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MICtOCOPY ■ISOIUTKJN TEST CHA>T
(ANSI ond ISO TEST CHART No. 2)
js applied
jE In
S^ '653 East Moin Stre.
r*,^ Rochesler. Neo York i,609 USA
'SS (716) 482 - 0300 ~ Phone
^S: (716) 288 - 5989 - Fox
y--^-
"FETTERS WERE THEN PUT UPON HER HANDS, AND SHE WEST FOKIH
FROM THE HOUSE BETWEEN TWO CONSTABLES, PRECEnKl) IIV THE TOWN
MARSHAL AND ACCOMPANIED BY A MOTLEY CROWD."
k raid (\c Lace\ 's
U)).';\!.\(, ;)AVS
A\\.\ • .ADLIl.K
" i KENKOi &; SdNS
1916
. AM. SIM A
- I'RKrli •.'. I!
■J r. I.-V ; It. V!
Gerald de Lacey's
Daughter
AN HISTORICAL ROMANCE OF
COLONIAL DAYS
BY
ANNA T. SADLIER
NEW YORK
P. J. KENEDY & SONS
1916
PS? 5 37
I
Copyrisht, igi6, by
P. J. Kenedy & Sons
Il
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Every effort has been made to secure the absolute ac-
curacy of the historical facts on which this story is based
In the case of Captain Kidd's appointment, however, it
was found necessary to alter the date a httle so that the
full story of this notorious pirate might be brought nat-
urally within the scope of the story.
,
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.
X.
XI.
XII.
XIII.
XIV.
I.
II.
III.'
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.
CONTENTS
BOOK I
Daugbtess of Colonial Days "°l
A Colonial Matron 3
The New Governor ,g
Jacobite and Catholic j.
New Faces
Thomas Greatbatch, Smuggler and Pirate . . 41
An Escaped Bird j.
Shoals and Quicksand 5.
The Dawning of Love .,
The White Flower and the Eagle gj
Friends or Enemies? _j
Dangerous Days j^^
Fears Real and Imaginary j,r
The Shadow of Captain Kidd
BOOK II
Persecution Revived j-.
An Enemy Declares Himself j^
Gladness and Tears ,„
The Past Is Invoked ,5.
The Warning j_-
A Staunch Friend ,-„
The Separation ,g.
Closer in Grief ,„g
An Unwelcome Meeting jog
^ CONTENTS
X. Husband and Wife '*»■
XI. Phosser WnxiAMs' Resolve '"
XII. The Kekmesse ' _' "'
XIII. A Blow Theeatens *^'
XIV. An Alliance of Hate . '^
XV. The Blow Falls '^
XVI. A Nocturnal Plight . .'.".'.■.■ '*'
XVII. Safe with the Wilden '"
XVIII. Plotting Anew .....'.' **'
XIX. Faeewell to Manhattan •••.27
»9S
BOOK III
I. Evelyn's New Home
II. A Welcome Visitor . . . . ''"
III. Father Harvey ^°^
IV. A New Confederate ......'' ^'^
V. A Clue Discovered ... 33° .
VI. A New Danger .......'.'*' ' ^"
VII. Tried for Witchcraft '*'
VIII. Thf Rescue . . ^^4
IX. A Reunion ......'.'.' ^*^
X. A Counterflot ^'*
XI. An Eavesdrofper Caught '*'
' XII. The Tragedy Off Sandy Hook ^'*
XIII. An Ally Won '. ' *"*
XIV. Conditional Pardon *'^
XV. An Offer of Marriage **°
XVI. The Close of a Regime ^
XVII. The Returned E: ile ■"*
XVIII. PiNXTER Morn .......'.' **^
XIX. A Pledge Redeemed **°
XX. Happiness . *''
467
GERALD DE LACEY'S
DAUGHTER
GERALD DE LACEY'S
DAUGHTER
BOOK I
CHAPTER I
DAUGHTERS OF COLONIAL DAYS
A S^^^^ ^^ rattling down the Boston Post
^ Koad, the mud after the recent heavy rains
flying as the wheels splashed through it. while the
stones threatened to destroy the equilibrium of even
that sedate equipage. It was the carriage of the
Van Cortlandts, heavy and ponderous, hanging
suspended upon straps and bearing upon the panel
ot the door the family escutcheon and motto. The
coachman, who had been long in the service of the
family, was a very splendid figure in his Uvery of
pale fawn color, laced with sUver and with sUver
upon his cocked hat. From the back of the coach,
where he hung on by the tassels, the negro foot-boy
peered at this majestic personage. The foot-boy
wore a hveiy precisely identical with the coachman's
save that on his head a jaunty, leathern cap replaced
the cocked hat.
2 GERALD DB LACEY'S DAUGHTER
,. J?*.f°*^l™^i.'^ ^"^S^^ the tedium of a wait
upon the shore by some half-articulateTimihH^
he had to dnve over such roads, even as far f!
Hwrlem, to meet his young lady and rfriL^Lu
^^ n^fure "Utf b^/S ofhfetd m^^
««fv ^' .^t ^^ """"^'y roUed his dark eves tS
nothing but the whites were visible ^nti^t to
his superior^ remarks just as far as t w^Se^?
Ss^ sh^S^ o?Vr*^ ^''^ interest t]^^!
f^STSis?t?e%Z"g ra'Ses'fn^al-"^"'^
EH r r ^^^^^^^^^^
van Cortlandt, who ensconced herself with a riah
close the door, lie a5 suS «it f^ ^°7.*°
Oh. but I am weary from standing on that
DAUGHTERS OF COLONIAL DAYS 3
■cowl" cried PoUy, wj i a sigh of pure content-
ment.
H» friend looked at her with some amusement and
a sn^ that Mihanced the perfection of her mouth.
^ You could have sat down, my PoUy." she said
"In truth I could," returned Polly, "upon one
of those stools that made me feel as though I were
J^n^«^.^'^1?\"P?" * '°"8'' ^^' and at any
mtnnent might be shot overboard into the middle
of the stream."
The other laughed a low laugh that seemed to
have Its source in some secret amusement of her own
Yes, 1 think standing were preferable, though
I contrived to keep my seat. But the air was d^
hdous, so fresh and with a touch of salt therein.
It IS a sweet morning."
.♦•i!^®u^° *f" into silence after that, as the coach,
stiU plting from the unevenness of the road, con-
fanued down that highway which in the year cf
Our Lord, 1698. led out from the Colony of New
York—a tiOe favored by some as a compromise be-
tween Its Indian name of Manhattan and its Dutch
name of New Amsterdam-to the neighboring col-
Mues of New England, even to Boston Town As
the carnage drove slowly past what had once been
the bouwerte (or farm) of Mynheer Pieter Stuyve-
sant, a fcmner Governor of the colony under the
iJutch Mid a mighty personage, the girl with the
ohve-tmted skm leaned slightly out of the coach
wndow and regarded the building with those eyes
others which so many caUed wonderful. And won-
d«ful was the adjective that best described them.
1 hey were ht up by so many lights and were haunted
Dy so many expressions, which now appeared to
4 GERALD oe LACEY'S DAUGHTER
tnm box-bordered flower-beds, wherein had^'K
^H-^*?: * T^"E brought from HoUand. S-
to^tingthese beds were gravelled pathTwd aU
hiS^n o^ trees-how ancient no maTkneW. Thw
had m any case survived the strongest of the Got^
K»7?' j*".*^ 1**V "^« patterns upon the oatL
E^^ ''^f f^^^"™"!'" "^«^ *^« «>ft voice of
^veijrn. What a figure he must have cut in his
Po]lv'"^"hn'!1?. * r^^ *^* '"«^**«5 Wm." cried
i^ouy. I doubt not you have heard the storv I>
IttrV^ t""" ^^^ ^»'"^' '^ere swiping d^ to
wS1b^J^"^'*i- ^^^^^^ that the^cSior
Xd if^^^*"^ Stuyvesant. so men say,
cauea m some Frenchmen who were workino fo^
SweS 'liieT;'^^^.'?^^'^* help'^defe^S the'
SdntrataScT'^' ^^^ «^^ -^ ^^htt
liW^^Ji^f "^^^ ''"■ *P^*'" coil rented Evelyn. "T
like whatever savors of vital fc rce " Thpn oL *i.
«>ach rolled on its way. the gi^^^ded ' 'TW^dt'
Polly, what you and I would have do^ in B^^'-
' «'. «., the Indians.
DAUGHTERS OF COLONIAL DAYS j
"She needed courage," Polly made answer, with
a shiver. "If one does but think of being toma-
hawked or scalped I"
"Are you not curious," inquired Polly, with an
abrupt change of subject, "to see how Uuy will all
look like?"
"As full of curiosity as — but there, I cannot think
of a comparison. I cannot rest, in truth, until I
have seen them all and heard whatsoever there is to
hear about them."
"They should arrive by two o' the clock to-day,"
mused Polly, "very soon after the dinner hour.
"My Lord Bellomont," said Evelyn, continuing
her train of thought, "rfiould be shapely and tall,
y, ith hair or peruke curling down on his shoulders."
"And his attire should be gorgeous," added Polly.
"It is said he is bringing with him a goodish number
of young officers and supemumerari •."
"I wonder what else he is bringing," Evelyn said
to herself, in a voice only half intended for her com-
panion's ear, "of the things that matter."
"I opine, ' ' observed Polly, looking admiringly at her
friend, "that you will go to work with those eyes of
yours to cast spells on some of these newcomers."
Evelyn laughed her low laugh of genuine enjoyment.
"PoUy Van Cortlandt to speak thus, who has half
the young men of these colonies in her toils!"
"Ah I" said Polly, a slight shadow falling over the
brightness of her face, "I have the young men of
my own Company,' or those boys with whom I
' A peculiar feature of Dutch colonial life was the formation of
boys and girls (usually relatives, or in the same social set) into
Companies, with distmctive colors, etc. All their amusements
were in common, and the comradeship thus formed lasted into
maturer years, so that marriages were frequent amongst members
of the same Company.
6 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
of S^r"^ -^'^-t bitte^'ess. burvSth something
Then sheldded^ ^^ ''°"^' ^'^ ^^^^ fo"" •«•"
have^^'anTtha^^ girls together, "that they
EachkS^d eaS o^t nf .^'^ -'^^ P^^^^*'"
her. and PoUy cEfo^^ ^ *^^ '^'^''^ nearest
could, what wS^f^» ^ ?^^° *° fin<^ out. if he
and ^hltr ^ n'w G^^lr had*'"^ '^^^
negro came back br^Thle^ f? ^ \ ^T^Yf^- The
but onlv thpcT.ot^I ^" "was not the Governor
sail do;4The^a? a c^lif ^"r^" ^^° w«« to
Excellency. ^ ^^^ distance to meet His
bro^h^UrSkTo thatiS ,"P''" '^' -^y- -d
Sti^el vWth'i^ JheckS^tri^l^ St ? ^""°
shaped wmdows and the entr^ce^^aSveS
DAUGHTERS OF COLONIAL DAYS y
were wrought in massive iron the family initials
and the year when the house was built. There too
was the stoepe, with its benches whereon the girls
had so often sat and talked of that event wWch was
now at hand — the arrival of a new Governor. His
coming had been of special interest, because it was
believed that, as he occupied an exalted position
both socially and politically, he would be lUsiely to
restore to the gubernatorial residence some of that
state and elegance which had been sadly lacking
during the last regime. It was rumored also that
he would bring with him a brilliant staff and many
celebrities. The whispers that had reaflfcd Man-
hattan concerning my Lady Bellomont as to her
eccentric — ^not to say, scandalous — conduct, had only
whetted public curiosity, and particularly that of the
female sex. Evelyn had often wondered how so gay
a dame as they had heard described would fit into
the small life of that dorp, which had become a city.
The foot-boy sounded the great silver knocker
on the door, and the two occupants of the coach,
dismoimting, suddenly became conscious of the him-
ger engendered by their long drive and the previous
sail over the salt water. For their nostrils were re-
galed with savory and mingled odors from within
— ^roast goose with its gamishings, pound-cake and
crullers, coffee and spiced wine. They covild scarcely
wait till, having divested themselves of their outer
wrappings, they heard the gong sound in the hall,
answering to the striking of that clock which but
of late was a novelty in the colony. It announced
in clear, musical tones the hour of noon and dinner.
CHAPTER II
A COLONIAL MATRON
AT the head of the table, presiding with much
grace and dignity, sat the grandmother with
whom Polly Van Cortlandt had lived since her
childhood and the death of that relative's husband.
Vrow Van Cortlandt — or Madam Van Cortlandt, as
she was more generally called — ^was a woman of
strong character and clear commonsense, an excel-
lent tjrpe of those matrons who were in a very real
sense the pioneers of Manhattan. Her dark eyes
stiU sparkled at times with the same light that now
danced in Polly's; her shrunken cheeks showed a
mottled red where once had been a lovely bloom;
her cap, tied under her chin, was of the finest muslin
and the richest lace; her gown was of heavy satin,
and her long pendant earrings were a priceless heir-
loom that had crossed the seas from Holland. She
was merry at times, that old grandmother, or again
she was sad, v/ith the burit^i of all the years and of
all the destinies that had been interwoven with her
own. Even the very house in which she lived was an
epitome of the annals of Manhattan.
She watched the two girls with an amusement
that showed itself in just a nod, a twinkling of the
eyes or a chuckle. She could enter into their feelings
with curious exactitude. Full of life, of mirthful-
A COLONIAL MATRON 9
ness and of attraction for the other sex, she had
once trod the streets of what had been, in her day
of youth, merely a quaint village. She had assisted
at tea parties, assemblies and dances, many of which
had been in this very dwelling where Polly loved to
entertain her friends. The old woman's eyes rested
oftenest and most lovingly, as was natural, on the
sparkling countenance of her granddaughter. But
there were moments when they were turned also,
with something thoughtful and inquiring in her look,
on that other, who was merely a dear friend and wel-
come visitor but no part of that household. For it
seemed to these experienced eyes that she was of
an order altogether different from those who had
passed as maids, as wives or as mothers through
that mansion, where the observer herself, for two
generations, had reigned supreme. AVherein that
precise difference lay. Madam \ n Cortlandt, per-
spicacious as she was, could not determine. Some-
thing in the delicate pencilling of the eyebrows, in
the sensitive lines about the mouth, in the haunting
depths of the eyes, presaged suffering.
^^ "If I had a son unmarried now," she mused,
should I not shrink from seeing him become the
husband of one who, if I be not sore mistaken, will
have more than her share of sorrow?"
But the old woman felt instinctively that, if there
were tragedy, there was also nobility in every line
of that face.
"I Mieve, in truth, I should risk it," concluded
she; for here is no common type of maid, though
differing from my darling Polly as the lily differs
from the rose."
The giris, unconscious of these reflections, gave
the grandmother a somewhat desultory account of
10 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
their visit to Polly's aunt in Morrisania, where the
J-wo had spent a week, and then began to talk about
the topic uppermost in their thoughts — the coming
of the new Gove.-nor. Meanwhile old Peter, the
negro who had grown gray in Madam's service,
stood behind her chair and with a broad fan flicked
away the flies, while listening eagerly to the conver-
sation.
The room in which they sat was all green and gold,
with a heavy wainscoting of dark wood. Its furniture
was solid and substantial; the chairs were high-
backed, with broad, brocade-covered seats. The
silver on the table was likewise massive, quaint but
rich in pattern, and bearing with it from overseas,
whence it came, something of the character of its
first owners in Rotterdam. The viands were rich
rather than varied, though Madam Van Cortlandt
still prided herself on the skill with which she could
make, or cause to be made, all those good things
that were dear to Dutch hearts. Polly, too, was a
notable cook. There was, in fact, no branch of
housewifery which she did not understand, having
been trained under "that incomparable woman,"
as old Dominie Selwyns had described her grand-
mother. The latter's experience went back indeed
to pioneer times, when her grandmother, whom she
vividly remembered, had put hir hand literally to
the plough, procuring by her own hands almost all
the necessaries of life.
Through the lozenge-shaped panes of the dining-
room window came the noontide sun of that bright
day, which was bringing the new Governor to Man-
hattan. Deep in Evelyn's heart were thoughts con-
cerning him of which the others knew nothing.
These thoughts she could discuss only with her
A COLONIAL MATRON „
father, a quiet and studious man, for whom she kept
house m a charming Uttle cottage near the river.
1 hope said the grandmother, "that this Gov-
ernor wiU be an miprovement upon the last. There
IS sore need of it. The office lost all its dignity when
the Kmg s representative was seen to consort with
smugglers and, as some would have it, pirates.
Colonel Fletcher was, in truth, no man for the post "
D ,/^^,^Y^^^'^^ ^^^ ^ <^"^I in his time," added
°,Xl ^^ ^""^ ®°"^1 life, there was none at all."
Uur liberties," continued the grandmother ie-
normg Polly's interruption, "have been many times
and gravely imperilled by these men whom our
Sovereign Lord, the King, has sent. I make excep-
tion of the good Dongan."
"But," said PoUy, with a mischievous sparkle in
her black eyes and a mocking grimace at Evelyn
was he not a Papist, and did he not hold strange
wordup with Jesuits and such like at the Fort?"
It was so," assented the old lady, "but he was
none the worse man for that— a good Governor ac-
tive and far-seeing and willing to grant, as indeed he
Old, toleration to all men to worship God as their
consciences approved."
She glanced almost involuntarily at Evelra who
had been strangely silent. But it was part of the
girl s fasanation that her silences were often full of
a meanmg that impressed itself upon those around
her. Her face jj-st then had a glow upon it, and
there was a hg! : in her eyes as if her unspoken
thoughts were in answer to the old lady, who better
than most people seemed to understand her. When
she broke silence, it was to say:
"The Sovereign of England was at that time
Vathohc, until he was driven forth—"
12 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
She stopped abruptly, and Mada..i Van Cortlandt,
with her laugh that was still mirthful though it
broke and cackled, completed the sentence:
"By our Dutch William, married to James's own
daughter." Then she added more gravely: "A
great man to our way of thinking, who might have
done as Hollanders mostly do, let folk worship God
as they would, but the English, with their political
mtrigues and their fear of the Catholics, would not
have it so. Do you know that WiUiam was once in
friendly alliance with the Pope of Rome?"
"No," answered Evelyn, "I did not know that,
and was he then willing to sacrifice everything for — "
"For the sake of a crown," said Madam Van
Cortlandt, composedly finishing the sentence. But
there was a note of sadness in her tone as she added :
"When you have grown as old as I am, you will
know that few of the heroes we have worshipped
could withstand temptation."
"He is no hero of mine," said Evelyn, with a glow
in her eyes as though a lamp had suddenly been lit
thaie. "I hold him to be both treahcerous and cruel."
"Remeniber," reproved the old lady, with sudden
seventy, "that you are speaking of the reigning
Sovereign, whom may the Lord God bless and pro-
tect! No one at my table shall speak ill of him."
She spoke with unusual heat, as though this rght-
minded and intelligent woman, who had read much
and conversed much with men of many minds, were
defending the Protestant idols against doubts that
had ansen in her own mind. And looking full at
Evelyn, who was perforce silent, she continued as if
in answer to the expression of the young girl's face:
"He had the peace and safety of the realm of
England to think of."
A COLONIAL MATRON 13
To this statement Evelyn made no reply, though
dissent from that view was shown in every line of
her face. Polly meanwhile was visibly bored. She
could not help wondering how Evelyn, who so keen-
ly enjoyed the gaieties and harmless frivolities which
the town afforded, and was the centre of many a
social gathering, could be thus vividly and passion-
ately interested in those dull subjects which her
grandmother and the old people discussed. Even
with them such discourses were only occasional,
for the female portion of the community preferred
to talk amongst themselves of the number and
quality of their slaves or indented servants, of recipes
for the making of cakes or confections of various
sorts, or to hear or retail the latest gossip of the town
—the weddings and births, the marriage feasts and
caudle parties, the latest betrothals and the most
recent deaths. For even the deaths afforded topics
for much conversation— the number and distinction
of the mourners or of the relatives to whom the aan-
sprecher (or death herald) made funereal announce-
ment. Alldetails were of interest: the width of the
mourning bands, who bore the coffin to the church,
how the house looked, and how many enjoyed the
wne and cake, the pipes and tobacco, with which'
the funeral guests were regaled on their return from
the burial. As if in rebound from the fearful so-'
lemnity, the human heart there as elsewhere, driven*
as It were to extremes, turned with keenest relish'
from mourning to human comforts and to the com-
panionship of its fellows.
Madam Van Cortlandt, though capable when op-
portunity offered of conversing on any subject, was
deeply mterested in all local affairs. Taking her
kmttmg bag with her to provide employment for
I
»4
GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
or round of S ^Ju ^^^ ^°^^ ^°^ a visit.
«anall, which fomTthe s„mTf ^PP^n^K^, large or
on. scaree peWtiWv fSn, *"^^- ^^ ^ ''goes
amongst those Tho^Sd^.7^-^^°'''"'°^^
topics to talk of Dolitir; »t, X" \* '^ from such
Patroon, stiU ^Wd^'f nf^V^^y ^'^t^d to the
that KiAgdom of Pni P"*^.^«^ ^orkere, or to
of the ASa^S^Stes ■ Shf "^f .^ ''^^""'^
of a:: that lelatedT to tL £.t^ ^""^ cognizant
could discourse unon /»,»•• • fovemment. She
by marriageTonSon. f"9H't>es of Leisler. for
was totally opSS^to^nV^'r^^.^'^ 'deals, die
a ''fomg^ ^T H^ted H°'" *" designated as
Pubject of the usurper often tcSfT"""? T"' ^^'«
mg-room. or whe^r her J^ i^'**'? *" ^er draw-
nieetforagameSsquLrP„,T^^ '^''^ *"
who regarded him ^ ^^^e, Jii^pV^"'^ ""^^^ '^y
were prepared to dpfipn^t,- ^"*^"^'^ patriot, and
emment^d the S f f^^T^tion of the gov-
followed. induc^g'^Sl' l.^yy^ni'^al acts '^W^
their home. ' Wth Si ThL ^'^.-"^'^^ Manhattan
O^rtlandt had nrsSipathv whT' ^^^^^ Van
that they were totaU^C^d * r'n ^'^^ ^^^^
of toleration. She woKS ell L^. °""=^ ^^^
tyranny of a later EnPliTh^t ^ "'' *.°0' "PO" the
ticularly in the h^T^sX'T^^^^?'-' P^'
flour and the destruction nff»?^u°" *^ bolting of
A COLONIAL MATRON 15
politics and an ardent Catholic, and chafed under
the restrictions imposed upon members of her
faith, who were allowed to have neither priest nor
church.
PoUy on her part, was glad when dinner was over,
especially as she had found the trend of conversation
distasteful, and feared that Evelyn, who was a great
favonte with her grandmother, might say something
to offend the latter. It was a relief to escape to her
bedroom upstairs, where the two made such addi-
tions to their toilet as the occasion demanded. The
grandmother remained musing after the voune
people had left her: J- s
"These Papists," she said to herself, "for I make
sure this girl is one, though she has never admitted
so much m my hearing, are like to have a hard time
If aJl I hear from England be true. Evelyn's father
used to attend the Popish worship in Dongan's time
or so I have been informed. That will teU against
him, and he will be, in truth, a marked man. And
this girl — '
She paused and sighed deeply. Then, as if wishing
to drive the matter from her mind, she arose from
her chaw and, with a step that was still light con-
sidpnng her vears, went to inspect the jam cupboard,
taking a pc-.derous bunch of keys from her apron
pocket. She also gave orders that the coach should
be at the door at a quarter before two to convey
them all to some vantage point where the arrival
and its attendant ceremonies might be witnessed.
I
n
h
I, I
CHAPTER III
THE NEW GOVERNOR
P^J^h!? f.^" ^* -^^ appointed hour the girls de-
L„H ^?^ the stairs, prepared to accompany their
^^^ffL''^V°°^'^ ^^'^ «t^'«Jy and hand^,^
PoSv-™ '^'"'^* *?d outdoor mantle of rich satin
^dlLn^ZT^ fa^ly sparkling with excitement
fwf ^ ^^""^ ^^^'y" had seemingly forgotten
those very senous thoughts which, like the deeS
waters of a stream, flowed steadily beneath the rioS
on the surface. She was looking partTcidity7S
m a gown of yellow lutestring, trimmed w^th S
lace m the most modish fashion possible. She S
an exceUent foU for the dark-haired red"hS
«jd^v.vaaous Polly, who was gowned ifSiSS
wJ^to drivS^'wT P°'"P°"' *^^^ ^^^' since he
^ ^u^ ?lt Vf^^ ^^ ^^^'^y "Pon Ws box,
^kedhlf^ TifJ "^^^ u^ '■^^"8 ^s ^hip to his
- ^h If ■ ■■ T^ "^^ ^y- J"™*^' his eyes roUing
with anticipatory enjoyment of the promised el
nf t?r,* 5"*^ ^ admiration of the sumpt^^lL^s
«L ft '^*^^'' '^'T'^ *^« '^^age do5r upon S
and then mounted to his station at the b£dk. m
Wavl;XT*.?^"i T '*^ ^*y ^°^ the Briad
Sve a th? ifn^ ''^*^^ ^°'^- ^°' there were to
amve at the landing-place near Their Excellencies
THE NEW GOVERNOR
17
?h? Mavir"^!^ '^"^ '^^'^'^^ °^ ^he Council.
«Sed dnS^tSf n*''^ P«>«nment citizens, who had
■auea down the Bay to meet them.
The town wore an air of expectancy. Flaes were
pnvtte residences. The gardens could only show
theu^tmy buds of promise and shoots of li^ng gS^
month later, tfiey too would have given forth color
and fragrance to greet the newcomers- "lavff
trees to perfume the air. peonies, gilly flowers Ss
mignonette and early roieTto delight thHve The
^Ttt ?L'^''°/ .^^°°1 --dy to join'^4hThl
guns of the Fort in firing the salute. The citizens
M^ c^ttr^ f^^^ "^"* ^ ^«^t exdt^ment
iS^ttf^ h ^"J^ ^f^ '"™^^« °f all sorts
were to be heard. Mechanics in their leathern
KsVnS JT'T -"^t Phy-cians who S
De distinguished by their high pointed hats th^r
wide-skirted coats of broadcloth, their sLrt bitches
SL 5?iS fr'' ^^^ ^°^^- °^ saver-Si J
^H.^7^ they usually carried in their hands
Gentlemen in doublets and breeches of brocade or
satm were also there, wearing muslin cravate edwH
Th^J*'^ lace and with rufHes of lacr atXfr sl^^es
These nyalled mdeed their wives and daueht^Tn
£X^S thaS '''^' ^'^°"«'» the la"t?er'we^
frLm fto ^^ u* ^y- ^^^ matrons distinguished
from the maids by wearing the coif of matronhoorf
rW -^r *^"""*^- Th« women of the Wer
classes m hnsey-woolsey or drugget gowns dvedTv
themselves with the juice of certain^;. mSe a
picturesque showing, the brightness of colonW bet
™i iir^ ,5^ snow-white kerchiefs and. in the
case of the older women, by frilled caps
m
I
l8 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
All waited with a like impatience, differently as
It might be manifested, for the first sight of that
potentate from beyond seas — that new ruler who
held in his hand the power of life or death and, to a
great extent, of joy or sorrow too. Only the few
who had travelled as far as England, or had corre-
spondents there, knew anything about him. Be-
cause of the disturbances of the Leisler period, which
had divided the town into warring factions and still
left its traces, there was unusual anxiety in the
breasts of many. For no man could tell what side
Lord Bellomont might espouse.
The Van Cortlandt coach drew up at a point
where a fine view of the proceedings might be ob-
tained, its occupants differently affected by these
moments of suspense. The grandmother both felt
and displayed a certain philosophic calm. She had
seen many pageants in her time, governors coming
and governors going. And the excitement and joy-
ous mterest which had heralded the coming, had very
often with more reason marked the departure. But
the girls, different as they were in most respects,
felt the same heart-beats at that moment, though
Polly more openly showed her agitation.
At last there was a blare f trumpets, followed by
the surging forward of the crowd, which was row
silent for the most part save when some in advance
'■f'sed a cheer. The royal colors, those of William
of Orange, ran up on the Fort; the guns boomed
out then- salute, and for good or evil His Excellency,
l^chard Earl of Bellomont, was Governor. The thrill
of excitement that ran through Evelyn's brain, bring-
ing the tears to her eyes and causing her to grasp
convulsively her companion's hand and press it, was
displayed by PoUy in a series of exclamations:
THE NEW. GOVERNOR ,9
"Oh, how splendid it all is I I can just see over
yonder the uniforms and— yes, oh yes, there is the
carnage I
It was the state coach, similar to that in which
Governor Andros had ridden and which had been
purchased by the Corporation of New York. The
grandmother's dim eyes, catching sight of it re-
membered with a sudden flame of wrath how the
tyrant s stem face had looked out from it. and how
his no less haughty wife had barely inclined her head
to the greetings of the populace.
There was no delay at the Fort, for it had been
deemed expedient that, since there might be mal-
contents about, the coach should drive straight on
to the Stadt Huys, where the oath of office would be
administered. Madam Van Cortlandt recalled with
a shudder— for the old are always more engrossed
wth the past, when they were in the fighting line
?^-iu^~^'i* Governor Slonghtcr had been hurried
thither. It was in the dead of night that time,
for the Leislenans were on the alert and had made a
determined resistance to the landing of his Lieu-
tenant Nicholls. Then had ensued that tragedy-
two tall gibbets had been erected from which had
swung two awful figures— the erstwhile, self-con-
stituted Governor of the colony, Jacob Leisler. and
his son-in-law, Milbome.
But neither Polly nor Evelyn gave a thought to
what was past. They were absorbed in that page-
ant, brilliant and engrossing, in what they saw and
what promised to be. They craned their necks
eagerly from the carnage windows, watching 'n
decorous and somewhat ponderous tread of lue
pikesmen and train-bands and the military company
serving as escort. They looked impatiently past
20 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
the postilions and outriders, in their brilliant ac-
coutrements, past the gay caparisons of the six white
horses, to the state chariot and the Governor. Both
girls — but especially Evelyn, whose imagination was
the more vivid — felt a swift pang of disappointment.
For there was my Lord BeUomont, resplendent in-
deed in his military imiform, but stout and thick-set,
with hair cut short and a coimtenance which, to
Evelyn at least, was distinctly repellent. The small
eyes, she thought, had something fierce and sinister
in their expression. That face and its expression,
indeed, stirred the deeper depths within her, so that
for a moment she forgot the glitter of that passing
show.
"He will be no friend to us," she thought, with
one of those swift flashes of intuition that had brought
home to her mind many a vital truth.
But Evelyn's attention was distracted by the sight
of that face at his side — a face proud and petulant,
and with traces of other emotions and experiences
which the eyes of the yoimg observer were incapable
of reading. But the countenance thus revealed
brightened with sudden interest into an animation
that lent it a certain charm, as my Lady BeUomont,
leaning slightly forward, let her gaze pass over the
wrinkled visage of Madam Van Cortlandt and rested
it upon the two girls. It was as though this spoiled
beauty, who had lived for excitement and pleasure
— ^not always of the most innocent kind, according
to popular reports — had said to herself:
"Oh, in this detestable place to which, as I told
my Lord, I would rather die than come, there are
really civilized persons, young women who would
not disgrace a ball or rout in Belgravia."
The carriage, however, swept on, Pi.ily bursting
h .
THE NEW GOVERNOR 21
into a la j^h at th(» >ypression which she saw upon
her comi .mion's iacf'
"It is lof for beau :y my Lord Bellomont has been
chosen to govciii this colony," she cried, "and he is
an aged man."
"Did you expect, then," put in the grandmother,
who had been silently observant, "that the new ruler
of these colonies should be a gay spark, a target for
your arrows? In truth, he has turned sixty, so thev
say." '
"There is some beauty in the wife," observed
PoUy, though half doubtfully.
"Yes, and a little more than that," agreed Evelvn
thoughtfully. ^
"l do not think I like her face," decided Polly.
"Her poor Ladyship," said the grandmother tol-
erantly, "was married when she was but twelve
years of age. One might believe that her path has
been not all rose-strewn."
"Married to that face,'" exclaimed Evelyn, "it
might be a slow martyrdom."
Madam Van Cortlandt protested.
' 'Oh, fie, Evelyn !" she said. "My Lord Bellomont
IS of tned bravery as a soldier, and men say that he
has ideas in his head about reform and I know not
what."
But Evelyn was obdurate in the dislike which she
had taken to the new Governor— whether from some
premonition of evil or merely from a feminine prej-
udice founded upon her first disappointment in
the man's appearance, she would have found it
hard to say. Polly laughed him aside with satirical
humor.
"With the help of Evelyn's most lively imagina-
tion, she declared, "I had pictured the Governor
Ift'.V
'» i
22 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
a fine gentleman with curled locks falling over his
shoulders, a clean-cut countenance, and a figure of
slender proportions. Alack, but he is a di4point-
But the attention of both girls was drawn to the
many niembers of the suite and the numerous of-
ficers whom the Earl of Bellomont had brought in
his tram. Most of these men wer« young, dark and
iTtCtlJ^tl' ^u^f- T*'' '^^ '^"■■"ng locks reaching
to the shoulder which the observers had missed in the
Oovernor. And whether they wore a military uniform
or civilian costume, they were all very splendid in
SSr rS^^M' ^'-.'i^ '^^t ^^ ^^ t° ™P^«^ these
poor Colomals with an idea of their magnificence.
dM nnf 7u' ^f'^^^Y ?°^ °^ ^^""^ ne^ arrivals who
m. not take note of the two girls looking out from
the windows of that stately, if cumbroul, old ca^
?ff^' u 1'°"^ ^^^ ^'^"'^ °f a Pi«=ture. So might
CindereUa have peerea out from her fairy coach.
S^ri/rnf Tr^V°^ course, divided as to the respective
ments of the two, but the balance was in favor of
„li^^,' ^T"^"y amongst the older men. It was
generally the young subalterns or junior members of
the staff who preferred the dark beauty of Polly
with Its glow and sparkle, and the damask red cheeks
and the eyes that regarded them so roguishly
The procession moved on, and the pompous
coachman presently saw the decorous time to foT
low for which the girls within the coach had waited
^th such mipatience. He finally forsook the Broad
^%t the marti^ music of the bands and the sound"
^ fZ^ t"^^l^'^'^ the bell in the Dutch Church
at the Fort which, as some said, had been cast
largely of silver, and to which were now added joy-
ous peals from the English Church, Trinity He
i
THE NEW GOVERNOR 23
showed his wisdom, since that street was lined three
deep with spectators, and crowded wherever pos-
sible with vehicles. He turned into a quiet street,
which would bring the expectant ladies to a safe
comer near the Stadt Huys, or City Hall. The better
to attain his end, he urged the staid horses into a
trot, rarely permitted to those dignified animals.
This unusual pace caused the coach to roll and rumble
no little, but even the grandmother did not rebuke
the driver, since his speed was in a good cause.
The old City Hall stood gaunt and grim, and its
lights were often a beacon to those out upon the
water or to vessels coming up the Bay. This bare
and ugly building had now perforce to take on some
appearance of festivity, in so far as flags and stream-
ers, mostly of orange, could effect the transformation.
But the stem rigidity of its outUnes, its bald and
hopeless ugliness, seemed to say: "By no plastering
on of gay colors can you transform me. I am of those
to whom all change is abhorrent. Rulers may come
and mlers may go, but I represent all the solid sen-
timent of the people. I am civic worth and civic
dullness personified."
With looks of smiling recognition, the officers
and members of the suite recognized and pointed
out to one another the two girls in the coach as if
they were already old acquaintances. My Lady
Bellomont's languid eyes brightened once more into
a look of interest, until the splendid cortege was
swallowed up within the grim portals of the Stadt
Huys. Madam Van Cortlandt and her two com-
panions pointed out to one another the various
members of the Council, most of whom were at that
time on the same side of politics as the Van Cort-
landts— that is to say, anti-Leislerians— and thus
24 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
Madam's intimate friends, or even relatives. They
also exchanged grtctings with the occupants of other
coaches, or with pedestrians who stood p.bout the
doors of the City Hall. Then Madam gave the order
to the coachman to drive first to the home of Mis-
tress de Lacey, who was but a visitor to *he Van
Cortlandt household, and thence back to the im-
posing residence from which they had started.
Meanwhile, within the Stadt Huys the oath of office
had been taken, and a new regime had begun for
the colony of New York.
The Governor who had thus arrived with so much
pomp and majesty and been received with such elab-
orate ceremonies, could not have foreseen that he
was never to leave those shores again; that, before
many years had passed, his bones would lie beneath
the Fort, and that the silver plate from his exhumed
coffin, after a decade or two more hf:d elapsed,
would be stared at by the curious in a museum.
But he did not know, and that day the pride of life
and the pomp of circumstance were uppermost.
Lord Bellomont was jubilant at having secured so
honorable an appointment, the emoluments of which
were considerable, and in which it was said rich
pickings were to be had. He was jubilant also that
he had bent the capricious will of my Lady to obey
hif; wishes, and forced her to accompany him on
this mission, for previously, when he was assigned to
a West Indian post, she had allowed him to go alone
while she had lived riotously in London. Hertf,
his proud and jealous heart told him, she would be
under his own eye. He would force her to behave
decorously, save her from misconstruction, and so
make the best, if best there could be, of so ill-a«sorted
a union.
CHAPTER IV
JACOBITE AND CATHOLIC
'THE house which Evelyn de Lacey inhabited
A with her father stood upon Pearl Street, at that
portion which was then known as "The Waterside "
It was upon the comer of what was once Winckel
vStreet, but was later named Whitehall after the fa-
mous residence which the great Governor Stuyvesant
built there. But no mansion was that of the de
i-aceys. It was a comparatively smaU, two-storv
house, constructed of the prevailing glazed brick
with lozenge-shaped window panes in their leaden
sashes, and gables turned towards the garden
Uambenng over the walls, and reaching even to the
high-pointed roof with its crow-feet chimney, were
uxunant vines. The adjoining garden was a de-
hghtful spot wherein the usual prim arrangement of
flower-beds and borders was departed from, and the
flowers in the summer-time grew in bewildering
profusion. The nearest neighbor, on one side, was
the mansion of the la.tr Mynheer Steenwyck, once
a prominent citizen of Manhattan. On the other
side was a neighbor that Evelyn liked much better
Md was not inconveniently close— the East River!
I tie girl was never tired of watching the river
trom the window of her room with the play of
light and shadow upon its surface. She liked to
if'
1^
26 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
watch the oyster boats setting out early in the
morning for the oyster beds in the Bay; or the mer-
chant vessels, stately brigantines or more modest
sloops, as they sailed for distant ports. She had also
gUmpses of the Fort, the Bowling Green, and of
what went on there— all sufficiently distant to be
attractive.
The gcrden of this ideal home was most absorbing
to Evelyn. In addition to those flowers which grew
in such abundance, and with a degree of disorder
which to the mind of their owner constituted their
chief charm, Evelyn had a comer reserved for vege-
tables to supply their daily needs, and a piece of
ground devoted exclusively to the herbs and simples
which she compounded into medicines with a skill
acquired from an old and once famous physician,
now dead. Doctor Van Kierstade, who had taught
her many things during her childhood and girlhood.
To the mind of many of her admirers, never did
Evelyn look more charming than when, clad in a
simple garment which she reserved exclusively for
gardening, she worked amongst those plants that
were as dear to her as if they had been hving things.
She had been busy all those April days in doing
whatsoever she could to promote growth, and she
was longing for the time when the flowers of the
garden, or the more prosaic green things, would show
their faces one by one, like a gathering of old
friends.
When Evelyn returned from the pageant that'
afternoon she found her father in his study, and, as
it seemed to her, in an unusual mood of dejection.
The broad casement of the room was thrown open,
as if inviting in the tendrils of the vines upon which
later honeysuckle, wisteria and rambler roses would
JACOBITE AND CATHOLIC ^^
cluster in luxuriant abundance. Their form of beauty
alone invaded the solitude of the man, who had been
transformed by the course of events from a man of
action, i soldier, even a courtier, into the student
and dreamer. He could catch glimpses of the river
from that window and feel at times that pungent
breath of salt from the Bay. But he could catch
no glimpse of the Fort or the Bowling Green as could
Evelyn from her upper window. It seemed as if
nature had shut him in with herself, and there were
reasons which he considered sufficient for avoiding
the hospitable, easy and eminently genial society of
the city.
Gerald de Lacey was still in the prime of life, but
had travelled much and seen much active service,
particularly in the Low Countries, as Major in one
of the Hussar regiments. He had first come over to
the colony with Governor Dongan, accompanied
by his wife and young daughter. He had subse-
quently returned to England, whence the course
cf events, resulting in the accession of William
of Ch-ange, had again driven him forth. He was then
a widower, and with his one daughter had come
to New York and taken up his residence in a house
which had been built for the Dutch minister and
which Major de Lacey had improved to his taste.
An Irishman and a Catholic in full sympathy with
the cause of King James, he had resigned his com-
mission in the Hussars on the accession of William of
Orange, and later, for urgent reasons, had come back
to that colony, where previously with Dongan,
under an extended leave of absence, he had spent
some pleasant years. Of a fiery and impetuous na-
ture, which he had subdued to outward composure,
he chafed in secret under the enforced idleness, but
%
1 ■
I!
28 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
hid his disappointed hopes as much as possible from
his idohzed daughter, finding solace in the compan-
ionship of his books, which happily he truly loved.
Recognizing perhaps the incompleteness of such
a hfe as his, he made every possible effort to keep
Evel3Ti in the forefront of the city's social circles.
He admired almost inordinately the qualities which
he discerned in her, as well as the rareness and fine-
ness of her beauty, which recalled that of her dead
mother and appealed to his fastidiousness. His
means, though not large, were sufficient for their
needs, and by a rigid personal economy, which he
did not permit Evelyn to realize, he contrived to
give her the modish and often expensive costumes
which one side of the nature of the girl passionately
loved. There was another side to her character, as
yet undeveloped, which would make her willing to
wear sackcloth and live austerely for the sake of her
father or anyone else whom she loved.
Even had Evelyn been aware of the sacrifices which
her father made to supply her with all she needed,
she could not have offered any successful opposition.
For that was one of the matters upon which Gerald
de Lacey was inflexible. Rarely had his will run
counter to that of his child; but, when it did so, it
was as effective as finely tempered steel in the hands
of a skilful swordsman. He always declared that she
was to dress as he thought fitting, and according to
the state in life to which she properly belonged.
Her mother had been the daughter of a commoner,'
ennobled for distinguished service to his country,
and Gerald himself came of ancient Norman stock.
To these commands Evelyn had offered but little
resistance, since it is so easy to render obedience
when one's secret inclinations fit in with that duty.
iii
JACOBITE AND CATHOLIC
29
The father had watched her from the window, as
stie alighted from the Van Cortlandt carriage in that
gown of gold lutestring which had been so much
admired, and he perfection of her appearance filled
him with a pride which partly consoled him for t.e
bitter reflections of that day. When Evelyn enter^
the stud /■ he >vas sitting at the table with the same
volume o£ poetry open before him which had been
unread all that afternoon. The sound of the trum-
pets, coming through the open window, had been
harrowing for him. For had not he too landed at
that selfsame landing-place, and passed from the
Fort to the Stadt Huys with another Governor, his
chief? All that had happened when life was fair and
young, and while the wife, whom he had so passion-
ately loved, still lived and shared, in her eager but
earnest way, all his pursuits and all his interests.
How gladly she followed his fortunes to the New
World, where he hoped for advancement in his
double career of soldier and diplomat! Governor
Dongan had been interested in his prospects, and
they had shared in common the same hopes and
ideals, and had worked for that broad and compre-
hensive so' erne of freedom and toleration for alL
The last of the Stuart Kings had been then on the
throne of England. And now, though still compara-
tively young as years are counted, he had lived to
see Dongan hunted Uke a wolf, his dearly beloved
wife dead, and James, the hereditary Monarch of
England and by every human and divine law the
rightful Sovereign, a wanderer on the Continent.
His own personal fortunes had sunk with theirs,
his future was blighted, and he lived here almost in
hiding, never knowing what turn of events should
make of liim a fugitive and an outlaw.
iU:
''I
111
30 GERALD de LACEVS DAUGHTER
Entering the room in her yellow dress, Evelyn
brought with her as it were a splendor of sunshine.
Her young beauty concentrated all that remained
of the sun that was setting, and likewise, as it seemed
to the observer, all that remained to him of life.
She approached him softly and laid her hand ever
so gently arA caressingly on his shoulder. She was
not given to effusive demonstrations, which indeed
were rare between the two. But, after one look at
his face, she bent and kissed him. She realized, as
in a flash, how much need he had of sympathy and
tenderness. She felt conscience-stricken, too, that
she had been absent from him when perhaps he had
needed her. But there she was somewhat mistaken.
He had had need also of solitude in which to fight
his bitter bpttle, when he had sent her away a few
days before to accompany Polly on a visit to rela-
tives of the latter's in Morrisania. The father
raised his head and met his daughter's glance. It
was plain to see where she had got a portion at least
of her beauty and charm, though the heartsore man
was just then reflecting that she had so strong a
look of her mother.
"You did not go out to see — ?"
"The passing show," said her father, completing
the sentence. "No, love, for in such an assemblage
there could be no place for me. I could not raise
a cheer, nor," he added more lightly, "even my hat
to the representative of the usurper. So I would have
been in all truth a marked man, and that would have
been perilous for us both."
Evelyn sat down beside him with a countenance
that was sober and thoughtful, putting aside her
taffeta scarf, which was of a deeper shade of gold than
her dress.
JACOBITE AND CATHOLIC 31
"Perhaps it was not meet that I should have gone,"
she said.
Her father interrupted her quickly.
"Most certainly you should have gone," he said
emphatically. "Our cases, my dear daughter, are
different indeed. My life is done, and yours but
begun; I have sworn allegiance to one prince, and
inay not take such an oath to another. At least, that
is my way of thinking, though, now that the fact
is accomplished, I shall meddle no more with public
concerns, and there is no danger that I shall plot
treason. Besides," he added, "you, as a young
maid, were not obliged to give outward token of
loyalty."
"No, no," cried Evelyn, "I never so much as
bowed my head nor waved my handkerchief."
The father smiled.
"So that was the way of it," he said, "absent in
spirit, though present in the body."
And he thought how like that little touch was to
her mother.
"It was a fine sight," Evelyn cried, warming to
enthusiasm, "all save the Governor himself, who
was odious."
Mr. de Lacey la-ighed a pleasant, mellow-sounding
laugh, that had something contagious in its melody.
"Governors are not chosen for their personal at-
traction, I trow," he said, "but a matter more grave
than his personal appearance is the stock of which
he comes. He is of a family which the poet, Dante,
would have described as 'an evil brood.' If we can
estimate these colonies by Ireland, and the new
Governor's policy by the proceedings of these Cootes
in that country, then is there little hope for us
Catholics."
1.
If
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32 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
There was silence for a brief interval in the study,
of which the shadows had come early to take pos-
session. Evelyn moved restlessly but did not
speak. The expression of His Excellency's face had
filled her with a pronounced hostility and a vague
anxiety.
Her father presently resumed :
"But I would not do this man injustice. There
are those who say that he is both honest and well-
meaning, and hath in his head some ideas of good
government. So that perchance the day that is
dawning for these colonies may be fair, after all."
Evelyn, with an impulsive movement, laid her
hand upon the finely formed one of her father, which
lay flat on the table before him, and upon which shone
a blood-red garnet, catching the last lingering
gleams of light.
"You will be prudent, father dearest?" she cried.
"Aye, I will be prudent," he answered, adding
quickly, "unless honor should counsel otherwise."
He raised his head prcvdly as if the emergency
had already arisen, and, rislrit; to his feet, looked
down on Evelyn, who had like\/ise stood up.
"What would my little Evelyn counsel in that
case?" he inquired.
"That we should both die," she answered with
sudden passion.
"May God avert the occasion, at least from you!" •
the father said solemnly.
But the girl knew that he was pleased, and her
heart had answered this other dear heart which had
been her all during her years of childhood and of
youth.
CHAPTER V
NEW FACES
3
ON the next afternoon Evelyn de Lacey, wearing
this time a sober costume of cloth which she
had herself woven and dyed, accompanied her father
on a walk which led them down past the Fort, where
in bygone days he had occupied the room above the
gate. He noted, with an involuntary contraction of
the brows, the orange flag waving, but he said noth-
ing. Evelyn noted the expression that had crossed
his face and understood its cause. He had never got
accustomed to the sight. Probably the father's in-
clination would have been for a quiet walk through
the fields or along the waterfront, but he knew that
his daughter would naturally prefer to meet some of
her friends, who were sure to be upon the parade,
then the fashionable promenade.
As they passed the Bowling Green, a number of
officers were playing bowls with the keenest zest,
and with jests and laughter that rang out gaily
in the silence of that spring afternoon. At intervals
during their Sport they paused to survey the passing
groups of gaily dressed women and men, for in rich-
ness the men's attire almost surpassed that of their
feminine competitors. Evelyn de Lacey was once
more the cynosure of all those observers, who, in
their careless or supercilious ignorance, believed
i'MI
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34 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
these colonies to be barely on the verge of civiliza-
tion and a place where there was little to admire and
much to criticize. Scoffs and jeers were alike si-
lenced by the face of the girl, to which corresponded
a well-proportioned figure, held erect as a dart and
supple as a willow. It was evident, too, to those who
took the trouble to follow her movements, that she
was a person of note in the community. Hats were
continually being doffed to her, and there were
smiles and cordid greetings alike from those in car-
riages and pedestrians.
There were two officers upon the Green, who, sus-
pending their sport, had given a closer attention than
all the rest, not only to this girl, but also to her com-
panion. They took particular note of Gerald de
Lacey. There was something in his tall, erect figure
that betrayed the soldier, and something in the profile
of that face, which was never once turned towards
them, that marked him out from his fellows. He was
unconscious of that gaze, which he might perhaps
have found disturbing. Just at the moment, as if to
give the observers a still better opportunity for
their observations, Polly Van Cortlandt, attended
only by her negro maid, intercepted her friends, and
began an animated conversation. As they stood
thus in the full sunlight of that April day, her brill-
iant beauty made as usual a foil for that other com-
panion whose subtle charm was even more per-
ceptibly felt by the two who stood still upon the
Bowling Green.
The men on the Green offered an equally strong
contrast to each other. One was a medium-sized,
compactly built man, with an eye that would be
invaluable in the field, a lean and bronzed face that
at once commanded attention and inspired confi-
NEW FACES
3S
dMice. It was that of a strong and resourceful man,
who had had experience of life and its ways, without
succumbing to its evil. He was, in fact, Captain
Egbert Ferrers, who had ateady won distinction
m active service. His companion was taller and
paler, as if the sun had been unable to take effect
upon a skin that was thick and a complexion that
was duU. His hair was red and his eyes of a pale
blue, with a trick of making themselves as expres-
sionless as a mask. Lieutenant Prosser Williams,
who bore by courtesy the title of Captain, was
counted by some a handsome man, and was quite
willing to coincide with that opinion. But to the
close observer there was a suggestion of coldness, of
craft, even of cruelty, which repelled. For the rest,
with slightly stooping shoulders and an ahnost ex-
aggerated slendemess, his general appearance was
that of a man of fashion, rather than of a soldier.
"Where in the name of all the gods of Greece "
he said presently, "have I seen that face before?"'
"Do you refer," Captain Ferrers inquired, some-
what curtly, "to the beautiful face of the lady?"
For Captain Ferrers, seasoned as he was, had him-
self received from that exquisite face an impression
so strong that it seemed to blot out all other features
in the landscape. It had shaken, too, his pride and
self-confidence, and that beUef in his power to resist
feminine charms which had become proverbial
amongst his comrades.
"No," said Prosser Williams, "I can take my oath
that, save for a momentary glimpse of it at the car-
nage window yesterday, I have never seen that face
before—no, nor one like it. I was speaking of her
companion — a youthful father or an elderly hus-
band, it matters little which."
36 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
The suggestion, no less than the other's tone, irri-
tated Captain Ferrers. Nor would he admit to him-
self the idea of a husband. The next instant he smiled
whimsically. What a man of straw he was proving
himself, after all!
"I did not overmuch observe the lady's compan-
ion," he said quietly.
"Eyes only for the fair," said Captain Williams,
with the faintest perceptible sneer. "Yet even that
perfection of beauty, which I did not dream these
colonies could produce, did not blind me to the man.
He is worth noting, and I could swear that I have
seen him before and at no distant date."
His attention thus specially directed to the father,
Captain Ferrers, perceiving that the two were still
in sight, strolled away from his companion, and took
up lus position at a better point of observation on
that smooth greensward, where so lately he had been
strenuously engaged in rolling about the balls as
if that endeavor were the sum total of his aspira-
tions. Now something serious had happened,
though it was only the second glimpse he had caught
of the face of a girl, earnest, innocent and hatmtingly
beautiful. Her back was now turned towards him,
so that he saw instead the radiant countenance of
her friend, whose sparkling eyes of black, raven
hair and damask cheeks did not in the least appeal
to him. Moreover, he was curious to have another
look at that man who had attracted Prosser Williams'
attention, for something in the latter's remark had
struck him. From where he stood, in such a posi-
tion as to be unnoticed by those whom he wished to
observe, his keen eyes had a very distinct view of
Gerald de Lacey's face, lined and careworn in the
strong light as he smiled down at his daughter's
m
NEW FACES
37
friend. Egbert Ferre's drew in his breath with a
sharp exclamation :
"By heaven," he cried, "I too have seen him be-
fore, and I remember where." Then he added, with
growing irritation: "If that sleuth-hound of a Will-
iams has but got hold of a clue, there will be trouble,
but I will be hanged, drawn and quartered, if I
assist his memory."
Something in the alternative he had proposed for
himself made him shiver slightly. There had been
so much of such happenings within the memory of
living men in England. At the moment he stepped
forward unconsciously from his place of conceal-
ment, and his eyes met those of Gerald de Lacey,
which had in them at first merelj a look of care-
less inquiry, suddenly changing, as it appeared to
Ferrers, into one of uneasiness. At the same in-
stant, too, Evelyn, turning her head, looked full
into his face. The double sensation be thus experi-
enced so curiously upset him that, scarcely waiting
to perceive that the tall man on the pavement was
hurrying his daughter away, he walked swiftly across
the lawn where a game was still in progress and
eager bowlers called out to him as he passed. He
walked on rapidly, hardly knowing whither he was
going, till he found himself on the shore where rows
of palisades had been erected against suspected in-
roads of the French. He was unnerved to a degree
that neither he nor any of his friends would have be-
lieved possible. For there comes, no doubt, in every
life moments when some great issue seems forcing
itself to the front and forcing into the background
all that has been previously of paramount impor-
tance.
He stopd staring out at the water where miniature
i
I
38 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
waves chased one another under the cool brightness
of that sky, deeply blue though mottled with white
clouds. The breath of the salt air coming up from
the ocsan was reviving. He was still warm from his
game, and felt the need of such refreshment, as he
watched with abstracted gaze the sails of the fisher-
boats and some Indian canoes, which dotted the
wide expanse of water before him. He had only
one idea clear in his mind : to avoid any questioning
from Williams, which might complicate matters,
and to advise the father of this girl, whose very
name was unknown to him, to leave that town at
the earliest moment and to take with him his daugh-
ter (or his wife) out of reach of influences that might
j.i some fashion be brought to bear upon them.
He began to argue too in his mind, as if the matter
were of vital importance, that this girl could not
possibly be the wife of the man whom he had just
recognized. For he had been told at the time that
he was married, and had been married some years.
Why, his wife would be nearing middle age! He
drew a breath of relief, and then it flashed upon him
with disturbing force that death might havp inter-
vened, and the man be married again to this young
and charming girl. He suddenly felt a curious sense
of desolation darkening his mind, as that cloud was
just then darkening the Bay. A sense of danger to
come and a possible loss smote him, so sensitive is
the htunan soul to weird impressions. If it was nec-
essary that the tall man with the worn face should
remove to some distant place with his daughter
(for so he persisted in calling her), he knew that he
himself would miss something that gave color ana
interest to these landscapes and to the quaint Dutch
town, the characteristics of which he had previously
liiiij
NEW FACES 39
scarcely noted. He felt a strong desire to study that
^l,T u^^^^^^""' ^'^ fi"<^ o"t for himself
u -fi^^^^^ ***^* *^"*y> which he assured him-
self wth the power of experience coi-Jd not be merely
superficial. He wanted to know the meaning of the
^^^°^J^}^g behind those uncommon eyes,
and he told himself with sudden resolution that he
would do so at the earliest possible moment. He
walked back again across the Bowling Green and
through the stone courtyard to the Governor's resi-
uence where he had his quarters. The father and
daughter, who had awakened such interest, had
gone; the gay groups on the pavement had thinned
out. and the baUs on the green had ceased to rattle,
l-rosser WiUiams was nowhere to be seen
Meanwhile. Mr. de Lacey and his daughter had
returned home, unaware that new influences had
come into their lives. Evelyn lingered amongst the
herbs and flowers m her garden, conscious of a n«-w
excitement, which she was young enough and im-
pressionable enough fully to appreciate. Surelv
those groups of bowlers on the Green, typical of
Me and energy had given a now interest to the
sometimes monotonous existence of Manhattan.
Nor had she been unmindful of the glances of inter-
est Mdathniration she had caught on those tv/o faces
which had most impressed her. They seemed to
have singled themselves from the others in her con-
saousness. Towards one she felt a half-formed dis-
hke or annoyance which had its origin in something
that was bold and insolent in his glance. And that
man s hair was red, and his eyes were pale blue As
for the other she had got no farther in her impres-
sions than that she would like to know his name
and perhaps to discover if he danced as weU as he
l^l
II
40 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
bowled, and if he were really as bright and full of
interesting experiences as he seemed. But her father,
having hurried into the house, sat with his head
buried in his hands in deep and anxious meditation.
So far removed are the preoccupations of one gen-
eration from those of another.
i-.tii.i
CHAPTER VI
THOMAS GREATBATCH, SMUGGLER AND PIRATE
ON the Streets of the town, during those closing
years of the seventeenth century, a certain type
of men was to be seen, easily distinguishable from
all others. Their dress consisted of loose trousers,
short open jacket, a sash of scarlet around their
waist, and a bandolier of tlie same flaming color
over their shoulders. Their bronzed faces, fierce
mustachios and bold eyes proclaimed their calling.
They were avowedly smugglers, but also — as every-
body whispered, but few said aloud — pirates. Smug-
gling and piracy had become, in fact, a common
avocation, and it was broadly hinted that citizens
of prominence were interested at least in the smug-
gling operations, to which they lent their counte-
nance.
During the regime immediately preceding that of
Lord Bellomont, the smugglers had grown bold,
being under the patronage, it was said, of those in
authority. Piracy upon the high seas, and in the
vicinity of New York, had become so common that
my Lord Bellomont was entrusted with a special
commission to inquire into that abuse and its remedy.
He had early announced to the Council his deter-
mination to put a stop to the nefarious traffic. This
announcement had not succeeded in stiildng terror
If
A''
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Ip
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42 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
into the hearts of men who had been accustomed to
defy or evade the law, and to hear at intervals ful-
minations against themselves and their callmg,
which were followed by no vigorous action. But
the Earl of Bellomont, a resolute man and accus-
tomed to command, went a step farther, and this
\vith the approb-\tion of the King and others in high
places in the mother country. He declared his in-
tention of founding, in default of a navy, a privateer
service, to which the wealthy men of the colony,
particularly those who had maritime interests, should
contribute. Sailing the high seas, these privateers
would meet the pirates on their own element.
This announcement of his was the chief subject
of conversation at every dinner table in the town,
and in the taverns where men of all shades of opinion
met for the discussion of public, and sometimes
private, affairs. And it was being discussed on a
certain afternoon under the spreading boughs of
that famous eki which sheltered the tavern of Der
Halle, by two men who sat as far apart as possible
from the stragglers that now and then came forth
from the tavern to enjoy the coolness of the air under
the great tree. One of these wore that dress which
many were now beginning to fear, but which had
been so long a familiar feature of the Dutch city.
In an ordinary peaceful community that costume
would have been startling, but to the inhabitants of
Manhattan at that epoch the smuggler, thus boldly
proclaimed by his costume, was a picturesque and
almost admir>.d figure. It was no uncommon thing
to see such men seated at the tables of notable citi-
zens, or smoking a friendly pipe and drinking a bowl
of punch with them in the taverns. For it was these
men who brought to the port of New York rich stuffs,
!i'i'
GREATBATCH, SMUCX3LER AND PIRATE 43
gold, precious stones, wines and spices from the
Orient, no less than such ordinary products as sugar,
molasses or rum. If sometimes, as was alleged but
never openly avowed, their illegal trade merged into
the darker calling of pirates, it only seemed to lend
them an added attraction in the eyes of many other-
wise law-abiding citizens, or the charge was conven-
iently held to be slanderous and unproved.
The member of this calling, who appeared under
the tree of Der Halle tavern that day, was a broad,
thick-set man, with a coarse and strongly marked
countenance, upon which smallpox had set its seal.
This Thomas Greatbatch, who smoked in short,
fierce puffs from a huge pipe, was so typical of his
class that he was a hero to adventure-loving boys of
the town. Also he was on terms of something very
like intimacy with many grown men, despite their
secret disgust at his boastfulness, coarseness and in-
solence, no less than the suspicions they must have
entertained as to his character. The man who sat
opposite to him at table was as far removed from
him in station as in appearance or manners. A new-
comer to the colony, of mixed English and Dutch
extraction. Mynheer de Vries had made himself a
power by the vastness of his commercial operations
and the wealth of his establishment. He had pur-
chased the dwelling, lately left vacant by the death
of the celebrated Cornelius Steenwyck, which ad-
joined that charming dwelling wherein Major — or,
as he now thought it safer to be called, Mr.— de
Lacey and his daughter had taken up their abode.
His coat and small clothes were of finest broadcloth
of dark wine color, with silver buttons. His waistcoat
was of brocaded satin, with jabot of fine lace. His
clear-cut features were aristocratic in type. His
i\
ill
44 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
hands were long, white and thin, and upon one finger
sparkled a jewelled ring of priceless value. Upon
this bauble the eyes of his companion were covet-
ously fixed from time to time, for he was fully aware
of its value. Possibly he was thinking that, had he
been upon the deck of his good ship, he would have
lost no time in possessing lumself of such a gem, and
with scant ceremony to its owner. The talk of the
two men was at first unimportant:
"See yonder mackerel clouds," said Greatbatch,
pointing with his pipe-stem to the firmament.
'"Mares' tails,' as we call them, Mynheer, aiid a
good name enough. Well, as sure as the sun's in
the heavens now, that means bad weather, and a
signal to Captain Greatbatch to make sail before
it comes."
His companion's eyes followed the direction of
the pipe-stem to where fleecy masses of cumuli,
lie Sie unshorn wool of many lambs, were crowd-
ing together in masses upon the azure expanse of
sl^. Here and there, other trailing clouds broke
the blueness with exquisite effect.
"You are, no doubt, right," said the other, in
even, courteous tones. "Though I may not claim
your knowledge of the weather, I can believe that
we are near a change."
"I'll sail at sun-rising," Captain Greatbatch said
decisively. Then, as his round eyes dropped from
the dcy to the water, he burst into a great guffaw:
"What a sight ey are, those Vrowen, by—"
Mynheer raised his hand in d^recation of the
coarse oath with which the observation was seasoned,
nor did he see anything especially ludicrous in the
to him customary sight of comely red-cheeked
women rowing their flat-bottomed boats, piled with
.11
GREATBATCH, SMUGGLER AND PIRATE 45
market produce, over the broad river from the sandy
cliffs beyond.
Greatbatch, however, continued to chuckle and
mutter to himself as he watched those placid oars-
women, with their caps tied under their dtiins and no
other head-covering to protect them from the sun.
Then, as the rum which he was imbibing (that
Barbadoes brand, of which he himself had brought
into port full many an ilUcit cargo) began to warm
him, he burst forth:
"I know that you gentlemen are shaking in your
shoes, for has not my Lord Bellomont — a curse upon
him!— -made laws against the honest profits of us
men of the sea ?"
"It is most certainly true," said Mynheer, bend-
ing eagerly forward and dropping his voice, "that
it will be extremely perilous for — "
He stopped and peered all around the great elm
tree, for so considerable was its girth that it was a
conmion boast of the tavern how many men it took
to encircle it. He even looked up into the branches,
lest any adventurous lad might be emulating the
birds by finding a foothold amongst the foliage.
Greatbatch laughed a scornful laugh.
"Parlous," he echoed, "since ever I was a lad in
my teens, I have lived in the teeth of peril; and if
you mean by that dangers to the body, I snap my
fingers thereat."
He did snap his fingers in such close proximity to
Mynheer's face that the latter drew back in disgust.
"Then, there's another peril that you gentry are
afraid of, and that is your reputation and your
standing with these Governors that they send out
here from the old country to take the bread out of
folks' mouths."
M
m
am-
X-Wf
43
'^
I
46 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
After another alarmed look around the place,
where the few who were present seemed to be ab-
sorbed in their own concerns, and only the birds
in the branches above were near enough to have over-
head. Mynheer said:
"With one part of your speech I am most heartily
in accord; for reputation is of a surety what we
gentlemen have to safeguard. If we have winked
at your — " He paused for a suitable word, while
Greatbatch eyed him truculently. "At your eva-
sions of the law."
Greatbatch laughed a deep, hoarse laugh, for well
he knew that the euphemism was but a paltry way
to describe those daring deeds of his, some of which
might be called crimes, but in which, in so far as it
was safe, he gloried.
"My Lord Bellomont," went on Mynheer, "has
determined to put down with a strong hand all
illicit traffic, and with still greater zeal such attempts,
if any sudi are made, as may imperil the lives and
property of His Majesty's lieges upon the high seas."
Perhaps there was a faint note of satire in the
smoothness with which this was said, too subtle
for the ear of Greatbatch, and Mynheer fancied
that he caught in the latter's deep growls such ex-
pressions as "white-livered, chidcen-hearted cow-
ards." But he thought it wiser to take no notice.
In so far as was possible, the matter must be settled
amicably with this ruffian, who knew so much that
implicated himself and many other prominent citi-
zens of Manhattan, directly or indirectly, in that
piracy which had made the high seas a terror, or in
that smuggling which was making the port of New
York notorious for evasions of the law. That many
high-minded citizens looked with horror upon the
GREATBATCH, SMUGGLER AND PIRATE 47
fonner of these practices, and with disapproval upon
the second, did not alter the fact that many others
were involved therein. And, though they did not
care to admit the fact to themselves, they were per-
fectly well aware that the success of this Captain
Greatbatch in bringing cargoes to New York must
have been often attained by foul and even mur-
derous means. Such' a form of open robbery, fre-
quently involving the loss of human life, was ren-
dered picturesque by being practised on the main,
rather than upon a lonely road.
"Aye," said Greatbatch, irritated by the other's
caution no less than by the liquor he had imbibed,
"the Governor wants to enforce navigation laws
and to confiscate ships and cargoes for the customs
dues. He tries hard to take the bread from honest
seamen, but mark you. Mynheer, he has passed a
law against them that knowingly entertain, conceal
or hold correspondence with pirates."
And he laughed long and loud at the dismay which
was visible on the countenance of Mynheer at this
reminder. Also, he raised his voice to a pitch which
caused his companion to protest in great alarm, as
he said;
"As for my Lord Bellomont's scheme to place
privateers on the seas in place of pirates, why, what
are they but a pack of hell-hounds? And Cap'n
Kidd for their Commander, oh Lordy, Lordy ! Why,
man, if I mistake not, he will be the most daring
pirate alive to-day, the most dangerous sea-rover
that ever trod a deck — aye, and I make no doubt
the most expert of cutthroats. And here's to his
health, I drain my glass to him."
M5mheer had noticed with consternation that,
even as the man spoke, a gentleman strode out from
^\\:.
V'.
iiiiii
48 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
the tavern and occupied a place not far removed
from them on the other side of the tree. He recog-
nized him at once as belonging to the Governor's
household. He had seen him when, with other
notables of the town, he had gone to meet the newly
arriving Governor, and when he attended the in-
stallation ceremonies at the Stadt Huys. He had
since met him at various social gatherings, and was
aware that his name was Captain Ferrers. The
latter seated himself unobtrusively, smoking a pipe
and sipping a glass of beer which the waiter brought
him. Mynheer whispered a word of warning to his
companion, upon which the latter, turning, and as
if to include the newcomer in the invitation, cried
aloud:
"Come, drink to the health of Cap'n Kidd, newly
appointed by His Excellency's worship policeman
of the seas. Drink with me to Cap'n Kidd, like to be
the most daring pirate that ever sailed the high seas."
After an instant of astonishment, a look of hu-
morous intelligence crossed Ferrers' face. _ The man
and his costume proclaimed his profession, which
was henceforward forbidden. Also, there was a
certain irony in the glance which the young man cast
at the smuggler's companion. The latter, catch-
ing his eye, greeted him with a formal bow, which
Ferrers returned courteously but carelessly. At
which Mynheer, leaving Greatbatch with but little
ceremony, advanced towards the officer with some-
thing deprecating, almost obseouious, in his manner.
"I was just telling this good man," he said, "that
the days of his calling, as openly practised in Man-
hattan, are about numbered."
Greatbatch, hearing this remark, was highly in-
pensed, and pried out;
GREATBATCH, SMUGGLER AND PIRATE 49
"Whether I be a good man or a bad man, more
likely the latter, at least I am open in my vilLainies,
for, sir, whoever you may be, I am just telling this
worthy gentleman that the game he and the other
big bugs have been playing in this town, is well nigh
over, unless they can make a bargain with His
Excellency's new pirate-captam, Cap'n Kidd."
And the fellow, overcome with tipsy mirth at his
own humor and at the manner in which he had turned
the tables upon his companion, went off into a roar
of laughter. Meanwhile, scarlet with confusion and
full of apprehension, Mynheer stood quite con-
founded. Greatbatch, seeing that his companion
had deserted him, drained his glass and lurched
away with a satirical farewell to his late associate.
"Will you join me, Mynheer," said Ferrers, with
unmoved gravity, "in a glass of beer, or do you per-
chance prefer Madei'-a?"
But there was still that look of humorous intelli-
gence in the keen, gray eyes, that made the burgher
decidedly uncomfortable. Nevertheless, he accepted
the courteous invitation with some eagerness. He
had a weakness for the society of the great, and be-
sides, there might be an opportunity of putting him-
self right. When his glass had been filled, Ferrers
remarked:
"Yonder is rather a dangerous sort of fellow, I
should opine, especially if it be in matters confiden-
tial. He dips too deep into the bottle for one thing."
"He is of rufBanly demeanor, I grant you," re-
plied Mynheer, "but he is a trader and a most suc-
cessful one, master of the trading vessel, 'Hesperia.' "
"Which vessel, if I might hazard a guess, has a
history," said Ferrers.
Mynheer made a gesture of deprecation,
'4i
if
lis
n in
iifi
so GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
"It is a trader," he repeated suavely.
"Might one venture to suggest, in connection
with that trade, the word 'illicit'?" inquired Ferrers.
Mynheer looked into the clear, gray eyes, and an-
swered boldly:
"Smuggling," he said, "has been hitherto held
by some persons in Manhattan to be a minor of-
fence, if offence at all. Restrictions upon otir com-
merce have been so burdensome and so vexatious."
"Granted. But the rich cargoes of these traders,
how are they procured?"
He sipped his beer, but did not look into the other's
face, since he had no mind to play the inquisitor.
"How?" stammered Mynheer. "Why they sail
the high seas to distant ports and — "
"It is in these ports, then," inquired Ferrers, in
the manner of one interested in a debatable point,
"that they procure those cargoes of costly mer-
chandise, which, as I have heard tell, often include
jewels of price, gold and the finest of stuffs?"
As Mynheer did not at once reply, since he knew
that that question cut into the very heart of the
subject, Ferrers lightly closed the discussion:
"I pray your forgiveness," he said, "for entering
upon a topic which to be sure, and at least in so far
as I am concerned, is purely local."
And remarking upon that which Greatbatch had
before made subject of conversation, he said :
"What a very extraordinary figure those market-
women cut, and how skilfully, if placidly, they use
the oars!"
Following his lead, Mynheer discoursed upon that
topic, presently pointing out, however, that the great
clouds presaging high winds were banked up to the
west, behind the pile of great rocks.
GREATBATCH, SMUGGLER AND PIRATE sf
"But, perchance you know, Captain Ferrers,"
he explained, "the local tradition that these winds
are forever driven back, not by the rocks, as might
seem most nattual, but by the spirits of departed
Indians. Why, even we burghers have a land of
belief in it."
"Which would be but another instance of in-
genuous credulity," Ferrers said slyly, and the other,
realizing his meaning, once more flushed from chin
to forehead. "As for example, if one were to credit
the sea stories of yonder fellow that has just left us."
But Mynheer, becoming exasperated under his
smooth manner, answered with something of im-
pertinence in his tone:
"Even as when His Excellency holds it for certain
that Captain Kidd wiU exterminate the sea-robbers."
' ' Have you acquaintance with this Captain Kidd ?' '
inquired Ferrers, apparently unheeding the thrust.
"But a sUght one," replied Mynheer, adding with
a return to his former caution: "Men say that he
is both brave and skilful."
"Were he not the former, at least," responded
Ferrers, "he would scarce have undertaken his pres-
ent service."
At which Mynheer permitted himself a peculiar
smile and slight raising of the eyebrows, as he added:
"And my Lord Bellomont commends him highly."
"My Lord Bellomont commends him highly,"
assented Ferrers, echoing the precise form of words
used by his companion.
Then he asked a question:
"There is in this town," he said, "a gentleman of
the name of de Lacey?" For that much he at least
had learned, together with the fact that the lady
with the beautiful eyes was his daughter.
1i
i
52 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
"Yes, yes,'' said Msmheer, "Mr., fonnerly Major,
de Lacey. I fancy he does not make use of the mili-
tary title now. Do you chance to know him?"
"I have but seen him," said Ferrers.
"He is a man of books, and takes little part in the
affairs of these colonies. A most agreeable fellow to
meet, but he goes not at all into society. He lies
low now. For he came out at first to these parts with
Dongan."
"Ah," said Ferrers, a quick flash of interest in
his eyes, "and Dongan was a recent Governor here,
but since succeeded to the Earldom of Limerick."
"Exactly so," answered Mynheer. "He was the
only Popi^ Governor New York has ever had, and,
because of his religious opinions, some were against
him. Honest and a wortiiy ruler,' as I believe him
to have been, he fell under suspicion by reason of
his Popish practices. This de Lacey came hither in
his train."
"And here remained?" inquired Ferrers.
"Oh, he has been in England since, but the reason
for his leaving there, I know not. Mayhap, it was
political, for some will have it that he is a Papist,
though nothing is known to a certainty, and he is
assuredly Irish, a nation none too friendly to the
King's Majesty."
As Ferrers made no comment on this information,
the other added :
"His daughter, whom perchance you may have
noticed, is a charming girl, and, since the two are
my near neighbors, I am in a position to judge. It
' The aieriSs sent a resolution of thanks to King James for hav-
ing sent Colonel Thomas Dongan, "of whose integrity, justice,
equity and prudence, we have already had a sufficient experience
at our General Court of Sessioas."
GREATBATCH, SMUGGLER AND PIRATE 53
is Mid that she wields the weapons of her sex, beauty
and the rest, remorselessly with the young gaUants
of the town.
"They have my sympathy," said Ferrers, "for
we are all ahke powerless against the fair."
Light as was his tone, he knew that he could
testify to the strength of those weapons when wielded
by one possessed of such attractions as Evelyn de
Since there were signs that the bad weather pre-
dicted by Captain Greatbatch was even then ap-
proachmg Ferrers presently took his leave. As
they shook hands in parting, Mynheer said-
fllidt'tSs v'"'''' ^"^ ^^ ^ "^ 'l"^^*'"'^ °f
^"^ replied with his humorous smile-
Ill
CHAPTER VII
AN ESCAPED BIRD
EVERYBODY was an early riser in that town,
wherein the English in point of numb«s and
social influence were akeady beginning to dispute
supremacy with the Dutch. The sun, on rising high
in the heavens, would have been quite surprised to
find any denizens of the place stUl inclosed in the
bedste (or wall cupboard), wherein the sleeping of the
maiority was done, or even in those luxurious bed-
steads, high from the floor, curtained and canopied
which in the houses of the wealthy had replaced the
It would thus have been no matter of astonishtnent
to any passer-by to see Evelyn de Lacey workmg
amongst the flowers in her garden wMe they were
still wet with dew, or amongst the herbs froni which
she compounded perfumes or simple medicmes.
However, on one particular mormng some weeks
after the arrival of the new Governor, Evelyn was
delayed by a series of small domestic occurr^ces,
so that it was full nine o'clock before she went out
to her appointed task. Her costume was simple ^
befitted her work, but not even the much-admired
lutestring brought out to better advantage the slen-
der gracefulness of her perfectly proportioned figure,
or her absolute lack of self-consciousness, which lent
AN ESCAPED BIRD
55
auch ease to her movements, than did this linsey-
woolsey of a becoming shade of blue. As she raised
her head from a plant which she was pruning, with
something maternal in her touch, she became aware
that someone was standing outside the latticed wall
of the garden and watching her— a woman whose
dress, studied m its carelessness, had touches about
It not native to Manhattan. When her eyes met
those of the girl through one of the apertures, she
laughed and, advancing to the gate, addressed Eve-
lyn m a softly modulated voice:
"I crave your forgiveness for thus interrupting
your work. I am exceeding anxious for some in-
formation as to this town of New York. I wonder, in
truth, that they have not changed the name."
She spoke with a hint of satire in her tone, as
though she were laughing at some person or persons
unknown.
^^It is often called Manhattan," suggested Evelyn.
"And once was called New Amsterdam. It has had
Its vicissitudes, this pretty burgh, like so many of us "
The lady, as she spoke, was giving full meed of
admu-ation to the Colonial. For admiration is free-
ly given, even lavishly bestowed, by women of a
certain type upon others of their sex, provided that
tlje object of such flattering regard in no way in-
terferes with their own plans or preferences. Thus
this fine lady, who stood before the gate, was think-
ing: "What an exquisite creature to be thrown away
here, as a lovely fern in a shady wood!"
Eveljm, who for an instant had been puzzled, was
now tolerably certain of the passer-by's identity,
and in her mmd arose the doubt as to whether she
should allow that knowledge to appear or should
await a hint from the other. She remembered the
\i ■■?':'f!'
