ning, which was made after the fashion proper to England. So attired, he repaired to the Cathedral, where the noble mien of the cavalier imposed such respect on the attendants, that he was permitted to approach close to the side of the bier; and it was across the coffin of the Queen for whom he had acted and suffered so much, that the gallant Earl of Oxford exchanged a melancholy glance with his son. The assistants, especially the English servants of Margaret, gazed on them both with respect and wonder, and the elder cavalier, in particular, seemed to them no unapt representative of the faithful subjects of England, paying their last duty at the tomb of her who had so long swayed the sceptre, if not faultlessly, yet always with a bold and resolved hand. The last sound of the solemn dirge had died away, and almost all the funeral attendants had retired, when the father and son still lingered in mournful silence beside the remains of their Sovereign. The clergy at length approached, and intimated they were about to conclude the last duties, by removing the body which had been lately occupied and animated by so haughty and restless a spirit, to the dust, darkness, and silence of the vault, where the long-descended Counts of Provence awaited dissolution. Six priests raised the bier on their shoulders, others bore huge waxen torches before and behind the body, as they carried it down a private staircase which yawned in the floor to admit their descent. The last notes of the requiem, in which the churchmen joined, had died away along the high and fretted arches of the Cathedral, the last flash of light which arose from the mouth of the vault had glimmered and disappeared, when the Earl of Oxford, taking his son by the arm, led him in silence forth into a small cloistered court behind the building, where they found themselves alone. They were silent for a few minutes, for both, and particularly the father, were deeply affected. At length the Earl spoke. "And this, then, is her end," said he. "Here, royal lady, all that we have planned and pledged life upon falls to pieces with thy dissolution! The heart of resolution, the head of policy is gone; and what avails it that the limbs of the enterprise still have motion and life? Alas, Margaret of Anjou! may Heaven reward thy virtues, and absolve thee from the consequence of thine errors! Both belonged to thy station, and if thou didst hoist too high a sail in prosperity, never lived there princess who defied more proudly the storms of adversity, or bore up against them with such dauntless nobility of determination. With this event the drama has closed, and our parts, my son, are ended." NOTES TO EXTRACTS FROM "ANNE OF GEIERSTEIN." Advices.-Information received, notice, intelligence. Aix. For the position of all the provinces and towns mentioned in this extract refer to the Sketch Map on page 153. Amphitheatres.-Buildings of an oval or circular form, having rows of seats rising higher from the ground as they get farther from the centre. Gr. amphi, round about; theatron, theatre. Apathy. Want of feeling. Gr. a, without; pathos, feeling. Arcadia. A district in Greece, represented by the poets as a peaceful pastoral land, the abode of song, innocence, and happiness. Ariette.-A short song. Fr., from arietta, the Italian diminutive of aria, a song. Arrets of love. Decisions in regard to lovers' disputes. Augmentation.--Increase. Lat. augeo, to increase. Au secret.-Fr., in private. Banditti.-Outlaws; robbers; persons who have been banished. Ital. bandito, banished. Baneful.-Harmful. Sax. bana, bane; destruction. Bedlam. A madhouse; a place in uproar. Corrupted from Bethlehem, a house opened in London in 1545, by charitable people, for the reception and proper treatment of lunatics. Bias.-Influence in shaping out their careers. Brache. A female hound. Bruit.-Rumour or report spread abroad. Fr. from bruire, to make a noise. Buckler. A kind of shield. Burghers. Inhabitants of a burgh or borough, who by charter enjoyed the privileges of freemen. Castanets. Small pieces of wood or ivory, fastened on the fingers and made to smack together in time to the music or dancing. Chalumeau.-Flute or other reed instrument. Charlemagne. A famous monarch in the middle ages, who subdued, and in part civilized, the whole of western Europe. Clarence. The brother of Edward IV.; who for a time joined Warwick, the king-maker (his father-in-law), in plots against Edward, but afterwards attached himself once more to the Yorkist cause, and fought against Warwick at the battle of Barnet. Cloistered. Inclosed. Lat. clausum, to shut. Cloth-yard shafts.-Arrows a cloth-yard long. A cloth-yard differed slightly in length from an ordinary yard measure. Colonnades.--Rows of pillars placed at regular intervals. Compounding.--Coming to terms; each giving up something to secure the advantage of both. Lat. com, with; pono, to set. Constellations. Groups of stars. Lat. con, together; stella, a star. Deborah.--The prophetess whose doings are recorded in Judges iv. and v. Deportment.-Bearing; behaviour. Desultory.-Fickle; passing from one object or duty to another, without sequence or sustained effort. Lat. desultor, a circus rider; from de, down, salio, saltum, to leap. Devotee.-One vowed to a religious life; a religious person. Lat. voveo, to vow. Donative.-A gift. Lat. dono, to give. Ducats.-Coins struck in the dominion of a duke. Lat. dux, ducis, a duke. Elegy. A poem expressive of sorrow. Gr. elegos, a lament. Equanimity. Evenness of mind. Lat. æquus, equal; animus, the mind. Espials. Spies. Exchequer. Store of money, treasury. The word is derived from the Fr. échiquier, a chess-board; and its use in this connection came from an ancient custom of making the top of the cash-table resemble a chess-board, that the squares might assist the reckoner. Fane. A church or temple. Lat. fanum, a temple. Fatal poison tree.-The upas tree of Java, the juices of which are very poisonous. This tree has supplied many travellers with tales, one being that no life is possible within the influence of its odours. Fief.-An estate held on condition of military service. A male fief is one which can only be claimed by male heirs. Fretted arches. -Arches with uneven and variegated ceilings. From A.-Sax. fraetwan, to adorn. Gartered knee.-The highest order of knighthood in Great Britain is called "the order of the Garter." One of its badges is a dark blue ribbon, edged with gold, and bearing the motto of the order, "Honi soit qui mal y pense" (shame be to who thinks evil of it). It is worn round the left leg, below the knee. To have "worn a gartered knee," therefore, was to have belonged to the most exclusive order. Golden Fleece, order of the.-One of the oldest and most honourable orders of knighthood, founded by Philip III. of Burgundy in 1429. The founder took the name from the golden fleece, which, accord |