The important work of providing the trousseau began at
once, and the more important matter of securing the loan from the
London merchants was pushed along rapidly. The good citizens might
cling affectionately to their angels, double angels, crowns and pounds
sterling, but the fear in which they held the king, and a little
patting of the royal hand upon the plebeian head, worked the charm,
and out came the yellow gold, never to be seen again, God wot. Under
the stimulus of the royal smile they were ready to shout themselves
hoarse, and to eat and drink themselves red in the face in celebration
of the wedding day. In short, they were ready to be tickled nearly to
death for the honor of paying to a wretched old lecher a wagon-load of
gold to accept, as a gracious gift, the most beautiful heart-broken
girl in the world. That is, she would have been heart-broken had she
not been inspired with courage. As it was, she wasted none of her
energy in lamentations, but saved it all to fight with.
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