losing Jane, and it came like a very stroke
upon my heart. I would think of her sweet little form, so compact and
graceful; of her gray, calm eyes, so full of purity and mischief; of
her fair oval face, almost pale, and wonder if I could live without
the hope of her. I determined, however, that if she learned the new
dance with any other man I would throw that hope to the winds, whether
I lived or died. St. George! I believe I should have died.

The evening was devoted to learning the new dance, and I saw Mary
busily engaged imparting information among the ladies. As we were
about to disperse I heard her say to Brandon:

"You have greatly pleased the king by bringing him a new amusement. He
asked me where I learned it, and I told him you had taught it to
Caskoden, and that I had it from him. I told Caskoden so that he can
tell the same story."

"Oh! but that is not true. Don't you think you should have told him
the truth, or have evaded it in some way?" asked Brandon, who was
really a great lover of the truth, "when possible," but who, I fear on
this occasion, wished to appear more truthful than he really was. If a
man is to a woman's taste, and she is inclined to him, he lays up
great stores in her heart by making her think him good; and shameful
impositions are often practiced to this end.

Mary flushed a little and answered, "I can't help it. You do not know.
Had I told Henry that we four had enjoyed such a famous time in my
rooms he would have been very angry, and--and--you might have been the
sufferer."

"But might you not have compromised matters by going around the truth
some way, and leaving the impression that others were of the party
that evening?"

That was a mistake, for it gave Mary an opportunity to retaliate: "The
best way to go around the truth, as you call it, is by a direct lie.
My lie was no worse than yours. But I did not stop to argue about such
matters. There is something else I wished to say. I want to tell you
that you have greatly pleased the king with the new dance. Now teach
him 'honor and ruff' and your fortune is made. He has had some Jews
and Lombards in of late to teach him new games at cards, but yours is
worth all of them." Then, somewhat hastily and irrelevantly, "I did
not dance the new dance with any other gentleman--but I suppose you
did not notice it," and she was gone before he could thank her.

_CHAPTER VI_

_A Rare Ride to Windsor_

The princess knew her roya