S6 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
eyes, with the jaded, weary expression, though not
without their beauty; the mouth, marred by luies
of discontent; the general aspect of one prematurely
aged and yet artificially young, which did not de-
stroy traces of a beauty that must once have been
considerable. The ease, and even elegance, of the
other's movement and manner would be unmis-
takable to this girl, who had known other typra
than the provincial, even if she had not recognized
one whom she had seen under iwrticular circum-
stances. She waited, therefore, with the prumng-
knife in her hand, a graceful figure and full of a dis-
tinction which was keenly appreciated by the visitor.
"I dare swear," the latter said, leaning carelessly
upon the gate over which ran a fragrant vine, "you
have never chanced to feel like a bird that had
slipped for an instant from its cage."
Evelyn shook her head, with that smile which was
reckoned one of her greatest charms, so full was it
of sympathy and intelligence.
"Our free air of Manhattan is agamst such a
feeling," she answered.
"I envy you most heartily," aghed the other,
"for I am out of my cage this morning."
Her eyes wandering over the garden, she pres-
ently exclaimed : " Oh, but this garden is an enchant-
ing spot, and these flowers aro such as our first
mother might have tended in Paradise."
And she ended her eulogy with a few words of
Dutch, which completed the comparison.
"But I am int Dutch, Madam," observed Evelyn,
"No and so I would have swem. But what then?
Engjish?"
"Irish," replied Evelyn, proudly.
AN ESCAPED BIRD
57
"Ah, true, I might have guessed it. That type is
a most lovely one. But was it not in Dutch com-
pany that I saw you first?" inquired the lady.
"And where was that, Madam?" asked Evelyn,
though she knew very well indeed. The lady not
answering, as though she did not wish just then to
reveal her identity, Evelyn presently added:
"Perchance it may have been with my close
friends, Madam Van Cortlandt and her grand-
daughter, Polly."
' ' Precisely so," said the lady, nodding as if pleased,
"for I remember to have heard that name." Adding
after a pause: "And that name is not then yours?"
"No, Madam, for mine is Evelyn de Lacey," the
girl responded.
"De Lacey, de Lacey," repeated the visitor, as
if puzzling over something in her own mind. ' ' I seem
to have heard the name, though where I cannot say.
But in truth it matters little, for there is a saying
that people may meet where hills will not."
She a^ed no further question, but said instead:
"Will you do me a favor, Mistress Evelyn de
Lacey, and accompany me in a walk, just to ^ow a
poor stranger this charming little town of yours?"
She held out her hand with such winning grace that,
even if Evelyn had not known who she was and had
not been assured of the impossibility of refusing her
request, she still would have consented willingly.
And this despite the fact that there was something
under all the courtly elegance of this exterior that
jarred upon her — something sophisticated wtdch
instinctively revolted her. It was the meeting of
two extremes: the cold, proud purity of the Irish
girl, now living as a Colonial, and the worldliness
of the woman, who, if common report were to be
H
.la
S8 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
believed, had scorched her brilliant wings in the
flame of folly. Evelyn felt, despite this instinctive
repulsion, a certain attraction toward this woman,
and that quite apart from the knowledjue of her sta-
tion, which made the episode of this morning seem
like a rare adventure.
"Most certainly. Madam, I shall go with you,"
said Evelyn, "if you will be pleased to wait until
I have put on my bonnet." She hesitated, being un-
certain what the etiquette of such a moment de-
manded: "And may I meantime offer you a seat in
our drawing-room?"
"Thank you, no," replied the lady, "rather I shall
walk about, if I may, in these garden paths and dream
that I — I too am in Paradise."
With the slightest possible delay Eveljm procured
a wide bonnet of straw, much more simple than that
which she had worn with her gold lutestring, but so
charmingly trimmed with flowered ribbon, and dis-
playing the unerring taste in dress which was one
of ^e girl's attributes, that the lady cried out in ad-
miration. To Evelyn her language of praise seemed
affected and insincere, but it was, in very truth,
just then genuine. They passed out of the gate and,
when Evelyn would have turned in the direction of
Broad Way and the Bowling Green, the lady checked
her.
'No, no," she said, hastily, "not that way. I
want something new, something different."
Evelyn, at once understanding and marvelling
at her own stupidity in supposing this lady would
wish to walk over ground with which she was daily
familiar, led her by way of some of the more obscure
streets, and outwards towards the Wolfert's Valley,
where it lay along the shore. As they went, the lady
AN ESCAPED BIRD
59
kejjt op a miming fire of conunents upon the town,
which she declared resembled one great garden.
She admired in her exaggerated fashion the trees,
lime and elm, ash and locust — the last giving forth
so pleasant an odor that she stopped to inhale it,
as though it were a rare perfume. She talked of the
rivers, praising their breadth and cleanliness, of the
Bay where the oyster fishers with their wide lakes
brought in the highly profitable bivalves, and of the
wild ducks whi h hovered in such numbers over the
water, and had attracted her from the first with their
gray and purplish plumage. She gave much atten-
tion to the names of streets, commenting upon them
with an almost childish interest and curiosity.
"What may be the name of this one we are now ap-
proaching?" die asked, pausing to receive an answer.
Evelyn replied that it had formerly been known
by two names, Boiger Joris Path and the Glass-
makers' Street, but was now named ^ter the reign-
ing Sovereign, William of Orange.
The lady tossed her head wi3i some petulance.
"And to think," she exck'med, "that they have
ended by naming it 'William' ! Ah, Mistress Evelyn,
but ultra-loyalty is a wearisome quality. And here
again is Nassau, which was much better entitled
Keweman, for that last hath something quaint and
pleasing about it, since it conjures up a picture."
^^ "And this Gold Street," she again commented,
"sounded to my mind vastly prettier by its original
title of Golden Hill. How pretty it must have been
with masses of golden grain, which now, as I perceive,
have disappeared! Tell me. Mistress Evelyn, why
do people ever reject the poetry and retain the prose ?
Why do you Colonials cast all your poetry into that
stream yonder?"
^1
li.li:
f
I'll*
, >
60 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
She pointed as she spoke to the slow and somewhat
sluggiui stream, which flowing inwards from the
Hudson — for the two were now upon their homeward
way — passed through the centre of the city, spanned
by bridges and with a pretty walk on either side.
But her talk was not all of the city through which
they passed. She sometimes gave utterance to
strange and startling sentiments, which she excused
by the assertion that that morning she was a bird
out of its cage.
"For in ^e ordinary course," she declared, "I
have a string attached to my foot, or some obse-
quious person, who follows in my track, will not let
me out of sight."
She spoke her mind freely, too, as to persons and
things, for intuitively she trusted Evelyn. She criti-
cized such personages as John Nanfan and Thomas
Weaver, both of whom had accompanied my Lord
from England and were both high in the Governor's
counsels.
"As for John," said the lady, "he will lead my
Lord Bellomont into mischief, for a more narrow
and puritanical being was never bred by the Cov-
enanters."
Now Evelyn, being aware of the close relationship
in which Mr. Nanfan stood to my Lady Bellomont
(being in fact her brother), was astonished at this
freedom of discussion; all the more so, as she had
heard her father express a very similar opinion, and
presage trouble for those of the Catholic Faith from
his presence.
"Aye," said the lady, as if talking to herself, "he
is already weeping over the usurper Leisler's bones,
who, as it seemeth, was detested by more than half
of the decent people of the colony. Such a one
AN ESCAPED BIRD
6t
■hould be left in peace, now that he is dead, though
Govcarnor Sloughter may have done an ill thing in
hanging him. The Papists must have rejoiced, for
he too was their sworn enemy."
"They had no hand in his death," declared Eve-
lyn, speaking with an eame?iiiess that caused the
lady to look at her.
"Had they not?" she inM. rel 'Y« I, I have
heard his opponents callt ;i V.r Its or Iir ^ James'
men."
"King James' men majiv of ih -in .".'•-' i ot," said
Evelyn, "and I have hoard r,aiJ U m Mi - . was no
Papist amongst them, ill riLii.;' Ontoh or of the
Dutch-English party. Atid •: ■ t.- 'li, Madam, those
of the ancient Faith are but a Jia iU''ul here, and
mostly of the lower order."
Again the lady looked keenly into the face that
was more beautiful now in its excitement.
"You are too young and beautiful, child," she
said, with some abruptness, "to trouble that charm-
ing head of yours with such vexatious questions."
Evelyn, seeing something like suspicion in her man-
ner and perhaps a note of warning in her words,
said no more, and indeed they were just then ap-
proaching the garden gate again. The lady stopped
abruptly, and, laying her hand upon Evelyn's arm,
said with an earnestness and a frankness that star-
tled the girl:
"I know not whether I need explicitly inform you
whence it is that I have escaped, and that my
cage is down yonder." She waved a slender hand in
the direction of the Fort, as Evelyn dropped the
conventional curtsey required of her. "You may
perhaps have heard strictures upon my past con-
duct. If such should reach yoiu: ears, remember
11
;•«■'
:.i ■
^li
62 GERALD DB LACEY'S DAUGHTER
before you judge me that I was mairied, a child
of twelve, to a man of mature age. His life was
of the camp and field, and nane was left to nm in
whatsoever groove it would. What it might have
be«i, I know not."
There was a look of deep, brooding melancholy m
her eyes, as she turned aside an instant, walking on
to the very gate in silence. There she stopped and,
permitting Evelyn to enter so that the two were
facing each other, said :
"From all the tiresome ceremony which His Ex-
cellency thinks it necessary to inaugurate here,
from all its pomps and from all its works, from my
ladies and from some of my gentlemen-in-waiting,
I pray to be delivered. And," she added with a
gl^ul laugh, "I have delivered myself from them
ail this morning."
As Evelyn remained silent, finding nothing ap-
propriate to say, the Countess of Bellomont took her
hand and, giving it a friendly pressure, said:
"I thank you for having aided me in this delight-
ful adventure. I thank you for having behaved
with so admirable discretion and, though knowing
my rank, for having suffered me to follow my whim.
Oh, I will want to see more of you while I stay here
in this—"
She was on the point of saying "desert," but being
intuitively aware that Evelyn would resent such an
appellation as applied to her Manhattan, which
during their waUc she had repeatedly professed to
love, the lady left the word unsaid and proceeded:
"For it is rare to find a congenial soul, for con-
genial we are despite the vast gvdf — I mean in world-
ly experience — that lies between us." Then she added
mournfully: "But I am not quite certain whether
AN ESCAPED BIRD
63
we may meet often, or with the delightful freedom of
this morning."
For she knew, though she did not say so, that
Lord Bellomont was not only jealously exclusive
in permitting no men of the colony to have more than
the most ceremonious and conventional acquaint-
ance with her, but he was also disposed to keep the
Colonial women at arm's length from his wife and
to forbid anything that approached to intimacy.
"But one thing I know to a surety," the lady
concluded, "that I, who have so loved courts that
it was like taking my heart's blood to leave them,
do now most heartily abhor the stupid pomp and
state here where it is meaningless."
She dropped the girl's hand with a sigh and,
giving her a last friendly smile and nod, walked
quickly away. With curiously mingled feelings,
Evelyn watched her figure hasten down towa^
the Fort in the morning simshine, and presently
turn into the Broad Way, which had once been an
Indian trail.
M
■I
CHAPTER VIII
, >
SHOALS AND QUICKSAND
IT was sometime later, after a conference with the
cook and the trying of a new recipe for Deven-
ter cookies, that Evelyn was able to resume her in-
terrupted labors in the garden. Her eyes had still
a glow in them, her cheeks an unwonted color, from
her walk in the fresh morning air and the pleasant
flavor of excitement. For was there not something
exhilarating and past the common in thus having
been brought into touch with someone out of that
great world which has forever its enchantment for
the daughters of men, especially when it is seen
from afar, like a mirage of ocean? And Evelyn
had also been permitted a glimpse into a heart,
the sealed book of life, which awed while it thrilled
iiei.
She was for the second time conscious that some-
one was standing outside the wall — someone who
threw a dark and clearly defined shadow upon the
garden path. When Evelyn glanced up from her
occupation of tying with fine and delicate fingers a
fallen vine to a treUis, as though it had been a sen-
tient thing, she saw before her the taller of the two
men whom she had first noticed on the Bowling
Green, and whom she had since seen, though at a
distance, in various social gatherings. His face,
SHOALS AND QUICKSAND
6S
paler than ever in the morning light, was thrown into
strong relief by the redness of his hair. There was a
smile lurking in the blue eyes and about the lips
whidi EveljTi did not like. Her antipathies were
both strong and quickly formed. She enveloped
herself in a frosty veil, delicate and intangible as
mist, but absolutely impenetrable.
"So might fair Flora have appeared to her dev-
otees," the young man began. But the expression
of the eyes that looked into his steadily warned him
to proceed on other lines. "I throw myself on your
compassion," he said, bowing low, "I would appear
to have lost my way, and am looking for a street
which will lead me to the Ferry."
"You have indeed lost your way," said Evelyn,
with some significance, for she was aware that it
was both unnecessary and unwarrantable for him to
have addressed her when he could have made his
inquiries of the proper officials, the sentries stationed
at various points, or even of some ordinary passer-
by. Besides, despite his exaggerated courtesy, the
whole tone and manner of the man was offensive.
Nevertheless, she believed it best to assume that his
desire for information was genuine, and gave him the
requisite directions in a voice so icy that to go a
step further would have seemed impossible even
for this man of fashion, to whom all Colonials seemed
a fair target for insolence. But the man in question
was not easOy abashed.
"My most humble thanks," he said, "that the
goddess has deigned to point a guiding finger."
_ Evelyn turned her back as though her conversa-
tion were ended, and resumed her former occupation.
"But I must pray you," persisted the young man,
"to be more explicit in your directions; whether it
i
66 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
be the sun, or a still more potent cause, my wits are
quite bewildered."
Evelyn, slightly turning her head, regarded him
with cold surprise, as though he had not spoken,
and as if she wondered what might be detaining
him.
"Come, be kind, fair Flora," began the intruder
again, "and set a poor stranger upon the right way.
I am Captain Prosper Williams, at your service, of
His Excellency's Household."
He seemed to think that this last announcement
would be overwhelming, but Evelyn, who was al-
ready well aware of the fact, made no change in
her attitude, and at that moment a voice, the stern-
ness of which was accentuated by its quietude, spoke
from an unexpected quarter;
"I should advise you. Sir, to make your inquiries
at the nearest tavern."
Captain Williams, taken aback, glanced hastily
at the study window, and there saw lerald de Lacey,
his face pale and with a dangerous l.ght in his eyes.
The younger man felt at first inclined to stand his
ground, but, thinking better of it, turned away with
a muttered apology, followed under his breath by an
imprecation. His eyes were full of malignant anger
at the father's rebuke and the contempt with which
the daughter — if such bhe were — had received the
»nnouncenient of his name and title, from which
he had expected very different results.
"These Colonials," he reflected, "hold their in-
fernal heads hip;h. We shall have to teach them a
lesson or two. As for the father or husband, which-
ever he rray be," he struck one clenched hand upon
the palm of the other, "I diall reckon with him yet.
I am more convinced than ever that I have seen the
SHOALS AND QUICKSAND
67
fellow ere nam, and it might be of value if I could
but remember where. What an air the girl has, what
a carri^e of the head! By all the gods, she hath
beaMty ami a style that belies her surroundings in
this curw4 hoie of a Manhattan."
Wltm the unwelcome visitor was completely out
of ^1^, Evelyn entered the study where her father
was pacing to and fro in some agitation.
"Well," he said, "that was a pestilent visitor you
had, Evelyn, in this Prosser WiUiams."
"You caught his name with wonderful precision,"
said Evelyn, laughing.
"I have some knowledge of him before, and, were
he twenty times a member trf the Governor's House-
hold, he is the last man I should welcome to my house.
And," he added with some annoyance, "by what ill
fortune did he find his way hither?"
EveljTi had a tolerable certainty that it was no
fortvme at all, good or bad, which had brought the
intruder to the garden gate, but deliberate intention
on his part. For she had qaught his gaze full upon
her on the few occasions when she chanced to be
near him. Still, she did not care to put this intuition
into words.
"After all, dear heart," she said, "it matters little.
What harm can he do?"
"That is to be seen," said Mr. de Lacey with a sigh.
"He is a dangerous enemy, and serving such a
master — "
But tb^re he stopped.
"I had another visitor this morning," Evelyn
beg.-in, by way of diverting him from the late in-
cident which she saw had seriously upset him.
"Another visitor?" questioned the father.
"Yes, while you were out. One who went fiuther
66 GERALD oe LACEY'S DAUGHTER
than this Captain Williams, and asked me to act
as guide through the streets of the dty."
''To act as guide?" echoed the father.
"Yes. And the visitor, being this time of the
feminine gender, I was forced to consent."
"Why were you forced, and who was this com-
peUing personage?" inquired the father.
"She described herself as a bird escaped from the
cage, answered Evelyn, "and her cage was in the
preancts of the Fort."
A flash of quick intelligence crossed Mr. de Lacey's
face. '
"My Lady Bellomont!" he exclaimed.
"Yes, Her Excellency."
There was silence in the room, for to Gerald de
Lacey this second meeting was scarcely less un-
welcome than the first. He could readily imagine
how a woman of lady Bellomont's calibre might
be attracted by Evelyn's freshness and charm. Such
a fancy on her part could be little more than a fine
lady s whim, but under existing circumstances it
nught be dangerous in the upshot, and anything
like mtimacy would prove unsettling, and in more
ways than one undesirable, for Eveljm He was
tolerably familiar with the Countess's antecedents,
and, though Dame Rumor had not alleged anything
positively evil against the lady, many tongues had
been busy with her name during the absence of Lord
BeUomont at his former post. One thing at least
was certam, that she had spent those years in the
most riotous company that the gav society of the
Enghsh capital could afford.
Now it must be owned that Evelyn had been
flattered by the particular notice of the courtly
dame, and she only regretted that prudence forbade
SHOALS AND QUICKSAND 69
her to mention the episode of that morning to Polly
Van Cortlandt or others of her associates. The
dder woman had indeed exercised a certain fascina-
tion over her inexperienced mind. She had piqued
her curiosity, and given her a vivid desire to meet
again and know more intimately that product of a
far different Kfe. Something of this feeUng she per-
mitted to ^jpear in the lively description she gave
her father of the lady's appearance and manner.
and of her dehght at the quainter aspects of Man-
hattan and her admiration of its beauties. Sealed
m his favorite chair near his table, upon which feU
the full hght of that early summer noon, Mr. de
La.cey regarded his daughter with the half-whimsical
naif-melancholy smile which made his face so at-
tractive—with that same attraction which was con-
spicuous in Evelyn.
"My dearest," he said, "I wonder by what
fatality it is that we elderr have to assume forever
the r61e of beacons, pointing out the hidden dangers
of the fairest coasts."
He sighed, for in truth he, whose life had held
so much of adventure and brought him into contact
with so many and such notable personages, in many
and varied scenes, could fully sympathize with the
mterest thus awakened in his daughter. He knew
that her poetic and imaginative mind had been
charmed by the glimpses offered her of an enchanted
territory.
"It is an unamiable office," he continued, with a
wry face, ' ' but alas ! useful. I must exercise it when
I remind you that that fair coast in questior under
existing circumstances, may have numberless shoals
and q«ucksands. Our little bark must steer away
from it, at least until wq can take the soundings."
70 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
See-'ng the look of disappointment tnat passed
acrosi his daughter's face, he cried impulsively:
"Ah, Evelyn, little Evelyn, you find it hard to
forgive the beacon I"
This was sufficient to arouse that other side of
Evelyn's nature and bring it to his assistance, so
that she could assure him, though not in words, that
she was prepared t< follow a light that she had found
hitherto so trus*-v, . -''ly.
After the gi") A left the room, intent on some
domestic probli .1 which led her to the kitchen and
the comxjany of their negro servant, Mr. de Lacey
had to struggle with his own desire that Evelyn
should appear as became her birth and antecedents,
and shine as it seemed evident she could do, if the
opporcimity were given, at the viceregal court. But,
apar'o I'rom my I^y Bellomont altogether, such
faiowledge as he had of the Governor and of his past
made him aware of the dangers which might accrue
to them both if they were brought too much to his
notice. Their own safety lay in obscurity, in so far
as those people were concerned. For Lord Bellomont
had been active against James IL and had been by
him attainted and deprived of offices and emolu-
ments. Hence, there was likely to be great rancor in
his mind against all who had been adherents of the
late monarch. Also, he was known as a bitter anti-
Catholic, and here again Gerald de Lacey knew that
there might be danger. The Governors who had
fcllowed Dongan, though themselves Protestants,
had given but little heed to religious questions. But
with this one, he felt certain, it would be difierent,
all the more so as John Nanfan and others of the
aame stripe were hi^ in his favor.
CHAPTER IX
THE DAWNING OF LOVB
EVELYN DE LACEY and PoUy Van Cortlandt
were vaiting together in that solemn, tapes-
tned room upstairs where Madam Van Cortlandt
received her guests. They were waiting impatiently
for that solemn function to be over, when they
might go down to join in the dance that would
presently be inaugurated to the sound of black
Caesar's fiddle.
The sunset light was still beautifying the air of
Manhattan. The atmosphere was all burnished
gold, with here and there light flecks of pink, or
green or violet, falling over the two rivers and the
harbor, whence great ships sailed forth to distant
trading ports. Glinting as they fell on the guns at
the Fort, the rays formed a glory about Nutten
Island, whither the thick clusters of nuts had tempted
some school-boys and had all but precipitated,
thnwgh their presence there, an Indian massacre.
Falling over Staten Island and the heights of Sewa-
naka and the cliffs of the Brookl}^ shore; falling
on the town of Manhattan, with its solid and sub-
stantial houses, flanked by gardens; on its interlying
clusters o£ woodland and its graft or stream, flowing
aerendy where later a populous thoroughfare was
to cany its thousands of daily wayfarers; falling on
i;
V I
I
1
71 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
the Dutch church, within the confines of the Port,
on that of the Huguenots, and on Trinity, the place
of worship of the English colonists; falling over the
country houses that dotted the villages of Chelsea
and Greenwich.
The smell of the "laylocks" was in the air, and
floated in through the windows of that mansion
where the festivities were on foot; it mingled with
thc«e of a dozen other flowers or flowering shrubs,
which adorned that prim and formal garden — a
garden which, despite its size, compared ill with
that other wherein Evelyn de Lacey reigned as a
queen among the flowers. Here the paes bloemen,
as the Dutch called them, were but secondary to
the rows of trees, standing sentinel, and the prim
boxwood hedges and borders for the flower-beds.
Near the window, looking out upon its orderly
neatness, stood Polly and Evelyn, making that
striking contrast which always impressed the ob-
server. The tapestried room with its dark walls,
rich in storied interest, offered an excellent back-
ground for what was really the beautiful picture of
the two girls. In the foreground was the impressive
figure of Madam Van Cortlandt, richly clad in a
gown of mulberry silk with trimmings of lace to
match the cap upon her hrad. In her ears were
those jewels that had come down as an heirloom
through generations.
This was the picture that caught the eye of the
two men who had walked thither from the Fort,
coming togethe,- ,;ot for any love of each other's
company, but because their destination chanced to
be the same. These men were Captain Egbert
Ferrers and Captain Prosser Williams. The eyes of
both involuntarily turned from Madam Van Cort-
THE DAWNING OF LOVE
73
landt, who gave them ceremonious greeting, passed
over Polly, brilliant and attractive as was her ap-
pearance, and fastened themselves upon that other,
who, in the opinion of both, outdistanced all com-
petitors. In another instant they had been intro-
duced and were bending low over the hands which
the girls, in their character of hostesses, extended.
Such an introduction had been eagerly sought by
both men ever since their arrival in the country,
and, it having seemed difficult to secure. Captain
Prosser Williams had endeavored to forestall it,
as has been seen, in a way which he now bitterly
regretted. He knew that his cause was already
prejudiced in the eyes of that girl, whom, here in
these stately surroundings, it appeared more than
ever worth while to please. It is true that she gave
no sign of having had any previous knowledge of
him, and extended her hand without the slightest
trace of embarrassment or resentment. At that
moment he saw that, in her eyes, he was merely a
guest of Madam Van Cortlandt, whom she received
with courtesy, as in duty bound. But in some fashion
or another she conveyed to him by every word that
she spoke, and by every gesture of her slender hand,
that he had placed himself as far off as the poles from
her, and that there she meant to keep him. Her at-
titude only incited him to a firm resolve to know her
better, and only gave additional value to herself
and her attractions. He felt the indiscretion of
which he had been guilty the more keenly, when
he had time to observe the elegance, even court-
liness, of these surroundings, where the whole at-
mosphere was such as to make condescension, much
less insolence, an absurdity.
Evelyn talked with the two men indifferently.
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74 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
But, when the strains of old Caesar's fiddle came in-
vitingly up the broad stairs, she promised the first
country dance to Captain Egbert Ferrers, who was
prompt to seize the opportunity, and found all her
dances engaged for Captain Williams until so late
an hour in the evening that it amounted to a re-
fusal. Biting his thin lips with vexation as he fol-
lowed the other guests downstairs where the dancing
was to take place, he vowed that he would take no
other partner for their infernal country dances, and
stood sulkily against the wall, wearing his most
supercilious expression.
There was a soft glow of excitement on Evelyn's
cheeks, a light of interest in her eyes, which made her
face more charming; and the smile that she bestowed
upon her partner as she passed close to where Will-
iams was standing, made him once more curse his
own stupidity. For he now clearly perceived that
he had irretrievably lowered himself in the eyes of
this glorious girl, who he knew was the daughter and
not the wife of Mr. de Lacey, and, as he told himself
regretfully, the only one worth a second glance in
all this mudhole. But, even as he paid her that trib-
ute, he began to feel something like malignant
hatred against her, which his admiration only in-
creased. That she, a mere provincial, should de-
liberately attempt to snub a man connected with
some of the most influential families of Great Bri-
tain and occupying his present position — a man,
too, who had been regarded as an arbiter of fashion
and of beauty, who had moved with a distinction
sufficient to satisfy even his wn overweening ego-
tism through that gay and brilliant society of which
my Lady Bellomont had been a leader — ^was galling
in the extreme.
THE DAWNING OF LOVE
75
As for the other member of His Excellency's
staff, it was clear that he was frankly and entirely
fascinated. He had never been a lady's man, and
was held in fact to be quite imptTvious to feminine
charms. But this young girl of the colonies appealed
to him in such a variety of ways that he found her
simply irresistible. In the firet place v/ere those
personal attractions of hers, which were justly cele-
brated in the most exclusive circles of Manhattan,
but which he did not seek to analyse, for they satis-
fied him entirely. He liked, too, her simplicity and
directness of speech and manner, the absence of
conscious effort to attract. He liked the touch of
the unusual about her, and the subtle charm arising
from the poetry of her nature as woll as from an
uncommon power of sympathy. All the women he
had known seemed, in comparison to this girl, arti-
ficial and insipid. It was not often, he thought,
that mind and matter were so happily combined,
and he freely acknowledged that it was to his un-
doing. He had seen the girl scarcely a dozen times
in all; he had never spoken to her before that eve-
ning, and yet they were already in sympathy, on ex-
cellent understanding. As any shrewd observer
might have perceived, this soldier, who had distin-
guished himself in more than one campaign, was more
than half in love. He would not have believed it
possible, had he been told so a month or even a
fortnight previous. With scarcely an effort, beyon^
the mere desire of her sex to be agreeable, Evelyn
de Lacey had conquered a heart that had withstood
many a stubborn onslaught. So absorbed was Cap-
tain Ferrers that he scarcely noticed the massive,
oaken staircase by which they descended, nor the
rich furnishings of the rooms below, where even now
1
t I
i
il'^
76 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
the negro servants were busy lighting wax tapers in
sconces all around the walls.
Evelyn, on her part, was decidedly pleased with
her partner, of whom she had retained a favorable
impression from that day upon the Bowling Green.
His manner, in its absence of affectation, won her
approval;, bright and sympathetic, he was quick to
catch the point of a jest, or to be moved when the
topic was grave. Moreover, she was woman enough
to feel that it was a feather in her cap to have been
claimed for the first dance by this officer of the
Household, Virho was already gaining popularity in
the town. She was by no means averse to heighten
the excellent impression which she was quick to
perceive she had made. Polly had often taxed her
with being fond of admiration, and she had to con-
fess to herself that she was. Only she knew how to
discriminate, and did not care for all sorts of ad-
miration; it must be something worth while.
So the two, being mutually satisfied and there-
fore in the best of spirits, set out to dance with a
number of other couples "La Belle Katherine," that
favorite of country dances, and they at least en-
joyed it to the uttermost. When the dance was
finished. Captain Ferrers, with a certain diffidence
that Evelyn found to her taste, made a request
which was not as modest as his demeanor.
"If I might hope," he said, "to be favored with
another and again another dance?"
Now Evelyn would have felt very well inclined
to dance with that agreeable man all evening, if
only because he was a change from her ordinary
partners. But, apart from the fact that she had
already promised most of her dances, she knew what
the rigid etiquette of the town demanded, and was
THE DAWNING OF LOVE
77
never over-lavish of her favors. So that Captain
Ferrers had to be content with the last dance be-
fore supper, which took place about half-past nine,
after which the dancing ceased. And though he
did not imitate his brother-officer in standing at
the wall and looking sulky, but promptly engaged
Mistress Polly and half a dozen others, he had none
the less lost interest in the festivity, and waited
with an impatience, which happily he did not show,
for his next dance with Evelyn.
Meanwhile, Captain Williams, reconsidering his
first decision, made his bow and requested the honor
of a dance with Mistress Polly Van Cortlandt, the
more especially as he saw her surrounded by a goodly
number of those whom he cJready knew to be the
most eligible young men of the colony. He could
catch now and again some bright or witty remark
of Polly's, and hear her pleasar' augh sounding
nmsically through the room. Su uy, he decided,
such a partner was not to be despised, and more-
over it might be possible to hear from her some of
those particulars he wanted to know about her friend.
Of course. Mistress Polly's dances were already
promised, but, unlike Evelyn, she managed to find
one for this me-'ber of the Governor's staff, who had
the glamor c :!rseas about him. She was nat-
urally the mc . ■; anxious to do so, since she per-
ceived that Evelyn had already appropriated the
other officer.
In the course of conversation. Captain Prosser
Williams managed to secure from Polly a good many
bits of information about the elusive Evelyn, in
whom, however, he tactfully avoided showing any
special interest. Though he was quick to perceive
that the honest-hearted girl was enthusiastically de-
If
m
m
till
78 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
voted to her friend, he c)mically wondered how such
a friendship would endure the strain of some bitter
rivalry or some adverse interest. He determined
in any case to stand well with Polly, for he clearly
perceived that this house of the Van Cortlandts
was likely to play a considerable part in such social
activities as the colony might afford. And, whatever
might be his supercilious attitude towards Colonials
in general and denizens of the Dutch metropolis in
particular, he was by this time aware that the so-
ciety of some of them might be eminently well
worth cultivating. So much had he learned since he
had been willing to agree with my Lady Bellomont
that death would be preferable to an enforced exile
in these overseas possessions.
Vvhen supper was served. Captain Williams and
his partner were in such a position 'hat they could
observe both Captain Ferrers and Evelyn, and even
exchange scraps of conversation with tbem. Captain
Williams was quick to perceive the look of interest
on the face of his fellow-soldier, a look to which the
girl fully responded. This fact was immediately
noted by the quick-witted Polly, who cried out:
"What can be the absorbing topic that interests
you two so much?"
Both seemed slightly disconcerted at the ques-
tion, which Captain Ferrers lightly parried, indulg-
ing in a fine play of words with the hvely and viva-
cious Polly. But it was evident that he had aroused
himself from something much more absorbing, for
with Evelyn he had been discussing some of those
personal topics which are sure to arise when two
people are fully in sympathy.
At that moment Madam Van Cortlandt entered
the dining-room, followed by negro servants carry-
THE DAWNING OF ^OVE
79
ing huge silver salvers on which were dishes of
roasted oysters, bread, butter and celery. Whan
justice was done to these viands amid a Uvely fire
of talk from the four, who had now moved thei-
places together, the oysters were followed by jel-
lies, custards and whipped cream, served in tall
glasses, and that variety of kuchen (or small cakes)
for which the Dutch housewives were famous.
There was much jesting upon some kuchen, thickly
studded with nuts, which Polly herself had made
and shaped into the devices of hearts and "true
lovers' laiots."
"True lovers' knots," said Captain Ferrers, ab-
sently taking one of the cakes in his hand and gaz-
ing at it as though he were pondering some weighty
problem.
"How far and how long do they bind those of
your inconstant sex?" Captain Williams adced of
Polly, though his eyes were reaJHy fixed upon Evelyn.
"If our sex be inconstant," said Evelyn, Ughtly
taking up the challenge, "why should it not be so,
since all things in life change?"
Then Williams distinctly heard Captain Ferrers
say, though he had drawn back a little from the others
and spoke in a whisper:
"No, you would never be inconstant. With you,
believe me, love would be till death."
"And why not after?" responded Evelsm, half
laughing and yet with a shadow of seriousness in
her lovely eyes.
"After death?" said Ferrers. "Oh, I cannot fol-
low you so far."
Then was felt that sudden gravity which falls at
tim^ on the lightest conversation, as if from a
passing realization of the inherent gravity of life,
'''I
A.
8o GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
Prosser Williams felt a slight shiver run through
him, as though he were being present at a tragedy
of some sort. He hated all such sensations, and he
also hated Evelyn because she refused to discuss
any question seriously with him.
Polly Van Cortlandt's quick wit soon brought it
home to her that she was being overlooked in this
conversation, and that the seriousness of the other
three had left her, as a child might be left, laughing
on a shore. She began to think that, after all, those
gay groups of her own Company were preferable —
the boys and girls with whom in childhood she had
picked nuts -r berries on the Catiemuts or other
hills, in baskets bought from the Wilden and ot the
Company's chosen color of green. For Polly had
always desired that her Company should follow
the color of hope. Those boys and girls were now
young men and women grown, but Polly was none
the less their leader and their queen. She felt
curiously piqued, and her good temper was ever so
slightly niffled. Too loyal to Evelyn to accuse her
— for indeed, as her sense of justice told her, Evelyn
was not to blame — she blamed rather these cavaliers
from overseas, and especially her own partner.
Captain Williams. For she could not deny that, if
he were supercilious and affected. Captain Ferrers
was decidedly likeable, even if he had permitted
himself to become absorbed in her fascinating friend.
Polly was not sorry when, the supper having dis-
appeared, they returned to the drawing-room where
tables were set for cards. Noi was she sorry to rid
herself of the society of Prosser Williams, and to
reign with her usual undisputed sway at a table of
basset. The older people were presently ranged at
other tables, where negroes had placed sUver candle-
THE DAWNING OF LOVE 8i
sticks with wix candles to aid their failing sight,
and gold-lacquered boxes of ivory fishes for counters,
besides little piles of Louis d'ors, doubloons, or other
foreign coins. At these tables might be seen en-
gaged in the more serious game of lansquenet some
of the chief men of the colony. There were twj of
Madam Van Cortlandt's sons, who already had
stolid sons of their own. There were Nicholas Bay-
ard, and Philip Livingston, and Mynheer de Vries;
there were Phillipses, Van Rensselaers, Lawrences
and de Peysters, though these latter were on the
other sice of politics. There were Delanceys, Van
Brughs, de Mills, Van Schaicks and de Riemers,
both men and women, all of whom were soon mutely
engrossed in their favorite pastime. They dealt
their cards, their kings and their cavaliers, their
knechts or knaves, their atouts, with as much serious-
ness as though they were playing that game of life
which, even in the quiet town of Manhattan, was
just then becoming complicated.
Eveljm, like Polly, took her place at a table of
basset, which was played by most of the younger
people, and had beside her Pieter Schuyler, one of
the best-known young men in town and her devoted
admirer. He was short and broad-shouldered and
had brown eyes that laughed a great deal in fellow-
ship with a set of white teeth. He was foremost
in all sports, and enjoyed a wide popularity. Madam
Van Cortlandt had it very much at heart to make a
match between these two people. She would be
glad to have him for Polly, save that he was re-
lated to her within the forbidden degrees, and that
there was the other and still more unsurmountable
obstacle — he showed no special preference for
Polly's society. His father was a man of wealth and
IP
1'^
ri
82 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
influence in the colony, and, since Polly was out of
the question. Madam Van Cortlandt would fain
have secured him for Evelyn, whom she regarded
almost as another granddaughter. She beamed ap-
proval, therefore, when she saw them side by side
at the table and evidently upon the best of terms.
For Evelyn sincerely liked Pieter, though she had
never thought of him in the light of a possible hus-
band.
It had not been, either, without design that the
sharp-sighted old lady, who had observed the trend
of affairs that evening, had placed both Captain
Ferrers and his brother-officer at table with the older
people, where, as she said, they were sure of a good
game. Now it must be owned that, while Captain
Ferrers courteously did his best to enter into the
play, his thoughts were often wandering, and he
would readily have exchanged the better game for
the worse to have been at the table with Mistress
de Lacey. Captain Williams, on the other hand,
with the instinct of a bom gambler, was soon ab-
sorbed in the cards with a success betokened by the
increasing pile of coins in front of him.
Ferrers noticed that Evelyn entered with the
greatest enjoyment into the game that she was
playing, though it was not for coins, that being
deemed unsuitable for the young folk. Also he saw
that she appeared to be on terms of the friendliest
intimacy with the good-looking youth at her side.
CHAPTER X
m
THE WHITE FLOvVER AND THE EAGLE
ONE fine morning, when the summer was in
its golden prime, Evelyn took her way to that
camp on the banks of the Collect Pond in the shadow
of the Catiemuts Hill, where the Wilden had their
encampment. Her mission just then was to procure
some of the wax from the bay berries for the waxing
of the floors, and some fresh fish from the Rocka-
ways, a certain number of whom had arrived but
the day before and marched up the Broad Way,
their faces painted blood-red with the juice of the
beet root. The morning was rarely fine, the treiis
were all fresh from the recent showers and gave forth
sweet perfumes; the birds, trilling softly, seemed
the voices of those trees in the shelter of which were
groups of men and women, native to the soil, with
bronzed faces, coarse, straight hair, and costumes of
sldns, enlivened especially in the case of the squaws
with adornments of fl. ning color.
The coming of the girl was greeted wit*- such
demonstrations of joy as these people permitted
themselves. Evelyn had been long since adopted
a member of the tribe, being looked upon a: a great
"medicine woman," for she had often successfully
used in their behalf remedies which she had learned
from old Doctor Hans Van Kierstade, who had been
84 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
until his death a famous physician in the colony and
had made a pet of Evelyn. He had taught her to
compound salves and simples from various herbs,
and all this knowledge the young girl had applied
to cure the ailments of the savages. From the
Wilden themselves she had gained in turn many
valuable secrets as to the properties of herbs and
dyes to be extracted from various plants. She had
brought her Indian friends on this occasion, as she
often did, sundry little objects such as thimbles,
scissors, or small mirrors, these last being especially
coveted by the squaws. She offered these objects
as gifts or bartered them for fish and other com-
modities;. She seated herself familiarly on a grassy
knoll, aid conversed with the savages in their own
tongue, which she, in common with many young
people of the town, had picked up from frequent
association with the tribespeople almost from child-
hood upwards. For it was one secret of Evelyn's
influence at the encampment that she, more than any
of the others, had gained a proficiency in their dia-
lects. Having rested after her walk, she made her
purchases of fish and other articles, conversing
pleasantly with young and old alike. But, this
bartering concluded, she approached a group of
girls, who were busy stringing clam shells together
for wampum or seuiant. Such strings of shells passed
as currency among the Indians, and made these
tribes — the Manhattas, from whom the Dutch me-
tropolis took one of its names, and the Rockaways,
who inhabited a district still nearer the sea — the
richest of Indians, because they could collect the
most shells. In a few moments Evel)m was deep
in conversation with these workers, and from their
signs and gestures, and those made by their visitor,
THE WHITF FLOWER AND THE EAGLE 85
it was evident that the subject under discussion
was one of great gravity. She was. in fact, instruct-
ing her special class of Christian catechumens. She
was continuing amongst them the work begun with
Uie elders of the tribe by Father Harvey and other
Jesuits, who had lived within the precincts of the
Fort in the time of Governor Dongan, and had still
rjMjded there even under his immediate successor.
They had used all their efforts to christianize the
tnbes until the stormy times of Leisler had driven
them away. It is true that members of the Sodety
01 Jesus continued to come thither from Maryland
or Philadelphia from time to time to minister by
stealth to the few white Catholics r to preach the
Gospel to the savages. But, sine .here was close
watch kept to prevent such visits and such minis-
trations, these were naturally few and tar between,
and Evelyn had taken it upon herself, grea as
was the nsk of discovery, to teach the Indian Is
and children their Catechism and nourish in uieir
hearts the seed which the missionaries had sown.
It was while she was thus engaged that Captain
Fmers appeared upon the scene. He had come
thither in quest of fish for the gubernatorial house-
hold, and was pleasantly surprised to find Evelyn
de Lacey amongst the Wilden. He stood aside for
a moment m the shadow of a tree to observe the scene,
and, as some perception of its meaning began to
dawn upon him, he was filled with an uneasiness
which amounted almost to foreboding. From her
upward gestures and the seriousness of her mien,
he was readily led to suppose that she was instructing
these wild people in the Christian mysteries. That
in Itself presented her in a new light, since he had
thought of her only as a most ornamental appanage
li^:
86 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
of drawing-rooms and a channing companion in the
ways of OTdinary life. But, surprising as he found
the discovery, for one rarely expects to find deep
seriousness in what is beautiful and charming, he
would have regarded it as merely another phase
in a most interesting character had he not been
suddenly struck as by a blow. For that gesture
which Evelyn made so frequently, and which the
savages imitated, was all too familiar to Ferrers.
Though a Protestant himself, in so far as he had
any religion, he had had a Catholic mother. She
had died m his early boyhood, but he could not be
mistalcen in the Sign of the Cross. Like a flash he
realized what the girl was doing, and the peril in
which she was thus involving herself. For he already
knew enough of the disturbed state of Manhattan,
as well as of the fanaticism rife in the entourage of
the Governor, to be aware that the religion, of which
that sign was the symbol, was now both inconven-
ient and perilous to its professors and likely to be
more so in the future. Not wishing that Evelyn
should be just then cware of his presence, he drew
further into the shadow of the trees with a feeling that
he was intruding on something personal and nec-
essarily secret.
The instruction had apparently come to an end,
for Evelyn very wisely made it brief to suit these
untutored minds, and it was evident that she was
talking to them carelessly upon other topics. She
took up the wampum shells, and was beginning to
string them with great speed and dexterity when
presently an interruption came. There was a
wild, whirring sound that caused Evelyn to spring
to her feet enthusiastically, while an old squaw,
rising beside her, pointed dramatically upwards;
ll'i.;.
THE WHITE FLOWER AND THE EAGLE 87
vnth her withered hand. Pigeons and various other
birds were rising in such numbers that for a moment
they almost obscured the brilliant sunshine. The
squaw, it was evident, was apostrophizing them in
the picturesque language of her race. To Evelyn,
while the sight was not new, it was always impressive.
It stirred her pulses and caused her heart to beat
joyously with its movement of life and freedom,
Its swift rushing skywards. Captain Ferrers lin-
gered a moment or two longer in the shadow of the
trees to watch that scene, to be struck with new
admiration for Evelyn's fairness, thrown into relief
as it was by the bronzed skins of the Indiaiis, and
for her gestures, so graceful and expressive. Though
he could not understand her words, there was some-
thing in her whole attitude that gave the impression
of mental superiority and a latent force which grave
circumstances would surely develop. The wampum
workers and the oldest squaws gathered about her
and listened to what she was saying, their black,
beady eyes passing from her face to the birds in
their flight overhead. There was an eager joyous-
ness in the girl's bearing, as though that breathless
rush had communicated to her its excitement.
Her face, aglow with soft color, was turned upwards
so that the curves of her chin and the delicate poise
of her head upon a slender neck were emphasized.
Beside her, in hideous contrast, was the old squaw
whose christian name was Monica, and who with
bronzed arm pointed towards the birds. Captain
Ferrers, stepping out from his place of concealment,
advanced to the side of Evelyn, who gave him a
smile and a quick glance of recognition without di-
verting her attention from the paramount object of
interest overhead.
88 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
"It is the birds going northwards to feed upon
the wild carrot," she explained, turning slightly
towards him while her eyes still followed those winged
children of Nature far through the blue vastness of
the sky.
When the birds were almost out of sight, growing
indistinct in the distance, Evelyn with a half-sigh
turned her attention to the young officer, who stood
silently beside her, impressed by that scene so
characteristic and so completely outside his previous
experience.
" It is so splendid ! " she cried.
He agreed with her, presently adding:
"I would not have expected to find you here."
"No?" responded Evelyn. "Well, that is be-
cause you know little of me and my friendship for
these Wilden, as we call them here. They have
made me a member of their tribe."
He laughed in sympathy with her laugh, though
he was tmcertain whether she spoke in earnest or in
jest. Presently deciding that it was the former:
"And you speak their language?" he inquired.
"Many of us do here," she answered, "for, from
our childhood, they have been amongst us."
"You were holding a very interesting conversa-
tion with them but this moment, when the birds
startled you," he said, with some abruptness.
At this remark the laughter died out of Evelyn's
eyes, and a veil of reserve was drawn between him
and her, for that was a subject upon which, per-
force, she maintained the utmost secrecy. The
keen eyes of Ferrers noted that the topic was un-
pleasant, and, but too well aware of the reason, he
changed it.
"I have come here for fish," he explained. My
THE WHITE FLOWER AND THE EAGLE 89
Lady Bellomont has a fancy to taste fish fresh from
the sea, which has been brought hither, as some
have told her, by these people. It is highly com-
mended."
"Not more than it deserves," said Evelyn. "I
have already made my purchases. There are so
many things the Wilden have to sell."
She pointed towards a basket which a young negro
girl, her attendant, had laid beside her on the ground.
"A visit here would much entertain Her Excel-
lency," observed Ferrers, adding with some crafti-
ness, "if you would but deign some day to act as
her interpreter."
Evelyn expressed her willingness to do so, with
the thought in her mind that she would be by no
means averse to see and converse once more, and in
an informal manner, with the lady of the cage. But
she carefidly refrained from saying ansrthing of
her morning's adventure with the Countess of Bello-
mont to the man beside her.
Despite the shadow of restraint that had fallen
on Evelyn's manner, the two chatted pleasantly a
few moments longer. As for Captain Ferrers, he
would willingly have prolonged that interview in-
definitely, for here under these trees he found his
companion still more charming than in the conven-
tional atmosphere of the drawing-room. But Eve-
lyn was not so unmindful that time was passing and
that she must be returning homewards. When she
had made the first movement in that direction,
signing to the young negro to take her basket, the
same old squaw, who had pointed to the flying
birds, arose from the ground where she had been
squatting, while observing the pair. She began to
address some sentences to Evelyn, pointing, as she
It
' I _
i:,-l:f .
90 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
spoke, from her to Captain Ferrers, and her words
produced in the girl an effect of extreme annoyance,
not unmingled with confusion. She shook her head
in vigorous dissent, frowning to show her displeasure,
while still the squaw went on:
"This is a great war-'-hief who has come over the
water with the Great Captain, the Governor, our
Brother and Corlear. He seeks the White Flower
for his mate, and the tribe are pleased. For he has
the frame of . warrior and the eye of an eagle;
and his eye is good, since it rests upon the White
Flower. She will take him one day for her mate.
It is well; it is well."
The women standing about and the braves, who
lurked in the trees, cried out their agreement with
the sentiment, saying: "It is well; it is well." Tlie
yoimg girls, the wampum makers, took up the chorus,
and some of the older women, crowding about
Ferrers, patted him on the shoulder or pressed his
hand, thus saluting him as the fitting mate for the
White Flower.
"What is it they are saying?" inquired the officer,
trying to reproduce some of the soft Indian words
which he had caught.
Evelyn, very naturally, did not proffer her ser-
vices as interpreter. Perhaps some idea of their
meaning dawned upon Captain Ferrers, as he noted
the girl's embarrassment. For he did not insist,
merely saying:
"They include me, I perceive, in their friendship,
which most certainly I owe to you, and I or ^ne it is
good policy to conciliate them."
"Oh, yes, yes," cried Evelyn, grateful for the turn
he had given the matter, "conciliate, always con-
ciliate."
THE WHITE FLOWER AND THE EAGLE 91
She made a signal to her negro attendant, and
began to walk away, when Captain Ferrers cried
reproachfully :
"You will not leave me to their tender mercies
in purchasing the fish."
And Evelyn, mindful of the obligations of courtesy,
caused the Wildett to bring forth their choicest pis-
catorial offerings — bluefish, perch, whitefish, bass
and crabs, wliich last would be a novelty for the
viceregal table, if only, as Evel5m explained, there
was some experienced person at hand to reject the
poisonous part and prepare them. Once the fish
had been chosen, however, Evelyn delayed not a
moment in leaving Captain Ferrers to himself. He
smiled at the haste with which she withdrew from his
society, for its probnble cause had occurred to him.
But there was a pleasant warmth in his heart tow-
ards these Wilden, who had, as he felt sure, given
this cherished member of their tribe into his keeping.
"In faith," he said to himself, "I would the matter
were so simple of adjustment. But Mistress Evelyn
will demand a skilful wooer. Luclsy the man who
can win her favor."
But the Wilden said amongst themselves:
"The White Flower flies. It is well. But the
eagle will pursue."
CHAPTER XI
FRIENDS OR ENEMIES?
FROM the suggestion of Captain Ferrers that
Her Excellency should visit the Indian en-
campment, resulted in fact Evelyn's next meeting
with my Lady Bellomont. In a brief note Evelyn
was asked to be in attendance on a certain day and
at a certain hour to lend her valuable assistance to
the Countess of Bellomont in interpreting the Ind-
ian tongue. The request was very cotirteously
worded, and came from one of Her Ladyship's
ladies-in-waiting. On that occasion Evelyn was
accompanied by Polly Van Cortlandt, who was
quite elated at the prospect of meeting thus at close
range that woman who so far had awakened far
wider interest, espcnally among the women of the
colony, than the Governor himself.
Great was Captain Ferrers' disappointment to
find that his plan, in so far as he himself was con-
cerned, was a failure. For my Lord Bellomont, after
his arbitrary fashion, claimed his services, and it
was Captain Williams who was chosen to attend
Her Excellency. This latter had always made
himself particularly serviceable to the capricious
lady, humoring aJl her whims and falling in with
all her prejudices. She accept 3d, after her languid
fashion, his almost slavish services, and was quite
FRIENDS OR ENEMIES?
93
content to have him in her train, while she was not
without a certain pique that Captain Ferrers should
be so much less amenable to her more or less un-
reasonable caprices.
"Captain Prosser Williams," she once said caus-
tically to one of her ladies, "was bom to play the
r61e of tame cat in a lady's boudoir. But what shotUd
we do without him in these wilds?"
To Evelyn, also, it must be owned, the substi-
tution of Prosser Williams for Captain Ferrers was
a considerable disappointment. Since their last
meeting she had thought of Captain Ferrers very
often, as she worked in her garden or, with her ca-
pable hands, assisted in such domestic affairs as re-
quired her attention. There was a pleasurable ex-
citement in the thought of his openly displayed
admiration, which, as instinct told her, hovered
closely upon the bcrderland of love, though she had
no certainty as yet that he had passed it. To her
clear commonsense it seemed improbable and vi-
sionary that a man, fresh from the great world and
from the excitements of court and camp, should fall
so easy a victim to a girl who was chiefly of provincial
training and had but a limited Imowledge of life.
Nevertheless, in his manner and voice, so simple,
so true and so unartificial as she felt them to be,
there was quite enough interest revealed to afford
a real pleasure and stimulus to their meetings.
Evelyii and her friend reached the encampment
first, as in duty boimd, and as the quick eye of ftos-
ser Williams told him. He felt a certain excitement
at that moment, as if he had been called to a combat.
It braced his languid nerves, and lent an unwonted
animation to his manner. Evelyn seemed to arouse
such latent strength as lay in a nature enervated
iritis
94 GER-UD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
by idleness and self-indulgence. She was an enemy
whom he would like to subdue — beautiful, graceful
and alert, as had been the tigers which, on first
coming out of college, he had gone away to shoot.
Her cleverness and her clever perceptions incited
him to anger. He fancied she would have been more
attractive and more pleasing to mankind in general
without them. Beauty was the only thing that
mattered, and goodness — if he could recognize it
at all, and even supposing it to be genuine — was
but a negative and often inconvenient attribute
which, in his eyes, could add nothing whatever to
a woman. Nevertheless, Evelyn's beauty captivated
him and gave her a distinct advantage, when she
looked at him with those coldly scornful eyes which
belied the conventional civility of her words.
As he presented the two girls to my Lady Bello-
mont, he was surprised to note that, after a gracious
greeting to Mistress Polly, she took Evelyn's hand
in hers while she whispered something that he could
not catch. His nimble brains set to work at once
to puzzle out what possible acquaintance there
could have been befoi-e between the two. For ac-
quaintanceship, it was evident, there had been.
But, puzzle as he might, he could not here receive
enlightenment. One thing, however, was clear,
and that was that Evelyn had won Her Ladyship's
favor. He had known her before to show a marked
partiality for beautiful women, when they interfered
with no purpose of her own. In this case it was
quite apparent that she wanted the girl beside her.
She regarded her with evident admiration, and she
uttered enthusiastic little exclamations at Evelyn's
cleverness in speaking the Indian dialects, and would
scarcely acknowledge the fact that Mistress Polly
,;iiili
FRIENDS OR ENEMIES?
9S
spoke them almost as well. Her Ladyship noted
with keen interest the ascendancy of the beauttful
and high-bred girl over these wild, tmtutored beings.
Prosser Williams, walking with Polly, who laughingly
acknowledged herself to be quite in a secondary
position with the Wilden, observed it also, and it
lent fuel to the strange flame of mingled hatred and
perfervid admiration which he felt towards Evelyn,
and which was to a certain extent the outcome of
her very contempt and dislike. Had she responded to
his advances, she would have been merely one of the
many pretty girls with whom he had passed an idle
hour. It must be owned, however, that the attrac-
tion which she seemed to possess for the hitherto
invincible Ferrers hac '. lent her a value quite apart
from her intrinsic merits; and of course the appro-
bation of my Lady Bellomont was another feather in
Evelyn's cap. There was no jewel to which covirt
favor would not have added, in the young man's
estimation, an additional lustre.
Evelyn, meanwhile, was discoursing quite simply
and unaffectedly with the Indians. They crowded
about her affectionately, and at her bidding showed
all their wares to the wife of the "Great Captain."
Some of these treasures they had brought from the
shores of the Atlantic, whence the sea rolled out-
ward till there was no land between there and the
coast of Ireland; some of them were brought from
the fastnesses of the Jersey heights or from the ssJt
marshes of Long Island. They included bead-work,
dyes, berries, fresh and fried fish, native tobacco,
willow withes, oak knots, cat's-tails or bulrushes,
and baskets of numberless colors. Not for years
had Captain Williams seen Her Ladyship more
charmed or interested. Here boredom vanished as
96 GERALD ob LACEVS DAUGHTER
if by magic, and she seemed to regard Evelyn as the
priestess of aU these mysteries of Nature and Na-
ture s chddren, as having arranged the whole varied
show for her entertainment.
Meanwhile, failing Evelyn, Prosser Williams had
been makmg himself agreeable to Polly, who he an-
grily declared was worth half a dozen of such frigid
unapproachable beings as that pale giri beside my
Lady Bellomont. Yet he knew in his heart that he
would have given all that other's attractions, and
mdeed the combined attractions of all the women
whom he had hitherto known, for one such friendly
fflmleas he had seen Evelyn bestow upon Captain
Ferrers. Even with the Indians, he saw that her
frigidity had disappeared. Her face alight with
mterest, she talked to them brightly and naturally
and with an unaffected friendliness.
''I perceive," he said to Polly, in his sneering
voi(», "that Mistress de Lacey has a genius for
subduing the aborigines."
"Yes," agreed Polly, who was bravely struggling
with a sense of pique at the indifference to her of
my Lady Bellomont, and was therefore less careful
thaa. usual of her words. "And she is their teacher
and something of a missionary as well."
"Missionary?" echoed the young man, starting
back m affected astonishment. "Has the young lady
perfections in that direction too? And I pray you
what kind of a missionary?" '
The expression on the inquirer's face caused a
vague alarm in PoUy's mind. She remembered too
late that the subject of Evelyn's religion was alto-
gether taboo in their circle. It was practically
ignored, for, since the stormy days of Leisler and
receqt enactinents in Maryland and elsewhere, it
FRIENDS OR ENEMIES? 97
was decidedly dangerous to be suspected of Popish
leanings and unpleasant to have any sort of mti-
macy with those of the proscribed faith. In fact,
the prejudice that had been more or 1ms passive in
Dutch New York, save in the days -,{ Leisler. had
sprung into life since the accession o the Protestant
champion, William of Orange, and was now likely
to change into active hostility. Polly would, there-
fore, have been only too willing to change the sub-
ject, but the curiosity of her companion, once
aroused, was not easily set at rest ; in so far as Evelyn
was concerned, it was fairly consuming.
"So this all-perfect lady," the officer remarked,
is then of a religious turn?"
"Oh, yes, in truth," said Polly, "she is of a re-
hgious turn." And she added apologetically, as
though she had said something disparaging: "But
not unduly so."
Prosser Williams laughed at the qualification
and then asked:
"Is it your Dutch church which claims her al-
legiance?"
Polly shook her head and laughed, for all of a
sudden it seemed to her supremely ludicrous that
Evelyn de Lacey should "sit under," as the phrase
went, good Doniinie Selyns.
"It is Trinity Church, then, that she attends?"
persisted Williams. "And yet, if my memory serves
me right, on the numerous occasions when officially
I have been obliged to go to church, I caught no
ghmpse of Mistress Evelyn."
"No," said Poll/, beginning to flounder in deep
water. "She is religious, I opine, without much of
church-going."
And she knew that she spoke the truth since there
98 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
was no church for Evelyn to attend. As for the oc-
casional Masses in private houses which Catholics
surreptitiously attended, they were guarded with
the utmost secrecy and had never come to the knowl-
''^ of Mistress Polly.
That is a mode of worship," said Captain Will-
iams, "which I do infinitely prefer myself, but it is
not one which usually finds favor with the devout."
Though, to Polly's relief, he changed the subject,
the train of thought thus laid in his mind led him
to entertain some half -formulated suspicions.
Before my Lady Bellomont took her leave after
exhaustive purchases, which delighted the Wildm,
and the distribution of sundiV trifling gifts, she gave
a hint to both the girls of the series of entertainments
which she was planning at the Fort. These were de-
signed to bring together the various social elements
of the colony that bad been sadly split up and
divided by the internecine strife whidi had been
raging ever since the regime of the usurping Leisler,
and which his execution had caused to break forth
with renewed fury. For though Lord Bellomont had
chosen to range himself upon the Leislerian side of
the controversy, he had been unable as yet to effect
anything like a peaceful understanding between the
contendmg psirties. With Evelyn, Her Ladyship
had had but little opportunity for private conversa-
tion, but she said:
"You add discretion to all your other charms.
For I have not heard so much as a whisper of that
little adventure of mine."
"I have not mentioned it," said Evelyn simply,
and Her Ladyship felt that in that simple assertion
there was truth. But Evelyn, bethinking herself,
Added: "Save to my father. I tell him everything."
I m
t pit
FRIENDS OR ENEMIES? 99
"Then he, too, is discreet."
.. "?1 ^. ^'^^y be trusted," rephed Evelyn,
and he himself advised me to juake no mention
of what was a trifling incident, which would merely
excite the idle curiosity of the gossips."
••Ke spoke the truth," said Lady Bellomont,
for you cannot know how trifles have been some-
times magnified to my grievous hann. And I will
tell you that it is not permitted me to go forth un-
attended, nor to do those things for which the mean-
est woman in the town has liberty."
Prom that time forth Evelyn's sympathies were
^ways keenly aroused in favor of the Countess
Bellomont, who she could perceive had so much to
contend against in her domestic circumstances. She
was disposed to regard my Lord in the light of a
tyrant, and did not give sufficient consideration to
the fact that perhaps the stem and arbitrary mea-
sures restricting his wife's freedom were the result
of the lady's folly.
The two girls were very much elated by ine
promises the Countess had made «,f successive
^eties at the Fort and the gubernatorial residence.
They took their homeward way by Queen Street,
in which Madam Van Cortlandt lived, and where
they were sure to meet a goodly sprinkling of the
fashionable world and many of their acquaintances,
to whom they might imijart Her Excellency's good
tidings and at the same time make known the honor
that they had enjoyed in being admitted so familiarly
to Her Ladyship's company. The two fell into dis-
pute as they walked on the subject of Captain
Prossjr Williams. Evelyn declared him to be "an
odious man," whose outward civility concealed an
insolently supercilious attitude towards Colonials.
loo GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
I
Polly defended him with some heat, declaring that
she had found his manner agreeable and his speech
full of witty sayings and pretty compliments.
"And I speak without prejudice," said Polly
frankly, "for all his interest, Evelyn, is in you,
though he strives to mask the same by petty sneers
and irmuendoes. You would have but to raise your
finger to have him at your feet."
"Where he might stay, in so far as I am con-
cerned," said Evelyn. "Even if you were right,
which is absurd, since I have scarce exchanged a
dozen words with him, and he has been meanwhile
in better company, his is an admiration which I
freely declare I do not want."
"Your favors are all for the other," said Polly,
with a touch of malice.
"Polly," cried Eveljm, and this time there was
a hint of real annoyance in her manner, "you are in
a provoking mood to-day."
"The truth is not always palatable, my Evelyn,"
said Polly, laughing. "But if you have cast your
arrows at Captain Ferrers, where is the harm, and
which of us would not do the same? Especially, my
dear, since they have found sure lodgment."
"Your imagination runs away with you, my pretty
Polly," laughed Evelyn.
It must be owned, however, that this assertion
of her observant friend was gratifying in the ex-
treme. It was something to have even been sup-
posed to have made such a conquest, in however
limited a sense that term might be understood.
For she could not conceal from herself that the young
officer under discussion occupied already a consid-
erable share of her thoughts and imagination. This
latter had been excited to a still greater degree by
FRIENDS OR ENEMIES? loi
an account given her by a young subaltern, with
whom she had lately danced, of Captain Ferrers'
prowess and gaUantry. He described in detail how
m the late war, Ferrers had led a charge, bare-
headed, his face pale and his eyes gloviii" cheering
and encouraging his men until he had fallen with a
wound which was beHeved, at first, to be mortal
Evelyn s mformant, full of boyish enthusiasm, had
added other details as to his superior officer's gen-
eral character, his popularity with the men and his
upnght and honorable demeanor, all of which had
fitted in with her own impressions.
"I marvel oftentimes," rattled on Polly, "that
your conceit does not become inordinate with all
your conquests. But, no, you take them calmly,
and seem to find it of no moment that you have
laid by the heels these two sprigs of nobility and
Governor's men."
_ "Who but PoUy could prattle on with such absurdi-
*'^.. A ,5^^ Evelyn, laughing again and more heartily.
All the while knowing that it is sober truth "
returned Polly. "And a true prophet I was, for
said I not that you were like to set the new-comers
distracted? Were it any other but yourself, I should
be the color of the leaves with envy and well dis-
posed to hate you."
"You can afford to be generous, with half the
town at your feet," retorted Evelyn. "And as for
hatmg me— oh, never, never do that, Polly, what-
ever may betide." Her eyes filled with tears as she
added: For victories won at that price would be
dearly purchased."
An affectionate squeeze of her arm and an affection-
ate word or two exchanged between them cemented
their pact of friendship more strongly than ever
CHAPTER XII
DANGEROUS DAYS
! t
THE government of my Lord Bellomont was
marked in the first place by a return to the
courtly elegance, pomp and state that had fallen into
desuetude at the mansion in the Fort since the days
of Sir Edmund Andros. Once more the state car-
riages went forth into the town with postilions and
outriders; pomp and ceremony were the order of the
day; the rich costumes of my Lady Bellomont, worn
with grace and distinction, were the cjmosure of all
feminine eyes. Entertainments, mostly formal in
character, were given frequently, though there were
not wanting the gay dmices which had been an-
nounced to Evelyn and her friend by Her Excellency.
These were chiefly of her contrivance, assisted by
the ever-pUable Prosser Williams, the other men of
the Household and the naval and military officers.
Enlivened by the strains of an orchestra of negro
minstrels, who played on the battlement of the
Fort, these assemblies brought together all the young
people of the Dutch metropoUs, and were keenly
enjoyed by the hostess herself. For i' was her only
opportunity to escape the jealous '/igilance of my
Lord Bellomont and to mingle freely with the youth
of both sexes, whose society she found an agreeable
DANGEROUS DAYS
103
change from the elderly magnates whom the Gov-
ernor entertained at dinner.
But, even during the course of these festivities,
the sharp-eyed husband never entirely relaxed his
scrutiny of his wife's movements. He was quick
to observe any special marks of friendliness on her
part towards any of the Colonials. And his jealousy
extended not only to those of the male sex, but even
to women. Thus he noticed, at one of the first
dances, the favor which Her Ladyship extended to
Evelyn de Lacey, who was looking her very best,
and \. IS also guilty of monopolizing, in so far as
his duties permitted him that busy evening, my
Lord's favorite aide-de-camp. Hence it was that
after a few curt words of greeting, altogether at
variance with the courteous manner which he usu-
ally displayed at social gatherings, he turned his
back upon Evelyn, with frowning brows and pursed-
up Hps. This circumstance was seen by Prosser
Williams with keen pleasure, and mentally noted
for future use. Also, when next he addressed Evelyn,
he lent to his manner a certain undercurrent of in-
solence, which not only the girl herself, but J'gbert
Ferrers, saw and resented.
However, there were graver matters claiming the
pubUc attention just then, and the attitude of the
Governor gave cause for anxiety to more than one
class of the citizens. Thus at the suggestion of a
certain clique, who had managed to secure his ear,
and who described themselves as "the people's
party" and the champions of Protestantism, the
Governor was induced to condemn the action of
one of his predecessors. Colonel Sloughter, by whom
Jacob Leisler and his son-in-law, Milbome, were put
to death. He exerted all his influence with the King,
m
m
104 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
who had reversed the attainder pronounced on him
by the deposed sovereign, King Jaraes, and had made
him Earl of Bellomont, to procure an Act of Parlia-
ment removing the attainder from Leisler and Mil-
bome.
This action, which was highly i.uipopular with a
large and very prominent section of the community,
and another succeeding action of Bellomont's were
discussed with much warmth at one of Madam Van
Cortlandt's assemblies, at which were present a
particularly large gathering of the aristocratic, or
"long coats," party. The allusion in this title was
to the short coats worn by the tradesmen and labor-
ing classes. Leisler was the self-constituted cham-
pion of the people, but hi3 whole regime appears
to have been a series of lawless, tyrannical and ar-
bitrary acts against everyone who opposed him.
Amongst the representatives of the leading Dutch
families assembled, with a fair intermixture of Eng-
lish or Huguenot colonists who sided with them,
there was great indignation, and, as they met
around Madam Van Cortlandt's card tables, they
talked of little else but this or that move on the part
of the Governor, who had apparently declared war
upon their faction. As they sipped the spiced wine
and ate of the oly keochs, or doughnuts and pound
cakes, with which they were regaled, they denounced
in more or less courteous tones the policy of the gov-
ernment, and resolved as far as possible to oppose it.
It was Mynheer de Vries who had brought the latest
piece of intelligence, and, as it was passed around
amongst the various groups, the faces of those who
heard it were a study in themselves.
"At midnight," he announced, "on the fourteenth
day of this month, the body of Leisler and his son-
IP. S»i.^
DANGEROUS DAYS
los
in-law, Jacob Milbome, are to be exhumed and
buried again with honor under the Dutch church."
There was a horrified pause among those who
heard the announcement, for this was an open de-
fiance of that powerful coalition which had procured
— ^and, as it seemed, for just and reasonable causes
— their execution as "lawless usurpers" and for a
series of tyrannical acts against the person and
property of their opponents. Amongst others,
Evelyn de Lacey was dismayed by the intelligence,
for she had learned from her father of Leisler's un-
relenting hostility to the CathoKc Church and its
adherents, and how he had conspired with the in-
famous Coode of Maryland and others to destroy
that religious toleration which Maryland had at
first openly proclaimed, and which New York under
its Catholic Governor, Dongan, had obtained from
a Catholic King. If my Lord Bellomont had given
his official sanction to the glorification of such men,
it was but too easy to guess what her co-religionists
had to expect. As in a dream, she followed the
further course of the conversation, in which the
cool, even tones of Mynheer de Vries seemed to
dominate.
^^ "Regarding the good Vrow Leisler," he said,
"hex affection for that tjrrant must have grown
since his death. For was it not common knowledge
that he treated her most harshly? And as for poor
Mary Leisler," he paused, with an expressive smile
and movement of the head, "do we not know that
she was coerced, pretty and amiable girl as she was,
into a marriage with a vulgar boor and tool of her
father, Jacob Milbome?"
"Yes, yes," agreed several voices, "and he was
old enough to have been he? father."
i
i
io6 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER • -
Madam Van Cortlandt, in her calm judicial man-
ner, took up the subject: , , , . .,,. ^ ^.
"It must be owned," she declared, that there
seemed to have been but little love lost between
those women and their respective husbands during
life, and poor Mary had but a short married 'ie.
But they cannot be held blameworthy in strivmg
to have the attainder removed from a father's and
a husband's name."
Justice and commonsense were so obviously on
the side of this impartial view that no one present
was bold enough to oflfer a protest. Evelyn de Lacey,
sick at heart, could not help thinking that these were
mere banalities in presence of those graver issues
that might arise for the people of her faith. The
triumph of the Leislerians meant relentless war
upon them, though utterly without reason, since
there was neither church nor resident pnest in New
York, and the Catholics were besides mostly poor
and obscure and so entirely devoid of influence of
any kind that they could not be considered dan-
gerous even by those most bitterly prejudiced
against them. Yet she could not sympathize with
Polly's outspoken and indignant denunciation of all
concerned, for she was aware at least of its futility.
Of far more importance was the look of detenmna-
tion she could detect uoon the faces of such men as
Killian Van Rensselaer, Nicholas Bayard and
Stephanus Van Ccrtlandt. The two latter had suf-
fered in their person and property at the hands of
the Leislerians; indeed the last had had to endure
the wanton destruction of his furniture and va,lu-
ables and to witness insults oflertid to his ^e,
while he himself was thrown into prison. He had
been denounced in scurrilous language as a ' devil
DANGEROUS DAYS
107
of a Papist," and subjected to virulent abuse. These
were not men to submit tamely to such acts of ag-
gression, as they had already shown in the simimary
justice which had been meted out to the aggressors
through the instrumentality of their powerful fac-
tion. Nor would they, without a vigorous protest,
permit this new Governor to cast an aspersion on
the lawfulness of that execution. Nevertheless,
amongst them all was visible a note of anxiety, for
the gauntlet had been thrown down, and there was
danger for all who would pick it up against a ruler
who had such influence with the King. Evelyn,
reflecting upon it all and noting their anxiety, was
aware that her own and that of her father must be
keenest of all. For though these respective factions,
which had been changing once peaceable New York
into a battle-ground, might war fiercely for rights
that each one held most sacred, there were none
powerful enough, or perhaps broad-minded enough,
to espouse the Catholic cause or to provide, as those
same Catholics of Maryland had done in the days
of their predominance, an asylum for the oppressed
of every faith. Evelyn was eager to get home and
discuss this new phase of affairs with her father,
who was so fully informed in all the details of that
contest from its very beginning. She remembered
how often he had said, speaking with full knowledge
and deliberation :
"If all these colonies had been settled, as was
Maryland, by the Catholics, there would never have
been persecution on this side of the broad ocean."
But he had added sadly: "No sooner did the Prot-
estants grow powerful enough in Maryland than
they began to legislate against freedom of worship
for others and especially those of that faith which
bi I
io8 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
had given them liberty to grow and flourish. And
that despite the protests of the Quakers, who were
themselves bitterly persecuted, and others of liberal
minds."
So strong was the feeling in that assemblage that
cards and all other amusements were very soon
eschewed, and for once Madam Van Cortlandt's
excellent viands suffered considerable neglect. It
was decided amongst the elders that they them-
selves, and as many as they could influence, should
refrain from all participation in the function of the
following Wednesday night, leavmg it altogether to
that faction which, with some notable exceptions,
were the more obscure and less important members
of the commonwealth. The younger people, how-
ever, were resolved if possible, without of course
participating in the demonstration, to see what was
likely to be a strange, weird sight. Pieter Schuyler
organized a party to consist of his cousin I .ily,
Evelyn de Lacey, a married sister of his own, Vrow
Van Brugh, with her husband and one or two others.
The young men made every arrangement to enable
the ladies to see the spectacle without being them-
selves observed, and to provide for their safety in
the event of any disturbance.
When Evelyn went home and mentioned the mat-
ter to her father, he looked grave at first. But when
he heard of whom the party was to consist, and that
it was to be headed by Pieter Schuyler, of whom he
had a high opinion, he made no objection. For he,
who had been in his youth of a disposition to see
all and adventure all, felt that he could not refuse
to allow his daughter whatever privileges were con-
sistent with her age and sex.
"The ashes of Jacob Leisler," he said thought-
DANGEROUS DAYS
109
fully, "thus resurrected, may prove an evil influence,
and sow again the seeds of discord which grew and
flourished during his stormy career."
"You have a vivid recollection of this Leisler?"
Evelyn inquired.
"Most certainly I have," answered her father,
who, though he had often alluded to the subject,
had never told Evelyn precisely what had been his
own relations with that stormy petrel of Colonial
New York. "Good cause have I to remember him,
since I was of those against whom he directed his
machinations. He was no common disturber of the
peace, though his words and acts were outrageous.
Yet I know there be reputable men in this town who
applaud his deeds and believe him to have been a
true patriot and a champion of the people's rights."
He leaned back in his chair with an abstracted
gaze, as though he were thinking aloud, and Evelyn,
her chin upon her hand and her eyes upon his face,
listened intently.
' ' His enemies claim that it was all for self -advance-
ment that he forced himself to the top, where he
had no rightful place, and committed while there the
most arbitrary acts. Also, as I had good reason to
know, he persecuted all who differed from him, and
especially those of the Catholic Faith."
After a pause, he added in his trathftil and candid
fashion:
"The trut?' about that unhappy nan may lie
somewhere between the two extremes. Such is the
opinion of Father Harvey, who was for years my
friend and adviser. Leisler may have had some
glimmerings of a high ideal a? to liberty and the
rest, but he blundered stupidly and criminally in
many acts of his administration and in the treatment
no GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
of all who were opposed to him. I much fear, in-
deed, that his popularity arose in no slight degree
from his loud-mouthed denunciation of Popery and
his championship of Protestantism."
"He persecuted those of our faith shamefully,
as men say," cried Evelyn, her cheek flushing
with indignation, "and for that alone he deserved
death."
"Ah, my Evelyn," -aid her father, "that is the
svunmary mode with which youth ever disposes of
an adversary. And if persecution of us Catholics
here in this free America, or over yonder in Eng-
land, were worthy of death, there would have to
be a wholesale slaughter. This doughty Teuton has
had for companions in guilt quite a high-placed
company, and even his executioner. Governor
Sloughter, was instructed to give no freedom to
Catholics."
"So Leisler was not Dutch?" said Evelyn.
"No, he was German bom, and Milborne, I be-
lieve, was English. They were no native products."
"I am glad of that," cried Evelyn, who had a
sincere liking for the Dutch, amongst whom she had
grown up.
"Will you not come with us, father," asked Eve-
lyn, "to see this singular sight?"
Her father shook his head with something Uke a
shiver.
"To me it would be but grewsome," he said,
"since I remember all too vividly that dismal rainy
day when Leisler and his son-in-law were left swing-
ing upon that gibbet. I went far out of my way to
avoid the spc^+acle, enemies though they were."
On that memorable Wednesday evening, for the
better view of the dismal cortege, which yet par-
DANGEROUS DAYS in
took of the nature of a triumphal procession, the
group of young people had obtained permission to
take their stand on the stoepe of ono Christian
Barentsen, on the West side of the Broad Way,
where late had stood the Dutch Company's garden.
From there they saw that strange, weird sight,
which somehow froze the marrow in Evelyn's bones,
so sensitive to excemal expressions was her mood that
night. The streets of Manhattan were strangely
still as they waited. At every seventh house, lan-
terns upon a pole relieved the darkness and threw
strange shadows. The trees waved mournfully in
the wind, and the waters of the Bay, of which
glimpses could be caught by the watchers, lay cold
and black under the dim and uncertain starlight,
save where they reflected the lights of the warship
and other vessels at anchor near the Fort. The
stentorian tones of the Watch broke the ominous
stillness.
"Twelve of the clock, midnight," they cried.
"All's well. Weather fair but cloudy. Funeral of
the late Herr Jacob Leisler and his son-in-law,
Jacob Milbome."
Presently these voices of the night appeared in
visible form — four sturdy men, with dark-blue coats
faced with orange, rattling their long staffs as they
walked. Pausing, they peered into the faces of that
group which they saw waiting silently on the stoepe
of Christian Barentsen's house. Pieter Schuyler
exchanged a word with them, whereupon they moved
off, after a ponderous salute to the ladies. Other
groups had begun to form, and soon there were heard
the feet of marching men and the sound of music,
played by the band— not loud and aggressive, as
was Leisler in his lifetime, but subdued and mourn-
m GERALD de LACEVS DAUGHTER
ful. Surrounding and following the pin-carriage,
upon which reposed all that was mortal of the usurp-
er and his associate, marched at least twelve hun-
dred men. There was something grimly determined
in their aspect, something ominous, as it appeared
to Evelyn. The train-bands, of which Leisler had
been a Captain, turned out in force, as did maaiy
mechanics and such leading citizens as were their
supporters, whilst my Lord Bellomont, it was said,
gave his countenance to the proceedings from a
window. Torches lighted the procession, and cast
unearthly shadows on the faces of the men who
walked, lending a ghastliness to their aspect, as if
they were disembodied spirits who moved silently
through the darkness to those strange obsequies.
Evelyn felt her eyes fill with tears, though she
could not have told why, as she recalled how the
restless, indomitable spirit^ of one at least of those
thus honored had pervaded that town, and had
gone even beyond the limits of the colony in the
working out of his plans.
"Still enough now, in all truth," said Evelyn to
herself, and there was no shadow of resentment,
but only a great pity in her heart as she breathed
a prayer that the all-merciful Lord might accord
pardon and compassion to those ml.3^ided souls,
whose in£uence for evil had not ended with life,
but was being evoked now to give new vitality to
that spirit of discord which had marked the coming
of Lord Bellomont and was to outlast his life.
