our young ladies of honour. Your
venerable age, my lord," she continued, smiling, "may be better assorted
with that of my Lord Treasurer, who follows in the third boat, and by
whose experience even my Lord Willoughby's may be improved."

Lord Willoughby hid his disappointment under a smile--laughed, was
confused, bowed, and left the Queen's barge to go on board my Lord
Burleigh's. Leicester, who endeavoured to divert his thoughts from all
internal reflection, by fixing them on what was passing around, watched
this circumstance among others. But when the boat put off from the
shore--when the music sounded from a barge which accompanied them--when
the shouts of the populace were heard from the shore, and all reminded
him of the situation in which he was placed, he abstracted his thoughts
and feelings by a strong effort from everything but the necessity of
maintaining himself in the favour of his patroness, and exerted his
talents of pleasing captivation with such success, that the Queen,
alternately delighted with his conversation, and alarmed for his health,
at length imposed a temporary silence on him, with playful yet anxious
care, lest his flow of spirits should exhaust him.

"My lords," she said, "having passed for a time our edict of silence
upon our good Leicester, we will call you to counsel on a gamesome
matter, more fitted to be now treated of, amidst mirth and music, than
in the gravity of our ordinary deliberations. Which of you, my lords,"
said she, smiling, "know aught of a petition from Orson Pinnit,
the keeper, as he qualifies himself, of our royal bears? Who stands
godfather to his request?"

"Marry, with Your Grace's good permission, that do I," said the Earl of
Sussex. "Orson Pinnit was a stout soldier before he was so mangled by
the skenes of the Irish clan MacDonough; and I trust your Grace will
be, as you always have been, good mistress to your good and trusty
servants."

"Surely," said the Queen, "it is our purpose to be so, and in especial
to our poor soldiers and sailors, who hazard their lives for little pay.
We would give," she said, with her eyes sparkling, "yonder royal palace
of ours to be an hospital for their use, rather than they should call
their mistress ungrateful. But this is not the question," she said,
her voice, which had been awakened by her patriotic feelings, once more
subsiding into the tone of gay and easy conversation; "for this Orson
Pinnit's request goes something furthe