"And now, what the devil do you want with me'" cried the man, sturdily, turning to the officer. "Come, off with your hands! Don't be fingering my collar so hard, or I'll crack your nutshell for you." And at the same time he struggled to shake off the other's grasp; but the officer, who seemed accustomed to deal with persons that did not particularly relish his ministry, very soon settled the question with his prisoner, by striking him a blow over the head with a staff he carried, in such sort as to level him with the ground. It is wonderful how soothing to the prisoner's feelings this mild treatment seemed to be; for without any further effort he suffered himself to be led away to the alehouse, from whence he was safely removed the next morning to Westminster, the original owner of the boat being carried along with him as a witness. And here let me beg all constables, Bow Street officers, scarlet runners, street-keepers, constables of the night, and watchmen, who may read this excellent and instructive history, to take example by the prudence of this officer, who, having acquired all the information he could from other sources, wisely abstained from asking his prisoner any questions whatsoever, leaving his examination to be taken by competent persons.
Carrying his game directly to York House, the worthy and exemplary tipstaff, whose name I should not fail to record, had not Vonderbrugius unfeelingly omitted it; this prince of tipstaves, I say, placed his charge in a place of security, and, on the cardinal's return from Westminster Hall, informed him of all that he had done to fulfil the mission with which he had honoured him. The cardinal praised the tipstaff's zeal, and beginning to suspect that there was some mystery in the business, more than the mere course which Constance had taken, he ordered the prisoner and the evidence to be brought instantly before him; and proceeded himself to investigate the matter, and to see whether his fingers would be neat enough to pick the needle out of the bottle of hay: a delicate operation, for which there is but one method, which may be called the Alexandrine: namely, burn the hay, and you are sure to get the needle.
Something similar was the proceeding which the cardinal proposed to adopt; for no sooner was the prisoner brought before him, rather pale with fright, and somewhat nervous with his night's entertainment, than he pronounced a most eloquent oration upon the necessity of meeting death with firmness, warning the unhappy man, at the same time, that he had nothing to hope in this world, and bidding him to prepare for the next. Through the whole, however, he suffered to appear, implied, though not expressed, the possibility that a free confession of all the culprit knew concerning Lady Constance de Grey and her evasion might take the sting out of his offence, and disencumber his windpipe of the pressing familiarity with which it was threatened by a hempen cord.
In those times rights were but little defined, and the extent of the great civil and political powers hardly ascertained even to the minds of the cultivated and reflecting, much less to people in the rank of the person who now stood before the prelate, surrounded by all those impressive insignia which then, indeed, implied vast though borrowed power. Without going into the metaphysics of the business, it will be sufficient for my purpose to say, that the poor fellow was desperately frightened, especially as he had upon his conscience more than one hearty crime, which he well knew might at any time prove a sufficient excuse for sending him part of the way to heaven, whether he ever made the whole journey out or not. Therefore, having no great interest in concealing anything he knew, and every interest in the world in telling it, he fell down upon his knees, declaring that he would reveal all, if the cardinal would make a solemn promise that he should have the king's free pardon and the church's for every sin, crime, and misdemeanour he had committed up to that day.
It cost him nothing but a bit of parchment and a little yellow wax, and so the cardinal promised; whereupon the culprit, still upon his knees, began as follows:--
"My master, Sir Payan Wileton----"
"Sir Payan Wileton is your master, then?" cried Wolsey "So, so! Go on."
"My master, Sir Payan Wileton, my gracious lord," continued the man, "after he had been with your grace yesterday morning, returned home full speed to his house by the water's edge, near Tothill, and suddenly dispatched one of our yeomen down to Richmond with a poor foolish priest, saving your grace's presence, who had been with him some days. After that, he wrote a note, and giving it to me, bade me take with me Black John, and gallop down to the court like mad. Whenever we got there, I was to speak with Hatchel Sivard, whom he had set to spy all that passed at the palace, and who would help me to hire a boat for the day. After that was done, I was to seek the Lady de Grey, and give her the note; and then, leaving our horses at the baiting-house, I and my fellow were to wait in the boat till the lady came, and to row her whithersoever she directed; but, above all, to seem like common watermen, and to take whatever payment she gave us. And if by chance she didn't come, we were to give up the boat and return."
As may be supposed, Wolsey was not a little surprised at the intrigue which this opened to his view. "So!" said he. "So! Hatchel Sivard, the page of the queen's ante-chamber, is a pensioned spy of Sir Payan Wileton. Good! very good! Of course you carried the lady to her relation's house, ha?"
"Not so, may it please your lordship's grace," replied the man. "At first, she made as if she would have stopped at Tothill, but then she bade us row on to Westminster, where she landed."