nobility contend for the honour of posts about the person
of Warwick, and even of his brothers, and so strong was the belief that
the earl's power to make or to mar fortune was all-paramount in England,
that even a place in the king's household was considered an inferior
appointment to that which made Warwick the immediate patron and
protector. This was more especially the case amongst the more haughty
and ancient gentry since the favour shown by Edward to the relations
of his wife, and his own indifference to the rank and birth of his
associates. Warwick had therefore spoken with truth when he expressed
a comparative pity for the youth, whom he could not better provide for
than by a place about the court of his sovereign!

The earl then drew from Marmaduke some account of his early training,
his dependence on his brother, his adventures at the archery-ground, his
misadventure with the robbers, and even his sojourn with Warner,--though
Marmaduke was discreetly silent as to the very existence of Sibyll. The
earl, in the mean while, walked to and fro the chamber with a light,
careless stride, every moment pausing to laugh at the frank simplicity
of his kinsman, or to throw in some shrewd remark, which he cast
purposely in the rough Westmoreland dialect; for no man ever attains to
the popularity that rejoiced or accursed the Earl of Warwick, without a
tendency to broad and familiar humour, without a certain commonplace
of character in its shallower and more every-day properties. This
charm--always great in the great--Warwick possessed to perfection; and
in him--such was his native and unaffected majesty of bearing, and
such the splendour that surrounded his name--it never seemed coarse or
unfamiliar, but "everything he did became him best." Marmaduke had just
brought his narrative to a conclusion, when, after a slight tap at the
door, which Warwick did not hear, two fair young forms bounded joyously
in, and not seeing the stranger, threw themselves upon Warwick's breast
with the caressing familiarity of infancy.

"Ah, Father," said the elder of these two girls, as Warwick's hand
smoothed her hair fondly, "you promised you would take us in your barge
to see the sports on the river, and now it will be too late."

"Make your peace with your young cousins here," said the earl, turning
to Marmaduke; "you will cost them an hour's joyaunce. This is my eldest
daughter, Isabel; and this soft-eyed, pale-cheeked damozel--too loyal