St. George and St. Michael, Volume 3MacDonald, George
History
St. George and St. Michael, Volume 3
MacDonald, George
Great Britain -- History -- Civil War, 1642-1649 -- Fiction
In high good-humour with his success, he told the story the same
evening to lady Glamorgan in Dorothy's presence. It gave her ground
for thought: she wondered that the marquis should think the king
required such lessoning. She had never dreamed that a man and his
office are not only metaphysically distinct, but may be morally
separate things; she had hitherto taken the office as the pledge for
the man, the show as the pledge for the reality; and now therefore
her notion of the king received a rude shock from his best friend.
The arrival of his majesty had added to her labours, for now again
horse must spout every day,--with no Molly to see it and rejoice.
Every fountain rushed heavenwards, 'and all the air' was 'filled
with pleasant noise of waters.' This required the fire-engine to be
kept pretty constantly at work, and Dorothy had to run up and down
the stair of the great tower several times a-day. But she lingered
on the top as often and as long as she might.
One glorious July afternoon, gazing from the top of the keep, she
saw his majesty, the marquis, some of the courtiers, and a Mr.
Prichard of the neighbourhood, on the bowling-green, having a game
together. It was like looking at a toy-representation of one, for,
so far below, everything was wondrously dwarfed and fore-shortened.
But certainly it was a pretty sight-the gay garments, the moving
figures, the bowls rolling like marbles over the green carpet, while
the sun, and the blue sky, and just an air of wind--enough to turn
every leaf into a languidly waved fan, enclosed it in loveliness and
filled it with life. It was like a picture from a CAMERA OBSCURA
dropped right at the foot of the keep, for the surrounding walk,
moat, and sunk walk beyond, were, seen from that height, but enough
to keep the bowling-green, which came to the edge of the sunk walk,
twelve feet below it, from appearing to cling to the foundations of
the tower. The circle of arches filled with shell-work and statues
of Roman emperors, which formed the face of the escarpment of the
sunk walk, looked like a curiously-cut fringe to the carpet.
While Dorothy aloft was thus looking down and watching the game,--
'What a lovely prospect it is!' said his majesty below, addressing
Mr. Prichard, while the marquis bowled.
Making answer, Mr. Prichard pointed out where his own house lay,
half hidden by a grove, and said--'May it please your majesty, I
have advised my lord to cut down those trees, so that when he wants
a good player at bowls, he may have but to beckon.'
'Nay,' returned the king, 'he should plant more trees, that so he
might not see thy house at all.'
The marquis, who had bowled, and was coming towards them, heard what
the king said, and fancying he aimed at the fault of the greedy
buying-up of land--
'If your majesty hath had enough of the game,' he said, 'and will
climb with me to the top of the tower, I will show you what may do
your mind some ease.'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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