Page:Life and death of Jane Shore.pdf/13



R. Shore sitting up late, and his wife not returning, was very much troubled, and went to his mother-in-law's, but they had not seen her, nor was her mother ill; so that her absence troubled the whole family. The next day was spent in feeling for her amongst her relations and friends, but found her not. Mrs. Blague protested she had not seen her, dropping some dissembling tears, so that her husband was almost distracted, at last he concluded she was taken away by some courtier; and in three days after, a lady informed them she was with the king. This added more to their grief, and they knew not what course to take; they knew if they went to cross the king it would be their ruin.

They made enquiry indeed if it was her voluntary act, and finding it was, and she quite unwilling to leave her new lover, they lost all hopes of recovering her; so that Mr. Shore, growing melancholy, sold off all he had, and travelled into foreign countries; he practised clipping and filing gold coin to maintain himself, for which he suffered death, the latter end of Henry the VIII's reign.