Pierrot followed with sundry half-articulate grunts; but he appeared soon to recover both good humor and spirits, for ere they had gone half a mile he burst forth into song, broken and irregular indeed, now a scrap from one lay, now from another; but, at all events, the music seemed to show that no very heavy thing was resting on his mind. His rambling scraps of old ditties ran somewhat as follows:-- "Whither go you on this dark, dark night, Wayfaring cavalier? Go you to love, or go you to fight? Either is better by clear moonlight, Venturous cavalier. "By my life, the moon is beginning to break through,--though how she will manage it I don't know; for there is mud enough in yonder sky to swallow up the tallest horse I ever rode. "Oh, tell-tale moon, You are up too soon For the long train of kisses yet on the way. Your eyes so bright Make all the world light: We might just as well kiss in the full of the day. "She has got behind the cloud again. Moons and maidens don't know their own minds. "Katy went to the cupboard-door, Ah, Katy, Katy! What want you in your grandam's store? Cunning little Katy. "She went quietly over the floor: Fie, Katy, Katy! No use of the lock, no use of the door, Against that little Katy. "She's put away her own little snood: Fie, little Katy! She has got on her grandmother's hood: Can that be pretty Katy? "She has opened the back door into the wood: Beware! Katy, Katy; Such sly marches never bode good To any little Katy. "But there's a priest with the yeoman tall: Is that it, little Katy? And now she is wedded and bedded and all, And no more little Katy." The concluding stanzas, if they were neither very excellent nor very tender, were at least an indication that his mind was settling down into a calmer state than when he began. They were connected, at all events; and continuity of thought is a great approach to reason, which dwelleth not in the brains of any man together with much brandy. The finer spirit was, therefore, apparently getting the better of the coarser; and Master Ned thought the time was come for him to take advantage of the change of dynasty and see whether he could not obtain some advantage from the new ruler. "Well, Pierrot," he said, "this is a very pretty business you have been engaged in. After having had the honor of serving the King of England and fighting for the liberty of the Protestants of France, you have been persuaded to aid in trying to betray me into the hands of the enemy, though you did not know that I might not be the bearer of important messages to your own people."