THE LIBRARY
OF
THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA
LOS ANGELES
.\'
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE ;
OR,
CAVALIERS AND ROUNDHEADS.
A NOVEL.
BY ONE OF THE
AUTHORS OF THE "REJECTED ADDRESSES,""
" Now universal England gctteth drunk
For joy tliat Charles her mo\iarch is rcstor'd
And she, that sometime wore a saintly mask,
Tlie stale gr.iwu vizor from her fate doth pluck,
And wcareth now a suit of mdrris-bells.
With which she jir.gling goes through all her towns and villages."
Lamb's JoUn IVooJvU-
IN THREE VOLUMES.
<r
VOL. I.
LONDON.
HENRY COLBURN, NEW BURLINGTON STREET.
1826.
LONDON :
PKINTED By S. .AND R. BENTI.EY, DOItSET STREEl.
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
CHAPTER I.
•' Out of my door, you witch ! you hag, you baggage !
you polecat, you ruimion !"
Shakspeare.
It was on a dark and gvisty night of autumn,
during tlie latter years of Oliver Cromwell's
Protectorate, that a black covered cart, drawn
by two horses of the same sable hue, emerged
from the umbrageous recesses of Ashdown
forest, which, at that period, nearly extended
to the northern extremity of Sussex. It was
attended by two armed men, one of whom kept
close to the horses' heads, while his companion,
VOL. J. B
1352164
2 BEAMBLETYE HOUSE.
who was about a hundred paces in advance,
and was provided with a dark lantern, occasion-
ally directed its narrow stream of light upon
the tufts of scattered trees and underwood into
which the outskirts of the forest were broken
up, earnestly fixed his eye upon them for a
minute, and then exclaiming, " all safe !" in-
stantly concealed his light and walked on, when
the vehicle advanced to the position which he
had quitted. From the darkness of its hue,
and its rolling silently over the soft grass, it
could neither be seen nor heard, unless by any
person who should happen to be in its imme-
diate course, a circumstance little likely in that
unfrequented tract of country, and at the hour
of midnight. Such, however, was the hazard-
ous nature of their enterprise, that its conduc-
tors did not for a moment relax in their pre-
cautions, not only peering around them in all
directions, as far as their timid hght could steal
into the darkness, but frequently stopping to
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 3
listen. Nothing, however, was to be seen but
the trunks of the trees, which, as they caught
the faint glare of the lantern, seemed to be
stepping forward out of the dense gloom that
enshrouded them ; and nothing was to be
heard but the hoarse rustlins; of the wind,
as it came by fits to agitate the boughs above
them, and died away . into a distant moan-
ing as it swept the fores, behind. Winning
their way in this slow and suspicious manner,
without a syllable being uttered except the
occasional " all safe !" of the leader, they had
reached the last glade that bordered upon the
open country, when a low whistle was heard
ahead of them, and the foremost of the two men
halting, and brandishing the weapon with which
he was provided, exclaimed in a loud whisper —
" Who 's there ?"— "A friend !" was the reply.—
" What 's the word ?"*"' continued the first speak-
er. — " Boscobel !'' answered the second, and at
the same moment a man disclosing; himself from
4 BEAMBLETYE HOUSE.
a clump of underwood, exclaimed, — " You are
late, Whittaker. I have been whistling a duet
with the wind this half hour, when I might
have heard the popping of corks, and have
emptied a flagon or two of Gascoigne wine.
Who is that with the cart — Nat. Culpepper ?"
" Ay, ay, Sir John ; that ""s Nat. Culpepper,
sure enough, and a steady old file he is. You
may advance with the cart, Nat. ; it 's only Sir
John, And as to our being late, I am an old
soldier, and after so many night alarms as we
have had, while engaged in this ticklish service,
you would hardly wish me to hurry forward,
when it was your own orders that I should be
careful in acting the scout."
" Right, old Truepenny !" cried Sir John;
— " don't I know you for a sly fox in an am-
bush, and a fearless dasher in an onset .'' But
you have had no alarms to-night, my doughty
Serjeant; the black ghost has not again crossed
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 5
your path, and you have heard no Scriptural
ejaculations muttered from the bushes."
" No, Sir John, we have started nothing as
we came along but a mottled stag, who dashed
away from us as fast as four legs could carry
him ; and we have seen nothing blacker than
the night, which is pitchy enough even for us,
who care not how dark it is while we are play-
ing this secret game of neck or nothing.''
" Noa, noa, Sir John," cried Culpepper, who
had now come up with the cart, and who seemed
by his accent to be a north countryman, " I be
pratty certain we sha'not see her to-night."
'* See herP'' exclaimed Sir John; " you have
made up your mind, then, that 'twas a woman
whom we have more than once so strangely en-
countered in our secret expeditions.'"
" 'Twere^a woman's voice, I '11 take my Bible
oath,'' cried Culpepper ; " and I seed a bit of
her black petticoat as she scudded away among
Q BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
the trees into the thick of the forest — Dang
it ! d'ye think I don't know a woman from a
will-o'-the-wisp ?"
" I marked the figure myself, clearly enough,"
continued Sir John, " and but that the sound of
a pistol might have endangered a discovery of
our enterprize, and brought all our necks into
jeopardy, I would have tried whether the mum-
bling old Jezabel was as difficult to reach with
powder and ball, as with our three pair of legs,
which she so easily and so unaccountably dis-
tanced. However, I am prepared for her now;
I have a cross-bow here, which will bring down
its bird without blabbing; and be it hag or hob-
goblin, Avitch or wizard, ghost or gossip, spy
or spectre, the devil or the devil's dam, if I can
but catch a glimpse of it, 1 11 have a shot at its
hide, and try whether it be made of flesh or
flummery."
" As to ghosts or goblins," cried serjeant
Whittaker, " they '11 find they have got the
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 7
wrong sow by the ear, if they think to frighten
e'er a one of us ; but if it 's a spy, we have a
right to put him to death by the laws of war ;
and I vote for doing so, for if we have not his
blood, he will have our's."
" She wo' not venture to show hersel," said
Culpepper, " now we be just upon the open
fields."
" According to the old adage," replied Sir
John, " we should not crow till we are fairly
out of the wood ; so we may as well move on
as fast as we can, and make for Brambletye
House."
" Anathema, maranatha ! A curse hght upon
it, and upon all its sacrilegious inmates ! " eja-
culated a sepulchral voice, which seemed to
be that of a female, and to proceed from a tan-
gled cluster of underwood immediately upon
their right.
" A murrain seize the pestilent jade !"
cried Sir John, " there she is again !" and he
8 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
instinctively discharged his cross-bow into the
brake, whence the sound had appeared to issue.
The arrow rattled among the branches, where
there was a momentary silence, after which the
same hollow and impressive voice ejaculated —
" Ave Maria ! Blessed be our lady of Ashurst !
The arrow of the ungodly sliall be turned aside.''
Whittaker ran towards the spot with his lan-
tern, directing its light full upon the bushes ;
and Sir John having drawn his rapier, followed
close upon his heels, when, as they approached,
a tall thin figure in black, apparently wearing
the garb of a woman, was dimly visible, flitting
from the covert towards another thicket at a
little distance. Animated by the glimpse he had
obtained, the impetuous Sir John hurried past
his companion, and had just seen the figure
glide, as he thought, into the brake before him,
when he was suddenly left in total darkness .•
Whittaker, in the ardour of his pursuit, having
stumbled over a root, and extinguished the light,.
BBAMBLETYE HOUSE. 9
Guided, hoAvever, by what he had already no-
ticed, Sir John leapt fearlessly into the very
midst of the tufted underwood, which he ima-
gined the mysterious female to have entered,
laying about him vigorously ^nth his rapier,
and cursing with no less vehemence the bow
that had missed its object, the apparition that
defied all their efforts for its apprehension, and
the clumsy rascal who had lost the light at
the very moment when it might have led
to a discovery. After committing fearful de-
vastation among the boughs and branches, he
acceded to the request of Whittaker, who had
now come up, that they should listen for awhile
in silence, as they might perhaps hear the sound
of retreating footsteps. They did so, but all was
silent as the grave. " Curse her," cried Sir
John, " I never heard her foot-fall when I was
close upon her track, and it is not likely we
should distinguish it when she has had time to
make for the forest.""
10 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
A parley was now held, and as it was deemed
useless to make any further attempts at disco-
very, surrounded as they were by total darkness,
and on the immediate verge of a trackless fo-
rest, they were unwillingly compelled to rejoin
Culpepper and the cart, both declaring that
they would rather it should prove to be a su-
pernatural visitant, or even a witch, than any
lurking spy, who might have seen or heard
enough to compromise their own safety, as well
as the success of their perilous undertaking.
" She cannot know whither we are bound, at
all events,"" exclaimed Sir John, " and she has
dogged us no further than the opening of the
forest.''
" But you mentioned Brambletye House,''
said Whittaker, " and she instantly fired off
her usual curses upon its walls, and all within
them."
" Did I .'' " inquired Sir John ; " a pize upon
me ! I was a fool for my pains; but we must go
BBAMBLETYE HOUSE. 11
the quicker to work, and surprize the enemy, to
prevent a surprize upon ourselves ; and as for
this Jack-o'-lan tern's jade, since we cannot catch
lier, she may e'en go hang herself like Alder-
man Hoyle, though I must confess I should
like to have given her a wipe of my whinyard.
— Never fear, my brave boys ; we are engaged
in a good cause, with good men and true, to
back us; so a fico for the lurking old beldame
in black, and hey for Bramblety e House ! "
" Better name no names. Sir John," ob-
served "Whittaker, " for the witch may still
be within ear-shot, and vour voice is rather
of the loudest, considering the nature of our
business."
" Odso ! that 's true : body o' me ! I forgot
that ; Culpepper, you dog, you are the cleverest
fellow of us all, for you don't speak a word.
— Let us all move forwards; another ten mi-
nutes will bring us to Bram adzooks ! you
know where we are going to !"
12 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
At the suggestion of Whittaker, Culpepper
moved on first with the cart, Whittaker him-
self followed at the distance of a hundred paces,
and Sir John having again charged his cross-
bow, brought up the rear, by which arrange-
ment they hoped tlie better to discover and
defeat any attempts that might be made to
follow and track their footsteps. Nothing
further, however, occurred to justify their pre-
cautions : they advanced without interruption,
neither hearing a sound nor discovering a living
object, until they reached a high wall, which
stretched away on either side as far as the gloom
of the night would allow it to be discerned.
At this moment the clouds being partially dis-
persed in the distant horizon before them, the
faint light of the moon, then in her first quarter,
threw into dark relief against the sky a lofty
and massive building which stood within the
wall we have mentioned, and exhibited at its
opposite extremity two lofty towers, whose bell-
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 13
shaped roofs and gilt vanes caught the pale
beam for a moment, and were again involved in
ijloom by the closing of the clouds.
" A pest upon thee, mistress pale-face !" ex-
claimed Sir John, looking up towards the moon ;
I will hire Waller and Milton, Roundheads as
they are, to write sonnets to thee all the year
through, so thou wilt but hide thy tinsel to night,
and leave the towers of Brambletye in the dark.
We want no candles in the sky, when a light
the more may make us wear a head the less.
Gramercy, dame ! I thank thee for pulling that
l)kick nightcap over thy face, and, prythee, let
us finish our job, while thou art taking thy nap.
Come, Culpepper, unbar the cart, and let us to
work while the darkness holds." — So saying, he
l)lew the same low Avhistle which he had pre-
viously sounded. It was answered from within,
and after a short interval a voice was heard in-
quiring the pass-word. " Boscobel !"" cried Sir
John, when heavy bolts were drawn liack, and
14 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
a low arched door being opened in the wall, two
men appeared, whom Sir John addressed by the
names of Waynfleet and parson Charnley, both
of whom inquired whether all was right.
" Is all safe at Brambletye ?" asked Sir
John. — " Are all the household asleep and sno-
ring, and all the lights put out ?"
" All, except our own lanterns," was the
reply.
" Well then,"" resumed Sir John, " all, has
gone right with us, except that we have again
encountered the ghost in sables, and unfor-
tunately you were not with us, parson, or we
would incontinently have laid the black rogue
in the Red-sea."
" God be good unto us !" ejaculated the
Chaplain, "did it pronounce a blessing or a ban?"
" It sounded rather like a malison than a be-
nediction," replied Sir John, " inasmuch as it
cursed the house of Brambletye and all within
it, for which I gave the utterer a shot of my
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 15
cross-bow, and would fain have stopped its
mouth with my rapier ; but it seems to have
the hides and the hoofs of the foul fiend, as well
as his colour ; for it 'scaped scot-free from
arrow and rapier, and took to its heels, with
the silence and the speed of a hare upon a moss-
down."
" It is an inauspicious occurrence, and full of
evil omen,"" replied the Chaplain. I predicted
this before you set out ; for it is the fifth day of
the moon, upon which no undertaking prospers :
you must surely recollect, Sir John, what Virgil
says upon this very subject : —
" Ipsa dies alios alio dedit ordine Luna
Felices, operum. Quintam fuge."
" Fiddle-faddle ! — Virgil was an old woman,
and you are another," replied Sir John, angrily.
" What the dickens ! are we in our first or
second childhood, that we are to listen to such
nursery nonsense, or be frightened at a mad
16 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
woman, or an old scare-crow dressed up in
black ?''
" But if it should ])rove to be a spy," ob-
served Waynefleet ; " which, from its con-
stantly beleaguering you in your night expedi-
tions, seems to be the more probable surmise,
would it not be madness. Sir John, to proceed,
and had we not better abandon the enterprize,
before we are too far committed to recede with
afety ?"
' Certainly, certainly," ejaculated the Chap-
lain, " and, I believe, we are all of the same
opinion."
" All ?"" exclaimed Whittaker indignantly —
" speak for yourself, master parson, and for
any other dunghill cocks that are like you ; but
as for me, Jack Whittaker 's no flincher. I will
stand or fall with Sir John till the business is
seen fairly out, and so I warrant will honest
Nat. Culpepper, for he ""s no parson, — he never
talks nonsense, and understands no Latin."
s
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 1/
" Ay, ay," said Nat. with an approving nod
of the head.
" Why, you chicken-hearted cravens !" ex-
claimed Sir Jolin, addressing Charnley and
Waynfleet, " what the devil are you friglitened
at.-^ Our enterprise, I tell you, must and shall
succeed ; our friends are staunch, the accounts
from London are evei-y day more favourable,
and as to this raw-head, and bloody-bones, —
this bugaboo woman in black, — this witch, this
hag, this polecat, I care not a rush for her Bed-
lamite freaks, for in another week the rising
will take place, and we shall have the game in
our own hands. However, if you wish to turn
tail, do so, o' God's name, while you can escape
scot-free ; but as to me, on I go, though Beel-
zebub himself should stand in my path, and
shake his horns at me as I })roceed."
" Speak not so irreverently. Sir John," said
the Chaplain—" resist the devil, saith the Scrip-
ture, and he shall flee from you."
18 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
" Well, I am resisting him in this enterprize,
an't I ?— doing my best to trample him down
with all the false prophets and fanatics whom he
has lifted up, and it is your duty as a minis-
ter of the true church, although an ejected one,
to be aiding and abetting in the recovery of
your rights."
" Nay," replied the Chaplain, not a httle en-
couraged by tliis declaration of Sir John's ob-
ject, as well as by the confidence of his tone,
" I threw out the suggestion for your own con-
sideration, not with any intention of withdraw-
ing myself from so holy an enterprize, if it may
be safely undertaken."
*' That was my only idea," cried Waynfleet.
" And a stupid one it was," exclaimed Sir
John, " so let us lose no more time in palaver-
ing, but set to work in unloading the cart, like
stout blades and willing." The end of the co-
vered vehicle being now softly unbarred, seve-
ral cases were withdrawn, carried through the
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 19
gate into the garden, and down a short flight
of steps, at whose extremity was a door opening
into a vault. By the lantern suspended at its
entrance, other cases of the same description
were seen inside, and as soon as the contents of
the cart were deposited with these, Sir John
locked the door, and concealed the entrance by
throwing doAvn earth, which he covered with
a cucumber-frame, so as to conceal effectually
the little flight of steps. Around this, some
dung was carefully thrown up by the party, to
make the deception perfect, and they then pre-
pared to separate for the night. Culpepper
was directed to drive the cart back to the forest,
and leave it in its usual place, and Sir John
ha^^ng recommended Waynfleet and the Chap-
lain to take off" their shoes and steal to their own
apartments, without making the smallest noise,
or even lighting a candle, so far disregarded
the injunction in his own person, that when he
reached his room, in which a lamp had been
20 ]JKAMBLETYE HOUSE.
left burning, he finished a flask of Hippocras
spiced, before he retired to rest : and so well
was he satisfied with his liquor, as well as with
the exploits of the night, that, while undressing,
he kept singing to himself, although in a sub-
dued voice, one of his cavalier songs : —
" A man that is arm'd
With liquor, is charm'd
And proof against strength and cunning ;
He scorns the base humour of running —
Our brains are the quicker.
When season'd with liquor ;
So let's di-ink and sing.
Here 's a health to the King,
And I wish in this thing.
Both the Roundheads and Cavies agree. —
Sing hey ! TroUy, lolly, loe !" *
* The snatches of old songs introduced here and else-
where, are fragments of original ballads and lampoons
that were current during the Civil Wars, or immediately
after their cx)nclusion.
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 21
CHAPTER II.
" He told me that Rebellion had ill luck.
And that young Harry Percy's spur was cold ;
With that he gave his able horse the head.
And, bending forwards, struck his armed heels
Against the panting sides of his poor jade,
Up to the rowel-head ; and starting so.
He seem'd in running to devour the way.
Staying no longer question." —
Shakespeare.
The heat of the weather, and the occurrence
of the quarterly cattle-fair at East Grinstead,
had occasioned a more than usual assemblage of
rustic travellers at the Swan, a small public-
house in the obscure hamlet of Forest-Row,
near the northern extremity of Sussex. At the
^^- BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
ritriJ
time when our history commences,* it was kept
by a jovial blade who had formerly served in
the King's army, and was well known to have
not only retained his political opinions, but to
have a clear voice and a stout heart for sinmnff
his old cavalier songs, a practice which was in
those days by no means unattended with peril.
On these accounts his house was frequented by
such travellers and partisans as were not the best
affected towards Cromweirs government, and
who thought they might, in this unnoticed
spot, safely indulge the effusion of their spleen,
and drink, under the rose, confusion to all
rogues and Roundheads. At that time the
Forest of Ashdown closely invested the place
on every side, and a large solitary tree, of that
* As historical characters and events are introduced
into the following novel, it may be right to state here,
once for all, that the author has in several instances,
deviated from exact chronological succession ; and that
in the history of Valentine Walton, in the third volume,
he has taken the same liberty with fact, that he has
done in other places with time.
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 23
species ^vhich had given its name to the vicinity,
standing in front of the little inn, was encircled
by a seat for the accommodation of such cus-
tomers as occasionally traversed that cross-road
for the purposes we have mentioned, or to visit
the assize-town, from which it was only three
miles distant. The old sign of the Swan is still
existing upon the same spot, but the venerable
ash has been succeeded by a large wilding
cherry-tree, surrounded by a similar seat for
the comfort of all weary wayfarers ; and it
has fallen to our lot to know that whatever may
have been the reputation of this humble caravan-
sera in the days of which we are about to write,
it will still give satisfaction to all such travellers
as may be propitiated by mild ale, plain viands,
a courteous reception, and a moderate bill.
It was on the second morning after the night-
scene we have described, that the before-men-
tioned motley company of rustics were dis-
cussing the merits of sundry " creature com-
24 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
forts," as the Puritans affected to call them,
beneath the friendly shade of the wide- spreading
ash, when an emaciated and feeble old woman,
covered with dust, arrived at the same ren-
dezvous, and instead of calling clamorously for
refreshment like her neighbours, drew a horn
from her pocket, filled it with water from
the pump, and seating herself upon the sandy
ground, began to empty it of its contents, by
slowly swallowing a mouthful at a time.
" God help thee, mother," said an honest
grazier, who was making sad havoc with a cold
sirloin of beef, " hast thee never a cross in
thy purse that thou art fain to wash the dust
out of thy mouth mth water ?"
" God neither deserts those who appear to
be forlorn,"" replied the old woman, " nor does
he always favour those who may seem to be
prosperous.*" As if to prove this assertion, and
at the same time to rebut the suspicion of pov-
erty, she took a twenty shilling gold piece from
BRAIMBLETYE HOUSE. 25
her pocket, and as she looked upon it proceeded
thus:— "What have we here? On one side
a cross with a pahn and laurel, and the words
'Commonwealth of England:' on the other
side, the cross and harp, and the words ' God
with us.' — Might not a scoffer now remark,
that even by the confession of their own coin,
the States and God are not on the same side .?""
" And might they not further remark,"" cried
the landlord, " that in these times we have
two crosses for one merry-making? Ods pit-
tikins ! we that set up a sign, know that to our
cost. Cock-fighting and horse-racing, games
and betting, all are forbidden ; holidays are
suppressed ; the maypole is pulled down, and
if folks want to drink and be merry, as they
used to do, they must wait, forsooth, for the
second Tuesday in the month, and tipple by
Act of Parliament."
" The horn of the ungodly is exalted," ex-
VOL. I. c
26 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
claimed the old woman, " while they of the
true faith are trodden under foot."
" Zooks ! mother,"" cried the grazier, " which
faith is that? for I think we reckon up two
or three score of one sort or another.""
" When, the wolf that worried the flock is
slain, and the wild ox that tore up the vine-
yard is muzzled, it will be time enough to tell
ye what ye seek to know/"* resumed the old
woman.
" Troth, dame," cried the grazier, " Pm in
no hurry, for I always thought it dangerous
to be wiser than one"'s neighbours ; but perhaps
you won't quarrel with the religion which leads
me to offer you a share of my trencher and my
pottle, for I see you like not to change that
Parliament-piece, and if I may trust your looks,
you're both hungry and athirst.""
" I am both," said the woman calmly, " and
yet I cannot partake of your bounty, though
I thank you for it.'""
BHAMBLETYE HOUSE. 27
" Why, what the dickens ails 3'e ?" exclaim-
ed the grazier, somewhat offended — " ye might
have a worse ofPer, good woman, I can tell ye
that."
" Waste not you breath, neighbour mine,"
cried the landlord, who liked not to encourage
such lenten loiterers at his door ; " this is Fri-
day, and I thought every body knew mother
LawTence to be a Roman, who can swallow
lies and miracles by the bushel, and yet bog-
gles at picking a beef-bone on a fast-day.
Ods pittikins, dame, (for so was she generally
called in derision,) ye may as well fill your
stomach and starve your faith, now that the
mummery of mass-mongers and the robbery of
Peter's pence are passed and gone, for thus
runs the song to-day : —
' There's neither cross nor crucifix,
Shall stand for men to see,
Rome's trash and trumpery shall go down.
And hey, then up go we.'"
" Hold thy profane tongue," ejaculated the
c 2
28 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
object of this attack, " lest when it is parched
in the pit hke that of Dives, thou repent of thy
jests."
" What the foul fiend!" cried the landlord,
" neither wag our tongues nor our jaws ; neither
chatter nor chew ! truly yours must be a bad
religion for all publicans."
" And sinners" — added the old woman sig-
nificantly ; a remark which he pretended not to
hear, but turning to a newly arrived customer,
exclaim.ed, " Ah ! Caleb, art thou still pedlaring
the country with thy box of puritan playthings
and relics for the Roundlieads ? hast any more
bodkins and thimbles, or spoons and patty-pans ;
any of Rivett's knife-handles, candlesticks, and
nut-crackers made out of the King's — I mean
Chai'les Stuarfs statue that stood at Charing
Cross.?"
The Rivett here alluded to was the man who
bought Le Soeur's fine equestrian statue of
Charles 1st. when it was ordered to be pulled
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 29
down by the Parliament, under the pretext of
breaking it up for the materials ; instead of
which, he prudently buried it in his back yard,
anticipating a period when he might sell it on
much better terms than by weight. In the
mean time, he used up all the old brass in his
shop for such implements as we have mentioned,
which were eagerly purchased by both parties;
by the Cavaliers as relics of a royal martyr ;
and by the Roundheads as memorials of their
triumph over a crowned oppressor. Caleb the
pedlar had for some time been Rivett's agent,
and though he affected the puritan principles
and dialect, it Avas but for the purpose of selling
his wares to better account, and collecting in-
formation for the opposite party, to which he
had occasionally acted as a spy. At the Resto-
ration the statue, presently making its reappear-
ance, was set up where it now stands, and Rivett
was handsomely rewarded for his calculating
loyalty.
30 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
" Verily, verily," exclaimed, Caleb, in answer
to the landlord's last question — " I have little
or nothing of the sort, and I grieve to say it,
for the Lord prospered that trade beyond any
that I ever drove."
■^^ How came ye then to leave it ?" inquired
the landlord. " Would not the brass hold out ?
' Then fare thee well, old Charing Cross,
And fare thee well, old Stump ;
It was a thing set up by the King,
And so pulled down by the Rump.' "
" The brass held out ;" quoth the pedlar, "but
the buyers would not; the Lord's people have
become lukewarm — a generation of backsliders.
Carnal and thrifty, and hungering after the
fleshpots of Egypt, they will no longer give in
their silver plate upon requisition, nor purchase
my brass trinkets though molten from the statue
of a tyrant. I preached for two hours upon
this very subject in the market-place at Hor-
sham, and though I was evidently warmed by
the Spirit, — "
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 81
" So shalt thou be now, Caleb," interrupted
the landlord, " if thou wilt but tipple a drop of
Dick's cordial, and I warrant it genuine, — but
as to sermons of two hours they like me not,
either from the black silk scull-cap Avith the
Geneva cloak and band, or the blue apron of
the handicraft cushion-cufFer." So saying, he
hurried away as if apprehensive of an extempore
preachment from the pedlar, and turning to-
wards a personage on a dapple grey poney, who
from his canvas satchel, rabbit-skin cap, and
a figure of the same animal worked in white
worsted on the sleeve of his green jerkin, was
evidently a warrener, he exclaimed — " Ods pit-
tikins, Nick Groombridge ! how comes it you 're
not a hunting with Sir John ? he was here with
his merry-men all afore the sun had taken oft'
his night-cap, and though he wasn't ten minutes
from Branibletye House, he called for a cup of
sack, and tossed it off" with his old troll —
32 BBAMBLETYE HOUSE,
' My petition sliall be that Canary be cheaper.
Without i)atent or custom, or cursed excise.
That the wits may have leave to drink deeper and deeper.
And not be undone while their beards they baptize.'
Well, I will say for Sir John Compton he's as
merry a soul as ever whetted whistle at the
Swan, though I have had prince Rupert here, ay
and Maurice too, master Groombridge, by the
same token that the latter drew his pistol, for
he was a droll blade, and taking aim at my
sign, says — ' here goes at the Swan's crown,
since svich baubles are out of fashion ;"* and
sure enough he shot it clean awa}', (do ye see
the hole, Nick ?) and then tossed me a crown
piece, saying, exchange was no robbery. Ah i
we had solid crown pieces in those days, none of
your three-groat bits with the crosses and harp,
or the brewer's ; but mum's the word,
Nick., when the Rump may cut off the head.
There's one good brewer in the world, and this
is his ale, brewed by Manby's patent, so you
may pull at the black jack for nothing so long
BRAMBLETi'E HOUSE. 3S
as ye drink the health of your master, Sir John
Compton."
"Anathema, maranatha!" said the old wo-
man in a solemn voice. " The health of a
Compton ! No good has come or can come to any
of the race. Has God, then, so short a memory,
that he can forget in a few years the perpetrators
of sacrilege ? Has he not even said that he will
visit the sins of the fathers upon the children,
even unto the third and fourth generation ? And
lo ! what has hecome of them ? Was not one of
them killed in a duel by Lord Chandois ? — Did
not William Compton go raving mad ; mad
with money in (jonsequence of the princely dowry
brought to him by his wife, the daughter of Sir
John Spencer, Lord IVIayor of London ? And
was not the nephew of him that built Brambletye
killed at the battle of Hopton Heath, and his
son Lord Compton wounded ? and he and his
brothers, are they not exiles and wanderers upon
the face of the earth ? And was not an only
c 5
34 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
child of one of the Comptons murdered or stolen
away from this very Brambletye by the club-
men ?* and has there not been ever since a deadly
feud in consequence between both branches of
the family ? Verily the hand of the Lord is upon
them, but all his vengeance has not yet fallen."
* Mostly country people armed with clubs, and dis-
tinguished by white ribbons in their hats, who about the
year 1645, irritated by the exactions and s])oliations of
both parties during the progress of the Civil War, as-
sembled together in large bands, sometimes not less
than ten thousand in a body, for the mutual protection
of their lives and property. In several of the counties
they were headed by the gentry and clergy, and in some
instances showed themselves disposed to exercise club-
law, and retaliate, upon the defenceless, those plundering
inroads to which they had been themselves exposed.
Cromwell, when lieutenant-general, was sent against
several formidable parties in the West, many of whom
he persuaded to return to their homes ; but at Hamble-
ton Hill, near Stratton, a band of about 4000, stood upon
their guard, in an old Roman work, deeply trenched,
and repulsed his troop at tlie passage into the fort-
Desborough, however, attacking them in the rear, they
were dispersed, and many pris(mers taken, with twelve
colours, on one of which was written :
" If you offer to plunder or take our cattel,
Be assured we w ill bid you battel."
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 85
" We should be the more thankful that Sir
John is left to us," cried the landlord, who con-
sidered him as his patron, and had often joined
with him in a cavaHer song, — *' and, if I mis-
take not, I have seen you, spite of your preach-
ing, sitting in his hall, ay, and sharing his
broken victuals, and quaffing his ale Avhen it
happened not to be a fast-day."
" To do the Lord a service," replied the old
woman, " we may lawfully enter the tents of
the enemy, even as the spies of Joshua feasted
in the house of Rahab, and as Daniel Avas
present in the banqueting hall of Belshazzar.
But neither the Babylonian idolater, nor the
people of Jericho, were worse than this accursed
Sir John Compton. He has sinned against
the Holy Ghost — he is marked for destruction,
even as "
" Dang thee, foul mouthed taud !" cried the
warrener, " what hast thee to say against Sir
John ? Pest upon thee for an old beldame of
S6 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
Babylon ! gie us no more of thy papistry, or
thy hps shall have a taste of my leathern
thong."
" Out upon her for a scurrel witch !" ex-
claimed another, " to the horse-pond with her,
and swim her for her life.""
" If she be, in sooth, one of the accursed
Amalekites, and a woman of Canaan,"" added
the pedlar, with a sanctimonious look, " 'twere
pleasant in the sight of the Lord to have her
smothered in the mud."
" Gaff the slanderous old mass-monper !
away with her ! the horse-pond, the horse-
pond !" cried three or four at once.
In vain did the good-natured grazier counsel
dame Laurence to pocket her drinking-horn
and trudge, since she had chosen the wrong
neighbourhood for venting her abuse of the
Comptons. She continued her anathemas and
predictions with more bitterness than ever,
though she retained a calmness of manner that
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 37
seemed little adapted to the rancour of her
words ; and the warrener, with some others of
the party, were pre})aring to put their threats
into immediate execution, when the landlord in-
terfered, exclaiming — " Nay, nay, my worthies,
let us never lay angry hands upon a woman,
and one moreover, who is as crazy as Tom o'
Bedlam. Better troll a catch, than souse a
witch, and pour wine down our own throats
than water down hers. Ods pittikins ! we
meet here to sing, drink, and be merry, and I
am the leader of the band to set you a good
example, and he that will match me with a
rousing chorus, shall have next pot for no-
thing: —
' So here 's to the man that delights in Sol-fa,
For sack is his only rosin.
A lo^ft of heigho is not worth a ha ! ha !
He's a man for my money that draws in :
Then a yiin for tlie muck, and a pin for ill luck,
'Tis better be blithe and frolic.
Than sigh out our breath, or invite our own death.
By the gout, or the stone, or the colick.' "
38 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
It is doubtful whether this inn-keeping Or-
pheus would have succeeded in pacifying his
customers, who were beginning to rage like
wild beasts, and have been able to rescue dame
Lawrence from the horse-pond, had not the
attention of the whole party been diverted by
the sudden arrival of a courier on a smoking
horse, who, desiring the boy to wipe the
dust out of his steed's nostrils with some wet
hay, called hastily to the landlord for a gill of
sack.
" A gill, master Winbolt ?" cried the land-
lord, " why, surely you havn''t forgotten the
ballad : —
' Hang the Presbyter's gill.
Bring a pint of sack, WiU,
More orthodox of the two ;
The' a slender dispute
Will strike the elf mute.
He's one of the honester crew.' "
" Thou art a bold cock to crow so loudly to
the old tune," said the courier ; " but a ]iint
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 39
let it be, so it be quick, for I bear dispatches,
and must cross the Weald, and call at Hever
Castle, ere I draw bit or loose girth. But what
pastimes toward in these parts, and vhat
fooFs game is Sir John Compton playing that
sets the red-coats a marching for Brambletve
House ?"
" The red-coats, master Win! olt T'' exclaim-
ed the landlord, whose face suddenly assumed
the same hue, " ods pittikins, what mean ye V
" Neither more nor less than that I passed
a troop of the Lord Protector's own regiment
of Ironsides, watering their horses at Withy-
liimi bridge, who inquired the way to Bram-
bletye House, and from their conversation I
gathered that they had an order to search the
premises and arrest Sir John. So let not your
tongue wear too light a snaffle, my merry land-
lord, i6y* a new ballad may be paid by an old
grudge ; better be silent on your own tree than
sing in a cage; and a joke may be sharp, but
40 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
a sword is sharper, with which caution I give
you good den."
" Dang the fellow,'" cried the w\arrener, with
a chop-fallen look, " where were it, he zeed the
red-coats?"—" At Withyham Bridge," replied
the landlord, whereupon the former applied his
thong lustily to his dapple grey poney, and was
out of sight in a twinkling.
" Said I not sooth ? ' ejaculated the old wo-
man, while a momentary triumph lighted up
her generally inanimate features — " the Lord
is slow to wrath, but his hour of anger comes
at last. The Comptons are a doomed race ;
the curse of Cain is upon them, for they have
slaughtered God's holy image. The stone is
in the sling, and the bolt is in the bow, and
the house w^here the crime was committed shall
not long be covered with a roof to shelter one
of the accursed and sacrilegious tribe." At
these words she departed, still muttering de-
nunciations of vengeance against the objects of
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 41
fter wrath, and the company at the Swan dis-
persed themselves several ways, not less anxious
to circulate the news they had learned, than to
avoid the suspicion that might attach to them
for tippHng at the house of an old cavalier
soldier, and a singer of irreverend songs, when
the troops of the Protector were known to be
in the neighbourhood.
Brambletye, or as it is termed in Doomsday
Book, Branbertie House, the point to which the
Parliament-troops were directing their march,
stands upon the extreme borders of Ashdown
Forest, in the county of Sussex. After the
Conquest, it became the property of the Earl
of Mortain and Cornwall, forming part of the
Barony then conferred upon him, and subse-
quently denominated the Honour of the Eagle.
Passing into possession of the Audehams, the
Saint Clares, and several others, it came into
the occupation of the Comptons towards the be-
ginning of the seventeenth century; and from
42 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
the arms of that family impahng those of Spen-
cer, still remaining over the principal entrance,
with the date 1631 in a lozenge, it is conjec-
tured that the old moated edifice, which had
hitherto formed the residence of the proprietors,
was abandoned in the reign of James the First,
by Sir Henry Compton, who built the exten-
sive and solid baronial mansion, commonly
known by the name of Brambletye House.
This massive structure, owing to one of those
freaks of fortune which will be pxplained in
the following pages, is now a mass of ivy-
covered ruins, though two centuries have not
elapsed since its first stone was laid ; while
the venerable moated house in its vicinity re-
mains in probably httle worse condition than
when it was deserted by Sir Henry.
From their undaunted courage and inflexible
loyalty to the Stuarts, the Comptons had been
heavy sufferers, both in purse and person, during
the eventful progress of the Civil Wars. The
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 43
Earl of Northampton, the head of the family,
and nephew to Sir Henry, the presumed builder
of Brambletye, had four sons, officers under
him, whereof three charged in the field at the
battle of Hopton Heath, and the eldest. Lord
Compton, was wounded. The Earl himself,
refusing to take quarter from the rascally
Roundheads, as he indignantly termed them,
even when their swords were at his throat, was
put to death in the same battle ; and the suc-
cessor to his title, with one of his brothers,
finally accompanied the royal family in their
exile, as dame Laurence had truly stated.
Sir John Compton, a branch of this family,
was still, however, living at Brambletye House,
and having preserved much of his property,
from the Committee of Sequestration, displayed
rather more splendour than fell to the lot of
most of the Cavaliers who had taken an equally
conspicuous part against the Parliament armies.
Although never capable of any regular defence,
44 BEAMBLETYE HOUSE.
yet the place having been hastily fortified, had
refused the summons of the Parliamentarian
Colonel, Okey, by whom it was invested ; but
it was speedily taken, when sad havoc was com-
mitted by tlie soldiery, all the armorial bear-
ings, and every symbol of rank and gentility,
being wantonly mutilated or destroyed. Not
a single one of these would the sturdy and
wrathful Sir John suffer to be restored, pre-
serving them as so many scores against the wall,
of what. he owed to the Puritans, — debts, which,
with curses " not loud but deep," he swore to
seize the very first opportunity of repaying
upon their crop-eared sconces. Cromwell was
too formidable and vigorous an adversary to be
openly bearded ; but Sir John was in constant
correspondence with those members of his family
who were in attendance upon the absent King,
as well as with the leading partisans of the royal
cause at home, and had engaged with more zeal
than prudence, as the reader will already have
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 45
guessed from our first chapter, in certain pre-
mature machinations for effecting the down-
fall of the usurper. Of all men living he was,
perhaps, the least qualified for the successful
management of, or even the safe participation in,
a plot of any sort ; for his scorn of the hypo-
critical arts, by w hich his adversaries had gained
the ascendancy, incapacitated him from imi-
tating them ; and though he practised an osten-
sible obedience to the established authority,
he was perpetually blurting out some term of
reproach against it, singing scraps of his old
cavalier songs, or launching some ambiguous
menace, which suggested more than it ex-
pressed. From its not being a place of any
strength or notice, it was imagined that Bram-
bletye might better escape the keen and jealous
watchfulness, which kept the Protector's eye
ever fixed upon the strong holds and defensible
mansions of the nobility and gentry ; while
its proximity to the metropolis, combined with
46 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
the seclusion of its situation, adapted it to any
enterprize which required at the same time
secrecy, and an easy communication with the
capital.
The defences of the house, such as they were,
received, however, several additions ; there were
occasional meetings in it of strange gentlemen,
who came and departed with a secrecy, which
gave rise to half-smothered whispers in the
neighbourhood; and the covered waggon, which
we have already noticed, having more than
once been seen returning from the premises
after midnight, and being known not to belong
to any of the surrounding farmers, was vehe-
mently suspected of being engaged in some
business much more dangerous than smuffo-hno;.
So little pains did the stout and sturdy Sir
John give himself to conceal his hatred of the
present Government, that even in his favourite
recreation of hunting, which with the roaring of
cavaher songs at his select 'parties, formed his
bra:mblktye house.
47
principal resources against the ennui of idleness
and submission, he named his hounds after
Rupert, Maurice, Digby, Astley, Langdale, and
other leaders of the royal cause ; cheering
them on with redoubled ardour, not unmixed
with shouts of laughter, in running down Crom-
well, Lambert, Ireton, Fairfax, and Skippon,
as he christened the different stags, who were
turned out for the day's amusement. While
thus engaged in the chase, and listening to the
echoes of names, with which his ears had been
familiar in the battles of the civil Var, from
Edge-hill, Roundway, Marston Moor, and
Nascby, down to the fight of Worcester, his
past exploits were recalled in so lively a manner to
his imagination, that he sometimes fancied him-
self still riding at the head of his regiment, or
presiding over a. cavalier dinner-party, and was
not unfrcquently heard shouting out with sten-
torian lungs — " Forward my lads ! for the King
and St. George ! pepper the Puritan rogues !
48 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
cut off their lioundhead ears ! hammer away
at Cromweirs regiment of ironsides ! crack the
shells of Sir Arthur Haselrigg's lobsters ! " —
or roaring aloud, as if seated at the convivial
board,
" A hound and a hawk no longer.
Shall be the token of disaffection,
A cock-fight shall cease to be breach of the peace.
And a horse-race an insurrection. —
Then off with your pots, English, Irish, and Scots,
And loyal Cambro' Britons,
From lobster-like jump, and the Head-playing Rump,
You '11 soon have an acquittance."
He was absent upon one of these excursions,
when Nick. Groombridge, the warrener, Avith
whom we parted just now at the Swan, galloped
full speed into the court-yard of Brambletye
House, his poney covered with foam, and in-
quired, with a look of consternation, for Mr.
