"Rash precipitate man! thou shall repent this! What interest can I possibly have in whispering these truths in thine ear? Did I ever ask or hint at a favour from thee? Or was aught ever, save thy own welfare, the purport of my messages? Adieu, my lord! There must another commissioner wait on you presently, and one who will elude the most vigilant of your sentinels."
"Stay, Benjamin: Thou art, indeed, blameless. If thou hast ought to warn me of, say it and have done, for I am not in a mood to be trifled with."
"I have been bid to caution you to look to yourself, for that there is treason within the walls of this castle. Will you answer me one or two queries truly and seriously, that I may know whether the being that commissioned me be a true spirit or a false one?"
"I will."
"Have you got a private offer to a prodigious amount for the ransom of Lady Jane Howard?"
"Monk, thou hast had this from hell.—I have."
"Which thou hast rejected, with the secret intent of asking her in marriage yourself, should circumstances concur to favour the device?"
"It is false!—false as the source whence thou hadst it."
"Ah! Then have I done! my informant is a false one."