Meantime, the lord-lieutenant was demanding of his secretary:
"Which is the Statute that treats of nobilis cum rusticis tumultuans?"
The secretary was a walking legal code. He not only knew that the law in question was article thirty-three, of the year 1514, but could quote the passage word for word: "Noblemen who take part in any risings of the peasantry shall be banished, and shall forfeit the whole of their estates."
His Excellency uttered a growl of discontent; evidently the citation was not an apt one.
"What about that other statute of Nota Conjurationis?"
"Article forty of 1536 pronounces sedition to be high-treason. See Nota Infidelitatis."
His Excellency shook his head.
"And that of Calumniator Consiliariorum?"
"Article of the year 1588 runs as follows:—Whosoever shall calumniate and unjustly attaint any of the Empire's councillors, shall be condemned to lose his head and forfeit all his goods."