t ever remained her father's own daughter. And though
Henry had declared her a bastard and excluded her from the succession
to the throne, yet she bore the stamp of her royal blood in her high,
haughty brow; in her keen, flashing eye.

As she now stood before John Heywood, she was not, however, the haughty,
imperious princess, but merely the shy, blushing maiden, who feared to
trust her first girlish secret to another's ear, and ventured only with
trembling hand to draw aside the veil which concealed her heart.

"John Heywood," said she, "you have often told me that you loved me; and
I know that my poor unfortunate mother trusted you, and summoned you as
a witness of her innocence. You could not at that time save the mother,
but will you now serve Anne Boleyn's daughter, and be her faithful
friend?"

"I will," said Heywood, solemnly, "and as true as there is a God above
us, you shall never find me a traitor."

"I believe you, John; I know that I may trust you. Listen then, I will
now tell you my secret--a secret which no one but God knows, and the
betrayal of which might bring me to the scaffold. Will you then swear
to me, that you will never, under any pretext, and from any motive
whatsoever, betray to anybody, so much as a single word of what I am now
about to tell you? Will you swear to me, never to intrust this secret
to any one, even on your death-bed, and not to betray it even in the
confessional?"

"Now as regards that, princess," said John, with a laugh, "you
are perfectly safe. I never go to confession, for confession is a
highly-spiced dish of popery on which I long since spoilt my stomach;
and as concerns my deathbed, one cannot, under the blessed and pious
reign of Henry the Eighth, altogether know whether he will be really a
participant of any kind, or whether he may not make a far more speedy
and convenient trip into eternity by the aid of the hangman."

"Oh, be serious, John--do, I pray you! Let the fool's mask, under
which you hide your sober and honest face, not hide it from me also. Be
serious, John, and swear to me that you will keep my secret."

"Well, then, I swear, princess; I swear by your mother's spirit to
betray not a word of what you are going to tell me."

"I thank you, John. Now lean this way nearer to me, lest the breeze may
catch a single word of mine and bear it farther. John, I love!"

She saw the half-surprised, half-incredulous smile which played around
John Heywood's lips. "