Waynfleet, the secretary. Hurrying v/ith this
gentleman through the great hall into the wait-
ing room, he stated that upon learning the news
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
49
about the Parliamentary troops, he had hurried
forward to meet them, when their commanding
officer stopped him to inquire the road to Sir
John Compton's ; and as some of the soldiers con-
versed together, he heard one of them tell the
other that they could not be far off now, that
they had got a full warrant from the Lord Pro-
tector for searching Brambletye House, and
he trusted they should rout the old mahg-
nant fairly out of his den, for he had owed him
a ffrudjie ever since the affair of Colchester,
when Sir John had ridden right over him.
** Good God !" exclaimed the secretary,
chano-ing colour, *' then they will be here im-
mediately."
" Will 'um .?"" replied the warrener, while a
knowing smile and a wink of the eye gave a pe-
culiar expression to his heated face ; — '* I'll bet
ye two cans of ale to one that they M'on't. Noa,
noa, Master Waynfleet, I be too far nortli to
be such a flat as that comes to ; for hang me, if
VOL. I. D
So BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
I didn't tell 'um the shortest way to the house
Ivere rig-ht down Massiter's Lane, and soon as
ever I seed 'um turn into the woods, I galloped
here as fast as ever old Dapple could lay legs
to the ground. They'll be cotch'd in a rare
queach down Massiter's Lane, and as their
hoi'ses were pretty well blow'd already, I
reckon they can"'t be here in less nor an hour,
let 'um flounder out which way they will."
" How truly unfortunate," said Waynfleet,.
walking up and down in great agitation, " that
Sir John shoidd be absent at this critical mo-
ment, when his very life may depend
Groombridge, my good fellow, do run for Mr.
C'harnley, and fetch him here as fast as you
can, and bring Jack Whittaker with you ;
quick, quick ; we shall not have a moment to
lose."
The former of these personages was the
chaplain, who was in the entire confidence of
the baronet, and well acquainted, as has alreadr
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 61
been shown, with all the state secrets and peril-
ous machinations of which Brambletye House
had for some time been the head-quarters.
The latter, who still retained the name of
Serjeant Whittaker, from his having served
several campaigns under Sir John in that ca-
pacity, was also a confidential personage, and
had been retained in his service as armourer,
for which office the old arquebusses, pikes, and
swords, that had mounted guard in the hall
ever since the time of James the First, afforded
less employment than certain other arms, of all
sorts, deposited in a much more vmobtrusive
situation. No sooner had the chaplain, who
arrived first, learnt the cause of his being sum-
moned, than he was seized with a consternation
even more conspicuous than that of the se-
cretary, and ejaculated, in a trembling voice, —
" What 's to be done ? Where 's Serjeant
Whittaker ?"
" Not at his proper post, of course," replied
D 2
52 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
Groombridge, " but, I dare say, I shall find him
with his pipe and cannikin on the kitchen chim-
ney bench, or telling his old story of Worcester
Fight, to Patty, at the buttery hatch.""
Just as he was about to run to these respec-
tive haunts, the object of their search, a morose-
looking, bald-headed figure, rendered more grim
by a deep scar across his cheek, was seen march-
ing towards them, whiffing his pipe, and at the
same time mumbling execrations against the
new batch of ale, which he declared ought to
have had at least another strike of malt to make
it fit for any one but a cuckoldy Roundhead. —
No sooner, however, had he learnt the news,
than his whole countenance became lighted up
with a sudden beam of animation ; his scar
assumed a portentous redness ; he dashed his
pipe upon the ground, smacked his hands to-
gether, then snapped his fingers, and exclaimed,
" Let em come ! let em come ! the canting crop-
ear'd knaves : I shall be glad to have a slap at
BllAMBLETYE HOUSE. 53
them again. We have some rare poppers, and
plenty of powder, if we can but get hands
enough to pepper the rascals.""
" What 's best to be done ? '' inquired Wayn-
Heet, turning towards Whittaker, to whom, as
the principal mihtary authority in the absence
of Sir John, he seemed disposed to show a more
than usual deference.
" Done ? '' cried Whittaker, " why first of all
shut the inner and outer gates : ring the alarm
bell, to get together our little garrison, with
such of the tenants as are at hand ; fire off' the
two falconets on the roof beside the western
tower, as the signal agreed upon with Sir John ;
let Groombridge take one of the best horses,
and gallop after him into Ashdown forest, to
tell him what has happened ; and then you
and the parson had better set about burning all
the papers that might make against us ; while I
get out the arms, barricado the gates, and
order every man to his post."" So saying.
54 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
he took down a fowling-piece, that was luanging
over the mantel of the small room in which they
were conversing, and began to examine its lock
by rapidly opening and shutting it.
" All very proper measures ; very proper, in-
deed," said the secretary ; " but as to resis-tance,
it is out of the question ; we must of course
surrender.'*
" I'll be hanged if we must ! "" roared the
Serjeant, striking his y>iece upon the floor with
such violence that the adjoining hall rang with
the echo. " What ! didn't she stand a three
days' siege agamst Colonel Okey, with three
companies of foot ; and is old Brambletye to
be frightened by a paltry troop of horse .'* I
alwavs said the orioinal builder was an ass
for not placing her where the old house stands,
that he might have had a moat round her ;
but as to surrendering, unless Sir John gives
us his orders, I say once more, may I be
cursed "
BRAMBLETYF. HOUSE. 55
«(
Mr. Whittaker," said the chaplain, rendered
more than usually denaure by his apprehen-
sione, " I must request you will not use pro-
fane oaths in my presence.""
" What ! not when we are going into battle ?
Then how the devil would you distinguish us
from the psalm-singing Puritans ? — Now that
the Parliament have forbidden it under pain
and penalty, every true Christian, who loves liis
King, ought to swear day and night as lustily
as he can, and I take shame to myself for
not doinjj it oftener. — D— ! how shall we
conceal the house-entrance to the vaults ? There
are some ugly tell-tales down below, if the
rogues once got scent of them."
" Every thing willbe discovered ! everything
will be discovered !" cried Waynfleet and the
Chaplain, in the same despairing tone. " If Sir
John were at home, "
" He would call you a couple of lilly-livered
Tom Otters," interrupted the serjeant, with a
56 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
contemptuous turning up of his nose. " What !
did you never smell powder before ? well, then,
go and smell burnt paper. Ram into the fire
every scrap and letter that might give old Noll
an excuse for making us run the gauntlet, and
leave all the rest to me."
Recommending his companions to execute
this commission without further delay, he pro-
ceeded instantly to give such orders as the
emergency required. The warrener Avas des-
patched on a fleet horse to seek Sir John in
Ashdown forest; the falconets were fired from
the western tower, to give him an earlier notice
of his danger ; the gates were all locked and
barricadoed ; arms in abundance were speedily
loaded and prepared ; and the little household-
garrison, weakened by the absence of the whole
hunting establishment, which was in attendance
upon the Baronet, was collected and very laconi-
cally harangued by Serjeant Whittaker, who
asked them first whether there Avas a better man
bra:mbletyf, house. 57
or a better master, or a braver soldier in the
whole county, than Sir John ; to which they
unanimously replied in the negative : and se-
condly, whether they woukln't all be hanged,
drawn, and" quartered, rather than surrender
Brambletye House, which had stood a siege
against a whole regiment of infantry, (as he
now termed the three companies,) to a rabble
of rascally Presbyterians. To a proposition
thus stated, there could be no other answer than
a clamorous affirmative, followed by three hearty
cheers.
" Why then, that for the parson," cried
Whittaker, snapping his fingers, " and while I
have the command, ye may swear as many oaths
and fire as many vollies at the Roundheads as
ye like."
" And now, my brave fellows,"" he continued,
for he had very unceremoniously dubbed him-
self governor of the place pro tempore, " the
first thing you have to do, till Sir John returns
D 3
58 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
to give liis own orders, is to fetch the peat-stack
from behind the postern-gate in the yard, and
pile it up as fast and as high as you can, against
the great entrance to the vaults."
" What is tliat for?" inquired several, who
were ignorant that there was any thing to con-
ceal within those extensive arches.
" What the devil is that to you ?" asked the
Serjeant with a fierce look: " You are to do
it, because I order you ; because Sir John orders
you."
" As to your ordering us," replied the same
voices, ** that 's neither here nor there, but if it's
Sir John's commands, we are all ready to set
about it."
" Off with ye, then !" cried Whittaker, " and
take with ye the kitchen maids, and laundry
maids, and buttery maids, and scullery maids,
every hand ye can muster, while I go and fill
the black jack to serve out rations, for dry
work is slow work, and wet whistles make nimble
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 59
faamls ; and besides we must drink double the
•quantity to make up for the lack of malt in the
last brewing, a full boll too short as I 'm an
honest man."
With these appropriate stimulants to ac-
tivity, and by pressing every hand male and
female into the service, a goodly stack of peat
was presently run up against the principal en-
trance to the vaults, while the secretary and the
chaplain were not less actively employed in
committing to the flames, every letter or docu-
ment which might compromise Sir John himself,
or any of the loyal gentlemen with whom he
was associated. About three quarters of an
hour had elapsed from the time when the war-
rener had galloped into the court-yard, and both
the parties v/e have just enumerated, had pretty
well completed their respective operations, when
Serjeant Whittaker, who had taken his station in
the cupola-shaped roof of the western tower,
for want of a better warder, cried out lustily —
60 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
" There they are, the red-coat psahn-singers,
and a white pennon at their head !"" v»'ith which
exclamation he hastily descended, distributed
arms to his httle garrison, exhorted them not
to desert their posts, and to take aim at the
men rather than the horses.
The very mention, however, of the words
red-coats and horses had produced a marvellous-
ly anti-pugnacious effect upon his auditors,
several of whom betook themselves to the great
stone-shafted window over the principal gate of
entrance, and no sooner caught the gleaming
arms of a regular troop of horse, advancing in
military array towards the house, than their
courasre began to ooze out of their bodies with
an alarming rapidity.
" Ods heartlikins ! Serjeant Whittaker," cried
one, " call ye this a rabble of rascally Presby-
terians ? why it ' s the Lord Protector's own
troop of ironsides ! — his invincibles ! look at
their armour how it glitters in the sun ! — surely
BRAMBLKTYE HOUSE. 61
you Avould not send our heads to join those of
Garrard and Vowel, and half a score more,
which were cut off* t'other day."
" For my part," exclaimed a second, " I
thought it was a mere mob of mad-headed
rustics, like those in Goring's insurrection, or
some of the Kentish club-men ; but if they are
indeed his Highness's cavalry, it becomes a case
of flat rebellion and high treason, and I have
no wish to ride upon a hurdle, and to have my
head shaved by Gregory Bandon''s razor, nor
to dangle by the neck in Cheapside or Cornhil],
like Ashton, Bettely, and Stacy.''
" They be a troop of his own regiment, sure
enough,"' cried a third, " and loikely lads to
look at, and if they draAv a line round the walls,
I dont zee what good can coome to we, for I
take it we ha'n't no great show of ammunition."
"There you lie," growled Whittaker, — "I
will find you in gunpowder for six weeks, if you
will but fight as long." ^
62 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
" As you like for yourself, master Whittaker/'
cried the under steward, indignant at the impu-
tations against the ale, which was of his brew-
ing ; " but as for me, I find not that slice upon
your cheek so becoming, as that I wish to run
the risk of matching it."
This was indeed touching the serjeant in a
sore place. He was ashamed of his scar, honour-
able as it was, because it had not been received in
battle, but in saving the life of a squinting Parli-
amentarian ; and one of the very few occasions
of his using any thing like a prayer was, when
he expressed a hope (as he often did,) that hea-
ven would forgive him for having been such an
egregious ass as to do so. The very cicatrice it-
self blushed with a more angry glow at the under-
steward's allusion, as Whittaker fiei'cely replied,
— " None of your scurrel jests upon me, jacka-
napes, or I may chance to widen your mouth
with a rapier, and spoil your sneering. — And
now, my brave lads, are ye all ready ? Put in
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 63
plenty of bullets ; for lobsters, you know, ought
to be well peppered."
" No fighting ! no fighting ! no fighting !"
cried a dozen voices at once, as they noticed
with dismay the steady advance and formidable
appearance of the soldiers.
" What, ye rascals !" roared the serjeant in
a fury — " do ye mutiny ? Curse ye for a cow-
ardly crew ! I should like to make myself a court-
martial, try ye all round, and shoot ye every
one with my own hand !"
The secretary, chaplain, and steward, now
making their appearance, announced to the
assembled household, that upon a consultation
among themselves it had been determined not
to offer any useless resistance to the Government-
forces if they came with a hostile intent, but to
demand a parley, and keep the gates closed, until
Sir John should return in person, or transmit
orders for their conduct.
*' Not fight !" roared Serjeant Whittaker, —
64 BUAMBLETYE HOUSE.
" After I have given them all as pretty arms
as ever popped, and served out double rations
of ale from the black jack ! — Curse me if ye arVt
all traitors together— not fight !" — From the
utter amazement and indignation into which he
was cast by this unexpected intelligence, he only
recovered upon perceiving that the troops had
entered the avenue of trees Avhich led to the
principal entrance, and were within a short dis-
tance of the outer gate, when he exclaimed —
" By St. George, it 's a troop of the cuirassiers,
and Noirs favourite officer. Colonel Lilburne,
the same that cut Lord Derby's forces to pieces
at Wigan in Lancashire, and took the Duke of
Buckingham and the other Lords after the bat-
tie of Worcester. — 1 know the rascal by his black
helmet and Spanish charger. How I should
like to have a slap at him !"" In uttering these
words, his fingers instinctively touched the lock
of the musquet he was holding, as if they could
hardly be repressed from cocking the trigger,
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 65
and bringing the weapon up to his shoulder;
but with an effort, which he considered a rare
act of magnanimity, he continued — " Damn him !
though he 's an Anabaptist, and one of King
Charles's murderers, which is next door to being
a devil, he 's a good soldier ; and besides there's
a trumpeter with him, who I see is raising the
instrument to his mouth.'"
The loud brazen summons that follow^ed these
words, and which, after echoing through the hall
and vaulted passages of Brambletye, startled the
cattle that were browsing in its shade, and then
died sullenly away in the adjacent forest, effec-
tually put to flight all the remaining valour of
its little garrison, mth the exception of that
which was now swelling the veins, and crimson-
ing the face of grim Serjeant Whlttaker, who
clutched his weapon with a convulsive energy at
the sound.— The chaplain, in the mean time, who
was deemed the most appropriate messenger of
peace, though many of the sacred profession had
66 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
been active belligerants on both sides during the
late troubles, was deputed to hold a parley with
the colonel, and demand the object of this ex-
traordinary summons, and a sight of his autho-
rity. The former was presently explained, and
the warrant upon which it was grounded being
handed by a serjeant at arms through the stone
loophole of a niche in the porter's lodge, was
carried into the hall for the inspection of the
whole covmsel. It was evidently official and
regular, signed by the Lord Protector himself,
and bearing appended to it the Government seal,
which displayed the arms of England and Ire-
land, a representation of the Parliament House,
and the following inscription — " The Council of
Estates appointed by the Parliament of Eng-
land."
There was little room for deliberation where
there was but one dissenting voice, and the sole
condition proposed to the investing force was,
that they should wait four hours for the return
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 67
of Sir John, or the receipt of his orders, when it
was stipulated that the gates should be opened.
" As to the return of Sir John Compton,"
said the colonel with a smile, " peradventure
w;: might wait many a four hours for such a
favour, seeing that our warrant goes to his ap-
prehension, and that the pateraroes which we
heard firing in this direction, and whose meaning
we well understood, have doubtless warned him
from the premises. The varlet, too, who sent us
floundering down Massiter's lane, has enabled
him to get a good hour's start, of which I doubt
not he will make good use. Brambletye House
therefore must be surrendered instantly at dis-
cretion ; and to let you see that we are not un-
prepared to force an entrance fall back
soldiers ! —Cornet Axtell, forward !""
The troop (iling round at this command, dis-
closed two pieces of hght artillery advancing
towards the great gates, to which the Colonel
pointed, and declared that he would only grant
ten minutes for deliberation, at the end of which
68 BEAMBLETVE HOUSE.
time he would batter down whatever opposed
the execution of his orders.
The gates would have been instantly opened
at this notification, but that Serjeant Whittaker
declaring he had a proposition to make to the
garrison, which would only occupy three mi-
nutes in the discussion, took the chaplain, se-
cretary, and steward into a private room, and
asked them whether they thought any body,
besides themselves and Sir John, knew the
garden-entrance to the secret vault under the
great hall, which was filled with gunpowder ?
*' Not a soul," was the reply .'"''
" Well then," said Whittaker, " do you
and all the garrison, men, Avomen, and chil-
dren, march out by the back postern, where
nobody will see you, and at the expiration of the
ten minutes, or when they have battered doAvn
the outer gates, I myself will open the others,
and let the rogues take quiet possession of
Brambletye."
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 69
<i
But why should }/ou do this," inquired
the chaplain, with a suspicious look.
" Why, for this reason, Mr. Parson ; because
I know the way to the secret vault, and when
they are all fairly inside the great gates, or
mustered in the hall, I might just fire my pis-
tol into the powder, send the whole squad of
Roundheads to the devil before their time, and
prevent any discovery of the slashers, and pop-
pers, and pellets, with which Sir John has been
so plentifully stocking his cellars on the dark
nights o'late."
" And in that case, how could you make your
own escape ?''"' inquired the chaplain.
•' Ml/ escape ! "exclaimed the serjeant, " who
wants to escape, when Jack Whit taker can
sell his old life for a whole troop of NolPs
own resiment ? Had I a dozen lives, I should
be happy to swap them on the same terms ; we
will all be comfortably blown up together. It
will be the first time I shall have travelled the
70 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
same road with any of the crop-eared cattle,
and I hope it will be the last ; for, I take it,
their final journey will be downwards instead
of upwards."
To the great surprise of its proposer, none
of the party would listen for a moment to this
desperate offer, which they observed would
necessarily destroy a considerable portion, if
not the whole of the building, and might be as
displeasing to Sir John, as it would certainly
be fatal to its projector, who had, moreover,
no right to sacrifice either his own life, or his
master's property. Serjeant Whittaker was
enforcing, with a profane oath, the certainty of
his going to heaven if he lost his life in such a
cause, and inveighing against the wickedness
of the chaplain, who would prevent such a
pious consummation, when the party was bro-
ken hastily up by the noise and clatter of the
troops, to whom some of the intimidated ser-
vants had opened the gates at the expiration of
* BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 71
the ten minutes, stipulating for nothing but the
personal safety of all the inmates. Some of the
cavalry, having dismounted, were striding across
the great hall, whose floor echoed aloud to their
massy boots and clanging sabres, while others
were again shutting and barricadoing the gates
to prevent a surprise. From the martial com-
pleteness of their armour and appointments,
as well as the stern, grave deportment, and war-
worn countenances of the men, they were ob-
viously a portion of those invincible veterans
whom the Protector had trained under his own
eye. These were the soldiers, who, when their
enemies were occupied in drinking, swearing,
and plundering, or revelling with drabs and
dicers, were devoutly employed in reading
the Bible, or in listening to some favourite
expounder of the sacred writings. Many of
them, indeed, were preachers and prophets in
tlieir own persons, and all considered them-
selves as the enlisted soldiers of the Lord.
72 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
They marched with an enthusiastic valour to
fight his battles, singing for their war-song,
the Psalms of David ; a more sublime and in-
spiring poem than ever was chaunted by the
sacred battalian of the Greeks. If discomfited,
they formed again and renewed the attack, de-
termined either to achieve the victory, or to
offer up their lives as a sacrifice for the good
and holy cause.
The colonel, who was of a cheerful and
pleasant humour, pointing to a long table in
the hall, wliich was ready prepared for the
large dinner-company, which was expected to
bring home hunter's appetites with Sir John,
exclaimed —
" Upon my word ! this is a more courteous
reception than we could have expected, and if
the cook fail us not in the roast, he shall have
the thanks of Parliament for our good quarters
and liberal rations. After a long march in
such sandy roads, the sabre is gladly resigned
BEAMBLETYE HOUSE. 73
for the carving knife, especially if the cellar-
age supply us good ale, and Sir John Barley-
corn help us to despatch his brother knight,
Sir-loin. Our worthy host is famous for his
cellarage, if not for his ale, and thither, there-
fore, will we first address ourselves."
He smiled at his brother soldiers as he made
this remark, and invited them to accompany
him to the vaults, a word which was no sooner
uttered, than a look of consternation fell upon
the countenances of a part of the household,
many of whom were seen whispering together
in corners, and quietly sneaking out of the
house to make their escape by the postern-gate,
which had .been left unguarded. The steward
had been strictly enjoined by the chaplain not
to lose sight of Whittaker, from whose fierce
character, they were not without apprehensions
that he might be tempted to try the effect of
an explosion, even while they themselves were
upon the premises ; and the secretary was de-
VOL. I. E
74 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
puted to the ticklish office of waiting upon the-
commanding officer in his visit to the vaults.
" This, colonel, is our ale-cellar," he ex-
claimed, endeavouring to divert the attention of
his unwelcome visitant ; " and this is where Sir
John keeps his claret ; — I have the keys of
both, and no one, I believe, will quarrel with the
liquor.'"'
" I doubt it not, Mr. Secretary," replied the
colonel, " Sir John was liberally treated by
the sequestrators, and he can afford to have of
the best ; but what strange fancy is this to
build up a peat-stack in the vaults ?'''*
" It got so damp in the garden-yard," said
the secretary,
" What, damp in the fine sun shiny weather,
and get dry in the vaults ! For shame, Mr.
Secretary ! my soldiers shall teach you better
husbandry." So saying, he looked at a paper, -
which doubtless contained the information upon
which he was acting, and exclaiming — " Ay,
this is the very spot," directed his men to pull
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 7")
down the peat-stack, wliicli was rapidly effected,
and discovered the great entrance to the vaults.
" Strange that you should foi-get the prin-
cipal cellar," continued the colonel, still retain-
ing his bantering and good-humoured tone.
" There has been neither wine nor beer in
it for many months," said the Secretary. " But
there may be something better," replied the
colonel ; " so by your favour we will overhaul
it. Zooks ! Mr. Secretary, you should do this
now and then for your own security, for who
knows but that your vaults may be as well
provided as those under the Parliament House
were once found to be. The key, so please
you !"
His vehement protestations, that the key had
been long missing, were met by the suggestion
of Cornet Axtell, that one of the field-pieces
should be brought down to drive ojien the door ;
but the colonel reminding him they had
brougiit crows and hatchet?, which would be
e2
76 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
equally effectual and much less dangerous, they
proceeded to the attack with these implements,
and had no sooner forced an entrance than they
discovered a collection of pikes, swoi'ds, mus-
quets, buff and plate armour, bandoleers, gre-
nadoes, and cannon-balls, that did no less cre-
dit to the liberahty of Sir John and his par-
tisans, than to the skill of Serjeant Whittaker,
for their admirable condition, and the perfect
order of their arrangement. Considering this
to be the great prize they were sent to seize,
they made no further researches; so that the
secret vault, filled with gunpowder, escaped de-
tection. So irritated were the soldiers at the
discovery already made, that had any of Sir
John's retainers remained upon the premises,
they would probably have been exposed to mal-
treatment, notwithstanding the convention at
the gates ; but they had all slipped away, one
by one, and the Colonel, who was a humane
man, had rather favoured than opposed their
BEAMBLETYE HOUSE. 77
disappearance. All his exertions, however,
could neither prevent the sacking and pillaging
of the house, nor the defacement of such loyal
and armorial emblems as had escaped the rage
of former devastators. Even the sculptured
acorns, whose remains are still to be seen in the
ruined porch, received many a splenetic blow,
because the oak-tree had recently afforded shel-
ter to the unfortunate Charles Stuart, after
the battle of Worcester.
The indignation of the soldiers being in some
degree appeased by the active exercise of mis-
chief and plunder, the whole party began to
turn their attention to the gratification of their
appetites, which were not a little stimulated by
the sight as well as the odour of the viands al-
ready spread out for the recreation of the hunt-
ers. Substitutes being presently provided for
the cook, who had deserted his post at the very
critical hour of his art, the remainder of the
dinner was shortly smoking in the great hall,
78 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
.and the blackjack which Serjeant Whittaker had
so often replenished for the encouragement of
the garrison, being now put in requisition for the
solace of the victorious assailants, the whole par-
ty, officers and privates, sate down to their re-
past with that familiarity which was studiously
affected in those levelling days. A long grace
was devoutly pronounced by the colonel him-
self, for in these times of spiritual effervescence,
religious observances were scrupulously main-
tained even in the field of battle, and at the fes-
tive l3oard, without in the least moderating, how-
ever, the appetite for either species of indulgence.
Both officers and privates dispatched the meal,
after this solemnity, with the earnestness of hun-
gry veterans, Avho had been taiight expedition
in their repasts by the frolicsome lessons of the
Protector. It appears from the memoirs of Dr.
Bates, his physician, that when this generally
grave and ^.ustere personage was disposed to un-
bend, he would sometimes make feasts for the
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 'J9
inferior officers, and while they were feeding, be-
fore they had half satisfied their hung-er, would
cause the drums to beat, and let in the private
soldiers, to fall on, and snatch away the half-
finished dishes. Warned by this example they
soon completed their dinner, when another grace
of portentous length was pronounced by the
colonel ; after which he desired them to fill their
cans, and standing up exclaimed, — " Soldiers !
although toasts have been forbidden as dange-
rous and heathenish, I have one to offer to which
no one can object, and which I propose your
drinking with three hearty cheers."
The whole assemblage having simultaneously
risen at this notice, he cried out in a loud voice,
— " His highness the Lord Protector !" — when
the cans were lustily quaffed, and the triple
shout that followed was uttered with a stento-
rian clamour that shook the dust from the raf-
ters of the great hall, and reverberated hollowly
from the surrounding chambers of Brambletye.
80 BUAMBLETYE HOUSE.
Scarcely were the company re-seated, when
their attention was suddenly drawn to the music
balcony that overhung the hall, by the appa-
rition of a beautiful youth, apparently not more
than twelve or fourteen years of age, whose
whole face reddened, and his dark eyes flashed
with an angry surprise as he gazed down upon
tlie assemblage below him. He was habited in
a close green dress, embroidered with black bu-
gles: his cap of the same hue, was surmounted
by a long heron's feather, and being worn on
one side, disclosed the black ringlets that hung
down to his neck : he had a bow in his hand ;
and a belt of black leather, studded with brass
bosses, supported a small quiver at his back.
So sudden and strange was his appearance, that
the clatter of the hall was utterly suspended for
a few seconds, while the company looked up at
him, as if waiting some explanation of his inten-
tions in thus presenting himself to their notice.
This silence the youth was the first to break, by
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 81
exclaiming in a loud voice, and w'ith some arro-
gance of manner, — " Where is my father, and
who are ye that make such an uprcnr in his
hall ?"
" And prythee who are yovi, my pretty
page ?" replied the colonel, " and who is the
father that owns so dapper a Robin Hood ?"
" My name is Jocelyn," resumed the youth,
with an indignant air ; " and I am the only son
of Sir John Compton.'"'
" Why then, my dainty little bowman," re-
torted the colonel, " I am sorry to state that
you have a malignant and a traitor for your
father."
" Thou art a liar and a knave to say it ! "
exclaimed the boy in a rage, and, quick as
thought, fixing an arrow to his bow, he drew
it to the head, and launched it with a twang at
the colonel, who luckily drew suddenly back,
so that the weapon missed its aim, but stuck
quivering in the wall close behind him. Every
E 5
82 BEAMBLETYE HOUSE.
thing was uproar in an instant, and a dozen pistols
were levelled at the balcony ; but the command-
ing officer, striking them down with his sabre,
exclaimed; " By heavens ! I will cut off the first
arm that pulls a trigger ! for shame, comrades,
for shame ! shall we, who fear not the bravest of
men, make war upon a child ? — Beshrew me ? "
he continued, resuming his usual smile, " the
lad is a good marksman, and a true, and his
spirit likes me Avell. A toward young Dread-
nought, I warrant me, and a genuine chip of
the old block."
" Rather the venomous spawn of the old
malignant," cried Cornet Axtell, " who will try
his sting again if he escape scot-free from this
attempt. The young assassin has slunk away,
but let us seek and seize him, and draw his teeth
before his bite becomes more dano-erous."
" Seize him by all means,"" cried a score of
voices at once ; and several had already risen to
execute the threat, when the colonel interposed,
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 83
•declaring that he freely forgave the attempt,
Tvhich in an ebulhtion of boyish petulance, or
perhaps of filial affection, had been directed
against himself individually; but that as he had
no ambition to enact the part of target a second
time, they might secure, if they pleased, the door
of the balcony, and wink at the escape of the
y^jung despeiado, for whose apprehension he
finally reminded them they had no warrant from
the Lord Protector,
" Suffer not the seed of Canaan to escape,
nevertheless," cried a deep sepulchral voice from
the door, and at the same moment an old ca-
daverous looking female, in a black dress, dis-
coloured with dust, entered the hall, and stalk-
ing up to the colonel, and laying her long shri-
velled hand upon his shoulder, she continued,
" Robert Lilburne ! Robert Lilburne ! if David
suffered Zeruiah's sons to live, it was only that
he might kill them more conveniently ! Did not
Noah curse Ham in order to punish his father Ca-
84 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
naan, and will you allow the Hygena's oub and the
woirs whelp to steal from the den, because you
have failed to trap his sire ? — Is this urchin's an
arm which should be suffered to gather strength,
(she detached the arrow with some difficulty
from the wainscoat as she spoke) — when this
white swan-feather would have been red with
. your heart's blood had you not avoided the
blow ? Put on your breast- plate again, if you
mean to leave him still at liberty. — I marked
the young Amalekite as he shot just now at the
rooks in the Friar's copse, and as I followed
him to the house, I said to myself, verily
this son of wrath will be a sore curse to the
Lord's people if he be suffered to grow up,
and unite himself with the Midianites and
Moabites to launch arrows against Israel : and,
lo ! but a few minutes have elapsed, when he
bent his Canaanitish bow against thine own
bosom ! Would thy brother John, free-born
John, and Lilburne the saint, as he was justly
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 85
termed, have suffered the young caitiff to shp
away ? Never ! and if he be not now made thy
prisoner, the Lord Protector shall hear of it ;
and before Heaven and him do I hold you re-
sponsible for his escape."
" She is right, she is right, INIistress Lawrence
is right," cried several of the soldiers, who knew
that the old woman, notorious Papist as she was,
was often closetted, and in good favour, with his
Highness, and might, perhaps, have reasons, un-
divulged to them, for recommending the boy's
apprehension ^vith so much earnestness.
Fearful of incurring censure from the Pro-
tector, if he refused to attend to a warning
so publicly given, the colonel at length gave
a reluctant order for seizinn^ and brino-inff him
into the hall, with strict injunctions, however,
that he should be secured without the smallest
indignity or maltreatment. — " How 's this, my
little mettlesome assailant .'*" he continued, as the
youth was led into his presence by a file of dis-
86 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
mounted cuirassiers, — " so prompt in an attack,
and such a laggard at a timely retreat ! you
know but half a soldier's duty. I was in hopes
you had effected your escape ere this."
" I never attempted it," said the boy sullenly.
" Why then did you so hastily retire from
the balcony ?""
" To look for more arrows," replied the young
prisoner, with a fierce expression of countenance.
" Oh ! what an ass was I to shoot them all away
in the Friar''s copse, for I would rather have kill-
ed a single Roundhead than a thousand rooks.""
" Beshrew me ! " ejaculated the colonel, " he
knows one part of a soldier's duty at all events.
But might you not, young ma'apert, better give
us more measured language, seeing that you
are in our power, and that your attempt against
myself might well warrant a sharp retaliation ? "
" My relation, Lord Northampton," continued
the boy, " would not ask for his life on Hopton
Heath, even when your swords were at his
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 87
throat, and I have been bred up to imitate his
example.'"
" Why then, my bristhng httle fearnought,
we will bandy words no longer ; but as it is not
safe that so fierce a Bantam-cock, young as he is,
should wear a steel spur, we will ease you of
your''s before we begin our march." So saying,
he drew out the dagger that hurg in Jocelyn's
belt, and giving him over into the custody of
two soldiers, joined in the rude sport of the
others, who now began to toss about and try
their strength upon the heavy stone fragments
of the family arms and other devices, which had
forcibly been wrenched from the walls. This,
too, was in imitation of the Protector, who had
generally, however, a deeper object than mere
recreation in encouraging these military satur-
nalia. He loved to divert the robust and sturdy
soldiers with violent and hazardous exercises,
such as making them sometimes throw a burn-
ing coal into one another''s boots, or cushion at
88 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
one another"*s heads. When the officers had
sufficiently laughed and tired themselves with
these preludes, he would wheedle them to open
their hearts freely, and by that means he drew
some secrets from the unwary, which after-
wards they wished might have been wrapped
up in everlasting darkness ; whilst he, in the
mean time, pumping the secrets of all others,
concealed his own.
Colonel Lilburne made no such attempts, but
after his men had diverted themselves a reason-
able time, he caused the trumpet to be sounded,
and directing that his young prisoner should be
mounted on his own poney, (which was found in
the stable,) and guarded constantly by two sol-
diers, he commenced his march back to London,
with a small part of his troops, leaving the re-
mainder properly posted and distributed, to lake
charge of Brambletye House, and its newly dis-
covered depot of military weapons.
BEAMBLETYE HODSK. 81)
CHAPTER III.
" By how much unexpected, by so much
We must awake endeavour for defence ,;
For courag-e mounteth with occasion."
Shakspkahk.
While these untoward events were occurring
at Brambletye House, its owner was hotly en-
gaged in the pleasures of the chace, little sus-
pecting the slippery trick which dame Fortune
was at that very moment playing him. His
day's sport had been imusually successful, and
he was proportionately elated by the enjoyment
of his favourite pastime. With the coarse hu-
mour engendered by the animosity of party,
some red ochre had been smeared over the face
of the stag turned out upon the occasion, which
was forthwith christened red-nosed Noll ; and
90 BUAMBLETYE HOUSE.
it SO happened that the anhnal was run down by
a hound named Rowland, by which appellation
the absent King was generally designated. So
huge was the delight of Sir John at this coin-
cidence, Avhich he hailed as a most auspicious
omen, thai when the stag was killed, he ordered
his huntsman to Avind the customary mort upon
his horn twice over ; and in spite of the alarmed
looks and deprecatory hints of some of the loyal
gentlemen, by whom he was accompanied, he
could not be prevented from roaring out, at the
top of his voice : —
" Since Noll hath bereft us^ and nothing hath left ^xs,
Not a horse or an ox to plougli land.
Let Oliver pass ; come fill up a glass.
And here's a good health to Rowland ;"
which he wound up with a hunter's tally-ho !
instead of a chorus, and chuckled, and cracked
his whip and his joke in an uncontrollable ec-
stacy of triumphant glee. " How now ! Sir
Knight of the rueful countenance," he exclaimed
BRAMIiLETYE HOUSE. 91
to one of the bystanders, who seemed particularly
dissatisfied at his imprudent exposure, " never
fear, we are all good men, and true blue to the
backbone. At least I can answer for myself :
I can laugh, and sing, and play the fool, but
I am no such grinning and scurrilous turn-coat
as Marchamount Needham, whom somebody or
other has noticed as ' transcendently gifted in
opprobrious and treasonable droll.' I am not
one of those who begin with the Mercurius
Britannicus, and after turning over to the King,
and asking his pardon upon my knees, end with
the rascally Mcrcuinus Politicus."
" The bird that sings before the fowler,"
said the wary Sir William Clayton, for such
was the gentleman to whom he had addressed
himself, " gets paid for his piping v/ith a shot.
The bough that flutters to every wind shakes
its own fruit to the gi'ound, and the tongue that
is always wagging will at length bring down its
owner's head. The mouth is the door of the
92 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
heart, Sir John, and before we venture to leave
it unlocked we should be sure of other's honesty,
as well as our own, which is a difficult task when
many a listener''s ears are hke an open prison,
and his hand like a limed bough."
" Od's heart ! my worthy neighbour," cried
Sir John, " be as wise and as sententious as you
please, but be not angr}'^ with a merry old cock
for chirping a bit, or even for crowing aloud."
" Surely he had better be silent," observed
Sir William, " when the poacher is loading his
gun without, and the fox and the weazel are
lurking for him within."
" If I were to be silent, I should be instantly
suspected," replied Sir John, " for great talkers
are always thought to be the least doers, and
every body knows, it 's the still sow that eats
all the draff; so take care of yourself, master
sly-boots. — Tut, man ; I know as well as you
that the empty cask makes the most noise, but
it may be sound at heart nevertheless, and all
the safer, because nobody thinks of tapping it."
BRAMBLETl'E HOUSE. 93
Sir William now put his finger to his lips,
and directed his eyes to a part of the retinue
that was approaching, a hint which was in-
stantly taken by his companion ; for unguarded
as he was, Sir John was not quite so hair-
hrained as to commit himself before the assem-
bled servants and strangers. Naturally blunt
and open in his disposition, he abhorred the
mask which common prudence occasionally com-
pelled him to wear : when, therefore, he was
among companions whom he thought to deserve
his confidence, he threw off his disguise and
indulged the genuine bias of his mind with as
much glee as the galled and trammelled horse
escapes from his harness to luxuriate in his
native pasture. Determined, however, to re-
deem his character with Sir William, and prove
that he could be as cunning and as close upon
occasion as the best of them, he now preserved
an uimatural silence, and displayed such a
studied reserve when bantered for being out of
94 BUAMELETYE HOUSE.
spirits, that he abundantly confirmed his own
assertion of exciting much more suspicion by
his taciturnity, than by all the frankness of his
customary rattle. Anxious to have some con-
fidential conversation with Sir William about
the fearful enterprize in which they were both
embarked, and apprehensive from his distrust-
ful character, that he would maintain his usual
reserve if there were other witnesses, he dis-
missed all his attendants to Brambletye House,
and requested such of the gentry as he had en-
gaged to dinner, to proceed to the same desti-
nation by one route, while he and Sir William
would follow them by another. So energeti-
cally, however, did he disclaim having any
thing particular to say to the latter personage,
and such a parade did he make of the absence
of all sinister design in this little arrangement,
that his palpable and clumsy finesse created
the very surmises it was intended to prevent,
the servants wondering what their masters could
BRAMBLKTYE HOUSE. 9j
have to say that required so much secrecy, and
the guests naturally distrusting their exclusion
from full confidence, when they were all par-
tisans in the same perilous undertaking.
The worthy Baronet, however, who thought
he had accomplished a truly Machiavelian ma-
noeuvre, returned to Sir William winking, and
lookino- as cunning and as knowing as the frank
and open honesty of his countenance would
allow him. " There they go ! there they go !""
exclamied he : " The simple rogues little think
how finely I have bamboozled them. I played
the old fox, and gave them a touch of the deep
one there, didn't 1 ?"— Here" he laid his finger
on one side of his nose, and made such an irre-
sistible attempt to twist his blunt features into
a sly expression, that Sir William could not
refrain from a smile.
" Adzooks ! " cried Sir John, " Fm right
«rlad to see ye snigger, for you have been look-
ino- as woe-begone as Praise-God Barebones,
96 BEAMBLETYE HOUSE.
th6 canting leather-seller of Fleet Street. Psha I
man ; every thing is going on well. We have
killed one red-faced Noll to day, and if I get
within stone's throw of the other, I will not let
him off so cheap as I did before.""
** Before I'^ exclaimed his companion, " what
are you alluding to ?""
" Why, hark ye, Sir William, it 's a secret I
wouldn't imprudently divulge to any one, be-
cause it might occasion me to lose my head ;
but you have, doubtless, heard long ago of his
carriage being broken by a brick-bat, thrown
at him from the top of a house in the Strand, as
he was returning from a grand dinner, at Gro-
cers' Hall, on an Ash-Wednesday."
" I remember the occurrence," said Sir Wil-
liam, " and the great hubbub it excited, but I
believe they never discovered the author of the
insult."
" If they had," continued Sir John, " I should
wot now be riding through Ashdown forest, for
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 97
'twas I who gave him that dessert, by way
of letting him know that he should fast in-
stead of feasting on an Ash Wednesday. I
could not help it, vipon my soul. Sir AVilliam.
I was lying sick in bed, as who could help being
sick in such distempered times, when I was dis-
turbed by the noise of his returning procession ;
and hui-rying to the window to learn the cause,
I could not resist the temptation of throwing a
brickbat at the rascal's head. You could not
yourself have resisted it. Sir William ; I am
sure you could not.""
" I rather think I should," replied his au-
ditor, calmly ; " but how did you escape dis-
covery ? "
" Suspicion luckily attached itself to the next
house, and when the two or three officers who
came to the sick gentleman's apartment, as mine
was termed, found me ill in bed, and received
my assurance that not a soul had entered my
VOL. I. F
98 BUAMBLETYE HOUSE.
room, they very obligingly took their departure,
and 1 heard no more of the matter."
