among my tenantry, I have almost from a boy been actively engaged
in warfare or have been away as an exile. Here every one of gentle
blood has been more or less mixed up in these civil broils. To
few of us does it personally matter whether a member of the House
of York or Lancaster sits on the throne, and yet we have been
almost compelled to take sides with one or the other; and now,
in my middle age I am on the eve of another battle in which I risk
my life and fortune. If we win I gain naught but the satisfaction
of seeing young Edward made King of England. If we lose I am going
into exile again, or I may leave my wife a widow, and my child
penniless."

"It is too true, Tresham; and as I am as likely to fall as you are,
the child might be left without a protector as well as fatherless.
However, against that I will provide. I will write a letter
to Peter D'Aubusson, who is the real governor of Rhodes, for the
Grand Master Orsini is so old that his rule is little more than
nominal. At his death D'Aubusson is certain to be elected Grand
Master. He is a dear friend of mine. We entered the Order the
same year, and were comrades in many a fight with the Moslems, and
I am quite sure that when I tell him that it is my last request
of him, he will, in memory of our long friendship, appoint your son
as one of the Grand Master's pages. As you know, no one, however
high his rank, is accepted as a novice before the age of sixteen.
After a year's probation he is received into the body of the
Order as a professed knight, and must go out and serve for a time
in Rhodes. After three years of active service he must reside two
more at the convent, and can then be made a commander. There is
but one exception to the rule -- namely, that the pages of the
grand master are entitled to the privilege of admission at the age