I 
 
 THE 
 
 CHELSEA PENSIONERS, 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
In the Press. 
 THE COUNTRY CURATE. 
 
 A SERIES OF TALES, 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR OF 
 
 THE SUBALTERN, AND CHELSEA PENSIONERS. 
 
 LONDON. 
 
 PRINTED BY 8. AND R. BENTLEY, 
 Dorset Street, Fleet Street. 
 
THE 
 
 CHELSEA PENSIONERS 
 
 BY THE 
 AUTHOR OF " THE SUBALTERN. 
 
 He that outlives this day, and comes safe home, 
 
 Will stand a tip-toe when this day is named ! 
 
 Old men forget ; yet all shall be forgot, 
 
 But he '11 remember with advantages 
 
 What feats he did that day.- KING HENRY V. 
 
 IN THREE VOLUMES. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 HENRY COLBURN, NEW BURLINGTON STREET. 
 1829. 
 

 INTRODUCTION, 
 
 IT was on a beautiful morning in June, in 
 the year 18 , that I sallied forth from the 
 gate of College, Oxford, for the pur- 
 pose of making a tour through certain of the 
 midland counties of England, which, from a va- 
 riety of circumstances not necessary to be de- 
 tailed, I had hitherto enjoyed no opportunity 
 of visiting. My mode of travelling was one 
 which I would venture strongly to recommend to 
 all such as have abundance of time at their com- 
 mand, and are desirous of making the most of 
 it. I journeyed on foot, with a fishing-rod in my 
 hand, a basket, containing a change of neces- 
 saries, at my back, and a volume of Shakspeare 
 in my pocket ; and my sole companion was the 
 sagacious and faithful dog, which had so long 
 
 VOL. I. B 
 
 Nl 3845 
 
2 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 and through so many strange scenes followed 
 my fortunes. Thus equipped and thus at- 
 tended, I felt that scarcely any maladventure 
 which might fall in my way was likely to in- 
 convenience me; whilst I anticipated, as the 
 sequel proved, not on mistaken grounds, a great 
 -cUia} of ei^dyWeHt^ /as well as some instruction 
 frpnj* the., escursjop.. 
 
 i' passed' through the seat of learning just 
 as the first rays of the sun were lighting up 
 its spires and domes, and gilded minarets, caus- 
 ing a very gush of glory to be shed over a 
 scene which is never beheld to greater advan- 
 tage than when in repose. There was a solemn 
 silence in college and hall, as if a plague had 
 recently swept them of their inmates. The 
 solitary lamp of the student, and the blazing 
 chandeliers of the wassailer, were alike extin- 
 guished ; and the low mouthing of Greek, 
 and the voice of riot and revelry, had equally 
 subsided into absolute stillness. The noble high 
 street, which but twelve hours ago seemed alive, 
 with gay loungers, was now empty ; my own 
 footsteps were echoed back upon my ear as I 
 traversed Carfax ; and in Corn Market and St. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 3 
 
 Giles's, the faintest symptoms of life were not 
 yet beginning to be exhibited. So perfect, 
 indeed, was the silence, and so complete the 
 appearance of desolation, that it would have 
 required but a slender exertion of fancy to 
 induce the persuasion, that the legends of the 
 East were realized, and that I was an isolated 
 wanderer in a city of palaces, from which 
 some magic power had removed all living 
 things, leaving things inanimate in their original 
 splendour. 
 
 If the reader has ever beheld Oxford under 
 circumstances similar to those just described, he 
 will readily understand me when I say, that 
 the scene stirred up feelings, such as it were 
 no easy task to delineate, however keenly they 
 may be felt. A thousand imaginings came 
 upon me of times gone by, of the great, and 
 the good, and the pious, whom these walls 
 had sheltered, and who under the sacred shadow 
 of these roofs, had laid the foundation of a re- 
 nown, which shall endure long after both walls 
 and roofs have crumbled into ruins. Nor were 
 other and no less interesting associations want- 
 ing. My own academic career was too recently 
 B 2 
 
4 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 closed not to have left a crowd of college re- 
 collections fresh in my memory, of friends with 
 whom I had spent many happy hours, some of 
 them resting quietly in their nameless graves, 
 others scattered to the four winds and bustling 
 their way through the world ; whilst something 
 like an effort to pierce the mists of futurity, 
 and to speculate upon the probable destinations 
 of such as still " haunted Magdalen's hallo wed 
 grove," could not be suppressed, though it ob- 
 truded itself unbidden. Speculations like the 
 latter, are not, as every body knows, very 
 friendly to the exuberance of animal spirits, 
 which usually marks the commencement of an 
 expedition avowedly pleasurable. Nor were 
 they without their accustomed influence on the 
 present occasion. As they crowded upon rne, 
 I became, sorely against my will, conscious of a 
 feeling not very common with me, a melan- 
 choly, partaking largely of the character of dis- 
 content ; and I quickened my pace in conse- 
 quence, with the design of freeing myself, as 
 speedily as possible, from the presence of objects 
 which had called it into operation. 
 
 A few minutes' walk at a brisk rate suf- 
 
INTRODUCTION. 5 
 
 ficed for the accomplishment of this design. 
 Baliol, St. John's, and the Observatory, were 
 each passed in succession ; and I soon found 
 myself trudging along the smooth and open 
 road that leads to Woodstock. In a mo- 
 ment, every trace of sombre and serious 
 thought was obliterated. I looked round upon 
 a smiling and fertile country ; upon green 
 fields and neat hedges, groves in full leaf, and 
 the silver Isis rolling his classic stream be- 
 tween banks covered with the richest verdure ; 
 whilst I listened to a flood of nature's sweetest 
 music, poured from thousands of tiny throats, 
 and pealing as it were, in full chorus, up to the 
 gates of heaven. Every thing seen, and heard, 
 and felt, was calculated to elevate and excite 
 the mind. The air was cool and refreshing; 
 the dews of the preceding night hung upon 
 the boughs and leaves like sparkles of quick- 
 silver, at the same time that they kept the 
 dust, which without their intervention would 
 have annoyed, from moving; whilst numerous 
 flocks of sheep, scattered through the adjoining 
 meadows, were cropping their early repast to 
 the ceaseless tinkling of their own bells. All 
 
6 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 these varied objects combined to disperse in 
 an instant, whatever of melancholy, or even 
 serious thought, had hitherto oppressed me ; and 
 I pushed forward, alive only to feelings of the 
 purest enjoyment, bodily as well as mental. 
 
 As I am not going to try the patience of the 
 reader, by bringing before him the minute de- 
 tails of a journey, which, though exceedingly 
 agreeable at the moment, produced but few 
 events worthy of record ; it will be sufficient 
 if I inform him, that having passed through 
 Woodstock, breakfasted at a lonely inn by 
 the way-side, and spent the night at a village, 
 the name of which I have forgotten, I arrived, 
 about noon on the following day, at Strat- 
 ford : beautiful in itself, and beautifully situa- 
 ted upon the Avon ; but deriving its chief 
 attraction from being the birth-place of the 
 greatest genius whom England, or perhaps the 
 world, has produced. It will readily be be- 
 lieved that I visited the house shown as the 
 early residence of Shakspeare, with the reve- 
 rence of an idolater entering the palace of 
 his God ; and that not all the absurdity of 
 his female representative, which was not tri- 
 
INTRODUCTION. 7 
 
 fling, could excite more than a passing thought, 
 unworthy of the place. From thence I took 
 the road to Warwick Castle, inspecting with a 
 curious eye that most perfect specimen of ba- 
 ronial grandeur ; after which, I prepared to 
 penetrate as far as Birmingham, Lichfield, and 
 Stafford. But before I succeeded in reaching 
 the nearest of these points, certain events be- 
 fell, of which it will be necessary to give some 
 account ; because to these the reader is indebted 
 for the existence of the volumes now submitted 
 to his perusal. 
 
 It is not my ordinary practice, when tra- 
 velling on foot, to follow the King's highway 
 very faithfully; nor was I more particular in 
 the selection of my path after I quitted War- 
 wick, than on other occasions: on the con- 
 trary, I took a direction so as to ascend 
 the course of the river, casting a line into 
 each promising stream and pool as I ap. 
 proached it, and loitering my time away, 
 or turning it to account, in proportion as my 
 sport happened to be attractive, or other- 
 wise. I was thus employed, a large hamlet 
 lying at no great distance a-head s when a gen- 
 
8 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 teel-looking man, apparently about sixty years 
 of age or upwards, approached me. Like my- 
 self, he was equipped in the garb of a sports- 
 man, with a rod and basket, the latter evidently 
 not empty ; and as his face was turned down 
 the stream, it was easy to perceive that he was 
 not, as yet, weary of his employment. All the 
 world knows that there is no class of men more 
 friendly disposed, or more communicative con- 
 cerning the business of the day, than anglers ; 
 whose occupation, indeed, draws them one to- 
 wards another with chords of the finest sym- 
 pathy. The stranger was not different in these 
 respects from other brethren of the hook and line: 
 he stopped as soon as he arrived within a rod's 
 length of me; and permitting the trout to enjoy 
 a few minutes of undisturbed recreation among 
 the natural flies, we entered into conversation. 
 
 At first our questions and replies were illus- 
 trative of nothing more than might have been 
 expected from the circumstances under which 
 we met. The stranger hoped that I had had 
 good sport ; desired to know whether I were 
 acquainted with the stream ; what flies I had 
 used, and which proved the most killing ; vo- 
 
INTRODUCTION. 9 
 
 lunteering at the same time, in case my own 
 hook were not supplied, to enrich me with a 
 cast of the true kind ; whilst I, as a matter of 
 course, met his advances as they merited, and 
 refused not the assistance thus frankly offered. 
 But there was another bond of union between 
 us, besides our common predilection for ang- 
 ling, which was not slow in being felt as well as 
 acknowledged. A single glance served to sa- 
 tisfy me as to the profession and character of 
 my new acquaintance. A carriage more than 
 ordinarily erect ; shoulders well thrown back ; 
 an expanded chest ; and powdered hair, col- 
 lected behind into a cue and tied up with 
 a black ribbon : these, with a narrow black 
 stock about his neck, and one arm stiff at the 
 elbow joint, pointed him out as a soldier of 
 the old school ; and as I have always enter- 
 tained the highest respect for that gallant and 
 honourable class of men, I was not back- 
 ward in making him aware of the estimation 
 in which I held him. Having satisfied his 
 curiosity as to whence I came and whither I 
 was going, I became in turn the chief speaker, 
 by remarking, that it was not necessary to in- 
 B 3 
 
10 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 quire into his condition and circumstances, in- 
 asmuch as his general address gave very satis- 
 factory evidence touching the gallant career 
 which he had run. The veteran was mani- 
 festly well pleased with the compliment, im- 
 plied rather than expressed. A smile passed 
 over his weather-beaten countenance, as he an- 
 swered, " You have guessed rightly ; I be- 
 long to a class more numerous, and therefore, 
 perhaps, less generally esteemed than it used to 
 be. Yet am I sufficiently partial to the pro- 
 fession of arms to believe, that, even now, the 
 country has no cause to be ashamed of the 
 names which, unfortunately for themselves, 
 crowd the half-pay list," This, as the reader 
 may suppose, was but a prelude to other and 
 more interesting discussions. The old gentleman 
 sat down upon the green bank, inviting me to 
 follow his example ; and before long, I found 
 myself listening to a detail of adventures, as 
 varied and romantic as a service of thirty years 
 in every quarter of the globe may be supposed 
 have produced. 
 
 He had gone on in this strain for some time, 
 enlarging, with the garrulity of old age, on the 
 
INTRODUCTION. 11 
 
 merits of those whose deeds have long ceased 
 to be remembered, when suddenly, as it were, 
 he recollected himself and stopped short, just 
 as I was about to be made acquainted with the 
 particulars of a stratagem which caused the sur- 
 render of some hill fort, of unpronounceable 
 name, in the Mysore county. 
 
 " You have cheated me into playing the 
 egotist with a vengeance," said he, " and I am 
 boring you with matters in which it is quite 
 impossible that you can take any interest ; but 
 the fault is your own entirely. It is easy 
 enough to set an old fellow like myself talking, 
 but let him once get on his favourite topic, and 
 it is no such easy matter to quiet him again/ 1 
 
 It was now that, in order to allay the old gen- 
 tleman's scruples, I judged it necessary to in- 
 form him, that I had myself served in the 
 army, and hence that he ran no risk of weary- 
 ing me by details which I could feel as well as 
 comprehend. The announcement produced an 
 instantaneous effect upon him. From the first 
 his manner had been polite, easy, and familiar ; 
 now it became not friendly only, but warm and 
 cordial. He declared his extreme satisfaction 
 
12 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 at having made my acquaintance, inquired par- 
 ticularly as to the corps to which I had been 
 attached, professed himself acquainted with its 
 commandant, and lauded its gallantry ; then 
 pointing out that the sun was getting low in the 
 heavens, and that it was time to think of return- 
 ing home, he expressed a desire that I would ac- 
 company him, in terms which I knew not very 
 well how to reject. " Though an old bachelor," 
 continued he, " I do not live alone. There are 
 twelve of us in all, half-pay officers, who keep 
 house together. We inhabit a building at the 
 extremity of that village, which, for distinc- 
 tion's sake, we have named Little Chelsea; and 
 if you will do me the favour to become, my 
 guest there, I will introduce you to as brave 
 and gentlemanly a set of fellows as ever smelt 
 powder, or warmed themselves at the fire of 
 a bivouac. I promise you, too, that if your 
 taste lean towards narratives of military ad- 
 venture, it will there be amply gratified, inas- 
 much as the evening never passes without one 
 or more stones, connected with our past lives, 
 being publicly narrated ; so put up your tackle 
 for to-day. You shall spend this evening, and 
 
INTRODUCTION. 13 
 
 to-morrow and next day, if you relish our so- 
 ciety, amongst us ; and you shall leave us when- 
 ever business or satiety may urge your depar- 
 ture." 
 
 The reader will easily believe that it re- 
 quired no very urgent entreaties on the part 
 of my kind friend to prevail upon me to close 
 with his liberal proposal. Besides that I really 
 did not very well know where to look for a 
 caravansary, there was something in the man- 
 ner and appearance of the individual himself 
 peculiarly attractive ; whilst I was curious to 
 ascertain how affairs were conducted in an 
 establishment, of which I began by degrees to 
 receive an obscure impression that I had pre- 
 viously heard something. I accordingly ac- 
 cepted his invitation at once, and we set to 
 work in the instant, unscrewing our rods, and 
 disposing our flies and tackle in their depots. 
 This done, we turned our faces towards the 
 village, and walked on like men who had known 
 each other for years, rather than acquaintances 
 of some half-hour's standing. 
 
 Whilst traversing the space between the 
 river and the village, I obtained from my com- 
 
14 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 panion a full account of the establishment of 
 Little Chelsea. It consisted, as has been al- 
 ready stated, of twelve members ; or to speak 
 more accurately, because in the language of 
 the Club, of twelve pensioners. These, as 
 often as vacancies by death or other causes 
 occurred, were filled up, as the members of 
 other clubs are filled up by ballot ; but there 
 were certain qualifications which a man must 
 necessarily possess, before he could be eligible 
 to election into the establishment. In the first 
 place, the person proposed must be an officer 
 on half-pay, who had served in the regular 
 army three years at the least, one of which must 
 have been spent in the field, or before the enemy. 
 In the next place, no officer could be chosen 
 unless he had received one or more wounds, 
 sufficiently severe to entitle him to a pension. 
 These were the great and fundamental prin- 
 ciples, if I may so speak, upon which the Club 
 was founded ; but, besides these, there were 
 other regulations, from which no deviation 
 could be allowed. The proposed member must 
 be known as a man of unblemished character ; 
 of mild temper, and gentlemanly address ; ad- 
 
INTRODUCTION. 15 
 
 dieted neither to drinking nor gaming, nor any 
 other propensity, the indulgence of which might 
 weaken or interrupt the harmony of the circle ; 
 and he must pledge himself to pay implicit 
 obedience to such by-laws as the society should 
 from time to time see fit to enact for its own 
 management. Whoever possessed the above 
 requisites, and was willing to subscribe to these 
 terms, might become, on proper recommenda- 
 tion, a Chelsea Pensioner ; and few, once admit- 
 ted, were, as my informant assured me, in any 
 hurry to quit the hospital. 
 
 With respect again to the style and mode of 
 living : these were made to resemble, as nearly 
 as circumstances would allow, the system pur- 
 sued in the quarters of a well-regulated regi- 
 ment. To each of the junior pensioners was al- 
 lowed a single apartment, to a certain number 
 of the seniors two, which were fitted up accord- 
 ing to the taste and at the expense of the occu- 
 pants ; but the dining and drawing-rooms were 
 public property, both as to the furnishing and 
 occupancy. All meals were of course eaten toge- 
 ther, except in cases of sickness ; and the cost 
 of keeping up the establishment, of servants, 
 
16 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 books, newspapers, &c., was defrayed out of 
 the common fund. Finally, an adequate share 
 of attendance was furnished by three male ser- 
 vants, all of whom, like their masters, were dis- 
 charged soldiers. There was a housekeeper to 
 superintend the affairs of the kitchen, a laundress 
 to take care of the washing, with a couple of 
 women to keep the apartments in order ; whilst 
 a cook, whose ability had long been exercised 
 for the benefit of the mess of the regiment 
 of dragoons, took charge of all culinary matters, 
 to the perfect satisfaction of his employers. 
 Such was the establishment of Little Chelsea ; 
 the expenses attendant upon which, including 
 the rent of a house and necessary offices, were 
 covered by an annual subscription from each 
 pensioner, of one hundred pounds. " Thus," con- 
 tinued my informant, " for a very moderate 
 sum, we contrive to live as we have been accus- 
 tomed to do, in comfort, and comparative ele- 
 gance ; and it is no self-flattery to affirm, that 
 we command the respect of all classes with 
 whom we come into contact. The village trades- 
 men live almost wholly by us, for we pay our 
 bills weekly, and are never in arrear ; and the 
 
INTRODUCTION. 17 
 
 neighbouring gentry, finding us neither obtru- 
 sive nor presuming, pay us "every attention in 
 their power, and treat us with great civility. 
 We have a standing rule against shooting, 
 except where leave is specially granted ; by ad- 
 hering strictly to which, we avoid all squabbles 
 and brawls with our neighbours ; but in fishing, 
 many of us indulge ; and when the hunting 
 season comes round, several, who can afford to 
 keep horses, partake in that amusement. Then 
 we are great chess-players ; we take in a couple 
 of newspapers, the Quarterly and Edinburgh 
 Reviews, with Blackwood, and the Sporting 
 Magazines ; and though we never allow gamb- 
 ling, either in public or private, a quiet rubber, 
 at the rate of sixpenny points, passes away many 
 a winter's evening. In short, Sir, I cannot par- 
 ticularize all the benefits that accrue from this 
 admirable establishment, of which I have the 
 honour and supreme felicity of being the foun- 
 der ; but of most of these you will soon have an 
 opportunity of judging for yourself, for the 
 hospital is before us." 
 
 Just as my conductor ceased to speak, I 
 found myself at the entrance of a neat hamlet, 
 
18 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the houses of which ran in two parallel rows, 
 one on each side of the high road. They 
 amounted to some thirty or forty, generally 
 small in their dimensions, but universally clean ; 
 and they could boast of a couple of butchers' 
 stalls, three or four grocers' shops, and an inn, 
 at once larger and more respectable in appear- 
 ance than might have been looked for in so 
 secluded a corner. About a quarter of a mile 
 beyond the hamlet stood a building, of the 
 precise character of which it would not have 
 been easy to judge from a mere superficial ex- 
 amination. Had it been placed in the middle 
 of a park, or shaded by a grove of tall trees, 
 the stranger would have pronounced it at once 
 the residence of some old-fashioned squire, who 
 did not care to trouble his head or expend his 
 money in seeking to modernize a mansion that 
 had sheltered his forefathers for many genera- 
 tions. As such, however, was not the case as 
 it stood by the way-side, without so much as 
 a grass-plat in front, and presented no orna- 
 ment of garden or lawn, its appearance came 
 nearer to that of a manufactory, or parish work- 
 house, than any thing besides. Yet, on closer 
 
INTRODUCTION. 19 
 
 observation, it was not difficult to discover that 
 the pile, shapeless and clumsy as it was, had 
 about it an air of considerable pretension. The 
 walls were newly whitewashed^ the steps that 
 led to the main entrance were remarkably 
 clean, every window from top to bottom was 
 sashed, and few were without the appendant of 
 curtains. There was a court-yard behind, more- 
 over, at the extremity of which stood a row of 
 stables, coach-houses, and other outbuildings ; 
 whilst the fences communicating with them 
 were all in the best state of repair. Such was 
 the pile towards which my guide directed my 
 attention as the hospital of which he had spo- 
 ken, and to which he bade me heartily welcome 
 for as long a period as I might find it conve- 
 nient to sojourn. 
 
 My civil host was yet in the act of speaking, 
 when a very decisive proof of the spirit which 
 reigned within his establishment was given. 
 There suddenly arose from the yard behind 
 the house, a sound familiar to me as " a tale 
 twice told," though certainly not expected in 
 this part of the world. Instead of a bell, or 
 gong, or other peaceable instrument, a well- 
 
20 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 blown bugle rang out its warning note, for 
 the purpose of recalling such pensioners as 
 might be abroad, and directing such as were 
 at home to commence preparations for dinner. 
 Whether the unexpected signal caused me to 
 start, or whether a smile passed across my 
 face as the oddity of the whole adventure rose 
 more forcibly than ever into view, I cannot 
 say ; but my companion observing something in 
 my manner different from the tones which had 
 previously characterised it, said with great 
 good-humour, " You perceive that we con- 
 duct our establishment strictly upon milita- 
 ry principles. Every thing is done here by 
 sound of bugle. There is reveillie at sunrise, 
 and tattoo at night the first to summon the 
 servants to their work, the second to give no- 
 tice that the gates are about to shut; and he 
 who is not at his post whenever he may be 
 needed, runs no slight risk of immediate dis- 
 missal. Besides, every man has his own par- 
 ticular call, pensioners as well as domestics, 
 by sounding which he may be brought home 
 from any point within the circumference of a 
 mile ; and all are required to pay to such sig- 
 
INTRODUCTION. 21 
 
 nals the most implicit obedience. You may 
 depend upon it, that no association voluntarily 
 entered into can be held pleasantly together, 
 except by the strictest attention to standing 
 rules ; and in our case these have been framed 
 with an undeviating regard to regularity and 
 decorum ." 
 
 We had arrived by this time at the gate of 
 the Hospital, near which several persons were 
 lounging, in attitudes sufficiently indicative of 
 the listlessness which usually takes possession of 
 a man immediately previous to the announce- 
 ment of dinner. Between them and my con- 
 ductor a few brief words of recognition passed ; 
 but we made no pause, till having ascended the 
 staircase, I was ushered into his private apart- 
 ment. It was neatly though not expensively 
 furnished, with a due proportion of chairs, 
 tables, and sofas, and the walls were surround- 
 ed by a variety of military plates, descriptive 
 of most of the actions fought in India, or 
 during the first American war. Over the 
 chimney-piece were suspended two or three 
 swords of different shapes and constructions, a 
 brace of pistols, a gorget, sash, and short rifle 
 
22 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 whilst the corners were furnished with walking- 
 sticks, fishing-rods, landing-nets, and other im- 
 plements of sporting. All these things I had 
 abundant opportunity to examine, for my own 
 toilet necessarily occupied very little, whilst 
 that of my guide occupied a great deal of 
 time ; but both the one and the other being 
 completed at last, the second horn sounded, and 
 we descended to the banqueting-room. 
 
 If the reader has ever chanced to dine at the 
 mess of a united and well-ordered regiment, he 
 will not stand in need of any elaborate descrip- 
 tion on my part, in order to bring before his 
 mind's eye a tolerably accurate representation 
 of the scene which was there presented. In the 
 centre of a room of moderate dimensions, fur- 
 nished much after the fashion of a private gen- 
 tleman's dining-room, stood a table, well sup- 
 plied with viands, and arranged, as it appeared, 
 for the reception of fourteen persons. On a 
 sideboard, which occupied a niche at the 
 lower end, was laid out a handsome but not 
 an extravagant supply of plate, every article 
 of which shone as if just passed out of the 
 hands of the maker; whilst round the walls 
 
INTRODUCTION. 23 
 
 were suspended likenesses of Wolfe, Cornwal- 
 lis, Abercrombie, Stuart, Wellington, and other 
 heroes of ancient and modern times. Grouping 
 about the window were some half dozen in- 
 dividuals, whose expressions of cordial satisfac- 
 tion at the arrival of my host, indicated their 
 readiness to commence the attack upon the 
 provender before them ; whilst the servants re- 
 mained erect and soldier-like, in a row, pre- 
 pared to obey such orders as might from time 
 to time be issued. Of all this I was enabled 
 to take notice, whilst advancing from the door 
 towards the board ; but no time was granted 
 for more minute examination, for, the presi- 
 dent having reached his chair, the company sat 
 down, and the business of dinner began. 
 
 It is hardly necessary to observe, that, even 
 at this important moment, curiosity was not 
 so far asleep as to hinder me from stealing an 
 occasional glance at the remarkable group into 
 the midst of which I was thrown. At the 
 head of the table sat Major Cohorn, the gen- 
 tleman to whose hospitality I was indebted for 
 my present enviable position, and of whose per- 
 sonal appearance as much has been told already, 
 
24 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 as the reader may, perhaps, desire to learn. 
 He was the same upright, soldier-looking per- 
 son at the dinner-table as at the river's side, his 
 outward man being, however, so far improved, 
 that, in lieu of the fustian jacket and trowsers 
 which adorned it during the morning, he was 
 now arrayed in a blue coat with scarlet collar 
 and cuffs, white smallclothes, and large mi- 
 litary boots. On his left hand (I myself 
 occupying the post of honour on his right,) 
 was placed Brevet Major Chakot, present- 
 ing a remarkable contrast to the rugged ve- 
 teran, both in manner and appearance. He 
 was a soldier of the modern school, fashionably 
 attired, with no very striking peculiarity about 
 him, unless the loss of an arm deserve to be so 
 accounted ; and this, as the president gave me 
 to understand, was his first appearance as a 
 resident among them. Next to me, on my 
 right, sat Captain Cartridge, a weather-beaten, 
 sallow-visaged personage, whose pet phrases, 
 and predilection for high-seasoned dishes, gave 
 testimony that his services had lain chiefly in the 
 East. His costume was in perfect keeping 
 with the line of his conversation, being arranged 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 solely with a view to personal comfort, not unac- 
 companied with neatness. Captain Cartridge was 
 confronted by a hard-featured individual, made 
 known to me under the appellation of Lieu- 
 tenant Pivot, whose stiff and somewhat awk- 
 ward manner pointed him out as one who, at 
 one time or other, had filled the important office 
 of Adjutant. Where he had principally served, 
 it was not very easy to determine, though from 
 his frequent allusion to the superiority of yams 
 over potatoes, and the luxury of iced spruce in 
 a warm climate, I put him down as a campaigner 
 in the West Indies. But there was no mistaking 
 the battle-ground of the gentleman who succeed- 
 ed him. Captain Section spoke much of Mount 
 Vesuvius, Palermo, St. Euphemia, and Sir John 
 Stuart; from which I was at no loss in conjec- 
 turing, that he had served in the Mediterra- 
 nean, and had probably taken part in the battle 
 of Maida. Then again, there was Major Blunt, 
 to whom pyramids and sandy deserts, and Alex- 
 andria, and the bay of Aboukir, furnished ample 
 food for conversation ; Captain Sharp, who 
 spoke of sand hills, and sea-dykes, canals, and 
 track shuits; and Lieutenant Martingale, who 
 
 VOL. I. C 
 
26 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 delighted in Monk's Corner, Catabaw fords, 
 Blackstocks, and Cowpens. 
 
 The scenes of these gentlemen's services, it 
 required no great depth of penetration to detect; 
 and as to the rest, the words Coimbra, Rod- 
 rigo, Vittoria, Torres Vedras, heard from time 
 to time over the buzz of many voices, bespoke 
 them all as heroes of the Peninsula, and fol- 
 lowers of the Great Captain. It is worthy of 
 remark, that I was the only individual at table 
 who retained all his limbs, or rather members, 
 perfect. Some had lost arms, one or two, legs, 
 others were blind of an eye, and several, in- 
 cluding the president, were placed hors de combat 
 by stiffened joints, yet all were cheerful and 
 contented ; affording the fullest confirmation of 
 Major Cohorn's previous assertion, that a 
 pleasanter set of fellows never served their 
 King, nor bled for their Country. 
 
 Having said so much respecting the indivi- 
 duals who composed the party, it will not be 
 necessary to give any minute account of the con- 
 versation which took place during dinner. It 
 was, in every respect, such as might have been 
 anticipated in the main exceedingly military, 
 
INTRODUCTION. 27 
 
 though occasionally intermixed with other 
 topics. This lasted not only as long as the 
 cloth remained, but for some time afterwards, 
 no interruption being offered, except such as 
 arose for the occasional passing of the bottle, 
 But by degrees silence began to prevail ; and 
 then the President, after calling to order, by 
 knocking thrice upon the table, filled his glass. 
 
 " Gentlemen," said he, " I have great plea- 
 sure in proposing a toast, to which you, I am 
 sure, will feel equal pleasure in doing honour. I 
 drink to our new messmate, Major Chakot ; and 
 may he continue an honoured Pensioner of 
 Little Chelsea, for just as long a time as shall 
 be most conducive to his own interest and hap- 
 piness." 
 
 The toast was drunk with enthusiasm, and 
 the honour done to it duly acknowledged : after 
 which there was again silence, which the Pre- 
 sident again interrupted. 
 
 " Major Chakot," said he, " you are aware 
 of the customs of the place, and need not there- 
 fore be told that we are all, in our turns, pledged 
 to entertain our comrades, by recounting some 
 adventure which may have befallen either to 
 c 2 
 
28 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ourselves, or to persons of our acquaintance. 
 Now as the same practice prevails here which 
 prevails in courts-martial, namely, that the 
 junior member shall first declare an opinion ; I 
 call upon you, as standing in that light, to set 
 an example to your messmates, by relating 
 -whatever story or narrative may occur to you, 
 in connection with your own military service. 
 
 The President's address was followed by a 
 burst of universal approbation, which soon sub- 
 sided into silent attention ; and Major Chakot, 
 after duly apologizing for his own want of 
 talent, began the following history of 
 
 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 I THINK it was somewhere about the middle 
 of January 1810, when the regiment oc- 
 cupied the barracks at Braeburn Lees, that 
 the sergeant of the day made his appearance 
 one morning in my quarters, to announce that a 
 young man was waiting in the orderly room for 
 the purpose of being enlisted. As I happened 
 at the moment to be in temporary command 
 of the battalion, and knew that it was kept 
 at home only till its establishment should be 
 complete, you will readily believe that I re- 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 ceived this communication with considerable 
 satisfaction, which was the more lively because 
 of the sergeant's reiterated assurances, that to 
 the person and qualifications of the recruit no 
 objection would be offered. 
 
 " He is as clever a lad," said the orderty, 
 " as ever placed himself under the King's 
 standard, tall, erect, well-built, and quite 
 genteel, indeed he looks as if he had been 
 drilled a year or so already ; and will, unless 
 appearances be very deceitful, make an ex- 
 tremely smart soldier." 
 
 There was much of promise in this descrip- 
 tion, and I knew him that gave it too well, 
 to question its verisimilitude ; so I hurried off 
 in the firm conviction that a prize was within 
 my grasp, and quite prepared to receive, almost 
 without examination, this aspirant after mili- 
 tary distinction into the ranks. 
 
 That the sergeant had not overrated the per- 
 sonal qualities of the volunteer, a single glance 
 sufficed to convince me. When I entered the 
 orderly room, I beheld before me a youth, 
 apparently not more than eighteen or nineteen 
 years of age, whose appearance, manner, and 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 33 
 
 general address, differed totally from those of the 
 class of persons from among whom the ranks of 
 our army are usually filled up. His features were 
 not merely regular, but surpassingly beautiful ; 
 his figure tall and slender, but admirably propor- 
 tioned, seemed a very model of grace and manly 
 elegance, and his air was that of a person ac- 
 customed to mix in the best society s if not as 
 a superior, at all events as an equal. His 
 dress too, though manifestly a disguise, be- 
 trayed here and there those trifling attentions 
 to neatness, of which the common people sel- 
 dom dream. A shabby frock coat, for example, 
 was buttoned over a shirt made of the finest 
 linen, and exceedingly white ; a pair of kid 
 gloves covered his small delicate hands ; and 
 his boots were thin, light, and well-made, like 
 those worn, not by agricultural labourers or 
 journeymen artisans, but by gentlemen: It was 
 impossible, indeed, to examine his entire bear- 
 ing without coming at once to the conclusion, 
 that he had seen better days, and that to the 
 step which he was about to take, he was im- 
 pelled by circumstances of no common urgency. 
 This conviction no sooner flashed across my 
 c 3 
 
34 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 mind, than the eagerness with which I had 
 resolved to accept of the proffer of his ser- 
 vices vanished. It seemed to me, that possibly 
 the youth might have fled from school or col- 
 lege in disguise ; that his friends or guardians 
 might, at this very moment, be making a search 
 after him ; and hence, that to indulge his whim 
 might involve not himself only, but others, in 
 lasting misery. I accordingly determined to 
 inquire a little into his circumstances, previous 
 to my examination of him as a recruit ; and 
 believing that he would be more easily per- 
 suaded to speak out were there no third party 
 present at the conference, I ordered the ser- 
 geant to withdraw. 
 
 It very soon appeared, that for such a pro- 
 ceeding on my part the young man had not 
 been unprepared. He smiled bitterly as the 
 sergeant closed the door, and, drawing himself 
 up to his full height, stood like one ready to 
 answer no more interrogatories than his own 
 judgment might dictate. Nor did the attitude 
 belie his behaviour : to all my questions, as to 
 whence he came, where he was born, who were 
 his connexions, why he had chosen the life of a 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 35 
 
 soldier, &c. he replied in one strain, and in 
 one only ; in other words, he either gave 
 no answer at all, or his answer was entirely 
 without point. It was of little consequence to 
 any one, he said, who he was ; he came from a 
 remote county, and was not disreputably con- 
 nected ; but where that county lay, or who 
 those connexions were, he declined to state : 
 in a word, events over which he possessed no 
 control, had rendered him an alien to his fa- 
 mily, he was a solitary being on the face of 
 the earth, and he had determined to enlist, 
 because he knew no other means of earning a 
 subsistence ; at all events, none which his 
 feelings would permit him to adopt. 
 
 On my continuing to press upon him the ne- 
 cessity of mature deliberation, before he took a 
 step so decided and irrecoverable ; he replied 
 firmly, but without any thing of insolence in 
 his tone, that his mind had long been made 
 up, and that if I refused to receive him, he 
 must proceed to the next military station, 
 where he made little doubt that the officer 
 would prove less scrupulous. Finding him in 
 this frame of mind, and seeing that the die 
 
36 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 was cast, I no longer objected to comply with 
 his wishes ; I gave him the shilling he was 
 examined by the surgeon, and being sworn in, 
 he took his place on the left flank of the line, 
 under the name of John Jackson. 
 
 You will readily believe that the peculiarity 
 of the circumstances under which this young 
 man entered the corps, rendered him at once 
 an object of no common interest among all 
 classes. That he was well-born, had receiv- 
 ed a liberal education, and was m many respects 
 ill adapted to the station into which he had 
 thrust himself, no one could for a moment 
 doubt ; indeed the whole tenor of his conduct 
 was such as to force the conviction of these 
 truths even upon the most incredulous. It is 
 true, that in all matters of drill and duty he 
 was exceedingly attentive ; that on parade the 
 most penetrating eye could detect no blot in 
 his appointments, nor awkwardness in his po- 
 sitions; and that he executed his movements 
 not merely with alertness, but, as it seemed, 
 with enthusiastic alacrity. In like manner, his 
 deportment towards his superiors was uniformly 
 correct. Every mark of deference to which 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 37 
 
 their rank entitled them, he scrupulously be- 
 stowed ; nor was it possible for the most fas- 
 tidious, in this respect at least, to find fault 
 with him ; yet there was on all such occasions 
 an air of reserve or hauteur about him, of which 
 he was either wholly unconscious, or which he 
 attempted not to suppress. In touching his 
 cap to an officer for example, or in addressing 
 a sergeant on some point of duty, Jackson al- 
 ways contrived to make the individual saluted 
 aware, that the salute was granted, not to his 
 person, but to his office ; whilst of that readi- 
 ness to ingratiate himself into the good graces 
 of those set over him, which in most cases dis- 
 tinguishes the young soldier, he was totally 
 wanting. So far, indeed, was he from courting 
 notice, that he sedulously shunned it, never 
 voluntarily coming in the way even of his com- 
 manding officer, lest he might be required to 
 perform some office, or execute some commis- 
 sion, not strictly within the line of military 
 duty. 
 
 If such was the line of Jackson's conduct 
 towards his superiors, you will not be sur- 
 prised to learn, that among his fellow-privates 
 
38 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 he appeared still more reserved and more 
 haughty. Of rudeness or open incivility, in the 
 strict sense of these terms, it is true that he 
 could not fairly be accused ; that is to say, he 
 readily answered the salutations of surh as 
 spoke to him, and never refused to do to any 
 an act of kindness as often as an opportunity 
 offered ; but he shunned the society of his 
 fellow- soldiers generally, as far as it was prac- 
 ticable so to do, and made a friend and asso- 
 ciate of none. Numerous and frequent were 
 the advances made to him without effect, not 
 only among the private soldiers, but among the 
 non-commissioned officers. The pay-sergeant 
 of his company offered to share his quarters 
 with him ; Jackson thanked him for the offer, 
 but declined it : even the sergeant-major so far 
 forgot the dignity of his station, as to throw 
 out hints of his desire to cultivate the recruit's 
 acquaintance. Jackson took care not openly 
 or contemptuously to spurn the proposed in- 
 timacy, but he avoided it. 
 
 In this manner, though one of a body of 
 eight hundred men, he lived alone. His walks, 
 when he took any, were by lonely paths and 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 39 
 
 unfrequented lanes. He never entered the 
 town except on duty ; indeed, he generally con- 
 fined himself to the barrack-yard, or to the 
 fields immediately adjoining. On no occasion 
 was he known to take part in the sports or 
 games pursued by his comrades. Though 
 fleet as a rein-deer, races were run day after 
 day without his standing forward as a candi- 
 date for the prize ; the racket-court and cricket- 
 field were equally neglected ; and of the Can- 
 teen, it was said that he never beheld the in- 
 terior except once, when, being on guard, he 
 formed one of a party sent to clear it. In 
 short, he continued to be what he said he was 
 when he first came among us, a solitary being, 
 holding no intercourse, nor encouraging any 
 community of feeling with those about him. 
 
 Every one who knows of what materials the 
 generality of British regiments are composed, 
 will understand, that a character such as I have 
 just described is not very likely to be a fa- 
 vourite in his corps. The privates, seeing all 
 their efforts to insinuate themselves into his 
 good graces fail, soon began to entertain for 
 Jackson an extreme aversion. The idea that 
 
40 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 he was by birth a gentleman, which had ope- 
 rated for a short time in his favour, was now 
 entertained as an adequate reason why he should 
 be made the subject of personal hostility ; and 
 the nickname of " Gentle Jackson," which had 
 at first been bestowed upon him in pity, was 
 soon employed as an epithet of derision. Rude 
 jokes were practised at his expense. His pri- 
 vacy was wantonly and continually broken in 
 upon ; his air, manner of walking, and form of 
 speech were mimicked, and the most ribald con- 
 versation was invariably broached as often as 
 he came within hearing. Even the non-com- 
 missioned officers were not backward in their 
 efforts to annoy, or, as they chose to term 
 it, to humble the pride of this fine gentleman. 
 When it came to Jackson's turn to cook the 
 dinners, or sweep out the room, the greatest 
 exactness was required, and the most minute 
 failing rigorously rebuked ; whilst on more than 
 one occasion, tasks were imposed upon him, 
 such as he was not called upon by his routine 
 of duty to perform. All this the young gentle- 
 man bore with extraordinary equanimity and 
 endurance. Of the rude speeches of his com- 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 41 
 
 rades he took no notice. When he saw himself 
 dogged or watched, he would retire to his 
 quarters; and the attempts at mimickry in 
 which those about him indulged, he either did 
 not understand, or he despised them. So it 
 was in his dealings with the non-commissioned 
 officers. He performed his tasks with so much 
 diligence, and was always so exact, that the op- 
 portunities presented to them of venting their 
 spleen were rare ; and when they did vent it in 
 oaths or execrations, he made as if he heard 
 them not. Once, and only once, he ventured 
 to remonstrate against the injustice of their pro- 
 ceedings. Having been ordered on fatigue, 
 when the duty to be discharged happened to 
 be peculiarly disgusting, he reminded the ser- 
 geant who gave the order, that he had taken 
 his turn only the day before, and that, though 
 he certainly would not refuse to do as he was 
 desired, the petty tyrant might rely upon a 
 statement of the case being laid before the com- 
 manding officer. Jackson's threat was not thrown 
 away upon the individual to whom it was ad- 
 dressed. The young man escaped an office of 
 which he could not think without loathing; but 
 
42 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 he made Sergeant Tompkins from that time 
 forth his implacable enemy. 
 