" I recommend you, however," said Sir Wil-
liam, " neither to repeat your experiment nor
your present confession, for both might be
equally dangerous, if the Protector "
" A fico for the Roundhead rogue ! " inter-
rupted Sir John. — " I hope he will soon be in
our power. He has had one tumble from his
seat while riding in his coach and six round
Hyde Park, with his wife Joan * beside him,
and his Secretary Thurloe in the boot ; and I
hope we shall presently overset him from the
car of government, and make him ride in a dif-
ferent vehicle to Tyburn, that we may verify
the Ballad —
• Such was the nick-name invariably bestowed by
the Cavaliers upon Cromwell's wife, though her real
name was Elizabeth. The accident alluded to occurred
in July 1654. The pistol^ which the Protector always
carried in his pockety went off, but with his usual good
fortune he escaped all injuiy.
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 99
' Every day and hour hath show'd us his power.
But now he hath show'd us his art ;
His first reproach was a fall from his coach.
His next will be from a cart.'
When the old King's statue was thrown
down from the gallery at St. PauFs, it alighted,
I remember, upon its feet, which was accepted
as a good omen that his family should still
stand firm to the last ; but if this pestilent
image of a king be once fairly tumbled down,
I will take good care that he shall not fall upon
his feet ; — and I hope before we hunt another
of his red-nosed namesakes, that we shall have
hauled down the original by a long pull, and a
strong pull, and a pull all together."
Sir John now informed his companion, who
was a steady listener, though a shy talker, that
by the latest accounts from St. Malo's, the King
was quite ready to embark with an army under
the Count de jVIarsin, the Prince de Conde's
general, who has been lately honoured with the
order of the Garter; — that Colonel Russel,
F 2
J 00 BRAMBLKTYE HOUSE.
Mr. Mordaiint, and tlie })rlncipal Royalists, as
well as the chief citizens of London, were
prepared to rise the moment a landing should
be effected ; that the Usurper, as he termed
him, could not depend upon the support of
his own army beyond two or three regiments ;
and finally, that the prospects of the King and
the Royalists never looked more pleasant and
promising. His imagination carrying the san-
guine baronet to the successful consummation
of their enterprise, and the celebration of their
victory over a cup of hippocras or Gascoigne
wine, he began to express his triumph in the
usual way, by singing with a lusty voice : —
" Now we 're met in a knot, let 's take t' other pot.
And chirp o'er a cup of nectar ;
Let 's think on a charm, to keep us from harm^
From the fiend and the foul Protector.
" Heretofore at a brunt, a cross would have done 't.
But now "
There he abruptly broke off in the middle of
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 101
his song, and as suddenly stopped his horse
upon hearing the distant report of a piece of
ordnance. After a minute's interval, a second
sounded, when his face, which had been all the
time gradually reddening, coloured up to a most
fiery and portentous glow, as he ejaculated, —
" Ud's Sacrament ! it 's the two falconets a-top
of Brambletye !"
" It did indeed sound like two drakes, or
some of those smaller pieces of artillery," ob-
served Sir WiUiam — '* but what of that ? they
may be exercising the troops at East Grinstead."
" East devil !"" exclaimed Sir John petulantly,
— " it came from Brambletye; I can swear to
the sound of the falconets, and I ordered them
to be fired only in case of discovery, or of any
sudden attack upon the house."
" God be good unto us !" cried Sir William,
— " then we are betrayed — I was always afraid
of this ;" and he turned as pale as his compa-
nion was crimson.
102 J8EAMBLETYE HOUSE.
(C
We may still be in time to lend a helping
hand," cried Sir John. So saying, he clapped
spurs to his steed, and galloped forwards, fol-
lowed by the appalled Sir William, who was
rather anxious to learn the real nature of the
danger, than disposed to share in any quixotic
enterprise for the relief of Brambletye if it were
beleaguered. They had proceeded in this way
for some time without exchanging a single word,
so completely were they both absorbed by their
different apprehensions, when they unexpectedly
encountered Nick. Groombridge, from whom they
presently learnt the imminent jeopardy in which
Brambletye House was placed, and in which its
owner and his associates threatened to be ul-
timately involved.
" If this be the case," said Sir William, " we
may be sure that the whole plot is discovered,
and it woidd be madness to proceed. I dare
say, warrants are already out for our apprehen-
sion, and we have nothing to do but to consider
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
103
the best method of effecting our escape, for there
will be instant and hot pursuit. Have you
prepared in any way for this unpleasant emer-
gency .?'•
" 'Ods heart ! Sir William, I never gave it
a thought : — have you ?" " I have already
been once in custody," replied Sir William, "and
as I have no wish to wear the stone doublet a
second time, I have anticipated this dilemma,
and have already arranged a little plan for my
escape.""
" The deuce you have ! what is it ?"
" It is only calculated for one," replied Sir
William, drily.
" And you have doubtless provided a place
of immediate concealment — where is it ?*"
" If I were to mention it, it would no longer
deserve that name."
" Humph !" ejaculated Sir John, in a pettish
and disappointed voice; " and what then do you
recommend me to do .?"
104 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
" There is but one rule in these cases," an-
swered Sir William, " which is to separate im-
mediately, that each may have the better chance
of escape, and not more than one at a time fall
into the hands of our pursuers, if we are destined
to bo taken, from which, however, Heaven pre-
serve us both !"^ With these words he turned
his horse's head, and struck at a sharp pace
into the forest, influenced to this unceremonious
proceeding not less by the natural distrust of
his character, than by his firm conviction that
the discovery of tlieir plot was mainly attribu-
table to the intemperate sallies and fool-hardy
conduct of Sir John, against whose active par-
ticipation in their measures or counsels he had
always vehemently protested.
The latter would probably have vented his
indignation at this desertion in no very tem-
perate terms, but that his thoughts, ever more in-
tent upon the safety of others than upon his own,
reverted painfully to them of his household, who
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
105
might have become compromised by his recent
proceedings, and he determined, at all events, tt)
proceed towards Brambletye House to see what
could be done towards their extrication. He
was already in the immediate vicinity of Wi-
thyham Bridge, where the Protector's troops
had halted upon their advance, when a horse-
man bursting through the bushes, galloped to-
wards him, and as Sir John never hunted with-
out pistols, and concluded the fellow to be hur-
rying forwards to apprehend him, he levelled
his weapon, and had almost pulled the trigger
ere he discovered that it was Serjeant Whit-
taker, who was coming to seek out his master
and share his dangers. Having learnt from him
the surrender of Brambletye House, and that
the warrant of apprehension was directed only
against himself, he spurred into the thick covert,
away from the high road, and called a covmcil
of war with his two faithful retainers. Whit-
taker had nothing to advise or propose, except
F 5
106 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
that he should accompany his master whitherso-
ever he might go. Sir John thanked him
heartily for this new proof of his devotedness
to his person, but knew his blunt reckless cha-
racter too well to select him for an office that
required the utmost wariness and circumspec-
tion. — " No, no, Whittaker,"" he exclaimed,
** you are as bad a one as myself at enacting
any thing with a double face, and I cannot pro-
nounce a more perfect disqualification."
The Serjeant was therefore entreated to take
charge of Jocelyn's safety, of whose arrest they
were all ignorant. For this purpose he was
provided with money, and instructed to convey
him to the house of a relation in London, to
whose present custody he might be confidently
entrusted ; while Sir John, at Groombridge's
recommendation, once more turned his weary
horse's head into the forest, and guided by
his companion, slowly made his way to a spot
called Peppingford Wan-en, situated in the
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 107
loneliest part of that unfrequented and thickly
wooded tract. Here, in a miserable hovel, run
up for the occasional accommodation of the
warrener, without bed, provisions, or light, the
vexed and indignant, but still stout-hearted Sir
John, arrived towards the close of day, and
prepared to take up his quarters for the night.
Groombridge promised to revisit him before
day-break with supplies of all sorts, as well as
to concert measures for his future disposal ;
when, having recommended him to fasten the
door, and not answer should the cottage be
hailed by any chance-wanderer, of which he
said there was but little apprehension, he wished
his master good night, and took his departure.
Left to his solitary, and, what he considered
worse, his thirsty, meditations, Sir John had full
leisure to weigh the difference between sitting
at the head of his own festive board, as pro-
prietor of Brambletye House, to quaff Gas-
coigne wine of his own importation; and i)is
108 BRAMBLETYE HOUSK.
present disconsolate plight, which condemned'
him to become a ruined Avanderer and exile, if
he were even fortunate enough to save his head
from the formidable clutch of the man whom
he detested above all others breathing. Wrath
against this obnoxious individual predominated
over every feeling of his own immediate losses
and prospective perils. Utterly forgetting the
conspiracy in which he had been engaged against
the life of the Protector, he could think of no-
thing but the portentous prodigy that such a
man should be enabled to convert him, Sir
John Compton, of Brambletye House, into an
outlaw ; and the monstrous iniquity of his pre-
suming to exercise this formidable power. " And
all this outrageous injustice," he ejaculated to
himself, " to be perpetrated against me by a
canting Roundhead-brewer of Huntingdon," —
for so the Royalists delighted to call him, though
there was no authority for the averment, and na
disgrace in it if true. — " A murrain seize Sir
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 109
Ralph Hopton," he continued, " for not doing
his business efFectually, when he first rode over
him, and unhorsed him at the battle of Horn-
castle, and then knocked him down as he was
rising : and a pize upon my own clumsy arm for
not better aiming the brickbat which I threw at
his head from the top of the house at St. Cle-
ment's! That we should all be trampled upon,
too, by a crop-eared poltroon, who refused to head
his regiment in a charo-e at the battle of Marston
Moor, and suffered Crawford to do it for him,
because he had been singed in the neck by the
priming of one of his soldier's pistols ! 'Sblood !
who would have thought a few years ago, —
let me see, — it can't be above seventeen or
eighteen — ay, I recollect Sir Philip Warwick
telling me, the same year the Scotch army first
came into England, that upon his entering the
House of Conmions, he saw a fellow speaking,
or rather squeaking, in a harsh untuneable
voice, who looked as clownish as a Yorkshire
110 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
tike ; his hat without a hatband ; his sword
stuck close to his side, like a carpenter's rule;
and his face as red and swoln as a drunken
crowder's. That such a crop-eared cub as this
should eject the lion, and come to be King of
England ! However, Rowley is at St. Malo's,
and will presently come over with his Moun-
seers to set matters to rights, and send the
usurping knave to hold his last court at
Tyburn.*"
With this comfortable assurance, Sir John
having ensconced himself as well as he could in
a crazy arm-chair, the only one in the hovel,
and stretched out his legs upon a wooden stool,
began to nod his head, and to hum to himself in
a low voice —
" The Dippers and Ranters, and Scotch Covenanters,
That brag of their faith and their zeal.
May abound in their feignings, — I'll make no complain-
ings.
Nor will 1 their secrets reveal. —
The poor Cavaliers that still live in fears
Of prison and sequestration.
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. Ill
Tho' they keep Christmas-day, are more honest than
they ;
But honesty 's quite out of fashion."
After completing the verse, his head dipped
downwards with a deeper inclination, and he
continued mumbling to himself at increasing in-
tervals, and in more indistinct tones, " Round-
head rascal I — Brambletye ! Flask of Hip-
pocras! Yoicks, Tally ho! At him Row-
ley ! Red-nosed Noll!^ No wine!
Devilish dry I" when he finally fell asleep,
and snored in a manner which would presently
have convinced any of the chance-wanderers to
whom Groombridge had made allusion, that the
hovel was not untenanted. Fortunately, how-
ever, none such approached, and there were no
other listeners to his midnight melody than the
lonely forest and the silent moon.
112 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
CHAPTER IV.
" Good tidings, my Lord Hastings, for the which
I do arrest thee, traitor ! of high treason."
Shakspeare.
According to his promise, the warrener pre-
sented himself at the hovel by dawn of day,
while Sir John was yet snoring in his chair ;
and after repeated raps upon the wall witii his
cudgel, succeeded in breaking his slumbers,
and getting him to open the door. Imagining
himself at first to be in a dream, the worthv
Baronet rubbed his eyes, and stretched and
stared upon his summoner with a looi^ of most
perplexed and vacant wonderment, from which
his sensations of hunger and thirst, and the sight
of the refreshments in Groombridge's basket.
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 113
seemed to arouse him much more rapidly than
could have been effected by any dehberate eifort
of the memory, Eagerly assisting in placing the
viands upon a low shelf, for there was no table
in the room, he fell to work with an activity
proportioned to his long fast, and had despatch-
ed a rabbit-pie, which the warrener's wife had
manufactured for their own Sunday dinner,
together with the contents of a stone bottle,
which proved to be a strong malt-liquor, called
Double Bub, ere Groombridge had half com-
pleted his story of the alarm which had been
created through the whole country by the dis-
covery of the arms and the conspiracy ; — of
the calling out the troops at East Grinstead ; —
of the meeting that was talked of to prepare a
loyal address to the Protector ; — and of the hot
pursuit which had already commenced through
the neighbourhood of Brambletye for the arrest
of its proprietor. " Well now, honest Nick,""
exclaimed the Baronet, smacking his lips, after
114 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
finishing the last draught of the bottle, " you
may tell me the whole of that story over again
from the beginning, for the devil a word have I
been listening to from first to last. Couldn^'t
help it, Nick, upon my soul ; too hungry to
think of any thing else ; but you may spout
away now as long as you like, and I '11 pay
every attention to what you say, while I am
just finishing my breakfast upon this nice bread
and cheese."
Nick patiently recapitulated all the news he
had picked up, and all the dangers with which
Sir John was surrounded, ending with an earnest
recommendation that he should not think of
moving from his present hiding-place, till some
plausible scheme had been devised for his escape.
For the purpose of putting his pursuers upon
a false scent, he proposed riding Sir John's
horse, which had been left tethered in the im-
mediate neighbourhood, to the opposite extre-
mity of the forest, taking care to leave him in
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 115
the vicinity of some place, where he would be
shortly found and recognised. He rightly con-
jectured that the earliest and the most active
hue and cry would be towards the coast, — to
which point the Royalists generally directed
themselves upon similar emergencies, for the
chance of obtaining a passage to France or
Flanders. To favour the supposition that his
master had followed their example, he took ad-
vantage of the darkness to ride his hunter in
that direction as far as he dared venture, when
he left him on the high road, and bent his way
back to his own cottage, choosing the most un-
frequented paths, so that he did not reach home
till the sun had been some time risen. After a
short repose, he returned to the hovel with a
fresh supply of provisions, and was heartily
welcomed by Sir John, who had been little
accustomed to solitary imprisonment, and began
to complain bitterly of its irksomeness. Un-
able, however, to deny the prudence of submit-
116 BRAMBLETYK HOUSE.
tins: to it for a few days, until the first ardour
of pursuit should have become a little cooled,
he consented to prolong his confinement for that
period, at the expiration of which it was pro-
posed that he should assume some disguise, and
endeavour to make his way to Brigthelmstead,
then a miserable and obscure fishing-town, and
the same from which the King had embarked
after the unfortunate battle of Worcester.
Groombridge suggested that as passes were now
required for all travellers wearing a respectable
appearance, he had better dress himself in a
beggar's weeds and wallet, and begin his quali-
fication for the character by cutting off all his
hair, which, according to the cavalier fashion, he
wore flowing down to his shoulders.
" Cut off my hair !" cried Sir John, indig-
nantly ; " become a crop-eared rascally Round-
head ! I had rather the canting knaves should
take me at once and cut my head off."
Groombridge, however, reminding him, that
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 117
according to what Jie had heard tell, King
Charles himself, after the fight of Worcester,
had cut off his long hair, and buried it, together
witli his buff jacket and linen drawers, under
the oak tree in which he concealed himself, Sir
John felt all his scruples removed by so exalted
an authority, and submitted to the operation
forthwitii, though not without venting an oath
or a malediction against the rebels and Puritans
for almost every lock that fell to the ground.
The disguise had been procured and put on ; his
old habiliments, in imitation of the royal exam-
pie, had been committed to the earth ; his beard
was suffered to grow ; and he had reached the
last evening but one to which he had limited his
incarceration, when, in the absence of Groom-
bridge, and in the impatience of a confinement
that cramped both his mind and body, he de-
termined to venture out a little wav in tlie dusk,
just to stretch his legs, and breathe the fresh
air. So renovating did he find the e\'ening
118 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
breeze, and so delightful was the sensation of
recovering the free use of his limbs, that his spi-
rits became instantly exhilarated, and he strolled
rather farther than he had at first contemplated,
feeling no small confidence in his mendicant rags,
and humming to himself, as he snapped his fin-
gers at the thought of the King's soon landing
with an army,
" He that is a Cavalier,
Need not repine,
Tho' his substance grow so very low.
That he can't drink wine.
Sing Vive le roi !
" He that is a trusty Roger
And will serve his King,
Altho' he be a tattered soldier.
Yet will he skip and sing.
Sing Vive le Roi I"
Either to suit the action to the word, or to
give his stiffened legs a more vigorous relaxa-
tion, he was practising a hop, step, and jump
along the grass, when he obscurely perceived a
dark figure moving rapidly away from him, and
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 119
at the same time heard the well-known accents
of the black ghost, as he termed her, ejaculat-
ing — " The Lord shall deliver up the ungodly
into the hands of the enemy !" — Startled by this
unexpected apparition, and deeply feeling the
necessity of concealment, his first impulse was
to retire ; but reflecting for a moment that the
party, whoeverj^it might be, had probably been
near enough to discover him from his voice, he
resolved to make one more effort at securing the
form that thus perpetually haunted him, and
endeavour to clear up the mystery of its ap-
pearance. For this purpose he rushed rapidly
forwards in the direction it had taken ; but the
darkness had now deepened ; nothing was to be
seen or heard, and the object of his pursuit
eluded his grasp as easily as it had done upon
former occasions. Had he been at all disposed to
indulge the notion of supernatural visitants, the
circumstances might well have warranted him ;
but he felt persuaded that he was dogged by
some persevering spy, although he could not ac-
120 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE,
count for the facility of its escape ; and in this
behef he saw the necessity of immediately de-
camping from his present lair, and making the
best of his way to some other part of the coun-
try.
Avaihng himself therefore of the darkness,
and without waiting the appearance of Groom-
bridge, he returned to the hovel, filled his wallet
v/ith such viands as were left, secreted some
broad-pieces of money in the lining of his lea-
thern gambadoes, took a stout staff which had
been provided for him, and trudged briskly
through the forest in the direction of the coast.
When the morning broke, he found himself a
good many miles distant from Peppingford War-
ren and its sorry tenement, and deeming it ad-
viseable to travel as little as possible in the day-
time, he laid himself down in a lonely gravel-
pit, and slept soundly till the afternoon. As
soon as he awoke, he applied himself to the con-
tents of his wallet, and as his appetite, which
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 121
never failed him, had been little accustomed to
restraint, he thought not of husbanding his re-
sources, but despatched all his store at one
breakfast. He had some small money, however,
in his pocket for procuring a new supply, which
he thought might more safely be accomplished
in the evening ; at which time accordingly he
ventured for the first time upon the high road,
hoping to encounter some village shop or ale-house
that might furnish him what with he wanted.
After having proceeded a few hundred yards,
looking up and down with a scrutinizing eye, he
observed a pedlar, with a box at his back, and a
pipe in his mouth, who had, apparently, struck
into the high-way from a cross-road behind, and
was advancing at a stout pace, that threatened
soon to overtake him. Not over-anxious to enter
into colloquy with any one, and particularly with
a man whose station in life, so nearly milar to
that which he had himself assumed, w uld not
only warrant his opening a conversation, but
VOL. I. G
122 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
might perhaps enable the stranger to discover
that he was conversing with an impostor, Sir
John mended his pace, hoping to outstrip and
distance his follower. But the sturdy fellow
stepped out with such a vigorous stride, that he
soon saw it would be impossible to avoid being
overtaken, unless he fairly took to running,
which might only excite suspicion, and not the
better enable him to carry his point. To dart
out of the high road, which he had for a moment
meditated, was liable to the same objection; and
he therefore resolved to slacken his pace, affect
nonchalance, and give this resolute tramper an
opportunity of passing him. Happening to re-
collect a fragment of a song that was applicable
to his present ostensible calling, he carelessly
trolled, just as he heard the footsteps behind
him, —
" I am never the better which side gets the battle.
The Tubs or the Crosses^ what is it to me }
Tliey '11 never increase my goods or my cattle.
But a beggar 's a beggar, and so he sliall be.
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 123
To the wedding, the wedding, the wedding go we.
To the wedding a begging, a begging all three."
" Hey ! my merry master of the wallet," cried
the pedlar coming up, " art crowing the sun to
bed instead of to rise ? I thousjlit songs were
out of fashion now-a-days ; but an you're for tag-
ging ballads I '11 top you till the moon rises, —
ay, and like yourself, in the way of my own trade.
* Come buvj you lusty gallants.
These simples which I sell ;
In all our days are none like these
For beauty, strength, and smell.
Here 's the king-cup, panzy, violet.
The rose that loves the shower.
The wholesome gilliflower,
Both the cowslip, lilly.
And the daffodilly,
^I'ith a thousand in my power.'
And so now, my chirping chum, tune up
another stave, and a whifF of tobacco ! for the
Act against ballad-singers."
Well pleased with the merry humour of the
pedlar, but not at all disposed to encourage a
familiarity which might be attended with dan-
g2
124 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
orerous results. Sir John declared, with as for-
bidding an expression as he could assume, that
he had no more songs to sing ; and that, if he
had, he felt no inclination to bandy them with
a stranger."
" Nay, comrade," cried the pedlar, '' never
look so glum, but let us crow while we can :
• Hey down derry ! Ho derry derry !
Hi ! mistress Mary ! I pray you be merry ' —
for it 's hard the cock may not stretch his throat
to-day, when he is liable to have his neck twist-
ed to-morrow."
Not a little alarmed at this suspicious remark,
of which, however, he determined to take no no-
tice, Sir John preserved silence, and slackened his
pace, hoping that his companion, who had previ-
ously appeared to be in such a hurry, would move
on. In this expectation he was disappointed :
the pedlar lounged along by his side, apparently
quite at his ease, and stood still when the Ba-
ronet did the same, as if determined not to be
shaken off, — " Harkye friend," he at length ex-
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 1525
claimed to Sir John, in a half whisper, "if you
are lagging hereabout upon the sly, and wish to
mill a gentry cove's ken, or curb any snappings,
such as a lage of dudes, a Margery prater, or a
Tib of the Buttery, you may as well take me for
your Wai-pe, for I know of a Sterling Ken here-
abouts, where we may get some rare RufF-peck,
and plenty of Rome-bowse.*
" I understand nothing of your pickpockets'
cant," said Sir John indignantly.
" What ! a beggar and not understand your
own dictionary !" replied the pedlar.
" The late times have made many such,"
continued Sir John, " who were never born to
that condition, and are consequently unversed
in its mysteries."
" True, indeed !" ejaculated the pedlar with
• Signifying in the thieves' slang of that day — " If
you wish to rob a gentleman's house, or pilfer any goods,
such as a buck of clothes, or a hen, or a goose, let me
be your spy, for 1 know of a receiving-house for our plun-
der, where we may get bacon and wine.''
126 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
a deep sigh, at the same time fixing his eyes
upon the ground, and appearing to be lost in
a profound reverie, a temporary abstraction of
which Sir John availed himself to dart forward
once more, with a velocity that almost amount-
ed to a run. But his tormentor was presently
again at his side, exclaiming — " Nay, if you
are for a match, here goes for a quart of ale,
and we will cheer the way with a song. How
runs the old catch .'*
' The monk then threw his cowl
From off his shaven poll.
And he tuck'd up his frock. Sir John, Sir John ;
If you wish to run a race.
Be this the starting-place.
And the devil take the hindmost. Sir John, Sir John.' "
" Pester me no longer, sirrah pedlar, with
your saucy Sir Johns,'^ cried the Baronet stop-
ping short, and looking fiercely at his companion,
— " trudge one way or another, good-man gal-
lows-bird, and leave me to myself, or I may
chance to switch your shoulders with my sa{>-
BllAMBLETYE HOUSE. 127
ling, which, as you may see, can leave a pretty
legible mark."
" Nay, I did but carol an old song," cried
the pedlar, " and why should we not trudge on
quietly together ; for you ai'e bound, as I sus-
pect, to the coast."
Starting and colouring deeply at tnis broad
insinuation that he was discovered, Sir John
determined to try at an escape by a ruse de
guerre^ and accordingly exclaimed v»'ith a
feigned astonishment — " The coast ! then the
lying knave of an innkeeper has misdirected
me: I am bound for Tunbridge, and find I am
wandering from my way !" So saying, he
faced to the right-about, when the pedlar did
the same, declaring that " all places were alike
to him, and that he had long intended to visit
Tunbridge, where there was generally a good
demand for his commodities." In this manner
he kept teasing and tormenting his victim for
some time, without being explicit enough to
128 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
allow him a plausible pretext for shaking hiHl
off or knocking him down ; just as one some-
times sees a gad-fly almost goading an ox to
madness, by so directing its attacks as to be
beyond the reach of either its tail or its horns.
Driven at length to a stand, and putting
himself in a menacing posture, the wrathful Sir
John roared out — " 'Sblood ! fellow," — when
the pedlar, calmly interrupting him, exclaimed
— " 'Sblood is an oath, and you are liable to a
penalty under the Act for the better pre-
venting and suppressing of the detestable sins of
prophane swearing and cursing.'
" And if it be," rejoined Sir John, thrown off
his guard by tlie cool assurance of his com-
panion, " I have paid my twenty-shillings be-
fore now for the same offence, and care not if
I live to do it again."
" Twenty shillings !" ejaculated the pedlar —
" why, a lord forfeits but thirty, a baronet or
a kniglit twenty, an esquire ten, a gentleman
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 129
■six and eightpence, and all inferior persons
three and fourpence ; the whole to be doubled
for the second offence ; so runs the Act. Zooks !
you are not a baronet, are you ?"
Convinced of his being discovered from the
sly look and ironical tone that accompanied this
question, Sir John now prepared to try con-
clusions with his beleaeuerer, and see whether
he could not part company by throwing him
fairly into the ditch ; when the pedlar stepped
back, and assuming a more dignified manner,
exclaimed with a smile, — " Forgive me, my
dear Compton, for such I instantly knew you
to be by your bluff and hearty voice — forgive
me for thus trifling with your feelings, but I
was anxious to ascertain the security of my
disguise, and prove whether these pedlar's trap-
pings and my borrowed slang would effectually
supersede the quondam Marquess of Ormond."
" My lord of Ormond V cried Sir John,
scrutinizing liim with his eyes — " Body o"" me !
G 5
130 HBAMBLETYE HOUSE.
and so it is ! who would have thought it ? And
yet I should have presently found you out, but
for your feigned voice/'
" Which may show you the necessity, Sir
John, of disguising your own. You must take
up the beggar's whine as well as his wallet,
and quote Lazarus and scraps of Scripture if
you look for alms and broken victuals.""
They now retired to a liollow copse, unex-
posed to observation from the high road, where
the Marquess stated that he had been sent
over by the King to take the command of the
ntcnded Rising, but that, as soon as he had
learnt the detection of the conspiracy, he had
disguised himself and left London, not expect-
ing the Protector would be complaisant enough
to give him a second opportunity of escaping.*
* Upon a former occasion, when the Marquess was in
London plotting for the King, Cromwell was generous
enough to send him word by Lord Broghill, that he
knew of his being in town, as well as tlie objects of his
visit. The Marquess took the hint as it was intended,
and made his escape.
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 131
He proceeded to inform Sir John that a procla-
mation had been issued, ordering all Royalists
within a circle of twenty miles round London,
to w^ithdraw themselves ; and anions: other nu-
merous arrests, told him that his kinsman Sir
William Compton, and his neighbour Sir Wil-
liam Clayton, had both been sent to the Tower.
" What, old Clayton nabbed I'"" cried the Baro-
net, " in spite of all his crafty plans and pre-
parations ; — why then, since the wary fox falls
into the pit when the blind buzzard blunders
over it, there may be some chance of my own
escape." — He was dejected, however, at the
intelligence, and still more so at learning that
the King would doubtless abandon the pro-
jected landing, now that the plot had so un-
fortunately exploded in England. From pub-
lic affairs they proceeded to discourse of their
own, and both agreeing that their sole chance
was to make for the coast, where a few pieces
of gold would, in all probability, get them con-
1S2 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
veyed in a fishing-boat to France, they deter-
mined to travel on together, Sir John shrewdly
remarking that two heads were better than one,
especially such a one as his own.
Unfortunately the Marquess was in a still
worse phght than Sir John as to provisions,
having tasted nothing that day, and complain-
ing, as he started up to proceed, that he found
the rope across his chest, and the pedlar's box
at the end of it, not quite so light or pleasant
to carry as the blue ribbon and George to which
he h,ad been accustomed. " Zooks !"" cried the
good-natured Baronet, " let me then have a
spell of it, for I have had a hearty breakfast ;
and as to the weight, I have made little of car-
rying a buck across my shovdders before now."
So saying, and without listening to the Mar-
quess's protestations, he hastily relieved him
from his burthen, which he slung at his own
back, giving his stout staff in exchange; and
thus accoutred they regained the high-way, for
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 1«^3
the pressing and indispensable object of reple-
nishing their exhausted larder.
Scarcely, however, had they proceeded two
hundred paces, when, vipon a sudden turn of the
road, they unexpectedly came upon a straggling
party of dragoons, whose leader had no sooner
caught a glimpse of them than he clapped spurs
to his horse, galloped up, and hastily dismount-
ing seized Sir John roughly by the collar, cry-
ing out — " So ho, my lord pedlar, have we
found you at last ? Here is the blue box at his
back and the bunch of roses painted upon the
lid, exactly as it was described to us. I know
you, my Lord of Ormond, and I arrest you in
the name of his Highness the Lord Protector.
And who is this shabby chough by your side ?
another of the plotters and malignants ?"
With a promptitude of thought, rather in
unison with the generous kindness of his heart
than the customary singleness of his apprehen-
sion, Sir John had determined, while his an-
134 SRAMBLETAE HOUS15,
tagonist was making this speech, to favour the
mistake by substituting himself for the Marquess,
and adopt a hue of conduct which might at
least enable one of them to escape. Before the
latter, therefore, could make any attempt at ex-
planation, he exclaimed to the officer — " I sur-
render myself, Captain, and demand civil treat-
jnent and safe escort to London. This sturdy
bumpkin with the bludgeon had already dis-
covered and made me his prisoner, in expec-
tation, I suppose, of the reward, but as he threat-
ened to expose me to some of his fanatical crew
at Lewes, to which place he was conducting me,
I am not sorry to fall into better hands."
The remainder of the party, who had now
rode up, not in the least desiring a participa-
tor either in the honour or probable profit of the
arrest, drew their swords^ and refusing to hear
one word that the Marquess had to utter, drove
him away with many opprobrious epithets; after
which they hastily mounted Sir John behind
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 135
one of their body, and set off with their prisoner
at a brisk pace.
Nothing could exceed the astonishment of
tlie Marquess, accustomed as he was to all the
strange turns and vicissitudes of war, at his own
marvellous escape in this unexpected adventure,
and the adroit promptitude of Sir John, which
indeed seemed much more surprising than the
magnanimity of the action. That he should
desert one who had just made such a noble
sacrifice for his safety, was utterly inconsistent
with the character of the Marquess of Ormond ;
he determined, therefore, to abandon his first
design of making for the sea, and remain con-
cealed in the country, with the intention of
offering himself to the Protector in exchange
for Sir John, should the latter be ultimately
brought to trial, or exposed to any serious jeo-
pardy.
136 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
CHAPTER V.
" He might put on a hat, a muffler, and a kerchief,
and so escape." — Shakspeare.
After the ebullition of the first generous
impulse which had stimulated Sir John to sur-
render himself for the preservation of a life
which he knew to be twice as valuable to the
King's cause as his own, his reflections assumed
a somewhat dreary and disconsolate cast. He
could not think without compunction upon tlie
destitute and unprotected situation of his only
child Jocelyn, abandoned to himself at a tender
age, and in convulsive times, which had too
often violently severed the closest bonds of
friendship, and occasioned the nearest claims of
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 137
consanguinity to be uttei-ly disregarded. Bram-
bletye House with its sports and luxuries, its
tempting store of stags without, and French
wine within, rose regretfully to his memory ;
while it fretted and galled his inmost soul to
consider that, so far from enjoying the triumph
he had anticipated, and witnessing the restora-
tion of the King, it seemed more than probable
that he would himself fall a sacrifice to a set
of men whom he mortally hated, and never de-
signated in any other terms than as a gang of
hypocrites, rebels, and regicides. Nor was the
conversation of the soldiers by whom he was
guarded, calculated to receive any alleviation
by the empty honour they conferred upon him
in styUng him " my lord ;"'' for they discoursed
of the different executions at which they had
lately been present, those of Gerrard, Vowel,
and other lloyalist conspirators, whose cases were
exactly similar to Sir John's. Some of them even
speculated, although in a lower tone of voipe,
138 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
which he was not intended to hear, upon the
place of his suffering; and a half-pound of
tobacco was Avagered upon the doubtful point
whether it would be at Brambletye House, or
upon Tower Hill.
The nature of this bet was probably suggest-
ed by the production of their tobacco-pipes, an
appendage without which they never com-
menced a march J and which, however contrary
to our present notions of discipline, they were
even accustomed to smoke when upon duty.
All being provided with this solace, they chatted
and trotted on for some miles, Avhen Sir John
observed that the horse upon which he was
mounted, exhausted by so heavy an addition to
its burthen, beffan to drop behind its com-
■-?:>
op
panions, and exhibit symptoms of distress, al-
though the spur was not sparingly applied.
Either to give the animal a minute's breathing-
time, or more probably to rekindle his pipe,
which had become nearly extinct, the soldier
BllAMBLETYE HOUSE. 139
halted, and continued so long occupied in
coaxing the tobacco to burn, that when he
looked up, his comrades, owing to a curve in
the road, were no longer in sight. Angrily
dashing his pipe to the ground at this disco-
very, he clapped spurs to his horse, and the
animal plunging forwards and tripping at the
same time, came violently to the ground, in
such a manner as to entangle and disable the
dragoon, leaving Sir John uninjured, and in
possession of his liberty. A hope of escape
flashing through his mind like liohtnina:, he
darted into the wood which skirted the road on
either side, and plunged into the thickest cover
he could find. Perfectly aware that the rest of
the party were only a trifling distance ahead,
and already hearing the voice of the fallen
dragoon, who was shouting to his companions,
he felt that not a moment was to be lost ; and
the first expedient that occurred to him being
the same that was adopted by the King when
140 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
flying from Worcester, he climbed hastily up
a thick and lofty tree.
Hardly had he ensconced himself amid its
closest and most leafy boughs, when the troopers
were heard galloping back, and dashing through
the underwood beneath, as if their sole chance
of success depended upon their speed. An
anxious and thrilling stillness succeeded, for
in the eagerness of their first burst they were
soon out of hearing ; but he was by no means
confident of his escape, rightly conjecturing that
when they missed him in that direction, they
would retrace their steps and institute a iieener
search. After a short interval, accordingly,
their voices were again audible, as they returned
slowly and dispersedly, beating the bushes, and
hallooing to one another. But the shades of
night were now closing rapidly around, and
though some of them repeatedly approached
the spot where he was concealed, he fortunately
escaped detection, until the increasing darkness
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 141
compelled them to abandon the search. From
a word or two that reached his ear, he suspected
some of the party had agreed to remain in the
wood all night, and reconnnence their search in
the morning; so that all his circumspection,
or rather his good-fortune, would still be neces-
sary to effect his final deliverance. So far, how-
ever, as it was already accomplished, he felt
grateful for an escape as sudden and unexpected
as had been his apprehension ; nor was he indis-
posed to indulge anticipations much more cheer-
ing than those which had haunted his mind, while
bumping along the road behind the dragoon,
and listening to a dialogue which perpetually con-
jured up images of a halter or an axe.
Not having heard a sound of any sort for
several hours, he concluded that the soldiers
who were to remain as sentries had either fallen
asleep upon their post, or planted themselves at
some distance, round the outskirts of the wood,
with the hope of intercepting his retreat. As
14^ BEAMBI.ETYE HOUSE.
nearly, therefore, as he could calculate, at the
hour of midnight, he let himself gently down
from the tree, and walking softly over the grass,
through the more open spaces of the wood, which
he could distinguish by their glimmering light,
he reached its extremity without interruption.
Here he again paused to listen, deeming it not
unlikely that some of the troopers might be pa-
trolling up and down; but the silence remain-
ing unbroken, he ventured into the open space,
which proved to be a heath of considerable ex-
tent, terminating in an uninclosed field of tur-
nips. In the midst of this dainty fare, for such
was it rendered by the urgency of his hunger,
he sate down to take his joint dinner and supper,
enjoying his hermit's repast with no small sa-
tisfaction, and only regretting the absence of
one of Nick Groombridge's stone bottles, which
would have completed the banquet. In spite of
his constitutional hydrophobia, he was fain to
seek a draught of Nature's simple element ; and
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 143
the guggling of a brook directing him to its
margin, he laid himself down and drank of the
running stream. Though perfectly pure and
limpid, it seemed swallowed rather to allay his
thirst, than to gratify his palate, for upon rising
up he spat distastefully upon the ground, ejacu-
lating—" Sad stuff ! sad stuff ! — hope I shall
never taste it ao-ain."
Invigorated by this primitive meal, and gaining
additional confidence as he receded from the wood,
he now pushed lustily across the country, conti-
nuing his career till the morning began to break,
when he deemed it prudent to halt amidst a tuft
of tall shrubs, and take an observation of the sur-
rounding district, that he might, if possible,
ascertain where he was. Here he had not re-
mained long when he was alarmed by the ap-
pearance of two rustics making directly towards
his place of concealment, and apparently bearing-
weapons upon their shoulders. They turned
out, however, to be labourers with uickaxes, who
14)4 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
after having advanced within thirty or forty
yards of his lurking-place, stopped, took off
their coats, waistcoats, and hats, which they left
upon the ground, and descended into a gravel-
pit, where they were no longer visible, though
he could still hear the noise of their tools as they
busily plied their work. Conscious that his
present habiliments would expose him to instant
detection should he again encounter any of the
soldiers. Sir John looked with a wistful eye upon
these more decent, though still sufficiently hum-
ble, garments, and resolved to make an attempt
at an exchange. Taking off therefore his own
tattered trappings, which he made up into a
bundle, he crawled to the spot upon his hands
and knees, selected the best of the two suits,
left a piece of money with his own clothes, more
than equivalent to the difference in value, and
regaining his covert without discovery, hastily
arrayed himself in his new attire.
Again making a considerable circuit, so as to
ISKAMBLETYK HOUSE. 145
avoid the gravel-pits, he pushed on briskly for
several miles, when iman-ining himself to be out
of immediate danger, he laid himself down on
the shady side of a peat-stack, exhausted with
his last night's vigils, and slept soundly for se-
ven or eight hours. Upon awaking in the after-
noon, he ascended a small eminence before him,
and at the distance of two or three miles, beheld
a considerable town, w^hich he instantly knew to
be Steyning. This was quite sufficient to direct
his course in making for the sea, but as he was
well aware that the downs yielded no turnips,
and felt sundry most importunate and even au-
dible yearnings for a more civilized repast, he
resolved to recruit himself at the first public-
house, and furnish his wallet, which he had still
retained, with a supply for the future.
In pursuance of this resolution, he gained the
high road, not sorrv to perceive a sign as he
advanced, dangling by the way-side, at about a
quarter of a mile's distance from the town. Upon
VOL. I. H
146
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
approaching it, however, his satisfaction receiv-
ed a sensible diminution, for it proved to be the
Protector's Head, exhibiting a half-length por-
trait of that celebrated personage, in a formi-
dable suit of armour, with a large celestial eye
amid the clouds, whence issued a bright diverg-
ing ray, typical of the divine light in which he
walked, and which by the time it had reached
his head and shoulders, had bedizened them with
a most inordinate and glistering glory. Under
this flaming signal, in bright golden letters upon
a blue ground, was the name of the landlord —
" Lovegrace Righteous," his real patronymic
having been Wright, to which, by a liberty not
unfrequently assumed in those days, he had
given what he conceived to be a more Scriptural
and euphonous termination.
