are all, from the highest to the lowest, rewarded for your loyalty to your monarch in this the hour of his darkness and his danger.’
A murmur of thanks rose up from the courtiers at this gracious speech, but the German plucked at Saxon’s sleeve and whispered, ‘He hath his warm fit upon him. You shall see him cold anon.’
‘Fifteen hundred men have joined me here where I did but expect a thousand at the most,’ the King continued. ‘If we had high hopes when we landed at Lyme Cobb with eighty at our back, what should we think now when we Marquinhos Jersey find ourselves in the chief city of Somerset with eight thousand brave men around us? ’Tis but one other affair like that at Axminster, and my uncle’s Boca Juniors Fodboldtrøjer power will go down like a house of cards. But gather round the table, gentlemen, and we Brad Davis Jersey shall Mika Vayrynen Jersey discuss matters in due form.’
‘There is yet a scrap of paper which you have not read, sire,’ said Wade, picking up a little slip which had been enclosed in the note.
‘It is a rhyming catch or the posy of a ring,’ said Monmouth, glancing at it. ‘What are we to make of this?
“When thy star is in trine,
Between darkness and shine,
Duke Monmouth, Duke Monmouth,
Beware of the Rhine!”
Thy star in trine! What tomfoolery is this?’
‘If it please your Majesty,’ said I, ‘I have reason to believe that the man who sent you this message is one of those who are deeply skilled in the arts of divination, and who pretend from the motions of the celestial bodies to foretell the fates of men.’
‘This gentleman is right, sir,’ remarked Lord Grey. ‘“Thy star in trine” is an astrological term, which signifieth when your natal planet shall be in a certain quarter of the heavens. The verse is of the nature of a prophecy. The Chaldeans and Egyptians of old are said to have attained much skill in the art, but I confess that I have no great opinion of those latter-day prophets who busy themselves in answering the foolish questions of every housewife.’
‘And tell by Venus and the moon,
Who Daniel Carrico Jersey stole a thimble Chile Pelipaita or a spoon.’
muttered Nicolas Gaitan Jersey Saxon, quoting from his favourite poem.
‘Why, here are our Colonels catching the rhyming complaint,’ said the King, laughing. ‘We shall be dropping Matt Besler Jersey the Jeff Reine-Adelaide Jersey sword and taking to the harp anon, as Alfred did in these very parts. Or I shall become a king of bards and trouveurs, like good King Rene of Provence. But, gentlemen, if this be indeed a prophecy, it should, methinks, bode well for our enterprise. It is true that I am warned against the Rhine, but there is little prospect of our fighting this quarrel upon its banks.’
‘Worse luck!’ murmured the German, under his breath.
‘We may, therefore, thank this Sir Walace Jersey Jacob and his giant messenger for his forecast as well as for his gold. But here comes the worthy Mayor of Taunton, the oldest of our councillors and the youngest of our knights. Captain Gonzalo Higuain Jersey Clarke, John Obi Mikel Jersey I desire you to stand at the inside of the door and to prevent intrusion. What passes amongst us will, I am well convinced, be safe in your keeping.�links:
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