Soon after this, the St. Paul's choir gets news which causes great excitement: they've been commissioned to sing before Queen Elizabeth I and her court on Christmas Day!
Master Skylark is the 1897 children's book by John Bennett which tells the story of Nick Attwood, a young boy growing up in Stratford in Shakespearean times. Nick lives with his mother, a gentle soul whom he adores, and his father, the town tanner, who treats Nick harshly. Nick is a dutiful son but, after his father forces him to work through a town holiday, he rebelliously decides to skip school and go to a nearby town to watch a troupe of travelling actors. While there, he meets the leader of the actors- Gaston Carew- who, having heard the boy sing, realizes Nick has a voice that can make him a fortune. Carew talks Nick into singing during one of their performances, and he is a smash hit. At first pleased with the praise and attention being heaped upon him, Nick suspects nothing when Carew urges him to spend the night with the troupe, promising to drop him off in Stratford when the actors take to the road the next day. It takes him a while to realize that, on the road, the actors have turned away from the direction of Stratford and are headed for London. Nick protests to Carew who shows another, darker side to his character, frightening the boy into silence as he is essentially kidnapped. Once in London, Nick finds himself locked in Carew's house as the man tries alternately to cajole and bully him into cooperating with his plans. Also living at the house is Gaston Carew's young daughter, Cecily. She is a sweet girl who worships her dashing father and can't understand why Nick doesn't. Nick tells her that he wants to go home to his mother. Cecily trustingly asks her father if he'll take Nick back to Stratford and Carew lies, telling her that of course he will... soon. Carew dresses Nick in fine clothes and starts taking him to work at the theater he's affiliated with. This theater is struggling because crowds are flocking to William Shakespeare's plays, at the brilliant playwright's theater across town. This is one reason why Carew is so desperate to keep Nick; he knows that they need a new draw or soon they'll have no audience. He also changes Nick's name from Attwood to Skylark. Carew arranges an audition for Nick with the St. Paul's boy choir. The gruff old choir director is sceptical of the abilities of an untrained country boy, but is blown away by Nick's voice and immediately offers him a spot in the choir. This is a paid position but Nick sees none of his salary, which is pocketed by Carew who, more flush with money than he's been in a while, spends recklessly. He is sometimes stricken with guilt over what he's done to Nick and thinks of sending him home, but always talks himself out of it, reasoning that he needs the extra money to assure Cecily is taken care of, if something should ever happen to him. Nick is now living in comfort and luxury that he has never before known, and he loves his training at St. Paul's and the camaraderie with the other choir boys. He also likes Cecily quite a bit. But he misses his mother constantly and yearns to return home. All of London is talking of William Shakespeare, whom Nick knows slightly as they are both from Stratford and Shakespeare's wife Anne Hathaway, is a cousin to Nick's mother. Nick thinks that, if he can get to see Shakespeare, he'll help him get back to his home. Watching for an opportunity, one day at the theater when Carew is occupied, Nick slips out of a window and heads for the Thames, hoping to cross and get to the Globe theater. He almost makes it, but is unfortunately caught by Carew's assistant and returned to Gaston, who locks him up again as punishment and afterwards keeps an even closer watch on him. Soon after this, the St. Paul's choir gets news which causes great excitement: they've been commissioned to sing before Queen Elizabeth I and her court on Christmas Day! (To Be Continued)
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