wonderfully clear and sweet, and one of the
King's chapel-gentlemen played for him. His songs were all in French,
and the substance of some of them was scarcely decent; but I had not the
pain of hearing any that I had heard in Hare Street. During the singing
of the last of these songs, near midnight, again that mood fell on me
that all was but a painted show on a stage, and that reality was
somewhere else. The great chamber was pretty hot by now, with the
roaring fire and all the folks, and a kind of steam was in the air, as
it had been in the theatre ten days ago; and the faces were some of them
flushed and some of them pale with the heat. The Duchess of Cleveland
was walking up and down before the fire, with her hands clasped as if
she were restless; for she spoke scarce a word all the evening.

When the song was done the King clapped his hands to applaud and stood
up; and all stood with him.

"Odd's fish!" said he, "that is a pretty boy and a pretty song." Then he
gave a great yawn. "It is time to go to bed," said he.

As he said that the door from the outer gallery opened; and I saw my
Lord Ailesbury there--a young man, very languid and handsome who was
Gentleman of the Bed chamber this week, though his turn ended to-morrow;
and behind him Sir Thomas Killigrew who was Groom--(these two slept in
the King's bedchamber all night)--and two or three pages, one of them
of the Backstairs. My Lord Ailesbury carried a tall silver candlestick
in his hand with the candle burning in it. He bowed to His Majesty.

"Did I not say so?" said the king.

He did not give his hand to anyone when he said good-night, but turned
and bowed a little to the company about him on the hearth, and they back
to him, the three duchesses curtseying very low. But to me he gave his
hand to kiss.

"Good-night, Mr. Mallock," said he, in a loud voice; then, raising it--

"Mr. Mallock goes abroad to-morrow; or is it Tuesday?"

"It is Tuesday, Sir," said I.

"Then God go with you," he said very kindly.

I watched him go out to the door with his hat on, all the other
gentlemen uncovered and bowing to him, and him nodding and smiling in
very good humour, though still limping a little. And my heart seemed to
go with him. At the door however he stopped; for a strange thing had
happened. As my Lord Ailesbury had given the candle to the page who was
to go before them, it had suddenly gone out, though there was no draught
to blow it. The page looked v