Seeing the royal memory so improved, the Earl ventured to apply a few tests to it, in an apparently casual way, to find out how far its amendment had progressed.  The results were happy, here and there, in spots—­spots where Humphrey’s tracks remained—­and on the whole my lord was greatly pleased and encouraged.  So encouraged was he, indeed, that he spoke up and said in a quite hopeful voice—­

“Now am I persuaded that if your Majesty will but tax your memory yet a little further, it will resolve the puzzle of the Great Seal—­a loss which was of moment yesterday, although of none to-day, since its term of service ended with our late lord’s life.  May it please your Grace to make the trial?”

Tom was at sea—­a Great Seal was something which he was totally unacquainted with.  After a moment’s hesitation he looked up innocently and asked—­

“What was it like, my lord?”

The Earl started, almost imperceptibly, muttering to himself, “Alack, his wits are flown again!—­it was ill wisdom to lead him on to strain them” —­then he deftly turned the talk to other matters, with the purpose of sweeping the unlucky seal out of Tom’s thoughts—­a purpose which easily succeeded.

Chapter XV.  Tom as King.

The next day the foreign ambassadors came, with their gorgeous trains; and Tom, throned in awful state, received them.  The splendours of the scene delighted his eye and fired his imagination at first, but the audience was long and dreary, and so were most of the addresses —­wherefore, what began as a pleasure grew into weariness and home-sickness by-and-by.  Tom said the words which Hertford put into his mouth from time to time, and tried hard to acquit himself satisfactorily, but he was too new to such things, and too ill at ease to accomplish more than a tolerable success.  He looked sufficiently like a king, but he was ill able to feel like one.  He was cordially glad when the ceremony was ended.

The larger part of his day was ’wasted’—­as he termed it, in his own mind—­in labours pertaining to his royal office.  Even the two hours devoted to certain princely pastimes and recreations were rather a burden to him than otherwise, they were so fettered by restrictions and ceremonious observances.  However, he had a private hour with his whipping-boy which he counted clear gain, since he got both entertainment and needful information out of it.

The third day of Tom Canty’s kingship came and went much as the others had done, but there was a lifting of his cloud in one way—­he felt less uncomfortable than at first; he was getting a little used to his circumstances and surroundings; his chains still galled, but not all the time; he found that the presence and homage of the great afflicted and embarrassed him less and less sharply with every hour that drifted over his head.