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506
MARY TUDOR

of the Order of the Garter bearing the banner of the Order.


Scene 9.—The Queen, Simon Renard, Master Æneas, Lord Clinton, the Two Heralds, Lords, Pages, etc.


The Queen [to Master Æneas, in an undertone.]Has Fabiani escaped?

Master Æneas.Not yet.

The Queen.Not yet!

[She fastens her eyes upon him with a terrible expression.

Master Æneas [aside.]The devil!

Cries of the Populace [without.]Death to Fabiani!

Renard.Your Majesty must needs make up your mind instantly. The people demand this man's death. London is on fire. The Tower is besieged. The uprising is formidable. The nobles of the ban have been cut in pieces on London Bridge. Your Majesty's pensioners still hold their own; but your Majesty has been followed none the less from street to street, from the Guildhall to the Tower. The Lady Elizabeth's partisans are scattered through the mob. One feels their presence by the malignity of the uprising. All this is most ominous. What are your Majesty's commands?

Cries of the Populace.Fabiani! Death to Fabiani!

[The shouts increase in volume and draw nearer and nearer.

The Queen."Death to Fabiani!" My lords, hear you this howling mob? We must toss a man to it. The people would fain eat.

Renard.What are your Majesty's commands?