 I am sorry to say that it is not among the 
 privates and non-commissioned officers only, 
 that a gentleman in the ranks is apt to be re- 
 garded with an eye of disfavour. The habits 
 of military discipline are far from being in ac- 
 cordance with the turn of mind which leads a 
 man in authority to look with forbearance upon 
 the absence of servility in his inferiors; indeed, 
 where there is not servility, absolute unmiti- 
 gated servility, in the general manner of a pri- 
 vate soldier, some reason, the reverse of favour- 
 able to the person affected, rarely fails to be 
 discovered. The soldier who is not ready to 
 fly at the beck of his officer who appears not 
 to covet the honour of serving him in any ca- 
 pacity and under any circumstances, may too 
 often lay his account with being put down as a 
 sulky and ill-conditioned scoundrel; and how- 
 ever meritorious his conduct may be in mat- 
 ters purely professional, that will hardly make 
 amends for a fault, by which the personal va- 
 nity of a superior is wounded. Far be it from 
 me to insinuate that this is always the case ; I 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 43 
 
 only affirm that it occurs too frequently, and 
 that it is almost unavoidably occasioned by the 
 nature of those distinctions which military dis- 
 cipline engenders. Be this however as it may, 
 one thing is quite certain, that in the case of 
 Jackson, this disposition began gradually to 
 show itself; and that of those who either did 
 feel, or pretended to feel, for his situation when 
 he enlisted, several, before the first month of 
 his service expired, viewed him with distaste. 
 
 " An extremely saucy fellow that gentle re- 
 cruit of ours," said one. " He will go a mile 
 out of his way at any time to avoid saluting 
 an officer ; and when he cannot escape that de- 
 gradation, one might fancy that he was receiv- 
 ing a mark of recognition from a superior.' 7 
 
 " The scoundrel looks always as if he con- 
 sidered himself made of different clay from 
 those about him," said another. " What bu- 
 siness has such a fine gentleman in the ranks ?" 
 
 " I am continually receiving complaints of 
 his ill-humour and pride," remarked the ad- 
 jutant ; "but the fellow is a clean and or- 
 derly soldier too ; and though they speak 
 against him often enough in general terms, 
 
44 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 no one seems able or willing to condescend 
 upon particulars." 
 
 Thus were men's minds gradually alienated 
 from a youth to whose charge, as the adjutant 
 justly said, no definite accusation could be 
 laid ; till at last there appeared something like 
 a positive wish to catch the offensive individual 
 tripping. Jackson, however, appeared not 
 more proud than cautious. He was scrupu- 
 lously attentive to every duty; nor was it till 
 after his patience had been tried beyond the 
 power of human endurance, that the shadow 
 of an accusation could be brought against him. 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 45 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 I HAVE said that Jackson, by venturing to 
 remonstrate against an unjust exercise of power 
 on the part of a sergeant, incurred the fullest 
 extent of that person's implacable hostility. It 
 unfortunately happened that Sergeant Tomp- 
 kins, the irritated official, was pay-sergeant of 
 the company to which Jackson belonged ; and 
 of the influence which the pay-sergeant possesses 
 with the captain or officer in command, all who 
 know any thing of the customs of the service 
 must be aware. The whole of that influence 
 was, on the present occasion, excited to impress 
 Jackson's captain with an unfavourable opinion 
 of the recruit. A thousand groundless com- 
 plaints were made of him, as that he was mu- 
 tinous, disorderly, unsocial, and impertinent ; 
 he was represented as an artful and dangerous 
 
46 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 hypocrite one who took every opportunity of 
 poisoning the minds of his comrades, at the 
 same time that he affected to keep aloof from 
 them and of whom no good could possibly be 
 expected, till his proud spirit should have been 
 thoroughly broken. Captain Fletcher, the in- 
 dividual to whom these reports were carried, 
 chanced to belong to that class of persons whom 
 I have already represented as acknowledging no 
 tolerance for any thing like an independent 
 spirit in an inferior. He it was, indeed, who 
 first took notice of the stiff and formal manner 
 in which Jackson saluted, a matter which he 
 dwelt on with the greater bitterness, in con- 
 sequence of a personal slight which he believed 
 himself to have suffered at the hands of the 
 young soldier. Having been pleased with the 
 cleanliness and orderly behaviour of the recruit 
 on duty, Captain Fletcher had communicated 
 to Jackson his desire to employ him as a ser- 
 vant, making the communication with the con- 
 descending air of a superior, who confers some 
 prodigious benefit upon a dependent. To 
 his extreme surprise and indignation, Jack- 
 ion declined the proposed patronage, in a 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 47 
 
 manner which left no doubt on the Captain's 
 mind, that he had felt the offer not as an honour 
 but as an insult. Captain Fletcher could not 
 forget that circumstance ; it wrankled in his 
 mind like a canker in a wounded limb, and he 
 scarcely took the trouble to disguise his vehe- 
 ment desire of finding a fitting opportunity to 
 chastise the scoundrel for his insolence. 
 
 It is hardly necessary to say that Jackson, 
 thus situated, soon began to feel that in em- 
 bracing the honourable profession of arms as a 
 private sentinel, he had committed a great and 
 fatal error. He was still the neatest and most 
 intelligent soldier upon parade, yet the morning 
 and evening never passed without his being 
 compelled to submit to reproaches which he 
 was conscious that he did not merit, whilst his 
 hours in quarters became, before long, such as 
 even he, patient as he was, could with difficulty 
 endure. Hitherto the attacks made upon him 
 were merely those of speech and gesture ; now, 
 however, that he was known to hold a mean 
 place in his captain's favour, practical jokes 
 were indulged in: his accoutrements were no 
 sooner cleaned, and placed in order for inspec- 
 
48 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 tion, than some accident or other befell them ; 
 and he was compelled to go through the whole 
 process of pipe-clay and black-ball over and 
 over again. This occurred repeatedly, without 
 his being able to fix the blame upon any in- 
 dividual ; and he knew the temper of those about 
 him too well to complain of all or any in gene- 
 ral terms. But an opportunity presented itself 
 at last of bringing the matter home to the 
 guilty, and Jackson only failed in taking ade- 
 quate advantage of it, through a sudden impulse 
 of passion which he had ample reason afterwards 
 to lament. Jackson, who had been ordered for 
 guard over-night, paid, as is customary, more 
 than usual attention to the furbishing of his ac- 
 coutrements : his belts were white as the drifted 
 snow, his breast-plate shone like the sun at 
 noon-day, and Day himself, even though assisted 
 by his partner Martin, would have failed in 
 adding any thing to the glossy blackness of his 
 pouch and shoes. Every button on his jacket 
 received its full portion of scrubbing, and pack, 
 great coat, cap, and havresack, had each been 
 duly attended to. 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 49 
 
 This done, the young man placed them all in 
 their proper situations, and strolled out into 
 the field behind the barrack-yard, for the pur- 
 pose of whiling away the time till tattoo. 
 Whether he had overheard some plot among 
 his comrades, or suspected from other causes 
 that there was a disposition to do him wrong, 
 I cannot say ; but he had not sat many mi- 
 nutes in his favourite corner, before he experi- 
 enced an irresistible inclination to return. He 
 obeyed it, and entering the barrack-room, be- 
 held a spectacle which stirred up his choler 
 beyond the control of reason. Five or six 
 persons, among whom Sergeant Tompkins stood 
 conspicuous, were in the act of effacing every 
 trace of his evening's industry. His belts were 
 already stained with grease spots, his pouch was 
 dimmed and defiled, and his firelock itself had 
 not escaped the polluting touch of these mis- 
 creants. Jackson's temper, which had stood 
 many previous trials, gave way at last. He 
 sprang forward, and confronting the sergeant, 
 while in the act of putting a finishing hand to 
 his unworthy operations, struck him to the 
 ground with one blow of his fist. All was now 
 
 VOL. I. ' D 
 
50 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 confusion and uproar. The sergeant rising 
 from the floor, called upon those near to assist 
 in arresting a criminal, who by this act of des- 
 perate mutiny, had incurred the severest penal- 
 ties of martial law ; whilst Jackson, worked up 
 to a pitch of absolute frenzy, dared any man to 
 lay upon him so much as a finger. For a mo- 
 ment, the soldiers hung back, for there was a 
 wildness and desperation in the young man's 
 eye, which bespoke him utetrly reckless of 
 consequences ; but it was only for a moment. 
 They rushed in upon him he made a grasp at 
 his bayonet, but failed in securing it ; and then, 
 after a fruitless struggle, which lasted scarcely 
 a second, he was borne to the earth. In the 
 mean while news reached the mess-room, that 
 there was a tumult in the men's apartment. 
 The Captain of the day, as fortune would 
 have it no other than Fletcher, rushed to 
 the spot, where he arrived just as the men 
 of his company had secured the hands of Jack- 
 son, and were preparing to drag him before 
 the commanding officer. 
 
 " Captain Fletcher," exclaimed the desperate 
 man, speaking with great rapidity, and under 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 51 
 
 the influence of violent excitement, " I demand 
 justice even from you. Look here, Sir ! Is it 
 thus that I ought to stand, pinioned, bound, 
 a prisoner? Is this the consummation of so 
 many insults and wrongs, insults which I have 
 borne, God knows how patiently wrongs 
 which I could not bear, yet feel myself a man ? 
 I know that you and I entertain no love for 
 one another, I know that I have received no 
 marks of favour at your hands, nor you any 
 proof of extraordinary respect from me ; but 
 if you be a gentleman, if you feel like a gen- 
 tleman, nay, nay, if you feel like a man, 
 order these thongs to be removed. I ask no 
 more than this. Let me be free, that is all, and 
 leave the rest to myself." 
 
 Even Fletcher was visibly struck by the 
 energy of the young man's manner, and with a 
 degree of consideration hardly to be expected 
 from him, desired to be made acquainted with 
 the causes of the disturbance. God help the 
 luckless wretch who, in any situation of life, 
 stands singly opposed to a crowd; but doubly 
 is he to be pitied, who, whatever the cause of 
 the quarrel may be, fills the humble station 
 D 2 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 of a private sentinel, and incurs the hostility 
 of his comrades. Not one voice, but fifty ex- 
 claimed aloud, that Jackson had struck the 
 sergeant. The sergeant himself stepped for- 
 ward, exhibiting, in an eyebrow swollen and 
 discoloured, corroborating proofs that this se- 
 rious accusation was well grounded, and Cap- 
 tain Fletcher became in an instant satisfied that 
 one course, and one only, was left for him to 
 pursue. It mattered not a straw of what na- 
 ture the provocation given might be. To 
 raise a hand against a superior, however slight 
 the difference in rank, is a crime, which, if com- 
 mitted by one under martial law, is necessarily 
 rated at the highest ; nor are there any cir- 
 cumstances which, by the administrators of 
 that most rigid of all codes, can be received as 
 a justification. Captain Fletcher's duty was 
 imperative. He ordered the culprit to be con- 
 veyed without delay to the black hole, there to 
 be kept in close custody against the day of trial ; 
 whilst he himself departed, to make a report 
 of the whole transaction in the proper quarter. 
 It would be no easy matter to account for 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 53 
 
 the change of manner and temperament which 
 exhibited itself, as soon as these directions were 
 given, in the person of Jackson. His fury, 
 which but a minute ago fell little short of mad- 
 ness, suddenly subsided, and in its room came 
 no unmanly weakness, but a cold and contemp- 
 tuous disdain, as if he felt how absolutely des- 
 perate was the plight into which he had rushed, 
 yet set its worst consequences at defiance. 
 Without uttering a syllable of complaint, far 
 less of justification, he calmly and deliberately 
 prepared to follow his conductors; and he smiled 
 with a bitterness which caused his enemy to 
 quail beneath it, upon the sergeant as he passed. 
 There is something in the sight of a man beset 
 with dangers or misfortunes, who bears himself 
 well under his trials, which the most unfeeling 
 and despotic cannot con template without involun- 
 tary respect. Seldom has this truth been more 
 forcibly illustrated than it was on the present 
 occasion. The very persons who, but a moment 
 before, had joined so cordially in working Jack- 
 son wrong who by their clamour had consigned 
 him to a disgraceful imprisonment, to be fol- 
 
54 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 lowed, no doubt, by a punishment still more 
 debasing exhibited all at once manifest symp- 
 toms that they repented of their behaviour. 
 There was no shout of triumph as u the gen- 
 tleman" was led out, nor so much as a sentence 
 of opprobrium or insult cast after him. On the 
 contrary, whilst the majority looked in silence 
 upon the work of their own hands, there were 
 not wanting some who condemned with open 
 mouth the entire tenor of the affair, and ex- 
 pressed their indignation that a poor fellow 
 should thus fall a victim to the ill-natured le- 
 vity, to call it by no more serious name, of per- 
 sons who ought to have known better. Of these 
 speeches, however, Jackson, if he heard them, 
 took no more notice than he would have done 
 of their opposites had they been uttered. He 
 proceeded on between a file of soldiers, who so 
 far felt for his situation as to free his wrists, as 
 soon as the officer's back was turned, from the 
 manacles which had hitherto confined them ; 
 till having arrived at the black-hole, a sort of 
 dungeon adjoining to the guard-room, the door 
 was opened, and he was thrust in, to find what 
 comfort he could in his own reflections. 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 55 
 
 In what manner the prisoner passed that night 
 it is, of course, impossible for me to say, be- 
 cause it was spent in solitude and utter dark- 
 ness ; but we may well believe that it was to 
 him a night of no little suffering. He knew 
 enough of military matters to be aware, that 
 he had rendered himself liable to a destiny 
 against which every generous or manly feeling 
 revolts; and that from that terrible punish- 
 ment nothing short of some fortunate accident, 
 on the occurrence of which he was not justified 
 in counting, could deliver him. Had it been 
 death that awaited him, though no man can 
 look forward to a violent death without horror, 
 still the prospect might have been endured. 
 There is at least nothing degrading in a ca- 
 pital punishment, provided it be inflicted for 
 the breach of a law purely artificial ; and the 
 culprit who feels that from moral wrong his 
 own conscience acquits him, may meet it with- 
 out shame. But to be stripped before a crowd 
 of spectators, tied up like a dog to the hal- 
 berds, and lashed till the arms of his tor- 
 mentors grow weary with the exercise, there is 
 something in the contemplation of such a fate 
 
56 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 which the most philosophic cannot contemplate 
 with composure. That this horrible vision 
 floated continually before the eyes of Jackson, 
 there is no room to doubt ; and that upon a mind, 
 constituted as his was, it worked even more 
 than its usual effects, can as little be question- 
 ed. But whatever his internal sufferings might 
 be, he gave no outward proof of their violence, 
 at least none of which any report could be made 
 by the sentinel who guarded his prison door. 
 The only symptom of uneasiness, indeed, which 
 he exhibited, showed itself in a restlessness 
 which drove him to pace his prison backwards 
 and forwards, an exercise which he intermitted 
 not for the space of a minute, from the moment 
 of his arrest, till that of his unlocked for libera- 
 tion. 
 
 In the mean while there was no little com- 
 motion among the officers of the regiment, 
 many of whom began to feel their old prepos- 
 sessions in Jackson's favour return, now that he 
 was involved in a scrape of so serious a nature. 
 A variety of expedients were accordingly pro- 
 posed, with the view of saving the unfortunate 
 youth from the consequences of a court-mart ial 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 57 
 
 from which, should his case be brought before it, 
 only one sentence could be expected ; but his 
 crime was in itself so flagrant, and to pass it 
 by unnoticed, would prove so destructive of every 
 thing like subordination, that they were all one 
 after another pronounced inadmissible, even by 
 such as leaned most strongly to the side of mercy. 
 Besides all which, the command of the corps 
 had lately passed into the hands of one who 
 knew nothing of the circumstances attending 
 Jackson's enlistment, except by common report, 
 and who, educated in a school of strict and 
 unbending discipline, would not so much as 
 listen to any proposition that had a violation of 
 that principle for its object. Jackson's fate 
 was sealed within an hour after the commission 
 of his offence. Directions were given to the 
 Adjutant to warn the customary number of of- 
 ficers for duty on the following day ; and the 
 witnesses to the prisoner's violence, as well as ; 
 to the whole course of the proceedings out of 
 which it arose, were desired to attend. But 
 before these orders could be either acted upon 
 or noted down, an event befell which turned the 
 attention of all into a new channel, and procured 
 D 5 
 
58 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 for the recruit at least a temporary exemption 
 from a disgrace to which he had resolved not 
 to submit, at all events not to survive. 
 
 We were still seated at the mess-table, and 
 the decided steps just specified having been ta- 
 ken, other topics were beginning to be intro- 
 duced, when an orderly dragoon was seen to 
 ride into the yard, and direct his course to- 
 wards the Colonel's quarters. For some time 
 previously, we had been made aware that our 
 sojourn in England was not destined to be of 
 long continuance. Through more than one in- 
 direct channel, we had heard that the order for 
 our immediate embarkation to join Lord Wel- 
 lington's army was issued ; and that a few for- 
 malities only were required to be gone through, 
 previous to the arrival of the route. Under 
 these circumstances, the dragoon no sooner made 
 his appearance than there was a simultaneous 
 rush towards the window, accompanied by a 
 general conviction, that now at last the order 
 so long expected would be received ; and in 
 these expectations fate had decreed that we 
 should not be disappointed. 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 59 
 
 The dragoon was summoned to approach 
 the Colonel took the packet from him ; he has- 
 tily opened it, and glanced his eye over its 
 contents with manifest satisfaction. 
 
 " Gentlemen," said he, as he again folded it up, 
 " I congratulate both you and myself on the ful- 
 filment of all our wishes: we are even more fortu- 
 nate than the most sanguine could have antici- 
 pated ; I am instructed here, that the transports 
 destined to receive us are already assembled at 
 Dover, and we march to-morrow morning." 
 
 A shout, loud, hearty, and lengthened, fol- 
 lowed this announcement. The mess was im- 
 mediately dissolved; the Adjutant was com- 
 manded to insert no order in the book, except 
 that which had just arrived from the Horse 
 Guards; and each individual set off to com- 
 plete such preparations as he deemed essential 
 to his own profit and future comfort : Jack- 
 son and his crime, were alike forgotten in the 
 excitement which the news produced, and 
 the calling together of the court-martial was 
 overlooked. 
 
 Nor did many minutes elapse ere the intel- 
 
60 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 ligence, so joyfully received in the circle of 
 officers, made its way among the men. In an 
 instant the parade-ground was crowded with sol- 
 diers, all eagerly demanding a repetition of de- 
 tails, of which each was as perfectly aware as the 
 individual to whom he applied ; till the sound 
 of voices became loud as distant thunder, or 
 the roar of a cataract in the woods ; but it was 
 not a sound of unmixed and unmitigated joy, 
 neither were the figures which crowded the are- 
 na, those of happy and triumphant beings alone. 
 There were women there some of them rough 
 and heartless enough, God knows; but others, 
 young, pure, and gentle, who read in this glo- 
 rious announcement, no more than the decree 
 which doomed them to part from all that they 
 held dear upon earth ; and there were children 
 too, infants in their mothers' arms, boys at 
 their fathers' knees, these chimed in, not with 
 the notes of gladness, but with weeping and 
 bitter lamentation. There may be, and doubt- 
 less are, many heart-rending scenes brought 
 forward, even in the progress of ordinary life. 
 It is a sad spectacle to behold the widow and 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 61 
 
 the orphans follow the corpse of their natural 
 protector to the grave, and it is a sorrowful 
 sight to be a witness to the parting embrace 
 between a mother and her only son ; but the 
 arrival of the route which marks a regiment 
 for active service before the enemy, is redolent 
 of occurrences which are exceeded, in power 
 to stir up the pity of the spectator, only by 
 those which attend the commencement of the 
 inarch itself. 
 
 I need not, however, dwell at much length 
 upon this. Of the facts as they generally oc- 
 cur, you are all as well informed by practical 
 experience as myself; and as nothing took place 
 on the present occasion dissimilar to what oc- 
 curs on others, your own memory, or imagi- 
 nation, will form a better guide than any com- 
 ment of mine. Let it suffice, therefore, to state, 
 that it was not without great exertion on the 
 part of the officers, that any thing like order 
 was restored ; after which, the customary rou- 
 tine of inspection was hastily gone through, 
 and the lots which determined the fate of sol- 
 diers'* wives, drawn. But by this time, the in- 
 
62 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 creasing twilight began to render objects ob- 
 scure. Every one, therefore, whether joyous 
 or sad, retired to his quarters ; and the voice 
 of triumph and lamentation were, before long, 
 equally heard no more. 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 WHILST these things were going on, the soli- 
 tude of Jackson's dungeon had been broken in 
 upon by a messenger, who came, not indeed to 
 set him free, but to conduct him, under an es- 
 cort, to his barrack-room, that he might under- 
 go the usual examination, and be disposed of 
 accordingly. In him, the intelligence which so 
 deeply affected all besides, excited no visible 
 emotion. He followed his conductor in silence ; 
 stood in silence to undergo the scrutiny of the 
 inspector, and being commanded to put his kit 
 in order for marching at an early hour on 
 the morrow, he did so without giving utterance 
 to a remark. That done, he permitted himself 
 to be quietly led back again to the place of his 
 confinement, where he spent the remainder of 
 
64 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 the night, as he had spent its commencement, 
 watchful, restless, and uneasy. 
 
 It is not necessary that I should enter into 
 any minute detail of the events which imme- 
 diately followed. At an early hour on the 
 morrow, the bugle summoned us to our stations, 
 which were assumed amidst the commingling of 
 joy and sorrow usual on such occasions ; and 
 the line of march being formed, the band struck 
 up, and the regiment pushed forward. In rear 
 of the column, a prisoner, and surrounded by a 
 guard, moved Jackson. His arms, which he 
 was not permitted to carry, were borne upon one 
 of the baggage waggons, and even his parade 
 jacket and regimental cap were denied him. 
 Yet'neither the disguise of a prisoner's dress, nor 
 the galling appendage of manacled wrists, could 
 rob him of that bold and haughty air which he 
 had on all occasions maintained. Even now 
 indeed, with every external mark of degrada- 
 tion about him, it was impossible to behold him 
 without a sense of involuntary respect. Not a 
 murmur nor complaint passed his lips. With 
 brow erect, and eye unclouded, he stepped for- 
 ward at the given signal ; and he prosecuted his 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 65 
 
 journey in the same silence, and apparent ab- 
 straction, which would have distinguished him 
 had he filled his proper station in the column. 
 
 It was late in the day before we reached the 
 point of embarkation, and no arrangements hav- 
 ing been made for accommodating the troops in 
 the town, some confusion occurred in hurrying 
 them on board. In consequence of this, as well as 
 of an intimation from the commodore, that the 
 wind blew fair and not a moment's delay would be 
 allowed, more than one blunder occurred in ap- 
 portioning its due share of officers to each trans- 
 port, nor could any attention be paid to events 
 not immediately connected with present contin- 
 gencies. A similar cause operated in hindering 
 any order from being issued touching the disposal 
 of the prisoner, who was conducted to the same 
 vessel which the rest of his company occupied ; 
 and the commandant being left without authority 
 either to try or release him, he found himself 
 doomed to continue a prisoner till the voyage 
 should be accomplished. From this circumstance, 
 however, it can hardly be said that he suffered 
 any serious inconvenience. As I was myself the 
 senior officer on board, I took care that none 
 
66 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 of the rigours of confinement should be imposed 
 upon him ; indeed he became from the moment 
 of weighing anchor a prisoner merely in name. 
 On parade occasions alone he appeared with the 
 badge of disgrace about him, because so much 
 was due both to military discipline and to my 
 own character ; but he took his turn with the rest 
 in working the ship, was permitted like the rest 
 to walk the deck when he chose, and eat, and slept, 
 and passed his time generally in the same place, 
 and after the same fashion, with his comrades. 
 
 We had accomplished perhaps one half of 
 our voyage, without the occurrence of any 
 event deserving of notice, when on a certain 
 occasion, feeling no disposition to sleep, and 
 being oppressed with the excessive heat and 
 confined atmosphere of the cabin, I quitted 
 my cot as the eight-bells were tolling, and 
 ascended to the quarter-deck. Nothing could 
 exceed the exquisite beauty of the scene which 
 met me there. The moon shone with full lustre 
 in a sky perfectly cloudless, and tinged with a 
 long and wavering line of silver, the bosom 
 of the deep, The breeze was just sufficientlv 
 powerful to keep the canvass from flapping to 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 67 
 
 the mast, and to give a direction to the tiny 
 waves, which rose and fell like the gentle 
 heavings of a virgin's bosom ; whilst the quiet 
 rush of waters as the vessel's bow cut through 
 them, was the only sound that broke in upon 
 the silence of the night. The helmsman stood 
 to his post, motionless as a statue, and the 
 watch lay stretched upon the forecastle in pro- 
 found sleep. I alone, indeed, of "the many men 
 so beautiful," appeared to live and move, and 
 have my senses about me ; and even I soon be- 
 came as still as if there had been infection in 
 the air. I sat down upon the tafferel in a state 
 of delicious lassitude, such as the aspect of 
 things about me was calculated to produce ; 
 and I gazed abroad over the sea, with the eye 
 of a happy man, who is so he scarce knows 
 why, and he cares not wherefore. 
 
 I was thus situated, not so much lost in 
 thought as enjoying the blessed absence of all 
 power of thinking, when the light step of some one 
 approaching, as if with caution, broke in upon 
 my reverie. I turned round, and beheld Jack- 
 son standing at my side. The moonlight falling 
 strongly upon his face at the instant, I saw that 
 
t)8 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 his features were agitated, as if some powerful 
 passion were at work within, or that he had 
 struggled hard to subdue such a passion, with- 
 out having fully succeeded. Startled not more 
 by the peculiar expression of his countenance 
 than by the abruptness of his approach, I 
 involuntarily rose from my seat, and assuming 
 an attitude almost of defence, confronted him. 
 " Jackson,"" said I, speaking sharply, because 
 without consideration, " what means this ? 
 Have you forgotten that you go at large only 
 upon sufferance ? how is it that you break in 
 thus rudely upon the privacy of your command- 
 ing officer?'' 
 
 A bitter and a painful smile curled the young 
 man's lip as I uttered these sentences. 
 
 " No, Sir/' replied he, after a momentary 
 pause, " I have not forgotten that I go at large 
 only by sufferance. I have not forgotten that 
 I am sunk to the lowest depth of degradation, 
 
 so low indeed as to be at the mercy of 
 
 but no matter. I had fancied that by you, at 
 least, I was regarded with an eye of favour. 
 I had persuaded myself that you took some 
 interest in the fate of a miserable outcast ; and 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 69 
 
 my bosom yearned towards you with a feeling 
 which my judgment hardly approved. I did 
 wrong in giving admission to visions so base- 
 less, and I thank you for restoring me to my 
 senses." 
 
 He turned round as he spoke, and was walk- 
 ing away, when, instantly recovering my self- 
 possession, I entreated him to remain. 
 
 " You are not mistaken, young man/' said I. 
 " I conceived a lively interest in your fate when 
 I first saw you, and that interest continues 
 unabated up to the present moment. If I 
 appeared to treat you harshly on the present 
 occasion, be assured that the tone of my voice 
 belied my feelings. You came upon me sud- 
 denly, I did not dream of your being near ; 
 and I acted as most men would have done 
 under such circumstances, by speaking without 
 thinking." 
 
 The softened tone of my voice, not less than 
 these few explanatory sentences, produced an 
 instantaneous effect upon Jackson. He stopped 
 short, and looking back towards me, I saw that 
 his eyes swam in tears, which it required no 
 trifling exertion on his part to suppress. 
 
70 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 " God bless you, Sir!" cried he, in a sub- 
 dued tone, " I had no right, humbled as I am, 
 to expect any thing of apology or explanation 
 from you ; but the spell is broken. When I 
 sought your presence, it was with the firm de- 
 termination of making you acquainted with 
 every particular in my history. Under what 
 influence I was driven to form that resolution, 
 I cannot tell ; but form it I did : and had you 
 met me thus at first I should have poured out 
 my whole soul before you ; but the impulse has 
 departed, and I cannot, if I would, unburthen 
 this bursting heart of its load. At some other 
 moment, perhaps, the spell may return ; but 
 now I have no power to speak." He retired 
 as he concluded this sentence ; and before I 
 could interpose, either by word or gesture, to 
 stop him, he had descended to his birth. 
 
 I need scarcely observe that this adventure, 
 abrupt arid fleeting as it was, produced upon 
 me an effect not less lively than any in which, 
 for a long while back, I had taken part. It 
 was evident enough, either that the poor youth 
 laboured under an aberration of intellect, 
 a supposition to the correctness of which his 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 71 
 
 allusion to the power of impulses and spells 
 gave at least the show of plausibility; or he 
 really was, what he professed to be, the child 
 of a wayward destiny. In either case, he could 
 not fail to be an object of sincere commisera- 
 tion to every considerate mind; more particu- 
 larly when regarded in connexion with the un- 
 happy scrape into which he had drawn himself. 
 It was with no ordinary violence that I blamed 
 my own want of self-possession, which caused 
 me to check a disposition on the boy's part to 
 speak out ; nor could all the continued beauty of 
 the night scene, though aided by my own most 
 strenuous exertions, restore my equanimity. 
 After pacing the quarter-deck, therefore, for 
 some time, not without a faint hope that he 
 might even yet return, I determined to think 
 no more, either of the past or the future, but 
 to leave every thing to chance. Thus reasoning, 
 I made haste to descend the companion ; and in 
 a mood widely different from that which pos- 
 sessed me when I mounted it, I retired to my 
 cot, and succeeded, after tossing about for some 
 time, in falling asleep. 
 
 It was but natural, excited as my curiosity, 
 
72 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 and, let me add, my sympathy had been, that 
 I should from that time forth lay myself 
 out for every opportunity of again conversing 
 with Jackson. With this view, I repeatedly 
 kept the deck, at hours both of the night and 
 day, when my companions had deserted it ; and 
 more than once threw myself in the young 
 man's way so as that he could not possibly mis- 
 take my meaning. Day after day, however, 
 stole on, and he persisted in the silence which 
 he had hitherto maintained. It seemed, indeed, 
 that he was really the puppet of an influence 
 over which he possessed no control what- 
 ever or rather, that his actions sprang not, 
 like those of other men, from volition, but 
 from fatality; for though he had held out a 
 sort of promise that the time of disclosure might 
 yet come, the fulfilment of that promise ap- 
 peared not to depend upon his own choice. Not 
 that he resumed the air of cold civility, with 
 which he had formerly treated me not less than 
 others : on the contrary, his salutes were now 
 given with kindness; and more than once he 
 lingered beside me, as if struggling with an 
 inclination which he could not overcome ; but 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 78 
 
 the subject on which, above all others, I was 
 most anxious to be instructed, he sedulously 
 avoided, never failing to walk away as often 
 as I referred to it. This line of conduct on his 
 part, though it had no effect in doing away 
 with the sympathy which had been so strongly 
 excited in his favour, taught me to adopt a less 
 unequivocal manner of showing it. I gradually 
 ceased to court his presence, and returned to 
 the habits and mode of acting which I had pre- 
 viously pursued. 
 
 To this system I pertinaciously adhered, no 
 change being wrought in consequence of it in 
 the conduct or manner of the recruit, till the 
 joyful cry of " Land on the lee bow !" gave 
 notice that our voyage was drawing fast to its 
 conclusion. The land in question proved to 
 be CapeOrtegal, the bold and precipitous ridge 
 of which rises like a pillar out of the waters, 
 and is seen for some time before any of the coast 
 adjacent becomes visible. But, the breeze still 
 favouring us, as it had done for the last three 
 days, other and no less attractive objects were 
 speedily discerned, and our voyage henceforth 
 lay along a sea-coast fertile, as the most ardent 
 
 VOL. I. E 
 
74 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 admirer of^the picturesque need desire, in inte- 
 resting prospects. Headland, promontory, and 
 bay opened and shut upon us as we swept past. 
 In the back ground were seen rough and bar- 
 ren mountains, intersected here and there with 
 lovely green valleys, through which streams of 
 limpid water made their way ; whilst con- 
 vent, hamlet, or solitary shieling, rising from 
 the midst of a grove of myrtle or gum cestus, 
 or occupying some spot more clear and level 
 than the rest, served to remind us that the 
 country, though apparently in no very high 
 state of cultivation, was not deserted. In this 
 manner we continued to coast along, till the 
 Tagus itself lay before us; nor did we drop 
 anchor till a late hour on the 15th of July, 
 about half a mile from the fortress of Belem. 
 
 The signal having been made, almost as soon 
 as we entered the river, to prepare for imme- 
 diate disembarkation, ample opportunity was 
 afforded of arranging our baggage, and we lay 
 down that night in readiness to step on shore 
 as soon as the morning-gun should be fired ; 
 yet you \vi)l easily believe me when I say, that 
 few if any amongst us slept scundly. Though 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 75 
 
 our passage had been made in as short a space 
 of time as is usually required for such voyages, 
 we had nevertheless been long enough at sea 
 to make us heartily tired of the sameness of a 
 sailor's life ; and to give to the most ordinary 
 sights and sounds connected with dry land, a 
 character which, seen under other circumstances, 
 they could scarcely have acquired. For my 
 own part, I listened to the hum of voices and 
 the distant rolling of carriages, with a degree 
 of delight such as I had rarely experienced 
 before ; whilst the tolling of bells borne off upon 
 the breeze, sounded in my ears like exquisite 
 music. Then there were the thousand lights 
 which mark the proximity of a great city 
 lights which in Lisbon rise one above the other 
 in tiers, till the loftiest seem to mingle with 
 the stars in the firmament: upon these I felt 
 as if I should not grow weary of gazing till the 
 return of daylight had extinguished them. 
 Besides, imagination took wing, and carried me 
 forward into scenes, of the nature of which I 
 as yet knew nothing from practical experience. 
 Now, then, my military career was begun. Now, 
 at length, was I about to set foot upon the land 
 E 2 
 
<df j&HS}. (xkoBBtf mnr AHB 
 
 
 I 
 
 . ::.. 
 
78 THE GEMTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE first grey of the morning of the 16th 
 of July, 1810, was just beginning to appear, 
 when the report of an eighteen-pounder from 
 the flag-ship in the Tagus, gave notice that the 
 hour of disembarkation had arrived. It was 
 immediately followed by a rolling of drums, 
 and braying of bugles, taken up from trans- 
 port to transport throughout the fleet ; and in 
 five minutes after, the deck of every vessel 
 was crowded with soldiers, armed, clothed and 
 equipped for immediate service. Nor did any 
 great while elapse, ere a numerous flotilla of 
 boats began to assemble alongside. Into these 
 company after company entered, with as much 
 regard to order as the circumstances of the case 
 would permit ; and long before the sun had 
 attained any height in the heavens, the regi- 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 79 
 
 tnent was formed in column of companies along 
 the beach. 
 
 It was but natural to suppose that at least a 
 day or two would be granted previous to the 
 commencement of our march up the country, 
 for the double purpose of refreshing the men, 
 enfeebled by a fortnight's confinement, and ena- 
 bling the officers to provide mules and other 
 animals for the transport of their baggage. 
 
 This was, indeed, the more confidently anti- 
 cipated, because Lord Wellington's well-known 
 policy induced him to spare his young troops, 
 by keeping them as much as possible in the 
 rear, till they became in some degree inured to 
 the climate; but the particular state of affairs 
 at the present juncture was such as to set all 
 ordinary rules at defiance, and to render the 
 bringing up of every disposable man to the 
 scene of action, imperative. I need scarcely 
 remind you, that Massena was now hanging 
 upon the frontier with an army of 70,000 men ; 
 that Ciudad Rodrigo was in a state of close 
 siege ; and that the British General, with little 
 more than 25,000 British, and about as many 
 half-disciplined Portuguese, could bring no 
 
80 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 relief to the garrison, being hardly competent 
 to maintain his defensive position upon the Coa. 
 Under these circumstances, the arrival of a 
 fresh battalion was to him a matter of the first 
 moment ; and hence every corps which landed 
 was hurried forward into the interior, as rapidly 
 as the strength of the men, and the movements 
 of pressed bullocks, would allow. 
 
 Like other regiments which had lately arriv- 
 ed, we were met upon the beach by a peremp- 
 tory order to pass at once through the capital 
 into the interior, intimation being at the same 
 time conveyed, that such accommodation as the 
 country could afford, and we were likely to need, 
 had already been provided. In consequence of 
 this communication, our heavy baggage, which, 
 as a matter of course, had been brought on 
 shore, was again sent back to the ships, whilst, 
 a few mules being furnished from the commis- 
 sariat depot at Belem, such lighter articles as 
 could not be dispensed with were packed upon 
 them, not without some confusion and various 
 disappointments to individuals. This done, the 
 word was given to march, and we pushed for- 
 ward, if not perfectly satisfied, still, upon the 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 81 
 
 whole, in the highest possible order. But the 
 consequence of so much haste was, that of Lis- 
 bon I was permitted to see no more than a few 
 of the wretched streets which lead from Belem 
 to the great northern road; that at Scavem 
 we made no greater pause than was absolutely 
 necessary to collect stragglers ; and that, passing 
 at the same rate through Bucellos, we arrived 
 in the evening, jaded and hungry, at a town 
 called Alenquer. Here the night was spent in 
 no very comfortable plight ; for the lodging was 
 miserable, and the authorities being not over 
 and above disposed to exert themselves in our 
 favour, our rations proved any thing but suffi- 
 cient ; nevertheless, on the morrow the march 
 was resumed with the same rapidity as at first, 
 and for an entire week we were en route. 
 Thus, by dint of extraordinary exertions, we 
 contrived to come up with the division to which 
 we were attached, about noon on the 22d, 
 having accomplished a march of upwards of 
 one hundred and fifty miles in something less 
 than seven entire days. 
 
 We found the division occupying a line con- 
 siderably in advance of the main army, with its 
 E 5 
 
82 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 left resting upon Almeida, its right upon abend 
 in the Coa, and covered in its rear by the chan- 
 nel of the same river. The outposts, however, 
 extended as far as certain scattered hamlets, 
 half way between Almeida and Villamula ; and 
 the state of preparation in which both men and 
 horses were kept, indicated that an attack was 
 hourly expected. As we arrived not in the best 
 order imaginable, the men being foot-sore to the 
 last degree, and the officers sadly distressed for 
 want of baggage, the General, with the conside- 
 ration for which he was remarkable throughout 
 the army, appointed us to a station better shel- 
 tered than that occupied by any other battalion 
 under his command. We took possession of a 
 few cottages not far from a bridge which con- 
 nected the opposite banks of the river with one 
 another, where we were given to understand, 
 that for some days at least no service on out- 
 post, nor any other harassing duty, would be 
 required at our hands. 
 
 In the mean time Jackson, so far from de- 
 riving any advantage from the debarkation, had 
 only returned, in consequence of it, to the con- 
 dition of a close prisoner. Though his case had 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 83 
 
 been brought before the commanding officer at 
 the earliest opportunity, such had been the ra- 
 pidity of our movements, and so excessive the 
 fatigue attendant upon them, that no leisure 
 for investigating it had yet offered, and he fol- 
 lowed the column in charge of the rear guard, 
 at once ignorant of his ultimate destiny, and, 
 to all appearance at least, indifferent respecting 
 it. Several fresh attempts- were indeed made 
 to obtain for him a free pardon, partly in con- 
 sequence of the extreme provocation which had 
 led to the commission of his crime, and partly 
 because of the length of time which had seen 
 him in confinement. But our commanding offi- 
 cer, as I have already stated, was one of those 
 who cannot disunite the ideas of manly clemency 
 and blameable imbecility. A. rigid disciplina- 
 rian, he would allow no circumstances to stand 
 as an excuse for a breach of the great and funda- 
 mental law of subordination ; and though punish- 
 ment might be deferred, it never failed, sooner 
 or later, to overtake the individual who, being 
 under his command and in his power, set that 
 law at defiance. Poor Jackson was doomed to 
 become one in addition to many who received 
 
84 THE GENTLE RECRUIT, 
 
 this stern justice at his hands. The remainder 
 of the 22d being granted to see after our own 
 and our men^s comforts, a regimental Court- 
 martial was ordered to assemble on the morrow; 
 and, as bad luck would have it, (for, under all 
 circumstances, I could not but consider the co- 
 incidence as unfortunate,) of the Court in 
 question I was nominated president. 
 
