Grisly Grisell; Or, The Laidly Lady of Whitburn: A Tale of the Wars of the Roses

BERNARD’S affection was as strong as his aversion had been. Poor little boy, no one had been accustomed enough to sickly children, or indeed to children at all, to know how to m...

GRISELL was disappointed in her hopes of seeing her Countess of Salisbury again, for as she rode into the Castle of York she heard the Earl’s hearty voice of greeting. “Ha, stou...

LITTLE Grisell Dacre did not die, though day after day she lay in a suffering condition, tenderly watched over by the Countess Alice. Her mother had been summoned from attendanc...

That Walter was no fool, though that him list To change his wif, for it was for the best; For she is fairer, so they demen all, Than his Griselde, and more tendre of age.

I would mine heart had caught that wound And slept beside him rather! I think it were a better thing Than murdered friend and marriage-ring Forced on my life together.

She hadde passed many a strange shrine, At Rome she had been and at Boleine, At Galice, at St. James, and at Coleine, She could moche of wandering by the way.

TO lack beauty was a much more serious misfortune in the Middle Ages than at present. Of course it was probable that there might be a contract of marriage made entirely irrespec...

When I may read of tilts in days of old, And tourneys graced by chieftains of renown, Fair dames, grave citoyens, and warriors bold— If fancy would pourtray some stately town, W...

SISTER AVICE sat in the infirmary, diligently picking the leaves off a large mass of wood-sorrel which had been brought to her by the children around, to make therewith a conserve.

Yonder is a man in sight— Yonder is a house—but where? No, she must not enter there. To the caves, and to the brooks, To the clouds of heaven she looks.

FIVE years had passed since Grisell had been received at Wilton, when the Abbess died. She had been infirm and confined to her lodging for many months, and Grisell had hardly se...

CHRISTMAS went by sadly in Whitburn Tower, but the succeeding weeks were to be sadder still. It was on a long dark evening that a commotion was heard at the gate, and Lady Whitb...

THE agitations of that day had made Grisell so much worse that her mind hardly awoke again to anything but present suffering from fever, and in consequence the aggravation of th...

A TERRIBLE shriek rang through the great Manor-house of Amesbury. It was preceded by a loud explosion, and there was agony as well as terror in the cry. Then followed more shrie...

NEWS did not travel very fast to Whitburn, but one summer’s day a tall, gallant, fair-faced esquire, in full armour of the cumbrous plate fashion, rode up to the gate, and blew...

“I know her for a dame worthy of all honour and esteem,” returned the esquire, turning hastily round in wrath. He much disliked this man, a regular mercenary of the free lance d...

“Wherefore? but for fear my noble uncle of Salisbury should hold them to their contract. Sir William sat as surly as a bear just about to be baited, while thy mother rated and r...

So for long hours sat Enid by her lord, There in the naked hall, propping his head, And chafing his pale hands, and calling to him. And at the last he waken’d from his swoon.

IN another week the festivities were over, and she waited anxiously, dreading each day more and more that her gift had been forgotten or misunderstood, or that her old companion...

“Best not ask,” said Brother Christopher, who was, however, an inveterate gossip, and went on in reply to Lambert’s question as to the place of the wound. “In the shoulder is th...

“THE recreant! Shall we follow him?” was the cry of Lord Whitburn’s younger squire, Harry Featherstone, with his hand on his horse’s neck, in spite of the torrents of rain and t...

One afternoon, however, as he sat close to thine window, while Grisell sang to him one of her sweet old ballads, a face, attracted by the English words and voice, was turned up...

Witness Aire’s unhappy water Where the ruthless Clifford fell, And when Wharfe ran red with slaughter On the day of Towton’s field. Gathering in its guilty flood The carnage and...

THE nine days of mourning were spent in entire seclusion by Grisell, who went through every round of devotions prescribed or recommended by the Church, and felt relief and rest...

SO time went on, and the rule of the House of York in England seemed established, while the exiles had settled down in Burgundy, Grisell to her lace pillow, Leonard to the suite...

In the dark chambère, if the bride was fair, Ye wis, I could not see. . . . . And the bride rose from her knee And kissed the smile of her mother dead.

ONE great pleasure fell to Grisell’s share, but only too brief. The family of the Duke of York on their way to Baynard’s Castle halted at Warwick House, and the Duchess Cecily,...

Temples that rear their stately heads on high, Canals that intersect the fertile plain, Wide streets and squares, with many a court and hall, Spacious and undefined, but ancient...

THE Duchess Isabel sent for Grisell as soon as the rules of etiquette permitted, and her own mind was free, to attend to the suite of lace hangings, with which much progress had...

NO more was heard of the Duchess for some weeks. Leonard was absent with the Duke, who was engaged in that unhappy affair of Peroune and Liège, the romantic version of which may...