TO SING BEFORE THE QUEEN 183

capers that the horses standing at the gate kicked up their
heels, and jerked the horse-boys right and left like bundles
of hay.

Nick leaned over the railing and stared.

“Come down and help us sing!” they cried. “Come
down and shout with us in the street!”

“T can na come down—there ’s work to do!”

“Thy ‘can na’ be hanged, and thy work likewise!
Come down and sing, or we ‘ll fetch thee down. The
Queen hath sent for us!”

“The Queen—hath sent—for us?”

“ Ay, sent for us to come to court and play on Christmas
day! Hurrah for Queen Bess!”

At that shrill cheer the startled horses fairly plunged
into the street, and the carts that were passing along the
way were jammed against the opposite wall. The carriers
bellowed, the horse-boys bawled, the people came running
to see the row, and the apprentices flew out of the shops
bareheaded, waving their dirty aprons and cheering lustily,
just for the fun of the chance to cheer.

“Tt ’s true!” called Colley, his dark eyes dancing like
stars on the sea. ‘Come down, Nick, and sing in the
street with us all! We are going to Greenwich Palace on
Christmas day to play before the Queen and the court—for
the first time, Nick, in a good six years; and we’re not to
work till the new masque comes from the Master of the
Revels! Come down, Nick, and sing with us out in the
street; for we ’re going to court, we ’re going to court to
sing before the Queen! Hurrah, hurrab!”