 At the appointed hour of noon, the Court, 
 consisting of four young subalterns, with my- 
 self, not at that time a very old man, assembled. 
 We met together in a ruinous shed, one por- 
 tion of which was set apart as a place of con- 
 finement to the disorderly ; and the prisoner 
 being summoned, as well as the witnesses 
 against him, the customary oaths were taken, 
 and the process began. There is no denying 
 that a clearer case of mutiny was never brought 
 before the cognizance of a military tribunal. 
 A blow was inflicted by a private sentinel 
 upon his officer, to that fact twenty persons 
 were prepared to swear ; and though the pre- 
 vious provocations were admitted to have been 
 both numerous and galling, these could not for 
 a moment be received as more than a slight ex- 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 85 
 
 tenuation of so serious a crime. Even the pri- 
 soner himself attempted no denial, nor offered 
 any excuse for his conduct. When called upon 
 to make his defence, he answered only with a 
 brief declaration that his case needed no apo- 
 logy, for that he had acted upon an impulse 
 which would have driven any other person so 
 situated to a similar course. This was said in 
 a tone of voice as calm and firm as if he 
 had been speaking of matters the issue of which 
 could not affect him very deeply ; and it was 
 all that, by repeated questions, I succeeded in 
 wringing from him. The Court having listened 
 to him patiently, and, I must confess, not with- 
 out a considerable share of commiseration, 
 commanded him to withdraw ; when, each mem- 
 ber being separately required to give judgment, 
 all, one after another, pronounced him Guilty. 
 Finally, the severest sentence which it was in the 
 power of a regimental Court-martial to award, 
 was awarded against him ; and he was con- 
 demned to receive, at such time arid place as the 
 commanding officer should appoint, a punish- 
 ment of three hundred lashes on his bare back. 
 Greatly as I felt shocked when this tremen- 
 
86 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 dous sentence was pronounced, it was impossible 
 for me, upon any grounds of injustice or cru- 
 elty, to lift up my voice against it. My bro- 
 ther officers would have failed in their duty, 
 had they permitted any consideration foreign 
 from the circumstances of the case, as it appear- 
 ed in evidence before them, to warp their judg- 
 ment, or direct their finding ; and I, as Presi- 
 dent, should have been equally wanting in mine, 
 had I interfered with the exercise of their le- 
 gitimate powers, or influenced their decision. 
 Yet it was not without a pang of deep and 
 heartfelt sorrow that I listened to their ver- 
 dict, and proceeded, as my office required, to 
 record it. Record it, however, I did, without 
 betraying more of outward concern than was 
 exhibited by the rest ; and then there remained 
 but one measure to pursue, which we all heart- 
 ily united in adopting. A recommendation to 
 mercy, expressed in the most forcible terms, was 
 appended to the sentence of condemnation ; 
 and something like a hope was excited, that it 
 might prove not wholly useless. 
 
 Armed with this important document, and 
 carefully studying, as I went along, every ar- 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 87 
 
 gnment which I thought at all likely to affect 
 his mind, I hurried off to the Colonel's quar- 
 ters, whom I found engaged, apparently in ear- 
 nest conversation, with Captain Fletcher. This 
 was an omen so unfavourable, that in spite 
 of my best exertions to prevent it, I found 
 much of the confidence which had animated 
 me by the way, evaporate; yet I determined 
 to show myself not less the strenuous advocate 
 of a youth who appeared to possess no friend 
 in the regiment except myself. My business 
 was no sooner made known, than Captain 
 Fletcher rose to withdraw. God knows, per- 
 haps I do them wrong, but I fancied then, 
 and I fancy now, that he threw a significant 
 look over his shoulder, just as he was quitting 
 the apartment, and that it was answered by a 
 look not less significant from the Colonel ; and 
 the ideas to which the suspicion gave rise, were 
 not very favourable to freedom of speech. Ne- 
 vertheless, I performed my task ; if not as elo- 
 quently as I intended, at all events forcibly and 
 strenuously, though, as it very soon appeared, 
 to little purpose. 
 
 " You have a perfect right, Captain Cha- 
 
88 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 kot," said the Colonel, " to lay before me both 
 the sentence and the recommendation of the 
 Court ; nor do I blame you for using your 
 best eloquence in the prisoner's favour. But it 
 remains for me to decide, how far clemency can 
 be here judiciously exercised ; and you may rest 
 satisfied that, in coming to that decision, I shall 
 be guided entirely by my own sense of propriety." 
 
 He bowed as he uttered these words ; and 
 taking the hint as it was intended to be taken, 
 I withdrew, leaving behind me every ray of 
 hope that poor Jackson would escape degrada- 
 tion. I was not deceived in this painful fore- 
 boding : in an hour or two after, the sergeant 
 of the day brought the orderly book, as usual, 
 to. my quarters ; I hastily opened it, and the 
 first announcement which met my eye, was this : 
 " The regiment will parade to-morrow morn- 
 ing at seven o'clock, in heavy marching order, 
 to witness the sentence of a regimental Court- 
 martial carried into execution." 
 
 I shut the book in indescribable disgust, and 
 feeling incapable of supporting any society, even 
 that of my brother officers, I walked into the 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 89 
 
 open air, without knowing or caring where 
 chance might lead me. 
 
 I wandered on for some time, in a state of 
 high and painful excitement, cursing sometimes 
 the extreme severity of my commander's tem- 
 per, sometimes the bad-heartedness of Fletcher, 
 and not less often the rashness of the young 
 recruit, till I reached, without being aware of 
 it, the edge of the precipitous cliff which on 
 the northern side overhangs the Coa. Ar- 
 rested thus suddenly in my course, I could not 
 fail to look around ; and the scene which opened 
 upon me was sufficient to dispel, at least for 
 the moment, every feeling besides that of intense 
 and speechless admiration. Immediately be- 
 neath me ran the river a brawling and noisy 
 mountain stream, forcing its way through a 
 narrow valley, which was closely hemmed in on 
 either hand by rocks of gigantic dimensions. 
 Over the faces of these were scattered detached 
 clumps of dwarf oak and mountain ash, which, 
 pushing themselves forward from every fissure, 
 gave to the entire valley the appearance of an 
 old forest thinned by time, or perhaps by hu- 
 
90 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 man industry, but still retaining a considerable 
 share of its pristine character. Around me, 
 again, was an amphitheatre of woody hills, the 
 wood broken in upon here and there by some 
 beetling crag which reared its bald front high 
 above the surrounding foliage ; whilst of the 
 residence of man, or proofs of his recent labour 
 and handywork, not a trace, from the spot which 
 I then occupied, could be discovered. To com- 
 plete the wild magnificence of the spectacle, 
 the last rays of a setting sun were streaming 
 over a bold ridge, which girdles in the well- 
 known Guarda pass ; and the whole wilderness 
 was glowing in the full yellow blaze, which in 
 this climate generally precedes the brief twilight. 
 The effect of all this, bursting upon me, as it 
 did, without any previous warning, was one 
 which up to the present time I have not for- 
 gotten. In an instant, every source of care 
 and annoyance ceased to operate ; and I stood 
 gazing about, in the full enjoyment of feelings 
 which such a scene, and such a scene alone, is 
 capable of exciting. 
 
 It was now almost for the first time since he 
 put it into my hand, that the recollection of 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 91 
 
 Jackson's packet occurred to me. Blaming 
 myself, I hardly knew why, for my inattention, 
 I thrust my hand into my pocket, and there, 
 sure enough, it was, just as I received it on 
 board of ship. There could not be a more con- 
 venient opportunity, nor a place more fitting, for 
 the perusal of a narrative concerning the nature 
 of which I had already pretty well made up 
 my mind ; so, sitting down under an ash, I 
 broke the seal, and began it. As I have faith- 
 fully preserved it, and have it still about me, 
 I think it better to read the whole than make 
 any attempt to detail its substance ; for though 
 the latter might serve very well the purpose 
 of my present narrative, it could not convey 
 to you any idea of the character or disposition 
 of the writer. 
 
92 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 JACKSON'S NARRATIVE. 
 
 " BY what secret and irresistible influence 
 I am impelled to make a confidant of you, I 
 know not. It is true, that, from the moment 
 when we first met, you have appeared to feel 
 an interest in my favour ; nor have I forgotten 
 the kind and generous manner in which you 
 warned me of the consequences of the rash step 
 which I was about to take ; neither has your 
 marked delicacy of conduct, since I came as 
 a prisoner immediately under your command, 
 escaped my observation. But these things fur- 
 nish no rational reason why I should disclose 
 my shame to you ; they would rather lead me, 
 were I master of my own actions, to conceal it. 
 I am not, however, master of my own actions. 
 There is a curse upon me a terrible and deadly 
 curse, which operates at all moments of my 
 sleeping and waking existence, which has re- 
 duced me to what I am a common soldier, 
 which has driven me to the commission of a 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 9& 
 
 crime, bringing a debasing punishment in its 
 train, which compels me, in spite of strenuous 
 exertions to the contrary, to stand forward as a 
 witness against myself, i id which will never 
 cease to work upon my heart, and to shape out 
 the tenor of my movements, till that heart 
 cease to beat, and these limbs be incapable ->f 
 motion. 
 
 " I am the son, the only son, nay the only 
 child, of a gentleman of proud lineage and 
 considerable fortune, in the north of England. 
 His name it would little interest you to be told ; 
 and doomed as I am to be the publisher of my 
 own disgrace, I will not bring disgrace upon 
 others by repeating it. Let it suffice to mention, 
 that the estate to which I was once heir, came 
 into the family at the Conquest, and that it has 
 descended in lineal succession, from father to 
 son, from its first possessor, to him who does 
 not now hold it. 
 
 "Of the manner in which my early years were 
 spent, I entertain but a vague and indistinct 
 recollection. I remember something, indeed, 
 of a lovely and amiable woman, to whom I 
 was taught by those about me to look as my 
 mother. I remember, or rather I fancy that 
 
94 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 I remember, how she used to take me on her 
 knee, and cover my cheek with kisses, whilst 
 tears rolled down her own ; and either memory, 
 or the report of others, when heard, or where 
 repeated, I know not, presents me with an oc- 
 casional picture of the same beautiful woman, 
 pining like one broken-hearted, and fading in 
 her youth. Observe, that I do not assert these 
 things as facts ; they may be mere illusions of 
 my own disordered fancy ; in all probability 
 they are so ; yet to me they are at this moment 
 as clear and palpable as the scene of my own 
 arrest on a recent occasion, or our late con- 
 ference on the quarter-deck. Whether they be 
 realities or dreams, is, however, a matter of no 
 moment. My mother died long before I had 
 attained sufficient age to value her good qua- 
 lities, or to miss her attentions ; and I was left, 
 when little more than an infant, to the care of 
 my father. 
 
 " I know not how to trust myself in drawing 
 a picture of the only parent whom I have ever 
 known. That he was kind in his manner to- 
 wards me, I cannot venture to say ; at least his 
 kindness was not so displayed as to win upon 
 the attachment of a boy naturally warm-hearted, 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 95 
 
 or to make me forget that I had sometimes 
 seen my mother weep, when he and she and I 
 were alone together. It is true that few days 
 passed, few at least during which he was dis- 
 engaged, without my seeing him. Occasionally, 
 too, he would bring me a toy ; and when I 
 was old enough to ride, he gave me a pony, 
 on which I was permitted to scamper wherever 
 I chose, provided only I returned home before 
 dark. Yet was his manner uniformly cold 
 and austere ; I cannot recall to my recollection 
 so much as one kiss from his lips ; and as to a 
 God bless you ! the expression never escaped 
 him. No, no, no ! it was not in blessing that 
 he took the name of God in his mouth ; it was 
 for a far more tremendous and more certain 
 purpose. 
 
 " At an age as early as is usual in like cases, 
 I was sent to a preparatory school, from whence 
 I was in due time removed to Eton. Here, in 
 the society of lads of my own standing, several 
 happy years were spent, so happy indeed, that 
 the impression which they have left upon my 
 mind, can be erased only by death. Strange to 
 say, however, the vacations, which brought to 
 others so many anticipations of delight, were 
 
96 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 always hailed by me with sorrow. I had no 
 home ; that is to say, no home which I loved ; 
 for though I delighted in field sports, and the 
 means of gratifying that propensity were abun- 
 dantly within my reach, there was something in 
 
 the air of , which invariably chilled me 
 
 when I drew near it. The truth is, that I did 
 not, and could not love my father. I feared 
 him ; he was a man to be feared : cold, austere, 
 formal ; proud of his family, equally proud of 
 his own attainments ; of a temper not irritable, 
 in the ordinary acceptation of that term, yet 
 easily offended, and ignorant how to forgive : 
 such a man even his own son could not love, 
 however much he might reverence, or rather 
 dread him. Besides, my father was one of 
 those whom no arguments, no entreaties, no 
 motives, even of self-interest, could divert from 
 the course which he had once made up his mind 
 to pursue. Let him set his heart upon any 
 object, and the whole world, were it offered in 
 exchange, could not purchase his relinquish- 
 ment of that object; difficulties, should such 
 occur, only served to goad him to farther ex- 
 ertions. Nor was it in essentials only that this 
 unbending temperament displayed itself; it 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 97 
 
 reached even to the most minute details of do- 
 mestic life ; it operated even in his distribution 
 of his own time, and had full influence over my 
 proceedings, which dared not take a direction 
 in the slightest degree at variance from the 
 channel which he had marked out for them. 
 Between my father and myself there was not so 
 much as the pretence of confidence. He never 
 consulted me in any thing, whether relating to 
 myself or others ; he never spoke to me of 
 family matters, ancient or modern ; and he gave 
 me no encouragement to communicate my feel- 
 ings to him with the freedom which a son 
 should always experience in the presence of his 
 father. On the contrary, the little intercourse 
 that passed between us, was uniformly distant 
 and chilling, like that which is sometimes kept 
 up by a guardian towards his ward, provided 
 no ties of blood bind them one to another, 
 but bearing no semblance whatever to that free 
 communion of soul, mind, and feeling, which, 
 if it exist anywhere, might be expected to exist 
 between a parent and a child. 
 
 |C In the society of such a man, it was impos- 
 sible that I could find any enjoyment, and to his 
 
 VOL. I. F 
 
98 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 society I was, when at home, almost exclusively 
 confined; for the peculiarities of my father's 
 temper were such, that few of his neighbours 
 kept up with him more than a distant or formal 
 acquaintance. Once or twice a year a stately 
 dinner was prepared, at which some half-dozen 
 country gentlemen would make their appear- 
 ance ; but these meetings always passed off 
 heavily at the time, and they led to no familiar 
 intercourse afterwards. Indeed, my father was 
 manifestly neither loved nor courted by any one. 
 His very servants and tenants avoided him as 
 often as they could ; and when that was impos- 
 sible, they stood before him in undisguised 
 alarm. Whence all this arose I am unable 
 even to conjecture, for of his early history I 
 never heard a syllable ; and unless something 
 more extraordinary occurred in his youth than 
 took place since my memory serves, there was 
 certainly no adequate reason for it. 
 
 " I had removed from Eton, after going 
 through the regular course, and had kept a few 
 terms at Cambridge, when that event befell 
 upon which the whole of my future fortunes 
 were doomed to turn. 
 
 " It was on a beautiful evening in June, that 
 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 99 
 
 with feelings widely different from those which 
 I could have wished to experience, I found 
 myself approaching the place of^my nativity. 
 There were no pleasing recollections associated 
 with that lonely and desolate mansion. Its 
 great empty halls and half-furnished apart- 
 ments, through which the voice of mirth and 
 revelry never echoed, its long passages and 
 dreary corridors, where the sound of a footstep 
 would have startled had it reached the ear, rose 
 with no very agreeable colours before my view ; 
 and when I considered that amid this solitude 
 the whole of a tedious summer must be passed, I 
 could not avoid shuddering at the prospect. I 
 was in this mood, when a sudden stopping of the 
 horses induced me to sit forward in the chaise 
 for the purpose of ascertaining the cause. There 
 was no possibility of mistaking the principal ob- 
 jects about me. I recognized at once the beech 
 grove that skirted the park, and the commence- 
 ment of the long avenue which led- up to the 
 mansion ; but in minuter details a change had 
 occurred, which set all my surmises and calcula- 
 tions at defiance. The lodge, which, when I last 
 entered it, was more than half unroofed and in 
 F 2 
 
100 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 ruins, presented now the appearance of a neat 
 and comfortable cottage; it was newly thatched, 
 glazed, and >|fiitewashed, and a spot of ground 
 tastefully laid out in cultivation lay behind it. In 
 like manner the pillars and gates had undergone 
 a thorough repair ; the palings seemed to have 
 been lately renewed ; and the very grass and 
 weeds which used to overgrow the drive, had all 
 disappeared. Instead of the slatternly dame, like- 
 wise, by whom I was accustomed to be met here, 
 a pretty country girl, about ten or twelve years 
 old, threw open the gate, and dropped a curtsey 
 as the chaise rolled through, with the grace of 
 one accustomed to the office. I need scarcely 
 say that all this excited in me no little amaze- 
 ment ; but if I experienced surprise at the as- 
 pect of things in themselves so unimportant, 
 my astonishment increased ten-fold, when other 
 and still greater changes appeared. 
 
 As I approached the house, I became at every 
 step more and more aware, that a complete revo- 
 lution must have taken place in my father's style 
 of living. The lawn, of which my most remote 
 recollection presented no other picture than of 
 a rough and neglected plot of grass, was now 
 mowed with the utmost care, and tastefully 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 101 
 
 adorned at different points with clumps of 
 flowering shrubs and ormmrefltal ever-grejeris. 
 A light wire fence protected it from the ap- 
 proach of the sheep* -which i'n 'fvrtiKf -days'. 
 were accustomed to browse up to the very 
 windows ; and a wicket composed of the same 
 materials admitted us to a well-cleaned gravel 
 walk, which extended in front of the main 
 entrance. Then again, on looking up towards 
 the house itself, I beheld that the shutters of 
 every window were open, that the frames had 
 been lately painted, and the glass universally 
 repaired, and that an air of comfort was cast 
 over the entire exterior, such as I had never 
 seen it wear until now. By this time the car- 
 riage had stopped, and the postilion having 
 rung the bell, the hall-door was opened by a 
 servant in a neat morning livery ; who, though 
 manifestly unacquainted with my name and 
 circumstances, civilly requested me to walk in. 
 I followed the lacquey, not like one entering 
 his father's house, but like a stranger in a 
 place unknown to him ; and truly the aspect 
 of every thing had undergone a revolution so 
 complete, that I almost doubted whether the 
 case were not really so. 
 
104 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 she became alarmed, for she uttered something 
 in a hurried tone, the purport of which I 
 could not comprehend, and made a movement as 
 if to retire; but before she could carry that 
 resolution into effect, a door which communi- 
 cated between the saloon and the library was 
 thrown open, and my father entered. The 
 sight of him recalled me instantly to my senses. 
 I advanced to receive the hand which he held 
 out ; and in the next instant, the whole mys- 
 tery around me was explained. 
 
 " ' You are welcome home again, Char les," 1 said 
 my father, with more than usual kindness in 
 his tone ; ' I dare say the aspect which things 
 have assumed since you were last here, has 
 caused you no little astonishment; yet I am 
 willing to hope, that astonishment is not the 
 only feeling likely to be roused.* ' Charlotte, 
 my love,' continued he, turning to the lady, 
 ' permit me to introduce to you my son, whom 
 you will find, I trust, an agreeable companion 
 at moments when I may be unable to enjoy 
 your society. Charles, in this lady you see one 
 who is entitled, by every tie of moral obligation, 
 to your respect and affection. She has con- 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 105 
 
 sented to make me the happiest of men ; and 
 she now stands towards you in the relation of 
 a mother.' 
 
 u * A mother P cried I, staggering back, as if 
 struck by some sudden and deadly blow : ' A 
 mother ! Is this lady, then, your wife ?" 
 
 " ' Yes, Sir/ replied my father, in his old 
 tone of asperity ; ' this lady is my wife. Is 
 there any thing so very remarkable in that 
 circumstance, as that you should not be able 
 to comprehend it?' 
 
 " 4 No, Sir, no not exactly so,' said I, 
 scarcely knowing what I said : ' but the intel- 
 ligence has come upon me so suddenly I knew 
 not that any such step was in contemplation 
 that, in short, I know not what to say, except that 
 your announcement has perfectly amazed me." 1 
 
 " ' I see no reason why it should produce 
 that effect,' replied he ; ' there is nothing so 
 very startling in the fact, that a man who has 
 spent twenty years in solitude should become 
 weary of living alone, or that he should ally 
 himself with one every way worthy of his esteem 
 and affections.' 
 
 " This was spoken coldly and deliberately, 
 F 5 
 
106 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 with an emphasis of which I could not mistake 
 the purport; yet I answered it by observing, that 
 I had received no intimation of the intended 
 change ; and that his silence on such a subject 
 surprised me more, than the line of conduct 
 Avhich he had seen fit to pursue. 
 
 " ' I was not aware,' replied he in a sarcastic 
 tone, into which he knew well how to throw the 
 very gall of bitterness, * that I had ever given 
 you cause to regard yourself as the arbiter of my 
 destinies. I have not been in the habit of so- 
 liciting your advice on indifferent matters, and 
 should scarcely think of desiring it on an occa- 
 sion like the present. But enough of such dis- 
 cussion I have told you how this lady and 
 yourself are connected; it remains for you to be- 
 have towards her as that connection demands. 1 
 
 " I had by this time recovered in some degree 
 from my agitation, and turned towards my mo- 
 ther-in-law, with the intention of offering an 
 apology for the strangeness of my behaviour. 
 She trembled violently, whether from fear, or 
 mere embarrassment, it was, of course, impossi- 
 ble for me to tell; whilst her respiration ap- 
 peared to go on with difficulty, and her colour 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 107 
 
 went and came like clouds over the face of the 
 moon on a stormy night. By degrees, how- 
 ever, the awkwardness of manner inseparable 
 from so extraordinary an introduction, departed. 
 She recovered the calm and placid air which 
 distinguished her when she rose to bid me wel- 
 come ; and the ease which marked her gestures, 
 as well as the readiness with which we entered 
 into conversation, soon produced the happiest 
 effect upon me. In five minutes every thing 
 awkward in our first meeting was forgotten, and 
 we behaved towards each other, as persons in 
 our situation might be expected to behave. 
 
 " It was now that I found leisure to cast my 
 eyes round upon the apartment in which we 
 were sitting ; and there, as well as elsewhere, 
 I saw that a perfect revolution had occurred. 
 The ancient cane-backed chairs and sofas had 
 been displaced to make room for couches co- 
 vered with the costliest silks ; rose-wood tables, 
 richly inlaid, were scattered here and there in 
 elegant confusion ; splendid pier-glasses filled 
 up the recesses, and curtains of the finest stuffs 
 ornamented the windows ; whilst even the pi- 
 per upon the walls, as well as the painting on 
 
108 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 the roof and pannels, had all been renewed in 
 the most expensive and brilliant manner. Nor 
 was it in the saloon alone that the hand of im- 
 provement had been at work. There was not 
 an apartment in the house, from the servants 1 
 hall to the nursery, which had not undergone 
 some change ; whilst all that were in any de- 
 gree conspicuous, as well in the sleeping as in 
 the living compartment, had been entirely refur- 
 nished. I cannot pretend to describe the effect 
 which this change produced upon me. That it 
 was for the better, I felt, and acknowledged ; yet, 
 with the perverseness of human nature, there 
 were moments when the absence of this or that 
 long-remembered piece of lumber stirred up in 
 me a sensation, of which I did not imagine that 
 a cause so trifling could have been productive. 
 In like manner, it was with no ordinary pain 
 that I observed, that, of the faces of the do- 
 mestics who went and came about us, not one 
 was familiar. The old servants, like the old 
 furniture, had all been dismissed, to make way 
 for others more sightly, perhaps, and more 
 submissive, but whether superior in the essen- 
 tials of honesty and fidelity, might well be 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 109 
 
 doubted. These things cut deeply. For the 
 first day or two, indeed, the effect of them was 
 such as to render me but little disposed to 
 court the society either of my father or his 
 bride ; nor was it till I had been nearly a week 
 at home, that the former thought fit to make 
 me in any degree acquainted with the origin 
 and progress of his new connexion. 
 
 " There was little in the story to interest me 
 at the moment ; there is still less that deserves 
 record now. Charlotte Howard was an orphan, 
 the pennyless niece of one of our neighbours, on 
 whose bounty she absolutely depended. Having 
 lately returned from school, she attracted my fa- 
 ther's notice, during a visit which he happened 
 to pay to her uncle ; and as he found her not 
 more beautiful than amiable and accomplished, 
 he made a tender of his hand. Charlotte was 
 barely eighteen, my father forty-nine ; but, to 
 counterbalance this difference in their ages, she 
 was portionless, whilst he was understood to 
 be immensely rich. My father did not state 
 how much he owed to the lady's personal predi- 
 lection, how much to the persuasions of her 
 guardian : on that head, he wisely left me to 
 
110 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 judge for myself; but the result was, that about 
 six weeks previous to the commencement of the 
 long vacation, he led her, a weeping and bash- 
 ful bride, to the altar. Yes ; he used the word 
 bashful, as if her reluctance were merely feigned, 
 as if she, a girl, artless, innocent, gay, lovely, 
 felt no more than the ordinary coyness of a 
 maiden so situated, in giving her hand to one 
 But no matter. He admitted that she wept 
 he did not say how she wept he did not even 
 allude to the hot scalding tears of utter misery, 
 whose fountain lies in the innermost soul, and 
 which run over only when hope is blighted for 
 ever. No no ; I was encouraged to conjure up an 
 image of modest dew-drops of one or two tears 
 cheated from the eye, more through the power 
 of momentary excitement than by the influence 
 of sorrow. How different was all this from the 
 truth ! 
 
 " Well, the bride was carried off to the metro- 
 polis, where, amidst the gaiety of a London life, 
 her first lessons in the duties of the married state 
 were learned. In the mean while all those changes 
 in and about the park, which had so powerfully 
 affected me, were wrought ; and only one fort- 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. Ill 
 
 night previous to my return, the happy pair 
 took possession of their renovated mansion. 
 Such is the substance of a conversation which I 
 held with my father, on a certain day after din- 
 ner, to which I listened as to something neither 
 very agreeable nor very interesting. How deep- 
 ly did I deceive myself, in regarding it as de- 
 void of interest. 
 
 " I know not whence it arose, but I experienced 
 towards my mother-in-law, about this time, a 
 feeling which I could not describe, but which 
 tempted me as much as possible to shun her 
 company, particularly when no other persons 
 chanced to be by. Not that I ever thought of 
 her with aversion. To look upon that counte- 
 nance, to behold the varied and glowing ex- 
 pression of those eyes, yet entertain towards 
 the being whose eyes met mine, any thing in 
 the most remote degree akin to aversion, was 
 impossible. On the contrary, I never beheld 
 her without admiration, the deepest, the most 
 intense. I never listened to the music of her 
 voice, without a delight such as no other sound 
 in nature could produce. I never thought of 
 her when absent, without a degree of interest 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 painful indeed, but painful only from its excess. 
 Yet I avoided her, as if there had been a pes- 
 tilence in her breath, and a pollution in her 
 touch. It was not often that I endeavoured to 
 account for this ; but when I did, images arose, 
 humiliating and distressing, of the sort of tie 
 which had brought us acquainted, and held us 
 together. I could not bear to think of her as 
 my father's wife as one whom I was bound to 
 approach with deference, and look upon with 
 respect ; yet I felt that to regard her only as 
 the beautiful and innocent girl, and to treat 
 her like a sister or a friend, would at once dis- 
 please the man to whom I was indebted for my 
 being, and infringe, seriously and improperly, 
 upon the usages of society. Many days there- 
 fore elapsed, ere we could be said to know more 
 of each other's tastes and habits than was dis- 
 closed at the moment of our first introduction : 
 well would it have been for both, had this just 
 and cautious reserve been persevered in. 
 
 " With his state of celibacy, my father had, 
 it appeared, put off that morose and haughty 
 humour which kept him at a distance from all 
 his neighbours. Repeatedly since their return 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 113 
 
 from London, had the new-married couple 
 thrown open their doors to gay parties, and 
 the old walls had more than once rung again 
 to the tones of singing and minstrelsy. So 
 excellent a custom was not to be interrupted by 
 the arrival of the heir of the lordship ; on the 
 contrary, I was given to understand that, in 
 honour of my visit, the entire neighbourhood 
 had been invited to an entertainment, which was 
 to exceed in splendour and elegance every thing 
 of the kind which had for many years taken 
 place in this part of the country. With what 
 absolute indifference I listened to the announce- 
 ment ! What were gaiety or splendour to me ? 
 I had become all at once the most humiliated 
 and self-condemned of human beings. All the 
 glories of an Eastern palace, had they been 
 spread out before me, would have failed to ex- 
 cite any pleasurable emotion. Nay, I pined 
 for the gloom which was now dispelled for ever, 
 and looked back with regret upon the very 
 state of existence which was once the source of 
 my most serious repining. What fickle crea- 
 tures are we, even at the best ! how little may 
 our very tastes and desires be calculated upon ! 
 
114 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 " The day of gala came in its course, and 
 brought with it a crowd of guests of all ages, 
 of both sexes, and of every rank from the 
 proud wearer of the Earl's coronet, down to the 
 simple commoner. Nothing could exceed the 
 hospitable urbanity of my father ; and the gen- 
 tle attentions of his bride to all within her 
 reach, were beyond measure gratifying. Then, 
 again, as to the banquet no luxury which 
 earth, air, or water could produce, was want- 
 ed. The choicest wines were passed round 
 with exuberant liberality ; a crowd of servants 
 in rich liveries prevented every wish ; and the 
 glare of golden lamps was reflected back by a 
 profusion of massive plate, under which the 
 table and sideboards groaned. Next followed 
 the dance, the conversazione, the promenade, 
 relieved and interrupted from time to time by 
 bursts of the most exquisite music, till every 
 sense seemed deadened by the multiplied sources 
 of enjoyment, with which it was not so much 
 supplied as sated. And how was I affected 
 by all this ? I looked on with the vacant stare 
 of a spectator at a show which he understands 
 to be delusive and unreal. I appeared, indeed, 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 115 
 
 to mingle, like the rest, in every amusement ; I 
 even gazed round upon the faces of my father's 
 guests, seeking for one on which my eye might 
 repose so much as for a moment. But I 
 found none. Many fair countenances there 
 were, laughing, lively, happy countenances, 
 such as meet us in our dreams, when these are 
 most pleasing, and leave a trace behind them 
 when we awake. But before my eye that night 
 they passed like shadows. There was but one 
 countenance on which I could endure to gaze 
 and that one was my mother. Heavens ! 
 what a profanation of the term. Charlotte 
 Howard, the dark-eyed lively girl of eighteen, 
 my mother ! she, who was by two full years 
 my junior, who smiled upon me, not with 
 the haughty glance of a superior, but with the 
 mild beseeching look of one who saw my agi- 
 tation, and would have calmed it had she pos- 
 sessed the power, who seemed to court, not 
 to demand my notice, as if she needed support 
 from me, and would have taken it as a boon ! 
 Could I think of her as my mother ? No ; I 
 never beheld her in that light ; I could not 
 think of her in that fashion. I was cold and 
 
116 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 distant towards her, it is true cold in my man- 
 ner, distant in my address ; but neither my 
 coldness nor distance pioceeded from that jea- 
 lous aversion with which, as my step-mother, 
 I might have been supposed to regard her. I 
 shrank from her, because I already felt that I 
 dared not trust myself near her ; yet my eyes 
 followed her every movement, as if there were 
 a spell upon them, which not all my efforts 
 would suffice to break. 
 
 At last she sat down to her harp. Though I 
 had been upwards of a fortnight under the same 
 roof with her, I had never yet heard her sing or 
 play ; for my father entertained no taste for 
 music, and I did not presume to solicit that she 
 would perform for my gratification. I was sit- 
 ting at the moment alone in a distant corner of 
 the saloon, pretending fatigue, which in reality 
 I did not experience, that I might escape for a 
 few minutes from the toil of making myself 
 agreeable, or supporting a conversation in which 
 I took no interest. Of all the objects in the 
 passing pageant, I beheld but her alone ; and 
 when there was a call of silence, I held my very 
 breath, lest its sound should interrupt it. How 
 
. THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 117 
 
 gracefully she stretched her fair round arm over 
 the instrument ! with what taste she swept the 
 chords as a prelude to her song ! and then 
 striking a few bold notes by way of symphony, 
 she raised her eyes as if to ask for inspiration 
 from on high. In an instant, her countenance 
 was lighted up, and there burst from her a 
 gush of sweet sounds, so mellow, so true, so 
 plaintive, yet so powerful, that the most in- 
 sensible could not listen without visible emo- 
 tion. For me, I was entranced. All power of 
 motion was taken away from me ; I tried to 
 draw near to her, but could not 1 was spell- 
 bound, as if by the voice of an angel. 
 
 " There was no instantaneous burst of ap- 
 plause when that sweet wild song ended. The 
 effect produced by it was beyond the compass of 
 words ; it was felt, but could not be expressed. 
 Men listened, as they are accustomed to do, for 
 the echo that follows notes which come to them 
 over water, and they seemed disappointed 
 when no echo was heard ; but if an irresistible 
 impulse checked them at first, a universal mur- 
 mur of delight gave evidence, as soon as the 
 charm had dissolved, that their silence arose 
 
118 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 from intensity of admiration, arid that there is 
 no tribute so pure, or so real, as that which 
 cannot be expressed. Charlotte appeared dis- 
 tressed by the very plaudits which were in- 
 tended to give her pleasure. She rose, blushing 
 deeply, from her instrument, and made as if 
 she intended to cross the saloon to a spot where 
 a group of gay loungers were congregated to- 
 gether. At that instant her eye caught mine : 
 what the expression of my gaze might be, I 
 knew not ; doubtless it was the same which had 
 accompanied every glance that I cast upon her 
 that night ; but it produced a vivid, and, as I 
 could not but observe, a painful effect upon 
 her. Her colour fled, and she grew pale as 
 death; then again the blood rushed to her 
 cheek with increased violence ; her breathing 
 became suddenly interrupted, and she staggered 
 as if threatened with a fit. I saw her condition, 
 and sprang forward to assist her ; but before I 
 could reach the spot, her self-command had 
 returned. ' I thank you,' said she, in a low 
 tone, and with a smile beautiful but melan- 
 choly ; c I am better now, it was only a mo- 
 mentary faintness, occasioned by the heat of 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 119 
 
 the room. But how is it that you keep so 
 much apart ?' added she, speaking more easily, 
 and resuming at once her naturally cheerful 
 manner : ' I have observed you withdraw more 
 than once, as if the fatigue were too great for 
 you ; or it may be that you dislike dancing 
 is it so ?' 
 
 " ' No, no,' replied I hurriedly ; ' on the 
 contrary, I delight in it ; and as to my health, 
 it never was more sound, nor were my spirits 
 ever higher. May I convince you of my taste 
 for dancing by requesting the honour of your 
 
 hand ? or ' and I was conscious, as I uttered 
 
 the last half of the sentence, that my tone of 
 voice, no less than my assumed gaiety, fell ' is 
 it allowable in us, circumstanced as we are, to 
 dance together ?' 
 
 " fc Oh, surely,' answered she, calmly ; ' why 
 not ? We will lead off' this dance, if you please, 
 and you shall select the figure.' 
 
 " We did so ; but there was madness in the 
 entire proceeding, glaring, palpable madness. 
 We danced at least I danced like one who 
 knew not whether he slept or were awake ; and 
 more than once I blundered in the very figure 
 
120 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 which I had myself consented to choose. Our 
 hands, as a matter of necessity, frequently met ; 
 as often as this occurred, a thrill passed through 
 me like a shock of electricity, and my very 
 brain swan confusedly. At last we gained the 
 bottom of the set, and she rallied me, not how- 
 ever without a visible effort, on my forgetful- 
 ness. I tried to answer in the same strain of 
 badinage, but my efforts proved unavailing; 
 and I felt that to remain where I was any 
 longer, yet retain my senses, was hopeless. I 
 rose from the couch on which we had sat down, 
 and complaining of a sudden indisposition, pre- 
 pared to withdraw. ' Good God ! then you 
 are really ill,' exclaimed she, in a voice full of 
 emotion ; ' and I have thoughtlessly induced 
 you to do that which has increased your indis- 
 position. 1 
 
 " ' Not so,' replied I, struggling hard to 
 appear calm ; ' it is a trifling head-ache, which 
 a few moments of quiet will remove. I will 
 retire beyond the sound of music for a while, 
 and return again when I feel better;' and I walk- 
 ed away as I spoke. I opened the door of 
 the saloon, but before I closed it again, looked 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 121 
 
 round. She stood as I had quitted her, in an 
 attitude of anxiety and alarm : her eye had 
 followed my movements, and now it met mine, 
 not designedly, but by instinct. God ! what a 
 look was that ! I felt it in my heart, my soul, 
 my brain ; it stirred up thoughts, which, had 
 they continued to burn but a moment longer, 
 must have diiven me to insanity. I saw it ever 
 after in my waking visions, and in my sleeping 
 dreams ; at midnight and at noonday it was 
 equally before me. Yet what was the language 
 that it spoke? I could not tell; I did not dare 
 to ask : I read in it something which I desired 
 to read, yet which, having read, I would have 
 given worlds not to have observed. I ran with 
 the step of a maniac to my chamber ; I closed 
 the door, locking and bolting it as if against 
 some deadly enemy ; and I revisited the scene of 
 festivity that night no more. 
 
 " It was late on the following morning before 
 the breakfast-bell rang. On obeying its sum- 
 mons, I found that most of the guests of the 
 preceding evening were gone, but that several 
 still remained. All appeared jaded, as a matter 
 of course ; a night of revelry seldom fails to 
 
 VOL. I. G 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 bring in a morning of languor ; but on none 
 had fatigue produced so marked an effect as 
 upon my father and his bride. The former, 
 though manifestly struggling to wear the smooth 
 brow of one at peace with himself and with 
 every one around him, could not always repress 
 a frown which told a tale of internal suffering 
 either in body or mind ; the latter was dejected, 
 thoughtful, silent, and uneasy, and the more 
 uneasy as her efforts to appear otherwise were 
 too palpable to escape detection. I had done 
 nothing to produce such effects. No, no ; if 
 there were other causes besides bodily fatigue for 
 the embarrassment which displayed itself in the 
 manner of the new-married couple, no blame 
 could possibly attach to me. Why then did my 
 conscience sting me? or rather, why did the sus- 
 picion arise at all, that there were other causes be- 
 sides that which both avowed, and which all but 
 myself appeared to admit ? I blushed internally 
 as these questions occurred, and, having hastily 
 concluded my meal, I walked abroad to commune 
 with my own heart in the solitude of the park. 
 
 " When I reached the house, the hall clock 
 was striking a third quarter; and on looking up, 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 I perceived that the dinner hour was close at 
 hand. I hurried off to my own apartment ; 
 but before I reached it, sounds smote upon my 
 ear, which caused me unconsciously to stop. It 
 was necessary, in order to reach my own, that 
 I should pass my father's dressing-room, the door 
 of which happened to be ajar. Heaven knows, 
 there is no character so contemptible in my eyes 
 as that of an eves-dropper ; nor am I conscious 
 that in taking the step which I took then, I in- 
 curred the guilt for guilt it surely is of seek- 
 ing to pry into the secrets of others ; but there 
 was a magic in Charlotte's voice which I never 
 could resist. Its tones fell around me, and I 
 paused to drink them in, more gratefully than 
 the wanderer in the desert drinks from a well 
 where no water was anticipated. My feelings 
 may be guessed at, when I discovered that she 
 spoke not in joy but in sorrow. The words I 
 could not overhear I did not desire to over- 
 hear them ; but the tones were those of deep 
 distress of bitter heartfelt misery. Then came 
 the sound of my father's voice, stern, as I had 
 been told it was when addressed to my mother. 
 I could bear this no longer. Plausible as he 
 
124 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 was when strangers stood by, and smooth and oily 
 as his outward manner might be, it was evident, 
 that in private he gave vent to his cruel dis- 
 position, and that he exercised his cruelty upon 
 his bride. I felt every vein in my forehead and 
 temples swell, as the idea rose into my mind. 
 I rushed forward, a curse trembling upon my 
 tongue, a curse directed even against the author 
 of my being, nor was it without an effort almost 
 supernatural that I succeeded in repressing it. 
 But I did suppress it. I even calmed in some 
 degree the frenzy that raged within me ; and 
 having completed my toilette, I descended with 
 an unruffled countenance to the dining-room. 
 