Revolted at this ostentatious blazoning of
the Belzebub of the Regicides, as he not unfre-
quently termed him, and deeming it of evil au-
gury that he should claim hospitality of any sort
BEAMBLETYE HOUSE. 147
under the head of a man who was at that mo-
ment seeking his own, Sir John had at first re-
solved to pass on, and seek what he wanted in
some other inn ; but upon reflecting that the
one in question would probably be frequented
by rigid Roundheads, into Avhose society he
would be little suspected of intruding, he thought
he should be safer there than in any other quar-
ters, and decided upon entering it without fur-
ther hesitation. At a little distance, in advance
of the door, stood an important personage, being
no other than the aforesaid Mr. Lovegrace
Righteous, whose lank ferrety face, and meagre
habit of body seemed to afford no justification of
the gouty shoe in which one foot was enveloped,
though it might have had some share in produc-
ing the sour expression of his countenance. Ac-
cording to the fashion of his party, which had
procured them the nick-name of crop-eared
Roundheads, his hair was clipped quite colse to
his poll, upon which was a steeple-crowned hat,
H 2
148 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
with a brim of most disproportionate width. He
wore a sad-coloured cloak and doublet of cloth,
the latter cut as close and formal as possible,
and both as plain as a pike-staff ; his Flemish
breeches and hose were black, and his high-
quartered square-toed shoes were fastened with
large roses of serge. As all *' the Loi'd's peo-
ple'" (such was the title they assumed), were
bristling with arms and loyalty since the dis-
covery of the late plot, he had girded a long
sword round his loins, by a strap of plain un-
dressed leather, seeming to have as great a hor-
rour of lace, decoration, or any shining metal
about his person, as a modern Rifleman, whose
life depends, in some degree, upon the rigorously
dark and sombre hue of his equipments. With-
out withdrawing his hands from his breeches'
pockets, he exclaimed in a sharp peevish voice,
as Sir John was making his way to the door —
" Stop a bit, my master. What is your busi-
ness, and what seek you here ?"
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 149
** A little bread and cheese and a draft of sin-
gle beer, so please ye," replied Sir John, remem-
bering the iSIarquess's hint, and assuming, as
well as he could, the rustic dialect.
" Hast copper in thv pouch ?" inquired the
landlord somewhat scornfully — " for many a
loitering lozel cometh here, because I am known
to be a good Samaritan, and after partaking of
my creature-comforts, and the good things of
the flesh, payeth me, forsooth, with spiritual
coin, such as singing a hymn, or preaching an
extempore sermon."
Sir John showed him a handful of halfpence.
" Good !" ejaculated mine host, his counte-
nance losing a small portion of its vinegar —
" You will find of the best in our kitchen. And
what may be yovir errand this way, my friend,
for you are not of Stcyning, I trow ? Art one
of the brethren of Israel, that would hear the
word under our worthy Independent Minister
150 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
Dr. Fear-the-Lord Goodenough ? He doth not
expound till Friday evening."
Sir John disclaimed any such pious intention,
declaring that as he was out of employ, he
merely came to inquire for work.
" Say you so, my good friend, and what work
canst do ? Dost understand any thing of horses ?"
Sir John declared that he had been accustomed
to them all his life ; an averment which was
literally true, though not exactly as it was un-
derstood by his interrogator, who cast up his
eyes at the intelligence, ejaculating — " The Lord
is good — it is all his doing — he would not suffer
his servant to want assistance in the hour of
need." He then proceeded to state that he had
for some days been seeking an assistant in the
stable ; his old ostler, Seth, having journeyed up
to London, to hear the famous preacher, Hugh
Peters, and see the great whale.
In answer to Sir John's inquiry, he informed
him that a whale had, in fact, come up the river
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
151
as far as Greenwich, where it had been left by
the tide ; that nuiiibers of people had flocked
out of London to attack it, several of whom had
been dangerously wounded in the encounter ;
and that it formed the general topic of conver-
sation, many persons considering it ominous and
]X)rtentou3, as it coincided, in point of time, with
the discovery of the plot. Although his master
had told him that it was but an idle gadding
after the calves of Bethel ; Scth, it seems, had
no sooner learnt the news, than he declared his
resolution to gird up his loins and depart, an-
swering all expostulations with an open mouth,
an aghast look, and an ejaculation of, " Yea, it
is the great fish that swallowed up Jonah ! "
As nothing could promise a more effectual
concealment than the post of ostler at the Pro-
tector*'s Head, and as Sir John wished to let the
soldiers quit the neighbourhood before he re-
sumed his wanderings, he scrupled not to accept
the appointment, giving up his name, in com-
152 BBAMBLETYK HOUSE.
pliance with a requisition to that effect, as Ti-
mothy Hogben.
" Timothy is a good name," cried the land-
lord, " it signifieth one who is honoured of God,
and Timothy was a good man, although his
mother was a Jewess. Little or nothing will
you have to do, but just to look after the
horses, feed the pigs, tend the cows, take care
of the garden, run of errands, clean shoes, and
do odd jobs ; for the which, as the labourer is
worthy of his hire, you shall have good victuals,
ay, verily, as much as you can eat. As to vails,
they will be unnecessary, since you will pick up
})lenty from the brethren, more especially on
the Friday, when we hold our prayer-meeting.
And moreover, you may have the use of Seth's
smock-frock, which is hanging up in the stable."
After this parade of the emoluments to be
derived from his new office, he was ushered into
the kitchen, to make his first attack upon the
bread and cheese and beer. In a recess of the
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 153
little hall, dignilied by the name of the bar, he
passed the landlord"'s better half, who Avell me-
rited that designation, being taller than himself,
and somewhat inclined to corpulency. Of a
meek and melancholy countenance, she wore
her hair combed back from her forehead, and
enclosed in a sort of plain close hood, while her
dress of Norwich stuff was of the same tristful
hue, and fashioned with as much prim and fini-
cal homeliness as her husband's. Around her
little shrine were shelves of bottles, glasses, and
cordials ; above her hung a single lemon in a
net ; and before her was spread a large Bible,
a memorandum-book, and a board with chalk.
In the first she was reading so earnestly as to
take no notice of her new servant as he passed ;
in the second she entered occasional texts and
extracts of Scrijjture ; and upon the third she
scored down the different articles that were from
time to time called for by a company then re-
creating themselves in the parlour.
11 5
154 BllAMBLETYE HOUSE.
After having despatched a meal that seemed
intended to atone for the turnips, as well as to
provide against the morrow's contingencies, Sir
John was conducted into the stable, and desired
to rub down and feed a poney belonging to one
of the party in the house, when his master left
him. Upon the door of the stable, both inside
and out, was pasted the Act against profane
swearing and cursing, printed in black-letter,
with an engraving of the Commonwealth arms
at top, exhibiting the crosses and harp, and the
signature of Henry Scobell, the clerk of the
Parliament, at the bottom. Taking off his coat
and waistcoat, which he thought might put him
in jeopardy, should any chance bring their ori-
ginal owner into the neighbourhood, he arrayed
feimself in Seth's smock-frock, and proceeded
to the performance of his duty upon the poney.
While thus occupied, he heard the trampling
of horses in the road, and upon looking out ob-
served, to his no small consternation, the iden-
BKAMBLETYE HOUSE. 155
tical party of dragoons by whom be liad been
arrested, the horse upon which he had ridden
having its knees bound up, and its rider car-
rying at his back tlie pedlar's box, which his
captive had dropped in the road at the time of
the accident. Drawing up for a moment, they
indicated an intention of stopping to drink ; but
the officer shaking his head and pointing for-
Avards, they resumed their march, to the infinite
rehef of Sir John, who had no wish to renew
his acquaintance with them, either as the re-
presentative of the Marquess of Ormond, or as
the proprietor of Brambletye House.
Although a pubhcan, Mr. Lovegrace Right-
eous was very far from a sinner, if an opinion
might be formed from the religious habits of
his establishment. Every morning and even-
ing his wife read aloud a chapter of the Bible,
to the whole houseiiold, after which she de-
livered a long extempore prayer, composed with
much more propriety of sentiment, and correct-
156 BRAMBLETYE HOUsE.
ness of language, than Sir John had anticipated
from her station in life. The day after his ar-
rival proved to be Sunday, when instead of in-
creased bustle, and a noisy influx of sabbath-
breakers, the house was closely shut up, every
stranger being liable to a penalty of ten shillings
for being found within the walls of a public,
house, (a fine to which the landlord was equally
exposed), and all travelling being interdicted,
whether with boat, horse, waggon, coach, or
sedan, except for the purpose of going to church.
The sabbath dinner, to which they all sat down
together, and which consisted of the various
fragments of the week, afforded the landlord
a fine opportunity for that extempore spiritual,
izing in a quaint immeasurable grace, which
was then the vogue, and which endeavoured to
deduce some appropriate lesson from every in-
dividual dish. Thus he desired that the hashed
chickens might remind them of Him who would
have gathered Hierusalem as a hen gathereth
«11A.M1U,KL'V£ HOUSK. 157
her chickens, but she would not:— that the
mutton might recall King David, who was once
a shepherd : — that the veal might put them in
mind of the parable of the Prodigal Son, for
whose return his father killed the fatted calf, —
that the capon might render them mindful of
the cock that crowed three times in the hearing
of Peter: — that the knuckle of bacon might
lead them to think of that herd of swine, into
which the devils entered and hurried them head-
longr into the sea ; — and that the fish mio-ht re-
mind them of the whale which swallowed the
prophet Jonas, as well as of that which had been
lately cast ashore at Greenwich, for a prodigy
and a portent to the people. From the remains
of a lobster were elicited various fanciful allu-
sions to the red-hatted Cartlinals, the horns of
the scarlet beast of liome, and the papistical
copes and surplices of which the shell was the
emblem : and thus having exhausted his own
oratory, as well as the patience of Sir John, the
158 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
final blessing was pronounced, and the party
had permission to fall upon the " creature-com-
forts" set before them.
There was a maid of all work in the house
named Rachael, a plump and comely country
wench, though she appeared to be somewhat
simple in her understanding, and rather dawd-
lino- in her movements. For this latter offence
she was so often and so sharply chidden by
her master, that his meek wife was sometimes
fain to interfere in her behalf, reminding him
that she Avas but a country malkin, who did not
yet understand her business, and ought not to
be so angrily rebuked, lest like her namesake, the
daughter of Laban, she should set up the voice of
lamentation and bitter weeping, and refuse to be
comforted. She inculcated, moreover, the virtues
of patience, long-suffering, forgiveness, charity,
and universal love; calling to his recollection
that Joshua was the servant of Moses, Elisha
of Elijah, Gehazi of Ehsha; and finally, that
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 159
St. Peter, St. A.ndrew, and St. Philip^ Mere all
the servants of the Saviour, concluding and en-
forcing her homily with various texts of Scrip-
ture, to which lier husband seemed to listen
with a most impatient resignation.
Notwithstanding these appearances, Sir Jolin
had soon reason to conclude, from certain pas-
sages he had observed, that there was a per-
fectly good understanding between the master
and the maid, and suspected that all the peevish
abuse lavished upon the latter, was merely in-
tended as a blind. He had more than once
seen a glass of Dick's cordial slily handed to
Rachael, immediately after one of these fierce
scoldings, and exchanged for a kiss.
Lamenting the necessity of sta^ang at home
himself on account of the gout, the landlord
made a point of sending his wife every even-
ing to the tabernacle ; upon which occasions,
he was always closely closetted with Rachael,
desiring the ostler to mind the house, and call
lOO BRAMBLKTYE HOUSE.
him if he was wanted. Sir John, indeed, had
violent misgivings as to the reahty of the gout,
which he beheved to be merely assumed to
afford an opportunity for these clandestine
meetings, as upon several occasions, in the ab-
sence of his wife, he had seen him utterly forget
his hobble.
Other circumstances conspired to give him
a complete insight into this man's pharisaical
character. He was fond of angling, and having
ordered the ostler to collect some worms for
bait, they proceeded to the water, when, turn-
ing his back, he desired him to put them on the
hook, but to be quite sure they were previously
dead, as they were all God's creatures, and we
had no right to torment them. Although he
saw them afterwards wriggling in the stream,
he continued this canting strain, inveighing
against the cruelty of others, and declaring that
he himself was filled with tenderness and ruth,
and compassionate even to the worm; for he
BKAMBLETYE HOUSE.
161
was meek and lowly of heart, and knew from
the first epistle of St. Peter, who was himself
a fisherman, that God giveth grace to the hum-
ble. The landlady having once sent Sir John
into the cellar to draw some ale, he perceived
the conscientious Mr. Lovegrace Righteous
filling up the casks from a huge can of water,
a circumstance he was desired not to mention,
but which, he was told, was absolutely neces-
sary to prevent scandal to the house, the liquor
having such an overplus of strength, that one
of the Lord's people had become very nearly
intoxicated only the day before. As if aware
that his conduct required some justification in
]X)int of morality, he reminded his auditor that
on certain occasions an exception was granted
to the common rules of honesty, and even of
humanity ; instancing the cases of Ehud, Jael,
Samson and David, and declaring that he did
nothing except for the honour of the saints and
the glory of the Lord, whose servant he was,
although an unworthy one.
163 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
The Baronet was delighted at this confir-
mation of the hypocrisy with which he loved to
brand the whole party, and of which occasional
examples were doubtless to be met, as they will
be at all periods of spiritual effervescence, more
especially when godliness is, in a worldly sense,
a great gain. None but a Cavalier, however,
would deny that the great body of the Puritans
were imbued, even to their heart's core, with
a fervent spirit of devotion, and attested by the
pure morality of their lives the sincerity of their
religious convictions, although they might be
fantastically rigid in some of their observances.
Had he been at all disposed to exercise a dis-
passionate judgment, the Baronet would have
at least admitted the landlady's genuine meek-
ness and piety, of which many other equally
Incontestable specimens were presented on the
following Friday, when the prayer-meeting was
held at the Protector's Head. This was a
club instituted for purposes very different from
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 163
those by which associations of the same name
are now characterised. Its members consisted
of the shop-keepers and better sort of artisans
from Steyning, together with farmers and mil-
lers from the adjacent country, Avho met every
Friday evening for the purpose of seeking the
Lord and expounding the Scripture, or, in other
words, to pray and preach. For this object,
thev had selected the Protector's Head, in
compliment to the peculiar patronage enjoyed
under his government by the Independents, to
which sect they belonged. Paying the land-
lord for the use of his room, they observed a
strict fast during their sojourn under his roof,
devoting themselves strictly to religious pur-
poses while they remained, and parting as they
had met, with a solemn, but by no means a mo-
rose or forbidding, decorum. Humble as were
the stations in life of this rustic flock, there was a
pure and lofty enthusiasm in their worship that
exalted them above their sphere, spiritualizing
164 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
their nature, and imparting even a character of
sublimity to their devotion. Imagining that all
the miserable pomp and magnificence of the
creature must be utterly insignificant to the
Creator, and that his noblest temple was an
innocent and devout heart, they swept utterly
away from their thoughts all tlie empty gor-
geousness of houses built with hands, while
they disclaimed all the dignities and distinctions
of an established hierachy. Every place be-
came instantly consecrated that was devoted to
the true worship ; every individual was a quali-
fied minister, the moment he became sanctified
by grace and blameless in his life. In com-
muning with God, the world and all its vain
distinctions were to be altogether put aside ;
they wished to meet their Creator, as it were,
face to face, feeling that in his awful presence
the spirit must appear more acceptable in its
humility, when it shook off" all the tinsel trap-
pings and vain-glorious ceremonies of the flesh.
BRAMULETYE HOUSE. 165
It was an impressive siglit to witness the
brethren of this rural congregation converging
together from the surrounding country, some on
foot, some on httle rough poneys, and others on
huge cart-horses, all attired in decent, sober
garments, of the same general fashion as our
landlord's, all wearing long swords or rapiers by
their sides, in proof of their resolution to put
down the recent plotters against the Government,
and all exliibiting the same expression of coun-
tenance, only varying from the grave to the
austere. From the expected presence of Fear-
the-Lord Goodcnough, a celebrated preacher of
that period, the meeting was unusually nume-
rous, so that Sir John, or Timothy, as he was
now called, had enough to do in attending to
their horses, and feeding such of them (which,
however, constituted but a small portion) as
were exempted bv their masters from the gene-
ral fast.
Having accomplished this duty in a manner
1G6 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
that would not have altogether discredited a
professional ostler, and feeling a vehement in-
clination to hear this celebrated preacher, if it
were but for five minutes, he betook himself to
the open door of the apartment in which the
little flock were assembled. It was a large but
low room, with two massive beams across the
c«ling, a sanded floor, and plain white-washed
walls, with a black skirting-board. Over the
fire-place hung the before-mentioned act against
profane swearing, framed and glazed ; on one
side of which was suspended Faithorne's alle-
gorical print of Cromwell ; between the pillars,
on the other, a large sampler, containing the
Lord's Prayer, with the name and age of its ju-
venile embroideress ; and around the walls were
nailed coarse prints of the twelve apostles, alter-
nating with twelve of the Parliamentarian ge-
nerals, whose names and exploits were printed
beneath their portraits. Prayers were concluded,
and Fear-the-Lord Goodenough was already
BEAMBLETYE HOUSE. 167
perspinn<r with the energy of his exertions. He
was one of the Boanerges class, one of the sons
of thunder, who sought to terrify and shake the
very souls of his auditors by the vehemence of
his voice and manner, and the harrowing: awful-
ness of his denunciations.
In spite of the quaint phraseology which he
affected, and the nasal drawl in which he occasion-
ally indulged, it was not easy to listen to him with-
out catching a portion of his holy enthusiasm,
and being absorbed in his discourse. Even Sir
John was struck by the scene before him, as
he contemplated the stern sectarists, each man
sitting in breathless silence, with his sword by
his side, and well-thumbed Bible in liis hand;
every eye rivetted upon the preacher ; every
countenance varying with the passions which
he excited ; while the tears, that now and then
stole along the furrowed cheeks of the listeners,
dropped unnoticed upon their beards, whence
they trickled down upon the Bibles that they
168 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
held. In conformity to the prevalent jiractice
of spirituahsing- the occurrences of the day, he
alhided to the whale of sixty feet in length,
which had come up the river to Greenwich,
obviously sent to the great city as a sign and a
warning, that like the people of Nineveh when
the}' listened to the preaching of Jonah, they
might proclaim a fast and i*epent of their sins,
if they wished to avoid the judgments oi the
Lord.
After warning them ajjainst the various heretics
of the day, particularly against those who still
sighed for toys and popish trinkets, for altars,
images, hoods, surplices, copes, caps, palls, albs,
rockets, crosiers, mitres, crosses, and all the tra-
ditions, ceremonies, and unsanctified supersti-
tions of Rome, he bade them recall the times
when they were persecuted and tormented by
the star-chamber, and hunted down by the
Archpriest of Lambeth, whom he called a ty-
rannical Nimrod, a politic Achitophel, a wicked
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 169
Hainan, a cunning Caiaphas, a juggling Pilate, a
bloody-minded Herod, and a persecuting Saul.
For this deliverance from the oppressor, with all
his proctors, pursuivants, apparitors, officials,
advocates, surrogates, and officers of the spiri-
tual and prerogative courts, wliose very names
stank in the nostrils of the Lord, he called
upon them to be grateful. He then proceeded
to denounce the use of organs, whose noise
he affirmed to be no more pleasing to Heaven,
than was the roaring of the bulls of Bashan,
when Og their king passed by them in triumph.
From all such abominations he warned them
to turn aside, if they wished to flee from the
wrath of the Lord. — " And do we not deserve
his judgments ?" he exclaimed, after having
expatiated at some length upon this subject —
*' ay, such an instant and terrible judgment as
was inflicted upon those Syrian cities, whose s'te
is now covered by the bitter waters of the Dead-
sea ; — do we not, I say, merit such a doom, for
VOL. I. I
170_ BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
not utterly crushing and extirpating the seed
of the old and accursed serpent that is among
us ? Have we not many in the land who would
sting, even unto death, the children of Israel ;
who would sacrilegiously overthrow the new
Jerusalem which we have builded up ; and slay
with the sword the ruler and the high priest,
whom the Lord himself hath set over us ? Yea,
liad we not in this very county ; ay verily,
within a few miles of our tabernacle, one of the
worst of the Canaanites, a Belial, an Ashtaroth,
a Satan ; one who might well bear the Baronet"'s
bloody hand, since he was for ever plotting to
dip his own in the blood of God's chosen saints,
and is not his name Sir John Compton ?""
" No ! you raggamuffin cushion-cuffer !" bel-
lowed the choleric Baronet, utterly unable to
repress his passion, and throwing the hat of one
of the company at the head of the preacher.
Had an earthquake opened beneath their feet,
the party could not have been struck with a
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 171
more sudden consternation and amazement. A
fiery indignation succeeded. Swords were has-
tily drawn, and two or three rushed forward to
seize him, amid confused cries of, " Smite the
blasphemer on the mouth ! Strike him dead,
even as Ananias was stricken who lied unt(i
God ! Pin the Sisera to the ground with a nail
through his temples ! Down with the Amale-
kite ! Down with the Philistine ! Strike him
with the sword as Peter struck Malchus !"
Sir John would certainly have been roughly
treated, and perhaps dangerously wounded by
some of these zealots, who were incensed almost
to phrenzy, had not their minister called out in
a powerful voice, which drowned every other, —
" Harm him not, — touch not a hair of his head :
— he is delivered into our hands by the Lord,
even as Achan was to Joshua, to be c(m-
iumed for troubling us. Peradventure is he
one of the enemies of the Protector ; a delin-
quent, a plotter, and a malignant.''
i2
172 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
" Search him ! search the Moabite !" cried
several voices at this suggestion, upon which he
was hurried into the next room, where they
presently found several broad-pieces and a gold
watch concealed in a belt round his body, which
were eagerly exhibited as abundant confirma-
tion of their suspicions. At this moment a
groom, who had stopped to refresh his horses,
and had been drawn into the room by the up-
roar, exclaimed, — " That ""s Sir John Compton,
I '11 take ray oath, that rides the black blood-
horse; I 've seen him out many a time with the
hounds." — " And lo !" cried one of the com-
pany, who was examining the inner case of the
watch — " here are the Compton arms, with
the initials I. C. beneath them !"" A shout of
triumph burst from the whole assemblage at
this discovery, while several fell upon their
knees to return thanks, and confused cries of —
"A judgment! a providence! a manifest in-
terfei'ence ! the visible finger of the Lord ! let
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 173
him be gibbeted on high hke Haman, the
plotter against the Lord's people !"
A consultation was now held touching: the
disposal of their prize, wlien it was decided to
bind him hand and foot, and keep him a close
prisoner for the night, (which had already
begun to shut in), the Avhole congregation
pledging themselves to meet on the Sabbath
morning, and escort him in triumphant proces-
sion to the gaol at Lewes, that so they might
afford a public irrefragable testimony of the
special favour the Lord had vouchsafed to this
his chosen flock, in making it the instrument of
his just vengeance upon the sconier. Having
first seen their captive effectually fettered with
cords, hand and foot, they took him up stairs,
deposited him in an empty garret, double-
locked the door, of which they entrusted the
key to the safe custody of the landlord, and
then separated to make arrangements for giving
as much eclat as possible to the grand ceremony
of the succeeding Sunday.
174 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
Stubborn and stout-hearted as he generally
was, Sir John could not avoid being stung with
bitter vexation at this fearful reverse in his pro-
spects, aggravated by the consciousness that
it was solely attributable to his own fiery temper
and ungovernable rashness. It was some allevi-
ation of his former capture that it arose from an
act of magnanimit}', that he had at least saved
his friend by sacrificing himself; but in the
present instance he had wantonly given himself
over into the power of his enemies without the
smallest necessity, without a single extenuating
object or excuse ; and unfortunately in his pre-
sent helpless state, pinioned till he could scarcely
move a limb, he could not entertain a hope of
his deliverance. To add to his annoyances, he
was prevented from sleeping by the pain of his
fetters, such being the tightness of their hgature,
that the flesh began to swell, and his sufferings
became acute. In this dreary state of bodily
and mental anguish, enduring mucli, and antici-
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 175
pating worse, he counted the clock of Steyning
church, till six in the morning, when he heard
a key rattling in the lock of his door, which was
presently opened, and the landlord made his ap-
pearance, bringing some refreshment. His pre-
sence produced a strange compromise in the
feelings of Sir John, his contempt and hatred of
the individual being qualified by the necessity
of requesting his assistance in loosening his ban-
dages, a compound impression which found vent
after the following fashion — " Harkye, you
Roundhead rogue, do prythee be a good fellow
for once in your life, and untie these cords a
bit ; don't you see they are cutting my flesh ?
Twist them as you list to prevent my running
away, but zooks ! you crop-eared — I mean my
good fellow, — what need to torment me thus ?"
" Verily," said the landlord, " though thou
art of the Army of the Beast, thou shalt share
in the tender mercies of the elect, who will
spare thy flesh, that they may offer thee up
whole as a sacrifice to the Lord."
176 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
" Ha !" exclaimed the Baronet, breathing
more freely when the ligatures were a little loos-
ened—" thankye, thankye, friend Righteous !
Body o' me ! I'm as much obliged to you as if
you had hung yourself, like Alderman Hoyle.
Now lookye, you canting, hypocritical — lookye
my good friend Lovegrace, I mean ; if you have
a mind to act like a man of sense and an honest
fellow, by cutting these cursed ropes and suffer-
ing me to escape, the deuce a syllable will I
reveal to the brethren, or to your wife, about
the state of affairs between you and Rachael."^
"Rachael!" exclaimed the landlord, his lips
becoming livid, and his ferrety face turning to
an ashey hue—" what mean you ? what have
you to say against that virtuous handmaid, who
is chaster than Susannah ?""
" What I have to say is against yourself,"
replied Sir John- "and if you choose not to
let me slip halter, which you may easily do with-
out suspicion, I will proclaim to all the world
that you are a fornicating rogue, of whicli I
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 177
have abundant proof; reveal your sham gout ;
and moreover discover to your customers that
you replenish your ale-casks with water.""
For some minutes the landlord wore that
downcast and staggered look which is peculiar
to a detected knave, his confusion and guilt
preventing any immediate reply ; but at length
he exclaimed, with an air of recovered confi-
dence — " In vain do you seek naischief as Ben-
hadad did. Would you attack one of the bre-
thren in the midst of the fold .? Would you at-
tempt to rival Benaiah, who went down and slew
a lion in the pit ? Even were your slanderer's
tales sooth, who would believe them, coming
from an attainted traitor, a malignant, an insul-
ter of our chosen minister, a slaugliterer of the
lambs, and directed against an approved dis-
ciple of the pious Fear-the-Lord Goodenough,
and an admitted brother of the saints ! Absalom !
I defy your impious politics ! Ananias ! I leave
you to your lies !"
I 5
178 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
So saying, he stalked out of the room with a
look, meant to express indignant virtue, though
it much rather resembled the swaggering of a
coward ; while such was his energy in freeing
himself from the imputation of hypocrisy,
that he afforded the best evidence of its
truth by utterly forgetting his gouty foot, of
which he lost all recollection until he found
himself in the presence of his wife. In his
hurry, however, he had by no means forgotten
to lock the door, and Sir John pinioned and
helpless, though relieved from the agony of the
over-tightened cords, found himself once more
abandoned to his own solitary reflections. It
mortified him above all, to be forced to acknow-
ledge the truth of what the roguish landlord had
suggested, as to the little credence which he could
expect when advancing any thing to the host's
disparagement ; though he was not less resolved
upon attempting the exposure, even should he be
massacred for his pains. With some difficulty,
owing to the fetters upon his wrists, he ma-
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 1 79
naged to reach and despatch the refreshments ;
soon after whicli repast, exhausted by the last
night's sleeplessness, he sunk into a profound
slumber.
Evening was beginning to deepen into night,
when he awoke, refreshed in body, but still
sufficiently forlorn in mind. Again did he sit
communing Avith his own sad thoughts, and
counting the clock of Steyning Church, till the
hour of midnight slowly and heavily dragged
on, and the Sabbath morning commenced, which
had been appointed for his conveyance to Lewes
gaol. Shortly after this yawning peal had
sounded, he heard a noise at his window, as if
some person were inserting a tool between
the closing of the casement, which after two
or three trials was gently forced open. By the
dim and glimmering light, he perceived the head
of a man, who began to climb up with the ap-
parent object of entering the room, holding in
his u])lifted hand a large knife. The shudder-
180 BRAMBLETYE HOtJSE.
ing Cavalier now gave himself up for lost, taking"
it for granted that some infuriated fanatic of
the Independents was coming to assassinate him
as an acceptable sacrifice to the Lord, an atro-
city of which there were not wanting examples
in that aera of frantic enthusiasm. Indignation
succeeding to his first thrilling apprehensions,
he exclaimed — " What! ye cowardly crop-
eared rascal ! in cold blood ? murder a man,
whose arms and legs"" — when he was interrupted
by the whispering voice of the stranger — " hush,
for God's sake ! — silence ! — thou most passion-
ate and incurable of blunderers ! — it is I, the
Marquess of Ormond : not a sjdlable more if
you value your life !"
So saying, he entered the room, cut the pri-
soner's manacles with the knife which he had
brought for that purpose, set his legs at liberty
by the same means, whispered him that there
was a ladder outside the window, and desiring
him to follow as quietly as possible, let himself
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. ISI
softly down from the sill and disa})peared. It
will easily be supposed that Sir John was not
slow in obeying, but it will hardly be credited
that at such a moment he could dream of ex-
ecuting the hazardous prank we are about to
relate. The ladder had been placed close to
the sign of the Protector"'s head, which he had
observed to be suspended to the post by a single
hook. Stimulated either by a most inopportune
love of fun, or by his ungovernable animosity
against the original, he paused as he descend-
ed the ladder, unhooked the portrait, which he
brought to the grovmd, and taking the knife
from the Marquess, in spite of his angry remon-
strances, made a hole on each side of his High-
nesses throat, through which he passed one of
the cords Avherewith he had himself been bound,
and again suspended the picture to a great nail
in the post, so that the illustrious personage
whom it represented appeared to be hanging by
the neck. — " Excuse me," he exclaimed to the
182 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
Marquess, who now began to haul him away by
sheer force — '• couldn't help it, upon my soul !
it was an atonement I owed to my own feelings,
for having entered a house with such a rascally
sign ; but as my conscience is now at ease, I
will obediently follow you, my noble and ge-
nerous deliverer, whithersoever you may com-
mand me.*'
" Why then, o' God's name, let us have no
more freaks and fooleries," replied the Marquess;
" and hey for Shoreham, with all the speed we
can muster ! for unless we can reach it before
daylight, we may both chance to tumble into
worse bilboes than those from which you have
just escaped, and suffer in reality the fate which
yau have so foolishly inflicted upon the Protec-
tor's effigy."
After cordial thanks and congratulations had
been mutually exchanged, he proceeded to in-
form Sir John, in answer to his eager inquiries,
that when he had been so rudely dismissed by
the soldiers, lest he should come in for a share of
BEAMBLETYE HOUSE. 183
the prize offered for his own apprehension, and
found himself disabled from enacting the Auto-
lycus by the want of his pedlar's box, which was
trottincj along the road behind the back of his
friend, he had concealed himself by day, and tra-
velled by night, until he reached the sea, where
he intended to remain till he could ascertain
what was intended to be done with Sir John.
" No sooner had I learnt," he continued, " your
lucky escape, than I bargained with one Tet-
tersall, a trusty fellow, and the brother of the
shipmaster avIio carried over the King after the
fight of AVorcester,* to keep a fishing-smack in
constant readiness for our escape ; and instantly
trudged back towards the forest, vipon the wild-
goose chase of discovering the run-a-way knight
of Brambletye House."
" And by what lucky chance did yoa stumble
upon your goose .'' " inquired Sir John.
* The tombstone of the latter, with a long inscription
in prose and verse, is still to be seen in Brighton
cliurch-yard.
184 BBAMBLETYE HOUSE.
a
By one of those capricious freaks of fortvine,"
resumed the Marquess, " which are never dreamt
of till they actually occur. I was concealed in
the bushes that overhang a large pond, to Avhich,
in your capacity of ostler at the Protector"**
Head, you were leading a cropped horse. As
it approached the water, the animal trod upon
your foot, when you struck it passionately across
the face, exclaiming — ' Sblood, you crop-eared
Roundhead brute ! must you too trample upon
me.''"' — Your smock-frock might have deceived
me, but your oath and your voice there was no
mistaking, from whatever disguise they might
have issued. Not having time to make myself
known, I watched you back to the inn; and when
the dusk of the evening allowed me to play the
respectable part of an eaves-dropper, I placed
myself outside the window of the room wherein
you were so singularly discreet and considerate,
(knowing, I presume, the value of the article,)
as to plunge your head into the lion's mouth.
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 185
By the assistance of the window I not only
heard, but saw, every thing that passed below ;
and from the light in the garret casement, and
tlie hubbub of angry voices, was enabled to as-
certain your place of confinement upstairs. A
knife, with Avhich I'Was already provided, and a
ladder, removed from a neighbouring hay- stack,
completed your deliverance ; if, therefore, you
can resist the temptation of getting into mischief
for three or four hoiu's longer, I trust we shall
be beyond the fangs of Noll and his janisaries,
and scuddino; through the waves for France or
Flanders."
" And as to our lands and houses, goods and
chattels," cried Sir John, " I suppose we may
confidently leave them to the care of Arthur
Squib, of Haberdashers' Hall, the ravenous
Sequestrator, and his Avorthy coadjutor, Jack
Madden, the Solicitor to the Commission."
" I have perhaps lost a castle and a barony
for every acre that can be confiscated from Bram-
186 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
bletye," said the Marquess calmly, " and yet I
have never uttered a complaint. When the
monarch loses his crown and kingdom, the loyal
subject thinks not of his paltry privations. Le
bon temps viendra^ when both shall be restored;
and in the mean time, he that has preserved
his honour is still rich. I have one relic which
I would not barter for a principality, and this I
have preserved, to be taken from me only "s^nth
my life, though it is but a small silver ferrule."
" Worth perhaps a whole handful of the new
pewter farthings," said Sir John, laughing.
" You will estimate it more Wghly," replied
the Marquess, '•' when I tell you it was the
head of the silver staff which King Charles the
First held in his hand upon the first day of his
trial. Laying it gently upon Cook's shoulder,
the Solicitor General, in order to .stop him when
he was reading the charge, the silver head fell
to the ground ; when seeing none to pick it up,
he stooped for it himself, and put it in his pocket.
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 187
After his murder it came into my possession,
nor shall it depart from me in .any extremity,
unless they cut off the hand that clutches it. —
I have cared for nothing dse, but my robes,
with my ribbon, George and garter, which I
have entrusted to a friend in London, on whose
fidelity I can depend."
" And why have you been so careful in pre-
serving these seemingly unimportant trappings?'"
inquired the Baronet.
" That in case I had been seized, and con-
demned to the same fate as the noble Mon-
trose,", replied the Marquess proudly, " I might,
like him, array myself in the honours conferred
upon me by my Sovereign, and exclaim, when
about to be beheaded and quartered, — ' I deem
it a greater honour to have my head stand upon
the prison-gate for this quarrel, than to have
my picture in the King''s bed-chamber ; and as
to my severed limbs, I wish I had flesh enough
to send a piece to every city in Christendom,
188 BEAMBLETYE HOUSE.
as evidence of my loyalty to my King and
country.'' "
Incited by the disinterested heroism of his
companion, Sir John snapped his fingers, de-
claring he cared not a rush for Brambletye
House and its dirty acres, especially as the
Marquess was so sanguine of their being all re-
covered ; and as a proof of his indifference, sang
a verse from the song of the Royalist : —
" We do not suffer here alone ;
Though we are heggar'd, so's the King ;
'Tis sin t' have wealth when he has none.
Tush ! poverty 's a royal thing."
In conclusion, however, he admitted his un-
easiness on the subject of the French wine, as
well as his unhappiness about the fate of Joce-
lyn his son, of whom he would most gladly
have learnt some tidings before their embark-
ation.
" I have eight sons," said the Marquess,
" all of whom either have or shall peril their
lives in the service of the King. If they live.
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 189
they will have done their duty ; if they die in
such an honourable cause, I would rather have
my own dead sons than any other man''s living
ones."
Not suft'erins their conversation to interfere
with the expedition of their march, they ad-
vanced at so brisk a pace, that considerably
within the period to which the Marquess had
limited Sir John's discreet behaviour, they
reached the ancient borough of Shoreham.
Upon the outskirts of the town stood the hum-
ble cottage of the trusty Tettersall, who was no
sooner awakened by the preconcerted signal,
(three taps upon his window,) than he hastily
arose, and heartily congratulated them upon
their having, thus far, accomplished their flight
in safety. Suggesting the possibility of his
smack being brought to, by some of the Govern-
ment ships of war, which were keeping a sharp
look-out for run-a-ways, he arrayed them each
in a fisherman's jacket and trowsers, and taking
190 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
a lantern in his hand, for the mornhig had not
yet broken, he conducted them towards the
water. Upon arriving at the market-place, he
stopped for a moment, and turning to the Mar-
quess gave him a nudge with his elbow, dryly
whispering in his ear, — " Here is something-
pleasant that concerns your Lordship, of which
perhaps you would like to have a peep before
we go aboard.^ So saying, he hoisted up the
lantern, by whose light the Marquess read a
proclamation, offering a reward for his appre-
hension, and giving a minute description of his
person and pedlar''s disguise. With a look of
egregious satisfaction at his having thus trifled
with the feelings of the Marquess, and a hearty
ha ! ha ! ha ! as he chuckled at the joke, the
honest Tettersall hurried them forward, assisted
them into a wlierry, which he rowed out to his
fishing-smack anchored at a small distance from
the shore, cut the cable, hoisted sail, and by the
assistance of a fresh and favourable breeze, the
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 191
party were presently scudding rapidly through
the waters towards the opposite coast.
As the sun rose, the cliifs from which they
were receding, shone forth vividly in the light,
encircling the green sea like a belt of white
ribbon. Stedfastly and mournfully contem-
plating the scene until the tears glistened in his
eyes, the Marquess at length exclaimed — " Fare-
well ! farewell ! thou gay and beautiful island !
I coidd almost weep to think that while thou
art pining for the return of thy legitimate Mo-
narch, a miserable base-born usurper is ruling
thee w^th a rod of iron." More sanguine and
inspiring thoughts succeeding to this tempo-
rary dejection, his countenance brightened as
he proceeded in a more animated tone, — " O
that instead of flying like a criminal, I were now
tilting towards thy shores with a gallant fleet
and army, headed by my noble sovereign ! O
that I were clad in buff* and steel, Avith my King"'s
black feather in my helm, and my own trusty
192 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
sword in my liand, once more leading on my
troop of true-blue Cavaliers, to clatter our wea-
pons upon the psalm-singing Ironsides of Crom-
well ! O tliat I had only my own favourite
company of foot-grenadiers, armed with breast
and back, and were this moment standing at
push of pike against Noll and his whole body
guard ! "
"Sblood ! my lord,"" cried Sir John, — " never
fear but we will have another tough bout with
the rascals, and if we cannot get such dainty
arras as we have been used to, zooks ! we'll at-
tack them without any, as David Waller did, if
there be any truth in the song —
' My friend David Waller in doublet Avhite,
Without any arms, either rusty or bright.
Charged through them twice like a little spright.
Which" nobody can deny.' —
And as to our being driven awhile from our
country, w^hat signifies it, when every thing in
it is turned topsy-turvy, and honest blades like
ourselves are left to sing —
BRAMULETYE HOUSE. 19-3
'* Religion 's a widgeon, and reason is treason ;
And he that hath a noble heart may bid the world adieu !"
In spite of Sir John's cheerfulness, who con-
tinued singing scra|Ds of cavalier songs, as his
spirits rose from the increasing probability of
their safe escape, the melancholy of the Mar-
quess increased, for he thought upon the doom of
those who had been parties to the plot, and were
not likely to be so fortunate as liimself in avoid-
ing its fatal penalties ; nor could he discard the
painful conviction that all the bright prospects of
the royalists were effectually marred for the pre-
sent, and rendered infinitely less promising for
the future. These desponding reveries were sud-
denly interrupted by such a boisterous and long-
continued burst of laughter from Sir John, that
he could not avoid asking him the cause of
his outrageous merriment. It was some time be-
fore his companion could reply, but at length
he exclaimed, as the chuckling tears rolled down
his cheek, — " I was tliinking of the profound
vor,. I. K
194 BUAMBLETVE HOUSE.
horror and consternation of those crop-eared
hypocrites, when they come up with their caval-
cade, and not only find the bird flown, but their
great idol hanging up by the neck, as he
ought to have done long since." So hugely was
his fancy tickled' at the thought of their fury
and hubbub, that he almost cackled and coughed
himself into a fit, and was obliged to lean against
the vessel's side in a state of utter exhaustion.
In these different frames of mind they prose-
cuted their voyage, and after a quick passage,
unmarked b}^ a single untoward occurrence,
were safely landed in the then Spanish port of
Ostend, where they carried the first intelligence
to the King of the dispersion or seizure of his
partisans, and the utter failure of their plot.
BRAMBLETYK HOUSE. 195
CHAPTER VI.
-'Tis wonderful
That an invisible instinct should frame them
To royalty unlearn' d, honour untaught.
