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Page 87
The poor little prince! From his earliest infancy not a soul had dared
to contradict him; everybody around him had acted as if he were a
superior being; so that, of course, he had imbibed the same opinion of
himself. He naturally supposed that the whole kingdom of Great Britain
and all its inhabitants, had been created solely for his benefit and
amusement. This was a sad mistake; and it cost him dear enough after he
had ascended his father's throne.
"What a noble little prince he is!" exclaimed Sir Oliver, lifting his
hands in admiration. "No, please your Majesty, I have no son to be the
playmate of his Royal Highness; but there is a nephew of mine, somewhere
about the house. He is near the prince's age, and will be but too happy
to wait upon his Royal Highness."
"Send for him, man! send for him!" said the king.
But, as it happened, there was no need of sending for Master Noll. While
King James was speaking, a rugged, bold-faced, sturdy little urchin
thrust himself through the throng of courtiers and attendants, and
greeted the prince with a broad stare. His doublet and hose (which had
been put on new and clean in honor of the king's visit) were already
soiled and torn with the rough play in which he had spent the morning.
He looked no more abashed than if King James were his uncle, and the
prince one of his customary playfellows.
This was little Noll himself.
"Here, please your Majesty, is my nephew," said sir Oliver, somewhat
ashamed of Noll's appearance and demeanor. "Oliver, make your obeisance
to the king's Majesty!"
The boy made a pretty respectful obeisance to the king; for, in those
days, children were taught to pay reverence to their elders. King James,
who prided himself greatly on his scholarship, asked Noll a few
questions in the Latin Grammar, and then introduced him to his son. The
little prince in a very grave and dignified manner, extended his hand,
not for Noll to shake, but that he might kneel down and kiss it.
"Nephew," said Sir Oliver, "pay your duty to the prince."
"I owe him no duty," cried Noll, thrusting aside the prince's hand, with
a rude laugh. "Why should I kiss that boy's hand?"
All the courtiers were amazed and confounded, and Sir Oliver the most of
all. But the king laughed heartily, saying that little Noll had a
stubborn English spirit, and that it was well for his son to learn
betimes what sort of a people he was to rule over.
So King James and his train entered the house; and the prince, with Noll
and some other children, was sent to play in a separate room while his
Majesty was at dinner. The young people soon became acquainted; for
boys, whether the sons of monarchs or of peasants, all like play, and
are pleased with one another's society. What games they diverted
themselves with, I cannot tell. Perhaps they played at ball--perhaps at
blindman's buff--perhaps at leap-frog--perhaps at prison-bars. Such
games have been in use for hundreds of years; and princes as well as
poor children have spent some of their happiest hours in playing at
them.
Meanwhile, King James and his nobles were feasting with Sir Oliver, in
the great hall. The king sat in a gilded chair, under a canopy, at the
head of a long table. Whenever any of the company addressed him, it was
with the deepest reverence. If the attendants offered him wine, or the
various delicacies of the festival, it was upon their bended knees. You
would have thought, by these tokens of worship, that the monarch was a
supernatural being; only he seemed to have quite as much need of those
vulgar matters, food and drink, as any other person at the table. But
fate had ordained that good King James should not finish his dinner in
peace.
All of a sudden, there arose a terrible uproar in the room where the
children were at play. Angry shouts and shrill cries of alarm were mixed
up together; while the voices of elder persons were likewise heard,
trying to restore order among the children. The king, and everybody else
at table, looked aghast; for perhaps the tumult made them think that a
general rebellion had broken out.
"Mercy on us!" muttered Sir Oliver; "that graceless nephew of mine is in
some mischief or other. The naughty little whelp!"
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