 " The last of our party had taken their de- 
 parture some hours before, and we sat down, 
 my father, Charlotte, and I, to a family meal. 
 It was not a comfortable one. He indeed had 
 put on that rigidity of countenance, which he 
 desired should be mistaken for an expression of 
 perfect good -humour ; whilst I struggled hard 
 to appear in my usual spirits ; and even Char- 
 lotte strove to look what she felt not happy. 
 But our conversation, being on all hands forced, 
 soon became flat, and finally died away into 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 mere question and answer. Charlotte, indeed, 
 complained of illness, which she attributed to 
 the exertions of last night, and quitted us al- 
 most as soon as the cloth was withdrawn ; and 
 then my father and I were left to enjoy, as we 
 might, each other's society. 
 
 " For some minutes neither party had spoken, 
 and my thoughts were beginning to wander I 
 scarce knew whither, when my father, after fill- 
 ing his glass, and pushing the bottle to me, 
 desired to know how I liked my mother-in-law. 
 I do not believe that any peculiarity of manner 
 accompanied this question, I am quite sure 
 that it was a natural one, and one which ought 
 to have produced no such effect upon me ; but 
 I started in my seat at the words, and turned 
 round, as if an evil spirit had spoken. My fa- 
 ther was not so much as looking towards me : he 
 sat with his elbow upon the table, watching, to 
 all appearance, the sun, as he set behind a hill ; 
 and though a second or two elapsed' ere I could 
 so far command myself as to reply, he either 
 took, or appeared to take, no notice of my 
 embarrassment. As may easily be imagined, I 
 expressed myself, when I did speak, greatly de- 
 
126 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 lighted with the lady ; I passed upon her such 
 ordinary eulogiums as men are accustomed to 
 bestow upon women in whom they take no 
 great interest. 
 
 " * I am glad you are pleased with her,' re- 
 plied he in the same tone of indifference, and 
 still gazing steadily upon the setting sun. ' She 
 is an extremely amiable and excellent person, 
 somewhat young and inexperienced, no doubt ; 
 but perfectly free from deceit and affectation. 
 Yet your manner towards her has not been 
 such as to impress her with the belief that you 
 really like her. So she says at least, for I 
 have seen nothing of the kind ; but she com- 
 plains that you shun her on every possible oc- 
 casion, and that if by any accident you cannot 
 effect your escape, your address is always formal, 
 and your air distant. Surely you are above 
 the silly feeling which sometimes urges men to 
 be jealous of their fathers 1 wives. 1 
 
 " He turned round as he spoke ; but though 
 I did my best to read his secret thoughts, I 
 could discover nothing in the glance of his eye 
 beyond the expression naturally connected with 
 the subject of our conversation. Relieved be- 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 127 
 
 yond measure at this, I hastened to assure him 
 that no such paltry sentiments were encou- 
 raged by me, and I strove to account for a 
 shyness, of which I was too conscious to deny 
 it, by reminding him of the brief standing of 
 our acquaintance, and the peculiar circumstances 
 under which it commenced. All this seemed to 
 be taken as I could have wished. He admitted 
 that our first interview was not such as to lead 
 to an immediate intimacy, but hoped that time 
 would gradually dispel every unpleasant asso- 
 ciation which that might have produced, and 
 that, before long, we should be on the footing of 
 easy familiarity which the connexion subsist- 
 ing between us demanded. 
 
 u ( Besides,' continued he, ' you are so nearly 
 of the same age, that to treat one another with 
 coldness or excess of deference were ridi- 
 culous. She must be to you rather as a sister 
 than a mother, indeed, she ought perhaps to 
 have been your wife rather than mine.' 
 
 " I cannot tell whether my own heart deceived 
 me, but, as he uttered these words, I fancied that 
 I could detect in the corner of his eye a lurk- 
 ing suspicion, the more hideous as it was not 
 
128 THE GENTLE RECRUIT, 
 
 intended to be seen. If I was right, the ex- 
 pression lasted but for an instant, so abrupt 
 indeed were both its coming and going, that 
 thought itself could hardly overtake it, and 
 then all was again smooth and placid. The 
 speech itself, however, was sufficient to embar- 
 rass me, for I was at a loss not only how to 
 reply, but bow to understand it ; so I stam- 
 mered out something about behaving on all oc- 
 casions to my father's wife as her station in the 
 family required. My father took no notice of 
 these expressions. He changed the subject, 
 indeed, almost immediately ; and the remainder 
 of our tete-a-ttte passed off as such conferences 
 were accustomed to do. 
 
 " I know not why I have dwelt thus minutely 
 upon the occurrences which marked the com- 
 mencement of Charlotte"^ and my acquaintance. 
 In themselves, I am aware that they possess 
 few claims upon the notice of a stranger ; yet 
 their influence upon me was great and lasting 
 so lasting indeed as to controul my entire destiny. 
 They have left too an impression upon my mind 
 so deep, that years will not suffice to blot it out, 
 should years of a hated existence be forced upon 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 129 
 
 me. But I will strive to write more concisely 
 hereafter : I will dwell upon nothing which the 
 nature of the task which I have imposed upon 
 myself will suffer me to pass by. 
 
 " Days, weeks, nay months passed away, with- 
 out the occurrence of any incident particularly 
 deserving of notice. For a time the course of 
 gaiety in which he had embarked, was pur- 
 sued by my father with steady resolution, and 
 visits were frequently paid to our neighbours, 
 as they in their turn were frequently entertained 
 at home. But by degrees his old humour began 
 again to obtain the ascendency over him. His 
 pride and ill-humour broke out on more than 
 one occasion, with a violence which no equal 
 could endure ; and his neighbours, as a neces- 
 sary consequence, grew cold in civilities which 
 seemed so little valued and were so thanklessly 
 received. This change on their part operated 
 only to rouse the natural implacability of his 
 temper. A slight offered or received, suf- 
 ficed to put an end at once to all farther inter- 
 course with the offending party, no matter 
 
 how gross and glaring the provocation might be. 
 
 In this manner, first one, then another of our 
 G 5 
 
130 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 visitors fell off, till was left once more 
 
 in the state of almost total solitude which for- 
 merly distinguished it. 
 
 t{ In proportion as this state of things attained 
 its climax, my father's retired and unsocial 
 habits resumed their ascendency over himself- 
 His voice recovered its natural tones ; he rarely 
 spoke except in anger, or, which was infinitely 
 worse, in bitter raillery. The society of his wife 
 appeared to possess no charms for him, and mine 
 he rather shunned than courted. We never 
 saw him, indeed, except at meals, for his morn- 
 ings were spent constantly in the library, and 
 he retired thither again as soon as the dinner 
 ended ; and as to any act of kindness or atten- 
 tion, neither the one nor the other received 
 such at his hands. I need not after this ob- 
 serve, that the feeling so opposed to love, which 
 I had struggled to subdue, again oppressed me 
 as often as a thought of my father occurred ; 
 whilst poor Charlotte's dread of him became be- 
 fore long too conspicuous to be concealed. 
 
 64 The consequence of all this was, that she and 
 I were thrown continually upon one another for 
 society, for consolation, I had almost said for 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 131 
 
 support ; whilst the reserve which had hitherto 
 subsisted between us melted gradually away. 
 
 " Instead of separating for the rest of the morn- 
 ing, as we had been accustomed to do at the 
 breakfast-table, we found ourselves occupying 
 the same apartment she busied with her needle 
 or her pencil, and I reading aloud the work of 
 some author equally a favourite with both. 
 Then came the time of exercise ; and our walks, 
 our rides, our drives, were felt to possess many 
 additional attractions, now that they were taken, 
 not separately, but together. Music, too, lent 
 its powerful attractions. Our tastes here, as in 
 literature, accorded ; and the songs which she 
 sang with the liveliest satisfaction to herself, 
 were listened to by me with a feeling too deep 
 even for tears. Need I say how all this ended ? 
 Wedded to one whom she had never loved, 
 whose years alone had been sufficient obstacle 
 to a union so revolting; and treated, even within 
 a few months from her bridal day, not with indif- 
 ference only, but with harshness and brutality ; 
 can it be wondered at, if she unconsciously 
 gave to another that which was no longer her's 
 to give? No ; even though that other was the 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 son of her husband, and, as a necessary conse- 
 quence, a being from whom she was divided 
 by a gulph never to be passed, who can blame 
 her ? She but obeyed the impulses which na- 
 ture has implanted in every bosom ; and obeying 
 them without a consciousness of the results to 
 which they lead, she was innocent. But for me, 
 no such excuse was mine. I saw the chasm 
 before me, plainly, clearly, saw it. I knew 
 even from the first, that to remain near her, yet 
 retain the mastery over myself, was impossible. 
 Then why did I not leave her ? Why did I 
 not abandon my home for ever ? a home which, 
 till she entered it, possessed no attractions, and 
 which, now that she was there, ought to have 
 been regarded with horror. I cannot answer 
 these questions. There was a spell upon me, 
 which drove me on, with eyes open and senses 
 wide awake, into the abyss that some power 
 higher than my own will had prepared for me ; 
 and I followed its impulse, like a sheep led 
 to the slaughter, without so much as making one 
 struggle to resist it. 
 
 " In this manner the remaining portion of sum- 
 mer rolled on, and autumn came in, with all 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 133 
 
 his variegated hues and sombre beauty. How 
 delicious were the walks which we took at that 
 glorious season, amidst groves dark with de- 
 caying foliage ! How soothing were the mo- 
 ments which we spent under some tall beech 
 or umbrageous elm, whilst the dead leaves 
 shaken from the branches at every breath, fell 
 one by one at our feet ! True, the thought 
 of parting came but too frequently into our 
 minds, for the period of my sojourn at home 
 was drawing rapidly to a close ; but the parting 
 hour was yet by several weeks distant ; and 
 when did young hearts learn to anticipate dis- 
 tress ? Never : at those blessed moments, (for 
 blessed I must still regard them,) every thing 
 was forgotten beyond the events of the passing 
 hour. Yet let me not be misunderstood. Never 
 had there passed between us one word, one 
 syllable, one allusion, which the angels of light 
 would have blushed to witness. Our love, if 
 such it must be called, was wholly unmixed 
 with every earthly and debasing passion. She 
 was to me an object of adoration, an idol, 
 to be gazed upon in holy rapture, but 
 with a rapture sanctified by the most profound 
 
134 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 respect ; whilst to her, I was as the brother of her 
 affections the friend on whom alone she leaned 
 for aid in her difficulties, and consolation in her 
 griefs. Could there be aught impure in the 
 intercourse of persons actuated by these senti- 
 ments, and these only ? Why was it, then, that 
 such moments never failed to bring in their 
 train, hours of agony and remorse ? 
 
 " The fatal period, so often thought of, and to 
 which every allusion had been, as it were, stu- 
 diously avoided, came at last. The middle of 
 October arrived, and brought with it the ne- 
 cessity for my immediate abandonment of 
 
 and return to college. For some days previous- 
 ly, our intercourse, though not less constant than 
 before, had been accompanied with a degree 
 of restraint perfectly novel. The truth is, that 
 we were equally desirous of hiding the sorrow 
 of which both were equally conscious, and the 
 effort necessary to ensure success, caused us to 
 appear strange in each other's eyes. But the 
 attempt, though nobly made, and for a while 
 steadily persevered in, proved ultimately use- 
 less. Feeling, if it be really strong, will break 
 through every restraint both of prudence and 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 135 
 
 duty ; and ours were far too impetuous not to 
 sweep all such barriers before them. 
 
 " It was now the day preceding that which had 
 been fixed for the commencement of my journey. 
 It was Sunday, too, that day of holy rest, 
 which in the country, at least, never dawns 
 without bringing a blessing along with it both 
 upon man and beast ; and Charlotte and my- 
 self, according to our invariable practice, at- 
 tended divine service together. My father 
 was not of the party ; indeed, many years had 
 elapsed since he last beheld the interior of a 
 church, of which, and of the clergy, it was too 
 much his custom, if he spoke at all, to speak 
 in terms of contempt. There is nothing parti- 
 cularly imposing in the structure of the little 
 church which adjoins the palings of the park ; 
 it is a plain and rather rude pile, very ancient, 
 as its style of architecture proves, but abso- 
 lutely devoid of any thing like elegance or state- 
 liness in its general arrangement. Of the offi- 
 ciating minister likewise, though a man of excel- 
 lent character and acknowledged respectability, 
 it cannot be said that he laid claim to any pecu- 
 liar distinction on the score of impressiveness of 
 
136 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 manner either in the desk or pulpit ; yet on 
 no previous occasion had the simple but sub- 
 lime service of the liturgy produced so power- 
 ful an effect upon me : not at any moment of 
 my life was I conscious of devotional feel- 
 ings deeper or more engrossing than came over 
 me then. I prayed, I say not fervently, but 
 bitterly ; the very tears made their way through 
 the hands in which my face was buried ; my 
 whole soul seemed abstracted from earthly con- 
 siderations, and even Charlotte was, for a time, 
 forgotten. How she was affected 1 know not ; 
 for, from the commencement of the service>to its 
 close, I never once beheld her, so entirely was 
 my attention given up to the solemn business 
 in which I was engaged. Is it not strange that 
 feeling such as this should leave no hallow 
 behind it ? Perhaps my prayers were breathed 
 forth in a temper not sufficiently submissive ; or 
 it may be, that though the imagination became 
 excited to a high degree, the heart was never 
 touched. Be it so. All of which I am aware is 
 this, that the first breath that blew upon me, 
 after I quitted the edifice, scattered every pious 
 sentiment to the elements, and that I became 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 137 
 
 again the slave of a passion, as resistless as it 
 was fatal, and as fatal as it was unholy. 
 
 " We did not return home as soon as the 
 service concluded ; but Charlotte passing her 
 arm through mine, we sauntered on towards 
 our favourite retreat in the beech-wood. We 
 sat down as usual, just within the shelter of the 
 grove, on a mound from whence a view of the 
 whole landscape could be obtained, whilst we 
 were ourselves concealed from observation. The 
 day was beautifully mild and serene ; there 
 was not a cloud in the sky, nor a breath of 
 air astir sufficiently violent to shake a wi- 
 thered leaf from its stem. A universal silence 
 was around us, broken only by the full, 
 clear, and melodious notes of a thrush, which 
 poured, from a brake hard by, a torrent of 
 natural music. We looked abroad, too, upon 
 a scene of no ordinary beauty, upon herds 
 of deer quietly grazing, upon the modest 
 church more than half concealed in the 
 grove that encircled it, upon hamlets, vil- 
 lages, and solitary cottages, reposing in the sanc- 
 tity of the sabbath ; but of human beings, 
 not a trace could be discerned. There was 
 
138 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 something in this perfect solitude particularly 
 affecting to persons in our situation : we did 
 not interrupt it by any attempt at conversation, 
 to which we felt ourselves quite unequal, but 
 sat in silence, whilst visions the most melan- 
 choly passed over our minds, like the shadows 
 of clouds on a summer's day over the side of 
 a hill. 
 
 At last, the gradual inclination of the 
 sun towards the west, warned us that it was 
 time to quit the spot : we rose, as if by 
 common consent, to obey the impulse, just as 
 his disk reached the horizon ; and we stood 
 motionless, whilst it sank lower and lower, till 
 it wholly disappeared. It was then that for 
 the first time I ventured to speak : what I said 
 I know not ; I believe it was some common- 
 place remark, such as the circumstances of the 
 case called forth, as that I should be far away 
 when next she beheld the sun set, or something 
 to that purport ; but it appeared as if the tones 
 of my voice were alone required to break the 
 spell which had so long bound us, and to cause 
 the feelings of both, hitherto painfully re- 
 pressed, to overflow. Charlotte burst into 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 139 
 
 tears. Instinctively I threw my arm round her 
 waist, a movement which she sought not to 
 prevent, and then she laid her head upon my 
 shoulder, and wept bitterly. I cannot pretend 
 to describe what I felt at that moment ; I could 
 not speak comfort to her, for my own tears 
 choked my utterance; but I pressed her to 
 my heart, as if it were there, and there only, 
 that she must read the secret which my lips 
 refused to reveal. 
 
 " We stood thus for several moments ; not a 
 sentence had been spoken by either, though both 
 were too fully aware of the issue to which 
 matters had been driven ; when Charlotte, 
 by a desperate effort, checked her weeping, and 
 raising her head from my shoulder, proposed 
 that we should return home. I obeyed with- 
 out hesitation, and giving her my arm, we set 
 forward in the direction of the house. We 
 had just cleared the wood, when, happening to 
 look back, I perceived the figure of a man 
 passing with apparent caution to the right, 
 and a single glance served to convince me that 
 it was my father. A horrible consciousness 
 struck at once to my heart. I permitted Char- 
 
140 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 lotte's arm to drop from mine, my senses all but 
 forsook me, and it was not without difficulty 
 that I prevented myself from falling to the 
 ground. Alarmed at my condition, though ig- 
 norant of its cause, she shrieked aloud, and ad- 
 dressed to me in her agony, terms such as she 
 ought never to have employed, nor I permitted. 
 The words, not less than the manner of the 
 speaker, restored to me at once my self-com- 
 mand. I perceived that she had not observed 
 the spectacle which had so dreadfully shocked 
 me ; and determined not to distress her by any 
 intimation of the truth, I pretended that a sud- 
 den dizziness had come over me, to which I was 
 occasionally subject. I then urged her to clear 
 away every trace of tears from her cheeks ; and 
 once more taking her arm in mine, led her, at a 
 quick pace, to the house. 
 
 " We parted in the hall, Charlotte going to 
 the drawing-room, whilst I hurried off to my 
 own apartment, to indulge in a train of ideas 
 more hideous than had ever yet entered into 
 my mind. Could it be that my father enter- 
 tained any suspicion of my honour, or his wife's 
 fidelity ? Could he act the part of a spy upon 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 141 
 
 us, all the while that he pretended to desire our 
 intimacy ? Above all, was it possible for him 
 to have witnessed all that passed in the beech- 
 wood ? What then ? Had we been guilty of 
 any deed, or spoken a single word, of which there 
 was real cause to be ashamed ? No ! What- 
 ever our feelings might have been, at least they 
 were not disclosed ; arid the embrace, was it 
 more than the peculiar circumstances in which 
 we stood authorized ? Had I done aught 
 besides what was enjoined upon me, in be- 
 having towards Charlotte as a brother, and a 
 friend ? And was it not natural, on the eve of 
 parting, that we should exhibit some such proofs 
 that we looked forward to the separation with 
 regret ? All these questions I strove to answer 
 to my own satisfaction ; but there was a fiend 
 in the back-ground which continually reminded 
 me, that the answers, though true in letter, 
 were false in spirit. How conscience does make 
 cowards of us ! Had my own heart been able 
 to acquit me, there would have been nothing in 
 nature besides capable of stirring up one 
 painful reflection ; but my heart did not ac- 
 quit me, and all my anticipations were, in 
 
14$ THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 consequence, terrible. I thought of the injury 
 I had done, and of its probable punishment 
 a punishment to be poured out not upon me 
 alone, for that I could have borne, but upon 
 one dearer to me than life to secure whose 
 happiness I would have been content to sacrifice 
 not only present peace, but eternity itself. I 
 thought of Charlotte, not merely neglected and 
 occasionally chid, as was her fate now ; but 
 upbraided, insulted, disgraced, turned out 
 upon a cold world, with a reputation blasted, 
 and a broken heart ; whilst I, the miserable 
 cause of all this, could not offer to her so 
 much as the last refuge of the guilty and the 
 desperate. Maddened with the horrid picture, 
 I threw myself with my face upon the bed, my 
 whole frame shaking in convulsive agony ; till 
 the sweat-drops stood upon my brow like dew, 
 and my brain burned as if it had been on fire. 
 
 " By degrees, however, Hope, that inextin- 
 guishable principle in minds not utterly seared, 
 began to exert its influence. There were no 
 proofs before me, either that my father was 
 really suspicious, or that, being so, he had 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 143 
 
 watched our proceedings ; still less had conclu- 
 sive evidence appeared, that our proceedings on 
 that day were observed. At the moment when 
 I saw him, he was too far removed from the 
 spot where we had sat, to overhear our conver- 
 sation, had such passed between us ; and the 
 shape of the wood was, I felt confident, such, 
 as to screen our very figures from his observa- 
 tion. Should the case be so, then all might 
 yet be well, and I should leave Charlotte ex- 
 posed to no greater risks and miseries than 
 were already about her. But should it not, 
 I would not receive that impression again. 
 There was something within, which whispered 
 that all could not be lost. We were not suf- 
 ficiently guilty to merit utter perdition ; and 
 Heaven was too just to destroy on account of 
 errors purely involuntary, and only of the mind. 
 No, no ; my fears had been too excessive, and 
 I did wrong to indulge them. At all events, 
 there was no advantage to be derived from the 
 anticipation of evil ; of the coming of which, 
 if it were to come, I should soon receive tokens 
 not to be misunderstood ; so I determined to 
 
144 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 command myself, and to be guided in my judg- 
 ment of what was likely to fall out, by the be- 
 haviour of my father when we met. 
 
 " Thus reasoning, I made haste to change 
 my dress, and descended to the dining-room. 
 Just as I reached the door of his apartment, 
 my father came forth, and I found, that how- 
 ever sturdy resolutions may be whilst the neces- 
 sity of acting up to them is remote, they hold 
 but an insecure ground if suddenly put to the 
 test. My heart beat quick, and I would have 
 passed on; but he spoke, and, agitated as I 
 was, I retained my senses sufficiently about me 
 to be aware that the moment of trial had ar- 
 rived I stopped. His observation was one of 
 ordinary salutation merely. He hoped that I 
 had had a pleasant walk said that the sun set 
 beautifully, and predicted an agreeable day for 
 my journey on the morrow ; and he did so in a 
 tone perfectly calm and natural : indeed, if any 
 thing, with more of kindness in it than he had of 
 late cared to show. I felt as if a mountain had 
 been removed from my chest. I breathed again. 
 I was like a person to whom liberty is unex- 
 pectedly restored, like a criminal reprieved on 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 145 
 
 the very scaffold. Hope for once had not de- 
 ceived me ; and my suspicions were proved to 
 be groundless. With a light step and a joyous 
 countenance, I continued my course to the din- 
 ing-room ; and I sat down to table a happier 
 man than I had been during many weeks be- 
 fore. 
 
 " Moods of the mind, whether gay or melan- 
 choly, are surely infectious, where persons who 
 take a real interest in each other's welfare, are 
 met together. We had not long been seated, 
 when the dejection which at first marked Char- 
 lotte's air, gradually cleared away, and she join- 
 ed cheerfully in the conversation, of which I 
 was the prime mover and the chief support. 
 My father, too, seemed to have laid aside for a 
 time his constitutional coldness, that he might 
 make the last evening of my sojourn an agree- 
 able one ; indeed so affectionate was his manner 
 towards both Charlotte and myself, that had I 
 not been under the influence of false excitement, 
 that very affection would have stung me to the 
 quick. I was, however, too happy in the dis- 
 covery that my fears were without foundation, 
 to permit any consideration of minor moment 
 
 VOL. I. H 
 
146 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 to ruffle me ; and hence I acted and spoke, not 
 like one about to quit a place endeared to him 
 by the most tender associations, but as if the 
 journey to be taken were one of pleasure. My 
 father rallied me in this ; Charlotte, too, threw 
 out some hints which I could not misunder- 
 stand ; but I answered both in the same tone 
 of levity, and then changed the subject. That 
 the excitement might not abate, I drank wine 
 profusely ; and my father, though usually ab- 
 stemious, encouraged me in so doing, by imi- 
 tating my example. By and by, Charlotte 
 quitted us. There was a slight flutter of the 
 pulse as the door closed after her, a slight 
 sense of apprehension, that a second trial was 
 at hand ; but nothing whatever occurring to 
 justify the suspicion, I again became re-as- 
 sured ; and we again plied the bottle, till I cer- 
 tainly, and my father, to all appearance, became 
 considerably enlivened. But we broke up from 
 cur orgie at last, and following Charlotte to the 
 saloon, the rest of the evening was spent in lis- 
 tening to Handel's exquisite music, rendered 
 doubly sublime by being expressed in the tones 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 147 
 
 of a voice to which those of the seraphim were 
 harsh and inharmonious. 
 
 "It was drawing late, and all appeared to feel 
 that the parting moment was come ; for it was 
 necessary for me to set out at an hour when few 
 even of the domestics would be stirring. I did 
 my best to appear calm ; I even strove to keep 
 up the gaiety of countenance which during 
 the last hour or two had been worn in mockery 
 of a heavy heart. Charlotte likewise struggled 
 hard to repress her grief; and she succeeded so 
 well, that not a tear burst from the lids, beneath 
 which a torrent lay imprisoned. My father 
 was the first to speak. ' Good night, Charles,' 
 said he, holding out his hand ; ' there is nothing 
 to be gained by prolonging a scene like this. 
 Part we must ; and though it be for a short 
 time, to part is never agreeable. Go, kiss your 
 mother pooh pooh kiss Charlotte, and tell 
 her not to break her heart, for you will return 
 to us at Christmas.' 
 
 " I had replied to the squeeze of his hand, 
 and was preparing to salute Charlotte, when the 
 latter part of his speech attracted my notice. 
 
148 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 It had never been customary for me to visit 
 home during any of the shorter vacations. 
 These I usually spent either in Cambridge, or 
 in town, or with some of my college friends, 
 whose residences were not so remote as mine 
 from the seat of learning ; and the invitation to 
 deviate now from an established practice, could 
 not but forcibly strike me. I looked at my 
 father suspiciously, but there was an air of ab- 
 solute frankness about him which fully satisfied 
 me that the invitation was not given invidious- 
 ly. Still I hesitated how to answer him. God 
 knows, my inclinations were not doubtful ; had I 
 acted as they pointed out, I should have at once 
 closed with the proposition, no matter how preg- 
 nant with mischief; but there was an appre- 
 hension, suggested by conscience alone, lest my 
 motives might be read, which caused me to ap- 
 pear undecided, if I really was not so. 
 
 " ' You do not mean to deny us the pleasure 
 of your company at Christmas?" asked my 
 father ; ' I am sure both Charlotte and I shall 
 mope to death till we see you again. Try, 
 my love, try your influence with this truant, 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 149 
 
 who seems to quit his home with smiles, and 
 looks forward to his return with tears.' 
 
 " Charlotte spoke. Her words were pro- 
 nounced with difficulty, and the tone of her voice 
 was low and plaintive ; but it penetrated to my 
 very heart, and put in jeopardy all my artificial 
 composure. ' You will not reject your father's 
 invitation ?' said she : 6 for my sake, not less 
 than his, do not refuse him what he asks.' It 
 was not without a desperate effort that I re- 
 strained myself ; but I did restrain myself so 
 far as to reply, in a tone meant to be that of in- 
 difference, that against such entreaties I could 
 not think of standing out. I felt, however, 
 that to dissemble much longer would be im- 
 possible. I accordingly took her hand, im- 
 printed upon her cheek a cold, formal kiss, then 
 snatching up my candle, hurried away to the 
 privacy of my own apartment. 
 
 " I need not say that to me that was a night 
 of intense and overwhelming misery. The steps 
 which I had taken to support my courage, how- 
 ever effectual they might have been at the mo- 
 ment, told, now that I was alone, fearfully 
 against me; for the excitement produced by 
 
150 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 wine soon evaporated, and left me more than 
 ever a prey to despondency and self-reproach. 
 I could not lie down ; I did not so much as 
 think of undressing; but, with a brain distracted 
 by a thousand fearful forebodings, and a fever 
 raging through every vein, paced my chamber 
 backwards and forwards, with the step of a 
 maniac. Yet the images which passed through 
 my mind that night, left no marked or definite 
 form behind them. I believe indeed that they 
 were too wild to assume a definite form, that 
 they were rather the shadows of terrible ideas, 
 than ideas themselves, vague, indistinct, un- 
 certain, pointing to nothing tangible, nor rest- 
 ing upon any palpable foundation, but painful 
 as the operations of a confused dream, when 
 nothing more is remembered than that it was 
 the source of exquisite distress. The truth is, 
 that though conscience might have told a hi- 
 deous tale, I was not sufficiently brave to let 
 her voice be heard. Had I possessed courage 
 enough, or candour enough, to listen to that 
 monitor, the cause of my agony would have 
 been at once displayed, and possibly all that 
 followed might have been avoided; but I 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 151 
 
 closed my ears against a warning note, which 
 would have sounded harshly in proportion to 
 its truth, and I have paid the full penalty of 
 my own weakness. 
 
 " I pass over the events which immediately 
 followed, partly because I myself retain of them 
 but an indistinct recollection, and partly be- 
 cause, were the case otherwise, the detail could 
 excite no interest in the mind of a stranger. 
 Let it suffice to state, that morning found me 
 thus occupied, not a single preparation having 
 been made for my journey, and that when the 
 arrival of the carriage was announced, I only 
 began to take steps, which under other circum- 
 stances would have been taken many hours be- 
 fore. Notwithstanding the delay thus occasioned, 
 however, I saw nothing either of my father or 
 Charlotte. I think their usual hour of descend- 
 ing to the breakfast-room had arrived previous 
 to my departure, I am almost confident that 
 it had ; yet they made not their appearance, 
 and the very shutters of their apartments re- 
 mained closed as I passed under them. I did 
 not look up again ; on the contrary, I threw 
 myself back in the chaise with the firm deter- 
 
152 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 ruination of forcing my thoughts into another 
 channel : how far I succeeded need not be 
 told. 
 
 " At noon on the following day, I reached Cam- 
 bridge ; but how changed in every respect since 
 last I traversed its venerable streets ! I had 
 been an enthusiast once in the studies of the 
 place ; I had aspired to the attainment of 
 academic honours, and was not without a hope 
 of succeeding to the utmost ; whilst at the same 
 time no man ever entered more freely into the 
 gaieties, nor enjoyed more heartily the society 
 of his fellow-students. Now I loathed them 
 all : my books were neglected ; my friends were 
 avoided ; I shut myself up in my chambers, 
 a gloomy and discontented wretch, that I might 
 ponder in solitude upon the single and hor- 
 rible idea which began about this time to take 
 possession of my mind. 
 
 " There are few ancient houses which have not 
 a traditionary saying handed down from gene- 
 ration to generation, with which, in some way 
 or other, the fate of the race is supposed to 
 be connected. As I have already stated, ours 
 was one of the oldest families in the north of 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 153 
 
 England, as it had formerly been one of the 
 most powerful ; and we were not without our 
 ominous prophecy, though when, or on what oc- 
 casion spoken, I never heard. You must know 
 that we bear as a device upon our shield, three 
 young falcons, with a falcon likewise for our 
 crest. Whether the rhyme has reference to 
 these circumstances, no one presumed to say ; 
 but there was a distich well known in the fa- 
 mily, which obtained an increased importance 
 in consequence of the coincidence, and which 
 was supposed to forbode, that at some period 
 
 or other, the house of would become 
 
 violently extinct. It was this : 
 
 * The of sal rue the hour, 
 
 When the young hawk harries the old hawk's bower.' 
 
 " I have said that this venerable distich was 
 well known to every member of the family. It 
 had been repeated to me a hundred times, at 
 least, by my nurse ; and even my father, during 
 an occasional gleam of good humour, had more 
 than once alluded to it ; but, as may well be 
 believed, it never made upon me a greater im- 
 pression than any other couplet of similar im- 
 port and antiquity. Now, however, the case 
 H 5 
 
154 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 was different. I began to see it in the prophetic 
 character which had all along been affixed to 
 it by others. I took particular notice of its 
 fitness, with reference to the armorial bearings 
 of the house ; and as the allusion could hardly 
 be to an ordinary spoliation, my excited imagi- 
 nation was not slow in discovering another and 
 more apt point of tendency. To speak out at 
 once, I fancied that the day of our house's 
 downfall had come, that I was the miscreant 
 by whose sacrilegious means its ruin was to be 
 effected, that I had already harried the nest 
 of my father, by stealing away the affections of 
 his wife, and that the penalty threatened would 
 not fail to be exacted. No language would do 
 justice to the effect produced upon me by this 
 hideous conviction. I have sat motionless du- 
 ring an entire morning, ruminating upon the 
 prophecy till all faith in the power of my own 
 will to regulate my actions vanished ; and I have 
 risen, not furious, nor even excited, but calmly 
 and deliberately convinced, that there was a path 
 before me in which I could not avoid to walk, 
 though the precipice to which it conducted was 
 not for an instant concealed. 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 155 
 
 " It was not customary between my father and 
 myself to keep up any frequent or regular epis- 
 tolary communication. In case either party 
 had business to transact with the other, then 
 indeed the usual silence was broken ; but letters 
 of affection merely had never passed between 
 us, from the hour at which I first quitted home 
 for school. Under these circumstances, I had 
 no right to expect that any notice of what might 
 
 be passing at would be transmitted to 
 
 me ; and as often as I permitted sober reason to 
 exert her power, this truth failed not to come 
 conspicuously into view. But sober reason pos- 
 sesses but a very interrupted, as well as feeble 
 influence, over a mind engrossed by one tumul- 
 tuous and fatal passion. Morning after morn- 
 ing, I examined my breakfast-table for that 
 which was not, and ought not to have been 
 looked for there ; and on each occasion I felt as 
 if some serious injury had been done, such as I 
 was justified in desiring to revenge. In short, 
 I ceased either to think or act like a man in his 
 senses, I became, to all intents and purposes, 
 insane. 
 
 " Slowly and drearily the time rolled on ; but, 
 
156 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 slow and dreary as was its progress, it drew gra- 
 dually to a close. It was now that a wild joy, 
 scarcely more endurable than the despair which 
 preceded it. began to assert its supremacy over 
 me. In a few days more I should be again an 
 inhabitant of the same dwelling with her to 
 whom I felt myself bound by ties stronger than 
 any human connexion acknowledges ; and what 
 to me was every consideration besides ? I was 
 no longer master of myself. The subject of a 
 prophecy marked out by destiny itself for one 
 particular course how was it possible for me to 
 avoid my fate ? and though that fate should en- 
 velope in it the ultimate misery both of myself 
 and those most dear to me, how was I answer- 
 able ? Such were the strange thoughts which 
 pressed themselves upon me with an energy 
 not to be resisted, and such the frame of mind 
 into which I had fallen, when I once more 
 quitted the University for the place of my birth. 
 " It was a clear frosty morning, the sun was 
 shin ; ng brightly, and the earth, covered with a 
 coat of hard crisp snow, was glittering as if 
 overspread with diamonds, when I arrived at 
 the well-remembered lodge. The gate was 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 157 
 
 opened, as it had been before, by the pretty 
 country girl, who, as formerly, dropped me 
 her neatest curtsey as the carriage rolled 
 through ; nor could my eye discover any altera- 
 tion in the form and aspect of things around, 
 greater than the change of season was calcu- 
 lated to produce. There was something satisfac- 
 tory in this; why I knew not ; but as the posti- 
 lion drove at the full speed of his horses, though 
 even then at a pace tedious and wearisome to 
 my impatience, I felt as composed and happy as 
 a man can be under such circumstances. By 
 and by, the wicket was passed and the turning 
 made, and I was once more in front of the 
 home of my fathers. It was now for the first 
 time, when the sound of the bell smote upon 
 my ear, that my heart fluttered violently ; 
 indeed, so great was my agitation, that, after 
 the door had been opened and the steps let 
 down, I found considerable difficulty in alight- 
 ing. I exerted myself, however, strenuously to 
 hide this agitation, and strove to assume, as I 
 proceeded, an air of extreme composure, with 
 so much success that the peculiar expression 
 of the servant's countenance as he looked me 
 
158 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 in the face, though noticed plainly enough, 
 
 did not discompose me. 
 
 " ' Your master and mistress are well, I 
 
 hope ?' said I, in what I meant to be a careless 
 
 tone. 
 
 " My master is well, Sir,' said the man, 
 
 ' but' 
 
 " ' But what ?' exclaimed I, forgetting in a 
 
 moment the resolution which I had just formed. 
 
 ( Speak out, man, at once your mistress ' 
 
 " ' Has been extremely ill for some weeks 
 past, 1 replied he, 'and is now, I fear, at the 
 point of death;' 
 
 " I heard no more. I threw my hat upon the 
 table, and brushing past the servant, ran with the 
 speed of thought up stairs. In an instant I 
 was at the door of her apartment : it was ajar ; 
 and without considering the consequences which 
 might accrue, I pushed it open. There was 
 no attendant in waiting. The curtains were 
 drawn closely round the bed ; and the blinds let 
 down, with the shutters half closed, threw a 
 dismal light over the chamber. There was a 
 dull noise, too, as of one who breathed with 
 difficulty or in a slumber; and a slight move- 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 159 
 
 nient of the bed-clothes served to indicate that 
 the former, not the latter, was the cause. Mad- 
 dened with apprehensions, I knew not of what, 
 I hastily pulled back the hangings: it was a 
 desperate deed, and desperately done; but it 
 roused the sufferer from her lethargy. She 
 opened her eyes, they fell upon my counte- 
 nance, and I was immediately recognised. One 
 shriek told this a shriek shrill, loud, terrible ; 
 there was an effort, too, to rise a movement 
 as if to meet the embrace which was offered, 
 but it failed. Before my extended arms could 
 reach her, she fell back upon the pillow she 
 was dead. 
 
 " I saw this, yet I saw it with eyes dry as 
 they are now. I looked upon her pale, smooth 
 forehead, beautiful even in death ; yet not a 
 drop fell from my burning balls ; and I kissed 
 her cold lips, calmly, as I would have kissed 
 the block of marble. I had no power to weep ; 
 but, had the case been otherwise, the fountain 
 of my tears would have been instantly con- 
 gealed by the scene which followed, I was 
 gazing upon the wreck of all that once was 
 lovely and loveable, when a hand laid rough- 
 
160 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 ly upon my shoulder, caused me to turn round. 
 My father stood beside me. There was an ex- 
 pression in his face of every evil passion by 
 which the human heart is capable of being 
 wrung ; hatred, malice, pride, fury, triumph 
 likewise, hellish triumph, was in his eye, as he 
 looked sometimes at the corpse of his wife, and 
 sometimes at his son. 
 
 "< Wretch P said he at last, 'behold thy 
 handywork ! Look at that frail but beautiful 
 image, and know that thy villainy has wrought 
 this deed thy villainy, I say thine ! Think 
 you that I could not see through the flimsy 
 disguise with which you sought to blind me ? 
 Think you that my eye was not upon you in 
 all your lonely walks and secret meetings ? 
 Have I not witnessed your warm embracings, 
 heard your protestations, watched your very 
 looks, read your very thoughts ? Villain ! 
 traitor ! miscreant ! begone. Quit my presence 
 for ever ; and may the curse of a father weigh 
 upon your spirit, till it drag you to the 
 earth P 
 
 " There was a spell upon me which I could 
 not resist even for a moment. I heard him 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 161 
 
 out, I heard him pronounce a sentence which 
 I felt to be just, and I saw that fate had 
 accomplished its purpose. With a deliberate 
 step, I quitted the chamber of the dead. I 
 spoke to no one, but, hurrying from the house, 
 became from that hour a wanderer and an out- 
 cast. I would have committed suicide, had I 
 possessed the power; but on more occasions 
 than one I found, that the power to die, at 
 least by my own hand, was denied me. In this 
 plight, I wandered from place to place, sleeping 
 under sheds and in barns, but shunning as 
 much as possible every inhabited spot, till 
 chance, or the fatality which has guided me 
 from my birth, brought me to Braeburn Lees. 
 I had been then for several weeks a vagabond ; 
 my money was expended ; and even my clothes 
 had been in part disposed of, to procure the 
 means of subsistence ; when the idea of enlisting 
 as a common soldier occurred to me. I obeyed 
 it ; and with the consequences which have fol- 
 lowed, you are already acquainted." 
 
