Transcriber's Notes:
Minor punctuation errors have been silently corrected. Variant spellings andhyphenations changed when there is a clear majority. Other variable and archaic spellings were retained.A list of the changes made can be found atthe end of the book. In the text, corrections are indicated with red dotted underlining;hover the mouse over the underlined text to see a Transcriber's Note.
Judith Shakespeare
HER LOVE AFFAIRS ANDOTHER ADVENTURES
By WILLIAM BLACK
Author of "A Daughter of Heth," "Madcap Violet," "A Princessof Thule," "White Wings," "Yolande," etc., etc.
A. L. BURT COMPANY, PUBLISHERS
NEW YORK
JUDITH SHAKESPEARE.
CHAPTER I.
AN ASSIGNATION.
It was a fair, clear, and shining morning, in the sweetMay-time of the year, when a young English damsel wentforth from the town of Stratford-upon-Avon to walk in thefields. As she passed along by the Guild Chapel and theGrammar School, this one and the other that met her gaveher a kindly greeting; for nearly every one knew her, andshe was a favorite; and she returned those salutations witha frankness which betokened rather the self-possession ofa young woman than the timidity of a girl. Indeed, shewas no longer in the first sensitive dawn of maidenhood—having,in fact, but recently passed her five-and-twentiethbirthday—but nevertheless there was the radiance of youthin the rose-leaf tint of her cheeks, and in the bright cheerfulnessof her eyes. Those eyes were large, clear, andgray, with dark pupils and dark lashes; and these are adangerous kind; for they can look demure, and artless,and innocent, when there is nothing in the mind of theowner of them but a secret mirth; and also—and alas!—theycan effect another kind of concealment, and when theheart within is inclined to soft pity and yielding, they canrefuse to confess to any such surrender, and can maintain,at the bidding of a wilful coquetry, an outward and obstinatecoldness and indifference. For the rest, her hair, whichwas somewhat short and curly, was of a light and glossybrown, with a touch of sunshine in it; she had a good figure,for she came of a quite notably handsome family; shewalked with a light step and a gracious carriage; andthere were certain touches of style and color about hercostume which showed that she did not in the least undervalue4her appearance. And so it was "Good-morrow toyou, sweet Mistress Judith," from this one and the other;and "Good-morrow, friend So-and-so," she would answer;and always she had the brightest of smiles for them as theypassed.
Well, she went along by the church, and over the foot-bridgespanning the Avon, and so on into the meadows lyingadjacent to the stream. To all appearance she wasbent on nothing but deliberate idleness, for she strayedthis way and that, stooping to pick up a few wild flowers,and humming to herself as she went. On this fresh andclear morning the air seemed to be filled with sweet perfumesafter the close atmosphere of the town; and if it was merelyto gather daisies, and cuckoo-flowers, and buttercups,that she had come, she was obviously in no hurry about it.The sun was warm on the rich green grass; the swallowswere dipping and flashing over the river; great humble-beeswent booming by; and far away somewhere in thesilver-clear sky a lark was singing. And she also wassinging, as she strayed along by the side of the stream,picking here and there a speedwell, and here and there abit of self-heal or white dead-nettle; if, indeed that couldbe called singing that