"
A few minutes later, Cyril took a boat to the Whitehall steps, and
after some delay was shown up to Prince Rupert's room.
"None the worse for your exertions yester-even, young gentleman, I
hope?" the Prince said, shaking hands with him warmly.
"None, sir. The exertion was not great, and it was but the
inconvenience of the smoke that troubled me in any way."
"Have you been to inquire after the young ladies who owe their lives
to you?"
"No, sir; I know neither their names nor their condition, nor, had I
wished it, could I have made inquiries, for I know not whither they
were taken."
"I sent round early this morning," the Prince said, "and heard that
they were as well as might be expected after the adventure they went
through. And now tell me about yourself, and what you have been
doing. 'Tis one of the saddest things to me, since I returned to
England, that so many good men who fought by my side have been made
beggars in the King's service, and that I could do naught for them.
'Tis a grievous business, and yet I see not how it is to be mended.
The hardest thing is, that those who did most for the King's service
are those who have suffered most deeply. None of those who were
driven to sell their estates at a fraction of their value, in order
to raise money for the King's treasury or to put men into the field,
have received any redress. It would need a vast sum to buy back all
their lands, and Parliament would not vote money for that purpose;
nor would it be fair to turn men out of the estates that they bought
and paid for.
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