162 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE last gleam of daylight served only to 
 render the characters of this manuscript visible, 
 and I departed almost as soon as I had finished 
 the perusal. I leave you to judge of the effect 
 which that perusal produced upon me. If I 
 felt interested in the fate of the unhappy youth 
 before, my interest was now increased a hun- 
 dred fold ; and I rose from the ground fully 
 bent upon saving him from the degradation of 
 the lash, at all hazards. I determined, indeed, 
 should other measures fail, to put the manu- 
 script itself into the hands of the commanding 
 officer, who could not possess the common feel- 
 ings of a man, yet inflict so debasing a punish- 
 ment upon the writer. Full of this notion, I 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 163 
 
 made all haste to the cantonments ; and I 
 reached them just in time to ascertain, that 
 the Colonel had set out an hour before upon a 
 visit to General Craufurd, and that he was not 
 expected to return before midnight. 
 
 It was with a sensation of no ordinary dis- 
 appointment, that I turned my back from his 
 quarters. 
 
 My first idea was to sit up till he should 
 return, and then at every risk to force my way 
 into his presence, and plead the young man's 
 cause vehemently, as I felt it. Bnt a minute's 
 reflection served to convince me. that with a 
 man of his temperament, such a course, so far 
 from being productive of good, would only 
 bring about much evil. That he would refuse 
 to listen to my story, I knew the individual too 
 well not to believe ; or if he did listen, it would 
 be in that frame of mind to which a man gives 
 way, when, having made up his mind how to 
 act, he nevertheless consents to hear the jus- 
 tice of his decision denied, or its policy called 
 in question. That scheme was therefore aban- 
 doned almost as soon as it had been formed. 
 But, between it and permitting things to take 
 
164 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 their course, one only alternative remained, and 
 to that, after considerable doubts as to its effi- 
 cacy, I made up my mind to have recourse. It 
 was our custom at this time, as it invariably 
 is with the divisions in the front of an army, to 
 get under arms every morning an hour before 
 dawn ; and I determined to make use of that 
 breathing space for the purpose of making the 
 Colonel aware of all the circumstances which 
 had affected myself so deeply. 
 
 Nothing occurred that night, either to myself 
 or Jackson, worthy of repetition : the latter sent 
 no message to me, nor, as far as I could ascer- 
 tain, took any other step to forward his own 
 interests, but waited in silent indifference the 
 issues of the morrow, be they what they might. 
 As I afterwards heard, indeed, he appeared not 
 unaware of the nature of the sentence which was 
 awarded him, yet, with a coolness for which it 
 would not be easy to account, sat down satisfied 
 under the weight of his destiny. For myself, I 
 retired to bed at my usual hour, and though for 
 a time anxiety kept me awake, habit gradually 
 asserted its influence, and I slept soundly. 
 
 It was still dark as pitch when the orderly- 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 165 
 
 sergeant entered the room to say, that the regi- 
 ment was getting under arms. I sprang to my 
 feet at the first summons, and hastily dressing 
 myself, sallied forth to take my station at the 
 head of my company : in five minutes after, a 
 close column was formed upon the brow of the 
 height, on which the corps remained till day- 
 light began to appear ; when the men being or- 
 dered to pile their arms, the officers were per- 
 mitted to fall out, and to meet in groups, as 
 was their custom, on the flank of the bat- 
 talion. Now was my time for bringing for- 
 ward Jackson's case ; and I did not neglect it. 
 I hastened to the spot where the Colonel stood, 
 being resolved at once to entreat his perusal 
 of the young man's narrative ; but before I 
 could reach him an aide-de-camp rode up, and 
 my opportunity was lost. The aide-de-camp 
 said only a few words and then rode on, but 
 these were words of moment, for the Colonel 
 instantly mounted his horse, and ordered the 
 regiment to stand to its arms. This was of 
 course done, and done promptly ; but minute 
 after minute passing by, and nothing of moment 
 occurring, the Colonel seemed to doubt the cor- 
 
166 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 rectness of the information which he had just 
 received, and, having warned the men not to 
 straggle, nor take off their accoutrements till 
 farther notice, he dismissed the parade. In an 
 instant all hurried back to their quarters, and 
 addressed themselves in good earnest to their 
 morning meal. 
 
 Another opportunity was now presented to 
 me, of which I gladly availed myself. Hav- 
 ing waited till I saw the Colonel enter his quar- 
 ters, I hastened after him, and, though no es- 
 pecial favourite, was not refused admission. 
 The first sentence that I uttered, however, was 
 all to which he would listen. 
 
 " Captain Chakott,' said he sternly, " I 
 heard your intercession in favour of that man 
 yesterday, and I told you at the moment how 
 I intended to act. I have only to add, that, 
 were he my own brother, he should receive the 
 full amount of his sentence." 
 
 I would have still persisted in my suit, hold- 
 ing out at the same time the packet ; but he 
 made a motion with his hand that I should 
 desist, and would listen to me no farther. I 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 167 
 
 walked away, more than half desirous to learn 
 that Jackson had deserted. 
 
 No fresh alarm occurring, and the time ap- 
 pointed for the punishment being arrived, the 
 bugles sounded. The call on such occasions is 
 seldom obeyed with much alacrity ; for, how- 
 ever obnoxious a criminal may be, there are few 
 indeed who take pleasure in the spectacle which 
 a military punishment presents; nor was the 
 regiment more active in assembling now, than 
 at other and similar moments. But it did as- 
 semble in due time. A square was then form- 
 ed, the officers standing in the centre; and in 
 a few minutes after, the prisoner was introduced 
 under charge of the guard. 
 
 There was now a solemn and fearful silence, 
 whilst the Colonel giving the word " attention !" 
 proceeded to read aloud the minutes and sen- 
 tence of the Court. These were listened to by 
 the regiment with an involuntary shudder; by 
 the prisoner with an intensity of feeling, which all 
 his assumed composure failed to conceal. His 
 cheeks were flushed, his lip quivered, his eye 
 rolled round the assembly, as if its movements 
 
168 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 were beyond the influence of his own control ; 
 and his limbs, though they did not quiver, were 
 restless and uneasy, like the fore-feet of a hunter 
 when checked as the view-halloo is given. No 
 sooner, however, had the reading ceased, than 
 he resumed, as if by magic, a perfect command 
 of himself, and turned upon his commanding 
 officer a glance, beneath which the eye of the 
 latter, though bold and proud, seemed to quiver. 
 " You have heard your sentence, Sir," said the 
 Colonel, " and now I have only to observe, 
 that were you my nearest relative, not one lash 
 of the number awarded you should be abated. 
 Strip, Sir!' 1 
 
 " Never !" replied Jackson haughtily. " Had 
 I been guilty of any crime against God or man, 
 I should have submitted quietly even to this ; 
 but circumstanced as I am, the lash at least 
 shall leave no debasing mark upon me." As he 
 uttered these words, he sprang with the agility 
 of a roe from the party surrounding him, and 
 rushed furiously and desperately against the 
 levelled bayonets of the square. In an instant, 
 the firelock of one man was wrenched from his 
 grasp ; and consequences the most fatal must 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 169 
 
 have ensued, had not the attention of all, not 
 even excepting the prisoner himself, been 
 suddenly drawn away by a sound the na- 
 ture of which there was no possibility of mis- 
 taking. It was the report, first, of a solitary 
 cannon, then of three others in rapid succes- 
 sion, and then, of a heavy and unintermitting 
 roar of musketry. There required no mes- 
 senger to assure us that the enemy was coming 
 on. The Colonel found time only to desire 
 that the prisoner, who was again in custody, 
 might be securely led to the rear, ere a 
 mounted officer, breathless and covered with 
 dust, arrived upon the ground ; and the bat- 
 talion breaking hastily into column, pushed for- 
 ward to assume its station in the line. 
 
 I need scarcely remind you, that at the pe- 
 riod to which my present narrative refers, Ciu- 
 dad Rodrigo, after an obstinate defence, had 
 fallen into the hands of the French, who in 
 overwhelming numbers threatened an immedi- 
 ate advance upon the Portuguese capital. For 
 some days past, indeed, they had been making 
 movements sufficiently indicative that the mo- 
 ment of re-opening the campaign in real ear- 
 
 VOL. I. I 
 
170 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 nest was not very distant ; and the British army 
 had, in consequence, been kept in a condition 
 for moving at the shortest notice. So lately as 
 the 21st, they had pushed forward a strong 
 column both of infantry and cavalry, which, 
 occupying Valdelamula, St. Pedro, and Villa 
 Formosa, had caused our people to abandon 
 and blow up the Fort of Conception ; and now 
 our most advanced corps lay resting its left 
 upon Almeida, with its right, as well as its 
 rear, covered by the Coa. Into that line we 
 were pushed, and we took post in the centre, 
 having a battalion of Caadores on each flank, 
 and the rocky bed of the river immediately 
 behind us. 
 
 We had not assumed our alignement many mi- 
 nutes, when one of the most interesting military 
 spectacles which it has been my good fortune 
 to behold, opened upon us. Three British pic- 
 kets, two of infantry, one of cavalry, had 
 been posted considerably in advance of Al- 
 meida about half way indeed between that for- 
 tress and the village of Villamula. These hav- 
 ing been attacked by an overwhelming force 
 of the enemy, were of course compelled to fall 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 171 
 
 back ; and they now appeared, slowly and re- 
 gularly retiring, before a perfect swarm of ti- 
 railleurs, supported by dense columns both of 
 horse and foot. Nothing could exceed the cool 
 and orderly manner in which that retrogression 
 was conducted. Their retreat lay over a level 
 plain, intersected here and there by hedges, 
 stone walls, and enclosures, behind each of 
 which, as it occurred, our people resolutely 
 maintained themselves, till the enemy, extend- 
 ing far beyond their flanks, began to threaten 
 them in rear, when they were again under the 
 necessity of running back, as quickly as they 
 could, to the next cover. Nor was it to infantry 
 alone that those brave men were opposed. As 
 soon as the country began to open sufficiently 
 for cavalry to act, several squadrons of French 
 dragoons dashing forward, made various at- 
 tempts to intercept our people as they retreated 
 from hedge to hedge, and from wall to wall, 
 insomuch that on more than one occasion the 
 skirmishers were compelled to throw themselves 
 into circles, and to withstand a charge as they 
 best might. They were not, however, uniform- 
 ly successful here. Some prisoners were unfor- 
 i 2 
 
172 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 tunately taken, and several brave men sabred ; 
 till at last the pickets found that farther oppo- 
 sition was useless, and they fell back behind 
 the division, now drawn out to receive the 
 enemy. 
 
 The French, finding us in position along the 
 brow of the height, paused for a few minutes, 
 as if to give their generals time to reconnoitre 
 our arrangements, and to complete their own. 
 That was a moment of deep and extraordinary 
 interest, when, the firing having ceased, the hos- 
 tile lines stood opposed to one another, in all 
 the pomp and majesty of war in its most mag- 
 nificent array ; and many a bosom beat with anx- 
 iety and proud daring, which within an hour 
 was destined to cease beating for ever. But 
 the pause, though strikingly fine, was not of 
 long continuance. The French, sending off two 
 lesser bodies to amuse the regiments on our 
 flanks, drew up opposite to our centre an im- 
 mense column of infantry, supported, and in 
 some degree intermixed, with several masses of 
 cavalry ; and then, having saluted us with a 
 warm discharge from thirteen or fourteen pieces 
 of cannon, pressed forward with a fury which 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 173 
 
 we found it no easy matter to withstand. Of 
 the events which immediately followed, I can 
 offer no minute or accurate description ; I saw 
 only the flashes of our own and of the enemy's 
 muskets, and heard but the roar of fire-arms, 
 like the rolling of a drum, whilst a smoke 
 dense as the heaviest fog that ever darkened 
 the city of London, soon rendered every object 
 beyond my immediate front invisible. 
 
 In this state things continued for perhaps 
 ten minutes ; the increasing brilliancy of the 
 fire from the head of the enemy's column prov- 
 ing that it drew every instant nearer and 
 nearer. Our ranks, not very numerously sup- 
 plied at the first, were now sadly thinned, and 
 the tremendous shower of bullets thrown in 
 upon us rendered it continually thinner ; when 
 a sort of wild cry from the French, not a shout, 
 but a confused commingling of voices in all 
 tones, and without any regularity, gave notice 
 that they were about to bring their bayonets to 
 the charge. I cannot accuse our men of want of 
 courage at the very moment when I confess that 
 they declined the challenge. Outnumbered to 
 an immense degree, two-thirds of their original 
 
174 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 strength cut off, or dispersed with the wounded, 
 it was not to be expected that a single battalion 
 would meet the rush of at least five thousand 
 men, cheered forward, as these were, by the 
 knowledge that a numerous cavalry was on 
 their flank, ready to act with them. Our peo- 
 ple gave way. There were no means of rallying 
 them ; no point indeed at which we could halt 
 on this side the river ; so we fled in extreme 
 confusion towards the bridge, by which alone 
 the Coa could be crossed. 
 
 It was well for us at this juncture, that the 
 pickets, having formed in our rear, and being 
 joined by parties from other corps, were enabled 
 to oppose so much of a second line as to cover 
 our retreat. Had it not been so, we must, to a 
 man, have surrendered or been cut to pieces; 
 for the bridge, when we reached it, was literally 
 choked up with fugitives, the Portuguese having 
 fled some time before we gave way ; and as it 
 was, our reserve being finally driven in, the 
 enemy were enabled to bring some guns to bear 
 upon us, from the fire of which we suffered 
 severely. Nevertheless the passage was, in the 
 end, made good ; and then having halted among 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 175 
 
 some rocks and woods and broken ground, which 
 overhung the opposite bank, we again faced about 
 to resist any attempts which might be made to 
 pursue us farther. These, however, were nei- 
 ther numerous nor desperate. Some squadrons 
 of cavalry did indeed charge boldly towards the 
 bridge, pushing a troop across, but that troop 
 was cut to pieces by a division of German 
 Hussars, and the fire of our artillery checked the 
 remainder. 
 
 The cavalry being thus driven back, a few 
 minutes' pause ensued, during which General 
 Craufurd, and the officers of his staff, rode along 
 our line, encouraging the men by their voices, 
 and minutely examining their arrangement. In 
 the mean while the enemy having reformed 
 their solid column, began to crown the ridge of 
 the opposite height, and showed as if it were 
 their intention to force the passage of the bridge, 
 and carry our position by assault ; but they 
 never once arrived within the reach of musketry. 
 
 No sooner had the mass begun to move, 
 than our artillery opened their fire, and with a 
 precision far surpassing any thing of which I 
 could have formed a conception. First, their 
 
 
176 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 shrapnells striking full into the centre of the 
 column, caused large gaps to appear; then came 
 the case and grape-shot, literally sweeping down 
 whole sections, till the enemy, panic-struck, first 
 halted, then wavered, then fled over the ridge 
 in the greatest confusion. This was the last 
 effort made to drive us from our new aligne- 
 ment. Though the smoke from their bivouac 
 showed that they still hovered near, no farther 
 attempt was made to pass the Coa; and we, 
 following their example, caused our men to pile 
 their arms, and lay down to rest about our 
 watch-fires. 
 
 It was not, however, General Craufurd's de- 
 sign to await a renewal of the attack ; to which, 
 indeed, he had exposed himself in direct opposi- 
 tion to the wishes of Lord Wellington. His 
 business was to fall back with as little delay as 
 possible upon the main body ; and that he made 
 ready to accomplish as soon as a fitting oppor- 
 tunity should arrive. With this view our peo- 
 ple were commanded, as soon as darkness set 
 in, to heap quantities of fresh fuel upon their 
 fires ; and then stealing one by one so far to the 
 
THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 177 
 
 rear as that the blaze should not betray them, the 
 different regiments formed quickly but silently 
 into columns of march. 'That done, the guns, 
 baggage, stores, and wounded, were sent off? 
 and then battalion after battalion, leaving a 
 brief interval between the head of one and the 
 cue of the other, took the road to Alverca. 
 
 There remains but little for me to add con- 
 nected with the fate of the Gentle Recruit. 
 Our columns having reached their new ground 
 without molestation, and the enemy evincing no 
 disposition to follow them up, ample time was 
 afforded for mustering the several battalions, 
 and ascertaining the amount of our loss. When 
 the regiment to which I was attached paraded, 
 it was found that, among many others absent 
 without leave, Jackson was not to be found. 
 What had become of him, no one appeared 
 accurately to know. It was ascertained, in- 
 deed, that when the firing grew sharp, and 
 the guard was called away to join their com- 
 rades, the prisoner, instead of embracing the 
 opportunity of escape, hastily threw on his ac- 
 coutrements, and followed. That he took part 
 i 5 
 
178 THE GENTLE RECRUIT. 
 
 in the action, therefore, no one could doubt; 
 but whether he fell, or was taken prisoner, or 
 fled into the woods when our line was broken, 
 remained a mystery. Nor was the mystery 
 ever solved from that day to this. His name 
 was given in among the list of missing, and he 
 was neither seen nor heard of afterwards. 
 
179 
 
 MAJOR CHAKOT'S story being brought to a 
 close, the company, as in duty bound, spoke in 
 high terms of its excellence, expressing them- 
 selves deeply indebted to the teller for the 
 entertainment which they had received. His 
 health was again drunk with the usual honours ; 
 after which, a general desire began to show it- 
 self, that, as the customary hour of breaking up 
 was still distant, some other member of the mess 
 would favour them with a legend. This was 
 no sooner done, than all eyes were immediately 
 turned towards the President, who seemed by 
 no means disinclined to accept the challenge. 
 He sat more erect than ever in his chair, filled 
 his glass with great formality, then passed the 
 bottle. 
 
 " I cannot possibly refuse," said he, " to obey 
 the wishes of the company, having myself so 
 lately required obedience in another. My tales. 
 
180 
 
 however, as you well know, refer chiefly to other 
 times ; nevertheless, if you be content to listen 
 to such as my budget contains, the budget shall 
 very readily be spread out before you." 
 
 A general cry of " Go on, go on !" followed 
 this brief peroration ; after which Major Co- 
 horn began as follows. 
 
A DAY 
 
 ON 
 
 THE NEUTRAL GROUND. 
 
A DAY 
 ON THE NEUTRAL GROUND. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 IT is well known to every one at all conversant 
 with the details of the American Revolution- 
 ary war, that at the period when the British 
 troops occupied New York, and the army of 
 General Washington its position in the Jersey 
 highlands, a considerable extent of country, si- 
 tuated to the east of the Hudson's river, and 
 supposed to measure at least fifty or sixty miles 
 across, was recognised under the somewhat pro- 
 blematical title of the Neutral Ground. Whence 
 it obtained this appellation, it is scarcely neces- 
 
184 A DAY ON THE 
 
 sary to mention. The regular outposts of the 
 King's army extending but a little way in front 
 of Kingsbridge, whilst those of the Republicans 
 came not below Peekskill, a permanent supe- 
 riority over the intervening country could not 
 be claimed by either party ; and hence, rather 
 than on account of any recognised exemption 
 from the evils consequent upon a state of war, 
 a denomination was conferred upon it, of the 
 privileges supposed to belong to which its in- 
 habitants knew nothing. 
 
 Partly, perhaps, in consequence of the natural 
 advantages of its situation, being washed on one 
 side by the waters of the sea, and on the other 
 by the magnificent Hudson's, and partly because 
 its early settlers were men of patient and indus- 
 trious habits, this district had long been con- 
 spicuous, even in the province of New York, 
 for its extreme fertility and highly civilized 
 appearance. The original forest had been every 
 where cleared away ; there arose in its room 
 fertile fields, green meadows, blooming orchards, 
 and neat plantations; several flourishing vil- 
 lages likewise sprang up, some of them near 
 the margin of the sea, and others more inland ; 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 185 
 
 whilst cottages, farm-houses, and even villas and 
 gentlemen's seats, were scattered in great num- 
 bers over its surface. These, of themselves, 
 were objects upon which, at this early period 
 of American history, the eye of the traveller de- 
 lighted to rest, but they composed not the only 
 feature in the landscape which entitled it to the 
 appellation of beautiful. There is much variety 
 of scenery here, hill and valley, rock and 
 plain breaking in frequently, and with exquisite 
 irregularity, one upon another; indeed, it would 
 not be easy to point out any district, through- 
 out the compass of the Union, at one emore 
 luxuriant and more romantic. 
 
 I have said that the district in question was 
 known by a title, its claim to which rested upon 
 very equivocal grounds. It is true that a large 
 proportion of its inhabitants, either guided by 
 personal attachments, or held in check by fear, 
 affected to take no part whatever in the struggle 
 to which they were witnesses : they remained 
 quietly in their houses, and with a show of equal 
 hospitality, received whatever wanderers from 
 either army might chance to visit them. But, if 
 in these respects the belligerent powers conde- 
 
186 A DAY ON THE 
 
 scended to recognise their assumed rights, it 
 must be confessed that there were others over 
 which these rights were permitted to hold very 
 little influence. The unfortunate population of 
 the Neutral Ground lay exposed to constant 
 annoyances and insults. Their fields offered a 
 convenient foraging ground, not only to the 
 King's but to the Congresses troopers; their 
 sheep-pens and cattle-folds were equally access- 
 ible to marauders from the city or from the 
 camp ; whilst the Cow-boys, not less frequently 
 than the Skinners, eased them of such articles of 
 household stuff as happened to take the fancy 
 of these lawless robbers. To sum up all in 
 few words : if the mere absence of two hostile 
 camps from any particular district be sufficient 
 to obtain for that district the character of neu- 
 trality, then were the counties of East and West 
 Chester, with the townships of Stamford and 
 Philipsbourg, neutral ; but if the term be sup- 
 posed to express any meaning beyond this, then 
 was it, when applied to them, a gross misnomer. 
 Into this district it was customary for the 
 officers belonging to General Clinton's army 
 more especially, with such as chanced to occupy 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 187 
 
 the lines at Kingsbridge and Morrisiana, to 
 make frequent excursions. Fields well stocked 
 with quails and red-legged partridges, held out 
 inducements to the sportsman not to be resist- 
 ed. A variety of streams and rivulets in which 
 trout abounded, produced a similar effect upon 
 the angler ; and even the idler was too well 
 pleased to exercise himself in the open coun- 
 try and at a distance from the tumult of a 
 barrack-yard, not to incur some hazard in the 
 pursuit of that enjoyment. You will not be 
 surprised to learn that these wanderings were 
 not always accomplished without considerable 
 risk to such as undertook them. On more 
 than one occasion, narrow escapes from death 
 or captivity quieted for a season that rest- 
 lessness of disposition which leads young men 
 of ardent temperaments to seek gratification 
 at all hazards. Yet the impression made was 
 very seldom either deep or lasting ; and it no 
 sooner wore out than the same adventures 
 were sought, and the same dangers courted. 
 
 It was on a fine morning in September, in 
 the year 1781, that two young officers belong- 
 ing to the garrison of Kingsbridge set out upon 
 
188 A DAY ON THE 
 
 .1 .j.orhi.;' e-.pednioii into the Neutral (iround. 
 
 The sportsmen were cousins-german : they had 
 been companions in childhood, had received tin ir 
 
 education at the ,,imr ,< -liool, and, li:i vin/j en 
 
 tend i lie army within a brief interval the one 
 oi* the other, they now held commisBions in tin 
 same corps. Having premised this, it is 
 scarcely necessary to ,-nl<l, iliat they were sin- 
 cerely and warmly attached to one another ; 
 
 yet wrrc they in tciiijM-r, <li .po ,ilion, inanm-rs, 
 
 habits, and pursuits, as dissimilar as any two 
 
 persons could he, or as can uell he imagined. 
 
 Oliver Beckwith, the elder of the two, was of 
 a grave, sedate, and perhaps reserved turn of 
 mind ; correct in his proceedings, and guarded 
 in his conversation, he rarely gave offence, 
 
 even casually, to those among whom he lived ; 
 and if few entertained lor him any thin;; like 
 
 enthusiastic friendship, all who knew him both 
 rtipjolid and esteemed him. His cousin 
 Harry, on the other hand, was volatile, impe- 
 tuous, rash, and even headstrong. Warm 
 hearted and generous, he was, however, too 
 completely the slave of impulse, not to rush 
 continually into scrapes for which his feelings 
 
NKI; ( I HAL MM, i, NIJ. 180 
 
 ofjluiu;j||y upbraid* <1 him. Whilht hih p;o 
 f<rbVfl wi*h wah a! way -. to lo n;'ht. ;uil to -. 
 cure ill* ,"oo'l will of thov ;jl>out lum., IK uo 
 unfn 'ju< nfly fournl t.lnf I,.- liaH 'ion ., ami 
 
 hm-<l up tl,.-n H.-irry wa* one of 
 
 tlio--.<- upon wlioni men cannot look with an eye 
 "f jM'lifl.-rcnce. Among hi friend*, and he had 
 
 many., !, v. ;i . ;j'lon-l 1. .l<-;r,;uit, luf/l, 
 
 -,piji-'l ;JM! '.vit.ty. In wa* courted with 
 
 ;i-,i'lji y, v/|jj| -.1. 1 1 in very failing* w<-;<- .-ill ;iiin 
 
 l>uli-l to ;i IIH-H- </(,, , *,} -ji j;i|jl i- . ititriliMJi Jilly 
 l>n! i//jjjrop<-ily rcgijlatcd. Hut ll.ur y )j;j/l 
 
 and the* p/onounccd him 
 
 to h< |jollow-li-;ji !. Id .h, ;ml in 
 
 it ffiuHthe confeHMid thai, riot, a few of hih pio 
 formed at lea*t a plautible groun<l > 
 t, n t iiu i r[ > vtiotM accudatio/, 
 With n hp< < i to the personal appearance of 
 
 h j-. done v/ii.-n I inform 
 
 you, that, it < OfM fNNlA 'i ' > HJN'-J, f/, t},(- 
 
 arroiuit which ha>> juht been given of tin -n 
 
 ij;jfjn r . ;jnl --M.. f j'h-y v/<,< L^tJ, tali 
 
 ;IMI v/'-ll in.-iuV, tJiey were hot.h po -.-.<--.-.<'] of re- 
 gulai f'.jtiH'-.. H n< I hot h, perhap*, merited the 
 ap|j-llat.]oii of h;iu'l ome, yet were their expre- 
 
190 
 
 A DAY ON THE 
 
 sions as unlike as their habits were at variance, 
 the countenance of each being a pretty fair in- 
 dicator of the turn of mind which produced it. 
 Thus, Oliver, with his fair complexion and 
 quiet blue eye, could never be mistaken for 
 other than a mild-tempered and well-behaved 
 young man ; whilst the dark hue of his cou- 
 sin's cheek, and the sparkling glance of his 
 hazel eye, told a tale both of considerable 
 levity and of deep and overwhelming passion. 
 
 The fall of the year, as our relatives of Ame- 
 rica designate its two or three latter months, 
 is beyond all comparison the most delightful 
 season in the province of New York ; and the 
 morning on which these young men made ready 
 for their enterprise, was as lovely as ever shone 
 from the heavens. The sun was just rising into 
 a sky of the clearest and deepest blue, and the 
 air, mild yet bracing, seemed capable of impart- 
 ing fresh vigour even to the frame of one in the 
 last stage of a consumption. The sea, gently 
 agitated by the breeze, broke with a ceaseless 
 murmur upon the shore, and the larks' 1 sweet 
 music thrilled from their unseen dwellings 
 in the ether, when the one armed with a fowl- 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 191 
 
 ing-piece, the other with a rod and basket, 
 sallied forth from their hut dwelling within the 
 lines. A couple of dogs gamboled before them, 
 barking loudly to express their joy at being 
 thus early released from confinement. A black 
 boy, carrying a game-basket on his back, 
 followed ; and all, masters, servant, and dogs, 
 pushed forward in the highest spirits, and in the 
 best possible humour. 
 
 " And whither must we direct our steps to- 
 day ?" said the elder of the two relatives to his 
 companion, as they passed the advanced sentries, 
 and entered fairly upon the Neutral Ground. 
 
 " To the old beat, I presume,"' replied his 
 cousin, with a tone of indifference ; " I know 
 no district in the county better stocked with 
 birds, and the stream has never failed to afford 
 you excellent sport." 
 
 " But is it prudent, think you, to venture so 
 far from home ? Things are not now as they 
 were a year ago ; that unhappy affair of Andre's 
 has made the Rebels a thousand degrees more 
 on the alert, and ought likewise to make us 
 more cautious. " 
 
 " Poh, poh !" argued the younger of the two, 
 
192 A DAY ON THE 
 
 " were we always to listen to the whispers of 
 prudence, human life would furnish few sources 
 either of advancement or pleasure. I dare say 
 the Yankees are not rendered bolder by the 
 discovery that all their officers are not to be 
 trusted ; they are not, therefore, likely to visit 
 the Neutral Ground more frequently." 
 
 " But is it only on account of the birds and 
 fishes that you prefer that beat ?" asked the 
 elder with an arch look. 
 
 " Why, what else should actuate me ?'' re- 
 plied his companion, a slight flush passing over 
 his cheek. 
 
 " Oh, I cannot pretend to say, only I thought 
 it just possible that a brace of bright eyes might 
 have as great a share in drawing you thither 
 as a brace of quails." 
 
 " Now, Oliver," replied his cousin, " if I 
 were of a hasty temper, which, thank God ! I 
 am not, I should be strongly tempted to quarrel 
 with you for making that allusion. Have I not 
 told you a hundred times, at least, that the girl 
 is nothing to me : it is very true, that I think 
 her pretty, and agreeable, and lively ; and that 
 a little innocent flirtation is, and always was, a 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 193 
 
 favourite amusement of mine ; but if you really 
 suppose that I entertain for her any serious 
 attachment, I tell you once for all, that you 
 are confoundedly mistaken/'' 
 
 ft Then, my dear Harry," replied his cousin, 
 with greater seriousness than he had yet used, 
 " allow me to say that your behaviour is not 
 what it ought to be ; and far from being worthy 
 of yourself. I do not understand the meaning 
 of that phrase, innocent flirtation. You have 
 paid to the young lady attentions so marked, 
 that if you mean nothing by them, you have 
 done both to her and yourself serious wrong, for 
 rest assured that she does not regard them as 
 matters of ' mere innocent flirtation.' 11 
 
 " Now there you are again, 11 replied the 
 younger, " always harping on one string, con- 
 tinually giving lectures on propriety, and de- 
 corum, and honour, and I know not all what. 
 In heaven's name what would you have me do ? 
 Am I not to speak pretty to a nice girl when 
 I meet with her, especially if I chance to find 
 that she has no objection to my conversa- 
 tion?" 
 
 " There is a prodigious difference between 
 
 VOL. I. K 
 
194 A DA V ON THE 
 
 what you are pleased to term ' speaking pretty,' " 
 replied Oliver, " and dancing close attendance 
 on a young woman for months together." 
 
 " And what if I do dance close attendance, 
 as you call it, upon a girl whom I happen to 
 admire ?" replied Harry angrily ; " is it any 
 one's business besides my own ?" 
 
 " It is surely the business of the girl so at- 
 tended," answered his cousin drily. 
 
 " Well, and if she happen to like this at- 
 tendance, who has any right to interfere ?" 
 
 " Your own principles and sense of honour, 
 Harry ; unless indeed you have a definite object 
 in view/' 
 
 " In God's name, Oliver, what would you 
 desire ? Can there be any impropriety in cul- 
 tivating the acquaintance of either man or 
 woman for its own sake merely ? You are 
 becoming more and more rigid every day; 
 there is, really, no bearing with your code of 
 stern morality !" 
 
 " Be patient, Harry," replied Oliver, " and do 
 not permit that hasty temper of yours to blind 
 you to the dictates of your better judgment. 
 Certainly, there is no harm whatever in cultiva- 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND 195 
 
 ting the acquaintance either of man or woman 
 for its own sake merely : but can you so far de- 
 ceive yourself as to suppose for one moment that 
 your conduct in this case comes under the head 
 to which you would reduce it ? Let me remind 
 you of a few plain matters of fact. Upwards of 
 a year has elapsed since chance brought you as 
 a guest into the family of a man, who certainly 
 treated you with no common kindness, and en- 
 dangered his own safety to secure yours. It was 
 under these circumstances that you first saw his 
 daughter a beautiful girl, I allow, and not more 
 beautiful than amiable and accomplished ; and 
 it was no more than natural that you, a warm- 
 hearted and generous boy, should be amazingly 
 pleased with her. You paid her then the 
 most marked attention ; and you permitted but 
 a few days to intervene after your escape to the 
 lines, before you returned to thank both her 
 and her father, for their hospitality. This, 
 likewise, was quite natural, indeed it was high- 
 ly proper. But is it either natural or proper 
 to visit them continually at the risk of your 
 life or liberty not on account of the father, for 
 he, as you well know, seldom enters into your 
 K 2 
 
196 A DAY ON THE 
 
 thoughts, but that you may speak soft things 
 to the daughter ; and that too, meaning nothing 
 all the while ? Why, Harry, I know no charac- 
 ter so despicable as that of a man who can trifle 
 with the affections of a young and artless girl, 
 I do not say as you intend to do, but as you cer- 
 tainly are doing, with those of Cecily. The 
 scoundrel who seeks to undermine a maiden's 
 honour, has at least the excuse, wretched as it is, 
 of being hurried away by passion : but your cold, 
 heartless, odious man flirt, the creature who can 
 win a girl's love for the mere sake of winning it, 
 and then leave her, broken in heart, though un- 
 stained in reputation, is in the eyes of every right- 
 minded person, at once the most odious, and 
 the most contemptible reptile breathing. Sure- 
 ly you would not desire to be classed in such 
 society ; yet if you mean nothing by all this, 
 where else must I class you ?" 
 
 " By heavens, Oliver," replied Harry warmly, 
 " you presume both upon our relationship and 
 early friendship too much. There is not ano- 
 ther man breathing who would dare to speak to 
 me thus ; nor will I bear more of it, even from 
 you. What if I have some design in view ; 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 197 
 
 can that posisbly interest you, or entitle you 
 to read me lectures, as if I were a schoolboy ?" 
 
 " Yes, Harry," replied his cousin, " it can 
 and does interest me deeply. For heaven's 
 sake, take no rash step, nor make any rash pro- 
 mises. I am sure that Cecily Morgan is all that 
 is pure and excellent ; and that, choose whom 
 you may, you are not likely to find one better cal- 
 culated to make you happy. But consider how 
 you stand in other respects. Your private for- 
 tune is very limited, and your pay a mere pit- 
 tance ; whilst the state of the country renders it 
 at least highly improbable that Mr. Morgan can 
 portion his daughter largely. To marry under 
 such circumstances would be an act of insanity ; 
 whilst to incumber yourself with an engagement, 
 of the speedy fulfilment of which there is no 
 probability, would be to the full as imprudent." 
 
 " Marry !" ejaculated Harry contemptuously, 
 " I am too old a bird to be caught in that 
 springe yet a while." 
 
 Oliver stopped short as soon as this sentence 
 caught his ear. He cast a stern look upon 
 his relative, who, though clearly quailing under 
 it, nevertheless strove to meet it with a bold 
 
198 A DAY ON THE 
 
 front; and after a pause of several seconds 
 exclaimed : 
 
 " I did not, I could not comprehend you 9 
 Harry. It is impossible that the friend of my 
 youth, whom I have loved as a very second 
 self, can be a deliberate and hardened villain !" 
 When our conscience tells us, that the plain- 
 speaking of a monitor expresses nothing but 
 the truth, we are more frequently driven to 
 take offence at his candour, than to profit by 
 his reproofs. On the present occasion, Harry 
 Beckwith, whilst he writhed internally under 
 the lash of his cousin's exclamation, either for- 
 got, or pretended to forget, that it could have 
 no force, unless his own designs created it. A 
 flush of rage rushed into his cheek, his eye 
 shot fire, as clenching his fist, and stamping 
 violently on the ground with his foot, he cried 
 in a voice inarticulate from agitation 
 
 " Oliver Beckwith, did you apply the epi- 
 thet villain to me ?" 
 
 " No," replied his cousin calmly, but in a 
 tone of absolute resolution ; " I did not apply 
 that epithet to you. On the contrary, I ex- 
 pressed my conviction that I had misunder- 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 199 
 
 stood you when you seemed to apply it to 
 yourself." 
 
 " This is mere trifling, Sir," answered 
 Harry fiercely : " I insist upon an explanation 
 more explicit, or upon the satisfaction of a gen- 
 tleman." 
 
 " Harry," replied the elder cousin, " is it 
 to me that you talk of satisfaction ? or is it 
 from me that you demand an explanation which 
 one hint will always procure ? What have I 
 said or done to annoy you ? I have but stated 
 my conviction, and I state it again, that the 
 friend of my youth cannot be so base a villain 
 as to meditate the ruin of an innocent girl, 
 to whose father he is indebted for his life." 
 
 " And who said that I meditated any thing 
 of the kind ?" asked Harry. 
 
 " What other construction am I to put upon 
 your words, cousin? You first own that you 
 have a decided object in view, with regard to 
 Cecily Morgan ; and then speak of marriage 
 as a thing totally out of the question." 
 
 " Cousin Oliver," replied Harry, becoming 
 gradually more calm, " let us drop this sub- 
 ject of conversation, which is not likely to lead 
 
200 A DAY ON THE 
 
 to any good, and may bring about some evil 
 result. Take my advice for once, and whilst 
 you pursue your own amusements, in which, 
 God knows, I never seek to baulk you, leave 
 me to follow mine equally unembarrassed. You 
 forget that there is only a difference of one year 
 in our ages, and that I am old enough to direct 
 my own proceedings." 
 
 " Harry," replied his cousin in a tone of 
 deep feeling, " this assumed indifference is in- 
 finitely more painful to me than your anger. 
 I say assumed, for I cannot believe even now, 
 that you are so lost to all that is good, and 
 noble, and just, as to harbour the black design 
 of which your own lips have accused you. But 
 if it be so, remember, that not only shall your 
 infamous project be thwarted, not only shall 
 you be exposed to the hatred and derision of 
 all good men ; but the moment which brings 
 home to you the justice of the charge, shall be 
 the last of our acquaintance. Speak out at once, 
 then, and let me hear from your own lips that 
 you are still what I have hitherto believed you, 
 impetuous and volatile, and perhaps wayward 
 at times, but not a villain." 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 201 
 
 This address seemed for a moment to pro- 
 duce some effect upon the individual to whom it 
 was directed ; but the softer feelings which 
 struggled for ascendency, soon ceased to work. 
 Pride, or a worse passion, maintained its ground. 
 " I am not aware," replied he after a brief pause, 
 " upon what plea you make this demand, or 
 how you can establish the right to enforce it ; 
 and I am not in the habit of doing any thing 
 without having ascertained why it should be 
 done. You will therefore excuse me for say- 
 ing, that I neither will nor can make protes- 
 tations, the use and object of which are to me 
 equally unknown." 
 
 " Then we part company on the spot," re- 
 plied Oliver, turning round as he spoke : -" I 
 will not so far forget what is due to myself, as 
 again to be seen in Mr. Morgan's house as the 
 companion of one who leaves me to suspect 
 that he meditates the destruction of his host's 
 domestic peace. I return to the lines." 
 
 " Please yourself, good cousin," said Harry in 
 a tone of assumed gaiety. " Unless you choose 
 to make yourself more agreeable than you have 
 K 5 
 
A DAY ON THE 
 
 yet done since we set out, the sooner we part 
 company the better." 
 
