"
"It will be highly advisable, my lord," said Lowestoffe; "and is a
case thus provided for in the statutes of the republic, or monarchy,
or whatsoever you call it.--He who desires that no questions shall be
asked him concerning his name, cause of refuge, and the like, may
escape the usual interrogations upon payment of double the garnish
otherwise belonging to his condition. Complying with this essential
stipulation, your lordship may register yourself as King of Bantam if
you will, for not a question will be asked of you.--But here comes our
scout, with news of peace and tranquillity. Now, I will go with your
lordship myself, and present you to the council of Alsatia, with all
the influence which I have over them as an office-bearer in the
Temple, which is not slight; for they have come halting off upon all
occasions when we have taken part against them, and that they well
know. The time is propitious, for as the council is now met in
Alsatia, so the Temple walks are quiet. Now, my lord, throw your cloak
about you, to hide your present exterior. You shall give it to the boy
at the foot of the stairs that go down to the Sanctuary; and as the
ballad says that Queen Eleanor sunk at Charing Cross and rose at
Queenhithe, so you shall sink a nobleman in the Temple Gardens, and
rise an Alsatian at Whitefriars."
They went out accordingly, attended by the little scout, traversed the
gardens, descended the stairs, and at the bottom the young Templar
exclaimed,--"And now let us sing, with Ovid,
'In nova fert animus mutatas dicere formas--'
Off, off, ye lendings!" he continued, in the same vein.
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