y, dear heart, nothing whatever," he said, lovingly;
"only that Austin hath spoken to me touching him, and therefore I could
not say I had heard nothing. And at most 'tis only a guess. I cry thee
mercy not to have told thee, but seeing how unsure it were, I thought it
more kindlier not to trouble thee. Well, sweeting, what Austin said was
this: he hath made all search in every prison he hath visited, and spake
unto divers prisoners, but no word of the dear lad may he have. And he
is afeard, Isoult--it is but a guess, thou wist!--that all is over
already."

Before he had half finished, his meaning struck on her heart, like a
passing bell. "All over!" she knew what that meant.

"O my God! wilt thou not give us one word that we may know? This
watching and waiting is so hard to bear. I desire to be, to do, to
suffer Thy will; but, Father, it is very weary work to wait! `If it be
possible,' send us some word of our lost darling! `Make no long
tarrying, O my God!'"

It was not to John, and not aloud, that this was spoken.

It is not only children who are afraid of the dark. We all love to walk
by sight. We are rarely content to see only the next step we must take;
yet it is all we need see, and often all that God will show us. The
darkness and the light are both alike to Him; and if only we would let
Him see for us, we should act the part of wise children. It is easy,
when the light comes, to cry out at our past foolishness in being afraid
of the dark. We never think so while the darkness is upon us.

A few days later came Philippa Basset, full of Court news, which she had
from her brother James.

"Yesterday," said she, "came a letter or messenger from King Philip,
denying his present return hither: whereupon the Queen fell into so
great a chafe, that she commanded his picture borne out of the privy
chamber. Thus far my brother; but Jack Throgmorton saith that she
fetched a knife and scored the picture twice or thrice all the way down,
and then kicked it out of the chamber. [Throgmorton denied having said
this, when a judicial inquiry was held.] `Saint Mary worshipped might
she be!' said I to James, `is her Grace a woman like to do that?'
`Nay,' saith he, `not half so like as thou shouldst be in her place.'"
Whereat Philippa laughed merrily.

Isoult was in a mood for any thing rather than laughter. It was too
near Easter for mirth. Easter, which should be the most blessed
festival of the year, was n