 He, too, turned round as he spoke ; and with- 
 out so much as wishing one another good morn- 
 ing, the relatives separated. Thus was a day 
 of anticipated pleasure suddenly overcast, and 
 the friendship of an entire life-time seriously, 
 if not irretrievably interrupted by the occur- 
 rences of a single hour. 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 203 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 IT was with a tardy step and a heavy heart, 
 that Oliver Beck with, at the conclusion of the 
 scene just described, directed his course towards 
 the lines at Kingsbridge. For a moment or 
 two after parting from his wayward relative, a 
 sense of outraged rectitude, if not of wounded 
 pride, served to reconcile him to what had 
 passed ; but as the distance between him and 
 the offender increased, his indignation gradually 
 subsided, till at last a feeling diametrically op- 
 posed to that which had caused the quarrel, 
 arose within him. Had not he himself been 
 somewhat too hasty ? Was it fair to conclude 
 from a mere passing remark a remark uttered 
 too in a tone which sufficiently indicated that 
 the speaker either spoke not his real sentiments, 
 
204 A DAY ON THE 
 
 or desired that these sentiments should not be 
 noticed, was it fair to conclude upon such evi- 
 dence, that the friend of his youth, the very 
 brother of his affections, was become all at once 
 unworthy of the regard which had hitherto 
 been lavished upon him ? There was not a so- 
 litary act in the whole of his cousin's past career 
 which authorized him to charge him now with 
 a design so hellish as the deliberate seduction 
 of the daughter of his preserver. True, Harry 
 was a bit of a libertine, that is to say, he was 
 one of those who set not a higher value than it 
 merited, upon woman's fair fame, and who 
 scrupled not to indulge his own inclinations as 
 often as happy opportunity and fortunate cir- 
 cumstances permitted. On more than one oc- 
 casion he had been accused of something like 
 foul play towards females who were supposed 
 to have confided too fondly in him ; and his in- 
 fluence over the sex was such as an extremely 
 captivating exterior, with manners more than 
 usually attractive, may be supposed to give. 
 But as far as Oliver's inquiries went, in all such 
 cases the fault had been at least as great on the 
 one side as on the other ; nor was there an in- 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND* 
 
 stance, within his knowledge, of any thing like 
 art or deceit having been employed to bring 
 about that which appeared to happen in the 
 ordinary course of events. If the gentleman 
 was somewhat pressing, the lady generally 
 proved to have been any thing but backward in 
 meeting his advances ; and thus the blame of 
 the affair might at least be attributed in full 
 proportion to the one as well as to the other. 
 But of an act of base and deliberate villainy 
 Harry had never yet been found guilty : was 
 it therefore probable that he would make his 
 debut in a line so despicable, under circum- 
 stances like the present ? The thing was not 
 to be credited for a minute. Oliver had wrong- 
 ed his cousin, wronged him cruelly and bar- 
 barouslyit was not surprising that an ho- 
 nourable youth accused of a design of which he 
 was utterly incapable, should become too indig- 
 nant even to contradict it. 
 
 Such were the young man's reflections as he 
 walked slowly and painfully towards the point, 
 from which, little more than an hour ago, he had 
 sallied forth so joyously. Nor, when all the cir- 
 cumstances of the case are taken into considera- 
 
206 A DAY ON THE 
 
 tion, is it by any means surprising that his 
 thoughts should have run into this channel. 
 It has been stated that at this stage of the 
 American war, the British officers stationed 
 within the lines at New York were in the con- 
 stant habit of making incursions, not always the 
 best regulated, into the Neutral Ground. From 
 the time of his first arrival to join Sir H. 
 Clinton's corps, Harry Beck with was noted for 
 the daring perseverance with which he indulged 
 in these perilous expeditions. A keen sports- 
 man both with the gun and rod, a youth, too, 
 of more than ordinary courage, the suggestion 
 that an enemy's patrol was abroad, or a party 
 of Skinners on the range, seemed only to send 
 him with double zest upon his pleasurable ex- 
 cursion. What cared he for the Yankeys ? 
 They had never yet crossed his path, nor was 
 it probable that they would ; but if they did, he 
 had very little apprehension that his heels would 
 not always be capable of taking care of his head. 
 Besides, the whole world knew, that if there 
 was one sound more terrific than another in Jo- 
 nathan's estimation, it was the blast of a British 
 bugle ; and as he never went abroad without 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 207 
 
 a little instrument of the kind suspended round 
 his neck, he was satisfied that it rested with 
 himself to put a whole continental battalion to 
 flight at any moment. Thus reasoning, or rather 
 thus meeting with ill-placed raillery the argu- 
 ments of his brother officers, Beckwith persisted 
 in following his own devices ; and he pursued 
 them for a time with such impunity as gradually 
 to satisfy even the most cautious, that the youth 
 was really not so giddy or so headstrong as they 
 had supposed. 
 
 At first, as usually happens in such cases, 
 Harry Beckwith's excursions were neither so 
 bold, nor so extensive, as he represented them 
 to be. The village of East Chester formed, for 
 the most part, the extreme landmark, beyond 
 which he ventured not to stray ; whilst to pene- 
 trate as far as Rye, was regarded as an under- 
 taking of no common hardihood. But as day 
 after day passed by, without bringing before 
 him any appearance of danger in reality, the 
 little prudence which had hitherto directed his 
 movements ceased to operate ; and he wandered 
 on far beyond the reach of assistance from his 
 friends, or the possibility of escape by any 
 
208 A DAY ON THE 
 
 personal exertions from his enemies. The White 
 Plains were now traversed in search of quails 
 and partridges ; Stamford and Philipsbourg 
 received frequent visits ; and even the Crotin 
 occasionally witnessed the skill with which he 
 could hook and bring to land its finny inha- 
 bitants ; till at last there was not much of 
 exaggeration in his assertion, that he knew every 
 foot of ground between the Royal pickets and 
 Washington's outposts at Peekskill. It was on 
 one of these occasions that he was indebted for 
 his safety to the kindness of a stranger, to the 
 father of the very girl, concerning his designs 
 upon whom the late discussion between his rela- 
 tive and himself had occurred. 
 
 It is not necessary to give a very detailed ac- 
 count of this adventure ; let it suffice to state, 
 that having strayed considerably beyond his 
 ordinary bounds, Beckwith found himself sud- 
 denly encompassed by flying parties from the 
 American army, of whose approach the wooded 
 and uneven nature of the country hindered 
 him from becoming aware. He was busily en- 
 gaged with his rod, on the bank of a little rivu- 
 let, which wound through the bottom of one of 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 209 
 
 those exquisite valleys that give a character to 
 the scenery in the neighbourhood of Bedford. 
 Two gentle hills leaning apart the one from the 
 other, and feathered to their summits with birch 
 and locust trees, closed in that glen on either 
 hand ; whilst here and there a ledge of rock, 
 or a patch of underwood, interposing both above 
 and below, rendered the prospect from any given 
 spot extremely limited. It was only the sound 
 of their voices indeed, and the trampling of 
 horses' hoofs, which warned Beckwith of the ap- 
 proach of the American foragers ; and he had 
 barely time to screen himself in one of the 
 thickets already referred to, when a body of 
 several hundred men, with a multitude of led 
 horses and cars, swept by. 
 
 Harry Beckwith was at this moment upwards 
 of ten long miles from the nearest British post. 
 The troops which had just passed him, were 
 clearly about to spread themselves over the entire 
 face of the district, through which, in the event of 
 his endeavouring to return, it would be neces- 
 sary to travel ; whilst an occasional roll of drums 
 and sounding of trumpets in different directions 
 closer at hand, showed that it was but a de- 
 
210 A DAY ON THE 
 
 tachment from a corps which occupied every 
 outlet from the valley. Thus situated, the 
 young man was at no loss to discover, first, 
 that his chances of escape were extremely 
 meagre, and secondly, that there remained for 
 him no other course to pursue, except to lie still 
 in his hiding-place, and wait the result. But this 
 hope, slender as it was, was speedily taken 
 away from him. One of the baggage animals 
 happening to break loose from its leader, at the 
 moment when the rear of the column was skirt- 
 ing the wood, plunged directly into the thicket, 
 and, as bad luck would have it, made for the 
 very spot where the young Englishman lay 
 ensconced. It was followed, as a matter of 
 course, by half a dozen of the guard, who were 
 not slow in starting other game, besides that of 
 which they came in pursuit ; and Harry, driven 
 from his lair, found that now, at length, that 
 speed of foot of which he had so frequently 
 boasted, must be put to the test. 
 
 It was well for Beck with at this critical mo- 
 ment that the foragers, in their eagerness to rid 
 themselves of all incumbrances,had left theirmus- 
 kets behind. Had the contrary been the case, 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 211 
 
 his race and life would have been, in all proba- 
 bility, cut short together ; but having a fair field 
 before him, and being in truth an exceedingly 
 active young man, he soon gave his first pur- 
 suers the slip, and cast a considerable interval 
 between them. The alarm, however, instantly 
 spread ; bugles sounded, men shouted, and horse 
 and foot were in hot and desperate chase in 
 every direction. Beck with ran with all the speed 
 of which he was master, making at once for the 
 brow of the hill ; and he gained it, though not 
 till the whistling of several bullets past his ear 
 warned him that his course was traced ; when, 
 plunging into a sort of open wood, which skirted 
 its opposite side, he turned short round, and 
 took a direction immediately up the valley. To 
 that measure, adopted without thought and at 
 random, his preservation was entirely owing. 
 There was a ravine before him, dark with bram- 
 bles and stunted filbert-trees, of the depth or 
 extent of which it was impossible to form any 
 judgment ; and without a moment's hesitation 
 he leaped into it. Though the leap was both a 
 desperate and a fearful one, it was productive 
 of no mischievous consequences. His fall, 
 
A DAY ON THE 
 
 broken by the interposing branches, though 
 many feet in height, was a soft one, and he 
 rolled unhurt to the bottom of the gorge, 
 where a complete screen of foliage covered him. 
 There he lay for some minutes, listening with 
 painful anxiety to the shouts and execrations of 
 his pursuers, who, ignorant of the step which 
 he had taken, still swept onwards over the hill, 
 till their voices became gradually more and 
 more indistinct, and at last ceased entirely to 
 be heard. 
 
 Having remained perfectly still for several 
 minutes, Beckwith ventured at last to rise, and 
 look round upon the friendly cleft to which he 
 was indebted for his safety. It was a wild and 
 rugged cut, the edges of which presented an 
 appearance as if the hill had been torn asunder 
 at no very remote period by the violence of 
 an earthquake. Bushes and low shrubs were 
 indeed numerous, especially towards the summit, 
 which threw their branches here and there from 
 one side of the ravine to the other, and caused 
 the fissure itself to rest in deep gloom ; but these 
 grew out of some rocky protuberances, or per- 
 pendicular banks of red sand, which seemed as if 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 
 
 they would at once reunite, were it possible 
 to bring them by any application of force to- 
 gether. From the summit to the base, this sin- 
 gular ravine might measure perhaps from sixty 
 to eighty feet ; nor was it without a shudder 
 that Beckwith contemplated the escape which 
 he had made from utter destruction in his dar- 
 ing plunge. But if the plunge had been a 
 desperate one, it led, at least, to a place of 
 concealment more secure than any other exer- 
 tions on his part could have discovered. No 
 man not under the influence of violent excite- 
 ment, would venture to follow the example 
 which he had set ; and as the excitement of the 
 individual who follows seldom equals that of 
 the fugitive for life, there was slight risk that 
 any of his pursuers would take the leap which 
 he had taken. Besides he had the satisfaction 
 to know that he had gained his present lurking- 
 place unnoticed, and the happy position of the 
 place itself afforded the best ground of hope 
 that no one would dream of exploring it in 
 search of him. Thus re-assured, he began once 
 again to breathe with something like freedom ; 
 whilst at the same time he resolved to rest 
 
A DAY CN THE 
 
 quietly where he was till sufficient time should 
 be granted for the enemy to become weary of 
 a quest, to guide them in which no clue was 
 afforded. 
 
 He had just made up his mind to act 
 upon this plan, when all his dreams of fan- 
 cied security were again dissolved. There 
 came a sound of voices upon his ear, whence 
 proceeding he scarcely knew how to surmise ; 
 but fear, which is always suspicious, suggested 
 that his covert must be less inaccessible than he 
 had believed it to be. He listened with breath- 
 less attention ; laid his ear to the ground that 
 he might catch the sound more distinctly ; and 
 then, convinced that the speakers were not 
 above, but on a level with himself, he once 
 more took to his heels. Dashing along the 
 ravine, he soon arrived at its extremity, and the 
 open and cultivated country was again before 
 him. Beckwith was now desperate. He saw, 
 or fancied that he saw, horsemen riding about 
 in every direction ; each movement of the leaves 
 behind him told a tale of pursuers close at 
 hand ; whilst his farther flight, if it were pro- 
 secuted at all, must be made across a plain, 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 
 
 where the most minute object could from any 
 of the neighbouring heights be observed. Like 
 other men in desperate circumstances, he de- 
 termined to cast all upon the hazard of a die. 
 There was a mansion immediately under the 
 hill, the architecture and general style of which 
 denoted it to be the residence of a gentleman ; 
 and Beckwith resolved at once to make for it, 
 and throw himself upon the generosity of its 
 owner. He did so. The house was the abode 
 of Mr. Morgan, a man of some consequence 
 before the troubles began, and even now re- 
 spected, as far as a neutral can be, by the lead- 
 ing men on both sides of the question; and 
 Harry Beckwith found that whatever his po- 
 litical sentiments might be, he was at all events 
 a person of honour and right feeling. Mr. 
 Morgan received his unwelcome guest, if not 
 with open arms, still kindly. He readily fur- 
 nished the asylum which was sought, and con- 
 cealing him in a hay-loft, kept him there till 
 the foraging party had withdrawn. Nor was 
 the risk run in so doing slight. The American 
 troops, having already searched his house, did 
 not indeed re-examine it with the minuteness 
 
216 A DAY ON THE 
 
 which characterized their first inquiries; but 
 during the whole of that day they hovered 
 round it as if they anticipated that their quarry 
 would yet appear in its vicinity. Now, as the 
 arrival of the stranger could not be concealed 
 from any inmate in the house, Mr. Morgan, 
 no less than Beckwith, remained all that while 
 at the mercy of his very slaves, the treachery 
 of one of whom must have brought the necks 
 both of the fugitive and his preserver into jeo- 
 pardy. Happily, however, there were as yet no 
 traitors among them. After remaining some 
 hours in no very enviable state of mind, Harry 
 was made happy by the announcement that the 
 coast was clear, and that it rested with himself 
 either to make his way back at once to the 
 British lines, or to partake the hospitality of 
 his preserver during the night. 
 
 There were many reasons which induced 
 Beckwith not to decline the invitation thus 
 implied. In the first place, having deviated 
 widely from any track with which he was fa- 
 miliar, there was little chance of his finding liis 
 way across the Neutral Ground in the dark ; 
 whilst a powerful feeling of bodily fatigue gave 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 217 
 
 notice that he was in no condition for commen- 
 cing a long and toilsome journey. In the next 
 place, his nerves were too much shaken to leave 
 him as much master of himself as a man would 
 desire to be, who sees before him the prospect 
 of a hazardous enterprise. It was true that the 
 main body of the enemy were withdrawn ; but 
 how could he tell whether straggling parties 
 might not yet be abroad? to escape from, 
 or contend with whom, he felt himself to be in 
 no condition. Nor, to do him justice, were 
 other and less grossly selfish motives wanting 
 to direct his conduct. He lay under the most 
 serious obligations to his host ; he was anxious 
 to impress the man who had thus generously 
 treated him, with a favourable impression of 
 his protege ; and he knew that as vet no op- 
 portunity of so doing had presented itself. On 
 all these accounts he thankfully closed with Mr. 
 Morgan's alternative of continuing his guest 
 during the night ; and, as such, he was led by 
 his kind host to the parlour. 
 
 Mr. Morgan's family consisted, besides him- 
 self, of two children, a son and a daughter. The 
 boy was a graceful, intelligent, and apparently 
 
 VOL. I. L 
 
218 A DAY ON THE 
 
 an amiable youth, whose age could not exceed 
 fifteen or sixteen years. The girl was by two 
 years his senior, and a more perfect specimen 
 of feminine loveliness, it were no easy matter 
 to point out. Her figure, under rather than 
 above the ordinary stature, was cast in a mould 
 of the most exquisite symmetry ; her light 
 brown hair, as yet uncontaminated by the ap- 
 plication of powder, hung in rich and natural 
 ringlets over her shoulders. Eyes of the softest 
 and sweetest blue, a complexion transparently 
 bright, and a mouth small, pouting, and set 
 with rows of purest ivory, combined to produce 
 a countenance upon which no one could gaze 
 with indifference ; whilst a manner frank, yet 
 modest, and though playful, totally devoid of 
 levity, insured a continuance of that admira- 
 tion, which even a passing glance never failed 
 to excite. Nor were her external beauties, 
 either of form or mariner, at variance with the 
 feelings of her heart. There never breathed a 
 girl of gentler disposition, or more honourable 
 sentiments, than Cecily Morgan : warm-hearted, 
 generous, affectionate, and confiding, the last 
 being whose happiness she appeared to consult, 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 219 
 
 was herself; indeed, her happiness may be said 
 to have arisen entirely from a contemplation of 
 the happiness of those among whom she dwelt. 
 It is scarcely necessary to add after this, that 
 Cecily was an object of positive adoration to her 
 father, who watched all her movements, and 
 lived upon her smiles, more like an impassioned 
 lover than a parent. 
 
 It would have been something extraordinary, 
 had Harry Beckwith, a professed admirer of fe- 
 male beauty, failed to be powerfully struck with 
 the extreme loveliness of this unsophisticated 
 girl. Finer women he had doubtless beheld, 
 women of more commanding carriage and fa- 
 shionable address ; but upon a creature more 
 perfectly loveable than this artless American 
 maiden, his eye had never before rested. Nor 
 is it to be wondered at, if the open and manly 
 countenance of Beckwith, his graceful figure 
 and gentlemanlike manners, should have pro- 
 duced a somewhat similar impression on Cecily. 
 
 From what has been said of Mr. Morgan's 
 political conduct, it will be surmised, that for 
 some years back he kept up little or no inter- 
 course with the busy world ; and hence the 
 L 2 
 
A DAY ON THE 
 
 only male society to which his daughter had 
 been accustomed since her arrival at the period 
 of opening womanhood, was almost exclusively 
 confined to the members of her own family. To 
 her, therefore, the conversation of a sprightly 
 stranger presented more than ordinary attrac- 
 tions from its novelty ; whilst the peculiarity of 
 the circumstances which had introduced them to 
 one another, seemed to place them at once, and 
 without the slightest breach of decorum, on a 
 footing of perfect intimacy. Nor was Beck with 
 either insensible to the privileges which these 
 circumstances conferred, or remiss in availing 
 himself of them. On the contrary, as he felt 
 strongly, so he expressed himself openly and 
 warmly ; and his desire to show that he was 
 not ungrateful for the kindness which he had 
 received, rendered him at once an object of fresh 
 interest in the eyes of his preservers. 
 
 What remains to be told of the events which 
 occurred previous to the opening of my story, 
 may be related in few words. The little party 
 broke up, not however till a late hour, mu- 
 tually delighted with one another; and the 
 Englishman departed next day, carrying with 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 
 
 him the best wishes of his generous entertainers. 
 He reached the lines in safety, his absence from 
 which for so long a period had created no little 
 alarm ; and he resumed his career of blended 
 duty and amusement, as if no adventure more 
 memorable than usual had occurred. But 
 Beckwith's thoughts often wandered back to 
 the sylph-like creature with whom he had so 
 strangely been brought into acquaintance. He 
 saw her soft blue eyes beaming upon him in 
 his dreams by night, and in his busiest thoughts 
 by day ; the rich clear tones of her musical 
 voice vibrated in his ears at all moments of his 
 sleeping and waking existence, till the vision 
 became, as the poet expresses it, " a portion of 
 himself." The consequences which followed, 
 were exactly such as may be anticipated. First 
 came a species of internal discussion as to 
 the possibility of seeing her again ; this was 
 shortly succeeded by a conclusion, that the 
 attempt might at least be hazarded ; and the 
 lapse of a single week found him once more 
 equipped as a sportsman, but bent upon an 
 object very different from the destruction of 
 game. On that occasion, he was accompanied 
 
222 A DAY ON THE 
 
 by his cousin Oliver, to whom he communi- 
 cated no more than the general outlines of his 
 late adventure ; and who was easily persuaded 
 to believe that his generous-hearted relative 
 thrust his life again into danger for the 
 purpose of proving that he was not ungrateful 
 to the man who had once preserved it. Nor 
 was the enterprise attended by any perilous, or 
 even troublesome consequences. The young 
 men made their way to Belmont, the name of 
 Mr. Morgan's plantation, without the smallest 
 interruption from the enemy. They were re- 
 ceived with the warmth of an old established 
 friendship ; and treated with the open hospi- 
 tality, for the exercise of which the American 
 gentry were then remarkable ; and they re- 
 turned to their quarters equally delighted with 
 the excursion, and equally disposed to repeat 
 it on the first convenient opportunity. 
 
 From that period up to the date of the mis- 
 understanding just described, this romantic in- 
 timacy, on the part at least of the younger of 
 the cousins, continued, in spite of an increasing 
 jealousy displayed by the Republican leaders, 
 and multiplied risks into which it led the adven- 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 
 
 turer. His escapes were both numerous and 
 narrow ; yet he did escape, without, as was be- 
 lieved, bringing the slightest suspicion upon 
 his friends ; nor did the fate of Andre itself 
 operate to deter him from following a course, 
 the true motive to which could no longer be 
 concealed. On more than one occasion that 
 motive had been alluded to by Oliver, in terms 
 which proved the reverse of agreeable to the 
 person warned; but it was not till the morn- 
 ing with which my tale commences, that the 
 relatives came to any open or decided expla- 
 nation on the subject. How that explanation 
 was brought about I have already stated ; and 
 it now remains to give an account of the con- 
 sequences which arose out of it. 
 
A. DAY ON THE 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 I HAVE said that Oliver Beckwith pursued 
 his homeward career in a frame of mind widely 
 different from that which attended him when 
 he sallied forth. At first, indeed, it might be 
 doubted whether the satisfaction arising from 
 a consciousness of having done his duty, did 
 not more than compensate for the pain which 
 attended its performance. Doubtless, it was 
 not without a pang of keen and heartfelt 
 regret, that he saw himself under the neces- 
 sity of breaking with a man in whose soci- 
 ety he had hitherto experienced the liveliest 
 satisfaction ; but on the other hand, the ground 
 of quarrel was of such a nature as his judg- 
 ment could not fail to approve, and when 
 judgment and mere feeling stood opposed the 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 
 
 one to the other, there was no scope for hesitation 
 as to which it behoved him to obey. This con- 
 sideration served exceedingly well to keep under 
 his rebellious yearnings, whilst yet the sound 
 of his cousin's retiring footsteps were heard ; 
 but these no sooner died away in the distance, 
 than other thoughts began to arise, which he 
 found it easier to call into view than to dis- 
 miss again. Was not Harry's capricious tem- 
 per well known to him ? Had not the experi- 
 ence of a life-time served to convince him, 
 that though his relative might be led into any 
 course of acting, by no violence physical or mo- 
 ral would he submit to be driven ; and hence, 
 that whatever his designs might be, a very 
 erroneous method, to call it by no harsher name, 
 had been adopted for the purpose of diverting 
 him from them. Besides, what man of honour 
 could endure to be catechised concerning a 
 piece of deliberate villainy, of which his own 
 conscience acquitted him ? or why should it 
 excite surprise that a youth of peculiarly sen- 
 sitive constitution, should refuse to satisfy 
 doubts, the very existence of which was to him 
 an insult. The more Oliver considered these 
 L 5 
 
226 A DAY ON THE 
 
 matters, the firmer became his conviction, that 
 in every point of view he had himself acted with 
 precipitation ; till at last a powerful impulse 
 prompted him to turn back in search of 
 his cousin, that, if he did not own himself 
 wholly in the wrong, he might at least explain 
 away certain phrases which he now heartily 
 repented that in his violence he had employed. 
 
 There cannot be a doubt that had Oliver 
 Beckwith arrived at this determination in suffi- 
 cient time to permit its being carried into imme- 
 diate execution, the cousins would have forgot- 
 ten at once the petty disagreement of the morn- 
 ing, and become on the spot as warm friends 
 as ever. Unfortunately, however, this was 
 not the case. Constitutionally cautious, Oliver 
 was one of those who are not, in general, 
 easily ruffled ; but his mind, like others of 
 the same description, could not, when once 
 disturbed, rub down its asperities, and attain 
 to a reasonable tone in a moment. The con- 
 sequence was, that a much greater space of time 
 had elapsed while he was thus debating with 
 himself, than he could have possibly imagined ; 
 and hence the means of acting, when at last 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 
 
 the necessity to act had been ascertained, were 
 taken away. Oliver turned round to follow his 
 relative, but not a trace of his relative was to 
 be seen ; he strained his eyes over a country re- 
 markably open and level, yet he strained them 
 for no purpose, till, believing that the opportu- 
 nity was lost of doing the thing as he knew that it 
 ought to be done, he determined, for the present 
 at least, not to do it at all. He accordingly re- 
 sumed once more his homeward course, and 
 passing the outposts, stole away by the rear of 
 the cantonments, like one who had committed 
 a crime, to his own quarters within the lines. 
 
 There are certain moods of the mind which, 
 though abundantly unpleasant in themselves, 
 seldom take their departure except to make 
 way for others still more disagreeable. Oliver 
 Beck with, for example, entered his chamber, 
 dissatisfied with himself, and hardly reconciled 
 to the cause of that dissatisfaction ; he had not 
 occupied it many minutes, when these feelings 
 began to subside, and an anxiety, for which he 
 could not very well account, arose in their room. 
 First of all, he thought of his cousin, but it 
 was neither in anger nor in sorrow, it was 
 
A DAY ON THE 
 
 with a vague and undefined conviction that 
 some heavy calamity hung over him, from which 
 he, had he not chosen absurdly to pick a quar- 
 rel, might have shielded him. By and by there 
 arose the image of Cecily Morgan, not as she 
 had been seen but a few hours before, shrink- 
 ing from the contaminating touch of a liber- 
 tine, but in all the simplicity and loveliness 
 of the original, when first the eye of the dream- 
 er rested upon her. I have hitherto spoken of 
 Oliver Beck with merely as a cautious and 
 upright young man, as a person not only in- 
 capable of perpetrating a dishonourable action, 
 but too prudent to permit feeling to exert any 
 influence over his actions. It is extremely pro- 
 bable that in thus expressing myself, I have 
 conveyed to your minds some very erroneous 
 impressions of my old acquaintance. Though 
 certainly not the slave of impulse, like his cou- 
 s in } though undeniably prudent, correct, per- 
 haps blameably calculating, Oliver Beckwith 
 was nevertheless made up of the common in- 
 gredients which constitute human nature ; and 
 like other beings so formed, he was not insensible 
 to the influence of passion, though usually com- 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 
 
 petent to hold it in its right place in other 
 words, subservient to the dictates of reason. 
 Like his more inflammable relative, he had not, 
 from the first, been insensible to the many at- 
 tractions which Cecily Morgan presented. He 
 saw in her the perfect personification of all that 
 his fancy had ever depicted of the gentle and 
 attractive in women ; and if he loved her not 
 with the violence which characterised the 
 passion of his headstrong cousin, he at least 
 entertained for her as much of ardent affection 
 as it was in his nature to experience. But 
 Oliver was under no circumstances so far in- 
 grossed by the workings of natural feeling, as to 
 be blind to the consequences likely to arise out 
 of their indulgence. In the present- instance, 
 for example, he applied to himself the very same 
 arguments which he has been represented as ap- 
 plying to Harry ; and he soon reasoned himself 
 into the persuasion that something more than 
 prudence that justice, as well to the girl as to 
 himself, required that he should think of her 
 no more. Nor let it be concealed, that in the 
 formation of a resolution never to address her 
 in the language of love, other and not less ge- 
 
280 A DAY ON THE 
 
 nerous considerations had weight. He saw 
 with the perspicacity which for the most part at- 
 taches to men so situated, that to Harry, equally 
 as to himself, Cecily Morgan was an object of 
 admiration. He soon discovered likewise, that 
 in the society of Harry she appeared more 
 happy, at all events more elated, than in his 
 own ; and this observation led at once to a con- 
 viction that on Harry she had already bestowed 
 the richest of all gifts her virgin heart. 
 Now Oliver Beckwith was one of those who 
 could not understand how a man may find gra- 
 tification in any thing which lacerates the heart- 
 strings of those around him ; ami hence the 
 bare suspicion that Cecily loved another, would 
 have been of itself sufficient to hinder him from 
 making to her a tender of his hand. Partly, 
 therefore, because his sound judgment told him 
 that he was in no situation to marry, partly 
 because he believed that the girl's affections 
 were already engaged, Oliver not only never 
 addressed her otherwise than in the language 
 of friendship, but struggled, and not wholly 
 without success, to regard her as a friend mere- 
 ly. She became to him a sister, in whose wel- 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 231 
 
 fare he took the liveliest and purest interest ; 
 but she either was, or he persuaded himself that 
 she was, nothing more. 
 
 In spite, however, of these noble and manly 
 resolutions, there were moments when the 
 thought of her as the property of another, 
 came upon him with the agony of a dis- 
 eased dream. Perhaps it was because he 
 was not unaware of his cousin's sentiments, 
 that Harry bore with so ill a grace the jokes 
 which Oliver from time to time thought fit to 
 pass upon him. Perhaps, too, a secret con- 
 sciousness that all was not as it ought to have 
 been in his own bosom, caused Oliver himself 
 to infuse more of bitterness than he needed 
 to have done into his remarks ; and hence, in 
 all probability, arose the irritation which en- 
 sued almost as often as the name of Cecily 
 Morgan chanced to be pronounced between 
 them. Be this as it may on other occasions, 
 nothing can be more certain than that, in the 
 quarrel which had of late taken place, this con- 
 sciousness on both sides proved particularly 
 operative ; whilst it is equally beyond a doubt, 
 that in the minds of both, after they separated, 
 
232 A DAY ON THE 
 
 it continued to exert its influence to an ex- 
 ceedingly painful degree. Even now Oliver 
 found himself its slave. True, he had de- 
 termined never to allow a thought of his cou- 
 sin's better fortune to interfere with the friend- 
 ship which had so long existed between them. 
 Having voluntarily resigned all claim upon the 
 girl, it would have been absolute insanity to act 
 otherwise ; yet when he reflected on the assu- 
 rance with which his favoured rival spoke of a 
 treasure which he, doubtless, valued the more, 
 from the conviction that by himself it was un- 
 attainable, his indignation knew no bounds, 
 and jealousy, or something not far removed 
 from it, took possession of his entire soul. 
 Thus was he alternately the prey of contending 
 feelings, all of them more turbulent and impe- 
 tuous than he had hitherto been accustomed to 
 experience ; till his very frame began at last to 
 feel the effect of the tumult within, and he be- 
 came feverish, restless, and uneasy. 
 
 Oliver Beckwith was thus circumstanced, 
 when the sound of his own name, pronounced 
 in the voice of a brother officer, broke in upon 
 his reverie. As he happened at the moment to 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 233 
 
 be sitting beside the window, an immediate op- 
 portunity of gratifying the curiosity which had 
 been excited, he knew not how, presented 
 itself. He drew back the lattice, and looking 
 out, desired to be informed, why he had been 
 made the subject of his friends' conversation. 
 A shout of satisfaction from a group of young 
 men who stood beneath answered to this in- 
 quiry. 
 
 " Thank God ! Beckwith," exclaimed one, 
 " that you are here. No doubt you were warned 
 at the pickets how matters stood. But where 
 is Harry ?" 
 
 " For Heaven's sake," replied Oliver, " what 
 is it you mean ? I received no warning at the 
 pickets, I am here purely by accident ; and 
 if any thing be wrong, then is poor Harry sa- 
 crificed." 
 
 " Heaven forbid !" answered his comrades in 
 a breath. " Surely Harry is with you." They 
 all ran as they spoke towards his door, and in 
 a moment stood around him in the apartment. 
 
 " Did you not go abroad together ?" ex- 
 claimed the individual who had first spoke. 
 
 " Yes !" answered Oliver, " we went abroad 
 
A DAY ON THE 
 
 together ; but my inclination to wander quitted 
 me, God knows why, whereas Harry has gone 
 on, and will not return before evening." 
 
 There was a silence of some moments 1 dura- 
 tion at the close of this speech ; during which 
 the young men looked at one another with an 
 expression sufficiently indicative of the painful 
 interest with which they had listened to it. 
 At last, one of them, as if desirous of com- 
 forting both himself and those about him, re- 
 marked, that possibly things might not be as 
 the spy had represented; and that, even if it 
 were so, Harry Beckwith had escaped so many 
 hazards, that no one ought to despair of him 
 until his death or capture had been ascer- 
 tained. 
 
 " Gentlemen ! gentlemen !" exclaimed Oliver, 
 "this is alia mystery to me, and surely you 
 know me well enough to be aware, that, by 
 preserving it, you only keep me on the rack. 
 In the name of fortune, what do you mean ? 
 What spy has come in ? what news has he 
 brought ? and to what fresh dangers has my 
 thoughtless and imprudent relative exposed 
 himself?" 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 235 
 
 " To be plain, then," replied one of the 
 group, " a deserter has just arrived with the 
 most important information that has yet been 
 communicated concerning the enemy's move- 
 ments. Washington, reinforced by ten thou- 
 sand Frenchmen, has been for some days ar- 
 ranging a plan of general assault upon our 
 lines ; and this night, or to-morrow morning at 
 the latest, the attack is expected to be made. 
 When the deserter left Peekskill, a heavy 
 column of infantry, supported by cavalry and 
 artillery, was arriving, at the head of which 
 marched Washington himself ; and hence, be- 
 yond a doubt, the whole of the Neutral Ground 
 is either occupied already, or will be occupied 
 in force before dark. But this is not all. A 
 numerous flotilla has been fitted out at New- 
 haven, for the purpose of throwing a force in 
 our rear, at the moment when the main column 
 shall engage us in front ; whilst fire-vessels, 
 torpedoes, and I know not how many horrid in- 
 struments besides, are to be let down the stream 
 of the Hudson's, in order to distract our atten- 
 tion. Every thing, too, seems to be credited by 
 those at the head of affairs ; for the greatest pre- 
 
286 A DAY ON THE 
 
 parations have been making to meet the danger. 
 The garrison at this point has been strengthened 
 by a thousand Hessians ; our fleet of whale- 
 boats is ready for sea, supported by several 
 launches and men of war cutters which have 
 made their way into the Sound ; and a detach- 
 ment of troops is ordered to hold itself in rea- 
 diness to embark at a moment's notice. You 
 see, therefore, that there is strong ground to 
 congratulate yourself on your opportune return, 
 let the cause be what it may ; whilst for poor 
 Harry, active and brave though he be, our 
 hopes are, and must be, very slender." 
 
 Oliver listened to this detail with the sensa- 
 tions of a man who has heard a story which, but 
 for some solitary though vitally important omis- 
 sion, would be in every particular gratifying. 
 There was nothing for which he, in common with 
 the army at large, so ardently sighed, as that one 
 party or the other would bring affairs to the 
 issue of a battle ; and hence the announcement 
 that the event so much desired was really on 
 the eve of its occurrence, could not fail to ex- 
 cite in him the liveliest satisfaction. But the 
 pleasure thence arising was dashed by no ordi- 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 237 
 
 nary sorrow, when he thought of the present 
 situation and future prospects of his relative. 
 That Harry would escape again as he had es- 
 caped before, even the most sanguine could not 
 venture to anticipate. It was not to be be- 
 lieved, that the frequent visits which he had 
 made to Belmont, should have passed entirely 
 unnoticed at the American head-quarters, be- 
 cause it was not to be expected that a numerous 
 body of slaves and dependents, such as that which 
 surrounded Mr. Morgan, were to a man trust- 
 worthy. Now should the enemy really advance 
 that day, taking Belmont, as they must take it, 
 in their route ; and should the owner of Bel- 
 mont be an object of suspicion, or one of his 
 domestics prove a traitor, the strictest search 
 would of course be made for British stragglers ; 
 and any straggler found under circumstances 
 so unfavourable, could hardly expect to be 
 treated otherwise than as a spy. What had a 
 British officer to do at a point many miles in 
 advance of his own advanced sentries ? And 
 why, if the mere spirit of adventure led him 
 thither, appear without his uniform? Oliver 
 shuddered as these reflections rose into his 
 
A DAY ON THE 
 
 mind. The fate of Andre, though long past, 
 was not yet forgotten, more especially by those 
 to whom that unfortunate officer had been 
 known ; and Oliver, who happened to be of the 
 number, trembled as the idea forced itself upon 
 his notice, that in all human probability the 
 fate of his relative would be similar. 
 
 It was well for the young man's feelings at 
 this distressing juncture, that a sudden rolling 
 of drums and sounding of bugles called off his 
 attention to other and more urgent business. 
 As there was no mistaking the nature of these 
 sounds, the little coterie which had hitherto 
 kept together, broke up in a moment; and 
 Oliver was left alone to exchange his shooting- 
 dress for the uniform of his regiment : nor was 
 any great space of time expended in perform- 
 ing that task. When the drum or bugle sum- 
 mons to real service, the niceties of parade are, 
 as I need not remind you, but little thought of; 
 and though Oliver was on ordinary occasions 
 abundantly particular, on the present he paid 
 attention to essentials only. In five minutes his 
 toilette was completed, his sabre buckled to his 
 side, and his pistols in his belt ; and then, with a 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 239 
 
 hurried step and flashing eye, he sallied forth to 
 place himself at the head of his company. 
 
 Though no tyro in military affairs, Oliver 
 Beckwith imagined that he had never beheld a 
 more striking military spectacle than now met 
 him. Soldiers of all arms, cavalry, infantry, 
 artillery, and riflemen, were hurrying to their 
 several alarm posts; mounted officers were riding 
 backwards and forwards ; some coming from 
 the rear to the front, others hastening from the 
 front to the rear ; thousands of voices spoke, 
 neither loudly nor tumult uously, but in sup- 
 pressed tones, and brief exclamations ; whilst 
 every countenance appeared to be lighted up 
 with the fire of expectation. This state of 
 things was not, however, of long continuance. 
 As each individual knew well the particular 
 spot to which, in case of alarm, it behoved him 
 to repair, all were in their places within the space 
 of a few moments ; and then the most profound 
 silence, and the strictest order, reigned from one 
 extremity of the lines to the other. 
 
 It is hardly necessary for me to state, that 
 the lines in question, known indifferently as the 
 post of Kingsbridge and Morrisiana, occupied 
 
240 A DAY ON THE 
 
 a narrow neck of land, which is washed on one 
 side by the waters of the Hudson's, on the other 
 by a deep protrusion or bay of the Sound. The 
 works themselves, which might measure per- 
 haps a quarter of a mile in extent, consisted of 
 a stockaded redoubt, a breastwork, and an open 
 battery ; and were surmounted by fifteen pieces 
 of cannon, principally of heavy calibre. Of 
 these, three looked towards the river ; two 
 flanked the ditch from the left ; six were in the 
 redoubt ; and the remainder en barbette along 
 the parapet ; and all were at this moment at- 
 tended by their due proportion of gunners, each 
 with a lighted fuse in his hand. The infantry, 
 again, which consisted of four regular regi- 
 ments, two of these being Germans, with a 
 corps, or rather six independent companies of 
 Loyalist refugees, stood, the latter in open 
 files along the breastwork, the former in close 
 columns of battalions upon the flanks ; whilst a 
 squadron of irregular cavalry with three light 
 field-pieces, was drawn up in rear of the centre, 
 at the distance of some two hundred yards from 
 the people which they covered. Oliver had 
 ample time to scan these several preparations ; 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 
 
 for though the troops stood like men in mo- 
 mentary expectation of a move, minute after 
 minute stole on, without bringing into view any 
 adequate cause for such excitement. In front, 
 upon the Sound, and on the river, all seemed 
 quiet ; and the opposite bank of the latter re- 
 mained, as it was accustomed to do, unoccupied 
 either by Americans or British. At last, a feel- 
 ing of disappointment, or to speak more accu- 
 rately, symptoms of men's nerves becoming gra- 
 dually unstrung, began to exhibit themselves 
 in all directions. Questions were put as to the 
 necessity of acting as they had done ; some- 
 thing like murmuring was heard, that the enemy 
 did not come on ; and there was a wavering in 
 the ranks which showed that the soldiers were 
 weary of continuing on the alert against a dan- 
 ger which approached not. The officer in com- 
 mand was not slow to detect this ; nor did he 
 treat it otherwise than as became him. The 
 word was passed from battalion to battalion to 
 pile arms; and the men having been strictly 
 cautioned not to straggle, were permitted to 
 fall out. 
 