Meanwhile, in awed whispers, scarcely above their
breath, Evelyn's companions were caUing one an-
other's attention to this or that prominent citizen
who, deserting his own order, was thus openly
identifying himself with the Leislerian party.
DANGEROUS DAYS
113
"Abraham de Peyster," cried Polly, "Rip Van
Dam, Cornelius Schoonhoven, Gerard Beekman."
"Abraham Gouvemeur, Peter Delancey, Strohen
Delancey," said the married cousin, "and look!
look! Polly, Evelyn, there is the Lieutenant-Gov-
ernor, Mr. Nanfan, and Mr. Thomas Weaver."
"I marvel that my Lord Bellomont is not there
in person," said Polly scornfully.
"Well, there is one of his aides-de-camp," added
Pieter Schuyler, "Captain Prosser Williams."
"Where? Where?" asked Polly eagerly.
"Over there, near Chariie Lodovick, the Captain
of the train-band," directed Pieter.
And so the cortege moved on like some shadowy
phantom train, past the crowds that silently lined
the way. There was no attempt at a hostile demon-
stration, nor at any demonstration at all; no indi-
cation as to how the mind of the people leaned. The
bell of the Dutch Church tolled as the procession
passed within the precincts ot the Fort, where the
Dominie stood ready, in gown and bands, to per-
form the ceremony — with no gr?at willingness on
his part, since his sympathies as well as his connec-
tions were all with the other side. Still it was a
duty that must be done, and there was no other of
the cloth to replace him. He was, therefore, com-
pelled to receive, as it were, back into the Fold those
whom, as tradition asserts, all the Dominies had
definitely opposed while living. Pieter Schuyler was
full of solicitude when he perceived that Evelyn,
usually so strong-nerved and composed, was pale
and trembling. He blamed himself in no measured
terms for having suggested such an expedition, but
Evelyn, rallying, laughed away his solicitude, and
Polly vindictively added ;
114 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
"For why, indeed, should you be overcome, my
dearest Evelyn, by the burial of the odious, hatefid
man?"
Eveljm laid her fingers on her friend's lips:
"For to-night," she said, "let us speak no evil of
the dead. For it is a grievous thing to think that
the strongest a:id most turbulent must come to this
impotence."
"Well, the fellow has had," laughed Pieter's
brother-in-law, Jan Van Brugh, "what few others
can boast of, and that is a second funeral."
"And it still remains to be seen," said Pieter
Schuyler, with unusual heat, "whether the home
government can send out men to trample on the
opinions of the majority."
The honest feUow delivered himself thus, with the
more heat, since he felt it a grievance that members
of the Household had set themselves of late, as it
seemed, to monopolize — not only his cousin and dear
comrade, Polly, but what was far worse from a
sentimental point of view — that other whom the
young man had so long and hopelessly worshipped.
But the bell had ceased to toll, the last sound of the
funeral music had died away, and the party retraced
their steps, sobered despite themselves by what they
nad witnessed. They went first to leave Evelyn
at home, where she found her father waiting.
"So," he said, as he listened to her account of
all that had transpired, "Lord Bellomont has chosen
to throw down the gauntlet to one faction, and has
extended the hand of friendship to the other. How
will it work, I wonder, for the peace of these col-
onies?"
CHAPTER XIII
FEARS RBAL AND IMAGINARY
THAT war of factions, which was daily reaching
a more acute stage, threatened to put brother
against brother and to make bitter enemies of those
who had been previously lifelong friends. One day
it was the suspension of a prominent member of
the Council that agitated the aristocratic party,
running like a shiver from one end to the other,
or the still graver intelligence that such magnates
as Nicholas Bayard or Stephen Van Cortlandt had
been arrested and would have to stand their trial
for offences connected with the Leisler affair.
And, as if the atmosphere were not sufficiently
tempestuous, a rumor of another and still more
serious nature began to spread everywhere like an
ominous whisper. It crept through the streets of
the nascent metropolis, through the tranquil gar-
dens of the Smifs and the Wolfert's Valleys, through
the stately mansions of Queen and Pearl Streets,
and down the streets that skirted the Bowling Green,
through the lanes and byways inhabited chiefly by
negroes, and up through the houweries and country
houses of Greenwich and Chelsea villages, out by
the Boston Post Road and Bloomingdale, to where
the estates of the landed proprietors began to dot
the banks of the Hudson, thus introducing into the
u6 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
New World the customs of the old. The guns of
the warship seemed actually to bristle belligerently,
and the sloops and brigantines, whether they came
from South America or the West Indies, were all
a-quiver with that same sinister rumor. And it
was that "the French of Canada," together with the
Indians who were in alliance with them, were march-
ing to an attack upon New England, to be followed,
if not accompanied, by an onslaught upon New
York. The wildest reports were in circulation; the
words, "massacre" and "slaughter," were on every
tongue; the air was vibrant with alarms that
seemed to be repeated in the very whisperings of
the trees, lining the streets or dustering in the
cherry orchards.
Lord Bellomont took official cognizance of these
reports by ordering the strengthening of the Battery,
which extended over the waters of the harbor at
that point of land whereon, since the days of Stuy-
vesant, had stood the Fort, changing its cognomen
with each successive ruler. There was a repetition
of that excitement which had prevailed during the
term of oflBce of Lord Bellomont's predecessor,
who had ordered the building of a Battery. For
then it had been proclaimed "that the Governor
and Council, in consequence of actual war between
the King and Queen on the one hand and the French
upon the other, has been informed that a squadron
of ships are ordered to invade that city, and there-
fore orders that a platform be made upon the utmost
points of the Rocks and the Fort." "Whereupon,"
as the Governor said, "I intend to build a battery
to command both rivers." In pursuance of that
intention, he had further given instructions to the
Corporation of the city, "to order the inhabitants
FEARS REAL AND IMAGINARY 117
of the out ward of the city and Mannings and Barnes
Islands to cut down eighty-six cords of stockade,
twelve feet in length, and to have them ready at
the water's side to be conveyed to New York at
the charge of the city and country."
All these orders had been duly carried out, to the
great relief of the present dwellers in Manhattan.
For there was the Battery ready to repel the inva-
sion, which had never previously been undertaken
either by the French of Canada or any other French.
Equally groundless, indeed, proved the rumor upon
this occasion, to the disappointment of the Earl of
Bellomont, who was a soldier before everything else,
and of the military members of his Household, as
well as of the soldiers garrisoned in Manhattan and
the sailors on board the warship in the harbor, who
were all pleasantly excited and diverted by the pos-
sibility of a fracas which had proved so disturbing
to the peaceably inclined citizens.
While New York was thus holding its breath be-
cause of a rumor which later proved without foun-
dation, opportunity was taken by malicious persons
to sow the suspicion that the Papists might make
common cause with the French of Canada and be-
tray the city into their hands. These sinister
whispers increased in volume till honest citizens,
going forth of an evening, were terrified by their
own shadows, which they magnified into Popish
conspirators. Every dark comer was supposed to
be peopled with them; they were poisoning the
wells; they were about to bum the town. Such
strange sights were seen as gentlemen, armed with
sword-canes or other weapons of defence, drawing
upon their dearest relations or most intimate friends
in the dusk of the evening, mistaking them for
^"•t:-
ii8 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
emissaries of the Pope of R»,me. There was not a
man from one end of Manhattan to the other who
could have told where these Papists kept themselves
hid, or could have estimated their numbers — which
were indeed so ridiculously small that, if they had
been made public, they would have turned all those
valiant citizens into a laughing-stock for the town.
Many or few, these scaremongers insisted on being
devoured by them. They saw strange lights in the
sk^, but would not admit the hjrpothesis of auroras
or any other natural cause; even the marsh lights in
swampy places were supposed to betoken the ad-
vance of that mysterious enemy. When or how they
had received arms or other offensive weapons, what
ships had been guilty of such transportation, no one
stopped to inquire. A reputable citizen, who suffered
at other times from no particular lack of courage,
spent an hour one fine evening in dodging behind
trees to avoid his next-door neighbor, who was
similarly employed, as each took the other for a
murderous Papist bent on liis destruction. Even
barking dogs were regarded with suspicion, as having
been set on by luring Popish scouts to bite the
calves of jxxily church members; and a horse which
ran away >?as supposed to have had nettles put in
his ear or pepper in his eyes by the same nefarious
traffickers. Of course, many of those who made
capital of all these fears, and used them to incite
greater zeal for the Protestant Succession in Eng-
land and for its champions upon this side of the
vater, were busily engaged in trampling on other
people's liberty in New York. Again, there were
others — ^and the headquarters of these level-headed
Manhattanese was in the mansion of Madam Van
Cortlandt — who mocked at such idle terrors, and
FEARS REAL AND IMAGINARY 119
openly declared that they were old wives' tales, in-
vented by the Leislerians to injure their enemies.
in the Governor's Household opinions, it was
said, were divided. My Lady BeUomont w£s quite
indifferent to all this uproar, and with her amongst
others was Captain Ferrers, who knew too much
concerning people of the Catholic faith to believe
anything that was said. On the other hand, the
Oovernor, influenced by John Nanfan and others,
whether from motives of policy or from a sincere
behet in the dangerous character of the Romanists,
regarded the situation gravely, and held long con-
ferences regarding the defence of the city from these
supposed enemies within, no less than from those
without. To Prosser Williams the matter was su-
premely indifferent. Like the majority of those who
followed the fortunes of William of Orange and in
so doing forswore their allegiance to the hereditary
sovereign of Great Britain, he affected extreme hatred
of all adherents of the Pope of Rome, and was ready
to charge them wi.h any atrocity. But, in his secret
mind and sometimes in company with my Lady
BeUomont, he permitted himself to make sport of the
timorous citizens who tilted at windmills and other-
wi^ emulated the surprising feats of Don Quixote
and his worthy squire.
As the agitation tims grew from day to day
Captam Egbert Ferrers felt no little anxiety on
behalf of Mistress Evelyn de Lacey. She and her
father might, he feared, become in some way or
another victims of misguided zealots, who, as he
angrily declared when communing with himself
could see no farther than their noses, and were as
fearful as mice where Papists were concerned. He
could not confide his misgivings to -uiyone, and
120 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
Lord Bellomont, being just then taken up with a
variety of matters, required such constant attend-
ance from the members of his Household that it
was difficult to find an opportunity to put Evelyn
and her father upon their guard. And so events
were shaping themselves in a manner which, as shaU
be seen in the sequel, was to prove disastrous to
the cause of CathoUcity, as weU as extremely vexa-
tious to those with whom this narrative is immedi-
ately concerned.
CHAPTER XIV
THE SHADOW OF CAPTAIN KIDD
AS before mentioned in this narrative, Lord
Bellomont, acting on instructions from the
King and several powerful noblemen, and, as the
disaffected whispered, with a view to replenish a
depleted treasure, had inaugurated a new system of
privateering. Its object — real or ostensible, accord-
ing to the view taken of the transaction — was to
protect commerce upon the high seas from the ever-
growing boldness of pirates, and also to put an end,
as far as possible, to smuggling, which had caused
New York to be regarded as the chief centre of illicit
traffic in the Colonies. The voice of rumor, which
had long been secretly busy with the matter, was
now unloosed, and told the wildest tales of "notorious
and inhuman pirates" who infested the seas, some
even claiming to have commissions from the late
Governor of New York. Under the very noses of
the authorities, these pirates had brought costly
wares and the products of the most distant lands into
the dty.^ This was often done, it was alleged, with
the connivance of prominent citizens and in defiance
of restrictive ordinances, which were held to be
tyrannical and oppressive. Thus, when one of the
leading women of society appeared one evening at
an assembly with a superlatively fine jewel, it was
122 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
whispered about that it had been given as hush
money to her husband by a pirate, who had obtained
it by the murder of an Eastern princess. A well-
known merchant was rumored to have under his
bed a large box of gold dinars, which had been ob-
tained by similar violent methods.
Hence it was that, since the navy was much
weakened by the late wars, my Lord Bellomont
had suggested to the King the employment of
private men-of-war, and wealthy New Yorkers,
notably Robert Livingston, either impelled by pa-
triotic motives or for their own profit, expressed
their willingness to co-operate in the inauguration
of the new system, and to contribute towards the
expenses of the impromptu navy. Through the
representations of Robert Livingston, Captain Kidd
received from Lord Bellomont, with the sanction of
the King, full power to capture and deal as he saw
fit with pirates, with whose methods and places of
resort he was familiar. This appointment later
subjected the Earl to severe criticism. But, be-
sides the recommendation of a thoroughly reputable
citizen, he had some warranty for his choice of a
Commander. For in 1691, four years before Lord
Bellomont's appointment, two members of the
Council, Messrs. Monville and Willett, were deputed
to attend the House of Representatives and acquaint
them with the good service rendered to the Colony
by the "said Captain Kidd in attending with his
vessels the arrival of the Governor, and to urge that
it would be acceptable to His Excellency and to this
Board that some suitable reward be made him."
And the reward was actually given, the Receiver
General being instructed to pay to Captain William
Kidd the sum of 150 pounds currency (a large sum
THE SHADOW OF CAPTAIN KIDD 123
of money at that time) for his "good services done
to the Province." Now it is very possible that this
reward and the honorable mention of the celebrated
commander were greet. ,d with shouts of derisive
laughter by such men as Captain Greatbatch and
those others who were in the habit of taking a con-
vivial glass at the tavern of Der Halle and elsewhere.
But the honors and emoluments then conferred at
least gave Lord Bellomont justification for that
selection which turned out so ill.
The robbers of the sea and those dealers in illicit
wares who assembled for their smoke and glass at
the tavern, were at one in mocking at the appoint-
ment of the redoubtable Kidd to patrol the seas.
Whether their amusement arose from actual knowl-
edge or from the general probabilities of the case, it
is impossible to say. That he might fill his new office
with credit where other nefarious traffickers were
concerned, they did not doubt; but that he would
refrain for one moment from laying hands on what-
ever booty came his way was in their estimation
beyond all credence. So like a thunderbolt came
down upon the town the tidings concerning the
"Quidder (or Quedah) Merchant," a vessel which was
laden with a particiilarly costly cargo. The mer-
chandise on board, consisting of Oriental gems and
gold, the finest wines and the richest stuffs, was said
to reach what seemed in those days a fabulous value.
The mystery pertaining to her capture set afloat a
crop of rumors, which at first could not be verified.
Dark and terrible were the hints thrown out at the
taverns amongst usually well-informed seafaring
men and riverside characters, as well as at the as-
semblies, the supper parties, the dances and the card
parties, in which Dutch New York delighted. The
i
124 GERALD d-. LACEY'S DAUGHTER
capture of the most valuable cargo that had crossed
the seas in many months shook public confidence
once and forever in the new system of privateering,
and also showed to the minds of many upon what
an imstable foundation it had rested. So distorted
were some of the rumors that they actually called
into question the highest authorities, who were ac-
cused of complicity in ♦he disaster.'
One evening, when the public excitement was at
its highest, and the parlor of Der Halle was fuller
than usual, Mynheer de Vries conversed in mys-
terious whispers with half a dozen of his cronies.
That public room of the tavern was a cheerful spot,
its broad-beamed low ceiling catching the cheerful
flames that leaped up from the hearth and played
over the tables, on the pewter mugs, and on the anx-
ious or cynically sn'.jmg faces of those present.
In almost every group might be heard the name of
Captain Kidd, whom rumors, as yet unsubstanti-
ated, connected with the disaster. During a pause
in the conversation, all eyes turned suddenly tow-
ards the door. It admitted, when opened, a terrific
blast of wind, which, like the ominous breath of
coming disaster, sent a shiver through the room.
There was a stamping of feet and everyone looked
expectant. But it was only Captain Greatbatch,
who had just returned from a perfectly honest and
legitimate voyage; or so it appeared, for the Captain
was cautious, and now realized that Lord Bellomont
was of a temper very different from that of the late
Governor, who was charged with having given
•The balance of probability seems to be that Lord Bellomont
acted in good faith in the appointment of Captain Kidd, though
that pirate after his arrest charged both Governor and King with
comiJlicity in his enterprises, and a clamor was raised by the liarl a
political opponents,
THE SHADOW OF CAPTAIN KIDD nj
commissions to pirates, having associated with
smugglers, and permitted them to make a rendez-
vous of the mansion in the Fort. Greatbatch's
vessel had just returned from the Island of Curajoa.
The cargo he had brought was duly entered and paid
for at the Customs, and all questions answered.
Still there were some who whispered that other
wares had reached the port, and had passed from the
Captain's cabin to persons unknown on shore. But
that again might have been merely arguing from the
possibilities.
The Captain cried out that it was a wild night,
a sentiment with which the company could unani-
mously agree. It was evident, however, that all
were waiting for news which this rude sea-dog
might tell, if he would ; or at least for opinions which
he would be likely to express with his customary
brutal frankness. Greatbatch was, at first, in a surly
and uncommunicative mood. He sat down with his
order of two fingers of rum and some eatables at
a table well removed from the others. They were
all too cautious to approach him until the second
portion of rum, which he presently ordered, took
its effect. Then the smuggler began to address re-
marks to Mynheer de Vries and other prominent
men who sat at the same table, and each of them
winced at his coarse familiarity and what it implied,
glancing furtively at his neighbor to mark the dfect.
The room in general had been waiting for this moment
when the Barbadoes mm would unloose Greatbatch's
tongue.
"Mynheer de Vries and gentles all," he exclaimed
in his deep, rough voice, "I give you a toast which
the men of the seas here present will drink with
pride."
*
* a:
126 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
There was a movement of interest and yet of un-
easiness, intensified by the entrance of two figures in
heavy overcoats. With a thrill of dismay— for what
mieht not Greatbatch divulge?— it was noted that
thwe were Captain Egbert Ferrers and Captain
Prosser Williams, the two best-known membe« of all
the Governor's Household and those who had most
identified themselves wth the social life of the colony.
Nodding to those of their acquaintances whom they
perceived, they sat down at a table, ordering two
glasses of hot negus, for the night was bitterly cold
and they had had a long tramp.
After a momentary survey of the two new-comers,
whom he did not recognize or to whose presence
he was indifferent, Captain Greatbatch once more
called upon the assembly to drink his toast. There
was a gleam of triumphant malice in his eyes, and
his face broadened into a grin of malignant droUery,
as he cried out ; ,
"I give you a toast, gentles, to one who nearly a
decade since received a hundred and fifty pounds
current money of these colonies for services rendered,
being also publicly thanked for those seivices, though
no mention was made of other irons that he had
in the fire. It is the same one who has been placed
over us all, young and old men, by His Excellency s
worship, with what motive God knoweth. I give
you gentles and seamen here present, the health,
the prosperity, the good fortune of the greatest sea-
rover that ever left this port or any other. Cap n
William Kidd." . ,. .
So far there was nothing that anyone could ob-
ject to, were it not the innuendo contained m that
allusion to His Excellency, which, in fact, would
have been well enough received but for the presence
THE SHADOW OF CAPTAIN KIDD 127
of two of his gentlemen. There was a confused
munnur from one table or another, and each one
hesitated to raise his glass to his lips.
"What?" cried Greatbatch, exploding with riot-
ous mirth, in which Captain Ferrers felt a strong
inclination to join. "Is there no one to drink to
the health of the mighty Captain, who has been
placed over all that we may be kept within the bounds
of the law, that he may suppress smuggling — save
the mark! — and piracy, and instruct us in our duty?"
The murmurs grew louder, and amongst the lower
order of those present brows were dark and scowling,
while the gentlemen, who might have otherwise
treated the matter as a joke, felt disturbed and un-
easy because of the presence of the two officers.
No glass was raised, however, save that of Great-
batch, who, having risen to his feet, held his liquor
poised in mid-air, while he looked maliciously
around.
"Why, what ails you, gentlemen?" he cried,
addressing himself more particularly to that table
at which sat Mynheer de Vries and his friends.
"Won't you drain a glass to Cap'n Kidd, the favored
puppet of my Lord Bellomont?"
But here there was an unexpected interruption.
Leaning back in his chair and looking the speaker
full in the face. Captain Ferrers said quietly, though
there was sternness mingled with his jesting tone:
"My friend, propose what toasts may seem good
to you, but I would advise that you leave out of them
the name of His Excellency."
The words were greeted with applause by those
who sat around Mynheer de Vries, and at two or
three other tables where gentlemen or respectable
tradesmen had gathered. Those of the seafaring
<u
l^
^
128 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
class, who held together in one comer, watched and
waited.
"And who are you," roared Greatbatch, trucu-
lently, "that comes into a house of public entertain-
ment and attempts to interfere with liberty of
speech?"
"Who I am matters not," said Captain Ferrers,
crossing one leg over the other and regarding Great-
batch with smiling composure. "But you will show
your wisdom by taking my advice."
"I give my toast," persisted Greatbatch, with a
malignant scowl at the young officer, "to Cap'n
Kidd, made Admiral of the Seas."
Then addressing himself directly to those in the
comer of the room, from whom he was sure at least
of a measure of sympathy, he added :
"Three times three, my hearties, for Cap'n Kidd,
who with his private man-of-war is free from this
day on to rob whom he will. Drain your glasses
to the Govemor's pet , who will make him, I doubt
not, a fine gift of the ' Quidder Merchant.' "
In an instant the room was in a tumult. Captain
Ferrers with one bound was at the ruffian's side,
and, seizing him by the collar, forced him into his
seat, adding a stinging blow to the fellow's ear.
Prosser Williams, though mwardly execrating the
inconvenient loyalty of his companion, sprang for-
ward perforce to his assistance, drawing his sword
and putting himself on guard. To their side sprang
also Pieter Schuyler, who had looked in for a moment
on his way from a card party at Vrow Van Bmgh's,
whence he had escorted his cousin Polly and her
friend home to Madam Van Cortlandt's, where
Evelyn was spending the night. His mind was still
full of the girl and of the words thj^t she had spoken,
THE SHADOW OF CAPTAIN KIDD 129
and of her aspect, as, hooded and cloaked, she had
smiled at him from the open door of the house, and
had bade him a pleasant good-night. To be thus
brought from her presence into a brawl, the outcome
of which seemed doubtful for a moment, was a de-
cided shock, but there was an excitement in it too.
The half-score of gentlemen present felt that they
would have to support Captain Ferrers for appear-
ance' sake, although some of them had reasons which
made an open quarrel with Captain Greatbatch
exceedingly unpalatable. They were, however,
easily outnumb^ed by the group of seafaring men
in the farther comer, some of whom were familiar
associates of Greatbatch, and had been involved in
many of his desperate enterprises. Others were
honest sailors who had no particular connection with
him, but the whole twoscore or more were prepared
to stand by their fellow-tar, so that the affair seemed
likely to assume an ugly aspect. Rising to his feet.
Captain Greatbatch rushed like a bull in the direc-
tion of his late assailant, but the latter, cool and un-
perturbed, though exceedingly angry at the insinu-
ation which had been made, stood his ground and
waited, refusing even to draw his sword in such an
unworthy quaircl. Hastily summoned from the
kitchen, the inn-keeper, a fat Dutchman, peaceable
and good-humored to the last degree, threw up im-
ploring hands and begged his patrons to keep the
peace. While so doing he sustained in his sub-
stantial person the onrush of Captain Greatbatch,
whose_ unsteady legs made his progress uncertain.
Clapping his hands to his stomach and exclaiming
that the wind had been knocked out of him, the
would-be peacemaker only added to the confusion.
The low-browed qien drew near, some of them with
I30 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
dirks drawn, others with brawny fists upraised,
and with curses on their lips, prepared to vindicate
the right of mariners to talk as they pleased. Loud
voices, growls of anger, and the bellowing voice of
Greatbatch made a pandemonium unspeakable; and
a riot of a very serious character seemed imminent
when the cool, even tones of Mynheer de Vries, who
had mounted upon a stool, was heard above the
tumult.
"Worthy men all, I implore you to keep the peace.
Here are you menaced with a very grave matter.
For we have in the company two of the Gentlemen
of His Excellency's Household."
There was a startled pause, during which the
tumult of voices momentsuily ceased, and even the
fiercest of the brawlers stood imcertain. Greatbatch
himself, held back by a gigantic tradesman in leathern
apron, who whispered in his ear and strove to calm
him, cast a sullen but somewhat apprehensive glance
in the direction of Captain Ferrers. That officer
had not moved an inch, but was waiting for his
would-be assailant carelessly. But the sniooth
voice continued:
"One of these gentlemen has most properly re-
sented a jesting remark of the worthy Captain
Greatbatch, who, with others of his profession, has
felt somewhat sore concerning the appointment of
Captain Kidd to a post of authority."
Greatbatch, scowling and sullen but somewhat
subdued since the quality of the adversary was
made known to him, ttuned his blood-shot eyes from
his opponent to the speaker, whose remarks he was
inclined to resent.
"Now I doubt not," went on Mjmheer, "that
Captain Greatbatch will cheerfully explain that he
THE SHADOW OF CAPTAIN KIDD 131
was ignorant of these gentlemen's presence, and
could have meant no oSence to them, and that his
niisplaced pleasantry was but an i«ile jest, without
intention to reflect upon His Excellency's person or
authority."
Greatbatch, though he was not too tipsy to realize
the awkward position in which he had placed him-
self, continued at first to growl that he'd be
hanged if he'd offer an apology to yonder springald:
"He gave me the lie," he muttered fiercely, "and
a clout in the ear to boot; and, gentleman or no
gentleman, it must be a blow for a blow."
"I pray you, gentlemen and good people " said
Captain Ferrers, laying aside his coat and his
sword with it, "to let lum come on, if so minded,
and settle this matter forthwith. For it is a lesson
this surly brute doth well deserve, who has dared
to speak thus in my presence of the representative
of the King's Majesty."
"God bless him!" cried several ofiSdous gentle-
men. "Aye and Lord Bellomont, too!"
But Greatbatch, whether deterred by the deter-
mined aspect of Captain Ferrers or merely abashed
by his dignity and fearing to get himself seriously
involved with the highest authorities, suddenly
changed his tune and came forward instead to
tender his humble apology for the words that he had
said, hoping that the gentleman would not hold it
against him, nor report imfavorably of him to "His
Excellency's worship."
Ca,ptain Ferrers thereupon consented to consider
the incident closed, and, resuming his coat and
sword, took his leave of Mjmheer and the other
gentlemen, making his acknowledgments to Pieter
Schuyler, who had shown himself ready if necessary
132 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
to take up the quarrel. On the homeward way with
his fellow-soldier, who said but little and for more
reasons than one was displeased with the occurrence,
Captain Ferrers said thoughtfully:
"I fear me much that yonder ruffian has expressed
the populai- opinion." At which Prosser Williams,
narrowing his eyes, looked at him without reply.
Since this narrative cannot deal in detail with the
oft-told story of Captain Kidd and the troubles
which his misconduct entailed for Richard, Earl of
Bellomont, it may suffice to say that that celebrated
sea-rover had indeed, as very soon came to be known,
turned his attention from the business of privateering,
which he found unprofitable and even futile. Since
both pi-.'tes and smugglers kept out of his way,
he detf "-ined upon a bold stroke which should es-
tablish his fortunes and, if successful, pave the way
for other adventures. There is no doubt that he
took advantage of the plenary power which had been
given him, and also seemed to rely upon the counte-
nance and support of His Excellency.
He it was who had seized upon the "Quidder (or
Quedah) Merchant," an East India merchantman
heavily laden with rich goods, in which many mer-
chants of Boston and New York were interested.
He burned his own ship "Adventure," which was
in need of repair, and, boarding the prize, sailed for
the pirate mart of Madagascar. There he disposed
of the rich cargo for what would be over a million
dollars of present currency. On hearing that his
piracy was known in England, and that he' himself
was excepted by name from all clemency shown to
other sea-robbers, he put his gold, jewels and other
ill-gotten goods on board a sloop and, returning to
native waters, ran ashore on Gardiner's Island.
THE SHADOW OF CAPTAIN KIDD 133
There, his tnae character was not known at first,
and he was given food and drink, with the hospitality
usual at that epoch. Then he began to display his
true character. He imposed silence on the propri-
etors of the place by the most awful threats, while
on the other hand he bestowed a handsome present
of rich stuff on those who assisted in conceaUiig his
identity. For there were only too many who were
willing to profit by Kidd's exploits, as long as they
could do so with secrecy and success. A certain
color was given to all the wild rumors when Kidd,
having buried his treasures on Gardiner's Island,
had the audacity to run into Boston Harbor, and
on his arrest, which evidently he did not expect,
he represented himself as the victim of a mutiny
and addressed a forceful appeal to Lord Bellomont,
as one friend might appeal to another.
The Governor, who was greatly disturbed by the
reports which had gone about and which his friends
and admirers repudiated with scorn, turned a deaf
ear to the pleadings of his whilom commander, and,
after correspondence with the Home Government,
had him sent in chains to England. Stmm. «y jus-
tice was there dealt out to him, and he was executed.
But even that stem measure did not silence the
tongues of the malicious, who declared that the
pirate was but a scapegoat, who had ventured too
much in capturing the "Quidder Merchant," and had
suffered the penalty for other men's schemes, no
less than for his own.
BOOK II
\S\ '
i
ff. -M ■
CHAPTER I
PERSECUTION REVIVED
IT may be that the strife of. faction, which marked
the Earl of Bellomont's term of office from its
first inception in April, 1698, together with those
troubles resulting in the death of Captam Kida and
cuhninating in the extreme severity with which he
thenceforward pursued all illicit traders, so embit-
tered him that he was eager to wreak vengeance upon
someone. Or it may have been the her«iitery
hostility of his family— and particularly of his father.
Charles Coote— towards his Catholic fellow-country-
men in Ireland, which broke out with still greater
venom here in the New World, where arbitrary
power was placed in his hands. But it is certain
that, about two years after his arrival, he yielded
to the anti-CathoUc influence of John NanfM and
others, or perhaps himself outstripped them in the
race, and invoked the rigors of the law agamst the
Catholic clergy, and the Jesuits in particular.
The law which he saw fit to pass at a session of
the Council on August 9, 1700, came with the force
of a stunning blow to the few scattered Catholics,
who had gone their way in peace and obscunty, and
PERSECUTION REVIVED
I3S
had not taken any part in the troubles between the
contending parties. Its injustice was manifest to
the majority of right-minded citizens, including a
large proportion of the Dutch settlers who, until
the evil days of Jacob Leisler, had been averse to
active persecution. It is true that there were laws
for the regulation of public worship and the like,
which had told against the Catholic clergy and
made it necessary to hold Catholic services in secret
places and without the cognizance of the authorities.
But still there had been no overt acts, and the pres-
ence of CathoUcs, if suspected, was winked at by
the easy-going officials.
In the time of the Catholic Governor, Dongan,
and with a Catholic sovereign reigning in England,
Catholics had been enabled to assemble for public
worship in a chapel at the Fort and were ministered
to by the Jesuit Fathers whom Dongan « had brought
over in his train. The time came when that Govern-
or, who had striven so hard to procure for others
the freedom of worship which his co-religionists for
that brief interval enjoyed, was "hunted like a
wolf" by the vindictive Leisler, and Catholic priests
were banished from the colony. Since the Englidi
Protestant Governors following Dongan had taken
no active steps against the missionaries or other
pnests, it had been hoped that Lord Bellomont
might pursue the same policy, despite the unsavory
reputation of his family for religious intolerance of
the most envenomed kind. But those hopes were
doomed to come to a peremptory end.
•A Protestant historian writes: " Dongan was a man of integrity
moderation aiad pmteel manners, and. though a professed Papist
amoi«st the best of our governors" (Smith, "History of New York
«o 1702 7.
llli;
I
136 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
It was a sultry midsummer evening, when the
Dog Star was reigning over the town. The city lay
languid and enervat«i, expecting relief only from
the sea-breeze that at night blew up from the Bay.
All day Manhattan had sweltered under the fierce
sun, the reflection of which from the glassy surface
of the water seemed to intensify the heat. _ Not a
breath stirred the leaves, which drooped Ustlessly
downwards. The sun xt like a ball of fire, crimson-
ing all the West; the stars, as they came forth, were
obscured by a heat mist; while the young moon,
rising white and clear, likewise took on a ruddy
tint as it left the cool shadows gathered on the hori-
zon.
Gerald de Lacey had been feeling all that day an
unwonted depression, for the trend of events, which
he closely followed with the mind of one trained to
think upon such matters, and his considerable innei
loiowledge of the workings of governments had
caused Wpi to fear that some stroke was imminent.
He had had some letters from Father Harvey, a
Jesuit now of the Maryland Mission, who had been
closely associated with New York in Dongan's
time, and always yearned after the Dutch capital.
As he had been Mr. de Lacey's particular friend and
confessor in those day», which now seemed dream-
like in the peace and security that they offered to
men of all faiths and especially to the previously
sorely-tried Catholics, there was a peculiarly inti-
mate and affectionate bond between them, almost
that of father and son. The good priest had been
preparing de Lacey for what he felt certain would
happen. Gerald knew now that, behind all his fears
and misgivings, there always had been hope. And
tUs hope had grown stronger, since Lord Bellomont
PERSECUTION REVIVED 137
had been over two years in the colony and must
have been well aware that the Catholics, even if they
were such as the fanatics affected to believe them
ojuld have no power to do harm to a living soul'
But, no doubt, the doughty Earl was anxious to
make a great show of loyalty to the Protestant Suc-
cession, and to retrieve what he had lost in public
OTjuiion by the ill-success of his privateering scheme.
He wanted the King to know that there was a safe
man at the head of affairs in New York, and so took
the lead in a new outbreak of intolerance, which was
presently spread to the neighboring colonies.
On that inauspicious day, Mr. de Lacey had gone
out for a walk, and, sitting down to taste some new
cider under the trees of Der Halle, had suddenly
heard the news. He had given no sign as he listened
to the talk concerning it, though his heart was beat-
mg fast and his pulses leaping. The spirits that
accordmg to local tradition, held back the storm
wmds behind the pile of great rocks, must have
been keepmg them very close that day, for scarce
a npple stirred the languid bosom of the river, and
the sails of the boats hung listlessly in a great calm
As de Lacey finished deliberately his drink with
mme host, the latter shook his head over the startling
news of that day, but drew forth no expression of
opmion from his customer, whose religious opinions
were of course unknown to him. Holding his head
very high and with some new animation stirring
through all his frame, that loyal member of
the proscribed faith walked quickly home. On
the way he encountered Captain Ferrers and ex-
changed salutes with him, though their acquaintance
through deliberate caution on the part of Evelyn's
father, had been of the slightest. He fancied that
lit
I
138 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
the young officer looked hard at him, but perhaps
it was only fancy. For it was highly improbable
that Ferrers could know what was only dimly re-
membered by some older people here in Manhattan
— ^that, when de Lacey had been attached to the
Household of the Catholic Governor, he had prac-
tised the Catholic faith in the chapel at the Fort.
Most of those who remembered must have believed
that he simply attended these services out of cour-
tesy to his chief, and inquired no farther. As to his
subsequent persecution by Jacob Leisler and his
expulsion from the colony, it was something which
had been suffered by many of the leading citizens,
especially those of the Baykrd party. Hence the
term "Papist" was often applied indifferently to
members of this party and those who were really
Catholics, and it was probably taken for granted
that Gerald de Lacey was only one of the former.
For some time after the coming of the new Governor,
Gerald had had another fear in his mind, and this
was that either or both of the two officers who were
so prominently connected with my Lord Bello-
mont, might have an inconvenient memory of cer-
tain events in England, which had been the immedi-
ate cause of his leaving that country. But the time
had passed, and he had long since persuaded him-
self that they had failed to recognize him, and it
was most improbable that they would do so now.
When he reached home Evelyn had not yet re-
turned. She had pne to take dinner with her
friend Polly Van Coi..andt, after which it had been
her intention to spend an hour or so as usual with
the Wilden at their camping ground. This intention,
however, she relinquished on hearing the ominous
news at the Van Cortlandts', and hurried home,
Mf-
PERSECUTION REVIVED
139
reaching there but a few moments after her father.
She found him walking about in the garden in evi-
dent agitation. Catching sight of Evelyn's pale,
troubled face, he came towards her with both hands
outstretched. In that sultry, storm-laden atmos-
phere some presage of future trouble seemed to weigh
upon the minds of both. The heavy scent of many
flowers smote upon their senses. They were the
late flowers which Evelyn had tended, and which
had replaced with their richer coloring the narcissi,
pea blossoms, and the various pale blooms of the
spring and early summer. Heliotropes, poppies,
nasturtiums, pink, crimson and white roses, pansies
and marigolds filled the beds and spread in luxuriant
profusion over every available comer.
"Well, little daughter," said Mr. de Lacey, a
light from within illumining his face, which never-
theless appeared unwontedly lined and careworn
to the anxious eyes that scanned it, "so a blow has
fallen at last, which, as I fear me much, is but the
precursor of many another."
"O father dearest," cried Evelyn, "it is dreadful,
and it may have such consequences."
"There is but small doubt that it will," said Mr.
de Lacey. "The clergy, and especially the Jesuits,
are always the first tc suffer, and then it is our
turn."
He was furthermore convinced, though he did
not say so to Evelyn, that his own position would
soon become, if it were not ah^ady, extremely peril-
ous. In all the talk that was sure to follow upon
this m.'iasure of the Governor, the fact would surely
be brought to light that he was a Catholic, having
been intimately associated with Dongan in what-
ever efiforts were made for the welfare of his co-
!! .
I40 GERALD pe LACEY'S DAUGHTER
religionists. Also, it was quite among the possibili-
ties that the memory of one or both of those members
of Lord BeUomont's Household wught suddenly
awaken to what had been his record in England
and to the causes of his lea^'ing that country.
"But," he said at last, rousing himself as if from
a deep reverie, "if persecution comes our way, we
can meet it as did our ancestors in the Faith. You
know well, little daughter, that our family can
boast of more than one martyr for the Faith, and
indeed the Irish people of those days were all con-
fessors, even when they did not reach the higher
plane of martyrdom."
"We will meet whatever comes, my father and
I together," said Evelyn.
In moments of deep excitement she did not talk
much, as though her thoughts were too deep for
speech. But there was a glow in her eyes that made
it seem as though a lamp had been suddenly lighted
behind them, and the light seemed to shine out from
her eyes and commvmicate itself to others. Her head
was held higher, and every fibre of her body seemed
to express courage and resolution. She could per-
ceive too the exaltation in her father's bearing.
This new call-to-arms had roused him, as of old the
sound of the trumpet, when he had taken up ma-
terial arms for Idng and country. Evelyn now felt
ashamed of the depression and the fear that had
overmastered her, when first she had heard the news
at the Van Cortlandts'. The soul within her seemed
to take fire from that pure spirit which, in patient
endurance, had already undergone a martyrdom,
and was now ready once more for the combat.
CXit of the blackness that had settled upon the
town, as they still lingered in the perfumed stillness
PERSECUTION REVIVED
141
of the garden, they heard the Watch coming with
rattling staves and hoarse voices, proclainung as
usual die hour, the state of the weather, and lastly
the Act of His Most Worshipful Richard, Earl of
Bellomont, Baron of Coolony, Governor of the Prov-
ince of New York, Captain General of the Forces,
etc., against all Jesuits and Popish priests, forbidding
under {grievous penalties all exercise of their ministry,
with dire pentdties likewise for those who should
harbor or consort with them. The two stood lis-
tening with blanched faces, for this solemn proc-
lamation appeared to bring the new departure home
to them. To Evelyn, whose heart beat high with
indignation, it seemed absurd and outrageous to
suppose that such measures should be taken here in
this peaceful town, resting between its swift-flowing
rivers and with its harbor that, but for the presence
of the warship, appeared a peaceful haven where it
might have been supposed that the oppressed of
all nations would seek and find shelter. Father and
daughter heard with a new sensation the gates of
the town being shut, simultaneously with the an-
nouncement by the Watch of the hour of nine and
the firing of the gun from the Fort. That simple
act somehow suggested a restriction of freedom —
bars which shut them and their fellow-Catholics
ofif from the free exercise of their religion. Hence-
forth, they felt convinced, the slightest turn of events
might involve them in material ruin, if not place them
in actual peril, since the temper of the Governor and
of his advisers of the Protestant party was thus
shown. The law, which for the moment chiefly con-
cerned the clergy, might presently be extended to the
faithful laity, if indeed they were not already touched
by one of its clauses. Experience everywhere had
'■I
ll
If:'
142 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
shown that intolerance, once let loose, had but
whetted the appetite with the clergy as first victims.
To Evelyn that hour seemed a momentous one,
marking an epoch in her life, which now seemed to
have been idle and frivolous up to this moment.
She reproached herself that she had ever left her
father alone in his solitude, even though it had
been at his express wish and almost command.
Her love of dress, the solicitude she had shown
for her clothes, came out of the darkness to re-
proach her. She was keyed up to a pitch of en-
thusiasm which only youth can know, and which
made it seem as if no sacrifice would be too great
that might help the cause or give her a share in
the trials that were gathering about it like storm-
clouds around a point of light.
"It would be after all so fine a thing, father,"
she said, "if we ^ould be called upon to suffer for
the Faith."
He reached out his hand and stroked her hair as
he had often done when she was a child.
"That is my own brave girl," he said. "But for
the moment we must be merely prudent, chan^g
nothing in our ordinary mode of life lest suspicion
should be thereby excited. There are but few, I
think, who know to any certainty what religion we
profess, and these few can be trusted."
He stopped and paced up and do^m the garden
walk for a brief interval, as iJE to recover command of
himself. Some flowers that had fallen from the
bushes in a heavy shower of the night previous, gave
forth a sweet odor as he crushed them under his
feet, as a heart crushed by pain gives forth its sweet-
est fragrance of charity and faith.
"After that," he said at last, for in Evelyn's
PERSECUTION REVIVED
143
^ence he felt only the strong support of her sym-
pathy and the assurance of her strength, "after that
we must do as God directs. I have been reading
with all care the Act, which is now made public and
wtdch I shall read to you presently — or such por-
tions thereof as may be pertinent. We must not
conceal from ourselves that, once it is put in force,
it gives a broad scope for oppressive acts, even tow-
ard the laity."
Though he did not say so to her, he knew that
her teadiing of the Indiii catechumens might very
easily bring Evelyn vmder the Act, while he himseU
might — and, as he admitted, with some justice —
be prosecuted, even on an accusation of high treason,
for his open pro: ssion there of the Catholic faith,
as well as for services rendered in England to the
late King and against that other whom he had con-
sidered as a usurper.
"They will be able to indict me," he said to him-
self, "if such should seem good to them, on a charge
of 'consorting and conspiring with Jesuits,' though
in truth my connection with those saintly priests
and missionaries, either here or overseas, has been
altogether of a spiritual nature, and politics was
scarcely so much as mentioned between us. But
who will convince them of that, since their desire
is to exterminate Catholics and make these colonies
wholly Protestant?"
To Evelyn, however, he merely said that she
must be careful in her future relations with the
Wilden, and must bind them to the closest secrecy,
which they above all people were capable of main-
taining. "The warning given, he fell back into some-
thing more than his customary cheerfulness, and
laughed and jested so that Evelyn wondered at
p
144 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
his light-heartedness, as he took her arm to lead
her into the study, where she was anxious to hear
the wording of the Act against Popish ministers.
At the Van Cortlandts' they had been chary of re-
peating all its phrases. Gerald de Lacey threw his
hat bojrishly into the air with a laugh that was
reminiscent of his youth, raying out :
"And meantime, three cheers for the Jesuits and
all other Popish priests."
Though he had not raised his voice, the echoes
seemed to catch the sound and repeat it, and Evelyn
laid her hand on his arm with a new terror. By the
light of the wax tapers their heads were presently
bent together over the printe^ formula of that Act,
while moths, coming in from the garden like mes-
sengers from the outside darkness, hovered about
their heads, and the cry of a night-bird might be
heard sounding hoarsely through the gloom. The
father's clear, decided voice read, while Evelyn rested
her arm on his shoulder, with a gesture fuU of con-
fidence and affection:
"Whereas divers Jesuits, priests and Popish mis-
sionaries, have of late come and for some time have
had their residence in the remote parts of the Prov-
ince and others of His Majesty's adjacent colonies,
who by their wicked, subtle insinuations, indus-
triously labor to debauch, seduce and withdraw the
Indians from their due obedience to His Sacred
Majesty and to excite and stir them up to sedition,
rebellion and open hostility to His Majesty's Gov-
ernment.
"Be it enacted that all and every Jesuit and
seminary priest, missionary or other spiritual and
ecclesiastical person made or ordained by any au-
thority, power or jurisdiction, derived, challenged,
PERSECUTION REVIVED
H5
or pretended from the Pope or See of Rome, now
residing within this Province or any part thereof,
shall depart from it before the ist day of Novem-
ber, 1700.
"And be it farther enacted by the authority
aforesaid.
"That all and every Jesuit, seminary priest,
missionary and other spiritual or ecclesiastic^ per-
son, etc., that shall profess himself or otherwise
appear to be such by preaching, teaching of others
to say any Popish prayers, by celebrating Masses or
granting absolutions or using any other of the
Romish ceremonies or religious worship, by what
name, title or degree soever such person shall be
called or known, who shall continue, abide, remain
or come into the Province, or any part thereof,
after the ist day of November, shall be deemed
and accounted an incendiary and disturber of
the public peace and safety and an enemy to the
true Christian religion and shall be judged to
suffer perpetual imprisonment, and if any such per-
son bang perpetually imprisoned shall break prison
and make his escape, he shall suffer the pains of
death, with penalties and forfeitures as in case of
felony.
"And it is farther enacted by the authority afore-
said that eveiy person who shall wittingly and be-
lieyingly receive, harbor, conceal, aid, succor or
relieve any Jesuit, priest, missionary or other ec-
clesiastical person of the Romish clergy, knowing
him to be such and being lawfully convicted before
any of His Majesty's Courts of Record within this
Province, shall forfeit 200 pounds of current money
of this Province; and such persons shall be farther
punished by being set in the pillory upon several
;•'.
«
146 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
days and also be bound to the good pleasure of the
Court."'
"And," cried Mr. de Lacey, striking the paper
sharply with his hand to emphasize his words,
"every charge against the Catholic priests and mis-
sionaries, as I from my former close connections
with affairs do fully realize, is false as hell. The
missionaries ever labor to keep the Indians under
their control loyal to the Government under which
they Uve. That they have done much in this re-
spect for the government in these colonies I am well
aware. And at the present moment no priests or
missionaries are resident in these colonies, for they
come but occasionally to exercise their ministry."
Evelyn's eyes filled with tears, and she could
not trust hereelf to speak, as she remembered the
saintly, all-enduring and indefatigably devoted men
who, by carrying the Gospel to the Indians, had
done so much to civilize them, and, by keeping
them under control, bad prevented many a ferocious
act.
"It has ever been the darling project of my Lord
BeUomont," her father continued, "to place Prot-
estant ministers amongst the savages,' and he and
all his advisers now lament that, as a matter of policy,
such was not done before. Though," he added, with
a lat^h, "one of the chief obstades to that scheme,
as he and others declare, is the difficulty of inducing
men of the cloth to take up their abode amongst
the redskins. But, nevertheless, he would drive
away and hunt to death the only men who are willing
'See LivingBton, Smith, Van Schaick. "Laws of New York from
1664 to lysv' chap. 84, p. 34; Brinley Bradford, "Colonial Laws,"
Vol. I. p 438.
"See Documents Relating to Colonial Laws," VoL IV.
!| d, !
11
PERSECUTION REVIVED 147
to give their Uves for the Gospel. He has offered re-
wards for their apprehension, which even the Iro-
quois have scorned. He has striven, as he declares
to <»use 'implacable hatred" between them and
the Indians, and has denounced them to the latter
as liars and impostors."
His voice choked with emotion, and he rose and
walked to the window, whence he presently re-
turned, saying:
"Ah, little he imagines the manner of men with
whom he has to deal, when he seeks to terrify them
with threats of imprisonment or death. Are they
not bravmg death daily in the strongholds of the
pagan Indians, or following them through trackless
forests?
"Oh. why was this odious Earl of Bellomont sent
to rule us, ' cried Evelyn, indignantly, "and suffered
to make such laws!"
"He is but invoking against us, or placing on the
statute book, laws which already prevail over yon-
der, and which Dutch William most gladly will put
m force. So you see, my Evelyn, what prudence
will be required on your part."
"Boldness would consort better with my present
mood," exclaimed the girl.
"Prudence is nevertheless the true courage, and
what will be most helpful to all concerned," said
Mr de Lacey. "For, as to your relations with the
Wtlden, Lord Bellomont will not lightly pardon
any action upon your part, which puts in peril his
favonte plan of detaching the savages from the
Cathohc faith. He will hold you almost as a mis-
sionary if he should but discover that you are con-
tinmng at the camp the teachings of the good
Fathers." He drew a long breath and then said,
4
' .<i
148 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
smilingly: "However, he has but sounded the tocsin,
and we nave a breathing space."
While father and daughter thus conversed, and
during the days that followed, that law of my Lord
Bellomont offered food for conversation m every
dwelling and in all the taverns of Manhattan, as
weU as throughout the country, smce, m almost
identical language, it was P«»n"lfat!? ,"*, ^„^;
chusetts through the influence of that fanatical
scion of the Coote family.
i:
CHAPTER n
AN ENEMY DECLARES HIMSELF
THE sky was still overcast, though a slight
coolness had crept up from the Bay, relieving
the sultriness of the previous day. As he looked out
of the window that morning, Evelyn's father had
said to her that surely there would be rain. But
high noon and dinner hour had passed and still the
rain kept oS, though the sun was obscured and there
was a perceptible dampness in the air.
Soon after dinner Evelyn set forth, walking by
the banks of the stream towards the Collect Pond
and the Indian encampment. For she was full of
anxiety to put her catechumens amongst the Wilden
on their giiard, lest by word or sign they should be-
tray to hostile observers the creed which they pro-
fessed, and so implicate the missionaries, if any of
them were present in New York Colony, besides
proving ruinous to her father and herself. The en-
campment presented a scene of indescribable anima-
tion, to which the vivid reds and yellows of the
squaws' dresses, contrasting with the green of the
trees, lent color. Some of the women were busy
pounding com in the stump of a tree to the accom-
paniment of a low croon that had something wild and
weird in its musical cadences. Others were weaving
com leaves into mats or tying them up into brooms,
1^
V
I:
If
l^iU
ISO GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
while still other groups were stringing clam-shells.
The last-named carefully separated the whole shells
without blemish for the more valuable wampum,
whilst the broken or defaced shells served for the
inferior sewant, both being used as currency.
As Evelyn came walking through the woods, with
the fragrance of pine and sassafras and other wood-
land odors in her nostrils, she stopped to listen,
for the old squaw, who was usually the spokes-
woman of the tribe, was detailing to a group of lis-
teners an account of Captain Kidd. The romantic
story of that sea-rover had apparently seized upon
their imaginations, told as it' was with the wild
hyperbole of their race.
"The great chief of the Sank-ni-canin [the fire-
makers]," the old squaw was saying, "had sailed
over the big Sea Water, and had seized upon the
war canoe that came thither from beyond the set-
ting sun. In it were the gifts of the great Manitou
— diining metals and stones that glittered. The
chief had taken these and buried them in the earth,
or in the depths of the dark waters."
Evelyn Imew that the speaker was here referring
to a pond on the Eastern point of Sewanaka, which
had an uncanny reputation amongst the Indians.
For, though it was near the ocean, its waters were
never still, but always bubbling, and perfectly fresh.
So the WHden declared that it was guarded by a
Manitou or spirit, and to this spirit, as ^e old woman
declared, the chief of the "firemakers" had entrusted
from time to time his sto' n treasure.
Evelyn could not repress a shudder as the grew-
some history of Captain Kidd was thus recsdled to
her mind. For she well remembered having fre-
quently seen that notorious pirate, swaggering about
AN ENEMY DECLARES HIMSELF 151
tiie dty streets with his great pistols at his belt.
He had been on friendly terms with many of the
pnncipal inhabitants, and had married the daughter
of a respectable family. She had heard his end de-
scribed: how he swung in chains from a ghastly
gibbet over beyond the seas in London, while much
of his rich booty, at least such as he had buried on
Gardiner's Island, was recovered through the hon-
esty of the Gardiner family. Enough was still miss-
ing to excite the cupidity of mariners; for tales were
nfe amongst them of a treasure as yet undiscovered,
the remaining portion of the "Quidder Merchant's"
cargo. And this was part of the booty which the
Indians believed to have been entrusted to the
Manitou, who for no earthly consideration would
yield it up to mortal man.
Evelyn's mind was, however, much more fully
occupied just then with the possibility of danger to
her father, herself, or the missionaries who had im-
planted the seeds of faith in the. minds of the Wilden.
She had no small difficulty, at first, in explaining
to the forest people the danger which would accrue
to herself and to their beloved "blackgowns," if it
were discovered that they had been taught the
Gospel mysteries, and had been baptized or were
about to receive the waters of baptism. But once
they realized Evelyn's meaning, they formed a
circle round her and firmly bound themselves by a
Silver Covenant of friendship to speak no word which
might betray her, and to guard, if necessary with
their lives, this beloved "pale-face member of their
tnbe" from every danger. This last clause in the
new Covenant was framed by the Wilden themselves,
for to Evelyn it never occurred as yet that here on
this hitherto free soil of Manhattan, where she had
B«'' '
Ifl: t
m
152 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
played as a child and spent those years of her early
womanhood, either her life or liberty cottld be in
danger.
When she left the Collect Pond that morning,
pausing an instant to survey the tiny island on the
water's glassy surface where already one or two bits
of local history had been enacted, she ttimed her
steps to the Broad Way. There she presently be-
held coming towards her with champing of bits and
clanking of bridles the outriders and postilions,
heralding the approach of the state chariot. Within
its luxurious depths Lord Bellomont sat stiff and erect
in his elaborate military uniform beside my Lady,
who appeared, as Evelyn thought, somewhat faded
and worn in the broad light of day. Opposite them
was Captain Ferrers, whose eyes for an instant
caught and held those of Evelyn. The listless face
of Lady Bellomont brightened into momentary
pleasure at sight of the girl, who had interested
her from the first. She said in a voice which,
whether intentionally or not, was quite audible to
Evelyn, as she addressed Captain Ferrers:
"She is truly a most lovely and charming girl."
The young man so addressed felt the warm color
rise to his face, and there was a light in his eyes at
that meed of praise, which Lady Bellomont saw with
amusement, not untinged with pique. For it was
not usual for the men in her immediate environment
to find other interests than herself. In her yoimger
days she had been accustomed to reign as a queen
paramount in her partictdar coterie — one of the gayest
and, it is whispered, most riotous in London. AJFter
a brief glance at the subject of the remark, to whom
he vouchsafed the curtest of salutes, Lord Bello-
mont turned in the opposite direction:
11
AN ENEMY DECLARES HIMSELF 153
'■Captain WiUiams does insist," Her Ladyshio
contmued. m a whisper, "that this MistressfiS
^^'i^^, ">"* * naughty little Papist." ^
f3*n'^ ^^^ "^^'"^y ^™™ Captain Ferrers'
blow. For he had been totally unaware of the sus
Sr?JJ«.*'*l!"**^ ^ '^^ '"'"'^ °^ Ws fellow s^ld^
by that chance remark of PoUy Van Cortlandfs
H^«W«f had convmced him that this imputation
was true but it was h.rd to conjecture how S
^'i'^''"'? ^^P**^" WilUams faiew, and whThe
had been so imprudent, or so malicious, as to convey
his knowledge to a quarter where it was likely to l^
dangerous. j vv^ u«
"Your ExceUency," he said hotly, "may well defv
Captam Williams to bring any prciof " ^
^ Lady Bellomont looked steadily at him for a mo-
"Were it even so," she said at last, "we shaU do
what IS possible to protect her."
t^,i^™!E**^T^i^?*"'* ^ 8'a"<» of gratitude at
thejpeaker. Lord BeUomont, turning quickly, in-
quired as to the subject of their discour^. ^
said!^udSslf^« ^'""* ^'^'^•" -y ^y
"If the orders I have given be obeyed," said His
Excellency, with a frown, "there shall not be in
a^l tlus colony, nor m His Majesty's adjacent prov-
mce a single adherent of the Romish superstitions
... Pfsons are a menace to the state."
And IS their number so considerable?" inquired
my Lady with malice. h^^
But Captain Ferrers knew that she spoke thus.
rather m opposition to my Lord than from any
,!^>
154 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
special sympathy with the class of people who, in the
mad excitement following the accession of King
William, were persecuted everywhere in the Brit-
ish dominions and everywhere reviled. The Prot-
estant Succession was the fetish of the hour, to
which all were ready to bow down, and no one could
safely declare himself a professor of the ancient
faith by which England had been raised to her high-
est glory.
To my Lady's query His Excellency replied testily :
"The proportion of these Papists may be small,
but they are a pestilent people whom we must root
out lest they conspire to our detriment with the
French of Canada."
"In my belief that is a chimera," declared Lady
Bellomont.
"What is a chimera?" said my Lord. "The
Papists or the French of Canada?"
"I but mean their connection with each other,"
answered Her Ladyship. "Men have assured me
that none was more zealous against those same
French and all other enemies of the province than
the present Earl of Limerick, once Governor Don-
gan."
"Women," cried His Excellency sternly, "should
most fitly busy themselves with their fripperies,
leaving the affairs of state to men."
"Mayhap, we might sometimes make a better
handling of them," said Her Ladyship, but in a lower
voice and with a smile at Captain Ferrers, who had
naturally taken no part in the discussion.
Meanwhile Evelyn de Lacey stood watching the
state carriage till it had disappeared in the distance.
She felt the more gratified at the pretty compli-
ment from Lady Bellomont inasmuch as it had been
-|{s
AN ENEMY DECLARES HIMSELF 155
addressed to Captain Ferren, in whom she already
felt something more than an ordinary interest.
As she was turning to pursue her way, ^e heard a
voice at her elbow saying:
"In what direction goes the fairest lady in Man-
hattan?"
Evelyn, turning, saw beside her C.v.tLic ^ .o-^er
Williams, bowing low with plu-n. d '• ..t if. h ui »
Instantly her face, which had K.-^ sof^Mih .srriilir.,-
interest, grew cold and distant, -.er rt-Lt :n.r'il.<i
was to reply to his query: "Tn tiu'ce .inrMi.r r^ue
from yours. Captain Williams' Jnst' ao r he merely
bade him a ceremonious good-mom"-. ', : ' d, everting
her face from him, stood slightly asid? tl .t he
might pass on. Her whole demeanor w,,:, so irten-
tionally repellent that the man's pale face flushed
with annoyance. He winced and bit his lip angrily.
As he showed no signs of stirring, Evelyn, with a
formal bend of the head, prepared to leave him, but
she had barely taken a step when he overtook her
saying in low, vehement tones:
"Who has been at such pains to prejudice you
against me?"
"No one," replied Evelyn, "since I have scarce
so much as heard the mention of your name."
She spoke almost disdainfully, staying her steps
with an abruptness that could not but convey her
desire to be freed from his company. But Prober
Williams showed no disposition to leave her, and,
with ddiberate insolence, inquired :
"So it is merely that something has ruflaed my
lady's temper this morning?"
Evelyn deigning him no reply, the man added
m a tone that was full of malignant meaning:
"Have the savages down yonder been something
I
ii'M'^'
156 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
dull this morning? Mayhap, they did not patter
their Aves to your taste, or bend in adoration to the
Virgin?"
"file blow told. Evdyn felt in every fibre of her
being the cruel consciousness that tiiis man had
learned her secret, and so held her in his power.
But she bravely held her head high, and passing
him again, this time decidedly, she said coldly:
"I beg that you will not detain me longer. Cap-
tain WilUuns. I am in haste."
He made no further effort to delay her, but said
as she walked on :
"Disdain, sweet Mistress Evelyn, is oftentimes a
costly luxury."
And, with this implied threat in her ears, Evelyn
turned a comer and escaped him.
I*
CHAPTER in
I
GLADNESS AND TBARS
EVELYN was undecided as to whether or not
she should conununicatt; to her father the
anxiety which had been consuming her since Prosser
WUliams had so broadly hinted at his knowledge of
her religion. She was aware that it would consti-
tute an unpardonable crime in the sight of Lord
Bellomont and his advisers to instruct the Indians
in the tenets of the Catholic faith. For it was part of
the policy of the Government to keep the savages
pagan rather than permit them to come under the
influence of the missionaries, since the latter were
falsely supposed to be ready to conspire with the
Canadian French and to lead their Indian cate-
chumens into a league with the Catholics and abori-
gines of the north.
Her mind was so disturbed that she absented her-
self for many days from the Van Cortlandt mansion
and from the society of Polly, whose sharp eyes
might have quickly discovered her pertiwbation.
She was sitting in her room one afternoon, looking
out towards the Fort, where the flag of William of
Orange was flying. The warship, lying at sinchor
in the Bay, seemed the very symbol of that power
which, like some dreadful dragon, might readi out
a claw to seize her. It was with very mingled feel-
M
158 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
mgs of pleasure and apprehension that she heard
Polly's voice calling from the garden below. It
would be so pleasant to see her again, and to revert,
if that were poscible, to the happy days before the
coming of Lord Bellomont, or at least before his
power had been displayed in a manner so adverse
to herself and her co-religionists. And yet she was
afraid lest something in her bearing or a chance word
on her part should convey to Polly, and through
her to others, any confirmation of what might be
ah-eady suspected as to herself and her father, and
as to her own relations with the Wilden. Not that
she distrusted Polly for one instant, but she dared
not put her upon her guard, or confide a secret to
her which, in the present circumstances, might prove
perilous even to the confidant.
The sight of the bright-faced girl standing down
there amongst the flowers, in the flower-sprigged
and much-beribboned musUn gown, recalled with a
sudden thrill that was half a pang that other noonday
when they had gone to witness the arrival of the
new Governor, and had first laid eyes on those vari-
ous personages who were destined subsequently to
play such important rdles in their own life-drama.
Leamng out of the window, Evelyn inquired whether
Polly would come up, or if she herself should go
down.
"Dearest friend," urged the other, "come down
I pray you. What I have to tell you, wiU be best
told m the garden."
As Evelyn descended the stairs she reflected with
relief that the other's news must needs be of a pleas-
ant nature, to judge by the brightness of her face
and her happUy excited manner. She laid an arm
atfectionately on PoUy's shoulder, and the two began
GLADNESS AND TEARS ,59
to pace the fa miliar flower-strewn paths where since
girlhood they had exchanged confidences and chatted
over the various episodes of Ufe in Manhattan.
^^ 'It is fun a week," began PoUy reproachfuUy,
smce I have seen or heard from you. And in that
tune has happened— oh, I can scarcely beUeve it
myself, it came so sudden and seemed so wonderful.
Nor do I know whether to be sad or joyful."
"Your face decides for the latter," commented
Evelyn.
"Yes," answered PoUy, though her face at the
mstant was sober enough, "I believe I am more
joyful than sad, and yet — "
She fell to stirring the syringa bushes near which
she stood, while Evelyn waited with a smile for the
secret which already she had divined.
"Do you remember, Evelyn, " said Polly suddenly,
lapsing into that vein of reminiscence in which the
former had been indulging as she came down the
stairs, "our excitement that spring day when we
drove with my grandmother to see Their Exc-ellen-
cies arrive?"
Ever so sUght a sigh escaped her and she looked
wistfully at her friend.
"I was so elated with the notion of meeting all
those strangers who had come from overseas to en-
liven our old Manhattan. How exciting it was'
And yet, my dearest," with a despondent little shake
of the head, "there was no use entering the lists,
and I might have known it at once. To those men
of His Excellency's Household and to the officers
of the regiment, save for a few subalterns, I have been
as nothing, while you — "
"Oh, aiy dear," cried Evelyn, "why will you talk
sucn nonsense!"
I
*.*^^n» ...'*, ^■*.3
I'M
i6o GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
"But nonsense that is true," declared Polly,
nodding in support of her words. There was a
silence in the garden as if all the flowers were lis-
tening for the confidence about to be made.
"So I gave up all hope of the new-comers," went
on Polly, "and consoled myself with the thought
that our old friends are best. Henricus has always
wanted it, since we played together in our Company;
and a day or two ago he threatened that, if I would
not have him, he would go away overseas. I did
not precisely want him to go, so — in short, dear, I
am going to be nmrried."
She finished almost shamefacedly. Evelyn gave a
cry as though it was something sad and lamentable
that the other had confided to her.
"Eat Polly," she protested involimtarily, "you
are so young, and you have so many to choose
from."
"But at least you will own that my choice has
been good," she insisted, "and that my Henricus
is the dearest of them all — except your Pieter.
Once I was very fond of Pieter, cousin though he
was, but that is over long ago."
She plucked absently at the leaves of a syringa
bush, and, picking them to pieces, strewed the pwth
before her as she concluded ratlier dreamily:
"So I am to be married soon, and we shall have
as great a wedding as ever was seen in New Am-
sterdam, and you will be first of the bridesmaids."
But, even as she announced this intended festivity
w^th all her wonted gaiety, her voice suddenly hn'oke
and, turning aside, she wept operly and unre-
strainedly. The tears gathered in Evelyn's eyes as
well and rolled down her cheeks, and thus it was a
strange sig^-*^ to see the two girls still standi* j< b^-
GLADNESS AND TEARS 161
side the syringa bush*^ and c^ebrating with tears
this news that should have been so joyful.
"I should be jflad," aatd Evelyn at last, "yet I
feel as if my heart would break."
"And aM«e is broken," sobbed Polly, "only I
suppose I nmm. marry someone."
"Yes,"_ assented Evelyn, "you must many some-
time. It's the common doom. But it can never be
quite the same between us two, and no one, Polly,
can take yoiu- place."
Polly for only reply wept still harder. Then
Evelyn roused herself.
"How selfish and how ridiculous I am!" declared
she. "Your betrothal will please most people, and
your best friend should surely be joyful."
But Evelyn was not joyful, for this man whom
Polly was about to marry had never seemed to her
worthy of such a wife. He was narrow and puri-
tanical and, despite his family connections and tra-
ditions, had identified himself with the Leislerian
faction. She suspected, moreover, that with Polly
there was very Uttle love in the matter. She had
consented to marry Henricus Laurens from sheer
weariness at his pertinacity; perhaps, too, from some
little sense of pique at her failure to succeed with
those more brilliant new-comers, and finally be-
cause such a match would be advantageous, and the
wealth and social position of the young man would
establish Polly amongst the leading young matrons
of Manhattan.
To Evelyn it seemed scarcely possible that the
temperament of the prospective bridegroom, which
she divined to be both hard and cold, would har-
monize with that of Polly. The two were funda-
mentally different, with a difference that could not
*(
I
i' .
w ■
i6z GERALD ot LACEY'S DAUGHTER
be bridged over, and which, in the estimation of
this keen observer, promised but little happiness
for a girl of Polly's training and antecedents. Warm-
hearted, affectionate, and with a nature that turned
as if instinctively to what was bright, she had been
the very idol of her grandmother ever since that
lady had adopted her out of a household of many
sisters and brothers and urought her up as her own.
Evelyn well knew, however, that this betrothal,
which was to be duly signed and sealed in the res-
ence of numerous relatives of both parties and some
intimate friends, was a serious matter. Once Polly
had given her word, she would never recede from
the position in which she had placed herself, and it
would be worse than useless for her friend to point
aut those shoals and quicksands which she foresaw
must lie ahead of her. So, impatiently wiping away
the tears which would gather in her eyes, and which
were not entirely, as Polly supposed, for the loss
of her girlhood's friend, Evelyn took the most ef-
fectual method of cheering Polly by causing her to
talk of the preparations that would soon be under
way, and the festivities that would accompany the
marriage.
"And Henricus will have the wedding follow very
speedily upon the betrothal," Polly informed her,
and Eveljm thought she spoke somewhat ruefully.
"Perhaps he is afraid I shall nm away from him,"
she added with an effort at a laugh. Then looking,
not at Evelyn, but away over the garden: "And
since I have given my promise I do not seem able
to oppose him in anything. I feel as though he had
bewitched me."
Though Evelyn did not comjnent on this informa-
tion, it in no way surprised her. Her quick insight
GLADNESS AND TEARS
163
had made her aware that such would be always the
case with PoUy. Her influence over the man would
cease with her consent to the marriage. And, that
marriage once an accomplished fact, she who had
been a power and a force amongst her young associ-
ates would become and remain to the end of the
chapter merely the wife of Henricus Laurens.
Polly, who was wonderfully brightened by the
(^sc^ssion of the wedding gaieties and all the pretty
clothes which were in course of preparation, said
suddenly:
"And you must marry, too, Evelyn. Oh, if you
would but deade to become the wife of Pieter, that
dear Pieter who is so splendid a man. we could be
maxned on the same day, dear, and from our house'"
ThCTe was a look on Evelyn's face that chiUed
the other s enthusiasm; it was so aloof, so mournful.
^^ I do not think I shall ever maTy," she answered
at least not for very long. And I fear much it
can never be Pieter, although I love him dearly in
quite another way."
Polly wondered if Evelyn's aspirations had soared
higher, but that, as she instinctively felt, was not a
subject for discussion.
"Happiness does not come my way," declared
Evdyn though I have had pleasure and gaiety
m abundance, and you well know I have enjoyed it "
While they stood thus, forming a lovely picture,
Captain Ferrers came up the street with his quick,'
alert gait. The look with which he accompanied the
action of taking off his hat to Evelyn, was quit
unmistakable to the observer. Polly noticed too the
slight tremor that passed over her friend, and the
look of interest and excitement that came suddenly
mto her face.
1^
I
m
164 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
"If that be he," reflected Polly sagely, "such a
passion woukl be hopeless, even though he is plainly
infatuated. And why must she let her thoughts
stray from all those she has known in these colonics
and who have so much admired her, to these men of
another world, who perchance will go away and for-
get her? Though no king," she added, in her loyal
enthusiasm, "were too gajd for Evelyn."
"Mayhap, if I had nnt been here," she said, with
a gaiety tluit was a t- 'X' .orced, "Captain Ferrers
might have come in 'x j^ay his respects."
"No," said Evelyi., "though often enough he
passes the door."
"To admire — the garden?" laughed Polly.
"Sometimes he has stopped for a word," remarked
Evelyn, "but I have never asked him to enter the
house."
She did not say what her reasons were, but she
now more than ever held aloof from the young man,
since the nev/ provisions of the law m^t at any
time, if it had not already done so, place her father
and herself under the ban. She clearly perceived
that, under such circiunstances, it was not fitting
that a member of His Excellency's Household should
be a visitor to their dwelling.
"Ctti, life, life!" she excl^med suddenly. "What
a puzzle! What a tangled web it is! I make no
doubt that for me it will grow 'larder. I am intended
to walk ia the shadows, Polly, as you are in the
light."
With a swift, impetuous gesture, she threw her
arms around her friend's neck and kissed her.
"How I shall miss you," she cried, "the friend
vibocp. I love above all others! How glad I am that
your future at least is safe and secure!"
i
CHAPTER IV
THE PAST IS INVOKBD
POLLY VAN CORTLANDT had been right in
her surmisf that, but for her presence, Captain
Ferrers would have entered the garden. It had
been his intention to have a talk with Mr. de Lacey
and at any rate to put him on his guard. For, though
he was unaware of what Captain Prosser Williams
had said to Eveljm, thereby showing a knowledge
of her relations with the Indians, a conversation had
taken place upon the previous evening between the
two officers which had determined Ferrers upon an
immediate course of action.
Tl» two men had been smoking together on the
roof of the Governor's dwelling — that same White-
hall which had been built by Governor Stuyvesant
many years before when the town of New Amster-
dam was still in its infancy. The closed-in space
upon the roof was a favorite lounging-place, especially
for the men of the Household, and it chanced upon
that occasion that these two, who were so vmcon-
genial, were left alone together. Though they were
constantly being brought into contact, since they of
all the others mingled most freely with the towns-
people, there was but little intimacy between them.
They usually avoided anything like confidential
intercourse, and the silence between them remained
J;|-
i66 GERALD db LACEY'S DAUGHTER
for some time unbroken till Prosser Williams said
abruptly:
"Have you any recollection, Ferrers, of having
seen that traitor and knave, de Lacey, before?"
"I did not know," replied the other, trying to
speak carelessly, though he was instantly on the
alert, "that there was a traitor or knave named
de Lacey."
"We may differ as to terms," responded Captain
Williams, "but probably you know full well to whom
I refer. If not," he added presently, with a scarcely
perceptible sneer, "I may refresh your memory by
declaring that he is the father of Mistress Evelyn
de Lacey."
"Ah, indeed," said Captain Ferrers, and his com-
panion, striving hard to see his face in the light
that was growing dim, continued:
"Indeed, I may have occasion to refresh your
memory on other points as well. But one will suf-
fice."
"You are very kind," Ferrers answered with a
certain grim civility. He was holding himself well
in check.
"I asked you," went on the other, "if you had a
remembrance of that man. I will tell you at once
that I have a very decided one, though I could not
recall it to mind on that first occasion when to-
gether we saw, standing with Mistress de Lacey
and her friend, the tall man whom we both remem-
bered."
He waited, but Ferrers made no attempt to assist
him conversationally, and he presently resumed his
narrative:
"The occurrence to which I refer did not take
place in these Colonies. It was in London and on
THE PAST IS INVOKED ,67
the occasion of the enthronement of KinR William
whom may God save!" "*»"•.
Ferrers bent his head as in duty bound, and the
. ,',S?"®^*"***^ "*"**" proceeded with his story
There was a tumult, and a man was handled
'^^^%°y t'le crowd for refusing to cry 'God save
King Willjam.' There were other circumstances to
which I need not refer, but I knew him then, and
1 know him now as a pestilent disturber. Having
been m one of King James" regiments, he was forced
to rettfe because of a wound. But to the last he
made himself conspicuous. To the last he rendered
such service as he might, in public or private, to
the Papist king."
There was a maUgnant fire in his eyes, and a note
of savage triumph in his voice, which caused Captain
Ferrers to tremble for the fate of Mr. de Lacey and
his daughter. But. preserving a cool demeanor, he
attempted to rally the other.
•j^?." j*Y^' '" ^^^^' ^ wondrous memory," he
said, and I thank you for having given, in words
so few and concise, a history which is common, we
™V.^V°jr*' *° '"^"y * gallant gentleman."
Well, I had the satisfaction on that long-distant
day of raising the hue and cry against that 'gaUant
gentleman. ' *
He reseated the last words with an accent of bit-
ter mockery, but Captain Ferrers, anxious to hear
more, gave his attention in silence.
"He contrived to escape arrest, flying from place
to place, though openly declaring in more than one
that he was a Catholic and acknowledged no King
but James. It was discovered that he would fain
have followed that monarch to France save for the
wound by which he had been incapacitated. Fur-
MiCROconr resolution tist cha»i
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^B>^ 1653 East Moin Street
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i68 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
ther, it was learned that he had long been under
suspicion as a pestilent disturber and dangerous
emissary of James. He fled to these Colonies where
he had been formerly in the service of the Papist,
Dongan, and had been driven forth in the time of
that excellent Protestant and loyal champion, Jacob
Leisler."
"And how came it that you did not immediately
recognize him?" inquired Ferrers, striving to main-
tain his calmness.
"For the reason that I had seen him but once, on
that memorable occasion in London."
Ferrers laughed as he said: "You would make an
excellent — er — I mean to say that you should have
been detailed for secret service."
Prosser Williams reddened.
"I have a nose for disloyalty," he declared, "and
I hold it as certain that such men as this cannot
escape the displeasure of Lord Bellomont, especially
since the late decree."
"His Excellency scarcely intends, I should pre-
sume," said Ferrers, controlling himself with an
effort, "to deal with individual cases. The late de-
cree was rather, I would opine, a large public measiare
to prevent the spread of the Romish religion."
Prosser Williams' eyes narrowed.
"It can be made to fit whomsoever it will," he
replied significantly, "and this man who was dan-
gerous yonder may easily become dangerous here."
"He seems peaceable enough now," remarked the
other, with apparent carelessness, "but such matters
are scarcely i' my department. I am a soldier, and
no policeman. '
"All members of His Excellency's Household
must be such, if need demand," said Williams
THE PAST IS INVOKED
169
sententiously, with a venomous look at his com-
panion.
"I hope my duty will be something better fitted
nj-^v gentleman, ^' said Ferrers with a laugh, which
Williams well understood and which goaded him to
madness.
He answered with a cold and deadly malignity:
Decree or no decree, this de Lacey is dangerous.
He must be watched; if need be, he must be ar-
rested. Such an enemy of the King's Majeity should
not be at large. Nor," he concluded, smiling un-
pleasantly, "can he be shielded by petticoats, how-
ever interesting."
Captain Ferrers was grave enough now and the
rebuke which he administered to the other was
K»thmg. After Ferrers had abruptly left him,
Williams sat stiU and reflected, while his eyes wan-
dered absently out over the Bay, silent and dark
save for the stars which, strewn in the firmament
were reflected on its surface.
"There is a heavy score between us, Egbert
Ferrers, Williams muttered. "And, if I mistake
not, you will yourself supply the means to pay it."
It was this conversation that brought Captain
Ferrers to the cottage, which he, however, did not
enter because of Polly Van Cortlandf s presence.
I,
','■1
.i-h''
fl'
i\'\
ill' \i
>> it
It?
CHAPTER V
THE WARNING
WHEN 'Captain Ferrers paid his deferred visit,
he was at once ushered into Mr. de Lacey's
study, where the latter sat absorbed in his books.
It was early afternoon and the sunbeams, slanting
through the vine-covered trellis without the window,
played in patches on the floor. Evelyn had gone
out with Madam Van Cortlandt and Polly to pay
some visits and take coffee at the house of some
of their friends. The elderly ladies brought their
knitting on these occasions, putting their heads to-
gether over the latest gossip of Manhattan, while
the younger chatted gaily, their chief topic at pres-
ent being Polly's betrothal and approaching mar-
riage. Evelyn's father had been strongly of opinion
that it was more essential than ever for the girl
to keep out amongst the people and enter into such
festivities as the summer season afforded, and thus
ward off any suspicion that might attach to them
under the Governor's edict.
To Ferrers it was a relief to find Mr. de Lacey
alone. AA^at he had to say, he considered, had best
be said in the absence of Evelyn. Gerald de Lacey
received his visitor with his usual easy courtesy.
For some moments the two men talked of subjects
of public interest, concerning either the old country
THE WARNING
171
or the new, but, at a slight pause in the conversation,
the young man came to the point with a directness
that pleased Gerald de Lacey.
"I trust," he began earnestly, "that you will
hold me to be neither meddlesome nor intrusive when
I say that I have come hither expressly to put you
on your guard."
Though Mr. de Lacey could not help being star-
tled, his demeanor was perfectly composed as he
replied :
"And for that consideration I thank you."
"Remember," said the visitor, "I am not making
any inquiry as to what bearing recent legislation,
once it comes into force, may have upon your re-
ligious belief. Only I would beg of you to exercise
the greatest caution."
