ul was steeped in the delicious essence of the girl.
I would also call your attention to the conditions under which his passion
for Dorothy had arisen. It is true he received the shaft when first he saw
her at the Royal Arms in Derby-town, but the shaft had come from Dorothy's
eyes. Afterward she certainly had done her full part in the wooing. It was
for her sake, after she had drawn him on to love her, that he became a
servant in Haddon Hall. For her sake he faced death at the hands of her
father. And it was through her mad fault that the evil came upon him of
which I shall now tell you. That she paid for her fault in suffering does
not excuse her, since pain is but the latter half of evil.

During the term of Elizabeth's residence in Haddon Hall John returned to
Rutland with Queen Mary Stuart, whose escape from Lochleven had excited
all England. The country was full of rumors that Mary was coming to
England not so much for sanctuary as to be on the ground ready to accept
the English crown when her opportunity to do so should occur. The
Catholics, a large and powerful party, flushed with their triumphs under
the "Bloody Queen," were believed to sympathize with Mary's cause.
Although Elizabeth said little on the subject, she felt deeply, and she
feared trouble should the Scottish queen enter her dominion. Another cause
of annoyance to Elizabeth was the memory that Leicester had once been
deeply impressed with Mary's charms, and had sought her hand in marriage.
Elizabeth's prohibition alone had prevented the match. That thought
rankled in Elizabeth's heart, and she hated Mary, although her hatred, as
in all other cases, was tempered with justice and mercy. This great queen
had the brain of a man with its motives, and the heart of a woman with its
emotions.

When news of Mary's escape reached London, Cecil came in great haste to
Haddon. During a consultation with Elizabeth he advised her to seize Mary,
should she enter England, and to check the plots made in Mary's behalf by
executing the principal friends of the Scottish queen. He insistently
demanded that Elizabeth should keep Mary under lock and key, should she be
so fortunate as to obtain possession of her person, and that the men who
were instrumental in bringing her into England should be arraigned for
high treason.

John certainly had been instrumental in bringing her into England, and if
Cecil's advice were taken by the queen, John's head would pay the forfeit
f