ot better provide an extra box for it?"

She gave a nervous little laugh, and the tears filled her eyes, as she
whispered huskily: "I fancy there is one who will not think it too
large. Good-bye! good-bye!" So we left Mary, fair, sweet girl-queen,
all alone among those terrible strangers; alone with one little
English maiden, seven years of age--Anne Boleyn.

_CHAPTER XXI_

_Letters from a Queen_

Upon our return to England I left Jane down in Suffolk with her uncle,
Lord Bolingbroke, having determined never to permit her to come within
sight of King Henry again, if I could prevent it. I then went up to
London with the twofold purpose of seeing Brandon and resigning my
place as Master of the Dance.

When I presented myself to the king and told him of my marriage, he
flew into a great passion because we had not asked his consent. One of
his whims was that everyone must ask his permission to do anything; to
eat, or sleep, or say one's prayers; especially to marry, if the lady
was of a degree entitled to be a king's ward. Jane, fortunately, had
no estate, the king's father having stolen it from her when she was an
infant; so all the king could do about our marriage was to grumble,
which I let him do to his heart's content.

"I wish also to thank your majesty for the thousand kindnesses you
have shown me," I said, "and, although it grieves me to the heart to
separate from you, circumstances compel me to tender my resignation as
your Master of Dance." Upon this he was kind enough to express regret,
and ask me to reconsider; but I stood my ground firmly, and then and
there ended my official relations with Henry Tudor forever.

Upon taking my leave of the king I sought Brandon, whom I found
comfortably ensconced in our old quarters, he preferring them to much
more pretentious apartments offered him in another part of the palace.
The king had given him some new furnishings for them, and as I was to
remain a few days to attend to some matters of business, he invited me
to share his comfort with him, and I gladly did so.

Those few days with Brandon were my farewell to individuality.
Thereafter I was to be so mysteriously intermingled with Jane that I
was only a part--and a small part at that I fear--of two. I did not,
of course, regret the change, since it was the one thing in life I
most longed for, yet the period was tinged with a faint sentiment of
pathos at parting from the old life that had been so kind to