He stopped and looked into the calm and still
smiling face before resuming:
"Now that the fee'^ng against persons of the
Catholic faith, engeni , .d largely by political strife,
has become acute, and because of a recent occur-
rence, I am convinced that something more than
discretion will be necessary. Charges will be made
against you, and in the present temper of men's
minds — of those in high places, as witnessed by the
law just passed — those charges will be pressed home."
Vnd the nature of these charges?" Mr. de Lacey
i .ired.
Possibly you may remember," said Captain
Ferrers, "an occasion a dozen years ago in England,
when His present Majesty was being acclaimed.
There was a man, lately an c3Bcer in a Hussar regi-
ment, who created a disturbance by leaping from a
car and waving his hat, bre^ng into open declara-
tions for King James and for the Catholic religion."
I' f
172 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
There was silence. Mr. de Lacey's face, flushing
warmly at first, paled again. Captain Ferrers, who
seemed to be studying the pattern of that carpet
which had been brought overseas by the late Cap-
tain Kidd's "Antigua" in the days when that sea-
rover was a peaceful trader, continued :
"That man, though it may be opined that he
was lacking in worldly prudence, commanded aJl
my admiration. I can feel even yet a thrill at the
gsJlant act. Unhappily, though, I was not the only
spectator. Others in that multitude may have
shared my sentiments, but probably the majority
held divergent views. It chances that one of those
latter, who was foremost in raising the hue and cry,
is now in Manhattan. He professes to have recog-
nized the malcontent, and such recognition he wUl
have no scruple in using as a weapon against him.
Under present corditions that weapon might prove
fatal."
"And you, sir," said Mr. de Lacey, in a voice
full of emotion, "a.e willing to render service to
that imprudent man, simply because you applauded,
despite yoiu- better judgment, an insensate act?"
There was a slight embarrassment in Captain
Ferrers' tone and manner as he answered frankly:
"My admiration for an act of loyalty would in-
deed have been a sufficient motive, but it is not my
only one."
He saw that his hearer was listening with head
slightly bent forward, and proceeded :
"It is due to you to mention that I have a more
than common interest in Mistress Evelyn de Lacey.
She attracted me from the very first moment of
cur meeting, and, perhaps rashly, I have permitted
myself to hope — "
THE WARNING
m
But Mr. de Lacey siiook his head in dissent.
"Do you not perceive, Captain Ferrers," he in-
terposed, "how detrimental under existing circum-
stances, and in your present position, such an al-
liance would be?"
"If Mistress Evelyn will but deign to consider
my suit — " the young man was beginning impetu-
ously.
But the other again interrupted him.
"If I know Evelyn, she will never consent to bring
misfortune upon anyone, even though he be brave
and chivalrous enough to desire her favor. You
would ruin yourself for what may after all prove to
be but a passing fancy."
"Your daughter," replied Ferrers, with an emotion
not to be misunderstood, "is not one to excite a pass-
ing fancy."
Gerald de Lacey could not but acquiesce in this
opinion, and he said:
"If that be so, so much the worse for you."
Then struck by a sudden thought, he added
quickly :
"I trust in God that it has not gone farther
than yourself, that Eveljm — "
His voice broke, and, though Captain Ferrers felt
an exultant thrill of joy at the mere suggestion, he
answered gravely:
"I have spoken no word."
An irresistible, half -whimsical smile hovered about
Mr. de Lacey's lips as he inquired ;
"Are words the only means by which men and
maids communicate their minds?"
But he immediately continued more gravely:
"Besides the reason I have mentioned, there are
others and, in my opinion, still graver ones which
r
i
1. 1
h
174 GER/LD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
must be taken into account, but which wc may waive
for the present. Such would be the question of re-
ligion. As this attachment must therefore end in
uiihappiness for both, I must trust to your honor.
Captain Ferrers, that this matter go no farther."
The Captain looked him steadily in the face an
instant before he answered firmly:
"I am afraid, Mr. de Lacey, that I can give you
no such pledge."
There was a silence between the two men as they
sat regarding each other. Without the wind kept
up a gentle soughing in the tree-tops. Through the
window, diffusing itself through the apartment, en-
tered from time to time a subtle indefinite mingling
of garden scents from flower-beds where the sun lay
warm.
"You are frank at least," said Mr. de Lacey after
a moment, "and I am helpless."
"You misunderstand me utterly," the other has-
tened to explain, "if you believe that I could take
advantage of your situation. My meaning is, that
I must be governed by circumstances as to any dec-
laration I may make to Mistre^ - de Lacey. For
these two years past we have ueen meeting fre-
quently, and she has given me no sign that she holds
me in higher esteem than any other of her acquaint-
ances. But matters may come to a crisis at any
moment, and then I shall tell her of this attachment,
which, daily growing stronger, has created an almost
intolerable situation for myselif."
Gerald de Lacey's face, frowni. g at first, gradu-
ally relaxed into a look of interest and of sympathy.
His keen perception told him that, under ordinary
circumstances, here was a man who might indeed
prove worthy of Evelyn.
THE WARN'NG
I7S
"Though I cannot relinquish hope," went on
Ferrers, "I am sensible that for the present there
is but one consideration of importance, and that is
your safety and the safety of your daughter. Re-
member it is of that I have come hither to speak."
Mr. de Lacey's usually smooth brow was wrinkled
into a frown of perplexity, as he sat looking, not at
the speaker, but out into that garden which had
been hitherto the symbol of peace.
"Not only," said Captain Ferrers, "must I re-
iterate my warning to be upon your guard; but I
would beg you to make those preparations that may
be necessary, should flight become urgent."
"Flight!" echoed Mr. de Lacey.
"It msy become imperative at any minute,"
declared Ferrers earnestly, "and, when that moment
comes, I shall let you know without delaj'."
In the pause that followed Ferrers perceived from
the movement of his Ups that he was prasring. When
he spoke aloud, it was with a forced composure
which somehow reminded the observer of Evelyn.
"It is of my daughter I am thinking," he ex-
plained, "for a soldier's life has inured me to change.
I will take your advice, however, and make what
arrangements may be necessary."
"Matters may go on as they are for some time,"
said Ferrers, "for there is no special suspicion of
you or your acts, save in the mind of one man."
"One man?" queried Mr. de Lacey, curiously.
Ferrers hesitated an instant before answering
firmly:
"Captain Prosser Williams. I mention his name
that the warning may be the more efficacious. But
there is Nanfan, and there are others who would be
dangerous enemies, if once they are informed of all."
mi
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i
176 GERALD DF LACEY'S DAUGHTER
At the mention of the name, Prosser Williams, Mr.
de Lacey nodded, and a light came into his eyes.
He remembered him well as the very man — a
fanatic adherent of William of Orange — who, on that
memorable day in England, had raised the hue and
cry of the mob against him. And it was the recog-
nition cf his pallid face, red hair and light-blue eyes,
some two years before upon the Bowling Green,
that had occasioned several subsequent days of un-
easiness. As time passed on, however, Mr. de Lacey
had hoped either that Prosser Williams, who was
by no means familiar with his appearance, had failed
to recognize him or that he had decided to let by-
gones be bygones.
"I shall be upon my guard," he assured the other
quietly, "for well I know what an inveterate foe
Captain Williams can prove. I have been living so
obscurely that I had trusted public attention would
have passed us by."
Captain Ferrers could not precisely agree with
this opinion. How, he thought, could Evelyn pos-
sibly fail to attract attention ? And even her father
was not one to remain unnoticed. He refrained,
however, from putting his thoughts into words,
while Mr. de Lacey proceeded meditatively :
"If Captain Prosser Williams has discovered my
identity and desires to use that knowledge to my
detriment, no prudence of mine can avail."
"That is true," the other assented, "if it be his
intention to lay information against you. At present
I do not know. But it is of a certainty better to
prepare for flight."
"And my daughter?" asked Mr. de Lacey, with
a sharp glance at his adviser.
"She too would be safer far from Manhattan,"
THE WARNING
177
replied Cep'.in Ferrers decidedly. "And my advice
in that direc. on is most surely disinterested."
^^ "There are difficulties," objected Mr. de Lacey.
"I should infinitely prefer to investigate the ground
alone. Persecution is rife in many of the neigh-
boiing provinces as well as in our own."
"In the meantime," suggested Ferrers, Rr,d it
must be owned with some eagerness, "Mistress
Evelyn might in all safety, I opine, remain until you
should l\ave secured a foothold elsewhere. And,
occasion necessitating your departure from Man-
hattan, might ii, not be announced that business had
called you suddenly from home? Mistress Evelyn
might then, as would seem most fitting, remain with
her friend. Madam Van Cortlandt, even after Mis-
tress Polly's wedding."
"Yes, that would perhaps be best," agreed Mr.
de Lacey, with reluctance, "though I must first
wait upon Madam Van Cortlandt and inform her
frankly of all tne circumstances. Should danger
threaten Evel3m, the Van Cortlandts are very pow-
erful."
"And," interposed Captain Ferrers, "there will
also be in her favor the interest of Lady Bellomont,
who is extraordinarily well-disposed towards her.
She will do whatever is possible to protect her."
Even as he spoke, he knew her power to be limited
— nay, that her very predilection for the girl had
prepos issed Lord Bellomont against her. However,
it was finally agreed betweer the two that, at a
given signal from the Captain., Mr. de Lacey would
leave the town and later make such arrangements
as he could for Evelyn to follow him.
"This religious madness," said Ferrers, risiiig to
take his departure, "as every sane man hopes, must
:H
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178 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
soon subside, and you will then be free to return
once more to this Colony."
"May God so will it I answered Gerald de Lacey.
"In the meantime I shall await your signal."
"I will not conceal from you," said Ferrers, as he
returned the other's cordial farewell handshake,
"that it mav come at any moment."
CHAPTER VI
A STAUNCH FRIEND
i^D come it did, a hurried message, when the
*» purple shadows of night vere creeping over
Manhattan, and the stars, like tiny points of silver,
pierced the darkenin ■ sky. It was a word merely,
but Gerald de Lace tnew its import.
Before that sign. ^ had reached him, which he
knew was very certain to come, Mr. de Lacey had
made all necessary arrangements, even to the pack-
ing of his clothes. Also, he had v ted upon Madam
Van Cortlandt to inform her oi le danget which
threatened and the possible inconvenience to herseU
that might result from giving shelter to Evelyn. He
felt that he could not allow his daughter to accept
that hospitality, while her prospective hostess was in
ignorance of the charges that might be formulated
against her, either directly as being herself a Catholic
and having striven to spread the Catholic faith
amongst the savages, or indirectly as her father's
daughter.
Madam Van Cortlandt was seated upon the stoepe
before the door, knitting in hand. She had concluded
for that morning her inspection of the household
and those other matutinal affairs which she never
delegated to anyone. She would not suffer the re'"ns
of domestic government to pass even into the hands
Is ( ;'
180 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
of the clever and capable Polly. She was thus always
a busy woman in spite of the numerous slaves, of
whom some had been brought over from Africa
in the ship, "The Good Prophet," and sold in the
slave-market at the foot of Wall Street, while others
were native of the soil, and had been so long in the
service of the Van Cortlandts that they considered
themselves part of the family.
The old lady was somewhat surprised to see Mr.
de Lacey coming towards her. She had known him
for a number of years, but never with anything ap-
proaching intimacy, his visits to her house having
been few and far between. As he advanced, raising
his hat in salute and bowing low, slie was struck by
something new in his aspect. The fine face framed
in the curled and silver-streaked locks, worn after
the fashion of the times on the shoulders, and the
till figure set off by the cinnamon-colored surtout
and buff waistcoat which opened slightly to show the
white ruffled shirt of fine Holland linen, were im-
pressive in the extreme. The countenance wore a
new expression, in which were blended anxiety, re-
solve and sadness. Madam Van Cortlandt noted
the change in this man, whose whole appearance
and personality she had always admired. She liked
all that she knew of him, holding him in a regard
quite apart from the consideration he commanded
as the father of her favorite Evelyn.
The two chatted at first of matters in general,
while the absent gaze of the visitor noted mechani-
cally the details of the entrance door which now stood
open. He observed its division into two parts, the
upper part of which was perforated by glass buU's-
eyes, the spoon-shaped latch of solid brass and the
massive handle, as though those details had some
A STAUNCH FRIEND
i8i
occult connection with the subject which engrossed
his mind. He made complimentary references to
the happy event which was soon to transform the
sprightly Polly into a dignified matron. The old
lady on her part became reminiscent on the subject
of her own betrothal and marriage, when customs
were simpler and the principal door of the house
was thrown open only when a bride went forth or
when death visited the dwelling.* She talked in in-
teresting fashion of the Dutch dominies, who, re-
ligion apart, were a social power in the colony.
"You have heard, I make no doubt, Mr. de
Lacey," she said, "that old saying current amongst
us Dutch: 'As the dominie sneezes, so sneeze we.'"
And she expatiated upon the tolerance which,
as a class, those Hollanders had shown to all
men. This subject of tolerance led naturally to
that upon which Mr. de Lacey was most anxious to
speak. In as few words as possible he told of the
danger which threatened him, not so much through
the provisions of the new decree against Catholics,
as by reason of the intolerance of which it was the
manifestation, and in view of his antecedents which
were known to a member of the Governor's House-
hold who seemed likely to prove inimical. He in-
formed her of the warning which had been given
him by Captain Ferrers, and of the opinion of the
latter, in which he fvilly concurred, that he should
leave the Colony of New York for a term at least.
Madam Van Cortlandt hstened, her wise, Idndly
eyes upon the speaker's face. She nodded at inter-
vals, so that the lace of her cap flapped about her
ears, her knitting-needles meanwhile lying idle in
her lap. When he had finished, the old lady ex-
> Tbe custom wis Imovm »s th« " threshold covenant,"
til H:|
k .if
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182 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
pressed her full agreement with the advice given by
Captain Ferrers, and suggested of her own accord
that Evelyn should remain behind as her guest until
the fugitive had found a refuge, or indeed indefinitely.
For, as she said, her affection for Evelyn was nearly
as great as for her own granddaughter, and, in the
loneliness following upon Polly's departure, the com-
pany of the girl would be a real boon to her. Though
Gerald de Lacey represented to her all the possible
risks and inconveniences to which the harboring of
Evel3m might expose her, the old lady stoutly de-
clared that such considerations would not weigh
with her for an instant.
"We Van Cortlandts," she exclaimed, with some
pride, "should have influence enough to protect
her even against this Governor whom they have
sent out here to interfere with people's freedom.
And a grievous matter it is," she added, with honest
indignation, "that such things should be in these
colonies, where before the days of Leisler intolerance
was unknown."
She threw out a suggestion or two on her own
account. One was that Evelsm should be left to
the last moment in ignorance of her father's proposed
departure. She could thus all the more easily and
naturally take her part in the final preparations for
the wedding and enact her rdle of bridesmaid. An-
other suggestion was that Mr. de Lacey's departure
should take place upon the very day of the wedding,
which was now close at hand. He could even ap-
pear for a few moments amongst the guests, and then
slip away whilst the attention of the town was fixed
upon that event of social importance.
When Mr. de Lacey rose to take his leave, all the
details of the plan had been pieced out between the
fi.
A STAUNCH FRIEND
183
two, and, with a warm hand-clasp, Madam Van
Cortlandt assured him that he and his daughter
were certain of having in her a staunch friend. She
stood looking after him as he went, deeply medi-
tatmg. For she was much more alive to the com-
plexities of the situation than she had chosen to let
appear. If once the "dogs of war" were let loose
agamst the de Laceys by an actively hostile influ-
ence, emanating from the Governor's Household
It would be difficult indeed to protect them, and an
attempt to do so might be the cause of vexatious
proceedmgs for those who had essayed the rdle of
protectors. For, as Madam Van Cortlandt reflected,
Mr. de Lacey's poUtical past— above all, his staunch
adherence to the Catholic faith and his intimacy
with members of the clergy— would make of him a
very proper subject for a terrorizing example to his
fellow-Romanists, adherents of the "Popish super-
stition " and enemies to the King's Majesty. Evelyn
too had, without doubt, rendered herself amenable
to those persecuting laws by her labors amongst the
savages and her efforts to keep alive in them the
spark which the missionaries had kindled. Though
the Van Cortlandts were powerful, the old lady
mused, they might not be sufficiently so to protect
ttiose notable enemies of the Protestant supremacy.
This had been shown in the evil days of Jacob Leisler,
when members of the family had suffered severely.
And it was the Leislerian faction that was now iii
favor with Lord Bellomont and his fanatical sup-
porters.
Thus pondered the old lady, her knitting forgotten
as she watched with absent eyes the white butter-
flies flitting about and heard the drowsy drone of the
insects, announcing a continuance of the heat. She
fir
i 5 i !.
1%
tf
■■'.4,
184 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
decided amongst other things that Polly must be
told nothing at all of the matter. For loyal-hearted
and devoted to Evelyn as she knew her to be, it
was not so easy to be sure of her prospective husband.
Madsm Van Cortlandt had uneasy misgivings on
the score of that gentleman; in fact, she alone of all
the relatives had been dissatisfied with Polly's
choice. For, whatever might be his advantages of
wealth and position, the keen old eyes read the man
as a narrow-minded bigot, a very fanatic in his
hatred of Popery. And a certain jealousy of Polly's
partiality for Evelyn had been plain from the first,
and had been displayed in the antagonistic attitude
he assumed towards the girl. Therefore, in Madam's
mind it was settled that Polly should be kept out
of the secret, at least until that time when Evelyn
should have rejoined her father. Mr. de Lacey's
absence, when discovered, would be explained by
the assigned reason of pressing business, which would
leave it to be supposed that it was in the Barbadoes
that he nad interests.
The huge clock in the hall sounded the hour of
noon and dinner for all the burg of Manhattan,
immediately afterwards, the silver gong summoned
Madam to her place at the table. Behind her chair
stood old Peter, with a fan in his hand to drive away
the flies. Polly and Evelyn entered the room a
second or two later, conversing as they came of sor .e
late items of fashionable news and of the bridesmaid
gowns and the bridal finer- just as a little more than
two years before they had gossiped about the ar-
rival of the new Governor.
CHAPTER VII
THE SEPARATION
EVELYN was kept in ignorance of her father's
intention to leave the colony so that she could
the more readily permit herself to become absorbed
in Polly's marriage preparations. Active culinary
work hpd been in progress for days before, and in
this the two girls had their share under the imme-
diate direction of Madam Van Cortlandt. Cer-
tain rich confections and a variety of dainty dishes
were added to those substantial viands which the
veteran negro cook, Maria, surpassed herself in
preparing. Forgetting all troubles and suffering,
and permitting that shadow of doubt and suspense
which hung over her to be dispelled by the bright-
ness of the moment, Evelyn entered light-heartedly
into all that was going on. In the large kitchen,
with Its brightly burnished vessels, its sanded floor
and its huge fireplace, or in the adjoining quiet room,
the two girls spent their mornings, stoning raisinsj
weighing out flour, shelling nuts and measuring
spices for cakes of many descriptions— rich pound
cakes doughnuts, fruit and honey cake, and kuchen
of half a dozen varieties. Jellies, creams, custards
and rich confections of many sorts were prepared
to tickle the appetite and menace the digestion of
the sturdy burgher folk of Manhattan. The more
'mh
i,.!
N' ■».
i86 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
serious labors of the kitchen were in charge of an
augmented staff, under the leadership of Maria
and ably directed by Madam Van Cortlandt herself.
This department undertook the preparation in vari-
ous ways of tvu-keys, wild duck, geese, ham v Ah
partridges, pigeons, and game pies of a composite
character. Upstairs in Polly's room stood the kos,
or linen chest. It had been that of her grandmother,
and great-grandmother before that. It was elab-
orately carved and tipped with silver, and was
now destined to become the property of Polly, since
her grandmother had bestowed it on her as a gift.
It would be an article of furniture both substantial
and ornamental, in that new home wherein the
prospective bridegroom was to install her. This home
stood in a newer and more fashionable quarter than
that in which Polly had grown up, being situated
at no very great distance from the Fort and over-
looking the Bowling Green.
The contents of the chest were a particular pride
and pleasure to Polly. The linen which it contained
had been bleached under the sun of Manhattan
and woven by the girl's own hands from the finest
fJax, grown in a piece of ground adjoining the garden.
It Lad then been tranrformed into household and
personal linen, with daintily embroidered initials.
To the marriage chest some piece of linen had been
added almost daily for years, as was the custom in
all well-appointed Dutch households, and each was
a perfect specimen of finest hand-sewing. There had
been, moreover, the dear delight of choosing gowns,
some of which were hand-woven and dyed with the
juice of various plants, for it was the pride of every
Dutch maic'en or prospective matron to excel in
every branch of feminine industry. Other costumes
THE SEPARATION
187
were of brocade or taffeta or lutestring, which had
been brought from overseas.
These preparations being finally concluded, noth-
ing remained but the decoration of the house itself
mto which task both girls entered eagerly, with
Jumbo, the foot-boy, as their chief assistant. With
his white teeth showing in a broad grin and his
eyes rolling in enjoyment, he brought from the gar-
den armfuls of flowers— snowballs, geraniums, pinks
nasturtiums and late roses,— supplemented by those
which Evelyn had sent thither from the more luxuri-
ant profusion of her own flower-beds. Those with
ma^es of greenery, transformed the blue and gold
of the drawmg-room and the green and gold of the
oak-panelled dining-room into veritable bowers, the
fragrance of which was supplemented by the gardens
without.
As the new Dutch church was undergoing repairs
the Doininie consented to unite the two prominent
members of his flock in the house. At the appointed
time, which was late in the afternoon, the worthy
mimster repaired thither. He advanced into the
drawmg-room to salute Madam Van Cortlandt in
his small-clothes and tunic of black, the latter with
cuffed sleeves and deep ruffles of lace. In one hand
he earned his cocked hat, and in the other his silver-
headed cane. Under his arm was the book, which
a negro slave had carried thither, and from which
he was to read the marriage service.
Upstairs the bride had donned her bridal finery
with the assistance of her negro maid and under the
supervision of Evelyn de Lacey and the other brides-
maids, who were all relatives of the bride or bride-
groom. Polly drew her dearest friend aside a moment
into the deep embrasure of a window overlooking the
IKI
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tilp^
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1 88 GERALD db LACEY'S DAUGHTER
garden where their confidences had been so often
exchanged, and they conversed together with some-
thing of awe and solemnity in their tones. Evelyn,
who had the more vivid imagination, felt more deeply
the significance of that day's happenings, and had
the greater reason for her misgivings, inasmuch as
she saw in the prospective bridegroom a man of
domineering character and narrow puritanical views,
who was personally inimical to herself. Even Polly,
whose bright and cheerful nature usually basked
on the surface of things, was for the time impressed.
"Does there not seem something terrible," she
said, "in a contract that is irrevocable, and that
can scarcely be undone, save by death?"
"Which can never be undone save by death,"
corrected Evelyn. "But in that lies, after all, I
opine, its best chance of happiness."
Their conference, however, was of but short dura-
tion, for the summons came from below that the
Dominie was waiting, and they heard through the
open window the chimes from the steeple of the
Dutch Church, pealing out for the bridal.
Followed by the other bridesmaids, Evelyn de-
scended the stairs with Polly to the rooms below,
where were already assembled all that Manhattan
could boast of wealth and influence. For the mo-
ment political differences were forgotten. Nicholas
Bayard, head of the Dutch-English party, jostled
shoulders with Abraham de Peyster, Samuel Staats,
Peter Delanoy, Abraham Gouvemeur and the other
leaders of the Leislerian faction ; while the Schuylers,
the Van Cortlandts, Van Rensselaers, Minvielles,
de Riemers, and Delanceys, all prominent in the
aristocratic or anti-Leislerian faction, mingled freely
with the Edsalls, Lodovicks, Derbyles and others,
i^H?
THE SEPARATION
189
who had been more or less actj^rely interested in
the other side of the great troubles. A prominent
figure was John Nanfan, brother of Lady Bellomont
and then acting as Lieutenant-Governor, who had
espoused the I^slerian cause and otherwise identified
himself with the fanatical Protestant element. He
had walked thither from Whitehall with Captain
Prosser Williams, with whom he was on terms of
great intimacy. Having paid their respects to
Madam Vin Cortlandt, who was receiving her guests
in a gown of colored satin, resplendent with family
jewels, the two stood apart to observe the scene.
Standing with his back against the wall to catch
the first glimpse of the party descending the stairs,
was Captain Ferrers, in a handsome suit of velvet
with brocaded waistcoat. His lean, bronzed coun-
tenance wore an expression of eager interest and
animation. It was patent to the merest observer
that he was more than commonly interested. In
the background were all the negro slaves of the house-
hold and other establishments of the Van Cortlandt
family, whose privilege it was to be present in their
holiday costumes, the men wearing the family
livery. It was also the function of old Peter, the
majordomo, and of Maria, the cook, as the oldest
and most respected of their number, to attend the
bridesmaids when they passed silver plates to take
up a collection for the poor.
Having donned his long white gown, the Dominie
stood waiting in the centre of the drawing-room,
while the hush of expectancy was broken by the
strains of the negro orchestra, stationed in the hall
outside. It struck up a bridal hymn, which had
been in preparation for weeks. To this music the
bride and her attendants came down the stairs, at
n
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fi h"
190 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
the foot of which waited a tall, dark young man,
with a narrow face, thin lips and eyes close together.
Polly was looking her b<»t, with a radiant aspect
of brightness and youth, the peach bloom of her
cheeks and the sparkle of her dark eyes set off by
the whiteness of her dress and her bride's crown of
metal studded with precious stones — an heirloom from
at least three generations. To the majority of those
present it seemed of course that she was the chief
centre of attraction. Yet there were some to whom
the bride and the other bridesmaids were as puppets,
and Evelyn the pivot upon which turned their
thoughts, and towards which their glances were
directed. Her gown was of white lutestring, and her
bonnet also of white, with trimmings of soft ribbons
and flowers. As she came slowly down into the
flower-embowered room, she resembled nothing so
much as a rare and delicate flower, which only a con-
noisseur cotild properly appreciate. The grace of her
movements, so simple and so natural, the expression
of her face, the look in her eyes of grey, shadowed
and darkened by some stress of feeling, lent her an
indescribable loveliness. In the midst of all the jubi-
lation of the marriage feast, there was for her a
note of tmderlying tragedy in the menace that hung
over all those of the Catholic faith, and especially
over her father and herself. For perils, she knew,
were closing thick and fast around them, though
the latest developments had been mercifully hidden
from her.
This added charm in Eveljm's appearance was
keenly felt by at least three men in the room. The
intensity of their interest and its kind varied, of
course, with the nature of each individual. These
three were Pieter Schuyler, the girl's old friend and
THE SEPARATION
191
long-devoted admirer, and the two officers of His
Excellency's Household, Captain Ferrers and Cap-
tain Prosser Williams. The former of the officers
could scarcely explain his feelings. He seemed in-
spired at the moment t some new and lofty enthusi-
asm for what was right and good, and to a desire to
win Evelyn by some intrinsic merit of his own, which
would make him worthy of her. He who faiew all
that was impending over her, and the trial that
awaited her when she learned of her father's proxi-
mate flight, could best interpret the shadow of
tragedy in those beautiful, haunting eyes. He
pledged himself anew to her service and to her de-
fence, surrendering his whole heart into her keeping.
He waited, with an eagerness which caused him to
forget the bride and all the other figures in that page-
ant, for the moment when Evelyn's eyes should meet^
his, and her smile, infinitely sweet for her friends,
should reward him for his patience.
The gaze of Prosser Williams was likewise fixed
upon the first bridesmaid's face with an expression
in which such love as he was capable of feeling was
blended with a kind of hatred. For had she not
persistently repelled hisad/ances? At that instant,
he felt indeed, if he analyzed his own feelings, as
one who had been shot through the heart by that
intensified and fatal beauty. He leaned against
the wall cold and pale, with but one thought in his
mind— how he could overcome the girl's distaste
for himself which she so plainly manifested, or,
failing that, in some fashion or another secure her
for his own. As Evelyn turned to take her place
beside her friend and facing the minister. Captain
Williams' glance, momentarily diverted, encountered
that of Captain Ferrers, and he knew then for a cer-
ilill:
1
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if'"'
19a GERALD DB LACEY'S DAUGHTER
tainty what he had long suspected, that here wu a
rival and one by no means to be despised. There
was a gleam of deadly hatred in his eyes, which the
other, regarding him stiiadily, caught and interpreted.
Captain Williams was recalled to a sense of what was
passing about him by the voice of John Nanfan
soundUng in his ears.
"That is a striking wench yonder, the tallest of
the bridesmaids." ...
"Yes," answered Williams, with a coldness of
which he was unconscious. "In truth, she is striking,
that bird with fine plumage."
"Too soon to have outlived your enthu^asm.
Captain," said the Lieutenant-Governor, with a
laugh. "But who may be this fair prodigy, whom I
do not remember to have seen before?"
To Captain Williams it seemed incredible that,
during his two years in the colony, Mr. Nanfan
should still be inquiring as to the identity of Mistress
de Lacey. But he remembered that the Lieutenant-
Governor had been for a certain portion of that time
in Albany, and, having himself a wife and family,
would naturally be less interested in the beauties
of Manhattan. He answered very briefly:
"Her name is de Lacey."
"Ah!" said Nanfan, to whom at the mc ment this
name conveyed nothing. Nor did Captain Williams
enlighten him any further. He had information
which would have 'leepened the other's interest,
if not his admiration, but that information would
not be given until all hope of winning the young
girl by ordinary and fair means had vanished. Nor
did he in any case desire such help as Mr. Nanfan
could undoubtedly have given, until his own plans
were fully matured.
THE SEPARATION
•93
"Who are her people?" asked the Lieutenant-
Governor, after a pause. "Are they amongst the
notables of these colonies?"
"As I have been informed," answered the Captain,
with apparent carelessness, "they are not native
here, and they are poor."
"Beauty in distress," commented Mr. Nanfan,
with a sneer. "With that face she may ensnare some
young idiot, who will find her charms compensation
for her lack of fortune."
The young man was conscious of a kind of rage
against the speaker, but he forced his lips to a smile,
as he replied indifferently:
"She has, I make no doubt, snared many a one
before now."
Mr. Nanfan regarded him curiously, with eyes
that were keen and penetrating; but the cold, life-
less face to'.d him nothing, and r.i that moment the
caning words of the marriag'! ceremony gave the
signal for silence.
When the Dominie had concluded the service
which transformed Mistress Polly Van Cortlandt
into Vrow Laurens, and had in fatherly fashion
kissed the bride, the latter, smiling and radiant,
turned to receive the congratulations and good wishes
of her friends. Beside her stood Evelyn, who, as she
now glanced about the room, caught the gaze of
Captain Ferrers. She drew in her breath sharply,
for, if ever devotion were legible in the eyes of man,
she could read it there. She flushed ever so slightly,
then paled, but the smile which she gave him was
very sweet, though tinged with sadness. For with
the realization of his absolute devotion had come
upon her with full force the difficulties separating
them, which any forecast of the future must show,
iiiit;
i" i ^
ill
*.v
t
■\ i
I'
II
r- (
194 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
And yet the knowledge she had just gained lent a
brightness to her eyes and an unwonted animation
to her manner. It was as though a cup had been
held to her lips, of which she had sipped, but had
not dared to drink. But the menace which Captain
Ferrers had read in the eyes of his fellow-ofBcer con-
strained him to be prudent, lest by any act of his
he might increase those difficulties and even perils
which he very clearly saw were lying in wait for
Evelyn at every turn. It cost him a painful effort
to keep away from that one person in whom all his
interest was centred and to mingle freely with the
other guests, while something like a cloud of disap-
pointment fell over the brightness of Evelyn's mood.
At her side, with a devotion which she appreciated,
though she could not return it, hovered Pieter
Schuyler. Once she sighed as she said to herself:
"Oh, if I could bat make Pieter as happy as he
deserves to be, and settle down like Polly to be a
matron of Manhattan!"
But deep in her heart she knew that, apart from
the religious considerations and the other dilBcvd-
ties which would now tend to separate them, there
was another reason more potent than all. In this
gay scene participated the chief burghers of Man-
hattan, with their wives and sons or daughters.
Councillors of State and civic dignitaries, officers
from the garrison and naval men from the ship
in the harbor, as well as all the gilded youth of the
colony; but there was one guest who in her mind
dominated all the rest, and that was an officer from
the Household of Lord Bellomont. She, however,
followed Captain Ferrers' example and made her-
self very agreeable to all the guests, each of whom,
and notably the young officers of the garrison, came
THE SEPARATION
I9S
to have a word with her and to surround her with an
atmosphere of admiration and of adulation of which
she could not but be sensible. Mynheer de Vries,
amongst the rest, came %r.*Y his smooth and polished
voice to offer some stilted compliments to his charm-
ing neighbor, who, he said, was the pride of that
quarter in which they both resided.
"It is no small thing," he said, "to possess in
our comer of the burg one of the chief beauties of
Manhattan."
Whilst he was thus conversing. Mynheer's small,
cold eyes moved restlessly about the room and dis-
covered the girl's father. Apparently, he had just
come in, and Evelyn noted with a thnll of pride that
in all that assemblage there was none of more dis-
tinguished bearing than he. He was evidently
looking for her, as by that time she had moved away
from her conspicuous position beside the bride.
After he had paid his compliments to Polly, keeping
up with her a few moments' interchange of gay
badinage, and conversed a little with Madam Van
Cortlandt, he advanced in Evelyn's direction.
Mynheer and he exchanged greetings, after which
de Vries passed on, moving about amongst the guests
in a fashion of his own that was almost stealthy.
Left momentarily alone with his daughter, Mr. de
Lacey drew her hastily apart into the embrasure of
a window, and the anxious eyes of the girl noticed
a new excitement in his manner and at the same time
a profound sadness. He regarded her intently for
an instant without speaking, and then remarked
in an effort to speak lightly:
"The bridesmaid costiune suits my Evelyn well,
and I am striving to impress that fair picture on my
memory."
n '>':>
.l.ll
196 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
Evelyn looked at him with some surprise. Cer-
tainly his manner was unusual, and his words awak-
ened in her mind a deep foreboding.
"For I have made my appearance at these wed-
ding festivities from motives of policy, as well as
to salute the bride and to say farewell for the time
to my little daughter."
Eveljm stared at him aghast.
"Do not look so hoirified," the father cried,
"lest attention be directed towards us. Now is the
moment for courage. Nor must we be seen for long
in conversation. You will hear all from Captain
Ferrers and Madam Van Cortlandt. You are to
remain with her for the present, until I have made
such arrangements as may make it possible for you
to join me. As soon as it is prudent, I will write."
"But why, oh why, can I not go with you?" cried
Eveljm, despairingly.
"We have considered all the circumstances,"
answered her father, "and it is wiser that you should
remain here until it be possible for me to return, or
until I have got a secure refuge somewhere. In the
latter event, or should any emergency arise, I will
send at once for you."
Utterly overcome by this intelligence which had
come upon her so suddenly, the girl could scarcely
speak, while her father stiU regarded her with the
same mournful intentness.
"And now," he added, taking her hand for a
moment in his, "it is best that I go forth as quietly
as possible from this house. To avoid observation,
I diall leave Manha-tan while these festivities are
still at their height. My present destination is — "
and, bending close lest any other should hear, he
whispered to her the name of a little town in an
ll!
THE SEPARATION 197
adjacent colony where a friend had oflered him a
place of refuge.
The father and daughter looked into each other's
^^ °^* moment longer, in a mute agony of fare-
weU. To Evelyn it seemed as if all her life was
crumbhng around her. She had never been separated
from her father, save when, for a week or a fortnight
she had been the guest of the Van Cortlandts or
some other fnends.
"Farewell, then," the father said at last, "and
may God have you safe in His holy keeping, Uttle
Evelyn, httle Evelyn, till we meet again !' '
His voice broke and he turned away to mingle
with the crowd. It cost the girl a supreme effort of
will at that moment to restrain her tears and sup-
press all outward signs of that pain which, in its
sharpness and severity, rent her heart with a physical
pang. Just at that instant Captain Ferrers, who
had been watching the progress of events, came
towards Evelyn and, offering his arm, suggested a
httle stroU m the garden. Acting upon the sugges-
tion, which she joyfully acceptc . and the motive of
which she understood, she was thus enabled to clasp
her father momentarily in a farewell embrace, before
he stole away hastily through the garden gate.
Itii
m
CHAPTER VIII
CLOSER IN GRIEP
WHEN Mr. de Lacey had sped silently away
into the darkness, Evelyn felt towards Cap-
tain Ferrers a fervor of gratitude for having procured
that last consolation for her father and herself, and
at the same time for having withdrawn her from
that gay scene within doors, which just then she felt
to be intolerable. The two remained alone in the
perfumed stiUness of the night, with flowering shrubs
all about them and the tall trees waving with a
rhythmic movement above their heads.
For several minutes the young man did not in-
trude by so much as a word upon the young girl and
her sorrow. He was holding himself in strong con-
straint lest some avowal should pass his lips, which
might embarrass future relations between them.
As he stood near her with folded arms, leaning
against a tree, he rapidly reviewed the situation.
He felt that at that moment he would gladly have
resigned his position, with all that it might hold of
future preferment, if by so doing he could win this
one woman, whom he loved above all others, for his
wife. But he knew that such a course of action
would only increase the peril of her situation. He
himself would be powerless to protect her amongst
so many and such influential enemies. Even Lady
m-
CLOSER IN GRIEF J99
BeUomont could do little and my Lord's wrath would
be but strengthened tenfold by the loss of an officer
whom he had found singularly useful. Moreover,
as he told himself, he had had little reason as yet
to be certam of Evelyn's favor. It was not her na-
ture to wear her heart upon her sleeve, and, aware
as she was of all the obstacles between them, she
had gone out of her way to seem unconscious of
his preference for her society. For one wild moment
he asked himself whether he could possibly induce
her to fly with him to England, or still better, to the
Contment, where they might bury themselves in a
happy obscurity. But his common sense told him
that, even were Evelyn wiUing to desert her father
in the hour of trial, which from her character he
knew to be unthinkable, it would be next to impos-
able for them to encompass such a departure safelv
Vessels saihng for ports beyond the seas were sub-
ject to stnct mquiry, so that, even if he were certain
that his love was reciprocated, he could not ask her
to take so perilous a step.
Yet, even as breaking silence he went on with
business-hke dehberation to explain the causes of
her fathers hasty departure, and the plans which
he had laid in concert with Madam Van Cortlandt.
he felt in ths mmgled emotions of that hour a sweet-
ness which he remembeied aU his life. The girl's
charm, hw deUcacy of outline, the warmth and sym-
pathy of her expression, were heightened tenfold by
the very depths of her sorrow and anxiety, as in
the white of her bridesmaid's costume she stood be-
side hrni on ,he garden path. She had forgotten
ever>thmg for the moment but the thought of her
fether settmg out thus alone in the darkness of night.
With her eyes fixed upon the speaker's face, she
1'::^
ISJ- s
aoo GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
listened silently while Captain Ferrers briefly ex-
plained how the recognition of her lather by Captain
Williams and his clear recollection of aU that had
transpired in London, together .vith evidence that
he had since obtained of his being a Catholic, had
made it expedient that he should immediately re-
move himself from peril so imminent. Captain
Ferrers gave it as his opinion, based upon remarks
which Captain Williams had let fall, that the latter's
plans were well laid and that he might at any mo-
ment procure Mr. de Lacey's arrest and transport
overseas for trial in London. He informed Evelyn
of the conference which he had held with her father,
and he in his turn with Madam Van Cortlandt, and
how all their plans had been laid before he had sent
the final note of warning to Mr. de Lacey. The
latter was now to seek safety in the town of Salem,
in the Colony of Massachusetts, where it was hoped
that he might remain in an obscurity wh^ch meant
safety. Once his departure was discovered, if ques-
tions were adced, it could be answered that he had
left town on business. It would meanwhile seem
quite natural that Evelyn should remain with Madam
Van Cortlandt in the first lonely weeks following the
wedding. Even the bride herself, on account of her
husband's well-known sympathies, would be kept
in ignorance of the true reason for Evelyn's extended
stay at the Van Cortlandt mansion. For Madam
Van Cortlandt's keen instinct had led her, where
politics were concerned and above all wh'xe there
was question of tho Catholic faith, to distrust
Polly's husband.
After Captain Ferrers had told her all, Evelyn
was silent for a moment, standing amongst the
fragrance and beauty of the flowers and seeming
CLOSER IN GRIEF loi
to the lover's eyes more beautiful than any of them.
So human and so lender she appe^^, with the
tears starting from her eyes, streaming down her
cheeks, and falling unheeded upon her wedding finery.
The sight very nearly upset Egbert Ferrers' resolu-
tion. But in an instant Evelyn had regained her
coniposure, and the young man could not help ad-
miring her noble and dignified aspect.
"I thank God," she said at last, "that my father
IS gone. Yes, and all the heavenly friends who are
watching over us. But, oh, I would that I could have
been with him!"
Her eyes fixed upon Captain Ferrers' face in an
appeal that deeply moved him, and again he found
It hard to repress the passionate avowal that rose
to his hps. He explained to her quietly and gravely
how inadvisable such a course of action would be
at the moment, jince it would provoke immediate
inquiry and would very probably compromise the
safety of both. It was expedient that her father
should go first, especially as his religion and political
antecedents placed him in the graver danger, and as
It seemed less likely that Captain Williams would
teUie action against the daughter. So quietly had
Mr. de Lacey lived that his absence from tJie city
would scarcely be noticed at first, whereas that of
Evelyn would be known immediately. Once the
fugitive had reached a place of safety, it would
be easier for her to join him, and it might even be
supposed that both had gone to the Barbadoes on
matters of business. Meanwhile, as Madam Van
Cortlandt declared, failing any new developments,
the young girl could remain indefinitely with her.
"I have been so selfishly intent on our own con-
cerns," said Evelyn, turning to the young man be-
I(!
I!
r: ■ I
202 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
side her with a new light of gratitude in her eyes,
"that I have been sorely remiss in thanking you for
your generous help, for your exceeding great fore-
thought and consideration. What should we have
done without you?"
" Never spe^of it, I do entreat you," said Captain
Ferrers, "since it is I who am most deeply in your
debt for having been allowed to serve you."
Never had the two felt so near together as when
they were thus united by this common interest,
this grave issue almost of 'life and death. Each
felt a glow of happiness in the other's presence,
which gave to Evelyn a sense of inexpressible com-
fort in her present desolation. But sh3 would not
for worlds have expressed just t*' :!n such a sentiment.
Instead she fell to talking of her father, .^ving that
it was her dearest wish to rejoin him at the earliest
moment. ,, .„
"And you," she said to Captain Ferrers will
help me, will you not?"
"Yes, in truth," cried Captain Ferrerr,, I will
help you always and in all things. For I am con-
strained to tell you that I would give my right
hand, and even my very life, to serve you."
The moumfulness in Evelyn's eyes, as she regarded
him, pierced him to the heart. Perhaps she saw
before her the bright vista of love and happiness
that might have opened before them but for the
cruel entanglement of circumstances which held
them as in a net.
"How hard it is," cried the young man impetu-
ously, "to think that I am thus bound hand and
foot, so that a move in any direction whatsoever
might work your ruin!"
"And yours," responded Evelyn, "which is some-
CLOSER IN GRIEF
203
thing that I will never peimit. Whatever may be-
fall, I beg of you to stand aloof."
"Cruel counsel," exclaimed Ferrers, "which I
would fain hope is inspired rather by your head than
by your heart."
A lovely wave of color crept into Evelyn's cheeks
and a light into her eyes, but she merely said:
"You will but involve yourself in needless ruin,
and be then powerless to help us — the outlaws."
"If it were but a question of myself," cried Fer-
rers hotly, "Heaven knows that it would matter
little. I would give up all, and do all, to be but
assured of your regard and to have a chance, how-
ever remote, of winning you for my wife."
Into Evelyn's face, more beautiful than ever
with the touch of warm and living color, came an
expression which betrayed the loving depths below.
When she spoke, however, it was firmly and com-
posedly:
"You must not speak, nor must I hear, words
which will bind you to anything. From this mo-
ment forward, you are a friend whom I shall value
above all others. But with my faith proscribed,
with perils everywhere, I must have no ties save my
father."
"Be it so then for the moment," agreed Ferrers.
"I shall not intrude fiuther upon you with the
avowal of my sentiments, which, believe me, I had
not meant under these circumstances to make. At
least, I may offer you my friendship with a stead-
fast will to serve you."
"I have never doubted either," replied Evelsm
sincerely, "only they must not be used to your
detriment. For so unhappy are all the circum-
stances — "
ao4 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
"Unhappy, in truth," interposed Ferrers, with a
sudden burst of vexation. "Why must it chance
that you are of the proscribed faith, of — "
But there Evelyn stopped him peremptorily, with
a proud uplift of her chin and an enthusiasm which
the young man found inexpressibly charming.
"You must not think," she said decidedly, "that
I am not most glad to suffer something for religion's
sake. It would be an honor unspeakable to die for
the Catholic and Apostolic faith."
Though her companion nattu-ally could not feel
as she did, nor experience any emotion at the thought
of that faith, he nevertheless respected it as that of
his dead mother, and was more favorably impressed
than ever by the coiirage and loyalty of the girl,
which appealed to all ^t was finest in his own
nature. Yet he only cried out, with a kind of terror :
"But you will be prudent. You will not speak in
such terms to anyone else. And this I beg of you,
if not for my sake, for that of your father."
"For his sake — for your saJte, if you will," said
Evelyn, with a smile, "for all our sakes I will be
careful and chary of my words. As a first step
in prudence, will it not be wiser that we should leave
the garden and return into the house lest our ab-
sence may lead to remark?"
"'Tis most unpalatable advice," said the young
man ruefully, "but, as it is a dose of my own medi-
cine, I must swallow it."
In silence they moved on together, in his mind
no other thought than that of their meeting that
evening and the new bonds that had been forged
between them. As they neared the house the negro
minstrels were playing a lively strain and the bride,
preparing to depart upstairs to doff her white gown
CLOSER IN GRIEF
30$
for another, was looking for her dearest friend and
chief bridesmaid. Ferrers knew that presently,
after the bride had gone, all would be footing it
lightly in "La belle Katherine" or "Money Musk,"
as though there were no care or sorrow in the world,
no aching hearts, no persecution, tyranny and death.
II I
V i
CHAPTER IX
AN UNWELCOME MBETINO
WHILE the wedding festivities were still at
their height, the tall figure of a man might
be seen descen&ig with rapid steps the path which
led to the Water-Gate. As he passed the tavern of
Der Halle and glanced through the open window,
he saw that the brightly lighted ro'itn was almost
devoid of company. Many of those who gathered
there of an evening for a pipe and a social glass,
were above at the mansion where the gentility of the
town were celebrating the union of two of its most
prominent families. Only a few scattered groups of
two or three, mostly of the seafaring class, were
assembled. Gerald . : Lacey paused and, out of
the dreariness of his approaching exile, regarded
wistfully that homely, familiar place, whence light
and comfort seemed to irradiate. Even the broad
and genial countenance of mine host, as he sat
behind the bar, was suggestive of good cheer. So
suddenly that he had not time to take any pre-
cautions, the door opened and Mr. de Lacey found
himself confronted by Captain Greatbatch, that
notorious smuggler to whose name so many people,
were ready to a&3i a harsher epithet. The fugitive
would have passed on quickly, but the other hiailed
him:
AN UNWELCOME MEETING 207
"May I beg to know your errand, comrade, that
you go ID fast?"
The man so addressed slackened his pace and
waited, for nothing could have been worse for his
d«dre of secrecy than that he should excite sus-
picion, even in the mind of this sea-rover. Great-
batch, having caught up with him, laid a detaining
hand on his shoulder, from which Mr. de Lacey
impatiently freed himself, while the other peered
at him a moment in the deep gloom.
"Ho! is it you. Master de Lacey?" he cried.
The fugitive, who had hoped that he might escape
recognition, made no further attempt at conceal-
ment, but answered carelessly:
"Aye, Captain Greatbatch, it is I."
"I should ha' thought," said Greatbatch, with a
ctmning glance out of the comer of his eye, "that
you would ha' been ur at the great house with all
the gentles for the marrying."
"And so I have been," replied Mr. de Lacey,
"though such merry-makings are but Uttle to my
taste. I am a man of books."
"Which makes you so pale and pasty," said
Greatbatch, aware of the contrast between his own
rubicund, even purplish countenance and that of
his companion.
"Moreover," added Mr. de Lacey, composedly,
though inwardly fuming at the necessity for such
an explanation, as well as at the insolent familiarity
of the other, "I am leaving Manhattan for a brief
period, and, as the weather is fair and th wnd
favorable, I sail to-night."
"For Barbadoes, mayhap," queried Greatbatch, in-
quisitively, "with Rogers Master on 'The Mermaid.'
He sails for Madeira, St. Thomas and Barbadoes,"
*w!
2o8 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
There was more than a note of suspicion in the
fellow's voice, and in the look that, turning round,
he fixed upon the fugitive. Mr. de Lacey, making
no direct answer, said :
"In the last place I have acquired interests that
demand some looking after. And it is a fair wind
for sailing and good weather."
"Better'n we are like to have in these colonies,
by " exclaimed Greatbatch, swearing a great
oath, "as you may know. Master, if you be, as I
might say, o' the trade."
He gave his listener a poke in the ribs to emphasize
his words. Mr. de Lacey, puzzled for a moment, was
presently relieved, for he saw how far off the scent
was the seaman, to whom matters maritime were of
paramount interest. His laugh, therefore, seemed to
Greatbatch a confirmation of his suspicions.
"And mighty close you have been about it. Mas-
ter," he added with something of admiration, "but
none so quiet as will not be found out in the long
run. And wise you are to run away, if trouble is
brewing, though my plan is to brave it out. My
Lord Bellomont" — and he added under his breath,
"curse him!— is hard on the traders, harder than
ever since he got bit by Cap'n Kidd, whom he had
set to lord it over all of us and do the pirating for
the Governor and for the King's Majesty, as I make
no doubt, and as folks say. Only that Kidd gave
them the slip and cried 'By your leave, gentles, I'll
do the piratin' for myself.' Oh Lud! when I thinks
on it." He stopped to give a roar of laughter and to
slap his knee with his great red hand: "To think
how he was cotched!"
Looking around to be sure that th"-; were alone,
and lowering his voice, he continued:
,.--i-
AN UNWELCOME MEETING 209
"Th ugh thnre i-3 some that say the Governor
was dt p in it as ; nother man, and, if all had gone
well with Xio.rt and he had played fair with his
mates, he would ha' had his profit out o' the 'Quidder
Merchant,' and a deal besides. What think vou.
Master?" ^
'"Tis a wise man that puts not his thoughts into
words these days," answered Mr. de Lacey, guard-
edly, "and, in truth, my own opinion would be that
all that relates to His Excellency must be but idle
gossip."
Greatbatch snorted his unbeUef.
"You are close as an oyster," he said, "and right
you may be, but Tom Greatbatch's way is to speak
his mind fair and open."
"Well, each to his own fashion," Mr. de Lacey
responded lightly, "only beware that one of these
days you do not run your neck into a halter."
Captain Greatbatch scowled, whether at the warn-
ing itself or at the picture thus conjured up. But
he said no more just then, and the two walked on in
silence. They were upon the wharf now, which lay
cold and pale in the dim starlight. To Mr. de Lacey
the scene was one of consummate dreariness, so
strongly does the temper of the mind color even
inanimate nature. The river spread out black be-
fore them; there was an odor of salt water, wet
wood and tar intermingled. Save for an occasional
light gleaming out from a vessel at anchor, that
vast sheet of water might have been a desert plain.
"There's the brigantine, yonder," said Great-
P^teh, pointing with one thick and grimy finger;
The Mermaid,' Rogers Master. A rough voyage
he had of it last time. He was chased by a French
privateer. He struck a great gale of wind off Sandy
'I'
ft : ',
I
210 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
Hook, which carried away his boom and washed
three able-bodied men overboard."
He still assumed that his companion was about
to embark on "The Mermaid," and turned m that
direction. In fact, Mr. de Lacey's destmation was
far other. He was going to board a small sloop,
which lay quietly at anchor at the foot of the Smith s
Vly and which was to take him to the Colony of
Massachusetts. It was highly important that his
place of refuge should be secret from all but his
two or three staunch friends, and for this tavern
brawler, this smuggler, to gain any kiiowledge
whatsoever of his movements, was something to be
prevented at all hazards. He might, he feared, even
be obUged on some pretence or another to abandon
for the nonce his plan of escape. As it seemed hkely
that Greatbatch, who did not appear to be gomg
anywhere in particular and was full of cunosity,
might insist on seeing him aboard ship, Mr. de Lacey
suddenly stopped: . . „^ •„ . r i
"Captain Greatbatch," he said, "I will be frank
with you. As I am leaving Manhattan with no
charge against me, nor even a suspicion of bemg
involved in smuggUng operations, it is of the greatest
moment to me that I should not appear in your com-
^^oi- an instant the coarse face of Greatbatch grew
purple with indignation, and his bristUng eyebrows
were drawn down in a scowl. But whether froin
policy or because the words tickled his sense ot
humor, he burst into a laugh. Giving Mr de Lacey
a push, which at another time would have been
highly resented by that gentleman, he cned:
''Go your ways, then. Tom Greatbatch thrusts
his company on no man. No, by the Lord Harry!
AN UNWELCOME MEETING 211
he don't. Nor is Rogers Master overfond of me,
though he might want me yet to get his chestnuts
out of the fire."
"Good-bye, then," said Mr. de Lacey gaily, add-
ing, though he well knew the uselessness of such
counsel: "Mum's the word!"
"Mum's the word!" repeated Greatbatch.
Great batch looked after the retreating figure ap-
parently heading for "The Mermaid."
"Mum's the word, till it suits Tom Greatbatch
to open his lips. There's your canting Christian
for you and, as some folks say, a pestilent Papist.
Thick as thieves he used to be up yonder at the
Fort with Dongan and the Mass priests, when I was
shipping for my first cruise. And now doin' his bit
o' tradin' on the quiet, I make no doubt like the
rest o' the gentles; keepin' the bread out of us poor
men's mouths and sneakin' away when the chase
grows hot."
He would like to have gone down and interviewed
the skipper of that vessel by which he supposed
Mr. de Lacey to be about to sail. But he had his
own reasons, growing out of his various practices,
for giving Rogers Master and other honest seamen
a wide berth. The brigantine consequently weighed
anchor without Greatbatch being any the wiser and
without having on board one Gerald de Lacey,
Gentleman, late Major of Hussars. And a few
moments later, in a spanking breeze and headed for
Long Island Sound, sailed the sloop, "Anna Maria,"
Jenkins Master, upon which had really embarked a
fugitive from persecuting laws.
iiv,«
P! ;
CHAPTER X
HUSBAND AKD WIFE
OITTING on the porch Wore his house Mid
S smoldnl an evening pipe in toteably close
^oxhSw to the de Laceys- dwelling. Mjmheer de
V ™as the first to notice that it was untenanted
Se «rfrom his chair and. still ^molong stroUed
down the street for a cautious survey of his n'ngh
w'<; nremises He stood outside the gate, ana
Sowed to eTes to wander over the lovely pro usion
Ke eS They noted that the study window
wa^ doS and that no gleam of Ught came through
S or CTaxiny. Though the observer was not
SdUy suStible to outward impressions he was
cMsaLs of that indescribable sense of blanlmes..
o? lonetoi that belongs to a habitation whence
human presence has been withdrawn. Mynheer
w3 to be certain of the fact, and softly unlatdbed
ThTgSden gate and entered. He walked from Path
to oaS^ unTJndful of the sweet fragrance of the
?ow^f ' He^Sew close to the house, andpeered
Ktetagh the smaUest crack that the closed shut-
ters^orfed. The aspect of the study proved con-
SciSS^o his mind tlmt Gerald de Lacey's absence
was more than temporary.
^^ was at the Tedding." mused the mquisitor
"I ^w^ spoke to him. but I have not seen him
HUSBAND AND WIFE
213
since, and here is the house closed up. Now, why
this sudden departure?"
He looked carefully all over the exterior of the
house, as though he expected that an answer might
be forthcoming from the four walls. He knew that
Mistress Evelyn de Lacey had been visiting the Van
Cortlandts for some days previous to the wedding,
and would probably remain for a few days after-
wards with the grandmother. This was quite nat-
ural and to be expected. But where were the
father and the servants? The two negroes, mother
and daughter, who did the work of the cottage,
were not slaves. The younger, Elsa, had long been
Mistress Evelyn's maid and personal attendant, as
the mother had been her nurse. By a sudden in-
spiration Mynheer went round to the kitchen door;
it was locked. He looked in the kitchen window;
all V as dark and still. That settled the matter to
the mind of the inquirer. If the master of the house
were expected back shortly, the servants would not
have gone. For the elder woman in particular rarely
stirred from her comfortable quarters.
Mynheer de Vries returned thoughtfully along
the darkening street to his own mansion. Through
the window he could see his wife, who was fat and
went seldom abroad knitting near a marble-topped
tabic.
"In the ordinary course of events," reflected
Mynheer, as he ascended the steps to the porch,
"de Lacey would have notified me, as his nearest
neighbor, of his departure and have asked, I opine,
my good offices for the protection of his property,
and even perchance of uis daughter, though that
would be the affair of the Van Cortlandt family."
He tried to solve the problem, and, in his impatient
:( I "
i
214 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
curiosity, felt resentful towards his wife because
she sat so placidly in her chair. He had an angry
feeling that he would like to drag her thence into the
swift current of public affairs The feeling was but
n'omentary. She was better as she was, and in-
finitely less troublesome to him, than if she were one
of these meddlesome women, who, from the first
days of the Colony, had taken a leading part in
colonial affairs and had pulled many a political
string. Mynheer stroked his chin, as he often did
when troubled, and thus cogitated:
"How has de Lacey got hirtiself involved, and in
what? If it be in trading operations, what does he
know and how much might he cell, if Ws whereabouts
were to be discovered?"
The true reason for Mr. de Lacey's departure did
not occur to him. He had not been in the colony
in Dongan's time, and had never chanced to hear
much of his neighbor's personal history or of his
close connection with the Catholic Governor. He
himself was very moderately interested in religious
affairs, and was ready to "sneeze with the Dominies"
only in so far as that nasal exercise was expedient.
He had no fear of Popery. He never thought of it
at all, and so had never imagined the de Laceys or
any others of his own circle coming imder the anti-
Popery laws.
The only possible alternative to complicity in
smuggling operations was a too pronounced activity
on the anti-Leislerian side of the great controversy,
though, in truth, he could not recall a single instance
where his neighbor had meddled with present-day
politics, or t^en any public part in the troubles
that marked the whole course of Lord Bellomont's
administration. Still, he thought, it might be quite
te
HUSBAND AND WIFE
"S
possible that, though living a very quiet life, he had
made himself in some way obnoxious to the Governor
and his chief advisers, who were frankly Leislerian,
because of his and his daughter's intimacy with the
Van Cortlandts and others of the aristocratic party.
This supposition was more agreeable to Mynheer
than the other. He himself had maintained a very
safe attitude of neutrality between the parties. He
was as friendly with Samuel Staats or Abraham de
Peyster as with Nicholas Bayard, Pieter Schuyler
or Stephen Van Cortlandt. But, in so far as il-
licit trading with Greatbatch or others of his kidney
was concerned, things were very different. Mynheer
was here deeply involved. He had allowed his ha-
bitual caution to fly to the winds in his passion for
gain. He was fairly consumed by the desire to make
money, for acquisitiveness was the dominant note of
his character. He had, therefore, good reason to feel
uneasy. If Mr. de Lacey had really been obliged
to leave Manhattan for reasons connected with il-
licit traffic, it might very well become necessary for
Mynheer also to take the road. For it was likely,
from all the circumstances, that his own operations
had been on a far larger scale than anything that
could have been attempted by de Lacey. Also, the
fugitive might very well have been informed by
Greatbatch and others of the wary merchant's con-
nection with smugglers and their doings. If then
it chanced that he were recaptured, might he not
be tempted to make revelations which, incriminating
others, would save himself? Mynheer, smoking
vigorously, pondered on what kind of man de
Lacey really was, but could not come to any de-
cision, so apart were the two men in character as in
standards of conduct. One thing alone became clear
1^
r^-:
2i6 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
to his mind, and that was that the secret of his
neighbor's absence must be kept as long as possible.
He himself would do aU in his power to mamtain
such secrecy, and thus lessen the chances of his cap-
ture and the possible revelations that might foUow.
And this determination on his part was the eaaer
inasmuch as he had a certain amount of friendly
feeling towards the late inhabitants of the cottage
and a profound admiration for Mistress Eyel^
and for the social success which she had attamed.
In any case, the attitude that he took was a provi-
dential circumstance for the de Laceys. Otherwise
Myrfieer, who was no Uttle of a gossip and usuaUy
well-informed as to what was passing in the town,
might very well have thrown out hints m the tav-
erns, or whispered in the drawing-rooms that a
prominent resident of Manhattan had disappeared.
Mynheer further resolved to find out what he
could of the causes that led to such disappearance.
He promised himself to sound Greatbatch, who
could be brutally frank at times, and to hsten to
the talk of the seafaring frequenters of Der Halle.
He even determined to address a few discreet hnes
to Mistress Evelyn de Lacey, whom he had long re-
garded approvingly as a distinct asset to then:
neighborhood, volunteering his assistance m case
of need. This, he considered, would please the Van
Cortlandts. He considered it a grievance that he
should be no longer able to catch glimpses of Evelyn
at her work in her garden or passing up and down
the street. Mynheer had always been an adnurer
of beauty, and his own "gude Vrow" had long since
passed the stage when she was agreeable to the eye.
Her virtues or her qualifications were certainly not
of an ornamental character. Mynheer could scarcely
HUSBAND AND WIFE
217
conceal from himself the conviction that she was a
blot on the landscap. Hence he had pennitted
himself, alwc/s within the bounds of discretion, to
find a refreEhmt nt to thfi eye and a solace to the spuit
in observing their fair neighbor.
He wjnt into the house after this exhaustive re-
view of ihe subject, and carefully inspected the
rich furnishings of the place, as if he had never seen
them before: the silk damask curtains, the rich
carpets, the flowered tabby chimney-cloth, the vel-
vet arm-chairs, with trimmings of silver lace. And,
though he did not go upstairs to inspect his own and
his Wife's wardrobe, where rich silks, satins and
brocades abounded; though he did not descend into
the cellar to visit the ample store of wines, he men-
tally appraised all these things, and knew how much
he was indebted to Greatbatch and his like for such
luxuries. As an embargo was laid on nearly all
foreign goods by the home government, his mansion
and many a mansion in Manhattan woidd other-
wise have been bare indeed. For even the wealth
that he had acquired would not have been sufficient
to provide ,0 many luxuries by legitimate means.
Vrow de Vries watched her husband, in placid
wonderment, as he made the tour of the room. She
sincerely hoped he would find there no speck of
dust, which would be sure to annoy him exceedingly.
For she was not the housekeeper that she had been,
and even the best of slaves were not always to be
trusted. On this occasion, however, either the slaves
had done their work efficiently, or Mynheer was too
preoccupied to notice.
"I owe something to Greatbatch," Mynheer re-
marked at last, sinking into one of the Russian
leather chairs, which he used in preference to those
218 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
of velvet with silver lace, the latter being chiefly
for ornament.
Vrow de Vries raised her large, heavy-lidded eyes:
"Not a heavy sum, I do trust," she exclaimed.
Mynheer waved his hand. "No sum of money at
all," he returned curtly. "I was thinking of other
tilings, and it might be as well if you did not in-
terrupt me."
His voice was a shade less cool and quiet than
when in company. His wife's knitting-needles
clicked as a sign that her share in the conversation
was concluded. But the name of Greatbatch awak-
ened disagreeable recollections in her mind. She
remembered a great, uncouth fellow, who had come
liin'bering in, with his smell of tar and with big
rnuddy boots. These latter had been the occasion
of a severe scolding to herself from Mynheer. She
had not noted the muddy tracks in time to have
them removed, and Madam Van Cortlandt and her
granddaughter had inopportunely happened in for
an afternoon call. The good Vrow sighed, and her
husband moved impatiently. He disliked those
audible sighs, yawns and other signs of inward dis-
comfort, in wluch his wife indulged. She had not,
it must be owned, a manner such as Mynheer had
carefully cultivated. He had married her, the daugh-
ter of a small shop-keeper in Salem, a town in the
neighboring Colony of Massachusetts. That was
before prosperity had overtaken him on the way
of life. The two had been happy so long as the
Vrow kept her good looks, and before Mynheer had
made money, chiefly through those very trading
operations which now kept him in fear
De Vries had come to Manhattan, and bought
this fine mansion of the late distinguished citizen.
HUSBAND AND WIFE 3,9
Comeljus Steenwyck, and, as it micht he «tH
stepped into the Jioes of the owier fdng rd^^
distantly to one of the leading Dutch fS«
Mynheer was received into sodety. althoSThe
Zut"^*^^ \''r^''' "^i P*^'" knew Uttll
about hun He had a smooth and easy manner
Sf,^,%i!.v'y °^ ^r'?'"^ ^' friction.^i(S^^v^
hmi a factitious popularity. He became an impoS
man in many directions, taking part, as Steenwvck
mad? r^f '" ^ "7\^!L'«. «nd^had rlc^Sy"^
'^^''^^^^^^<iii}^.Co^cil. He was regarded
as a pubhc-spinted citizen and one of fine inteUi-
TrTr^'^ v>'*i "^^^^^ "^"« avoiding the Scylla
and Charybdis of partisan politics, he wis an arttent
supporter of William of Orange, especially whS hi
teTIhrS,'^' "^"^ °^ h Sent^Tme,^
bers of the Governor's Household. He was a wel-
'XtT.n'" n !l°'? P"**=^ ^^ E«8Ush housi.
folfrl H *?t fine society his wife could not
follow Her avoirdupois alone would have been
bl^'sL5r^,'.T ^i ^" '"^^^ ^d deportS
wV K ^ i?,'^ ^"" recognition. And. though
her husband did not neglect her any further thS
t^vL f ' u °^S2™^ '"°'^ exacting and more ahve
to her faults. The woman felt that he was being
which could not be bridged over. Beneath all h^
pkadity, she pondered in a dull, brooding way
IhZr^FI^?^- .^^^ ^^^ ^^^ society wWA
^„^ !^ ^^ husband, and would have liked to be
revenged upon it. She never expressed such thought
hu^llirr^' ^l-.^th all his astuteness, he^
husband had no suspicion of their existence.
JNor did de Vnes know that his wife cherished a
aio GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
particular ){nidge against Evelyn de Lacey for no
other reason than that she had often heard her com-
mended by Mynheer, and had herself seen with her
dull eyes how well those commendations were mer-
ited. Often, when her husband was out, she had
stolen to the window to watch the girl at work in
the garden or passing the house. It is true that she
discounted these perfections, which were so far re-
moved from her own style of good looks— at least,
from those which she had possessed in her youth.
Yet, something within her slow consciousness as-
sured her that the praise? bestowed upon Evelyn
were less than she deserved. Sometimes, when in a
particularly bitter mood, she used to amuse herself
by imagining accidents by which the girl's beauty
might t« destroyed. She would imagine a scar which
woijd disfigure, a thrust that might put out one of
the eyes, a scorching fire that wotild bum away the
lustrous hair end the little ringlets that played so
fascinatingly around Evelyn's face, an injury to the
spine to cause a sioop, rheumatism to cripple the
graceful movements, unsightly bums to mar the
symmetry of the slender hands. Any or all of these
things would alence her husband's eulogies of the
girl and prevent her being held up as a mirror of
perfections. Not that Vrow de Vries would have
herself inflicted any of these injuries, for she was
incapable of physical violence. But she would have
been well content if such things had happened "by
the visitation of the Lord," or in any other conceiv-
able way.
Mynheer, perturbed and busy with his own
thoughts, little imagined the turmoil that, under
that placid exterior in the arm-chair, raged more
fiercely than any storm his own nature could know.
HUSBAND AND WIFE 321
"Should de Lacey be involved," Mynheer said,
spealdtig aloud as he sometimes did in moments of
abstraction, "it may fare ill with Mistress Evelyn.
Her great beauty might not avail her there."
"Her great beauty!" The words were as a torch
to set on fire those combustible materials that were
smouldering within the listener. The knitting-
needles were still an instant.
"If you were but a widower, de Vries," said a
voice from the arm-chair, "this Mistress Evelyn
might be added to the other fine furniture of the
house."
Mynheer, turning, regarded his wife with eyes
wide open in astonishment. Then, nearly closing
them as he watched her:
"She might or she might not be," he responded
sententiously. "She soars high, that bird of Para-
dise, or I am much mistaken."
Observing the dull crimson flush that mantled
the heavy, faded cheeks, he added:
"Were I in the market, good Vrow, I should bar-
gain for more costly wares — such wares, I mean, as
would pay for themselves. Mistress Polly Van
Cortlandt, now Vrow Laurens, would have suited
me better on all accounts."
The raging fire was calmed a little by this declar-
ation, which the wife intuitively knew to be the
truth. Her husband was not one to repeat the mis-
take of his earlier life and marry a penniless girl.
Mynheer, still keeping his eyes fixed upon the heavy
face and shapeless figure, said:
"So, poor fool, you are beginning to repine that
the Lord has taken from you such measure of beauty
as you had. For you were a comely wench, Marije,
when I married you, or the wed(^g would never
:.H|
^:W
I 'J
822 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
have taken place. And you cannot say but that I
have held to the bargain."
"Yes," the wife said, "you have held to the bar-
gain because you were afraid to lose the good
opinion of yovi fine friends."
He knew that there was a modictun of truth in
what she said, though he took credit to himself that
that had not been his only reason. He remarked
quite veraciously now:
"I would that I had nothing but the women,
plain or beautiful, to disturb my thoughts. So, if
your mind be running in thdt groove, you may save
yourself the trouble. Beauties to me are but pic-
tures, a pleasant part of the landscape."
He waved his hand to indicate the wide freedom
of his thoughts, and in fact spoke the truth, for am-
bition, gre^ of gain and the desire to appear well
in society were his master passions. Nor was he al-
together dissatisfied with his wife, who had hitherto
played with tolerable skill the part of housewife,
and who had never until that day, so far as he knew,
troubled her head about his outside affairs. It
was a noticeable fact, nevertheless, that never
thereafter did he speak in his wife's hearing of
Evelyn de Lacey. A word to the wise was sufficient.
CHAPTER XI
PROSSBR Williams' sesolvb
THE dajrs that followed the wedding were sin-
gularly lonely for Evelyn. Save Madam Van
Cortlandt, there was scarcely anyone with whom she
could exchange a word. Polly had been removed
from the scene, accompanying her husband on a
trip into the neighboring Colony of Pennsylvania,
where they were to remain a month at least. Even
the town of Manhattan seemed, in so far as its social
side was concerned, to be suffering a reaction after
the excitement of the wedding. Evelyn kept as
much as possible aloof from the various yoimg girls
of her circle, with whom she was more or less inti-
mate, lest questions might be asked concerning her
father. The loss of his companionship was most
pievous to her. She missed his bright, half-whim-
sical conversation, his interest in all her ^airs, and
the home life now so sadly interrupted without any
definite prospect of being resumed. Her anxiety
for him often kept her awake at night, as she pic-
tured him in the loneliness of his exile, and perlwps
in deadly peril of his life. For the first weeks she
made her unwillingness to leave Madam Van Cort-
landt an excuse for absenting herself from the dances
and assemblies at various houses, which she had
previously much enjoyed. But her hostess was of
224 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
opinion that such a course of action, if long persisted
in, might draw upon her the suspicion of the curious
or ill-natured. It would be wiser to act in all re-
spects as she had acted before, and, if questions
were asked concerning her father, it might be replied
that he had gone away on business.
Hence it was that, with a heavy heart and the
shadow of a great fear obscuring her usual bright-
ness, Evelyn began to participate once more in all
the gay doings of the town — much to the delight of
Pieter Schuyler, who was unwearied in his attentions
to her. No less intense was tlje gratification afforded
by her presence to Prosser Williams, for he was thus
enabled to press his unwelcome attentions upon her,
all the more so as Captain Ferrers had been obliged
to accompany Lord Bellomont on a visit to his gov-
ernment of Massachusetts. It may well be recorded
here that His Excellency was always received with
great enthusiasm in those parts, where he was more
popular than in New York. On the occasion of
that particular visit, a banquet was held in his honor,
and a presentation made to him of many pounds in
gold, which was highly acceptable to his depleted
treasury.
Though fully aware that Prosser Williams had
been the author of all her father's troubles and the
cause of his flight, Evelyn was nevertheless compelled
through motives of policy to conceal her repulsion
as best she covdd, and avoid making an open enemy
of one whom die knew to be secretly inimical. She
had the distressing consciousness that he had been
only holding back his hand against her father and
herself out of his professed admiration for her.
Captain Ferrers had feared that he was going to
proceed to extremities and arrest her father, which
PROSSER WILLIAMS' RESOLVE 225
indeed was part of a skilfully constructed plan.
But that first part of the scheme had failed of its
operation because Prosser Williams on the occasion
of the wedding was so struck anew by Evelyn's
beauty and chann that he detennined, if he could,
to win her by fair means in the absence of Egbert
Ferrers. If these means failed, then he was prepared
to go any lengths. He had made up his mind to
marry her, bitterly as his friends in England would
resent his union with a penniless girl. He had thrown
all other thoughts to the wind; his cold and cal-
culating nature was inflamed t rough and through
with an ardor which he would have hitherto deemed
impossible.
To Evelyn it was no little of a trial to be forced
to take the man's hand and tread with liim the
measure of "La Belle Katherine," "Money Musk"
or the "Maid of the Mill." She listened with in-
ward loathing to the exaggerated compliments which
he believed all women desired. In an endeavor to
be agreeable, the unwelcome suitor comported him-
self generally in a manner which caused Evelyn to
detest and despise him. So fatuous was this fine
gentleman, who had been spoiled by the notice of
many fashionable dames, that he fancied he was
making progress because the girl did not actually
repulse him. He began to plume himself upon his
success, and, as he went superciliously about the
streets of the town with an insolence which made
him universally impopular, he indulged in various
soliloquies, some of which were addressed to Gerald
de Lacey.
"My fine fellow, you will feel my hand one of
these days, unless Mistress Evelyn can be brought
to terms. If she consents, I will do her the honor to
lill"
226 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
many her, and a good thing it will be for her to get
out of this beggarly colony, as soon as my time is up.
If she refuses" — ^he clenched his hand and a dark
look came over his face — "if she refuses, I will bring
you both down with the same shot."
Musing thus, he went to Der Halle to keep an
appointment with Captain Greatbatch at an hour
when he knew that only the habitues of the place
would be present. He frequented the tavern be-
cause he liked to indulge there, as he might not do
elsewhere, that passion for gambling by which he
had dissipated quite a respectable fortune in Eng-
land. These losses had induced him to accept a
position in His Excellency's Household, and, leaving
the riotous company which he had affected in Lon-
don, to come out to the colonies. Almost since his
arrival he had deaUngs with Greatbatch and a
finger in that notorious smuggler's pie. By this
means he hoped to retrieve his fortune and secure
a goodly pile, which, on his return to England, he
might spend in his former extravagant fashion.
However, in this place where, like Lady Bellomont,
he considered himself an exile, fate haJ smitten him
in the form of a penniless girl, and cried halt to all
his calculations. Greatbatch, on his part, had
counted much on the young man's influence, which
he beUeved had kept him unscathed during these
days so troublous for one of his profession. He
treated him, therefore, with an almost servile defer-
ence, though he was well aware that the Captain
was to a certain extent in his power, since he coidd
at least injure and discredit him by makii g use of
the knowledge he possessed. The young officer was
partly misled by this servility as to the real char-
acter of the man, which was a mixture of cunning
PROSSER WILLIAMS' RESOLVE 227
and brutality. He treated him accordingly with
arrogance and ill-concealed contempt.
Having ascertained by careful scrutiny from with-
out that ttiere was no one of consequence present.
Prosser Wilhams passed through the room with a
curt nod to mine host, who seemed to expand in
girth and m geniality with every passing day. He
seated hunself at a remote table with Greatbatch
and began to converse in low tones with the man,
whom he regarded merely as a pliant tool. Their
talk at first was chiefly of matters of trade, in which
Prosser Willmms showed the keenness of a huckster,
tor, where his own advantage was concerned, he
could dnve the hardest of bargains. But there was
something else that evening on which he desired to
sound Greatbatch. He had long had it in mind as
one of his schemes that, all else failing, he might
contnve to have Evelyn conveyed on board the
bngantme Hesperia," of which this fellow was
master, and sail away to some distant port where he
could force his captive to n^ wry him. Such things
were common enough, and would cause, when all
was over, only a nine-days' wonder. He counted
much on his own influence with the Governor, and
the influence of his highly connected relatives in
tnglaad, to help him to weather the storm, which
he did not conceal from himself would be raised
not only by the girl's father, but by the Van Cort-
landts and other influential Colonials. Still, he
could finaUy represent the affair as a romantic es-
capade, and Evelyn, once securely in his power,
would have to support him in that contention. It
would be made to appear that it was merely an
dopemoit with the girl's knowledge and cogent,
wor did he stop to consider that those who knew
Irr*
228 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
Evelyn would never believe such a story. He would
have a powerful weapon against the girl in his
knowledge of her father's antecedents and the threat
to have him arrested and even— as might very weU
be— put to death, should he make too great an out-
cry He would long ago have acted against Mr. de
Lacey from mere hatred of the Catholic cause-
to which was added hatred of the man who had
eluded him in England, and rebuked him that day
in his own garden— had it not been for the press^
which he hoped to bring through the father on the
daughter to compel her to accept his suit.
Of late he had shown a fatal mdeasion, wluch
had arisen from the hope that Evelyn was beginnmg
to regard him more favorably. In that event, ot
course, it would be his poUcy to cover up ^ traces
of the father's poUtical and religious convictions, tor
these would constitute obstacles to his marnage m
the eyes of his own relatives, from some of whom he
had expectations. He tc!d himself that, once mar-
ried, he would be master, and it would be easy to
coerce Evelyn into at least outward conformity to
the estabUshed reUgion. His thin lips tightened as
he told himself that no wife of his would be per-
mitted to profess, much less to practise, the Romish
superstition, nor consort with Jesuits or other dan-
gerous characters. Mistress Evelyn woidd be on
a very different footing then from that of the spoiled
beauty who had reigned over a large circle of Man-
hattanese. , . • _ u
He had made up his mind that that evenmg would
be a fitting opportunity to broach the subject to
Greatbatch, ance the matter must be brought to a
head. He was weary of delay, and it would be
eaaer to act in the absence of Ferrers, m whom he
PROSSER WILLIAMS' RESOLVE 229
recognized, not only a formidable rival, but a possible
circumventer of his schemes. He had plied his boon
companion with rum until the latter was in a state,
not of irritation as in the earlier stages of intoxica-
tion, but of compliance. He leaned his arms on the
table, bending confidentially towards the smuggler,
and opened the subject. He represented a friend
of his as being smitten with the charms of a certain
young lady, whose parents might oflfer opposition
to the match; therefore, in the event of an elope-
ment, could that friend trust to Greatbatch to carry
through the project?
