Drake and His Yeomen Author:James Barnes Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER II THE MYSTERIOUS BEGGAR HE disappearance of my old friend of course excited comment and questioning at first, and then when the surprise was over ... more »all became known. Padre Alonzo's speech had returned to him and he had denounced Master Powys, not only as a man who had intended to do murder, but as a heretic and unbeliever, which was much worse. Great search was made for him; but months went by and there came no word, or inkling of his whereabouts, and no one spoke his name in my hearing. As the Padre lay warped and twisted at his monastery, he bothered me no more, and I resumed my studies under the care of a young Jesuit who, although possessing an able mind, was of indolent habit and allowed my own will to work its way; so without much trouble we managed to pass the time. But I made progress, nevertheless, and was, I dare say, as much advanced in studies as most boys of my age. I spoke French fairly, Spanish with a pure accent, I knew Latin and Greek (the latter not much). But I was satisfactory. My mother had forbade either Powys or my nurse speaking to me in English; nevertheless I had picked up not a little knowledge of my native tongue from hearing them use it (my mother spoke it with difficulty and detested it heartily), but now all this was changed. My new instructor was a wise man in some ways, a Frenchman by birth, and he had lived some time in London during the reign of Queen Mary. So it was his advice that I should learn to speak what might be of some use to me, and we began to talk and read in the language which by all rights was my inheritance. But I soon surpassed him, for I had the means of practice that he had not. My foster-mother's tongue being now unloosened by permission, — for she had never learned to well master the Spanish lingo, — I made a g...« less