! The earl is at the gates of the
city!"

The queen lingered no longer; she caught her youngest child in her arms;
the Lady Scrope followed with the two others. "Come, follow, quick,
Master Alwyn," said the duchess, who, now that she was compelled to
abandon the world of prediction and soothsaying, became thoroughly the
sagacious, plotting, ready woman of this life; "come, your face and name
will be of service to us, an' we meet with obstruction."

Before Alwyn could reply, the door was thrown abruptly open, and
several of the officers of the household rushed pell-mell into the royal
presence.

"Gracious queen!" cried many voices at once, each with a different
sentence of fear and warning, "fly! We cannot depend on the soldiers;
the populace are up,--they shout for King Henry; Dr. Godard is preaching
against you at St. Paul's Cross; Sir Geoffrey Gates has come out of the
sanctuary, and with him all the miscreants and outlaws; the mayor is now
with the rebels! Fly! the sanctuary, the sanctuary!"

"And who amongst you is of highest rank?" asked the duchess, calmly;
for Elizabeth, completely overwhelmed, seemed incapable of speech or
movement.

"I, Giles de Malvoisin, knight banneret," said an old warrior armed
cap-a-pie, who had fought in France under the hero Talbot.

"Then, sir," said the duchess, with majesty, "to your hands I confide
the eldest daughter of your king. Lead on!--we follow you. Elizabeth,
lean on me."

With this, supporting Elizabeth, and leading her second grandchild, the
duchess left the chamber.

The friar followed amidst the crowd, for well he knew that if the
soldiers of Warwick once caught hold of him, he had fared about as
happily as the fox amidst the dogs; and Alwyn, forgotten in the general
confusion, hastened to Adam's chamber.

The old man, blessing any cause that induced his patroness to dispense
with his astrological labours and restored him to the care of his
Eureka, was calmly and quietly employed in repairing the mischief
effected by the bungling friar; and Sibyll, who at the first alarm
had flown to his retreat, joyfully hailed the entrance of the friendly
goldsmith.

Alwyn was indeed perplexed what to advise, for the principal sanctuary
would, no doubt, be crowded by ruffians of the worst character; and
the better lodgments which that place, a little town in itself,
[the Sanctuary of Westminster was fortified] contained, be already
preoccupied by the Yorkists of rank; and