Nay, my gracious lord, if he
doth once plant foot in the woodland, he is lost to the law forever."
At these words the King tapped his fingertips upon the table beside him
with vexation. "What wouldst thou have me do, Bishop?" quoth he. "Didst
thou not hear me pledge my word to the Queen? Thy talk is as barren as
the wind from the bellows upon dead coals."
"Far be it from me," said the cunning Bishop, "to point the way to one
so clear-sighted as Your Majesty; but, were I the King of England, I
should look upon the matter in this wise: I have promised my Queen, let
us say, that for forty days the cunningest rogue in all England shall
have freedom to come and go; but, lo! I find this outlaw in my grasp;
shall I, then, foolishly cling to a promise so hastily given? Suppose
that I had promised to do Her Majesty's bidding, whereupon she bade me
to slay myself; should I, then, shut mine eyes and run blindly upon my
sword? Thus would I argue within myself. Moreover, I would say unto
myself, a woman knoweth nought of the great things appertaining to state
government; and, likewise, I know a woman is ever prone to take up a
fancy, even as she would pluck a daisy from the roadside, and then throw
it away when the savor is gone; therefore, though she hath taken a fancy
to this outlaw, it will soon wane away and be forgotten.
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