Civility not seen from other, valour
That wildly grows in them, but yields a crop
As if it had been sow'd." — Shaksfeare.
It was fortunate for Sir John's temporary ele-
vation of spirits at his own escape, that he knew
not the situation of Jocelyn, whom we left riding
towards London, upon his poney, escorted by a
party of the Protector's cuirassiers, under the com-
mand of Colonel Lilburnc. This veteran soldier
was neither likely to lose his captive, nor was the
latter of an age to make any attempt at his own
deliverance, so that they arrived without inter-
K 2
196 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
ruption of their march, at the military quarters
adjoining the old orchard at Whitehall. Here
the youth was detained a prisoner in the co-
loneKs house, where he was treated with all
due courtesy and kindness, until the orders of
Government should be received as to his final
disposal. From the indisposition of the Lord
Protector, who was confined by sickness at
Hampton Court, several days elapsed before
he could receive communications, or issue his
commands upon the subject. His ministers and
agents employed this interval to such advantage
in blazoning and aggravating the horrors of the
Cavalier-plot, and the illness of his Highness,
that the whole country was thrown into a fer-
ment ; some rejoicing in the dangers they had
escaped, and others apprehensive of the cala-
mities that might ensue, should his complaint
assume any fatal complexion. Many who were
by no means well affected to his government,
or were at least unsatisfied of the right upon
BBAMBLETYE HOUSE. 197
which it was founded, considered him never-
theless as the only person who could preserve
public tranquillity ; and consequently dreaded
his dissolution as the probable signal for uni-
versal strife and confusion. Not only had his
mighty hand coerced and tamed the furious
factions into which the whole country was split,
but he had made their antagonistic energies
subservient to the advancement of the national
power and grandeur ; wielding those dangerovis
materials with as much apparent ease as the
modern mechanic, . who uses the discordant
elements of fire and water to create the stupen-
dous powers of the steam-engine. His won-
derful and almost supernatural successes had
also convinced many, who were opposed to him
in the first instance, that he was appointed to be
their ruler by the immediate hand of Heaven.
" Wiiat, indeed, can ho more extraordinary,"
as his eulogist, Cowley, justly asks, — " than
that such a man should have the courage to
198 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
attempt, and the happiness to succeed in, so
improbable a design, as the destruction of one
of the most ancient, and most sohd-founded
monarchies upon the earth ? That lie should
have the power or boldness to put his prince
and master to an open and infamous death ? To
banish that numerous and strongly-allied fa-
mily ? To do all this under the name and
wages of a parliament ? To trample upon
them, too, as he pleased ; to spurn them out of
doors when he grew weary of them ; and set up
himself above all things that ever were called
sovereign in England ? To oppress all his
enemies by arms, and all his friends afterwards
by artifice? To overrun each corner of the
three nations, and overcome with equal facility
both the riches of the south and the poverty of
the north ? To be feared and courted by all
foreign princes, and adopted a brother to the
gods of the earth ? To have the estates and
lives of three kingdoms as much at his disposal
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 199
as was the little inheritance of his father, and
to be as noble and liberal in the spending of
them ?"
Such were the marvellous and dazzling ex-
ploits which, combined with the discovery of
the plot, inflamed the Protector's numerous par-
tisans with loyalty and alarm. Addresses poured
in from the army, as well as from the county-
troops and their officers, tendering their lives and
fortunes to the defence of his Highness"'s person
and government, against the common and secret
enemy ; while the city-militia held a general
training in Finsbury-fields for the same purpose.
Upon the first alarm of a royalist rising, the
guards about the palace had been doubled, se-
veral forces of the regular horse and foot had
been marched into the city liberties ; the drums
of the train-bands beat to arms, when all the
six regiments appeared in harness and kept
guard the whole night, being employed in seiz-
ing several of the citizens, who were known or
OOO BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
suspected to be implicated in the conspiracy.
Nothing in short was omitted that could give
pubhcity and importance to the plot ; and when
the Protector's recovery allowed him to receive
the numerous addresses it had called forth, no-
thing was forgotten that could invest the cere-
mony with a character of impressive and solenm
splendour. On account of his still unsettled
health, the grand levee was ordered to be held
at Hampton Court House, for the name of pa-
lace was discarded, although an air of royal
magnificence was observable in all the appoint-
ments of the place.
On the day appointed for the reception. Colo-
nel Lilburne joined the train, determined to
render in person an account of the manner in
which he had executed his commission at Bram-
bletye, and demand instructions as to the dis-
posal of his charge, whom he was induced to
take with him in the generous hope that his
youth, beauty, and spirited demeanour might
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 201
influence the Protector to give an order for his
liberation. AVith many cautions to Jocelyn to
repress his petulance, and preserve silence and
respect before his Highness, they proceeded
together in a carriage to Hampton Court,
around whose gates were stationed detachments
of the Pr otector's body-guard, and of other
favourite regiments, both foot and horse ; most
of them stern-looking veterans, whose scarred
and war-worn countenances offered a striking
contrast to the o-oroeous freshness of the iron
and scarlet in which they were arrayed, for
they had been supplied with new uniforms
on the occasion. The band consisted only of
twelve trumpets, which were sounded from time
to time, when any person of sufficient dignity
to merit a salute arrived at the gate. In the
Court-yard stood the halberdiers, or wai'dens of
the tower, their captain holding a standard ex-
hibiting the Protector's arms, svirmounted with
banners and bannerols. By the ir side were the
K 5
S02 BEAMBLETYE HOUSE.
domestic servants of the household ; those of
Sir Oliver Fleming, the master of the ceremo-
nies ; and the guard of Sir Gilbert Pickering,
the Lord Chamberlain, armed Avith halberts,
and liveried in grey coats welted with black vel-
vet. Passing through this file of attendants, the
company were ushered up stairs as they arrived,
and introduced by the proper officers into the
presence-chamber, whose walls were hung with
such maps, plans, and printed statistical tables as
might befit the residence of an enlightened sove-
reign and politician. Around theroomwere stand-
ing many of those warriors whose names had been
rendered illustrious by their exploits in the late
wars, most of whom, in compliment to the fashi-
onable alarm of the moment, were equipped in
complete or partial armour, as if rather attend-
ing a council of officers in a tent, than a peace-
ful levee in a palace. Some of the j unior officers,
whose coats of mail covered with buff had not,
even in those days, cost less than thirty of forty
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 203
pounds, and who seemed to think, they might
assume a little foppery, now that the General
himself affected the splendour of a court, had
endeavoured to give their militaiy garb a more
dressy and drawing-room appearance, by fring-
ing the sleeves and collar of their leathern doub-
lets with expensive point-lace. Others had gold
or plated buckles to their shoulder-belts, and
gay sword-knots of silk ribbon ; but the far
greater part, although so scrupulously complete
in their martial appointments as to satisfy the
most finical martinet, rejected the smallest de-
coration, and fully justified the averment of the
cavalier song —
" They '11 not allow, such pride it hrings,
Nor favours in hats, nor no such things.
They '11 convert all ribbons to Bible-strings,
Which nobody can deny."
Grave, orderly, and decorous as was their gene-
ral mien and deportment, they appeared by the
rough unpolished hardihood of their aspect, to
S04 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
be rather qualified for the camp than the court,
and to merit the character they have received
from a contemporary historian, who designates
them as — " Sword grandees, that better became
a fray than a feast. '^
It had been expected that his Highness
would upon tliis occasion wear the sumptuous
robe of purple velvet, and display the Bible,
sword, and sceptre, with which be had been
invested at his solemn inauguration in West-
minster Hall a short time before ; but as he had
assumed these " phylacteries and fringes of
state," in conformity with the wishes of others
rather than his own, he discarded them the mo-
ment they had answered the purposes of their
temporary assumption. Few would have judged
from his present habiliments that he had so re-
cently refused the title of king, and fewer still
that he retained the power of one ; for he was
attired with an almost fastidious plainness, in a
JBRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 205
black-cloth cloak, doublet, and hose, with
velvet facings and buttons. Not a single article
of expense or luxurv could be detected about
his person, unless we may designate as such
a pair of black-silk high stockings, and satin
roses of the same hue in his shoes : nor had
he any mark of authority, save that he wore
his hat, which was broad-brimmed, with a low
conical crown. His eyes were slightly blood-
shot, and in the projecting veins of his sanguine
and swoln, yet somewhat melancholy, face, were
to be traced the evidences of a fiery and pas-
sionate temperament, tamed down by a long
course of religious and moral discipline. There
was an inclination to rubiciuidity in his nose,
an inexhaustible subject of ridicule for the
lampooners and ballad- writers of the opjjosite
party ; and a large wart upon his forehead,
which had not been forgotten in the warfare of
personal scurrility. His partially grizzled hair
206 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.,
hung in slight curls to his shoulders, and his
collar, turned down and scolloped at the edges,
disclosed the upjDer part of his throat, which
was thick and muscular. From the hardships
of many years' service there was a degree of
coarseness in his face, but his head was so
shaped as to give him a commanding and in-
tellectual air, while his general appearance was
such as to stamp a conviction upon the beholder,
that he was truly the master-spirit of his age.
As he sat at the upper end of the room, in a
chair of state slightly elevated from the floor,
but without canopy or other distinction, and re-
ceived with a dignified and gracious courtesy
the different persons who were presented to him,
all of whom seemed to salute him with the pro-
foundest homage, Jocelyn surveyed the whole
scene with a most perplexed and bev/ildered ad-
miration. Never having heard him mentioned
but in terms of the most unmeasured contempt,
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 207
he could not credit the identity of the personage
before him, with the daily object of his fathers
opprobrious abuse, and in this dilemma he ex-
claimed to the Colonel, luckily in a whisper —
'' Pray, Sir, is that really red-nosed Noll ? "
"^ Hush ! young malapert ;" cried Lilburne,
chacing by an angry frown the momentary smile
that had relaxed his features — " hold your
tongue, unless you can speak more reverently
of his Highness the Lord Protector."
Jocelyn, now contemplating him with a more
fixed attention, thought he could perceive an
expression of latent melancholy and distrust,
a remark which had already been made by
others about his person, who had noticed more
particularly the suspicious and fixed look with
which he followed every strange face that moved
about him. Contrary to the presentiments of
Caesar, he anticipated most danger from those
whose aspects " were featured with any cheerful
208 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
and debonair lineaments ;" these he eyed with a
vigilant misgjiving, while his incessant precau-
tions against assassination were matter of public
notoriety. His natural fortitude enabled him
at first to treat these attempts with indifference,
but their perpetual renewal, the appearance of
the celebrated pamphlet intitled Killing no
Murder, whose author his utmost efforts had
failed to discover, and the proclamation of the
King, promising 5001. per annum, and knight-
hood to whomsoever should despatch him,* had
combined with sickness to debihtate his courage
and render him morbidly apprehensive of the
fate that had been inflicted on DorislauSj-f-
* Dated in 1654, and given by Thurloe in his State
Papers.
t Dr. Isaac Dorislaus, deputed by the Parliament as
Envoy to Holland, was assaulted in his own house, by
twelve disguised royalists, then in attendance lipon the
exiled King Chai'les II. at the Hague, who barbarously
stabbed him in several places, cut his throat, and left
hira exclaiming — " thus dies one of the King's judges."
His body was conveyed to England and buried in West-
BKAMBLETYE HOUSE. 209
Ascham,* Rainsborough,-|- and others ; a fate of
which liis anticipations had received some sort
of confirmation by the recent mysterious occur-
rence with Lord BroghilI.:j:
From the observations he had been making
upon the Protector's physiognomy, Jocelyn was
presently diverted by a buzzing whisper in the
room, and the approach of two numerously-
escorted gentlemen, whose embroidered silk
dresses, flowdng and highly scented perruques,
fluttering ribbons, and dianiond-hilted swords,
presented a singular contrast to the simple and
minster Abbey; but taken up after the Restoration,
with the bodies of other Cromwelians, and deposited
in St. Margaret's Church-yard adjoining.
* Anthony Ascham, Ambassador to Madrid, where
he was assassinated in his own lodgings, by a party of
English loyalists.
t Colonel Thomas Rainsborough was shot at an inn
in Doncaster by a party of Cavaliers from Pontefract,
under a pretence of delivering him a letter from Crom-
well.
t As this nobleman was accompanying the Lord Pro-
tector in his carriage from Westminster to Whitehall,
210 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
plain character of the surrounding dresses.
These proved to be the Duke de Crequi and
Monsieur Mancini, deputed from the King of
France, Louis XIV. and the Cardinal Maza-
rine, to the Protector, to congratulate him
upon the successes of the united English and
French forces, and to compliment his Highness.
Having been lodged upon their arrival, at Brook
House, in Holborn, they now came in state to
acquit themselves of their embassy, each de-
it was stopped on one side of the street, at a spot where,
from the gi-eat pressure of the crowd, none of the hal-
berdiers had room to stand by the window. In this
posture his lordship observed the door of a cobler's stall
to open and sluit a little, and at every opening coiild
distinguish something bright, like a drawn sword or
pistol. Whereupon he drew out his own sword with
the scabbard on it, struck it upon the stall, and asked
who was there, when a singularly wild-looking man,
with a sword by his side, burst out, and eiFected his es-
cape, although his lordship called to the guards to seize
him. — It was rumoured that the Protector more than
once encountered the ^ame figure afterwards, under
circumstances that rendered it difficult to account for
his presence.
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 211
livering a short speech conveying the most flat-
tering assurances of respect and regard from
his master, which the Protector, taking off his
hat, received with a carriage full of gravity and
state, expressed an equal affection for his Ma-
jesty of France, and invited his representatives
to dine Avith him. To these gentlemen suc-
ceeded a host of deputies, civil and military,
bearing; addresses couched in a fervour of re-
ligious enthusiasm, which, in any other days
would have startled the hearer by its profane
adulation. In these eflfusions of pious and pas-
sionate loyalty, the Protector was compared to
Moses, who had gathered together the people
of the new Israel, and given them laws, and
brought down spiritual food from heaven for
their support: — to Zerubbabel, who restored
the true worship of the Lord : — to Joshua who
defeated the Amalekitcs and the Canaanltes: —
to Gideon, who delivered Israel from the op-
pression of the Midianiles : — to Elijah, who had
212 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
been raised up by Heaven to overthrow the
worshippers of Baal, and destroy their idol :—
to the chariots and horsemen of Israel ; to David,
to Solomon, to Hezekiah ; and finally, that pro-
fane as well as sacred history might be put in
requisition, to Titus and to Constantine. Hy-
pocrisy formed no part of the Protector's pre-
sent character ; it had been long converted into
genuine enthusiasm, and he could therefore ex-
claim in all sincerity of heart, — " Not to me, but
to the Lord be ascribed the praise. I am but
a poor worm raised out of the dust to be the
instrument of His will."
So much time had been occupied in the pre-
sentation of these vapouring and ranting speci-
mens of spiritual bombast, that when Colonel
Lilburne saw a long file of gentlemen, foreign-
ers as well as natives, waiting to be introduced,
he began to think he should hardly have time
to obtain a moment's audience. Althouffh he
spoke to these parties with a dignified affability
BRAMBLKTYE HOUSE. 213
and upon appropriate subjects, his Highness
did not detain them long, so that they were
more than half dismissed, when his roving and
restless eye fixed itself for a moment upon
Jocelyn, and he whispered a few words to a
groom of the chambers, who presently ap-
proached Colonel Lilburne, inviting him to dine
with the Protector, and requesting him to with-
draw into a private room, where his Highness
would join him as soon as possible. Following
this conductor, they were ushered into a spa-
cious and noble library, whose shelves were
closely filled with books. At the upper end,
before a desk, on which were several folio vo-
lumes, two gentlemen were seated, one of whom
was writing from the dictation of his com-
panion. The latter, who was rather below the
middle size, wearing his light brown hair parted
at the foretop, and hanging down on either side
of his singularly comely and majestic counte-
nance, took not the smallest notice of them as
214 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
they passed, but continued dictating. His
amanuensis, a strong- set figure, with a round
face, cherry cheeks, hazel eyes, and brown hair,
bowed to them with a cheerful smile as they
walked through into an inner apartment, but
did not speak. These were the immortal Mil-
ton, Latin Secretary to the Protector, and who
had now been for some time bhnd ; and the
scarcely less illustrious Andrew Marvel, re-
cently appointed his Assistant ; men worthy to
sit enthroned in that costly library, and to be
surrounded by the great and kindred intellects
of the world : men who have become the cer-
tain heirs of never-dying fame, while, with one
or two exceptions, the crowd of nobles and
grandees that thronged the adjoining saloon,
liave passed rapidly away into irredeemable
oblivion.
From this apartment the colonel and Jocelyn
passed into a gallery, and were ushered into
his Highness's private room, where their con-
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 215
ductor left them. It was a small chamber, fur-
nished with globes, maps, allasses, charts, plans
of different fortifications, and a handsome book-
case, mostly filled with controversial divinity,
though it contained such works as were then
published of Waller, Denham, Cowley, Har-
rington, Marvel, and the lighter effusions of
Milton ; together Avith Hartlib's Discourse of
Husbandry, the works of Machiavel, Harvey's
Latin essay on the circulation of the blood,
and other political and scientific books, Latin,
English, and French. On a small table in the
middle of the room, lay the Protector's plan for
the foundation of a new college, with a portfolio
containing engravings of Scripture-subjects, bv
Faithornc, around which were scattered nume-
rous pamphlets and fugitive pieces, religious
and political. It was not without surprise that
the colonel recognized among the latter several
of the crazy publications of his brother the
saint, alias free-born John, alias Lilburne the
216 BUAMBLETYE HOUSE.
Trouble-world ;* such as " Jonah's cry out of
the Whale's Belly," — " An Impeachment of
High Treason against Oliver Cromwell and his
son-in-law Henry Ireton," and other similar
attacks upon the Protector, for which he was at
that moment in prison. — In a recess of the win-
dow, upon a sloping desk, was an open folio
Bible, thickly overwritten with marginal anno-
tations in Cromwell's own hand, though the
tremulous letters showed that he now guided
the pen with difficulty ;— and from a half-open
* On the death of this turbulent and refractory en-
thusiast, which occurred soon afterwards, there appeared
the following epigrammatic epitaph : —
" Is John departed, and is Lilburne gone ?
Farewell to both, to Lilburne and to John !
Yet being gone, take this advice from me,
Let them not both in one grave buried be.
Here lay ye John ; lay Lilburne hereabout,
For if they both should meet, they would fall out."
Tliis alludes to a saying, that John Lilburne was so
(juarrelsome, that if he were the only man in the world,
John would quaigrel with Lilburne and Lilburne with
Jolm.
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 217
drawer beneath, glittered the hilts of a brace
of pistols. With a boyish curiosity, Jocelyn
opened the door of an inner closet, in which he
observed two naked swords hanffing against the
wall, and a secret stair case, probably intended
for escape in case of a sudden surprise.
As a proof of the hold which heraldic vanities
may obtain, even over such a mind as Crom-
well's, it is not unworthv of remark that his fa-
niily arms, handsomely emblazoned upon vellum,
and set in a gilt frame, were not only hung up
in the saloon, but were exhibited in this private
apartment. Nor did it escape Lilburne''s obser-
vation, that since he had become Protector, he
had asisumed a particular bearing in his crest,
which had been granted to his ancestor by
Henry the Eighth,* as if anxious to disprove
• Against. Sir Richard Cromwell's name, in Noble's Pe-
di^ee of that family, is the following note : — " Tlie 1st
of May, 1540, a solemn triumph waslield at Westminster,
before King Henry VIII. by Sir John Dudley, Sir Rich-
ard Cromwell, aud four other challengers, which was
proclaimed in France, Spain, Si-otland, and Flanders-
.The 2d day, at Tourney, Sir Ridiard Cromwell OTcr-
VOL. I. L
218 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
the current imputations against his low and ob-
scure birth. While Lilburne was examining this
escutcheon, the Protector suddenly entered, still
wearing his hat, seated himself beside the open
Bible, and turning to Lilburne, who continued
standing, exclaimed, with a stern look and hur-
ried voice, " That is the boy Compton, and his
father has escaped. I know it all, ay and more
than you yourself are acquainted with. You
sate in the chair of the scorner, when you
marked my conferences with the crazy Papist
woman, Mary Lawrence, and yet from her did I
gather the first tidings of the treasonable pro-
threw Mr. Palmer off his horse. And the 5th day, at
Barriers, he likewise overtlirew Mr. Culpep ; to his and
the challenger's great ho :" Mr. Nohle gives from Stowe
a particular account of this jousting : and adds, from
Fidler's Church History, that when the King saw Sir
Richard's prowess, he was so enraptured that he ex-
claimed, " Fonnerly thou wast my Dick, but hereafter
thou shalt be my diamond; and thereupon dropped a
diamond ring from his finger, which Sir Richard taking
up, his Majesty presented it to him, bidding him ever
afterwards bear such a one in the foregamb of the
demy-lion in his crest, instead of the javelin." — Me-
moirs of the Protector O. C. p. 201.
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 219
ceedings at Brambletye. For some cause, what
it is I know not, she has sworn deadly enmity
to the whole race ; and I avail myself of every
aid that the Lord sends me. I have a spy in
every house. She has given me good reasons
why this stripling should be detained as a hos-
tage for his father. Away with him to the
Gate-house at Westminster. These perpetual
revelations of the plots against Zion are so many
special providences calling me to perform my du-
ty. I hold the sword of the Lord and of Gideon,
and the rebellers against his name shall perish,
for the Lord is weary of pardoning. Formerly
I lived in Mesheck, which signifieth prolonging ;
in Kedar, which signifieth blackness ; but my
soul is now with the congregation of the first-
born. I know them all ; the enemies of the
New Jerusalem ; my spies beset them on every
side ; the toils of the hunter are around them ;
I will pour out the seventh vial upon them;
what God hath given me, man shall not take
away.— They shall perish ; 1 will dash out their
l2
220 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
teeth, and break their jaw-bones, and utterly
exterminate the army of the Beast. — I swear
it by this holy book ! "
Striking his hand angrily upon the Bible, as he
concluded this rather incoherent rhapsody, he
remained for some time lost in deep thought,
when, as if anxious to justify his meditated se-
verities b}^ a recapitulation of the benefits he had
conferred upon the country, he continued, in a
more composed tone : " Have I not made the
name of an Englishman to be as much feared
and respected throughout the world, as ever.,,
was that of an ancient Roman ? My fleets and
armies are every where victorious; England,
Ireland, Scotland, France, Holland, Spain, —
have I not triumphed over them all ;— the
Grand Turk has owned my authority ; the op-
pressed Protestants throughout Europe have
cried out to me, and I have compelled their rulers
to give them instant redress; none but men of
integrity sit upon my seats of judgment; cor-
ruption is unknown in my court ; and, above
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 221
all, I have so counselled and guided them, that
my people have become the chosen ones of the
Lord, and have built up the New Jerusalem,
to be the praise of the whole earth, the Sion
of the Holy One of Israel."
Having received his instructions relative to the
disposal of Jocelyn, and knowing the Protector
too well to dispute his will during these fits of
enthusiasm, the Colonel ventured to turn the
current of his ideas by soliciting the release of
his brother John, who was then a prisoner at
Portsmouth, and under order for transportation.
" He is a firebrand in the temple,*' cried
the Protector, "upon which I have been com-
]x.*lled to put my foot, lest it should burn down
the building. Well does he deserve the name
of Lilburne the trouble-world."
" He has now joined tha sect of the Quakers,"
replied the Colonel, " whose distinguishing tenet
is submission to authority, and I am willing to
become surety for his future obedience."
" The Quakers ! Then be it so ! " exclaimed
222 BllAMBLETYE HOUSE.
the Protector; "they are godly people, and
good subjects : and as to you, Lilburne, I have
ever found you a good and faithful soldier of
the Lord. Tell Thurloe to prepare an order
for your brother's release." So saying, he again
relapsed into thought, and on recovering from
his reverie, cast a stern look upon Jocelyn, and
walked suddenly out of the room, without utter-
ing another word.
" What means he by the Gate-house at West-
minster ? " inquired Jocelyn, who had hitherto
been silent from a mixed feeling of awe and
wonder.
" It is a place of confinement, my young
friend," replied the Colonel, " where you will
be well treated, but must remain in custody,
until we gather tidings of Sir John.""
"A prison!" cried the youth, reddening
with passion, and instinctively feeling for the
handle of his dagger, of which he had been pru-
dently deprived : — " I wish I had known it
sooner. Stripling as he calls me, had I but my
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 223
bow and arrow in my hand, I would make no
more of his croaking voice and black coat,
than I did of the rooks in the Friar's copse at
Brambletye."
" Hush ! you coleric little Prate-a-pace ! '^
cried Lilburne, putting his hand upon his
mouth.
" I will not hush," continued Jocelyn, ex-
alting his voice, " for I see my father was
right, and tliat this fine gentleman, though
he wears his hat and sits in a high chair, is
neither more nor less, after all, than a Round-
head rogue, and a red-nosed Noll." — These
appalling epithets, probably never before ut-
tered in Hampton-Court House, certainly not in
8o clamorous a tone of voice, occasioned no small
embarrassment in the Colonel, who had recourse
to soothing measures, since he quickly saw me-
naces would be unavailing, and had luckily
prevailed upon the boy to be pacified, just as
an attendant entered to conduct them to the
groom-porter's lodge, to whose custody Jocelyn
S24 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
was to be temporarily committed. It was no
small relief to Lilburne''s mind that they did
not again pass through the presence-chamber,
for he could not help dreading that some of its
lingering inmates might have been startled by
sounds, which, however common in the dining-
room of the Cavaliers, would have been ac-
counted little less than blasphemy in the palace
of the Lord Protector. Jocelyn did, indeed,
continue to mutter fiercely to himself, but none
noticed his splenetic accents, and he was pre-
sently deposited in his place of immediate con-
finement, where he encountered courteous treat-
ment, and, when his wrath had a little subsided,
partook of a comfortable dinner with the in-
mates of the lodge.
While he was thus employed. Colonel Lil-
burne became a participator in the great enter-
tainment provided for the French ambassadors,
and the other illustrious personages who had
been invited to grace the festival. According
to the modern acceptation of the latter word, it
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 2^5
might hardly be deemed appropriate in the
present instance ; for the residence of the Pro-
tector,, though not deficient in a grave and be-
coming state, and even calculated to inspire
awe by the stern iron grandeur of its nulitary
appointments, presented none of those gayer
accompaniments that generally characterize a
court. Here were no riot or debauch ; no lan-
guishing courtezans surrounded by glittering
triflers, and wiling away the time in vanton
discourse ; no powdered fops and painted dames
devoted to the purposes of gallantrj'^; no court-
buffoons ; no fiddlers or dancers ; no pimps and
pandars ; no cards or dice ; no masquers, moun-
tebanks and mummers; none, in short, of these
customary resources by which the frequenters of
a palace endeavour to defeat the importunate
assaults of idleness and erniui. Whether the
substitutes provided by the Protector were bet-
ter calculated to answer this purpose, will per-
haps be doubted in the present day ; but they
were at least of a more dignified nature, and well
L 5
226 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE,
adapted to the serious and austere taste of his
contemporaries, against whom it was urged as
a reproach and a nick-name that they were
Purita7is.
After the Duke de Crequi and Monsieur
Mancini had been escorted in one of his High-
ness''s carriages, with a proper retinue, round
the house and the middle parks of Hampton-
Court, as they were then called, and thence to
Bushey ; they were conducted back to the great
gates of the palace, where they were received as
before by a salute of twelve trumpets. On
alighting, they were conducted to the chapel, in
which they found a numerous company seated,
his Highness being in the same state as at first,
but without his hat, and the whole assemblage
silent. Hardly had they taken their seats when
prayers were commenced by Dr. Goodwin, the
chaplain ; after which the celebrated Hugh Peters
expounded a place of Scripture, in a sermon of
one hour's continuance, then considered a brief
length ; the service concluding with a psalm.
BfiAMBLKTYE HOUSE. 227
sung by the whole party. To the inexpressible re-
lief of the foreigners, the Protector then leaving
his chair, and coming towards them, invited them
into an adjoining drawing-room, where they were
introduced to the Protectress, to her daughters
the Ladies Faulconbridge and Rich ; and the
deservedly favourite child of both parents, the
Lady Claypoole. Other ladies were in the
apartment, but none affected any squeamish
prudery of manner, or quaker-like homeliness
in their attire, the younger ones being richly
decorated with pearls, tastefully interspersed
among the natural ringlets of their hair, or
formed into bows upon their shoulders ; and
exhibiting in their whole appearance a modest
yet graceful elegance. The Protectress, as be-
came her more mature years, wore a white
satin hood, fastened tight under her chin, so as
to discover but little of her light brov.n hair.
Nor was more of her neck displayed than was
sufficient to show a string of pearls around it ;
her handkerchief, of which only the broad laced
228 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
edge was visible, was drawn round the neck
by a black string, the rest of her person being
covered by a green velvet cardinal, edged with
gold lace, and fastened at the bottom with a
clasp of jewellery.
From this apartment, after a short conversa-
tion, they were ushered into the dining-room,
where they were nobly regaled, music playing
during the whole of the repast. At the head
of the principal table sate the Lord Protector
alone, having the ambassadors on his right hand,
and the lords of the council and other officers
opposite to them : the Protectress had a table
of her own, at which the ladies were enter-
tained ; and there was a third for the chief
officers of the household. Though plentiful
and sumptuous, the repast did not occupy long
in the discussion ; no toasts were drunk ; a long
grace was pronounced by Jeremy White, one
of the chaplains ; and after due time had been
allowed for the dessert, at which were produced
some noble-sized pines, brought from Barbadoes,
and the first of the sort ever seen in England ,
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 229
the whole party re-adjourned to the drawing-
room. Here, to the inexpressible horror of the
foreigners, who were neither devoutly inclined,
nor if they had been, understood one word of
the language, Dr. Goodwin favoured them with
a second sermon, an additional act of devotion
which was considered to be specially called for
by the recovery of his Highness's health, and the
frustration of the plot ; from the illustration of
which two subjects by parallel occurrences in
Scripture, and proving a manifest interference of
Providence, the preacher drew the principal
materials of his discourse. Observing, probably,
an air of wearisome chagrin upon the counte-
nance of his guest, the Protector addressing the
Duke, expressed his apprehensions, that to
one who came from the gay and lively court of
Louis the Fourteenth, the observances of Hamp-
ton must appear overmuch sedate, grave, and
tristful.
" Triste V exclaimed the polite Frenchman,
with a well-affected air of surprise, and a pro-
found bow — " tout au contraire. Never, never.
230 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
never have I passed a more delightful day. Ah !
yotir Highness's court is an example to the
world — so decorous, so religious, so sublime ! It
recalls the good times of our Francis the First,
when Clement Marot, the court-poet, who was so
justly called the poet of princes, and the prince
of poets, set the psalms of David to music, and
it became fashionable for the ladies of the court
to sing them to their guitar. Ah ! how happy
would it be if those days were revived !"
" It is fortunate that I am able to gratify
your wishes," replied the Protector, " for we,
too, have harmonised these divine canticles, and
I hold it the most glorious of all music when
we sing immortal songs that may immortalise
the singer." To the additional mortification of
the Duke, who little expected to be taken at his
word, preparations were now made for gratify-
ing him with some more psalm-singing ; during
which his Highness, addressing Monsieur Man-
cini in Latin, expressed his belief that these
hymns of David were originally composed in a
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 231
certain lyrical measure, observing there was
something sublime in the reflection that we were
singing the identical psalms which had been
chanted in the temple of Jerusalem, about a
thousand years before our Saviour's birth. To
this observation the Itahan was about to make
a suitable reply, couched in a tone of profound
homage, when he was interrupted by the ap-
pearance of Milton, Mhora his Highness intro-
duced to the foreigners as the pride and orna-
ment of his court.
" His Highness has justly observed," said the
blind bard, speaking in Latin, " that psalm-sing-
ing is the noblest of all music. It is indeed
sublime to think, that chained as our bodies are
to this deaf earth, the voice of thanksgiving may
still be wafted from the creature to the Creator.
It would be desolating to believe that all the
holy music of organ and of harp, of dulcimer
and of psaltry, and of that more dignified instru-
ment the human voice, inspired by an intellect
that knows the worth of worship, — it would be
232 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
horrible to imagine that all the sounds thus sent
up into the air from the beginning of time, have
died away in the unconscious abysses of space,
unheard, unnoticed, unrecorded. Far from us
be such unhallowed misgivings ! I would rather
deem that even the voice of unintelligential mat-
ter is not altogether so objectless as we are apt
to decide ; and that the perpetual music of the
winds and running waters, with the deep bass
of the never-silent sea, are but the Hallelujahs
sung by the adoring earth, as it rolls along
before the footstool of its Creator."
After a mutual interchange of compliments,
the blind bard, seating himself at the organ,
played with appropriate feeling and expression,
a psalm whith had been set to music by his
friend Henry Lawes,* and was now sung by
some of his pupils, both male and female. Out
of compliment to the visitants, the organist then
* The composer of the music of Comus. Milton ad-
dressed a sonnet to him ; and his nephews Edward and
John Phillips prefixed commendatoiy verses v**> ^*^
" Ayresand Dialogues" published in 1653.
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 233
executed a lio;hter measure of the French cast,
from jNIatthew Lock's " Consort of Pavans,
Ay res, Corants, and Sarabands*"* then just pub-
lished, with which the foreigners seemed to be
much better pleased.
His Highness, who both loved and understood
music, and had not long before granted permis-
sion to Sir William Davenant to open a Theatre
at Rutland House, in Charter-House Square,
for a species of operatic entertainment, had
given orders for a little concert to be pre))ared,
in which Davis Mell and Paul Wheeler, two of
tlie best musicians of the day, were performers ;
after which was given a solo on the violin by
the incomparable Baltzar of Lubeck, admitted
to be the finest player in Europe.* Knowing
• The following passage in Evelyn's Diary seems to
have reference to this famous Violinist — '-'IGCG, March
4. — This nightl was invited by Mr. Roger L'Estrange, to
hear the incomparable Lubicer on tlie violin. His va-
riety on a few notes and plain ground, w ith that won-
derful dexterity, was adniiral)le. Though a young man,
yet so perfect and skilful, that there was nothing how-
ever crossta^id perplexed, brought to him by our artists
SS-i BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
the bibulous propensities of James Quin, the
bass-singer, whose attendance had been expressly
commanded, the Protector goodnaturedly or-
dered him to be well plied with sack, and was
so well' pleased with his performance, that at its
conclusion he exclaimed — " What shall I do for
you, Mr. Quin ?"" The modest vocalist simply
required to be restored to his student's place
at Christ-Church, from which he had been dis-
missed by the visitors for intemperance, a peti-
tion with whicli his Highness promised com-
pliance.
that he did not play off at sight with ravishing sweet-
ness and improvements, to the astonishment of our best
masters. In sum, he played on that single instrument
a full concert, so as the rest flung down their instru-
ments, acknowledging the victory. As to my own par-
ticular, I stand to this hour amazed that God should
give so great a perfection to so young a person. I can
no longer question the effects we read of in David's
harp to charm evil spirits, or what is said some parti-
cular notes produced in the passions of Alexander, and
that King of Denmark." p. 298. Wood tells us, that
" when Baltzar played at Oxford, Wilson, the public
professor of music, stooped down to his feet, to see whe-
ther he had a hoof on, that is to say, whether he was a
devil or not, because he acted beyond the parts of a man."
BUAMBLETYE HOUSE. 235
Milton was now again called for, and the
Duke observed alarming appearances of another
psalm, when he started up in great trepidation,
declaring he had a most particular engagement
in London, and that, however agonizing it
might be to his feelings, he was absolutely com-
pelled to tear himself from a noble species of
entertainment, to which he was pecuHarly de-
voted, and of which he should never lose the
recollection. Compassion inducing him to in-
clude Mancini in his meditated escape, both
parties took their leave together, with a profu-
sion of compliments, and every external mani-
festation of the most profound reverence.
Scarcely, however, had their carriage cleared
the gates of the palace, when the Duke, first
indulging in an Alexandrine yawn, and then
bursting into as continuous a peal of laughter,
exclaimed, as he brought his grimaces to a pe-
roration, " Positively, my dear Mancini, I
must indemnify my jaws, by relaxing them in
every possible direction, for the cramp they have
236 BRAMBLETYE ROUSE.
acquired in this most stiff, starch, and petri-
fying court-convent. Monks are not seldom
jovial and hilarious, hermits may be mercurial
and frolicsome, cardinals vivacious and blithe,
and even the holy fatlier himself, (God forgive
us !) is sometimes fain to enact the merry-an-
drew ; — but as to these grim saints, these do-
lorous laughter-hating Puritans, I shall now
abominate them worse than ever, since by your
solemn looks they seem to have infected you
with a portion of their own rigidity of muscle.""
" I would willingly smile at their fanaticism,'"
replied the crafty Italian, " if I could also
laugh at their power; but when I reflect that
religious enthusiasm, directed by military skill,
has always been the most tremendous engine
that man could wield, I confess that I too much
fear this Mahomet of the West, and anticipate
his futvu'e enterprizes with too deep a dismay,
to contemplate the Protector with any risible
emotions. He has put himself at the head
of the Protestant power in Europe, and the
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 237
moment he seeks to give it a predomi-
nance — "
" Bah !" exclaimed the Duke, interrupting
him ; "he is himself no longer what he was,
and where the spiritual phrenzy of his army
has not altogether evaporated, it has broken up
into sects and dissensions that render it more
dangerous to himself than to others. As there is
no natural coherence in the elements that he has
moulded together, his power is personal and
temporary. The present greatness of the coun-
try is in Cromwell, not in England. A power-
ful hand may knead up a sn^w-ball into an
engine of attack, but the moment the pressure
ceases, it either falls to pieces of itself, or gra-
dually melts away; and this will be the fate
of England whenever the Protector dies. Be-
sides, I perfectly agree with my })redecessor,
that nothing permanently great can be expected
from a country which has fifty different re-
ligions, and only two fish-sauces. And so a
truce to politics, which I hate for the same
238 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
reason that a grocer abhors figs — and hey ! for
a snug corner, for if you will neither laugh nor
talk nonsense, I have no alternative but a nap.
Signor Mancini, I have the honor to wish you
good night." — At these words he unbuckled his
sword, stretched out liis legs, and leaning back
in a corner of the carriage, composed himself
for the enjoyment of the only resource that was
left to him.
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 239
CHAPTER VII.
— " Palamon the pi'isoner Knight,
Restless for woe, arose before the light.
And with his jailor's leave desired t ^ bi-eathe
An air more welcome than the damp beneath."
Dryden.
The Gate-house prison, to which the indig-
nant Jocelyn was conducted on the following
morning, stood in front of the great western
towers of Westminster Abbey, to whose close
it had originally formed the entrance or gate,
whence the gaol derived its name. A part of
the close itself, then surrounded by a high wall,
formed the only place of recreation for the
prisoners ; and tiic antiquated building, little
adapted for the security, and still less for the
comfort, of its inmates, had no better plea for
240 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
being converted into a prison, than that it was
quite as ill adapted to the purpose as the other
gates which had been thus appropriated. Al-
though generally courageous above his years,
and partly sustained upon the present occasion
by a sense of vehement anger, Jocelyn could not
approach these mournful precincts without a
mixture of awful wonder and apprehension, that
made his heart sink within him. Feelings of
guilt, degradation, and terror are so intimately
associated with our early notions of a prison,
that he revolted from the idea of crossing the
threshold ; and when these general impressions
of his mind were aggravated by the evidence
of his senses, by the sight of chains and axes
suspended over the gate, the deep gloom of the
arch beneath which they were to pass, the fe-
rocious look of the porter at the wicket, with
his brown bill, and the hoarse rattling of bars
and bolts, as the gates were opened for the en-
trance of the colonel's carriage, few will wonder
that he was almost overcome by his dismal pros-
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. S^l
pects. Pride, however, enabled liini to repress
any manifestation of alarm, or even of emotion,
until he had to bid adieu in the little lodge to
the Colonel, when the remembrance of the kind
treatment he had experienced, and the affection-
ate manner in which he recommended Jocelyn to
the special protection of the gaoler, and promis-
ed him to exert his utmost influence for his
speedy liberation, melted his heart, and occa-
sioned the tears to flow copiously down his
cheeks in spite of all his efforts. Short as was
the period during which he had been his invo-
luntary custodian, Lilburne had seen enough of
the boy's noble qualities to take a deep interest
in his fate. He comforted him therefore to
the best of his ability, and having given orders
about a good apartment, for which he paid be-
forehand, and repeated his assurances that he
would bestir himself instantly for his release,
he took his departure, leaving Jocelyn alone with
the gaoler, a black-muzzled, beetle-browed fel-
VOL. I. M
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
low, with an ominous cast in his eye, which im-
parted a singular ugliness to his scowling features.
While this interesting personage was \mcon-
cernedly continuing his whiffs, apparently in-
tending to finish his pipe before he took the
trouble of initiating his new prisoner into the
inner ward, they were joined by his wife, a stout
but fresh and comely dame, who no sooner be-
held Jocelyn, than she exclaimed, as she fixed
her looks upon him ! — " Dear heart ! dear heart !