 Things were in this state, and the low po- 
 
 VOL. I. M 
 
A DAY ON THE 
 
 sition of the sun in the sky gave warning that 
 day was drawing rapidly to a close, when a sen- 
 tinel, who kept watch in the battery that faced 
 the Hudson's, called aloud that something 
 moved upon the river. Oliver, who happened to 
 be lying down not far from the man's post, 
 instantly sprang to his feet, and gazing in the 
 direction towards which the soldier pointed, 
 beheld plainly enough that the alarm was not 
 a false one. At as great a distance up the 
 stream as the eye could very well reach, the 
 Hudson's appeared to be covered with boats ; 
 but in what direction moving, or whether mov- 
 ing at all, it was impossible to say. The cir- 
 cumstance was, however, too important to be 
 permitted to pass unheeded. Though no im- 
 mediate change in the order issued took place, 
 all ranks became in consequence once more on 
 the qui vive ; nor did many minutes elapse 
 ere another event occurred, not less calculated 
 than this to rekindle their slumbering ex- 
 citement 
 
 Numerous groups both of men and officers 
 were assembled in the battery, and numerous 
 glasses were turned upon the objects of curi- 
 osity, when a solitary musket-shot in the di- 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 243 
 
 rection of the pickets was heard. For an in- 
 stant men seemed to take the alarm ; they 
 faced about as soon as the report caught their 
 ears, and exhibited a disposition to resume 
 their ranks ; but as the shot was not followed 
 by others, they gradually ceased to regard 
 it, and once more became careless and slug- 
 gish. An interval of perhaps a quarter of 
 an hour now occurred, during which the sun 
 sank with the abruptness which in the western 
 hemisphere marks his departure; and twilight 
 came on, not, as in this country, slowly and 
 beautifully, but darkly and at once. Had no- 
 thing farther taken place, the approach of night, 
 situated as the garrison of Kingsbridge was, 
 would have caused of itself the troops to draw 
 closer to their arms ; but the last glimmer of 
 day had not yet departed, ere the expectation 
 of an immediate attack was renewed. First 
 one, then two muskets, then a long rattle as if 
 an entire section had fired, broke in upon the 
 silence ; these were speedily followed by the 
 boom of a cannon ; and in the next instant the 
 whole line of pickets, which covered the front 
 of the position, was engaged. Now, then, all 
 was hurry and excitation. There was a cry 
 M 2 
 
244 A DAY ON THE 
 
 from right to left of " Stand to your arms !" 
 The bugles sounded, the drums beat, the 
 troopers mounted their horses, and the artillery- 
 men stood to their guns ; whilst officers in com- 
 mand of corps rode furiously along the rear, 
 giving directions for the battalions to form. 
 All this, however, was done in less time than I 
 have taken in describing it. The corps were 
 again under arms, the riflemen were again 
 spread along the parapet, all in the space of a 
 few seconds ; and the word * Silence !' uttered 
 in the well-known tones of their leaders, was 
 alone heard through the British ranks. That 
 command, at all times important, but doubly so 
 in circumstances like these, was obeyed even to 
 the very letter; and every individual, whilst he 
 held his very breath through intensity of expec- 
 tation, became absorbed in contemplating the 
 progress of the contest which went on in front. 
 The night was now as dark as pitch ; for the 
 moon was not yet risen, and a collection of 
 heavy clouds coming suddenly up from the 
 north-east, at once obscured the stars, and gave 
 warning of a storm. Nothing, therefore, could 
 be seen of the combatants except the flashing 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 245 
 
 of their muskets, which, as the people engaged 
 were spread over a considerable space of ground, 
 produced a remarkably brilliant and interesting 
 effect. The whole extent of what appeared to 
 be the horizon, was thus marked by a line of 
 fire, not continuous and regular, but broken 
 and interrupted, like that which a flight of fire- 
 flies produces in a tropical climate, or like the 
 sparks from a smith's anvil when he is beat- 
 ing a bar of hot iron. Then, again, the rattle 
 was not in volleys, as when one compact line 
 stands opposed to another, but scattering and 
 unequal, sufficiently indicating that the force 
 on both sides consisted of skirmishers merely, 
 whatever might be the nature of the support on 
 which they leaned. Nor did it fail to excite the 
 surprise of all who watched the issue, that by nei- 
 ther party was any decided advantage gained ; 
 the pickets on the one hand maintaining their 
 ground bravely, whilst the assailants on the 
 other were not repulsed. The number of 
 wounded, too, who came in from time to time, 
 was scarcely adequate to what might have been 
 expected from a fire so lengthened ; whilst the 
 rumours which they circulated were all vague 
 
246 A DAY ON THE 
 
 and indefinite, leading to no rational conclusion 
 as to the ultimate intentions of the enemy. One 
 man, for example, affirmed that he had seen a 
 heavy column moving down the Philipsbourg 
 road ; another that the Stamford road was cover- 
 ed) with troops ; whilst a third protested that there 
 was no column in the field, but only a body of 
 skirmishers, whose design appeared to extend 
 no farther than to keep the attention of the Bri- 
 tish garrison alive. It was natural that reports 
 so contradictory should perplex the officer in 
 command not a little ; and he determined to sa- 
 tisfy his doubts by sending out a strong recon- 
 noitring party. For this purpose he gave 
 directions that two companies from the re- 
 giment on the left should push forward to the 
 support of the pickets; and Oliver Beckwith 
 happening to be the first of his rank for com- 
 mand, the task of leading them on devolved 
 upon him. 
 
 As his instructions particularly directed him 
 to ascertain, if possible, upon what the enemy's 
 light troops leaned, Oliver determined not to 
 throw his own people into extended order, but, 
 pressing forward in column, to scour the Philips- 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 24)7 
 
 bourg road, till he should fall upon the head 
 of the support which was supposed to rest there. 
 That he might effect this, likewise, with as 
 little annoyance as possible, he caused his men 
 to advance in a tumultuous and disorderly man- 
 ner, rattling their cartouch boxes, stepping 
 heavily on the ground, and creating as much 
 noise as if a whole brigade were in motion. 
 Whether the stratagem produced its desired 
 effect, or whether the enemy, having already 
 amused themselves to their heart's content, were 
 prepared to withdraw, I cannot say ; but before 
 Beckwith came up with the line of pickets, 
 the firing had ceased. The enemy had fallen 
 back as suddenly as they came on, leaving no 
 parties behind to cover them ; and though Oli- 
 ver pushed forward at a brisk pace, sending 
 flankers out in every direction, he failed to over- 
 take them. Satisfied from this, that the late 
 attack had been a false one, he returned at once 
 to the line of outposts ; where, after sending 
 back a subaltern with a full report to head- 
 quarters, he prepared, in obedience to his or- 
 ders, to pass the night. 
 
 As it was especially required of Oliver and 
 
248 A DAY ON THE 
 
 his party, not so much to reinforce, as to sup- 
 port the pickets, he took post in a ruined 
 house, about half way between them and the 
 works, and at nearly equal distances from the 
 river on the one hand, and the Sound on the 
 other. From this point patroles were continu- 
 ally sent out, which, pushing from extremity to 
 extremity, ascertained that all was safe between, 
 and that no man was inattentive to the vitally 
 important trust which his situation imposed on 
 him. For a time, these excursions were pro- 
 ductive of no remarkable results ; and the night 
 being mild though lowering, they went off with- 
 out murmurs on the part of such as performed 
 them; but as the heavy clouds drew more and 
 more into a mass, other prospects were pre- 
 sented, and no great while elapsed ere they 
 were realized. The storm which had so long 
 been gathering, burst, and with a violence, of 
 which the mere European traveller knows no- 
 thing. The rain came down, not in heavy 
 drops, but in sheets ; the wind rising suddenly to 
 a gale, caused the Sound to lash its shores with 
 the noise of thunder ; whilst the thunder itself 
 muttered first angrily at a distance, and then 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 249 
 
 broke in tremendous peals over-head. Yet the 
 duty of patrolling could not, even for such a 
 storm, be intermitted ; indeed the necessity for 
 vigilance only increased, as the tempest increased 
 in fury : and parties were lighted on their road 
 by incessant and vivid flashes of lightning. 
 
 It was now that Oliver, the more to en- 
 courage his men, took a doubly prominent 
 part in the hardships and privations of the 
 night. Scarcely a patrol sallied forth, ot which 
 he failed to put himself at the head ; and his 
 example failed not to stir up not merely the 
 admiration, but the emulation of his followers. 
 He had just returned from one of these excur- 
 sions, drenched, fatigued, and uncomfortable ; 
 and having thrown himself down before his 
 watch-fire, was preparing to snatch a few mo- 
 ments of broken sleep, when a sergeant suddenly 
 entered the room to announce that a prisoner 
 had just been made, who knew his name and 
 regiment, and desired particularly to see him. 
 Though there was nothing very remarkable in 
 this, considering the situation which Oliver 
 filled at the moment, still the young man's 
 heart fluttered strangely, as he commanded the 
 M 5 
 
250 A DAY ON THE 
 
 prisoner to be introduced ; and he rose himself 
 from the ground to receive him, not without a 
 fearful misgiving, for which he found it impos- 
 sible at that moment to account. The prisoner 
 came. Oliver examined him closely ; but gar- 
 ments soiled and muddy, and a cap drawn closely 
 over the upper part of his face, constituted alto- 
 gether such a disguise as he found it impossible 
 to penetrate. 
 
 " You desired to see me,"" said Oliver after 
 a pause ; " speak out, what is the nature of 
 your communication ?" 
 
 " I desired to see you alone," replied the 
 stranger in a voice which, though evidently 
 feigned, Beck with was satisfied that he had 
 heard before : " I cannot speak out what I 
 have to say before witnesses." 
 
 " Sergeant, you may withdraw," exclaimed 
 Oliver ; " and now, friend," continued he, as 
 soon as the door closed, " what am I to learn ?" 
 
 " That which will give you no pleasure !" 
 replied the stranger, at the same time lifting 
 his cap, and exhibiting the features of young 
 Morgan. " Your cousin is a prisoner ; my 
 father is taken ; Cecily is liable to insult the bit- 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 251 
 
 terest and the greatest ; all is lost if you do not 
 immediately hasten to their assistance. I saw the 
 miscreants bind the hands of both : I heard 
 them declare that both should die the death 
 of traitors to-morrow. Oh ! Captain Beckwith, 
 if you possess any love for your relative, any 
 compassion for my unhappy father, or still more, 
 any esteem for me or my miserable sister ! do 
 not delay a moment ! The force which occupies 
 Belmont is small ; there is no support near ; 
 and I can lead you by a way which will bring 
 you at once upon them, if you will but follow. 
 For the love of Heaven, do not refuse my 
 petition !" 
 
 The young man fell upon his knees as he 
 spoke, and seizing the hand of Oliver, moist- 
 ened it with his tears. What the latter felt at 
 such a moment, I leave you to guess, whilst I 
 proceed to describe the series of events which 
 brought about the calamity to the detail of 
 which he had just listened. 
 
A DAY ON THE 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 IF Oliver Beck with turned his face towards 
 the lines in a disturbed and unhappy frame of 
 mind ; his cousin Harry pursued his journey 
 in the opposite direction, in a disposition 
 not much more to be envied. Like his more 
 rigid relative, he found, indeed, consolation for 
 a space in the reflection that he had acted only 
 as became a man of spirit ; and that Oliver, 
 by addressing him in the language which he 
 had employed, placed himself at once out of 
 the pale of friendship, far more of relationship. 
 What right had he to assume the air and man- 
 ner of a superior? Who had constituted him 
 the regulator of other men's proceedings, or 
 authorized him to speak to one, in every respect 
 his equal, as if he were entitled to that indi- 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 253 
 
 vid uaPs respectful obedience ? The assumption 
 was in the highest degree preposterous ; and in 
 meeting it as he had done, he only acted as 
 became him, whether regarded in the light of 
 an officer, or of a gentleman. But, like Oliver, 
 Harry had not walked far before the recollec- 
 tions of other days forced themselves even into 
 the society of thoughts like these ; and he began 
 to reflect that he might have met his friend's 
 questions more openly and more explicitly. 
 Nevertheless, Harry Beckwith was a man wno 
 seldom or ever condescended to own, even to 
 himself, that he had done absolutely wrong. 
 That he might have done better, he often felt 
 and admitted ; and he was rarely backward in 
 meeting more than half-way, such advances as 
 might be made by persons with whom he had 
 quarrelled. But to confess that the blame rested 
 entirely with himself, was a stretch of Christian 
 humility of which he was incapable : and even 
 now, though sorely grieved at the results, he 
 acted pertinaciously up to his usual custom. 
 
 Perhaps, too, there were other motives which 
 excited an influence over his mind, and kept it 
 in the irksome and distressing channel of reso- 
 
254 A DAY ON THE 
 
 lute alienation. Harry Beckwith had hardly 
 said more, though he said it under the instiga- 
 tion of violent irritation, than he thought. That 
 he loved Cecily Morgan with the impetuosity 
 to which his nature was subject, he himself 
 was perfectly aware ; but it is extremely ques- 
 tionable whether even he had ascertained in 
 what manner that violent love was to be grati- 
 fied. It has been stated that the younger Beck- 
 with was not over-fastidious in his dealings with 
 the fair sex. Handsome, agreeable, well-inform- 
 ed, and polished, he possessed, and he was quite 
 aware that he possessed, no slight weight in fe- 
 male society : and it is, I am afraid, too true, 
 that he was not always very scrupulous to what 
 purposes he turned it. Yet Harry Beckwith was 
 not an absolutely heartless libertine. More than 
 once he had resisted the inclination to evil, when 
 he saw, or fancied, that the mischiefs likely to 
 arise would outweigh the gratification both to 
 himself and others ; and hence it is not to be 
 supposed that he could deliberately and coolly 
 determine upon the ruin of an innocent and con- 
 fiding girl like Cecily Morgan. With all his 
 faults, and they were both numerous and heavy, 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 255 
 
 Harry was not deficient in gratitude ; and he 
 could not fail to perceive, that if ever he owed 
 a debt of the kind to any human being, he 
 owed it to Mr. Morgan. Nevertheless, Harry 
 was not wanting in prudence. It required no 
 monitor like his cousin to remind him that the 
 pay of a subaltern, slenderly assisted by such 
 an allowance as a younger son could grant 
 to his younger son, would not suffice to sup- 
 port a wife and family, as he should desire his to 
 be supported ; and hence, the idea of marriage 
 had never been entertained by him except as 
 something which it behoved him at all hazards 
 
 o 
 
 to avoid. If, therefore, he had not resolved to 
 seduce the maiden, to whom his own heart assured 
 him that he was attached, as little had he made 
 up his mind to address her in the language of 
 honourable love ; and hence, perhaps, not less 
 than on account of the lurking suspicion which 
 he entertained that Cecily was to Oliver an ob- 
 ject of more than common interest, arose that 
 excessive irritability, to which he gave way as 
 often as his sentiments and wishes touching the 
 girl became the subject of their conversation. 
 Whilst such thoughts as these passed rapidly, 
 
256 A DAY ON THE 
 
 but painfully, through his mind, and whilst he 
 writhed under reproaches which cut the more 
 deeply as he felt them to be just, the space 
 which separated him from the object of his 
 fondest wishes was rapidly diminishing ; and 
 a thousand well-known landmarks were passed 
 carelessly by. Not once, however, did he pause 
 to look back upon the man from whom he had 
 parted both in anger and in sorrow. He even 
 endeavoured to persuade himself that the return 
 of Oliver to the lines was an event, of all others, 
 the most desirable ; and that he was now reliev- 
 ed from a restraint, which, had it not been taken 
 away, must have grievously interfered with all 
 his personal enjoyments. But though he thus 
 strove to reason himself into composure, his 
 step and air were not those of a man at peace 
 with himself; whilst his countenance, had an 
 observer been by to scan it, would have pre- 
 sented an expression indicative of any thing ra- 
 ther than internal quiet. There was no smile 
 on his lips, no laughing twitter in his eye, no 
 exclamation, the child of exuberant happiness, 
 burst from him; but doggedly, and unequally, he 
 walked on, more like a man labouring under the 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 257 
 
 agony of a parting, than one about to meet the 
 woman to whom his fondest vows were plighted. 
 He had by this time traversed the long and 
 interesting sweep of road, which separates 
 Kingsbridge from the entrance of the valley, at 
 the upper extremity of which the house of Bel- 
 mont stands. Instinctively, he took a direction 
 to the right ; and moody, absent, and unobserv- 
 ing as before, began to ascend. Yet never had 
 he penetrated that lovely glen, on a day, or at 
 a season, when, to the eye of even an ordinary 
 spectator, it would have presented greater at- 
 tractions. It was the end of September, and 
 the maturing influences of autumn, though but 
 slightly acknowledged, were just beginning to 
 exhibit symptoms of their power, both among 
 the woods and over the meadows. The foliage 
 in the former, though neither scanty nor sere, 
 had assumed a deep, in some places almost a 
 purple hue, the prelude to that darker tinge 
 which soon degenerates into yellow ; whilst the 
 prairie grass waved rankly and heavily upon the 
 latter, giving proof that its freshness was gone, 
 and that what remained, however pleasing to 
 the eye, was totally devoid of nutriment. The 
 
258 A DAY ON THE 
 
 woods were, however, still leafy and green, as the 
 meadows were still smiling and luxuriant; and 
 the stream brawled along its well-known course, 
 clear as at the opening of spring, and shallow 
 as when summer is at its height. All these 
 objects, lying, as they then did, under a sky 
 perfectly cloudless, and lighted by the rays of a 
 brilliant noon-day's sun, combined to make up 
 a landscape upon which no person, however in- 
 different to such objects, could possibly look with 
 indifference ; yet were they gazed at with a va- 
 cant stare by one more than ordinarily sensitive 
 of the charms of visible nature, simply because 
 the gazer was too much ingrossed by painful 
 and tumultuous passions, to permit his mind to 
 receive its accustomed impressions from the 
 sense of sight. 
 
 There was, however, a sense to which, when 
 affected by its proper object, even the mind 
 of Harry Beckwith responded ; it was the 
 sense of hearing. He was pressing on with eyes 
 rivetted to the ground, or, if lifted at all, lifted 
 in utter unconsciousness, when a sound, which 
 to him was ever sweeter than the sweetest music, 
 suddenly caught his ear. 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 259 
 
 " Harry, dear Harry !" exclaimed a voice, 
 the tones of which were not to be mistaken, 
 " why is it that you will not look up ? You 
 have wounded my vanity sadly, I assure you, 
 by compelling me thus to make my presence 
 known." 
 
 Beck with started like one suddenly awakened 
 from sleep. He did look up, and upon the 
 brow of a little eminence close by, he beheld the 
 being on whom his eye never rested except in 
 a species of idolatry. She waved her hand to 
 him, partly, as it seemed, in sign of recognition, 
 partly in affected anger. In an instant all his 
 cares and troubles were forgotten. What to 
 him were grievances past, or prospects gloomy 
 or sad for the future ? The present over- 
 whelmed them all. In it, and for it, he lived ; 
 and all but itself became things over which the 
 waters of oblivion had swept. A brief moment 
 served to carry him to her side, and in the next 
 she was folded to his bosom. 
 
 u Blessings be upon thee, dearest girl!" ex- 
 claimed he : " this is indeed a happiness which 
 I had not anticipated : and never, no, never, 
 was even your presence so acceptable to me as 
 
260 A DAY ON THE 
 
 it is now. Oh ! Cecily, if you knew but the 
 misery which I have suffered, and was suffering 
 at the moment when your sweet voice reached 
 me, you would both pity your unfortunate 
 Harry, and thank Providence that it made you 
 the instrument of delivering him from a thral- 
 dom so horrible. But no matter ; that is past, 
 and whilst I am with you, where is the mis- 
 fortune under which I can bend ?" 
 
 Cecily would have rallied her lover, had her 
 own spirits permitted ; but when she examined 
 his countenance more narrowly, and observed 
 there traces of feelings too deeply engraved even 
 for her presence at once to dispel, her gaiety for- 
 sook her, and she became seriously alarmed. 
 " For heaven's sake, Harry," exclaimed she, 
 disengaging herself from his embrace as she 
 spoke, " what has befallen you ? Why is it that 
 you look so wild ? Are you ill, dearest ? or has 
 some calamity or misfortune overtaken you ? 
 or, oh, God ! my prophetic heart tells me that 
 it must be so is your regiment ordered else- 
 where, and are we doomed to part? Speak, 
 speak, Harry ! tell me the worst at once, I 
 will bear it, indeed I will, like a woman, and like 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 
 
 a Christian ! but if you value my peace, keep 
 me not a moment in suspense." 
 
 " Nay, dearest Cecily," replied he, " mode- 
 rate those fears ; not one of all the evils which 
 you have enumerated has occurred. How 
 foolish in me thus needlessly to alarm you ; 
 and that too, because, forsooth, I am myself 
 ill at ease, about a matter which perhaps 
 ought not to create uneasiness at all. I am in 
 perfect health, my affairs are exactly as they 
 were when last we met, and not a whisper has 
 been circulated as to any change of quarters, 
 there is no immediate prospect at least of our 
 parting. Yet am I unhappy for all that, 
 Cecily ; and even you, great as is your influ- 
 ence over me, will not, I fear, be able to make 
 me otherwise." 
 
 " Unhappy, Harry !" cried she, in a tone 
 which partook in part of gaiety, in part of re- 
 proach, " unhappy, and not communicate the 
 cause to me! Is this fair? is this treatment such 
 as I merit at your hands ? Am I less capable 
 of bearing your sorrows than of partaking in 
 your joys ? or do you hesitate to intrust me with 
 any secret, who have kept no secret from you ? 
 
A DAY ON THE 
 
 Nay, Harry, you will not behave thus to a silly 
 girl, who has, perhaps, too frankly told you that 
 she lives but for you, and would gladly, gladly 
 die, to secure your welfare. 1 ' 
 
 " Beautiful and artless creature," cried he, 
 " believe me there is no matter worthy to be re- 
 peated, which I ever have kept, or ever will 
 keep concealed from you. At present I am 
 silent, simply because I scarcely know what 
 cause to assign for my depression of spirits. 
 It is true that Oliver and I have had some 
 words ; we parted in anger, and that too about 
 you ; but we have often done so before, and 
 without doubt we shall soon become reconciled 
 again. Yet does it vex me to be at variance 
 even for a time with the friend of my early 
 youth, however justifiable the ground of quarrel 
 on my part, and however unreasonable his be- 
 haviour." 
 
 " About me, said you ?" replied she. " Then 
 your cousin is opposed to our union ; and not 
 your cousin only, but all your relatives in 
 England. Oh, Harry, I have all along sus- 
 pected as much. I have all along feared that 
 those great and titled connexions of yours would 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 263 
 
 not receive as a member of their family, a poor 
 untaught child of the wilderness like myself. 
 If it be so, Harry, do not hesitate to cast me off. 
 My heart will break, it is true, to lose you ; 
 but it would break more speedily and more 
 painfully were I to be the cause to you of one 
 moment's distress : therefore go, most beloved 
 one, return to them, and leave me to perish in 
 my loneliness." 
 
 Cecily spoke not without emotion, yet without 
 shedding tears. She turned her bright blue 
 eyes full upon the countenance of her lover, 
 who was gazing at her with an expression of 
 admiration and respect, such as presented no 
 inapt picture of his feelings. Her glance, 
 though timid and bashful as it always was, 
 told no tale of wavering or indecision. But it is 
 not in woman's nature to resist for any length 
 of time the inroads of violent sorrow ; and her 
 calmness gradually but surely faded away. 
 Then the tears came, not in floods, but slowly 
 and one by one, gathering in her large blue 
 eyes like rain-drops, and rolling over the cheek 
 without so much as a pressure of the lids. 
 Harry Beck with was deeply and sincerely af- 
 
264 A DAY ON THE 
 
 fected. Whatever his designs might have pre- 
 viously been, all his thoughts became on the 
 instant purified and hallowed. Once more 
 he pressed her to his heart, and assuring her, 
 that in giving admission to such ideas, she 
 made needless shipwreck of her own happiness, 
 he proceeded, as well as he could, to give a ge- 
 neral outline of his late conference with his 
 cousin. Of course he made in this no men- 
 tion whatever of Oliver's suspicions, nor of the 
 grounds which he had himself given for their 
 formation. On the contrary, he represented 
 their difference as having arisen entirely from 
 an attempt, on the part of Oliver, to dissuade 
 him from continuing his visits to Belmont ; and 
 he more than insinuated that the attempt was 
 made under the expectation that, were he re- 
 moved, Oliver might himself find favour in 
 Cecily's eyes. 
 
 " But you see, Cecily," continued he in a 
 gayer tone, " that, however tender my regard 
 for him, I am not quite so disinterested as to 
 resign in his favour my claims upon you ; there- 
 fore I refused to be guided by his sage, but 
 selfish counsels, and so we parted angrily." 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 265 
 
 Cecily was silent for a few moments, during 
 which her expressive countenance exhibited 
 signs of some strong and painful feeling at 
 work within ; but the cloud gradually departed 
 from her brow, and she answered calmly : 
 " You surprise me by your communication, 
 Harry. Oliver's manner has ever been to me 
 kind and attentive ; but it has been the kindness 
 of friendship merely, not of love, We have con- 
 versed familiarly together about you, likewise ; 
 and on no occasion has he spoken of you other- 
 wise than in terms of the warmest commenda- 
 tion. Surely you mistake his object ; he cannot 
 seriously mean to become the suitor of one, 
 whom he knows to be entirely and absolutely 
 devoted to his friend." 
 
 Harry blushed as this severe but uninten- 
 tional rebuke escaped her ; and he was not suffi- 
 ciently an adept in the art of deceiving, to con- 
 ceal his blushes. He answered hurriedly and 
 confusedly, that possibly he might have misun- 
 derstood his cousin ; but that, if he did, the 
 mistake arose entirely from the depth of his af- 
 fection, which could not endure that any rival 
 should presume to interfere with its intentions. 
 
 VOL. I. N 
 
266 A DAY ON THE 
 
 He then hastily changed the subject, and began 
 to make inquiries as to the health of her father 
 and brother. To these she of course replied, 
 as such replies are usually given ; and then 
 putting her arm through his, they walked on 
 towards the house. But they were neither of 
 them at ease. She continued, in spite of his 
 assurances to the contrary, to suspect that some 
 more serious cause for her lover's acknowledged 
 discontent had arisen, than a passing dispute 
 with his cousin ; whilst he writhed under the 
 humiliating conviction that he had acted with 
 two-fold duplicity ; first, in his general dealings 
 both towards her and his relative, and now, 
 in the paltry attempt which he had made, 
 to give a colouring to that relative's motives 
 from which his own heart assured him that they 
 were free. 
 
 A few moments'* walk brought them to their 
 point of destination, where the visitor was cor- 
 dially welcomed by Mr. Morgan and his son ; 
 and Harry Beckwith soon found himself once 
 more seated in a snug parlour, beside the hos- 
 pitable board of his preserver. The habitation 
 of which he was now an inmate, like the greater 
 
>. 7 EUTRAL GROUND. 
 
 proportion of American villas of those days, 
 was constructed entirely of wood ; and stood, in 
 the cottage style, only one story, exclusive of 
 attics, from the ground. It was a long pile, 
 with white painted walls, green doors, a ve- 
 randa in front, and a thatched roof ; and the 
 windows, in strict keeping with the general cha- 
 racter of the building, were all of them leaded 
 lattices. The grounds immediately about it had 
 at one period been laid out with a strict atten- 
 tion to the taste of the times ; and even now 
 the parterres in which flowers had been 
 reared, and the sloping banks and terraces, 
 remained ; but such was the unsettled state of 
 the country, and so insecure the tenure by 
 which property was held, that no man dreamed, 
 as long as the war raged at his door, of paying 
 the slightest attention to matters not of the first 
 importance. Gardens, pleasure-grounds, lawns, 
 and parks, were accordingly permitted, through- 
 out the whole compass of the Neutral Ground, 
 to run to waste ; and even the fields, so harass- 
 ing were the inroads of the foragers from both 
 camps, were in many districts left untilled. 
 This, together with the dilapidation of fences, 
 N 2 
 
268 A DAY ON THE 
 
 the destruction of barns, sheds, and in some 
 places of dwellings themselves, gave to the 
 district an air of extreme desolation; and though 
 the vale of Belmont lay considerably out of 
 the common track, it had not entirely escaped 
 the general contamination. The consequence 
 was, that whatever of beauty surrounded Bel- 
 mont (and of beauty there was no trifling 
 share) arose entirely from the bounty of Na- 
 ture, art having long ago ceased to exert its 
 energies in a spot where their results were con- 
 tinually effaced. But within doors the case 
 was different. There every thing bespoke the 
 residence of a man accustomed in early life to 
 the best society, and endowed with a taste for 
 those pursuits which a polished mind can alone 
 enjoy. The rooms, though not large, were all 
 amply and elegantly furnished; several specimens 
 of the best Dutch and Italian masters adorned 
 the walls ; and bookcases stored with the works 
 of the most distinguished authors, held their 
 place, not only in the library, but in the draw- 
 ing-room. Nor was it in such matters only that 
 Belmont could boast of abundant sources of 
 gratification. Whatever has been told of Ame- 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 269 
 
 rican neatness and comfort here had a home, 
 even to the plenishing of the kitchen, and the 
 viands sent forth from that most important of 
 all domestic establishments. 
 
 The truth is, that Mr. Morgan was not only 
 what is usually called, a man of substance, 
 but a gentleman, by birth, circumstances, and 
 taste. The only son of a rich merchant, he had 
 enjoyed every advantage which an English edu- 
 cation could bestow ; and having, like most young 
 Americans of his rank, made the tour of the 
 European continent, he had borne a commission 
 in his Majesty's service. Though it was not 
 his fortune to see any real service before an ene- 
 my, still the society to which his military rank 
 proved a passport, was not without its effect in 
 polishing his manners and enlarging his ideas, 
 at the same time that the habits of a military 
 life gave tone to a character naturally inclined 
 to timidity. But Mr. Morgan continued in 
 the army no longer than during the lifetime of 
 his father, at whose decease he settled at New 
 York. Here he formed an attachment to a 
 very amiable woman, with whom in due time 
 he became united ; and here, till the commence- 
 
270 A DAY ON THE 
 
 ment of the troubles under which his country 
 now groaned, he dwelt for a while in affluence 
 and domestic comfort; afterwards, as men usu- 
 ally dwell, whose brightest hopes in life are 
 blighted. 
 
 Mr. Morgan was one of that numerous class 
 of Americans, who from the first determined to 
 take no active part in the struggle between 
 Great Britain and her Colonies. In principle, 
 perhaps, he deserved to be ranked rather as a 
 Whig than as a Tory ; but, having once borne the 
 King's commission, and having received great 
 personal kindness from several of the King's mi- 
 nisters, he considered himself as bound in ho- 
 nour not to take up arms against his old master. 
 Whether he acted wisely or well in so doing, it is 
 not my province to decide ; but affairs no sooner 
 came to a crisis, than he made up his mind to 
 withdraw from a place, where he saw that it 
 would be impossible for him to remain without 
 being dragged into a deviation from his plans. 
 In accordance with this plan, the declaration of 
 adherence to the national cause on the part of 
 the leading men in the city, was to him a signal 
 of removal ; and, as he had resigned long ago, 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 
 
 on account of domestic circumstances, an office 
 which he held under the King's Government, he 
 now withdrew, with his children and domestics, 
 to Belmont, where he had remained ever since. 
 Though repeatedly invited by the leaders on 
 both sides to lend the weight of his name and 
 influence to the cause in which they were en- 
 gaged, he steadily persevered in maintaining a 
 strict neutrality a line of conduct which, from 
 certain peculiarities in his temperament, and 
 a knowledge of the causes which produced it, 
 he was permitted to pursue without molestation. 
 I have said that Mr. Morgan, soon after his 
 return to New York, formed an alliance with an 
 exceedingly beautiful and interesting woman. 
 To his wife he was attached in a degree not 
 frequently witnessed, nor even dreamed of, ex- 
 cept in the world of romance. She had but to 
 form and express a wish, and if its gratifica- 
 tion lay within the reach of his utmost exer- 
 tions, it never failed to be gratified. He lived 
 for her, and for her only ; she was the object of 
 his almost idolatrous adoration ; even the daugh- 
 ter with whom she presented him within a year 
 after their marriage, was to him as nothing, so 
 
A DAY ON THE 
 
 completely were his thoughts ingrossed by de- 
 votion for his wife. During three years he en- 
 joyed the society of that amiable woman, who, 
 if a temper the mildest and the sweetest, joined 
 to a person of surpassing beauty, merit the con- 
 tinued love of a husband, fully merited his ; 
 but at the end of that period a calamity befell, 
 which struck at once at the root of all his hap- 
 piness. His wife died in bringing into the 
 world a son, and Mr. Morgan became from that 
 hour in all respects an altered man. 
 
 For some time after the decease of his wife, 
 Mr. Morgan laboured under a decided aberra- 
 tion of intellect. He was not, indeed, at any 
 moment furious, nor dangerous either to him- 
 self or others ; but he became totally incapable 
 of all exertion, and quite inadequate to the trans- 
 action of the most ordinary business. From 
 society, of which he had formerly been one of 
 the brightest ornaments, he entirely withdrew ; 
 he gave up all occupation, resigning his office 
 under Government, and causing his private con- 
 cerns to be disposed of at a serious loss ; then 
 guarding himself from the approach even of his 
 most intimate friends, he existed altogether on 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 273 
 
 the memory of a happiness which had been a 
 great deal too perfect to last. He ate, slept, 
 and lived continually in the apartment which 
 had been his wife's. He permitted no rude 
 hand to derange the furniture of that chamber 
 from the order in which she had placed it ; and 
 even his children, though led occasionally by 
 the nurse into his presence, failed in rekindling 
 those sentiments, which seemed to have utterly 
 expired in her coffin. But the keenest sorrow 
 will yield to time ; and Mr. Morgan, after in- 
 dulging for a space in this mode of existence, 
 began gradually to attain to a more healthy 
 tone of mind. It was now that his children be- 
 came indeed to him sources of consolation the 
 holiest and most pure ; and in bestowing upon 
 them his undivided care and attention, he found 
 the void occasioned in his heart partially filled 
 up. With his former friends and neighbours, 
 however, he never resumed his intimacy. He 
 lived the life of a recluse for several years in 
 the heart of one of the gayest and most hospita- 
 ble towns in America, an object of sincere com- 
 miseration and involuntary respect to all classes 
 of its inhabitants. It is hardly necessary to 
 N 5 
 
274 A DAY ON THE 
 
 add, that to their knowledge of his private suf- 
 ferings, Mr. Morgan was indebted for the readi- 
 ness with which both Whigs and Tories con- 
 nived at his adoption of a neutral principle ; and 
 that he was permitted to remain, as he had done 
 during the first six years, unmolested, except 
 by an occasional visit from marauders at Bel- 
 morit. 
 
 In this retired spot Mr. Morgan devoted a 
 large portion of his time to the education of his 
 son and daughter. In the latter, as she grew 
 up to womanhood, he beheld not merely the 
 personal loveliness, but the pliability, gentleness 
 and extreme affection, which had distinguished 
 her mother : and he became in consequence at- 
 tached to her by a tie stronger than usually 
 binds even a father to his child. There was no 
 accomplishment of which he was himself master, 
 which he failed to bestow upon her. Under his 
 guidance she became well acquainted with the 
 best English, French, and Italian authors ; she 
 painted, sang, and played the guitar, with exqui- 
 site taste and perfect simplicity ; and her mind 
 was richly stored with a knowledge of history, 
 as well ancient and modern. There are, how- 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 275 
 
 ever, nicer tints in the colouring of the female 
 mind, which no hand but that of a female can 
 bestow; and in these Cecily Morgan was una- 
 voidably deficient. Clever she was, intelligent, 
 and amiable, and upright ; she was affectionate 
 likewise, warm-hearted, and sincere ; yet was 
 there wanting a something, which it would not 
 be very easy to describe ; though of the some- 
 thing to which I allude, every one who has had 
 an opportunity of becoming acquainted with 
 a girl brought up as Cecily had been, will 
 at once be aware. It could not be said with 
 any truth, that she was forward ; for a creature 
 more essentially modest, lived not ; but she had 
 no idea that there was a necessity for concealing 
 her thoughts upon any subject, and hence she 
 never failed, as often as circumstances invited, 
 to speak her mind. From this cause without 
 doubt, a cause which owed its existence entirely 
 to the absence of a mother's superintending care, 
 Cecily's heart soon became the property of the 
 handsome stranger ; and her manner told the 
 tale long before he had addressed her in other 
 terms than those of ordinary acquaintanceship. 
 Yet was there nothing in her manner either to- 
 
276 A DAY ON THE 
 
 wards him or any one besides, at all in contra- 
 diction to the strictest laws of feminine pro- 
 priety. Open she was, and candid; perhaps 
 profuse in the use of terms which expressed no 
 more than she really felt: but from the most 
 remote approximation to licentiousness she 
 would have shrunk with the intuitive horror 
 of a woman who has never been contaminated 
 by an intermixture with crowded, and, as a ne- 
 cessary consequence, impure society. 
 
 With respect, again, to Davis her brother, he 
 was what most lads are likely to become who 
 live much alone, and have been from their boy- 
 hood free from the trammels of custom. Like 
 his sister, he was warm-hearted, open, and frank ; 
 and having, like her, studied under an able 
 tutor, he was well versed in every kind of lore, 
 except a knowledge of mankind. In person, too, 
 he resembled Cecily greatly, only that his make 
 was more robust, and his stature more com- 
 manding ; whilst in temperament he differed 
 entirely from what his father had been at his 
 age ; inasmuch as he was bold, resolute, and 
 fearless. What the faults of his character were 
 it is hard to say, because he lived under a mo- 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 277 
 
 dification of civilized life, which furnished little 
 or no opportunity for their developement ; but 
 selfishness, cowardice, deceit, and cruelty, were 
 certainly not of the number ; and the lad who at 
 sixteen years of age, is free from all these, need 
 not blush to hold up his head in any company. 
 
 Such was the group of persons among whom 
 Harry Beckwith now found himself seated at a 
 board amply spread with every thing which a 
 well-stocked farm and an indifferently supplied 
 cellar could furnish. 
 
278 A DAY ON THE 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE welcome which Harry Beck with received 
 from every member of this secluded family, 
 was such as usually awaits the solitary friend 
 who is permitted from time to time to break in 
 upon a privacy, to all but himself, strictly im- 
 penetrable. Mr. Morgan cleared away the few 
 remaining clouds which still hung upon his 
 brow, as he grasped the hand of the youth 
 to whom he had already rendered services so 
 important; and Davis hailed his arrival with 
 that boisterous satisfaction, which, whilst it 
 proved the boy himself to be the mere pupil 
 of Nature, demonstrated that Nature had en- 
 dowed him with kind feelings and a warm heart. 
 Even the servants, who in almost all cases take 
 the tone from their superiors, ushered him in 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 279 
 
 with smiling countenances and obsequious bows; 
 and however valueless these smiles and bows 
 may be in themselves, we all know that they are 
 not without their effect in assuring a visitor, 
 that his presence in the mansion where they are 
 displayed is acceptable. 
 
 It would have been contrary to nature, had 
 not the uneasy feelings under which both Harry 
 and Cecily laboured, melted before the sunshine 
 of so many happy faces. The young couple 
 had not joined their friends many minutes, when 
 their wonted gaiety and good-humour returned ; 
 and seldom has a merrier or more lively party 
 surrounded a table, than that which sat down 
 to the discussion of the excellent fare which 
 Mr. Morgan's housekeeper provided. Some 
 questions were indeed put, relative to the cause 
 of Oliver's absence, which, because they mani- 
 festly gave uneasiness to Harry Beckwith, dis- 
 tressed Cecily Morgan likewise ; but the pain 
 arising from such was of very short duration, and 
 then all things again returned into a channel 
 of pure and innocent enjoyment. Thus passed 
 the meal, and thus too passed the period after 
 the meal, during which the established rules 
 
280 A DAY ON THE 
 
 of society permitted Cecily to be a partaker in 
 the gentlemen's conviviality. But the door had 
 no sooner closed upon her sylph-like figure, than 
 Mr. Morgan, after requesting Davis to leave 
 them, drew his chair closer to young Beckwith, 
 and in a tone at once affectionate and serious 
 thus addressed him : 
 
 "I presume, Mr. Beckwith, that you will not 
 be surprised when I inform you, that for some 
 time back I have observed between you and my 
 daughter a degree of intimacy, respecting the 
 object and design of which I consider myself 
 bound by my duty as a parent to make some 
 inquiry. It is not that I entertain the slightest 
 suspicion of you, my young friend,- far less that 
 I distrust Cecily ; but I know the materials of 
 which human nature is composed too well, not 
 to be aware, that an acquaintance such as yours 
 must either cease at once, or ripen into a tie 
 more tender. Now, though Cecily is to me the 
 very apple of an eye ; though, deprived of her 
 society, there is nothing in this world capable of 
 conferring upon me one moment's enjoyment, 
 still my affection for her is at once too great 
 and too disinterested to permit my harbouring 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 281 
 
 a wish opposed to what shall appear to be her 
 interests : and if you really love her, as I am 
 disposed to believe that you do, in God's name 
 take her. My fortune, though not what it was, 
 is still considerable ; and if you are willing to 
 become the protector of my child, it shall be 
 freely shared with you. There is, however, 
 one condition on which I must insist ; it is, 
 that you abandon the British service, and settle 
 where I may occasionally behold the single hu- 
 man being, in whose presence I feel myself not 
 utterly alone." 
 
