he flitted feverishly from point to point around its [begin page 286] outer rim, hunting a place to get through;Ⓐalteration in the MS and at last, after a deal of difficulty and delay, succeeded. There sat his poor henchman in the degradingⒶalteration in the MS stocks, the sport and butt of a dirty mob—he, the body servant of the king of England! Edward had heard the sentence pronounced, but he had not realized the half that it meant. His anger began to rise as the sense of this new indignity which had been put upon him sank home; it jumped to summer heat, the next moment, when he saw an egg sail through the air and crush itself against

Hendon’s cheek, and heard the crowd roar its enjoyment of the episode. He sprang across the open circle and confronted the officer in charge, crying—

“For shame! This is my servant—set him free!Ⓐalteration in the MS I am the—”

“OⒶhistorical collation, peace!” exclaimed Hendon, in a panic, “thou’ltⒶemendation destroy thyself. Mind him not, officer, he is mad.”

“Give thyself no trouble as to the matter of minding him, good man, I have small mind to mind him; but as to teaching him somewhat, to that I am well inclined.”Ⓐalteration in the MS He turned to a subordinate and said, “Give the little fool a tasteⒶalteration in the MS or two of the lash, to mend his manners.”Ⓐalteration in the MS

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“Half a dozen will better serve his turn,” suggested Sir Hugh, who had ridden up,Ⓐalteration in the MS a moment before, to take a passing glance at the proceedings.

The king was seizedⒶemendation. He did not even struggle, so paralyzed was he with the mere thought of the monstrous outrage that was proposed to be inflicted upon his sacred person. History was already defiled with the record of the scourging of an English king with whips—it was an intolerable reflection that he must furnish a duplicate of that shameful pageⒺexplanatory note. He was in the toils, there was no help for him: he must either take this punishment or beg for its remission. Hard conditions; he would take the stripes—a king might do that, but a king could not beg.

But meantime, Miles Hendon was resolving the difficulty. “Let the child go,” said he; “ye heartless dogs, do ye not see how young and frail he is? Let him go—I will take his lashes.”

“Marry,Ⓐalteration in the MS a good thought,Ⓐalteration in the MS—and thanks for it,” said Sir Hugh, his face lighting with a sardonic satisfaction. “Let the little beggar go, and give this fellow a dozen in his place—an honest dozen, well laid on.” The king was in the act of entering a fierce protest, but Sir Hugh silenced him with the potent remark, “Yes, speak up, do, and free thy mind—only, mark ye, that for each word you utterⒶalteration in the MS he shall get six strokes the more.”

Hendon was removed from the stocks, and his back laid bare;Ⓐalteration in the MS and whilst the lash was applied the poor little king turned away his face and allowed unroyal tears to channel his cheeks unchecked. “Ah, brave good heart,” he said to himself, “this loyal deed shall never perish out of my memory.Ⓐalteration in the MS I will not forget it—and neither shall they!” he added, with passion. Whilst he mused, his appreciation of Hendon’s magnanimous conduct grewⒶalteration in the MS to greater and still greater dimensions in his mind, and so also did his gratefulness for it. Presently he said to himself, “Who saves his prince from woundsⒶalteration in the MS and possible death—and this he did for me—performs high service; but it is little—it is nothing!—OⒶhistorical collation, less than nothing!—when ’tis weighed against the act of him who saves his prince from shame!”Ⓐalteration in the MS

Hendon made no outcryⒶemendation, under the scourge, but bore the heavy blows with soldierly fortitude. This, together with his redeemingⒶalteration in the MS the boy by taking his stripes for him, compelled the respect of even that forlorn and degraded mob that was gathered there; and its jibes and [begin page 288]

hootings died away, and no sound remained but the sound of the falling blows. The stillness that pervadedⒶalteration in the MS the place, when Hendon found himself once more in the stocks, was in strong contrast with the insulting clamor which had prevailed there so little a while before. The king came softly to Hendon’s side, and whispered in hisⒶalteration in the MS ear—

“Kings cannot ennoble thee, thou good, great soul, for One who is higher than kings hath done that for thee; but a king can confirm thy nobility to men.” He picked up the scourge from the ground, touched Hendon’s bleeding shoulders lightlyⒶalteration in the MS with it, and whisperedⒶemendation, “Edward of England dubs thee earl!”

Hendon was touched. The water welled to his eyes, yet at the same time the grisly humor of the situation and circumstances so undermined his gravity that it was all he could do to keep some sign of his [begin page 289] inward mirth from showing outside. To be suddenly hoisted, naked and gory, from the common stocks to the Alpine altitude and splendor of an Earldom, seemed to him the last possibility in the line of the grotesque. He said to himself, “Now am I finely tinseled, indeed!Ⓐalteration in the MS The spectre-knightⒶhistorical collation Ⓐemendation of the Kingdom of Dreams and Shadows is become a spectre-earl!Ⓐalteration in the MS—a dizzy flight for a callow wing! An’Ⓐalteration in the MS this go on, I shall presently be hung like a very May-poleⒶemendation with fantastic gauds and make-believe

honors. ButⒶalteration in the MS I shall value them, all valueless as they are, for the love that doth bestow them. Better these poor mock dignities of mine,Ⓐalteration in the MS that come unasked, from a clean hand and a rightⒶalteration in the MS spirit, than real ones bought by servility from grudging and interestedⒶalteration in the MS power.”

The dreaded Sir Hugh wheeled his horse about, and as he spurredⒶalteration in the MS away, the living wall divided silently to let him pass, and as silently closed together again. And so remainedⒶalteration in the MS; nobody went so farⒶalteration in the MS as to venture a remark in favorⒶalteration in the MS of the prisoner, or in compliment to him; [begin page 290] but no matter, the absence of abuse was a sufficient homage in itself. A late comer who was not posted, as to the present circumstances, and whoⒶalteration in the MS delivered a sneer at the “impostor” and was in the act of following it with a dead cat, was promptly knocked down and kicked out, without any words, and then the deep quiet resumed sway once more.