Giles Lockhart, did you ever clap eyes upon
such a likeness to our poor dear Thomas, that
Ave lost o' the small pox ? why it 's the very
dapse of him !""
" Psha !" said the husband surlily — " so you
say of every lad you see. As much like him
as you are like Queen Bess."
" The game age, the same dark hair, the
same bright eyes, the same comely face," con-
tinued the wife — " well I never ! — my poor
dear child ! 'twas a heart-breaking thing, and he
our only boy, and such a^ sweet " She took
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 243
up the corner of her apron, and after wlphig
her eyes attempted to proceed — " such a sweet"
— but she could get no farther, the tears gushed
out afresh, and she leant, sobbing and weeping,
against the barrier of the lodge.
" What the devil ails the woman ?" cried the
gaoler, attempting to conceal his own emotion,
by an assumed tone of anger, and at the same
time turning away his face — " what is there to
greet about, Madge ? you are always on about
the boy — many others have lost a child as well
as we."
" Not such a child as Thomas : no, no, Giles ;
not such a sweet, noble, kind-hearted, little fel-
low as ours," replied Madge ; " tl)cre isn't such
another in the world, though this is the likest
to him that ever I have yet seen. Welladay !
we must all die ! And, in the name of wonder,
mv darling Thomas. God foro-ive me ! I
could almost fancy I was speaking to my own
flesh and blood ; — in the name of wonder, my
dear boy, why have they sent thee to prison ?
M 2
244 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
Thou art neither plotter, nor malignant, nor
popish recusant, nor delinquent, nor fifth-monar-
chy man, nor any thing thou shouldn''st be,
I '11 be sworn ; then why send thee to the Gate-
house ? "
" I know no reason," replied Jocelyn, " unless
that I am the son of Sir John Compton."
" Gaol thee for having a father ! O the villains !
they might say as much against my blessed
Thomas, God rest him ! if he were still alive.""
" Ay, if he could tell who was his father,"
cried the husband, alarmed at his wife's indis-
creet anger. — " Enough of this whimpering bal-
derdash ; and troop to your quarters, mistress,
and keep your tongue within your teeth. Vil-
lain 's a foul word to throAv at a servant, and a
foolish one to venture at a master. Marry, I 've
known a woman transported to the Barbadoes
for such another slip of the tongue. Trudge,
mistress, trudge!"
As soon as his wife had disappeared, whicli
she did not do without lookins: back several
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 245
times at Jocelyn, wiping her eyes as often, and
sighing deeply to herself, — " my dear child !
my poor dear Thomas ! " the gaoler exclaimed,
— " Come, my young master, don't be down-
hearted ; many a one that comes in sorry, goes
out singing ; and you Ve too young yet awhile
for axe or rope, so there 's nothing to fret about.
Shall I show you your room ? Marry ! it 's a
clean one, and a cheerful ; pleasant as the flow-
ers in May. The window looks upon the wall,
but you can see the top of one of the college
trees through the corner pane, and you can hear
every thing that goes on in the Abbey, for the
bell 's ever a tolling, either for prayers or bury-
ings. Church or church-yard, there 's always
somewhat a stirring. There ! " he continued,
looking round the room with a vain-glorious air,
as he inducted his prisoner into it, " there 's
not a tidier apartment in Peter-house, or the
town itself. Ah ! I remember when poor mas-
ter Lovelace had it, and a handsomer blade, or
a finer gentleman I never turned key upon : all
240 BilAMBLETYE HOUS£.
gold and silver, silk and satin, and a diamond
buckle to fasten the feather in liis hat. A merry
wag too, though he stormed when I took away
his silver-hilted sword, till I showed him the
printed rules. Poor gentleman ! poor gentle-
man ! I met him t' other day in Shoe-lane,
though God knows it 's a wonder I found him
out, for he was all rags and wretchedness, sick
and sad, and nohow over clean.* You may still
see some of his scrawling and scribbling upon
the walls and window. Many a time have I
marked him scratching the glass with his dia-
mond-ring. Ah ! he had better have staid where
he was so happy ! ""
• Colonel Richard Lovelace, who was committed to
the Gate-house for presenting the Kentish Petition, was
the author of a Tragedy and a Comedy, besides two vo-
lumes of Poems, under the title of Lucasta. His beau-
tiful and well-known address, " To Althaea from Prison,"
was written in the Gate-house. In Wood's Athense may
be seen the whole affecting story of this elegant writer,
" who, after having been distinguished for every gallant
and polite accomplishment, the pattern of his own sex,
and the darling of the ladies, died in the lowest wretched-
ess, obscurity, and want," in Gunpowder-alley, near
Shoe-lane, Anno 1658.
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 24?
The words " Lux Casta," and " Lucasta," *
surmounted by a half-moon, as well as his own
initials in a rude wreath, were indeed still legible
upon more than one of the panes ; while the
wall beside the bed was covered with scraps and
lialf-effaced fragments of his different composi-
tions. " Said I not right, j^oungster," resumed
the gaoler, with an air of self-complacence, " here
you may be as happy as the day is long, and if
vou will follow me to the ward below, vou shall
hear how merrily my gaol-birds chirp and sing-
in their cage."
This assertion did not receive a verv abun-
dant confirmation in the yard to which Jocelyn
was now led, the hilarity being pretty much
confined to two or tlu'ee parties of Cavaliers.
Some of these gentry, who had been too much
accustomed to vicissitudes to suffer any diminu-
tion of their irrepressible gaiety, were strutting
* By which names, according to Wood, he compliments
a Miss Lucy Sacheverel, a young lady of great beauty
and fortune.
S48 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
up and down, arm-in-arm, "with long hair and
flaunting clothes, singing to one another in a
low voice scraps of some new political lampoons
and ballads, wliich the little band received from
time to time with loud peals of laughter. An-
other knot were standing huddled round one of
their companions, who had been luck}^ enough
to procure a copy of a song, furtively distributed
at that period, entitled, " Noll, the Brewer, and
the one-eyed Cobler," by which irreverend titles
were signified the Protector and Colonel Hew-
sou. And a third set were striving hard to get
up a mimic game at tennis, which, though it
proved but a lame and impotent imitation,
seemed to afford them the more amusement
from the palpable insufficiency of the place in
which they attempted it, and the obvious an-
noyance it gave to some of their puritan fellow-
prisoners. Of these, one of the most conspicu-
ous was Hannah Trapnell, the Quaker prophe-
tess, whose visions, raptures, and predictions,
assuming a dangerous pohtical character, and
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. ^49
occasioning lier to be followed by numerous
malcontents, she was ordered up to London
from Devonshire, and committed to prison,
where she sate with a Bible in her hand, and
her eyes fixed on heaven in a state of ecstatic
abstraction. At a little distance from her was
another of the same sect, the crazy fanatic,
James Naylor, the very nature of whose outra-
geous impiety declared him to be much better
fitted for bedlam than a prison.* They held
* " The Divinity of Christ had been oppugned by
Biddle, the Socinian, and now it was personated, (with
reverence be it spoken), by one James Naylor, a Quaker,
who, resembling in his proportion r.nd complexion, the
pictures of Christ, had in all other things, as the setting
of the beard and locks in the same fashion, dared to
counterfeit our blessed Lord. To this purpose he had
disciples and women ministei'ing to him, whose blasphe-
mous expressions and applications of several Scriptures
relating properly t(t the loveliness and transcendent
excellency of Christ [av^ponruiro^oiis) to this impos-
tor, will, if repeated, move horror and trembling in
every Christian. His first appearance in this manner
was at Bristol, where a man leading his horse bare-
lieaded, and one Dorcas Erbury and Martha Symonds
going up to the knees in mire, by his horse's side, snug
^t 5
250 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
no communion with one another, though of
the same persuasion, each utterly denying the
claims of the other. In difl'erent quarters of the
aloud, — ' Holy, holy, holy, Hostmnn !' &c. For this
they were seized by the magistrates, and being com-
plained of to Parliament^ were brought up to town, into
which, as in all places, they entered singing the same
blasphemies. At the Bar of the House, (a Committee hav-
ing repsirted their opinion concerning his punishment),
he was sentenced in December to be set in the pillory
twice, and wliipped twice, and his forehead to be stigma-
tized with the letterB.for Blasphemer, and bored through
the tongue, with which he used to answer to any ques-
tion, ' Thou hast said it,' and the like. In prison,
after his punislnnent, the impostor continued. One Mr.
Rich, (a merchant of credit), that lield liim by the hand
while he was in the pillories, with divers others, licked
his wounds ; the women were observed some to lay their
head in his lap, lying against his feet ; others to lean it
upon his shoulders ; and questionless, the Quakers would
have persisted in this delusion, and set up and made
something of this idol, if he had not been kept from
them, (for as soon as ever tliey came into his company?
they would first take him by the hand, and in a strange
note say, ' Holy,' &c.) But being thus removed, after
three days' wilful abstinence, having weakened himself
even unto death, he begged some victuals, and then was
set to work, which he performed, and came by degrees
to himself and to reduction. At the return of the
Hump he got his liberty, but survived it not ; his addi-
BRAMBLETY'E HOUSE. 251
ward were fui'ious Anabaptists, addle-headed
Fifth-moiiarcliv-nien, whose tenets inculcated
the overthrow of all temporal authorities, to
make way for the coming of the new Messiah
and the Millennium ; recusant papists and de-
linquents; military officers, who had opposed
themselves to CromwelFs despotic supremacy,
and who, with fierce looks, were canvassing in
corners new plans for his overthrow ; starving
players, who had betaken themselves to the
dangerous occupation of writing libels against
the Government that had suppressed them ;
and the mongrel crew of rogues and vagabonds
who generally make up the supplemental te-
nantry of a prison.
The Gate-house, in fact, was an epitome of
the kingdom at large ; a sample of the excesses
and phrenzy produced by a long continuance
of spiritual and political convidsion, which had
tional pretended divinity having attenuated and wasted
his humanity ; and that Ijody, sublimed and prei)ared for
miracles, went the way of all flesh. — Heath's Chronicle,
Part 3, p. 384.
^52 BllAMBLKTYE HOUSE.
broken up all the moral elements of the natioDy
set them in array against each other, and in-
flamed them to madness by the excitements of
a protracted civil-war. It presented also no
unapt illustration of Cromwell's government,
who, throughout the whole extent of three king-
doms, kept in awe these furious factions, each
inimical to the other, and all hostile to himself;
holding them together in subjection with as
much security and peace as his deputy Mr,
Giles Lockhart preserved within the narrow
limits of the Gate-house prison.
Two of his gaolbirds (as he termed them),
who stood apart from the others, were the first
to notice Jocelyn, and of course excited his
more particular attention. They had been ac-
tors in London, and upon the suppression of
the theatres betook themselves to an itinerant
life, furtively exercising their now illicit calling,
as occasion offered ; sometimes feasted and re-
warded, sometimes whipped or imprisoned as
common vagabonds, according to the caprice of
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 253
local authority, or the prevalence of political
feeling. As the cavalier party, however, had
little but empty plaudits to bestow, while the
Puritans had the dispensation of stripes and im-
prisonments, they had attempted to mend tlieir
sinking fortunes, or, at least, to wreak their re-
venge, by the composition of a joint satire. In
conformity to the existing taste for quaint al-
literation it was entitled, — " Thaha's Threat
and Melpomene's Menace against the Strang-
lers of the Stage ;"'^ and in reward of this sple-
netic exertion of their muse, the authors were
incontinently sent to quaff the classic air of the
Gate-house. One of them whose name was
Pickering, and who exhibited that air of janty
slovenliness, or shabby-genteel look, which still
characterizes the poorer itinerants of the pro-
fession, was buoyant, gay, and strutting in
his deportment, while his semi-tragic language
seemed to be an olio of all the bombastic blank-
verse, he had picked up in the exercise of his
callinsr, or irleancd from the taffety phrases of
254 BllAMBLETYE HOUSE.
Sir Euphues. His companion, whom he ad-
dressed by the name of Rookwood, appeared to
be overcome by his misfortunes, and to have
sunk into a squahd sloth and sottishness, com-
forting himself with his pipe for his inability
to procure double-bub ale, and gazing silently
upon its smoke with a fixed and drunken eye.
*' O Huntingdonian brewer base !" exclaimed
the former, as he stalked up to Jocelyn with a
theatrical air, — " O truculent and most Hero-
dian knave ! O thrice Nerotic Caligulian spawn !
— or rather, as may best befit tliy lineaments ob-
scene, — O red-nosed Noll ! is't not enough that
men of ftdl-grown pith, and mighty mind sub-
lime, thy spleenful wrath endure, but must these
babes and sucklings yield their blood, and feel
the fury of thy festering fang ? — Prithee, thou
jocund bowman of the woods, youthful con-
comitant of Dian's train, for such thy garb and
looks may well beseem, why art thou here with
musty rogues forlorn, in durance vile and car-
ceration close? Speak, that mine ear may drink
intelligence."
BRAMBLETYli HOUSE. ^55
Although Jocelyn understood very Httle
of this rhapsodical fustian, except the famihar
sobriquet applied to the Protector, he gathered
enough of its general purport to reply, as he
had done to the gaoler's wife, that he was im-
prisoned for being the son of a Royalist. " Ha !
say'st thou so, my juvenilian bold, of Carolinian
block the loyal chip, then are we links of the
same rueful chain, concatenate in one Crom-
wellian doom, participants in Protectorial hate."
So saying, the player held out his hand, re-
ceived Jocelyn's in its palm, shook it with pro-
digious energy, and again putting himself in
an heroic attitude, spouted to his companion —
" Rookwood ! once peerless on the buskined
board, of voice altisonant and stately stalk, be
not so tristful, saturnine, and sad. Ciieer up,
my Pythias ! Look on the lineaments of this
fair youth, for female character most apt.
Will he not serve to perfect our dram : pei's :
and help us act 'f''
Rookwood looked in Jocelyn's face at this
obscure intimation, that he might enable them
^6 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
to execute their long-cherished object of getting
up a play in the prison, by taking the heroine's
part, then commonly performed by youths ; and
as he observed how expressly he seemed formed
to supply this desideratum, he gave an approving
nod, and puffed out the smoke with a com-
placent whiff. " Said I not sooth, Rook-
woodian Roscius .^'''' continued the spouter —
" Play will we have, though gaolers frown like
fate, and locks, bolts, bars, and chains, our
limbs immure. — Ay, and ere long, when Noll
is nullified, Blackfriars and the Globe again
shall ope their doors theatric to admiring
crowds." — Rookwood shook his head despond-
ingly " Miscreant ! they shall," resumed
the pompous Pickering. " Curtains shall rise,
and prompters' bells shall ring: shouts shall
be heard as we advance amid an amphitheatre
of eager eyes. Then sliall my Rookwood be
himself again, with casque and plume and har-
ness on his back, grasping his sword as Mac-
beth, while I, as Macduff, shall exclaim—
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 257
' Then yield thee, coward.
And live to be the show and gaze o' the time.
We'U have thee as our rarer monsters are,
Painted upon a pole; and underwrit, —
Here you may see the tyrant.'
During the delivery of this speech, Avhich
was given with a somewhat Thrasonic energy,
the sluggish woe- worn countenance of Rook-
wood became gradually more animated. As the
visions of past glory seemed to flit before his
eyes, and the acclamations of enraptured thou-
sands to vibrate in his ears, he gradually shook
off his lethargy, until he heard the last line,
which of old had been his customary cue. The
war-horse starts not more eagerly from his sleep
at the sound of the trumpet, than did the be-
numbed player at this spirit-stirring remem-
brancer. Hurling his pipe over the prison-wall,
and leaping aside in a species of ecstasy, he
snatched a stick from one of the bystanders,
and wielding it as a sword, while his eyes gUt-
tered, and his Avhole countenance, under the
influence of this sudden inspiration, blazed up
958 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
with something of its former spirit and beauty,
lie shouted out, with a startling vehemence : —
' I'll not yield,
To kiss the ground before young Malcolm's feet.
And to be baited with the rabble's curse.
Tho' Birnam wood be come to Dunsinane,
And thou oppos'd, being of no woman born.
Yet I wUl try the last ; before my body
I throw my warlike shield : lay on Macduff ;
And damn'd be he that first cries — Hold, enough !'
After the completion of this scene, which was
delivered on both sides with a tearing violence
of voice and gesticulation, that seemed intended
to atone for lost time, the performers, animated
by the clamorous applauses of the Cavaliers who
surrounded them, retired triumphantly to their
joint apartment, Pickering swelHng and strut-
ting as if he disdained the earth ; and even the
crest-fallen Rook wood lifting up his head and
throwing out his foot with a pleasurable con-
fidence, to which he had long been a stranger.
Encouraged by the success of this debut, the
latter sent immediately for Jocelyn, and taking
upon himself the unusual office of spokesman,
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 259
rendered absolutely necessary by the incompre-
hensible magniloquence of his friend, requested
Inm to oblige them by studying the part of
Lady Macbeth, in the tragedy which had been
called to his remembrance; and which (he said)
they were about to get up. To this Jocelyn gave
a willing assent, vuidertaking the task m.ore rea-
dily when he was told that their projected freak
would irritate and annoy the Puritans, towards
whom he felt already an hereditary hatred. For-
tunately possessing two copies of the play, they
gave one to Jocelyn, enjoining secrecy, lest the
design should come to the ears of Lockhart the
gaoler, who would infallibly prevent its execution.
As to the female garb in which he was to be
attired, they confessed themselves at present
unprovided, but relied upon the assistance of a
friend in Petty France, with whom they had
occasional connnunication ; when after giving
him a few instructions, and requesting him to
be quick in studying his part, they dismissed
him with many thanks.
960 BRAMBLETYE HOUSK.
At an early hour on the following morning,
Jocelyn was seated upon a bench in a lonely
corner of the yard, conning over liis play with
all the cudous eagerness of youth, when a wild,
gaunt-looking Anabaptist stalked up to him,
and exclaimed in a solemn voice, — " A play-
house is Tophet; — players are the deviPs imps ;
and with printed plays doth Belzebub bait his
hooks. Cast them from thee; and if thou
seekest that which may amuse thee without de-
stroying thy soul, here are George Wither's
Hymns ; Quarles's Feast for Worms, in a Poem
of the History of Jonah ; and Robert Wis-
dome's Translation of the Psalms. Lay them
to thy heart, and flee from the wrath to come."
So saying, he deposited the books on the bench,
and strode away without further colloquy.
Not less surprised at this unexpected dona-
tion than at the strange being who bestowed it,
Jocelyn instantly opened one of the books, and
was deeply occupied in its perusal, when he
was obliged to quit his seat by the approach of
a waggon bringing coals to the cellar, which was
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 261
jast beyond the bench. Resuming his seat
when it passed, he continued for some time im-
mersed in reading, until he was startled by the
falling of a small coal upon the page, an occur-
rence, however, to which he gave only a momen-
tary attention, when he received a blow upon
the hand from a larger fragment. Starting up
to resent what he now considered an intentional
affront, lie looked round and beheld the driver
of the waggon, who had placed himself so as
to escape observation from others, laying his
finger upon his lips, and then beckoning him
to approach. This he did in no small wonder-
ment at the meaning of so mysterious an invi-
tation ; nor was his surprize diminished when
he came near, at being thus addressed in an
eager whisper, — " Master Jocelyn ! master
Jocelyn ! don't be alarmed ; it 's I, Jack Whit-
taker ; don't you know me in this disguise ?
We have not a moment to lose ; jump into the
waggon, and I '11 cover you over with empty
sacks. Up, up ! there 's nobody near."
So saying, and without giving him time to
262 BRAAIBLETTE HOUSE.
deliberate, he bundled him into the cart, and
in a few minutes Jocelyn found himself half-
buried beneath a pile of dirty coal-sacks ; while
the trusty Serjeant, whistling aloud to testify
his unconcern, drove back his horses towards
the gate. Cunningly as he had devised, and
successfully as he had hitherto executed, his
plot, he was so little conversant with the cus-
toms of his new calling, as to have forgotten
that all shrewd and wary housekeepers, make
a point of counting the empty sacks, either in
person or by deputy, before they suffer the
vehicle to quit their doors. It is not easy there-
fore to depict his alarm, or rather his vexation,
for he was under every circumstance a per-
fect stranger to the former feeling, when after
having passed the gate, he was called back by
the vigilant Mr. Giles Lockhart, to execute
this particularly unpleasant part of his duty.
In such an emergency, not conceiving it at all
necessary to boggle at a falsehood, he boldly
declared that they had been reckoned already.
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 26S
inside the prison, and that lie would not take
the trouble again to please the best man in
E no-land.
So saying, he was preparing to drive on, in
spite of all impediment, when the gaoler ex-
claiming — " That turn shall not serve you, Sir
knave !" ran after him, and seized him by the
collar. A desperate struggle ensued, in which
the Serjeant succeeded at last in throwing off
his assailant, but seeing him prepared to renew
the attack, he hastily drew a rapier from under
his waggoner^s frock, and bade him fall back,
if he had no wish to be a dead man. Just as
he was about to strike one of the horses with
the flat of his sword, to urge the animals for-
wards, he was himself felled to the earth by the
athletic porter, who, coming behind, knocked
him down with the butt-end of his brown bill, and
then fell iipon his body to secure him ; while
Lockhart seized the sword which had fallen
from his hand, and held it pointed at his throat.
At this juncture the gaoler's wife, who had wit-
264 BEAMBLETYE HOUSE.
nessed the whole transaction, rushed from the
lodge, screaming out — " Oh, the villain ! Oh,
the bloodthirsty knave, to draw his sword upon
an unarmed man. Kill him, Giles, kill him !
cut the rascaPs throat ! was there ever such
another rogue as this ?''''
Jocelyn, who had hitherto remained perdu,
conjecturing from this cry that some foul vio-
lence was about to be perpeti-ated upon Whit-
taker, threw off the incumbent sacks, jumped
from the cart, ran up to the spot, and seized
the gaoler's uplifted arm, filling the whole party
with such an utter astonishment, that they re-
mained staring at him for a few seconds in an
open-mouthed bewilderment. The wife, who
was the first to find her tongue, at length ex-
claimed — " Well, the fathers ! if it isn't the
lad that 's so like our poor dear Thomas ! and
his sweet face all besmirched with coal-dust.
And they were going to steal him away under
the sacks ! was there every such another popish
plot .?"
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 265
" Take this runaway spark," said the gaoler
to two of his men, vho had come up on hearing
the alarm; " iron his legs, and chuck him into
the black-hole. I warrant we cure him of these
pranks for one while to come.""
Jocelyn struggled hard against the execution
of this decree, but he was in the grasp of sinews
ten times as powerful as his own, and was
therefore obliged to content himself with crying-
out to Lockhart — " Harkye, sirrah; if \ou
harm but one hair of the serjeant''s head, my
father shall thrust his sword down your throat,
till your teeth stop it at the hilt."
" Well, he's a fine spirited little fellow, isn't
he?" cried the wife, "and my poor dear
Thomas would have been just such another.
Don't pull and haul him so, Lucas ! Fm sure
he's as quiet and gentle as a lamb, and a kind-
hearted little creature. I think Thomas was a
thought taller: poor dear Thomas!"
Whittaker, who been stunned in the first
blow, and carried into the lodge in a state
VOL. r. N
266 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
of insensibility, had no sooner recovered his
senses, than the goaler, still standing over him,
exclaimed, with a stern look — " Ar''n't you a
precious scoundrel, and don't you think you
deserve to be killed?" "Ay, that I do,"
replied Whittaker svdlenly, " for once saving
the life of such a squinting rascal as you are."
" A likely fetch !"" cried the gaoler scornfully,
— " that happened on the last thirtieth of Febru-
ary, didn't it?"
" Weren''t you one of the Duke of Newcastle's
Lambs?"* inquired Whittaker.
" Ay, to be sure I was, and what of that ?"
" Nothing particular ! only you may recol-
lect your first refusing quarter at Warrington
fight, and then begging me to spare your life
for the sake of your boy, when just as I was
helping you from under your horse, one of
* A regiment so called from their new white woollen
uniforms. In one of the desperate engagements of th e
Civil War;, refusing to take quarter, they defended them-
selves till they were all cut to pieces or disabled.
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 267
your rascally Roundheads rode up, and gave me
this shce upon the cheek."
" There 's the scar sure enough," cried the
goaler, " and cruel i-ed it looks, though I didn't
see it afore for the coal-dust."
" Ah V cried the Serjeant, " I could swear
to your squint-eye under any disguise, though
it *s a deal uglier than it was."
" And your name's Whittaker, isn't it .'' "
inquired Lockhart.
" To be sure it is : — I was never ashamed
of it till I saved your Ufe."
" AVhy, then, the devil of any harm shall come
to you, Serjeant Whittaker," cried the gaoler,
" even if I am tied up to the halter for it ;
so you may march away scot-free for this bout,
and that 's turn for turn, and cry quits."
" And did my good Giles ask you to spare
his life for the sake of his wife and child ? "
inquired Madge, looking affectionately at her
husband.
" I don't recollect his saying anything about
N 2
268 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
his wife," replied Whittaker, " but I well
remember his mentioning the boy.""
" Then bless thee, Giles, bless thee!" cried
the wife, " for thinking of him at such a mo-
ment. Ah, you were ever a kind father, and
well you might be with such a dear, lovely,
affectionate " She was again recurring to the
corner of her apron, which seemed to be put in
instant requisition upon every reference to the
lost child, when her husband called out in an
authoritative tone — " Come, Madge : let us have
no whimpering, but fetch me dovm. the ivory
box from the cup-board up stairs. Ar'n't there
six broad pieces of mine in it ?'^
" Ay, and two rose-nobles of my own,""
replied Madge, " left me by my grandfather."
" And should you object to give the whole to
the man who saved your husband's life.'^'"
" Lord love you, no! he's as welcome to them
as the flowers in May," exclaimed Madge, who
was hurrying away to bring them, when the Ser-
jeant cried — " Thankye, mistress, thankye; but
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 269
I touch not a penny of your hoardings. I am a
soldier, not a beggar ; my day's work has cost me
nothing but a broken head, which is a soldier's
pay, and the five shillings I gave to the wag-
goner for the use of his black frock ; so it has
been a cheap frolic after all. But if you have
got any ale of the right sort, ale with malt in it,
I don't care if I take a toss of the pot, for this
heaving of coals is but dry and dusty work."
Some double-bub Lambeth ale, which he ad-
mitted to be unexceptionable, having soon re-
moved the injurous effects both of the black
coals and of the brown bill, he arose to depart,
Avhen as he crossed the threshold the gaoler ex-
claimed — " Harkye, Serjeant Whittaker ! I
am an old soldier as well as yourself, and must
follow orders, right or wrong, against friend
or foe ; so 'ware my quarters, and no more am-
buscades. Cross not my lines a second time
without trumpet, flag, or password, or look to
tlie spy's wages — a running noose, and no
quarter."
270 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
" All fair, all fair !" cried Whittaker, as he
trudged away — " but if I had ye again at
Warrington fight, the devil might pick up such a
squinting Roundhead from under his horse,
before / would.'"
According to the orders of the gaoler, Jocelyn
had been punctually ironed and deposited in the
black-hole, a most unattractive receptacle, where
he passed the remainder of the day, and the
whole of the following night, in great discom-
fortj and a proportionate bitterness of spirit.
Lockhart appeared early in the morning bring-
ing him his breakfast, and declaring that as he
was but a youngster, .-md was moreover a gen-
tleman's son, he might be freed from his irons
and recover the ninge of the prison, if he would
only give his parole not to make another attempt
at escape. — " I will die first !" cried Jocelyn,
whose proud and stubborn temperament re-
volted against what he considered an act of op-
pression and tyranny.
" Say you so, my fierce young cockerel," cried
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 271
Lockhart — " then this shall be your coop, unless
you can pick the way out of it with your spurs,
which are hardly sharp enough, I trow, to
scratch a hole in a stone wall. What, the foul
fiend ! am I to give you a second chance of
breaking prison "^ There may you bite the bri-
dle, proud jackanapes, till you are out of the
sullens, for it will be some time before I repeat
the offer." At these words he locked the door
of the vault, for such the place might be termed,
and was departing towards the lodge, when he
was intercepted by Pickering the player, who
stalking up to him with his cat-o'-mountain looks
and colossal stride, planted himself before him,
exclaiming — " Most potent Governor and dread
Bashaw, whom vulgar prisoners Giles Lockhart
call, why hast thou ta'en the Jocelynian youth,
and plunged him in the den Tartarean, yclept
]jlack-hole .? Give us the boy, and we thy name
will bless."
" Spout not your rantipole rubbish at me,
Mr. Mountebank," said the gaoler angrily — " if
272 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
3^ou mean yonder high-mettled spark, he shall
lie where he is, and kick his heels till he has
cooled his courage, or else my name isn't Giles
Lockhart."
" Nor shalt thou thus be called," continued
Pickering — " but tyrant dire, hysena sanguin-
ous, and monstrous Minotaur, hirsute and fell !
I am the champion of the victim youth, and if
thou wilt his fate by arms decide, thus do I
throw my gauntlet at thy feet."
Drawing himself up at these words into a
most heroic and challenging attitude, he tossed
at the feet of the gaoler an old glove, or rather
mitten, for the fingers had been gnawed or worn
aWay nearly up to the knuckles.
" Begone ! you mouthing Tom o' Bedlam,"
cried Lockhart, " or I may crack your pate worse
than it is already. 'Sniggers ! you swashing scare-
crow ! I have had many roysterers and ruffling
blades afore your time, and what with the bil-
boes and the black-hole, the halberd and the
cat-o'-nine-tails, I warrant I have tamed the
BUAMBLETYE HOUSE. 273
maddest. Away ! you swaggering tatterdemal-
lion, or by the lord Harry your back shall ])ay
the same." — The angry gaoler walked muttering
off, without further noticino; the wrath of the
irritated ])layer, although he shouted after him,
'• Barbarian brute, and cannibalian cur, hight
Lockhart ! turn, and hear my dread resolve 1"
But the party thus discourteously invoked, had
presently gained the lodge, leaving the disap-
])ointed appellant to stalk off and report to his
comrade the ill success of his intercession for
th.e deliverance of their heroine, which how-
ever he did not do, till he had picked up and
pocketed the fragment of his glove.
Obstinacy of ])urj)ose, and the pride that
spurns at imagined oppression, were already so
ingrafted in the mind of Jocelyn, that it is dif-
ficult to say how long he might have remained
an inflexible tenant of the black hole, had not
Colonel Lilburne fortunately called on the
succeeding morning to pay him a visit, and in-
quire whether he wanted any little comforts and
N 5
274 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
accommodations in the prison, in order that they
might be supphed from his own house. At-
tached to the boy from his spirited quaUties,
and pleased with his noble features, he was not
less surprised than hurt at the plight in which
he found him, his legs secured by iron fetters,
and his whole figure begrimed with the dirt and
dust of the cart. On learning the particulars of
his disgrace, he could not blame the gaoler, who
was responsible for his safe custody ; indeed he
felt rather disposed to take Jocelyn to task for
refusing the easy terms offered, and had already
begun to inculcate the prudence and necessity
of submission, when the youth's kindling eyes,
and the reddening of his cheeks, perceptible
even through their sable defilement, warned
him that all advice of this nature would pro-
bably be thrown away upon his fiery auditor.
" Well, then," said the Colonel, turning to
Lockhart, " I will become responsible for him.
I will be his bail, that he shall not quit the prison
without your own orders ; and I flatter myself,
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 275
that my young friend vnW not bring me into
disgrace or trouble by violating the parole I
have given for him, especially as I shall be
urgent and unremitting in my exertions to pro-
cure his liberation."
He then proceeded to state, that as he had so
lately obtained a discharge for his brother, the
" Trouble-world,"" he almost feared to venture
so immediate a solicitation of a second favour,
but that he had procured interest to be made
with Lady Claypoole, who had readily promised
her assistance, and whose mediation with the
Protector, in acts of lenity and grace, had never
failed of success. Informing Jocelyn that he had
sent a few toilet luxuries into his chamber to assist
him in his ablutions, of which however he little
expected to find him in such flagrant need, and
recommending him to be amenable to authority
since his confinement was likely to be soon ter-
minated, he then took his departure from the
prison, while Jocelyn hvirried to his apartment,
to commence the necessary process of abstersion.
276 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
The business of the play, which had been
interrupted by this untoward occurrence, was
now resumed with fresh vigour. Two or three
of the Cavahers had been permitted to take
parts, and all proceeded to study them with that
eager love of novelty and excitement, which is so
naturally produced by the dull listless mono-
tony of a prison life. It had been ascertained
that Lockhart, the gaoler, was going in a few
days to a christening at Brentford, a conjuncture
too favourable to be lost ; but the friends on
whom reliance had been placed for the heroine's
dress, declined the surreptitious introduction of
any articles into the prison, as contrary to an
express law, and calculated to bring them into
jeopardy. In this dilemma the players turned
their thoughts towards the gaoler's wife, relying
less upon her kindliness of heart, often as they
had experienced it, than upon the influence of
Jocelyn, into whose room she had conveyed
certain tid-bits and little delicacies, not so co-
vertly as to have escaped the jealous watchful-
ness of his fellow-prisoners. Snatching his op-
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 277
portunity, therefore, when she had been admi-
nistering some cordials to a sick inmate of the
gaol, Pickering strutted up to her with Jocelyn
in his hand, and apostrophized her in his usual
rhodomontade style. — " O, thou of ruddy
cheek ! black twinkling eye, voluptuous form, and
heart intenerate ; — Miltonian beauty,, buxom,
blithe, and debonair ; — whom our Lockhartian
governor presumes, with tongue irreverent, to
christen Madge ! Before thy beauty thus we
bend and bow, a boon to supphcate."
" La, you now ! Mr. Pickering," cried the
kind-hearted woman, blushing and looking silly,
as she saw that he had dropped on one knee,
and was gazing tenderly in her face ; " well, I
vow, vou ''re such another fine gentleman ! I
ihould like to go to court, if it was only to hear all
the lords and ladies talking as you do. Goodness
me ! don't you be kneeling there, but tell me
what ypu want in plain EngHsh. My beauty,
indeed ! La, Mr. Pickering ! was there ever
6uch a strange man .? "
Jocelyn, who knew that there would be con-
278 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
siderable difficulty in getting her to understand
the player's fantastical language, now interfered
to explain, in as few words as possible, their
contemplated project, when she ejaculated, —
" Act a play ! why lackadaisy, my dear child,
it 's against the law ; and Giles will never allow
such wicked doings in the prison."
Informing her they proposed availing them-
selves of her husband's absence at Brentford,
Jocelyn proceeded, with much earnestness of in-
treaty, to solicit her consent, concluding with a
request that she would honour their poor perfor-
mance with her presence. There was no resist-
ing the temptation of seeing a play, which in those
days possessed the double attraction of being a
rare and a forbidden pleasure, especially when
it was urged by Jocelyn, and seconded by the
pathetic look and outstretched arms of the player.
" I 'm sure, Mr. Pickering," said the dame, " I
would do any thing in the world to oblige such
a nice gentleman, but la, bless me ! what could
possess you to talk of my beauty at this time
BKAMBLETYE HOUSE. 279
o' day ? Out upon it ! beauty indeed ! — And as to
you, my dear child, if you were to ask for the
heart out of my body, (though God knows
there 's no occasion, for you Ve got it already,)
you should have it ; — so yovi may do as you
like ; but for the love of gracious ! don't let
Giles know a single atom about it."
Having succeeded thus far, Jocelyn urged his
second request, that she should provide him
with suitable female apparel, declaring that the
whole effect of the representation would de-
pend upon his being appropriately attired ; and
that they must abandon the project altogether if
they could not succeed in this paramount object.
While he had been speaking, and for some time
after he had finished, she continued gazing upon
him in silence, both her companions concluding
that she was balancing in her mind the propriety
of granting their request. But at length her
eyes began to glisten and fill, her compressed lips
moved two or three times up and down, and im-
mediately afterwards the tears gushed copiously
280 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
down her cheeks, as she exclaimed, with a sob,
" He would have been just thirteen next Lam-
nias-day ; my poor dear Thomas ! "
When, by the assistance of her ever-moistened
apron, both of whose corners were now put in
requisition, she seemed to be a little recovered
from her agitation, Jocelyn ventured to solicit
an answer to their petition about the dress.
" The dress, my dear child ! " she cried, " what
dress ? — As I hope for mercy, I never heard a
single word of what you were saying to me.
You looked all the time so like my blessed
but what is it, .what is it ? " He repeated his
previous request ; and the kind creature, de-
claring she could refuse him nothing, promised
compliance with all his wishes, though she pro-
tested she would rather lose the two rose-nobles
out of her ivory box, than that Giles should
know any thing of the matter.
Every thing now proceeded rapidly and aus-
piciously towards the desiderated exhibition.
Pickering became every hour more exorbitant
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 281
in his strut, and jerked, and perked, and smirk-
ed, like a peacock in all liis glory ; taking a full
revenge upon his present degradation, by mag-
nificent anticipations of future glory, and com-
forting Rookwood with the assurance, that'the
hour might yet arrive when — " like Allen of
the first Jacobian reign, (our buskined predeces-
sor,) Ave may found Dulwichian colleges, and
roll in wealth."' Rookwood himself, as the re-
hearsals proceeded, kindled with the Promethean
touch, and assumed an animation that contrasted
almost ridiculously with the sluggish torpor
into which he sank after their conclusion : the
Cavaliers studied their parts con amore, if that
word be not misapplied to the hatred against
the Puritans, which stimulated their exertions ;
and all parties were as happy as so many school-
boys at the departure of their master, when they
saw Lockhart booted and spurred, and ready
equipped for his excursion.
No sooner was his back turned, and Lucas,
the under-gaoler, installed as his representative,
282 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
than the smirking and bustling Madge sallied
forth to exhibit the dress she had provided for
Jocelyn, as well as to assist in the arrangements
for fitting up their temporary theatre. As her
husband had left word that he should not be
back till night, it was settled that the entertain-
ment should commence early in the evening, so
as to give more time for the erection of their
theatrical booth, which was constituted princi-
pally of the beds and bedding. All hands went
briskly to work in its preparation. In the sup-
pression of all theatrical amusements, the dra-
matic representatives of royalty, not less dis-
tressed and impoverished than the legitimate
performers, had been fain to pawn or sell all
their gingerbread regalia and cat's-skin ermine
for whatever they would fetch. From the as-
pect of Rag-Fair, at one period, it might have
been conjectured that the ruins of all the thrones
and monarchies of the earth had been collected
together upon Tower Hill. Every stand and
stall Avas radiant with all the gorgeousness of
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 283
crowns, sceptres, truncheons, ermine, spangled
robes, tasselled swords, tin armour bedizened
with foil, gowns resplendent with tinsel, and
similar paraphernalia ; around which, lay scat-
tered the innumerable knick-knack and trum-
pery of the property-man. Coal-heavers, chim-
ney-sweepers, oyster-wenches, and the uncere-
monious nymphs of St. Catherine's were seen
collected round these glittering memorials of
fallen greatness, swaggering at the beggarly
materials of the finery, or bursting into a horse-
laugh as some male or female wags of the party
put on, in mockery, the cast garments of kings,
queens, emperors and vestals. From a minor
establishment of the same sort in Petty France,
did Rookwood and Pickering, at the cost of a
few pence, furnish themselves with habiliments
of a most swashing and portentous bravery ;
while the gaoler's wife equipped Jocelyn from
the same depot, with a female dress that almost
stood on end with tarnished foil, discoloured tin-
sel, and precious stones that had never been
284 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
worth a groat. His cheeks were rouged, a top-
ping plume of dirty feathers nodded over his
head, and his whole appointment was pro-
nounced to be not less becoming to his beauty,
than exquisitely adapted to the part which he
was to perform.
Every thing commenced auspiciously : — the
first two scenes passed off with great eclat, and
Jocelyn entering at the third, had just been
welcomed with the plaudits due to the roysl
splendour of his garments, when at this interest-
ing moment the performance was suddenly in-
terrupted by a loud scream from INIrs. Lock-
hart, followed by the terrified exclamation of
" Lauk a mercy me ! there 's Giles ! there 's
Giles !" — immediatelv after which, she made her
escape, darting through a door that led to the
dwelling-house. This appalling fact was soon
rendered indisputable by the wrathful voice and
loud cracking of the gaoler's whip, who having
plied the caudle-cup and the gossip's bowl of
sack-posset with more zeal than discretion, and
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 285
ridden back with a correspondent speed to re-
sume his duties, was in a state of exaltation that
made him better disposed to exercise his whip
than to scrutinize the objects of its discipHne.
" Snisffers and thunder !"" he roared out as he
entered the ward, " what mountebank mum-
mery is this ? here 's doings, here 's rebellion
against the law ! a stage-play forsooth ! Some
of your crazv tom-foolery, I warrant me, you
ranting rapscallion !" — So saying, he struck at
Pickering with his whip, and was pursuing him
to repeat the blow, when he discovered Jocelyn,
who had concealed himself behind the curtain.
