THE TRUE MAID OF HONOUR. Margaret had not been above two years at Court before her virtue, beauty, and wit caused her to receive many advantageous offers of marriage from various noblemen ; but by this time she had be- stowedher heart on, as she was beloved by, one of the King's pages, - Sydney Godolphin, -a silent, re- served, and rather unpopular young gentleman. He was descended from a Cornwall family ; his father, Francis Godolphin, had, like Colonel Blagge, dis- tinguished himself by his loyalty during the Civil War, and at the Restoration was treated with dis- tinction by Charles, who bestowed the office of page, and subsequently that of Groom of the Chamber, on Sydney. The young man had originally been intended for a trade, as his relatives were not very rich. He was, says one author, " a person of strict honour, and usually performed more than he promised," but his manners were not very engaging ; he was " calm and cold," and although he did not care for play, he would play cards for hours, rather than be obliged to talk. The ani- mated, charming Margaret, however, returned the ardent affection he entertained for her, though in a worldly sense they were ill-matched, being both equally limited in pecuniary resources, -a fact which prevented them, for years, from avowing their engagement. Miss Dorothy Howard, mentioned by Pepys, and maid of honour to the Queen, was in the habit of visiting, with her mother, at Sayes - court, the 15
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