102 "THE CA VALIER'S PETS."
and feather as is to be seen in the picture, shading one of
those swarthy oval faces which the peaked beard of the time
became, while his dark hair was suffered to grow, and was
tied by a ribbon-such as Roy and Reine are represented
wearing-till it hung in one long scented curl down his back.
He was by no means so destitute of resources as Roy and
Reine were, apart from their beauty and their winning ways.
He was a bold, dashing, clever enough young fellow, rather
accomplished for his day. He could not compose a madrigal
like Lovelace, but he could sing it after it was composed.
He could fence, dance, fight, even speak when graceful fluent
oratory was all that was called for. He could bandy a jest
with a court wit, and manage a pageant with a master of the
ceremonies.
 In those days Master Neville married a court beauty in
white satin and pearls, with her yellow hair crisped in curls
all round her pink and white face, and brought her down to
the Alders. The two did not tarry long there with all their
charms and accomplishments; the simplicity and quiet of the
country were too much for them, and they were attracted back
without fail to London, with its splendid court and ceaseless
stir, its water-parties and masks, cabals and intrigues, in
which the husband and wife played their parts in such com-
pany as that of arrogant, magnificent Buckingham, and fair,
frivolous Lucy Percy, Countess of Carlisle.
 But such company was neither safe nor economical for a
mere aspiring squire and his sympathetic madam. Many a
fine oak and beech at the Alders, and even some of its massive
silver plate, paid for the master and mistress's addiction to
town living with its extravagance.