His rage now took a new direction, as he plied
his whip upon the petticoats of his victim, ex-
claiming, — " Sniggers ! a woman too brought
into the prison ! Master Lucas, you shall never
hold another key of mine. Out, with a wannion
to you, you baggage ! trudge, you painted
Jezebel ! tramp, you feathered harlotry ! troop,
you dowd}'^ of the stews !"
A lash of the whip, rendered, however, nearly
286 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
innocuous by the joint effects of rage and liquor,
accompanied every one of these opprobrious
epithets ; until, having reached the gate, he un-
locked it with his own hands, and again plying
his thong as Jocelyn passed the outward barrier,
exclaimed, " Begone, you rantipole jade ! you
hussy ! you troUope ! and think yourself lucky
that you escape without the Bridewell and the
cart's-tail." So saying, he returned into the
prison, fuming with caudle and consternation,
smacking his whip, and looking round for some
fresh object on which to inflict the residue of
his wrath.
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 287
CHAPTER VIII.
" Oh whither shall I run, or which way fly
The sight of this so horrid spectacle .''"
Milton.
However ignominiously he was thrust from
the Gate-house by its unwitting warder, Jocelyn
was not by any means disposed to stand upon
etiquette and ceremony, but walked forwards
at a brisk pace, deeming his liberty well pur-
chased at the expense of a few random lashes,
and half a score contumelious terms, which
as he advanced fell every moment fainter and
fainter upon liis ear. Critical as his situation
still was, for he doubted not there would be im-
mediate and hot pursuit of him, he could hardly
refrain from laughter when he recalled the ri-
diculous blunder, to which he was indebted for
288 BKAMBLETYE HOUSE.
his escape. Youthful spirits, with the glorious
triumph of having outwitted the gaolei', and
eluded the tyranny of red-nosed Noll, might
well excuse the chuckle in which he indulged
as he turned towards the Park, still increasing
his pace, but afraid of running lest he should
excite suspicion. And yet he was not so elated
at his deliverance as to be quite blinded to the
embarrassing nature of his situation. So far
from knowing where to turn, or what measures
to adopt for his future safety, he was utterly at
a loss how to accomplish that instant conceal-
ment which he felt to be necessary. Bedizened
as a tragedy queen, unacquainted with the ad-
dress of a single friend, and turned out for the
first time in his life in the bewildering maze of
London ; in constant danger of the gaoler and
his myrmidons behind, and not knowing into
what perils he might rush as he advanced,
there was still something so stimulating in the
idea of a struggle for his liberty, that he stepped
lightly on, not only undismayed, but even
BEAMS LKTYE HOUSE. 289
exhilarated by the consciousness of the jeopardy
in which he was placed.
Although there was no pursuit of him from
the Gate-house, where, indeed, he was not missed
until the time for locking up, it is difficult to
say what untoward adventures might have been
immediately entailed upon him by his prepos-
terous attire, but that the shades of evening
were gathering rapidly around him, and the
corner of the park, to which he first betook him-
self, was very little frequented. Observing a
high wall at a little distance, overshadowed by
trees, which seemed to offer a better chance of
concealment, he coasted round it, little dreaming
that it inclosed the old orchard of Whitehall, and
that the house in its front formed the quar-
ters of Colonel Lilburne, where he had been
for some days confined. Even upon gaining the
building, he would not, in all probability, have
recognized his old dwelling, but that he saw the
Colonel's Spanish charger at the door, whose
manner of pawing the ground he had too often
VOL. I. O
290 DEAMBLETYE HOUSE.
noticed to be mistaken in its identity. Not
wishing at the present moment to renew ac-
quaintance with his rider, he turned suddenly
about to regain the darker covert of the wall,
but not so quickly as to escape the keen eye
of an adjutant, who was waiting at the gate. —
" Ha, feathers and a petticoat !" cried the sol-
dier — " and skulking under the dark trees I
then by St. Paul she shall give me the pass-
word, or pay the wench's fine." — So saying, he
commenced an immediate pursuit, and as Jo-
celyn, though he heard his hasty footsteps, did
not think it prudent to attempt running away,
he was of course presently overtaken. " What,
all alone, my fine madam !"" cried the soldier —
*' then perhaps a poor adjutant may be better
than no gallant."
" I request you to leave me still alone — I am
waiting for a friend," said Jocelyn, willing to
favour the mistake of his assailant.
" A friend, quotha !" exclaimed the soldier —
" I dare say you Ve too old a campaigner not to
BEAMBLETVE HOUSE. 291
know that a red jacket and a petticoat are
always friends. Besides, we both v\ear a green
plume in our heads, and must therefore belong
to the same company ; so come along to the
links at the gate, and let us see whether I have
drawn a prize or a blank ; — caught a plump
bird, or only a bundle of fine feathers."
" Sirrah soldier," said Jocelyn to the man,
who had now seized him by the arm, and was
dragging him forward in execution of his pur-
pose, — " You had better unhand me, or Colonel
Lilburne, for whom I am waiting, shall have
you picketted before you are a day older."
" Whew !"" cried the adjutant, with a long
whistle of admiration, and at the same time re-
leasing the arm he had secured, — " waiting for
the Colonel, are you ? I needn't be surprised,
though, when I recollect he 's an Anabaptist and
a preacher. But why not beat up his quarters
before he decamps.'* Come along — come along —
I will show you the side-door, and carry you to
him." Resuming the arm he had abandoned,
o2
292 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
he was kindly offering to introduce Jocelyn into
the very house which lie most wished to avoid,
when the latter exclaimed, " No, no, my good
fellow, I have particular reasons for not desi-
ring to enter these premises ; but prythee ac-
cept this trifle, and inform the Colonel that his
friend is waiting for him under the orchard-
wall.'" So saying, he gave him one of the gew-
gaw rings with which Mrs. Lockhart had gar-
nished his finger, when the adjutant, conjectur-
ing he had obtained no insignificant prize, flou-
rished his hand up to his cap as a salute, asked
■pardon for the liberty he had taken, declared
himself humbly obliged to her ladyship for her
liberality, and departed in double quick time to
execute his commission.
Not knowing how promptly the Colonel
might choose to obey this mysterious summons,
and observing that the night had now closed in,
Jocelyn thought he had better trust fairly to hiis
heels, to deliver him from the ticklish assigna-
tion which he had so lately made. With a speed
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 293
somewhat derogatory to the dignity of his royal
trappings, he accordingly scampered off in the
direction of Spring Garden, then shnt up by
order of the Protector, on account of thehcentious
scenes which had been nightly enacted under
the encouraging shelter of its groves and arbours,
to the great scandal of all good and godly Pu-
ritans. Coasting the paling by which it was sur-
rounded, he cut across the Park, and, almost
before he was aware, found himself at the en-
trance of the Mulberry Garden,* at that pe-
riod, as a contemporary has recorded, — " the
onely place of refreshment about the towne, for
persons of the best quality to be exceedingly
cheated at." A party of Cavaliers were at the
gate, one of whom obtaining a glimpse of
Jocelyn in his theatrical garb, exclaimed Avith
Petruchio in the play, " O ""mercy, God ! what
masking; stuff is here ?" and commenced an ini-
mediate chace, in which his companions joined
him with an obstreperous mirth that seemed to
* On part of whose site Buckinjjliam House now stands.
294 BEAMBLETYE HOUSE.
owe its origin to deep potations of Canary. By
replunging into the darkness, Jocelyn contrived
to evade them without much difficuhy, though
he had no sooner done so, than he thought
it might have been wiser to place confidence
in some individual of the Cavalier party, con-
fess his name and situation, and throve himself
upon his protection for the means of immediate
safetv and concealment, than to wander in the
Park without any definite object, and incur
the risk of being committed to the House of
Correction in the morning, as a vagrant or dis-
orderly person.
While prowling about for any encouraging-
physiognomy that might be revealed by the
passing lights to decide his choice, he was oc-
casionally anathematised by some Puritan as an
abandoned wanton, who should be rather figu-
ring in the pillories or the stocks, than infesting
the purlieus of the Park ; sometimes he was
amorously accosted as a merry-looking little
wench, by persons whose grave and starched ex-
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 205
tevior assorted but little -with their overtures ;
and once he was exposed to a still more immi-
Tient_ peril from certain perambulators of the
fair sex, who warned him not to come into their
haunts with such tawdry trulFs feathers and
furbelows, unless the wearer wished to be tossed
neck and heels into the canal. Thus exposed
to the triple dangers of Scylla, Charybdis, and
the Sirens ; not knowing what to seek nor what
to avoid ; the night was already beginning to
Avear away without his having come to any de-
termination, when he heard the sounds of sing-
ing and of laughter in a remoter part of the
Park, towards which he immediately bent his
footsteps.
An act of Parliament had been long before
passed, setting forth that — " Whereas divers
vagrant persons of idle conversation, having
forsaken their usual callings, and accustomed
themselves, after the manner of hawkers, to
sell and cry about the streets, and in other
places, pamphlets and books ; and under colour
296 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
thereof are found to disperse all sorts of dange-
rous libels, to the intolerable dishonour of the
Parliament, and the whole government of this
Commonwealth ;" — the aforesaid hawkers, or
rather ballad-singers, against whom the enact-
ment was more specially directed, were made
liable to confiscation of their songs, imprison-
ment in the House of Correction, and whipping.
Notwithstanding the severity of this decree, it
had by no means extinguished those volleys of
squibs and little lyrical combustibles with which
the cavalier party were incessantly pelting and
plaguing their opponents. A greater degree
of caution was indeed rendered necessary in the
exhibition of these scurrilous and ribald lam-
poons ; but they were still numerously, though
covertly, printed ; still sung in holes and corners;
and such was the passion of the Cavies, as the
Cavaliers were familiarly called, for this recrea-
tion, that they seldom failed to furnish an au-
dience to any minstrel who would indulge them
in their favourite pastime, and were generally
BEAMBLETYE HOUSE. 297
Staunch champions in his defence, if his ilhcit
strains were attempted to be silenced either b_v
the red-coats, or the brown-bills. From one of
these vocal offenders, who had availed himself
of a dark night and a sequestered station in the
Park, proceeded the sounds to Avhich Jocelyn
had been attracted. On reaching the spot, he
was not a little surprised to find him surrounded
by a pretty numerous audience, among whose
darkest ranks he ensconced himself, and heard
the singer begin a new ballad on the subject of
the Protector's recent refusal of the kingly title
and dignities. —
" Oliver, Oliver, take up thy crown.
For now thou hast made three kingdoms thine own ;
Call thee a conclave of thy own creation
To ride us to ruin : — who dare thee oppose.
Whilst we thy good people are at thy devotion.
To fall down and worship thy terrible nose ?
" To thee and tliy myrmidons, Oliver, we
Do tender our homage as fits thy degree ;
We'll pay the excise and the taxes, God bless us,
"With fear and contrition as penitents should,
Whilst you, great Sir, vouchsafe to oppress us,
N(jt daring so much as in private to scold.
o 5
298 BEAMBLETYE HOUSE.
" Tlien Oliver, Oliver, get up and ride,
Wliilst lords, knights, and gentry do run by thy side ;
The Malsters and Brewers account thee their glorj' : —
Great god of the grain-tub ! — compared to thee.
All rebels of old are lost in their story.
Till thou ploddest along to the Paddington tree."
During the progress of this audacious attack,
there had been several hisses and disapproving
voices; but as they were obviously out-num-
bered by the partizans of the ballad-singer, pru-
dence had induced the dissentients to swallow
down their resentment. At the commencement
of the last verse, however, they had been rein-
forced by a holy brotherhood of Independents,
retvn-ning from a three hours'" sermon at Pim-
lico, and the w^iole indignant party were so
horror-stricken at the last line, that they burst
into a simultaneous cry of, " Treason ! Treason !
seize the villain ! call the watchmen ! send for
the constable ! away with him to prison ! " — To
the execution of these threats they proceeded
with a fiery zeal ; the Cavaliers, who were seldom
unprovided with rapiers, or slow to use them.
BEAMBLETYE HOUSE. 299
were not less prompt in the minstrel's defence ;
and in about three minutes there was as hot and
furious a brawl, as in these less inflammable
times could have been kindled in as many hours.
Jocelyn, who felt little interest in the fray,
which quickly assumed a menacing aspect, was
about to withdraw himself from the uproar,
when he was arrested by the well-known voice
of Serjeant Whittaker, bawling out — " Now ray
brave Cavies, down with the crop-eared curs !
follow me, and pepper the Roundhead rascals !■"
— Happening to be behind him just at this
moment, Jocelyn seized him by the arm, but
ere he could whisper his purpose in his ear, the
veteran shook him roughly off, exclaiming —
" What the foul fiend ! a petticoat, and a friend
to the Puritans ! — Budge, or I'll pluck off your
gay feathers in a twinkling. Away, we have
no wenchers here.""
" Nay, Serjeant Whittaker,'' cried the youth,
'' prythee let us not be parted a second time. Do
yuu not know me ? I am Jocelyn."
•300 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
Instantly recognizing' his voice, the serjeant
j^rasped his recovered prize firmly by the arm,
and hurrying into the black shade of a clump of
trees, bade him conceal himself behind one
of their trunks, promising to return and take
charge of him the moment he had liberated the
ballad-singer, and left the mark of his rapier
upon some of the canting psalm-singers. In
vain did Jocelyn implore him to leave the com-
batants to themselves, and escort him to some
safe place of concealment. Steel could no more
resist the magnet, than could Whittaker con-
quer the attraction of a Puritan onslaught ; his
sword pointed as naturally to such a field of
battle as does the needle to the north, and he
hurried back to the melt^e as if every moment's
absence were an irremediable loss.
Abandoned once more to darkness and soli-
tude, Jocelyn listened anxiously to the hubbub
of the affray, which gradually receded to a dis-
tance, and soon became quite inaudible. After
remaining some time in suspense, he had the
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. SOI
satisfaction of hearing Whittaker's footsteps,
who came back puffing and panting, antl com-
plaining bitterly that the cuckoldy hypocrites
had so soon taken flight, and so successfully dis-
persed themselves in the dark, that he had been
too late to give them a single scratch, on which
account he should feel himself bound in honour
to pay them a double score the very first oppor-
tunity. He then proposed to take Jocelyn to
his lodo-inss at the Fan and Feather, in West-
minster, where they might consult together as
to the best means of his conveyance to his
father, whose fortunate escape he related, and
whose orders he had received for carrying Joce-
lyn to Ostend, now that it had become im-
jjossible to leave him in London.
" Do you lodge in Westminster .?" inquired
Jocelyn : " not near the Gate-house, I hope."
" Not far off, Master; but they say the nearer
the Church the farther from God, and I trust
we may be within pistol-shot of the squinting
gaoler, without your being made his prisoner
302 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
again. Mrs. Brindley, my landlady, is one of
the right sort ; kisses the Cavies and spits at
tha Roundheads ; and she '11 have good care of
you, never fear, till we can safely sing the old
sang of ' Down in a bottom,' on t 'other side the
water."
Here, however, he had completely reckoned
without his hostess ; for, on arriving at the Fan
and Feather, and ringing two or three times
pretty lustily, its inmates, from the lateness of
the hour, having retired to rest, the head of the
aforesaid Mrs. Brindley was protruded from an
upper window, and the sharp grey eyes within
it had no sooner reconnoitred the premises, than
she exclaimed in a shrill shrewish voice, —
" Marry come up, was there ever such impu-
dence ! surely, you deboshed old fellow, there
are houses enough in London without bringing
your trulls and trollopes to the Fan and Feather.
Sirrah ! Sir Harry Vane has slept in this house,
and Sir Barnabas Grimstone, and Colonel Mas-
sey, and Squire Capel, for I'm well known to
BKAMBLETYE HOUSE. 303
be an honest woman and a reputable ; so
you may tramp the streets with your Joan ; I
warrant me, she 's used to it.'" And thus say-
ing, she slammed down the window with huge
indignation.
" Hoity toity ! what devil 's in the wind now?"
cried the serjeant, " Hearkee, mother Spitfire ;
we have no fancy for a pavement bed, so open
the door, or every pane of glass in the Fan and
Feather shall have a loop-hole in it." No notice
l>eing taken of this threat, he proceeded to en-
force it by casting a pebble at the window,
which effectually performed its office and pre-
sently occasioned it to be thrown up again, and
the same head to re-appear, ejaculating in a
still sharper tone, — '* Villain ! will you have me
call the watch, to get you and your wench a
night's lodging in the House of Correction ?
Art not ashamed ? So old, and a jade-gadder !
Lord ha' mercy ! what '11 the world come to ?
begone, you rake-helly sinner, for into these
doors you come not,"
30 i BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
" Then here goes for another smash," said
the Serjeant, picking up a stone, " 'Sblood !
^vill you hear me before I turn all your case-
ments into sieves ?"" — Mrs. Brindley seeming
disposed to grant a parley, rather than provoke
farther hostilities with an opponent who never
trifled in his menaces, Whittaker found time to
inform her that his companion was no woman,
but a boy in disguise, who was in some danger
of apprehension for being the son of a "
(Here he figured the secret sign by which the
partisans of the King made themselves known
to each other;) and concluded by stating that
he might procure her a handsome reward for a
few nights' lodging.
" Hush ! hush ! you blundering blockhead,"
replied Mrs. Brindley, " why in the name of
wonder did you not sooner tell me ?""
" Because you would listen to nothing but
your own babble, you peppery old . Curse
it, you Ve one of the right sort, or else but
come ; open, open, for recollect I have another
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 305
knocker in my hand." — Mrs. Brindley obeyed
this command just in time to save a second pane,
and Jocelyn, exhausted with the night's adven-
ture, was no sooner safely housed than he be-
took himself to a truckle-bed in the garret, to
which he was conducted by his new landlady,
and in ten minutes fell fast asleejD.
Before he would listen on the following; morn-
ing to any arrangement of their future plans,
Jocelyn, who had not only a high sense of honour,
but a deep feeling of gratitude towards Colonel
Lilburne, wrote to inform him of his escape,
and to apprise him that the parole he had given
was by no means forfeited, as it was merely a
pledge that he should not quit the prison with-
out the gaoler's orders. So far from having vio-
lated tills engagement, he had not passed the
gate until he had received his absolute commands
to do so, enforced by sharp stripes and foul
abuse, for all which he begged the Colonel
would convey his forgiveness to the inflictor;
and at the same time inform his kind friend,
306 BEAMBLETYE HOUSE.
Mrs. Lockhai't, that the clothes with which he
had been obliged to abscond, should be punc-
tually returned to her, with a iceepsake for a
remembrance. In conclusion, he expressed his
gratitude to the Colonel, and hoped he should
some day have it in his power to prove the sin-
cerity of his declaration.
By the assistance of Whittaker andMrs. Brind-
ley, the latter of whom had now become as fawn-
ing, officious and civil, as she at first seemed dis-
posed to be froward, Jocelyn was divested of his
borrowed plumes, and arrayed in a sad-coloured
frock and trovvsers, with a black Cordebeck hat,
and a white hair-hatband, such as were at that
period commonly worn by the grooms of the
citizens or of the more sedate people of condi-
tion. It was intended that he should assume
that character as well as garb, and that he and
Whittaker should pass themselves off as fellow-
servants going to visit their relations at Graves-
end. A letter from Sir John had informed him
that one of the King's privateers, bearing the
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 30T
colours of the Commonwealth, would be sta-
tioned oiF the mouth of the river, to receive
such Cavaliers and Royalists as were desirous of
escape, on account of their implication in the
late plot ; and he had been furnished w ith the
private signal for communicating with the cap-
tain. One morning, therefore, when the tide
served, just before sunrise, they betook them-
selves to Billingsgate, and bargaining with an
old weatherbeaten boatman to convey them
to Gravesend, were quickly sailing down the
Thames with a favourable breeze. As the tow-
ers of Westminster Abbey caught the rays of
the rising sun, Jocelyn adverted to the gloomy
old Gate-house beneath them, not without a con-
siderable elevation of spirits, at the thought that
he was receding so rapidly from the scene of
his first troubles, and about to be restored to
his father. The morning was balmy and deli-
cious ; the sky was cloudless ; the waves seemed
to be leaping for joy as they rolled sparkling
along; the earth looked green and gay; the
308 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
birds and the boughs, the wmd and the waters,
mingled their music together; Nature appeared
to be smiHng in her own lovely happiness, and
Jocelyn, young as he was, could not help con-
trasting the sweet tranquillity around him with
the hideous turmoil from which he had just es-
caped, and all the furious passions of London,
with its Cavaliers and Roundheads, and the an-
gry partizans wlio were incessantly flying at one
another's throats. Willingly would he have
had a short respite even from the very mention
of their names, but this relief was denied him.
Their boatman was constantly alluding to the
flying Royalists, whom he qualified by no very
decorous epithets, expressing great regret that
although so many had been nabbed on the river,
it had not been his sood luck to secure more
than a single one ; while he never mentioned
the Protector without some high-flown compli-
ment or Scriptural illustration. If the latter
were not always very felicitous, especially when
he compared him to the Beast in the Revelations
BRAMRLETYE HOUSE. 309
to which all the kings of the earth did homage,
they seemed at all events to be adduced with
great sincerity and good-will.
As a justification of the last resemblance, or
at least as an evidence of his Hio-hness's great
power, he stopped the boat at Northfleet, that
they might admire a new ship of a thousand
tons, and ninety-six brass guns, which he had
lately built ; particularly pointing out to their
attention a huge piece of wooden sculpture in
the prow. This groupe represented the Pro-
tector on horseback triumphing over and tramp-
ling under foot six different nations, who were
easily recognizable by their respective habits.
A winged fame held a laurel over his head, and
on a scroll was inscribed the motto — " God with
us!" Upon quitting this vain-glorious trophy,
he favoured them with an episode touching the
famous Admiral Blake, in whose ship he had
not long since served, and had been present at
the desperate attack in the bay of Santa Cruz,
when the whole of the Spanish fleet were de»-
310 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
troyed. Of this action he obhged them with
a minute detail, and conckided with a descrip-
tion of the Admiral's burial in Westminster
Abbey, at which he had been present.* Hav-
ing fairly deposited this hero under ground, he
returned to the Protector, who, he affirmed, had
made only two grand mistakes since he had be-
come head pilot, and held the helm of govern-
ment ; — one of these state blunders was his im-
posing a fine of five shillings upon all watermen
who used either boat, wherry, lighter or barge,
on the Lord's day, and ten shilhngs upon their
fare, even although the whole party should have
been twice to church. Upon the hardship of
his not being allowed to earn a sixpence, even
in the intervals of divine service, he enlarged
with much earnestness ; and then proceeded to
state that the second grand error of his govern-
ment, was his forbidding the barbers to shave
* The remains of this invincible Commander and
truly great man, were taken up at the Restoration,
as unworthy of the distinction with which they
had been honoured.
BRAMBLETYE HOL'SK. 311
or trim on that day, whereby many an indus-
trious man, who happened to work late on the
Saturday, was compelled to appear in church
with a stubbly, unshorn muzzle.
Having brought them within sight of Graves-
end by the detail of these grievances, he began
to cross-question them very closely as to the
names of the relations whom thev were ffolno'
to visit, principally addressing himself to Jo-
celyn, from whom he received such evasive an-
swers, given with such evident marks of con-
fusion, that the waterman turning to VVhittaker,
exclaimed, — " Ay, ay, messmate, I see how it
is ; I thought so all along, for I never saw
sening-man or boy, with such white and lady-
like hands as my young master's ; and grooms
carry not in their shirts such gay gew-gaws as
yon is.''"' At these words he pointed to a dia-
mond pin, a piece of finery which Jocelyn had
injudiciously retained.
" And what then ?" asked the serjeant
fiercely, neither liking the remark nor the sus-
312 BBAMBLETYE HOUSE.
picious look that accompanied it, and yet afraid
of irritating a fellow who had them so com-
pletely in his power. — " What need you know
of your })assengers if you are sure of your fare .?"
" To see whether I can't get more money by
knowing them better," answered the waterman
bluffly. " For aught I know, you may be
worth a deal more to me than my fare. I got
two jacobuses last night by setting one of the
runaways ashore, one Sir William Clayton, I
fancy 'twere, and giving him up to Lieutenant-
Colonel Lambert."
Whether true or false, this statement seemed
so evidently put forward to extort a bribe, that
the Serjeant thought it better to purchase his
good-will, than deny the truth of his suspicions,
or irritate him by defiance. His bleak-looking,
pinched, and crabbed countenance repelled,
confidence, although its hungry and sordid ex-
pression betrayed that it might be propitiated
by money ; and as he eyed the grim Whittaker
with a kind of leering scowl, as if expecting a
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 313
bidding, he might have been well compared to
Cerberus looking up to PJuto for a sop.
" And what if you were to have four jaco-
buses for not giving a man up ?" inquired the
Serjeant, as if putting a hypothetical case.
*' I shouldn't be such an ass as to refuse
them," replied the waterman.
" Why then it ""s a bargain," cried Whittaker,
taking out the four pieces and chinking them in
his hand : " These yellow-boys are your's, if
you will carry us beyond Gravesend, and put us
aboard a vessel that \s cruising off the Mouth."
** Ay, ay," said the waterman, fixing his eyes
upon the gold, as if he would have devoured it,
" I know her, and what she is ; a"'n"'t she an
armed cutter with a black and yellow streak ? —
it's a bargain, it's a bargain: the wind's right
abaft, and we shall spank through the Nore in
no time."
" But, harkye, you cheating Roundhead,"
said the serjeant, taking a brace of pistols from
under his cloak, — " there are two sides to the
VOL. I. P
314 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
bargain ; — if you attempt any of your Puritan
treachery, I will instantly blow your brains
into the water, and put the jacobuses into my
own pocket instead of your's. Supposing, now,
that we were a couple of runaway cavies, why
should you help them to escape, when you
profess to detest the whole party ?"
" Because I love their money more than I
hate them," replied the waterman, with a scowl.
" I was never false to their gold when they had
any, and never refused to serve them when it
was more profitable than opposing them."
" You 're a conscientious scoundrel, and a
proper Puritan," cried Whittaker; " so pull
away, ana let us get rid of your ugly Belzebub-
face as quickly as we can."
The malignant grin with which the waterman
received this compliment, almost justified the
appellation, while he obeyed the injunction with
his oar, as if quite as anxious to be separated as
they could be. No more conversation passed be-
tween them, and the wind favouring their joint
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 315
wishes, tbev descried the vessel of which tliey
were in search, before the close of evening.
The private signal was made and answered; the}-
ran along-side the cutter, were taken on board,
and mllingly gave the promised reward to the
sordid companion of their voyage. His little
twinkling eyes gloated at the sight ; he sounded
each piece two or three times, holding down
his ear to catch the golden echo ; felt them re-
peatedly with his fingers, as if delighted by the
touch ; and finally committing them to a leathern
purse, which he carefully tied vip and concealed
about his person, he tacked about and steered
back for the river, without casting a single look
behind him.
On board the royal vessel, Jocelyn encountered
a considerable number o± refugees, several of
whom were acquainted with his father, and con-
gratulated him on Sir John''s arrival in France,
of which they had learned tlie particulars.
Having been now cruising for several days off
the mouth of the Thames, and fearing that his
p o
316 BUAMBLETYE HOUSE.
purpose might altogether be defeated by dis-
covery if he ventured on a longer delay, the
captain determined to avail himself of the night
and a fair wind, to steer direct for the Flemish
coast. Most lucky was it, that this resolve was
carried into immediate execution, for the worthy
waterman running alongside a man-of-war at
Sheerness, and first stipulating for his reward,
gave such information to the captain as induced
him to commence an instant pursuit. But he
was too late to succeed in his object, the cutter
of which he was in chace having safely entered
the port of Ostend on the following mornings
without encountering a sail of any sort.
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 317
CHAPTER IX.
*' Tie up the Libertine in a field of sweets.
Keep his brain fuming: Epicurean cooks
Sharpen with cloyless sauce his appetite :
That sleep and feeding may prorogue his honour.
Even till a Lethe'd dullness. "
Ox landing at the harbour of Ostend, they
found an anxious crowd of English refugees
upon the pier ; some joyfully embracing and
congratulating their friends, as they debarked,
and all making eager and clamorous inquiries
about their connections in England ; asking for
lists of those who had been apprehended ; put-
ting hurried questions about the recent public
events ; or huddling together around some in-
dividual who had been fortunate enough to re-
ceive a newspaper. Amid this agitated assembly,
318 BEAMBLETYE HOUSE.
Jocelyn presently recognized his father, whom
lie rushed forward to embrace ; but so com-
pletely was he disguised by his menial habit,
that even Sir John did not, at the first moment,
know his own child. No sooner, however, had
lie heard his voice, than tossing in the air the
hat which he had been holding up while gaz-
ing at the vessel, to shelter his eyes from the
sun, and afiectionately grasping his hand, he ex-
claimed, "Body o'me, Jocelyn, my darling boy !
Pm right glad to see thee; and thee too, trusty
Jack Whittaker, the staunchest dog that ever
followed scent. A rousing bout will we have
to-night, to celebrate your arrival ; and the cla-
ret-bottles shall bleed, an't were the last broad
piece in my pocket that must pay for them.
Marry ! there are not many left, but my sword
must now be my purse ; 'tis the fashion of the
day ; and he that cannot cut and carve his own
fortune, may e'en go dine with Duke Hum-
phrey. He was a shrewd and a good adviser
that wrote the new ballad :
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 319
* Lay by your pleading. Law lies a bleeding,
Burn down your studies, and throw away reading.
Small power the word has, and can afford us
Not half such privilege as the sharp sword has :
It fosters your masters, and plasters disasters.
And quickly makes servants more great than their
masters ;
It ventures, it enters ; it circles, it centers.
And sets free a prentice in spite of indentures.'
Zooks ! boy, we 'U have a song for every
bumper, and a bumper for every toast, so come
along, and sing or say your whole history since
I left you at Brambletye."
On arriving at his lodgings, Jocelyn recounted
all his adventures to his father, who laughed,
and quaffed, and chuckled, and chanted, with
such an egregious glee and such persevering
potations of claret, that just as he was thickly
stammering out,
" Come, let us bouze a full carouse,
"V^TiUe bottles tumble down, derry down,"
he suited the action to the word, rolled from
his chair, and was obliged to be carried to bed
by Whittaker, who was not quite so thoroughly
320 BEAMBLETYE HOUSE.
inebriated as his master, though the kitchen
proceedings had been a pretty close parody upon
those in the parlour. Such was the example
which few of the Cavaliers scrupled to exhibit
to their children and servants, and which, after
the Restoration, became more universally prac-
tised, sanctioned, as it was, by the plea of loyal
hilarity, and a legitimate abhorrence of Puritan
hypocrisy and mortification.
As soon as he learnt the abortive end of the
plot in England, the King had returned to his
residence at Bruges, leaving the troops which
were to have accompanied him, to dispose of
themselves as they might think fit, since they
had declined joining the Duke of York and the
Spaniards in the defence of Dunkirk. These,
which had been pompously announced as a sup-
porting army, were in fact nothing more than a
few irregular bands of emigrants and refugees ;
a sort of mounted mob, not half equipped, and
less than half disciplined ; receiving no pay,
and too poor to supply their own deficiencies
BEAMBLETYE HOUSE. 321
either of arms or rations, both of which they
hesitated not to procure by fraud or pillage
when their credit was utterly exhausted. They
were in reality little better than free-booters in
a foreign country, whose inhabitants feeling no
interest in their quarrel, and already sufficiently
impoverished by the exactions of their own
Government, and the free quartering of native
troops, were by no means amicably disposed
towards these bankrupt and lawless interlopers.
Little disciphne could be expected where the
commanders, quarrelling about empty titles and
precedence, refused to take orders from one an-
other ; where many of those in the ranks, gen-
tlemen by birth and pride, thought themselves
quite equal to their officers; and where all, to the
extent of their means, indulged in every species
of hcentious excess. Nothing, indeed, determined
them from immediately disbanding, but the con-
viction that so long as they kept together, they
were more likely to extort supplies from the
peasantry, without being so much exposed to
p5
322 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
their vengeance ; while there was an additional
chance of their receiving some sort of provision
from the French Government, which, since its
recent treaty with Cromwell, was not a little em-
barrassed by their presence, and most anxious
to be fairly rid of them.
Through the gipsey encampment of these
motley Cavaliers was Jocelyn escorted by Sir
John, who had decided on joining the King at
Bruges, but stopped for one day to partake of
an entertainment in the quarters of Sir Henry
de Vie, an old campaigner and partisan of the
royal cause. His troop drawn out in battle ar-
ray, in order to do honour to his visitants, wore
a mosaic and tesselated appearance, which might
have enabled them to pass for FalstalTs tattered
recruits, but for the indomitable gaiety and gal-
lant bearing of the individuals that composed
it, each of whom seemed laughing at the gro-
tesqueness of his comrade's figure, while the
few that were handsomely appointed sufficed to
impart a picturesque air to the whole assem-
BEAMBLETYE HOUSE. 323
blage. The horses of every colour, size, and
breed, from the ponderous charger to the hght
barb, were caparisoned with the same contempt
of uniformity ; some exhibiting the high war-
saddle, housed with fur, and cushioned with
velvet, with silver-mounted pistols peeping from
the holsters ; while others could boast nothing
but a common hog-skin on their backs, with bit-
bridles of vmtanned leather. It will easily be
supposed that the armour and accoutrements of
the riders were in the same inconsistent style ;
old Sir Henry himself being splendidly equipped
in a suit of IVIilan steel, inlaid with brass, while
others of the officers wore plain black armour,
of Flemish manufacture; and the rest were fain
to content themselves with simple buff, of various
date and foreign fashion, most of which seemed
to have already done good service, probably in
the wars of the Low Countries.
Such evolutions as they attempted were at
least consistent with their appointments; but after
this mockery of a review had been terminated,
324 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
and the greater part of its performers, disfur-
iiished of their heterogeneous panoplies, were
seated at the jovial board, they seemed to be
perfectly conversant with the various tactics of
a camp carousal, and admirably qualified to go
through all the manoeuvres of festivity. Drink-
ing, singing, playing, cards, dice, and games
of all sorts, wound up the night, whose I'iotous
orgies were hardly terminated, when the crow-
ing of the cocks in the neighbouring village,
and the drums of the French garrison, rolling
the reveil-matin, announced the dawning of
a new day. Jocelyn, who had retired at an
early hour from the Bacchanalian scene, and
had been much impressed Avith the appearance
of Sir Henry de Vie, — as the stern-looking
veteran, in his steel corselet, laid his hand
upon Jocelyn's head, and hoped he would soon be
able to trail a pike in the service of his King, —
was not less hurt than surprised at the spectacle
which his quarter presented as he passed it early
next morning. A small adjoining tent had
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 325
been accidentally set on fire by some of the
tipsy carousers ; the sentinels had hastily struck
Sir Henry's to prevent its being enveloped in
the flames ; the horses tethered around it, terri-
fied at the blazing light, had broken loose and
carried confusion through the little encampment ;
while the general himself and several of his
guests, surrounded by the scattered evidences
of their debauch, were lying upon straw in the
deep sleep of intoxication, covered with the dis-
mounted tent, but still exposed to the ridicule
and ribaldry of such soldiers as were stirring
at that early hour.
Too long accustomed to similar scenes to be
much affected by them either in mind or body.
Sir John turned his back upon these military
revellers, and, accompanied by his son on horse-
back, commenced his journey to Bruges. Whit-
taker had been sent back to England to look
after the affairs of Brambletye House, and
carry instructions to Waynfleet the secretary,
respecting any remittances which he might still
326 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
be enabled to make to his exiled master. Eco-
nomy had never been one of the Baronet's vir-
tues, but until he knew what dependance could
be placed upon his funds in England, which
were but too likely to be sequestrated, he de-
termined to husband his slender resources, and
not even hire a servant to attend upon them.
Provided he could obtain his usual portion of
claret, which was to be done at a moderate rate
in France and Flanders, he felt not any other
privation ; the established flow of wine secured
his customary flow of good spirits : this was
sufficient for present enjoyment ; and as to the
future and the past, they seldom entered very
deeply into his cogitations. Making therefore a
virtue of necessity, he told Jocelyn that, as he
was intended for a soldier, he should learn be-
times to do every thing for himself, of which
he set him the first example by grooming bis
own horse, declaring that he had acquired more
useful knowledge v/hen serving as ostler at the
Protector's Head, than in all the years that had
BIIAMBLETYF, HOUSE. 327
elapsed since he left school. The straitened and
even necessitous plight of the Cavaliers they
had just quitted, many of whom were not long
since rolling in opulence and luxury, inculcated
upon them, as he justly observed to Jocelyn, the
prudence of preparing beforehand, for any ex-
tremities to which they might be reduced. In
short, the worthy Baronet was in an unusual
mood of high and stern morality, inflexibly re-
solved to dispense with all those little luxuries
about which he did not care a button ; but not
less unalterably determined to continue his es-
tablished quantum of wine, and never to refuse
an Invitation to a feast or a drinking-match.
Having provided themselves Avith a pass from
the proper authorities, and parted with their
horses, now no longer necessary, the mode of
travelling being principally by canal, in due
time, and without any occurrence worthy of
being recorded, they were set ashore under the
fortifications of Bruges. While walking across
the plain that extends beneath the walls, in
328 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
order to gain the principal gate. Sir John ob-
served a knot of gentlemen, whom he presently
recognised for English Cavaliers, gazing at one
of their party, mounted on a beautiful Isabella
barb, which he was putting through all its
paces with a perfect mastery of horsemanship,
and a singular gracefulness of manner. He was
attired in a riding-frock of dark blue cloth, a
small cloak or mantle of mazarine, buff breeches
and russet boots, and a black Spanish hat and
feather ; he had a rapier by liis side, and a
cane switch, twisted with leather and silver, in
his hand. From time to time he looked back,
and called by name some half a score of spaniels
and other dogs, that followed, panting and
barking, every turning of his courser. Alight-
ing just as Sir John came up, and his mantle
falling back and discovering his star, the Baro-
net was induced to look more attentively in his
face, when he suddenly exclaimed as he dropped
upon one knee, " 'Sblood ! — it's the King. Down
upon your knees, Jocelyn, and cry Vive le Hoi!
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 329
— God bless your Majesty, and soon grant you
your own again ! — Vive le Roi f
" 'Ods fish!" cried the Monarch, " I ought
to know your face again, man; though niethinks
I have never before seen you out of buff and
feather. Are vou not the stout Sir John
Compton ?""
" The same, so please you, and ever at the
service of my King," replied the Baronet. — " I
wonder I should not be recollected, for your
Majesty may perhaps remember that after the
fight at Worcester, in fifty-one, Avhen you or-
dered me to oppose the landing of Ingoldsby's
regiment, as it crossed the Severn on a bridge
of boats '"''
At this ill-timed reminiscence, the gracious
smile which had hitherto lighted up the King's
countenance, changed into a lowering expression,
as he interrupted the speaker by exclaiming,
" We questioned not your loyalty, since it seems
to extend to the lowest of your household :
your groom may rise up from his knees." He
S30 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
pointed to Jocelyn as he spoke, who still re-
tained the menial habit in which he had made
his escape.
" My only son, Jocelyn, so please your Majes-
ty," cried Sir John — " though he may well wear
the stable boy's gear, since I myself have been
lately head-hostler at an ale-house ; and yet tlie
lad was a queen last week ; ay and in England
too, where, (saving your jMajesty's presence,)
there is some dane-er in the character."
" A reasonable pretty jest, I doubt not," said
the King ; " but we have left off playing at
riddles, and must understand a joke before we
can relish it."
" It has been no joking matter to us, my
liege," replied Sir John somew^hat bluntly, and
proceeded to state the adventures they had
both encountered since he had been routed out
of Brambletye by the rebels and Roundheads ;
with which and other vituperative phrases he
liberally garnished his narrative.
At this relation, and more particularly at the
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 331
idea of Jocelyn's being turned out of prison neck
and heels by the gaoler, the King laughed im-
moderately, a recreation in which he was heartily
joined by the courtiers and attendants, who had
now come up, and formed a listening circle around
them. When he had completed his own history,
Sir John, conceiving that the latest intelligence
from England could not fail to be gratifying,
went on to detail the precautionary measures
adopted by the Usurper, mentioned the names
of the latest Royalists who had been arrested,
and expressed his apprehensions about their
ultimate fate. But the King, who always shrunk
distastefully from any tidings likely to inter-
rupt the placid equanimity which his courtiers
pronounced to be good-temper, though it was
but that refined species of selfishness which de-
termines a man not to disturb his own feelings
by sympathy for others, turned suddenly upon
his heel, and addressing one of his attendants,
exclaimed — " Dick Fanshaw ! you ought to
know something of a horse, for you know no-
33S BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
thing else. What say you to yonder barb; is it
not a beautiful creature ?"