 Young Beckwith was, to use the language of 
 sailors, completely taken aback by this appeal. 
 As Mr. Morgan had hitherto, neither by word 
 nor in manner, evinced the smallest suspicion 
 of the true cause which led him so frequently 
 to Belmont, Beckwith had accustomed himself 
 to believe, that in matters of the heart the old 
 man possessed no penetration ; and hence that 
 he might without any danger of interruption 
 carry on his intrigue just as long as might suit 
 his own views, and drop it entirely whenever 
 those views were accomplished. The delusion 
 thus dispelled as abruptly as unexpectedly, left 
 
282 A DAY ON THE 
 
 him sadly at a loss how to act under circum- 
 stances on the occurrence of which he had never 
 calculated. He was silent for some moments; 
 and his embarrassment was such as could not 
 escape the notice of his host. " Surely," said 
 the latter, in a tone partaking slightly of stern- 
 ness, " I have not fallen into error here. I have 
 not, I trust, been making a tender of Cecily's 
 hand to one who knows not the value of the 
 gift offered." 
 
 " No, Sir," answered Harry hurriedly ; u of 
 Miss Morgan's excellent qualities and extreme 
 beauty, I am, and have long been fully sensi- 
 ble ; indeed you do no more than justice to the 
 nature of my sentiments, when you suppose 
 that I have viewed her, from the first, with the 
 fondest and warmest partiality. But your offer, 
 generous and noble as it is, has come upon me 
 with so little previous warning, that you will, 
 I am sure, pardon me when I confess, that it 
 has utterly confounded me." 
 
 " Well, well," replied Mr. Morgan, smiling, 
 " take time to recover from your confusion. 
 Consider the matter deliberately, and give me 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 
 
 your answer, either now or on some future oc- 
 casion, as may best suit you." 
 
 " Had I but my own wishes to consult," 
 answered Harry eagerly, " Heaven knows that 
 not a moment would be required for delibera- 
 tion on such a subject ; but there are others 
 interested in this matter, to whose opinion I am 
 bound to pay some respect. My father lives, 
 and though neither his only nor his eldest son, 
 he will of course expect to be consulted in an 
 affair so important. Then, again, there is your 
 annexed condition : how can I with honour, 
 how can I without absolute and eternal dis- 
 grace, accede to that at a juncture like the 
 present ?" 
 
 " I made no mention of any particular day 
 or hour, Mr. Beckwith," replied his host drily; 
 " nor am I so very anxious to rid myself of the 
 presence of Cecily, as to force her upon any 
 man against his will. We had better change 
 the subject." 
 
 " Nay, nay, my dear Sir 1" exclaimed Harry, 
 seriously alarmed at the turn which matters 
 seemed about to take, " if you imagine that 
 
284 A DAY ON THE 
 
 my not closing instantly with your proposal, 
 and abandoning every thing country, friends, 
 profession, and fame itself, for her sake, arises 
 from any feeling of indifference towards your 
 daughter, you do me wrong. Heaven is my 
 witness-' " 
 
 At this moment the door of the parlour burst 
 open, and a negro slave, with terror strongly 
 depicted in his countenance, rushed in. " Fly. 
 Massa, fly, hide !" exclaimed the terrified crea- 
 ture; u here come de Skinners afoot and a 
 horseback, right up de valley, and yonder be de 
 Riglers on both sides all round de house. For 
 God's sake hide, Massa, English captain, or 
 he hang like a dog." 
 
 Mr. Morgan and Harry sprang to the win- 
 dow, and there, sure enough, a spectacle met 
 them, which caused the blood of both to 
 stagnate. A squadron of some twenty or 
 thirty irregular horsemen, followed by a com- 
 pany of ill- dressed militia, was advancing ra- 
 pidly up the glen, the former being already 
 within two hundred yards of the paddock-gate. 
 The hills on either hand were covered with 
 troops, some resting idly on the summits, others 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 285 
 
 in straggling detachments winding along their 
 faces, whilst all appeared to observe with mark- 
 ed scrutiny the movements of the party which 
 directed their steps towards Belmont. It re- 
 quired no farther evidence to assure both Harry 
 and his host that the house was surrounded ; 
 escape, therefore, by flight was entirely cut off, 
 should such a measure be required ; but as this 
 was not the first occasion on which Belmont was 
 visited in a threatening manner, though the 
 design of those who threatened extended no 
 farther than to collect forage, Mr. Morgan was 
 willing to believe that no personal damage 
 would accrue either to himself or his guest. In 
 this, however, he had been deceived, as the 
 occurrences of the next minute demonstrated. 
 
 Mr. Morgan had just time to express him- 
 self to this effect, when his son and daughter, 
 breathless with agitation, rushed into the room. 
 " We are betrayed !" exclaimed the former 
 fiercely. " You have been traced, Beckwith, 
 and they are come to arrest you : all chance 
 of flight is taken away ; every approach to 
 the house is watched ; and an officer's guard 
 is already at the door. What is to be done ?" 
 
286 A DAY ON THE 
 
 " Nothing !" replied Harry coolly, " there 
 is nothing to be done, except to submit quietly 
 to a misfortune which we cannot avert. I had 
 rather they had taken me, if I must be taken, 
 in the field ; but here, as there, I can be treated 
 only as a prisoner of war." 
 
 " No, no," exclaimed Cecily, throwing her- 
 self franticly into his arms, " they will not 
 treat you as a prisoner of war. It is as a spy 
 they seek you ; if you fall into their hands, 
 your death is certain." 
 
 " Impossible, Cecily !" replied Beckwith, 
 though he was far from feeling the assurance 
 which he wished to convey to her : " I am here 
 upon the Neutral Ground ; beyond our own pic- 
 kets, it is true, but not within the circle of 
 theirs ; they cannot, without a gross and glar- 
 ing violation of the laws of war, condemn me." 
 
 " And my father ! my father too, his life 
 is sacrificed !" shrieked the agonized girl. 
 
 At this moment, the voices of men, and the 
 heavy tramp of feet, were heard in the passage. 
 
 " We will make one effort to save you, yet," 
 exclaimed Mr. Morgan, moving at the same 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 287 
 
 time towards the head of the room. There 
 was suspended there a large painting, a copy 
 from one of the Cartoons, which reached to 
 within a few feet of the floor. This Mr. Mor- 
 gan thrust aside, and a small door was dis- 
 played, which being pushed back, gave access 
 to a sort of recess or dark closet. " There, 
 Harry, take shelter there," exclaimed he ; " and 
 remember that whatever conversation you may 
 chance to overhear, you must on no account 
 show yourself. If you are found under this roof, 
 both you and I shall suffer ; should they not 
 succeed in forcing you from your hiding-place, 
 one of us certainly, perhaps both, may escape." 
 
 There was no time for expostulation or reply; 
 for the young man had scarcely taken his sta- 
 tion, and the picture was barely replaced as it 
 had been before, when four troopers, headed by 
 an officer, burst into the parlour. 
 
 " A good day to you, Mr. Morgan !" said 
 the officer, a tall, robust, cross-made man, with 
 huge black whiskers, and a particularly for- 
 bidding expression of countenance. " These are 
 pleasant times for a man to enjoy the quiet of 
 
288 A DAY ON THE 
 
 his own family : doubtless, you lead but a se- 
 cluded life here, and have no objection occa- 
 sionally to entertain an old acquaintance." 
 
 " It will give me much pleasure to entertain 
 the gentleman who now addresses me," replied 
 Mr. Morgan firmly, " though I cannot recol- 
 lect that I ever had the honour of seeing him 
 before or any other officer in the American 
 service. 1 ' 
 
 " And in King George's service too, I sup- 
 pose," said the intruder. " You Neutrals are 
 not very particular, as every body knows, whom 
 you honour with your friendship. I am ex- 
 tremely anxious to become acquainted with one 
 of them there red-coats : may I beg the favour 
 of you to produce him ?" 
 
 " I do not understand you. Sir," replied 
 Mr. Morgan. " There are no red-coats here, 
 as far, at least, as I am aware." 
 
 " Oh, no doubt, no doubt. You are not 
 aware that a young gentleman came this morn- 
 ing from the post of Kingsbridge, with a fowl- 
 ing-piece on his shoulder and a couple of dogs ; 
 whew, whew ; there they go, and very pretty 
 setters they are, I assure you. They seem to 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 289 
 
 expect their master hereabouts too; for, see, 
 they are smelling under the very window." 
 
 Mr. Morgan looked out, and beheld Harry's 
 dogs running at large upon the lawn. The cir- 
 cumstance was abundantly mortifying ; and the 
 more so, as one of them carried round his 
 neck a collar, on which the name, rank, and 
 regiment of his master were engraved ; yet, 
 hoping that his case was not absolutely des- 
 perate, he determined still to deny strictly all 
 knowledge of them and of their owner. He did 
 so, but it was to no purpose. 
 
 " You know nothing about them !" said the 
 officer with imperturbable gravity ; " of cgurse, 
 they made their way into your stable by pure 
 accident, and quite accidentally tied themselves 
 to the manger. I dare say now, their master's 
 visit was just as accidental as their's." 
 
 * 8 Well, Sir," said Mr. Morgan, conscious 
 that farther evasion would avail nothing, " what 
 matters it though an English officer should have 
 been here ? You are aware, I presume, that 
 this is Neutral Ground, and that we are liable 
 to interruptions, not from our friends only, but 
 from enemies." 
 
 VOL. I. o 
 
290 A DAY ON THE 
 
 " Very true," replied the trooper ; " friends 
 and enemies are equally entitled to traverse 
 the Neutral Ground ; but to whom am I to con- 
 sider that you allude under that title? and 
 where is this Neutral Ground of which you 
 speak ? You don't mean to call the British, 
 enemies; because, you know, you have seen 
 nothing of any British to-day ; and we, I pre- 
 sume, are hardly accounted friends." 
 
 " Sir !" said Mr. Morgan firmly, this is 
 sheer trifling. I confess to you that an Eng- 
 lish officer has been here to-day. He ventured 
 so far abroad in search of game, and made a 
 demand upon me for hospitality, which I could 
 not refuse ; but where he is now, you must dis- 
 cover for yourselves. The instant an alarm was 
 given of your approach he fled, and I have not 
 seen him since." 
 
 " Now, this is what I call coming near to the 
 mark," replied the officer, pouring out a glass of 
 wine, and drinking it. " I guess we shall go 
 on step by step till we reach the whole truth 
 at last. Do you take me for so perfect a sim- 
 pleton," continued he, looking fiercely, " as to 
 suppose that I believe one word of that fine cock 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 
 
 and bull story ? Why, man, a mouse could not 
 have escaped us. We have been round your pre- 
 mises these two hours, and though I saw with my 
 own eyes the young gentleman enter, neither mine 
 nor any body's besides saw him sally forth again. 
 Poh, poh, I know that he is in the house some- 
 where; so you had better at once produce him. 1 ' 
 
 " If you know that he is in the house," re- 
 plied Mr. Morgan, " your shortest plan will be 
 to search till you find him." 
 
 " No, by all that is damnable," exclaimed 
 the trooper ; " I know a better and shorter 
 method than that. Look ye here, friend. Your 
 true character is known at last. Under a pre- 
 tence of ill-health, or ill-humour, or a point of 
 honour forsooth, or some such miserable sub- 
 terfuge, you have been acting the traitor to 
 your country^, and receiving continual visits from 
 British officers, whom you have sent back to New 
 York loaded with all the intelligence which you 
 could procure. Your life, therefore, is forfeited, 
 and if I choose, I may hang you up, without far- 
 ther inquiry, on the nearest tree on your own 
 lawn. But this cursed spy we must catch ; 
 and I spare you, only that you may have the 
 
A DAY ON THE 
 
 shame and mortification of surrendering him 
 into my power. So deliver him, or by heaven ! 
 you shall swing for it on the instant." 
 
 " You say rightly, Sir," replied Mr. Morgan 
 calmly, *' that my life is in your hands. You 
 may do with it what you will, but you cannot 
 compel me to act contrary to the dictates of 
 honour and conscience." 
 
 " We shall see," said the trooper fiercely. 
 Soldiers, seize that old scoundrel, and bind 
 his hands behind his back ; and hark ye, cause 
 a large fire to be lighted on the green sward ; 
 we shall try whether a little roasting may not 
 bring the traitor to his senses." 
 
 The soldiers advanced to obey these orders ; 
 but Cecily and Davis rushed in between, and 
 the former on her knees, the latter with hands 
 clasped violently together, besought them to 
 desist. " Spare, spare my father," they both 
 exclaimed in a breath. 
 
 " You would not do as you threaten, 1 ' cried 
 Davis, turning to the officer: " the uniform which 
 you wear is that of a soldier; you could not dis- 
 grace it by acting the part of a Skinner." 
 
 " A Skinner, boy !" cried the ruffian, with a 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 293 
 
 savage laugh. " Why, what the devil am I but 
 a Skinner, and what are these but Skinners ? 
 Did you take us for Riglars ? poor merce- 
 nary slaves, whose liberty is sold for a daily 
 pittance ? I know better than that ; and now 
 that you know it too, do you think that I 
 won't keep my promise ? Get the fire lighted 
 one of you," continued he, turning to his follow- 
 ers, " and the rest do as I command." 
 
 " Wretch, then you shall do more than keep 
 your promise/' exclaimed the youth, grasping 
 a knife that lay on the table, and springing to- 
 wards the officer. But the latter was too much 
 accustomed to such acts of desperation, not to 
 be continually on his guard against them ; he 
 leaped aside, and with a blow of his fist stretch- 
 ed the stripling on the ground. The soldiers 
 now closed in, and fatal consequences might 
 have followed, had not the attention of the com- 
 batants been suddenly attracted by a violent 
 shaking of the picture at the upper end of the 
 room. No time was granted for the utterance 
 of conjecture as to its cause, ere the picture 
 itself was pushed aside, and Harry Beck with, 
 his eye flashing with fury, stood before them. 
 
294 A DAY ON THE 
 
 " Monsters, ruffians ! assassins I" cried he, 
 "what do you meditate ? Would you murder an 
 innocent man in cold blood? Let that gentleman 
 go, and make me your prisoner I am the person 
 whom you seek ; but remember also that I am 
 a British officer, and as such, that I insist upon 
 being carried immediately before your General, 
 who will deal with me as justice requires. 1 '' 
 
 The effect of Beckwith's sudden appearance 
 among them was, with all parties present, as if 
 a thunderbolt had burst over their heads. Ce- 
 cily screamed aloud ; and before Harry, who 
 sprang forward, could reach her, she fell sense- 
 less upon the carpet. Mr. Morgan could only 
 exclaim, " Oh, Beck with, you have ruined all P' 
 whilst Davis, shaking himself free from the 
 nerveless grasp of the Skinners, darted through 
 the open door, and disappeared. As to the 
 American officer, though at first not less asto- 
 nished than the rest, he very soon recovered his 
 composure, and rubbing his hands one within 
 the other, exclaimed, " Bravo ! young gentle- 
 man ; this is a pretty piece of work as ever one 
 would wish to witness. I guessed our farce 
 would end in a serious play ; and so it has. 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 295 
 
 Come along, my master, you have saved your 
 friend here from a little broiling ; but hanged 
 you shall both be, before another sun sets, or 
 my name is not Jonathan Dobson. What ho 
 there ! Serjeant of the guard, seize your pri- 
 soner !" 
 
 His summons was answered by the advance 
 of an additional party from the lawn, who, run- 
 ning forward, leaped through the open window 
 into the apartment. They turned upon Beck- 
 with, who was supporting the lifeless form of Ce- 
 cily in his arms, and without the smallest com- 
 punction for his evident sufferings, or the pitiable 
 state of the girl, grasped him tightly by the 
 arms. " Hands off, scoundrels," exclaimed he ; 
 " I have told you that I do not mean to offer 
 any resistance ; but, if you attempt to drag me 
 away from that lady in her present condition, 
 by Him that made me, you shall find that you 
 had better attack the lioness nursing her cubs !" 
 As he spoke, he shook the men aside like chil- 
 dren ; then, gently raising Cecily from the floor, 
 he bore her to a couch, on which he laid her. 
 " Now then, gentlemen," continued he, t6 only 
 permit me to see this lady's senses restored, and 
 
296 A DAY ON THE 
 
 I will follow wherever you choose to lead." 
 But his endeavours to soften such miscreants as 
 those who surrounded him, availed nothing. 
 Uttering dreadful oaths, they again seized him. 
 threw him upon his back, in spite of a desperate 
 resistance, and passing a cord round his arms, 
 bound his hands so tightly behind him, that the 
 very blood seemed ready to burst from the fin- 
 gers' ends. The same treatment was bestowed 
 upon Mr. Morgan ; and then, and not till then, 
 their leader thought of paying attention to Ce- 
 cily. But his notice of her amounted to nothing 
 more than a summons to such of the domestics 
 as were within call, and an order to convey her 
 to her chamber; with strict injunctions that 
 both she and they should be kept prisoners, till 
 directions were given to the contrary. 
 
 In the mean while Davis, who had so prompt- 
 ly turned to account the general stupefaction 
 occasioned by Beckwith's appearance, was sorely 
 put to it, how to elude the pursuit which he 
 apprehended would be made after him. To at- 
 tempt a passage through the cordon of troops 
 which surrounded the house, would, he was well 
 aware, be useless ; and where to conceal himself 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 297 
 
 within doors from the scrutiny of the Skin- 
 ner and his gang, he knew not. In this dilem- 
 ma he took refuge in the case of a huge eight- 
 day clock, which stood in the hall, where for a 
 long while he remained undisturbed, or rather 
 undetected. But that period was to him one 
 of the most intensely and painfully interesting 
 that he had ever spent. Not that any thing 
 occurred calculated to alarm him for his own 
 personal safety, to say the truth, little or no 
 inquiry was made after him either by friends 
 or foes, but he became an ear-witness to a 
 scene more harrowing to his feelings than any 
 which could have well passed before him. 
 
 o 5 
 
298 A DAY ON THE 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 FEW epochs in the annals of American re- 
 volutionary warfare were more memorable than 
 the 19th of September 1781. On the morning 
 of that day Washington, who had previously 
 caused great and ostentatious preparations to 
 be made, pushed forward a crowd of irregular 
 troops on the road to Kingsbridge, distributing at 
 the same time his column of Continentals so 
 as to induce a persuasion that he intended se- 
 riously to assault the British lines in that 
 quarter. With this view he descended in force 
 from his position in the Highlands, overspread 
 for an hour or two the White Plains, and then 
 suddenly countermarching, passed the mass of 
 his army over the Hudson's by Kingsferry, 
 and commenced his skilful and well-conducted 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 299 
 
 march towards York Town. It was on this 
 remarkable day, that the two Beckwiths sal- 
 lied forth upon their sporting excursion from 
 the lines. The elder by returning, as has 
 been described, to the place from which he 
 set out, became one of a multitude whom 
 Washington's admirable combinations deceived 
 into an expectation that the hostile armies 
 were about to set the issue of the war upon 
 a single battle ; whilst the younger, by obey- 
 ing the impulse of personal inclination, found 
 himself a prisoner in the hands of that force, 
 which the American General left behind him. 
 How Harry Beck with happened to escape cap- 
 ture in his progress towards Belmont, it were a 
 hard matter to say. He could not have turned 
 off from the main road into the valley many 
 seconds ere the head of Washington's advanced 
 guard reached that point ; but he gained the 
 mansion unobserved, as has been already nar- 
 rated, and there he might have continued till 
 after the scouts had withdrawn, but for the 
 treachery of one of Mr. Morgan's domestics. 
 That caitiff, a slave whom his master too 
 much favoured, iiad long meditated the act 
 
300 A DAY OK THE 
 
 of villainy which he this day perpetrated. I 
 need not say, that in those times considerable 
 rewards were given on both sides to such persons 
 as either made or pretended to make disclo- 
 sures of treasonable practices. Of spies, and the 
 mischiefs which they were capable of producing, 
 British as well as Americans then entertained 
 an apprehension absolutely childish ; and hence 
 no story could be told, however ridiculous in 
 itself, having a spy, or an act of treason for 
 its subject, which was not treated, both by 
 Americans and British, with the gravest atten- 
 tion. Mr. Morgan's faithless slave was not ig- 
 norant of that fact. He gladly availed himself 
 of it to make out an exceedingly plausible tale 
 respecting the frequent visits of young Beck- 
 with to Belmont ; and the consequence was, the 
 surrounding of Mr. Morgan's house by a por- 
 tion of the force which was left, under the 
 command of General Heath, to mask the 
 march of Washington's main army towards the 
 Carolinas. 
 
 Captain Jonathan Dobson, as the leader of 
 the Skinners was called, had no sooner secured 
 his prisoners, than he despatched a messenger 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 301 
 
 to inform General Heath of the event. The 
 announcement was received with as much satis- 
 faction as if the fate of empires depended upon 
 it ; and a court-martial was commanded in- 
 stantly to assemble, for the purpose of awarding 
 to the captives the destiny which they should 
 appear to merit. In ordinary cases the utmost 
 caution is used in selecting the members of a 
 tribunal upon whose fiat depends the life or 
 death of a fellow creature; and possibly the 
 Americans were not on other occasions less fas- 
 tidious than their neighbours ; but never was 
 fitness for the office more undisguisedly dis- 
 regarded than was done that day, in choosing 
 the persons appointed to try Harry Beck with 
 and his host. The Court consisted of two Cap- 
 tains of irregular bands, Captain Jonathan 
 Dobson being of the number ; as many sub- 
 alterns of Militia ; with a field officer attached 
 to the staff of General Heath, as President. 
 Of these, all, the staff officer not excepted, 
 were persons of mean birth, limited education, 
 strong party feelings, and violent tempers. 
 The two captains were indeed men of lawless 
 and reckless habits, who carried arms not from 
 
302 A DAY ON THE 
 
 any love of country or principle, real or ima- 
 gined ; but purely because of the licence which 
 a state of warfare affords, for the indulgence of 
 the worst passions which degrade human nature: 
 in whose eyes murder aud rapine were mat- 
 ters of mere business, and a man's life of no 
 more value than the life of a dog. Nor, to say 
 the truth, were the Militia Lieutenants in 
 many respects better qualified than they to act 
 the part of judges. If less sanguinary than the 
 Skinners, they were unquestionably more timo- 
 rous, as well as far more deeply imbued with 
 personal and political antipathies ; and hence men 
 filling the situation which Mr. Morgan and 
 Harry Beckwith filled, ran to the full as many 
 risks from their imbecility, as they incurred 
 from the well-known cruelty of their coadjutors. 
 The place chosen for the important drama 
 about to be acted, was the hall, a large oblong 
 room, in one corner of which stood the clock 
 within the case of which Davis Morgan lay 
 concealed. There was a sort of dais, or ele- 
 vated platform at the upper end, on which a 
 table was placed, the judges taking their seats 
 round it with great formality ; and the prisoners, 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 303 
 
 having their hands bound tightly behind them, 
 were led forward by three dragoons, armed with 
 drawn sabres. More, perhaps, for the sake of 
 effect, than that any additional precautions were 
 necessary, a platoon of soldiers, with loaded 
 muskets and fixed bayonets, were drawn up at 
 the other extremity ; whilst in a remote corner 
 stood the slave, to whose treachery the present 
 scene was owing, and who was now about to 
 consummate his crime by appearing as an evi- 
 dence against his master. There was a silence 
 of a few moments whilst these matters were 
 adjusting, which enabled the prisoners to take 
 an accurate survey of the countenances and air 
 of the men before whom their defence was to 
 be made. That survey was not very favourable 
 to the indulgence of hope : but had such a feel- 
 ing been indulged, the opening of the proceed- 
 ings would have sufficed to destroy it ; for it 
 became manifest at once, from the mode of inter- 
 rogation adopted, that the fate of the prisoners 
 was sealed. 
 
 " You are, I believe," said the President, 
 addressing himself to Beckwith, " an officer in 
 the service of the British tyrant ? n 
 
304 A DAY ON THE 
 
 " I have the honour to bear a commission," 
 replied Harry, " in the army of his Britannic- 
 Majesty, to whom the epithet which you have 
 just used does not apply." 
 
 " Well/' continued the President with a sar- 
 donic smile, " we are riot going to dispute 
 about a word. Have the goodness to inform 
 this Court, how you came to be taken at so 
 great a distance from your lines, and in the 
 disguise which you now wear/ 1 
 
 " By all means," replied Beckwith. " In the 
 first place, my present costume is no disguise : 
 it is an ordinary shooting-dress, as your own 
 senses may assure you ; whilst the reason 
 which caused me to assume it, is the very same 
 which has guided me thus far beyond our out- 
 posts. I came abroad on an excursion of plea- 
 sure, under the persuasion that your army was, 
 as it has long been, in position in the High- 
 lands." 
 
 "I suppose, then, you would have us believe," 
 said the President, " that your journey hither 
 has been one of accident purely. Is this the 
 first visit which you have paid to Belmont ?" 
 
 " Certainly not," replied Beckwith ; " I hare 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. S05 
 
 visited Belmont frequently before, though al- 
 ways on the same errand." 
 
 " Doubtless !" replied the President. " May 
 I ask under what circumstances your acquaint- 
 ance with your friend Mr. Morgan began ?" 
 
 " Under the very same which have attended 
 its continuance : accidentally," replied Beck- 
 with. 
 
 " You are not,- then, indebted to Mr. Morgan 
 for any thing beyond a few common civilities ; 
 you have never lain concealed under his roof s 
 whilst American soldiers were in search of you/' 
 
 " I do not -deny that I attempted to conceal 
 myself this morning, as I presume any other 
 man would have done in my circumstances.' 1 
 
 " Good," said the President, looking round 
 with an expression of malicious delight upon his 
 brother members ; " so far you speak candidly. 
 Now be kind enough to state whether this is the 
 first time you have so concealed yourself, and 
 why you should have experienced so very strong 
 a reluctance to be taken." 
 
 " No soldier, I presume," replied Beck with, 
 purposely eluding the first interrogatory, 
 " feels otherwise than reluctant to become, 
 
306 A DAY ON THE 
 
 under any circumstances, a prisoner of war ; 
 but the idea becomes doubly humiliating 
 to him who sees himself liable to that fate 
 through his own rashness." 
 
 " Then you had no fears for your neck ?" 
 
 " For my neck !" exclaimed Harry with 
 affected astonishment ; " is it customary with 
 the American troops to put their prisoners to 
 death ?" 
 
 " We always hang spies," observed the Pre- 
 sident drily. Then turning to Mr. Morgan, he 
 began to put certain leading questions to him. 
 
 " You are, I think, o"he of those respectable 
 members of society," said he, " who choose to 
 take no part in the struggle between America 
 and her oppressors/' 
 
 " I have hitherto observed a strict neutral- 
 ity," said Mr. Morgan, " for reasons, of which 
 your chiefs are fully aware, and of which they 
 have thought fit to approve." 
 
 " But this neutrality of yours does not hinder 
 you from holding intercourse familiar and con- 
 fidential intercourse, with the agents of Sir 
 Harry Clinton." 
 
 " I have held no intercourse with Sir Harry 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 307 
 
 Clinton's agents ; I am ignorant of their per- 
 sons ; I do not know that such beings exist."" 
 
 46 How comes this British officer, then, to be 
 found in your house, and under circumstances 
 of no ordinary mystery ? Why did you deny 
 that he was here ? why did you not produce 
 him at once when demanded ?" 
 
 " The officer himself has explained how he 
 came," replied Mr. Morgan ; " and as to my 
 refusal to betray him, no man of honour will, 
 I think, blame me for that. I would have as 
 soon thought of giving up yourself, or any 
 other American, to the British, had they come 
 upon me as you have done, as I would have 
 betrayed this young gentleman. He placed 
 himself under the protection of my hospitality ; 
 and that bond even the savages respect." 
 
 " Your hospitality is of very extensive 
 range," observed the President ; " has it ever 
 been exerted after the same fashion before ?" 
 
 " I do not understand you," replied Mr. 
 Morgan. 
 
 " It is false," said the officer; " you perfectly 
 understand that I allude to the transactions of 
 a certain morning last summer, when, but for 
 
308 A DAY ON THE 
 
 you, this young man must have fallen into our 
 hands. Am I sufficiently explicit now ?" 
 
 " Quite so," replied Mr. Morgan. 
 
 " I suppose we are not to expect from either 
 of you,"" continued the officer, " a confession 
 of the truth, and therefore the question which 
 I am about to put will of course be put to no 
 purpose. Have you ever held conversations 
 together ? I address myself now to both of you, 
 or to either. Have you ever conversed on state 
 affairs? on matters involving the interests of 
 the belligerent powers ? on the condition and 
 strength of the hostile armies, and the positions 
 of their several corps ?" 
 
 The prisoners looked at one another, not in 
 pretended, but in real surprise ; they could not 
 comprehend the object of the address, and they 
 said so frankly, and plainly. 
 
 " I see how it is," said the President : " you 
 will not answer because an answer must condemn 
 you ; but I have a witness here whose testimony 
 goes as far with me as your own confession. 
 Come forward, Pompey," exclaimed he, address- 
 ing himself to the negro, 4< and declare before 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 809 
 
 these gentlemen what you stated to General 
 Heath and myself this morning. n 
 
 The black obeyed, and in his broken Eng- 
 lish told a tedious tale of conferences mysteri- 
 ously held between his master and the English 
 Captain, of which, from his own account, he 
 could overhear very little, and understood still 
 less ; but the purport of the whole was, to con- 
 vey a persuasion, that Mr. Morgan was in the 
 habit of communicating intelligence respecting 
 the designs and movements of the American 
 army. Pompey was not, indeed, very explicit 
 in his account of the means by which such in- 
 formation was obtained ; but he was sure that 
 the names of Washington, Rochambeau, and 
 other revolutionary leaders, were frequently 
 mentioned, and that much was said on both sides 
 touching West Point, King's Ferry, Peekskill, 
 and other rebel posts. He recollected too, that 
 he had on various occasions surprised the gen- 
 tlemen poring over maps and plans, as he be- 
 lieved, of the Jersey Highlands, and that on all 
 such occasions the Englishman seemed to receive 
 instruction, whilst his master conveyed it. Such 
 
310 A DAY ON THE 
 
 was the substance of this man's evidence, to 
 which the prisoners listened with a smile of 
 unutterable contempt, whilst the judges them- 
 selves appeared by no means satisfied that 
 proofs of treason more palpable were not pro- 
 duced. Nevertheless, the President who seemed 
 bent upon their conviction, turned to the pri- 
 soners with an air of assumed triumph, and de- 
 manded what they had to say in answer to the 
 slave's assertions." 
 
 " Say !" exclaimed Beckwith : " what should 
 we say ! That almost every syllable the mis- 
 creant has spoken is true, yet that not the faint- 
 est resemblance to a well-grounded charge of 
 false-dealing between Mr. Morgan and myself 
 has been made out. I freely admit that we have 
 conversed repeatedly on all the topics to which 
 your respectable witness deposes ; but what is 
 there in that to alarm the jealousy of either 
 party ?" 
 
 " But the map, the map, young man !" ex- 
 claimed the President exultingly : " with what 
 design was that referred to ? and how came you 
 to be a listener when it lay before you ?" 
 
 Beckwith paused for a moment, to consider 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 311 
 
 whether any such occurrence had ever taken 
 place. At first his memory could discover no 
 trace of it ; nor was it till Mr. Morgan reminded 
 him of a discussion which they had held touch- 
 ing the unfortunate expedition under General 
 Burgoyne in 1777, that the fact recurred to 
 him. Then, indeed, he explained the matter 
 with so much candour and openness, that before 
 any other judges his explanation must have 
 been received as satisfactory. But the members 
 of the present Court were not thus to be divert- 
 ed from a persuasion which they had once adopt- 
 ed. One and all they shook their heads, in un- 
 disguised disbelief; and passing on to other 
 matters, did their best to entrap both him and his 
 host into contradictions. But why dwell longer 
 upon a business, the result of which has, doubt- 
 less, been anticipated already ? Let it suffice to 
 state, that after a full hour wasted in such con- 
 versations as the preceding, the prisoners were 
 ordered to withdraw ; and the hall being cleared, 
 this delectable Court proceeded to deliberate as 
 to the nature of the sentence to be awarded. 
 
 It will readily be credited that Davis Morgan, 
 who, in his place of concealment, had been an 
 
A DAY ON THE 
 
 attentive listener to the trial, held his very 
 breath at this awful juncture, in order that not 
 a syllable which fell from his father's judges 
 might escape him. His feelings may therefore 
 be imagined, when he heard the President 
 address to his assistants a brief harangue, de- 
 claratory of his own conviction, that to permit 
 either of the prisoners to escape, would 1 be to 
 betray their country, and to sacrifice their own 
 character. " I have always had my suspicions 
 of Morgan,"" continued he, " towards whom 
 Congress has behaved with a very mistaken as 
 well as mischievous lenity. Are not these sus- 
 picions amply confirmed ? Can we believe that 
 an English officer would thrust himself time after 
 time into the dangers which beset him here, for 
 no other purpose than to indulge a taste for 
 shooting, or enjoy the society of a friend ? Be- 
 sides, what right has any American to make a 
 friend of one who carries arms against his coun- 
 try? For that alone I aver that Morgan 
 deserves death ; and we cannot hang the one 
 without the other. But it is for you, gentle- 
 men, to decide ; I can give no more than my 
 own casting vote." 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 313 
 
 The President was not permitted to stand 
 alone in this sanguinary determination. Each 
 member of the Court, as his opinion was sepa- 
 rately asked, pronounced both persons guilty, 
 and sentence of death was in due form passed 
 upon them. 
 
 " And now that we have discharged our 
 duty," observed Captain Jonathan Dobson, 
 " let us temper justice with mercy as far as the 
 laws of war will permit. I propose that, if 
 the Commander-in-chief approve, this night be 
 granted to these miserable men to arrange their 
 worldly affairs, and that they suffer, as spies 
 and traitors ought to suffer, at gun-fire in the 
 morning." 
 
 " With all my heart," replied the President : 
 " in which case, Captain Dobson, the charge 
 of seeing the sentence carried into execution 
 will devolve upon you ; for I need not remind 
 you that we have business in hand which will 
 not permit our loitering here much longer. In 
 the mean while, however, I must beg the favour 
 of the Court to continue assembled, whilst I 
 acquaint the General with its proceedings." 
 
 He rose as he spoke; but before he had ad- 
 
 VOL. i. P 
 
314 A DAY ON THE 
 
 vanced two paces towards the door, it flew open, 
 and a man of middle stature, plainly dressed, 
 and extremely corpulent, entered. The mem- 
 bers of the Court stood up to receive him ; and 
 the stranger taking off his hat, displayed the 
 bald and flat-crowned head, which gained for 
 General Heath, in the ranks of the American 
 army, the nickname of the ' Marquis of Granby.' 
 
 " Well met, Sir," exclaimed the President. 
 " I was so far on my way to receive your judg- 
 ment on the sentence which we have just pro- 
 nounced. Both prisoners have been found 
 guilty on the clearest testimony ; and we ad- 
 judge them, in submission to your Excellency's 
 approbation, to suffer death."" 
 
 " I am sorry for it," replied the General: 
 " I lament that more lives should fall a sacri- 
 fice to a system which I for one decidedly con- 
 demn ; but I presume the evidence of their 
 guilt admitted not of a question." 
 
 " Not of the slightest, Sir, I assure you, 1 ' ob- 
 served Captain Jonathan Dobson. " Our lean- 
 ing has been, perhaps, too strongly towards 
 the side of mercy ; in proof of which, we hum- 
 bly submit to your Excellency that the execution 
 do not take place before to-morrow morning."" 
 
NEUTRAL GROUND. 315 
 
 " Very well, gentlemen," answered Heath : 
 " if there be foul play here, the guilt rests upon 
 your heads, not upon mine. I confirm your 
 finding, and leave you to direct the time of 
 execution when you will. For the present, how- 
 ever, there are other matters to be attended to ; 
 and I must requestthatyou repair immediately to 
 your several corps, which are already in motion. 1 ' 
 
 All made instant preparations to obey. "But 
 what shall we do with the prisoners ?" asked 
 the staff officer. " Are they to be removed to 
 the rear ? or shall they suffer on the spot where 
 their crimes have been perpetrated ?" 
 
 " Let them die here," answered the General. 
 " And harkye, Captain Dobson, I know that 
 such affairs cannot be trusted to more willing 
 hands than yours. My orders are, that you 
 remain where you are, with twenty men of your 
 own troop, that you guard the prisoners care- 
 fully during the night, and see the sentence car- 
 ried into execution at early dawn ; after which, 
 I expect that you will rejoin me at' Peekskill, 
 where, by midnight at the latest, we shall be 
 again assembled. The rest of you, gentlemen, to 
 your commands ; we have much to do between 
 that time and this, and time wears on apace." 
 
316 A DAY ON THE 
 
 The General's address was followed by an 
 immediate breaking up of the Court-martial. 
 Leaving Captain Dobson to act the part as- 
 signed to him, the other members hurried off 
 each to his proper station ; and in five minutes 
 after, the garrison in possession of Belmont con- 
 sisted only of the Skinner chief and his twenty 
 followers. The remainder, assembling on the pad- 
 dock in front of the house, began their march 
 after the column, which had already regained 
 the high road ; and a perfect silence prevailed 
 from one extremity of the vale to the other. 
 
 It was now, for the first time since he 
 took shelter in his uneasy prison, that Da- 
 vis Morgan ventured to look out. The hall 
 was empty, twilight too was rapidly verging 
 into night, and he felt that if the lives of 
 his father and Harry Beckwith were to be 
 preserved at all, to his exertions alone would 
 their preservation be owing. He stole sof'Jy 
 from his hiding-place ; he opened the hall-door, 
 looked round him, and observed that not so much 
 as a sentinel was planted to guard against 
 accident. Davis was a youth of no ordinary 
 decision and presence of mind. General Heath's 
 instructions were not lost upon him, nor 
 
?x 7 EUTRAL GROUND. 317 
 
 was he slow in conjecturing, that could he suc- 
 ceed in reaching the British lines, even yet 
 something might be effected : he therefore set 
 off, by a circuitous and unfrequented route, to 
 Kingsbridge. Davis hung upon the left flank 
 of the American line during the continuance 
 of that affair, of which an account has already 
 been given. He perceived at a glance, that 
 no serious design was entertained of forcing 
 the post of Kingsbridge ; for the countermarch 
 of the enemy's column, almost as soon as the 
 firing began, was not lost upon him ; and he 
 was deterred from forcing his way through the 
 skirmishers only by the conviction, that should 
 he even succeed, it would be impossible, at that 
 juncture of affairs, to effect the object which 
 he was alone desirous to effect. He accord- 
 ingly lay concealed in a sort of drain or sunk 
 fence, till the American tirailleurs began to fall 
 back ; and he never quitted it till he had satisfac- 
 torily ascertained that they were in full retreat 
 after their main body. This done, he advan- 
 ced boldly upon the British outposts. He was 
 challenged, as a matter of course, answered 
 readily to the challenge ; and convincing the 
 sentry that he was alone, received permission 
 
318 A DAY ON THE NEUTRAL GROUND. 
 
 to approach. You need not be told of what 
 followed. The Sergeant of the guard was 
 called, by whom he was led back to the station 
 of the picket, to the officer in command of 
 which he made known his desire of seeing 
 Captain Beckwith ; and as the youth spoke 
 like one deeply interested in what he said, no 
 time was lost in gratifying his wishes. Of 
 the manner of his introduction to Oliver, and 
 of the nature of his appeal, you are already 
 aware. 
 
 END OP THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
 ERRATA. 
 
 page 6, line 2, for ' hook,' read ' book.' 
 
 45, 6 from bottom, for exc'ted,' read ' exerted.' 
 70, 8 from bottom, for ( birth,' read ' berth.' 
 81, 6, for ' Scavem, read ' Sacavem.' 
 
 162, 3, dele f I before ' departed.' 
 
 163, 7, for ' from,' read ' upon.' 
 
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