pardon. But the king's countenance grew darker and darker, and the
courtiers watched with dread the coming of the moment when his wrath
would dash in pieces the poor Earl of Surrey.

In the row of ladies also, here and there, a pale face was visible,
and many a beautiful and beaming eye was dimmed with tears at the
sight of this gallant and handsome cavalier, who was hazarding even
his life for a woman.

"He is lost!" murmured Lady Jane Douglas; and, completely crushed
and lifeless, she leaned for a moment against the wall. But she soon
recovered herself, and her eye beamed with bold resolution. "I will
try and save him!" she said to herself; and, with firm step, she
advanced from the ladies' ranks, and approached the king.

A murmur of applause ran through the company, and all fares
brightened and all eyes were bent approvingly on Lady Jane. They
knew that she was the queen's friend, and an adherent of the new
doctrine; it was, therefore, very marked and significant when she
supported the Earl of Surrey in his magnanimous effort.

Lady Jane bowed her beautiful and haughty head before the king, and
said, in her clear, silvery voice: "Sire, in the name of all the
women, I also beseech you to pardon Anne Askew, because she is a
woman. Lord Surrey has done so because a true knight can never be
false to himself and his ever high and sacred obligation: to be the
protector of those who are helpless and in peril is enough for him.
A real gentleman asks not whether a woman is worthy of his
protection; he grants it to her, simply because she is a woman, and
needs his help. And while I, therefore, in the name of all the