"If the wench be willing," said Greatbatch, with a
wink, "it would be no great matter."
"But should she not be willing?" inquired Wil-
liams.
"Ah, that is a horse of another color," replied the
smuggler, scratching his head;"there would be the
devil and all to pay about forcible abduction."
Then he added, peering into his companion's face:
"Tell me. Master, is she of the people?"
"No, and be hanged to yoiu- cursed curiosity!"
Greatbatch shook his head with a surly scowl at
the rebuff.
^_ "If your friend be a wise man," he declared,
"he will attempt no such enterprise now, when
disturbances of all kinds are rife, and we drippers,
as it is, are trembling for our skins."
"And some of you might well tremble," suggested
Williams, significantly, "had they no friends at
court, or if those friends turned against them. Then
it would be a matter for the halter and the gibbet."
He made an expressive gesture, and Greatbatch,
thoroughly alarmed, agreed.
"I'm your man for the job, whatever it be,"
M ■• 'iM
230 GERALD DB LACEY'S DAUGHTER
he hastened to assure the other, "provided that the
night be dark and a strong wind blowing, with a
quiet potion for the maid that she be not heard."
There was something in these details which was
revoltir^ even to Prosser Williams, when mentioned
in connection with Evelyn. He mentally resolved
that, only in the last extremity, would he proceed
to such a course of action, and then it would be the
girl's own fault. She would bring it on herself,
since he was prepared to take all ch^ces and marry
her openly and honorably to his own great detriment.
So absorbed was he in these thdughts, and so viindly
appeared to his mind the face of the girl, that he
scarcely noticed at first that Greatbatch was speak-
ing again.
"And I hope your honor's friend will remember
that I am a poor man, ruined since the Governor
and many others have turned honest."
Prosser Williams frowned.
"Shut your scurrilous mouth, you dog," he said;
. "such talk is hanging matter. But, as to your gain
in this business, be assured it will pay you well,
if it be successful."
i "The sooner the better then," exclaimed Great-
batch, animated with a great courage from the rum
he had been steadily swaUowing.
"My friend will let you know all in good time,"
said WilliMis, "if his fickle fancy does not change.
And, neanwhile, keep your mouth shut; that is the
important matter."
"Forwhatportwouldyourfriendwishtosail?" in-
quired Greatbatch, unwilling to let the matter be thus
lightly disposed of. ' 'How would Barbadoes suit ? I
have a mind to take a run down there for a cargo of
rum, sugar and spices, all aboveboard and honest."
PROSSER WILLIAMS' RESOLVE 231
. "^^^3^ wiU do as weU as another place," re-
turned Williams.
"WWch minds me." went on the smuggler, and
Jt would be hard to say if there was any other as-
sooation of ideas in his mind than the mere name
of the island, 'of a chap I saw slipping away to
Barbadoes for reasons of his own."
"What chap?" asked Williams idly, out of the
merest curiosity. He was standing up with his hand
on ttie bade of the chair, preparatory to departure.
One of your good sort— canting, hypocritical
knaves thqr mostly are; a bookish feUow, too, but
de^, I make no doubt, in matters of trade."
A booldsh fellow," repeated Williams slowly,
strode by the expression, and remembering to have
lieMxl Gerald de Lacey described as a man buried
m his books.
x*"'^y®'r ^^ Greatbatch, nodding his head, "one
Master de Lacey, an impudent knave with his nose
high m the air."
Greatbatch little knew what a blow he had in-
flicted by that idle bit of gossip. Had he known he
would have rejoiced.
"De Lacey!" echoed Williams, bending forward
ovw the chair-back. "And did you say he had gone
to Barbadoes?"
"G<Mie this month or more," cried Greatbatch,
pleased with the interest which he had exdted.
btole off as quiet as a mouse, the night of the big
weddmg up yonder."
Prosser WiUiams straightened himself, and by a
violent effort recovered his composure. That wea-
pon which he had beUeved would be most effectual
m subdmng Evelyn was thus snatched from his
nand. He had been fooled, cajoled. Even Evdyn's
I'll 1
i-i
U.'i
I*
232 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
apparent civiUty had been, no doubt, part of a
plan to keep him quiet. The bird had taken wing,
not, as this idiot, Greatbatch, believed, on account
of the smuggling operations, but for those other and
graver reasons which would have made it possible
for him to terrorize both father and daughter. And
who had given the alarm? His mind turned toFerrers.
But the suspicion was too vague, the possibility
too remote, to permit of action. He left Greatbatch
without a word, and, as he went out ragmg and
fuming, he stood an instant under the great tree,
which now waved its branched in soUtud^ Not a
creature was stirring under its shadow. He looked
with angry, gleaming eyes out over the nver, as
though it had been an accomplice in the flight. It
was covered with small, white waves, beating rest-
lessly against the shore, and surging about the ba^
of those rocks behind which, as the Indians believed,
a Manitou kept the winds imprisoned. The thought
in Prosser Williams' mind was that the time had
now come for action. At least, the departure of
Gerald de Lacey took the obstacle of an angry
father out of the way. Two courses were now open
to him: either to employ that which he had just
suggested to Greatbatch, or, since that might be
attended with difficulties if the girl, as seemed likely,
continued on at the Van Cortlandts, to cause her
arrest. In his fury against her. he inclined to the
latter alternative, which, he concluded, might in
the end best further his plans. When she found
herself in imminent danger of imprisonment or stiU
more dire penalties, she would no doubt be glad to
procure her release on any terms. For with his in-
fluence he could obtain it, and she would then be
forced to accept him as her husband. He swore an
PROSSER WILLIAMS' RESOLVE 433
oath that she would be obliged in some mannei
or other to do this very thing before that moon,
which now appeared as a pale crescent behind the
cliffs across the river, was at its full.
As he turned to leave the spot, he saw the figure
of Mynheer de Vries approaching. De Vries saluted
the Captain in his bland fashion, remarking on the
beauty of the evening, and Prosser Williams thought
of questioning him as to the truth of Greatbatch's
story. Mynheer was a near neighbor of the fugitive,
and might even be possessed of some other informa-
tion. But, when Williams broached the subject, it
slipped oft the smooth, polished surface of Mynheer
as water from the face of a rock, and had only one
effect, that of putting the latter upon his guard.
In his mind it was important that this young sprig
of nobility and attach^ of His Excellency should
know nothing. He parted from the other as soon
as he could, and went into the tavern to discover
from Greatbatch, if possible, the reasons for de
Lacey's departure, provided always that he was
acquainted with that fact.
Prosser WiJuiams, on the other hand, seeing that
nothing was to be gained by lingering, went on his
way, making a point to pass by the Van Cortlandt
mansion in Uie hope of catching even a brief glimpse
of Evelyn. He was more intoxicated than ever at
the thought of her, now that new obstacles seemed to
spring up in his path, and he was mote than ever
resolved to win her by foul means, if not by fair.
The very resentment that he felt towards her for
having, as he believed, outwitted him and got the
better of him in the matter of her father's flight,
only gave an impetus to his ardor.
"The trees were beginning to shed their leaves,
y ]
d
i
234 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
which rustled along the street as he passed. There
were only late flowers in these gardens that attracted
the eye in all the residential parts of this colom^
town, the monotony of which he hated. He paused
outside the iron fence that enclosed the grounds of
the Van Cortlandt dwelling. He looked up at the
gable of the house where it turned towards the gar-
den. He noted abstractedly the date of the building
of the house, the initials of the family, the vane
upon the gable top and the other adornments which
the fancy of the anchor-smith or worker in iron had
added. He allowed his eyes to travel downwards
thence to the windows, tM porch and finally the
garden, but no sign could he catch of the girl who,
to his amazement and even dismay, took a foremost
place in all his thoughts. He felt this failure to
catch even a glimpse of her as a new and distmct
grievance, as if she had planned it, and he slowly
walked away with a crushing sense of defeat and
humiliation. Through his fierce resentment tow-
ards her and all whom he believed to be concerned
in the father's departure, he seemed to hear in the
wind that swept up from the Bay the tones of her
voice, full of the vibrant quality which had so often
thrilled him when in her presence. ,
"What an infernal fool I am," he sohloquized,
"to let her gain such a mastery over me! But by
the high heaven, if ever I win her, it will be worth
it all — aye, and a thousand times more!"
Long before he reached Whitehall, which he stopped
to examine curiously as thoughhehadneverbeforeseen
it, he had come to the determination to take the bold
step forward of a declaration to Evelyn. Then he
would know whether it was to be war or peace be-
tween them, and would be prepared toact accordmgly.
CHAPTER XII
THB KBttMSSSB
yHE town was aJl agog over the Kermesse.
1 which was to be held that year upon the Com-
mon.' Booths were being erected for the display
of almost every imaginable variety of wares. Cattle
were being brought from the farms on the Hudson
from Jersey, the Heights of Hoboken, Weehawken
and even from the adjoining colonies. Early on
that bepteniber morning when the fair was to open,
the tnbe of the Rockaways arrived from the sea-
shore with thar merchandise. They came, urging
their swift canoes along with skilled, sure stroke
of theu paddles into the great Basin just below the
Long Bndge at the foot of Broad Street. Waiting
tor them on the shore were a crowd of idlers and num-
bere of children. These latter had long looked for-
wwd to their coming, displaying their eagerness
with shinmg eyes, animated gestures and merry
talk and laughter. They ran and skipped around
tnem escorting that solemn procession of painted
ana leathered Indians, copper-colored and shining
with grease. The squaws were especially conspicu-
ous m dresses of glaringly vivid calicoes and neck-
lace of bright beads or shells.
The arrival of the Wilden ushered in the week of
'The Conunon, the present CSty Hall Park.
if
236 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
the Kemusse which stirred the sleepy Dutch town
to its depths. There was no family of prominence
which had not visitors for the Kermesse, and a round
of gaieties, quite apart from the weekly assemblies,
kept the young people in the highest of spirits.
Everyone met everyone else at the Kermesse, and
gay groups wandered amongst the stalls, watched
the various trials of skill, the wrestling and the jump-
ing, visited the Punch and Judy show, or adnured
the splendid specimens of cattle. The wares of the
Wilden attracted perhaps the greatest number of
buyers. All their products were in demand: theu-
pottery, their embroidered ^loccasins, the sand for
floors, the baskets of numerous shapes, the cats-
tails, oak-knots and willow withes (which latter
would be formed into brooms or mats) ; the bay-
berries from the wax of which candles were made,
the elder and other berries for dyes, the dried clams
strung on sea-grass, and above all, the assortment of
fresh fish, which the latest arrivals had brought with
them— lampreys and eels and sunfish, white and
yellow perch, sturgeon, bream, cod and sea-bass,
with salmon that would have tempted the appetite
of an anchorite. .
Evelyn de Lacey and a merry party of young gurls
escorted by their beaux had come hither. Pieter
Schuyler was in close attendance, overjoyed at the
opportunity thus afEorded. His honest, ma^y
countenance, deeply bronzed by the sun, was radi-
ant. He was in the best of spirits, and entCTed
with zest into the laughter and jests, though he had
been quick to notice the shadow of anxiety and sad-
ness that hung about the giri like a cloud ovct the
sunshine of that pleasant morning. Lord Bello-
mont, who had just returned from Massachusetts
THE KERMESSE
237
with Her Excellency and members of his Household,
made his appearance early in the day to declare the
Kermesse opened. He was attended by many ofiB-
cers from the garrison and the warship, together
with the chief of the train-bands, the mayor and
civic functionaries. After he had withdrawn, my
Lady remained on, with but one of her ladies and
Captain Prosser Williams in attendance. She had a
whun to wander at will about the place, and, meeting
Evelyn at one of the stalls, attached her to her party.
"I want to talk to you," said she. "Where have
you been hi(Ung this long time that I have not seen
you?"
In answer Evelyn informed her that she had re-
mained a good deal in the house because of Madam
Van Cortlandt's loneliness after the marriage of her
granddaughter.
"Do not let her tie you to her apron strings too
much," my Lady cried petulantly. "The young were
never meant to be weighed down by the heaviness
of the old."
To this Evelyn made no reply, as the speech jarred
upon her.
"And your father?" continued my Lady inquir-
ingly.
As the girl, taken aback by the suddenness of the
question, was at a loss for a fit reply, Her Excellency
proceeded calmly :
"I have lately learned that he is absent." The girl
could scarcely repress a start. "I regret it on my
own account," went on the speaker Ughtly, "for
I have heard that he is a charming, agreeable man,
and I would fain have met him."
Evelyn responded that her father went very little
abroad, that he was absorbed for the most part in
238 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
his books, but that the pleasure yrould have been
mutual, she was sure.
"There are other things," Lady Bellomont said
significantly, "which I have been told about him,
and which interested me more. I liked what I
had heard of his courage and loyalty in these time-
serving days."
Evelyn was astonished, and it required all her self-
control to conceal the consternation which possessed
her.
"But," my Lady said, dropping her voice a little,
"it was an enemy that told me this — one hostile
to your father and of whoni you must beware, for
presently, if it serves his turn, he wiU tell the same
story to my Lord Bellomont or to my brother,
Mr. Nanfan, which will be equally parilous. It
was wise of Mr. de Lacey to leave Manhattan. I
would that you also," she spoke with a little worried
pucker of the brows, "were out of harm's way till
these troublous days are past."
The solicitude implied by the words, and the tone
in which they were uttered, touched Evelyn. For
the first time she believed that this woman, despite
the wagging of inimical tongues, was not altogefiier
heartless, frivolous and false. But as with faltering
voice, in which were evident the sorrows and anx-
ieties of these many days, Evelyn tried to thank
her. Lady Bellomont added hurriedly:
' ' Who that enemy is I need scarce say. Little doubt
but your keen wit has already discovered him. And
have a care, be wary," she cautioned, "he is both
powerful and dangerous."
But here Lady Bellomont's attention was claimed
by various notables of the place, who crowded as-
siduously about her, preventing her from enjoying.
THE KERMESSE
239
as she claimed, that hour of freedom. Evelyn took
the opportunity to slip away; she looked around for
Pieter who had been her escort, but he had dis-
appeared. She was anxious to collect her thoughts
and work out in her mind this new problem that had
presented itself. What, if Her Ladyship, whom so
many accused of being capricious and spitrful,
should change from that attitude of kindness, and
make public the information that had been so mis-
chievously offered her, as if to pave the way for
the other stroke that was to come? She drew close
about her the cardinal (or great cloak) which she
had brought with her, since the day was chilly, as
if thus to shut out those cares and troubles which
were gathering thickly about her. How could she
be sure that her father was safe, even if he had
reached that temporary haven in the town of Salem?
For was not that also under the government of
Lord Bellomont, and was not a set of fanatics at
the head of affairs there, to whom persecution seemed
as the breath of their nostrils? And if safety could
not be assured there, even to one living in obsauity,
what was to be the outcome? Maryland, late the
home of religious liberty for all men, the sanctuary
of the New World, was now rendered likewise peril-
ous for Catholics, who had granted that liberty.
The infamous Coode and his faction were still in
power, and Governor Seymour was a deadly hater
of the old faith and its adherents.
Leaving her gay companions, Evelim turned her
steps towards that portion of the Common where
the Wilden offered their wares, and the old squaw,
who had an ahnost maternal affection for her,
noted at once the cloud upon her brow and the signs
of weariness and trouble in her aspect.
h^4\
i^'
240 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
"Our pale-face sister movirns," she said, "and
her heart is more troubled than the sea when the
stonn wind blows over it. But her red-skin brothers
and sisters are with her in her trouble. The Silver
Covenant binds them, and they will never forsake
her."
The assurance was strangely comforting to Evelyn
in the desolation that seemed to close round her with
a presage of coming disaster. She basked, as it
were, in the warmth of those friendly beings, who
gathered about displaying their wares for her to
adnrire and pressing tokens upon her. While thus
standing in iheir midst, she saw with a shiver of ap-
prehension the tall figure of Captain Prosser Will-
iams. He had been following her with his eyes all
that morning, and had come at last to the resolve
that there and then he would force her to listen to
his suit. If her reply were favorable, well and good.
Matters might then go on as they were, and her
father proceed to Barbadoes— or to Hades— for all
he cared. But if it were otherwise, if she dared to
refuse an offer which seemed to him so great a con-
descension and so admirable a bit of good fortune
for her, then he would bring force to bear upon her
— such force as would compel her to yield — through
Greatbatch or through the prison cell. He would
terrify her with the grisly spectacle of the hangman
himself, and snatch her, as it were, from the gibbet
prepared for a recusant and a traitor, a seducer of
the savages, a "consorter with Jesuits"; and would
make her his wife in spite of them all and in her own
despite. In the last resort she would be obliged to
choose between Jack Ketch and himself. With
very little ceremony then, he approached her. As
time went on he was more and more furious, when
THE KERMESSE
341
he thought of the escape of her father, and deter-
mined not to spare her.
"You had best come away from here," he said
ahnost roughly. "Your association with these
people exposes you to great risks, and one of these
days it will cost you dear."
Evelyn was disposed to refuse at first, raising her
head haughtily and drawing back a pace or two.
The remembrance of her father, however, as well
as of those other interests which might be at stake
and of Ferrers' warning to her not to antagonize
the man, caused her to follow his lead, albeit with a
disdain which she strove to cover by a half-laughing
petulance.
"What have the Wilden done to you, Captain
Williams," queried she, with apparent amusement,
"that you are so fierce against them?"
"It is not a question of these savages at all," he
answered, with a gesture of contempt in their direc-
tion. "To my mind they are but dirty, ill-smelling,
greasy beasts, little removed from the brute crea-
tion."
Evelyn flushed up, but made no reply. "Some
brutes," she reflected, "did not wear feathers in
their heads, nor paint themselves red." She walkr 1
away in the direction which Williams indicate .
Although she beUeved him to be her mortal foe, she
realized the importance of keeping as long as possible
on a footing of amity, or at least of conventional
civility, with him. She scarcely noticed that he
was leading her to a retired spot behind some of the
stalls where a group of trees formed a kind of rural
arbor. There was a rustic bench there upon which,
with but little ceremony, he invited her to be seated.
As he himself remained standing for the moment,
Mi
242 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
Evdyn mastered her repugnance towards the man
sufficiently to speak.
"I thought," she said, for the silence had begun
to be irksome, and the man's intent gaze offensive,
"that you were in attendance on my Lady Bello-
mont."
Prosser Williams gave a short laugh.
"I have purposely lost my Lady Bellomont m
the crowd, and she will not be sorry. I have more
important matters of my own to attend to than
playing lackey to any fine lady."
Evdyn might have retorted that to her mmd
it was the rdle for which he 'was peculiarly fitted,
but she wisely forbore. Sovmds from that gay and
animated scene reached her ears. She could hear
the familiar intonations of friendly voices, and catch
glimpses of costumes which she knew to have been
prepared for this week of festivities. As Captain
Williams remained silent, Evelyn asked presently
with wondering eyes, that had something of mockery
in them, and with a satirical Uttle smile about the
lips, that enraged the unwelcome suitor:
"Is your business then so very important?"
"Yes, to me," he answered curtly, "and to you
also."
"To me," echoed Evelyn, raising her eyebrows
and eying him coldly. "I scarcely think," with
cool, composed emphasis on the words, "that any
business of Captain Prosser Williams can be of
importance to me."
"Then I shall endeavor to convince you of your
mistake. I diaJl not waste time in preliminaries,
and I suppose it is idle to talk of love to a young
lady of your loftiness, who fancies hereelf secure
upon a pedestal above ordinary mortals."
THE KERMESSE 243
Eveljrn laughed outright as if he spoke in jest,
though in truth her heart sank at the realization of
the crisis thus suddenly forced upon her.
"Yes," she remarked casually, "it would be,
as you say, quite idle to enlarge upon such a subject.
I assure you it is very far removed from my
thoughts."
"Well, it is not removed from mine," retorted
Prosser Williams hotly, "and I shaU take this op-
portunity of telling you that, upon your present
conduct and your answer to the question I am about
to put, will depend your own safety and that of
others."
"So you are condescending to threaten me."
There was unutterable scorn expressed in the low-
voiced comment of the girl.
"I am condescending to anything," declared
Prosser Williams, "which will further my suit with
you."
"You take a strange way to awaken my interest,"
said Evelyn, drawing away from him.
"I will resort to any means, I care not what,
short of actual violence," said Prosser Williams.
"And even that, if need be, shall not be left out of
the reckoning."
Evelyn tried to rise, but, taking her hand, he
forcibly detained her.
"You shaU hear me," he said insistently, "that
I may know from this moment upon what footing
I stand. My infatuation for you — call it by what-
ever name you will — ^has made me reckless. If you
will not listen to an avowal of love, you shall at
least hear my determination to win you for my wife
at all costs, or — "
"The alternative, pray let me hear the altema-
;(,!',
444 GERALD db LACEVS DAUGHTER
tive," cried Evelyn passionately, for indignation had
now overmastered every other feeling. Will not
so generous and chivalrous a suitor, whom one can-
not choose but detest, put his meaning plamly mto
words?"
The man's face was white with fury, so bitmg was
the tone and so scathing the words, but he answered
sullenly : ,
"You know very well with what you are threat-
ened, you and your Papist father, as recusants,
traitors to the King's Majesty, consorters with
Jesuits, seducers of the savages."
He poured out the words fast and funous, as if
they were in danger of choking him. , . . ,„
"I know enough," he finished, "of your father s
antecedents to have him hanged as high as ever
were hung those two godly and innocent niMi,
Lcisler and Milbome. It is the duty of one loyal to
the King and to his country to denounce such a one.
For the life of her, Evelyn could not repress a
"And as for your dainty ladyship, Jiere is matter
enough against you to make it a choice between a
dungeon and a gibbet."
But Evelyn was brave agam, and faced him witn
proud composure. . -^^^
"I, and I alone," he went on, "with my influence
here and in England, can always protect you and
save your father." . .
"In ..pite of your loyalty and patriotism, your
duty to your King and country?" snared Evelyn.
HebithisUps. "A truce to your irony! he said
darkly. "I care nothing for it. I offer you the al-
ternative of a highly advantageous marriage with
me or death and disgrace."
;»!
THE KERMESSE
445
"There cannot be a moment's choice," returned
Evelyn with convincing sincerity. ' ' I would infinitely
prefer the latter."
As she spoke, she made another effort to rise, but,
grasping her by the hand, he strove to draw her
towards him, pouring out in wild incoherent language
the mad passion which at the moment pos^ssed
him more than ever. Qtute opportunely for Evelyn,
footsteps were heard approaching, and Captain
Ferrers stood a moment in astonishment and per-
plexity before the pair. Do£Sng his hat hastily, he
would have passed on had not Evelyn, now freed
from Williams' compelling grasp, exclaimed hur-
riedty:
"Will you give me your aim. Captain Ferrers?
I would fain return to my friends."
The glance exchanged between the two men was
full of deadly enmity. Open and undisguised aver-
sion and contempt were in Captain Ferrers' look,
as well as a deadly anger. For Evelyn's manner
and her appeal to him had convinced him that the
fellow had dared to offer her some affront. Happily
he was still better aware than Evelyn of the necessity
of self-control and the avoidance of all open hostility.
He gave the girl his arm, with a bow tiiat was pur-
posely ceremonious, and together they walked away.
As for Captain Prosser Williams, he stood an in-
stant uncertain what course to take. Then, slowly
turning his back, he strolled off in an opposite direc-
tion. For some moments there wa , silence between
Ferrers and Evelyn. The latter was struggling for
self-control which should prevent her from maddng
any disclosure that might precipitate a conflict be-
tween the two men, and Captain Ferrers was full
of an indignation which it required the whole force
r
{..'S
346 GERALD Di LACEY'S DAUGHTER
ci his will to master. When at last he spoke, it was
in a low voice, unsteady with emotion:
"Has he dared?"
But Evelyn answered quiddy:
"I implore you to take no notice. You know
what a quarrel at tUs moment might mean to us all.
But from this time forward, we may be assured,
Captain Williams will throw off his disguise."
She spoke with a foreboding conviction, and Cap-
tain Ferrers, aware from her manner no less than
her words that some crisis had been precipitated,
hurried her from the spot, la their agitation the
two scarcely heeded the animated scene through
which they were passing. Mechanically they ptished
tiieir way among the throng of buyers and hucksters,
the merely ciuious or those intent on purchase,
and their friends, to whom Evelyn nodded and
smiled abstractedly, while Captain Ferrers doffed
his hat. Ferrers had but one thought, namely, to
see his companion under the friendly prot^tion
of the Van Cortlandt roof, which would afford her
at least a temporary shelter. He felt sure, though
she had not said so, that Evelyn had rejected Cap-
tain Williams' suit, advantageous as such an al-
liance would have been for her from every point of
view, save as to the character of the man hims elf.
Sudi rejection would goad that unwelcome suitor
to an insensate rage, aU the more deadly as it was
cold and crafty. Captain Ferrers knew the character
and reputation of the man, and was aware besides
that it must have been no light fancy, but a genuine
passion, which had impelled him to offer his hand in
marriage to a penniless girl. In fact, that he had
done so surpri^ him no little, as it hardly tallied
with his idea of the man's nature. But, though his
THE KERMESSE 347
deUcaw fwbade him to ask any questions, he knew
b^ondadoubt what her words had implied. And
ftosscr Williams in the rdle of a rejected suitor, with
his power and influence over Lord Bellomont, was
dangerous beyond words. Evelyn herself, though
die was apprehensive of danger, could not have
dreamed that one who posed as a gentleman would
stoop to the methods which Ferrers felt sure the
other would employ without scruple. For the social
circle m which Williams had Uved his whole life,
had been of a sort to demoralize anyone; and it
was but too probable that he had lost sight of even
those ideals and traditions by which men of his class
were ordinarily bound.
So full was Ferrers of these reflections that he
walked almost m silence beside the girl, whose face
he could but dimly see, so closely was it shaded by
the hood of her cardinal. This glimpse of her sad-
dened countenance stirred his pulses and awakened
m him a pity and a tenderness that, for the time
bemg, ^TOt cast into the shade that warmer emo-
tion which her presence, and even the sound of her
voice, had hitherto awakened. How helpless she
was ! How helpless would be her friends in presence
of the penis that threatened her!
At Madam Van Cortlandfs door he left her, with
a few hurried words of warning. He implored her
to be on her guard, to stir but little ab jad and
never unattended, until he should have discovered
somethmg at least of his fellow-soldier's plans There
was a hint of emotion in the manner of both as they
parted. Events were bringing them so closeK to-
gether in thought and feeling, and yet, as Evelyn
was quick to recognize, forcing them farther and
farther apart.
148 GERALD db LACEY'S DAUGHTER
For many a day afterward* Captain Ferrers pre-
served the Lnace of Evelyn as she stood in the open
doorway, the scarlet cardinal fallinE back to lev^
the soft white frock beneath. He fdt that he would
do anything in the world to win her by all fair and
honorable means, such as would ensure her own safety
and that of her father. He cursed the stupid laws
and senseless bi^try which could make victmis of
such as these, and which now stood in the way of
all his happiness.
CHArTv;R xni
A li: "A- THltVTKVS
MEANWHILE events in t. , vtlony had been
such as to spreaJ l ni'tcniation, not only
among the few and s aae, d Tatholics, but also
among all who, having ra-r^td t.einselves against
Lasler, w^re counted wii.} -i a particle of founda-
tion as enemies of the Protestant cause. To Dutch
Manhattan, and those of the English whom inter-
marriage or long residence had led to make common
cause with the Hollanders, the news came like a
thunderbolt that Nicholas Bayard, head of the
anti-Leislerian party, had been arrested. The charge
against him was treason and conspiracy against
the liberties of his fellow-subjects. Society was
paralysed by the shock. The weekly "sociables"
and other forms of entertainment amongst the higher
circles were suspended; and, while the older men
and women still met in anxious gatherings in the
drawing-rooms of Madam Van Cortlandt, the Schuy-
l«s, Phillipses, Spratts, Provosts, Van Schaicks and
the rest, their conversation dealt altogether with
the political situation and the growing dissatisfac-
tion in that element of society with the admin-
istration of Lord Bellomont and his fanatical sup-
porters. •. The arrest was a direct blow at most
2SO GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
of the leading Dutch families, who had beUeved
themselves so influential and their position so secure.
For perhaps none among their members surpassed
Nicholas Bayard in character and abihty or m the
elegance of his surroundings and the luxury of lus
dwelling. That house which Bayard had lately
built in the region of the Catiemuts Hill, where it
was reached by the fresh breezes of both nvers,
had become a landmark in the Colony. "Mr. Bay-
ard's chimney and Mr. Bayard's red front door
were beacons out over the river and a species of
traveller's guide on land. It was whispered about
in those anxious gatherings that the costly appur-
tenances of his dwelling had. been handled imcere-
moniously, and even damaged considerably, by the
party who had gone thither to make the arrest.
In their search for the hidden master of the house,
they were said to have behaved with inconceivable
rudeness to Madam Bayard and other persons of
condition. , ^ i. it-
Madam Van Cortlandt was much upset by this
happening, having her own reasons for feehng it
acutely. For Mr. Bayard was connected with her
by ties of kindred, through intermarriage between
the famiUes and long friendship, and his atuation
was without doubt sufficiently serious. She was,
moreover, very wdl aware that at least one of her
sons, Olat Stephenson Van Cortlandt, might very
possibly become embroiled, as indeed proved later
to be the case. Then PoUy, who had but lately re-
turned from her wedding journey and taken up her
abode in the fashionable quarter of the town down
near the Fort, could bring her but Uttle comfort.
During the frequent visits which she paid to ha
grandmother and her beloved Evelyn, she was at
A BLOW THREATENS 251
times moody and depressed, quite unlike her old
■vivacious self. For her newly-wed husband had
ali^dy tried to impose upon her many of his puri-
tanical views, and was making himself openly con-
spicuous among the Ldslerians. It was even
whispered that he had taken a leading part in pro-
curing the arrest of Nicholas Bayard. The bright
horizon of PoUy's life was thus abeady clouded,
and this added another to Madam Van Cortlandt's
many causes of anxiety. With Fvdyn in her house
and under all the circumstances, it was necessary to
observe the greatest caution. It was but too clear
to the mind of the old lady that Polly's husband
would be glad of an opportunity to deal a blow at
that friend of his wife's whom he had always dis-
laced. In his fanaticism, probably, he would con-
sider that it was a public duty to rid the colony of
a zealous and active adherent of Popery. There-
fore, Madam was troubled far beyond her wont, the
placid stream of her existence seeming of a sudden
to have been forced into swift currents and dan-
gerous eddies.
Madam Van Cortlandt had not hitherto said a
word to Evelyn of these troubles in so far as they
concerned herself, but always preserved her cheerful
and easy composure. The two sat together on the
very evening when the Kermesse had come to an
end. They discussed the cattle that had been ex-
hibited or sold, the various weaves of cloth, the webs
of linen, the embroideries and the leather-work.
Forgettmg gruver cares, they gossiped a Uttle, as
women will, of the betrothals that were impending,
and of couples that had been seen much together
dunng the course of the week; of -Jie sadness that
was imprinted like a mask on the once sparkling
-S*
2S2 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
face of Cornelia de Peyster, whose lover had been
killed by Indians; of how charming the Schuyler
girls and Marije and Annetje Provost had looked in
their modish new gowns; how the fat and sluggish
wife of Mynheer de Vries had roused herself to come
in a sedan chair to the Kermesse, and had visited
every store. They discussed the costimies which
Lady Bellomont had worn, her bonnets which had
come from beyond the water, and her exquisitely
embroidered scarf, said to have been the work of
Continental nuns.
Sometimes little silences would intervene as the
elder lady studied with admiration the fine and
delicate profile of her young' guest, the lashes of
whose eyes rested on smooth-sfinned cheeks, while
her fingers drew the thread in and out of the bit ot
tapestry on her lap. Those silences of Evelyn struck
Madam Van Ck)rtlandt as being in themselves in-
teresting: they were restful since they suggested
repose; they were sympathetic, for from time to
time the eyes that were raised and the smile in
them ^owed that the quiet worker was in touch
with her companion. Then too her silences were
thoughtful, as Madam reflected, never for one mo-
ment indicative of a light and frivolous mind, to
which repose is abhorrent; in themselves eloquent,
they contained the elements of strength, power and
self-control.
Madam, speaking at length, reverted once more
to the crucial matter of Nicholas Bayard, which
they in common with all the town had discussed so
often. ,
"Much grieved I am " she said, "for himself and
for his wife, Judith, whom I remember as so beauti-
ful a bride, when she came here from Boston Town.
w^m
A BLOW THREATENS 253
Should aught befall her husband, I veray believe
the woman's heart would break."
Evelyn considered the suggestion, but she did not
^ute it. To her it seemed that hearts were not
brittle, but stretched and expanded under the pres-
«ire that was put upon them until they could en-
dure all things. Confident now of a sympathetic
fastener, which she no longer dared to expect in her
granddaughter, Madam poured out for the first
tnne to Evelyn some of the apprehensions which
were darkemng all her horizon. What she alone
krpt from her were her uneasiness concerning the
girl herself and the danger of her presence in the
house, now that the Van Cortlandts might have
enough to do to protect themselves. She spoke her
mind with great freedom concerning thie new bride-
groom, and declared that she alone of all the relatives
had stood out against such a marriage, the more
so as it had never been, or at least was not until
very recently, a marriage of love for Polly.
"My only hope is," she said, "that Polly's bright
and wholesome nature may correct defects in his
character. At least, we can continue so to hope,
though my experience of life has been," she added
with a sigh, "that the wife's nature changes, rather
than the husband's, whose characteristics become
but more marked as the years go on."
While thus the pair conversed, they cited before
them, as it were, every one of those figures who were
then filling the canvas of old New York. The scene
about them was one of indescribable peace. The
room m which they sat was a small, cMntz-fumished
boudoir close by the drawing-room, from which a
broad stairway of oak wound upwards to Madam's
bedroom. Through the open windows, in that soft
'!'
254 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
September night, came the odor of the flowers in
their prim beds, so unlike the profusion of Evelyn's
own garden. Presently the clodc in the hall sounded.
"Bless me," cried Madam, "if that is not already
half past eight."
The excl^nation rotised Evelyn from the reverie
into which she had fallen, a reverie in which Prosser
WiUiams and his highly distasteful wooing played
a part, and the figure of Captain Ferrers seemed
thrown thereby into high rehef. In happier times
and under more fortunate circumstances, she could
not conceal from herself the latter might have played
an important part in her life. It might have been
that the old lady, who still watched her intently,
divined her thoughts, for she said suddenly:
"A man to be marked amongst many is that
Captain Ferrers. He is one whom I do sincerely
like and esteem."
A wave of color passed over Evelyn's face, so odd
was the coincidence of Madam's remark with the
current of her thoughts.
"But, my child," said the older woman, speaking
with her wise, tender gravity, "it would be foohsh
to let your imagination dwell too much on one whose
life must lie so far apart from y -'rs. Mudi less
should you permit him to engage your affection."
She paused scarcely permitting herself a glance
at the face before her; bot, as Evelyn made no re-
joinder, she coffltinued:
"I speak as a mother mi^t speak to a dearly
loved daughter. And do not misunderstand me,
whatever may be your sentiments, for he is beyond
question your devoted admirer. I will go farther
and say that unmistakaiJy he lo»es you."
There was ar inscrutaWe expression in the eyes
A BLOW THREATENS
255
that were raised to Madam's face, but sadness seemed
the dominant note — a sad hopelessness that could
not be reused to enthusiasm even by recognition on
the part d this woman, whom she knew to be both
wise iwd discerning, of a love that was but half-
expressed. If it were true that Captain Ferrers
ioved hei^-as by many tokens he had led her to
hxfieve, so that she herself was all too sensible of
his devotion — it only made the prospect before her
the more imspeakably difRcult.
"May I venture a question?" said Madam.
"Has he spoken of his feelings?"
"Only indirectly," Evelyn answered. "I have
sought to avoid the subject."
"As was most wise," commented Madam, "at
least until — "
But she could not speak the words of hope that
her heart suggested. The ending of that sentence
must be indefinite. She was filled with a great pity
and sorrow. If circumstances had been different,
this would have made an ideal match. She had
read the young man's character with her keen, dis-
criminating glance, and she knew him to be worthy
-ya brave and honest gentleman, of a charming
disposition too, such as she might have selected for
PoUy, had the choice been hers. But Evelyn now
spoke with that fine dignity and composure which
Madam had so often admired:
"No one can know better than I," sl.re said, "that
such an attachment must be hopeles. When I
have gone to join my father it will perhaps die a
natural death."
Madam was very doubtful whether any attach-
ment inspired by such a girl would be so fleeting;
b«t she did not express any further opinion, and
|. ,:-.
JS6 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
indeed at that very moment the two were suddenly
and rudely interrupted. There was the sound of
footsteps coming hurriedly along the broad walk
outside; the latch of the garden gate clicked, and
in another instant Jumbo, the foot-boy, tapped at
the open door of the room where the two ladies sat.
His c/i's were rolling with excitement, as he
breathlessly informed them that Mynheer Ferrers,
the Captain, had given him a note and bidden him
take it as speedily as he could to the ladies of the
house. The gentleman had so impressed upon him
the necessity of haste, and also of delivering the
note to none other than Madam Van Cortlandt or
her guest, that the boy had very nearly got into
serious difficulties. He had run headlong into pedes-
trians who, thinking him a footpad, had loudly
called for the Watch. Needless to say. Jumbo did
not wait for its arrival. He had collided in the hall
downstairs with Peter, the butler, who had staggered
back against the wall, with the ejaculation: "The
good Lord ha" mercy!" On recognizing Jumbo, he
had dealt the boy a hearty cuff upon the ear, which
had only served to expedite his progress.
"Massa Ferrers, he say 'Hurry, hurry!'" cried
Jimibo.
Evel3m, to whom the note was addressed, opened
it and read that at any moment a force would be
sent at the instigation of Prosser Williams to arrest
her. Lord Bellomont had spoken plainly of the
matter, describing the accused as "an insolent and
pernicious Papist, who broke all laws and consorted
openly with the enemies of the King's Government."
The matter was so urgent that Ferrers implored her
to take instar.t measures for her safety. _ She must
find concealment somewhere, until her friends could
A BLOW THREATENS 257
arrange for her escape to her father. The youne
mM did not say in the letter, what he ver? weU
knew to be the case, that the arrest would be amply
a cover for the designs of Prosser Williams. T^at
nuscreant, as he could fancy, would bring all pressure
il^f^J^5?'!i^ Evelyn's release, making marriage
with luiMelf the cooditjon. He would promise the
«itnonties that, once he had become master of the
situation and the girt had been freed from the per-
maous influence of her father, he could guarantee
that die would become a good Protestant, or at
le^t be made to conform to the estabUshed teKgion
and abandon all her dangerous practices. Evelyn
m riding Captain Ferrers' note, was able to piec^
out for herself very much of what he <fid not say
bhe too knew that this action of Captain Williams
If actuated m the first instant by revenge, was but
a stq) to the prosecution of his suit. For an instant
she felt helpless and bewildered. Then she roused
herself and read aloud to Madam Van Cortlandt aU
that the young man had written save one manly and
tender sentence wherein he had placed himself at
her service, declaring that he was willing, could it
advance her interest, to resign his position at once.
With a sigh, Evelyn decided that such an action
on his part would be fatal. It would incense Lord
beuomont more than ever if he were to lose one of
ms favonte officers on account of this girl
.u ^?^^*,Hy,*^®° ^^ *° "^ss the Van Cortlandts*
tnreshold. Madam cried, "to seize my guest?"
But abnost as she spoke she remembered Nicholas
tJayard and her heart sank within her
CHAPTER XIV
AN ALLIANCE OF HATB
•111
ON ue afternoon of that memorable day a
cunous conversation took place between Myn-
heer de Vries and the newly-wedded husband of
Pcdly Van Cortlandt. The two had met on the
covered bridge in front of the Stadt Huys, where
merchants were in the habit of congregating of a
morning to barter goods, and where, by order of the
Governor, a formal meeting was held every Friday
after eleven of the clock. But there were no mer-
cantile men on the premises just then, and no hint
of traffic, as the pair stopped for a moment to chat,
leaning on the wooden railing and looking down into
tho waters of the Graft or Pond, as it took its slow
way through Broad Street. When they had con-
vereed a little on current topics, and the yoimg hus-
band had responded indifferently to the compliments
which the elder man paid him on the subject oi his
bride, young Laurenu broke out hotly on the matter
of Nicholas Bayard's arrest, which he declared had
been only too long delayed. His listener was by
no means averse to hearing the young man's views,
adroitly leading h'm on by questions which conveyed
nothing of his own opinion. Also, Henricus was in-
duced by the same skilful process to air his discontent
with the part which the Van Cortlandts had played
AN ALLIANCE OF HATE 259
frwn the first in political aSairs, aUgning themselves
**« ^^ ^**» ^^ people's enenUes. """^^^
Ma^K^^ ^^ ^K^^^' '^"le niaintaining with
djgnity and r^lutely his own cautious positioS upon
M^T^fiu ^r ^??^"e*i himself neither to kny
blame of the Van Cortlandts nor to any deprecation
of thetr opponents. He prided himsdf oS having
the nght word for every emergency, and he had long
ago taken the measure <rf this fanatic, whose narrow
ana puntamcal nature was accentuated by the
traimng of a Calvinistic mother, and who wm also
t^T^ to ingratiate himself with John Nanfan.
and through hrni with Lord BeUombnt. In such
3t"V* ^^^^. Mynheer to be cautious, and
cautious he accordingly was.
™li^™-?^" 1 *°^ grievance even against my newly-
wed OTfe, Laurens said petulantly.
«,o3!*^.? ^^ ^ charming." interposed Mynheer
fZt^' ^7'"^ '""^* «y ^ thisUedorbe-
"Strong measures will be necessary with this
one said the young man with a disagreeable laugh.
wi^^w^ y*^ ^^^ **e grievance is good flesh Mid
blood, bone and sinew."
«.^^^ ^1^^ instantly aware that his com-
pamon was alluding to Evelyn
r^^^^^^^^ ^ estabhshed herself in the Van
CorUandt homestead " said the younger man, sourly.
iiSndL^/' ^ ^ ' ^ ^°^^ '* *^^ ^^2^* °*
an!i^^^'^'"'-"u^'* Mynheer, shaking a reproving
Md v«y waggish finger at him, "you are speaking
dt^fW°;.,^ a PopuJar decree, has been declared
wSiul^^f^"^- The beaux hereabouts credit
ner with both beauty and parts."
1
1:
I:
f
i6o GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
"She has the art to perfection of deooving or-
dinary men," said Henricus, with an air which
plainly said he conddered himself extraordinary.
"She has never drawn the wool over my eyes, and
never will."
"Yours," said Mynheer, indigently, "were en-
gaged with one so surpassingly fair-^"
His companion waved an impatient hand as if
scomftd of the suggestion, but, do as he would,
there suddenly rose before him a vision of Polly
as he had first known her. Boy and girl together,
they had belonged to the same Company. As chil-
dren, they had picked berries together, skated on
the pond, or coasted down that steep hill leading to
the bridge where the men now stood. Later they
had continued that good comradeship, which, in
the case of Laurens, had ripened into warmer senti-
ments. Latirens forgot for a moment Mynheer,
who was watching him intently, and his own griev-
ances. He seemed to see Polly the leader of their
Company, bright, gay and vivacious, imposing her
views upon them all. On that very hill she had
stood as a queen, and he an abject slave. If it
pleased him immensely to recall her thus, his pleasure
was by no means diminished by the thought that
now and henceforward it was for him to command
and Polly to obey. His will must henceforth be
dominant. He was jubilant at the reflection, which
in turn had led to another. He remembered how
his enniiiy to Evelyn dated from the time when the
latter liaci outrivalled Polly, as a child at first and
later as a woman. He had bitterly resented her
beauty and her charm, which had led to the defection
even of Pieter Schuyler and others of the Manhattan
youth, who were bound by every conventional law
AN ALLIANCE OF HATE 261
^^^^f""**°f°"?- For cveiy bit of social
EJSf^i'",^!*' that had been hers, he hated
Evehrn in ahnost greater measure than for her ner-
aonal dislike of himself, which she had Zv»h^
ll^Th^rff- He was quite awaiTSiara
Evdyn had had her way, there would have b^
no Polly waiting for him at home in timt pi^
house overlooking the Fort and the BowUng Green.
M these recoUections passed through his Tnind in
swft succesaon as his eyes rested on that hiU of old
^^^TL?^^^^ ** *^« ^^°^eht of the triumph
^iw l^S ^^ *" "nanying Polly-a triumph the
greater for the slow persistence by which she had
bem won; and he promised himself a fresh triumph
over Evelyn, when he should compel Polly to k^
to at a distance d not to break off all relatioS
jmn her. He had heard some rumors which filled
han with a vague hope that Evelyn might be dis-
^ hL'anlrS." "^" ^^^ *° ^"^ ^
Mynheer had meanwhile been waiting patiently
mitU his compamon should speak again. He saw
o^^ !rr^*® softness and harshness of his face,
M^d that dreamy look fixed upon the hill, which
gave him a cue to the other's thoughts. When
young Laurens spoke it was to disavow any other
motive for his depreciation of Evelyn than that he
was unusually clear-sighted.
=nt7°°..nT"''^^?^'^ ^y ^^■" ^d Mynheer, pleas-
antly. Beheve the word of one who is nigh double
s«l^^shJ^t^•* " ^^ *° ^° ^^""^^ ^^ ^^
♦t,?I '",^ thiiiking at the same time, as he regarded
rf f^^ T^ "^"^ ^*** ^°^ ^> ^hat a n^ure
Of fool and png, and possibly knave, this young man
Miaiocorr •esoiution test chart
(ANSI end ISO TEST CHART No. 2)
1.0 Ifi^ 1^
A -APPLIED IM/IGE In
^B--; '653 Eost Main Street
B TJ: Rochester. Ne* Yorh U609 USA
■^— (716) 482 - 0300 - Phone
^» (716) 2S8 - 5989 - Fa>
262 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
had turned out. Aloud he spoke cheerily, inviting
his companion to come up to the house and have a
pipe of choice tobacco and a glass of Madeira, which
had come straight from overseas. _
"Through the Customs I will hope," said Henn-
cus, but his laugh this time was more genial, for the
afternoon was wearing chill and Mynheer's wine
was notably good. , , . r .
Mynheer waved aside the subject after his graceful
fashion, and on they went until, at the gate of the
now deserted cottage, the younger man stopped
suddenly. The profusion of. flowers in their very
luxuriance suggested some neglect, and Mynheer,
who felt uneasy, was fearful lest his companion
would guess the secret that he himself had been at
pains to conceal. , . «
"I wonder where this de Lacey keeps himself
hidden," Laurens said suspiciously.
"Buried in his books they tell me, exclaimed
Mynheer, with a careless wave of his hand. ^^
"You are his nearest neighbor and should know,
said Laurens, "but he must be lost in contemplation
at the present moment, for he has no light."
"He is an odd fish," conceded Msmheer, ' a far
other sort of person than you and I, who value most
the society of our kind."
"His kind," said Laurens, slowly and venomously,
"would be dangerous." _ . „
"In quality, perchance, but not m quantity,
said Mynheer, Ughtly, making a move onwards.
"I mean that there re not many of his hke.
"So much the better for these colonies, cned
Laurens, still vindictively. "I would hke passing
well to have a peep at him and his books just now.
What say you. Mynheer?"
hr.
\'i H
AN ALLIANCE OF HATE 263
persua^te^^ "°1 ^^ ^^V^'^^ °^' ^^^^^is," he said,
nif^H? '^"^'^"gly abandoned Ws investigation
tor though he had heard no word as yet of Mr dP
wWch iTn'f ^^ ^PP^^ ^y ^ sentenceTS;
r.i»„ ^ '^^^ '?* '^"P ^hen the name of Evelvn de
Lacey came again to the surface, and which were the
KrThoV» <^^PProvai. even of sZthered
,vfr. t^" ^''°"g'> Mynheer frowned darkly the ODk,
Xl="%^?'^''.'*^' *°S^*^^ ^th the two or S^
glasses of Madeira that young Laurens ha H^,^^
JZT"* f " '^"^'^ to?gue.^^d Vrowle^^s
S^ bSJe"^n°'^°.* T'y things wWch had
tl^t tKri "^^^ to her. and which showed
SrflJe^w'A""'''''"^"*' ^d probably at
Ihe conversation gave Mvnheer nkn oe »,» tj
Soil s £^™S4'^^r.'?; sa-cTS
i-acey had been engaged, or at Ipa^f tho*. *i..r^_-
i 3<
engaged, or at least that that
was
m
464 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
not his only offence. But the knowledge made him
mentally determined, in so far as his own personal
security and convenience permitted, to befriend both
the girl and her father. Against his wife, whose
dull eyes glowed and who had so evidently enjoyed
to the full young Laurens' tirades against the girl.
Mynheer was filled with indignation, and he re-
solved to make her feel his resentment in a variety
of ways.
CHAPTER XV
THE BLOW FALLS
Wwlifstml?' Van Cortlandt and Evelyn
turned pale, and Evelyn for t I'nifl^f J-ortlandt
I I
266 GERALD dh LACEY'S DAUGHTER
for the daytime. It was not to that bed hcj^ever^
seemed like a cupboard ^appily^ere w^
SK^re^S' Sle"^— . listening eagerly
^"l^°S'C cSandt hastily despatched her
Z^ediate& recognized a^ .-T^SsSLn'Son
'^otrpd and their insensate rage agamst ±'op«7.
you into my house.
THE BLOW lALLS
267
The business of the Lord," answered the leader
who was a New Englander and a Puritan, "as well
as that of the King's Majesty, and of His Excellency
our good Governor."
"If you will name that business, I may be en-
abled to understand the motive for this unseason-
able intrusion."
"A warrant has been issued on complaint of divers
persons against a member of the accursed Popish
sect, whom you are said to harbor under this roof
—one Mistress de Lacey, who has made herself
anienable to the law by consorting with Jesuits
and the enemies of the King's Government, and
has stnven to draw savages from their allegiance
by teaching them pernicious and abhorrent doctrines,
and brmging them under the dominion of foreign
Mass-priests and the French of Canada."
The charges, thus formulated against Evelyn and
put in concrete form, startled the old lady, though
die had heard much of their general tenor from Mr
de Lacey. The matter, as now stated, seemed to
her very serious, and for an instant she did not know
what reply to make.
"There is no one under the roof of a Van Cort-
landt," she answered, "who is a traitor to the King's
Government."
"Can you deny, at least," cried the leader, "that
there is here one Evelyn de Lacey, a Papist, pro-
fessmg— yea, practising, in so far as she may— the
abhorrent doctrines of Rome?"
1 j"^f. '■^'^gioi of '^y guests," said the stout old
lady, is a matter between their Creator and them-
selves. I neither know nor seek to know how they
worship God. Nor will I give you information of
any sort to help in your nefarious task,"
»
268 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
"Do you, then, obstruot the officere of the law.
who bv the King's warrant, seek a pnsoner?
"in no waydo I obstruct you," responded Madam
"You ^ free to search this house from the garret
to t^ X, though I warn you that I diall protest
against the outrage in the prop«- q^^f^- .
"Protest an you wiU," retorted the leader, my
^%' wllien, exchanging glances, betrayed some
une^nei. V^ Cortlandt had long been a name ^
coniure with in these colgmes, and the Enghsh
C So^had oftentimes changed w^th portentous
SxSnlL from one faction to ffother however,
fhpv had no resource but to follow their leader.
«ln Xr di^^ding his men so that some should
«^u?on tti^^ound floor, mounted the stair-
wS^o institute Ws search. The mistress of the
holse had instructed Peter to attend the search-
Srtv aSd the old negro, indignant at an intrusion
ffih tXs mind infringed upon the family digmty
Sly obeyed. AU the while he cast funo'^^ glanc^
at them rolling his eyes so that httle ..cept the
whiS showed;' but he knew that any attempt at
««a<itance would be worse than useless.
iSg hS, Madam meanwhile awaited with
stSTcomisure 'the outcome of that s^ch w^di
was of so momentous importance f°^th«n all. H«
sleeoine apartment being at the top of the staars
iKard above her head the heavy tread of the
fnauiltors She was aware that they ..ad crossed
Solm and approached her bedstead wluch in its
solemn dignity might have seemed sufficient to over-
Iwe^y iSs finatical folk than those who had come^
WheHhey had gone thus far, she leaned back in
S di^^d. closing her eyes, waited breathlessly.
THE BLOW FALLS
269
tix^u ?^i^ *^^ moments seemed like hours.
km!i K . "^ "l^^ ^^^' so as to be completely
^h^^\ I'^^J^^ two mattresses, at the moment
when she heard the search-party mounting the stairs.
«^w. i'^.i.*^^i'".^'*'"P'"8 ^'•oind the room,
poking under the bed, moving aside some heaW
pieces of furmture and tossing things about reck-
lessly, as if to show their contempt for the verv-
nchness of the appointments. They prodded the
bed and, raising the linen valance, looked under-
neatn. ihen someone said something about the
bedsteandan argument ensued. During its continu-
ance the blood throbbed in Evelyn's ears, and her
heart beat so painfully that she could scarcely hear.
The contention seemed to be that surely there would
A i'? f^^'^f,^ "* ^^'^ luxuriously furnished and
Anghfied dwelling. Evelyn was beginning to breathe
more freely, when one fellow, who had been espe-
ciaUy persistent in maintaining that no Dutch house
-^and particularly one which had bxn begun in
pioneer times— could be complete without a sleeping
cupboard suddenly thrust his hand between its
doors and the great bedstead.
"It is there," he cried with triumph, and he strove
toc^n the doors m so far as was possible
»f fhlli .^ ^•" fF^^ Captain Ransom, angered
at the obstmacy of his subordinate, "how could any-
one have reached there without moving that weiehtv
piece of furmture, a thing manifestly impossible for
a young and slender woman? For it must be re-
S i that the occupants of this dwelling,
whither the Lord has sent us, could have no knowt
edge of our coming, since aU our proceedings were
attended with the utmost secrecy."
This seemed an unanswerable argument, but the
..■ ' I '
270 GERALD de LACEV'S DAUGHTER
man who had discovered the hedsie, unwilling to be
deprived of the merit of his d»sS?''T''i. .X .
as near as possible to the aperture. FmaUy he thn^t
his pike down into the feather bed. But for the
thickness of the mattress, the body of the brave prt
would most certainly have been transpierced, iix-
ercising wonderrul self-control, Evelyn uttered no
sound and made not the slightest movement. Only
her Ups moved in a simple and earnest prayer tor
help and safety. She had been asking all along,
as she lay there, that Divine protection might
be with her, that the Mother of God a^d her
good angel might watch over her — not for her
own sake alone, but also the sake of her hospitable
entertainers. „u,n„.t„
Fortunately the leader, who was an obstinate
man. had made up his mind that no hiimaVemg
could have forced a way in between the bedstead
and the cupboard, and that there would not have
been time to move the former. And even the man
who had taken pride in the discovery of what he
beUeved might be a place of conceahnent. after a
few more futile thrusts and after flashing his lanthorn
through the chinks of the cupbo^d. was almost
convinced that no one could be hidmg there. Vm,
even if she succeeded in effecting an entrance, he
thought she would certainly have betrayed her
presence by an exclamation, a scream or a move-
ment. And so the leader gave the order and th^
moved away. Evelyn, with devo^ttj'^'^ff^
for the visible protection which had been accorded
her. still lay motionless, while she heard the heavy
tramp of the searchers ascending to the upper story.
Only then did she momentarily uncover her face
and take a deep breath. The man had left the door
THE BLOW FALLS 171
of the cupboard open, so that the Intolerable close-
ness of the atmosphen was somewhat relieved.
However, she was pon her guard, feeling con-
vinced that there mi^.^c be danger yet, and that the
man who had seemed more suspicious than the rest
might come stealing back for a final examination
of that possible hiding-place. Prepared for such an
event, Evelyn heard the stealthy step of the fellow,
who apparently still had hopes of surprising the
fugitive. She drew her head well in underneath
the two feather mattresses and lay motionless as
before. Once more she was in imminent danger from
the pike-thrusts which the .'ellow plentifully be-
stowed upon the mattresses. They were of a thick-
ness to defy him, and, in sullen disappointment, he
rejoined his comrades. The whole party, crestfallen
and sheeiHsh, went downstairs again to where Madam
Van Cortlandt was waiting to receive them with
cutting reproaches and cutting sarcasm.
''I trust," said she, "that you have found to your
liking this poor dwelling, which has been inhabited
by three generations of Van Cortlandts, all loyal
men and true to King and country."
"We are the humble servants of the Lord," said
Captain Ransom, "and this work was given to us to
do, against the mighty no less than the lowly."
"Against an aged widow and a defenceless girl?"
asked Madam Van Cortlandt severely. "I trust
that no such work may be given to the men of
my race, nor ca ^ I believe that the Lord will sanc-
tion it."
The leader scowled, but he could fii.J no ready
answer, and, giving the signal for his men to depart,
he paused upon the threshold of the room to hurl
back a defiance,
272 GERALD DE LACEVS DAUGHTER
"Woe to those who seek the company of the
wicked' their iniquity shall find them out!
'^•^n which casi it'should have found you out
lone ago. Tobias Ransom." said Madam Van Cort-
andt "Take your own warning and depart from
E in pea^ Jthout adding to the offence already
~?Sbabfy"it was that consideration which «:ause^
him to refrain from further speech and to lead his
S'down the gravelled walk and away ^hrough
the iron gates into the town. The light I™/" j"f
SnthCsf hung out by each .^ven^h Jou^J'^fj;
Wl utxjn them as they marched away, ana tneir
SotstC^o^seemed to break the Hlence of Man-
hattan Madam Van Cortlandt Ustened ti 1 she
5:Sd"hem dying away in the distance^ Jhen^^^ly .
but with a heavy heart, she '"°"«\«lj*^i.*^" „°
release Evelyn and to assure herself of her young
^S momentary safety. The two women stood
toeether in Madam's room, looking into each other s
ffi for tmces of the late ordeal.and recountmg their
experiences. At last Evelyn said:
"But I must not remain another hour here- ^
have even now brought too much trouble upon this
^""-nie house can take care of itself. I opine." said
MaS. tS to speak Ughtly. "but it « or you^
safety that I am apprehensive. This same or an
othe/ search-party may return, with a le^'l ^^3
wise in his own conceit and more fuUy informea as
to your recent presence here." „ ...
•'These men or some others wiU return, deciarea
Eve^Hedsively. "and I am absolutely convinced
that there is not a moment to lose. „.
For she was thinking of Prosser Williams. She
THE BLOW FALLS
273
S^ innH It" ^u '^'^y '"dignity, which would
nevCT abandon the chase once he had embarked upon
Jt She could picture to herself his rage, though her
imagimngs fell far short of the truth, knd how he
J ..j"^ .? "^'^ unsuccessful seekers. "Fools"
"""R ^ tvJ'°"''^ ^ '*»** '""'^^^t of Ws epithets,
in ™^i '^>'^'"?:^*" y°" 80?" inquired the old lady,
m perplexity "You dare not leave the city to-night
R^/^^r^.^'^Kf, ^y^'^^" end by the Boston Post
Road will doubtless be watched, and, as to the houses
Of our kindred, every one would be suspect."
She paused and added with a sigh :
„vt.f 1^ ^•^*?°' *"® ^^^ informed. wouM give her
husband^^ ^""^ ^°"' " ^^"^^^^^ with such a
"I will not enter into any Y ase," declared Evelvn
whi/tSlT- rf°'^^°"^ outV repealing X
where the trouble and inconvenience which I have
occaaoned here. I will go to the Wilden. Their
island hab sheltered others before now ir roublous
times., and it will shelter me until the h. and «^
faThen" ^""^^ * ""^^ ^^ ** '' ^^ *° '^J'''" "V
. Madam looked at the girl doubtfully, for, th'^usli
in some respects the plan commended itself to ho-,
she could not bear to think of the hardships and diV
so°'?r?ot? ""''' '"""^ •" ^"^^^ "P- °-
"WfV^ ^-f" *r"'' these savages?" she inquired.
With my hfe." answered Evelyn. "I have been
^^L'^Z^■^ °^ ^^r^ *"^"' ^"^ ^^^y have made
with me the Silver Covenant of friendship, which
IS a tie they never break."
tim J^ ^°" "*}" ^ '^^' "1 *™*. at least for the
time bemg." admitted the old lady, who had no
i
•1 '
'r
■ 'i'
,74 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
inconsiderable knowledge of the maBners and customs
°'^K"£!Ue to me." declared Evetyn "a.^
, luli !r rmTnlace of concealment and prayea
5^ h£U Sd£! - that I regard it as prov.-
dential." . . j+ jg g^ » assented
^^^Ty'?"■K f " rallied Evelyn, "that I go thither
was brave and de^^^^UhoSThiS which
her only a very ^laUpa^f^ffh from their place of
conceahn^t Jhen m^g .^^^^^ ^^ ^ ^ i
S'llkng oftir oW friend, she set out mto the
darkness of night.
CHAPTER XVI
A NOCTURNAL FLIGHT
T^^Jot^^^ an experience which Evelyn never
1 forgot, even m the stiU more thrimng ones
which came after. Wrapped in a dark hooded
S?' wh- ^"^"^ ^"'^S ^'^^ '^^^' °f the hTdge
rows, which were now tummg yeUow or in that of
the iron railings, which seemi^ Si^y to shut
in the vanous residences. She pissed by d° ,^ous
ways from Queen Street into the Broad Way tom-
SLtLt' '°""V ^ ^PP^aching fooTS) "nto
Gkssmakep or. Pieweman's Street? the names of
which had lately been changed, in honor of th^g^!
ing sovweign. to William and Nassau. ^
She then pursued a straight course beside the deeo
stream that rail through the heart of the town S
a path on either side. There were momen^',^en
^hJ^Z^TtJ^"^^-''^- ^-^ *« cowered i^ the
sftadow of a wall or m some masonry behind an
abutment, lest a belated passer-by shoSd reZjh^
00 closely or ask questions. For it was r^S^d
hatten «^" ,f °"%^* "^t^ °" '^^ streets of S
closed and^hT^ ^^ ^^l "^^ ^^^^^ ^^ been
Closed and the guns from the Port proclaimed the
SiTant ZX ^li''' l'^^^^^ pump she parsed an
mstant for breath, and she could not teU whv but
the ghastly stoiy connected with the place cS back
i<: -ii
,76 GERALD DB LACEY'S DAUGHTER
to her. She r^c^d how a young^^ had^be^^
brought to trial before the co^ ^^^ o„e sleigh-
murder of his ^^^^heart. ^ na S^^^^^in
riding in his company. H«^^^^iy the lurid re-
ft weU by tl^s Plac*. Ai^uaa«>y ^^^^^
flection of that tragedy ^^^^ed from the spot,
and to depress her spmts^^^^ ^^^^ o^t
but not before a «^ ^^^loak closely around
her cloak. , , j t^is who goes so
"What pretty hght o loj« ^ ^^^ ^ swift pang
late?" cried a husky voice^^^hich. Cognized ^
at once of terror and dis^st^^en^^ ^^ ^^ ^^^^
of Captain Gi^tbatd^. He <^ugn ^^ ^
Srrfrl H^TanSr^again hurried on. crymg:
"Detain me at your peru- _,t,ptted bv this
oStbatch. whose c^rro^Jf, £*^th whom
behavior, df «™^ huS aft^ h^a^ ^^^^^ ^
he had to deal. He ^^^ ^^uld permit. Both
his balf-intoxicated condrtion^uia ^^^^ ^^
pursuer and pursued 'jere con^mg i ^^^
belancey apple orch^. whidi tte prt n ^^^ ^^^^
to enter with tlus »?^^^!?J^jSrt not be better
an instant, considering wheA^^tmignt^^^^^^^
to make him aware of her identi^o ^^eme.
of action, she felt, would^d^g^^i;^ 1^ j^^ ^d.
While she hesitated, ^^^fhood backwards, thus
with a shaip ]erk puUed the hooQ d ^^^ ^
rcvealine a face that was «*^^"'y V, „v»^k The
A NOCTURNAL FLIGHT
277
appearance or that discovery might have cost her
dear. As it was, he stood stiU, surprised and mo-
mentarily abashed at the unexpected sight of that
lovely, refined countenance as it was revealed by
a hght from the lanthom which hung from a neieh-
bonng pole.
TTiough the glimpse of that countenance, which
Evelyn hastened to conceal, did not enlighten Great-
batch much, it came with a shock of amazement to
a tall man who was walking hurriedly towards the
pair. He had heard the sound of voices, and, al-
though he had not recognized that of Evelyn, he
felt certain that there was a woman in distress. His
own curiosity, which was as great as that of the sailor,
made him hasten forward. In that one glimpse he
became aware that the cloaked figure was that of
Evdyn de Lacey, and that she was being annoyed
by Greatbatch. He did not wait to ask himself what
combination of circumstances could have brought
the girl here alone and unattended from a household
so conservative as that of Madam Van Cortlandt.
He only saw clearly that his intervention was re-
quired, and he laid a hand on the ponderous shoulder
of the smuggler, with the query:
"What is this roystering?"
Greatbatch turned in a fury, but, seeing who it
was that had accosted him, he was sober enough to
moderate his tone.
"Have you an eye for a pretty wench. Mynheer?"
he inquired, with a wink.
''Hoity toity. What a question to put to a Mem-
bo- of Council!" cried Mynheer, with a laugh.
And I would advise you, my friend, to let this
pretty bird of night go her way. Sometime I may
tell you wherefore." '
r
' § mi
1 :
] :' '!
!
ill iii'i'
278 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
He cointed significantly towards the Fort, thoi^
he^C U Xting to beUeve that the smugger s
Ktmnise was correct. Bending nearer, he whis-
^^ou wiU get yourself into trouble, my Grtat-
batdh^Ttroubte are thick in your path already
C^^atch ripped out an oath, but he momentarily
for^lS quS?r^««i Mynheer, adroitly plaang
SlfSaS before the girl, contrived to signal
to her that she should go upon her way. __
"As I am your true fnend, Captain, he wms
-red to tbe^s^or, "I would Idvise you to leave the
^t For yondei nightingale has sharp eyes and
f^uick ton^e. Also' she may know rnore than it
would be expedient for you to have told. .
^m muttering and cursing, Greatbatch ti^^
upon his heel and began to lurch away in the^-
Xte direction, stopping ^^ery °nce and a^
in look back Until he had turned a comer. Mynheer
nevCT mo^. but, once he had seen the feUow out
Cf Sh" hrhurried after Evelyn She on her part
had S^gnized. with mingled ^f^^^^^^^'^^^JS
tion her influential neighbor. If he had delivCTea
Som o^ dLger. miiht not the fact that he had
SSd her inthat momentary glance, when his
^^ meeting hers were full of recogmtion. constitute
a CTa^^ of another sort? He would immediately
tiS^t only an extraordinary train of cu^-
l™co,dd have brought her out . aus m the dark-
ness without protection. „„:„;„„ h(^
"Mistress de l.acey," the man said, garnmg her
side "I d^not know, nor shall I seek to know, what
SUtSit you hither. But, if I can ^e you,
y^ may rely upon me as your neighbor and,
p^h^Je you WiU aUow me to say, as your fnend.
A NOCTURNAL FLIGHT 279
Now, in making that speech, Mynheer had de-
parted a good deal from his habitual caution. For
though, in so far as did not conflict with his own
interests, he was disposed to serve both father and
daughter, partly from the prudential motives that
have been previously explained, he certainly would
not run the risk of endangering himself. And though
his sympathy had been strongly excited by that
glimpse of Evelyn's pale and anxious face, he felt
a measure of relief when the girl, speaking in a low
and unwontedly tremulous voice which touched him
deeply, said:
"You cji only serve me, Mynheer, by being ab-
solutely silent as to this meeting and by a^ng no
questions as to my destination."
"If you could but trust me—" urged the man,
reproachfully.
"Believe me, it is better not. As you shall pres-
ently hear, I make no doubt, the fewer who are in-
volved in my sad fortunes, the better."
She held out her hand in farewell, for she appreci-
ated the genuine kindliness in his usually cold and
impassive voice, and she said:
"Most heartily do I thank you. Mynheer, for
yoiu- offers of service and good-will."
There was nothing for him to do but retire,
though he watched Evelyn till she too was out of
sight, lest some further misadventure might befall
her. Meanwhile he turned over in his mind the prob-
lem of her destination. Whither could she be going,
and was she in flight? If so, was it for the same
reasons that had induced her father to take his de-
parture from the city? Slowly he retraced his steps
homewards, while Evelyn pursued her way in a dead-
ly loneliness, terroi' and isolation, which lay like a
mr !i
1:*
n
i:.'
280 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
paU on her spirits. The people of Marjatte^ ^t
Sriy hours, and sleep w^.over ^. 0«ly *f'^|^.
morincr liirhts on the warship m the Bay, tne waver
SrSicSn UgbTfrom the lanthoms on the pol^.
Sfd Zf^^ othead, bright and d^^ .ntf.e
azure like jewels in the mantle of the Eternal ^g.
reUeved the darkness. The houses were all dark
S Sdens gave forth their frap-ance mdeed but
S trreniined of their luxuriance was hidden
^der the veil of night. The orchards rich with
fr^fgolden red or purple by <Jay but now invisible^
Sded only to the hSst of shadows that accompanied
the rirl on her way. Even her exceUent nerves and
Sgh^^eS courlge had been ^^n f <iJhose
shadows distorted themselves around her into st^ge
shao^rL she had to plunge into stretch after stretch
S SfeS wWch. pVble and ho«ibleto her ^^^
turbed senses, seemed to suffocate her. The shghtest
n^sTof^^eht bird calling or stirring uneasily in
?tT neS or^fin^ts rustUng in the dried grass by
K^^de; rJ.de her stari.. A Wtherto^owj«
fear was her companion on that lonely waUc, tiu tne
SXg^ wJ.ich was menacing h^. and which
ShtTt any moment confront her faded "itom-
Sc^ce. ^It seemed to her that that ^alk J^ich
^^had so Ughtly and f^a^l^^^y t^^^^fvToW
times would never come to an end and that her old
Spy confidence, the Hght-h^edn^ J" h whi^
but yesterday she had taken this path, would never
"^S^tried to pray as she hurried f of^ank. but her
lips faltered and she felt it "upossiWe to utter t^t
trustful prayer of an hour or two before, ■when sne
Sd Koncealed in the bedste and y^en ^^^^^
fdt so strongly the almost visible protection of her
A NOCTURNAL FLIGHT 281
Mother in heaven and of the God for whom she was
suffering this persecution. Only once or twice a
passing footstep appaUed her with the recoUection of
Greatbatch. or with the possibility of encounterine
som«Dne who nught hke Mynheer, recognize her
Yet the sound cheered her and caused her heart to
leap with a great throb of reUef , when she learned
there was someone besides herself awake in Manhat-
tan, bhe once drew cowering into the shade of a
dump of trees, when a belated wayfarer passed
dose by, whisthng the tune of "Money Musk."
Then she humed on, striving to cover as much of
her way as possible while that cheery sound was stiU
in her ears. And thus she, who had never been out
m the darkness alone before, amazed at her own
cowar<hce and her actual shrinking from shadows,
reached at last her long-famihar destination, the
indian encamprient near the Collect Pond and in
the shadow of the Catiemuts.
»: ■*!
^1.
!^1
CHAPTER XVII
SAFE WITH THE WJLDBN
CVELYN breathed a long, deep breach rf^
mmmm
The eves of the old woman flashed fire, and, drawing
S-%1? form to its fuU^dght. t^^^d^ort^^^^^
her native tongue a ;^°l"^. *"^^hich Evelyn
'"^SS'UnJul .hake o( «.. l-«ad "^ "~ "'
SAFE WITH THE JFILDEN aSj
^h^^Z"" P"**"*" ^'^'^h she had adaoted
There," she said, "have the squaws and ft,»
papooses remained hidden when the bravef of tl
Eveljm's eyes brightened and her cheel« al««-^
was posable for her friends-Madam V^Xdi
delay in placing |er in that plTce of X^ cS
^w ; • *''°"8'»t necessary of their puest"^
'nut, nuts, and cakes made from maize pounded
•flif
,84 GERALD »K LACEVS DAUGHTER
as would be t~> ^a^^d^tS^i- canoe from
The y.o^K/f^Z^^'^Se a ^bcr of them lay
the shadow of the bMJc^ere an ^^^ ^^ ^^
in waiting, and prepared to paa ^^ ^^^^_
island Evelyn and a young P" v"» sending to
X). whom Momca was JougWfgyjen^ J
bear her company. F^ th^ "^^^^^y wooded
covered the 'f.^f • f^f stl^c^ld sca^ely pene-
'"^"^ '^tw ^'L iStty'heXdian girl, a true
*?Jl *^f^f foT*s?^arSn Jed for her white sister a
child of the to^*>.*{Ir^ with an extemporized
couch of moss »»»?. '^"^^rj^ne needles which
pfflow fiUed w}th the fra^t^n^ n ^
Monica had given her. ^™s„^'r";i,e verv depth
Ket for coverlet was ^ged in ^b^^^^,
of the woodland t»«<=^^*„^,,''^io^wf Wearied
discovery ^°«l<ii^° nce^tfthe Indian girl
out. Evdyn lay down atMioej^t
stretched out at her feet wia one ^^^^ ^ook
standing sentry. .J^^^^^^t f clue might be thus
back the canoe to its place, lest a ciue nugu
given in the event of Puremt^ oppressed
^ For some time the fu^^vel^^wa^ ^^ ^^^^
by the strangeness of ^^ .^"^^^etrable cur-
SU overhead made an ato^Jim^ne^«
tain, through which she coidd c«cn dui b
°* *^^ ^ihe'^S^hi^T^dSSclepungently
stronger in the coolness oi np^^^yy hooting of
to her nostrils, and of y^^-^S^igii bird, broke
an owl, or the scream.of some oth^ mgn^ • ^^
thestiUness. .Her rmndrap^y renewed t^^^^^
of that evemng, startmg trom mc u
SAFE WITH THE fFILDEN
285
distant moment when the note of warning from Cap-
tain Peners arrived. The thought of him rushed
back upon her: the slight, • 'ert figure, with iu
eagerness of movement and u strength that was
expressed in every line of the clear-cut face with its
well-defined chin and the steel-grey eyes. She re-
membered the look in those eyes when she had last
seal him, the tone of his voice and his words, so few
and yet so charged with an emotion which told its
own stoiy. Hers he was; and her heart throbbed
with a gladness that all the miseries now crowding
fast upon her could not suppress. That man of the
world (the term being here employed in a favorable
sense), who had come so far and seen so much,
had given himself, as he told her, entirely and com-
pletely and with a full devotion into her hands. But
her heart sank again as she realized that that knowl-
edge must only add to her suffering, since a single
step forward on his part would be ruinous for them
both. Also, she had now to go where she might see
his fa^e no more. That thought seemed intolerable
here in the darkness— a darkness which, in its chill
desolation, typified her life.
There was but one gleam of light, and this was
that she should soon, if all went well, see her father,
hear his dear woice again, and resume that com-
panionship which she had missed. That at least
was something to warm and cheer her. She recalled
his description of the place in which he had made his
abode, told in the one or two letters he had ventured
to write. That description, couched in his half-
whimsical style, did not sound alluring. But, after
all, he was there, and his presence constituted home.
If only there were not the pain of parting with that
other, and leaving behind, perhaps forever, all the
286 GERALD d« LACEY'S DAUGHTER
dear and happy associations of her beloved Man-
nftttftn* « « J If
Her thoughU likewise strayed to Madam Van
Cortlandt, who had been as a mother to her. and to
her dear, warm-hearted PoUy, who had striven to
show in every way the same affection, but m whose
manner and bearing of late there had been a certam
constraint. And this she knew to have been engen-
dered by the coming between them of an ahen and
inimical personaUty. So the first hour or two wore
away, and Evelyn fell into a deep sleep, froni which
she woke only as the first pale Uglit of dawn whitened
the landscape. It took her some moments to reahze
that she was neither in the luxurious sleeping apart-
ment at Madam Van Cortlandfs. nor yet in her own
room at the cottage, but here in the cwnp of the
Wilden, a fugitive and under the ban of the law. it
was the strangest awakening in her life, and it re-
mained long fixed in her memory.
'^Ir
CHAPTER XVIII
PLOTTINO AKBW
Whether theS^^°th^„,r " *'^"' *^P'
thrmo°^L^'°r* ^^ *° P"'**"! thither himself in
H'I'
'■. '- ' \:
i-
'"^,. -i
^ GERALD »E LACEY'S DAUGHTER
tion^thold Monica, but. since she was totally
^"iver^E^SX old^uaw.'^Monica. whom he
taewTo Xe trusted frieAd of Evelyn gave not
^P^lilhtest hint of hostiUty towards himself, nor
IruitlM qoent in > gn«K» rage Ihan evw.