" A delicate mare, no doubt," replied the
party thus interrogated — " but no Barbary
blood in her veins ; — of Andalusian breed, for
twenty ducats."
" And I will stake twenty Hiore,"" cried the
Monarch, " that the rogue of a dealer is her
countryman, for he insists upon touching the
Spanish before he parts with his Isabella, for
which he demands a hundred and fifty pistoles ;
and so, Sir Stephen Fox, as I have taken a
fancy to the four-legged jade, pry thee take her
home with thee, and ransack thy strong-box for
the Dbteror
" Your Majesty is aware that it contains
not enough to pay more than half the claims
already sent in by the importunate people of
Bruges," replied Sir Stephen ; " and since the
supplies from his Highness Prince Rupert have
ceased, and Mr. Windham has declared that
your Majesty*'s fifth of the prize-money "
BKAMBLETYE HOUSE. 333
" Tilly valley, man !" interrupted tlie Mo-
narcli, " thou art a bad cofferer ever to keep
such an empty chest, for Nature abhors not a
vacuum more than I do in that quarter. I ask
not you for the pistoles, Sir Richard Foster; for
as keeper of mv privy purse, your office is a
sinecure, and I could not therefore expect you
to do any thing for me. As for my Secretary
and Chancellor, the two Sir Edwards,* I see
beforehand, by their looks, that they will shake
their sapient heads, and counsel me not to buy
the barb : wherefore, my very esteemed friend
Tom Killegrew, there is no help for it, but
thou the cash must lend."
" Ha ! ha ! ha ! — o-ood i' faitli !" exclaimed
Sir Thomas, with a forced laugh — " Your Ma-
jesty is fond of a joke, and this is by no means
one of the worst. I have been called your Ma-
jesty's fool, but have no wish to deserve the
title."
* Sir Edward Nicholas, Secretary of State, and Sir
Edward Hyde, afterwards Lord Chancellor Clarendon.
334 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
" Tom ! thou would'st any day rather laugh
m thy sleeve than cry in thy pocket," said the
King. " Well then, my Lord Jermyn, since
you have always kept a better table than our-
self, and moreover have maintained a coach,
when we had none, you will perhaps enable the
King to say that his stables actually contain an
Andalusian barb."
" Most willingly, my liege," replied the
lord ; " it is but to do as I do for those little
comforts to which your Majesty has alluded ; —
to run in debt, and keep table, horses and car-
riages, :vithout a ducatoon in the doublet."
" And as for you, Dick Harding," resumed
the Monarch, " you are, or have been, a par-
son "
" And as such," replied the person thus
addressed, " am exposed to so much scandal
already, that it shall never be said I led your
Majesty into unnecessary expenses; otherwise
1 should cheerfully — "
" Ay, so would you all, were it not for this
beggarly 'otherwise,'" exclaimed the King.
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 336
" You see, Sir Stephen Fox, wliat pains 1 take
to save my cofferer's store, but as they speed
me not, we must e'en yield to necessity ; so
^ive the man his pistoles without further parley,
and as to the roguish shopkeepers of Bruges,
let them wait for their crowns, as I do for
mine."
Sir Stephen bowed, although with a regret-
ful look, and walked away towards the gate
accompanied by the horse-merchant. Thither
also the King directed his steps, chatting fa-
miliarly with Sir John and Jocelyn, as well as
with the companions who usually attended him ;
although he seemed to be on a still more friendly
footing with his dogs, repeatedly calling them
back by name if they roamed to any distance,
and as often stopping to fondle and caress them.
In this order they entered the town, when the
King, having invited Sir John and the young
queen of the Gate-house, (as he termed Jo-
celyn,) to sup with him at his residence in the
burg or great square^ bade him good morning,
336 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
and walked away, followed by his train both
human and canine ; while the Baronet pro-
ceeded towards the Ostend gate, and took up
his quarters at the Golden Eagle.
Here his first care was to equip himself an<l
Jocelyn in a more becoming manner, prepa-
ratory to their appearance at the King's enter-
tainment in the evening ; a duty which the
shortness of the time would not allow him to
discharge to his entire satisfaction, although he
was well aware that as his Majesty, under his
present eclipse, did not himself shine with his
full splendour, he could not expect his satellites
to appear with their accustomed lustre. Such a
general exposure of poverty as he had witness-
ed in the morning, prepared him for lenten enter-
tainment, and the meagre mournful display of
impoverished royalty striving to conjure up the
ghost of its own departed magnificence. Though
it had neither the pretensions nor the establish-
ment of a palace, the house into which he
was ushered, an ancient and roomy building,
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 337
possessed a certain air of melancholy grandeur,
which it derived from the Gothic stvle of its
architecture and the dark carved cedar of the
spacious staircase. In every alternate pannel
of the saloon, which was of the same wood, were
inserted grim-looking portraits of the ancient
Counts and Countesses of Flanders, both equally
well armed with corslet, boddice and busk,
and all seeming to look down with an ominous
scowl of surprise at the strangers who had
intruded upon their solemn haunts. Here
ended the gloomy part of the picture, for as
tf) the present inmates of this sombre apartment,
nothing could exceed their gaiety of cheer, ex-
cept the gallant bravery of their dress and de-
corations. All the better class of the exiled
English, with the wives and daughters of such
as had brought their families abroad, con-
tributed to give brilliancy to the scene; and
it would seem as if these loyal Cavaliers, how-
ever straitened in other respects, were detei-
mined to surround their Monarch with the
VOL. I. Q
338 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
occasional royalty of a court, as some compen-
sation for the undue forlornness of his esta-
blishment in ever_y other respect. There were
waving of plumes, rustling of silks, mingling of
laughter and of happy voices, with the occa-
sional sounds of merry music, sparkling of
diamonds, wit, and beauty, and the enlivening
charm thrown over the whole by the presence of
a young, handsome, and accomplished monarch,
who by^ the fascination of iiis manners could
scarcely smile upon a female without exciting
a flutter in her heart; while his known gallantry
in the field, and the many misfortunes he had
encountered, were calculated to awaken a feeling
of chivalrous loyalty in every manly bosom.
Attired in an elegant French dress, with George
and garter, his fine figure appeared to the best
advantage, while the spontaneous exhilaration of
his spirits, which seemed to render mere exist-
ence a pleasure, diffused its sympathetic influ-
ence around him. He had a gallant compli-
ment for som.e, a bon-mot for others, a bewitch-
f
I
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 839
ing smile for all. Such was the point of view-
in which his friends should always have con-
templated him, for he was not more expressly
formed, by figure and accomplishments, to grace
a court, than he was utterly imfitted by his
character for giving dignity to a throne.
After having jocosely introduced Sir John to
some of his friends, as a pains-taking Cavalier,
who was qualifying himself to become Master
of the Horse, by acting the ostler in his own
person, and the groom in his son's, he took Jo-
celyn by the hand, and declaring they were at
a loss for an ex-queen, to sit opposite to the ex-
king, led him into the supper-room, and placed
hmi at the bottom of the table ; a joke which
was presently explained to the company, and
being of royal origin, was, of course, received
with an egregious applause, though it entailed
no small embarrassment upon poor Jocelyn ; his
halth being drunk with due solemnity, and his
royal title preserved during the whole entertain-
ment Though not sun)ptuous. the repast was
Q 2
340 BBAMBLETYE HOUSE:.
plentiful and elegant : the hilarity was at its
height, the Champagne sparkle<l, the toasts
were pledged, the joke went round, and the
ready laugh attested that it never failed to per-
form its office, when a clamour was heard in the
ante-room, which uniting with the angry voice
of the servants, began to excite the attention of
the guests. Presently an attendant entering the
apartment, whispered a few words to Sir Stephen
Fox, who immediately went out with him. After
an interval the latter returned, spoke to Sir
Edward Nicholas, and both were preparing to re-
tire, when the King called after them, to inquire
the meaning of all this mystery and mummery.
" All will be arranged in a few minutes," said
Sir Stephen, bowing.
" We will do our best to settle every thing,
at least for the present," exclaimed Sir Edward.
" 'Ods fish ! gentlemen, will you answer me ?""
cried the King, impatiently : " I asked a ques-
tion."
Sir Edward Avhispered a few words in his ear.
BBAMBLETYE HOUSE. 341
when the Monarch exclaimed aloud, *' Tilley
vally, man ! the Mountain and the mouse !
surely these matters are no secret to any of us. —
Fair'ladies and doughty Cavaliei-s," he continued,
addressing the company with a smile, " he not
alarmed. This is no Camisado of the enemy,
no privy conspiracy or rebellion, but a simple
Insurrection of certain burgesses, yclept shojj-
keepers, or duns ; the meaning of which word,
I believe, it ^vill be perfectly unnecessary to
explain to any of the present company.'"
The uproar was, in fact, occasioned by an
irruption of creditors, who, having learnt that
his Majesty was about to quit Bruges next day,
as he had done other places, without the cere-
mony of a li({uidalion of debts, had stormed his
residence, and vociferously insisted upon instant
payment.
Sir Thomas Killigrew, who had withdrawn
into the ante-room, now hurried back, pro-
claiming with a look of great dismay, that the
whole party were armed.
342 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
" Armed I" cried the King, instinctively lay-
ing his hand upon his sword.
" Yes, my liege, not like the constables, and
yet each with a long bill." KiUigrew was one
of those chartered jesters who are privileged to
say any thing, and whose boldest jokes are sure
to command a laugh, of which upon the present
occasion, the Monarch set the first example.-—
" It is no laughing matter," resumed Sir Tho-
mas, shaking his head, and still preserving a
terrified countenance, — " for however they may
be armed, your Majesty cannot deny that the
sturdy rogues know how to make a charge.**
This sally was as successful as the former,
but even the roar with which it was received
could not drown the voice of some individual
clamourer outside, who insisted upon seeing the
King.
" Have I no Walworth to mace this brawler
on the sconce .?" cried the Monarch.
" Yes, my liege !" cried the impetuous
Lord Ossory, starting up and grasping his
sword, " Gentlemen, shall we suffer our sove-
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 343
yeign to be bearded in his own house by
these audacious varlets ?"" He was rushing
fiercely out of the room, when the IVIarquess of
Ormond, laying his hand upon his son's arm
and stopping him, exclaimed, — " Forbear, rash
boy ! — as the sword is the worst of arguments,
so should it be tlie last, even with an equal :
against an inferior it should never quit the
scabbard. Leave me to deal with these mis-
taken people." In a few minutes after he hud
quitted the room, the hubbub Avas appeased as
suddenly as it had sprung up, and the Mar-
quess bowing to the King as he returned, in-
formed him that the offending parties had all
retired.
" Did you charm them with the wand of
Prospero, that you have so soon allayed the
storm ?■" inquired the King.
*' I visited them as Jove did Danae," replied
the Peer — " a little gold and a few fair promises
sent them away contented."
" Thanks, Marquess," cried the Monarch—
344 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
" I am ever your debtor, but the hour may come
when I shall be able to repay you."
" That hour is past, my liege," said the Mar-
quess — '• for I am already repaid in the honour
of my Sovereign's thanks." He bowed as he
spoke, and by way of changing the subject,
and renewing the interrupted hilarity of the
party, called upon Dick Fanshawe for a song.
Tiie experiment succeeded, the song was ap-
plauded, and the joyous party continued their
merriment as if its flow had been never broken,
until at a late hour the greater part of the
company retired, leaving only a set of the
King's most intimate associates, and a few hand-
some flaunting ladies, whose less-guarded lan-
guage and attire gave reason to suspect that
they were not in the habit of absenting them-
selves from the King's lighter hours of dalliance
and of licence. All restraint was now banished ;
the conversation assumed a less decorous tone
while in justification of the old adage, that
" familiarity breeds contempt," the King himself
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 345
and his pecuniary difficulties became the subject
of broad raillery, in which he was not unfre-
quently mentioned by his nick-names of Row-
laud or Rowley- Different small tables Avith
dice and cards being now introduced, the whole
party sate down to them, and heavy sums of
gold were staked, won, and lost, by that very
Monarch who had just suffered Lord Ormond
to defray a portion of his household debts, and
by those identical courtiers who had in the
morning pleaded utter poverty to their Sove-
reign when he wanted to boirow a few pistoles.
All this, however, seemed to excite neither sur-
prise nor upln-aiding in the parties themselves,
men who had so long found it easier to laugh
at a debt than to pay it, that they had not only
learnt to distrust one another, but to treat all
trades-people with contempt, as a set of imperti-
nents born to minister to their pleasures, with-
out their being entitled in return to the com-
' monest observances of justice, honour, or ho-
nesty- They ap}>eared to think that the vio-
Q 5
346 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE,
lence with which they had been expelled from
their paternal castles, halls, and bowers, justi^
lied them in levying contributions, even upon
the inhabitants of a foreign country ; and that
they were entitled to snatch, as they could,
those enjoyments of wealth and luxury to which
they had been accustomed, without being in
the smallest degree scrupulous as to the means
of their attainment.
Considering himself as an interloper among
this more select assemblage. Sir John arose
to depart, when the King, again accosting
them both by their mock titles, wished them
good night, requesting that the visit might
be repeated at twelve next day, as he had a
commission which he wished to entrust to his
future Master of the Horse. Though by no
means squeamish or fastidious, the Baronet
could not help being a little staggered l)y the
loose morality he had witnessed on the subject
of meutii and lunm ; but as his loyalty would not
allow him to admit all the censure, which Jo-
BEAMBLKTYE HOUSE, 347
eelyn's unsophisticated notions induced him
to express while they were walking home, he
turned the conversation, alluded to the lateness
of the hour, and hurried off to bed the moment
they reached the Golden Eagle.
Pursuant to the orders he had received, he pre-
sented himself on the following morning, at the
royal residence in the Burg, and after waiting a
considerable time beyond the appointed hour, was
ushered into his Majesty's dressing-closet, in one
<;orner of which, upon a rich arm-chair of bi'ocade
and tapestry, was lying a small spaniel with a
litter of puppies, and a basin of milk-porridge,
which they were unmercifully scattering over the
wrought flowers of silk and gold whereon it was
-placed. On a table beside them was cast the
diamond George and garter, with rings, trin-
kets, miniatures, and watches, intermingled with
all the apparatus of the toilette, most of which
was of embossed silver. Though tlie King called
out from an inner apartment that he would
attend his Master of the Horse in a few minutes,
348 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
his Majesty still kept him waiting some time
longer. At length making his appearance in an
embroidered silk wrapper, the King proceeded at
once to state, that he wished Sir John to carry
a despatch of some consequence to his brother
the Duke of York, then with the Spanish army in
Flanders, who might probably entrust him with
certain confidential communications in return,
which it might not be safe to commit to writing.
There was so much jealousy in his little court,
the King observed, that if he selected one of his
immediate friends for this mission, he should
only offend the others, on which account he
requested that the object of their present con-
ference might be kept secret. Proceeding to
sfate that it wovdd be a good opportunity for
giving Jocelyn a litttle insight into the man-
ners of a camp, he concluded by requesting
that Sir John would keep a correct account
of his disbursements, which should be punc-
tvially repaid upon his return. Had this com-
mission been entrusted to any of the parties
BRAMBLKTYE HOUSE. 349
whose jealousy he affected to apprehend, it is
probable that they would have insisted upon
their expenses before they started; and it is
by no means impossible that the knowledge of
this fact was the sole inducement that led to
the selection of Sir John. Be this as it may,
the Baronet undertook the embassy with great
cheerfulness, received his despatches and fresh
passes, and, accompanied by Jocelyn, set out on
his journey that same afternoon.
350 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
CHAPTER X.
" But see, his face is black and full of blood.
His eye-balls further out than when he lived, —
Staring full ghastly like a strangled man. —
It cannot be but he was murder'd here."
Shakspeari:.
The formidable fortress of Dunkirk, then in
possession of the Spaniards, was at tins time
hotl_y besieged by the joint forces of England
and France, under the command of Turenne,
who had run his trenches up to the counterscarp,
and so far encroached upon the wall by mines,
that he hoped in a few days to be able to make
an assault upon the town. Don John of Austria,
the generalissimo of the Spanish army, whereof
a portion was commanded by the Duke of York,
anxious to prevent the fall of this important
BEAMBLETYE HOUSE. 351
place, which was to be put into the hands of
tlie EngUsh if it surrendered, and would give
the already too powerful Protector the key of
Flanders, and the command of the French fron-
tier, determined to march with his whole army
for the purpose of raising the siege. In execu-
tion of this purpose he was encamped at Furnes,
waiting to be joined by some garrison troops,
when Sir John arrived with his despatches for
the Duke of York, and immediately pointed
out to Jocelyn the striking difference between
the encampment and aspect of a regular army,
and the Tartar tents -of the Cavaliers which
they had so lately visited. Here were nu-
merous out-posts, sentinels, and videttes, who
sto]iped them to demand their pass at different
stations : the camp was placed so as to be co-
vered by a wood on one side, and a canal upon
the other : the troops were disposed in two pa-
rallel lines, the cavalry upon each wing, the foot
in the centre, with a body of reserve behind
S52 BRAMBLtTYE HOUSE.
them, and the baggage and artillery in the
rear of the whole.
On gaining the Duke's quarters, they were
informed he was gone to visit the commander-
in-chief, to whose tent they were escorted by an
officer. It was much larger and handsomer
than the others, being canopied at top, and
surmounted by the black spread-eagle, which
figure was embroidered also upon the sides,
while the front was adorned with the Spanish
arms and facings of black fringe. Upon enter-
ing and sending in his credentials, he was imme-
diately joined by the Duke, who received him
with great courtesy; and, introducing his brother
of Gloucester to Jocelyn, with a hope that they
might be future companions in arms, requested
Sir John to excuse his attendance for half an
hour, as he was engaged in a consultation of
the last moment with his Highness of Austria.
Not completely closing the curtain of the inner
tent, as he retired. Sir John was rendered an
unintentional spectator of the conference, al-
BRAMBLETYE HOUSK. 358
though he could only catch an occasional word
or two of the conversation, which was carried on
in an earnest whisper. The parties consisted of
the Duke, Don John, and two elderly officers,
apparently of high rank, all equipped in half
annour, with throe Jesuits in the habit of their
order, and a diminutive deformed figure in
black, whose goggle eyes were staring intently
at a large horoscope of the twelve Houses out-
spread before him, around which were scattered
celestial globes, planispheres, tables of the stars,
and other apparatus, whose purposes Sir John
could not immediately decypher.
From time to time, the hump-backed per-
sonage, who seemed to be the principal operator,
referred to his tables and made calculations,
whose results his companions endeavoured to
anticipate, by watching the expression of his
countenance, as they rivetted their eyes upon
it. The three Jesuits standing together, each
with one hand folded in his cloak while the
other held his chin, seemed to have a slight curl
S54 BRAMBLEXyE HOUSE.
of incredulity at the corner of the mouth, which
scarcely consorted with the deep attention of
the closely knit-brows. There was a character
of awe as well as of profound attention in the
young and handsome faces of the Duke and his
brother commander ; while the two seniors, who
sate with their chins resting upon the basket-
hilt of their long sAvords, gazed on the thwart
and dwarfish calcidator with a grim earnestness.
Modem commanders in chief, who have adopted
the opinion of the Marquess de la Ferte, " que
le bon Dieu est toujours du cote des gros ba-
taillons," will smile with derision at being told
that this was a council of war, the little hunch-
back being a celebrated astrologer, who by the
assistance of his hocus-pocus implements was
endeavouring to compel the stars to divulge
what woutd be the best day for attacking the
enemy before Dunkirk with the most reasonable,
or rather, sideral prospects of success ! To this
crooked conjuror, thus superseding the com-
mander in chief, was entrusted the decision of
MIIAMBLETYK HOUSE. 355
an important military operation, his sentence
being as implicitly received, as if he had been
at the head of an army for one half of his life,
and upon the most confidential and intimate
footing with the stars during the remainder.
Upon the breaking up of this egregious mi-
litary council, the Duke of York rejoined Sir
John, holding the despatches in his hand which
he had not yet opened. He now did so, and
smiling as he finished their perusal, exclaimed,
— " It was hardly worth while to send so far.""
Sir John signified his understanding, that he
was to be honoured with some verbal comnmni-
cations, but the Duke declared that in a matter
of his own private individual concern, such as
that to which the King had alluded,* he must
dechne admitting a confidant, however he might
respect the individual. " As to the little casket,"
continued the Duke, smiling, " which was per-
haps the main object of your embassy, I hold
" Pnjhably his private marriage with Miss Hyde, then
in agitation.
356 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE,
it at your disposal, whenever you return ; but
as we have decided on immediately attacking
the enemy before Dunkirk, you may as well
follow the camp, and in two or three days, I
trust you will be enabled to convey such intel-
ligence to the King, as will ensure you a wel-
cojne reception at Bruges."
To this arrangement Sir John consented, and
on the following morning the army broke up at
an early hour from Fumes, and marched towards
Dunkirk, which they reached the same after-
noon, and took post upon some sand-hills, about
a mile and a half from the French and English
camp. The night was spent in preparation for
the next day's attack, which, according to the
sapient directions of the deformed star-gazer,
was not to commence before ten o^'clock. To the
great derangement, however, of all his plans and
prognostications, the English, having taken it
into their heads to become the assailants, sent for-
ward a forlorn of musqueteers, who unceremo-
niously mounted the sand-hills, without waiting
BHAMBLETYE HOUSE. 357
for the stars and the appohited hour, and being
followed by other regiments, presently brought
on a general engagement. In spite of the re-
peated volleys of great and small shot, poured
down upon them from the heights, they con-
tinued steadily advancing, and shortly coming
to the charge with the butt-ends of their mus-
quets, then the customary mode of encounter,
completely broke the Spanish foot, who fled
backward towards Furnes. The French cavalrv
at the same time defeating their horse, who were
dispirited by the flight of their infantry, the
rout became general; and the defeat would have
been more decisive and ruinous than it was, but
for the exertions of the Duke of York, whose mi-
litary renown, according to the verdict of a con-
temporary, " was greater far, and more eminent
in the glories of this day, which suffering an
envious eclipse, drew greater admiration upon
him ; for lie did not only maintain the fight till
the irresistible daring gallantry of the honour-
.seeking red-coats made the Spaniard abandon
358 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
his punctilios, and mend his retreating pace ;
but sustained the impression upon the flight, and
at least saved the day." How this was accom-
plished, while he admits the battle to have been
so utterly lost, the loyal chronicler omits to
mention ; nor has history recorded what became
of the astrologer, who probably saw for enough
into futurity, upon this occasion, to predict that
he would be treated with steel instead of the
promised gold, if he again faced the Don, and
accordingly carried his prophetic skill to some
better market.
Intermingled with the retreating army, Sir
John and his son were whirled back in the vor-
tex, and might have been exposed to the swords
of their countrymen', " the honour-seeking red-
coats," but that the pursuers were fortunately
recalled by a timely sortie from the garrison of
Dunkirk, in which, however, the governor was
killed. At Furnes, Sir John received the little
casket from the Duke, and a letter for the King,
detailing the particulars of the late battle, with
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 359
which he prepared to return to Bruges. Pre-
viously to his- departure he had the additional
mortification of learning that Dunkirk, having
surrendered, was given over to the English, Avho
had sworn the inhabitants to fealty and allegi-
ance to the Protector ; thus consummating the
|X)wer and glory of that extraordinary man, and
placing him at the pinnacle of his fame, only
that he might offer a surer mark for the arrow
of Death, who was already preparing to bend
his bow against him.
Taking leave of the Duke and turning his
back upon Furnes, Sir John set out on his re-
turn to Bruges with a rather heavier heart
than usual. The tidings with which he was en-
trusted, seemed to throw forward, to an inde-
finite period, the long-anticipated day of the
Usurper's downfall and the general restoration
of the exiles; while it vexed him to l)e made
the bearer of intelligence, which was calculated
to plunge the King and his little court into
despondence. At the moment of his arrival,
360 BKAMBLETYE HOUSE.
Charles was sitting for his portrait, but spying
him through the window as he approached,
gave orders for his immediate admission into
the parlour. " Welcome, stout Sir John
Compton," he gaily exclaimed, as the Baronet
entered, — " let me make known to you Mynheer
Gerhard Douw, an excellent artist, but not
equal to his countryman Vandyck, whom we
may well term our own painter, since he was
named at Rome il Pitt ore Cavalieresco. What
news, stout Sir John ?""
" I have brought the casket which your
Majesty commissioned me to procure."
" Good !" continued the Monarch, eagerly
breaking the seals with which it was secured, —
" but what news ?"
" I was not charged with any private com-
munications,"" replied the Baronet, — " and as
to public events, this letter from his royal
Highness will, I believe, convey to your Ma-
jesty the latest." — '"'
" 'Ods fish, man !" interrupted the King,
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. S6l
" I hate to be parried with foil and fence when
I put a direct question. I ask you, for the
third time, what news ?"
Thus pressed, Sir Jolin was forced to detail
the unfortunate result of the battle, and the
surrender of Dunkirk, during the progress of
which the King proceeded in unpacking the
casket, exclaiming from time to time — " Bad
tidings, indeed. Sir John! thou art a very raven,
an owl, a messenger of " Having by this
time opened the casket, and fixed his eyes upon
the miniature within it, lie remained utterly in-
attentive to Sir John's statement for a few se-
conds, at the expiration of which he ejaculated —
" By Heaven ! she was, after all, a tempting
witch and a jolly ! what say you. Mynheer?"
He handed the portrait to the artist, who pro-
nounced it to be the most beautiful brunette
he had ever seen, but objected to a certain air
of fierceness in the eyes. With this criticism he
passed it to Sir John, Avho, from the name in-
scribed upon it, found that he had been sent all
VOL. I. E
362
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
the way to Dunkirk, to fetch a portrait of Lucy
Barlow,* one of tlie King's mistresses, whom he
had long since discarded for her gross irregula-
rities, though he was anxious to have her minia-
ture to complete a cabinet collection which he
was forming. Having replaced it in the casket,
but not until he had again contemplated it with
much seeming admiration, he opened the Duke
of York's letter, hastily skimmed over the con-
tents, put it in his pocket, and replacing him-
self in a proper attitude, exclaimed to the artist
— " now Mynheer, we are fixed as fate, im-
moveable as a rock, patient as Griselda. Pro-
ceed !''
Adjusting his concave mirror, and gazing at
his original, through a frame with many small
squares of fine silk, contrivances of which he
* Sometimes called Lucy Walter, the mother of the
Duke of Monmouth. Being found in England with let-
ters from the King upon her person, she was suspected
of being one of his numerous emissaries, and was ar-
rested ; but Cromwell sent an order to the Lieutenant
of the Tower for her discharge.
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 363
always availed himself in his portraits, the
artist proceeded very leisurely to handle his
brush, when the King asked him how long it
would be before the head was finished.
** If your Majesty sits every day, I hope to
complete it in a month," replied the artist. " A
month!" ejaculated the impatient and mercurial
Monarch — " 'Ods fish, man ! it is more than my
head is worth, so you may e'en paint the rest
from memory or imagination."" At these word ^he
started from the chair, and ran out of the room,
calling to Sir John to follow him, as the mail
was arrived, which might bring him better news;
and left the astounded artist staring at the
doorway through which he had vanished. His
first astonishment being, however, dissipated
by a pinch of snuff, he took the royal advice,
carried the canvass home, and in rather more
than a month, completed from memory a very
successful portrait.
" Where are these letters ?"" cried the King,
as he entered the drawing-room, in which there
a2
364 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE,
was a considerable assemblage of Cavaliers ; —
" Stout Sir John, will you cudgel my varlets,
(since you have a weighty arm and willing), for
not sending them up to me ?"" Retiring to the
groom-porter's room for the purpose of making
the necessary inquiries, Sir John discovered
that the letters were still lying at the office, be^
cause the attendants had not a single stiver in
hand, and none of them would be fool-hardy
enough to advance the postage. This degrad-
ing difficulty being removed at the Baronet's
expense, he carried the redeemed packet up
stairs, and placed it in the King's hand. After
looking at the signature to some of the letters
he threw them aside without reading ; at others
he slightly glanced, and handed them over to
his secretary ; but at length he encountered
one, at whose perusal his countenance under-
went a sudden and portentous transformation.
His naturally adust complexion, became of a
glowing red, his eyes sparkled, he bit his nether
lip till the blood started, and the incipient lines
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 365
in his face, which i fterwards deepened into
strong furroAvs, were rendered more than usually
visible bv the tension of his muscles, as he
vehemently exclaimed, — " Infernal villain ! — In-
famous traitor !"" — He half-drew his sword, and
looked fiercely round upon the company, hut
not finding the object of his wrath, and observ-
ing that the party were all aghast at his unpre-
cedented emotion, he tossed the letter upon the
table, saying, — " There, gentlemen ! see hoAv
we are betrayed by some of our OAvn household,
and how basely the brave Colonel Penruddo<'k
and his friends have been murdered ! — O that I
were not prohibited by my rank from avenging
my ovm quarrels !" — At these words he return-
ed his sword into its scabbard, with a loud snap,
and sate down, looking sternly around him.
Nothing but the unexpected detection of an
offence, which so deeply wounded his pride and
dignity as to become a personal insult, could
have thus disturbed the King, who was sensitive
enough to his own wrongs, though he bore thoK-
B 3
366 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
of others with such a happy equanimity. The
letter, in fact, stated, that one Captain Manning,
who was employed in a place of trust about his
person, had been expressly deputed to solicit
the office he held by the Protector, whose spy
he had long been ; — that he corresponded regu-
larly with Thurloe, Cromwell's secretary, and
had given the information that led to the dis-
covery and execution of Penruddock and his
loyal associates ; — and, finally, that all the plans
and proceedings of the exiled Court were punc-
tually transmitted by him to the Protectorial
Government. — Numerous particulars were stated
to confirm these allegations, for whose final
proof the King was recommended to search the
traitor's escrutoire, where the key to the cypher
he used, and copies of his correspondence, would
in all probability be found. Not less indig-
nant at this foul treason than their Sovereign
himself, the assembled Cavaliers, drawing their
swords, rushed tumultuously to the culprit's
apartment, and finding it locked, clashed fu-
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 367
riously against it with their weapons, calling
clamorously upon the caitiff to come forth and
receive the reward of his treacher}-. Having
learned the cause of the uproar, the Marquess of
Ormond hastened to the spot, exclaiming as he
approached, — " Nay, gentlemen, gentlemen, put
up your swords: let us have no bloodshed or
murder in the King's dwelHng. I have stationed
servants beneath his window, others will pro
sently be here with tools to force open his door,
80 that he cannot escape. If guilty, as he
seems to be, the villain shall be punished ; but
not by us. We are gentlemen and Cavaliers,
not gaolers or executioners, and, still less
assassins."
At these words the assemblage fell back,
some of them sheathing their swords, and made
way for two servants with ini])leuients for
forcing open the door. This they presently
effected, when it was ascertained th;it the object
of their search had employed the intermediate
time in destroying some papers, and chewing
368 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
or swallowing others ; but enough remained
to afford abundant proof that the charges
against him were well-founded, even if there
had not been a manifest confession of guilt in
his aghast and self-betraying looks. Refusing
with a sullen obstinacy to answer any questions,
he was roughly searched, securely pinioned,
and dragged away to a place of safe custody ;
followed by the anathemas and maledictions of
the whole infuriated party.
On a more strict examination of his chamber,
there were found concealed in the pannels several
additional confirmations of his treason, particu-
larly a letter from Thurloe, promising him a lu-
crative appointment in London, if any suspicions
should attach to him, and occasion his dismissal
from the King's service. This he had probably
preserved as avoucher of his claims upon Crom-
well, though it now became an irrefragable
proof of perfidy, which was likely to entail upon
him a reward of a very different nature. Clear,
however, as was his guilt, the mode of punishing
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 369
it was not equally manifest. ^lost of the Cava-
liers were for putting him innnediately to death,
as the warranted doom of a convicted spy and
traitor; but the more considerate of the King's
counsellors submitted that he was not, and could
not be, legally convicted, since there was no juris-
diction by which he could be tried ; that he was
in a civil office, and consequently not subject to
military law, even had they been in camp or in
the field : and as to violence of any sort, they ob-
served that the royal partisans were already liable
to too many imputations of lawless and summary
inflictions. As the tribunals of the country
could not take cognizance of his offence, and his
continued imprisonment in the royal residence
would be hazardous and troublesome, they sug-
gested that he should be inniuu'ed in some of the
strong holds belonging to the King's friend, the
Duke of Nieuburg, until circumstances should
enable his Majesty to bring him to justice.
This advice prevailed ; upon application to
the Duke he gave orders for his admission into
370 ^ BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
a lonely impregnable castle on the banks of the
Rhme ; a strong party of Cavaliers volunteered
the service of escorting him to his prison ; and
Sir John having resolved on placing Jocelyn at
Paris to complete his education, loyally deter-
mined to accompany the party to its place of des-
tination, and proceed by that circuitous route to
the French capital. This intention he commu-
nicated to the King, in the hope that he would
recruit his wasted finances, by repaying the
expenses incurred in his embassage for Lucy
Barlow's picture; but his Majesty contented
himself with wishing him a pleasant journey,
having apparently followed his established cus-
tom with respect to the pecuniary claim, by
making a memorandum to forget it.
In a few days, a stout party of Cavaliers and
several servants, all well armed, set out with
their prisoner, who was manacled and secured
to the carriage in which he rode, whence he was
never suffered to alight, unless accompanied by
two of his guards. Thus the cavalcade ad-
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 371
vanced, exciting considerable observation in the
country through which it passed, by the caution
■with which the captive was guarded, the un-
known nature of his offence, and the strange yet
gallant appearance of the little band that formed
his escort. At length they reached the castle
to which he was to be committed, forming the
battlemented pinnacle of a high, rugged, and
precipitous rock that overhung the Rhine, in
the neighbourhood of Cologne. Squalid and
haffoard as was the character of this mountain-
ous cliff', whose successive ledges and shelves
arave nourishment to nothing but a few stunted
firs, that shot athwart it here and there, or clung
to the scanty soil in fantastic and grotesque di-
rections, the scenery around it was singularly
luxurious and picturesque. Crowned Avith the
parapets and circular pointed towers of the
castle, from the loftiest of which a flag was
flouting the sky, the rocky mass reared itself
gauntly up in the air, like some colossn! figure
of the turreted Cybele weeping for the loss of
372 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
Atys, in the midst of the laughing plains of
Phrygia.
Not deeming it necessary for the whole party
to toil up the steep acclivity which formed the
approach to the castle, Sir John quitted his
companions, and took Jocelyn to a little dis-
tance, where there was a slight eminence which
promised to afford them a favourable view of
the beautiful landscape that surrounded them.
Some of the steep banks, which in this part
shelved rapidly down to the river, were planted
with vines, others were tufted with variegated
flowering shrubs, underwood, and trees ; every
slope was richly coloured with vegetation, ex-
cept the causeway beneath the rock ; this was
strewed with huge naked fragments detached
from the cliffs above, some of which had rolled
into the river and formed little craggy islands,
around whose base the rapid waters were flash-
ing and brawling. Every projecting height of
the river's upward course was surmounted bj
some ancient castle or embowered convent ;
BEAMBtETYE HOUSE. 373
the walls, towers and churches of Cologne
glittered at a little distance before them; be-
yond were the fertile plains of Cleves ; behind
them was the rich champain of Juliers, and
the whole landscape was lighted up and enli-
vened by a cloudless summer's sun.
After having foi- some time admired this mag-
nificent prospect, they turned their eyes towards
" the rock, amusing themselves with watching the
slow progress of tKeir party, as they climbed
painfully up the steep ascent. The road being
cut in a zig-zag direction, and part of it scooped
through the solid rock, the cavalcade was occa-
sionally lost, as if it were entering the bowels
of the earth, from which, however, it again
emerged, after a while, upon a higher point,
hanging, apparently, upon the extreme verge
of the precipice. But the Cavaliers themselves
seemed to pursue their march without appre-
hension : their feathers waved gallantly in the
wind; their arms glittered in tiie sun; and oc-
casionally the neighing of their steeds was
VOL. I. s
374 BllAMBLETYE HOUSE.
wafted down upon the breeze. As the car-
riage was stayed for a few minutes to reUeve
the horses, the captive was seen to put out his
head and look upwards, as if to ascertain the
nature of the prison in which he was to be
immured ; nor could Jocelyn, with all his
abhorrence of his offence, suppress a feeling
of sympathetic commiseration, as he saw the
wretched man again drawn forward towards
his solitary dungeon. The road now becoming
impracticable for carriages, he was obliged to
alight, that he might prosecute the remainder
of the way on foot ; when two or three Cava-
liers advanced to a salient crag, and waved
their hats to Sir John and his son below, who
stood up and returned the salute. Renewing
their march, they were now seen to pass be-
neath the arches of two fortified outworks, and
at last the whole party gained the narrow para-
pet at the summit, which fronted the principal
entrance to the castle, and around which the
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 375
rock had been perpendicularlv scarped. The
massive gates were thrown o])en, when just as
Sir John and his son expected to see the proces-
sion enter, they saw the flash of a ])istol, whose
report they ahiiost instantly heard, followed by
a dismal shriek. At the same moment the mise-
rable captive, lifting up his manacled hands in
the air, was seen to stagger backwards to the
edge of the parapet, over whose precipice he
fell, and rollino- headlono- down the shelvint;
projection at its base, was dashed and tossed
from crag to crag, until he fell with an appal-
ling splash into the river below. In a few se-
conds his mano-led remains were whirled alon<j
before the eyes of Sir John and Jocelyn, the
furious waters seeming to be in fierce pursuit
of the prey, with whose blood they were already
discoloured. A cry of horror burst from Jocelyn
at the sight, and even his father, better used
to scenes of death, and little disposed to pity
the fate of a traitor and a friend to the Uound-
s o
370 BRAMBLETYE HOUSE.
heads, could not help being affected by such an
awful and unexpected catastrophe.*
Riding up to the foot of the rock, and wait-
* The editor of Evelyn's Memoirs, in a note to Vol. II.
p. 157, refers to a scarce Tract, in the British Museum,
which gives the following account of this occurrence. —
"^■^ Before his Majesty's departure from Colen, there hap-
pened a discovery of one of those persons, who, under
pretence of waiting upon him, (Captain Manning, by
name,) discovered unto the Protector all his designs and
counsels ; who being found out, was, by his Majesty's
command, sent to a strong castle adjacent to Col^n, there
to be kept a close prisoner. But all the Court being
highly incensed against him for his perfidiousnesse, one
of his Majesty's servants, (though contrary to order)
pistoled him, as he was lighting out of the coach at the
castle-gate, giving him less than the due reward of his
so abominable treachery."
The present writer has conslilted this Tract, which
appears to have been presented to the British Museum
by George III. and bears the following title : — " The
History of His Sacred Majesty Charles II. King of En-
gland, Scotland, France, and Ireland, Defender of the
Faith^ &c. Begun from the murder of his royal Father
of Happy Memory, and continued to this present year
1660. By a person of Quality. London, 12mo; printed
for Thos. Davies." It thro>vs no additional light upon
the transaction in question, but has furnished him with
several details, of which he has availed himself elsewhere.
Heath, who published his Chronicle after the Re-
#
BRAMBLETYE HOUSE. 377
ing the return of the Cavaliers, he inquired for
the author and the cause of Manning's death ;
but tliey had not ascertained by whom or by
what orders the pistol liad been fired ; a point,
indeed, which they hardly seemed to think worth
the trouble of investigation, all parties agreeing
that it was the most desirable consummation
that could possibly have happened. Dead men,
they reminded him, tell no tales ; Thurloe would
see no more of his hand-writing; and they
heartily wished that they had red-nosed Noll
at the same issue, that they might send him to
storation, expressly says, in his notice of this occurrence:
" At the instance of the whole Court, the King was pre-
vailed ajjon to let him he shot in one of the castles of
the Duke of Newburgli, (to terrifie all other faithless
and disloyal servants, and to satisfie for some of that
blood Cromwell had spilt upon the score of his perfidy,)
where he wretchedly and most abjectly died." Part 3,
p. 368.
Charles the Second's Aunt, the Queen of Bohemia,
writing to Sir Edward Nicholas, from tlie Hague, says,
" I understand that that arch villaine IMaiiniug has re-
ceaued his iust desert. 1 wish all those of his cabal with
him."
s 3
\
3T8 BRAMULETYE HOUSE.
cut similar capers through the air. With these
expressions, and a few unfeehng jokes upon the
fate of Manning, not worth the trouble of re-
cording, the Cavaliers set out on their return to
Bruges, leaving Sir John and Jocelyn to pro-
secute their journey to Paris.
END OF VOL. I.
1.0M10N:
lUINTE!) B.V S ANn R. BENTLEY, DORSET STREET.
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY
Los Angeles
This book is DUE on the last date stamped below.
Form L9— Series 444
■ c n 1 1 T u c D "M o r ^'^ I '^ « ■
V': L'BRARV FACILITY
AA 000 513 545 4
PR
S7b
v.l