A NOTABLE NOVEL

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXV, Issue 5134, 28 November 1903, Page 10

A NOTABLE NOVEL

“XhciMjstor of Gmv. ! ’ By LI. G Bailey. author </: ‘“My L:uiy Orunjpi. Longmans, Gnvca and Go.. Lnudoii. Tids is-one of tlio host novels that lias issued from Longman's Colonial Librniq. Though an hkicrical romance dcalmi; witii ’‘tlio spacious times of Great L.'-zn-beth,” and the fortunes of tho ill-fated -Mary Queen of Scots, it lias an interest tor readers of every time and place on account of the ingenious plots and coun-ter-plots. the love stones ami the vivid character -namcing it contains. Its chad interest, however, is historical. Hore we have striking pen-pictures of James Vi. of Scotland, of good Quccii Bess, Sir Philip Sidney, Sir Francis V.alsingham, Uurghley and others. Hero is the gi cat Elizabeth in iv.'o guises:— “Elizabeth, wondrous to behold, sat in a dress stiff with golden embroidery Golden snake:;, toads, tortoises dragons lifted their heads and leered from her bosom. Diamonds flashed on her ruff and in her red hair. Her thin cheek was dark with anger, and she beat the table with ho, list and thundered: ‘God’s passion, man. Will vou play with mol' . • It appeared to Elizabeth that, the-Master of Gray was lying—a fault she bore impatiently iu others.” That i-s tho furious mood, now for tho tender; — ‘•Wondrous ns ever sat the imperial Votaress, and the sight of her dazzled the Master of Gray. . . ‘Goddess- 1 am blind.’ he cried. The goddess smiled; tlio goddess put to Ills bps a divine hand Jadon with rings. He kissed it passionately. ‘Fie, men liev.ro.’ she cried. ‘Ah, ‘cruel Dian,’ murmured the Master of Gray and sighed. The goddess laughed. . . ‘Huntress of hearts,’ ho sighed poetically. The goddess laughed again and stroked his curls.” JVloro boldly drawn, and even less complimentary is the portraiture of “the most high and mighty I’rincc, dames,” the first of tho Stewarts who reigned over England. Tho Master of Gray and certain noblemen had resolved to get the King under their influence; they drove out tho Far! of Arran by force, and by force entered tho chamber where James VI. of Scotland and his secretary, Sir John Maitland, were alone and unprotected.

“They found liis Majesty clinging to tho secretary's slim knees. His Majesty whined and whimpered and bogged for his life, while the secretary testified to gods and men that the hio of K-ing James was more to him than aught else in tho world; and still ho tried to raise the grovelling monarch, and tho monarch would not bo raised. . . His goggle eyes, his fat, tremulous lips were pressed to Maitland’s trunk hose, and ho whined the louder. The Border Lords gaped.' . . The Master of Gray, biting his lip hard, laid a hand on Angus’s shoulder and on Mar’s, ‘Kneel, kneel,’ he muttered, pressing them down. They knelt, clattering, and the King shuddered. ‘Mercy,’ muttered Gray. ‘What?’ said Angus aloud. “Mercy—ask for it,’ the Master hissed. Then, ‘Mercy, sire,’ cried the Bar! of Angus. ‘Sire, mercy,’ cried tho Karl of Alar. His Majesty, still on his knees, came from behind Maitland’s legs. ‘M—mercy,’ he stammered. Gray and the secretary looked at each other. There was a moment’s ridiculous pause. There in the middle of the room knelt tho lords, glittering in full armour, each one with mailed hand filing out in entreaty. There, not too near them, knelt the King, his hose twisted all awry, his fingers plucking feverishly at their fastenings, while his loose lips shook to and fro and his face grew crimson and white again.” The most -wonderful portrait is that of the Master of Gray himself, whoso character and career form the real subject of the-novel.- Tho character is almost incredible in its duality. I’atrick Gray is depicted as a handsome, chivalrous and honourable Scots gentleman, yet a libertine, a spy, a traitor, without conscience or principle in some matters. Attached first of all to the cause of tho imprisoned Queen of Scots, and the instigator of plots to invade England and dethrone Elizabeth, ho in turn sells himself to “tho English Jezebel,” exposes the plots he had invented, and finally suggests tho artifice by means of which tho unhappy Queen Mary is convicted and beheaded. A character so compounded of good and evil is only snipposahlo on the assumption of some powerful motive or motives operating upon it. Two motives are made to appear—love and self interest. How tho Master of Gray’ ineffectually strives to give play to his better nature; how he is enchained by his own past and by his environment, must be left to the reader to discover. The tale is on the’ ydmle tragic, hut it is full of stirring incident and gives withal a vivid picture of life among our ancestors three centuries ago. Tho love entanglements, like the other complications of the story, are too complex for anything outside the realm of fiction; but Mr Bailey tells the story in such entrancing style that the reader is constrained to overlook the improbabilities and to follow with engrossing interest the evolution of the tale. ,