Tt occurred to him several times that t-aption
F^eS^S be ih some way R«po».ble (or the
l^ c^£ members of the Cou^f J- ^\\tSTf
of matters of importance. It seemed to tne nuna "^
PrSr Wimaml which he fancied was so astute,
PLOTTING ANEW
289
h'^n
S*th«f\^f^^ ""? ^ ^ complete ignorance of
D Vr*° transpired conceming Evehm
j^^^'L P*^ ^^^ ^^ mernwhile b^en active
in taking such measures as were possible for the
young girl's escape from the Colony, and WsSI
h«l Ti ^ temporary asylum. There she would
have at least a breathing space, until it might be
possible to make other and better arrangements
^!,,^?'?^''^1*°/"^ ^^<^ Van Cortlandt X
Zt^f.u"" t^^ ^y, foUowing Evelyn's flight. He
«nKi,^^ ^°'^ ^il^^S^ ^^^^ g^^den at the back
^.^v^""^ P?f '.^'^ '^^y- f""" he felt sure that
the dwelhng would be carefully watched. On that
occasion the young man frankly declared that it
would have been his dearest wish to marry Evelvn
to Fn'S3"'^ his position, cross the seas with her
ll^f ^' f'^ ''^"^' t° *e Continent. But,
apart from the fact that the girl herself would not
for an instant entertain such a proposal, he was
SiinfVJ^^'^'^ ^^ uponlier a still m^^
mahgnant hatred on the part of Prosser Williams,
who, through his it^uential relatives, was powerful
^ Jo, M^^K^*^ ?"^ ^ *^^ ^°^°"y- Such a hue and
cry would be raised as would make their safe de-
F^T* extremely problematical. In her pique at
the defection of the household staff, even^Lady
Uellomont, who at present seemed weU disposed tow-
ards the girl, might act in a fashion directly con-
tr^ to what might be expected. Nor would her
partiahty for the girl, even if it could be r^Ued upo^
count altogether in her favor with the GovS
hmself Smce It had been his poUcy to frown upon
hl^lTT^'^ between his wife and the Colonics,
he had ah^ady, as Captain Ferrers weU knew, shown
w
ago GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
a marked coldness towards the girl, because my Lady
*" MSSvS"Cortlandt was quite of his c^on
that 1^ if Evelyn had been willing to fors^e her
f aS« ^rthe^troublous times, and if the other ob-
sS^iSd be removed, a marriage at that par-
tiS luncture would probably prove disastrous
fr^einoth. It was far better, as die beheved
£ aSthe course o." events. Changes had o^urred
^ore both in poUcy and administration, and changes
S^ain t^Toc^ again. Her suggestion as to
^Tpresent crisis, which Captain Ferrers accepted
Sth^r^ain reluctance. Was that he ^o^d sedk
mt the only one whom in her opmion it would be
absolutely ^e to trust, namely, Pieter Sdiuylw.
iKuld answer for him that he wou^d be qmte
doable of putting aside his own personal prejudices
^^deSres to sJve Evelyn honestly and ^gle-
i^dedlv. She was certain that he would go to
S^leShs to save the giri from trouble, much less
torn S^. Somewhat pointedly, and as Capteun
Sre remarked to himself quite needle^ly, the
oldkdy^^further declared that Pieter Schuyler
ted^ devote lly attached to Evelyn f^m Itoy-
tood upwards, and had entertamed hopes of finally
!d^^| her affection in return. But what progress
hSwe in that laudable enterprise, with which
the hea^could so fully sympathize. Madam d^d
not state The hope which Ferrers had laid up m
Ws bo^m sin^ wTlast >terview with the giri,
^iTe^^ indefinite as it had been, somehow con-
to^cted the presumption that the Patjence^f ^^
persistent suitor would be rewarded. Still the veij
luMestion of such a thing had occa^oned lus re-
lucS to apply for any help from that quarter.
PLOTTING ANEW 29,
Captain Fm-ers recognized, however, that it was
nec(«sary to have as auxiUary one whi knew b^^
S^ ^ri,."?! '^^ ^?^^' ^''^ ^°"'d P«^«-e what
ever might be required, and select the subordinat^
i^ ^YV^fJ^''°I P^"^ i'l the perilous drama which
involved the safety of their dearly pS^fS
Recent events had made men cautious, and Twt
only such a motive as love that could be count^
upon absolutely, Mom^ver. the Captl's o^
pe^onal impression of the young Colonial cZ
?^, i.^ recommendation which Madam Van
a)rtlandt's sagacity and keen discriminatfen ren"
dered valuable. Having once made up his nJ^d
Ferra^ acted with his accustomed promptitudS
PeSSet^' C^ "^ '' !^'^ fat^her's'SSJriJ
reari btreet. That was a strange meeting The
two men were perfectly well awa?e of each other's
aims and hopes, although, in Heter's case, Eveh^
had never encouraged them. Pieter told WnSS^
^^^'^^^T^.^^ '7^^^^^ th« i'.uatior*at
tJ^.^^ ^^^^y T'^^ '* Pl^ that the t e be-
*!^ ^^^ V^ P"'"^'^ °"« of friendship and old
assoaation. But her efforts to impress that f^t
upon him, and the absence of anything hke co^aet^
The cordial friendship which she accorded him kept
ahve the hope that, where he had gained TiS,
from a girl notoriously chary of her flvors, h^ S
with time and patience win stiU more, or she mi^t
?4J^hT^ to marry him on the strength of that^S
rf cS; p^*"'^ ^^ had realized that the com^
of Captain Ferrers and his marked preference for
Evelyn's society had rendered very unl^ikelyThe fS^
fihnent of such a hope. He feared that the new-
comer, whose vinle quaUties were coupled with a
292 GERALD DE LAC^Y'S DAUGHTER
sinimlarlv winning personality, had captivat^J.^^^
S^UnoTaSlywonherhe^. Nor could he
Sd from hhnsefi that^er P^^^p^^,^^ J^"
bestowed Hence it was mat, though Fieter s jeai
Sr Wed fiercely at times he had been able to
control^ and acknow!edged that.it ^^li^^H
in which the better man must win. P'^'^^' "^
SoklSdiX the hand which Captain Ferr«s ex-
Sde^nd Lepted i^J^^^'ZJ^.^Zwl^
the paternal dwelling and waUc down by the Water
Gate, as if on their way to the Ff^^' . , .. ^^,
"What I have to say. Mynheer bchuyier. ex
Plained Ferr^. "can belt be said, I think, under the
o^ skv And 1 opine that it is due to your father
She othTmeXrs of the family that it be not
^HeTeJ'^ttnT^stinctively that Eveljm must
be^n^^Tfollowed him without delay Wjhout
losing an instant. Captain Ferrers talked all the way,
Sgbefore his companion the imminent danger
FnwWch Evelyn stood of imprisonment, exile and
t^rhais wo7^ He informed him of her temporary
^iSe of Se withThe Wilden, and the necesaty
F^'er iSate depart- 1« fromMarfiattan^e
npvcr so much as en oined secrecy on his hearer,
SorluSatedTo his love or loyalty. He srniply put
Z^^y in his hands liimself^^jS^^eTy
his future prospects, together with Evelyn ss^ety.
Rw^^e action of one chivalrous nmn towards
LTter l^d Pieter felt the appeal and responded
to h ^ th all the generosity of his nat^. Evd^
rn,U he saved, even if she were saved lor tnis
rSg^TaTd by his own help. Ferrer was n^ng
£^^ for h^ than he himself could do, though
t^tmttired nothing. In truth, it was a proof of
PLOTTING ANEW 293
fct'Si^r°^. ^'k,°7 ^"^ **•« «^rf that he thought
first of her, trembled at the danger which th^Ji
=^^ ' ^'^' "^^ *o "^tum separately lest tW
tS^t^To^XS^r,j£^^^^^^^
Kd sS,a" « '^^^^'^ ?'°"2 the Boston C
I
,94 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
Pieter-s.wholivedatsomediJ^^^mM^J^
i«ESf cap. j^j^^ss.1 ssiS
once to her young guest.
■■>),>,
CHAPTER XIX
FAREWELL TO MANHATTAN
Twterf^H'fK°^-"^^^^''^'^ f^"e« over Man-
1 hattan, and the air was heavy with the fraerance
tW ^^^"^ '"^'J ^^ ^"d dismay the chargis
that had been made against her life-long friend ^id
the danger in which she stood. The p?4 Sfncei^d
hLS^^l^" f™.'^ ^^'^s and the maliSt
brood whom he had stirred up to the p^rSe
of evrangehcal wrath, was to lllow the fXe to^
and, while waiting and watching, to have^™i«v
s^t'""?W^'^,°^ '^? hop^essnesJofT^S
hT an .,«! ^. ^^ ^^*=^y' ^^^ "o doubt concealed
ZtZ ZT^"^^ P'*^^' *° ^l^'^h, through some
^e 4KSr "^ ^^^ P-* °f '^-elf of other.!
Happily for the success of Ferrers' plans Prosser
Wta had confided to the officers of the law ^
miw'T"'*"'^ ^ ^^^ ^^<'^' hiscon^c;ti^n
amountmg ahnost to certainty, that the furtive
;■!■
rim
■ I
i;
'ii
.1
!
!!■ L!
,'•
ii
I'ir
1 ■'''
« t
,96 GERALD DB LACEY'S DAUGHTER
would attempt to ^^J-J'^^^J^ J'£.tZ^i
judging from the P«v^ou8^imon^oi^ ^^
thatthe girl 8 f ^ther had^ tLt Evelyn would
Barbadoes^ s^^^?^ g^.^oX. w«rc
make an effort to rejom ^ ^^ ghould be
given, therefore, that the stnct^t wa ^^^y
g^t on the Water Gate Mid «^ ^ ^^ j^
SlaSed^^t b« ifS^Bot *:£
SSIed^^^ r L-^coSry'f^the Bl^n^«-
daleRodd. .'^ ^gn travelling,
As was the custom t^ ja^e® Jvet riding-mask
Evelyn de Lacey wore a black vewein^K
overV face, which conc^^ h« id^ity^ ^^
the casual ob^er. „^VP'!^Kd>mbo. AU
was attended by her f^^^^^^^i^ch ^vou^
those not engaged in »" .^^^^'^whraTOearance
Wore be P«^V^.^*f^^5 SVSating
°'-r t^'fS'-she wi^JSTSnd her, though
pef at all she ^^ ^ S rejoining her
^rt 1?tl^ Evdyn^de at an 'ordinary pace,
beloved father, ^^^'j"^' ". „ ,,_tii thev came to
S as not to attract atterAwn. ^^d^^y ^
the inn *V^^.^°°l^e trivS^^ten stopped
from the City ^aU. wh^^rave ^ .^^^^^^^
to take a glass of wme. "^^^''^ J'i _^i, , bv-path
to drflect from the n^ «ad ^d^^ a by^^^^
into the country, B"t it was ne^^i^ t ^^
some caution, since ^J^ .^J^Xhting, while
watched from *« «?.^,^Siy Ke Idter of
the two X^rCfbS ^S the premises, and
a dump of tre... jumoo sui j^^ ^^^
FAREWELL TO MANHATTAN 297
Thus encouraged, Evelyn rode slowly bv her
^es resting sadly upon that famiUar pface which
she had so often regarded indiflferently. It seemed
to her now hke the last link between her and chill
fn^'S .T^'f^ T ^ ^^^& fi'e on the hearth
and cheerful hghts, beacons as it were in the dark-
T!^" vT *r° ^'^^ °^ ^^o^n J««"bo had spoken.
^t r w^ Identity presently became known like-
wise to Evelyn, advanced toward the door convers-
W,a!^,t i^i.^'i "^^^ ^*^°n- With a leap-
ing of the heart and an emotion that brought teara
P™.^^' ^'T^^l t^ h^y recognized Captain
frf^ ^^ Pieter Schuyler. The two continued
to ^scourse jestingly for the benefit of mine host
or the inn servants, but, raising their glasses of
fw^ ^^1,*^^ expression of their faces all that
they would have said had they dared to speak or
appear conscious of the horsewoman's identity For
a single instant, reckless as the act might be, Evelyn
renioved her n^k, and both men saw the expression
of that lovely face, pale but full of resolve and with
Z^ ^ devotion Each turned to the other and
liZw .*'^-'''?u^' ^ *^« fis«^ "P°n the horse,
bghtty touching th^ animal with the whip, sped out
of sigut, Etnkmg o5 from the Boston Road bto a
by-path which Jumbo had indicated.
«Vk^" ^T^yn'^soul feU a weight of depression
Tt^L'Z ^f «i f*^"" her view. As with her two
attendants she plunged into the surrounding dark-
^ss. It seemed to the girl as if her heart would break,
aut she strove to raise her spirits and reanimate
Sh hf T.u^y the thought of the joyful meeting
with her father, and the hope that a future might
iilU'
,98 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
dawn when a «t"rn to Manh^ryoTth V^t be
'^%'^Furth^CtSatiJi Anticipation she
5^? not ^r WhaSr might be thejentimcnt'
EVwtrirby'Tatbne^^^^^^
fSl^-i1oC%rpJS o^fhe'S^Uatorial p«>
*^f ;f,ld herself that henceforward she must set
f^FsS^He^e^^"^^^^^
which was aU the d^r^«r ^ ^ ^^ ^^^
repression she practised. Pf^ y^2: those who were
!:• ..il'ii!
FAREWELL TO MANHATTAN 299
1!^' ^T^u ^^ h^ ^" ^thout a safe refuw
and had chosen Salem because he had teen r^S?'
nund, and the conviction grew upon her that tw
S^a!;i?^""*r'*yJ" """P'^^^ obscurity. She ^^d
not qmte r^e how difficult it would be f or siSh
a father and such a daughter to remain unn^ti^ed
^ Z^J however, fully in accord with hw ad^^„"
who had sent her a detailed letter of kistrartio^f ?n
believing that it would be better for Wto^Shlr
maid back to New York once she had Sfe°y^ached
her destination. For it would assu3^tt«rt
attention were she to have a blacks^^t fai that
new habitation where her own identi^^^^L to ^^
e^uIfi^SSVatr^uSS'Snr^^
residence where they were to b^ rSS foTtJeS
S^f ^t^^^^ "^*^"<^«» the mosrSous hJs:
S^^r^.*"^"! "°* .* ?•"«'« questioHon^g
ShiKl? Tu ~"^«ng Evelyn at once rfTJ
2^ tl^;i,^.^^°* ""PPf ^^ '" '^diness for them
Sfof wwi Jlf^ ^""^^ ^°^t immediately the
hti i^^ they were so much in need. Scarcelv
had the dawn whitened the landscape thaHhe^
were up and away again on that joXey which h
»" pusMDie speed. After vanous pauses for ««:<■
was to take the stage to Salem, a^d where JuSS.
W I
300 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
was to remain until he could dispose of two of the
horses, retaining the third for his return joumev to
Manhattan. Evelyn parted with real regret from
the faithful lad, who was associated with some of
her happiest hours. It was the breakii.g of another
link with the past. She pressed into his hand a
piece of gold with her cordial thanks, and bade>im
above all things maintain that secrecy which was
so necessary. Elsa was to remain in Boston for a
day or two until she was rested, and was then to
return to her native city by the stage-coach. Evelyn
knew that Elsa would be very loath to part with her,
but she saw the necessity, of exciting no remark
and furnishing no clue to those who might institute
inquiries or even follow in pursuit. A message was
sent from Boston an hour or two in advance of her
arrival, since the shock might be too severe for her
father, and so he was waiting to clasp to his heart
with an emotion too deep for words that idolized
daughter who was thenceforth to be the compamon
of his exile.
BOOK III
CHAPTER I
bvblyn's nbw homb
a gap in a hilly rfdee wi'ti, t;,i /'^^^""'"^h
L
1
p
J
p
3Ctt GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
joined by Evelyn when she fled from persecution
and from the malice of her enemies in New York.
Salem itself presented certain natural beauties.
Trees of many sorts, some of them a relic of primeval
woods, gave their luxuriant shade to the streets.
The rivers— North and South, Forest and Bass-
lent a beauty of their own to the scene. In secluded
spots upon their surface, near the green wooded
shores, white and sweet-smelling water-liUes floated
upon the surface, in contrast to their ugly and
rank-smelling yellow caricatures which also gathered
there. Salem could boast of many handsome dwell-
ings, mostly with lawns or 'flower-beds before them,
where the Endicotts, Hutchisons, Sewalls, Porters,
Putnams, Leas, Houltons and the rest had had
their abodes almost since the beginning of that old
Bay Colony, which was second only to Plymouth
in antiquity. To Evelyn the whole atmosphere was
one of gloom, and in striking contrast to the pleasant
social life of the Dutch colonial town she had lately
quitted. There everybody knew everybody else,
and the yoimg people had an ahnost uninterrupted
round of wholesome pleasures and amusements,
which in no wise interfered with the useful domestic
Uves of the women and their proficiency in house-
hold arts. Here, amongst these sour, sanctimonious
folk, she was afraid to display that natural gaiety
which since recent events alternated in her with
moods of ahnost tragic sadness. For true to the
Celtic character, hers was a dual nature of mirth
and sadness, all too readily influenced by her sur-
roundings. The Puritan gloom oppressed her, and
moreover she had to put aside her pretty gowns,
her elaborate scarfs and silken hoodt in which, as
she owned to herself, she had formerly takn an al-
EVELW'S NEW HOME 303
most inordinr r.^r.itasure. But now it was necessarv
abouTs Arl'f *'" '"'■''f^'^'y °f *he women W
abouts. Any ,1-panure from the prevailine fash,-on
able'^Z^r ^°^<^.*^^? ^^ frau|ht3oS^"
awe danger. Cunously enough, however ti,» ct^
Phcity ^d but enhance her chT^J She 5«^"
ing of the melancholy which at times appea^L
her lovely eyes would have made her more S^
r^^.n"'^'':!? ,'° '^^^ °^« ^hom she had ef^:
rirlT-Pi"^®^''' ^ fascination, and whom she hid
left behmd m her beloved Manhattan Herflther
font S"^ •^°"""'^ 'J"^ '^Sh. pointed hS Ld the
long, skirted coat, and the two often laughedto se^
S'/r *"^ t'-^"/°™ed into Puritanf Evelv^
nussed her garden, for not a flower would ^ow iS
the stony soil surrounding their present abodf She
sorely missed the cottage, with its views of the Bav
the v'ln'ro^f "t ^7 ^'^ P'^^* household o^
deLesTof fn W^l f " ^^^^- ■?:a™-hearted Polly,
aearest of all her girl fnends; she missed thp Invai
ness of Madam Van Cortlandt, but most of Kd
oth5^whoP,fI/"^'f,""'■ ^^h'°°' ^« niissed'tS
other who had so lately come into her life and had
earned before him aU lesser affections Ahhough
she was neither demonstrative nor impieVs^n^e
swept he; T '"^t' ^""^ °^ '^ '°^^' wWch had t£f
swept her from her moorings, was aU the stronger
tw l ^he Jmew it seemed utterly improbable
£LsthS^^"' r^ ^^b^rt Ferrers X
hff^f H.^'^.'i^^'f f^^^ ^°^ frotn Ws position
m the Household of the Governor and through the
ui i=iii
■■•m^'.
i
304 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
iealous vigilance of Captain Passer Williams, who
Sarfnce take measures to mnthemboh^^^^^^^
wa<t ttip oersonal question of religion, bhe nerseu, ds.
r^rS^sHf the Catholic faith, was yirtuaUy pro-
scrited Sd was in actual dagger of «npnf°«^^^*
or even severer penalties be<=ause of h^ ^^
^mnn<rst the savages. But, even had the late decree
?Sed a dSetter, she would never have wav-
'^Tn h^ resolution to .n^rry none otner rtiana
ratholic To her mind, indeed, the very^^^";^
Sthe persecution made it essential that husband and
^eshouW be united in doctrine and in Practice
Afirl^a that drearv time, when scarcely a word
of^^freached to from Manhattan, the father
SidTaughter found in each other's compam^ship
?hdr sollce for the surrounding gloom, and the tie
V«^^n them became more close and tender than
^e7 Mr dTbacey had the additional consolation
of a few books which he had been able to bnng with
Wm and of some others which he had found on the
S^kTelves of his present residence. Evelyn, on
The latter had, however, a certain taste for cootong
^d for housework, which Evelyn set herseU to
?^aSd develop. She taught her to make some of
KLTelSle 'dish^ which ^e her^U had learng
in the Van Cortlandt household. Evelyn s pron
den^ in^ household activities, and particvJarly
Sio Jwhich pertained to the culinary departmen ,
Ion the resp^ect and admiration, not onty of «i.s
Abigail herself, but also of the neighbors They
werl astonished that so young a girl should be a
EVELYN'S NEW HOME
305
a religion. On thTotW hinH fS^°"' ^^^ ^'"°«t
the isolation tawW^htiT' ^^^ ^5"*«^ ^^eeply
raged them ^ S Sra^t'T"^".-^' ^V ^«-
the minds of maj. giveX^^^*'""' ^^''^ '»
beautyfTt annoyed thirto''ffF^'^"«.^^^^ °f her
and oth^nSSffom plants ""^ ^"''' ""^^""^J
by?helLSSs't^ '^rE^e^ [^ ' ^^-«<^
conceivably dreanT As she tol Jt,^ /^i' ^^"^^^ ^-
reminded he7 of it,,^ t *°''^ 'j^ ^^*'i«f' »* always
incommunicable tiwc " „,? • ' , " "^'^ the
' i
* " 1#
\ !;■<;-.
306 GERALD DE LACEVS DAUGHTER
and she knew that ihey jrere populaxly a^ted
"i?^ ., liTS ofThe witchcraft oicitment.
SSteS=^-riS<iSutoted. mqr told how me.
thSfabkl and reb^ed Joy and the young girls
i^C'tsnM23rtr.«»
tranquil streams or to the bitsy wau^ wi^
seemed to breathe more freely. There atieasi sne
and the creduUty of their neighbors.
CHAPTER II
A WELCOME VISITOR
ONE evening the twiUght was casting weird
. shadows over the quaint viUage ^hL Zi
SS ^T^^ ^"asylum from the storms of
PMsecution no less than from the ocean waves
det^'ned J'r.'f " ^""'^^ ^^^ ^een maiS^^a
detenmned effort to seem cheerful, but, when he
had retumea to his books after thdr e^ly suler
a^IjS ^T^ °"* f"^ a solitary walk, welrinTher
sad-c61ored ;nantle and hooHver the ?ey |o^
Por?^5 *?^ ""^""s ^«^t"'«s of Manhattan: thf
fhe 53' H«i! 1^' ^ V"'"* ^"* ^"-^^ sounded!
tne :5tott Huys looking out over the river, grim and
S of^L^r^^.^"*^ East Rivers, with the broad
tWhn^L ?^ "^^^^^ mingling with the Bay as
they hastened downward to .ne ocean. She loLed
lamuar streets. Her mind was in a tumult of old
S"1±r ^dj-g^ts, through which. ?L a
A« «t nn. ' fr ^^^ *''°"S*"'t °f Captain Ferrers.
hTA^ °°<=^as though the intensity of her thiS^s
near her in the garb of a Puritaji. with long coat
■r
! :*
111 f
« I
« i';»:
W. i
I; [
I. (
L
ii
L
308 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
and high pointed hat. The man was regarding her
LtenT^d, though she was.st^led for an mstant.
the heart cannot long be deceived. • „ i.i,„
••Srtr she cried, in her excitement using the
Christian name as she had never done before^ She
could scarcely hear when he spoke, such was the
tremorlTws voice, and the passionate tenderness
vritt^ wWch he addrWed her. In her simple dress.
Skh Shtened her charm and accentuated her
Sction. Evelyn seemed to Ferrers far mare.capti-
v£g tKorXly in her finery of siUc and jewds
He could only pour out broken words ?f Jove and
of iov at seeing her again, llis words left her thnll-
4'SS^s and a fervor of devotion of which
SilTould not have believed herseit capable. Her
Siot^ transfigured her face. It was as though an
exquisite statue had come to hfe, a life ^^idi that
Sstant Ferrers knew was given to hun without
P°^Mf^e^Ta?been aching for a sight of V."
CaDtain Ferrers cried, when his first emotion had
foSat Sded. "I could bear the pam "o
longer. I felt that, even at the cost of my hfe, 1
"'"U'^newlife to me," Evelyn responded simply.
"And, although it is unspeakably ra^ for you to
have come hither, perchance it is better to die of
sheer happiness than to perish of i^amtion.
She had spoken such words as ^hejiever meant to
soeak They were wrung from her heart by the un-
Sed sight of him there before her. whom she
had beUeved to be long leagues away.
"Then you will be my wife." cned Egbert Ferrers
and with a joyful movement he drew near to her
to take her in his arms.
A WELCOME VISITOR
"I*c^n!S*i"?^1* *?^ ^'^ remembered.
that I love you more H^«; T ^ " ""^'^^ *« ^^Y
our love is Wfe^ twL?",^^? ^''P^^" B«t
too great." ^'^^' ^^^ obstacles between us are
is yJ^^Tto ZTf ^T^ ^'^^^ °''^tacles which it
mSSL'^fX'^arrxS On^Lo'dBeUo-
England or be S«^ bv^^w ^^ "^^ "^^^^ *«
With him will g^roi Vnf^^°'"^^°,r^™'"^"t■
against you wif faU to^hf^Td 'f sS h^'P^
r.rifLTrrveiE"^'^^^^^^
some place of abode' Sre tm ^^iT?'' ^^ "^"^
Evelyn only shook her head mouSv
remain between nc tiL sure .'—there would still
kind of dL^''^r^'\^'^^^^. with a
happiness? For S?vo„ .^f . w"^^" "' ^^ "^
of your faith!^aLd"LfC?Vni^^Xf .r
to any other." =" ^ '^ nearer to that than
as hriS"^'^.''t'^ *"»«»'"* of has whioh
There was a strange solemnity in her words-the
»i:
: ft,'
> ,lfi
I i !
i il
.MMtea I
3IO GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
solemnity that exists only in moments of pasaonate
emotion. The young man. whose l^owledge of
Evelyn had hitherto been confined chiefly to tne
Urfiter and gayer side of her character was deeply
impressed by her grave seriousness, and dommated
as bv a new and inexplicable influence.
"I swear." he cried, "that I wiU take the means to
acquaint myself with all that concerns the Catholic
faith, so that at the fitting moment I may ent^
that ancient Church. For the very ferocity a«d
intolerance of our Protestant champions have for-
ever turned my mind from t*ie religion they profess.
"Then." said Evelyn, holding out her hands to
him with an exquisite gesture of surrender, if that
be so, I am yours from this '"^'^f * tul!" p™
With an impetuous movement Egbert l-wrers
gathered her into his arms for one instant of ]oy
Siiutterable and a kiss of betrothal that each one
felt to be as sacred as a consecration. Then, quietly
releasing herself, Evelyn said:
"For the present we can only wait, lo me at
least the years will seem as—"
She stopped abruptly, for a man and woman
were coming along that forest road where people
passed so ieldom. With wonderful presence of
inind, Evelyn made a prim, little curtsey to her com-
panion, which he found inexpressibly charmmg, as
^"fbid you good-evening, sir, and should your
business bring you hither again from the town of
Lynn, I trust that you will visit my father at the
wooden house near the Boston turnpike road, at the
first turning beyond the hill."
Having thus adroitly given him her address, she
left him and saluted in passing the two who had
A WELCOME VISITOR
E^^'i^lir,^ ^^shtT'^ '*°^^"- other tha"
Goody WmS'-iel^^^ot the town/S
Soth looked mquisitivpK; f *,. ^^ servant, Toy
with whom she n ESn o°n ^" *-° '^^ ''^^^S^
njan Cooke did not S' „° f^i'°"' *°<^ Good-
that the beautiful 4iS as Te J"'''^"^"'^ '*^"'*"*=^
masculine visitor who h^fed frnf f '^ ^^«'y". had a
setts. As Evelyn wXd W?^ ^y""-' ^assachu-
rapid step, a new hnZ.^f^^""^^ ^th her finn
transfigured'thaTlSsca"e '^^h1"11^' '^^^ ^S.'
ymistic gloom of a town^<^rWH^K*^"f^ ^^^ Cal^
innocent people. darkened by the blood of
. When an hour la<-<»r o.^* • t,
and have made me mLt"^"^ ^" ^^at disuse
ever... ''^ "^^ more hopelessly yo.u- slave tha^
"And vof " „„:j », .
jn that I'saw^oTfiXdTh" %'°^-- "I* was
'n my heart ever sSi^e "^ ^ ''^^^ ^^t the picture
^^mXfe cSttTsf touche'" ^?'if * ^^^^t evening
•^ist, and love an-? r°^^^^ which she could not
touches whiciTo pSers^PPr^' "^^ added otSer
all. That was ^^^LnXl'^T^^''^'^^^^- than
and which ever afTe™=^l^^ 4° ''^ remembered
to Mr. de Lacw if ^ST ^ ^'°."^«<^ Salem. Even
congenial co^o^lf " once' '" *^« '^f ^^ to hive
*ort time, mdto£^thT.^°^^- ^ ""^y fo' a
votion to Evelyn had n?l^^ ^"^""^ '^'s de-
y naa not m the shghtest degree
JUL
3,2 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
wavered. Captain Ferrers gladdened his heart by
Sn^m bf the decision which he had reached of
rSg eveS effort to study CathoUc doctnne and
!^^f himself received, as soon as that were possible,
i^to the oSohc Sh. And such a resolve w^
Saw^o^hing S^aratipn, which they feUtmgh
be for Ion", since the risk involved by the visits M
Caotlir Fer-ers would preclude any speedy repeti-
HonTlus daring attempt to see Evelyn and her
Xr He pS upon^^Evelyn's finger a nng of
S^thal of Ut value and andent worknwishiP
which had belonged to his mother. This was tne
™^u^d sien and symbol of that union of hearts
wwlh ea* fe^wo^d be for ever, despite «7^J
Acuity and obstacle that the future might hold
bS ttiev could not have foreseen the new trials which
w^ to sS for Evelyn before their ne:.t meetmg.
CHAPTER III
FATHER HARVEY
andSfi!^ ^"*^^ «^«y- by an that's wonderful
''!■
314 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
much for her father. Fot here was his beloved
friend of the old Dongan days at ^^e Fort in Nw
York, his confessor and guide, who had suddwily
appeared where they had not seen a Catholicpneat
siVSTtheir arrival. He had heard of their p««ence
there from the friend in Maryland who had given
Mr de Lacey the house.
Father Harvey glanced about him '"^h some aia-
iety at the mention of his name aloud. But Mr. de
Lacey. rightly interpreting the glance, said:
'^^ in this house after mghtfall. when our
handmaiden retires, there are but our two selves, my
daughter and I. Come hither Evelyn, that I n^y
make you acquainted with the best fnend it has been
riven a man to have." ,.•,»• ^ tr^.^Ur^
"After which," added the priest. "Mistress Evelyn
wiU look for what is not to be found m a weary and
I^verwom old priest, and." he continual more
Bravely, "one whose presence here may add to the
Serilswhich.as I underrtand.already encompwsyou.^^
"The additional peril 's too slight for mention,
said Mr. de Lacey gaily. "You are safer withus
than you could be elsewhere hereabouts, borne
caution will be necessary on the morrow, when our
Abigail comes to do her work. But no one else is
likely to enter our dwelling, and you can contrive
to keep out of her sight altogether, or to assume
what character you will." „
"The first alternative may perchance be sater,
answered Father Harvey, "though, as a hawker. I
have travelled hither without adventure. I am on
my way to minister to the tribes. One of these bags,
which, owing to their weight, are a sore burden to the
flesh, cont^L my altar-stone^ vestments ho^y JJ^ter
for baptisms and the rest. The other is full of kmck-
Kn;:;:
FATHER HARVEY 3,5
PfU to m/l„dian convms " *"** ^ be "sed for
over-successful ^nce tv^ „^^ ''*^° "'^en somewhat
have purchased my w^«°^X'%^°"« '^' ^*y
I dared not refuse^ to^^nH*"** \ "^""^d or no
the poorer." **"' ^"*^ «* ""V Indians wiU be
for a few days and Wn aw.v f ^^v*"^ <=°"J*1 "-est
AbigaU. Both f7f w ^^j^^^ ^""" the eyes of the
of tKttitwh^S'lL'oth'lS';" ^^'''°"«''* '''«-
and where there wa^lteady rflttTel^H"T°^°?^'
proportions. Thp hiMJ^T, 1 ^"^'e-bed of goodly
flewjo theldSL'^J^5;PL^-/^!«d u^^
glad heart dictated fnt ♦[■ .®"*^" ^ nieal as her
make s^h Se l^i^i'^^enTsC^^^^*' f^^ *°
were necessary Iea3^?h! » ""^ '"^ comfort as
converse to^er ^^ ^^ ^''^ ""^ ^ pleasant
tw^^J^ks^S^lf f^2? V« ^f ^? ^- -bout
early mornings for a dav'smwT *° ^'""^ '" ^he
tribes, before Joy had^co^T'f '"l" *° ^^^ nearest
and returning at^evSin^^tlrMf '1^.'^^"^ ^°'k.
said Mass more tl«n ?.n£ 7 u -^^f • ^ad gone. He
portable BlZ Stthel^JtJ^"^ ^°t'' °" ^
enabled torecrive to their !». ^^ daughter were
of Penance and ihe fchS ^l',fbe Sacraments
visitor's presence was utJm^wn , L^^^ *'"« the
ttti^artic^rd? ^-^°^- 1^^^
- e^^e^ToT^Th^J-Sy I'a^^^^^^^^^
One afternoon, however, a. the Sly d^iL'^f ^
II M,
11
316 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
the autumn day was falling, Joy suddenly bethought
herself of some herbs which she had put to dry m
the attic, and, as ill-luck would have it, FT,ther
Harvey, having grown a trifle careless through fa-
miliarity, had omitted to lock the door. Up went the
maid, who was intent on making a pot of savory
soup, to get the necessary herbs. And so swift was
her ascent that by the time the priest realized that
some one was coming, it was too late for any attempt
at concealment. At first he had a vague hope that
it might be Evelyn who had come up with a message
from her father. When he saw instead the sturdy,
thick-set girl, with her clumsy shoes and workmg-
girl's attire, he could scai'cely help smiling, though
he knew that his discovery might have serious con-
sequences for himself. He trusted at first to the
growing darkness that he might not be espied, and
so sat perfectly still at the table where he had been
writing. The Abigail came on gaily, singing a verse of
a hymn with a peculiarly nasal sound, which was
the nearest approach to worldly dissipation per-
mitted her. Then all at once, as she was reaclung
for the herbs, she became aware of the motionless
figure and the face which looked white in the gather-
,ing gloom. The words of the hymn ended in a hoarse
croak in her throat, and she began to quake with a
dread that for a moment or two found expression
in inarticulate sounds. Father Harvey, though
pitying her terror, thought it best to preserve ^
absolute immobility, lest any movement might stiU
further betray him. So he sat motionless, though
the shaking hand of the girl, which akeady had
grasped the bunch of herbs from a line above his
head, sent down upon him a shower of the thyme
which had been intended for the soup.
FATHER HARVEY j,^
the pSt'S'^i^-S P«P-ed for the pan." said
seemed to incase the^l^t^^"* and motionless.
^^^The Lord bemy helper andmy stay!" shecmaked
^^^^ybr^^\if^^» -nd that
ff^I as if chained to Ihe fl^'^" ''*"* ^^^ held the
asJ^Sly'?P-«t;^^^^^^
back over her shoulder at til h ^^^.^^'^- looking
"From the power ofTheE^f^"^?g apparition^
the miminent risk of UfeTd if^K *"??\^ *^°^ at
Evelyn's room, tremWkifin ^''- ?^^ ''"'^t into
teeth chattering aSy« " ^^«y limb and her
0„J..sawSatanhimself." she cried. "I saw the Evil
to laugh or tobraSS tfZ r'^"" ^th"
had^ddenly gone dSted *' ^"^ ^^* "^^ 8^1
quiS"'^' ^^^ '^ J»«. ^d wkat is he like?" she in-
and^JL ■^'dSlfjoT' "°'^' °"* °^ '^^ -°"th
rathlfto gaiS?t^han? """^'"'y- ^^"ired again
lltJIf 4
i m
\^
m
318 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
quavering than before, as though that were the most
terrible thing that he could have said. "He said
'Amen.'" ,. , .,„
"Be still now, Joy," said Evelyn soothmgly. You
have affrighted yourself about nothing."
"He was all in black," went on the girl, unheeding
the admonition. "And he moved not so much as a
finger to brush away the herbs."
"Herbs? What herbs?" asked Evelyn, impatient
because of her dread of the girl's supposed insanity.
"The herbs of grace— no, rather I mean the herbs
and thyme for the potage."
A light suddenly broke upon Evelyn.
"Where were those herbs?" she demanded.
"They were in the attic, and I, having the work
to do that the Lord commanded, went thither
to procure some for the soup, when — O great
Jehovah!"
The girl pronounced the sacred name without
the least suspicion of irreverence, and Evelyn per-
ceived that, by some deplorable mischance, she had
indeed made her way to the attic.
"Now listen to me, Joy," said Evelyn sternly,
"I forbid you henceforth on any pretext to go into
the attic."
"And I will obey," chimed in the girl instantly.
"The Lord knoweth that I will go no more into
strange places, nor wander in pastures — "
"Do not mind about the pastures," interrupted
Evelyn, "but attend to my words and go no more
into the attic, where, it being dark, you have need-
lessly affrighted yourself by a shadow."
"It said 'Amen,'" declared the girl, in the same
sepulchral voice, as though she were chanting in 8
choir.
FATHER HARVEY 3,^
sisS^iJ&'SSg? S° a J"t Evelyn per-
from the chimney plac; iZJ^^t^V ^^ ^^^^^t
eyes starting f^^^^th^' ArbS ^IT V'^ ^^'
pleasant excitement now^t ih. 1, V ^"'S^ «*
from peril. She b^t^Za ■ ^^^^ ^^ free
needless to say none rami ^TS '^stress. But,
foberly. repro^gThe ri^%X^7'-r ^"^"^^"^
handed her a bunch of Whc ^ excitement. She
complete her intem^pteS worl/"'^ "^"l^^"" ^^^ to
also declared tharhVnlfort^ T" ^''^.^"P- She
attic locked. 'lencetorth she -vould keep the
^orlheTr^r ^'' ^^y- """ttering:
said -Xnen.'^ '"'""^ ^^' ^ '^"^ ^'^-' and he
get^rofTr^t"^:?deS'hS'^.^^^'^ ^^
occasioned, or bi^ her back t- *?™"" ^'^"^
•nind- For, as r^nv of K ,*,° * "^"^l frame of
already sho^^, Joy ^s^^^" fellow.t^^ had
visible manifestation^^ rt.i' ^ prepared for any
Father Harvey was of Lj^ ^""^ °f darkness^
the possible iU rSts to^*^!^;.?!^ 'y concerned at
caUed his own Slness fnlfi^^"'? °^ ^^a* he
the attic door. But Wh h^.^?"^.°^"«^ t° l°ck
to reassure Urn mL w ^l^°tf * ^^ ^^^'3^ strove
wholly dispS KSrf"if Je'tL^''^^ ^^
vision from the other l^rJwj^® had seen as a
thought of ^y o£ rx£;.1?'' "T^ «» ™"<* as
experience. iUso it Ld /^^**°° °i I^^"" terrifying
■^so, It had the good effect of enabling
t ■ J
320 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
her young mistress to forbid her further access to the
attic. . , „ ., ^,
"Even if the prohibition were required, said the
priest, with a humorous twinkle in his eyes, as he
recalled the expression of the girl's face when she
had first caught sight of him. "Still," he added, "so
singular a thing withal is human nature tha,t there
might be a fascination strong enough to bring her
back thitheiv-not for herbs this time, but for in-
formation. She might desire another peep at that
awesome object which so rivetted her gaze."
"Had you not said 'Amen,' Father," laughed
Gerald de Lacey, "she might have been tempted to
return. But that utterance brought her terror to a
climax." . .^. ^.
"I could not resist it," said the pnest, with the
touch of school-boy droUery that crept out from
under his gravity. ' ' It was for all the world as though
she were repeating the psalms at the Tenebra,"
He presently added penitently: _
"Though, after I had followed that foolish im-
pulse, I feared much that such a bit of folly might
have evil consequences. For there is an irresistible
conviction about the sovmd of the human voice, and
spirits are not wont to talk, even the femin^ie ones.
Eh, Mistress Evelyn?"
But Evelyn would not accept the challenge, to
which she responded only by a shake of the head.
"Is it not strange," the priest continued, "how,
even in moments of grave stress or peril, there is
often an inclination to discover the ridiculous?
Though I was sorry for her plight, too, I laughed so
merrily after the departure of that poor girl that I
was compeUed to hold my sides. Only I would .am
hope that her discovery of me may not compromise
FATHER HARVEY ^„
Having assSmlS th.^^^^^^T'^ '"^'^nient."
any special da^S SZ W, «H ^'\ °°*. ^PP'^hend
since ^believld t Wni^^V ^Y^^.t"^ in the attic,
Fath^r^dl mSeSJI^ <S"'?'-'>e «°<^^.
gift,wWchIsowEn.^^°^ ^^''^ retained that
of trials and Stu^"??^' "^"""^ ^ ^°^ V^
onev sense oTh,^orasthftI^^^t''rf '°. ^^'^''^^n
that broad outCffio- u, Zw .°- ^^™- *^- ^'*'^
Jcg^^dhow„^h^S-4,^/3lS7£f°;^^^^
teij's;/ fsp^ciSKf £rd B jjr "^. ^°i°"-' --*-
which he had 3 Bellomont and the laws
people of that cCLTry iSr^il^r^ ^""*^ ^'«^
been to destroy the Surch ^ot f' "^ '^^ ^^^^^
Ord??1h'^eJ^M^^ -tU'^hard "Pon your
P^/hro2l£S- P=^^ "-^
awful pra^ • ^^ ^^ely°' it seems an
Jl
W'W ''
■:l :H,.n
322 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
Jesuits might become the terrible fellows our en-
emies represent i^ to be."
Evelyn could not help regarding the speaker with
awe. That fine, strong face, alight with humor,
would have borne, she knew, the same cahn and
cheerful aspect at the stake or on the gallows. The
talk between him and his host then turned remi-
niscently upon the times of Governor Dongan.
"Some complaints, I know," said the pnest,
"have been made against him by the French a
Canada for his anxiety to keep the Indians apart
from them and so hinder their evangehzation. But
it is most certain, too, that he had a strong desire
to promote missionary wofk, and sought h,nglisn-
speaJdng Fathers for that purpose. I have read a
letter of his to the Viceroy, Denonville, wherem he
declares that the King—" ^^ „„• t ^
Here Father Harvey paused to add : Kmg James,
God bless him!" to which Mr. de Lacey and Evelyn
answered a fervent "Amen." ,.1
"He declared that the Kmg had as much zeal
as any prince living to prripagate the Christian
faith, and that he had asked him to send some
Fathers to preach the Gospel to the natives.
"If only that good Governor had stayed with
us!" cried Evelyn impetuously.
"Yes," the priest assented, "the designs of God
are mysterious, but I opine that it is His will to
found His infant Church here, hke St. Ignatius
founded our Order, on the safe basis of persecution.
Dongan also relates in that same letter how careful
he had been to preserve the French nussionanes
from harm, ordering his Indians not to exercise any
cruelty or insolence towards them."
"Was it not part of his scheme, too, mquirea
FATHER HARVEY
and of the Chlireh r ^ ^°°^ °' *''°«» «>l<»>iM
woJd to *^dT'I '^'""^ ^^^''^ H«"^ey. "and I
in driving hence^ hi^fh! moment prevailed
believere." "* *^^ ™^»^t handful of true
KvS'Snt'?fTXSsrS'-T-°°P«an-s
colonies under hL contrnT^-i^^ «* religions in the
obtained a cSi£ o? SiL ^ °^ ""'^^ "^^ ^
Ian A^. S^iiT'cei^S^^ri ^ '"^^
abundance of orea/>W P '-^^jan, Quakers with
Quakers raStiSg^ers^^hf^ ^°'^^' ^^«
batarians, Jew^iSS =; ^^^batanans, anti-Sab-
and the m£rS? rf nl'e^? 2,"" ^' «' «P^°«
taslcto ^T^^p^^lSr^l^ .^ ^ ''-^
GovS.J^^dTr'1"; ""'• .^'^^'S CathoKc
who kn^ iZ l^t'ct^sS^ *''°w^'!,«""y' "^ ^«
allowed a irThS, wSt Ser,^^ ^^ ^"t' ^^
poral order he w™.M ^ wonders, even in the tem-
Kes Sd "^^^what Te.nr'"?"?"*^ ^°^ *»»^
they haVe profit J^^f and bounds would
otW who c^SlLside hSL ^""^'^ *'^ ^ °°
menhave7ntVi^''li'?ST" ^^?r™ Governor.' as
"ButSSy^u^'^nwTT'^'^"^*^^^
P-^nt'^EL^rLfersr/tS^'^tiSar'*^^
,l l«.
1
^1^!
M-i
!!f 1
m
n
3*4 GERALD db LACEY'S DAUGHTER
After a brief pause in which he appeared to be
thinking the matter over after his deliberate fashion,
he resumed:
"For besides his devotion to true liberty and his
respect for the rights of all men, he showed a strong
hand to the enemies of the country and strove hard
to promote immigration. He oftentimes reminded
the Home Government that there were not more
than twenty British families in the Colony of New
York, though in Long Island and elsewhere both
English and Dutch were increasing."
' ' There has been a most singular blindness in it all,"
commented Mr. de Lacey, "and intolerance has been
the fatal keynote of nearly all the establishments in
the New World, except of course Maryland."
"Williams and especially Penn made e5orts in the
direction of tolerance," conceded the priest, "but,
with those exceptions, intolerance has indeed pre-
vailed to the detriment, political as well as religious,
of those foundations. To Maryland people of all
sorts flocked to enroll themselves under the banner
of freedom. So would it have been in New York,
had the policy of Dongan been continued. And
as for the t->lonies of Massachusetts, Connecticut
and the rest," the priest held up his hands with a
gesttjre, half-whknsical and half-despairing, "it has
been a reign of butchery. They offered huge re-
wards for tiae slaughter of savages, who might have
been civilized and gained to Jesus Christ."
There vas an accent of deep pain in the speaker's
voice, and emotion seemed to impede his utterance
as he thus spoke, for, like his brethren of Maryland,
and together with the devoted sons of St. Francis,
he had labored in season and out of season for the
work of evangelizing the red-men.
FATHER HARVEY
^^'^^^^::^,£'cr r^ ^^^ ^^-e
suffer, and of a suretrc^thoiL"''l °*\" dissentera
°ne though the nuK^ote'^g'they car. catch
*^-. Por them aU tW h«c ^ .1*^ '^ pitifully
whippbg-post. the pK the^Ln-" ^^"S^- the
us pnests perpetual ir^- '''^anding-u-on. For
escape fn)nr^Sm„^P"J?"'?«,t or. should we
The which, in truth 1?*^^*^ upon the gallows
would gladly enS"^ '^^ ^"^ "^ ^ I^°we
resumed more lightly • "^^otten them. He presently
Evdyn^:^:?S£K -j^PP^y as ^Is, Mistress
Pbbets. Lorf BeUom^t offe^ .""T"* "^ "PO" the
of eight to the IroqudswKn?^^^""*^^ Pieces
"s->. But. even ai^ongst ih '^°"^'' '^^^'^ °«e of
Inchans, the wily^heL.L^^^^ *»" P^testant
d«daring thatTy^^' ^8?^^,^° ^ «^'=«^.
might lead the dfstaS ^t^ to *\ "^ssionarie^
them." " *"''es to make war upon
^Th'^'w&^^f y ^* 1^^ recoUection.
those sSie]^^J..«"°"gh themselves sometimes
not stomach"^C'iK,i&SThfoH' *^!!*-*^^y ~^d
Corlear. as they n^ed ffi^ ^^'^^ *^«^ ^^ther
show us in making uT^f'ifc"^°'y' '"^^t to
,' Here in New EngS^d t ° ^^ ^^^"^'^ *"ne."
all." Father Harvey WMt„n^f* * "^ °°' '^hgion at
practised by thJ^Se ^ '" \?^f ^' "^hat is
that blasphemous faS of H ' ^atherism. In
^<^ Of P-yer/^STon^'^fi-- JSJ^^-
"''^'*" Rotating to CoIonW H»to:y," Vol IV.
ill
^f •'■■';
3a6 GERALD DB LACEVS DAUGHTER
those orindples of intolerance and the persecuting
it end save atheism and despairf _^
^ravhlf ^e'maniacs against Pap^t8^^-^«l
^ch aU we^ free to w^P^"^^ ^^^^t^the
"This very Salem, put ™ j^^'^f i„„ aAAtA its
Pilgrim Fathers came for sanctuary, has added its
^^^^^'^^Tthat'^'^^ess against witchaafC
J -Er^u^ Ho«rPv "which would almost seem
Jhe mind no le^.f^^J^^, S M ^hj c^ed tfim
"^irS^oft^^ jSni^^fullyascore
^^Tt^ir^^imer-^d^vLlyn, "The very air
^e SdieJS'wffi tTe'i^t obs^g f^
"Oh : ^teess Evelyn, this has been but gnm
'iS^Sr'F'l^rf or Why should I
FATHER HARVEV 3,7
ten*^ ^l*^u*® " °°* t° ^ able to hear of those
^g^ which you and many others ^.^tdy to
speak of New YorCnnH^^" "1 ^S*" "^xt to
to h^.^^'^l^^^y™^"* t° both fither anddiuS
nmy pl^nt anecdotes which Kad ?o teU*° ^'^^
whde population rushed forth pell-meu/romVS
!i
1 >M
338 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
their wigs showed shiny pates that were believed by
some to be gleuning tomahawks; portly and in-
fluential citizens, but partially dressed, filled the
■breeU; hats were clapi»^ on top of night caps, and
breeches were drawn on inside out. Men, stumbling
about in the uncertain li^t of the lanthoms, feu
into each other's arms, giving a push here and a
haphazard blow there, dodging the shadows of trees
which they believed to be lurking foemcn, flying
from higji shrubs which they mistook for tall In-
dians. Fat men ran with a speed long unknoTm,
outdistancing their thinner brethren. Blind men
blinked, timorous men shook, children whimpered,
and all with one voice crjed, as they sped towards
the Fort, hoping for shelter: "Brant, Brant is upon
usl"
Now, all this time the fire which had broken out
in the Fort burned steadily. The sight of the smoke
and flame increased the panic, for it was presumed
that Brant was applying the torch to the town.
The men, who at the cry of fire should have seized
the fire-bucket which hung on the back porch of
every dwelling and assisted in controlling the con-
flagration, were so scared by the imaginary Indian
raid that, but for the soldiers of the garrison and the
sailors hastily summoned from the warship in the
Bay, the Fort itself would have been consumed and
the fire have spread through the town.
With such light and pleasant converse did the
good priest dispel the gloom of the previous dis-
course, which he feared had been too painful. It
was a distinct loss to both father and daughter when
thar guest left them to go into Maine on missionary
work amongst the tribes there. They missed his
interesting talk and cheery ways, which had lightened
I^ATHER HARVEY
the loneliness of th^. ^^
•PPear as ^ Z^^^ ^«ungs and made his visit
80 often said in the attic WW flr^^' '^^ch he
were celebrated at sunriJ i^ ^^^ P'^'^e Mysteries
to begin her dSly tT^* '^O"' the senrant S
CHAPTER IV
A NEW CONFEDERATE
TIME passed after that in the same monoto-
nous fashion as before, broken only by an oc-
casional letter from Madam Van Cortlandt, Pieter
Schuyler or Captain Ferrers, which came by the
Boston Weekly Post. They dared not make these
communications frequent, since Captain Prosser
Williams, as they learned, was still on the alert and
still determined to discover the whereabouts of
Mistress Evelyn de Lacey. He had various sleuth-
hounds on the track, and Captain Ferrers knew that
he still kept up communication with Grcatbatch.
Williams had other and more mercenary reasons for
this intimacy with the smuggler, of which his fellow-
officer was unaware, though he also hoped, as
Eveljm's friends surmised, to obtain through the
smuggler some clue to Evelyn's disappearance. They
did not, however, know that Captain Williams was
on the wrong scent. He trusted that the skipper of
"The Hesperia" might find tidings of her at the
Barbadoes, whither he was obstinate in believing
the de Laceys had gone.
Curiously enough, the information which Prosser
Williams so eagerly sought was to come to him from
another and totally imexpected quarter. In the
interval elapsing since Evelyn's disappearance he
A NEW CONFEDERATE
of the active hostility which ^haiv^ ^^ "°^^are
Household had sho;^ towards h7"°f '^'^ °^ the
quite willing to acc^t hTm "^ ^^^ ^"^nd, wa^i
teas or eve^ng Sfes^ich' • ^^'* ^* ^he'high
young matron, Ihe^vefmm?-' "" ^^"^ «^haracter of
WilliamshadearlylcovS^*^^^time. Captain
was inimical both to EveKd h^^^^ ^^"^«"^
was most anxious to in^^l}^^' ^^l*'^' ^"d he
enemies and to nrrm^AT f^ .^® number of their
Therefore, he mo^t^^ ? ^?^^^ towards them
intimacy.' 0^^? t^'c^^^^ "f^tivated this n^
m her erthusiastic aTd w2LC^ Jrow Laurens,
spoken of Evelvn wLI^"^^^^ fashion, had
unreservedly endorsed hv!./i*^®" mentally and
and had whetteSdete?^*,T °* ^r ''^^^^^^^
m that captivating prSnce an/f T^^ °"^^ ""^
whida always thriifeS^'^ftJ ^o W that ^°'*«
Por Captain Prosser wimrmT deepest emotion,
hnnself that he w^hopfcv fnT ^'^'"^ ^^^
Evelyn. In fact, had U^nni?ir*^i^ ^^^^
reciprocate the affection he^^P^^e ^°^ her to
t^-^tel^'Tn^-p- ^ShlSs^^
|t least to throw £rabe^^'\*-° '^^^^ him. o^
But even his ove^e^^w.*"" "?"* ''"^ties.
not blind him tol^e^\ZVf^ ^^ ^g°tism did
with thinly veiled avSon &" '^^^^ him
the Laurens- hospitaWrCrf ST T^' '^^*«^ ^t
h>.h teas. whichtoHd L^S^^t^ Zlt^^^,
^^m_
332 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
most pleasant and informal meal in Dutch New York,
Captain Williams gave no outwMti token of the
tumult which had been awakened withm tarn by
the mention of Evelyn de Lacey's n«^«- ^e cast
down his eyes as if in displeasure, while he slowty
Sed the spiced wine with wHch the guests w«e
re^d. as though he desired to take no part m that
*^hSus Laurens, from the other end of the table,
frowned angrily at his wife's words of praise for the
^**"PoUy." he said wamingly, "do you not ramember
that this whilom friend of yours, whom I have re-
quested you to drop from your hst of acquamtanc^.
fe under the ban of the l^w. and should not be so
much as mentioned before a member of His Excel-
^^Pdly's°ey^ flashed fire. She glanced at Captain
Williams, whose eyes were still cast down and whose
whole aspect declared that, though he woidd not
Eive expression to his sentiments out of deference
to his hostess, he fully coincided in that gmuon. _^
"Your commands in that matter, Hetmcus,
Polly said, "must go for naught, smce Mistress
Evdyn de Lacey has been, and is now, my dearest
friend Those who do not wish to hear her name
must absent themselves from my presence.
Captain Prosser WiUiams bent his head, while a
faint, ironical smile played about the comers of his
mouth. Also it occurred to hun that this anger of
hers was most becoming, giving an additional sparkle
to her eyes and increased animation to her features^
A possibility likewise came mto his nund that, in
her indignation, she might be mdiscreet. Therefore,
he said suavely:
A NEW CONFEDERATE
333
a^Z^ S ^i^^« Voung-^i 2filS
as he™' ^^^ ^^ ^ ^^ "Pon ^s Kps
have^'S'vryoStS^'^^''- ^ut I would fain
what I the^^^ts^^^f S^^n?? ^^ --
impossible for h^to W» ^ •'* 7°""^^ ^^^e been
for?, and at tha'laSe'i^I^a^f igeSL'l "'"*-
law. if T^^ noiiSfw v"" ^J.^ ^^U ^« to the
of EvelyJsl^^ fJ^,^^°^f''^^^ the place
est cluefn^aTlfe liK? had pfurbut\^^'*-
things there to^L\?|°Xf"ents and he resolved
infonnatio^ "Ve iS^ted' thl? ^°."? '^^ ^^^
^Sde SlrP.-^o^f a^n?^eSS5
debt the MSSlS^nr^^' ""^^ P'^^g i° h^
tahip „™"ential young man who now sat at Ws
table. He was quite convinced that he codd nevl^
334 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
make Polly a deliberate accomplice in such a scheme,
nor would he have been altogether willing so to de-
base her kindly and generous nature. But he did
hope that, were ^e once aware of the place of Eve-
lyn's concealment, she might reveal it to himself
through a certain lack of prudence or of suspicion
in her temperament. Sooner or later he would dis-
cover Evelyn's secret, and then the old score would
be paid on a hundredfold, and his own interests
meanwhile furthered.
In the course of the evening Laurens put his chief
guest upon another scent, 'fliey were smoking to-
gether and examining som^ curious spoons of odd
workmanship, which had been bestowed by Mynheer
de Vries upon Polly as a wedding gjft. The two
men spoke for a few minutes of Mynheer, his man-
ners, his iirfluence and the extraordinary kind of
wife he' had chosen. While discussing tiiis latter,
Henricus Laurens said:
"That dull, slow wife of his has one merit. She
is a good hater."
The remark in itself would scarcely have aroused
the curiosity of the languid guest, who cared very
little about the characteristics of most of the Col-
onials. But he was struck by a certain significance
in his host's manner.
"Good hater?" echoed he. "One might have as
well expected to find so vital a quality in a jelly-
fish."
Henricus laughed. "It is jealousy or I know not
what," he said, "but no enemy of the much-talked-of
Mistress de Lacey could exceed Vrow de Vries in
bitterness against her."
This piece of information, which he affected to
«teride, was carefvilly noted by the guest, and in-
A NEW CONFEDERATE 335
2»red him with a sudden interest in that shapeless
Then he inquired as an afterthought : ^
to tMSjr" • "^^ ''^ **-- ^^"- - victim
Mynheer Laurens shook his head.
nev^°Uved Vr^^- ^ r'* '^"t^^^s fellow has
nwer Uved No woman that was ever bom couM
make him lose his head. It is I m^e no ri^vi
^I'^'^^'^^J^^i of admiration^U°let fai
iT W'>,w P'lf^ ""* *^^ P^^'^ of this Sri wWch
•'It is an amusing comedy," said Captain WiUiams
^^ch might justly be entitled 'B^uty^dTe
But he said no more, dismissing the topic as in
Jfferen ly as though the affairs of Mistress dew"
stati^ HP ^ u ?°T"* *° °"e of his raAk and
station. He took his leave early with a WnHW
T^T'%^^'^'} *^« n^stress'^of the h^^if
whom he disabled an opponent. He was resoL?
^occasion offered, to make use of the^hiSued
aiomal Laurens, whom he despised! and uSSse
of Vrow de Vnes^hough he had but U tie hopeS
that quarter There was indeed a c^cftW
hvmg near, she might have picked upl^e bRf
336 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
information, or that her cautious husband, who
seemed possessed of universal knowledge concerning
the doings in that and other colonies, might have
let drop some valuable clue to the mystery of
Evelyn's disappearance.
CHAPTER V
A CLUE DISCOVBKED
cognomen was moJIff ev«- ^ "^S^- Her
seemed more dark ^dlSl^Ti, ™^"°'»«-- She
garded every w"d Md ^t nf^^ ^°'^' ^^ ^-
with scarcely v^^^L^^ °^ ^"^ y°"ng mistress
whispeKTvSs Wnl '^''*'^' *« had he^d
and^ciauTEvelS^'^'C^"^ '^' ^' ^^^y^
meanor and hw K„.« 1 ^"^'^ reserved de-
exdted their ire wMefherirrf'" ^^^ townspeople
hold arts, which They d^Sd Z^.^"?.'" h°"««-
young. provoked thrir je^SS A fll^ "^ °"^ «»
suspicion was her knoSe^f ^I^^- ^"'^ °^
other virtues of pWs n t^t i i^^ •medicinal and
gained in the &TLf knowledge which she had
celebrated a,LS*d^'!!"?f.f'?'"Kerstede. the
pare Seneca-oil for cut, ,nH i?^ ^"^ ^°^ to pre-
of herb breM^ and S^^L^^!??''** ^""^ » variety
able to tr^rwiU s^SiTSlV^^ ^^V''"^
humamty. She fn^^rjll^ « , *he nunor ills of
the service of W^^ ^^^ ^ her knowledge at
MarSS." nd'irCS^a^^^Sf- " '^^'"' ^ ^"
a-ngst them that th^^^^JLi^r Ts |S?I^
I fl
338 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
any doctor. They did not scruple to avail tfiemselves
of her services, which of course were offered gra-
tuitously, and they freely acknowledged the efficacy
of her remedies. But, behind her back, they shook
their heads and whispered. There was something
suspicious in the possession of such knowledge,
coupled with a marvellous personal beauty, which
was but heightened by the simphcity of her Puritan
Another circumstance which served to swell the
tide of unpopularity that was threatening to sub-
merge Evelyn, was her friendliness with the neigh-
boring tribes. Amongst them, as with the WMen
at home, she became an honored guest, eanung their
good-will with trifling gifts, or ministering to iJiem
in their iUnesses. Like the home Indians, they
invented for her terms of admiring endearment, and
used the most extravagant epithets in describing her
beauty Many of them beUeved that it was a Mam-
tou or spirit which inhabited the frail and beautiful
form And especially was this the case when, having
discovered by cautious inquiries that numbers ot
the Indians were Catholics who had been won to
the true faith by missionaries from Maryland or
Canada, she spoke to them of reUgion, heard their
catechism, and instructed the children, regardless of
the fact that she was thus impenUing her hberty
and perhaps her Ufe, as she liad done in New York.
She strove in every way to continue the work of the
missionaries, baptizing those in danger of death,
and making a certain number of converts amongst
the pagan Indians. Always she impressed upon them
the need of secrecy and caution in speaking of re-
lieious matters or of her ministrations amongst
them, and they faithfully obeyed her admonitions.
A CLUE DISCOVERED 339
they taughtKew SSn^J""'.^"^ ^^- and
fected her in thoseX^ 1 "^jo^st lore, or per-
old-time friends thpM^^'^^'^y '^a"»ed from W
softened at sight of h^wJre^^'^y ^'^ck eyes which
and homelike exDres^^;^^ .^^^^ a '"o^ Idndly
the grim Puritan'JTl^^o .i'Tund^/r '^"^""^^^ °f
whom she shrank W^nJif^^*^.^*^ ^""^^ and from
traits of charac??wS she h/.}" '^'^^ "^ «^y
If but the light of the tt,^ had learned to admire
some of them would as sl^ JS*? ^'^^'^ g^^en.
"^■If th ^"'^'^ Christ^s ^"^ *° "^^ ^**'^«-' have
the Poie^o7dLw"°lfnP^*l?^y t"™«i to
It chanced that wh^n ^jf^,,"*!,^ J'^" father,
centre of much suS S^^^of *''"' ^^'"^ *«
natured gossip, a shoS^!L!?i?^^ "^T °^ '«« iU-
Cpoke. who hkd a Sl, T^l^-^'^^^S^^'^benezer
airs, wrote a lett^ tfCsiEn '^'' [" ^°^^ af-
this sister was no otheTtiffn v Manhattan, and
flatter «^mbled her D^tch^If^ '^^Vries. The
fat. indolent and foiaUv J™, "^^9^' ^^^ had been
Cooke, an e^t ^I ^?^fA^\t^^ Ebenezer
thm and lantern-jaw^ rv Vf ^^}^^' "^as taU,
and going much abmad o ^*''aordmary activity
was ,^li;S"^t-5?r°ad amongst the people, he
mipartiaHty, being r^dow^t^?],^^ "^'^ ^^^
the devil himself ^^t'^.eT^.TS'l.Z'
m
f
340 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
He further declared that she had come to Salotn
but recently. haiUng from no one knew where, ne
name by which she was there known was assuredly
not Evelyn de Lacey, but the keen mstmct of jealousy
caused the fat woman, seated m her fm-^Jiair with
T^ inevitable knitting in her han<is. to smimse
that the person so described was no other than the
fugitive from Manhattan.
The knowledge occasioned her a.cuno^s.e^il^-
tion. She blinked at the letter, which die laid be-
ade her on the table, as though it were a h^ang thmg.
She moistened her Ups. as if t^stm^ some delectebte
morsel. And then she began to think m her slow
fashion to which of the two men who she toew wou^d
value the information, she should impart it. ine
result of her coptations was that she sent one of toe
daves with a message to Captam Prosser WiUiams.
For he. in following the scent upon which he had been
out by Mynheer Laurens, had visited her more than
Snce, and had won his way into h«: Spodp^
chiefly by his depreciation of the much-praised Mis-
tress de Lacey. While she waited for an answer to
her summons, she reflected with complacency that
the letter had come at an opportune tune, when
Mynheer was absent for a couple of days on busuMss
in the Jerseys. For he would have been certam to
oppose any action by her in the matter.
When the message was brought to Captain Will-
iams, he was smoking with some other jn^nbers ot
the Household staff and ofiicers from the Fort, who
were seated around various Uttle tables at the game
of lansquenet. Captain Ferrers who h^ b^n
plai^ieat a somewhat distant table, noticed ttiat,
on recaving the note which he instantly read. Cap-
tain Williams, keen gambler though he was. got up
A CLUE DISCOVERED
of his associate's c^nectioiT^Vh^T'' ^^ *^*"
of the de Laceys. found h hLTt?^* Pewecution
him even the ordinarv ^,, **° I?*serve towards
prudence requiS^^ ^T^°^ •"^'^'y ^Wch
occuned tohfeTthatthe 1T^^°" '* immediately
be in some w^ con^JSld^th^.t" T*^^^ ^^^t
was instantly on thTalm aJ^^ v^!, ^"^itives. He
as possible fr^m^tTL^^ui^^^^^'^ ^ «»"
nx)matWhitehaU hetcSlw^^ i? ^^^ °ffi«"'
and without any dSt^ id« T*^' ^^Z""^ ^*«"«'y
do. along thaTfa^ar ItS? wV^kT^^* ^^ «'«'^
Laceys' deserted dweuTng ^^"^ '^ *« ^^e de
wi^d^iwch"ci?b:°a^^^ffi\ir °"^ .^ '"^^
deserted, and ev^ the nn^T"* ^^^ *''*»*• «*«! and
bereft in gt^t pm of h"*^ '^""«"t S^'den. now
sented a s^e o?Sll dS,f ^ir H '^ /^^^"' P**'
upon the gate, witha h^t^k ^^ stood leaning
seemed to^ toi^hat he^^^ «> poignant that it
any risk tC^joZei^^o iS^^^xr""^"'"^ «*
reaKzed before howiXe tw ^r "* ^^ n«ver
rend and tear one muThe 5^^'"^ ^'?^^' «>«ld
tion that might bTof inLfe T^^-"' « ^epaia-
stood thus, he w^awa^ .^""^ •*^"\*'°°- As he
familiar, though hSdllZ'^ *''^' *PP««^
tance. He piesentW™^ v ^^J" ^ <=«^ain riij.
prise, to the^f Vries Sinn 7*'' ^ ?^ °f '^-
njom of which rieaS^^f 'i^J" **»« drawing-
of the fire on thSh^'^teo f"^ P'T^"* «1°^
tention, he Pas^d'oT? thaTtS^ ?£lC
^1
i
342 GERALD de LACEYS DAUGHTER
of light from the mansion and that sound of a mat-
culine voice struck him as somewhat odd, smce he
was aware that the head of the house was absent
from the town. . . ^i.
As the voice he had heard approached the open
door, and a step came crunching down the graveUed
walk, Egbert Ferrers drew back into the shadow of
the stone waU, for the voice was that of Captain
Prosser WilUams. and he clearly perceived by the
light of the lanthom upon the pole the face and figure
of his fellow-officer. The latter stood still an in-
stant, looking about him and drawing on a pau- of
goves, and it seemed to the observer that the pale
ce wore a look of exultation. After a brief pause,
Captain Williams walked hastily on, apparently tak-
ing his homeward way to the gubernatorial mansion.
Captain Williams was, indeed, exultant, for he
had had a wholly satisfactory interview with his
ally, who, unexpected as it was, had proved more
powerful than all the rest. He had found her sitting
unwontedly erect in her chair, with a color approach-
ing to a purplish crimson in each heavy cheek and a
Bght in her dull eyes. Thus transformed, it ap-
peared to the visitor that she had something more
distinctly human about her, as though a jelly-fish
had suddenly shown signs of life. Hardly had they
exchanged the conventional greetings, on the part
of Prosser Williams with a little more than his usual
scant measure of civility, when the woman snatched
a letter from the table beside her and thrust it mto
his hand.
"Read that," she said.
He eyed her curiously a moment before he un-
folded the paper, which had been previously un-
loosed from its silken fastenings.
A CLUE DISCOVERED
343
J;!^ ""' ^"-^^ ""^'y -P^ted. with feverish
"Read I Readf
his clothes seemed out <„ -„ . ,. ,„ , i .,, ' - ^^^^^V of
and in marked contr t' , .- n^M"''*;{!^"T"?'
beside him. As he ^c .' fhl „• . u^'^'^t""
ey^. became mc^ oafior,' iud ^v '-'. . , ^'^ '"^^
in his breath more sl.urpiy " " ""*" *^^
"Most excellent Vrovv ' ,„ - r; .,4 -tu- ■ • ^ .
great tidings " *"^'^^'' '"• "-.jd, this is indeed
te»/S IK *" **! " » *'" "qiiml the mis-
emp?at.^^r'"lhSi' crKlon^f ^•"•^-
colonies who would fi^ that ^ °^- °'^^'' "» ^^"^
who is so aSe " descnpt.on-none other
dJS 'aS^of t ■K!.°'r/"' ^'^ '^"^ '"^'"ent of pru-
344 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
"You have not credited me with blindness," the
young officer said defiantly. "And blind I should
be, if I did not perceive her exterior gifts.
"But you have told me," argued Vrow de Vnes,
eyeing him resentfully, "that you hate her."
"And I have told but the truth," the Captam
replied, "for in very truth I do, and more than you
caji ever understand. But _ hatred does not close
the eyes of a man to beauty."
He sat down again and said in a different tone:
"If you wiU but give me this letter, good Vrow,
you shaU be fully satisfied that my hatred exceetk
yours, as the sun does the pine-torch. I will track
her to Salem, and then wei shall see, you and I, how
little that same beauty will avail her."
Vrow de Vries was satisfied, though she would
have preferred that this member of His ExceUency's
Household, whose visits for many weeks had been
the stimulus of her dull life, should have unreservedly
agreed with her as to the sn.,iil claims of Mistress
de Lacey to admiration. But here she felt was genu-
ine hatred; nor did she pause to ask hersek how it
had been excited, nor guess how qmcldy it might
melt away, if the conflicting passion of the man s
love had been reciprocated. .^ , , ,
"I will give you the letter," she said, slowly and
deliberately, "and leave the matter in your hands.
My husband will do naught, since it is his poUcy
to meddle in no wise with the affairs of others.
Therefore, this matter must be kept secret from
Prosser Williams readily promised, and, having
possessed himself of the letter, sighed with reUef to
reflect that his visits to that house and that unm-
teresting creature were nearly over, since her use-
A CLUE DISCOVERED
more to anger me." i'*"*^". ana au tnat the
She stopped, almost chokmp with na.«mn o. i,
^T'sSaf '^n*- *^^g-hShff sband hal
th^^' t'e^eye "t 'hS' °'^'."*tl^''^ '^^
j^,, ou evil eye at hun, and has bewitched
int?C^tiiaS^*mS.r hT th^ou^hf sl^*
new way out of his difficulty. Instead^ v.«T ^
P^ of law^airants a/d othS^^^uL'S^^
S i^an^?r^/° «^* possesion of thriS
others as the pnme mover in Evelyn's arrest, h^
346 GERALD de LACEVS DAUGHTER
was a far simpler process. It ^o«»d leave the mattCT
Tirtirelv in his hMids, and enable him to play the
J'aTS iLuer. and otherwise to comportta^M
io as to earn the good opimon of the ^1 ^f^^^^
Sridentallv of many others to boot. HedeternMed,
iSS%ut\ni^notTor^ l^l^irS
fouS he^e her a hasty good-eyenmg ^d went
out iilto the darkness. .all„"«'=o'i^°"^^^^* fLaeh
been observed by Captain Ferrers. He f alt as thoagn
^f wwe^SiR on air. He took the very stars to
St^^s h^Uh and the m^^ant ,oy that
possessed him at the behef that EYfly« f^^^
iras now in his power. Mmgled with his burning
de^r^ te'vengl because he had bee^PJ^-g
scorned and outwitted, was a longmg to ^ he^ a^
and to hear once more the tones of h^ Xf^^^^T^
tonging which was scarcely surpassed e^" ^y.^f *
nf ^k bTOther-officer. And hope surged up within
hi^thard^esmd friendless iTthat place of exile,
S^S't^^d^ced to hear reason and hsten to
his s^t He vowed to himself by those pale stars
?4vf his head, shining beside the wlute ra^ance
onhe Milky Wky. that, if she would not accept him
wiUinelv he would attain his end by force. ,
]St he had to think the matter out carefully.
He had in tl^ first instance to devise some excuse
Sr Sg ^ extended leave, though that would
be cS^ The.^ was always the plea of urgent bu^-
ne^iid he had seldom asked for such favors. But
he had al^ to consider that the late f ury agams^
vrit^es which under the administration of Governor
?Ss had stirred the Colony of Massachusetts
■■it'4— I-
W'Mnm
A CLUE DISCOVERED
347
^A ^^^^ Salem village, was at an end. There
STan^d'Tr.T- Men in high places. mundS
c«»cials and the like, were ashamed of the part th^
thiy had played in the late trials, and remw^S
fhoV't'^r^^** ^^^ ^^ ^^fi^ed and thTSv
SMS He argued, however, that the few years that
had elapsed since the era of the witchcraft exXment
had not materially changed the temper of the Se's
^^•c J^r .'«"^t ftill be a sufficient nuS of
persons firmly imbued with the lately univer«^ b^
hef that the devil operated through hiiman creSu.^
Gloomy superstition must be lurldng yet in the f^
houses, in laborers' cottages, and in the b^tV ^n
rf mimsters of the Gospel, who had made SXs
^<=S^T^",^ ^'^'?'^- ^""^ the reaction thThld
ensued had had time to spend its force so thatX
counted much on being abkto stir upThe smoulder
on vvitcnes Hill. In fact, he inferred from the tmnr
of the letter from Salem that the beUenn s^r^^
m the evil eye and the like, was still a forc^ to b^
reckoned with at the scene of those tra^c events
He was fidly determined to make the vj^ture and
he planned out every detail, in so far as he coSd
before reaching WhitehaU. '" -^ ne coma,
t '
M^nwhile Captain Ferrers, more than ever con
vinced hat his broth«r-officer was meditati^s^me
coTeJi^^^-?,^'S^^^'y" ^"d had possib™
covered her hiding-place, was filled with an arita
nondifficult to control. Uncertain what to dThe
walked on m the same aimless fashion to the tavern
8
348 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
of Der Halle, hoping that he might pi<^ up some in-
formation there. Captain Greatbatch was m the
tavern, as he was sure to be. whenever the bngan-
tine "Hesperia," was in port. Captam Ferrers was
aware that the smuggler, for one reason or another,
was in constant conununication with Captam Prosser
WiUiams. He had not yet heard the cmrent report
that WiUiams was protecting Greatbatch. and,
through his influence, saving him from the clutches
of the law and allowing him a certam latitude m
carrying on his nefarious practices. . , . ^.
Captain Ferrers entered ahnost unnoticed in the
wate of a bluff sea-captain, whom he presently
heard Greatbatch introducing to some others as
the captain of "The Prosperine." He sat down
quietly at a table, and ordered a glass of Madeira.
This was brought to him with a plate of Deventer
cookies. He broke and ate one of th«e almost
mechanically, and slowly sipped his wme, while
his ears were open to the talk at the other table.
He had very Uttle hope of solving the mystery there.
Yet he knew that Greatbatch was more or less in-
cautious in his cups, and he waitM in expectation
of some chance word that might giv him the clue
to Captain V/illiams' movements. Now, though
Captain Greatbatch was as usual well-pnmed with
his favorite potion of rum, his talk for some tune
was purely of seafaring matters. Nor did he so much
as nation the name of Prosser Wilhams. The old
sea-doe's rough voice rose higher and higher m
argument or dispute, but he uttered no word of
information that could in any way be useful to the
Ustener. Vexed with himidf for the unreasoning
impulse which had led him -aBtber. instead of follow-
ing Captain Williams back W his quarters, he wab
A CLUE DISCOVERED
had i««k to rfc^^itl "!!\u^"'^*''^*<=h's voice
plainly confideS ^Su5denlv how ^ ^t '^"'"^
»* ** if in argument anrt Po^^: ^S^ever, he raised
say . gument, and Captain Ferrers heard him
genS'and wto'lSSs 5°.ri'^^ ^^'^ the
shopkeeper in Salem " ^''^ '^"S^*^' "^ «
forS'of^tocf l.r^de'^a .^f^^ ^* ^^e
flections in Salem ^^ n . ?^ ^^ ^^ family con-
paying hS a ^^dt t th%^" ^""^'"^ ^ad^^been
All was now cteS to\^m tu"^ t^ ^^ husband,
lightning-nrsh Th» ' ^' l''°"8* revealed by a
teWnlor?hepTeL:e°'^?hed'^" ^^« -
to their bitter enemv Whlf^^ ^^^^^ '" ^^'^"^
Vries might be he L ^\ """^'^^ ^^ Vrow de
he rose 4d aWt mth^n'*"?? *° ^^ ^^^elf, bu?
changed a word or two^^S^ P^d ^f «^ore. ex-
out of the tavern *^^ landlord, ana sped
taStil'iLrhlraSf '"^ '"t""'^ that Cap-
absence. There w^^l tjf ^^^"^^^ ^^^^« "*
could take ItwouMkl , f^**^ ^^^°^ that he
obtain l^ve atTw.^ ^°'* ""PO^^tle for him to
on the sfa^\'aV£t7^"'°Sro^h- »>- --date
confer with Pieter ScWef whn "^"""-^ ^^' *«
mtention of proceeding imm^-^? ^"oi^-'^ed his
chusett£ viiwr^hplf^^^t^'y t° the Massa-
FerrersinSSoTSeoth^" ""^ "^ ^^ ^^^
what steps ™ re poss«. W^ ' movements, and take
350 Ge«ALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
real anguish in his heart at being thus chained to
the spot, made Pieter Schuyler promise that, if his
assistance were needed or if any plan were decided
upon, he should be summoned, and then, leave or
no leave, he would go at once.
•«aKft
CHAPTER VI
A NEW DANGK*
A'Ser^^iSSf C ^'^«- Captain
through the medSn S"e?1^^^ discovWing
of Madam de Vrie^ o^ .w^?"" 9^^^, hrotha
-nceming the oSjal'of tha^"^"^^ ^^°^
the umpike road from Boston anHT^"""^ ^^ by
?fy lingering doubts in WsSt^ . ^^"t^-^^ ** '«^
He did not make kno^ hfs^ ^,*° "'^'' '<^«n«ty.
to his informant or ^ ^v ^w* "^^ ^'^ ^ta««i
place. Nor did hS^dresTL^l^ "t^^^^^^ °f the
was clad as a merdiMtTn^^ anything, since he
his curled locks wSwdden„^J ^^P^'' ^ ^^en
w^ enabled to renSn fn tM?/ T^U '^"^ he
put attracting the attention ^<^^^^ ^J?" '^ys ^ith-
ather. On the ve™^f'°Se1„^*^;' ^Xflyn or her
their house, he watohed for T^ '''"<=h adjoined
a glimpse of the £l ^hiS ^ hT **,* *^« ^^
which when securS 'served a^ fuel J^'y.^*' ''"*
flame that consumed hi^^'ij^J^lto the devouring
t«ne m ascertaining the «.n^- ^ * **^ mtenrening
both in i^d to Mist7^« ,?^^"*' °^ the people!
that so latdy aS-enSnf ^^ ^^'"^^^ *^ on
Representing^himtK °| ^"hj«^t of ^itohcraft.
