on them rather to shoot him dead than let him live to see such a
day!"

"Oh, had I but been there, to turn them all to shame!"

"There were a few, Walter; Lord Cleveland, Hamilton, Careless,
Giffard, and a few more of us, charged down Sidbury Street, and broke
into the ranks of the rebels, while the King had time to make off by
S. Martin's Gate. Oh, how I longed for a few more! But the King was
saved so far; Careless, Giffard, and I came up with him again, and we
parted at nightfall. Lord Derby's counsel was that he should seek
shelter at Boscobel, and he was to disguise himself, and go thither
under Giffard's guidance. Heaven guard him, whatever becomes of us!"

"Amen!" said Walter, earnestly. "And here we are. Here is Lucy's
bank of turf, and my throne, and here we will wait till the sun is
down."

It was a beautiful green slope, covered with soft grass, short thyme,
and cushion-like moss, and overshadowed by a thick, dark yew-tree,
shut in by brushwood on all sides, and forming just such a retreat as
children love to call their own. Edmund threw himself down at full
length on it, laid aside his hat, and passed his hand across his
weary forehead. "How quiet!" said he; "but, hark! is that the
bubbling of water?" he added, raising himself eagerly.

"Yes, here," said Walter, showing him where, a little further off on
the same slope, a little clear spring rose in a natural basin of red
earth, fringed along the top with fresh green mosses.