THE hand of Mr. Presgrave was on the last sheet of paper, neatly folded, and tied with red tape. Percy looked uneasy, and edged back his chair till he was almost hidden in the shadow of the screen. Mr. Presgrave then proceeded as follows:
Percy's Tale.
ANNE ASCUE.
"'Has she confessed nothing?'"
"'Nothing, my lord.'"
"'And recanted nothing!'"
"'Nothing.'"
"'There is no doubt but that she could give information to implicate the Queen,* whose influence with King Henry is tottering now, and ready to fall with a breath. We must try sterner means; bring the prisoner before us; she can speak, she must, and she shall.'"
* Queen Catherine Parr, the sixth and last wife of Henry VIII.
This Queen favoured the Reformation, and had many enemies, who hoped,
by torturing Anne Ascue, to induce her to confess something that might
ruin her royal mistress, and perhaps even bring her to the block.
"Thus spake stern Wriothesley, Chancellor of Henry VIII., leaning back in his massive chair, and folding his arms with an air of gloomy determination. On what are his dark eyes sternly fixed?—a long, fearful-looking machine, beside which stands a dark executioner. Do you ask its name and its use? Mercy shudders, and is silent.