•^h^pion of^the^^in?ffiL'^"^-^^tant and
-* welcome in^ ^^ t'SeV:^^'^^-^-^
^ir>
3S2 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
amongst various classes of the population. He also
frequented the taverns, and felt, as a doctor feels a
patient's pulse, the temper of men's minds. As he
had expected, he found that amongst the older
people, the more ignorant, and those who had been
active persecutors, much of the old cisdulity was
still alive. Needless to say, he lost no opportunity
by word o- gesture, or by a recital of the treatment
even at i . >*• day accorded to witches in England,
to feed t flame and lend fuel to the fire. On the
other 1 nd, many and weird were the tales which
were told him, and which made all the air around
vocal with the death cries of witches, or with the
shridcs, the complaints and the outcries of their
supposed victims. He was as familiar with the names
of Rebecca Nurse, Elizabeth How, Goody Bibber,
Rebecca Fox, Mis. Bradstreet and the other re-
puted witches, as with those of Mary Walton, Abi-
gail Williams, the Parris children. Rev. Nicholas
Noyes, his fellow-dergyman, Parris, and others of
their chief accusers. The astute young man of the
world seemed to be sounding every depth of credulity,
ijrnorance, diabolical malice and superstition, and
idHamng all the windings and turnings of human
nature in its attitude towards religious matters or
the supernatural, once it has escaped from the guid-
ing hand of the Church. But the most curious re-
sult of all was the effect of his discoveries upon him-
sdf . He who had cynically disbelieved in the truths
of religion (such religion at least as that of his par-
ents), and who mocked, in so far as was safe, at
creeds and ministers and ceremonies, was now im-
pressed far more than he would have cared to own
by these strange narratives of sorcery and of the
influence of the devil upon the very bodies of men,
A NEW DANGER
CHAPTER Vn
TRIED FOR WITCHCRAFT
IT was late afternoon when the Town Marshal
and the constables, charged with the arrest of
Mistress Evelyn de Lacey on a charge of witchcraft,
proceeded to her house. They were accompanied
by a crowd of more or less excited people, the ma-
jority of whom still remembered the witchcraft ex-
citement of several years before, and, though less
under the influence of that delusion than their elders
had been, were nevertheless ctuious to watch all stages
of the proceedings and to hear the accusations for-
mulated against this stranger who had settled in
their midst.
The sun, burning low in the west, seemed to have
an evil gleam, and cast a lurid glow over the land-
scape and the trees of the wood, which had the ap-
pearance of burnished copper. Coming forth from
farms or dwellings along the route, dogs barked
furiously in angry protest at the doings of that band.
The men in their high, pointed hats and full-skirted
coats, arid the women in their wide, gathered skirts
and sad-ooiored hoods and mantles, moved along
as so many shadows. The wooden dwelling near the
turnpike road showed windows gleaming in the red
light of the sunset. Evelyn was alone in the house.
Her father had begged her to accompany him, as
( '
%^<lC3S "" ""«» ''"Won. s^iStaS;^
!*m Hat »ini.WJZo'.Sl'"'S !'»<* M Evd™
?«' S'a' "ummms », t£?;S' "IvaiiM lolSSS
Mioocorr iisoiution test chart
(ANSI and ISO TEST CHABT No 2)
^ -APPLIED IM^GE In
^r^ '653 Eost Mom Slreef
~^ Rochester. Ne» York U609 USA
g^ (716) 482 - 030(1 - Phone
^S (716) ZB8- 5989 - Fq>
3s6 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
besfoTeanJtht dSyf £ wo K'^
es^^ before he could urge his smt and claun ^er
klSt^d^S^rS^eJ^SiJ^^
revenge aid the satisfaction of that strange hatred
wSlways went hand in hand with h,s perverted
^°The young girl, hearing the order for her arrest,
Tor^ 'the h'^.use'letween two constables preceded
hv the Town Marshal and accompanied by a motley
S)wd A last gleam of light, like a sardonic smUe.
Saved over the bleak surface of the Witches HiU,
playea over tu cortege moved on through
Inson La* up S Street'into Town House Lane
head It was fortunate f r the prisoner that the
^?^"of thriate terrible aelusion had spent itself,
Ehe thus istpelThe brutal treatment then meted
out to the accused.
TRIED FOR WITCHCRAFT 357
sation would never WKp/" ^ °^ ?^'°t^' the accu-
few. together with theZiZTj^^ ..^ /^"^ti<^al
had never been convinced of the fnr °^ f"" ignorant,
of the former trials or fe?t P.h ''^/"."^ '^'^J^'edness
consequences. These were ^t^tT"^ °^ "'"^ tragic
the old colonial law agJinst w .,f "^.'"^ *" '"^"ke
support of a sufficient number .'^^ """"^ ^""^ ^he
to constrain thrmaSstrate, m ■* ""^^ °^ '"^"^n^e
the arrest of Mistre« Psf 1 °. "r""^ =* ^a^ant for
detention in prison um^'f^'^^ facey and for her
ten days from Vn" Sd^lS' ""'°"' =^^"t
eveTSng'ThetLnT °" r "^^ '" ^^e dusk of
to the fid mee^nSu eTn'HS'c;^'" '"^^ P^so"
special session of the court w^cfV^*',^^*' where the
three ministers were nre Ln f " ^ ^'^'^- Two or
magistrates. lookinK%Str^n; "'^/^* ^^^'^e the
at this beautiful yfunTwomZ ^''u '°'"'"" ^^^e^
guiltyof absentingXrSirC?, 1,,'^''^ ^'J*^^^' ^^^
whose name did not aMei „ ''^"''^^ semces.
and who had never come fo°" 1"/ P^,"'^ ^^S^^ter
ment. Many witnesTe" wSS rTre^f '. ''"' ^'-^-
to give testimony againit her tif t"*' P^<^Pared
former trials, to make sdL^ J' ^ °"^^ "°'' ^s in
of having bewitch^or ''afflicted ••T' %^^'' ^^'
went) any particular TndiSafs fe^^^Ph^ase
madness had died out B.Tt ili ^""^ ^^^^ of
general accusations against wTt "^^"^ ""^^ne and
well versed in al" doSo .. t'"- """^^^^^^
very beauty and the chaL ^T'"^'"^"'^- Her
c^ted against her and esSllvth.'' T""^"" *^
^he was known to exerTreJ^.^'^ •efgK„-'^^
M
i' >
358 GERALD DF. LACEY'S DAUGHTER
dians conversing familiarly with them in their own
Toneuer She was said to possess power over dumb
Ses and to have an uncanny skill in mediane
and in the preparation of various medicaments. _ It
was singula? that none made any charge of having
beTn nlTred by her. although many declared ^e^r
belief that her superhuman powers imght at any hme
be exercised in the spells of f «^^^ ^h^, inost
damaging testimony was given by Evelyn s own
seSV Joy, who testified to having seen Satan
himsdf in the attic of the de Laceys' dwelhng, or,
STt were not Satan, then her young mistress s fa-
-I- ~^f TTpr pvidencs was corroborated oy
to mo C GoSy w£s who testified that her
daugh?er had returned to her from the aforesaid
dweUing in a condition of mortal terror, and had
^nsentld to return only on the assurance that she
would never be required to revisit the upper story
°^Prosir"williams listened carefully to all the evi-
dence Concealed from notice . as he supposed himself
to te he f°asted his eyes on the beauty of the young
rirl^' countenance. He was filled with a reluctant
l^rS which enraged him, t-. and sumd up
within him the malignant spmt of hatred that
Xavs mingled with his infatuation, as he noted
£ Kourage of the girl and the proud coldness
of tir'be^ng' Her contemptuous gaze swep^m
turn over aU of those who composed the co^
rnagistrates, ministers, accusers a«<i , ~"f^^¥^^i?!
ttwugh she could not help but marvel at thetf folly
Sd feel a certain compassion ^'1*?^'^ '^lindness
While Toy was giving her testimony Evelyn
snE anfiook her'head. as the girl, who had b^^'J
reaUy as fond of her young mistress as it lay m her
,1
TRIED FOR WITCHCRAFT 35,^
ously told Tr^tale or ul "v.^*""" ^''^ ^^^ P'-evi-
various additions 'Cn ^^•'^ ^^Kgested to her
withsomethi„g"Le"ultatt.TK'''p^''° "^^ "^^^d
For. though he tot^ty'S feved^-r > ''"' ^'"'■^'"^•
character, he saw that ft t 1m "? '*^ s"Pematural
damaging to t^ SsLe/lnf :?Lt^P""^^^'^
strictly prohibited V?Z '^'^'^"/"P'^ ^n act was
Bellomont ^^ *^^ ^^'^^"^ decree of Lord
wh^^chSeTo tTeMSf, ^-«-°"y. a minister.
andNoyesha°dlt^Setrrr' -lof ^^"!f
made a rambling speech Tn f kT ' ?°* "P ^"d
cried out, "that thev ^, ^ '^""''"^ "^ ^^ich he
guard, le t the Ssh™ /'^^ ^"'^ ^^ "P°" their
things amongst them M °"^^ "1°"^ «^° ^^^h
roar&g Kon Then wouli ^rif ^ ■i'^" "'^^'^ "^ the
them in greater wr^tlT. t!^ '^^^^ ^"'"e amongst
and the!oud tn- ,t' 7i%^u^r'T ?^" ^^^'•'
in anger upon 1 tn^* ^^^ **^'*'"'^ thundering
Such creatures L the I ^"'l "P^" ^he country^
invested with tl,f^ ^°""S ^^™ale before them
ha^g lifted ,^n ^f ^^T"'. '"^'•^ °f human beauty'
byXMl'shiJ <^?devJstSe hei?\"^*' ^"-^^
of the covenant witr^Ie , , helhsh mysteries
Despite theTavT*^/^ """"'' -^^ ^''"''" destruction."
the experienS^ t^hf Z P°'i*'°"' ^^en judged by
' '^^^yn could not repress a laugh.
I. ' M
J. (
1 \
^l \
360 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
^^^- -J- ^ooictrate who seemed perturbed
The presiding magistrate. ^"" "=: • ^ ^ho of
and unLy. began to ^^f ^^'°^„2 ter Cd anta^^^
course denied ^^ ^^^^%^^Zoi%\r.dr,lity of
verted vnth someth ng of scorn ^^^_ ^
her accusers, and stiu n»ore u charges. As
ably educated, would entertain such cnag
she%tood before them ^"^^^J^^/S falling back
her slim upnght fig'^'^^.f^r fett/red hands behind
of her hood and '"antle her fetterea r ^^^
her back, and her ^^^^l^ „^,^^f ^gStU^^ that
curves of her throat, P^°!!f -J^f C' at the Van
pover in the g.^V .^"^^S her l^k so beautiful.
Cortlandtinansionhadheseenne ^^_
"Why. sir," she ^aid. does ^t uot pp- ^^^^^^
trary to common sense ^"^J^f^^,,f ^Th which you
rtitrmankcles an instant on my h^^^^^^
One of the magistrates at least looKea
iS'S^^prr ^^^rald no?'answer.
^^^.^SSfnrfaf rmount on a br^-^t^ht
fly out through yonder ca^rnent.a^you^^y ^ ^^^
manner of witches? ^r, betjter suu. ^^^
change each one °^ y°^^°^^fS M^er would
a rabbit, a mouse, a gumea pig.
be least harmful to myseU. ^^^ ^^^.
The judges and the jury, the ci^rK ^^.^^^
stables, looked uneasy at tt^is suggesti
•^rUSTnortrS^ your Honors, the
the
TRIED FOR WITCHCRAFT 36,
Prosser Williams marvelled at the girl's audacity
and the gay spirit which thus moved her recWesslv
uV; a^eX' '-r'fP.^ ^^ thought'shSJS
bdkve tha? It ^"' °^ ^'''- P"''"°"' °^ did not
Bu Ihe effor « f »f'«!f ^^T'^ ''" ^^^« serious.
iJut tne efforts of her dauntless spirit to turn th..
accusa ions against her into a jest. wh°le a? he
mem werf '"?^"" "PP^^^""y unansSwe argS
^nn iorL^U^^ ^\''^"' reprimand from fhe
severitv of Lr™.'''^ ''^^'^y- ^"^ '^ hi"t that the
seventy of her sentence would be augmented bv
the expression of such sentiments on her^^ She
however, persisted in her argument, thought s time
with a countenance of due gravity :
But can I offer a stronger plea in mv behalf?
For would It not be impossible that I Luld ™ s
superhuman power and not use it to my own ad!
lSmT^\'ll^ detriment of those who felsefy
accuse me? I marvel, not at the credulity of vonder
^ef^^"'"^'^'.''"* ^' y°"' '^^"'ed gentlemen ■•
Her plea was not entertained, though the allusion
to their creduhty angered them, and the twssSfes
?o'J!f^'"^?''*'^^ ^"* '=°'d shiVers of apSension
down the spine of more than one of those whorS^e
had designated. For might not her powers tem^
SsSn„d' ^:''^'^'y manl?:sted%oTh^r-
ITSlW f '* Y^^ *^^^^»" that each felt
as unwiUmg to assume the characters she had <;pv
Sis rr*" '^'"?-"^ ^"^ "^^^'^ Honorfthe mag:
manner ^"'^^ °'' "P°° ^^^"^ '" *^« ^dicated
tP,^/°J Joy. under the influence of superstition, her
terror of her late mistress, who had treated her ;vith
I ;
^t!^l
I =* 3
36. GERALD de LACEY' , DAUGHTER
so much kindness and to -hom f c^ha^adTven
calmly she Ytr"^fL^ii^:^J^^c^^r.gs as an
gence caused her ^o ^ega'^". ^ accusers and
unmitigated farce and t° tu^.^^^dicule He won-
the office-s of the kj/ to^ewso"^ of the
dered if s.^" had ^f r^ J*^ ST^Yf-ted upon reputed
punishments that had ^.^" Xilst decade He
Pitches and wizards withm ^^^^^Jl^ ^is face,
could not know *^t it was a giimp ^^^j_
which she had caught ^«pite his etton
of demeanor. ^ et, .'^'vri likewise chilled her heart
he had to?™ *'Uw?4rF^„o sooner had she
with '."'•'^•"f ITS™ what she had previondy
S?iS.rttaaS'o.h.,».njiJ»M^£-
L^/of tiS rSt-afiy-ht" ^o .ess than in
"StSTeaJ «. was -^J^SlSltTh'^ -
Sf 'St?Se'?rd™t£: onS-hrha^ be»
TRIED FOR WITCHCRAFT 363
ance of Prosser Will,-=.,^1 *u ^"^'"y- The appear-
S fece anH If"' '• ^ ^""'^^ ^'^h relief from hi
c£St recrudescence of the witchcraft e7
and? hii-i^"""'* ^"*^^ ^^^^^^^s were being put
if " ' i
^ '4
I ' 1 )i
364 GERALD DE LACEVS DAUGHTER
wit and calm demeanor, he laid strong emphasis
:j^n the fact that no evidence had been as yet ad-
duced to prove bodily harm done to any of the wit
"T\ws\herra^IeTtum«lt. and all seemed to
be Lig together. Dignity and decorum were
£t^Se man cried out that the prisoner shouW
^ out to the torture, since she refused to confess.
Another suggested thkt the punishment meted out
5f?he past^fo all accused of sorcery should be re-
caT^SlaTed to inspire this reputed w^tch^thsalu^^
tarv fear and confusion. Meanwhile, the central
fi^Tre in that strange scene stood apparently un-
mnvpd though the girl's heart quailed within her
rihe'hSd'that .M uproar, the .vile n^es she
was called the fierce muttenng nsing into shouts
Tainst her Her delicate and sensitive nature was
Sy a^ected by the horrors of the scenes deputed
the? the judge having at last obtained silene. the
rlerk read aloud the account of former tnais, tne
iSris^nment in dismal dungeons and the culni.nat-
iT^rSy on the bleak and dreary hill, which had
belnT£°an evil omen ever ^jnce her amval in
Salem Her mind, however, rose into the re^on
of orayer All the faith and hope, every dmne irn-
?XTcharity. which had consciously or uncon-
sciouslv shaped her life, came now to her aid. bhe
live thMdTs with a certain exultation of spint that
fhThad wtund worthy to follow to n|w way
of the cross, and to ascend her Calvary. »ne re
joiced in th; knowledge that her exik and tha^of
L^ fattipr such orivations and discomforts as tney
Jrd'ScT exSrienced, .-^ her pi^sent sv^en^^^^
as well as the grim possibilities of the future, coma
have b^n avoidedrhad she . renounced her. faith
TRIED FOR WITCHCRAFT 365
Beflomon? ^^' objuration in the hands of Lord
Tho!? t!^li she said, "I : .e Thee thanks that
f]^/ t ,*?,°"^.''* ""^ vonhy. who have been so
fond of worldly pleasures and of the brighter side of
Captain Prosser Williams, utterly unable to guess
at such sentiments as these, sat gloating over the
scene and at the terror, the humiliation and thi
degradation which that ^irl, so late the idol of a
in i^fn"] fK'^.,'""'* ^ ^'^'-""S- It is true he had it
m mind that he would not permit u.itters to pro-
ceed to too great extremities; that, once she was
safely lodged in the Town Prison he would visit her
declanng that he meant to save her and that in the
end. If It became necessary, he would claim her under
mITZ^""^ formerly issued by the Government of
Manhattan, and have her conveyed to that citv
where she would be safer. He hoped, in fact, that,'
once her spint had been broken b> the terror of he^
situation and all that she would be called upon to
endure, she would be willing to accept voluntarily
a smtor who must be associated in her mind with
an that was gay and pleasant, and who, through his
official standing and his influential connections in
England, could offer her a very desirable alUance.
It was not. therefore, without design that, when the
tumult was at its height he permitted her to see him
only to encounter a cold and haughty stare full of
contempt and aversion. Springing from his place
m the ardor of his infatuation and in the heigh' of
his exultation at her humiliating position, he took
advantage of the uproar to advance towards her
though he had no definite idea as to what it wo„ld
be wisest to say. He had some vague intention of
1f!l
,if!
■4
366 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
oractisinc a deception and whispering that he had
ZmoZhcr mil the intention of Protectmg hen
But the lovely eyes of Evelyn measured him coldly
from head to foot, as she said curtly :
"Have vou too been bewitched r
"Yes and b^you." answered Prosser Wilhams
flushing from chin to forehead at the contempt of
her tone and his red hair seeming to gleam redder
than ever in the light of the pine torches.
"bS me, g(^d sir," said Evelyn, mockmgly.
"thSTi have never troubled to cast a speU m your
*^Wi?h"ihat she turned her back upon him. He
contJolled by an effort the furious rage which pos-
^^e,l him and. trembling all over with passion
Xmed to his place just as the magistrate called
SeTfor order. The silence that again ensued was
broken by a sound sufficiently terrifying to drive
Sotoer matters from the minds of those present.
I.
CHAPTER virr
THE RESCUE
'THIS sound, the most appalling that could Kwf
the pioneer stories of Indian atrocit and of who e
sale massacres, with all the grewsome de4.T« ..
companying them, were still frr^h^^ t- ,^?"
pinds. Men in the courtroom San^ to t.f^'^'"^
jn consternation; women rddlKX^or^,;'
Sraid^ton^' l^'. '^°°'- *'^^°"2h which the?^ J
iS n thpf t'^ "^^"^^ ^^ ^"dians might l4 lurk-
Sfir places tl"'.?- V^^"." l^' Judges abandoned
fn K» -J scalpmg-knife; still less did he desire
ndst.Sti^tiLrrt^^ ThlrfwasTK
feir'"'^"^ '" ^'^^^"S'^ th^ °P^n door^nd a rush ol
feathered wamors, their fac^ thickly daubed with
^ L'Tback .n/nT"f ''°°'^ "^i"' ^'th hands bound
at ner Dack and now forgotten by the fiercest of the
r*l
368 GERALD .B LACEY'S DAUGHTER
Mingled ^th h« a brai w^ a ^^^^ ^^ {
least she^ould be^'^f jt darted throu^ her
Captain Prosser W^f?|-go^e hope for her in her
brmn that there P^gl^^^^? ^^Ziects and in the fact
Sedge of vano^.I"<^f^Je tribe and had made
thatshewasam«nbaofon^tn^
with it a Silver Covenant 01 r ^^^^ ^^^^
The warrior mounted * ho^^ w ^^ ^s back.
ing, and 1"^^ her by a sw.ft move^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^
l:fSViZ^'^^- astonishment, a vo.ce
''^^•l^^rmrio^.-be not^a^^^ ^,, ^,,,er in
Hope, joy, «tif^"^^leSd Surely the grasp
swift%e^onthroughhermma j 3^ely
in which she was held was rn j Ferrers
the voice that spoke ''^s that 01 b ^gd
gfe asked a breathle^ ^S^ & them came
without slackening ^f • 7^^|\he confused sounds
the tramp o^^^^f.^^I^^n was awaking to the penl
which showed that the town was a ^^^b
by which it was threat«iecl^ ^^^^^ ^he
was an indescnbable one. i n j^j^abitants.
alarm and spread terror ^^gs ^ ^
Many stole forth ^^-^.^^^^^re Others barricaded
place they knew «°t where ^^^ j^,^^
themselves withm ^heir dwemng , ^^^^ ^^^^
to their firelocte and^^^^^^en Sionf ^^^
ance they could i^^ ttie^ pr V ^ ^^^^6 through
Pine-knot torches A^shed here ^^^ ^^j^y.
the darkness, and sent their gieau
1
THE RESCUE
369
flowing rivers, where the dry stalks of the lately
beautiful water-lilies rested on the surface of the
water, symbolical of the fair lives that had been
wrecked and ruined in that vicinity by false and
idle superstitions. The heavy veil of blackness had
fallen upon the woods skirting the town, which to
the minds of the terrified ' inhabitants seemed to
be peopled with savages, ready to spring forth at a
given signal and with tomahawk, torch and scalping-
knife to make havoc in their paths. The trees nodded
and whispered together, as if in consultation.
Everything was furtive and stealthy, but, after
that wild war-whoop and the trampling of galloping
horses, there ensued an ominous and terrible silence
on the part of the invaders. Imagination ran riot,
picturing the foe as creeping on insidiously and
noiselessly until vantage points would be found in
every street. Even the boldest of the citizens,
members of military companies and train-bands,
who had armed themselves to make some attempt
at resistance, were silent, oppressed by that ter-
rible stillness. They felt a reluctance to raise their
voices above a whisper and to ask of the night the
secret which it did not give. Once the stillness was
broken by the nasal tones of an itinerant preacher,
reciting aloud from the Psalms:
"Fear and trembling have come upon me, and
darkness hath covered me. The fear of death hath
fallen upon me. My heart is heavy within me.
Have mercy, O Lord, have mercy upon me. For
my soul trusteth in Thee."
In that hour of universal terror, perhaps in the
ears of many sounded the djring shrieks of witches
hanged upon the hill, and the groans of tortured
victims, seared with the brwding-iron, scourged and
!; hi
n- III
'II
370 GERALD « tACETS DAUGHTER
ctreetc where appeared no savage form, and upon
statute. Captain Pros^rw" ^3^4 him
almost alone m the ^^d rage wnic y^
when he began to ^^^f - ^^^^^,^3^ ^ whooping
THE RESCUE 37,
sidered as their benefactress. The youne officer
who was possessed of sufficient bravery to ™
him with credit through the ordinary affairs of mi
now felt ashamed of the cowardice with whkh he
had acted, and this shame added to his fuiy against
the authors of the rescue. 'igamsc
anH tli^^Lw ^'"'^^^' f""^ ^^^ J^'y- t'le constables
t^n Lh f ^iri-^"*^ ^J^^ P^°P'^ of SaJem at large,
Lir.^fJ°^ *^«*^^ ^P« f°^«o"en Mistress de
Lacey and her affairs, their relief was so great that
It was d^cu^t to stir them into anger or^mo any
species of activity. Some there wei^and amongst
tJrv^f,,^''^^ -^^ f^l *^° judges-who weJ^ glad
to have the affair of the reputed witch taken out of
tZ^'^'^fA^°l^^%^^^^ **^^t h^'- trial and coS-
or u^nT^,^'^^''^* ^"i Uttle credit upon themselves
«L?nT ^^^^i^^- ^<i that proof of actual ill-doing
upon her part was wanting. There were others who
believed that the whole scene in the courtroom was
TJ^T^ °L*" senses, specially planned ^d ^r^
ned out by the witch who took that means of dis-
ap^nng. Vainly did the man most interested
rage and storm, crying out against the escaped
donTt!,' ^^ i? *f "^ ^' ^^^'^ '^^ »"i"ry thatTas
t^Z.X ^^ '" ^fT^' ^""^ ^ Salem in par-
th« c «^ *5^ ^°^^' °f ^^^ E^»' 0"e, manifested in
the speUs of sorcery The Town Council and th«
othei^ were not at aU inspired by these arguments
to attempt the recapture of so dangerous a ch^cter
as the sorceress Angry as they might be at her ^
appearance, and at the possibility that a trick
hmnan or preternatural, had been played upon a
^ye and reverend a^mbly, they felt no partkl?
an^ety to bnng her back into their midst Surely
It was better that she had gone before worse haj^
. *, !■
*.d.H
371 GERALD de LACEVS DAUGHTER
pened, if reaUy she had been a witch with power to
^irit herself away. If she were not a witch, they
were rid of the responsibility of condemning or ac-
^*AU^t,^Captain Prosser Williams was compelled
to reveal his own idertity and to threaten them with
the severe displeasure of Lord Bellomont for having
permitted the escape of both father and daughter,
whTwerefugitives7rom New York. He des«ibed
them as dai gerous Papists, consorters with Jesuits
and suborners of the Indian tribes. He urged upor
them that, if they had for a moment escaped an
Indian foray, the tribes now so peaceful would very
possibly be incited against them, since such dangerous
demies of the King's Majesty and the Protestant
religion were at large.
It was by arguments such as these that the en-
raged and disappointed officer induced a sturdy band
of Puritans to take horse and nde forth from the
town in hot pursuit of the fugitives. But such haste
as they made was not sufficient for Captain Prosser
Williams, who feverislJy spurred on, unpelled by
the double motive of love and revenge. Both were
now stronger than ever within him, and, as he went
he sought everywhere for some trace which should
convince him that the pursuers were upon the right
"^ When the cavalcade reached the deserted house
of the de Laceys, the morning sun was shining tuii
upon it Prosser WilUams had it exanuned only to
find that Mr. de Lacey too was missing. Continmng
their pursuit along the turnpike road, which, accord-
ing to a number of witnesses, had been taken by
some savages, the hursemen made their way by
glade and forest until they finally came to a deserted
M,
i
THE RESCUE ^^^
it^nJX SeSiS^ '""^ -"''^ht lent
suggested it as a pSKiHn'' ^r''' °^ '^^ «?«*
ing from his hoL^ cSaiS WnP'^"''- ^''^^■
the premises as a huntiSXmihTJf ""'I'* ^^""^
could find no trace of TE ^ might have done, but
tuteness, tutmost£t^iTT^\u^'^^ ^1 W« as-
thought of diTturbinf ?^ f 1,''^ *?^ P"'"^"^'^ never
which covered the wel! T>ffT '^7i ^""^ twigs
the cast-off disS^s of tl^T >^ "^""^^ ^^^^ fo"n<l
thus have conS h?mi?f ""^^'T' ^^ ^^^ <^o"'d
«<! h. to.; „o, s.r'j "Lir^r S'o^""a
word have been on /i,„vi,i ^f^f^;- ^or how could
the suspicions aldnTtlS^ T'f^''' ^^^ York of
airest? He thouSof pfetS^S f T^^ 1"*^ ^^'
of the Van Cortl^dt f.^j? ^chuy er and others
to the pbt S he 6^^ f possible accessories
though of lateT w . ™'*^'^ ^^^P*^" Ferrers,
thatthat officer waslwr*? "°"^"^« ^^^^
outlaw. "° '°"Sei- interested in the fair
:,:.:m 'I
:i
I
CHAPTER IX
A REUNION
T-NFqPITE her bewilderment, which made her
Dfani that die was dreaming, and with a sense
oTrerS^d security that ^X""'^ ^°i^'JZl^i
Vnvpd Evelvn was borne through the streets oi
S^em and out into the cool fragrant air of the autumn
n£t Pre^ntly, she asked in the same breathless
whisper:
"My father?"
"He is safe, and you will see him soon.
::^/aSt£s, your father. Pieter Sch^ler
nnd mvself with about a half a dozen from the en-
SmpS' who have returned there quite peace-
^^At'L short disu nee from the town ^hey^ere met
by a fig^e. l^f^^,jJ°TelSrs£^eT^^^^^
nSorsrshe rode on vrith Captain Ferrers while
Pleter Schuyler were to meet them, ihat was an
A REUNION 375
yet vocal with the soft whispering of trees anH th^
twittenng of birds, disturbed in therrnests the two
P^ ""•/"P'^jnely conscious of each other's pS
tTr.'^^u^L'^^ ^"^ that united them In^tfie
hearts of both was the f uU knowledge of their mut Jmt
Z;.^^/ '*r r ^"'^ "°r« intend by aKt had
bSEvefJ:? the vicissitudes that might stHl he
S c^ch^ihJ^^^ ^?^^^ ^^^ l^^t the wind
Mttyt Sle^i-err-B-"dtT^^^^
would Captdn Fem'W have forad i™ a..S
My love, my dear love!"
th^^u^^]"^ swelling with love and pitv for all
ing ?h^r^° fe't^- Sr.^' E^'-^. and know-
caS'&ai^pfJ'"^,^ ™^t'^ '" the leaves that
smiled at hir^Jc^^l^ i ■ ^^^ "'^^t mstant he
■smmtmm
I;
■III
1 * h
m ■
'-sj'ijl
:' M I
m
M:'^:..%
''•Ti #"'i
376 GERALD PB LACEY'S DAUGHTER
of their hearts and the happing £ifompS
enced in being on^^'J^'fJ^LvSu lingered a little
rp-rotiS fhr^-of^SuS wh^^h they had
rers, drawing a ^eep breath, ^tertnP^^,.
P^J^SU'l^rr^iS/' answered Evelyn
simply. „ ^ j^ Captain Ferrers.
..uS h.^?^ pis .o« •"">'»—•"*
er in meeting or m parting. But woras ar
%h^:gr^hP^rhand-i^^.^^^^^^^^
simply part o^ ^e P^^'^on thl^^^^^^^ though the
lest pursuers might oe upon u ^^ ^^g
building stood away i^^-^J^\^ll,, lights, and
surrounded by trees, vvm" ^arefuUv screened
^ *^'^ ^^^^f oSvatn b^ciothTS over the
from possible observation oy awaitmg
window. Evelyn j^'^'^^^^.^X^tastlnt she was in
moments all that ^ney na ^ j^ ^ ^jjey should
in which they stood. I^^f'S till morning, and,
take the risk, of '^inaimng there tm m k^^^^
at the first hint of dawn- startupon ^.^^^^^
As if by magic appeared the smiung lacc
A REUNION J
S;?^* of whSlhS^- S''^P«'vided the savory
formed of Se baes IT^JJ^'^ extempore pillows
it was some tk^e befo " «- ^''*^ ''^- °"*
dined to tear tt,em^?v« .w ^**'^ P^^^ ^^'^ in-
his personal experiences °"^ ^^^ *° '^'^te
folMhemThitt'teuC'd J^"'".' -'^^ ^^'^
of the night to Euarf'i^Lf ''""•"« *^^ ^^t^hes
all calculated wfthtolS ^JH^^"^- They had
».ould last duX the ni^hf ^- ^'^tJ^d'ans, which
a isurance of^ftv u^tn h' "'^'^t.*^^'? '^^"''^ ^e no
the terror, the excitement ^i'^^*' ■ *^^ confusion,
organizing areSn/^^'^h^^'^^^ impossibility of
and the ve^Sof ^h^t^^^' ^^"^^ ^^^ ^°">es
ened by an uns^In anH tn .v, "'P^°P'^ ^^^ t^^^^at-
a formidable f(^On£: ILa^ ™tg"jatio„ at least,
g-oundlessness of ?uch ^ll^^'lf' ^"^ ^l''^" 'he
Ir^ised that the search wo-^S' >^7^"-' they sur-
prosecuted to discover T^a *''"°'* certainly be
and punish the au?ho^ of tr.fP*"'" .^he prisoner
Especially did the^n.m nf ^^^^^^nsational rescue.
the^ig^nSt acS^f r "f •'^'i^' ^"'"^'^ *hat
would be exerted to sn-^f^^P'^'" ^'^^'" Williams
given ^ pt? .>f ^ ^/°°'"' *° which the fire had
ir I
■i'.'
y
j^ GERALD »« LACEVS DAUGHTER
d, Vri«. but by her h»^<l^ Th^ 3Si^°Td
flown into a rage and somiclly oera ^re
srr^s=T^»H^ri.^br£
good-wiU toward her ff^^f-.^JJ^Jf^ost affected to
!he fashion i« ^^e «rcles wl^ch he m^t ^^^ ^^^^^
admire the girl, and he '?'5?'i\°^^ same
be any ^^^J^^^^^V "^f th^ PoS 'evektions that
SS r^de:^'lS^^ de& and his daughter
"Si i
il 1
A REUNION 3^^
because of transaS ^th ?r'*?°"u*^"» '' *««
his kind thatTh^fXrro!?i2!^*>*** <»• some of
Manhattan. ^^ he h^"»^ ^'^"^ '° "^ ^~'"
concerning the gWb^t hJ 1? "'^^ •*'^'" "^°"
wholly diLnnected S Mr S^'T' ^ .'''*"" '" ««
exile. ° ^^^ **'• de La> jy's voluntary
Mynheer had hastened to Der HnV. u .
hoped to encounter Captain Fe^Jpn^'if"' ^^
anxious to make him«.if o„ ^^"^'^- For he was
in a cautious wL^Sort. P™"""«nt ^^ Possible
lease. But that^venSe l^i? ^^T ^^^'y"'^ ^-
visit the tavern noTwL h?tn 1!" /^"5" '^'^ "^t
hall. In fact, ii tranr,!^^^ M J't ^°^'"^ ^* ^hite-
the Breuklyn shore hv'^^/''** ^^ ^^^ 'tossed to
for His Ex'Sllency.%iynh!e7r °^"^/ *'"^'"^«^
himself to Lady Bellomonf ?n^^''^°'"*"«'y ^'ook
card was granted an fnter^ew %^"^i"« '" *»'«
merchant had noteH M«^ r T ,. • . "^ *'^^ astute
Mistress Evelyn and wa, ladyship's interest in
doing himself Lwtuas the vn^PTi" '^^'' ^^ ^^
^-iT^^'r^^? TnlhrirTS^ ' ^^""'^ ''^
dar^d that she wSTos^d^ytt^eSin !t f^'
Colonial, and would take ^{,1* ""crested m the fair
to assist her. ImrnedSeivon t., ^^f ^^'^ P°^»"e
Wrs, Lady fiZSLt f?rh?m"™ .''f Captain
tenible news which MvnhTll ^l\r^ ^ '^P*"^ t^e
and the truth of wLh aT„o^"d"u'bted'""^'*
inteStXTou'.^^^ ""^^ -yha?Sf1iave an
th-^1^1^:JiS=er conveyed
.! ! 'im
380 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
"There is nothing to be said here." my Udy
added, indicating by a slight gesture H« ExceUcn^
whom they could preceive through the window
wSg with arms behind his back on the Bowhng
reen She then proceeded to mform hm as con-
cisely as possible of what had taken place m SaleiiL
clptairPeners. who had turned from red to
pale and from pale to red agam as he heard these
dreadful tidings, waited in an agony of mjpatience
FoTwhat else it might seem good to Her Ladyship
*°'^t is my wish." she cried, "that this lovely maid
be rescued from the dreadful position in which she
hls^ placed. I am ready to do anything m my
wweTbut alaclc! I fear that my influence, openly
Sid at the present moment, might work her
Sw iU But with you it is different. Whether
k be true or no. as some men say. that you love the
m^. at least the mstinct of humanity will urge you
to go to her help." . ,, <-,„„^„;_
"I shall ask for leave this mstant. Captain
Ferrers cried, making a movement towards the door.
BuTaT imperious gesture from Lady Bellomont
^nllS^rdinary way it would be .refused." she
• said, "since. Captain Prosser WiUiams is also absent.
I shkll endeavor to obtain leave for you and also the
recall of Prosser Williams, who, I opine, is expected
h«e soon But I must ask it upon some frivolous
nrete^when His Excellency is in the right humor.
C pretext, in truth, would be better than the ti^e
onZ It is only in the last extrem-ty, and if all
eke fails, that I shall make appeal to my husband
on behalf of the maid." . , ... _
Clptain Ferrers next took his way to the dwelling
A REUNION j8,
Prosser Williams nor C>- ^''^^^ ^^ "«' seen
they had^Sie to the^" '," ?"y .^*y '""lested"
some famaiarity 3 tZ T ' ^'^^^'" ''^'^ K«ned
which was W trLvp%f *^^ *"'' "^ en^rons.
and caution, he had cs^^H^k '*'"'"•'"*'' secrecy
never come under the noH^l''f'*^"''°"' ^^^l had
Pieter immediate^ consented ^n^^'?'*' ^^'^'^s-
Salem in company w"th r,nf *1?* """^ ""^^ ^O'
tween them, in the i^^nL^ P**i" Z^"^"- and be-
evolved the San Xrf. ^Il^r!! °^ '^^t ""o-nent. was
upon which £ much deU^S An ^'^'^^^ and
ference with Madam ^n 7?' .,?'' * '^asty con-
details were a^ied^o\h.ir °''-'-"'^,*' ^^^ ^"^her
Jumbo should accompany hem ?"^' ^^'""^ "'^t
horses, and Elsa eS.*''!,'^,-}" a^«^t wUh j,e
by stage to Bostin i^ 2le hT^ ^""^^ procee-!
needed. *^^ "^"^ services should I.u
Pieter Schuyler for Salem ?^' '^^ ^'"^ **'!»
tination, they had deteu^w^ '^''^'''^ ^h"*" 'les-
avoid oiDser^Son and h«H °^^ .' "^'^ '°^^ ^
the deserted hou^'in Se w^Jds" fc^ ^'°r "P°"
to examine it, before deHnl^ « u^ ^^ stepped
plans. To their iement^.^"^'^' °? **»«'' f"t"'e
opened and a mln^amll ?^^ ^^^ \^ ^"'Idenly
like a Puritan and m,E^ 'J'^ threshold, habited
down over Ws eyts "?nllunt.'' -."^irV^ ^^' ^^'^^
two young men haH i"^°'"ntan]y the hands of the
to th'eir 4S'ement the^'miV^''" '"^t^"^' ^^e"!
-ddenly revealThii -^ rKlX^"^
'HI
I, !
%Ili
38. GERALD de LACEVS DAUGHTER
Evelyn's arrest, l™^^?^ J^7.^fiaw wo,^d^^^^
pnson. m ms Wf^y^.°^ ■ |,:_ anxiety to get news
if -it' Slly hSg leSTthe 'presence
of Evelyn. Finally, navms inveterate enemy
of Prosser WiUiams and that that inv ^^^^
was hot upon his tr^'^^, he had lef^ ^^tow ^^
taken temporary ^helter in this de^rte P ^ .^
was fully resoyed to ^"^e \blow tor ^j^^^
freedom, even if it ^^^'l'° ^^g-h^^, where the
she was on the way ^o the meetmg »» -^^ j^^^if.
easy to proem, to" *?» S^X^. M««i.
5' ' i
A REUNION 383
perienced some hours of re^l 1,1^^-^ ^^^ ^J"^ ^'^-
company of her fafhL 1, 1 "^PP'"es&. In the
with the minor s^nse'fwJn'r' ^""^ ^^' f^end,
the presence thereof t1?njf"^\"^.^"S^°d«'ed by
^^erl!Jr,r^^^^ her a luJnot
whiSr^re ulcereSSly ^c^n'"?^ '"f ^ *^«"--.
weU and covered uTwhL""^.^*^ *° ^ <^sused
also considered befteTthltTh! ^"1 *"?>• '* ^^«
separate; Evelyn wth ^^'^'^^ --"^ presently
the two gentSn TritT, T ^u^^' ^°,^^ «"« "'ad,
was to 4umTy stSi'S!^„^°*?' f''^^ ^W
and thence back to Sat^^n ° V/ A^^'' .""°"'
to pass across the Srs of pinl T*'"^^' '^^f*^
was outside Ix)rdBellomon?c- f^^nfylvania, which
to MarylanST where t^evS^^*^'"^' ^"'^^'^^''^^
r.sp:te?;hough i^wlsS oSnTallZt f^^'
stay must necessarilv he. k^- T • ^'^ '^"^* *beir
rife^m that o^atre'd^ KSXT'°" ""
and Ferret a Wabk%r*'l ^emiit^'j;"
rendmg to feel that tt,o 1 ^" f. ,^enied heart-
united them was Foweiess to nJ:*"'?..^ ^*™"«Iy
of separation. ForTn instinfP^ "* ^^^^ ^"g^^h
accident or desig^ tw ^, ^P^'^^' whether by
girl was clLS'lll'hX^r'aSs^The ^ *^^
self by an eLrt, alVS^^^ X T^c^
(■
ll
If:
384 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
^"^^rC; noble Pieter." said Evelyn, -how
Isl^4s1^ouall! God alone can repay you for
-MLS we^tL last words that he ^ Cgtau,
Taty w^S Sat, and they were in another m-
stant out of sight and hearing.
CHAPTER X
A COUNTERPLOT
T^Jlt^"?[L'!r''«d '^^ Colony of Maiyland
SdSf^ °' ■"" "■*« '"ft might XSe
Mhd
'1fll
^ 'Wit
1 1
386 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
seaman, Rogers, was captain. Once on board tihe
Sntine. I safe passafe to the Spanish dominions
in the south was assured, where they nught hope
for at least a temporary security until a luU in the
storm of persecution should enable them to return
*°Meanwhae'. counterplotting had been going on in
Manhattan, and Vrow de Vries agaan appeared as
the evil genius. The autumn winds were laying
waste thi garden which Evelyn had so carefully
Tended, and blighting with its chilly breath the
foliage of those splendid trees of Manhattan, when
Captain Prosser Williams stood once more within
the luxurious apartment which Vrow de Vnes doim-
nated from her chair. He ^^s^t^^g/P. ^^f ^'S
impatiently, glancing from the lean, dark figure of
Mynheer Lai^ens, who had also been smnmoned to
the conference, to the Uving antithesis offered by the
mistress of the house. . „,„e»r,f
It irked Captain Williams much, in his present
mood of fiery impatience, to have thus to propitiate
his repulsive and uninteresting hos1;ess. The latter
watched him out of her dull eyes, in which smojd-
dered a fire of resentment, as the igh she had been
quick to read his thoughts. She purposely continued
her conversation with her other guest untu the
young officer's impatience had reached its hmit
"Ad what," he «aid at last, "is this notable in-
telligence which you so urgently invited m-, to hew ^
"If you will but seat yourself," the woman said,
"I will make known to you such late news as has
'^Ttoe'^'^as a hint of dryness in her t«ne. whkh
served as a warning to her fell°w-c°nsp""^*°5; ,?^^
complied instantly with her request, and, seatmg
A COUNTERPLOT
is w'Sja "C T °' *^^ ^^--'--^ chairs
prepared to £ V^iVv ^""/ *?^ "^- h«
a letter, read Jt in a thick i*,!!' ^'r'^. enfolding
sounded as though ht J^^^-U ^"""""^ voice, which
peded hefutSce Thf i T"' ^^"•'■dupois im-
proved a thomlTihJfl! t'^\^?^'^ ""^ ^^^^ epistle
For it fitted"™^ tSfi.lf' ^{ ??Pt^'n Williams,
brooding thoughS^ STdTorHM*'' ^''- T" ^'•'^ ^^
toS^dMr i? r„"^ hf Klutd^ the
pursuing therordina^'T* .^"^^PP^nts were
hostile intenrwha2ve7ar,7^V°"? ^*^°"' ^y
ranee of the latlattemntfh professmg utter igno-
including a coS£Ti\ef oTthe 'f "'''^''^'f '
were of opinion that tv,^ wl 1 "® townspeople,
illusion of the senses cLTak ''T''^'"'^ ^^« an
the reputed Wit^hTndZ •''^ ^^^. ^^ P^^^^ ^^
sumably she was far^l*^ sp-nts with whom pre-
mind with his demrt,?rt ^f had vanished from his
intimately conSd^ha^'^MfsS' 'd? t "^^
nends m Manhattan were at fhe bottom of tS'
Sem^S^'^Sia-^S^l
t'
,11'
il
! . ^.1
:(i
n . ' [•'■i'.
3ft8 GERALD DE LACEVS DAUGHTER
tened to the recital. He could not refrain from say-
ine in an obviously sneering tone: ,.„v™.u»"
"Are vou also, Mynheer. abeUever in witchcraf^'
L^Kce flushed at the taunt, but he answered
^^"USee things occur which are beyond our hu-
fere in their behalf ?"
^SKTmay'te in their deeds, these Pa-
pists "ttid!" but ^at least they have the wit to
SSSSSS.SSI1
SKd to Mwl»»4 whe™ they «2 too«n «,
consort with Jesuits and other Papists. A^ it
S^ Wed about that a ?°"»8.^^"''°,^
^!> «1l He knew nothing further, save that the
oasSgers wer^5"obably t^ be put aboard some ves-
KSfor overseas or for a southerly port
3i.or=':h:^.rjJf5*£sr||
A COUNTERPLOT jg,
lUa^V^'df U" ^^ ^* r'-«-'-<^d chair.
wMch it Lh i^n '""^^^d with the obstacles by
even ,f ,t were .n anger or contempt. He forgot
"''it
4
iili
i'H
ff.ji
390 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
Vrow de Vries, who was watching him curiously.
LTH^nricus Laurens, who however w^dn^y
concerned at the moment with the thought of what
S^St be taken to bring these two fugitives to
^"S oallor of Prosser Williams' face was heightened
yJ^oiSsoiZu, red color in either cheek His
^eTriSd with a baleful fire, and his breath
^e&and^arp. He dared not truBthmseM
to soeak. The conflict of emotions was too strong.
Sid^ffeared that it would become too painfuUy
e^^ent to the eyes that were watching hun. He
rSed Slider! J?^ however, to reply to the questions
Snenricus Laurens was already putting, as to
whai should be done in the present ^^^S^f^'.H!
Iwo men conversed together purposely in low tones
Sw,^ were not always audible to their singular
hostess, who observed them with a smile o. pure
i^tttff TTnr die knf w that she had set in motion
Stover Sn^s of destruction they might choo^
wnaiever eugii .^eed between the confederates
SrSrse^i ofSiSatch should te c.n«i
SS r*dS"n. sine P»sso WiUtos hdd to»»
^^clotain Prosser Williams, while apparently taking
Mvffi L^u^ns into his confidence, concealed
£f hto Ws ulterior plans for obtaining possession
A COUNTERPLOT
^ould obtain from I^rdi'er""'' ^^ose releal^Te
of marriage with htaSlf "r°"'.T '"'^ '^"dition
young Colonial ODoosTtrv u- '" *^e case of the
estant cause was Si ' I' ^^^' ^°'- the Prot
Taking leave wfth sS>t L^ ""^^ ^°' ^'^^h motive!
the two humed Sr't'^^^SeT °^ ^••''- de vS
where Greatbatch w^Sret^%"'°i^''"''lle
his vessel was in nort T-if '^ ^°"nd whenever
to find him thLre^°l afc'".^.^ ^rtunate as
blowing outside, the tav^r?^ *'""'"« ^'nd was
'nviting. and Greatba ch waf ''^^^'"^'^ Particularfy
more than his usual reS wf n !4'°^'"«. ^>*h even
rum. His purple face I?ame and hf?" °^ Barbadoes
he was drinking swpaWn™ ^ "'^ t°"g"e loosened
two young mel'eSd fhelo^'^^ii"^ -^^^n "he
uttered public denunciat nn/ T^u-^^ "« longer
smceProsserWiUiamsXI " o- "'' Excellenfy'
But since grumblingwas hk ."" "P°" ^^'^ g"ard
usually found some pretext for fr^"'^ P^''^^- he
then ,t was directeragahist th'^''^'"'^' ^"d just
dandies who were sent out bt th^\^°""S ^°P^- ^"d
to prey upon the coCes i„ <f ''°'"f S°^<^™'nent
traders i„ particular T'oi.h^'r"^ ^"'^ ^^onest
names, those present were S.^ "^eptioned no
of his animadversions 7n^ Quite aware of the object
faces as the do^r opened ^n'*"!,^' P'^^^^ "^e^- their
young fop whom he e^v^dentlv haH^"' '^^ P^^'-^"'^
As Captain Prosser wS .u '" ""'"d.
^cause of the heat[„Srs "^f ^'^^ ^^''^^ ^'^ oloak
ceded that he merited the' title^'^H^'^'^^.^''^ ^on-
-t was as gaudy in colSn^ll^t t^Sin^S--
' i •'
392 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
on the shoulder and exclaiming:
"Well, old sea-dog. dnnking the ocean ary «.
"'Se'two young men then seated theniselves at ,
Ce led these two to seek him just then^^Je f ouna
velopments and that his wite was^ ^
A COUNTERPLOT
K^-uLoTS-^a ''- ^''-™- ^" '^ fit of
whar„ew^&4\^^SP«^ "^'^ '^"«- wondered
planning; whJSSXy^^reSin '"•'"'«''*>
moment, or abrut fn »„„ ^""P'y passing an idle
action with thri£,I?^T '" ?fT ^^'^y *'^"«-
time, but as othm ^rf »oi^f ^^^'^ * considerable
in whom he waHnS^ Kh"-"^ ^V*'^ three
he strolled out at Sf^r ^ir^'' "?".^ °^ stirring.
But he did not go vl,i7ar ie^r'^' good.„igh?.
of his cloak, and gatWed ,> .i!>^T "P ^^^ «'"«''
protection against ?heWHni '^'^^^ ^bout him as a
upaposition^on theothersW.nrt1; '"^''^ ^^ "^^
Greatbatch was the last to 1™ *t^ ^^** ^'"'- "
termined to have a wLh i^.^.r^^^y^^'" '^as de-
what was afoot For hlhad ^L^r"" r'^i"^ °«t
action in leanin/over fn wV ^ ^^P*^" ^»ll>ams'
and had sSiX wj"^^; ^ "^^ ^"S^'er.
^:!l^
n..)'
J'i tj
I I
CHAPTER XI
AN BAVBSDROPPER CAUGHT
^ROWING i'"P^t'«"\rMvS^ee?-ent''S^
Cj coldness of t^e "ight. Mynheer J
J^sly over co themndow and for a «„^g^^ ^jj ^^^^
peered into the^^o^" ««^^^%„g'men had bent
S^er guests had gone, ^^e *woy°u g^^ ^^^^ ^,
their heads together ^"^ ^^'^ j importance was
sured that ^^^^^^^ °lj^^ il cm\d be ^^ \
under discussion. He wonde;^' ^^^ j^^^
the de I^ceys andhe was mo^^^^^ ^^ ^ ^^ h
S>sHion°on £:%X «de of the great tree and
-lrin.edalongti..^uthew^^^-^^^^
by seeing the y°"«e°^^^'tron while tl^ smuggler
f^rth. still in close conve«atu,n J ^^^^^^^
remained withm J^^^^l^^ a corner and vanish
move until he had seen them turn a ^^ ^^^ ^^^
from sight Then he stok ^autwu^^ ^^^^^
and entered, Gjeatbatch ^^o^^ • ^^3 now in a
the rum quite steadier all *« 7J^„ ^f .^ward on h.s
drowsy state, "is heaa na ^^^ g^^e an
S' A «i:Sr ss'^s sSw|.
AN EAVESDROPPER CAUGHT 395
M nea^^wate fl^ h?,\-^**'' ^'^ ^°°^ himself
conversation as Ch th- , ' "' ^°nUmed the
present. ^*" "**' y°""8 men were stUl
M^h£'':^h'oST^'S 'Vf .t^'^p "«-"• -"d
voice should cau^Wm to ?f«l^V''^ ■'""'"^ °^ h«
prodded him ?o^ on ""^ ^'' '°'''^^' ««"«/
yo;'hLrt'-s"s^7on"c1U°:;.^o^ih?Sr ^""^^- '^
me to do before But ^f T f»u i?*^'' i^ ^^^ ^^
witch or no^tch Panit/ ^^ '?^' °^ ^^^ sloop,
Uu.„s is to baC me against^ Cs." i:r^-;^(tZ
afti/Wu^rhe^cLMt^-J^ll^^
The man continued to mutter hnV k:/\ n v
at any moment L°fJ. ^u ?' ''^^ """« ^^^^ was due
alrea/y^rttruVE^^trtirC^^^^^
Mynheer sat down clo<;p hv fV,» t- ^™ ^ *='°*-
himself eagerlyTtSe task 2 el !?f^ '°^"' ^/ *^*
bits of infSm^tiCn aw'' if ^'J'^« -^« f'-ther
concerted plot to carrv nff „ • w ^ ^^ ^^ a
,)'
il
t-'
ri ' I'-r n
M i:i
396 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
He was so intent in the endeavor to make Great-
Std^lpeak intelUgibly. and so little apprehen^ve
of tihe Wr of interruption at that time of^e
nieht that he took no precautions and never per-
ceived that the door had been softly opened to adrmt
S man wrapped in a cloak. . A hand was pre^ntly
laid on his shoulder, and. starting ^ol^^tly. he fo^^d
himself confronted by Captam Prosser WiUiams.
Th^ expression on the latter's face /as menacing
in the extreme, for he had caught MyiAeer in the
act of putting questions to Greatbatch, which showed
that he had l^ed much if not aU of the ^eMy
concerted plan. It was fear of what the smuggler
Sghfrev^ to any chance comer that had brought
^Itain Prosser WiUiams back, though he pretended
k was to^k a lost gauntlet. Paler than ever with
IgThen^ stood ey'eing Mynheer who rose slowly
to his feet and confronted him. In the breast of
the latt^were all sorts of conflicting emotions^ m
which predominated fear of Captain Prosser Will-
Sms Not indeed physical fear, but the appre-
h^sion of what revenge he might take, f?^ this nugh
be of such a nature as to interfere with W °
his own schemes and seriously impair tha,t fabric of
^al position, the surface popularity which he had
b^t uo and the good understandmg which he had
S at'pSns to cultivate with the Household of
^ BeUomont. In those instants that elapsed
while the two stood confrontmg each other and the
stillness of the tavern room was brok«i only by the
snoring of Greatbatch, Mynheer was chiefly oc
cupfed^with devising some means of escape from Ins
mortifving and dangerous position, and thus gave
but UtUe thought to the girl whose safety was im-
perilled. It w^ Prosser WiUiams who broke silenc ,
AN EAVESDROPPER CAUGHT ,,,
^^^^^^^Ztf'^t'^^- <>-« to the W
.„ Mynheer de V-.nl- •' u c- -i •
I find you here sp^ng 'in fr„^. '"^"^""S tone,
Md contemptible faS hito wW "."^^'^^"^^ble
a^a-V^'^^- - exScfi?J.^^\r.Z-
-towhatStT]irnot"rc:V°'° ^'^'^ --«er
of how much or how httle Vh?=^^ ''^""°* "^^ ^ware
revealed— I wiU chaT J , *"'? dnj^j^g^ ^ «
any failure ortheseXs'^whiT responsibility S
of the girir'v^'Steen To'i? ^k*'^^ ^-^^^-es
there wL an ugJlo4i^?h.^'°f^'' ^^'^^^ and
fuse. I shall rui^ ™ha, L aU V^"'' "" ^^^ ^^
your oath to repeat no word S ww" •""'* ^'^^ «>«
heard or surmised, nor in Iv ^^ ^°" '"^y ^ave
StmVjj''^*/- have"S°i^r ^-y take ad-
evS:iKeTa5^Se;'-,Jr?; ^"^-.-^^ ^^ and
now contended withilSiS ^°1 "'""'^ ''^'anced,
throw discretion to the Ss ^^^T^^^'^Pt^d to
•ams whose influence nT^fftf ^^^^ P™^^"" Will-
Popularly supposed ayLli?' K'^' *^^° ^as
Mynheer might use strl1.«. tuTth^haS
r|
! /ij
ifl:
398 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
ual caution of a life prevailed. He was sony for
the Eirl, but his sentiment toward her and her
fathef was not sufficiently 'ob"?t. to balan^ the
risk that he would run by antagonizing this powerful
member of His ExceUency's Household _^
"You are slow in making up your mmd, said the
young officer with a sneer, "but Mynheer de Vnes
ha^ been too long engaged in the exercise, m>^^,
known as 'jumping whichever way the cat jumps.
not to do so now." „,t,;„v.
Mynheer's face flushed with an anger to which
he dared not give expression, and Prosser WiUiams,
who read something of what was passing m his com-
panion's mind, assumed a more bullying tone.
"You may give your word or keep it, he cned,
"for I know full well that, since I have ca^^l^* y°"
spying and striving to make a drunW taUc m the
hope of being able to turn th. information thus
gafned to your own mean and contemptible ends,
you will be afraid to use that knowledge
"Thoueh your language is insulting and ungentle-
manly to a degree." Mynheer said, with an attempt
S dignity. "I will freely give you the promise you
deS. for I feel assured that, I may safely l^ve
the matter in your hands, since it is not. as I feared,
solely in those of this disreputable seaman.
Caplain Prosser Williams, looking the speaker
full in the face, burst into an insolent laugh.
"Call him by his name, a smuggler and a pirate
who has oftentimes drawn your chestnuts out of the
S^" he said mockingly. "As for your word I will
take it in default of better secunty, since it is at
yS ^evous peril you will break it. And now to
L this drunken animal upon his homeward way
before his tongue does further nuschiet.
AN EAVESDROPPER CAUGHT 399
"My best wishes, too," he sneerpH '•tr.,- « 1
'°KS"' 1" ''^^P you outTmlchM..^ ^°"
Mynheer made no answer, nor did he offer tn ^^
company the departing guest as in o?W ^
rr'^'!,^^ T"ld have lole 'DropSngtto a chTr"
he needed the gentle admonition of mifle host that
It grew late before he bestirred himsd to take the
homeward road. His head bent in his hands he
TLdatiorinl "" n'.\f-li„g ofsh^f'and
aegraaation, and one which would alwavs rw^.r
whenever he was confronted m"th ?hTs YnsS
muuon of an oppressive government as in hsaS
he designated Prosser Williams. He felt t<^ that
the humiliation of that evening had pkced^to in
coufdTanlT ^'^ '^' young man that the iTtter
could at any tune use against him this new weaoon
fiS oFpitv^'Snf ^ "^ "^l'^' ^'^^ ^^ hKme
wf I P^ ^'^ ?^ remorse where his late neieh-
bo^ were concerned. He knew that a word sL7to
Madam Van Cortlandt, to Pieter sSer^r to
Captam Ferrers would be sufficient to S ttem
•I 11
4
m
400 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
With a sick loathing at tf e thought of his own
cowardice, he went out into che night. It was star-
less and dark, and the air seemed thick and heavy
with the coming storm. Mynheer walked slowly and
with a heaviness of gait such as he had never known.
He felt as if a burden had been suddenly laid upon
his shoulders. Hitherto, in fact, in so far as smug-
gling operations and dealings with the most lawless
of sea-rovers were concerned, he had walked m
d-Mous ways, and he had not been over-nice m m-
quiring as to how those ill-gotten goods were ac-
qui'-cd. But in all those respects his conduct had
been no worse than that of many men who stood
high in the colony. Consequently, whatever guilt
he had incurred did not weigh upon his soul, for
he was pre-eminently a conventionalist. But to
connive, however indirectly, at the abduction of a
young girl whom he had long known and admired,
and at the arrest of her father, was another matter
altogether, and one which, if it ever became publicly
known, would expose him to the condemnation of a
large section of his fellow-townsmen.
As he stumbled along in the darkness the struggle
in his mind was intense and painful. He tried to
reassure himself with such specious arguments as
men very commonly put forth to screen their faults.
Captain Prosser Williams had declared that the
scheme he had in view would redound to the good
of all concerned. But reason and commonsense
alike told him that that officer's injunctions to
secrecy, the expression of his face and what he knew
of his character, belied this statement. When
Mynheer reached home, he was surpiised to see his
wife still in her chair in the di-awing-room. Also,
after her own dull fashion, she appeared to be m
y:ij_.
AN EAVESDROPPER CAUGHT ^,
He answered her SortlvinT ^"^>"« i^ cau^
for conversation He '^''.r^ ""eriy dJGincHnfd
mth himself and hSlZJ^J^^^-^'^'S
he argued that he had^ X'^ ?^ ^'^tion, though
rnm. He knew that he Tcted ?S*p-r ^"* ^bsol«!e
have saved the innoclnf if J,!^ ^^^^' ^ho would
without sacrifidng hif ^L^'prosJecS. ^'"^ ^°"^ ^
^•f
isli
, '■' .■ I
li ' i.i'.i ii
Ir, I'
CHAPTER XII
•n»B TRAGEDY OFF SANDY HOOK
T^HE sloop "Anna Maria," having on board Mr.
T dt Lace^y and Evelyn, arrived gy^^^^andy
Hook, and there lay to in waiting ^^75!^^^.
rnnJd •' which was to receive on board her two pas-
™rs Of thl events which afterwards transpired
vaS accounts were given, and >t was oriy the
^ H^nr^is L™s two zealous champions of
SSrsTa^t^™' The^-"-,5f/Setw
soecial cowers, which gave the sanction of the law
?o whatlv^wks done, and protected the skipper of
s-AsSrJi=^^|{^
BeUomont. and tough him m those of the Kmg^
Majesty, as an ardent supporter of the Protestant
^"Though Captain Prosser Williams was not un^
willing to be placed in the same category he had
nevertheless undertaken on personal grounds an ex
THE mCEDY OFF SANDY HOOK ^,
the savages for their cantMrA-.^'S^ ^^^ards to
glad, when I have toK f V ^ "^'^ °^ ^ «"'ety be
upon this girl, who has Jceot a^T^ V^^ ^'^ ^and
stition in these dirty bruffs of ^'w^ ^°'"'^'^ ^^Per-
Thrhe°i^^d1„f ^^aS^^^^ ^"' """ '^^
of Evelyn and of thot"4a™' T °"^ ^consistency
subjugated his hardened and^w ^ .t''* ^^ ^^^
leaned over the ^rln^f ^i. cynical heart. As Hp
the "Anna M^rff'titZTi^^' '* '^^ 'cloTe to
eyes of hers, so d^erent TZl^ ^^^ ^' ^"^ those
eyes, seemed to beckon hL'^"'^'??" ^^'^ ^ other
await the result of the atta^k^L ^' ^?"'d scarcely
^as to put the sloop andlts ''n^'"^*''^**' ^^ich
power. ForhehadanXmitlP^''l".«^'"^ '" their
danng more fraught^TwH, 7 "." ^'' '"•"'^' '"ore
than that of conleyi,^ Evell^"'^ '""'"^ delectable
York. ThiswastopersuadlrSotKPrf"'''' *o New
for foreign ports with ?he mv^f ^^'^^ to sail away
'nveigled on board of the S™. ^P""!' ^e had
clergyman, attached to an fiS'^i "^'^^ ^ ^oung
pretext of taking a pteasanf f -.^''J'''^''' ""^er the
The latter, who was nnf I "I ^'' '^own the Bay.
was flattered by The noti.^ ^°'il "^."^ ambitions
officer of His ExcellencvWff^ ^^^ '^""'^"t young
to the invitation SL'^j.f"'^ '•f.dily responded
must sooner or latefS 5 h l "' ^''* ^^^^ ^^elyn
-h'ch he would be en^^eJ to^-^-f-^ aj«
if
^•1
■^ii'
!! I
404 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
Lord Bellomont. who had some aspect for the young
officer's influential relations in Engknd. The
autumn afternoon was darkemng to mght, rough
weaihS was presaged, the crest of the waves showed
wWte the^-guUs flew low. and the boats o^ the
oyste^ filers We making shorewards m Uste.
Pros^r WiUiams felt his heart beat high, and h^s
to^Siation was excited by the thought of how m-
Sly preferable would be his own particular scheme
?h2i to S the tedious and sordid processes of
ST He^U quite noble and virtuous that he was
Spared to sa^crifice. or run the "^.°f ^^'^i^I
hfe prospects in England by a carnage with this
obscure ^rirl. He had ahnost persuaded himself
Sat \ike a hero of romance, he was hastening to
£r rescue whin his thoughts were interrupted by
Vhe ap^arance at his side of Henncus Laurens
who remkided him that it was time they appeaxed
on boaS the sloop to give an appearance of legdity
to what Greatbatch had already done there, and to
a^St father and daughter formally m the name of
S^ law Pr^ser WUliams received the remmder
coldly He would have preferred, to have allowed
aSatdi to manage the affair in furtherance of
gf^SiSre^scheml. But he c»ald not weU refuse
to accept the services of thi%«>?"f ^^.^^^hai
which he had at first earnestly desired. He saw that
Wstsociato was feverishly a««°"f^^ aW any
charee of complicity in a mere piratical outrage.
^ntrolUng himself, therefore, he followed his com-
p^on MTb^^orie of the ship's boats, which lay
^y to cc«vey them to the sloop. Greatbatch
Kone forward so far as to bind and render help-
kss CaS Jenkins and his men, whUe Evelyn had
S^n toSlrim her father and imprisoned m the
THE TRAGEDY OFF SANDY HOOK 40,
cabm. Bonding the "Anna m • .. ^
th.eir astonishment the p^stifi'"/' ^^^ »* to
lying on a pile of saiI-cfo?h ^^^ ^^^ °^ » man,
of Henricus Laurens hevdi^^-5f'"'i° *^« *«W
de Lacey. Thev s/^ » » <Hccovered to be Geralrf
on a legal basis, MyXer T f ^""^J *° P"^ mattera
wounded man, and'^^The ITof "^T ""'^ *« *^
their heads, which relieved th^ 1 * ^•^*^™ ^^ove
began to read the warrant for tlf =^T"/ 'darkness,
de Lacey and his dSter 1 ""^1* ^^ °"^ ^e^ald
recusants, accused of varioS'fdon^*^*^ as Popish
able practices, contrary to tLi°"l ^<^ treason-
of the Colony of M^^ '^J"^ ^^^^^ of England and
P^ssTwiulSenrson, ^i' ^ «««« of Captain
with a cynicTsSrS'oJ.n'^^'^^'*^^^^
Laurens flushed with fanatical «» '^J ^enricus
as he read, while Greatbatch nn^^ ^'?*^ exultation
subdued, stood by Ws coa^l unusually silent and
perturbation. In th^ T^h ^^"^ si^"8 signs of
scarcely touched Mm W Z' '° t^at the ligh
Sl^^-- ^-^H^v^--. -o^|d
'^ '^' ^° °^^- -- ^-?e SSste^^ ti
::;-i!^
tfe
GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
course, and said, whUe a whimsical smile crossed his
"Another messenger has been before you, sir,
whom I must preferably obey."
Not understanding his meanmg. Mynheer began
to bluster, and callci to his side the constable who
had accompanied him: ...» , i
"Do you not perceive." said Mr de Lacey,
quietly, "that I have received my death-wound?
Henricus Laurens was startled out of all his com-
posure. It was an event which he had never for
Tmoment anticipated. He turned furiously upon
Greatbatch, but Mr. de Lacey was speaking again
"Since I cannot Mirvivc I implore you, whatever
your opinions and j. .judices, as an honorable mail,
as the husband of Evelyn's dearest fnend, to do
what I am unable to do and protect my daughter
"But " stammered Laurens, disconcerted stiU
more by that appeal, "she too i^s included in these
charges. She has made herself amenable to the
*^''lf you cannot protect her /row the law," said the
wounded man, solemnly. "I conjure you, at least to
protect her by the law from the clutches of a yiUam-
It is possible that some light was thrown into the
perplexity and confusion of the ycung man s mind
bv the ranark, which he found to be startling in the
extreme. But, telling himself that it was the vam
fear of an idolizing father, an attempt to injure an
enemy, or perhaps supposing that he referred to
Greatbatch, he answered stolidly: „
"The law will afford her all needful protection.
"To its tender mercies and yours, sir, Mr. de
Lacey said in a faintly ironical tone, I commend
her."
THE TRAGEDY OFF SANDY HOOK 407
KeSli^^^-h^fj^o be .Wing and. be-
so^as to be heard by ^iS'' ^^ '"^""^ ^^' ^oko.
die. asThaveXe?°^ f^TV^'Jl ^"- that I
^ ^-hatcauLVr^„^Sth-e^S^-
?g^fi"^' effort he added:
dying man. his voicf sbW^^ ^"??'"' "^^^^ the
praying that, since thmn^h^ -.^ .'^'"'P^'"' f^" to
could be had to shrive h^ T'' '^^^ "° P^est
would absolve him from .Tl-^^^- '"^'"^"' Saviour
to the eternal hap^in °sT " *"' "'"' ^^ bring him
the 'StLt^^^LTT u^?- —g^t
so tragical a character l^t'^^i''^ ^^^^ ^^^umed
though annoyed at thr^. P^^'" ^"""^^'^ Williams
voke remar/^d aw4enuhr'" ""^'"^ "light ^ol
de Laceys. was nevr,^!^ P"^'"' sympathy for the
another ^obstTcL wis aSfto^'S'"^ ^'^^^"^^ that
Path^ Conferrinripart «^th t^'""^^'^ ^«"" ^'^
soundly med hi,? fo? his ^cL?^ snj.uggler. he
the approaching death of Mr rf"^'"' ^""^ ^^^'d
weapon above his head gL^I ^T^ *' ^°ther
assumed a surlv demp.n. i''^*''^' «" his part
away with the Ve'S ° ^H^* '^^^^tened to^sai
. At this juncture MvnW f^^^^ condition.
f .:
i
t I
ii'
1 1-
408 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
ious to make a good appearance in the eyesof the
rnst^birrnd other -^^f'; ^ *Srit ir-
common decency demanded that ^J^f prl M ^^
mitted to attend upon her dymg father, a^terwhicn
X law might take its course. Prosser Wilhams m-
wardUv ™iled h^ associate, who. in hs quality of
maristrate^nd member of the Council, could not
S^ dSegard^ ContiolUng his anger, he protested
S!at hlhad merely wished to spare Mistress de Lacey
"■Tcannri'spared her.'' retorted Henricus
Laurens, curtly, and at his mandate the door of the
cabYn was opened and the young girl came forth It
htd been the brutality of Greatbatch. coupled with
fnstlSg remarks whfch he had let faU concemmg
the fine eentleman who was anxious to carry her
away, thit had caused Mr. de .Lacey to unsheathe
his sword and make this unavaihng attempt to de-
'' cipufn P',!i's's^r Williams drc. far back into the
shS wfeTEvelyn came fort., f ~m the ^abn.
The lieht of the lantern showed hsr face aeaoiy
Se hir eyes haggard, and her beauty temporarily
objured. But there was no outcry no word of
compSnt or reproach as she threw herself on her
kn^s beside her father, holding his hand ^ready
Sd in aip'oaching death and ta^ng to^m in
heaxtbrok^ whispers. For one glance at his face
had sufficed, and she knew the dreadful tnal that
wasi^t^i^forher. By a swift moyement^e un-
fastened from her neck a ^'"^^^^^..^t^^'^en
before the fast glazmg eyes. and. forgetting even
her sorrow, murmured prayers and the Sacr«l
Names that alone can pve hope « t^e ^ymg Chn
tian. Her father, who had repeated clearly ana ois
THE TRAGEDY OFF SANDY HOOK .00
lar" "' °^ --^"- O' suppHcation. ^.^
dawning for me " ^ ^ °^ eternity.' It jg
stntk^n'o^T"' '"■" ^^^^y" ^d a wailing heart-
^My father, oh! my father '"
he spokS?mo4^f'2n^r' '° """"^'^ "^^ »>"*
-Pnl"h\'"gttTrit%^'^'^x -^ -"-'-e
njght that had faUen on tJ'f ^".'^^ ^'oo" of
Death, the most thrini^^w^lj^%°^ the waters,
enterprise, had thus cut shL'J"f'<= f'^ ^ every
a human life. Evelvn 1 r =, ^^ '^"^'^^ thread of
her surroundingraXvln thXr'"^"'^">y forgo
m the one absorbing dj^^ to h^'^u"'^*?'*'^ f^"™
w:th her prayers and acc^^l^^'P^er dead fathe;
to the very iud£mpnT«„o. ^S.^^ ^is be bved soul
jntoJnactYornC^ti'^^ t'm.^^* "'«''• Awed
interfere with her in t™ first f^ ^^ *"«""?* ^
Prosser Williams curbed hi^ir^iT moments. Even
>n a silence broken onhrbv thX*''?"fu ^"'^ ^^'^ed
scream of a sea-bird OTthlL^-°^ *he waves, the
the freshening breeze The ^?f"^ "^'^^ «" ^
blew mto their faces and tW ^"^ °^ ^he ocean
sound ofahnosthumM an J«h- T?' ^ desolating
all at once they we^T^r^^f^ '" ^^e wind. Then
other sounds ^Wch^st^^Hl^""" their letharg^ by
awakened as' iT from EberTf, "" '° ^etion%nJ
.Hesperia... Oreatbat^ft^-^-^Cgl^i^,^
n\
4IO GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
into the waiting boat, and hastened towards the
?• V-„» Wnr mmine like a phantom ship out
ofX Xkn^i thr-Memiaid," Rogers Master,
had^aS? S Greatbatch and his crew, at first
£5ewdi?to be one of the French privateers which
wi^lver lurking about the coa.t fmd made su^
preparations as they might for defo?ce- But,^en
bv surprise, the, advantage was all with the a^sajlant^
A Jwrt sharp conflict took place, which w^ heard
on theBreXyn shore and reverberated through
?v« vfpl^tsTbove. Its echoes even reached as
tr a^ Ma^X.: and set the townspeople to
" OnS the sloop still remained Evely^- P^f
bv the side of her father, whose eyes she had closed
oL wW features had taken on the majesty of
defthTheSaS remained Henricus Laui^ns and
Sf constable, whose attention -a^completdy ab-
sorbed by what was going on aboard the Hespem,
^d Captain Piosser Williams, who was fi^ed w^th
tSxiety for the success of his schemes and with the
f^ that Evelyn might still escape hmi. i^ expe^-
enT suddenly occurred to him upon which he pre-
ceded to art. He released Captain JeiJans and his
^n w^?h the assistance of Mynheer Laurens and
Se ^Sable, and commaiided them to set sail ^d
^aV,' all nossible haste to reach Manhattan, ine
^LrT^fwas indignant at the treatnient that
SCn meteTout to him and was loud m his de-
nunSn of the murder that had been committed
on Sd°"the sloop, still.saw some reason m Cap ain
Williams' expressed desire to save the lady any tur
SS^SelSntness and to put her ashore as speedily
as possMe with the body ofh^r father^ „
'^t's one of those damned Frenchmen, Prosser
THE TRAGEDY OFF SANDY HOOK 4„
^"SS"™"^^"' ""^^ '^ *^ng to overhaul the
bott^"^„Sr.d cL'^' T^ f^^ ^"^ her to the
''Weil/' suSeJX^.^J^i''' '^^^"sW
Wni to get thf W, M ^^^^-^ y°" 'I" not want
f?r?ro:^'?L^- tSd -',;" P^''^^' ^ b-t put
fide Captain Ferrers Retp, q"^^'?^ *° ^^^ ^'oop's
four sturdy mem Ws o^ the Jet"'' ?n V^ '^^^^ °^
despair, Prosser William., qL^^'^ , ^^^ '^^Se and
of himself. He raied L^ <■ - "^ ^' '=°°*'"oI
Evelyn in his a^sftfovp If °""^'^' ^"'»' ^ing
sel's side into o™ of the lo^,^'^?,^^^'- over the ves!
of landing her ut^nNX*' Tr* j*''"^ ^^d idea
Jf ed upln his as^Sat^s to aid hT.f • ^' '°»<^y
the escape of a daneerou^ n^-c^ ™i *"<^ prevent
they beeVwilling tSai^-"'°"T- ^"*' ^""^ had
taking, it was tSo late^^^lh^ ^o deperate an under-
ready on board the "Ann. ,'^''=l'e-Party were al-
from Captain Ferrers' V^f^ ^^^^'l ^°<* * blow
jams' anS to fall ^'weSol^rl^'^T^ ^^-
dramatic moment whpn tvl ^ ^ ^^^- ^t was a
Bellomont's Hou ehSd id ° f"^^ °^ ^'^
face, with such Smen^^f ^"^ °*her in the
agined. It w^ m^vX i ""^^ ^^''^^ be im-
SchuylerthaTS^vemedFelTf ~"^'^'? °^ P'^'er
and there upon hirf ellow nffi ^™™ "lAicting then
"lir
412 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
Prosser Williams' last effort, and in sullen rage and
dS)air he had to witness the removal of Evdyn
^the dead body of Mr. de Lacey to the Mer-
maid." while he and his associates were left to retmri
to the "Hesperia" and its crestfallen commander.
Greatbatch.
iH
CHAPTER xm
AN ALLY WON
MADAM VAN CORTLANnT .. ■
same room from whi^ Fv^ sat in that self-
fled from the inquisitori^^rJ^p^^^W had
Ransom and his comoanv^i- F^P]^ Tobias
old clock was tiddn?awav t.T"'^^^' ^^ the
noon. The niistSSoJl?Tr*" °^ ^ '^iny
of late, for it was the Keof^h^^ been veiy busy
household work had to bL Hnni^ ^^ "^^^ ™«ch
Pe^nal supervision. Butt^ h;/^^' "^^^ ^er
packed away in firkins in ff u f ^"^ "^de and
Salt beef and porkrSfd fisi^Lft"^*""^ ^^T ^^^^
process taught the white ^Mp^'^k'' ^°^^ ^y a
had been stored awav in fL^.'^y the Indians
thehouse. 'lSSSsblns1S.fe^«'"^«"de'^
an abundant supply of such v^^u,'*°*=''«i'^th
keep during the'^ter sSn W^^' ^ ^°"ld
Van Cortlandt, who WS,'„ ^"^ "^'t ^^^^
years, was disposed tZresTwJ^^-^^'^^^ °^ her
however, werelorely t^ed h^,^^ ^'^ ^'^'
in the pubUc and pohtSwfof L*Lf^* ^^«nts
of New York, and by thosf t?, uV ^^P""^ Colony
fallen Evelyn deUcevandtp/r.^'^' ^^"^ had be-
of regard and respect^'th ^i,-^ ^^''f sentiments
I
11"
414 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
Captain Prosser WiUiams had played in the troubles
of the father and daughter, and of his late dastardly
attempt, which had resulted so tragically.
As die sat thus thinking of all those things, her
knitting-needles lying idle in her lap and the teare
dimming her eyes so that she had to remove the
specUdes from her nose and wipe them, the door
o^ned. The old woman's face brightened when she
saw that it was PoUy. Ahnost immediately though,
she noted that the bright face which looked .n upon
her was clouded, and that it had f^fdy lost its
look of ioyousness and youth. In fact, there naa
been that day one qf the many stormy scenes be-
twee 1 husband and wife, concerning the part which
Hesi-i^ns Laurens had played m the de Laceys
misfortunes, and which only of late had come to the
knowledge of Polly. Even before her marriage, she
had been aware that her future husband was anro-
Eant and domineering by nature and mclined to the
Narrowest fanaticism, but, after the manner of young
eirls. she had trusted that her power over him would
be sufficient to soften and subdue the asperities of
his character. Her few months of married hfe ha -^
dispelled many illusions, but she had been altogether
unwepared for his conduct towards her best fnend
and the torrent of coarse invective which he had
poured forth against the de Laceys, her own family
and friends, and even against herself .
She was fairly boiling over with mdignation. but
she knew that it was Kttle use complaanmg to her
wise and experienced grandmother, who on other
occasions had merely bade her to restrain her tongue
from words which she would afterwards regret. Ihe
constraint which she put upon herself raised a shght
but perceptible barrier between the two women,
AN ALLY WON
which each keenly felt Th^tu ^1 *'^
upon Polly with SfoSL £*. °/ ^^^'i^ '^-
tf?- She recalled her n^^°Mf • *° ""^^^ her to
^aruig all her enjoyml^ts iTl^""?""*' '-eautilul,
ship that had never bSn7i„ ^ t i°^"S «)mpanion-
the dreary sound of the rafn nn^u '^"'"bined with
-4«;e pavement ^-5^1^3l ZS^tl^jJ" ^^^
«?eming ^to^^bSr^'^'^W^o,!^ an excuse for not
Van Cortlandt began to taUc o7 p ^5* ^^.^' ^^dam
of exile down in the SpShC^^^^'^h^^ P'ace
trne, whither she had h^^ ^'""^ °^ St. Augus-
tam Rogers T'-The M^^^.Y^f ^-'^ by C
had wntten one or two »fi!^u ', ^""^ whence she
with some abruptness °nW?H" ^^"ers. pX
her idea of making fpe^Sl *" '^."^ godmother
mont to use her influence fni^^^^ '° ^^y Bello-
her friend and peirnSn fnrlf™?"^ *^^ Pa^don of
hattan. With oas^^no? I ^^'^ *° ""etuni to Man
ruled such objec?fo„?rM,t*^"^"ation ,he fver-
forth on the icor4 "f her Wh l^ ^orclandt put
«tion to the scheme andftS %P'°''^^'^ °PP°-
glad to snatch at that fr^t,^^^ ^^ ^«t t°o
Evelj^'s return to AlSaSn^ ^T °^ securing
of all her woes. She stood r.r^'^ *^^ tenninatiof
and watched her ZnSi^T°'^ ** '^« ^ndow
mssion, despite th^P^v??^*^'" Proceeding on her
which Petnfs 1tu^^S'"t"hi°n^ thatiansion
of the Dutch ha^ ;„ ' *"^ Headstrong Peter"
J "udiever m secunng ad-
4i6 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
mission to the gubernatorial dwelling and the pres-
ence of Lady BeUomont. For the latter had an
extreme curiosity to know more about Evelyn de
Lacey and her father, of whom she had he^-d but
fleeting rumors. She guessed at once that the psit
of young Vrow Laurens at that juncture could be
coimected with nothing else. The Countess of BeUo-
mont sat in a boudoir which she had fitted up for
herself, and wherein she had gathered odd tnnlrets
of many sorts. An odor of perfume, distinct but
deUcate, mingled with the salt breeze from the Bay.
Mv Lady was in a house gown of pale pink, over
wWch she wore a scarf of blue, with a profusion of
costly lace. It waS a costume which emphasLzed
that curious blending of the young and the old m
her appearance. The face showed numerous hnes,
fine and ahnost imperceptible at a distance; tiie
eyes, deep-set and dark-circled, had an mdescnbable
weariness in their expression. She was devoured
with ennui, despite the excitement whidi raged
within and without the mansion, but of wluch die
caught only faint echoes. She knew ihat Lord BeUo-
mont had been in outrageous humor, which might
have been in itself a distraction, if he had not ab-
sented himself for the great part of every day.
She, therefore, greeted the visitor very graciously,
since her presence was a reUef from intolerable bore-
dom. With an interest which effectuaUy aroused
her, she listened to the various adventures of Evelyn,
and expressed the greatest sympathy for her sa,d case
She promised to use what influence she had, though
doubtful of results. .
"The moment," she said, "is inopportune. Ihe
Earl has but lately returned from his government ot
New England, and is sadly perturbed over many
AN ALLY WON
S?^SSt5-"^"-- Yet I am willing to do ly
upSi^iSgetl, tatle''^^^ ^--^"ed ring
and diamond, whkh met l^^'^*^' f PP**'^' ™by
ferent light. * **®^' ^^Sht each a dif-
wh^Ct^?c"^p^S;' p^-id, "to <^-over the
quired. I have be«?met «^'^- J^^° ^ have in-
adeteminationr^t^srL^ a''"."^'^"' ^^^'^'^^ and
WiUiams-" °°°°' to speak. As for Captain Prosser
inipSivel^* thrice-detestable being!" cried Polly
upoji a mission of diSa^ Ta^*^. T^u"? '^"t
fined to his quarters nT™',,,- ^ ^^'"^ ^e is con-
I might have hSrd mo,^ Xf ^^"^^J"-, Otherwise
Excellency naid him = T^-. As I am informed, His
turn and LShen-" ^''' "Mediately on hi's^!
sinSVCliS;^P«^/- she did -t care to add-
than her frien^MisTrfi Jf f * ^"'^ '^i^'^^^t temper
came thence in a whSrv.'*y~*''^t My L^d
in the late affair Afte/^„T""f '"^ ^ concerned
been closeted with J^Jn Sln^^f °""^"«J, '^^ had
of the most fanaticaJ fin^ ' "^^aver and others
Mynheer Lam^s had feHd^-.?","^^*" '^hich
been a rumor, too, that th^ jf ?^**^. ^^^''^ had
was hotly debated, as 4ellTtL1 ^f'^'^^'^^y'^'-
others, who had be^n nriw ff w t°^ ^°««« and
described as an a^ac&Ifi ^^* V"'^ Bellomont
1
ill
4i8 GERALD db LACEY'S DAUGHTER
a time, untU the pleasure of His ExceUency should
be known. As the Countess was well aware, her
husband had been exceedingly disturbed about a
petition, and not the first one, which had been sent
to England from many prominent members of the
colony, protesting against his arbitrary proceedmgs
and the restrictions he had imposed upon trade. In
consequence he had received from the King an in-
timation that his mode of action would have the
result of driving many men of note away from New
York, and that it must be discontinued. The repri-
mand was galling in the extreme to his proud and
overbearing nature, and this, with attacks of the
gout from which he periodically suffered, had not
improved his temper.
Altogether, Lady Bellomont felt that it was a
singvdarly inopportune moment to proffer to His
Excellency a request in favor of a girl against vhom
he had been prejudiced from the first. Still the
Governor's wife was deeply concerned to hear of
Mr de Lacey's death and the loneliness of Evelyn
in her exile. She looked very grave when her visitor
informed her that the common report of the town
was that Captain Ferrers had been arrested and
thrown into one of the dungeons of the Fort for his
gallant intervention in favor of the father and
daughter. She shook her head doubtfully, as she
remembered that startling intelligence.
"If he has done so much," shesaid, "tohisfavonte
officer, what can we expect on behalf of one whom he
chooses to consider as a dangerous enemy to the
state and a Pap'st?"
She presently dismissed her visitor, with a promise
to do all that she could for Mistress de Lacey, in
whose welfare she was deeply interested, but that
AN ALLY WON
^he^t bide her tin^e. In biddin, p,u, ^^^1'
from the malice of w „ ^- "* " safe refuge far
strive to keS L? tJ^X" to ^^ '^^^^^'^ttl
tentfJrlS St"^^ '^ '^^' -- °-e^y con-
,1'^
CHAPTER XIV
CONDITIONAL PARDON
LADY BELLOMONT waited for some days untfl
J the storm had abated b«^o^,,aPP'?^^'"?.™
ExceUency upon the subject of Vrow Laurens re-
nuest Seizing what she considered to be a favor-
2bk op^^ty. she began with apparent careless-
ness and in the most casual manner: t,„v_+
"Is not this a singular adventure m which Egbert
Ferrers has become involved?"
•^e^gular," growled His Lordship, who s«rely
missed the ^ces of his most efficient officer, arid
SdJy traitorous and disloyal in the position
which he occupied." . „j .. ^^\a T^dv
"Perchance I do not understand, said Lady
Bellomont, "but is it not rather a case o^. f ^^
gallantry, wherein any young man of his temper
might easily figure?"
The Governor's countenance darkened.
"He has a warm advocate in the Countess of
Bellomont," he observed drily.
"UntU this moment." said the Co""*^' ~"?;
oosedly. "I shouH have imagmed that he would
Ce found his ad cateinyou, ^Sf he^Id S
so often you declare how ^'^S^^^^f. ^^J^flr^":
But let that pass. My concem.is rather for the un-
fortunate young lady involved in this affair.
[<tS
CONDITIONAL PARDON
"And whv \fnri=~ t ^*'
fowling, "Md tt^',^P^y^?".;>-d the Earl,
sentative have any «,i^ f "'^ Majesty's repre:
who Iws been, nKref^ h ' * ^^Pis*. and o^
'^SS ""^"^"^^^ dangerous meddler "n
con<^1hafo;e'^y^^dy^?,7red. "I have the
has for another who .Ti^'arievJ,?^''^?' °'' P^^^nt.
>s the young maid, after tl?n? '*'"^'*^- For here
vexations of many ^rtJ Sw^r'^^'^ '« Wals and
home and Wends.^S' ^„^°"e ^^ ««'ed from
attempt to defend her f ^" h^ ^«'h«- slain in an
heart of stone." "'^^ '*« enough to melt a
kerc!lLf'?f"C MfliJf^^^^^^th f P^^tty hand-
His wife was looking partiltn, u "^^^^ ^o^ened.
tume which he haH ^f^ .^'^ charming in a rnZ
find.it unbe'S„\i„°^^«J'^^^^^ -d hV"did ?^
P^on for the w<ls of "theL r^" ^^ *? ^«' «""-
he had been accustomed TrfA- * Sratilied him since
whom he had so eSjInSrSrT '1 '^^ ^^^^
bnlliancyofhersocialextS H°"'y *^« hard cold
uponhershoulder.aTdreJ^^^edS^fh P"^'''^ ^^
, ^-^tv^ta'ra.r^S,!r;"-->^ng:
Exc^ll^nljUtr^tic fool Of TFenersr His
-y Lad?,'^.rtS ss i^ r p'^ y'^-'" -id
and forgotten her." ^" ^*^« returned home
l^'.
412 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
My Lord drew his wife towards him with a move-
ment of unwonted tenderness.
"In my busy life, weighted down with public
cares," he said, "I have had but little time to know
you. and perchance I owe you something for my
"Ck)uld we all but repair our mistakes so easily,
Richard, as you can," Her Ladyship said with a
sigh, "for you have unlimited power in your hands!
The Governor sat down somewhat heavily in his
chair at a desk strewn with papers, and my Lady,
with that grace and charm which she knew so well
how to employ, laid her hands upon his shoulders
and leaned over him, pointing to a blank sheet of
paper which lay before him. .
"A few strokes of your pen," she said, wiU give
me great pleasure and to others happiness.
But at the moment, as though he could have fore-
seen what was in progress, and indeed he had learned
that the Countess had gone to seek His ExceUencj
at his office to proffer, as she had said, an urgent
request, Captain Prosser WiUiams was announced
My Lady raised her hand haughtUy, Lord Bellomoni
dropped the pen which he had taken in his hand
and his whole countenance changed as if by magic
Every trace of softness disappeared. For althougl
he was not altogether plet.sed at the interruption
the very name of Prosser Williams recalled manj
things to his mind which he had been in danger o
forgetting. He remembered all that the young mai
had told him in distorted and exaggerated terms o
Mr. de Lacey's seditious proceedings in England
and how he had made himself obnoxious to Hi
Majesty. Williams had also dwelt upon his exertion
under Governor Dongan to spread the Cathoh
CONDITIONAL PARDON
skiDtx>r R« recent escaoe Ho^i ■ "^^ whom
^Pper Rogers was onJy thSr^AJ '^^^""« 'hat the
W^^sfe„5"4^^,th^^^^ inflamed Lord
I
'&''
\ 'l
"til
4.4 GERALD PB LACEY'S DAUGHTER
Earl a plan, which should as he said, go far to con-
dUate all parties concerned^ „ ^^^^_
. 'T"..\h"fthe"cS^e s £tu wo'^d much de-
r.^?he I'^dcSJ^of'^-me of these malcontents, and
espedally of Mistress deLacey. .^
This was purely ^J"™^^ °"J^^° thi reason
part to discover, if possible YXvSt^th her hus-
L Lady Bellomont s Me mt«^^^ .^ ^^^^^,
band, from which «I?^^^^^^e him no informa-
upon his entrance. TheE^lgavemm
tion. however, save ^ '"P**'^"Jestthere is also a
%rvet^r ^Ir^^'i -SnS^- --
him had lost his senses. -j " v>f> pried "vou
"You are pleading for the maid, he cned. you
^^*is"*^d'?iosser Williams firmly, presmmng
upon W; influence with ^e ^v^o^ that^
fcttaSSr^^^-l^fllE^^thesol,
condition that she marry me.
CONDITIONAL PARDON
which caused the^^e fa^ „? thf^ ^*°'^^«"t.
redden. Then he ^Iti^L y°^Ser man to
'•By all the gods^t cSed™?;^ •^"^'^^f-
^at the,, is soiethin^in^S; sLtVe^^fr
young Schuyler had ^fl/from the Sn'^n^'^P^^'^y:
his intervention in her iSLlf ?„h """^^uences of
have held to be her bitte!S'e^emr"^°"' "'°" '
hasSmyw^ito'&f T"^'- But it
which I have once 7nte?e? ^.ll!l ^* \«??* "P«"
freely own that I have K bi^Pn 1 ' ^^""^ ^ ^^
which gives me no re^" "^° ^^ ^ '°^« '"ania
-^s^roSt'lCi^;tU,^i«««^
Sid IfSnde^-eL^-i J^-r Sn^
fulness. SoH exSKaf'ir.'l^'''^"^^''^
could be easily settled if^» u ^^^"^ Jnatter
be very easily S^"o^t%°! *« agreement could
said, with the fair sex. and might vei^ weuTgetThe
n
m
if
Ji
I
426 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
start in the race with young Schuyler, who to Ws
supercilious mind was merely a Colonial, ot with
Captain Ferrers, who was befwe everything ^
soldier. Prosser WiUiams himself was ready with
the assurance that, once his wife, there wp^d be no
difficulty whatever in managing this hitherto re-
fractory Papist. There was a gleam in his eye as he
spoke and a cold cruelty in his aspect, which the
Governor noted, but which did not prevent him from
giving his assent to the proposal, saying:
"Be it so, then, and I trust I shall be nd forever
of this troublesome busings. But if she refuse to
accept the offer of pardon?"
"We can make, I think, sir, such demand upon the
Spaniards, amongst whom, as I opine, she has taken
refuge, that they will be forced to give her up.
So Lord Bellomont signed the paper which the
voung officer had in readiness, hopmg that the
pardon thus offered would also please his wife.
However, he inquired of Captain Williams:
"Was not this maid's troth phghted to this
Schuyler, which might make trouble here?"
■ "Her ambitions flew higher, su-, declared the
officer, "Her design was to wed Egbert Ferrers
and bring him over with her to the Romidi creed.
His Excellency's face grew purple at this truth,
which to Prosser Williams was only a surmise, but
which would have created such a scandal.
"An officer of my Household to become a Papist!
he cried. "The outrageous baggage, I have a mine
to put her in a dungeon, or let them hang her, i:
they will, on Salem Hill."
"You have promised, sir, to let me be her gaoler,
reminded Prosser Williams. .
"Aye," said the Governor, "I have promised
CONDITIONAL PARDON
his wife and those cuiW^^i^'P'^^ P'^^e ^t once
to. the hint from the SesfnS ^^^'^ ^'^^"iing
nussion to conciliate quarters it was now his
,t ■*.
CHAPTER XV
AN OFFER OP MARRIAGE
GOING forth with the document to which His
Excellency had appended his signature, Pro^r
WiUiams was sanguine enough to hope that, ^ Cap-
tdn Ferrers could be kept out of the ^^V' Evely°
miEht be so tired of the loneUness of her exile as to
te Sg to Usten to his overtures He resolved
^Tthe bold move of calling in the fct place u^n
l^dam Van Cortlandt. He approached that dweU-
hie with mingled feelings. It thrilled hrni with
vagurstirrings%f hope and at the same tmie with
southing of the blankness of despair. For theas-
Sions that it recalled made his chances seem
dender of winning the love of a girl whom he l^d
so Shelly ^nged and subjected to so intolerable
Tp^secution. As he stood a moment watching the
hoWT which had suddenly turned mto a witness
against him, he felt that the shadow of Evelyn s
Sfather rose between him and the object oftus
pursuit as he could never have done in hfe. Only
tbT^litary hope remained that she might xonsent
to n^ Wm fOT the sake of a pardon which would
Z^^er to return to the society of her fnends
So the places for which she had always fV^
so warm an attachment. He did not know h^ exact
whereabouts, which was in a convent in the bpamsti
AN OFFER OF MARRIAGE 429
Inf^ >, strongly suspicious. He was ushprwl
Defare he was a moment in the room that ho ifJ^'
composure and tiim tw,™ t; j- , ° retam his
vexXTtoThat orEv^tyn"''^""^ '"^^^"^^ °^ «'°-
J J
■II
i
p
A
<m
9i > < , I
430 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
devotion to Mistress de Lacey, which had never
changed nor faltered, even in the face of her bitter
and unjust prejudice against him. He explained, as
he believed to their satisfaction, all that had taken
place. How he had gone to Salem for the purpose
of protecting her, and had again boarded the "Hes-
peria," with the sole purpose — ^which he had been
obliged to keep secret from his associates — of rescu-
ing Evelyn from the piratical attack of Greatbatch.
The latter, he declared, had been paid by certain
fanatics of the colony to secure possession of Evelyn.
Polly blushed a deep red at this allusion, for she felt
certain that he included her husband amongst them.
Nor coiJd she deny such an allegation. In con-
clusion, his voice trembling with emotion, he dis-
played the pardon, which he had himself obtained
from the Governor, with but the added condition
that the girl should become his wife. On no other
terms, he said, would Lord Bellomont listen to such
a petition. He appealed to each of his hearers in
turn to take note that he was acting in a perfectly
disinterested manner, and was willing, for the sake
of an unrequited love, to risk the displeasure of
wealthy relatives and even of the Home Govern-
ment.
Madam Van Cortlandt, who had never wavered
in her opinion of the man and of the methods he eni-
ployed in his pursuit of Evelyn, could not but admit
the sincerity of his passion. Nevertheless, she was
totally opposed to Ms suit, and felt convinced that
Evelyn would prefer perpetual exile to a union with
this suitor, whom the old lady herself both disliked
and despised. She did not, however, give expression
to these sentiments, but drily inqxiired in what
manner could be arranged, even talong the consent
AN OFFER OF MARRIAGE ,„
MadaTvi'^^.TtlLdT'S/^it-'^that alone."
insuperable. Any one "^W'^^Y' ^°"ld prove
Evelyn deLace^LllvfmusriJ""^ ^'^^'^^
Prosser Williams redXtd^"!,* ??, t'^'^e of that. "
at the same time an inau?,^<f i *"* ^^ ^P' tunung
Now that young ^S"Tf f'^"? ^^^^^^s Polly^
grandmdther, afd wS^k^e^"^^"""?"*^ t''^" her
acquaintance had been mL f! tf ^^y^ °i their
ards the young oS ha^^f T.^^ ^i^Posed tow-
her attitude tf w S him sie t,^^^^^^'*'"^ «
,^y hjf protestations of devoton^o^? ''"^'^^d
she knew to be genuine ^dhv v ^''^'y"' ^^ich
the part he had played in ,„h^ ^^ explanation of
i^d had no commotion &"f"* ?^|?*«- She
Pieter Schuyler, and b»^A *-^?Ptam Ferrers or
m ignorance of ihdr jS K^^*-"" ^^^ ^^P* her
and their knowledge^Pro^^^ ^,?"« transactions
schemes. Hence, when tJ^^« ^ilhams' nefarious
the pardon, she had^^UTf "^ displayed
pect of enjoying Qn^^S^» ^ •*°''^^" the pfos
fnend to Xm^ The ,^1 T'*^ Iher de^t
Excdlency's Household w3d 1^"^J'?*=^ ^ ^^
which would silence th; mSh^.^'^'l^'' ^ P^stige
of h«- husband includ^ °j5^°f^''\to°g"es, that
the pleasurable antidmtion ^^^ ^^ ^<^^ in
ft,
a
43* GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
could not beUeve that any difficulty would arise.
She fancied that it would be a very easy thing for
her friend to appear on the Sabbath in the nave of
Trinity Church with this brilliant young officer at
her side, and herself an appanage of the guberna-
torial estebUshment, even if she chose to practise
her own reUgion, as she had hitherto done, in
Pro'sser Williams caught the sparkle of her dark
eyes and the smile which she now quite wilhngly
accorded him. and he knew that, in so far as she was
concerned, his case was won. Her influence with her
friend, which could only be by correspondence, he
felt sure would be altogether upon his side. As for
Madam Van Cortlandt, her manner, no less than the
decisive tone of her last remark, gave him but httle
hone He intuitively felt that he had not prevailed
at^ with her. It was only at Polly's earnest en-
treaty that she consented to forward the conditional
pardon to Evelyn, together with a letter from the
detested suitor, though she utterly refused to d^s^
close the fugitive's place of refuge. And wth that
concession Prosser WiUiams had to be ^ti^ed.
When Mistress Evelyn de Lacey refused in the
most emphatic manner to accept the amnesty which
had been offered on such conditions, her letter pro-
duced on the minds of Madam Van Cortlandt and
her granddaughter a precisely opposite ^fect. men
Evdyn declared that, leaving Captain Prosser Will-
iams and his odious proposal of mamage out of the
question altogether, it would be imposable to give
up her faith that was dearer thai nfe and for which
she would gladly suffer martyrdom, the elder lady
saw therein the expression of a noble nature, bhe
admitted that it was just what she would have ex-
m
AN OFFER OF MARRIAGE ,,,
othI'^:h?°S|?'tfK£ 11: "- not like
«nd,t is unthinkable ^^yi°tW^^«"™«nt.
J^ -sented to "^^^ X? tlS^^^^^
was unreasonably s^tu^bSiT^ h'"'^ ^'^"t Ev^
!»?»• And as to the quej^on o^^?'^^"'"^ ^^^"^
pnsed her grandmothpr = ^ • "^''Pon. PoUy sa--
had always^™^\«j''^nd just^ed^t^^
fanatical husband uoon af ,-! ''*. «^«ence of her
^. "Henricus S^s " Poll^ ""pressionable nature
bitterness, "thariho^T ^?^^ ^^^h with great
ha«d folk: who pi^X ter^ ^.y ^d «S
"But my deS d^d " J?i\Pon « secret."
aghast, "how can theyloothT™- ^^^S^dmother
profession or practice is forbS^"* ^^^!^ aU public
^^P and the -i^SV^-f ,^^^5?
^^PoUy was in no mood tohear reason and continued
wha^^sScf^i^^LTS ^' .'--s Of
undermine the State t^ 7T . ^ "« Plotting to
^d to found tftoSir!:?S'n*-t-^"'^^t-nt?
CO omes with the Poj^TRnn,^^*'?"'" "> th«^
"Why," exclaimSl fS °™^ *^ "»!«."
tressed,^:they2^„^^"'« .f^dmother much dis-
., "Their nuLb^ no nf^^lf'^'Poo'- and scattered."
and they are^Wver^- ^°^^' declared PoUv
Canada." ^^""^"^ mtnguing with the French of
"Can you believe," inquired the grandmother
iJv :!
434 GERALD db LACEVS DAUGHTER
rtemlv "that Evelyn, who even in trifles is the soul
Stonor. Imd thatch-minded gentleman, her Ute
father, were engaged m such conspiracies f
"I believe riught against Evelyn," Mid PoUy.
"save that, being herself deceived, she did the work
oUhe J^uits in leading the Wilden to Popery and so
to leaeue with the French." „ . j,^ ..
"K" demanded Madam Van Cortlandt, "you
could' credit these fables, would it not be a aime
aeainst the State to bring so dangerous a person back
toX cdony. or for an officer of the Household to
•^uf "■ she were once of the Protestant faith?"
^°??fflS^ never be," Madam Van C^andt
declared decidedly, "and to put an end ^ all ti^^
Sssions I will teU you, though as a matt« wtach
it is advisable stUl to keep secret, that she is the
betrothed wife of an honorable gentleman, and one
who is to ^ way worthy of her, Captam Egbert
^^Xeven before this astounding Mmounc«nent^
Polly's indignation had vanish^!. And P«sently hw
^^tiSent expended itself in a shower of tears.
CHAPTER XVI
THE CLOSE OF A RioiME
pUT for those even!:; which shaU presentlv h«
f^^^'^' *^^ '« ^^^^ doubt Omt n^Sble^
would have been in store for Evdyn V Ucev
£^^.:^''w?,"'^'^*i'"« ^^ malignant actfviS
FW« Wilhams and that infatuation of hirwWdi
iSw^ndoi"^- ."'« "-^. Captain F^S
was Kept in close unpnsonment, thoueh throuph
^e mtervention of Lady BeUomont Zd His eS
hl^^y °^ partiality for his favorite officer there
had ,been a considerable mitigation of tf,e fim
seventy of his confinement. hI was ^rmitted to
oc^py a room in the Fort. and. but f^r^e iJflS
reSTa J^^u't'y^^ ^^ ^^^ debarred from
returning to Manhattan, and was therefore oower-
less to do anything in the girl's interest ^
Meanwhde the peace of the colony continued to
bed«turbed by internecine feuds, and by an active
pereecutaon of what was called the LSStlc
K' «*?^ ""T^l °^ ^^^J^ ^'P' ^ve th^ Son
of the struggle and were prepared to do battJe ^th
aUand sundry. The anti-Popery laws werTi^re
stnngent than ever, both theJ^in mL^cJiu^Us
£ wL°w^ New England coionies, Xk mS?!
^d was bemg made notorious by aU mannerbf
oppressive acts against Catholics and a war^^nst
^
436 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
the Jesuits, who in the first councils of the Lord
Baltimore, the earUest and amongst the best of the
Calverts, had established religious liberty and made
that colony the true "land of sanctuary. Never m
the world's history had been chronicled a more
flagrant case of injustice than the treatment whidi
was meted out to CathoUcs in that corner of the
New World, where they and they alone had given
unrestricted freedom to all.
Richard, Earl of Bellomont, had during his whole
administration done his worst in that direction, and
had, as he beUeved, been largely successfd m weed-
ing out Popery and dealing harshly with all who pre-
sumed to worship God according to the dictates of
their conscience. He had also dealt sternly with the
illicit traders, especially after the ignommous failure
of his amateur navy, wherein the notonous Captain
Kidd had figured. He had made the most vexatious
restrictions upon trade so as to drive the larger
merchants to desperation. A gloom seemed to have
fallen over Manhattan. All those bnlhant parties
which my Lady had given at the Fort, with negro
minstrels playing on the balcony, were suspended.
Social amusements, even amongst the pleasure-
loving Dutch, were almost at a standstiU. Irrita-
tion, anxiety, mutual ill-will prevailed everywhwe.
In the midst of it all came the news from Wtate-
hall that my Lord BeUomont was seriously lU. Con-
sternation was general, especially amongst those
who had approved of his policy and supported lus
strong measures. At Der HalU men talked «» sub-
dued whispers of the crisis that might be at hand.
Even Greatbatch was impressed, and reduced to
something like sUence, though of late he had been
more snarling than ever since the failure of his late
''mm
THE CLOSE OF A RfiGIME 437
^«e sum he Sad p^S Kh?'' *° P^^ '^'^ the
de Lacey. GreatC^^?L^^f, ^ '^^"''^ of Evelyn
kept up a sullen and omTno^°" , '^""'** ' '"" '^
dared not raise above a wS ' -y"'^ '^'f ^ J»
than his group of worthies irifT ', ,'" '^^^ ^"'^'t
ever immunity he eniovS t^ •^'"'•* ^'''^ ^^'t'-'t-
officer's protection^^^*^ ^^ ^•^'"3 '^ t^'^' . .iig
Mynheer de Vries st-i«ii«,i •
sfeking for news! He S l^l ''"' "' ' ^"^'''^^^'y.
since he played the^^ of K :;„ V'J ^' "^^ •"«;
the mnocent to go^wwn^ n"' ^'''' ^^^-^d
seemed smaller and cW^ffih J ^^. '"^"'V eyes
very figu^ seemed to Sve C^i*5^ ^^^'- His
lost something of his suavlcor^fff ''^ ^"^ •>« had
one except Captain Pro^I^r T^^f'^' '*'°"«h "°
his transgression. The delth ^ aT^ V^ ^^^re of
fected him unpleasantly, and a^^h^J^^^ Lacey af-
of an evening on the ealle^ t'i,f f! s^iplfed his pipe
house and garden S^^''^'l*.°^ the desertS
SP<»Ued how ple^^K "C ^ ^P^ts. He
Evelyn amongstXflowe^ 1 ^l!^" *° ^ ^'^ti^ss
the street. He was Sw f^f^^^ "P and down
his wife, who w^Kd^v ..T'^.^^^^tingwith
dared not give it outwSL?=^'^.*.; *''°"«h she
praised Evelyn was at . d?.?. ' ''5' *^^ ""^h-
speedily forgotten a^ she hn^^^'-*"'' ""^ being
other affairs bIS'^^ • ^°^'^' '" the press of
self ameS Sfthe Vw 'ThI''? ^^ ^'^ "^^e he?!
one, and there we^ few iL^^'^ J"^ ^ ""^e
upon the offender?teautya^5.>,r"^ *° '^^Patiate
ments. Even her SestlriPn^^."" a^^complish-
now be content to SibS h ' '' '^^^' ""ust
passed out of thek hvS ^' °"^ ^''° had
<f::
m
;i
438 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
There was a gatheiing at the house of Ma^
Van Cortlandt on one of those evenings shortly after
thTn^ oonceming His ExceUency had been made
tmbUc On that occasion there were no Leislenans
?^t, sfintense had grown the feeUng between ^e
parties, save of course Henncus La"«f ^ J^^'^.^J^
erandmother would not consent to exclude. But he
CffiS isolated. Cold looks. cMtlingavdit^
and curt nods of recognition, from those who had
on^ teen intimate friends. fiUed him with resent-
ment. He sulked and glowered, laughed spitefid
Khs. and let fall many a bitter jibe. His nund
w^ bAsy with the'thought of how through tiiem-
fluence of Captain WiUiams. Nanfan, and the rest
he^^d work injury to those arrogant JacUomsts
who dared to slight him. He was glad when he won
Sd^ money at itnsquenet. and funous when he lost
In the midst of it all. Mynheer de Vnes
entered the room and stood scrutin.-ug the card-
teb^ where the wax lights cast cunous shad-
ows on the faces of the players, eadi ^th his pue
offishes beside him to mark the golden guilders he
was winning or losing. The newcomer was wonder-
ine as he looked about the handsome room, how that
wfich he had to teU would affect the various persons
oresent. He waited for a fitting pause m the game
^advancing to the hostess, bowed low over her
hand The various players at the tables glanced up
curiously. Those near gave him greetmg. but aU
were plainly anxious to resume their game. Myn-
^ drVries said to Madam Van Cortlandt, m a
voice which was heard all over the room:
"His ExceUency, my Lord Bellomont, died half
^'^TteS" dropped from the players' hands simul-
iM|^|
THE CLOSE OF A REGIME 439
TW ?t,*° *^^ ^"^ announcing his demise."
were heard without on the paveS, and preSv
mont Barl^f Excelleney Richard. Earl of BeUo-
Jn^ AT ? ^ Cooloney, Governor of New York
and Massachusetts, Captain General, etc. That w2
wh^M^ 1 7oi,_ memorable to some of thostS
whom this narrative is concerned. AwestSi^d
f,,^of*^.^v*? ^1°^ ^^"^ took place a pompous
fcvorlt'd M^' magnificence of the coCeTof
flaKon^h^™ w^^'^'"''^"" ^^ exhausted. The
Lin fL*tP""":5"^ ">a"^ private buildings,as weU
^on the ships m the harbor, were at half-mit The
Sp ''Zo^'^rl'^'' *°"^^ «"* '^« the^'oi Jof
fnr?»,i ^' V^^^ *^«' however, little sorr-w
whnilV^"^ °^ ""y ^^d Bellomon , save in tW
whose fortunes were directly affected by Ws d^thT
Stem and unlovable, his qualities for good or^Si
i.
440 GERALD de LACEVS DAUGHTER
were not such as to attract populw affection. If
he were honest and sincere in his efforts at reform,
as so many averred and as was probably true he
awakened stormy passions stirred contending f^-
tions into bitter hatred of each other, and had
cultivated by every means m his PO''?^. t»«tj;^
crop of persecution against Catholics which it took
all the years tiU the American Revolution to weed
out A strong man, wielding a considerable power
for evil, whether intentionally or not, a cholenc
and a masterful man, he lay still now withm the
coffin under the massive sUver plate which recorded
thedates of birth and death. The reins o power
fallen from his hands, only the imquitous laws he
had passed accompanied him as accusing spints to
the Throne of the All-seeing God, with but the pl^
of inmcible ignorance, if that could be admitted,
and th^ prayers of those whom he had bitterly per-
secuted, to help him. ^„„„o„f
The streets were crowded to witness that pageant,
brilliant with the unifoims of soldiers and sailors
Every face amongst the spectators bore traces of
a different emotion, for each was wondenng how this
great change would affect that atom of the umverse
which is c^ed self. Some few there werejvho gave
r thought to the State, and a still smaUer handful of
^r and obscure people wondered it the demise of
the late Governor would give any rehef to the re-
ligion which the dead man had striven to dnve from
t?at comer of the earth. The Wilden sent their de-
achment of stalwart chiefs to the bun^ of ttor
"Brother Corlear "— some bowed and old and them-
selves hastening to the eternal hunting grounds,
Others alert and eager Captain Pros^^L^m^^
an impressive figure in his glittermg uniform, walked
"irHEL"
THE CXOSE OF A REGIME 441
amongst the mourners— a mourner probably he was
tor the position he was losing and for the failure of
niany a hope and many a scheme. He was ponder-
ing, as he walked, what would be the temper of the
nest Governor, and if it would be possible to retain
his place m the Household and so give time for the
execution of his various plans and of the ventures
with Greatbatch and others by which he hoped to
retneve his fortunes. Above aU, he was still eager
tor the possession of Mistress Evelyn de Lacey and
he cursed the evil fortune which had brought about
the death of Lord Bellomont just when he was about
to reach out the long arm of arbitrary power to
secure the person of the girl. Madam Van Cortlandt
was with Polly in the family carriage, driven by
the pompous coachman and with Jumbo hanging
on by the straps. The minds of the two were turn
mg reminiscently to that April morning when, with
iivelyn de Lacey, they had watched the arrival of
this very Governor in all the pride of place and
power.
Looking out upon the funeral pageant from the
room m the Fort where he was now imprisoned
Captain Ferrers, pale and haggard from his long
confinement, met the glance of Prosser Williams
who was glancing upwards. It was a strange long
look which the two men exchanged, a look replete
with many emotions. They too, like Madam Van
Cxjrtlandt and Polly, suddenly bethought themselves
ot that mormng just three years before, when the
whole town was in jubilation at the arrival of
Richard, Earl of Bellomont. Bo<:h were posses.sed
by the thought of Evelyn as she had then first ap-
peared to them, and her image still seemed to dom-
inate the scene, as though she were really present
442 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
There was a memorial service for the dead,
solemn hymns and canticles being sung and prayers
offered, though not for him. It was a solemn but
ineffectual service, and at its close the body of the
late Governor was lowered into its grave imder the
chapel of the Fort, although it was later buried in
St. Paul's churchyard. A few years more and the
plate from his coflan was sold to relic-hunters for a
museum.
CHAPTER XVII
THB RETURNED EXILE
T"HE weeks and months of amnVtv or„i .
one of the w^est «^ m^^ ^'j^"^'^ Governor,
ruler., Lord S^T 1^^ hT." "'' of Colonial
ment. It is neeS't^H^fi 'T' °^ «°^e™-
that were told Tf wfatoiS ."P°" ^^^ ^"^ *«!««
and vicious habL ofT^„ '^ ?' ^^ °^ *h« »<"«
will was cl^S?nt ^HLbleni'sran'H ^"^'"^^
tence. Of such high ra^ ^ tn ^ ' ^^ mcompe-
with royalty, he disL^^p^ "^ connected even
tr^p/d at^hi^^p,t'^rS„^^«Sgr"*'°° ^'
the Leislenans and cauw^rl ti,«. „_Z! P™9^«iingi of
444 GERALD M LACEY'S DAUGHTER
ihowed doors and wi«<lows open once more. MistrMS
Evelyn, garbed now in simple black, was in the
garden, busy with the flowers that strayed over the
paths. It was her mission to restore them once more
to order. .
As Mynheer de Vries passed by, he saw that grace-
ful figure, half hidden by the vines, the rambler
roses and the peonies. Evelyn's face when die
turned it towards him, had lost httle of its beauty,
though the traces were plainly perceptible there ot
all tlmt she had endured and of that saddest and most
grievous experience by which she had been de-
prived of her father. At first he felt a constraint,
a certain reluctance in approaching her, remembering
his part in that last tragic occurrence. Then he re-
membered that only one man could charge him with
compUdty in that afiEair, and it was most unbkely
that he would ever have the opportumty of revealing
the secret to Mistress de Lacey. It was accordingly
with his smoothest and most plausible manner that
Mvnheer approached the gate to express his dehght
at the return of so deUghtful a neighbor. Evelyn
returned his salutations gravely, indeed, but with
the f riendUness that she manifested towarck all who
were connected with the old, happy life of that town,
whose every stick and stone was dear to her. bhe
extended her hand with a gracious invitation to
enter. This Mynheer dedined, but he hastened to
impart to her a piece of news which he hoped would
be singularly agreeable to her.
"You had some acquaintance," he began, with
Captain Prosser Williams, who was a member ot
His late Excellency's Household?"
Evelyn turned away her face to conceal the emo-
tions excited by the mention of that name. But,
^mmM
THE RETURNED EXILE 445
apparently busied with her flowers, she answered
quietly:
"TT' ^ ***^ ^""^ acquaintance with him."
■ * iJ^'^i L^"" awakening associations of a
painful nature," Mynheer went on, "but some facts
concermng that young gentleman may be of interest "
No fact concermng him can interest me either
now or at any future time," Evelyn burst forth
impetuoudy.
"You wll pardon me, however, a last reference
to him and his affau^," the inveterate newsmonger
insisted. It IS merely to make known to you that
he has become amenable to the laws of this province
and that through the contrivance of those whom his
msolent manner has offended, or who like myself
were aware of his more serious misdemeanors, he
has been at last brought to book."
Mynheer hoped for some expression of the girl's
satisfaction at tliis intelligence. But the young girl's
face gave no clue to her thoughts, and she rernJned
silent. He proceeded to inform her that the young
man by his wild extravagance, profligacy and losses
at the gaming table had accumulated debts which
had caused his arrest. Mynheer did not precisely
state, though he allowed it to be inferred, that it
was through his agency that wires had been pulled
to procure his imprisonment and the consequences
aiat foUowed. The merchant had never forgiven
hun for his demeanor on that memorable evening
at Uer Halle, and for the loss of self-respect which
m so far as he himself was concerned, had been the
result.
Ifence he had seized a favorable opportunity tr
brmg the various debtors down on their prey like
vultures, and to ensure other and more serious
446 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
charges being brought against the culprit. On
being i>romiMd immimity, Greatbatch, who had
many a score of his own to settle, was ready to give
every evidence in his power against the accused and
to prove conclusively that he had been deeply in-
volved in illicit traffic. Lord Combury, who was
little likely to proceed to any great lengths against
smugglers or any other class of malefactors, so long
as they did not ir' -fere with hi? schemes for per-
sonal advantage, ' ' ueverthele"w delighted to press
any charge agair. i. one who had been so intimately
connected wiSi t^-e last administration.
"I know too well," ventured Mynheer after a
pause, "what a baleful influence he has exerted
over your fortunes. He was your enemy from first
to last, while — I humbly pray you to forgive the
allusion — aspiring to be more than a friend. Such
pretensions mi^t be readily understood and would
have been pardonable, had he pursued a legitimate
path to attain so enviable an end."
A wave of color, similar to that which dyed the
roses on the vine beside her, crept into Evelyn's
cheeks, but, when she spoke, it was with a haughti-
ness which caused Mynheer to feel that he had been
indiscreet.
"Such ptirely personal matters," she said, "are
not fit subjects for discussion, and certainly cannot
be of any interest now."
Mynheer was disappointed, for he had been really
anxious to get ftuther information as to the exact
actent of Prosser Williams' interest in this girl. He
began again more slowly and impressively, because
of the rehxiS that had been contained in Evelyn's
words, though they were soltened by that smile which
to men £aid women alike could be so winning.
THE RETURNED EXILE 447
^P. 'Victory,' having on »SJi cJSn'''^^^
rd^v^ do not intervene, his punidiaent'^li
Triumph and exultation were in the soeakprV
1 °",f:^ T^' ^y °^ ^' vengeance had artved^^ he
^ked for corresponding sentiments iTws listener
£«nf P-'" '^' '"J:^"^ [^'>^f ^*^^h she ^,Sd not help
feehng, since mo had been sorely afraid of new ^F
secutions set on foot by that unrelentri enemv
Hntf/ 1 w .T""^""^ °^ ^" ^'"Otion of pity for The
1°^^^ .?^ ***** ""'^ •'""iant young officer For
fuL?f til" T ^"^^^'y °^ diaraf teTwWch r^- '
enfmy ' ^^"^"^ '" ^'^^ misfortunes of a f^^n
of "hl^^"^ f '5'ji^!:" Mynheer said, "are happily rid
rJ^- ,"^'«'' he piously added, "as tl^ Gcwd
Book declares, 'the way of the trans^ssor is hardT "
As for transgressions," said Evelyn "which of
us are free from them ?" ^ ' ^ °*
Now this remark, as well as the young girl's dis
pST*^^^*"V"^^' «^«y Perturb^S^Ciheer
For he feared that through her late fatW ™. J^i
o^^" r*^- ^^ had'become cog2^tnt'o7ws
?W^^'*'°"' ^^'^ Gieatbatch, as weU as wi^h
foi^^- w". '^"S Ignorant of the state of af-
ff^L5!!lf^ ^J?*^ ^^^'yn ^d Captain Ferrere
It occmred to him that the damsel's fancy St
rf^^Wr?"f/,f^'^^ ^ ^y «>« brilliant Kge
of that bmi of foUy. who had now faUen into the
I
if. ill
448 GERALD DE LACEVS DAUGHTER
fowler's snare. In which case he would have shown
a most lamentable want of tact in coming to her with
such disastrous information. Perhaps she was less
disposed to rejoice than to mourn for Prosper Will-
iams, who had been her consistent admirer ever
since his arrival in the colony. "Women," Mynheer
reflected, "are strange beings, and who could tell?"
Being anxious to solve Ws own doubts, however,
he ventured further:
"He was your dangerous enemy," he observed,
"as I had some occasion to know."
"Yes," assented Evelyn, suddenly, "he was my
most dangerous enemy, and, as you say, Manhattan
is well rid of him. And yet — "
Mynheer looked at her inquiringly:
"One may have some grains of pity for a fallen
enemy, since the best of us. Mynheer, are weak and
worthless."
Mynheer's enthusiasm was thoroughly chilled.
Her attitude was one which he could in no wise under-
stand, and he was haunted by the suspicion that she
was far more fully informed than he had believed
possible as to his own transgressions. He presently
bade her a ceremonious good-moming, and left her
to resume her work in the neglected garden with a
deep sadness in her heart. For the information
that he had been at such pains to give, while re-
lieving her of a cruel anxiety, had brought back a
host of memories. She recalled how the malice of
her unscrupidous foe, now severely punished, had
brought about the death of her dear father, and, as
trifles will rectu: to the mind even in the gravest
moments, she mas reminded of the day when she
had first noticed Captain Prosser Williams upon the
Bowling Green, and of that other occasion, when
THE RETURNED EXILE 449
If ^ ^^cteristic insolence he had appeared at the
S^t,!^^''u'"^ E"^^ *"<^ had been so sternly
6^^ ^i( ^V^^^i. ^^^ ^^'^ *° "^ *« noble
«Sn.-! . '"?T,' *?,*•* ?**^ ** **'*' '*«5' window,
tam and for that past in which they had been so
m
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f'
CHAPTER XVIII
PINXTER MORN
MANHATTAN was at its gayest. The trees,
dressed in their most exquisite costumes of
feathery green, tossed their branches merrily, ex-
haUng the fresh odor of new verdure; the gardens
were ablaze with the midsxunmer glory of flowers
— ^roses of every hue, nasturtiums, pinks, peonies,
phlox. Sweet William and mignonette filled all
the beds or strayed over the paths; flowering shrubs,
late Hngering Ulac and syringa perfumed all the air;
wistaria, clematis and rambler roses made festive
all the trellises. The people of the town rivalled
the flowers in their bright-hued garments. Faces
were ra(Uant, as if the gloom and darkness of the
late troublous times had passed; there was the laugh-
ter of happy children mingUng with the songs of the
birds. For it was Pinxter day, to which the elders,
only less eagerly than the little folk, had been look-
ing forward for weeks. Picnics were arranged on
every hand, by boat, by carriage, or, for the less
favored ones of fortune, on foot. The peregrina-
tions of these latter extended no farther than some
spot by the river in the Wolfert's Valley, or in the
comparatively rural quietude of Greenwich Village.
Some there were who drove in heavy family coaches
up along the Hudson, through Westchester or to
PINXTER MORN 451
&tate°"^" of the patroons in the very heart of the
Young Vrow Laurens, who was to form part of a
large gathenng of friends consisting chiefly of the
Van Cortlandts and Laurens* relatives and con-
nections was going to spend the day at the country
house of Nicholas Bayard. She came over quite
early m the forenoon to throw her arms around the
neck of Evelyn de Lacey, who, having returned from
her exile with a full pardon, had once more taken
up her abode m the cottage. It seemed as though
she sought by that embrace to give her friend a share
in her own exuberant vitality and in the wholesome
cheerfulness of the moment. Evelyn had naturally
dechned to be a guest at any of the larger picnics,
since the death of her father was as yet too recent
±iow fane >ou are looking, Polly!" said Evelyn
surveying her friend with sincere admiration and
noting the various details of her costume, worn for
the farst time on that occasion. It consisted of a
gown of green and mauve, showing glimpses of a
petticoat of purple velvet, and a wide bonnet
tnnimed with green and mauve ribbons. Green
stockings and fine morocco shoes gave a last touch
to her finery, and emphasized her resemblance to a
bird of bnght plumage, with black, shining feet.
Polly, nothing loath, displayed all these new clothes
which she had specially got for the hohday, then
hnked her arm in that of her friend, and began to
walk with her up and down those garden paths
where together they had strolled in the care-free
days now past. From time to time the warm-hearted
young woman squeezed Evelyn's arm, crying:
"Oh, but it is splendid to have you here once
more! It makes Pinxter day the more joyful'"
4S2 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
For Evelyn it was painful, too, though she did
not obtrude such reflections on Polly's joyous mood.
From childhood upwards, she had gone forth, usu-
ally with the Van Cortlandts and nearly always ac-
companied by her father, to spend that festival of
Nature in one or other of her rarest haunts. But
not by one word would she dampen that joyousness
which had seemed to spring forth anew in yotmg
Vrow Laureno and to cause her momentarily to
forget aU that had been dark, dreary or unpleasant.
Even the gloomy and fanatical figiuB of Henricus
Laurens appeared to have been temporarily elimi-
nated, and die was back once more in her girlhood's
days with Evelyn in the garden.
Carefully avoiding all unpleasant subjects, the
two talked of the latest gossip of the town, of be-
trothals and marriages in that circle wherein Evelyn
had been so popular, of how Lady Bellomont, by
a ruling which some thought arbitrary, had been
prevented from leaving the shores of Manhattan
till the affairs of her late husband's estate had been
adjusted and her own considerable liabilities settled.
Peevish and discontented, shorn of the state which
she had affected to despise and probably had never
really valued, the great lady complained of Iieing
thus detained in those colonies, which at tl --st
had seemed httle better than a place of exile. jUy
told of the eccentricities of Lady Combury, who, im-
pecunious and grasping, made rounds of visits, see-
ing at every dwelling something which she coveted
and for which she freely asked, so that the towns-
people got into the habit of concealing valuable ob-
jects when her arrival was expected. She further
informed Evelyn of the storm of indignation which
had been excited when Her Lady^p had employed
fS =SI£-4U-lAKa.gft T
PINXTER MORN ^^
gubernatorial mansS ?o£'Tot"r' w^^^P '^'
humorous incidents nf +1= r . '^ related many
of thesupSSoi^do?th''^ "'^''^""^^ t''^'-^
each had mde her esSjT '^""^'" *" ^^^^^^
she p;:,*crSch^^^aJts°^- •" ^'^ ^^^i-' "-i"
teSJfrjSarS'f^^^^^^^
ment. As for t^e r^^ i" domestic manage-
only hold up her haS^7„T^ '>""^'fj PoUy coSd
he was a sc^d JtoThe tow^°r'' ^'^ '^^^^'^''^ that
-covered by the Watch p?!^'-''^'^"^ "^^^^ heen dis-
ieddedlyLdertllinfl ^ »« somen's dress and
were ben';Z^Tay„V£Tthe''r'". ^'^^''^^
discovered at length toThif. I ^'^^'^ ^°"^' hut
Governor. TUs som^W .^T^? *>* '* ^^^ the
of humor, and Pordecll^fhll -f ^'^"'^ ^"-
friend, fin^J ^kh^i^^^^^' T^'^'^ °^ her
paused wistf^y^Jthe gate^^""' "^^ ^^ « ^he
on i^^l^l"^'^' ^°«e. Evelyn deaxest, alone
of It ?a^r^'Sd t^th^'^Sf ' - ^h^/'^-ght
brance. But huSpHlw • ^' P^S of remem-
clared: ^^uniedly forcing them back, she de-
•^oni'Sl'^S'jr.^" ^ ^'^''i" Manhattan
s you ail, and where my dear father seems a
I . f: ;t
■m-.
I
454 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
living memory. Later I will take Elsa and go for a
walk through the dear, familiar streets, to see the
Pinxter growing everywhere and feel that I have a
part in the festival. Do not fear but that it will be
a happy one."
Was it the spirit of prophecy that comes to poetic
natures which made her feel, as she made the pre-
diction, that upon that day of rejoicing some joy
was to shine out from the clouds of grief and deso-
lation that had long enshrouded her? She leaned
upon the gate to watch the departure of her friend,
and then turned her eyes upwards through the green
of the tree-tops to the blue firmament above. It
almost seemed to her that her father was near at
hand, and that, as of old, he was urging her to the
joy of spirit and to delight in all that pertains to
youth.
For it was not destined that she should spend that
day in the society of Elsa, who, with her mother,
was once more installed at the cottage. Both those
devoted domestics were more solicitous than ever
for the young girl's physical and material well-being,
contributing no little by their warm-hearted devo-
tion to remove the sting of loneUness. The mind of
Evelyn that morning was busy with many thoughts,
and amongst them the recollection of Egbert Ferrers.
The memory of him and of the part he had played
in the drama of her late years was very precious to
her, and yet she was somewhat perplexed by his late
course of action. For she had heard some time be-
fore, shortly after her return to New York in the
good ship, "Mermaid," that he had been released
from prison by Lord Combury, and had even been
offered an important position in the Governor's
Household. Although Evelyn's trust in him had
PINXTER MORN ^55
SgZrhe'shor £ unaccountable and sad-
to elapse before Sing £ 1;^°"^ "^^^^^ °^ '^""^
pros and cons, and wondered if T"^"!'^ "^^"^ ''^^
informed of hw- return orif ^^\^'' "°* ''^n
^ledhin^a.ayfJSCattaT"' '"^'"^^^ ''^^
4S rporhV^spirirs'^^r' rt^.- ^'^^ -^^^'-^'^
day ^th no word TcaptSn pTrrer? ^Thf' '^'^^
quiry that she had ever n^JttiJ I Tr °"^ '""
was of Madam Van CortC ij."'^^^ *° ""ake,
gather in thaTselfsame^^r^ ' f '^^^^^^ ^^^ *»-
forth into e^de ThroldT.. ^^"f^ '^^ ^""^ g°ne
some constraint foTthe ^atSh.f h^"'^^^^-'^ ^^'^
own mind, that she under^fnoH f!^ ^^" ''^''"'S her
left the colony iS^eSvifw^^""^°'^"^^''^d
prison. It was poS .h. tSf ^'J^'^*^ from
ernor had made ?hff . ' ^*l?,.added, that the Gov-
she did not iSw ^ '=°"'^''°° of his pardon, but
auS:^n^sS;1/5rsi°^, ^r^' .^ay. she would
lover to cloud The gS^ „? t^^ ^^™u'?« ^^^ absent
herself, with a prouHpSf t ^ T'^"'; ^^' ^"'"^
would wear no willow S L m^f f^J, .*?^* '^^
reproached herself for thJ^^^uf^^"-, ^^^ ^^en she
plied, not Sse of L'^'itn-r-'^^^'^^^^^t^-
which should ensile L,^7 mtnnsic ment of hers
iiniatetnithanSlirof thf^^^^'^r^ of the
disloyalty would braKent ' ""^"'^ "^^"^
disloy^?^" ^e 'Sd'^'.r' ^^ T^ ^"^^ father of
drink in Vloveh^wT"^ >?^ ^^' ^>^ad to
wander over thSeia^to?h^'^ '"" "^ ^^' ^^^^
or a tiny fleck of wS^'a'n17h"eV?°"st^^^^
- her am. a mass of flowers wSr-shf'haH?
4S6 GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
from various bushes to carry over later in the da^
to Madam Van Cortlandt, who had remained a
home, declaring herself too old for Pinxter jun
ke tings.
m
! - -
CHAPTER XIX
A PLEDGE REDEEMED
of the Creator, she sudd^°Ti' t '^""^ ^^'' ^°^ks
her, and, turring was s«dHJ„i ^"/"" ^*eal about
one person in th^ worid wS '?'^T'"^ with the
heart-hunger which Sie W h "^'1^ ^PP^ that
consuming her. ' °^*^ '^en aU the time
stS^eTnV:^e^t?£";ith''"''^ ^'d. "I have
day, whidi Zst te aU jW^J J!"" °" ^our Knxter
Evelyn loolrina 0+ J:.J"y ana no sadness."
tears, Smfeglh^lSt ^ "^'^"*- ""^^ »to
they had met. The yomil ^f„ °'=^'?2 "Pon which
disturbed by tholl ^^^ tt" ^^' ^' ^'■'^ «""«what
unlike Evelyn- but ^f ',,•''*? ^"^^d to him so
of explanaS'and irS^^ol^^murmured wor^
tone, he said : ^^^ *° ^'^^P* » matter-of-fact
reveS'Yci'SrieT^tTaJ *"° '^T^'J *° I°ve and
than we could have mlSfhi^T""'^' u^' ^^ ^^PP^^
And to please Wm we musf^^"",*^^* ^"^^^^^or..
"The gardens a^'aulL^ lJ-^>-,„^,-£ ;?^n^
|[:^.'!'|ij
4SS GERALD de LACEYS DAUGHTER
go to take high tea at five o'clock with Madam
Van Cortlandt, as I have promised to do. She is
alone."
It was a proof of their absolute trust and confidence
in each other that they talked as though they had
met but yesterday, and had belonged to each other
for countless years. Nor did Evelyn ask a single
question. Captain Ferrers, indeed, threw into his
words, his tone, his manner and every glance of his
eyes, all that the most loving heart could desire.
He praised the beautiful picture which Evelyn had
made, with the mass of flowers in her arms, when he
had caught that first glimpse of her after the weary
interval of their separation. He told her how the
low tones of her voice had haunted him through th"
tedious term of his imprisonment, and that he had
often awakened from sleep with that voice in his
ears. There was plenty of such talk to fill all their
wanderings through the dearly loved streets of Man-
hattan, where, as Evelyn had said, the geu-dens were
all in bloom. Before leaving the cottage, like two
children, they had helped Elsa prepare a basket,
which was to be taken to Golden Hill, where they
intended to have a picnic. Elsa was to await them
there, and she had the assistance of Jumbo, who,
having a holiday had presently appeared to console
himself in the society of Evelyn's maid, to whom
he was formally betrothed, for his disappointment
when old Madam had refused to order out the family
coach and accompany the picnic party to the peli-
Meantime the two who had been so happily tmited,
and who felt as if they could never weary of each
other's company, took their way through the Smit's
Valley down by the Water Gate and by the Maid's
A PLEIXJE REDEEMED
Delancey's Orchard past tKr '^'I'i '''P' '<=d ^o
and finally down Crah AVf,,^ g^"'*"''^='^'"neadows
Rutgers Partn Bv th„ PP'*' 'l'''^"^'- towards the
Golden HinhiohJsSscaTelv'T '""^ ^^^^S
•se of all the yellow i^ainwV^ '^°^'''' ^''«' Pi-ofn-
name. And there tTieyfoundh.AiT^'^ ^P°' *'«
had prepared, in a most delthf fV'''' ^^"""^ f^P'e
waving shadow of aTcLtt ! !u """"^ ""'''•'• the
which they werc'to Jn^y together '^Th'^""^ ""=«'
had a view of the lower stLs of Vl * *" ""^^
over the East River the ^nrfn of the town, and out
go den glitter of the sun We an°d tt""" 'k'"?''' ''^'^
httle npples and wavelets ch«^-l'"''u ^^'''^ '"'o
children at play as if in IV 5 ^ "^""^ other like
of jollity thL Lmtock- crmv fn"?H^"'*' '^'^ -^P'^t
rou^d the whole town to laughter -ind'nT"™'"^. ^^^
That Pinxter day was a hl^l . '"'^"^'"aking.
aU she had gone throuI^^^H *?^ Evelyr, after
Piness was its fittint = ' ^".'^' '" 'ruth, har,-
festival mere v si^%£i accompaniment, since ,at
flower was i^bS'f J'^,:J'"?f. when the Pi^.t^r
dyed with love's own hue give forth'..'' ^ ''^'■
from every garden ^ ^""^^ *heir fragrance
n-ttltsi^e^lS ISJfif 'r,.^^ ^-er
nungledonEgbertPeSniJ -iH^, '^"^ ''^^'t was
and on Evefyn'f StTl„^£ ^f i^r^^^'^''^^
They spoke of the politiSl sta?! P?^f, ^^PP'ness.
which hari settled doW, I^ ^ °^ *he country,
those maa excels of^ or ^^ff ^"* ^^'-^ after aU
lated how M^Solft R°"^'i'\*'''^<^- Evelyn re-
jnto prison, tried atd°'"nlStX'^^" '^^
the most oarbarous manner^^al Seated"
a
■ ps ^ ill
n
460 GERALD UE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
only by the demise of Lord Bcllomont. She further
pointed out with wonder and gratitude how their
enemies had melted away one by one. Captain
Nanfan, one of the most deadly persecutors of
Catholics, had been arrested when seeking to leave
the colony, for alleged deficits in the public accounts,
as well as for arbitrary acts when in pover. On his
release from prison by order of the Home Govern-
ment, steps were taken to rearrest him till he took
refuge on a man-of-war in the harbor, and, leaving
all his goods behind, sailed destitute to England.
Thomas Weaver had fled to escape arrtst on much
the same charges. Lord Bellomont was dead and
William of Orange himself had passed into eternity.
They touched lightly upon the subject of Captain
Prosser Williams, which Captain Ferrers knew must
be deeply painful to Evelyn, and the successful
rival said :
"!' faith, Evelyn, although he has got nothing
more than his deserts, there is one matter in which
he has my sympathy, and you know very well what
that is, since the fellow had the good taste to be
stricken to the heart by the surpassing charms of
one we wot of."
"I own to a feeling of pity for him," said Evelyn
gravely.
"Not pity which is akin to love, I do trust,"
jested Captain Ferrers, with some faint trace of un-
easiness.
"No, it might well be akin to another feeling,"
answered Evelyn, smiling, "but there, he has gone
out of our lives, and all our sky is cloudless and
serene."
Captain Ferrers had kept to the last the gravest
matter of all which he wished to discuss with Evelyn
A PLEDGE REDEEMED ^,
"But whv in Vhh^l f^ '^"^ *''^"" marriage,
laughed Evelyn '''vien ffi Vf "'° "^'^ ^o^ds."
that you have'ck oSThe oid o„"es - "^^^ ^* '""^^
tha?^:re"„" LSLlh'ofe'" '^^'^ ^^^ '«
since his release. Then she adrH ^'^^ ^^^ ^'^P^ed
"But. in truth there are t^ '"°'"*= seriously:
must be touched ujon Sri such ""^'i""' ^^'^^
named for us." ®"*^" a day can be
beSt"" "Stude°of':f[ T"' ""'' ''-d slightly
of her n., showed deKcat'e an^' 7 *>*.*''^ ^"^«^
feet grace of movement H^^ slender in her per-
color by emotion and Sys^th Z\- '^'^""^ »
in their depth, wandered fronTthVi'^ ^"* °^ ^^ness
face of her lover out over X c r?^'* ^"^ manly
water. She was apUlntll no "'^'* f^^"^^ °f the
was natural, he^ he^w.l^Kf°?'P°'^''- *^o"gh. as
to the ardent plea^th^^an "I "' '^' «^'«"«d
no mind to diseuii fm!^ ^^1r^*'°'"' as she had
loved most devSy °'" ^""^'^ °' ^V other, she
Ix^i^'X'yivTtfclJr"" ^^'--- "that
my impulse t^S^^^T^J^^^^l T'l^' '* ^^
a.a?i^," -s f?o^ ?o-te-i
to be conside^d C^^d ^7^ ^e7acS«
-W';^'
..|||-:.
-
462 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
Evelyn still listened quietly. That sjmipathetic
quietude of hers was one of her greatest chsuros.
"I made haste without delay," said the lover,
"to the Colony of Maryland, where I sought out
Father Harvey that he might pour upon my head
the waters of Baptism, conditionally, since I could
not be certain that my mother might not have had
me baptized in her own faith. There was but Uttle
delay for instruction and reading, since our good
Jesuit had already given me books, and I had de-
voted my long leisure in the prison to study. How-
ever, my dearest Evelyn, he made me into a full-
fledged Christian, administering Baptism, Penance
and the Holy Eucharist, making me thus a soldier
in a new ai-my without prejudice to the old. And
now, my love, he is waiting, as he told me with a
happy twinkle in his eye, to admit me to another
Sacrament, in which, however, I shall need a partner.
He bade that partner to make no delay, and so I
hastened here on this joyful Pinxter day to ask
that, as this token of your love, you consent to our
immediate marriage."
Evelyn could not speak for that first moment.
Her joy was too deep for words at these tilings,
which were beyond her highest expectations. It
touched her to the heart to think that this noble
and honorable man, to whom she was prepared in-
deed to give herself without reserve, had been so
mindfial of his promise, as well as so fully convinced
of the truths of the faith as to have allowed not a
day of his freedom to pass without seeldng Father
Harvey.
"Oh, Egbert," she cried at last, "what happiness
you have given me, greater than I had ever believed
it possible again to enjoy!"
A PLEDGE REDEEMED 463
^t^^ySl'SV±°^'!^'l^<^' and took
dress. ^ * ^y '^y »n the lap of her black
''mJ7 ^ '°"^*-" ^^ >nq«red eagerly
" Yo,;rSd libt to S'.IT ^f "" ^-^ command."
matter," cried EgStFrne^'^ "-^^ !l?*^" '"*« the
you now to give mVvo^ W' ^^""l^^^Kl "^ ^sk
dents to whidi you refer hinn/' '^"«^ *he inci-
you long before yoTrescued th^ ■J^f"^'! *° '°^«
saved me from tw n?w u *^ ^^'^^ at Salem, or
not object Tmyl^n^ZuT'"' '^"""^^ y°" <^-
those happening " ^ ^ '°°'"^ °° *^'=o"nt of
more soberly how h wo^d ?J^'y" -P^^ntly asked
be united by a CathnH^T. • ! ^^'^^^ ^""^ them to
'''%ir¥y^^^^^'^^^^'''"" perform
CapS'peJLT^i^Sl^t leY ■' ^"^-^^
CatiSofe^^^e'S ^^r^^ -P-«- ^ ^--nd loyal
be no risk.^d o^ „"i^ the Quakers, there will
" '-■:l
464 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
"This very day, my love." said Egbert Ferrers,
"we shall arrange further details with her who
has been your earthly providence, Madam Van
Cortlandt."
So it was agreed, and the waning hours of that
beautiful day found the lovers at the familiar house
of the Van Cortlandts, where the bride-elect had
passed some of her happiest hours, and where Madam
Van Cortlandt took each of the young people in her
arms with murmured prayers and blessings. Evelyn
felt her heart full of emotion as when the great clock
struck five, simultaneously with the sounding of the
gong, she sat down as of old at the table over which
Madam Van Cortlandt presided. There were the
cold fowl and the home-cured ham, the cream and
the berries, the rich and varied cakes and other
sweetmeats, and there was the warm welcome that
breathed upon the lovers as a benediction.
After supper, it being still light, the three sat out
upon the stoepe discussing their plans, with the radi-
ance of that memorable Pinxter day fading into
twilight about them. Captain Fen«rs told their
hostess of his hopes, of the promise Evelyn had
given and of the suggestion of Father Harvey, who
some ten days later was to be in New Jersey.
"And we shall see to it that you are there," said
Madam Van Cortlandt, addressing Evelyn. "I will
make all the necessary arrangements and, the mar-
riage ceremony once performed, none will ask fur-
ther questions. As for Lord Conibury, he cares
little what religion we profess, nor if we even return
to heathendom, provided we trouble him not."
As Captain Ferrers escorted Evelyn home, they
passed by the tavern of Der Halle. Lights shone from
every window, and a group of men were gathered
A PLEDGE REDEEMED
flat-bottomeTtal^'witl n,'"?'"^t^°'"«" « th«r
going homeward to Se B?""^"' '"'^^^^^^ ^^^^
rowing vigorously ttie while 1?^.^^^^^ ^'^"'e,
those famiUar seines wW^h w T^® ^^^ another of
dear for she had not ylSofj^^f '^^ ^^^^ ''^'d
and deUght of being iSn^on^l^?"" *^« wonder
and m the town she lovJd ThI. ^^"^ ""^ P^OP'^
her eyes, moreover at th^'^c- !-"^ gathered in
in her mind in connfctSn ^' hTv,*r ^ ^^'^"^ '°^
as she was well awSe more A *^^* P'^^^' ^-'^re.
drama of the last ™ had h^f ?"^ "^^^ in the
A short distancffrL tl'^f " P'^"?^<^ °"t-
countered GreatbptT^ u- *^^^™ ^^e lovers en-
favorite LS^fanf now Sn"^^'°"« t°-ardl Ws
m his mind, sikce the rlst^nf comparatively easy
had been mnch^^lLlf '^^'^^^^t srnngglJs
cnmson than ever andhi.uu^ ^^^ ^ deeper
have gathered weih" He ."i^ ^/^^ seemed to
had ^n a eho^t tL ^^oPPed as though he
He pulled o/bfhS^'^trfr*"'^ ^'^ ^fdy^"
pulled his foretock wia som^r'^^^'*"'^' ^d
imploring in his look, ffis Ws Sr? ^^^^ ^^
him. Never in the memor?n?N?^ ^ ''"^^'^ "°der
sniuggler appeared so mov^ ''^ ''^"^ '"an had the
"fo/K^sSerdtnt^- ^'^^^^ Bvelyn.
momeT'iaS^-d gravely upon him for a
trembled. ^ ^ P^^ ^ ^^^ath and her Ups
I ^ghf^y IharCmT?' 'ill* ^5: «° a^«dent as
And one of'the dirtW^^«-^^'*u'"'* ^''^^ deed.
in^o.that ^nt^n^Z.^TZlfZ'^f^^
I' '^i
466 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
"I forgive you," Evelyn said at last, and as though
these simple words were all that her lips could frame,
"and I pray God to forgive you likewise, now and
hereafter."
The girl's words had a still more pronounced ef-
fect upon the smuggler. He gulped and swallowed
hard, struggling with his emotion, and he winked
several times for the teais that were threatening
to fall and disgrace him. He tried to speak, but,
after more than one ineffectual effort, he turned away
with a parting salute of his forelock.
"The old infernal ruffian," said Captain Ferrers,
"who should long ago^have been hanged."
"He gave my father a sweeter grave than life,"
said Evelyn, "and after his fashion he is repentant."
Egbert Ferrers clasped the girl's hand tightly,
and they moved on for a few moments in silence.
Then he cried, impulsively:
"Each moment I see some new trait to make me
love you more dearly still, if that were possible."
"Your love, Egbert," returned Evelyn, "has been
the supreme gift of God to me in my sorrow and
desolation."
In parting at the gateway they were silent for the
very lack of words to express their feeling to each
other. For their love was part of the great solemn
mystery of life which had enfolded them in a union
that should never end.
hi ,''
I
CHAPTER XX
HAPPINESS
a memorable event SThTv«n ^^f ' T^^ however.
rfV^ B™"^ l^' '*!"y "°^^ ^''^ to the fex^
1; ..ii
468 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
disguised coldness and distrust, how she had come
as a merry child to show him her first pair of beef-
bone skates. He exchanged many pleasantries with
the two young men, and especially with his new
spiritual son. Captain Ferrers, and made many jest-
ing references to Evelyn's Si iem adventures and his
own experience with Joy.
"She dressed me with herbs in the attic," he said,
"but it turned out afterwards to be no laughing
matter when she served me up as a familiar spirit
to the witch during the trial at the courthouse."
He drew Evelyn apart for a moment, and con-
versed with deep feeling of her father's death, telling
her how well he had loved him and what a grievous
blow had been dealt him by Gerald de Lacey's
tragic end.
"Yet we cannot doubt," he concluded, "that, in
the gathering of the elect, he is looking down on the
happiness of this day."
The good priest then took his leave, for he was.
sorely needed in one of the neighboring missions.
"As an outlaw and a hunted man," he said mer-
rily, ' ' I must take time by the forelock, and come and
go as best I can."
When Madam Van Cortlandt expressed her in-
dignation at such a state of affairs, the missionary
said gravely:
"It is marvellously good for us, dear lady. And
after all the servant is not greater than the Master,
Who had not whereon to lay His head."
He gave a special blessing to the wedded pair
as they knelt before him, the soldier-like figure of
Captain Ferrers and Evelyn like some exquisite
flower in her white bridal gown and bonnet. With
this blessing of the holy missionary upon them, and
HAPPINESS 469
?eddS"4et£'" ^'^"'^^' ^^^y ^«- their
Shortly after their marriage they took un tJ,«r
abode in the cottage, as it had been Evetyn's de«e^
,T^J? do- Though Captain Ferrers, halinfS
^^tthiT tX^'^l}^^ ^^""^'l '^^ advantaleous
post which he had been oflfered by Lord Comburv
lelsK Jhi':^"''' '°r"'^ ^°'- the time SgTt
Hence it was that Mynheer de Vries smotincr nn
his gaUeiy of an evening or stroUing by thelSfaee
on fine mommgs, had the undescAred satirfSn
tT^h^' fair neighbor once more at work S he
garden, though his manner with her. when thev fti
sTrS"^ ThV"^ *^™g-T^«. lostliUle of itfcS^:
stramt. The knowledge of his wrongdoing kept him
at arm's length more effectually than any coldness on
her part would have done. As for hTsSher bftter"
ness and chagrin at the f- ure of all her pkns the
SnS^^ '^^ '^'^ ?^ h fellow-conspiratos 'and
the prosperous marraige and other blessings which
had come to the detested Evelyn, were so g^earthat
they nearly brought he. to death's d^r^th an
attack resembhng apoplexy. Her mind, after that
5ulK "!,^J^^h she had striven to emu aL £
husband by the pulling of social and political wires
became dun^ than ever. She never a^ain atteiZfd
to go beyond the range of domestic fffai^S^fn
deed remained more than ever a prisoner T her
tth'^SSf" '° ^'^ '^^^ ''^^ '^' -- ^^^
wi^l*""!? l^ >""^^' *=°«t"'ne of white, Evelyn
iTct to n« "'^^"^. ^"f^ ^^^ ^^'"'l'^^ ^o^d to the Co"
lect to pay a visit of gratitude and friendship to the
ill' '!t
470 GERALD DE LACEY'S DAUGHTER
good Wilden, who in the time of need had befriended
her. She dared not visit them as often as of yore
lest some evil tongues might stir up new persecution
agamst them or her. But the Silver Covenant of
Friendship that bound thsm together remained no
Idle word. Old Monica, as of old, was the spokesman.
She expressed the gladness of the tribe that the
Eagle had won the White Flower, v/ho was as beau-
tiful as ever in her white garments. She asked from
the Great Spirit many moons of happiness for the
young couple. Also, on the part of the tribe, she
presented them with rich gifts of beadwork and
useful baskets and mats for their house. She offered
a wampum belt to wipe away all tears, anothei to
bnng joy to the dwelling, and a third to smooth the
path of life. The young couple were not outdone
m generosity, bringing with them a variety of such
gifts as the savages most prized.
Another visit which the newly-wedded pair made
was to Lady Bellomont, who, having at last settled
her affairs, was on the eve of departure from the
colony. She expressed herself as much gratified
with the attention, and together the three reviewed
many of those events which had marked the brief
and stormy regime of her late husband.
"Do not judge my poor Richard too harshly"
she said. "He had the faults of his upbringing and
his envu-onment, and he fell into the hands of evil
counseUors, notably Captain Prosser Williams. As
for you, Egbert," she added, with one of her most
winning smiles, "despite his harsh treatment, in-
stigated by your archenemy, he entertained for you
a real regard."
In parting she held Evelyn's hand in a close pres-
sure, and bending forward kissed her affectionately.
HAPPINESS
after all vf^toneiy-.P*""? ^"'^ '*^^^' ^"''^ herself
heS„\"'roWept^' ''•^^°'y °^ tl^^' hero and
which attended th^ colonv of m/"v *^^ ^"'""es
to be told. This eventw^^ ^^"^^ ^°''''' 'e'nains
mansion of Km wTf r i;rPi'°" K^^^'" *t the
many yeaA had b^en " f^^'f^dt. which for so
It wL^vTnSi honor of t^f^"*^ '^""^ *° ^^^lyn.
ready were establl^hl^ .^ ^"HnK couple, who al-
It had l^n posti^^^^^^^^ !r°"*^^ '" the colony,
so that the fi^t 'S o Evrfvn"Cr" °^- ^'^^ ^^^
be over. All the notables of th^ f •"°"™>ng might
including many of the mnl^ ^ "^""T ^^re present,
selaers and Van CcrtU^Jl oi peace— the Van Rens-
Dams. the SgstS and I^p^^haicks and Van
and de Riemere^ me„ ,nH ^ P^ysters, Laurenses
those ricS^ostCa^lrT^^u^i^^ ^^yed in
and n,atrons'rNt^^SwSe' tt?d''TW^^^
rooms were thrnnm ™j noted. The large
numberl^J™„Xs T" ^'^ '^^hted with
livened the ^^ion^i ^ "'^ orchestra en-
and rich and varied scIiTlS^ ^ver '"°" ^'^^'''^^
base. MySrV^L^tf't'w'^ *'^*^^ '^^
locked in his breast w!>« ,^U ^ u^^* ^^cret still
ever amongst thTiriSn^ ^^""^ ^^ ^'^'^ ^«
such fragiients o?^lo\;-o^ droppmg here and there
njinistratrafhfdSed'hrer^^Sle"^- ^'^-
-r throughout all those spTci^ ap^rtl^e^ ^^
tl
47* GERALD de LACEY'S DAUGHTER
though an iron grip had been relaxed. Tnie, thow
prMcnt were disposed to ostracize Lord Combury
and to condemn the proceedings both of himseli
Md his erratic wife, but they felt themselves to be
toen and thenceforward masters of their own fate
ITiere was an air, too, of expectancy. All were await-
«ig the anival— a sign and symbol of that new
freedom, smce both were known to be Papists—
of those for whom that particular reception had been
f ^^'n «P'^*" Egbert Ferrers, late of the staff of
Lord BeUomont, and his young wife, who was popu-
larly reported to be even more beautiful than had
been Mistress de Lacey.
Aiid beautiful she was as she entered upon her
husband s arm, though under all the radiant happi-
ness of her exterior was the deep sadness that no
aftw-joy could entirely eradicate. In her hair were
a thread or two of silver; in her manner the inde-
finable mark of one that has suffered. For, in all
her present happiness, she could not forget the
tragic death of a father who had been also her friend
and companion.
When PoUy, who was overflowing with delight
at the recent turn of affairs and could never rejoice
enough at havmg her friend once more at her side
drew Evelyn apart for a few minutes of confidential
tauc the two m the course of conversation touched
lightly upon Lord Bellomont, whose coming and
whTCe stormy years of government had marked for
Evelyn an era of tribulation.
^_ "May the Lord show him mercy," said Evelyn
and so I pray every day." '
"But he was your cruel enemy," said Polly in
amazement. '
"The more reason that I should pray for him,"
HAPPINESS ^73
Then she added more lightly •
;:But after all he brought J/too--"
p«^%h^ohi!d^£r;;ea';:^ '°^^'" -^^^ ^p*^
Evd^°^* "^ friendship and memories." saiu
with a smile that spoke toImJ^ ^ ^"° '^^'^
The End